By Lyra Zwahn

Content Warning: Action, Suspense, Violence

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Heavy fog floated through the dark, damp forest. The autumn chill made Luna’s Miqo’te ears ache, and she tried pulling them down against her braided, burgundy hair for warmth to little effect. An owl called in the distance; its hoot echoed through the shadowed forest canopy. 

A branch snapped somewhere close behind. Luna glanced around, yet no one else was on the path. She switched her soulstone ring, and almost instantly, her equipment morphed in a blue wash from bard to rogue. She walked along the path to the inn, almost tiptoeing each step, keeping watch for any surprises. 

The only sound was of condensation dripping onto foliage all around. 

Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps came. They were loud and reckless, snapping branches and rustling leaves, and they seemed to come from nowhere. Was it a creature or an assassin? Luna switched her soulstone yet again from rogue to samurai. She ran down the path gripping the handle of her katana; her breath fogged in the cold evening air. 

The inn was in sight. She looked back over her shoulder but saw nothing as the sound grew louder with every yalm closer to the inn. Was the source nearby, or invisible?

Where was it coming from?

Just as the sound became so loud that she was sure the pursuer was upon her, it stopped. Luna stood ready to slash whatever might appear, yet nothing did. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to calm herself and walk up the entrance steps. She managed to do so and pushed open the creaky door to the inn.

The interior was inviting and warm; a golden glow radiated out from the fireplace. She scanned the room, and her Lalafell friend, Maxine, sat at a table in the corner. Her little, blue cloak was draped gently over her shoulders, and she twirled her dark hair on her finger. She waved. 

The heavy chair groaned against the floorboards when Luna drew it away from the table. She sat down nervously; sweat beads on her forehead glistened in the firelight. 

“Are you okay, Luna?” Maxine gasped. 

“Yes… I’m fine, thank you,” Luna replied. She waved her hand to dismiss the concern as the Miqo’te barmaid arrived at their table. 

“And what will ye ladies be havin’ tonight?” the woman asked in a heavy Black Shroud accent. 

“Two bitter meads, please!” Maxine declared. “Oh, I’m sorry, Luna. Is that okay?” 

“That’s fine,” Luna was clearly distracted. 

“Did you say Luna? Luna Sunstone?” the barmaid asked, to which Luna nodded. The barmaid drew out an envelope from her apron. “This was left here for ye,” she added. She handed it to Luna who received it with her cold fingers poking out of fingerless gloves. 

“Thank you,” Luna said, and the barmaid was off. 

“A letter for you? Here?” Maxine asked in astonishment. “How?” 

Luna shook her head and opened the envelope. She snapped its wax seal and drew out a folded parchment, on which a poem was scrawled. 

“That sounds ominous,” Maxine said as she stared at the writing in the firelight. 

“It does, indeed,” Luna agreed, “but this line… ‘where a maiden weeps.’” She pondered on its meaning. “Where a maiden weeps…” Luna thought out loud. “A fountain? No. That’s too simple.” 

“A waterfall? A monument, perhaps?” 

“Hmm, that’s likely it,” Luna gazed into the flickering candle flame. “A monument… Haukke Manor.” 

“Ooh! I’ve heard stories of a maiden who can be heard crying at midnight. That must be it!” Maxine declared, “but what about this part about ‘death’ and ‘a mask?’ It gives me the shivers!” 

“I don’t know, but I need answers. I don’t really have a choice.” 

“Right, I suppose you don’t.” 

…  

The iron gates outside the manor gardens were cold and wet. A mongrel barked far in the distance while a light rain pattered on the leaves. Luna and Maxine looked up at the manor exterior from beneath their hoods, and they spotted a window hosting a faint glow. A candle was lit in the room. 

“There,” Maxine whispered, “up on the second floor.” 

Luna nodded silently.  

Maxine tried pulling on the gate, but a large chain and padlock barred their access. Seeing this, Luna switched her soulstone and proceeded to pick the lock as goldsmith. It wasn’t long before the lock popped apart, and she tossed it onto the squishy ground. 

“You never cease to amaze me, Luna,” Maxine commented with a smile, but it drew a frown from Luna. The source of her many abilities remained a mystery, but she would go to any lengths for answers. 

