Chapter Five: Hi Ho Morning!

It was early morning before the sun began to shine just through the windows near the top of the wall. The sounds of birds singing outside could be heard even through the thick walls of the workshop. Slowly the gears began turning in Rita’s head and the internal engines of thought began firing up. First she felt the warm body behind her with their arm wrapped around her waist. It felt nice to be held like this, snuggled and warmed up by another woman.

Of course that meant there was another woman in her bed.

Rita rolled off the bed faster than one could blink. On the bed she saw the still sleeping form of Lapis lying right next to where she had been. For a long moment Rita just stared at the woman, slowly she put things together in her mind until she recalled how the three of them were sleeping in the same large bed. It was still a bit of a snug fit with all three of them, but they made it work.

The thing that really stood out to Rita however wasn’t her surprise of waking up in the arms of Lapis, but just how much she was enjoying it. She’d never been one to question whether or not she needed someone to be her romantic partner, someone to cuddle, to hold. This revelation was shaking that foundation just enough to make her start thinking about trying to take her crush on Saturn seriously. Rita knew the chances were slim, but she also knew that she didn’t give up. She’d get Saturn to fall in love with her eventually.

Lying on the cold stone floor was less than ideal. Rita rose with a little bit of a shiver. The blanket had been thrown over Lapis from where Rita had rolled off and the poor girl was already starting to shake a little from the cold morning air. Rita fixed the blankets and tucked them in. From there she went over to the furnace, tossed in a few red fire gems and pressed a button. The furnace came to life with a bit of cough.

Soothing warm air started to spread out over the little room where the girls were sleeping. Next Rita looked around and found her brown leather trench coat. She threw it on without question. Finally she found her mother’s red scarf and tossed that over her neck. She was feeling warmer already.

Rita made her way into the workshop proper where she put together a small backpack filled with various supplies they might need, but most importantly she put in her three light grenades. She also holstered the light gun on her opposite hip. Unfortunately the light gun would be all but useless outside of combating those shadow beasts, but she could live with that.

By the time she was done the bedroom door opened up and Lapis walked through rubbing at her eyes. “Rita, why did you wake up?”

Recalling how nice it was to just lay there in her arms brought a bit of Rita’s internal flame up to her cheeks. “Because we have a job to do today, and I for one won’t lay around being useless when Saturn’s counting on me.”

Lapis’s hands dropped to her side and she stared at Rita for a moment with an unreadable expression. Finally she offered a smile and said, “Okay! Well then let’s do our best.”

Rita shook herself awake and away from her previous thoughts. “We need to get prepared, there will likely be a few fights ahead of us, and ones that will be challenging. We can’t afford to be hit even once.”

Wonder stepped out from the doorway looking tired as ever. “Then why are we going with you?”

Rita beamed. “Because you’re the only one who can really defeat them, and Lapis I’m sure has come up with some way herself to combat them.”

Lapis beamed and jumped into the air. “I DID?”

Wonder shook her head. “Weren’t you making potions until three AM last night?”

Lapis giggled. “Oh yeah. I did! But that’s not how I’m going to fight them.”

Rita threw the backpack on. “I’m glad to hear it, but how are you going to fight them?”

Lapis threw out her arm to her side and it began changing into a tentacle. “I was talking to Bobby last night and he told me about these deep-sea octopods that pulsate with glowing colors to talk.” Her arm started to pulsate with different bright glowing colors.

Rita had to admit, it was hard to believe that Lapis was able to use her transmutation powers so efficiently. In fact none of them had very powerful magic, Wonder could use illusions really well along with some lightning elemental magic, Lapis might have been bitten by a radioactive octopus thus gaining all the powers of an octopus, and Rita herself was mostly just a normal terran with only her mind as a gift. If it hadn’t been for the fact they were all Guardian Hearts, chosen heroes given access to extra powers and magic, they might have all suffered in school a lot worse than they had.

