The darkness within the sky of Magnolia gave little to the benefit of those who found themselves suffering, including those that wished for nothing more than to be redeemed. The reality was that it was hard to determine which of those scenarios more appropriately applied to that of Leyaria, the woman who still wished to believe herself as a person, but other wise found themselves bound and confided to the reality that her fate was that of the damned, the last vestiges of her sanity and free will being slowly and surely taken from her as time went on and on and the days drew on for longer and longer periods without any clear end in sight. It made her hate herself, hate life as she knew it, and only wish that she could go back. But for all the moping she did, all the contempt and anger that she held towards the world and towards herself, she found herself unwilling and unable to just give up just yet.

As shocked as she was, there was still a reason for her to go on. The letters in which she carried close to her, the letters addressed to the woman whom she had come to hold strong feelings towards, Bianca. There were other letters that were addressed to the man who she considered to be a close friend, though the time between the two of them had long made it impossible to believe that he might have still regarded her as anything more than a past memory, a reflection of a broken girl who had in the time since they had last seen each other, was broken and left shattered. Finn. She hoped to run into him at some point, though it was not clear if it could have happened. She did hope to reach out and find Bianca though, as the chance for running into her would enable her to perhaps give her some of closure before her inevitable end.

Until then though, she would have to manage, have to try to survive and exist within a world that was less and less accepting her and giving her any chance of actually being able to survive. One of the biggest challenges right now would be finding some way of getting through the night without going hungry or freeze to death. While the weather was beginning to improve, it was still far from ideal, far from what she would comfortably prefer to have as the conditions that she was forced to endure with. Rather than deal with it, she figured the best bet that she had was to go into a nearby inn. Often enough times, there were people who were either drunk enough to allow someone like Leyaria to stay there in their presence without much concern or risk, as well as there being people who might have been willing to offer her some sort of food or even have a job that might be listed in order to make some quick jewels.

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To a bit of Leyaria’s shock, there stood within the main part of the tavern appearing to be a small grouping of guards, dressed in the traditional robes of the guards who monitored and worked the streets of Magnolia, working to ensure the peace and maintain control. Amongst the group of the guards, there stood someone who stood out, the guard who was hailed through not only Magnolia but also a good amount of Fiore, Guard Captain Devon; a man who had served for years with honor and dedication, set to finish out his career and no longer worry about the fears and panic that so long harbored throughout the streets of the city.

Curious more than anything else as it was uncommon that a guard would appear within an inn within what looked at least to be an official capacity, as well as a guard who was not particularly keen on working with people who were regarded as commoners, like Leyaria was regarded, despite what power and control she had over her own abilities. For Guard Captain Devon to be here in Magnolia, within the inn of some sort of tavern in the middle of nowhere, it was very hard to believe that there was just a social call that had led to these guards arriving here. Rather, it was something in which had to have been there for a reason. Leyaria moved closer, trying as she was able to get a better listen as to what was going on, and while it was not quite clear what it might have been, there was little doubt that it was a serious matter, as the listening and words that were being uttered by the various men around was indicating much of the same thing, that whatever this job was, it was not one in which they were asking lightly, or assuming it was going to have been easy to accomplish.

Needless to say, Leyaria was left intrigued by all of this, as she moved even closer now, now it being tough to argue that she was not a part of this conversation, even though her party was only there to extend the role of a listener. She listened intently while a few others would also listen, though their investments were likely to be nothing compared to that of the young woman with the demonic possession afflicting her. For them, this was a simple proposition and nothing more. What they were going to do was questionable if any investment at all. More likely, by going about this sort of job in this manner was one that put people in far greater risk, assuming that they were going to end up causing far more problems than anything in which was worth it. Therefore, the best action that perhaps could have been taken in this case was that they simply listen on, and hope that the guards would be able to find someone who was going to go ahead and give them assistance.

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“So, I don’t believe I need to further address the concerns we have over something like this. There is no shortage of issues that could arise by a lack of action here, and I can hope that you now all understand as well that there are issues in which we might not be able to do anything about.” The guard explained, the voice and the tone of it all conveying the very same thing, that there was a huge sense of urgency throughout all of this. Some of the men who were around looked around and gave looks that seemed to convey that they agreed on the matter, that whatever this issue was, it was one that they could not afford to allow them to simply dismiss this. Leyaria however was still left out in dark, unsure of just what it was that they were all talking about.

“I’m sorry, but what is this about?” Leyaria asked, her tone showing that she was not looking to pick a fight or be lectured regarding how she might not belong either in a tavern or near a group of men who appeared to be far more talented and skilled in combat than she did at least on the surface. She wasn’t overwhelmingly worried about that, instead thinking that there was a reason that she had survived as long as she had, and if put in any of these situations, it would be far less likely that the others would be able to say the same.

Captain Devon seemed to believe the same, or at least his actions or rather inaction of removing Leyaria immediately indicated that he was either confident in her ability to some degree or otherwise in such a desperate situation that she running off to give some sort of warning was a far worse fate that could have been felt by the people and by extension as well, the guards that were stationed all throughout the region. Looking right at the woman, there was a small trace of there bing a smile upon his face, as if he had a better idea of just who she was than compared to what it might have been that the rest of the people may have believed that she was.

“Tell me. How familiar are you with cults? Namely, do you know of any cults within Magnolia, namely those that might be worshipping demons?” The way he said demons, it seemed to draw a look of fear amongst some of the men, but the way that he looked at Leyaria, it was as though he was conveying a message in itself. The Guard Captain knew of Leyaria, perhaps knew of the story surrounding her, and while he was not interested in turning Leyaria in, he might have thought differently if she was not going to go about helping them with this task. It wasn’t until Leyaria had realized this that she had also realized that there was no way out, and any chance of feigning ignorance just could not happen.

