Investigating Rumors Of Cult Activity

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 32, Post Number 780

-Outside the Haunted Guild, midnight-

Wearing her Azure Armor over her blue Steel Matron t-shirt and wearing her black skirt with black bike shorts underneath it, Victoria stood in front of the Haunted Guild with her Centaur parked and sitting about three meters to her right. Standing to her left was her old friend Abigail Windstrider, who was shivering in the cold night air. Abigail was wearing a light blue Earthland Eagle t-shirt with blue jean shorts, small backpack on her back, and brown boots.

"I knew I should have brought a jacket." Abigail lamented her lack of foresight. Victoria did not say anything as she faced forward and the wind picked up, blowing her ponytail about. Victoria took a moment to recall the job for which she and Abigail had been hired.

The Order of Lightbringers had received word that suspicious activity had been sighted in the Haunted Guild, something more suspicious than the usual ghostly activity that this place was known for. As usual the Order was unable to spare anyone to investigate, which was why they had turned to Victoria. Victoria had brought Abigail along as her partner with the Order's permission since they were willing to hire anyone they could get to help them. For her part Abigail had jumped at the chance to earn some money with which to begin paying back the loan she had taken from Victoria.

Victoria's primary task was to investigate the Haunted Guild and look for any evidence of cult activity. She was to gather any evidence she could find and bring it back to Order headquarters. If during the course of her investigation she encountered any cult members it was up to her how to deal with them. Remembering the promise of Zupazu's Executioners to sacrifice her to their infernal patron if she was ever captured alive, Victoria was inclined to shoot first and ask questions later.

Knowing what she might be going up against, Victoria had come loaded for bear. On her right hip was Hellsinger and on her left hip was her Silver Dagger. On her face was her SHG-IV Smart Glasses to help her spot cultists who might be hiding in the building. On her back was her backpack of supplies which included iLac and flashlight.

"Ready to go inside, Abby?" Victoria asked her friend as she drew Hellsinger with her right hand. Abigail drew her Silver Falchion from its scabbard on her right hip.

"I'm as ready as I'm ever gonna be, Vic." Abigail replied. The wind blew again, causing Abigail to shiver and Victoria's ponytail to blow about.

"OK. I'll lead the way." Victoria told her friend. The brunette took the lead while Abigail followed close behind. Victoria reached the stairs and climbed them, then put her left hand on the doorknob and opened the door. She peered inside, then went first while Abigail followed close behind.

-Inside Haunted Guild-

Once the pair had went through the door Abigail turned and closed the door behind them. They stood on the first floor and faced a choice. They could go straight ahead and sweep the first floor or they could go down the stairs to go into the basement. The last time Victoria had been here she went into the basement to find Zupazu's Executioners, but she was not sure whether she was dealing with Zupazu's Executioners or an entirely different cult.

"So Vic, where do you want to go from here?" Abigail asked the brunette. Victoria faced Abigail, who had taken off her backpack and set it on the floor. Victoria watched over the blonde and within a few seconds of setting the backpack on the floor Abigail had taken out her flashlight and set it on the floor. She then zipped up her backpack and put it on her back, then grabbed the flashlight with her left hand and her Silver Falchion with her right hand.

"I need to get my flashlight too. Hold on." Victoria replied. Abigail turned and faced the hallway and the basement stairs while Victoria put Hellsinger in its holster, then took off her backpack and set it on the floor. She opened it and fished out her flashlight, then zipped the backpack closed and put it on her back again. Once that was done she grabbed Hellsinger with her right hand while holding the flashlight with her left hand. The brunette stood upright and faced Abigail.

"OK, I say we check the first floor before going down into the basement. Unfortunately the hallway in front of us is kinda narrow, so we'll have to go single file. I'll take the lead." Victoria replied to Abigail's question.

"All right then. Lead the way, Vic. And be careful. I see what looks like lots of doorways with no doors up ahead. Anything could be in those rooms." Abigail informed her friend.

"All right, Abby. Watch our backs as we go down the hall." Victoria requested of Abigail. With that the two mages began their sweep of the first floor. Victoria walked ahead of them with Hellsinger held in both hands as Abigail brought up the rear and looked behind them to make sure that no cultists or ghosts were trying to take the pair by surprise.

[Post Word Count: 876]
[Total Word Count: 876/11,000]

-On the first floor, one hour and fifteen minutes later-

Having carefully swept the first floor and come up with nothing that was solid proof of cult activity, Victoria and Abigail now stood in front of the stairs that led to the basement.

"Well, that was a waste of time. The worst thing we encountered was dust bunnies. We didn't even see a single ghost." Abigail remarked to Victoria, who was looking into the void that consumed the stairs. Victoria faced away from the inky darkness for a moment to make eye contact with Abigail.

"Don't worry, Abby. As soon as we go downstairs I'm sure that you'll get plenty of action." Victoria told her friend. Abigail gave a small smile.

"I've gotta earn my pay somehow. I owe you a lot of money." Abigail replied with a reference to the debt she owed Victoria. The brunette frowned.

"Don't go getting yourself killed over the money you owe me, Abby. There's no time limit on paying me back." Victoria advised the blonde not to take any unnecessary risks on this job. Abigail looked down at the stairs and turned on her flashlight.

"I know, I know. But I don't like owing anyone anything. I also don't want to lose your friendship because I owe you money." Abigail explained why she wanted to pay off the debt as soon as possible. Victoria understood not wanting to owe anyone anything. However, she did not quite understand why Abigail thought that she would lose the brunette's friendship for owing her money. Asking Abigail what she meant by that statement would have to wait because they had a job to do.

"We'll sort everything out later, Abby. Let's go down these stairs and get to the basement. I'm sure we'll find something down there." Victoria said to Abigail before activating her flashlight. Now that both mages had their flashlights on they were ready to go down the stairs and into the basement. Like she had done before Victoria took the lead and went down the stairs first while Abigail followed close behind and watched their backs.

-In the basement-

Victoria reached the bottom of the stairs first and moved her flashlight around to try and spot whatever was lurking in the darkness while Abigail finished her descent. Victoria did not see anything other than fallen metal doors on the floor, so she turned to face Abigail. The blonde had reached the bottom of the stairs and she was facing Victoria as she walked to the brunette's side.

"Have you seen anything yet?" Abigail asked Victoria, carefully shining her flashlight away from Victoria's face. Victoria shook her head.

"No. Nothing. My Smart Glasses didn't pick up anything either." Victoria replied. Abigail sighed.

"Well, we just got down here, so I wouldn't expect you to- wait, what was that?" Abigail asked Victoria and jabbed the blade of her Silver Falchion towards the hallway. Victoria went silent and faced the direction Abigail had pointed in. She did not see anything, but she heard faint moaning close by.

