Maeve: “What the damn hell!?”

Our eyes never adjusted, exactly. Rather, The Anchor recovered from having passed through another stabilizing bubble and enveloped us once more. Even with its protection we could see only by afterimages the prevailing light left beneath our eyelids.

Wolfgang: “No wonder they hide their faces behind those ugly masks. This light is insufferable!”

Zyturak: “I rather agree…”

Xenna: “Oh! My vision’s back, um, in a sense.”

We forced ourselves to adapt to being able to discern shapes and outlines with our eyes closed. 

Maeve: “I thought a trip to Yreth’s realm would be a vacation compared to what we’ve done so far but I want out of here yesterday.”

Seth: “I’m right there with you. As soon as we secure The Nail, we’re gone.”

We made our way through the silent city. Everything was immaculate to the extent that Armistice hardly looked lived in at all. The occasional Orderly did pass us by though, heading at a measured pace down the street without any regard for us whatsoever.

Wolfgang: “I suppose there’s no point in asking for directions…”

We shuddered. The entire atmosphere felt wrong. There were ‘people’,  but there was no happiness, no frustration. There was no noise. No one hurried. There was life here, but not as we recognized it.

Xenna: “They’re all going in the same direction…”

She was right. We had passed enough of them now to tell, and we decided to follow. We soon arrived at a large city square, in the middle of which stood a massive cathedral. All of the Orderlies were converging here, waiting patiently in line for their turn to enter.

Maeve: “Aww man, we have to go in there, don’t we? This must be karma for my joke about the priest…”

The line didn’t seem to be moving, so after a few moments we nervously stepped out of the queue and walked in. Some of the Orderlies started quivering at our audacity, but no one moved to stop us.

It took a long time for our eyes to adjust. I thought it was because the cathedral was finally going to provide us some shelter from the light, but I was wrong. It was the source of the light.

The cathedral was arranged like an amphitheater, and the Orderlies were seated in tiers as they gazed down at the center. There stood a large monument carved out of gold and silver, but it was too abstract for me to glean any kind of meaning from it. Much more interesting was the glass casket at its base.

Even with The Anchor sheltering us and my eyes closed, it hurt terribly to behold the figure inside - yet I couldn’t look away. Inside was a deathly frail person with very long blonde hair, dressed in a simple white robe. The figure lay in repose, and were it not for the beacon of light emanating from It, I might have thought It was dead.

Maeve: “Yreth…”

And on top of the casket, about half the size of Yreth Itself, lay a long black and red fingertip with a razor-sharp claw on the end.

Seth: “The Nail!”

We all needed a minute to process that the god of humanity Itself was right there in front of us. It looked so weak.

Wolfgang: “All of this is wrong. The sorry state of Yreth, stealing from it, everything.”

A quick look at my companions told me we all agreed.

Seth: “Something tells me that The Nail being out in the open like this is no accident…”

We carefully studied the Orderlies as we approached the casket. There was no ceremony, no words spoken… They just sat around Yreth in silence. It was incredibly surreal, and that feeling of wrongness threatened to overwhelm me.

Seth: “I know this can only end badly, but…”

Maeve: “Do it. We have your back.”

The others nodded in solidarity.

I reached for The Nail, sweating more than I ever had in the desert. I touched it and Yreth’s golden eyes flew open. It rapped desperately against the casket, as if in warning.

Then the most hideous sound I’d ever heard reverberated against the cathedral walls as The Orderlies shrieked in unison. Their limbs split and snapped into pieces as they assumed their (preter)natural state. Then they charged - and in their haste their masks shattered and their robes ripped apart to reveal aberrant eyes and wailing maws…

Maeve shook me hard.

Maeve: “Arden to lover boy! We gotta go!”

She had already sprouted her twin tendrils. My mind finally caught up to the chaos erupting around us and I nodded my understanding.

We sprinted to the entrance, but a number of Disorderlies blocked our path. Xenna called upon her aether orb and froze every single one of them effortlessly.

Xenna: “There’s so much aether here! It’s like there are five of me casting at once!”

Wolfgang wrestled one to the ground, grumbling under his breath as he struggled.

Wolfgang: “I’m so happy for you!”

Zyturak looked like his mind was elsewhere, occasionally checking in to get out of harm’s way before spacing out again. Maeve noticed and started escorting him.

Maeve: “Someone still trying to get into our brains, Zy?”

Zyturak grimaced.

Zyturak: “Unfortunately.”

Maeve: “Don’t worry. You keep us safe and we’ll keep you safe.”

Maeve’s tendrils sliced through a couple of Disorderlies as if to confirm her words.

We made it to the entrance but quickly realized it was not the safe haven we were expecting. The entire square was filled with Disorderlies who were practically climbing over each other to get to us. 

