Galactic High

“So do we have any idea who that was?” Jack asked worriedly as Elysandra led the group towards the stone steps leading to the inner shrine. “And are the River Giants dead?”

“If they were still there when they left, most likely.” Nika grimaced. “Though the comms unit over there was working and pinged as the Corvin one, so it’s possible they fixed it and organised transport while we were hiking. I know they promised to keep in touch, but I wouldn’t hang around the site for long if I was them.”

It’s good to have hope. Chiyo nodded. But we just don’t know.

“It’s gotta be the assholes from Cypherport wanting a Round 2 comeback, right?” Sephy asked them. “I thought we’d fucked them up, but maybe not enough?”

“It’s possible if their Lictor is alive, but I think it’s unlikely since they won’t have the numbers.” Alora shook her head. “They knew we were meeting the River Giants, so it’s also possible they found out where we were heading and sold the information to another bounty group.”

Or it could be one of the many others we know are after us, Chiyo added. No matter who it is, we’re in no position to face them.

“Sephy, how secure was that connection?” Nika asked.

“Too weak for them to do a direct trace.” The Skritta shook her head. “But if they tracked us to the Outpost…”

“Then it’s all the more important that you return to Naganai and alert Kaldra to what happened here as soon as you can,” Elysandra interrupted, stopping and turning around to look at them. “I will use my powers to transport you back.”

“You should come with us,” Alora told Elysandra. “I have no doubt this threat will return at some point and now you’ll have time to perform a closing ritual.”

“I…no.” Elysanda shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Jack asked. “Is this really worth your life?”

“Don’t lecture me!” The druid snapped, then sighed, holding out her hand. “I apologise. I know you mean well, but my Circle gave their lives to defend this place. I will not abandon it. I have written several letters that I would like you to deliver for me. One to the Temple of Hope where the Nurturing Mother has loyal worshipers, one to an influential Circle of Greenwardens I know is still active, and one to Kaldra.”

“Of course we will deliver them for you.” Alora nodded, and Elysandra handed the Eladrie the letters in question, with the letter for her son being noticeably thicker. It was clear Elysandra had been busy while they slept.

“Thank you.” Elysandra smiled, and bowed her head in silence for a few moments. “Before I send you back, I must show you something. It’s important.”

“We understand,” Alora answered patiently, giving a few of the others a stern look at a few eyerolls. “Please lead on.”

The druid led the group up the stone steps and placed her hand on the stone door at the top, the magic parting it without resistance. She led them through a series of overgrown archways, each one becoming more ornate as they moved deeper into the heart of the shrine, and walking through the last revealed a breathtaking sight.

The entire clearing they emerged into was bathed in soft, natural light that seemed to mainly glow from the huge, ancient, well-kept tree standing majestically in the centre of it all. Its massive branches extended outwards, casting a peaceful shade over the sacred space with wood that brightly shimmered, almost as if it were woven with threads of silver.

“Wow, this is what you were protecting?” Jack asked rhetorically, in awe as he stared at the massive tree that had likely lived for untold millenia. He remembered seeing the Oracle for the first time, and wondered if this tree were similar, but he sensed that rather than the alien presence of the sentient tree, the power he felt here was the pure, natural majesty of a great feat of nature itself. Not sentient but…something else.

Look to the ground… Chiyo told them all, and as they did, they spotted countless tiny statuettes laying in the shade of the great tree. Looking at the closest one Jack could see some kind of bird with wings, carved with meticulous care, and looking at the others he realised that all of them depicted the likeness of various animals, some of which even looked familiar to him.

At the base of each statuette was a small, magical candle, the soft flames of each not flickering in the breeze, but instead burning steadily and peacefully. Though there were many of these statuettes, they had all been arranged in such harmony that there was no clutter, with a clear path that spiralled around the tree, ending with a set of steps that led up to its trunk.

“Elysandra?” Alora asked softly as without a word the druid led them along the winding path. “What are the little statues for?”

Elyranda walked slowly down the edge of the path with a quiet grace, waving her hand towards the statuettes, the candles glowing slightly brighter with the movement.

