Chapter 746: Festival

A radiant dress, faithful to Rosespire's festive wear, added onto her irrefutable coy. Without much hassle, she snuck her way around the table and sat, her gaze firm on Igna's cold drink, droplets condensed, the temperature, though average, felt hotter, an itchy sense of discomfort went up the back, "-glad to see you?"

"Why did you say it in a questioning tone?" her curvy lips straightened, an inviting flush made a stern gaze. 

"I was only joking," he returned, "-here, want some?"

"Sure," they shared the drink. Her posture kicked back, nearly hitting a wandering child, "-where's Saniata?" her shoulders refocused, her back straightened.

"Went off to buy accessories?" returned an uncaring answer, "-Draconis's out of energy for once," a side-nod displayed the boy curled onto the hard bench. The discomfort didn't seem to bother for the smile and sparks of snores made much of the current state. He ran his palms across the boy's hair, "-tell me," firmed onto her deeply inhaling the shared drink, "-why would the goddesses try and test?"

"Test," *cough,* her eyes watered, "-my bad," a red liquid flowed down her nose, the loud coughs brought mild attention to the table.

"Here," a handkerchief pressed against her nose, "-take care of yourself better," she took over and held the cloth.

"Embarrassing," she murmured, the watery eyes settled, "-the juice went down my nose, it burns."

"Take your time." The bustling crowd's too and fro took the motion of a pendulum, left and right, Igna served as the center point whilst the blurry feet moved freely – time seemed sped, albeit in illusion. 

"Why goddesses would test," her hands made for the carton cup that bore a presumptuous emblem of a muscular pig wearing sunglasses and 'hitting 'em weights' so said the local. 

"No more drinks," he snatched the cup, "-explanation first."

The shoulder slumped, she took accounts of the area and formulated her words, the lips opened, "-best to be safe than sorry, you know the precaution we ought to take. The idea of you being tainted by the time spent in said tower wasn't out of reach, ten years, that's a long time, sufficient to change a man for the worse. When Draebala hopped onto the table, the others grew distant; there was no telling what thee thought or wanted to do. The prior argument was one they had earlier. Fortunately, Miira mediated the different points of view – when you arrived, there was no holding back, feelings flew at one another. The rawness of their words wasn't acted, they knew it had to be done and fully expressed their thoughts. In a way, I'm still reluctant in you heading to that god-awful place. 'If Igna makes open threats or refuses to see reason, we'll shut him out, no questions asked. No one will help him – the answer is, there's no answer, what he says will have to be respectful and open-minded. If he's unchanged, I'm sure he'll take the blame for the argument and ask for us to stop fighting, even so, if we continue, he may take action, we wait for that moment,' those are Miira's words, she orchestrated the ordeal. The result succeeded expectation, you're free to do as is pleased."

"Precaution," he leaned and smiled, "-very well."

"Pops, I'm back!" said a cheery lady amidst the crowd.

"Over here," he waved, "-I see the shopping trip was worth the wait."

"Definitely," gleamed Saniata.

"Lilith," he slipped in a few last words for the night, "-good job on taking care of Vanesa, she's got a hold on her power, matter of fact, great job to the four goddesses. Draconis, Saniata, and Vanesa have turned into upstanding troublemakers, oxymoron, I know, still, look at the expression, tis all worth it." On that, the night made its way across the loud gathering, an unexpected bonfire rose dangerously close to the center of town; percussion tapped, singers sang, lutes rang, the party only but started. In the folly, the goddesses took time having one on one time with Igna, the conversations and laughter were similar, he but watched and moved to their whims and often, outrageous requests.

"I want a giant display of fireworks."

"A fountain of overflowing ale."

"A friendly bare-fisted cage fight."

"A lover, or one to douse my fire."

Courage and grit, enduring their torturous ways, '-I'm beat,' he thought, '-look at them,' the bonfire burnt – most logs charred and barely lit, '-they danced without care.' Guardians or whatnot, status didn't matter, populous and protectors intermingled. '-I better retire for the night,' he stood, one hand cradled Vanesa, whilst the other grabbed Saniata by her waist, Draconis had buried himself onto Igna's back. *Ancient Magic: Teleportation,* in before the conjuration, a sharp jolt flew across the forehead, '-I can't,' he panted, '-it's worse than imagined.' The cheers and musical hysteria softened by each step, the night grew apparent, stars firmed against the darkish purple clear sky. A jaunty back alley traversed into the north-eastern side of town, puddles of water-dipped and rose, the ground wasn't so much level. *Blood-Arts: Elian,* wings sprouted, Draconis lost his grip, *Mana Control: Wind Element Variant: Flutter,* landed in a bed of air. The greater the force applied, the faster he flew, a few flaps sufficed to completely disappear from the event. The manor stood grandly, the cold outside wall resonated against the clear sky, the moon was one to burn akin to the sun. Loud taps against the barrier, "-who is it?" inquired an intercom.

"Igna Haggard."

"Master," it gasped, "-please, come in." Up the jarring slope, along the curvy road, arrived the manor in a nostalgic beauty. A silhouette outlined against the well-lit porch.

"Welcome home," said the shadow.

"Éclair, mind giving a hand?"

"With pleasure," the children were soon put to bed. Tiredness from overexertion, no blood to refill the stamina, fell into a somberly deep sleep. 

