Just in Time

The force rising from the warden shook the mountain top. Toyo had never seen what pure power truly felt like, and as she now stood witness to its might, her bones began to shiver in fear.

Lugal, however, wouldn’t kowtow to the warden’s intimidations. He gripped his authority with an iron fist and challenged the warden’s conviction. “Shouldn’t I have last say on who can enter, warden?” he challenged, but finding his insolence a threat, the warden raised the stakes.

A bright purple glow encased his staff as low frequency waves came pulsating from it in stifling waves of raw energy.

Outside of the mausoleum, the trees began to ruffle like an eerie breeze drifting through the air. Daku was busy entertaining Nertu, tossing his spear in the air and watching him thrust his body towards it at lightning speed. His display of agility even took Zida by surprise, who thought about how unheard of it was for such a young fighter to utilize a shift script so effortlessly, let alone in such an unusual way.

But the situation through the mausoleum gates only grew in intensity, with Lugal still refusing to stand down to the warden. Ohr urged them to show restraint, but he knew very well that not even he could convince the warden to abandon his duties of protecting the integrity of Enmai Mausoleum.

“Lugal, forget about it,” Toyo tried to reason, “You don’t need to get hurt for any of this.”

Though Lugal considered her plea, the warden stood his ground firmly, his stance unwavering. “Leave now or be removed. Final warning.”

A strong gust rippled off his staff and swept across the mountain top. Toyo could feel its vigor so deep as though it had wrapped around every muscle in her body and clenched it with a numbing strength.

“Cut it out!” Zida complained, once again finding himself irritated by Daku and Nertu’s fooling around. Ignoring him as usual, Daku dipped her hand low to the ground. “You ready?!” she said before thrusting the spear high into the sky.” In a flash, Nertu’s body vanished, shifting to the weapon instantly.

Thud.

His two feet planted firmly on the ground, Nertu shifted his gaze upwards, glaring at the warden who now stood directly in his crosshairs.

The area fell into a stunned silence, everyone frozen in bafflement. The tension between the warden and Lugal coming to a sudden pause. The warden’s stare locked onto Nertu, and Nertu’s upon him. His emerald eyes brewing with tenacity.

“Perhaps the pendulum has swayed,” the groundskeeper interrupted before swiftly redirecting his words. Looking to grasp his only opportunity to steer the speeding train before catastrophe struck.

“Son,” he called to Lugal, “without the order of the family head, we have no means of accessing the mausoleum. It’s physically impossible.” Turning towards the extravagant structure, he continued, “Who bears that title is unknown to me, the previous person to hold the position never made it clear upon his passing.” Placing his hand on Lugal’s shoulder he left him with a final piece of advice, “Speak with your family, if one of them provides you with the means to access the mausoleum doors, then you will be free to do as you please.”

Turning to the warden he followed, “No one person shall exceed to the authority of the key bearer. Thank you for your unfaltering commitment, warden. You may now escort our guests back to the gate.”

Returning his staff to his side, the glowing dissipated and the pulsating waves calmed. Toyo and Lugal quietly bowed to the groundskeeper, who then disappeared beyond the far end of the mountain.

Back at the gate, Toyo, Lugal, and Nertu arrived to find Zida and Daku embroiled in a bitter standoff with the guards, their voices sharp with accusations over Nertu’S disappearance. Sina, struggling to hold back the Swelling animosity, pleaded with Daku to reveal where she’d sent him.

“At ease,” the warden commanded; the guards quickly returning to their post.

Finding Nertu standing beside the other’s, Zida wasn’t the least surprised. Daku’s schemes had long since become clear to him. Eager to know what unfolded at the mausoleum, he pressed Toyo for an update, but with a simple shake of Toyo’s head, his hopes of gaining anything useful were dashed.

Descending back to the outskirts of the village, the current situation had become clear, with Lugal expressing how little he knew about his family’s connection to the village or the mausoleum. His only recourse was to confide in his grandfather and hope to get the answers he was looking for. Until then he would stay within the village and learn as much about its history as he could. “The moment anything changes I’ll send word.”

Zida branded a slip of cloth with some form of symbol and handed it to Lugal. “This is a transfer script. You place this on top of the letter when you’re done writing it and it will transfer its contents to a similar piece of paper in my possession. You can only use it once so make sure the information is useful.”

Lugal thanked Zida and the others once again, before making his way back towards the village.

With the group still largely empty handed, Zida contemplated what their next course of action would be. He could return to the manor, but with less than two days left before having to appear before the Chamber of Accord, he would be better off gathering as much information as he could.

“Believe it or not, the Aulden Federation may know more than we do,” Daku offered, “They’ve dreaded the coming of the catastrophe for years. When you fear something, in order to avoid it it’s usually wise to know as much about it as possible.”

Daku was certainly on to something, but it paved no path for Zida to follow as it was obvious that entering Aulden territory would be impossible. “Even if what you’re saying is true, how do you expect to get that information from them?” he asked.

“The Southern Region,” Sina then proposed. “The Southern Region borders Aulden, and its liege, Daim, should be able to at least point us in the right direction.

Zida was in conflict with his options. The trip to the Southern Region would make sense, all things considered, but there were no known Scytale tunnels there from their current location. Meaning they would likely not arrive until morning. Even if Daim could provide useful information, he would likely still need more time to act on it. If he appeared before the Sapiens without substantial information, Toyo’s stay of execution could be in jeopardy.

“Zida,” Daku called, “make a move. Standing still isn’t gonna change any outcomes,” she lectured.

As pestering as Daku could be, Zida knew she was right. Overthinking was only keeping him held in place. He needed to act quickly, and for now the only logical step would be to head to the Southern Region.

Thus, with their next location set, the group then departed from the Ontsu Village, with Zida hoping that his old friend could steer his waning sense of direction onto the correct path.