“I have walked in the light of the Nurturing Mother since I could walk. Elphil, with her loving grace, shelters and protects us all, and I am honoured to aid her with all my power, to protect and nurture the children that need it the most. That is why I have sworn to protect this place.”

“These statuettes,” the druid continued, her voice a soft whisper that seemed to carry effortlessly through the sacred air, “are for the purest souls, the littlest souls, the weakest souls. Each lit candle holds the soul of an unborn child that passed before their life began. Our sacred duty is to protect them, and strengthen them for a second chance of life in the Great Cycle.”

“Oh…” Nika gasped under her breath, a sentiment shared by the others, who now knew exactly why Elysandra was so determined to defend this place.

Elysandra walked among the statuettes as she spoke, her fingers brushing gently across the unlit candles as if tending to them, offering a silent prayer with each touch. “Those candles that are unlit are for the spirits who have either already returned to the cycle or are yet to come. In time, each spirit here will rejoin the world, born anew and given another chance. But until then, they rest in the care of the Nurturing Mother.”

She stopped before a particularly ornate statuette depicting a small alien creature with folded wings, its eyes closed in peaceful slumber, before turning back to face the group fully, her expression serious but compassionate. “This is a place of both mourning and hope, and I cannot simply leave. I will lay down everything I have to protect this place and the little angels residing within.”

But a closing ritual…

“Is possible, and I have no doubt that the Nurturing Mother will shelter the little angels if we were left with no other choice and all hope becomes lost.” Elysandra nodded. “But…there’s something else.”

The group followed Elysandra in silence as they wound around the path, pondering the druid’s words about the statuettes and just why this place was so sacred. But as they finally climbed the ancient stone steps to the base of the tree, they spotted something different.

Sitting at the base of the tree, leaning against its ancient trunk, was the obscured figure of a brown-robed druid, their hood drawn up and their head bowed as though in deep meditation. But there was something off, something eerie in the stillness of the figure. No movement, no breath disturbed the quiet. The air around them seemed colder, as though time itself had forgotten this place.

"This," Elysandra began softly as she bent down to gently grab the hood and pull it up, "is where I died…"

The group’s eyes widened in confusion at that, looking between Elysandra and the identical face of the corpse in shock. Jack blinked as if to clear his vision. “Wait…what do you mean?” He asked, his voice rough from the duality of his exhaustion and illness, coupled with fresh alarm.

Elysandra turned to face them, her expression calm, though her eyes carried the weight of her revelation. “I died in this very spot in the aftermath of the first attack. I told you I would give everything to protect this place, and at the time, I thought I did. I fought to my fullest, obliterating any who entered this clearing and protecting the little angels. My efforts meant we held, but it also mortally wounded me. In my last moments I made my way here and sat down at my charge, where my body sits now.”

“What happened?” Alora asked. “How are you still talking to us?”

“You’ve seen that I am a Druid of some skill,” Elysandra told them, without a hint of arrogance. “And my duty bound me to this place….

I have heard of such a phenomenon! Chiyo spoke up. You became a Gnarl!

“Yes.” Elysandra nodded sadly. “I was reborn, not in body but as a guardian spirit, tied to this sacred place.” She gestured to her own form. “What you see before you now is not flesh and blood, but a part of the shrine itself. I protect the tree, the souls that rest here, and now, I protect you while you’re here.”

“Damn, that’s how you’ve held out for so long without resting!” Sephy spoke up. “I was wondering how you were able to pull it off! So you’re like a Lich but a Druid?”

“Sephy!” Alora scolded the Skritta.

Elsandra chuckled. “If you want to put it like that, sure. But thankfully no evil or undead monstrosities to be found here, nor the fear of death. Once nature has determined that my purpose is fulfilled, I shall simply fade away and return to the Great Cycle in the embrace of the Nurturing Mother.”