"Do you hear that?" Abigail whispered and pointed her flashlight in the direction of the sound.

"I hear it." Victoria answered and pointed Hellsinger towards the sound. It was hard to tell where exactly it was coming from, but it was definitely coming from somewhere in the basement. Victoria saw a flicker of pale blue light about fifteen meters away from them and had a good idea of what that meant.

Ghosts.

"I think I see a ghost." Victoria whispered to Abigail. Seconds later a single pale blue image of a woman appeared ten meters away.

"There it is!" Abigail warned Victoria. Victoria raised Hellsinger and aimed for the ghost when Abigail whispered to her.

"Save your ammunition, Vic. I'll handle this one!" Abigail suggested. Victoria looked towards Abigail, then lowered the handgun.

"OK, Abby. But be careful. There might be more ghosts nearby." Victoria consented to Abigail's idea but warned her friend that more ghosts might be waiting out of sight. Abigail sprinted towards the ghost and closed the distance quickly. Abigail then swung her Silver Falchion and cut the ghost in half at the waist, causing it to disappear with a soft moan.

Now that the threat was gone Victoria began moving forward as Abigail walked towards her. The two mages met halfway and spoke about the brief encounter.

"That was easy." Abigail said aloud now that the need for stealth had passed.

"Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of." Victoria replied warily. Suddenly the air grew cold.

"Is it just me or has it gotten really cold all of a sudden?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette nodded.

"Yeah, it's gotten pretty cold all of a sudden. Watch out for more ghosts." Victoria agreed before warning her partner to remain watchful. Abigail began to look around them while shining her flashlight. Victoria followed suit and moved her flashlight against the right wall. She did not see anything yet, but that did not mean that nothing was in the area... ghosts could turn invisible at will, after all. Since neither mage had the means to spot invisible beings they would have to keep an eye out for ghosts and attack them the moment they turned visible.

[Post Word Count: 876]
[Total Word Count: 1,752/11,000]

-In the basement, at the end of the hall-

Armed with their flashlights and their weapons that could harm the supernatural, Abigail and Victoria slowly walked through the basement while keeping an eye out for ghosts, but they made it through while not encountering any more spirits. Now they faced a metal door. They were standing roughly a meter away from it while trying to figure out their next move.

"Hey Vic, do you have any idea what's behind that door?" Abigail asked her friend. Victoria nodded.

"Yeah. A library." Victoria answered laconically.

"A library, huh? That's a weird place to put one. I thought the library woulda been on the top floor." Abigail mused to the brunette. Victoria looked at her friend and shrugged her shoulders.

"Me too, but it is what it is." Victoria mused back to the blonde. Abigail faced the metal door and motioned towards it with her Silver Falchion.

"Who goes first, you or me?" Abigail asked.

"Me." Victoria replied. She walked towards the door while holding her flashlight in her left hand and holding Hellsinger in her right hand. When she reached the door she jammed her flashlight under her left arm and awkwardly grabbed the doorknob, turning it and awkwardly opening the door. Abigail helped the brunette and held the door with her left hand while the latter went inside with Hellsinger at the ready.

-In the library-

Victoria had went through first to sweep the room for enemies, but as it turned out, there were no enemies waiting on them. The library was devoid of any kind of threat. No ghosts, no robed cultists, nothing.

Abigail came through the door and shut it behind her. Both mages looked around them... Abigail was amazed by the wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with books that were older than her and Victoria put together while Victoria looked at the wooden table in the center of the room. On the wooden table was a skull with its mouth open.

"Hey Abby, get a look at that." Victoria said to her friend, motioning towards the skull with three quick movements of the muzzle of Hellsinger. Abigail looked in the direction indicated and saw the skull.

"I sure hope it's a fake skull." Abigail opined. Victoria shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows?" Victoria replied calmly. She was not sure if it was a decorative fake skull or a real one, but they did not have time to determine that. They were here to investigate the rumors and determine whether there was really a cult claiming Haunted Guild as its base or not. Victoria walked past the table and towards the metal door that led to the next area.

"Hey Vic, what's ahead of us?" Abigail asked.

"It's a hallway that leads to another hallway. I don't recall if there's anything special about it or not... it's been awhile since I was last here." Victoria replied.

"Wait, you've been here before?" Abigail asked Victoria.

"Yeah, I've been here a few times in the past. I've fought a cult here before." Victoria replied, making a reference to her last adventure in Haunted Guild with the Order mages Amberlin and Serena Anderson.

"No wonder the Order hired you for this job." Abigail remarked. Victoria laughed a little.

"My prior experience in exploring here might have something to do with it." Victoria remarked in return. The pair faced the door and Victoria put her flashlight under her left arm. The brunette walked to the door and opened it with her left hand, then Abigail came to the rescue again by holding the door open while Victoria went through to see what was on the other side.

-Inside the hallway-

Victoria covered the hallway while Abigail came through the door. Once the blonde was through she shut the door behind them. Now the pair faced a long hallway with wall sconces for torches, but the sconces were empty. There were no tapestries on the walls either.

"Well, here we are, Abby. An empty hallway." Victoria dryly remarked on the state of the hallway. Abigail laughed.

"Yeah, but don't count on it being empty for long." Abigail warned Victoria to be vigilant because trouble might show up at any minute, especially since they had encountered a ghost earlier. That warning was enough for the brunette to focus on her surroundings.

"That's a good point, Abby." Victoria conceded that her friend had a point. The brunette walked down the hallway while Abigail followed close behind. Maybe they would get lucky and the rumors of cult activity would be just that... rumors. She was not sure how the Order had gotten its information, but there was a chance that the information was baseless. There was also a chance that there was substance to the rumors. The two mages would determine the truth behind the rumors soon enough.

[Post Word Count: 808]
[Total Word Count: 2,560/11,000]

With Hellsinger in hand Victoria remained vigilant as she walked down the hallway with Abigail at her side. She was not sure what else called this place home besides ghosts. She did not know whether she was going to run into cultists as well or something even worse than cultists... whatever that might be. The brunette was not exactly eager to find out what could be worse than cultists.

Victoria and Abigail eventually reached the end of the hall without incident and each mage took a deep breath. Aside from that lone ghost in the basement hallway they had not encountered any serious opposition. Hopefully that trend would continue and this would be one of those jobs where nothing went wrong and the rumors that had brought them here were just empty talk.

"Same plan as last time?" Abigail asked.

"Yeah. You open the door and I'll go through first. I'll wait for you to join me before we go down the next hallway together." Victoria replied. Abigail grabbed the doorknob and twisted it right, opening the door. Victoria swiftly stepped through the open door and entered the next hallway with Hellsinger at the ready.

