The hallways of the palace wound back and forth as Kik navigated them further and further toward the rear tower. The occasional flash of chilling white light kept them going, even as Simone’s arms and legs began to burn from the strain of carrying Kik and the new-and still quite unconscious-addition to their little group. The occasional crash of furniture and debris sounded down the path behind them, Simone wincing a little at the destruction of what was probably extraordinarily expensive property.

“Oh come on! Will you chill out already?” She shouted over her shoulder, she turned back to focus on where she was going, a frown crossing her face, “I was thinking about coming back and selling some of this stuff.”

“Turn! Turn!” Kik cried, nudging Simone’s head in the direction of another doorway. She kicked it open and stumbled into a large open space, perfectly circular with a spiral staircase set into the center of the room. She didn’t have much time to take in the details of the space but what she did gather pointed to the room being some sort of lounge or party room. “Up! Up! We’re here!” Kik shouted in her ear.

“I can see that!” She shouted back, noting the faint shifting in her arms as the noise started to rouse the woman. Simone squared up and bolted for the steps, she started taking them two at a time, forcing herself to twist in order to stay stable on the narrow ledges. Off to the side she could hear the fast-approaching steps of the machine-man, its legs carrying it all the way to the doorframe in a matter of seconds. Simone swore colorfully and pumped her legs harder, in the corner of her eye she watched her SP meter drop faster and faster, she was going to collapse soon if they didn’t catch a break.

In that moment, several things happened at once. Simone tripped, the girl opened her eyes, and the Royal Tomb Guardian grabbed the frame of the steps and wrenched it from the ground, trying to tear their route out from under them. Something invisible rippled from the girl’s body as she came to, landing on the ground with a thud while Simone and Kik hit the ground far harder, Simone landing on her face. Beneath them the steps cracked and groaned as the monster on their tail started to regret its chosen tactic.

Simone rolled onto her back and looked down in time to see a portion of the stairs break off and collapse, falling down into the hole in the floor with a loud crash. She barked out a laugh, “Serves you right!” She shouted.

She rolled over again and pushed herself to her knees, her arms wobbling. She glanced at her SP, a few points shy of a goose-egg. That was close. She exhaled, easing back onto her hands as Kik pulled himself together to her left. After checking herself over one more time she turned her attention to the girl, she had to make sure she was okay. She was fine, and awake, and staring at them. The dainty creature was leaning against what looked like a small desk, her legs pulled up to her chest and her wide eyes staring at Simone in confusion, her eyes clouded with what was probably delirium.

“Hey, you good?” Simone asked.

The woman frowned and squinted at Simone, looking her up and down once, “Titi aki, Azar?”

Simone’s lips thinned, great, language barrier, “I got about one word of that, Azar, uh… me? Am I an Azar?” She scratched her head, “Sort of? We’ll go with yes,” She nodded.

The woman narrowed her eyes, “Titi sapek Kommune, Talamne?”

Simone turned to Kik, “Did she say common?”

“Kik think so, we speaking common now! Though some people call it other things,” Kik explained.

The woman licked her lips and started muttering under her breath, Simone tensed a little, wondering if this was some kind of magic-she was expecting anything at this point. Finally, she stopped and cleared her throat, “I have not spoken this language in some time,” her voice was smooth though her accent was very thick.

Simone and Kik exchanged looks, Simone coughed, “Sounds good to me.”

The woman glanced around, “The northwest tower,” She murmured, “Passage to the surface world,” She looked back at Simone and Kik, “What is the year?”

“No idea,” Simone said with a shrug, “Haven’t got that far.”

The woman’s eyes bulged, “What manner of Azar are you that you do not know basic learnings?”

“An Azar without a name,” Kik snorted.

“Shut up you, I just haven’t figured a good one out, yet,” Simone snapped, “Look, lady, I don’t appreciate being browbeat by the person I just freed from some magical-prison-thing. Especially after being chased by that freaking Tomb Guardian thing all over the damn place.”

The woman shrank a little under the response, blinking a few times, “Times certainly have changed,” She said softly, then hesitated, “Tomb Guardian, there is a Tomb Guardian. Here?”

“Uh, yeah, down the hole we just came out of,” Simone said, throwing her thumb over her shoulders, “Speaking of which we need to get moving, that thing is persistent.”