Rita felt it was her turn to share with them what she’d done. “I re-outfitted my secondary revolver to shoot light rounds, and made a few light grenades. Unfortunately it seems we’re running low on sunstones so I’ll need to make another trip down to the city to get some soon.”

Wonder raised her hand. “Oh can I go too? I have to go and bother my trainer about when she can tutor me again.”

Rita laughed. “You have a trainer?”

“I aim to be the very best illusionist of all time after all,” Wonder said with pride. “Not saying that I’m not already such.”

Rita turned toward the workshop door leading to the bailey. “Let’s get going then shall we?”

Wonder replied. “I’ll turn off the furnace then.”

After sliding open the workshop door and stepping out into the frigged morning air. The light was just barely peaking over the mountains and shining light into the bailey. A water fountain had a couple birds playing in it. A few stacks of hey stood off in the corner. The keep itself stood mighty and tall above them. A couple of rock spires stood out just higher than the walls of the castle but far enough away to avoid causing any real damage to the castle should they fall.

The moment the trio entered the keep the delicious scent of pancakes and coffee hit them like a train. Rita felt like she could almost feel her feet floating off the ground as she glided down the entrance hall and straight for the great hall's open doors. Inside she found the dining table was lined with various breakfast foods, from sausages, to pancakes, to cereal and coffee. Of course being the slow morning person she was, Rita gravitated toward the coffee first and poured herself a cup of black coffee, avoiding the cream and only adding a little bit of honey to sweeten it. Wonder had the same idea only she poured her cup half full of sugar and creamer before adding even a drop of coffee. Lapis on the other hand was quick at work getting to the sausage and pancakes with a bottle of orange juice that had come from who knows where.

Rita looked up as she usually did when she arrived in the great hall and marveled at the impressive architecture. To her right and pointing towards the front of the castle was a massive stained glass window colored deep sea blue with rings of purple throughout it. On either end lengthwise of the massive chamber there were stained glass windows depicting a purple sun rising or possibly setting into a deep blue sky. The ceiling of this room was made from some sort of pitch black wood and only barely visible thanks to the three giant lights each shaped like a star and larger than anyone in here, they hung from the ceiling casting light blue and white light across the room. It always left Rita feeling like she was outside during the night, rather than inside a building at any time of day.

It was also interesting to note that due to whatever mad architect built this place, the map room was actually located right above the great hall though not nearly close to as large as this hall was.

Rita took a seat next to Lamont, sipping at her coffee while simultaneously grabbing as much sausage and pancakes as she could onto one plate. “So,” Rita said after a sip. “Where’s Saturn at?”

Lamont took a bite of his own pancake. His free hand was empty but covered in a dark blue glow which was the same color of the glow surrounding the book he had held aloft next to his face. Telekinesis, a trait that at least half of all starlings obtained in some measure, and one that Rita was insanely jealous of. “She decided to go on a morning run instead of joining us.”

Rita’s heart sunk a little at the thought of not seeing her this morning, but she kept the hope that she’d see her again soon alive and well. After filling her plate with more food than should be allowed one tiny girl, she took a bite of the pancake and just as she’d thought, it was as delicious as it ever had been if not better.

“Why is the food always so good!” Lapis cried around a mouth full of food.

Lamont laughed. “That would be Brian’s secret.”

From the doorway leading to the kitchen Rita spotted the round older man wearing his chief’s apron and hat. He had a bit of blond scruff on his face and his hair was a little messy as usual. He was a terrain much like Rita, meaning no interesting star marks, no wings, and typically very dull hair colors and abilities. While starlings were gifted with the innate ability to create and wield magic, generally based on bloodline or varying factors, terrans were terrans were gifted with special talents, psychic abilities or in very rare cases elemental physical abilities. You'd never see a terran throwing fireballs all over the place, but you might see one who can read your mind or shoot a gun with more accuracy than anyone else by sheer instinct alone.

In Brian's case Rita could safely assume his talent was something to do with cooking.

“So,” Rita asked. “When are we actually heading out?”

“A little after breakfast,” Lamont replied. “Let’s let the sun get out a little more before we head down.”

