Episode 80 - Mission: Improbable

## Synopsis

**Disclaimer:** This episode contains several flashbacks to events earlier in the day. Due to this, the episode summary has been spilt into Present events and Flashback sections, in the order in which they happened in the episode, to (hopefully) avoid confusion.

### Present:

In the middle of the night, an invisible Mira Marchand climbed the rope into the top window of the Enchantment Tower, arriving in Professor Underbough’s office.

Looking at his desk, she saw assorted paperwork, and behind her she heard the sound of another invisible person tumbling into the room.

Delnys whispered, “*Mira, where did you go?*”

“*I’m over here… oh right, by the desk.*”

Together they rifled through the contents of the desk. On the right hand side was an unlocked cabinet, inside which she found a shelf stacked with various administrative documents, and a opened letter.

Reading it, she found the letter was from Aaltine, and contained his account of the Nebulosis incident. It mostly confirmed their original story, and said he would be returning soon.

On the bottom shelf of the cabinet was a small black lockbox. Mira carefully reached out and touched it. It seemed to be made of a single piece of stone, and etched in the top was a familiar Sheoran spiral.

Integrity walked through the sewers towards the Oblex chamber. The normal dingy smell of the tunnels had been replaced with a faint floral scent, and the message, “*It must be done,*” echoed through her head.

She held her Squall before her as she continued on the path she had been shown. She felt a shiver down her spine, as though she was being watched. Integrity passed the Oblex chamber and arrived at an archway, above which was written “*Ascendent*”. The clay barrier previously sealing the entrance had been broken, and again the message, “*It must be done*,” rattled through her head.

### Flashback (Integrity):

Earlier that night, she had dreamt of being back at home as her mother made dinner. As she watched the water outside, it slowly turned oily, and black. The water rose up and engulfed the house, before receding to reveal the Progenitor’s chamber. In front of her she saw the archway with a broken seal, and a voice whispered in her ear, “*It has awoken, and must be dealt with*.” She turned to see the cobra-headed Progenitor extremely close to her face.

“*The only living Ascendent has awoken, and it must be killed.*”

“*What is the Ascendent? I want to know what I’m killing before I kill it.*”

The Progenitor grabbed her, repeated that “*It must be done*”, and told Integrity she was the only one who could act for them. They promised to give her anything she could want in return.

### Present:

Integrity again stood before the archway, and went inside.

Winsler sat atop Serinepth’s shoulders, the world heavily distorted by the crystal ball on his head. Wrapped around them was a replica of Ari’s cloak, beneath which Serinepth held onto the Angel Tear. They stopped as a large stone door opened in front of them. Tol turned to them and said, “*Ari, remember the plan*.” The three of them walked into the room beyond.

They found themselves in an immense chamber, a walkway down the centre was bordered by two rivers of a clear liquid. Ahead of them was an enormous brass frame, topped with a crystal the size of a wagon. The room was filled with a sweet, almost caramel like smell. In front of the massive golem the pathway split, on side had collapsed, and the other held the remains of an old Jeed.

The golem looked down at the group, and said, “*Present the tear.*”

“*A new one*,” Tol replied.

Serinepth raised the Tear.

### Flashback (Serinepth & Winsler):

Earlier that evening, Winsler had heard a knock at his door, which then opened to reveal Tol. They told him to put on the starry cloak, which was obviously much too big for Winsler. Later Serinepth was having tea with Phillip, when they heard her door open as Tol and Winsler walked in.

“*Serinepth Sinderman. We need you. You are essential. Come with us.”* Tol turned and walked away.

Winsler looked at her, apologised for the short notice, and asked if she would mind joining them. Serinepth apologised to Phillip for leaving him, and agreed to go with them.

### Present:

Back with the massive golem (Sto), Winsler was uncertain what to say. “*Ah yes, the crystal. A new child has arrived*.”

“*Young one Ari, it has been too long since you have performed the rites of polishing. You must brush up. We will start anew.*”

After several more false starts, and hints from Tol, they managed to complete the ritual.

Sto: “*Present the Tear.*”

Tol: “*A new one.*”

Winsler: “*Polish the child.”*

Sto: “*To be without ambition.*”

Tol: “*To be a steward.*”

Winsler: “*…We give thee thy name?*”

Sto looked at Winsler and told him he needed to read the rites again before coming back, however just this once they would complete the ceremony.

They took the Tear, and started to rub it between their hands. Shards and flecks of crystal fell off and into the liquid below, and after a moment, Sto put their hands into the liquid and continued to rub the Tear. When they brought it out again and presented it to Winsler, the Tear was perfectly smooth and oval shaped.

“*Take this child, place upon it all wisdoms known to us.”*

Behind them they suddenly heard a loud splash. Glancing back, they were just able to make out the blue robes of a Wildcliff student, and the curly hair of one Phillip Maisel.

Mira reached out the grab the stone lockbox. As she made contact with a gloved hand, she felt a surge of warmth radiating from it. She pulled it carefully out of the cabinet and placed it on the desk. The lock had been opened, and inside was an empty chamber, with small flecks of green jade.

### Flashback (Mira):

Earlier that evening, Artis had come to Mira’s room, asking how she was doing. He was immediately hit with the pungent floral scent of the urn still permeating the room, and asked Allena if she could go somewhere else while they had a private chat. After she left, Mira brought out the urn and explained how a woman had left it with her on the night of Underbough’s death. When she opened it she had seen a person growing inside.

Artis asked to look inside again, and when he did saw the liquid had congealed, and the body growing inside had turned into a skeleton. He said this might be related to the other members of SWIM, as he couldn’t find any of them. He pulled out a small object wrapped in cloth, a green dagger covered in Sheoran spirals and blood. He said he found it in his office, alongside a pile of ash.

Artis and Mira agreed this was probably what killed Underbough, and it likely belonged to that woman. They decided that the danger they were in warranted breaking some rules, and Artis suggested breaking into Underbough’s office to find evidence of this.

### Present:

Back in Underbough’s office, Mira had found the proof they needed. Delnys asked if they needed anything else, but although Mira was tempted to find her academic record to erase her strikes, she agreed they had what they came for.

As they talked Delnys asked, “*Can you smell that? It smells like flowers or orchids or something?*”

Mira did not like the sound of that. “*Um, I think we should get out of here.*”

She grabbed the lockbox and tucked it under her left arm. As soon as it make contact, the world went grey and frozen, and she fell unconscious. Her left arm had disappeared as she fell into a pile of pillows. She was in a spacious room with fruits, chairs, and a view of a garden. Standing at a balcony in front of her was Empress Terassis.

“Oh my dear girl, it has been far too long.”