-In the next hallway-

Victoria held Hellsinger with both hands as she waited for Abigail to follow her through the door. A few seconds later she heard the door shut behind her and saw a flash of blonde hair to her left.

"Hey Vic. Have you seen anything odd?" Abigail asked. Victoria shook her head.

"No Abby. Just an empty hallway... except for those prison doors." Victoria remarked. Abigail looked around them and saw the thick metal doors on each side of the hallway. She then faced Victoria.

"Do you think anyone's locked inside one of those cells?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette shrugged.

"I don't think so, Abby. If anyone was they would have heard us talking and banged on the door or something to let us know they were in there." Victoria replied. Abigail frowned for a moment and looked like she was about to say something but sighed and faced forward.

"All right then, Vic. Let's keep going." Abigail said. Victoria nodded and led the way through the empty hallway while Abigail followed close behind. They reached the door at the end of the hallway and Abigail opened it to let Victoria go through first, then followed close behind her.

-In the next room-

Victoria entered the next room to find herself in a very familiar place.

She was standing in a large room with a high vaulted ceiling that had black marble pillars supporting the ceiling. The pillars had a prominent skull motif and there were empty wall sconces all around. There were two large wooden double doors that had been blasted open from the outside. Seeing those double doors made everything come back to the brunette.

"Wait... I know where I am now." Victoria stated to Abigail.

"You do?" Abigail asked her friend.

"Yeah. I was here a long time ago. I was hired by the Order to rescue some young women that Zupazu's Executioners had brought here for sacrifice to their internal patron." Victoria replied while facing the blasted doors. She pointed to them with the index finger of her left hand.

"I blasted those doors open with my Rocket Launcher." Victoria told Abigail. She looked down at the floor and noticed dried bloodstains. Those had undoutedly been made when she had used her Grenade Launcher on some cultists trying to stall her until a sacrifice to Infernal Lord Zupazu was complete. The cultists did not last very long once the high explosive Grenade Launcher rounds began flying.

"And what was behind those doors?" Abigail asked Victoria another question while pointing towards the doors with her Silver Falchion.

"I know that it was used as a ceremony room of sorts in which to sacrifice young women... or the cult tried to sacrifice young women. I stopped them last time and keep Zupazu from entering the world one hundred years early." Victoria replied. Abigail looked at Victoria, then the room.

"Do you think anything else is in there?" Abigail asked Victoria. Again Victoria shrugged her shoulders.

"I wish I could tell you for certain, Abby, but I don't know." Victoria replied as she recalled details of the battle and quickly blocked them out. Abigail looked at the doors, then looked at Victoria.

"Want to find out what's in there?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette looked at the blonde, then at the doors.

"Sure." Victoria said without much enthusiasm. She was not thrilled about this trip down Memory Lane, but since she had been hired to search for clues to potential cult activity she was going to search for clues even if it meant entering and searching a room where she had had a deeply unpleasant encounter with a demon.

"Do you want me to lead-" Abigail asked before Victoria interrupted.

"I'll lead." Victoria replied laconically before beginning the walk towards the doors with Hellsinger at the ready. Abigail followed close behind with her Silver Falchion ready for action if they encountered anything hostile during their search.

[Post Word Count: 856]
[Total Word Count: 3,416/11,000]

-Inside the room, two minutes later-

With her flashlight in her left hand and Hellsinger in her right hand Victoria led the way and Abigail followed close behind as the pair entered the room Victoria had blasted open months ago during her mission to save young women who had been captured by a demon-worshiping cult. The brunette felt an oppressive presence in the room and involuntarily shuddered. The oppressive feeling only increased when she looked around the room where numerous young women had been gathered and held in place by a magical barrier to be offered as sacrifices to a demon lord.

If she had not been here to stop the cult there was no telling what would have happened to the young women.

"Hey Vic, are you OK?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette nodded weakly.

"Yeah, Abby. I'm OK." She replied tersely. The brunette was not feeling all right. She felt like angry cultists could show up at any moment, so she tightened her grip on Hellsinger to conceal her apprehension from her friend.

"You sure don't look OK." Abigail pointed out. Victoria knew that there was no fooling the blonde, so the Sabertooth mage decided to come clean with her.

"I'm not OK." Victoria replied candidly.

"Why?" Abigail asked. Victoria motioned around the room using her flashlight to direct her friend's attention.

"Because I fought a demon-worshiping cult in this room." Victoria replied, keeping the details of the various memories of that night to herself. Abigail made eye contact with Victoria and looked like she was trying to tell if Victoria was exaggerating or not. The brunette's serious look told the blonde everything she needed to know.

"You're totally serious." Abigail said dryly. Victoria nodded.

"Of course you are. You're completely serious about what you just told me." Abigail said in disbelief as the pair continued to walk deeper into the room. The room was a large one with a high vaulted ceiling and empty wall sconces for torches but no sign of the skull motif that dominated the room outside this one. It was so large and so empty that echoes of the duo's footsteps sounded each time they took a step.

"Yep." Victoria replied dryly while facing forward. The pair walked towards the back wall of the room while shining their flashlights and eventually Victoria's light located a door. Victoria kept her light fixed on the door while walking towards it.

"Hey Vic, where do you think that door leads?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette shrugged her shoulders.

"I have no clue, Abby. I've never been this far in the room before." Victoria replied. The pair reached the door and Victoria put her flashlight under her left arm so that she could grab the metal ring that opened it. Abigail pointed her own flashlight at the door so that Victoria could see what she was doing. Victoria's left hand wrapped around the metal ring and she pulled with all of her might.

The door would not open.

Victoria frowned and tugged on the ring again. The ring moved but the door refused to budge. Victoria exhaled in frustration.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me that this door's locked!" Victoria exclaimed. Abigail gave Victoria a sympathetic glance.

"OK, I won't tell you that it's locked." Abigail said innocently. Victoria turned to face the blonde and glared emerald daggers at the latter. Abigail gave a wide grin in response. After a few moments Victoria relented... she could not stay mad at her friend.

"Well, that's just our luck, Abby." Victoria lamented and took her flashlight into her left hand. Abigail turned right and turned her flashlight away from the door Victoria was facing and towards the wall to the right. Victoria turned towards it and saw that there was another door just like the one she had tried to open.

"Hey, nice going, Abby! Let's try that one!" Victoria suggested. Without waiting for her friend the brunette walked over to the door lit by Abigail's flashlight and put her flashlight under her left arm, grabbed the ring, and then pulled on it. Just like the first door this door did not want to open. Victoria took a deep breath and waited a few seconds, then pulled again. The door remained firmly closed.

"Any luck, Vic?" Abigail asked. Victoria shook her head.

"No luck, Abby. This door's locked too." Victoria reported and put her flashlight back into her left hand. She turned to face the left wall and Abigail followed suit seconds later. There was a door there that was just like the two they had tried to open.