“Does it…hurt?” Nika asked. “To be tethered like this? I guess that’s why you’ve said no to coming with us…”

Elysandra smiled softly, a small glimmer of peace in her eyes as she slowly bent down to take something from around the neck of her body, then raised the hood of her robes to hide her face. “No, there is no pain, but fulfilment. Though I have regrets, there is no greater honour than protecting life in its most fragile forms. This is where I belong.”

She raised her hand towards Alora, holding the bone pendant for the Eladrie to take. “Take this. It belongs to Kaldra, with the letter.”

“We will,” Alora agreed, taking the pendant and putting it in a pocket. “Will the letter tell him about what you just showed us?”

“It will tell him everything.” Elysandra nodded. “You were right. I was too set in my ways when I should have been proud of him. Now, everybody hold hands tightly, and one of you will need to hold on to your animal friend or have him close at hand.”

“I’ve got him,” Nika confirmed as she tightly wrapped her tail around Dante’s waist. The ‘dog’ for his part simply looked up at the Kizun in mild confusion.

“Um…” Jack began, with much more confusion than Dante. “What’s happening here?”

“I’m going to Treewalk you back to the city,” Elysandra explained as she placed her palm on the tree. “It’s a method of teleportation that will send you through the roots of the earth to a location I’ve been to before, I just need to sense the right one…”

“Through the earth? That sounds rough!” Sephy retorted, only half-jokingly.

I imagine it will be fine. Chiyo sighed, linking hands with the Skritta. If it gets us out of here fast and back to safety, I don’t care how it feels!

“Those on the end of the chain, place your palm on the tree,” Elysandra told them, before looking at them. “You have truly done a great service here today, I hope you know that.”

“We certainly feel it, Elysandra!” Alora told her with humor as she placed one of her palms against the tree, with Chiyo doing the same on the other side.

“Well, at least you’ll be in the city where you can recover.” The druid nodded before her face grew serious. “One thing before you go. I know you’ve obviously interacted with Corvin Enterprises through your dealing with Kaldra…”

“Yep,” Nika confirmed with a head nod.

“Be very careful around them,” Elysandra told them with a firm look. “And never, ever trust them. Farewell friends…”

With a final nod, Elysandra whispered a series of words in a language none of them recognized, and the tree responded. A pulse of light surged through its veins, spreading from the trunk down to the exposed roots in streams of silver. For a moment, the air around them felt thick, as if the atmosphere itself was folding inward, closing in on them.

Suddenly, they felt a sharp tug, as though they were somehow being yanked into the tree. Jack felt like he was flung into space as he saw a dizzying blur of brown, yellow and green spinning around them like a storm as they were pulled back and forth, folded and twisted as they travelled to wherever the druid had sent them, like they were caught in a current that carried them faster than their minds could comprehend.

For several brief, heart-pounding seconds, the sensation of their bodies being weightless washed over them as they were swept through the forest’s ancient pathways, their very essence pulled through the interconnected roots and branches…

And then with a snap, the group reappeared.

The sensation felt like being dropped from a great height, despite the fact that their feet were solidly planted on the ground, with everyone feeling a press as their bodies reoriented with reality. The first reaction after that came from Jack, whose face turned a violent shade of red as he doubled over, retching violently onto the grass. Sephy followed, gasping and clutching her stomach as she fought back the sense of nausea. Nika and Chiyo fared little better, though curiously Alora looked completely fine.

“Gods, what the hell was that!?” Nika breathed heavily, her face pale as she leaned against a nearby tree for support. “I am never doing that shit again!”

“It can be unsettling for those not accustomed to it.” Alora shrugged, remembering her experiences with it from her early childhood in the Eladrie Nations. “But Treewalking is a safe method of travel…mostly.”

If that’s safe, I’d hate to see dangerous! Chiyo told the Eladrie as she swayed from side to side, as her focus and concentration were broken.

“Uh…guys!” Sephy spoke up in alarm as she checked her commlink. “We should get out of here! Like right fucking now!”

“What? Why?” Alora asked. “Where are we?”

“We’re slam-bang in the middle of Corvin territory!” The Skritta snapped back in a panic, pointing at their location on the map app of her commlink.

