Rebirth of the Nephilim

“She’s talking.”

Jay looked up from the map spread out across the table, one of her fingers still pressed against a village marker. Aila and Severina both halted in mid-conversation, turning to face the door with her. Cora stood in the open frame, a little breathless from running. Her announcement didn’t need explanation; they all knew who the priestess was referring to.

“Who’s with her?” Jay asked as she straightened and started walking to the door.

“Eir is,” Cora answered. “So is Amarantha and Gloria. Terrance is running to Charos’ temple to inform Jocelyn right now.”

“Good,” Jay nodded, turning briefly to look back at Aila and Severina. “Keep working on the maps. I’ll let you know what she said after I get back.”

Both nodded in acceptance as Jay left, not delaying her departure. Jadis rushed to get to the other side of Lyssandria’s temple as fast as she could without causing unintended damage to the building. It had been two days since the battle at Nonia, and during that time the woman they had rescued from the demonic altar had been in a catatonic state of numb silence. If she was finally coming out of the dark place her mind had withdrawn to, Jadis hoped to ask the woman some questions. It might be cruel to force the victimized soul to remember what had happened to her, but she had the potential to give them valuable information on the enemy and their plans. Jadis couldn’t waste that opportunity, not when they were only days away from starting the long march towards Kastoria.

Cora went in first, then quickly moved out of the way as Jay entered the room where the mystery woman had been kept since their return to Thracina. Inside, she found that things hadn’t changed much since the last time she had visited the day before. The woman lay on the small bed that was set under an open window, tucked under thick covers. A thick scent of flowers filled the air, mixing with an incense-like smell that just barely failed to tickle the nose. Eir was sitting on a chair next to the head of the bed, a bowl of water and towels on the table beyond her, and she had the woman’s right hand in her own. Many had sat in that chair, waiting next to the woman, offering comfort in the only ways that they could. Jadis had taken her turn at the bedside several times herself, hoping that her presence would encourage the woman to talk, though there had been no result before that point.

As Cora had said, Gloria was also in the room, standing by the table where she had a bowl of broth on a tray. Senator Celsa had sent the servant woman to the temple to help tend to the altar victim when she had heard of their return and who they had brought back with them, and Gloria had proven to be an excellent aid to the already overburdened temple staff. Jadis had no doubt that the woman was reporting what she saw and heard back to the senator on a daily basis, but that was an acceptable exchange as far as she was concerned. Jadis and her lovers never said anything truly sensitive around the servant, and Maeve had made no objections to her presence. In fact, the Fetch was working closely with Celsa on her own cultist investigation and was therefore feeding all kinds of information back to Jadis on what the senator and her household were up to. It had become a sort of tacitly understood compromise that both parties were essentially spying on each other but not prying deeply enough to cause issues.

Amarantha was also in the room, her stone cauldron taking up one corner. The Lares had been dropping off various curative potions for the woman that were meant to invigorate the body and mind in ways that Divine healing magics could not. Jadis greatly appreciated the support that the Mystic was providing, so she had happily taken the long list of alchemical ingredients that Amarantha had given her and paid for as many of the items as she could get. She was certain that not all of those ingredients were going towards the concoctions that she was feeding to the catatonic woman; Sorcha had confirmed as much when she had seen the list for herself. But that was fine. Jadis had no doubts about Amarantha’s intentions or her goodwill, and if the suddenly clingy fire cat wanted some special extra items for secret potions, then she was happy to provide.

“Jadis,” Eir whispered as Jay fully entered the room. “Come, sit here.”

Jay did as instructed, silently nodding in greeting to both Gloria and Amarantha. Sinking to the floor in a cross-legged pose, Jay sat quietly next to Eir and the bed-ridden woman.

“Jadis, this is Sybil. She’s an acolyte of Metethys.”

Jay nodded along to Eir’s words, happy to finally get a name for the face that had been staring vacantly into the distance for so long. Turning her attention fully onto the other woman, Jay smiled as warmly as she knew how.

