https://www.instagram.com/theringmaster1981/?hl=en, https://www.tiktok.com/@the.ringmaster6?lang=en, https://www.deviant

Cadaver Cabaret, East Las Vegas, NV (2026)

09/16/2026

She's called the Tethrippon 999, and she was the peak of luxury.

Was, twenty years ago. Now she was a barely held together bucket of bolts, but she got you where you were going. Maybe not quite in the peak of luxury, but alive and in one piece has to count for something.

As they neared it, K'me placed his hand on the canopy lovingly.

"Did you miss me, baby?" he cooed. "I missed you too."

"Would you two like a minute alone?" the Ringmaster asked. "I can wait inside."

K'me ignored him. Non-vehicle people would never understand vehicle people. Their brains were just too different.

He popped the hatch and lifted it, then climbed inside the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment. He saw what was inside and his face lit up.

"Huaw!" he celebrated, taking the thing out and inspecting it.

"What?" Ringmaster said. "Did you find a magical compass that'll lead us to Eris?"

"Better!" K'me lifted the object high so RM could see it. It was called T'tua, and it was a candy bar imported all the way from Ferren. He had a stockpile of them at home. They cost him a month's pay but they were worth it.

"Zucar!" K'me exclaimed.

"You know," RM uttered. "Where I'm from, those are considered junk food."

"Where I'm from they're considered gold!"

K'me ripped the package open with gusto and took a huge bite, savoring its sweetness as he chewed. The Ringmaster, of course, was right-it was junk food. But right then it was the best meal he'd ever had.

He took another, even bigger bite, just about devouring the last of it. There was maybe a nibble left. Unless you counted the kako on his fingers.

The Ringmaster chuckled. The things mortals prioritized... They never failed to entertain him.

"Are you about finished?" he asked as he approached the vehicle.

"Just about," K'me said through the last remnants in his mouth.

He slid over a seat to allow RM entrance, popping down in the driver's seat. The vehicle started by finger-and-handprint recognition, so he placed his right hand over the reader and gently squeezed. There was a friendly little ding, then the vehicle started right up. It made a noise like a wounded jahjur, but it didn't bother K'me. It was just his baby singing.

"What is that abominable noise coming from it?" RM asked.

"That's just the su-a purring baby!"

"You sure it isn't dying?"

K'me laughed.

"Strap in, old boy! It's time for liftoff!"

He brought the canopy down with the push of a button. It closed with a sn-chk, securing them i side. He flipped a switch to HOVER and brought up the landing gear.

Then they were off.

K'me's driving before was slow, safe, followed the traffic laws to a T. His driving now was fast and reckless, traffic laws be damned. The Ringmaster couldn't help but notice what the difference was.

"Is this how you usually drive when you're not chauffering diplomats around?" he asked.

"Not at all! I save this for my closest associates!"

"I'm touched."

After getting it out of his system, K'me straightened the cab out and slowed it down. Way down. They were over Blazing Hill Forest now and needed to keep their eyes peeled for Eris and her sister.

"Hey, Ringmaster," K'me said after a few moments.

"Yes?"

"You said your power came back, right? You're a regular wizard again?"

"As much as it can on this planet."

"Something about Edenia messes up your mojo?"

"I think it's because my powers are Earthbound, and we're not on Earth. Plus, everything is so different here. Lifeforms are more complicated, souls act differently, the dead don't appear to know they are, and trying to get a specific read on anything is like trying grasp water; it's there for a second, and then it slips through my fingers."

"So your magic is no good here?"

"It's less good here. There's always a use for it though, as you've already seen."

K'me shuddered, thinking about Zimik and, in turn, about his dream in the basement.

"Why do you ask?" RM queried, thankfully interrupting K'me's chain of thought.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you could do that lifeform detection thing from up here, maybe get a bead on the women."

"Well, I can try. The problem won't be not reading any lifeforms, it'll be getting too many. That forest down there is full of life, full of death, and full of in-betweens."

"In-betweens? No, you know what? I don't even want to know."

