Chapter 2 - A Daring Rescue, or two

I had missed a few of the pictures, so forgive me for not having them right away. I had to retake them. (The Burning Water picture of her dialogue was missed because the instant I tried to take the picture Katie was pulled into battle. :( )

We had found our target, Tezcat Threestar. He was cowering in front of the entrance and I was glad he hadn't be blown to bits by the hand-made explosives Xipli Tailbiter had mixed up.

 "Not a spirit," I said. "We're heroes!" I gave a thumbs up.

Tezcat looked at us curiously. "Not a spirit? Well, whatever you are, I hope you can help me. Our ancestors have risen from the grave, and they are hungry!"

"Hungry dead again?" muttered Sierra.

"Hey, don't knock their terms," I said. "I saw you playing Five Night's at Froakies and those clockwork animals that kept attacking you and ending your game seemed to be starving!" I chuckled.

"That's my little secret!" shouted Sierra, blushing.

Tezcat got a little perturbed. "I have barely been able to resist them. Do you think you could drive some Thunder Horn Zombies back to give me a respite?"

"Sure thing!" I said. "What could go wrong?"



"Me and my big mouth!" I frowned.

Yep, again the name is a misnomer; these are ICE-school, so good thing we finally got Mass Ice Prism! Actually, I was having Katie farm for animus to make house guests for her Villa, but these guys (who have 3590 HP each) ENJOY spamming Tower Shield so I had to use a weak Mystic Colossus to purge these banes on my life. X(

We finally told Tezcat of our success.

"First off, don't ever talk about my dad again," I snarled. "He may have been a stage magician but his magic was just as wonderful as my real deal!"

"Are you okay?" asked Sierra, confused.

I then realized I had mouthed off my dirty little secret and clammed up.

"Yes," said Sierra, picking up the slack. "The Quetzal reached a Marleybone scientist and word got to us so we protected it from Morganthe's bugs. We got the Spiral Key."

Tezcat let out a sigh of relief. "I did not believe Pacal's desperate plan would work, but my blood stirs with your news. How many of you are there?"

I frowned. He was clearly expecting an army of wizards like the Council of Light. "Well..."

Tezcat got disturbed. "Just... you? I see."

"We're sorry, but we are really powerful," assured Sierra.

Tezcat smiled and shook his head. "Mother Moon knows best, I suppose. Well, we must do what we can. And I cannot do much without my axe. My power is in my Volcanic Axe, but it was broken by Moon Skull Zombies. Please recover the Axe Pieces for me!"

"We'll be back in a flash," I said.

At least I could keep the promise this time. These ugly zombies were cake.

Moon Skull Zombies are Life-school and have 2590 HP each, so they are much easier - Katie can Mass Prism them to boost on them, but again, I was farming animus from them. The drops for the pieces are very low, however, so be wary that you might need to do several battles.

We found shards of pumice which we assumed were the pieces of Tezcat's weapon and brought them back without delay. This allowed him to leave the Cenote, and we quickly fled the stinking place too.

"I definitely agree," I grumbled. "When I die, I want to be cremated!"

"Hopefully that won't be too soon," murmured Sierra, who was spacing out again.

Tezcat growled. "The Shadow Queen sensed our ritual and tried to disrupt it. Her minions chased me into the Maw and sealed me in."

"Shadow Queen?" I said.

"That's a new moniker."

Sorry, had to reference this. I loved Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and someone had even made a sort of Yu-Gi-Oh Crossover with it on Fanfiction.net. ;)

"Talk to Pacal Redmask," said Tezcat. "We need a new plan!"

"So that's two down," I said. "Any idea where your third member is?"

Pacal sighed. "When the Shadow Queen struck at us, our third companion, Zaylin Reedwalker, was captured by her vile minions."

"Oh no!" cried Sierra. "Any idea where they took your pal?"

"A few people saw her being dragged into the lower chambers of the Pyramid of the Black Sun," said Pacal. "Can you enter the pyramid and rescue her?"

"Do you even need to ASK?" I said. "We're heading out now!"

We found the chambers Zaylin was being held in and busted into the place, fighting our way to her prison. She was a bit terrified of us at first, but I calmed her down.

"Trust me, we have no love of Morganthe," I said.