“I guess Elysandra being away from the city for so long hasn’t helped,” Jack grunted as he looked around.

They stood in a carefully manicured park, which was a stark contrast to the ancient, natural shrine they had just left behind. The tree they had teleported to was large and well cared-for, with not a blemish to be seen along its bark. They were surrounded by neatly trimmed bushes and artificially maintained flower beds which bloomed with vivid, unnatural colours that reminded Jack a little of a hedge maze from some Victorian period drama, though this one was just for show as there were many easily spotted exits they could use.

“Chiyo, anybody nearby?” Nika asked the Ilithii, who shook her head.

No, and though I don’t see any cameras, I agree with Sephy, Chiyo pointed out. We should move before a drone flags us, and I recommend we disguise ourselves before one does!

In half a minute, using Broaches of Disguise or their own abilities, the group had disguised themselves as a group of Corvin Enterprises office workers off the clock, looking as mundane as possible to the untrained eye.

“Let’s move,” Alora told them as she critically inspected all of them. “Though we should still avoid others as much as we can.

Acting as casually as they could, they reached the gate of the park, which caused a brief panic as it was locked, though it was not a problem for Sephy to discreetly bypass. They left the park behind and subtly emerged onto the street where nobody seemed to be paying any attention to them. They exchanged a brief look of relief, but the tension didn’t fully lift. Though they had made it out unseen, they were still deep in Corvin territory.

“Sephy, quickest way home if you please…” Alora whispered to the Skritta as they walked along the street like nothing was wrong, turning a corner away from the bulk of the crowd.

Suddenly, Alora’s commlink buzzed, and the Eladrie looked down in surprise at who was calling. Sephy had bricked their personal comms for the duration of the job for security, only leaving a burner number.

“Blast! It’s Kaldra!” Alora cursed. “I know we need to speak to him and get paid, but we’re in no condition for a meeting!”

“Just bullshit him, say we’re still out there?” Jack suggested.

He’s calling us, just let him talk and hear him out, Chiyo countered.

Alora answered the call, while Sephy cloned the speaker to each of the others.

“Good afternoon.” The cool, calm voice of their client came out clearly over the comms. “I take it you have a very good reason for returning ahead of schedule?”

Alora bit back a curse, but carried on as calmly as she could.

“I can confirm a successful mission, we are ready for debrief and payment.”

“Understood,” their client retorted, not showing any hint of surprise in his tone. “Providing coordinates for a meeting. Once you’ve confirmed, we can meet there in three hours, and I’ll ensure you aren’t bothered on your way there.”

Alora quickly looked to Sephy, who brought up the city map to check, zooming in to reveal a small cafe on the edge of Corvin Territory.

“Confirmed, we shall meet you there,” Alora confirmed, and the phone hung up.

“Motherfucker…” Jack muttered under his breath.

It’s a powerplay, that tree must have been connected to Kaldra somehow. Chiyo shrugged. Likely why Elysandra transported us there.

“She could have told us…” Nika snorted, before her expression turned serious. “Still, keep your guard up. This isn’t a position we want to be in.”

“Yeah…” Sephy added with a groan. “Plus the planned route is going to take us almost 3 hours through the city to get there!”

“Damnit!” Alora cursed. “We’d better move!”

*****

“Jack, you’re looking even worse…” Alora noted, able to see the Human’s paler-than-usual complexion through his mundane intern disguise.

“I’ll be fine-” Jack began, before Nika twatted him playfully with her tail.

“You’re banned from saying that until you’re fixed up and wrapped up in something or someone warm!” The Kizun told him with a slight chuckle.

“Fine.” Jack chuckled weakly, knowing Nika was right. “I’ll be fine enough. Let’s get this done.”

“Location is close to an exit, doesn’t seem like he’d betray us,” Sephy whispered to the others as the foot traffic in general seemed to die down. Like their first meeting with their client, it appeared that the meeting spot was chosen for being quiet.

Don’t get complacent! Chiyo warned. But I agree with you here. Corvin Enterprises are known to have betrayed Runners, but that’s usually only if it directly benefits them or if the Runners fail badly or pissed them off. We’re not meeting that criteria.

