Ar-Tueling Around

"You're a pretty hard person to find, you know that?"

I never heard the door open, nor did the bell that signaled a new customer make its pretty little noise. I looked up from my perch at the register to see a woman clad in white, a hood pulled up over her head. Her skin was rather pale, almost like my own. Piercing blue eyes hinted that she was something... else entirely. Her figure was shapely and attractive in a way that forced you to drink her in and savor every second you were in her presence. In her hands, a thick tome bound in wood whose pages were yellowed and tattered.

"That was a joke, by the way." Her perfectly sculpted face twisted in a smirk. "Briarheart Books? Really? I know you're bad with names, but..." She trailed off, making an awkward gesture with her free hand.

"Hello, Advencia," I said flatly.

There was a reason the woman could be considered a perfect ten; Advencia was a succubus under the employ of one Lichensith Ulroke, master assassin and leader of the motliest crew of assholes, vagabonds, and lost souls in Salvar. The Crimson Hand--a band that, until recently, I had been involved with myself. Nobody was really sure what her true purpose was in the Seventh Sanctum; I've heard whispers of all sorts. Some said that she was the one Lye would task with getting the most secretive and important tasks completed. Some said that she was there to pat him on the head and tell him that everything was going to be okay as he cried into her neck every night.

Ever muscle in my body tensed up as she took a step closer to my counter. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax," the demon cooed, "I'm not here on his orders."

That did little to calm me. Ulroke was never fond of anyone abandoning their post within the Hand, and always swiftly and violently dealt with deserters. Something that was on the back of my mind ever since I locked up my lab for the last time, grabbed my most important notes and books, and got the hell out of there.

This was... a month or two ago? I left shortly after I made my pact with Maladim for a fresh start in life in exchange for servitude for an unspecified amount of time, traveling the world and gathering books and artifacts that tickled his fancy and making sure certain knowledge got into the hands of those who needed it in order to advance the grand plans that otherworldly forces had for this plane.

And considering that I never informed the assassin of my findings regarding the thorns I planted around his heart years back and how their magic was slowly integrating with his own, I expected someone from the Sanctum to forcibly take me back at any time.

Advencia suddenly showing up unannounced would put anyone on edge, considering those circumstances.

"Then why are you here," I warily asked.

The demoness took a deep breath, apparently unsure of how she should best answer that. "I'm here for Red," she said, a note of apprehension in her voice.

Red--the slave girl that Ulroke brought in, abused physically and mentally, and enslaved. She was one of the few things that I regretted leaving behind in the frozen wastes. I could have helped her be free of his venomous grasp, but she didn't want it. She foolishly thought she could change him for the better, like I did. Had she succeeded where I failed?

"What about her?"

Advencia's eyes began to wander around the shop, taking in the neatly-organized shelved packed with books and the general lack of decoration on the walls and floor. "A lot has happened since you left, Madison. Some good, some bad."

I caught telltale hints of conflicting emotions in her eyes. "I know you don't care about the details, so I won't trouble you with them. But there's been a shift in power within the Sanctum. No matter what he might think, Lichensith is again losing control. Of everything and everyone."

I stifled a sour laugh.

"What's so funny," she asked with a slight cock of her head.

I waved away the question. "Sorry, sorry," I apologized half-heartedly. "I'm just not surprised that shit's going south again, after repeating the same mistakes that got him locked under a mountain for a year to begin with."

Advencia stiffened for a moment before relaxing again. Her thin fingers played with the corner of the book she held. "Well I won't trouble you with Hand matters any further," she said curtly. "I'm here for something more personal. Not a request from myself, but from Red."

The way she held herself, it was clear that something terrible was consuming her thoughts. I had always known the succubus to be confident and carefree, walking through those cold stone hallways with a sense of purpose and certainty. Now, as she stood there in the middle of my bookstore, she seemed a little... less, in every single way.

She pressed on. "Red asked me to deliver this book to you." Advencia took a step closer, setting the thing on the counter before me. I dog-eared my spot in the trashy novel I was reading and tossed it aside to get a better look at the curious book bound in wood. On its cover, etched into the surface, was the same set of symbols that was tattooed on our friend's lower back.

"What's this?"

"From what she told me, this appears to be a book with the answers to every question she has about herself. The problem is, Red's unable to translate a lot of the information held within, and was hoping that you'd be able to help her."

Casually, I slid a finger up under the heavy cover of the book, and opened it. Page after yellowed page of sketches of symbols, diagrams, and notes hastily written in a script I did not recognize greeted me. None of what I saw immediately triggered anything in my mind, based off the conversations and examinations I had performed on the girl back when I was in the Hand.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. I had no reason to help Advencia, or Red, or anyone from the Crimson Hand. I left that life the moment I shed my Briarheart body. I moved on. I left that dark path, abandoning everyone who walked it with me.

And yet--I felt this sense of obligation to the girl. I watched on as she was broken by the man who I tried to break. I felt partially responsible for everything that had happened to her. If only I had killed that fucker Ulroke when I had the chance, none of this would have happened to her.

As if she could read my thoughts, Advencia chimed in. "And, we all know you love a good problem to solve."

"You're not wrong," I muttered.

I had to admit, the tattoos that Red bore had intrigued me since day one. They were symbols that I had never seen nor heard of before, and had always been in the back of my mind since that afternoon where I first encountered her.

Slowly, I closed the book. "What does she need from me?"

It wasn't till a week later that Madison received her visit from Scarlet.