I missed the pics but you have to fight two battles before you get here - a group of two Thunder Horn Zombies and a group of two Moon Skull Zombies. You should have no problems with these guys since you had to fight a ton of them beforehand.

"I do not sense the black aura of the Shadow Queen's legions about you," said Zaylin. "Nor do I sense her evil magic. Are you... Magicians of Light?"

"Well, we are allies of the Council of Light, if that's what you mean," said Sierra, smiling. I pulled out the Sword of Kings to prove our good hearts. "We got your message and Pacal asked us to save you."

"You are!" gasped Zaylin. "Pacal sent you?" She sighed in relief. "Our summoning worked! By the Black Sun, I was sure I'd become a fossil in here!"

"Relax, you're going to be fine," I said. "Let me just bust the lock and we'll get you out of here!"

"I'm afraid that won't work, Magician," said Zaylin. "The Shadow Queen has enchanted this cage to ward off spells of light. You will need the key to unlock the door."

"And... where, praytell, is the key?" I asked.

"You'll need to duel Metzi Burning Water to get the key to my cage, she plots in the inner sanctum," said Zaylin.

"Okay," I said. "No problem! We'll get you out of there in a flash!"

Me and my big mouth, Part 2. :(

Luckily, Sierra got my fat out of the fire with her amazing new spell which she told me about a while back. Cyrus sent her to Azteca to get the Celestial Calendar, which really kicks A! ^_^

Unfortunately, now that the focus has shifted from Sierra to Katie, I can't detail the quest to get the last spell from your Ravenwood professor for Myth. Shame, it's an epic tale. Celestial Calendar not only does a lot of damage, but it also steals a pip from your enemy, great if you are need of  pips. And yes, I am not hiding the fact that Sierra also was using Shadow Strike(which she got from Khrysalis a long time ago when I trying to revive her blog) to boost its damage.

Also, I needed its piercing properties. Shadow Shrike transforms you in a shadow creature that gets a 10% damage boost and a 50% pierce rate, which means that Metzi's Tower Shields are ineffective. Metzi is the first enemy you'll meet that has a secondary school and can use her power pips in it. She is a Storm boss with 14490 HP and has a secondary school of Ice, so she'll spam Ice Wyvern and Blizzard as well as Tower Shield, which makes this fight a piece of dino dung. X( (It didn't help that the servers crashed midway through the battle and I had to spam potions to recover.)

"Here, yeah," I said, fitting the key into the lock. It snapped open and the door flew wide. Zaylin stumbled out like a newborn babe coming from her mother's womb. (Sorry, I didn't mean to be gross.)

"Are you okay?" asked Sierra.

"I am fine, just need to stretch my legs," groaned Zaylin. "I will returrn to the Zocolo and speak to you and Pacal Redmask there." She stretched her body and left.

Pacal was impressed by our rescue effort.

"No problem," I said sheepishly. "But now we need to figure out what the hell Morgie's up to."


"Go speak to Zaylin then," said Pacal. "And see what she saw about the Shadow." He sighed deeply. "When the Shadow Queen arrived in Azteca, none of us were prepared for the depths of her ambitions."

"I understand," said Sierra. "Morganthe is a chaotic creature, you can't prepare for her ambushes."

Zaylin had a lot to say and we couldn't get a word in.

"The Black Sun Necromancers are charged with preparing our dead for burial," said Zaylin. "But now they have fallen to the corruption! Who knows what secrets they gave to the Shadow Queen?"

"They must be responsible for raising these undead en masse," said Sierra. "We need to stop them."

"You'll need to investigate the central chamber of the Pyramid of the Black Sun to learn what she has has up her sleeve," said Zaylin. "Go search the Pyramid. You'll have to get permission from the King's Guard, Acesta Hanging Moss."

"We're on it," said Sierra. She looked up at the sky again and I heard her mutter...

"I'll save you, I swear."

[To be continued...]

Chapter 1 - Azteca: The Beginning

Sierra greeted me with a frown at the Heart of Bartleby. "What's wrong?"

"Uh... nothing," she said, but I was a tad suspicious. "Let's go."

"What about Grace?"

"She... has other business, I told her I'll take care of you." She gave a false smile, which bothered me even more. "Come on."

"Don't worry, we'll stop Morgie if she's here!" I said.

Sierra gasped.

"Did I... say something bad?"