"Probably not," RM chuckled.

"So we should have some kind of plan," K'me said after a couple minutes.

"Agreed."

"Because flying around and blindly searching is no plan at all."

"No."

"It's a waste of time and energy, and allows the strike team to get that much closer to Eris and Shala."

"Once again, you are correct."

K'me was getting frustrated.

"We need a strategy, some kind of game plan. Something useful to do..."

"K'me."

"Yes?"

"Do you want me to come up with a plan?"

"Well I'd appreciate it. I'm just an operative, not a decision maker."

"Fine. Here's the plan-we take all the information we have and try to deduce where they're going. Then we race there and try to head them off before they get there. Plan enough for you?"

It actually wasn't bad, even if the Ringmaster was being facetious. If he was. K'me could never tell with him.

"Yeah, that actually doesn't sound bad."

"It's the best option out of a very light selection. So, let's start with what we know.

"We know they went i to the woods on the east side of the palace. Their tracks point due east. So do the strike team's. We've seen nothing in any other direction, so it's probably a fair assumption that they're heading that way.

"So we have a direction, but what is the destination? Any idea of what's in those woods?"

"Not a clue. The city I can tell you, but fares rarely come out this far."

"Fair enough. The forest is a blank spot, so let's look beyond it. Fly around its edge and let's see if there's anywhere sensible they may be headed."

"Copy that."

So K'me picked a direction-north-and took them that way, circling around the edge of the forest while using the vehicle's bottom cam to look for any buildings there might be, or anything else that could provide some advantage to two women on the run for their lives.

09/16/2026

The long, narrow hallway opened up into a cavernous room with sparkling purple Klinium stalactites hanging from the high ceiling and little red sudimušen hanging between them or flying around.

The main feature of the room though, was the three separate exits, each leading a different way. Nothing really set one apart from the other two; no defining characteristics, no helpful signs posted. It was a total guessing game.

Where they led though, Eris remembered perfectly. She nearly learned the hard way to NEVER take one of them, as it led to a kalbů's den, and going that way was a good way to get eaten. She was just lucky the creature wasn't home that day.

Another path led under the Blazing Hill Forest, coming out into a ravine on the south side of Blazing Hill Palace-right back where they started. The amount of energy and their dwindling resources they would expend was inconceivable. They'd probably have better luck with the kalbů.

The final path-the one they needed-ended in a small underground lake fed by a waterfall and fed out into Zahmpzim's River. The river led all the way into Eden City, but they wouldn't be able to take it half that far. The water gets really rough and dangerous for several kilometers, with a decent-sized waterfall along the way.

But they only needed to get away from Shala's team. If they couldn't do that, it wouldn't matter if they floated all the way to the city or to Alpha Centauri; they were goners.

So they had to decide, and they had to decide quickly, for company was on its way.

"How do we do this?" Eris asked.

"Listen for rushing water," Shala answered.

So they each picked a path and listened, with Shala taking up the third. And they heard it-the sound of rushing water. Down all three paths.

"How can they all sound like the river?" Eris asked incredulously.

"Sound does strange things down here, sis. It can't be trusted."

"Then what do we do?"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of rushing boots headed their way. They had about seconds to make this choice now. Left, middle, or right?

"This way!" Shala whispered sharply.

"Why that way?"

"Because it looks pretty! Now come on!"

The two ran off down their chosen path, the strike team seconds behind them.

09/16/2026

Heading inside the small closet under the stairs, K'me had a thought: I'm getting too old for this crawling around in the dark h'aq. Lasa would have said he was only as old as he felt. Of that was the case, he should be mummified and stored in a museum somewhere.

Seriously, he was a mess. Stiff joints, aching back, dry flagdalla. He felt like a walking co**se.

But, old guy issues aside, he had a job to do.

And speaking of walking co**ses, what was that madness with the Ringmaster pulling that soldier back from death? Talk about creepy. K'me would be seeing that play out in his nightmares for some time to come.

It was the eyes more than anything...