"Let's hope that that door's unlocked, Abby." Victoria said to her partner while keeping her light on the door in question. The left door was the only one in this room that they had not yet tried. If it was locked then the pair would have to either look for a key or find another way of unlocking the doors.

[Post Word Count: 830]
[Total Word Count: 4,246/11,000]

Victoria placed her left hand on the ring to the third and final door in the area. She was not holding out much hope after the last two doors failed to open, but she was going to try this door anyway and see what happened. If it opened, that was great. If it did not open, she would have to either find another way to open it or just move on and look for a key elsewhere.

"Here goes nothing." Victoria said to Abigail. The brunette pulled on the ring and the door opened without any trouble.

"Hey, looks like our luck's finally turning around!" Abigail commented when the door opened. Victoria turned to face her friend.

"I hope so, Abby." Victoria replied. She went through the door and Abigail followed close behind.

-Inside the left room-

Victoria and Abigail entered the room to find that they were in a small square room. It was a small library with wall-to-wall bookshelves that were so dusty that the room was hazardous to anyone with dust allergies and two small square wooden tables in the bottom left corner and the top right corner of the room, but the old books and the dust bunnies were not the only things of interest in the room. A piece of paper with a small metallic object on it sat on a small circular wooden table in the center of the room along with an unlit candle sitting in a golden candle holder.

"Hey Vic, do you see that?" Abigail asked Victoria, pointing towards the paper on the table with the tip of her Silver Falchion. Victoria looked in the direction indicated and spotted the paper.

"I see it, Abby." Victoria replied in the affirmative. She walked over to the table and took a glance at the paper while Abigail held her flashlight on it. On top of the paper was a plain silver key.

"Hey, a key!" Victoria said and showed the object to Abigail. Abigail smiled.

"Maybe it goes to one of those doors. If we're really lucky it'll go to both of them." Abigail expressed the hope that they had finally found the key to at least one of the doors.

"I certainly hope so." Victoria said in a cautiously optimistic tone of voice. She put Hellsinger in its holster to free up her right hand, took the key into her right hand, and looked at the paper the key had been sitting on. It was just a blank piece of paper with nothing special about it.

"Well, we've got a key. Let's see which door it goes to." Victoria said to Abigail and began walking towards the door they had entered through.

-Back in the large hall-

Victoria and Abigail walked back into the large room and walked to the door in the back of the hall they had tried earlier. Victoria briskly walked up to the door and used the light of her flashlight to locate the keyhole. She then gently placed the key inside the keyhole and turned it left. The door did not unlock. She turned the key right and the door still did not unlock.

Seeing that the key did not unlock the door, Victoria gently removed the key from the lock and turned to face Abigail.

"The key doesn't go to this door." Victoria informed her friend. Abigail sighed.

"At least there's only one other door that the key can go to." Abigail replied. Victoria silently turned right and began to walk towards the door on the right side of the hall. When she reached the door she used her flashlight to locate the keyhole, then gently placed the key inside and turned it left. This time the door unlocked.

"Finally!" Abigail exclaimed, saying what Victoria was thinking. Victoria took the key out of the lock and handed the key to Abigail.

"Hey Abby, do you mind keeping up with this key for me?" Victoria asked her friend. Since Abigail was wearing blue jean shorts and had pockets, giving her the key to keep up with would be a lot quicker than setting everything down, taking off her backpack, and putting the key inside her backpack.

"Sure thing, Vic!" Abigail said. The blonde tucked the head of her flashlight into her left shorts pocket, shifted her Silver Falchion to her left hand, then extended her empty right hand to Victoria. Victoria handed Abigail the key and she put the key into her right pocket. Once that was done she shifted her sword back to her right hand, took the flashlight out of her pocket with her left hand, and held it in her left hand again.

"Thanks, Abby. Now let's see what's behind this door." Victoria said to Abigail. The brunette switched her flashlight over to her empty right hand, put her left hand on the ring, and pulled the door open. She went inside and Abigail followed close behind.

-Inside the right room-

"Great. Another miniature library." Victoria remarked on their surroundings. They were in a room exactly like the one on the left of the hall. It had the same wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with old books and dust, the same small square wooden tables in the bottom left corner and the top right corner of the room, the same small circular table in the center of the room, and the same golden candleholder with an unlit candle in it sitting on the small circular table. However, there was no paper on the table with a key conveniently resting on top of it.

"Let's begin searching the room." Abigail suggested. Victoria nodded and together the pair began to search the miniature library for another key or for anything out of the ordinary.

[Post Word Count: 956]
[Total Word Count: 5,202/11,000]

-Inside the miniature library on the right side of the large room-

Victoria and Abigail searched the room for a key to the door in the back of the hall that was still locked. They had searched under all three tables and had found nothing. Now they turned their attention to the dusty bookshelves loaded with books.

"Which bookshelf do you think is hiding the key, Abby?" Victoria asked Abigail a rhetorical question. The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"It could be any of them, Vic." Abigail casually replied. She pointed towards the bookshelf to the right.

"You take that one, Vic. I'll search the one in the center." Abigail instructed the brunette. Victoria gave a thumbs-up with her right hand.

"Sure thing." Victoria said and walked over to the bookshelf in question. She did her best to ignore the dust bunnies stirring to life as she reached about inside the bookshelf with her left hand. The dust had not been disturbed in a long time and it was starting to attack her nose and throat. It was getting difficult to breathe, so she had to step away before she was overwhelmed.

Victoria still saw dust floating around the old bookshelf as she waited for it to clear up enough so that she could go back and sift through the books in search of a key. The brunette shifted her flashlight to her left hand so that she could resume the search with her right hand. While she waited she turned left to see how Abigail was doing.

"Huh... what's this?" Abigail asked no one in particular. Victoria watched the blonde move her right hand and grab a book. Abigail pulled it back and Victoria heard the sound of metal grinding on stone. Abigail jumped back as the bookshelf moved forward and then slid to the left, revealing a square alcove with a golden key inside.

"Well, there's a key. But I'm not sure if it's the key we need." Abigail said to Victoria. Victoria shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's grab it anyway." Victoria suggested. Abigail motioned "after you" with her sword and Victoria walked up to the alcove, grabbing the key with her right hand. She walked away and the bookshelf moved back into position without any action on their part.

"OK, let's try that door we couldn't open earlier." Victoria suggested to her friend. Abigail nodded and together the pair walked towards the exit.

-Back in the large room-

Abigail shut the door to the small library behind them as Victoria waited for her partner. Once the blonde finished her task she rejoined Victoria and together the two of them walked towards the only door in the room that was still locked. Victoria walked up to the door and used her flashlight to shine light on the keyhole before gently placing the golden key into the keyhole, then turning the key left. The door unlocked without any trouble.