The two walked through the dreary gardens, past rotted planters and dead perennials, to reach the front steps. The door was suspiciously unlocked, and Luna poked her head inside.  

She heard only silence and creaking boards.

Once inside, Luna switched soulstones to Black Mage, and after a brief flash, she raised her gnarled staff to cast a warm glow. With it, they quietly walked up the elaborate staircase in the center of the room, which branched off to both sides.

They traveled left toward the candlelit room, which cast a flickering light onto the decaying and stained hallway rug. Luna peered inside to see a small table, on which a single candle flickered. Beside it rested a shiny object. Luna closed in to see a large and bloodstained knife. 

A bright, purple flash filled the space. “Help me, Luna!” Maxine screamed.  

Luna whipped around to find Maxine gone, but a trace of the light flicked down the hall. Luna rushed out of the room, giving chase, and saw the glow even farther ahead.  

“Luna!” Maxine shrieked.  

“Hang on!” Luna shouted. She ran through a room with double doors, nearly tripping on the broken furniture while switching her soulstone yet again to Bard. She used Peloton to boost her speed while rounding a bend. Ahead, a large metal gate on the left slammed and bounced back ajar. “The cellar!” she hissed. 

She rounded the stairs down and through the dark, wet stone basement. It was littered with human remains, and the odor was musty and vile. She covered her mouth in disgust and pressed on into the large stone room. A portcullis slammed down behind, sealing her in, and the room lit with a ghostly purple light. Fog leaked in through cracks in the stone walls.  

A single, hooded figure stood in the center. 

“Who are you!?” Luna yelled. “Where is she!?” 

The figure chuckled, then burst out into maniacal laughter – familiar laughter. They drew back their hood to reveal their face. Maxine grinned from ear to ear. 

“Maxine!? What in hells name…” Luna said, stunned.  

“To be so skilled at everything, you sometimes can’t see the obvious!” Maxine chuckled as she floated down to the ground. 

“I don’t understand,” Luna said in shock. 

“Oh, no, of course you don’t! However, I know everything – all your secrets, Luna Sunstone!” Maxine shouted and vanished into a puff of purple smoke. Ghostly images of her form appeared randomly and rapidly throughout the room as she laughed. “I know how you gained those abilities!” she added. 

Luna switched soulstones to paladin and raised her mighty shield for protection, but suddenly an Aether blast struck her from behind. She tumbled to the center of the chamber, switched to sage, and raised a dome barrier. She tried to catch her breath while a hundred tiny strikes battered the outside. 

“Oh, come now, Luna! I’ve killed so many to obtain this power; I would hate to see it wasted!” Maxine howled with laughter. 

“Maxine, why are you doing this!?” Luna begged.  

“You! You were born from death! An entire regiment of soldiers perished in an Aether explosion at Cartineau, and somehow you rose from their ashes,” Maxine growled. Her voice came from everywhere.  

“No, that can’t be!” 

“Yes, Luna! You hold my brother, Francois, hostage within you, and I must kill you to set him free!” Maxine shouted. She chuckled, “But what better way to defeat an enemy that can do anything than to be nothing at all!” 

The barrier shattered, and Luna was pummeled ceaselessly by the laughing, invisible force. Bleeding, she struggled to stand and switched to a Machinist soulstone. She was desperate and closed her eyes. She tried to hear her enemy’s movements with no luck. Yet, just as she nearly gave up hope, she heard a voice. 

In flash, Luna fired a single shot to the side. It struck flesh, and Maxine tumbled to the ground. 

“What!? How did you know where to find me!?” she gasped. 

“I asked,” Luna replied mournfully, “Francois.” 

Maxine gasped, and a moment later, her head rested on the floor in silence. Her body burst into purple flame, burned, and left behind only ash. 

…  

Rain fell heavily outside the inn. Luna was seated near the fire, her clothes still soaked through. 

“Oh, yer back,” the barmaid said with surprise. She paused from wiping down tables to ask, “Where’s yer little friend?” 

Luna’s gaze remained fixed on the foam lying on top of her mead. “Where the maiden weeps,” she replied softly and took a sip. 

The barmaid looked confused for a moment but drifted back over to continue cleaning tables.  

“Best not to ask,” she thought. 

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