The Forgotten Zodiac

"I-I'm okay...I was with Lady Berr, a-and something attacked us. I fell asleep...I don't know what happened..." The filly whimpered, taking ahold on the vines.

"This still does not explain why the torn sleeve was found, and the tracks..." Persha mused.

"Yes it does." Verolen said quietly. "Dark Matter like this can manipulate a host easily. While we can't be sure why it targeted your wife, it probably had possessed a human to attack, dragging her away. Filly here just got caught up in the mess and was taken off as a snack."

"Then where's the possessed human?"

"Hopefully dead."

L'arc helped the young girl out of the hole before climbing up after her, brushing himself off as he looked the young centaur up and down, confirming that she had no wounds. "Well, Persha, can I safely assume that Tobias and Allie will be returning with us, then?" he asked.

"Yes. Although I am still quite perplexed as to how all this happened...I have confidence that the direct cause of my wife's death has been eradicated." Persha nodded solemnly. "You may return to the human town. I have my word that Tobias and his daughter will be returned, but I request some time to see to his injuries. I'll have him returned at dawn, patched up and well rested."

"You'd better hold to your word, or we won't be happy." Verolen pointed out.

"I swear on my father's grave that I will do as I have said. Come along, Filly, we must return to the camp."

"Yes sir," She squeaked, following closely after him.

"Centaurs never break their word, Verolen," L'arc said. "Just like Nymphs... verbal contracts are binding. I'm sure Tobias and Allie will be back in the morning, as promised," he said. He glanced over to Eve and Manny, and nodded to Verolen. "Check on them, yeah?" he said.

"Yeah. You go on ahead." Verolen nodded, letting L'arc, Sylas, and Kendra go.

He approached carefully, not wanting to disturb more than he had to. "Is he...going to be okay?" He asked. Manny was sweating a black liquid that Verolen didn't want to know about, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"...eventually," Eve said, wiping the black liquid out of Manny's face gently. "He will be all right. He just... pushed himself, there," she said.

"Would it be okay if we moved him? We kinda have to get back to the town..." Verolen frowned. "He seems kinda...comatose. Hey, you alright there, buddy?"

Manny made eye contact with Verolen, but didn't respond.

"Yes, well... yes, we can move him," she said, standing and delicately holding one of Manny's hands in hers. She signed furiously with the other one, and whispered "Stand up," quietly to the mannequinn.

Manny wordlessly obeyed, and finally managed to say something. "Hurts...mommy, it..." Then he gasped and fell silent again.

"Poor thing," Verolen grimaced. "Maybe Bershee can do something to help..."

"Me? Assist a lump of deadly Dark Matter?" Bershee exclaimed. They had explained the situation to her in full upon returning to the town. "Goodness...I'm a witch doctor, not a miracle worker. My knowledge of Dark Matter is hardly limited, though...come on in, I'll see what I can do."

"I can certainly assist," Eve said, entering the tent with Manny. Bermuda was once again awake, and he looked at the others in concern.

"What did I miss?" he asked Verolen, who had come with Eve.

"Well," Verolen explained quickly. "Tobias and Allie, two humans from this town, were taken by centaurs. We went to get them, and discovered that the centaur leader's wife had been killed and a little girl taken. And we followed the tracks of what had killed them, found it, killed it, and the only one much worse for wear is Manny here...he pretty much saved us from a giant beast of Dark Matter."

"He's bloated." Bershee said flatly.

"What, like, he ate too much?" Verolen raised a brow.

"Dark Matter, once it is capable of holding a solid form, very rarely takes in more Dark Matter unless some is lost." Bershee paused her examination to explain. "So yes, I suppose you could say that he ate too much. But in reality, he has few options now. Firsly, to release the buildup of Dark Matter, which could potentially rebirth the thing that he absorbed in the first place. Secondly, he could adjust his density and form to allocate the absorbed excess, putting it to use somehow. Third, he could disperse it evenly over time, which requires time and movement. Not to mention this Dark Chaos person would easily find you by his trail. From what I can see, he'll likely attempt a mixture of all; change his form, but only as much as he wants to. Disperse some of it over time, then release the rest in one go."