"Bingo." Victoria said aloud to indicate her success. She then removed the key and handed it to Abigail, who dutifully placed the golden key in the same pocket as the silver key from earlier. Victoria then grabbed the ring with her right hand and pulled the door open.

"After you." Victoria said to Abigail. Abigail went in first and Victoria followed close behind her.

-In the hallway-

Victoria and Abigail found themselves in a hallway large enough to allow eight people to walk side-by-side. The hallway was approximately 200 meters long and it lacked any sort of decoration or furniture in it save for glowing yellow lacrima lanterns that hung from hooks on the wall. The lamps were positioned at fifty-meter intervals and they provided enough illumination that flashlights were not needed. The pair turned off their flashlights and put them inside their backpacks, then put their backpacks back on so that their hands would be free for possible combat.

Abigail looked at the lamps, then at Victoria.

"Someone might be home." Abigail said to Victoria, pointing towards the lanterns with her sword. Victoria nodded.

"Yeah. Someone's gotta be tending to those lacrima lanterns." Victoria seconded her friend's opinion. They then looked at the metal door at the end of the hallway.

"Looks like we'd better get to walking, Abby." Victoria commented.

"Yeah, but we'd better be careful. Who knows what's waiting for us deeper in this place." Abigail opined. Victoria drew Hellsinger from its holster and held it in both hands.

"Good point, Abby. I'll go first." Victoria said. She began to walk forward while Abigail followed close behind with her Silver Falchion at the ready. Their footsteps echoed in the nearly empty hall as they moved slowly and watched for hidden traps in the floor. They were not sure if there was any cult activity in this section of Haunted Guild, but once they got to the end of the hall and opened the door they would find out.

[Post Word Count: 820]
[Total Word Count: 6,022/11,000]

-At the end of the hall-

When they first started walking down the hall Victoria and Abigail had anticipated having to dodge traps placed in the floor or in the walls, perhaps even both. They had also anticipated an encounter with cultists or demons at some point during the walk. However, by the time the pair had reached the end of the hall they had not run into any of those threats. It had been a slow and tense walk down a long hall lit by Lacrima lanterns where their fears had been worse than the reality. Victoria was not going to complain about their good luck, though.

"Well, we made it, Vic." Abigail said to Victoria.

"Yeah, we made it through the hall, but we still have to see what's on the other side of this door. There's no telling what's waiting for us." Victoria reminded her friend that just because they had made it through the hall did not mean that there was no danger to be found. For all they knew the next room might not be empty. For all they knew it could be packed with cultists, demons, or both at once. Abigail frowned a little before she returned to a neutral facial expression.

"Yeah, you're right, Vic. I shouldn't celebrate just yet." Abigail conceded to the brunette. Victoria then put her left hand on the ring that opened the door.

"Are you ready for what's beyond this door, Abby?" Victoria asked her friend. Abigail gave a thumbs-up with her left hand.

"Yeah, Vic. Let's do this." Abigail replied. Victoria took a quiet breath, then opened the door and went through first. Abigail followed close behind.

-On the other side of the door-

The pair walked through the door and into a large library boasting wall-to-wall wooden bookshelves that were so tall that each bookshelf had a ladder on wheels sitting in front of it to enable patrons to access the top shelves. The books were all old and were so coated in dust that reading the spines to learn the title of any particular book was impossible. In the center of the room were several small rectangular wooden tables and hanging from the ceiling were glowing Lacrima lanterns suspended from brass chains that were giving off a yellow light.

"Look at all of these books, Vic. Have you ever seen so many books in one place before?" Abigail asked the brunette as the former looked around the large library. Victoria looked around the library herself before giving her answer.

"I can't say that I have, Abby." Victoria replied to the question. She could not recall having seen so many books in one place before tonight.

"I wonder how old these books are." Abigail mused aloud.

"Definitely older than you or me." Victoria remarked. Abigail's question had likely been a rhetorical one, but the brunette had replied anyway.

"That's... that's pretty obvious, Vic." Abigail replied with a mild rebuke. Victoria ignored the rebuke in favor of musing aloud.

"I wonder what's so special about this place that the door to the hall was kept locked." Victoria mused to Abigail. The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"I have no idea, Vic. Maybe there are some papers hidden in here. Or maybe there's a special book." Abigail replied and offered a few suggestions. Victoria found those suggestions to be plausible.

"Maybe. But where would those sort of things be hidden?" Victoria asked her friend. Again Abigail shrugged her shoulders.

"My first guess is in the bookshelves themselves. My second guess would be on top of them." Abigail offered two possible places to look. Again Victoria found those guesses to be plausible.

"Eh, good enough for me, Abby. Whatever books or papers that are hidden in here won't come to us, so we'd better start searching." Victoria said to her friend and walked to the right side of the library.

"You take the left side, Abby. I'll take the right." Victoria called out to the blonde. Abigail gave a thumbs-up with her left hand.

"OK, Vic. Good luck and be careful on these ladders!" Abigail called out to the brunette before grabbing the ladder connected to the bookcase on the far left wall and starting to climb it. Victoria found the ladder connected to the bookcase on the far right wall and began climbing it. She would check the very top of the bookshelf for anything important before working her way down the bookshelf and searching between the books for any papers that might have been hidden between them.

Victoria reached the top of the ladder and began looking on top of the bookshelf for anything that had been stashed up here like books or papers but found nothing but a large collection of dust bunnies and a thick buildup of dust. Victoria did not dare breathe while searching because it looked like any sudden movement could send dust flying everywhere. She did not want to get dust in her eyes right now because being temporarily blinded while standing on top of a ladder was a recipe for disaster.

[Post Word Count: 850]
[Total Word Count: 6,872/11,000]

-Inside the large library, four hours and fifteen minutes later-

Victoria and Abigail had spent the past four hours checking the top of every tall bookshelf and the shelf of every bookshelf for any special books or papers that might have been hidden on them or in them, but they had come up with nothing but a lot of dust for their trouble. The pair had descended their ladders and had met up in the middle of the library to discuss what they would do next.

"Well, that didn't pan out. I found a whole lot of nothing." Abigail said to Victoria. The brunette sighed.

"Yeah, same here. The search was a big waste of time." Victoria seconded her friend's opinion that the search had been a fruitless one. They then turned to look at the tables, then at each other. Abigail must have gotten an idea because she was the first to speak up.

"Hey Vic, do you think there's anything special hidden under any of these tables?" Abigail asked the brunette. Victoria shrugged her shoulders.

"Dude, I have no idea. If you wanna check under them, be my guest." Victoria replied to her friend, giving the blonde her blessing to check under the tables.

"OK. I'll do that." Abigail said.