"N-No," she replied, shaking her head. "It's nothing." She let me open the door into Azteca.


I was hit with waves of tropical heat and humidity. Good thing my clothes are enchanted to stay clean and cool or I would have sweated like a dog! I saw a parrot-dude in exotic headwear, gripping a staff tightly and with a look of worry. I beelined to him.

"Excuse me," I said.

He leapt and turned, startled to see me and Sierra. He sighed in relief.

"If you mean you were going to become cooked bird, trust me, I'm as cool as they come." I chuckled at my own humor.

"I am Pacal Redmask," he began.

"Good, we were looking for you!" said Sierra, showing him the tattered message she had held on to.

He gasped. "Thank Mother Moon you came, young Magicians! I am one of the three mystics who wove the spells that guided our messenger to you."

"You mean, the Quetzal?" said Sierra, smiling. "It's okay. My professor is taking good care of it. My name is Sierra, practicer of Myth and this is Katie, my charge. She is a master of Ice Magic."

"Thank goodness it is safe," sighed the parrot mystic, leaning on his staff in support. I saw he was very tired. "But as you can see, I stand alone at the edge of the City of Three Winds. My fellows, Tezcat Threestar and Zaylin Reedwalker, are lost. My allies are gone!"

"There's still hope," I said. "Don't count them out. If they're captured, we can save them. Tell us everything you can about the situation."

He smiled a sad smile, then sighed again. "The comet Xibalba brought the Shadow Queen to Azteca, and she laid waste with her Umbra Legion."

"We're already one step behind," groaned Sierra.

"We can catch up," I said with a sneer. "I have a personal bone to pick with that witch!"

"I beg your help," said Pacal. "Defeat the Crazed Thunder Horns in the City of Three Points, beyond the Zocolo, to learn what has happened to Tezcat Threestar!"

"We're on it," I said, clicking my fingers with a grin. "You stay here in safety and we'll fetch you when we find out the skinny."

He looked at me oddly.

"She means when we get the information," sighed Sierra.

We managed to find the Prospector here, looking for tiny UFOs that were hiding in the world. Not only that, but Eloise(who had kindly directed me to a rocksmith to help me learn about jewel socketing back in Wizard City) asked me a favor - Marleybone needed some samples of rare exotic flowers in Azteca. Actually, these quests won't activate until you complete the first quest and Pacal moves into the Zocolo. I just showed this show early. Also, I took this picture before Katie reached Avalon so forgive her wand here.

Considering the giant honking comet hovering over the city, I had a feeling that those flowers would be one of the few survivors if we didn't stop Morganthe.

 

Despite the name, Crazed Thunder Horns are actually from the Fire School and have 2680 HP. The mob fights are going to take longer, although Katie finds them no threat - a good buff Snow Angel and Sierra's special sauce makes them crumple in defeat. ;)

"Tell me where Threestar is!" I demanded from one of the defeated tritop warriors.

"Tezcat Threestar?" snorted the defeated warrior. "Shadows chased him down into the Maw!"

We hurried back to Pacal who paled(if you could see behind his feathers) in horror.

"The Hungry Dead?" I asked, not liking where this was going. I had a feeling I know what these "hungry dead" were in actuality.

"When the comet Xibalba appeared in the sky ten cycles past, the Aztecosaur oracles pronounced doom," explained Pacal. "They fled Azteca to hide underground where we bury our dead. The Maw is the entrance to our tombs, the caverns known as the Cenote."

"Oh gross," I muttered.

"But when the Shadow Queen appeared in Azteca, our dead stirred... and they were hungry!"

Sierra gaped. "The Hungry Dead... are undead! But the last time I dealt with undead was..."

"Come," said Pacal. "Let us speak closer to the city. Meet me in the Zocolo proper."

He fluttered out of the caves and we quickly followed him back into the outskirts of the city. The comet was not lightening my mood.


We found Pacal standing near a broken statue. The place had clearly seen better days.

"Where is she?" I demanded. "Where's Morganthe?"

"Then we shake them down and force them to fess up," said Sierra.

"It is crucial that we find Tezcat Threestar down in the Cenote," said Pacal. "And make sure he is safe. You can get there through the Maw."

"Okay, we'll find our way there," I said. I then saw Sierra spacing out. "Hey, sis! You okay?"

