Marrathew looked around the area while walking to work at the Great Oak; there were a lot more gnomes in the area than usual. Perhaps there was some kind of holiday going on? In any case, between the ceremony he just partook in and the newspaper headline of the day (“[i]Hunter Decimates Army Base[/i]”), the young man’s thoughts were too scattered to really focus on anything too much. Maybe work would provide something to focus on today. ----- Meanwhile, at the Thorn City Chambers in Marrathew’s destination, the five members of the Thorn City Council once again gathered to discuss city affairs. Darmae was at the central speaking podium while the other four were in their seats. This time, however, the elderly lady brought an unusual guest who was standing next to her; an elderly blind gnome. “Dara, who is this?” Wally asked. “This is Scer’Pi’Kenes, he has something very important to contribute to our meeting, Willy” the elderly lady responded with disdain. Mason glanced at the gnome as if he recognized him from somewhere, but nobody said anything else, so Darmae went on. “I’d like to start today’s meeting by reading from a relevant work. I think you’ll all find it to be quite compelling.” She smirked and took out a scroll; as she read it, Mason’s eyebrows arched up and he muttered something under his breath. “Silence!” the elderly woman proclaimed. At this, the other four councilors rose up with alarm as they felt their mana being blocked. “What is the meaning of this?” Wally asked, this time much more urgently than before. “This is a new era for our city,” Darmae responded, “now be good and die for the new order, everyone.” “No, I don’t think we will,” Mason stated as he reached into his pockets, grabbing handfuls of white mushrooms in each. “Cultivate!” he exclaimed as he threw them around him, surrounding himself and the other three councilors with the fungi. As they went into the air, they started expanding and taking on a more humanoid form, looking like living half human/half mushroom beings in the shape and size of children by the time the process was completed. “I’ll hold them off, you three get help!” Mason yelled. Darmae was livid that the youngest council member had found a way to block her spell’s effect on him, but she knew that her side had ways to counter it. “Now!” she yelled; in response to this, several gnomish warriors charged into the council room to fight the mushrooms. At the same time, Scer had transformed into a black, shadowy form; similar in size and shape to his gnomish body, but with red glowing eyes in place of the blindfold. He extended his right arm as if to punch the air in front of him, but instead of that pointless task, the arm expanded across the room and went right through Justin’s heart. At the sight of the councilor dying immediately, Wally and Gabriella decided to attempt to escape as Scer’s shadow arm retracted back to his body. The only entrance to the Chambers was currently occupied by gnomes that were fighting the mushroom men, so Mason decided it was time to make another path. “Vine!” he exclaimed, and a large vine came spouting out of the ground to a nearby window. Wally started climbing it first, followed by Gabriella, but neither of the coup’s ringleaders wanted these people to be free. “Willy is mine,” Darmae said with obvious hatred as she prepared a spell. Meanwhile, Scer once again extended his shadowy arm, this time aiming for Gabriella. The woman, rather than dodge the assault, took out a scroll and tossed it to Wally. “Save the city!” she exclaimed before she got pieced and killed by the shadowy gnome. Wally momentarily looked at the scroll, understood what he needed to do, and continued climbing. The elderly woman finally finished her spell. “Charge!” she yelled, shooting a large blast of energy at the man on the vine, but it was too slow; just moments before the spell hit the window, Wally had went through it, falling to the ground below. The spell simply singed the walls of the tree, leaving a black splotch in its place. “After him!” the elderly lady yelled. “Wall of vines!” Mason casted, creating a mass of vines to block the door out of the Chambers. “If you want to get to him, you’ll have to go through me first,” the young druid retorted. “Forget the old man for now,” Scer told Darmae, “kill this kid first. Once we have the Oak, all opposition will be pointless.” Saying this, the shadowy gnome slowly sank into the tree’s floor, starting the process of controlling it himself. ----- Thankfully, it wasn’t a large distance to the outside floor, so Wally only got minor injuries from the fall. He started getting up when he noticed a familiar man offering a hand of assistance; it was Marrathew Nieve, a prosecutor for the city. Although he had only been working there for about a year, he had established a reputation as an honest, hard-working and persistent lawyer. “Are you alright, sir?” the young man asked as he pulled him up. Wally took a moment to think, then responded. “No, actually. Say, how do you feel about Thorn?” Marrathew thought it was kind of an odd question considering the circumstances, but responded honestly. “I love it, sir. It’s home.” The older man smiled, then took out the scroll he had received moments before. Speaking quickly in hushed tones, he explained the situation. “Listen. Please take this and get it to someone who can use it. We’re in the midst of a coup by Darmae and an old gnome and I think they’re trying to take over the tree. If this scroll’s spell is cast, the gnome behind this will be blocked and can be fought like any other man. They’re only after me. Please, get help.” Finishing his thoughts, Wally handed the scroll to the younger man, who simply nodded and took off running. Marrathew knew where to go, too. 182 Blossom Street would have everything he needed. After all, Nieves weren’t known for backing down.