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[B]Guild Headquarters[/b]

After Persephone left the food court to get herself situated, Marcus followed suit and left as well to do… Well, he didn't know what he was going to do. He hadn't run into anyone in the council or Salem herself. And he wasn't going to call Salem if she was in a mood that accompanied discharging lightning into the sky. Hell, if it weren't for Persephone, he would have done some stuff that was important to someone that would help with something going on. At least that's what he would have tried to tell someone.

[I][color=tan]I guess I can talk to one of the guys about today. And maybe get out to go search for that golem… I do wish we were clear to find and rescue Aliira. I'd feel better doing that instead.[/color][/i]

Moments later, Marcus found himself seated on a bench in the Guild's now beautifully lit garden, having a conversation with one of his oldest and well-known friends.

[Color=tan]"You really think she blew me off? Well... She did give me the whole 'I don't have a phone' line, but... I don't know. I guess… Maybe you have a point. It's 2019 and everyone has a phone or should have one, right?."[/color] Lex said to a 3-foot tall rock golem who gave Marcus its undivided attention. The golem stuck its hand out and rotated it at the wrist to nonverbally show that it didn't possess a phone and was included in Marcus' "everyone" which only made Marcus chuckle. [Color=tan]"Well you don't, but who would you even call? Plus you literally hate everyone, Rocky. Even some of the other entities. That's probably why you're hating on a great evening I had with Pers and not you. "[/color]

Rocky shrugged in admission to Marcus' claim of hating everyone. Each of his movements created the sound of stones sliding smoothly against each other. His feelings towards others stem from humanity's use of stone. He was not a fan of the chiseling, drilling, crushing, and carving. At the same time, the golem was just a jerk that could hate anyone for anything. Despite his dislike of others, Rocky had somewhat of a bromance with Marcus. They had their ups and downs but behaved like two siblings that never stopped bickering. The small stone man put up his hands in the shape of a heart, making Marcus raise an eyebrow. Rocky bounced the heart up and down in a teasing fashion due to the person of discussion.

[Color=tan]"I'll ignore that. You know she's Circe's sister. Remember her? The woman from Dark Shadow that uses darkness. The darkness I used to create a monster that almost killed us."[/color] Marcus' words caused Rocky to aggressively punch his fists together. Marcus held a serious look on his face as he thought of the massive dark figure that had loomed over him when he last faced off against Circe. [Color=tan]"That thing is still out there hurting people… We'll find it and put it down. I've thought about it a lot and I'll definitely need Jay and Ifrit for the next encounter. The 'Brick Squad' didn't stand a chance last time and don't make any excuses. We got fucked up out there."[/color] 

Rocky let out a low growl and balled up both his fists up towards Marcus. The words stung, but it was a fact that the three golems didn't stand a chance against an entity made of tangible darkness.

The Brick Squad is what Marcus dubbed the solid earthen elemental golems he created. They lacked in firepower, but they made up for it in teamwork and personality.

[Color=tan]"Anyway, Pers seems like a good kid, and not having a phone does sort of add up with the whole living in the jungle thing… You think she'd get along with Mr. Branch or Flora better?"[/color] Marcus mentioned two separate plant-based golems to change the subject. Mr. Branch was a golem discovered during Marcus' childhood formed using the wood of trees, logs, stumps, and branches. Flora, on the other hand, is attuned and simply created from plant life. 

Rocky gave a shrug, but he did it more so to express that he didn't care and was still a bit pissed at Marcus' comments about the Brick Squad's performance. Giving way to his anger, he fell to the ground as a pile of ordinary rocks. This was Rocky's way of being rebellious. Marcus could have just forced him back into shape but would let the pissy golem be.

[Color=tan][i]Such a diva…. Don't need him to hunt that thing anyway. I just hope I'M not needed anytime tonight.[/i][/color] Marcus' next move was to head into the city in search of the entity created from tangible darkness. He had been searching for it since his recovery from his encounter with it but hadn't gotten lucky in his search. There were far too many reports of mysterious deaths in New York City, and it was difficult sifting through all of this information as a means of tracking the darkness entity. All of the killings and sightings could all easily be Circe. Her killings ranged widely in method, location, victims, and timing. Random was her modus operandi. The only thing Marcus had to go on were minor differences that were actually a pretty big deal. There were things Circe just didn't do that fell outside of how she killed. The woman commanded darkness flawlessly, there weren't many if any mistakes. Her enjoyment in her actions was obvious with how creative she was at times. The outlier killings were what Marcus focused on. Those were the sloppy ones and just didn't fit Circe. They were executed quickly with little thought to them and more importantly, there were too many survivors.

Knowing the difference not only helped narrow his search, but it kept him from possibly encountering Circe. The possibility of the two being together crossed his mind from time to time, and he hoped it was only just a thought in his head. Perhaps today would be the day he would face the monster he created.