"Yeah... I am... fine..." murmured Sierra, but I had a feeling she was off in her own little world.

I thought I'd give you a little spoiler on what Azteca's fate is. ;)

Unfortunately, Morganthe must have seen us coming and made it hard for us as the Maw was filled with rubble. I growled in rage, having a bad feeling about this. Had I known this was one of her evil plans to stall us, I would have blown the blasted thing open myself. Sadly, ice magic is not the best for explosive power.

"Come on," said Sierra. "We'd better tell Pacal the situation."

"Blocked off?" cried Pacal. "What a dastardly diversion!"

If only we had known how prophetic that statement was...

"Can we find something to blow the rubble to dust?" I asked politely. "Ice magic isn't known for... well, you know... making things go boom."

He rubbed his feathered chin, then got an idea. "Find the alchemist Xipli Tailbiter in Three Points. He is a bit... different, but he might have a good idea for clearing the path."

Boy, was this guy different indeed! I would have fled screaming if Sierra hadn't reminded me we needed his help.

"You need to get through the rubble to rescue Tezcat Threestar?" laughed the tritops. "Heh heh heh, I can perhaps help you with that!"

I needed an aspirin, stat. :(

"If you can help me gather some ingredients," said Xipli. "I can make you a strong concoction. Go to Lolomilie Smoke Eye and ask for Salt of Stone. Then Corica Sweet Chile, for sulfur. And charcoal from Potake White Ash."

"What the heck?" I said. "What sort of names are those? Can you at least give us directions?"

 

 

He did and it was quite hard to deal with these people. Potake said that the Crazed Thunder Horns had made her drop the pieces of cooked wood, so we had to pick it up off of the ground, and we had to beat the stuffing out of MORE of those goons to get the Sulfur that had been stolen from Corica.

 

Xipli was true to his word... that WAS a strong concoction, PEEEEYUUUU!!! @_@ But Sierra lit the fuse and we ducked and covered as the rubble shattered under the massive explosion that left a foul-smelling cloud.

"Is anyone there?" said a voice from inside.

We found our man, er, dinosaur. Little did we know that this was only the beginning of a tragedy that would end in tears and self-depredation...

[To be continued...]

Katie's Adventures Up to Now

I apologize if some of the pictures are inconsistent in outfits - I took a few of the pictures much earlier before I stitched Grace's and Sierra's current outfits. :(

Morganthe's evil laughter rang in my ears even as I was showing Katie my home world, Zafaria. I met up with my old mentor, Inyanga Whitestripes, and I told him my concerns.

"Yes, it is as I feared, mma," said Rra Whitestripes. "The Umbra's dark presence is regathering at Mirror Lake. You may need to protect your charge. Even now the old demons have returned; Nergal the Burning Lion has been seen in the Savannah and is bringing back the Fire Lion Ravagers.

I shuddered in terror. "Ice melts under Burning Fire. I will do my best."

 

Katie told me she had been gotten hooked(no pun intended) on fishing and had gotten some interesting catches, including some shimmering scales from a strange creature...

She also started getting addicted to the silver chest games. "I need to find these magic keys," she stammered. "They're very important, I know it!"

Yep, the new update is out and with it the Revered Crafting and its reagents, the Shining Scales and Shocked Keys. I am going to get as many as possible...

Because I am a filthy cheater. Yep, I managed to complete the Zafaria crafting quest very easily(Katie had a laughably large amount of Sunstones thanks to feeding her pets) and I had Grace carry her to Ozotomeca in Azteca and complete that quest too. So I have the first wizard who actually got to the Khtysalis crafter before she even left Baobab. ;)

 

We got a bit distracted by the Immortals - they wanted Katie to fight Rra Earth-Shaker. I helped her out and I confronted Poseidon again but we got through it well enough and Katie became a Silver Archon alongside me and my friends.

I know Atlantea is the worst place to farm for gear, but when all you get is the crappy Poseidon's helmet, you know that the sea god stinks like rotten fish. Worse, one of the other players cast Feint on Poseidon like a n00b, trigger the Dispel Ward cheat. :(

Yes, this is the wrong picture. I didn't have a pic of the first boss in Mirror Lake. :(

With that out of the way, I helped Katie get through Zafaria and we reached Mirror Lake, only to find that Tse-Tse Snaketail was back and ready to stop us. We brought him down...

