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"Open your ears, everyone! Today we have 2 new recruits joining our lovely campaign,  Demons Tarot and Rayne. They will be staying with us for a couple of days before continuing their journey, let's bid them a joyful welcome!" Agnus holds a speech with a bright smile and offers everyone a drink while pouring one for himself.
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A few hours of partying go by and the room eventually calms down, gin falls asleep on a bench and Aina says their goodbyes to the team, leaving with not a hint of intoxication but a smile on her face.
Melimisia also bids them goodbye with a wave and descends into the pool nearby. Corey having been the only sober one, still watching over the room with a scowl.

Rayne and Tarot had been playing drinking games with Agnus and eventually lost so many times in a row that Tarot was now clutching the locket with the queen's picture, crying over it.
Agnus and Rayne were equally as intoxicated, despite this managing to keep somewhat of a conversation going.

Agnus mumbled his words in a drunken stage "Y-You know, I have to tell youuu~, yes you sweet demon Rayne... " He waves his index finger at her face."..Your mother was quite a beast in her younger da-"
Rayne interrupts, barely awake reading Agnus's lips as her head rings from the alcohol intake before bolting up from her chair.
"You! You liar..! Earlier you said you didn-...Hold on" She gulps in discomfort from nausea stopping herself from puking before continuing.
"..So-sorry... Where was I...? Ah yeah! You!-" She accusatively taps him on the chest. "Said!-" She taps again. "-You didn't know her..!" She aggressively taps him one last time.
Corey comes up behind Agnus, removing Rayne's hands from him with a disappointed glare at both of them.
"Agnus." He says bluntly with a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go to sleep, you can discuss this in the morning." He leads Agnus away and nods at Rayne. "You too kid.." He says with a concerned look at her state.
Rayne wobbles away to Tarot's company, seeing their drunken tears she mumbles what she thinks are comforting words but what actually comes out of her mouth is nothing but a jumble of sounds, she falls asleep sitting at the table next to them, Tarot soon follows behind leaning their arm into her sleeping shoulder.
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Morning comes, waking Rayne up from her slumber she finds herself tucked into a sleeping mattress in the corner room of the camp with confusion on her face, she looks around noticing a similar empty mattress next to her seemingly having been recently used.
She gets up with a banging headache. "Ow... Why did I drink like that..." She says regretting the night before, and stumbles into the main hall, finding Agnus and Tarot sitting at the dining table together and Corey as always lurking behind them. "Hey, guys." She greets them.
"Good morning, sunshine" Tarot gives her an amused smile with a greeting"
Agnus meets her eye and lets out a breath before offering her a seat.
" Come, Sit down. We have some things to talk about, " Agnus pauses while Rayne sits down on the other side of the table expectantly.
"-I may have said some things last night that revealed more than I wanted to share..So I might as well tell you the truth. " Agnus clasps his hands in front of him.
" Your mother and I..." He delays long enough for Rayne to cut in.
"...You didn't... You know, with my mom, did you..?" She looks at Agnus with a horrified expression.
There's a silence before Agnus lets out a shocked yell.
"What..!? No! Most certainly not..! My one and only love has always been and will always be the jaw-droppingly beautiful man who's stood in the corner over there, my darling Corey! How dare you suggest such a vulgar sort..!" Agnus ends his speech with a deep breath having run out of breath.
Rayne lets out a sigh of relief and opts for Agnus to finish his story.
He looks displeased but picks up where he left off regardless." What I was going to say... Before you interrupted me, " He gives Rayne the stink eye and continues.
"-Was that we used to be good friends, She came to me one day while I was out in the field, demanding information about her son, your brother. I told her the same thing I'm gonna tell you now, we have tried everything to get proof of the fires but to no avail, anything and everything that could've been a clue has been wiped from all records in the kingdoms, we don't know why and we tried for the longest time to figure it out.." He pauses for a moment.
"The reason I denied any relation to Ilma was that I do not want her only child, You, to have to go through the heartbreak she went through, having to relive the most terrible of memories, gaining absolutely no closure was the worst thing for anyone... Including you Rayne." He finishes talking with a pained expression, looking back at Rayne.
Rayne takes in his words but her determination does not waver, though the pain in her heart is large, it's nothing compared to the grief of knowing she could've saved her twin brother from a horrible fate but choosing to give up just before.
She looks back at Agnus unfurrowing her brows.
"..Thank you for trying, I'm sure it meant a lot for Mom, however, I am not her, and I will gladly shatter my heart and lose my sanity getting my brother back, living or dead. You have my word on that." She decides. Tarot looks at her with worry in their eyes. Rayne continuing,
"So I ask you, If you have any and I mean ANY information about the fires or involving parties, please share them with me. "
Agnus unclasps his hands and stands up pondering for a bit.
" There is one. Someone who holds themselves outside of prying eyes in the Eternal Council, they have the most knowledge out of all the council members. " Agnus says after a while. Corey joins the conversation having noticed the topic change.
" The warden. Formidable foe to those who get on his bad side, They've helped us with rescue missions before, though I've never seen him in person. " He states.
Agnus nods and speaks again.
"The Warden is rumoured to be an elegant long-eared bearing the powers of a deity, with piercing silver eyes, although not many have seen them...If you wanted to find him you should head north to the Capital city of the Eternal Kingdom, heed my warning, it won't be easy."
Agnus tells them with a serious look on his face.
Rayne and Tarot look at each other for a moment before deciding.
Tarot:" We're in. Whatever it takes. " They smile at each other with a mutual understanding and motivation higher than ever.
"There's just one problem... " Agnus interrupts.
"To gain access to the ship transporting civilians in-between Windrip and Valoport, we're gonna have to set up a team to reroute the Eternals guarding the area and rescue any remaining Unwanted still being imprisoned within the ship, as I cannot turn a blind eye on those who need our help, no matter how important the quest," Agnus tells them putting his foot down.
" You have my word, sir Agnus, we want to help you with your cause as much as you have helped us, just let us know what to do boss. " They offer their hand to shake.
Agnus smiles and takes their hand in a firm collaborative sentiment. Rayne expresses her support for Tarot's words by high-fiving some of the members around her, such as Gin and Aina with a large smile on her face.