"Briarheart books..." Scarlet mused, running a finger over the wooden counter. The wood beneath her fingertip almost groaned as she left a thin trail of rot in its wake. Her brow twitched and her lips fell to a tight line. Scarlet made a mental note to attempt to control the new levels of corruption that coursed through her, otherwise it'd prove troublesome. "Funny." Scarlet quipped as she rubbed her finger onto her jacket. "You don't look like a briarheart, least not anymore. Unless Hyperion owns the store?" Scarlet asked as she looked over the woman. She was once a tangled mess of vines with deep set glowing eyes. Now, before her sat a woman who looked almost utterly dull. She looked like she put far too much effort into her near immaculate appearance. Black clean pressed linen, black vest, crisp fold lines... Scarlet briefly wondered if it were because the other woman missed a more human appearance, but Scarlet didn't care enough to question it.

Madison's black hair framed her angular face, and her blue eyes stared up at Scarlet in a challenging glare.

Madison did not look impressed, nor happy to see Scarlet.

It had been quite some time since their last encounter, where the two sat tucked away in a corner of Madisons lab drinking hot cocoa. Oh how the two had changed. It seemed their roles were reversed. Scarlet looked far less 'normal' her eyes blackened by corruption and her skin took on a sickly pale colour, marred by scars and cracks of black. Frankly, it looked as though she needed a good scrub, but no amount of rubbing would wash away the literal sins that were worn on her skin.

Scarlet sighed, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small glass jar and placed it on the counter. It was filled with cocoa husks. "Aren't you happy to see an old friend?" The redheaded assassin asked, placing a mocking emphasis on the words. She then scoffed and waved her comment off. "Don't worry, I'm not so naive to think that these days. Business is just business, and that's exactly what I'm here for."

Scarlet shifted her weight, leaning over the counter, seemingly the clothes acted as a buffer and the wood remained unaffected by her touch. "Advencia says she handed you the tome, how are you finding it?"

"RED!"

Scarlet didn't need to look up to know who it was. Hyperion had appeared from behind the counter, practically lunging at the woman.

"Don't." Scarlet said, holding a hand up to Hyperion. She wasn't able to read the other woman's expression as her face was covered by a silken scarf. Even if it weren't Scarlet doubted she'd be able to read her expression, Hyperion essentially being a viral plant infection and all. "You will hurt yourself."

"But your hugs feel so good!" Hyperion said, with a wobble of her booty she stepped forward and pressed herself against Scarlet, tightly wrapping her vine woven hands around Scarlet's form. "I missed you so, so-"

Hyperions exuberance faltered, her voice faded and she sharply yanked away. Shrieking in a mixture of pain and horror. "Th-Th-That's the opposite of a good feeling. You feel like death." She whimpered, rubbing her arms gingerly.

Scarlet shrugged. Normally, such a thing would concern her, but she found that her emotions were all but non existent lately. "I warned you."

"Fucking--" I rushed over to Hype's side as she scrabbled away at the wraps covering her arms. She was twitching horribly, these sad little whimpers coming from behind her mythril facemask, the amber light of her eyes flickering with fear and pain. The waxy surface of her epidermis was slowly rotting away, her body fighting desperately to regenerate fast enough to counteract.... whatever the hell happened to her.

"Hype, go get something to eat," I commanded her. She would require food to fight this infliction. The parasites that powered her body needed sustenance to power through it.

Without a word, the briarbane was up the stairs that led to our apartment.

She'll be fine, I told myself. She'll be alright in a few minutes.

"What the fuck," I spat as my face scrunched up into a scowl. "What the fuck," I said a little more forcefully.

I spun on my heels and stormed towards Red, this specter from my recent past. The girl who I left in the den of wolves. She looked more worse for wear than the last time I saw her. Her alabaster skin was streaked with black marks, as if she crawled through a pile of charcoal in order to get to my shop. There was this air of malevolence about her that was so thick I could almost taste.

"What the fuck was that, and what the fuck happened to you?"

A finger shot out towards the book that Advencia delivered a week ago before disappearing back to the Sanctum. "What the fuck is that book?"

I pointed at the blackened, shriveled spot on my otherwise pristine lacquered oak countertop that she touched. "And what the fuck is this?"

Red, who to her credit stood aloof and unaffected by my outburst, opened her mouth to speak. I silenced her with a raised hand. "First of all, don't you touch anything or anyone else in this store, got it?"

"I warned her." Scarlet said as her black and red eyes followed Hyperions movement till the whimpering woman disappeared from sight. "I had a feeling it would negatively affect her, considering... As you saw, my touch rots away any natural matter. A warm meal and a hug and I am sure she'll be right as rain." Scarlet mused dismissively.

She didn't exactly care for Madison's outburst, but given the circumstances it was justified. Unlike Ulroke, Scarlet wasn't going to lash out at anyone and anything around her.

Instead Scarlet wordlessly reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of leather gloves. She met Madison's furious gaze with a calculating calm one of her own.

"that is what happens when I come into contact with natural things these days, specifically plants, wood and small animals."

Scarlet stepped away from Madison turning to the nearest bookshelf, she picked up the closest book and leafed through it, not reading a word. She placed it safely back. Sure, Madison told her not to touch anything but Scarlet wanted to make a point, that with her gloves on most things were relatively safe.

Scarlet turned her gaze to the book, "that is a wealth of information, a recording of an entire ancient race, how they ..." Scarlet paused. "how I supposedly thrived. It contains things no one else knows. Something I thought you of all people would appreciate." Amari sounded slightly annoyed.

Scarlet sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, their encounter was not going as planned. If only Hyperion weren't so...so...Hyperion like.

"As for what happened to me. I will give you the short and sweet of it." Scarlet offered Madison a grin. "I know how much you love my life stories." She said sarcastically.

"Ar'Tuel are inherently good. I've come to learn we were to spread mana and life across parts of Althanas. I don't know the logistics, that would be in the book, but we can become corrupted. That's the short of what happened to me, now..."

She gestured toward the jar of cocoa husks. "Now, shall we continue under more civil circumstances?"