“Yeah, it’s not as bad as Nyteskai…” Alora agreed. “But still, this is no joke. Keep your heads in the game, we’re almost done!”

When the group rounded the corner, they spotted the small café, with three figures sitting patiently waiting for them in the distance, not making a show of having noticed them as they remained hidden.

No other lifesigns detected, Chiyo confirmed. Same plan as last time?

“Yes,” Alora confirmed. “You, Sephy and Nika on overwatch. Jack and Dante with me.”

“Woof!” Dante barked quietly in agreement as they all scattered.

Cautiously walking up behind Alora, Jack saw the three figures more clearly. Their client, Kaldra sat calmly, sipping from a small, elegant cup as if they had no care in the world, once again dressed in his druidic robes.

Flanking him on one side was a very thin, small runt of a man in dark, ornate magical robes that screamed ‘Wizard’ to Jack, with a scarf covering the lower half of their face. They weren’t partaking of any food or drink, instead holding onto a magical staff with pale, almost translucent bony fingers.

On the other side was a woman with long curly hair elegantly munching on cakes, whose species looked to Jack almost like a fawn, with legs that bend the other way, two well-manicured horns, and light purple skin. She was wearing light armour and seemed to favour more mundane items of fashion, but she had an edge to her with lithe muscle, and demonstrated dexterous movements as she played with a moth that seemed to zip around her fingers, following her commands.

Aside from these three, there were no visible guards, no security drones shimmering above, and no mercenaries hiding in the shadows to geek them as far as the group could see.

“This feels wrong,” Nika muttered into their group comms as her eyes scanned every corner of the area, crouching down and checking the three out with her scope, though she could have sworn the woman looked her way and gave a smirk. “It’s way too quiet when they’ve picked the time and the place.”

“Could they actually be acting in good faith?” Jack asked only to hear various scoffs of amusement down the line. “Okay fair enough. Am I going to have to start blasting?”

“No,” Alora whispered. “This is another power play, though the appearance of the two newcomers is an interesting development. Just follow my lead.”

Both newcomers are magically active, Chiyo announced from where she was astrally projecting. The robed figure more so than the female - he’s also got some powerful illusions up on himself only.

“I’m not even gonna bother trying to hack into them,” Sephy noted. “I’ve just checked, they’ve all got hard rating gear, probably their personal stuff.”

“Ah, you’re here,” Kaldra called out as Alora, Jack and Dante approached. “And early, exceeding my expectations! You must have quite the tale…”

His voice was calm. Too calm.

“Payment first,” Alora curtly told him. “You already know we were successful.”

“So you claim.” He shrugged, leaning back. “I want proof of success first.”

Alora shrugged before pulling out the bone pendant, dangling it in front of her executives for a moment before putting it back into her pocket.

Kaldra smirked as he pulled out a credit chip and slid it across the table to Alora, who took it and looked, finding it satisfactory as an initial payment.

“Before we begin,” the fawn-like woman spoke up curtly, staring at Jack with narrow eyes, her voice disciplined and curt, like that of a strict teacher. “I think we can dispense with the games. Call your companions to sit with us. Now.”

“No idea what you mean.” Jack retorted out of reflex.

“You are a good liar, Mr Jack Frost,” the woman told him, with a very thin, barely visible smirk on her face. “But allow me to be specific. Miss Nika Falos is currently aiming at me with a sniper rifle from the district wall, Miss Sephirina Hawker is cloaked behind us with pistols…”

“And right now, Miss Chiyo Dhasii is astrally projecting, trying to deduce my nature,” the robed individual spoke up, in a surprisingly affable tone, though it was spoiled with a rasp of a voice, like they had just downed boiling water. “Unsuccessfully.”

“You need not fear my companions tonight, Alora Glenphyranix,” Kaldra spoke up, raising a hand in a placating manner. “They are simply here to ask questions that Corvin Enterprises shall pay well for the answers to, as per our original agreement.”