"Right, well, I will have to write up a plan for us, give me a day or so and we'll get started with it." Agnus requests and everyone in the room nods in approval. "You're welcome to walk around and explore but beware of Eternal forces, they like to roam around hunting for prey around here..." He warns them. 

"No worries man, I'm still kinda hungover from last night so I think I'll just relax for a bit...How about you Tarot?" She turns to Tarot noticing their absent mind and questioning. "You okay?" 

Tarot looks up at her, "Oh, yeah...I think I just want to talk to Mel for a bit, still wondering about this locket..." Tarot looks back down, holding the locket in their hands with furrowed brows. 

Agnus settles the meeting with a clap and some encouraging words before leaving for his office with Corey following behind. 

Aina taps Rayne and Tarot's shoulders simultaneously from behind before speaking. "Hello, demons." Rayne jumps out of her skin, grabbing onto Tarot as they notice the healer. "Oh hey, Aina! What's up?" Aina looks at them both and speaks, "Just wanted to let you know that if you require my services anytime, I will be in the medical bay, and if you're unable to then, I will know, so don't worry, I won't let you die anytime soon." She gives them an unassuming smile and walks away. 

Rayne shudders. "Doesn't he just give you the creeps, I mean I swear to you, sometimes it feels like she's gonna kill me before someone else even gets the chance..." She snivels as Tarot giggles at her. "Stop that, they seem nice enough, Imagine having to live for literally forever, don't blame her for being a little odd." They say defending Aina. "But still..." She whines and Tarot smiles at her.

"C'mon, weren't you gonna 'relax' or something along those lines?" Tarot teases her. Rayne pouted, still holding onto their shirt sleeve with her right hand, "Can't I just relax with you? There's too many scary beings here waiting to catch me off guard." She frowns suspiciously looking around. Tarot smiles and sighs, giving up. "Yeah okay fine, if you insist, you can come with me when I go talk to Mel about the locket she gave me, just promise me not to ask any weird questions?" Tarot demands. "I won't, I won't, I promise, " She responds in a hurry, wanting to leave the main hall as quickly as possible. "What happened to the Rayne of yesterday who had no problems threatening Corey...?" They said teasing her some more. "Oh shut up, she left, gone, poof! I woke up a different person--Besides Corey isn't that scary compared to the healer. Can we go already!?" She dragged Tarot's arm forward leading them out of the main hall into the cavern pool. 

The cavern pool seems empty at first glance, but the closer they look, the more vibrant the water becomes as it swirls around in a whirlpool in the middle. They both stare in fascination, not knowing what's happening and get splashed in the face with water. 

Gin yells out from their computer, "Forgot to mention that you shouldn't be near the pool when Mel is doing her routine! Unless it's laundry day..." 

Tarot and Rayne stand still in disbelief and yell back in unison. "Thanks for the information... Very helpful!" Responding with a tone of sarcasm. Rayne takes her cloak off and squeezes the water out, Tarot doing the same with theirs. They change their clothing and instead wear some of Agnus's old clothing from his younger days, hanging up their soaked ones on nearby branches.

Melimisia has at this point finished her dance and is resting by a rock on the other side of the pool. Tarot walks up and greets her with a wave. "Hey Mel, Can I talk to you for a moment?" Rayne follows them. Melimisia smiles at them in an approving manner and swims to the edge. Tarot sits down facing her and musters up some courage before questioning,  "...Why did you have this locket, did you know my mother?"Not expecting her to respond with words but instead watching for her reactions.

Melimisia stills for a moment in preparation, manipulating the water around her. It flows and swishes in different forms for a few seconds before separating into bubbles and blobs in the shape of the palace, soon coming together in the appearance of the queen, the queen-shaped water looks out of the palace window down to the sea as it changes form again to now show someone resembling Melimisia joined by the queen- spending time together at the shore of the city, the queen is seen sitting on the edge of a low cliff with Melimisia in the water, her arms resting on the cliff next to her, the water changes once more and now depicts a moment where the queen is seen yelling for Mel by the water with a bright smile on her face, Mel notices her and immediately swims to the surface with content, the queen shows her a locket within which she has placed a picture of herself and her child, Tarot. She places the locket in Melimisias hands and the water around her morphs into words, it reads:

 "I have something for you before my journey Mel, I don't want to part with you- but the world is changing and there will come a time when I will not be here to hear your voice, and for that time I hope you will hold onto this locket and remember me, just as I am today," She closes Mel's hands around the locket and looks at her with affection, followed by a saddened expression. "-You are and will always be my dearest friend, no matter if I am beside you or not. I must soon take my leave--Sweet Melimisia, take good care of my gift and please...Look out for my baby" The queen lets go of her hands, leaving the locket.

 The water which had taken the Unwanted Queen's form, now falling apart in a splash leaving the figure of Melimisia, alone. The figure stays steady only for a short time before also falling apart in a similar manner. 

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To be continued