[center][color=007fff][h3]Indigo Afina – Treasure Hunting[/h3][/color][/center]

The sound of her name resounding across the arena brought Indigo to her feet to bow and wave with deliberate elegance for the moment the spotlight lay upon her.  After Sheldon pulled the crowd's focus to the next contestant, the Librarian made her way carefully past Hyun and Demetri to get out into the aisle, doing her utmost not to accidentally brush against the wounds of the beggar queen.  Descending to the main circular walkway that lay on the arena's elevated perimeter, she awaited the pronouncement of today's special event, her favorite book tucked beneath her arm.  So far, Indigo's image among the people remained rather incongruous.  Some thought the world of her for her beauty and power, while a few feared her for exactly the same reason, and more than a couple -despite acknowledging her talents- still valued her less than the top members of the more popular guilds.  No doubt this view stemmed partially from the humiliation dealt to Hyun and by extension all of Frenzy Plant on the first day.  After all, if the warrior guild's champion swordfighter, a former queen cloaked in resolve and purpose, could fall so easily, what were the rest worth?

She hurried to the announcers box on the heels of the other guild's representatives, flowing in a regal but less than speedy fashion.  Raising an eyebrow at the map offered to her, Indigo pondered what Sheldon said.  [color=007fff]”One...violent?”[/color] she asked, clearly bemused.  Then she unknit her brows and gave a short, bright laugh.  [color=007fff]”Oh, 'violet'!  Of course, so sorry.”[/color]  With the instructions given, she left the box and rushed out of the arena, her dignified but nevertheless potent determination to win visible on her face and in her movements.  Once outside the Doma Flau, she watched as Nolan of Phoenix Wing used his magic to call for help.  [color=007fff]”You read my mind!”[/color] she remarked as she summoned a book—[i]A Tale of Two Sons[/i].  Magic swirled around her, and before the eyes of any onlookers, eight copies of Indigo materialized, identical except for the book each held.  Paying no heed to the extraordinary situation, the doubles quickly congregated to study the map, choose a place to visit, and then speedily head off.  Only one Indigo remained at the arena: the carrier of [i]The Order[/i], who stood by the arena's entrance waiting for opponents to return and the subsequent chance to waylay them.

[center]-=-=-[/center]

As she trekked through some winding streets, the double carrying the book [i]Shovel Knight[/i] considered her existence.  Many magics out there used varieties of the common 'Fake' spell to create false doubles of themselves for the purpose of deception.  The kind of doubles made by [i]A Tale of Two Sons[/i] were, however, very different.  Its main character, courtesy of his dual souls, was like two beings in one body, completely distinct spiritually if not aesthetically.  Because of this, Indigo's doubles were the same.  Each had a personality slightly different from the next, which included self-awareness.  Since the original first used her most prized book to create doubles so that they might wield her other tomes, she'd known about their self-awareness, and accordingly given each color-coded names.  The wielder of [i]Shovel Knight[/i] went by the name of Sepia after the shade of brown, and often thought about how much more solemn and protective she was than the original.  These were powerful, poignant thoughts.

Sepia put them aside, however, when she approached the place she'd been sent to investigate: a local pound.  Quietly she pulled open the door with her free hand and went in.  At first glance, the vestibule struck her as completely abandoned.  Nobody sat behind the counter, prompting Sepia to feel a twinge of unease.  Deciding that the nature of the Games meant she had free reign to explore the assigned places, she pressed forward, stepping lightly and methodically down the central hallway until she came to the backyard.  The moment she entered it, her unease turned into instinctual panic, and with increasingly disturbed nerves she gaped at the groups of dogs cowering in terror in the yard's corners.  Before her eyes, something in the center of the yard moved, and from inside a dark doghouse emerged a terrifying form.  While shaped like a man, he had sinewy gray flesh rather than skin, mats of black hair all across his arms and neck, killer claws, a wolf's maw, and misshapen demonic horns sprouting from either side of his head.  Sepia could not help but shy away; an overwhelming sense of danger emanated from the creature.  She gasped, [color=007fff]”A beast-possessed soul.”[/color]  And in its mouth, glowing like a raging fire, was the orange lacrima.