Maeve: “Xenna, can you get them out of here?”

Xenna: “With the aether as thick as it is, yes…”

Seth: “Wait, what do you mean ‘them’? Don’t you dare-”

Maeve: “Hey, quit with the frowning, you’ll wrinkle that beautiful face. I’ll be right behind you. I promise.”

As much as I hated it, I knew this was our best shot. I gave her an over-too-soon kiss and squeezed her tight before rushing to join the others. Xenna channelled massive energy into her orb, which became a swirling gust of wind. With perfect concentration she allowed it to lift us into the air. I called down to the one I loved as monsters without number closed in around her.

Seth: “You better make good on that promise, Maeve!”

She winked.

Maeve: “See you on the other side.”

The Disorderlies swarmed her, gnashing and tearing with their inhuman limbs. We were lifting away now, but I caught sight of her standing tall as the darkness enveloped her, taking each fallen aberration into herself as she peerlessly struck them down.

...she was making it look easy.

We took off across the sky, Xenna gritting her teeth as she kept us aloft. The others noticed me staring back even though we couldn’t see her anymore.

Wolfgang: “Woe be to any who stand in her way, remember?”

Seth: “I know. But Zy, without you there, and in that erratic mental state of hers when she’s lost in those nightmares…”

Zyturak shook his head sadly.

Zyturak: “I can’t reach her from here… I’m sorry Seth, I should have stayed behind-”

Seth: “No, she knew what she was doing. We just have to trust that it’s going to be as effortless for her as she thinks.”

As we passed over street after street, we realized there were no Orderlies. Maeve must have been holding off all of Armistice right now. Xenna’s flight path became increasingly unsteady until she told us we were going to be making an emergency landing. We braced ourselves, and to her credit Xenna managed to crash us into a perfectly manicured yard.

Seth: “Ow.”

Xenna: “Sorry! That was much more difficult than I had hypothesized. Is everyone okay?”

Wolfgang: “Aye.”

Zyturak and I rubbed a few small bruises but were otherwise uninjured.

Seth: “Look, there’s the gate!”

A few blocks ahead, we saw it. Unfortunately it had closed behind us after we'd passed through it.

Wolfgang: “Come on! We need to get it open!”

We hurried as best we could, reaching the gates in record time. We couldn’t see the guards through the bars - they must have abandoned their posts to join the carnage.

Wolfgang grabbed one side and the rest of us grabbed the other. We pulled as hard as we could, but the gate refused to budge.

Wolfgang: “Okay, we’ll take a breather, and try again-”

We heard the distinctive shrieks first.

Wolfgang: “-NOW! PULL NOW!”

Even with all the adrenaline pumping, the gates were just too heavy. We looked in fear down the street at the wave of limbs and flesh coming for us. Even though it was useless, we struggled to pry open our path to safety. Then bloody tendrils cut right through the mass of Disorderlies.

Maeve was inside-out again, and I hardly recognized her as human anymore. She had taken in so many of her enemies that she was almost completely aberrant. She shrieked along with them in equal parts joy and suffering as they threatened to take her over. 

Seth: “Zy! We have to-”

He reached his hand out to her, and his jaw dropped. 

Zyturak: “She’s going to be alright. Let’s clear a path for her!”

I was confused but I decided to listen to him. This time when we tried to secure our escape, a flash of light accompanied the sound of the gate groaning in protest.

Xenna: “It’s working!” 

We got it open just wide enough to fit two people through at a time. Maeve lunged ahead of the horrors and turned around to face them. A sudden burst of light shot out of her, purging her additional mass and stunning the remaining Disorderlies. Yreth’s servants slowly regained their senses. They stood upright again and - maybe it was just me - but they seemed embarrassed by their actions and lack of clothes. The Orderlies hastily turned away and nearly sprinted to their homes.

Maeve shakily walked over to us. Unlike her usual post-transformation, she looked worse for wear this time.

Seth: “Are you okay!? What happened!?”

Maeve rubbed her neck sheepishly.

Maeve: “Well, I was kicking ass, at first. But they just kept coming, and at some point I fell into the nightmares. Normally that just brings back bad memories of the cult, but this time something was in there with me… Everything I was remembering was all wrong, it was all worse somehow… I was about to lose myself to it. But then all at once the truth came back to me and I knew my past clearly again. Never thought I'd say this, but... I think Yreth saved me.”

I let out a low whistle.

Maeve: “I’m still sorting it out. I think It was trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t in the state of mind to understand. One thing I did get, though...Yreth spent a long time suffering, too - Both back in Bedlam, and now. I don’t know the details, but for what it’s worth, I think we have a dying deity’s blessing.”

Seth: “And It’s Nail.”

She laughed. 

Maeve: “That, too. Now let’s go out there, find this Architect freak, and show It just what we’re made of.”