Rita let out a sigh. “I might have to warm up the truck than, the old girl hates waking up this early in the cold.”

Lamont shook his head. “We're only going to be gone for a few hours tops, and it's just a standard investigation. There's no need to burn out your truck's breaks.”

Rita had to concede that was a good plan. No point in having the breaks die on the way down the steep mountain only to kill them long before any monsters could. The truck was in rough enough shape already.

“How long will it take us to get there then?” Wonder asked sounding very displeased with the idea of going on any sort of hike. “I would rather avoid becoming all sweaty and gross today.”

Lamont smiled and shook his head. “You’ll never change. Since I know where it is now it’ll only take about a half hour to walk down the mountainside to it, but walking back up is going to be another question.”

Wonder threw her head back and moaned as if in absolute agony. “Nooo, I can already feel my tender and gentle feet suffering from the pain.”

Lapis chimed in with her voice all bright and sunny. “This will be just like a field trip from back when we were in school!”

Wonder lowered her head. “I’ll have to resign myself to this task, won’t I?”

Rita smirked. “I guess you'll just have to deal with physical labor for once.”

***

Walking down the road leading outside of the castle always brought with it a wonderful view. Castle Night Thorn was built atop a large mountain which over looked the capital city of Starsera. Although Castle Night Thorn wasn’t the most impressive castle, it was pretty high up. Spires of stone reached up from all around the castle walls like claws pointed toward the heavens. A tower stood connected to the town and rose high up into the sky just barely higher than the castle was, and at its top instead of a roof there was a giant orb of the castle's colors deep sea blue and purple, inside the orb, just barely visible during the day was a yellow glowing light which theoretically came from a super massive aether stone, although since no one could get inside the orb, even through brute force, no one really knew.

The road leading down from the castle walls was large enough for two cars to safely pass by, but on either side of the road were small barriers to keep things from easily falling down the steep Cliffside and into the dense forest below. Although it was still possible to see a few car wrecks down the mountainside if one knew where to look. Rita often wondered if the people in those wrecks had died or not. There were two gatehouses still standing on the way down.

The second gatehouse existed at a fork in the road. One of the roads, the nice paved one, led to Starsera, the other one, the dirt one, had a steep decline down the mountainside and into the Lost Forest. This road was seldom used, but it led directly to Sunny Meadows, one of Rita's hometowns.

Walking down the old dirt came with the unfortunate side effect of Wonder complaining about the mud she had to walk through with her new lavender cloak on. Of course everyone laughed it off, but Rita couldn’t help but to shake the feeling that they were walking into something more dangerous than she'd been led to believe, and she was led to believe it was pretty freaking dangerous already.

Going down the mountainside was a little bit challenging as the decline was a little too steep in places with the terrain being all muddy, but it was passable. The Lost Forest swiftly approached them, and then swallowed them as they descended down to the long-awaited even leveled terrain. The light was difficult to spot directly through the massive trees, and the ground still had some puddles down here, with lots of grass growing in wild clumps, and patches of snow still hiding in the most shaded areas.

A mixture of oak, pine, and willow trees surrounded them on either side of the road. Often times the trees were so tall and old that they grew over the road itself blocking out all but the most defiant of rays of sunlight. The gloom and darkness of this forest led to a lot of people getting lost in here, and with the large amount of monsters living here, those lost in here usually stayed lost. Many nightmarish tales were told to the children of Sunny Meadows to keep them from venturing inside.

A small feathered raptor ran across the road and passed into some bushes, its feathers all blue and gold. A few more raptors quickly followed it afterward. Lamont held his fist up, pointed towards the sky indicating for them to all to stop. He glanced back at Wonder. Wonder didn’t need any more prompting, the look on her face after seeing the raptors made her look like she’d just seen a ghost. Wonder pulled out her wand and with a little bit of movement cast a spell enshrouding everyone in an invisible cloak.

