Resuming their trip back up the spiral staircase was a bit more straightforward than Simone had initially thought. Steward was more than happy to silently help move pieces of furniture and material over to the ripped portion of stairs. Simone watch the creature carefully as they worked. It wasn’t exactly threatening anymore now that she got a good look at it. A sad face with a very rudimentary mannequin-like body. It kind of reminded her of the manikin that had chased her down here in the first place but perhaps a bit silly. There were spots of paint on its aged form, places where it was clear that at one point it had been a colorful creature rather than the grim obelisk of doom that had pursued them to this point.

“Not much of a talker, huh?” Simone asked, pushing another desk over to lie down across the hole down into the lower part of the palace.

The machine looked down at Simone and then over at where they were about to put the desk. It shifted the desk a little and settled it, “What does a being say to the person it tried to kill against its own will?”

Simone blinked and looked up at it, “You really feel bad about that, don’t you?” She scratched the back of her neck, “I kind of wasn’t anticipating you um…”

“Feeling anything?” The machine said dourly, looking up at the stairs. They had another foot worth of material to pile up to go. “I do not blame you given my earlier demeanor,” Steward turned sharply and marched over to grab another shelf. Simone hurried to assist, glancing over at Roe who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, her eyes shut and a strange smell of burning sugar hanging around her. Was that mana manipulation meditation? She looked back at Steward who helped her lift the last shelf, “My life consisted of caring for the royal family’s needs. Cooking, Cleaning, Topiary, Folding Clothes, Tutoring,” It audibly sighed, “It was a life of simple meaning.”

“So you are alive,” Simone pressed.

“In a manner of speaking. Just like the fourth-kind, the Stewards were created to serve the Labyrinthians. We were the first to be crafted, an early attempt,” Steward said, “A machine with a soul.”

“So do you know what happened to the others? The Labyrinthians?” Simone asked, setting down the last step of their impromptu staircase and brushing off her hands.

“I do.”

“Did you tell her?” She asked, thumbing back towards Roe.

“Enough, until she wished to hear no more,” Steward said crisply. It turned and bowed once to Simone, “Before I forget to do so, thank you for saving her from her imprisonment-and from me.”

Simone cleared her throat, “Yeah, no problem,” She said and scratched her nose, “Let’s just get out of here. Okay?”

“Very well.”

They woke Roe and found Kik dozed off in another crate. Instead of waking the manic little creature, Simone opted to just carry the little thing while they made their way up the spiral steps. From the second floor all the way up it took nearly an hour to ascend all the way to the ceiling of the space outside. The walls changed as they passed into the rock between the Labyrinth and the surface world. The sheer clean stone being replaced with dark, craggy rock. Instead of glowing sconces lighting the way, everburning flames burned in dishes hanging from the walls. Simone felt her eyes grow heavier and heavier as they moved up, how long had she been awake at this point?

When they finally hit a door she felt like she was about to fall over, every step feeling like a chore in itself. Roe kept glancing in her direction which was starting to ride her the wrong way. She was about to snap out a comment when the door ahead of them opened of its own accord, revealing a large dimly lit chamber. The smell of dust and time hung in the air and she rubbed her eyes, pushing out and into the space. She turned toward Roe and gestured around them, “Where the hell are we? Where did that let out?”

“I’ve never been to the surface,” Roe admitted.

“I have never left the palace,” Steward added.

Kik snored.

Simone groaned and rest herself against a stone block on the ground to her left. It had a weird shape to it, long and rectangular and kind of pointless. She glanced around, trying to get her bearings. There were more long, stone rectangles in the room as well. She turned her attention to the door they’d come through as it shut on its own. Instead of an easily spotted door, only a smooth mural marked the spot. No discernable doorknob or way to pass through. She glanced at Roe again who was kneeling next to one of the stone slabs, running her fingers over it. After a moment she flinched and looked back at Simone over her shoulder.

“It would seem this chamber has been repurposed by the humans into something else than it was before,” She said darkly, “We may get in trouble for being here.”

“Yeah? Where are we?” Simone asked.

“You’re sitting on a casket belonging to a royal,” Roe said, pointing at the block beneath Simone.

Simone jumped and spun around, “Are you freaking serious? This is a tomb?”

“More like a catacomb, a series of tombs. Mother did say once that the human hive of Katal was built above the palace,” Roe said, resting her hands on her hips.