And found Morganthe at the lake altar again, mocking us. "So you came, ha ha ha."

"Okay," said Katie with a sneer. "I'm here as you asked! What is your big deal?"

"You ladies should go home and hide in your bed sheets," cackled Morganthe, stroking her pet spider. "You cannot stop what is to come. I will destroy Wizard City and rewrite it to my liking!"

"What have you got against Ravenwood, you harlot?" demanded Katie.


"You do not know what I had gone through, brat!" hissed Morganthe. "I was a student like you, I could have graduated... but no, Ambrose... well, I've got to go, my revenge is nearly complete, thanks to my old teacher... I have you to thank for that, Grace. You and your little girl group."

"What?" I gasped. "What do you mean?!"

"You'll find out soon enough... HA HA HA!!!!" And with that, she vanished and left us with more spiders to fight. Thankfully we had some good strong allies.

I was confused. What did she mean by possible graduation? There was only one way you left Ravenwood without graduation... well, two; you quit the school willingly or were kicked out, and neither way ended with good blood towards Ambrose and his academy, so I deduced that was what happened to Morganthe. But why did she leave Ravenwood on bad terms? Another mystery which I would not learn about until much later, sadly.

The next day, I learned in terrified horror that Morganthe had attacked Katie in Ambrose's office like she had before with me. Before Ambrose banished her again, she threw a sword at Katie's feet with a wicked laugh and Katie showed it to me, making my blood run colder than Ymir...

The Sword of Kings. Christina was... her prisoner.

"As she was being sent away again," said Katie. "She said this... You and your Storm pal which my Weavers had kidnapped back in Zafaria will be joining her in the Shadow--she was about to end that with a word but didn't get it off in time."

 

"So I headed off to Avalon and met King Artorius, helped him out, and he was so impressed that he made me a Knight of the Silver Rose!" She beamed in glee. "Well, actually I had to go through the squireship and all that, but my ice magic really made those froudlings cower! And I had help." She winked and I wondered who was responsible. "I prayed at all the shrines to my patron guardian angel that I could save Christina and meet her in person! After all, she was the keystone of your group!"

"We need to save Mma Dawnblade," I said solemnly. "We must locate this shadowy place where she's being held. And the only thing we can do right now is explore Rra Ambrose's home world and find out if she had been messing up that place as well."

"Cool, I remember my mom telling me stories about King Artorius!" said Katie. "I can't wait to see!"

I visited the Knights of the Silver Rose and showed the sword to its former owner, King Artorius.

"Yes, that is the Sword of Kings," he said. "Recently the froudlings have risen up again, along with the dragons, and only your brave friend Katherine was strong enough to send them back with your absence. I fear that Morganthe is to blame. She and her brother have had nothing but power on their minds like the clan of vipers and scorpions they are! With Mallory seeking my throne and her sister seeking Ambrose's magic, I knew they would curse my kingdom! While Sir Mallory has now lost his life and his name as the Nameless Knight, I fear that his sister is becoming even more dangerous with time. Therefore, I shall give you a blessing. The Sword of Kings connects you with your friends and therefore I will give you a means to call my spirit into battle if need be. While I am still unable to fight directly, as much as I would love to resurrect the Council of Light and bring that witch down, I can at least give you more power to confront Morganthe when the time comes."

I bowed. "Thank you, Rra Artorius. If my daddy were alive, he'd be proud of me."

"Keep the Sword of Kings safe," said Gwendolyn. "I fear this is only the beginning of the darkness to come, and you will need all of the help you can get."

The fact that you can ride mounts in the final part of the Keep is hilarious. XD

I helped to clear out the remaining evil dragons and goblins in Avalon, watched Katie get a place of honor in the Keep of Ganelon, then visited Halley and checked his observatory... it was as I had feared, the dark comet that had loomed over Azteca was getting closer.

As we left the library, I saw her. My friend. Sierra.

"Mma!" cried my secretary in glee. "You're okay! We thought that witch had captured you!"

She shook her head sadly. "I am fine, but Christina..."

"We'll save her," I said. "Together."

Just then, she frowned. "Sorry."

Then she grabbed me and I felt the teleport...

And were were in her dorm room. Somehow Sierra had changed her look yet again and was holding a special staff which glowed with an eerie light. "What is the meaning of this, Mma?" I asked in shock.