"And I'll watch the door to make sure that no one gets the drop on us while you're searching." Victoria said before summoning her Light Machine Gun and facing the door.

"OK, Vic. There's no telling what's under these tables, so wish me luck!" Abigail said to Victoria. The blonde then picked a table, crawled under it on all fours, and began to check under it while Victoria watched the door for anyone who might take exception to them being in here.

-In the large library, one hour later-

"Ugh. This search is probably gonna be just another big waste of time." Abigail lamented to Victoria. The brunette turned away from the door to face her friend, who was crawling out from under a table and brushing her knees off.

"Did you check under all of the tables, Abby?" Victoria asked the blonde. Abigail made eye contact and shook her head.

"No Vic, not just yet. There's still a couple more I need to check under before I've checked under every single one." Abigail replied. The blonde stretched her legs for a few moments while Victoria looked on.

"Do you think there's even anything special here for us to find?" Abigail asked Victoria. Again the brunette could only shrug her shoulders in response.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?" Victoria replied. She wished that she could give her friend a better response than that, but she really did not know what to tell her other than that. Abigail took a deep breath.

"Eh, it's no big deal. There's only two or three more tables I need to check under. I've looked under all the rest, so I might as well finish what I started." Abigail said to Victoria before walking over to a table and getting on all fours, then crawling under it. Victoria turned back towards the door to resume watching for any unpleasant company.

-Twenty minutes later-

Victoria had kept her eyes on the door while waiting for Abigail to finish the search and let her know whether she had found anything special or not. The brunette hoped that Abigail would find something that they could take back to the Order Of Lightbringers so that they did not leave this place empty-handed. Victoria was not sure what to expect from here, though.

"Hey Vic!" Abigail called out to the brunette from somewhere in the center of the library. Victoria turned away from the door and quickly located her friend.

"Yeah?" Victoria asked her friend.

"I think I found something!" Abigail shouted her response. That was the news Victoria had been waiting for.

"What did you find, Abby?" Victoria asked the blonde. Abigail did not respond as she crawled out from under the table. She stood up, set something on the table that the brunette could not see because Abigail's body was blocking her line of sight, and brushed herself off. Abigail then picked up whatever she had set on the table and turned to face her friend.

"I found this bundle of papers!" Abigail exclaimed triumphantly. Unable to resist her curiosity, Victoria walked over to her friend to get a look at what her friend had found. Victoria soon arrived at Abigail's side and looked at the bundle. It was a bundle of papers rolled up and bound with a blood red seal of a pattern that looked like a pair of crisscrossed axes.

"Dude, the Order's gonna want to see these." Victoria told her partner. Abigail reached for the seal when Victoria held a hand up.

"Don't remove it! There's probably some seriously strong magic in that seal that'll go off or do something else really bad if we remove it!" Victoria warned the blonde. Abigail immediately took her hand away from the seal.

"OK, Vic. We found something that the Order's gonna be interested in. Now let's get outta here before someone shows up and tries to stop us." Abigail said and took off her backpack, then opened it and set the bundle inside before closing the backpack and putting it on again.

"I'm with you. Let's go." Victoria said to Abigail. Together the pair started walking towards the library door.

[Post Word Count: 906]
[Total Word Count: 7,778/11,000]

-Back in the long hall-

"Man, I can't believe we found those papers! I wasn't sure if we'd find anything other than dust everywhere!" Abigail said to Victoria as the pair walked through the long hallway lit by Lacrima lanterns.

"Me neither, Abby. I can't believe that you found them either." Victoria said to her partner. She looked ahead of them for anyone or anything approaching them and did not see anything, so she turned back to the left to face her friend.

"What do you think they are, Vic? Plans of some sort?" Abigail asked Victoria. Victoria took a moment to think about her response before giving it.

"They could be. That seal's gotta be there for some reason, so I'd think that the papers are pretty important." Victoria guessed and explained her reason for thinking the way she did.

"We might be holding something important like a list of targets for the cult. Or maybe it's a set of maps. Who knows?" Abigail asked Victoria as the two continued to walk down the hall. Until they took the papers to the Order and someone there determined whether the seal was dangerous or not then deciphered them there was no predicting what the papers were. The only thing Victoria knew was that they had to be of some importance in order to be hidden under a table.

"We'll take them to the Order and let them sort it out." Victoria replied. In the end no amount of speculation would give them a satisfactory answer. They would just have to hand the documents over and hope that the client saw fit to tell them what they were after the fact.

"Good idea." Abigail seconded her friend's opinion with an economy of words. The two stopped talking for a bit as they continued to walk down the hall until they reached the door that would take them back to the large main hall. They stopped in front of it and Abigail motioned to Victoria.

"You first, Vic. You're carrying the most firepower." Abigail said and grabbed the door, then opened it for the brunette. Victoria went through and stood to the right of the door as Abigail passed through, then shut the door behind them.

-In the large hall-

The pair were now standing in the large hall with three doors. It was now dark again, so the pair set down their backpacks, opened them up, and fished out their flashlights. They turned on the flashlights, zipped their backpacks closed, and put them on their backs before taking their flashlights into their left hands. Victoria dispelled the Light Machine Gun and drew Hellsinger from its holster.

With their flashlights in hand the pair walked through the large and deserted main hall while sweeping their flashlights around to illuminate their surroundings in case anyone was lurking in the darkness and waiting to ambush them. They made it out of the large hall without incident and walked through the wooden double doors that had been blasted open by the brunette a long time ago. They then walked to the door that led back to the long hall that led to the small library they had passed through earlier and Abigail opened it for Victoria. The brunette passed through first and Abigail followed, shutting the door behind them.

-In the small library, six minutes later-

Abigail shut the metal door behind them and the pair took a few moments to rest. They had done quite a bit of walking to get to the large library they had found, then spent almost seven hours searching the large library, then had spent several minutes walking to get to this point. Victoria watched the metal door that led back to the basement hallway while Abigail stretched her legs.

"I can't wait to get out of here, Vic." Abigail said to her partner.

"Me neither, Abby. We're almost out of here. Just a bit more walking and we can leave Haunted Guild behind for awhile." Victoria said to Abigail.

"Or until our next job takes us here." Abigail commented drly. Victoria laughed a little.

"Or until our next job takes us here." Victoria repeated. The brunette took a quiet breath, then gently exhaled. She then looked towards the blonde at her left side.

"Ready to keep going, Abby?" Victoria asked her partner. Abigail faced her and nodded.

"Yeah, Vic. I'm ready to keep going. I want to get out of here and take these papers to the Order so that we can get paid and go home." Abigail told the brunette.

"OK then, Abby. Let's get going. You know the drill... open the door for me and I'll go through first." Victoria said. Abigail walked past the wooden table in the center of the room and walked towards the door, then put a hand on it. Victoria walked past the table and walked up to the door, then faced Abigail. The blonde opened the door and Victoria went through first, then Abigail followed.