“Hello Sybil. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The woman’s previously vacant stare was still glassy, but at hearing Jay’s voice her gray eyes found focus. She didn’t smile back, not exactly, but her expression wasn’t so blank as it had been a moment before, which was better than nothing.

“Hello,” the woman said faintly. “Jadis…”

Sybil had a strong Voltonian accent, but it seemed that she spoke Imperial well enough for conversation. If she was an acolyte of Metethys, the Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge, then it made sense that the woman would be educated. She looked young, no more than twenty by Jadis’ guess, but she had to have been studying in a temple for long before her primary class unlocking to be offered an acolyte class.

“How are you feeling?” Jay asked, hoping to keep Sybil engaged and talking.

“Better,” she said slowly before swallowing dryly. “I… You rescued me. I saw you. Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Jay told her. “I’m just glad I was able to save you.”

As Jay spoke, Gloria brought a small glass of water over and helped the woman to take a drink. Eir gently brushed a few loose strands of honey brown hair out of Sybil’s face, smiling gently as she did so.

“Sybil was an acolyte of Metethys’ temple in Kastoria,” she explained. “You were telling me you grew up in Kastoria, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Sybil nodded. “I did…”

“I’m sorry about what happened to the city,” Jay said somberly. “To you and your people.”

Sybil’s expression turned distant as she looked away from Jay. She made no response for a while, and Jadis hoped she hadn’t said the wrong thing. She didn’t want to be insensitive, but she also didn’t have all that much time left. If Sibyl had any information to give regarding the cultists or Demons in Kastoria, then the sooner she told them, the better.

The original plans had been accelerated after Jadis’ return to the Voltonian capital. No one wanted to rush unprepared into another flawed attack on the demonic stronghold, but the fact that the Demons were producing newer and better impenetrable domes so quickly wasn’t something anyone was willing to ignore. Plans had changed and the start date of the march had moved up. The faster they got to Kastoria, the less chance of encountering even more dangerous demonic innovations. At least, that was the hope.

Jadis wanted information on what they were going to be walking into. Even small, seemingly insignificant details could be helpful. Jadis hoped Sybil could provide those details. But as she stared down at the glassy-eyed expression of the woman who had suffered through a torment that Jadis could barely imagine, she felt her resolve waver. Pushing Sybil to relive memories that she was certain she had no desire to ever think of again felt too cruel. Jadis wanted information, if she could get it. But some costs were too much.

“Just rest,” Jay said reassuringly as she gave the back of Sybil’s hand a gentle pat. “You’re safe here, now. No one’s going to hurt you anymore. Just rest for a while, for as long as you need to.”

When Jay moved to take her hand away, she was surprised to see Sybil slip out of Eir’s grip and take firm hold of her pale fingers. The woman focused on her again, gray eyes piercing with intense resolve.

“There are more. Hundreds more. Under the old palace. He kept us there. Kept us alive. To use… To use us…”

Sybil fell silent, her expression twisting under a gamut of dark emotions and darker memories. Finally, she let go of Jay’s hand and rolled over, facing away from them all. Only two more words left her lips.

“Save them…”

Jay met Eir’s gaze, her mouth set in a grim line. Her elven lover’s face was furrowed with worry, but she nodded to Jay’s silent request. Together, they rose to their feet and quietly exited the room, not quite fully shutting the door as they stepped into the hall.

“Hundreds of people held hostage by the cultists,” Jay stated with barely contained anger. “They’re being treated like meat for those damn sacrifices.”

“Kastoria was taken by the Demons a year ago,” Eir said, her hands clasped together. “I cannot imagine how they have survived so long when surrounded by such… evil.”

“The ‘He’ that she said is keeping them alive has to be the Playwright. Him and his cultist followers.”

“How are we going to save them?”

A good question. One that Jadis didn’t have a good answer to. If the Playwright was keeping hundreds of people hostage so they could be used as sacrifices for his abominable rituals, then that meant those people were valuable to him. There was no way he wouldn’t have protections in place to make sure he didn’t lose an ingredient he needed for the fucked-up domes he was making. Not just protections, either. Traps. Knowing the Playwright’s perverse way of thinking, he probably wanted them to know there were people being held and tortured in Kastoria. He’d want the Hero, or her, to try and rescue them. And he’d have all manner of tricks ready and waiting for such an attempt.