Rita couldn’t see anyone, she couldn’t even see herself. Everyone knew better than to try and move. For several long moments they all stood perfectly still, and quiet. Another raptor poked its head out from one of the bushes, this one was larger than the others by a few inches being nearly a full three feet tall. It’s red and brown feather pattern made it look just as dangerous as it likely was. The raptor sniffed at the air, snarled with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and then let loose a high-pitched honk.

Five other raptors all came out of the bushes from around Rita’s group. For a moment they stood there, staring at the empty air where Rita’s group had been visible just moments ago. The sound of a cow mooing was heard in the distance. The raptors all stood on their hind legs, looked directly toward the sound, and waited. The leader of the pack honked once more and then ran off like a lightning bolt toward the sound. The other raptors followed suit with just as much speed.

For several long moments they all stood perfectly still. Finally Lamont said in a quiet voice, “You can drop the spell now. They’re gone.”

“And if they’re not?” Wonder’s voice came out weak, but fearful.

“Then we’ll have to fight them either way because they’d already know we’re here,” Lamont explained.

Wonder let out a small yelp as the invisibility cloak dropped from around them. She had moved herself into the middle of the group and was crouched with her knees to her chest. Rita looked around along with the other two, Rita had her hand on her flame revolver already, just waiting. Lapis had her left arm transformed into an octopus arm, and with her right arm she was stroking her fingers through Wonder’s hair whispering, “Shh, we’re safe, see.”

Lamont held his stave strong and shook his head. “I’m glad we didn’t have to fight them. Raptors are smart and dangerous predators. I feel sorry for whatever poor farm animal they're about to catch.”

Wonder stood up on shaky legs. “T-they’re not going to find one.”

“What do you mean?” Lamont asked.

Wonder still held her wand tightly. “That was just an illusion of the sound of a cow mooing. They won’t really find one.”

Lamont’s eyes went wide for a split second, and then he smiled and started walking down the road. “We should hurry up then before they realize that and come back for us.”

Nobody argued with that plan. Wonder still kept herself in the middle of everyone else. If Rita were to guess, it was more due to Wonder’s fear than due to her lack of combat ability. None of them had exactly gotten into any real conflicts since they faced the Fellstalker, and with their old team torn in half after that, they had little idea how effective they could still be in combat together. Rita had no doubts that she could tear anything apart by herself, but working in a team now might prove to be a real challenge.

It wasn’t long before Lamont took them off the main road and led them into the wilderness proper. Going through foliage, walking around deep mud puddles, snow, and even ice, pushing past small branches, and avoiding rocks were all a bit of a challenge. Wonder of course struggled the most with all of these things, as things kept catching on and ripping at her dress. It took a good few minutes before they finally came out to a small clearing.

At first Rita stared ahead seeing the old temple. Its stone construction still held it upright with surprising strength. The glass on the front windows were all broken and gone, but the image of a sun with a crescent moon in front of it were unmistakable. This was an old temple of the sun and moon goddess. People who used to worship Queen Solaria before she outlawed such practices.

Rita couldn’t help but to take a step closer. The grass beneath her crunched under her feet. Now Rita was looking down at her feet, and saw that the grass was all dry and gray. The ground here wasn’t even a little damp, it was dry and cracked. Several skeletons of trees stood in the clearing burnt from too much sun and long since dead. On closer inspection Rita actually found that the trees weren’t just dead, they were petrified.

Rita looked back at Lamont. “What happened here?”

Lamont began walking towards the old temple. “That’s a good question, now isn’t it?”

Wonder was practically shaking. “This place is creepy.”

Lapis was smiling brightly. “Oooo I bet there’s monsters in there.”

A small squeak escaped Wonder.

The others followed Lamont a little closer than before. Rita didn’t hesitate to pull out both of her revolvers. “Good, because my trigger finger’s been itching for a good fight.” It might have been false bravado, but it seemed to set Wonder a little at ease to hear Rita’s mock confidence. In truth Rita was more scared than possibly anyone else there, because she realized the danger of whatever caused the Shadow Sickness. She’d seen what that did to people in person after all.

Lamont was smiling. “It’s time to go explore some old ruins.”