-Inside the basement hallway-

"We're almost there, Abby. All we've gotta do is go up some stairs, make a right, and open a door and we're outta here." Victoria said to her partner after Abigail gently shut the door behind them. As they walked down the right side of the hallway and stayed away from the open prison cells they spoke in whispers.

"Yeah. We've gotta be careful, though. Who knows when more ghosts will turn up?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette frowned.

"Don't say anything, Abby!" Victoria cautioned her friend, hoping that the mention of ghosts would not cause one to appear. Moments later a single ghost appeared ten meters in front of them and Abigail drew her Silver Falchion.

"Too late." Abigail remarked aloud. The ghost began to float towards them and both mages prepared to take it on.

[Post Word Count: 976]
[Total Word Count: 8,754/11,000]

"I jinxed us, so I'll take it on!" Abigail said aloud now that the need for anything resembling stealth had passed. She sprinted towards the apparition and swung her Silver Falchion, cutting it in half at the waist and making it emit a loud scream before vanishing. Abigail then turned to Victoria.

"Well, that's that." Abigail remarked. Victoria looked behind her friend and did not see any other ghosts, so maybe they were in the clear.

"Let's hope that that's the last of them." Victoria said to the blonde mage. They started walking forward again and had covered three meters when five more ghosts appeared in front of them and floated ten meters away from the mages.

"You were saying, Vic?" Abigail dryly asked the brunette. Victoria sighed. She had been the one to jinx them this time, so she would clean up this mess.

"I'll handle these guys." Victoria announced. She stepped forward until she was at her friend's right side, then stopped and took aim at the first ghost with Hellsinger. She carefully aimed and fired a single shot, hitting the ghost in the chest and punching a hole the size of a quarter in its torso. It screamed and vanished.

"Yeah!" Victoria expressed joy at the power of Hellsinger. She raised the large-caliber handgun again and aimed for the second ghost, then fired another shot. The handgun roared and the barrel flipped up from the enormous recoil, but the shot hit its target and "killed" it in one shot. Victoria repeated the process until the other three ghosts had met the same fate as their fellow spirits.

"All right then. Let's get going." Abigail said, being careful not to make any other remarks that could jinx them by causing still more ghosts to appear. The pair began to jog towards the stairs, their flashlights bouncing up and down as they moved to cover as much ground as they could before more spirits showed up. Their efforts were in vain because when they reached the halfway point a small army of forty-plus ghosts materialized fifteen meters away to block the path and the two mages came to a halt.

"Damn it!" Victoria said and aimed Hellsinger at the first ghost she saw. Abigail positioned herself in front of the brunette and she lowered the handgun.

"I'm gonna cut a path through them for us, Vic. Follow me closely." Abigail said. Victoria got ready to run.

"NOW!" Abigail said. The blonde sprinted forward and Victoria followed behind her. The pair ran until they reached the wall of ghosts, where Abigail began slashing rapidly back and forth, cutting a path for them just like she said she would. The ghosts directly in their path could not resist the power of the Silver Falchion and screamed before vanishing, but the ghosts to the sides began to press in on them, causing the hair on the back of Victoria's neck to stand up.

"THEY'RE CLOSING IN ON US, ABBY!" Victoria shouted as the pair continued to run for the stairs.

"JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Abigail shouted back. Victoria did just that and the pair reached the stairs. Without stopping the two began to jog up the stairs, their feet tapping out a frantic beat as they ascended the stairs.

-Haunted Guild, the first floor-

Abigail reached the top of the stairs first and made a right turn so sharp that she nearly slipped and fell to the floor, catching herself with her hands and one foot. She quickly righted herself and ran for the door just as Victoria reached the top of the stairs. Victoria made a sharp right of her own and ran towards Abigail, who had opened the door and was holding it.

"HURRY!" Abigail said, pointing her Silver Falchion towards the stairs behind the brunette. Victoria turned in the direction that the blade was pointing and saw a large group of ghosts floating up the stairs and heading their way.

"Oh come on!" Victoria shouted indignantly. She turned around and ran for the open door, clearing it first and running down the staircase outside. Abigail quickly followed Victoria and slammed the door closed, then ran down the staircase herself.

-Outside Haunted Guild-

Victoria and Abigail met at the bottom of the staircase, then ran as far away from Haunted Guild as they could go. They ran for thirty meters before daring to stop and look back at the building. Once they had stopped running their fatigue caught up with them and both mages stopped to rest a minute or two.

"Man, that was close!" Abigail said to Victoria. Victoria nodded.

"Yeah. That was too close. But we made it out alive thanks to you." Victoria said to her friend. If it had not been for Abigail's quick thinking and quick hands they might not had made it through the ghost ambush.

"Man, I hate that place." Abigail complained about Haunted Guild. Victoria laughed a little.

"Me too, Abby. I don't want to go there again for awhile... until the next job that pays big takes me there. Then I'll go there again." Victoria said. She watched the Haunted Guild for any signs of the ghosts coming out to give chase. No ghosts had appeared yet, but that did not mean that they would not emerge from the Haunted Guild to pursue the two mages.

"Speaking of big pay, let's go turn the papers in to the Order. I want to get paid and go home already." Abigail remarked.

"Yeah. Let's get going." Victoria said. They put away their weapons and flashlights and located Victoria's Centaur, then climbed on board. Victoria fished the ignition key out of her pocket and put it in the ignition, then cranked the hovercycle up. She gently accelerated and turned it around until they pointed away from the Haunted Guild, then increased the vehicle's speed and made a beeline for Holy Castle.

[Post Word Count: 986]
[Total Word Count: 9,740/11,000]

-Outside Holy Castle, six hours later-

Victoria and Abigail came to a halt outside Holy Castle and Victoria parked the Centaur about ten meters away from the front gate. Victoria turned the vehicle off and the pair climbed off of it. They were walking towards the double doors of the castle when they opened and out stepped Father Morris himself escorted by two mages bearing a bag of Jewels each. The three met about four meters from the door.

"Ah, hello! I see that you two have returned from your mission. Did you happen to come across any cultists?" Father Morris asked the two mages.

"No, Father, we didn't come across any cultists. But we found something else that you guys might be interested in." Victoria informed the client. Abigail took off her backpack, opened it up, fished out the rolled-up papers with the blood red seal on them, and zipped up her backpack, then handed the papers to the bespectacled man. Once he took them she zipped up her backpack again and put it on her back.

"Oh? What are these?" Father Morris asked the two mages as he inspected the papers.

