After walking down its long winding steps, Jedri moved into a large, dimly lit room. To the left of the room sat multiple shelves containing various small creatures and a large box with ice magic incantations etched into its surface. A large table in the middle of the room was covered in alchemical supplies, beakers, devices, books, and tools. To the left of the room, three bodies hung chained to the wall. Two of them lay slumped, blood dripping from their abdomen. 

The third person watched with daggers in his eyes as Jedri placed his lamp onto the wooden table. 

“Oh, you’re finally awake? You hungry?” Jedri asked the chained man with a warm smile. “Can I get you something? Abigail makes the best roast beef.”

“Fuck you. Just kill me like you did the others, heretic.” The man’s tone was seething and laced with poison. But Jedri didn’t drop his smile for a moment. 

Jedri sighed as he moved over to him and lifted up his bloody shirt. On his abdomen sat a metal circle grafted into him that rent his flesh open, revealing his internal tissues. The metal ring was a few inches thick, which got gradually smaller the further it went inside his innards. Jedri pulled out a small healing potion from his pocket and poured it into the gaping wound as the man lurched and gasped.

“Funny thing about healing potions. They’re sold based on how effective they are. The more expensive ones could heal a good-sized wound. The cheaper ones, though, are more of a shitshow. Maybe you’ll get one that heals your wound slightly, or perhaps you’ll get one that just sanitizes your injuries. If you’re unlucky, you could wind up with a healing potion that’s just festering pig’s blood. 

Jedri moved back and began wandering over to the back shelf containing the various animals. Jedri slowly moved his fingers across each frame, making his decision carefully. “I only mention that because I hope you don’t mind that I cheaped out a bit. Gotta cut costs somewhere, you know?”

After the chained man’s grunts from pain subsided, he laughed hoarsely. “The Archbishop will be sending more. I won’t be the last assassin after your head, heretic.”

Jedri stopped at a shelf and pulled out a long glass tube. In the tube, a rat-type Dark Beast ran in circles, scratching at the tube’s walls in a desperate attempt to escape. Jedri looked at the tube and smiled, tapping on it lightly. “Oh, of course not. In fact, I’m counting on it.”

Jedri began to make his way over to the chained man while carrying the rat-type Dark beast. “You won’t be the last, and you certainly weren’t the first assassin the Church sent after me. Of course, the Church would send goons after me rather than admit one of their HighFathers is a heretic. The ex-communication process would do far more damage to their credit than impact me. So those geniuses think if they throw enough mercenaries at me, one’ll get lucky and put me six feet under.” 

Jedri pulled up the man’s shirt and slid the tube into the metal ring embedded in the man’s torso. “Hey assassin, do you know the criteria for becoming a HighFather in the Alloran Church? Good grades? Strong faith?” Jedri laughed, “Those are all part of it, yes. But the biggest criteria? It’s how difficult you are to kill.” 

Jedri’s face became ice cold. “A well-placed HighFather in a foreign country, away from the Papacy in Abricoria, is not only a good way to convert its masses. It also acts as a dagger pressed against the foreign leader’s neck. That’s what it means to be HighFather.”

Jedri began to twist the tube into the ring, and as he did so, he looked up and stared straight into the assassin’s eyes. “So, I really hope those idiots send more of you lot because I assure you. I am a very difficult man to kill.” Suddenly a loud crack could be heard from the glass tube as the Dark Beast shot forward into the man’s cavity. 

The assassin screamed a blood-curdling scream and shook violently as the Dark Beast ran through his body, eating and tunneling through his insides. After about a minute, the chained man fell limp like the others. Jedri placed a holy bind on the man and himself. The rat beast shrieked as it became covered in divine light. With no other escape, the creature shot back into the tube. Jedri unscrewed the glass tube and covered it with his hand. The beast pressed itself into the bottom of the tube, desperately trying to increase its distance from his hand while it was bathed in a holy glow. 

Before his holy bind spell began to fade, Jedri placed a metal lid over the tube and tightened it. Jedri looked at the beast as he walked to the box etched with ice magic. The rat had become rather round and engorged on the man’s flesh. Jedri placed the creature into the frigid box and pulled out another tube. In it was another fattened rat, frozen completely solid. Jedri closed the box and walked over to the wooden table. Once where he wanted to be, he pulled the frozen rat out of the tube and placed it in a mortar and pestle. After grinding for some time, the rat had become a fine frozen powder. 

Jedri poured the dust into a beaker connected to various tubes. He picked up a small vial next to the cup and lifted it. The small vial was labeled in clean handwriting; “Biohazard. Luna - Hemoglobin 192/2E.” 

Jedri took a miniature pipette and sucked up some blood before putting three tiny drops into the beaker with the Dark Beast powder. Suddenly, a dark mist began to rise up from the combination. Jedri quickly placed a lid over the beaker and waited for the fog to fill the entire beaker with an eerie black. After that process, Jedri used a lightning spell to send a shock through the beaker. After some time, Jedri opened one of the tubes and allowed the mist to travel to another smaller beaker. 

Eventually, the mist condensed in the smaller beaker into a liquid state. After some time, it hardened into a solid block of black stone. Jedri pulled the stone out of the beaker and crushed it with his hand. What was left was a small round orb the size of a bead surrounded by dark powder. Jedri held up the small red sphere and watched as the light of the lamp behind it distorted in the translucent red of the gem. 

“Stableized Albedesium… What are you missing?” Jedri questioned out loud to himself. 

***

Night had fallen and the three carriages parked by a small river for the night. Some adventurers decided to teach the kids how to catch fish while Luna and Joshua set up camp. After everyone ate until their bellies were full and fell into a peaceful sleep under the stars, Luna stayed awake, watching the twinkling of the small diamonds glowing in the heavens. The adventurer named Nishi Moritoki kept watch and occasionally poked the logs in the fire with a stick. 

As Luna laid on her back and watched the stars, she couldn’t help but think about HighFather Jedri and Abigail and laughed. Without the kids around, those two probably had no idea what to do with themselves, Luna thought.