The clock strikes 03:00, the famed devils hour announced in three tinkles upon a pendulum – a steady breeze flapped the hoary moonlit curtains. A chill subconsciously pulled the blanket onto the drifting sleeper. Unknowingly, the heavy eyelids move to favor the ajar window, there, the light dimmed against the curtains casting a semi-transparent shadow on the bed. 

'What the?' a scrape caught his attention, '-what time is it,' the eyes opened to be faced by a tall shadow, red beady eyes glared onto him, the window crashed by a forceful gale, "-WHO'S STANDS THERE!" he leaped, grabbed the figure's neck, and pushed down, "c-chill," it tapped, "-I yield." 

"Vesper?" moonlight shimmered against her scaly visage, "-don't scare me like that."

"You were scared?" she slithered onto the edge of the bed.

"-yes I was."

"I feel bad for the woman who tries to sneak into thy bed. I would have died on impact if not for my species' inherit firmness. You asked the question after nearly killing the intruder, not a nice way for negotiation."

"I'm sorry for being spooked. Honestly, why not tap on the window or better yet, take the normal route, walk through the entrance, climb the stairs, and then knock."

"I figured it be easier to sneak in," she shrugged, "-the weather's not so nice at 03:00. No matter, I've come to speak about a serious matter."

"Understood, follow me, we'll speak in detail over a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate, any preference?"

"Hot chocolate." 

Two warm glasses, a friendly grin on her visage, and an emotionless stare on his swiftly moved to the veranda, Igna leaned against the railing and gazed the garden, the same where Lizzie's grave rested in the Overworld. 

"The tower in Plaustan is about to be conjured. A high-level adventuring party, spearheaded by lady Achilles, is currently at level 196, it will take a few weeks until they reach 200. King of Monsters, you should know the tower was a creation from Scifer, he poured his heart to create a place for all races to train and earn treasures. The outer appearance might say otherwise, I stand firm, the intention was good. Lady Kylsha, the guardian of floor 100, was bested and nearly killed, the next demon guardian is Kanad."

"Kanad and Kylsha," he sipped, "-I remember them, those two were in the god slayers party. They made a mockery of the king's birthday at one time, always throwing pebbles my way, very annoying."

"It must have been, master Scifer saw thee as a threat, one far more important than the supreme god. That aside, I've come to request aid from my master," she bowed, "-please, when the adventurers reach floor 200, take Kanad's place and show them despair. Beat them within a brink of their lives, kill if needed, I care not, the tower must continue to rise. Preparations are ready, trapped souls and their life-energy have amassed, the core is ready to expand and rebuilt to a mystic-level dungeon – 400 levels, layouts from 1 to 200 alter; I've asked a legendary-level caster, an ancient hero in another world, Merlin, to take the core of a defeated realm and bestow it onto the tower. The request is simple, defeat the adventures and proclaim thyself to them, raise an indomitable dungeon to challenge the adventurers. What say you, my liege, interested?"

"I like the idea, facing the adventurers in a climactic battle. What about Kanad, will he not be angry, I mean, I would be if I've stood for so many years waiting for people to reach my floor."

"There's nothing to be worried about, the levels are linked by portals. They move in and out of the dungeon at will, he's been involved in books more than anything. Regardless, what about you, master, will thee take the challenge?"

"The team of adventurers must be strong to have bested Kylsha. Achilles will be at the center. I'm sold – have the coming floors be the hardest they've ever seen. My escapade to Draebala might last a few weeks, even months, or a day, depends if I find what I seek."

"Understood," the cup tipped, "-I appreciate the hot chocolate, I'll be on my way."

'Kanad and Kylsha, they sure were a pain to deal with alongside their master. Merlin, a caster from another realm, thing's gotten very interesting.' On those words, dusk to dawn, the festival, from 06:00 to 09:00, stopped for daily cleaning.

'Today's the day,' sword in hand and gun to the hip, '-Draebala, the hunt for a suitable soul. Let's do this.'

"Master, the guests have arrived," said a voice in the hallway.

"I'll be down," he exited, breakfast was served to the children. 

"Hello," gestured Intherna in the company of Miira, "-last night sure was one to remember," they commented.

"Especially the time where a certain lady wanted a fountain of ale," he glanced to Miira, "-and a cage for one-on-one fights," he moved to Intherna, "-a very eventful night."

"What is done is done," said they straight-faced, "-the portal's ready to go. Here," two crystal orbs hovered, "-one each, those are teleportation crystal, if the matter grows dire, destroy them, you'll be spirited away."

"Good," said Intherna, "-now then, Igna, are you ready?"

"Yes, shall we move out?"

"Are you sure?" interjected Miira, "-what about the children?"

"We've already gone over the situation. Besides, exchanging goodbyes isn't really my strong suit." In a flick of the wrist, Miira brought to life red-colored circles, vertical, horizontal, and a few slanted, "-may the blessings of the four goddesses be with thee, Igna." 

"-Wait, we're going now?" a glance towards Intherna showed an excited expression.

"Of course," she grinned, "-did you expect a massive show of power, or perhaps we were to teleport away from the manor," a conniving wink lit her otherwise mature disposition, "-no here, we do things simply and effectively, good luck, Igna, see you!"

'Oh, come on,' the body hovered and imploded, a circle of orangish-red puffed.

"-what happened!" two figures slid to a stop, "-Lady Miira?"

"Draconis, Saniata, socks on the wooden floor is dangerous."

"WATCH OUT!" Éclair exclaimed.

"Vanesa train," mumbled a monotonous voice gliding towards the two, their mien froze, she caught their heels, the duo tumbled, "-strike," returned a slothful thumbs up.