"We don't know, Father. We didn't read them because Victoria cautioned me against removing the seal. She thinks that it's a security measure of some sort." Abigail informed the man that neither she nor Victoria knew what the papers were because they had not read them, then cited the reason why they had not read the papers. Father Morris examined the seal and his eyes narrowed. He then made eye contact with Abigail.

"Your friend was right to be cautious, young mage. This is a security seal of some sort. These can be very dangerous." Father Morris confirmed what Victoria had suspected.

"As soon as we part ways I will have the Order's best clerics begin work on dispelling the seal so that we can read the papers. Whatever the seal is protecting has to be of considerable importance." Father Morris told them. The two mages had done their part in finding and delivering the papers to the Order. Now they were focused on getting home, but first they had to wait and see if Father Morris had any more instructions for them before they set out for Capital Crocus. In the meantime the two people handed Victoria and Abigail a bag of Jewels each.

"I would like you two to keep an eye out for any more messages that I might send you. You two have done us a great service in finding these papers. I must hand these over to the clerics right away, so I will see you two later." Father Morris bade them farewell. He and his two helpers turned and walked towards the castle doors, which shut the moment they walked through the doorway.

"Well, our work here is done, Abby. Let's go back to my place." Victoria said to her friend. Abigail nodded.

"Yeah, let's go." Abigail said. The two mages put their bags of Jewels in their backpacks, turned around, walked back towards the waiting Centaur, and climbed on board. Victoria cranked the Centaur up and gently accelerated, turning the vehicle away from Holy Castle. Once she was safely pointed away from the castle she increased the Centaur's speed and set out for Capital Crocus.

-The Sheridan Estate, Victoria's Room, six hours later-

Victoria had taken off her socks, shoes, and other equipment and had set them all on her bed. Now she was standing around her room and trying to figure out what to do. She had had quite the day and was not ready to go to sleep yet. She wanted something to drink.

Victoria started walking towards her room door to go to the kitchen and get either a bottle of water or a can of Cherry Charge soda when Abigail appeared in the doorway. Victoria stopped where she was and waved at Abigail, who was carrying a large bag of Jewels.

"Hi Abby. How's it going?" Victoria asked her friend.

"It's going a lot better now that we're out of Haunted Guild." Abigail replied. Victoria readily agreed with her friend. The blonde walked forward and offered the bag of Jewels to Victoria.

"I owe you for loaning me the money I needed to buy a new roof, so take these." Abigail said and held the bag out for the brunette to take. Victoria pushed the bag away.

"You went with me on a job I needed help with. You also saved my life. As far as I'm concerned the loan's been repaid." Victoria said to the blonde. Abigail pushed the bag forward again.

"Take the Jewels. I owe you the money, so here it is." Abigail insisted. Victoria made eye contact.

"Keep them. You'll need the money in case anything happens to the new roof to your house." Victoria said and pushed the bag back to Abigail. Abigail frowned and looked like she was about to press the issue but relented. She lowered the bag of Jewels to her side, holding the bag in her right hand.

"OK, you win. I'll keep the Jewels." Abigail relented.

"We're even now, Abby. You don't owe me anything else." Victoria said. As far as she was concerned the debt for the new roof to Abigail's house in Clover Town had been settled now and forever. Besides, the money was of little importance to her. Helping her oldest friend was of greater importance to her than the loan.

"All right then, Vic. We've settled that matter." Abigail said.

"Yeah. The loan's been repaid." Victoria agreed. Victoria wanted to move on to another subject, but she could not find one to talk about. Fortunately Laura came to the rescue.

"Miss Sheridan, Miss Windstrider, the evening meal is ready." Laura said to Victoria and Abigail before disappearing down the hall. Abigail looked at Victoria. She did not have to say a word to the brunette. Both mages immediately left Victoria's room to go downstairs for the evening meal.

[Post Word Count: 1,006]
[Total Word Count: 10,746/11,000]

-Victoria's room, five hours later-

Everyone had eaten a meal of spaghetti and salad courtesy of Laura, who had prepared the meal and cleaned everything up. Now the Sheridan Estate was quiet except for the sound of the television in the living room which Lawrence had claimed for himself. Victoria stood in her room trying to figure out whether she wanted to watch television or not. After a few moments she turned the television on and flipped to the anime channel, then muted the television.

She had had enough of Fortunate Meteor and Cram School Soda Break reruns for awhile. She also did not want to see Midnight Sprint. She especially did not want to see Midnight Sprint if she could help it. The thought of seeing that smug protagonist boast about how he was "fortune's favorite" after pulling yet another improbable win out of his backside right when it looked like he was about to lose made her irrationally unhappy. As luck would have it Midnight Sprint came on the television the very moment she had thought about it.

Victoria turned the television volume back up and had the immense displeasure of witnessing the smug protagonist cross the finish line seconds ahead of someone in a white sports car with a cracked windshield and a front right tire that looked like it was going to go flat at any second. She witnessed the car with the cracked windshield pull over and saw the driver get out to examine both the windshield and the tire to determine if both would hold up long enough for replacements to be procured. Meanwhile the protagonist got out of his car and bragged about his win to the other driver, causing Victoria to change the channel in disgust. She did not want to see that kind of nonsense this late.

Victoria took a deep breath and looked at the television, which was now on a car auction show being broadcast out of Motor City. She left it on for a moment because she would rather see that than see Midnight Sprint. She recalled Abigail's words and remembered the alternative racing anime suggested to her named Starting Line. When things settled down and she had some free time maybe she should look into watching it if she really wanted to watch a racing anime.

Quickly growing bored with the show since the current auction was on a plain-looking white stretch limousine that was owned by some singer who was popular over sixty years ago instead of a really cool sports car, Victoria changed the channel and continued to flip channels until she had seen everything currently on television at this time. With nothing else to watch she flipped back to the anime channel and saw that Midnight Sprint was still on. Victoria clenched her teeth and left the television on that because it was either that or the boring car auction on the limousine. She watched as the credits rolled on the episode she had briefly watched and saw the preview of the next episode, where the protagonist was going to race a retired professional race car driver.

Even though the preview tried to make it look like it was going to be a close race Victoria already had an idea of how the episode was going to end. The former professional racer was going to give the race everything he had and would get out in front of the protagonist, then build a lead that would last until the last few seconds. At that time just when the former professional was about to win some utterly improbable occurrence would happen to cheat him out of the victory while the smug protagonist coasted to yet another undeserved win. It was something the brunette could see coming from a mile away.

Victoria left the television on the anime channel while another episode of Midnight Sprint came on. Since there was nothing else worth watching Victoria would endure Midnight Sprint, if only to give it a fair chance to prove that it had something that made it worth watching. Victoria saw the opening segment of the episode shown in the previews and braced herself for whatever was going to happen in the episode.

[Post Word Count: 706]
[Total Word Count: 11,452/11,000]