Chapter 4 - Exeunt
"And in the final testing night great things will happen and the future will be decided."
MageKing look Gemini in the eyes. "Don't threaten me, fool. The voting is over. It is not very wise to resist the decision of a Headmaster. You'd better open that damned door, because I don't wish to study your spell for the next 5 days to break it. You will open the door. Open the door. Now. Obey me." The moment their eyes locked, Gemini was lost already. "I... obey... Headmaster..." Now, strong forces are at work in Gemini's mind. "I... will... open..." Forces resisting the influence of the Headmaster. "the..." And great things can happen on nights when even the Gods have ran out of power. "door... NO! I WON'T!" A flash of light. Gemini draws an 11-sided star. Out of thin air, a swarm of ghostly locusts forms and starts surrounding MageKing. At the very same time, MageKing makes a complex weaving motion with both his hands. An arc of deadly fire shoots from his hands to Gemini. They scream at exactly the same moment - and they stop screaming at exactly the same moment. A pile of completely clean bones is what remains of MageKing. And of Gemini, nothing more than a pile of smoldering ash. A click. With Gemini's magic broken, the door is unlocked.
But, if there is one thing anyone from the Guild should know, it is not to play with fire in the Library. The Librarians get very nervous from this. And they are finally proven right. The scrolls the Masters used to write their votes on catch fire. Some books on the table start burning with a foreboding green flame. One moment later, conflagration. Valuable tomes of dangerous knowledge, maps of the Southern lands, scrolls with ancient wisdom, everything burns without discrimination.
Grim is the first to react on the events. "Argh, hell. Idiota! Come, RUN!" On his shout, Pete and Murska seem to awaken. Quickly, they leap towards the door. But Idiota is motionless. He is staring at the remains of MageKing. He speaks, an emotionless, mindless drone. "I can't, Grim. I can't. I cannot leave this place." "What? COME ON! MOVE!" "No Grim. I am cursed to remain here. I cannot leave the place where MageKing died. I... My Flame left this world together with MageKing's. But I cannot rest. The fire will not touch me. I will dwell this place until the end of times. I can only hope it will come soon." "But, what, how... Oh. That Shingo bastard. Manipulative powers... ARGH! Curse you, Zbax'bara!" Grim walks out. There is no time to lose. He alone can save the world now from those mad Craftspeople and their sick God. Behind him, the Library burns. Within hours, the whole Guildhouse will be on fire, but it doesn't matter anymore. The Gate is where the fate of the world will be decided.
Grim thinks. It is two against one now, but he'll have the advantage of surprise and he is spiritually stronger. He should be able to disable one of them without any opposition, and then it's a one on one battle - he's sure to win that. Hmm. Who to tackle first? Murska or Pete? "My Lord and Master, Vend-Ahan, please hear my prayer. I need your guidance. Help me on this most difficult path." And guidance comes. His mind is set, the plan is ready. With the help of Vend-Ahan, he will prevail.
The Gate. It is night, but it is not dark. There is the flickering of a great fire in the background, and the Gate itself has started to radiate a blueish light. It will only be a matter of minutes now before it has acquired the critical amount of energy. After that moment, nothing, not even a God, can stop the events set in motion by the One. Pete and Murska are in utmost concentration to channel as much energy as possible in the Gate. The fire in the Library did not help to balance the energies, on the contrary. Raw power is radiated in all directions from the blaze, creating even more chaos in the already upset streams. And Grim sees it. He must hurry now. He surveys the place. There are rocks everywhere, forming perfect hiding places. Softly, he creeps towards the perfect spot. A muttered spell, a wave of the hand, and he holds a javelin. He has trained long and hard on the use of various sorts of weapons, and with the blessing of Vend-Ahan, nothing can go wrong. He weighs and balances the weapon. There is no doubt, this is the most stable, the sharpest, the deadliest javelin he has ever summoned. He stands up, aims, and throws.
Pete turns around. He sees it. He already expected it. Closing his eyes, he awaits the deadly jab. But it does not come. Something has happened. What? How? Confusion. There was this pole flying straight towards him, and now - gone? "Hey, Murska? Am I drea... Hey! Where are you going?" "TRAITOR! FOR THE ONE! POWER AND GLORY!" Murska charges towards Grim, his body already sparkling with deadly magic, ready to be unleashed. Grim is prepared, but there is no point. With his surprise attack failed, he stands no chance against the two of them. Soon, nothing is left of him. Grim has been completely consumed by the One, who is thirsty for revenge.
Fifteen minutes later. Murska and Pete sit some distance from the glowing Gate. "So... That went pretty smoothly eh? Those Caretakers never stood a chance. Well, if you name your God 'the Passive', what do you expect?" "Yeah, indeed. Come, the Gate is ready. We will be the first to enjoy the spectacle." "Ahh. All those years of training finally pay off."
The Gate now shines with an almost unbearable light. The eleven pillars starts trembling and glowing. A deep rumbling can be heard, coming from deep below - or not as much deep below as everywhere, as if the very fabric of the Universe is shaking. The center of the Gate is blue, a perfect and deep blue. Suddenly, a loud crack resonates. The blue center somehow collapses on itself, creating a black point, slowly growing and growing. Streams of energies are swirling around it, getting sucked inside. The black void claws around, growing, growing, reaching out, consuming, expanding, bigger, farther...
Then, blackness.
From the Outer Planes comes a voice.
"Encore!"
Those Gods of Fate have some sense of humor, right? Or perhaps I just can't describe the Apocalypse.
The last roles where like this: Grim, MK, Idiota were Traitors, Pete was a plain Crafter, Murska was the Protector.
The final ingame events were: Gemini gets lynched. Being Retaliator (Crazy War Veteran), he picks MageKing to kill. However, MageKing and Idiota were bounded by the Manipulator (Cupid, Vacuus here), so Idiota dies too. It is then night, and Grim picks Pete, but of course Murska protected Pete that night. That gives a night without lynching, and 2 vs 1 during the day which didn't really give any chances to Grim anymore, so I just finished the game.
The Villagers won this one, but they were pretty lucky. Still, I bet no-one saw that coming. It was pretty fun for me. If the Wolves didn't lynch Gemini (1/3), or Gemini didn't pick MK or Idiota (2/3 roughly, though it was the obvious choice, MK being Headmaster), or Grim didn't pick Pete (1/2), the wolves would have won. Ah, the power of Zbax'bara is strong.
Oh, sorry for being this late, btw. Loads of other things going on around here. I completely forgot about it until about 10PM... It is now 1AM. Man, this stuff eats time. I also didn't proofread, so sorry for mistakes. I corrected a mistake in Chapter 2, if it helps you sleep better.
[EDIT] Ah, hell. I re-read anyway. Fixed some mistakes and unclear sentences, nothing important.
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