Alora nodded slowly. “As you wish…Kaldra. Everyone, you heard them. Reveal yourselves and come join us.”

The eyes of Kaldra blinked slightly, the only hint of surprise as Alora used his name, while the rest of the group revealed themselves. They didn’t sit at the table but covered the possible exits, the fawn woman eyeing each of them critically as they arrived.

“If there’s nothing else?” Kaldra asked his colleagues, who shook their heads. “Then I think we have a story to listen to…”

Jack mostly sat by and allowed Alora to retell the story of their adventure up until the current moment, knowing that she was the best person for the job. He noticed that she omitted much information, most notably the attack from The Redeemer at Cypherport, only sharing information related to the job. Occasionally Kaldra, or one of his companions, would ask questions and Alora would stick to the facts, keeping her answers short and concise, and occasionally demanding payment for satisfying an objective. In the meantime Jack kept watch over the companions, focusing more on the woman who was eyeballing him, while Dante sat under the table, watching the wizard.

“I know you have the bone pendant…” Kaldra finally spoke after having heard their retelling of the journey. “But do you have any other belongings of my mother? Or footage of her burial?”

“We do not.” Alora shook her head, but added, “But we have a letter for you.”

“A letter?” Kaldra asked, narrowing his eyes, only for them to widen as he looked upon the script. “What…this is…oh my! She’s alive! No…she lingers on as a Gnarl? She did always take her duty seriously…”

“Not only that,” Jack added. “But we spoke to her and she wants to reconcile.”

“Thank you.” Kaldra smiled warmly at the group after reading the letter, pulling out two small bags from his pockets and slid them over. “You have gone far above and beyond what I have asked you to do. While assisting my mother rather than burying her was not technically what was asked, I do not consider that a failure condition in the slightest and your initiative should not go unrewarded.”

Sephy took a look inside one of the bags, and her bulging eyes betrayed their value, while Chiyo took a look into another, nodding at Alora as she handed the Bone Pendant over.

“I believe that our business is concluded.” The druid finally nodded. “There is nothing more for you tonight, though we may be in touch once again at another date. Good help is hard to come by outside of the company.”

“I look forward to it, Kaldra.” Alora nodded politely as she motioned for the others to get ready to move quickly. “And good luck.”

*****

The three executives waited for the group to vanish around the corner, then waited several minutes more, until the guards watching the gate had confirmed their departure.

“Well.” Lux shrugged as she idly flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes. “They appear to be effective despite their age. Had it not been for the Shaskasaki manager stuffed in that warehouse locker, they may have otherwise escaped my notice.”

“Indeed, they certainly escaped Cecily’s,” Sojourn agreed, tapping the table in thought with a bony finger. “Do you intend to directly recruit them?”

Lux scoffed. “A pack of undisciplined teenage Shadowrunners? Spare me. Though the boy could occupy Cecily for a while I suppose…”

Kaldra chuckled. “If we could return to why we’re here?”

“A good day for you.” Lux noted with a shrug. “And here I thought you were just being sentimental.”

“Partially,” Kaldra admitted as his eyes took in the sight of the letter. “I’ll see my mother and see to it she gets the help she needs, I owe her that much at least. But there are also profitable opportunities to be found…”

“I agree,” Sojourn hissed out. “The vacant land should be colonised and used for farming efforts, simple enough for me to oversee as part of our ongoing food efforts. From what the Runners told us, there are the remnants of crops there already. At the least it would be a shame to see those profits go to waste…”

“We can send some low-priority employees to take it.” Lux shrugged. “Or some of your undead workers that won’t be missed, Sojourn?”

“Then it’s settled.” Kaldra nodded. “But first we have work to do.”

Lux looked to Kaldra. “Make the call.”

Kaldra entered the number, placing the comlink on speaker for the three of them.

The call picked up on the first ring.

“Mr Corvin,” Kaldra began. “The operation was a success. I’m sending the information to you now. In short, our suspicions were correct…”

Kaldra paused as looked to his two companions who nodded in unspoken agreement, having come to the same conclusion.

“...A Demon Lord has been discovered.”