"I'm sorry, Grace, I know we're best friends... but..." She sighed. "I cannot let you leave this place."

I was shocked. "You're making me your prisoner? Why?"

"Yeah, if Rra Ambrose finds out that you're doing this..." Zoey growled. "He'll..."

"Don't worry, you only need to stay here until I stop Morganthe in Azteca," said Sierra with a cold tone in her voice. "I cannot let you go to Azteca. I will not let you or Katie risk your lives for my sake. I fear what Morganthe is up to is far beyond your ken."

"What are you talking about?" I asked softly. "I thought we were..."

"We ARE friends, we still are," said Sierra. "That is why I am locking you up in my dorm room, because I can't let another of my friends get hurt." She summoned a Gobbler. "Not the most polite guardian but he's good in the job. Babbler, you stay here and don't let this girl or her mermaid leave. Go fetch food for her from time to time. Maybe some books to keep her busy."

"Good guard do gob gob for pretty pink pixie!" burbled the Gobbler, who saluted. He cracked his knuckles loudly to signify that I wouldn't get by him easily.

"You think this will work, pink-hair?" laughed Zoey. "We can teleport! Mma, show her."

I tried to... but screamed and clutched my head.

"This staff was given to me by Ambrose himself as recognition of my skill as an Exalted Conjurer," said Sierra. But I saw something more terrifying in my friend's eyes... no, my FORMER friend's eyes. Darkness, the same sort of darkness that clutched Morganthe's black heart. "It allows me to put up a special ward that punishes and disables the usual teleport. Grace, Zoey, I am so sorry I must do this, but it's for your own good. If you found out what I discovered..."

"You were in Azteca?" I gasped. "I had been there! Morganthe said you were her prisoners! Where is Mma Dawnblade?! What is wrong with you?! That magic... it's..."

"Yes, I have the power of Shadow now," sighed Sierra. "When Sailor Wizard Mercury gave me that vision showing her Shadow Magic, she showed my fate... to be a dabbler in Shadow. I am sorry, but I had no choice, we must fight Shadow with Shadow." She heaved a sob. "Morganthe ambushed us and dragged us to her Shadow Palace. She tortured us with our worst nightmares and Christina broke and talked. She said you were joining us but later we heard that an Ice Wizard talked back to her and she backed off. Christina used what was left of her sanity to help me escape the cell but the Goliaths chased me through the halls... and then a strange trance came over me and I found myself channeling the Shadows... I destroyed them utterly. Grace, I don't want you to become cursed with Shadow too. I must fight this battle alone."

"Alone?" said Zoey. "You are crazy!"

She sighed and teleported away with a word, leaving me in this room with a mean smelly Gobbler.

I was curious. What was Sierra hiding, and what was she going to do to Ravenpetal? I couldn't escape to warn Katie... but I would find a way to eventually. After all, I did not become the #1 Lady Detective in Ravenwood by giving up.

And if Sierra was going to hunt down and kidnap Katie like she did me and had walked down the same path of darkness that led to serving Morganthe, Katie was in danger. I had to find a way to warn her, but there was no way to get a message out... except by telling the Gobbler, and I had a feeling he would refuse my favor, as he was loyal to Sierra. How did Sierra get a Gobbler to serve her anyways? This is another mystery I must solve.

[To begin soon...]

(And thus I've written out Grace, for now. Sierra's Gobbler guard is a housing guest I got from the Ghulture's Hoard pack. Sierra's new wand is also great luck - I pulled the Headmaster's Staff of Zeal, the Level 100 Life Wand, from my second pull of the Professor's Hoard Pack. Sierra's hair has a new strength, I got the Kan Davasi Victor's Hood from the Malistaire second-chance chest after spending 1500 Crowns on it so that's upgraded Sierra's power a bit.)

(Needless to say, Sierra's second visit to Malistaire the Undying was NOT fun - one of the wizards decided to be AFK and the Ice and Fire wizards were all I had in terms of allies. I also missed the Doom and Gloom trick to cut Shadow Malistaire's healing so we had to chew through all of his HP which is a long boring process when you cannot use Feints.) But... 

Sierra and Christina are no longer the only ones to have Shadow-touched spells anymore, thanks to a vicious speedrun of Khrysalis. ;)