Before Sepia could so much as garner her magic power, the beast lunged forward, and from the lacrima a jet of fire sprayed out into the air.  Sepia shouted and the earth obeyed, throwing up a fringe of soil to keep the flames from raking across her skin.  Over the barrier the beast leaped, and barely in time to avoid a blast of flame to the face Sepia raised a clod of earth to smack the thing's jaw.  The lacrima soared from its mouth to the tune of a bloodthirsty howl, but losing its toy did not prevent the beast from attacking.  To prevent it scourging her body with grotesque talons, Sepia hastily threw up a wall of earth on either side of it and pressed them together, leaning back to avoid the wild flailing of the trapped creature's arms.  Harder and harder she squeezed the earth together, until the beast gave a final cry of agony and burst into flaming ash.  Sepia shivered as the earth settled, her hand trembling as it scooped up the orange lacrima, and the dogs unclustered from their corners to give her their thanks by licking.  Smiling despite the pounding of her heart, Sepia pet their heads.  [color=007fff]”Good...good dogs.  I wish we had homes for all of you in our guild.”[/color]  Parting proved to be sweet sorrow when she left them to return to the colosseum with her prize.

[center]-=[@oblivion666][@Caits]=-[/center]

Over the heads of Zephyr, Carrie, Timothy, and Theodore, the sky suddenly went dark.  Any eyes looking upward would behold a huge cloud of small black shapes moving like a swarm of locusts toward the little Zentopia cathedral just down the road from where the wizards were fighting.  The cloud of fluttering forms descended closer to street level, resolving itself into a massive flock of bats.  Just before the bats touched the ground, they dispersed to hang wherever they could find a perch, leaving only one larger shape behind.  When the woman turned around to look at the others, stretching her large bat wings as she did, she gave a dangerous, fanged smile.  [color=007fff]”Don't mind me.  Just keep away from the cathedral.  It, and any lacrimas inside, are mine.”[/color]  Turning back, the holder double of [i]Nosgoth[/i], named Plum, walked jauntily inside, her wings brushing against the doorframe.

Once in, she closed the door behind her and took a look around.  Resting against the Zentopia cathedral's back was a huge iconographic statue, with hands stretched upward in atonement.  A moment later she laughed out loud at her good luck, for held between the statue's fingertips on either side was a violet lacrima.  [color=007fff]”Two in one!  Looks like today's my lucky day.  I get to complete my mission for the Mistress, and to deny an enemy a treasure!”[/color]  Flapping her wings vigorously, she shot up to the right hand, removed the lacrima, and secured it within a pocket.  She wasted no time in heading over to the other one, clawlike fingernails extended to snatch the extra lacrima for her own.

[center]-=[@Hatakekuro]=-[/center]

Jumping from roof to roof with eyes peeled, Nolan would hardly be able to avoid spotting Indigo walking briskly along on a street below.  At least, she seemed like Indigo; this woman's physical features matched hers exactly, but the way she carried herself came across as totally different, like a twin with a different personality.  This Indigo hustled along looking at the ground, with a downcast faced and nearly-closed eyes, hunched over slightly with her arms pressed close to her body as they clutched a yellow-spined book.  If Nolan followed her, he'd end up at one of the many Crocus parks, this one host to a sizable pond.  This Indigo -better known as Straw judging by the book she held, [i]Seven Days to Die[/i] approached the edge of the water seeming more disconsolate than previous.

[color=007fff]”Of course...”[/color] she murmured, her voice soft but filled with an unnatural despair.  [color=007fff]”All the places, and it's in the middle of the pond.”[/color]  Following her gaze, an onlooker might be able to spot the glint of a yellow lacrima lodged in the pond's muddy bottom.  Straw tentatively opened her book and began reading.  Before long, the ambient temperature in the area began to rise dramatically, but more so directly around the pond than anywhere else.  Wielding focused heart, Straw began to evaporate the water, so that she might walk across a dry slope and pull the lacrima from the dust.  It was slow going but required intense concentration, meaning that an interloper might very well go unnoticed.