Edenians all have huge, dark eyes, but Zimik's were... unserrling. Glazed over and vacant, no light whatsoever. He'd seen his share of dead Edenians, and that was one dead Edenian.

"But enough of that now," he scolded himself. "Focus. The ambassador is counting on you."

The Ringmaster, for his part, seemed unfazed by any of it. "Death comes with the territory," he'd said. As if that made it any better.

"Don't be so quick to judge; you're no prized peffer," he mumbled under his breath. Lasa used to say that too. A woman of many wisdoms was his wife.

Was...

He'd been thinking a lot about her and K'ato ever since he found that cheap toy in the laundry. He wouldn't allow himself to grieve anymore; he was passed that. But he could allow himself to think...

"Watch it!" the Ringmaster whispered sharply.

"Sorry," K'me replied. He'd been lost in thought and not watching where he went, ended up crawling right into the Ringmaster's backside.

"Time to wake up, K'me," RM said. "We aren't the only ones looking for Eris, and the other party has automatic weapons."

"Right," K'me agreed. "I just haven't slept in two days and I'm dying for a bite to eat."

"Would you like to go back and check Zimik for a protein bar?"

"No thanks, if I never lay eyes upon her again it will be too soon."

"I've resurrected beings in worse condition."

"Keep that story to yourself. Let's just hurry up and get out of here. I've had my fill of this palace for one evening."

"Agreed."

They crawled toward the back of the closet where it looked like a stack of boxes had been recklessly thrown about the small room. A door on the back wall behind them sat wide open, hanging on one hinge. The smell from beyond was dusty and slightly damp.

"Through here," the Ringmaster muttered. "There's a long hallway with light spilling in at the end of it. With the strike team on their heels, their only option would have been to take this path."

"Right."

K'me followed him through the doorway and into the hall. The lights apparently weren't operational in here; it was the only part of the palace he'd been to that didn't have them somehow still blazing after all these years.

He wondered about that, what kind of operating system Blazing Hill was on that it could keep it near full functionality all this time.

But then he stopped himself. He was drifting again. The lack of food and rest were really catching up to him.

And the Ringmaster... did he even need rest? Did he eat? K'me shuddered to think what types of things would find themselves on his menu.

Probably babies and small animals.

"K'me!" the Ringmaster called from the other end of the hall. "You're doing it again. Come on."

The Ferrenian shook his head, trying to clear the lûm webs. This would be the literal end of him if he didn't get a handle on it. He knew the situation was desperate, but he wasn't a god; he needed food and rest.

"Ringmaster," he called as he stepped through the door where RM had just been.

"In here!" came the reply from deep inside.

K'me stepped into the room and took it in. It was a basement, nicer than his entire apartment, probably even in the condition he found it in.

It looked like a storm had passed through. Artworks and marbre statues lay in pieces all over the floor, the walls had been kicked and punched and a huge field knife stuck halfway out of one.

"Someone very angry has been through here," the Ringmaster observed.

"I'd say so," K'me agreed.

"The destruction is throughout the whole room. By the look of it, I'd say our girls gave the team the slip, and the team didn't handle it very well."

"These guys are top tier operators; not known for losing their cool. What would make a whole squad of cold, hard shooters throw a collective fit like this?"

"Perhaps their own lack of sustenance and rest has something to do with it."

"How do you figure?"

"Think about it. Their mission was to kill Eris. They knew where she was, didn't know about us, and had an emotional connection to her in the form of her sister.

"Eris is a diplomat and no gunfighter. She has no training, only a small pistol with a single backup magazine, and the heart of a peacemaker.

"This should have been an easy, in-and-out mission, one night at most. It's now become a regular hunt. An old fashioned hunt, thanks to your sabotage of the disruptor.

"They have no supplies-which means only what food they carried into the field-and have had as much time to rest as you and I.

"Frankly, I'm almost more surprised they haven't turned on each other. I've seen men do worse over less."

"I see your point," K'me replied. "And I can completely see their perspective. I'm afraid if I don't eat and get a little bit of rest soon, I may make a fatal error and cost someone their life."

