Episode 81 - Old Friends

## Synopsis

Integrity walked through the previously sealed archway into a chamber identical to where they had fought the Oblex. She stood on a ledge high above the dark green sand below, and still felt as though she was being watched

“*Hello, is anyone there?*” The silence on the room seemed to swallow Integrity’s words as soon as she spoke.

“*Please, enter, please join me down here*.” The voice came from every direction, filling her mind.

The sand below her shifted and swirled as though pushed by something underneath it.

*“Uh, I’m quite comfortable up here.”*

*“What brought you here child?”*

*“I had a very strong feeling I should come here.”*

*“I would agree with that strong feeling, I think you should stay here. You should come down, sit in the dust with me.”*

Integrity still couldn’t see the source of the voice. *“I’m really not a big fan of dust, my mum really wanted me to be clean. But, who are you?”*

The voice hissed, *“My name is Neska, I am a high priest, an Ascendant. I could teach this to you, if you only came down.”*

*“What do you do?”*

The sand shifted some more before she heard the voice reply. *“I look into the future and the past and elsewhere ongoing now in the present, to see what is to be done. Would you like to learn such a gift? To hone your sight, you must only come down.”*

Integrity pulled a coin from her pocket and dropped it onto the sand. Neska chuckled, her voice filling the chamber.

*“You do not need to pay me for such a service, I am happy to teach this skill. Come down, please.”* Her voice grew more insistent.

Neska continued to try and persuade Integrity to join her below, until Integrity spoke again.

“*You sound like a snake.”*

At this, Neska laughed. The sand shifted as a large, serpentine head emerged from below. Deep green eyes stared at Integrity, iridescent pink and turquoise scales glimmered in the dim light of the chamber. In Neska’s forehead was a four inch diameter socket.

*“Well how astute of you, you are going to be a great student. I am a snake, a great form given to me by the goddess. My Ascendance gave me this form, I can teach you how to achieve such things if only you came down. I promise not to kill you, unless you wrong me.”*

Integrity considered the offer, it would mean leaving her friends and family behind. The Progenitor’s voice still echoed in her mind, *“It must be done.”*

As Neska continued to speak, her mouth did not move. Integrity realised she was telling she truth, but was heavily patronising her.

*“How long is your offer for?”*

*“Oh child, it is now or never.”*

*“I really can’t think about it?”* Integrity started backing out through the archway. The hissing around her intensified.

Mira was sitting in a comfortable pile of pillows, fresh fruit within reach, and she was missing an arm. Standing on a balcony was Empress Terassis, who addressed her, then glided over to Mira.

*“Empress Terassis! Oh my gosh it’s been so long I have so many questions, like is Ferimel an ally and who was the lady attacking me and what’s an Ascendant and what happened to my arm and-“*

Terassis put a hand on Mira’s cheek, though she didn’t feel the contact. *“Slower please.”*

Mira slowed down, and asked again if Ferimel could be trusted, and who the lady in her room was. Terassis told her that he was an old servant of her’s she had thought dead, while he gave her companionship in the past, she was never entirely sure of his motives.

Terassis also told Mira that many Ascendants had been stored in the mountains, they were Sheorans who worshipped the gods and sought to be a part of them. They had helped to usher in the Progenitor, and had been put to rest when the orbs were created. When Mira described her humanoid appearance, Terassis agreed that she was the biggest danger, though suggested Mira go to her to see what she wanted.

With those concerns settled, Terassis asked if Mira like her new arm. Mira asked if it was a curse, which Terassis vehemently denied, instead calling it a great gift. The snake acted by itself, and would protect Mira when Terassis couldn’t.

When asked about the visit to Purgatory, and that seemingly no one had died for centuries, Terassis admitted she didn’t know much about the gods and the afterlife, but agreed it was concerning.

As their time together came to an end, Mira asked one final question.

*“I think I’m on a date right now? And I think I might have freaked her out, and I really don’t want to do that because I really like her, have you ever been in a situation like that?”*

Terassis smiled and said, *“I can imagine that being on that side of it, to pursue someone must be very scary. I don’t have much experience with it, but Mira my dear, you’re so courageous. There’s nothing to fear, speaking to another person.”*

Terassis wished Mira luck, and asked to stay informed with how it went. She reminded Mira to visit the priestess, but to be careful.

The vision faded away, and Mira found herself face-down on the carpet. She felt Delnys pushing her shoulder and telling her to get up, and as her consciousness returns fully, she realised she could smell smoke very strongly, and the tower was extremely warm.

They started to climb down the rope, getting most of the way down before a huge plume of fire erupted out of Underbough’s office. The rope burned and they started to free-fall, luckily Mira was able to catch them both with *Feather Fall.*

They landed gently at the base of the tower, and heard the shouts of people rushing around trying to put out the fire. Artis was nowhere to be seen. Together they hurried towards Mira’s dorm.

Deep under the school, Serinepth and Winsler watched as Phillip plunged head-first into the river of Tear cut-offs. Sto stood up, creaking and groaning as though they hadn’t stood in thousands of years.

Serinepth passed the polished Tear to Winsler, then took off running towards where Phillip fell in. As they ran, the crystal on Winsler’s head fell off, revealing him as not a golem. Stow behind them let out a low growl, and crushed Tol with one hand.

As the students reached Phillip, they saw him struggling and sinking into the fluid. Serinepth *Levitated* him out and told him that they needed to run. He gasped for air as Serinepth dragged both her friends behind her.

Behind them they heard the clash of meta against stone as Stow marched towards them. *“There are no people allowed in this, the Polisherium. You shall be cursed with golem.”*

The large door at the end of the hallway opened. Stow sighed deeply, and told them, *“The custodians of this school will no longer serve you for breaking these, the rules of the Polisherium.”* They reached their hand into the liquid beside them, and flung a handful of crystal shards at the students, luckily missing each of them.

Phillip just kept apologising. *“I’m so sorry, I was just too curious I’m sorry, I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about it but that doesn’t mean… I’m sorry I’m so sorry.”*

*“Let’s just get back to the surface first.”*

As Integrity ran out of the chamber, she heard the sounds of Neska following her, enraged.

*“I. Will. Kill you! I offer you tutelage, and you burn me!”*

*“I just needed more time! There’s a lot of things I have to give up to do that!”*

Integrity ran and ran, the hissing behind her breaking stone and bending iron as the body of an enormous snake slithered after her. Eventually she found a small maintenance tunnel that Neska couldn’t fit through, and dived in to hide.

She went further and further into the tunnels, confident that she’d lost Neska, but still able to hear slithering and splashing all around her. She magically disguised herself to look like a small golem, and from above her heard a voice say, *“Cheat! Cheater, that’s cheating!”*

The pipes above her creaked until a single green eye stared at her through the dark. *“You are a cheater.”*

The creature crawled out of the pipes, and Integrity realised that the scaly-skinned, one-eyed Teb had been watching her this whole time.

*“Teb! Teb is back!”*

Integrity’s joy was short-lived, as Teb lashed out at her and screeched, *“Cheater! Give stone to me Horned One, give stone!”*

Integrity stabbed his head with her Squall, Teb jumped back and looked at her with a hate-filled eye. *“Give stone! Trade for stone!”*

*“Trade what?”*

Teb grinned, before jumping back into the pipes, and throwing down an old butterfly net.