“We’ll have to deal with that when we take Kastoria,” Jay said through a wince of frustration. “We won’t be in any kind of position to help that many hostages until we capture the city. At least now we know where they’re being kept, and we can account for that during the attack. I think I know what she meant by ‘old palace’ anyway. Hopefully we can get some blueprints of that building.”

Jadis had been studying not only the approach to the city, but detailed maps of Kastoria itself. There were several notable structures within the tall walls of the coastal city, one of which was called the Opaline Palace. It had been the seat of power of some ancient king, many centuries before Volto was even a nation, and the mansion was considered to be something of tourist attraction in better days. The structure was antiquated by modern standards, so it wasn’t used for anything important beyond entertainments anymore, but it was still a large and notable fixture located on the hill overlooking the harbor of the city. Jadis was going to have to see what more she could find out about the palace, as well as what had been built underneath it.

“I’ll stay with her,” Eir said with a wan smile. “If she tells me anything else that might help, I will let you know.”

“Thank you,” Jay said, her own expression lightening as she focused on the kindness and grace of her lover. “You’re such a good girl, Eir.”

Her elven lover’s smile grew brighter at the endearment, and she happily accepted the kiss that Jay gave her in the next moment. Parting a few seconds later, Eir slipped back through the ajar door to sit by Sybil’s bed again while Jay turned away with the intent to rejoin Aila and Severina in their improvised war room. Before she could take more than a few steps, however, a high-pitched voice called out to her.

“Hey you! Wait a second!”

“Ammy?” Jay asked, stopping and turning to see the small Lares rushing out the door to follow her. “What’s up?”

“Just a second I said,” Amarantha repeated as she reached Jay’s feet.

With a surprisingly strong leap, the fiery feline launched herself up, catching hold of Jay’s belt with her clawed paws. With a few more quick movements, the Lares had climbed up Jay’s front, coming to a stop on her shoulder. Jay could feel the heat of Amarantha’s flaming fur as it brushed against her face while the Lares settled into place. It was a pleasant warmth, like standing close to a fireplace on a cold night, and Jadis was tempted to run a hand across the Lares’ back the way she would a normal cat. She resisted the urge, though. Amarantha was a person, not an animal, and such a familiar touch without permission would be beyond rude. Jadis wouldn’t do that.

Even if Ammy had just crawled up Jay’s boobs without asking first.

“Need something?” Jay asked with a confused smile on her face as she stared into Amarantha’s green eyes.

“A lot of things,” the fire cat nodded. “I have another list. Take it to Meli’s grandma when you go to the grove tomorrow and see what she can get me. Tell her I’m open to trades for some exotic seeds I can get her, too. I have a list of those.”

“Unless the scroll is really, really small, I don’t see any list with you,” Jay pointed out with some amusement.

“I don’t have it with me this very moment,” Amarantha rolled her eyes. “Just don’t leave tomorrow without me giving it to you, understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” Jay took her orders without complaint. “Anything else?”

“As a matter of fact, there is,” the Mystic said before reaching out a paw to pluck at Jay’s hair. “Hold still.”

With a quick snap of her jaws, Amarantha bit off a long lock of Jay’s white hair. While Jadis was still trying to figure out how much of her hair she had just lost, the fiery Lares leapt off of Jay’s shoulder and pranced back to Sybil’s door.

“Hey! What was that for?” Jay demanded. “Now I’m going to have to try and cut the hair of my other bodies in the same way!”

“Thank you for the donation,” Amarantha said primly. “We’re going to see just how potent Nephilim ingredients can be in an Eldritch alchemical concoction. Toodle-oo!”

Jay stared at the cat’s tail as it disappeared beyond the crack of the door, her brow furrowed in confusion. Rubbing at the severed ends of her much-shortened hair, Jay grumbled to herself as she headed back to the others.

“Toodle-oo? Who the fuck taught her to say that?”