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Leyaria found herself utterly unable to get a goo deal of sleep in the previous night, even while the feeling of a warm bed was a nice luxury against the cold hard suffering on the streets that she had been left to deal with in recent memory. Even more than that, it was a luxury in which she was not paying for, one that was compliments of the guards who had effectively conscripted her into working for them knowing that there no way that she was going to be able to say no. The fact that she was a demon, and the fact that this guard was able to tell that she was a demon, it was enough for her to know that there was no way out. Hell, even the fact that there was some one in the Magic Council who was being kind enough to have allowed them to stay there without having to worry about any sort of charge for either the room or the meals in which Leyaria feasted upon. She loved every bit of it, though she also knew that with every trinket and offering that was made to her by the magic Council, there was the expectation and knowledge that it was going to end up being that she would have to do this job.

Even if she were to object, to feel as though she were being forced into all of this, there was no way out, not once she had put her head upon the warm pillow in her room that was all to herself. Once she bit down into the roast that had been personally delievered to her curtosy of the Magic Council in Magnolia, it was the point in which she sealed herself to service within the Magic Council, at least in this occasion, and to a degree, although fearful, she accepted the role that was bound to her. It did not make the night go any less quickly, make her believe any more in the morning that she just wished to sleep for longer and longer as possible, though as the sun came across her window, shining directly into her face, she knew that there was no way that she was going to e able to forever sit and wait for death to come and claim her eventually. But the thought, the idea of her giving the letters to those who she cared the most about, that was the thing which kept her moving forward. Using that as the motivation, she entered into the streets of the city of Magnolia, hoping that there was going to be someone who could provide her with some level of information regarding whomever this cult might have been, though right now there was nothing that was clear or apparent, other than the fact that nobody wanted to convey any sort of information to her, regardless if it seemed they knew anything or not. At least, that was how it was looking like it was going to be for the first few people before she finally caught a break.

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Person upon person had up to this point simply rejected Leyaria, regarding her as a random woman, albeit more than a few giving her glances to make her elieve that they may have had other motivations within their eyes as they exchanged looks with her. However, even in spite of this, they refused to provide any sort of information that might have been able to help her in searching for whatever this cult might have been. Hell, even the guard captain had been particularly vague with all of his information, preferring to give as little as possible, though that they may have been due in part to what was going on in the area of the tavern as she was given all the information. After all, if someone was going to make an effort to try to deny her with any sort of information or ortherwise try to impede and stop the Magic Council from going about their appropriate jobs and Leyaria as well in this case, it would make sense that they would try to let everyone know just what it was that was going on.

But by providing no information that could be used to link back towards who it was that they were looking for, it would reduce the risk and while people might have still wanted to go about stopping the Magic Council, they would be left unable to, given that there would be no reliable information, nor would there be any way for those who might have bene involved to know if it were actually a person who was trying to hinder the Magic Council or work for them. It worked out in their favor. It didn’t much matter for the first few of the people who Leyaria had attempted to ask about, but instead was met with a bunch of no answers that did nothing to give her any help. It was the fourth person who seemed to change her fortune.

The person asked questions, questions that Leyaria herself was thinking about asking in regards to this cult, though it was though he was the one interrogating than her. He was rather crafty, knowing that something was not quite riht, but he did not look at Leyaria as though she a member of the Magic Council, but instead someone who could understand their plight, as if maybe he could even tell that she was a demon too. Was it so obvious? Was she falling so grossly into that point of corruption. It made Leyaria worry, making her believe that maybe there was not going to be enough time for her to reach out to Oak Town, to find where Bianca might be to give her the letter. It caused her heart to drop slightly, though it was even in spite of that pain that she realized that she had found a lead with regards tot his cult as the man seemed to be willing to lead her right to them. Or at least, he was going to.

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She was to arrive later on that night to some location, a place in which she was not familiar. It was possible that it could have been a place in which was built recently, a lace that she was not that familiar with herself, though it was impossible to say entirely. At night, it would have been very easy for her to have missed this place, to have completely lost it and otherwise been left in a situation where without any sort of direction, they might not have been able to find out what was going on in the first place. A fear set over her as she looked on as the man who she had met with earlier came by, almost as though he was emerging from the shadows unbenknowst to what anyone might have expected. With a level of stealth and silence, he unlocked the door and began to lead Leyaria down a narrow pathway, one in which she was neither used to, nor did she suspect that there was within any of Magnolia in the first place.

It appeared as though it was carved out hastily and without much effort made towards making it look anything else than that of a hastily made tunnel, at least initially until she made it further and further down into the tunnel. Looking, she could see that it was certainly no small tunnel, but rather that of a large catacomb that had been constructed and fitted to serve as a particular cult headquarters. Whether it was the main one or not, it was impossible to say. But what was very clear was the fact that as Leyaria made her way further and further inside, almost to the point where she was looking face to face with the members that were congregated in the area, all of them appeared to have turned on her as though it was instinctive. They began to shout and rage, acting as though she was a monster, and maybe she was. Maybe they expected more out of her instead of being a woman. Was she to have been a demon? Was it wrong that she was a human? She gave no thought and instead ran out as quickly as able, making sure that she was going to be able to get out of there without any sort of regard or worry with what it might be that they would attempt to do to her. She knew her power and strength, and while there might have been greater numbers on their side than that of what she had, she was the demon after all, and the fact that they would have to run as quickly as able, only hoping in the time between when she would have gotten away that she would be able to get away and get her reward. After a short time, she thought that she had lost the cultists, and though it was going to be difficult, Leyaria was confident that there was going to be a reward waiting for her at the end of all of this, one that she had earned, and one that would put her closer towards her end goal.

[End]

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