"We're almost done in here. Pull up some debris and have a seat; I'll finish up."

"Now hold on. I can still pull my weight..."

"And I want to keep it that way, because I am disinclined to carry you on my shoulders. So sit down and just breathe for five minutes. You're no good to me shambling like a zombie."

"Like a what?"

"Nevermind. I'll be back in a moment."

With that, the Ringmaster went back to his inspection of the basement, and K'me took his advice, pulled up the softest looking box in his immediate area, and plopped down heavily, finishing the destruction of whatever was inside.

It took maybe two blinks, then he was out like a light.

09/15/2026

Beyond the gilim den, the cave narrowed into a long hallway before opening up into another room. More burrows dotted the floor, making the going much slower than they'd have preferred. Nothing for it though; if they tripped and broke a leg now they were as good as dead.

Thankfully, they hadn't heard the sounds of the strike team pursuing in a couple minutes. The last they'd heard, it sounded like the team had met the gilim-and the animal wasn't as nice to them as it had been to Eris and Shala. Screeches and hisses, hollers and a short burst from an automatic weapon echoed through the cave system for several moments.

Then a final squeal, and the cave was quiet again.

"I hope they didn't kill that creature," Eris whispered.7

"I'm more worried about them killing us," Shala replied.

Eris said nothing. She was worried about that as well, but she still couldn't help feeling for the gilim. It had just wanted the trespassers out of its home, and certainly didn't deserve to die.

Another innocent bystander of this horrid war.

Shala didn't see it that way though. Her thinking was that if the animal didn't want to die, it shouldn't have gone against an enemy that was bigger and better equipped. That's just the way it was.

Mess with the gud you get the horns.

But Eris had always been a bleeding heart with a deep love for animals, while Shala could barely tolerate people most times. That's just the way it was too. Eris loved, Shala hated.

What Shala hated most right now was how slow going traversing this hallway was. The team was already in the cave system; it wouldn't take long for them to find their way here. If Eris and Shala were caught while trying to tiptoe around all these holes in this narrow cavern, they were as good as dead.

Her anxiety was peaked, and she'd never felt more exposed tha she did now.

"Hurry, Eris," she whispered while looking back the way they'd come.

"I'm trying," Eris whispered back. "This isn't ea.."

A short, sharp scream from the gilim den cut off her sentence. It sounded pained, like someone had gotten hurt. Her first thought was that the gilim was still alive and had come back for more, surprising some unlucky shooter and getting a good bite or scratch in. There were no screeches or squeals accompanying it though,so that seemed unlikely. Then it hit her.

"The traps!" she mumbled aloud.

Huwah! One of her traps must have actually gotten someone! She knew they weren't a waste of time.

If that was the case, they just evened the playing field a bit. She'd seen three of them back at the trees. Assuming her incendiary gr***de did nothing, that meant they were down to two now, the third now out of the fight with a fractured leg.

Of course, that still left five more coming from the palace. She hadn't forgotten about them. But her hope was that she and Eris would be gone by the time they caught up.

For now, there were still at least two guns in her immediate area, and their orders were to terminate with extreme prejudice. That broken leg wouldn't slow them down long. They'd set it, splint it, give him a weapon and some ammo, then leave him there while they continued the hunt.

Not because they don't care about their own; in fact, that's what this was all about. It was because the Company they worked for demanded it. They'd sacrifice anyone to get what they want.

And you want to go back to them, she thought to herself.

"They're a means to an end," she whispered back.

"What?" Eris asked.

"Nothing," Shala said. "Keep moving."

They were almost to the end of the long, narrow hallway. They could see it open up dramatically a couple dozen meters ahead, thank Qwah. She was dying for some open air.

Behind them, the strike team found their way into the den and was double timing it through.

They gave the area a cursory inspection, taking time to note only that their prey was not here. Then they continued through.

The first sign of trouble was a low hiss in the dark.

Then all hell broke loose.