No sooner did she open her mouth that there was the sound of rushed footsteps not far away. Several sets of feet. Simone froze, how was this going to look? She read enough to know that the Demon Lord was the ruler of the Azar. Here she was, having picked Azar as her race, standing in the dead center of some very important Human tomb. Armed and with a bunch of strange-looking creatures with her. Oh yeah, they were going to roll out the welcome wagon. She slipped her weapon into her pocket and whipped her head towards Roe. Roe was muttering something under her breath, running her hands over her face and arms. Steward just stood there and Kik was barely rousing from all the commotion.

She clicked her tongue and looked back towards the hall where the sound was coming. What was she going to do, run? That was stupid. She had no idea how to get out of here. She sighed and crossed her arms, waiting for the hammer to drop. Only a few seconds later a small group of armed humans wearing the same uniforms as the soldiers she’d left behind before came hustling down the chamber, at the head of them was a very odd looking person. No armor and no symbol on him to speak of, just a comb-over of dirty blond hair and a snarky look on his face. He wore casual-looking clothes and had a sword hanging from his hip.

Mr. Comb-over slid to a stop and put his hands on his hips, “What do we have here. An Azar in the royal catacombs? You’re far away from home,” He said in his borderline game-show announcer voice.

Simone held up her hands, “Look I just got here, I had no idea where we were.”

“Quiet, Demon Worshipper!” One of the soldiers barked. “Adventurer Talis we should just put this one and its ilk down.”

Simone reached for her hip and instinctively stepped to the right, putting herself between Roe and the newcomers. The guy held up a hand of his own, “Hold on now, let’s not get hasty. I’m not a big fan of violence myself, gentlemen and I get the feeling that our friend here has some surprises up her sleeve. Or rather, behind her,” He said, flicking his eyes toward the space behind Simone. Simone didn’t look back but she did hear Steward take a metallic step to the right.

Mr. Comb-over rubbed his chin, "You just got here, huh? You aren’t wearing the usual Azar soldier fare, nor are your friends for that matter. Odd bunch,” He smirked, “What’s your favorite movie?” He asked abruptly.

She blinked, “What?” The sudden question caught her off guard. She looked at the human soldiers who were staring at the man in confusion. The man tilted his head, his eyes glittering with mirth. “Uh… B-movies? Didn’t do a lot of watching, why?”

The man laughed, “We’re good, stand down boys, someone just made a knuckle-headed choice of their race when they got called over,” he said, putting his hands on his hips and looking her up and down, “You are not going to have a good time here in Katal, I’m sad to say, newbie. What’s your PlayerID?”

It hit her like a freight train, “You’re like me.”

“Bingo!” He laughed and walked over, extending a hand, “Name’s Talis here in Orum but my PlayerID is JacobH. I died in New York.”

A chill rushed up her arm and she took his hand, “SimoneB, haven’t picked a name. Died in Manila.”

“From the Philippines?” He asked.

“Wisconsin, actually,” She said, “I did a lot of traveling.”

He whistled, “We got a traveler here, you’ll fit in with the Adventurers at least. Who are your friends?” He asked, nodding towards the others.

Simone glanced back at Roe and the others. Roe barely looked like herself, her pointed ears and pale skin had been replaced with very human features. She stood with Steward at her back and Kik in her arms. She locked eyes with Simone and gave her a very questioning look. Simone swallowed and turned back to Talis, “I got here over a day ago, had enough time to run into some interesting allies,” she said, trying to play it off.

“You work fast, might be Party material,” He said, “Come on, we should get out of here and get you to the guild hall before too many people see you. Bound to be a riot if an Azar shows up in town. Demon Lord Teyva’s army has been pretty aggressive recently and tensions are really high in town. Don’t want your first respawn burned on getting strung up, do you?”

A chill ran over her, then she felt as if she’d been hit in the stomach. She whipped her head back around at Roe. The girl hadn’t moved, hadn’t so much as blinked, but she could see the horror in her eyes. That’s where she’d heard that name before. Roe’s mother was named Teyva. It was a Labyrinthian name. The same name as the Demon Lord. She swallowed and nodded, “Yeah. I’d rather not end up like that,” She said and nodded to Talis. “Lead the way, I have a lot of questions.”

“Newbies always do,” He laughed, “C’mon, we’ll set you up with a room to rest in. You look beat,” he paused and glanced at the soldiers, “And I am sure that no one will be talking about the Azar Adventurer that just showed up today, so you should be good for now. Right boys?”

They looked at one another irritably but nodded. “Yessir.”

“Great!” Talis chortled, “Let’s be off.”