"Like...a really bad fart." Verolen blinked.

"...yes. A very nasty fart." Bershee rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to see you're making connections. But understand that he'll be...compromised during the process. Sick. In both body and mind. He's not normally prone to violence, so I doubt he would harm anyone...but from what I've seen, he's awfully childish. I do hope you know how to care for young, Eve, because once he can move again, he'll need time to recover."

"I, of course, will do what I can," Eve said. She sat down nearby, watching Manny carefully. "But he will recover, and that, I am glad for."

"Indeed." Bershee nodded. "I hope he recovers quickly, at that."

"Me too." Verolen sighed. "But...yeah. Any questions, Bermuda?"

Bermuda thought for a moment, then asked, "When are you guys leaving? I heard Bershee mention that you were talking about it... you're not going to leave me behind, are you?" he asked.

Verolen shook his head. "Absolutely not. L'arc was the decisive factor in that. Your immediate safety was more important than anything, he decided. With the Senators and--" He stopped himself, realizing that Bermuda might not have thought about that. Having people hunt you down for your head wasn't exactly the nicest feeling in the world. Realizing it after a couple of days was even worse.

"It will be fine, Bermuda. Take all the time you need to rest." Bershee said quickly, pouring a little more healing potion into the tub. She was using it sparingly, it seemed. "If you're not prepared to go tomorrow, that's just fine. I need potion making supplies anyway, it seems..."

Bermuda listened to Verolen closely, then gave him a quick nod. "I'll be ready to go," he said. "I promise. Just don't leave me behind," he requested.

"We won't." Verolen smiled a bit. "What ingredients do you need, Bershee? We were going to leave in the evening anyway, so we have some time in the morning to spare for you."

The witch doctor began listing off a various set of plants and fruits, some of which could be found in the forest. Other pieces, she surmised, would have to be either replaced or improvised.

"I can help with that hunt," L'arc said, comin into the medical tent with Sylas. The both of them had makeshift bandages on their hands from where they'd cut themselves earlier, but after some thought, they decided to pay Bershee a visit to see if she had a quick fix for the wounds, and came in on the tail end of the conversation. L'arc flashed a smile in Bermuda's direction, which the nereid returned, before looking to Bershee again.

"Yeah!" Sylas nodded eagerly. "Taproot is pretty common in the forest. I know right where to find some. Moonglow is more of a cave thing...but I think I saw some in those ruins. Bottleneck mushrooms are pretty rare, but the trees would know where to find pretty much any of those things. The, uh, coral and other stuff will be a bit harder to get."

"I figured as much. I can't leave, though...my young will hatch the day after tomorrow, and then I'll have my tentacles full as it is." Bershee tutted. "Perhaps the witches can be of some help. I'm sure I have something of equal value..."

"If you don't, I can help you make something shiny." Verolen nodded. "You're still on your own with that, though. They won't deal with us, they'll only demand one of our own."

"The Library, I am aware of this. Anyone with an eye out for magical anomalies will keep an eye on Rush. I suggest you be careful in the human areas; when it comes to magic, they may be unable to grasp it, but they could easily find a way to weild a weapon like Rush. After all, it's a very delicate balance." Bershee sighed. "Turn the Library against him, and Rush will crumble like a biscuit underwater. He's defenseless against it. He may be loyal to the bone, but his core is more complicated. It just has to see and think that the betterment of its vessel relies on destroying...well, you lot."

"Freaky stuff, that," L'arc said, frowning slightly. He crossed his arms, but the small twinge of pain he felt at doing such reminded him of why he'd come here. "Oh, Bershee, do you have anything for this?" he said, holding out his cut palm. "Just some sort of numbing solution will be fine for me, but Sylas needs to get his healed - he is our only archer, after all, and he needs both his hands to stay in top form," he said.