Suddenly, Xrysh cried out. He grabbed at his leg, a pained expression on his face. There were three long gash marks going up it, purple blood streaming from them.

The something landed on Druurp's back and started biting at his neck. Druurp kept his cool and managed to yank whatever it was off of him, but the thing got away before anyone got a good look at it.

"What the hell is going on?" Yuj bellowed. "Everyone, check your god damn surroundings! Nothing sneaks up on us again, is that clear?"

The team-eight strong now that the other five had finally shown up-all acquiesced with a shouted "Ahoo!"

"Check weapons and ammo," he went on. "Those birqshes were here! I can smell Shala's traitorous stink! Be ready!"

The team acquiesced again and did as instructed.

While they were engrossed in that, the gilim crept out of a burrow in the wall and prepared for another attack. It leapt out of the hole with a loud screech, soaring toward Yuj. It caught him across the face with its claws as it flew by.

Yuj growled loudly and the team took that as the cue to draw down and fire. There was nothing to shoot at though. The creature was already gone, into another burrow.

"Alright, double time, on me! Whatever the hell lives down here doesn't want us here, and I'm inclined to agree with it! Besides, we have two fugitives to catch, so let's go! Move it! Move it! Move it!"

The team moved out with total situational awareness, watching every hole and shadow on the clock. The gilim didn't attack at this time, allowing them a brief moment of security. Then Glix stepped into one of Shala's traps.

"Aaah!" came his cry, short but full of agony. His leg was about to the knee in one of the burrows and he was struggling to pull it out, face turning blue with the effort and pain.

"What the hell is this now?" Yuj called.

That's when the gilim came back.

It flew down from one of the higher holes on the wall, landed on Lyyzki's back and dug its teeth into her shoulder.

The soldier grunted in pain but didn't cry out. She was tired, hungry, and now she was bleeding, but she kept her cool as she wrapped her hands firmly around the thing's head. She leaned forward as far as her balance allowed, then threw herself backward with all she had, ramming the gilim into the cave wall behind her.

Once, twice... The third time the creature gave an ear-piercing squeal, then finally let go. It dropped to the ground with a wet sound; dead or dying, she didn't care.

Yup came over, looked down at the ruined creature, then to Lyyzki.

"Are we ready to move now?" he asked.

"Aye aye, sergeant!" she said, slightly short of breath.

"Good. Then let's go."

09/15/2026

He knelt on the floor next to the body of the fallen soldier. Taking her ruined head in his hand almost tenderly, he lifted it about an inch off the floor, closed his eyes, and focused. His other hand hovered inches over the soldier's chest. His lips moved in unintelligible whispers, words K'me couldn't even begin to make out. Then everything went deathly still, absolute silence the sound.

The air grew thicker, heavier. It weighed down on you. Breathing became a task.

There was a faint sound, like static electricity, and K'me's skin tingled in the strangest way, fine hairs standing on end.

There was a sharp intake of breath, like someone who was drowning getting a sweet taste of oxygen. Then the co**se opened her eyes, sat up slowly, mechanically, and spoke through dry vocal chords.

"How may I be of service?" it croaked.

K'me looked down at the Ringmaster, absolute shock on his Ferrenian face.

"You can raise the dead!" he blurted.

RM looked up at him.

"It isn't resurrection, I'm simply borrowing her from death for awhile. When I've asked my questions, she will return to the Edenian Hereafter."

"If you can do this, why don't we just interrogate every co**se we come across until we find who the puppet masters behind the Conspiracy are?"

"It doesn't work that way. There are... limitations.

"First, it takes immense power-power I only recently got back. I can't do this all the time.

"Second, it only works on fresh cadavers. The older a body is, the more corrupted its mind becomes. Memories become unreliable, speech and motor functions go out the door.

"Third, I need permission from Death to question someone in his domain, and he can be finicky at times. He may not be in the mood to grant his permission."

K'me had no idea what to say, especially when he saw that the Ringmaster was completely serious.