“Why would there be a tomb guardian at the palace?” The woman muttered, ignoring Simone and getting to her feet. She marched over to the hole before either of them had a chance to stop her and peered down. She paused, then turned back and looked at Simone, her face going a little pale, “Azar woman, do you know of the Labyrinthians?”

“The who and the what now?” Simone blinked a few times, and pulled up her Journal, but found no entries about the race. She shrugged and shook her head, “Nothing. This book has most common knowledge in it,” She paused, “Oh hey there is an entry on date and time, neat!”

The look on the woman's face made Simone stop dead in her joking, she was pale, distraught even, she collapsed to her knees, and hung her head. “Kaliaah, what have you done?”

Simone flinched a little and glanced again at Kik who was starting to look uncomfortable, “Uh, I’m sorry I’ve never heard of your people, this text is kind of incomplete so maybe once we get to the surface we can check around, yeah? Someone’s probably heard of them, right?”

The woman shook her head, “No, no point, they’re gone, it’s the only explanation,” She glanced down at the hole, “The local Steward becomes a Tomb Guardian when all those present have died.”

“Wait, that thing is a butler?” Simone croaked.

“Well, yes, all noble houses have Stewards to care for them in life and in death, it is tradition,” The woman explained.

“Is there a way to stop it? Because that thing is going to keep coming after us until we either get out of here or are dead,” Simone pointed out.

“No, it will follow you until you die, even if you escape.”

“Great,” Simone groaned, “Do you have a name, by the way?”

The woman narrowed her eyes, “It becomes even more obvious just how forgotten we are, I do not have a name to give someone I just met, no,” She hesitated, “But for the sake of simplicity you may call me Roe.”

“Okay, Roe, I’ll ask again, can you stop that thing?” Simone pressed, “Because right now I’m pretty sure it’d tear me limb from limb.”

Roe rubbed her arms and looked down over the side, “It is possible, but it would have to be rendered immobile at the very least.”

They paused as the metal monstrosity walked away from the hole below and began to march this way and that. Simone glanced up at the remnants of the stairs that lead up to the rest of the tower. She figured they’d be stable enough but the problem was as soon as they started climbing the damn thing would just fire off its death beam or whatever the hell it was straight up and at them. They’d be frozen dinners in seconds. She rubbed her face and looked around, they could try covering the hole but she doubted that would hold up for very long. Even then, eventually, it would get out and come looking for them. A chill went up her spine, what if it found people that weren’t involved in all this?

She held her head, “Damn it, if only this stupid aspect of mine wasn’t so friggin useless.”

Roe’s head whipped in her direction, “You are an aspect wielder as well?”

“Yeah?”

Roe chewed on her thumbnail and turned away, she muttered something in her native tongue before sighing and scratching at her head. She looked a lot less like some sort of noblewoman when she was thrashing about like that. She paced and muttered and then paced some more. Finally, she came to a decision, “My aspects are bound,” Roe said flatly, “I am of little help in a fight as it is, I will have to find a way to break the binding,” She paused, “That said, I have an Aspect Stone that I’ve kept since I was a girl. A gift from my father.”

“Why don’t you use that one on yourself?” Simone asked, “It wouldn’t be bound like the others or something, right?”

“One, I sincerely doubt you know how to perform the ritual to accept an aspect. Two, I already possess five aspects, I cannot take another,” Roe said sharply, “My time has not come yet to reach greater heights.”

Simone scratched her head, “I’ll take your word for it,” She paused, “So if I use this thing you think I’ll stand a chance?”

“Hardly, but you may hold it still long enough for me to return it to its original state,” Roe pointed out.

Simone frowned, “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” She scratched her head, “Ah, to hell with it, not much of a choice anyway. Hand it over,” She said getting to her feet and holding out her hand.

Roe hesitated and then sighed, reaching up to the back of her neck and undoing a clasp. She pulled a rather large pendant from out of her gown, embedded inside was a stone that shone and glittered with strange colors. Occasionally a cloud would flash and crackle with lightning beneath the surface. Simone tilted her head, she’d seen something like that before. Roe approached and placed it in her hand, looking her square in the eyes. “I hope you live up to it.”

You have Acquired:

[Aspect Stone of the Soul] x1