There was a physical manifestation of death, and this-man?-this Earthling could actually speak with it? And gain permission temporarily bring someone back? It sounded like ghuul h'aq, but here he was, watching it take place.

The co**se just sat there in a daze, staring off into space, waiting to be questioned.

The Ringmaster didn't keep her waiting long.

"Who are you?" he asked the co**se.

"Sgt. A. Zimik. Call sign Banshee. ID 487189-495E. Commander of Dub-Saĝ Squadron. UEA Special Services."

"Who sent you?"

"Unknown."

"She's lying," K'me accused.

"She can't lie," the Ringmaster responded. "She is completely under my control. Everything she says is absolute truth.

"But she only knows what she knows. If they dealt with the Conspiracy through intermediaries, they may have never even spoken to their true puppet masters."

He turned back to the co**se.

"What was your exact mission at Blazing Hill Palace?" he asked.

"Capture the target. Retrieve any information with them. Execute the target, burn the site."

The two men's blood ran cold.

"Who is the target?" RM asked, though he already knew.

"Lady Eris, ambassador to Edenia."

"Execute?" K'me muttered. "We have to find her now!"

The Ringmaster held up a hand.

"Patience," he advised.

To the very dead Zimik, he asked, "Where is the target now?"

"Unknown."

"Are they alive?"

"Unknown."

"Were they a part of what happened in here?"

"Yes."

"Recount what you remember."

The co**se spoke slowly, in detail, and lef tout nothing.

"The commander had the target. She gave the signal. We breached the palace from multiple entry points, cutting off any escape.

"I gave her my report. Then..."

The co**se shook her head, as if trying to loosen the memory.

"The helmets... They were malfunctioning. The rest of the team had removed theirs. I left mine on. Headshots no fun...

"I got eyes on the target. The traitor. My blood boiled.

"I lined up a shot, but the commander, her sister Shala, shot me in the head before I could fire. The place then erupted in gunfire, my team now hunting our former commander.

"Shala took the target and ran under the stairs for cover. Flashbang. Smoke. Then... darkness..."

"Is that all you remember? the Ringmastwr asked.

"Yes," came the reply.

"Then rest now, and thank you."

He gently laid the dead soldier back down. Her eyes, still wide and glazed over, stared up at the ceiling. RM closed them with his fingertips.

There was a faint sound of exhalation. The air thinned back to normal, sound returned. Zimik was gone.

"Well," the Ringmaster said. "It isn't a lot, but it's a place to start."

"Isn't a lot? The dead woman gave us nothing!"

"Not nothing. We learned what their mission is, why Eris isn't amongst all this carnage, which way she went and with whom, and, most importantly, that they don't have her."

"As far as the co**se knew at her time of death."

"It's what we have. We take it and make what we can of it. Or would you rather we stand here twiddling our thumbs?"

"I just want to help Lady Eris."

"As do I. So let's go and help her while we can. We'll find more clues as we follow their trail."

"What trail?"

"The one Zimik pointed us to."

With nothing further, the Ringmaster began walking toward the east side stairwell, surveying the increasing damage with a low whistle.

"The fighting looked pretty fierce," he said. "I'm almost surprised Zimik was the only one killed."

"I'm just glad Eris isn't lying here. Knowing she's with her traitorous sister is bad enough."

"You don't think her sister cares for her?"

"She was sent to kill her!"

"They were sent to kill her. Shala might have received other orders."

"Why would she be given command of a team and receive a different set of orders from them?"

"Why they gave Shala the mission is an easy guess. She knew the target, had an emotional connection, knew the field intimately.

"Why was she given different orders? She's perfectly fine with capturing and interrogating Eris, but that's still her sister. She might not be so okay with killing her. I'm sure the Conspiracy didn't expect their agent to go rogue over it though."

"If that's what she is. It may be an elaborate plot to get Eris away from anyone who can help her."

"There is that too."

RM walked over to the staircase, observing the extensive toll the short firefight took on it. Steps were chewed up beyond use, the railing nearly half gone, the short wall under the stairs utterly devastated by shots. He didn't see it Becoming operable again any time soon.

He peered underneath the stairs; Eris's last known location. A small doorway sat in the wall underneath, the door smashed to pieces, boxes and other things inside scattered about the floor.

"Obviously, they went in there," he said as K'me walked up. "Either that, or Shala is a magician and made them disappear."

"Looks like a dead end. Going in there would mean certain disaster."

"Unless they knew something we don't."

"Such as?"

The Ringmaster smiled.

"There's only one way to find out."

09/15/2026

It was called £¥, by an author whose name K'me didn't know how to pronounce. What it was about was anyone's guess, as there was no book jacket, nor anything else written on the book itself. He guessed you just had to read it to find out.

He wasn't that curious about it, but he was curious about why it stuck out from the others. Not incredibly suspicious, but in this house of secrets it might turn out to be something. Especially since no one's supposedly been around to read it in close to twenty years.

He examined the rest of the books in the case. There were the mandatory arts and sciences books; Traliq, G'ferna, Milik-Xo-all the best known writers in their subjects.

There were also other kinds of books; a cookbook, a history textbook, and the more interesting fictional novels.

K'me had always loved a good horror fiction book; it was his guilty pleasure.

He checked a couple of them out. "Forge" and "The Eternian Mines." Both of which he'd read before, but were excellent books and he could certainly read them again.

If he had time.

He didn't though.

So, with a sigh, he put the books back on their shelves and went back to £¥. It was still there, waiting for him. He took it in thumb and forefinger and gently pulled.

There was a rumbling sound, just barely audible from where he stood. The bookcase vibrated slightly, rattling some of the smaller books. A very slight crack appeared around the edge of the, spilling in a sliver of post-dawn light.

He let go of the book and the case stopped moving. The rumbling vanished too. All that looked different was the crack along the right edge.

K'me peered through this crack, not keen to run blindly into a room possibly full of hostiles.

Whatever was on the other side of the bookcase, it was well-lit. Green-yellow Edenian sunshine bounced off the walls from the windows and skylights and an opened door he could just barely see on the other side of the room. No bodies visible-living or dead-so, hopefully, that was a good sign.

He went back to the blue book, grasped it between fingers and pulled, slightly harder than before. The low rumbling sound came on like the distant thunder of an approaching storm. He supposed that was a good euphemism for it.

The book only pulled out about an inch from the others, caught firmly in place by something on the other side. By the time the rumbling stopped, the bookcase had turned about 45° inward, allowing the average Edenian to pass through comfortably. Or an above-average Ferrenian.

Leading with his P46, K'me carefully stepped through the passageway, checking high and low for tripwires. He didn't think the spec-ops team had been here long enough to leave too many nasty surprises, but it was better to be cautious in a place like Blazing Hill. It was a trapsetter's paradise.

Sure it was clear, he stepped through the passageway and into an aftermath.

It was the main hall alright; and it was in shambles.

Enough shell casings to stockpile a platoon, the marbre and zrewk wood chewed to pieces by countless shots. Evidence of a minor explosive detonating toward the middle of the floor; small blast marks, pocked marbre. And one very dead spec-ops soldier lying amongst it all, a massive hole in the side of their head the helmet apparently did little to stop.

Eris was nowhere to be seen, thank Y'valla. It didn't mean she was okay, but at least her co**se wasn't splayed out amongst this chaos. There was a chance she was alright, though not a particularly high one he thought as he observed the destruction of the main hall. Who could have survived the h'aq show that went on here?

He picked his way through the shell casings and destruction and made his way over to the co**se. As he got to it, a door in the back of the hall burst open and the Ringmaster came through, his green eyes flaring.

On instinct, K'me pointed his pistol, but lowered the weapon when he saw who it was.

"Boo," the Ringmaster said as he entered and saw K'me.

"She's not here!" K'me cried. "They could have her by now!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions."

RM noticed the dead soldier on the floor.

"I have an idea," he said.

Cadaver Cabaret

09/16/2026

09/16/2026

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