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Artemis was on the ground wounded and bleeding, with a groan he lifted his head and looked around. A few yards away laid Quince, bleeding heavily from some sort of a mauling. “Art… Art I can’t see you. Art. Art where are you?” the white spotted ket rasped, voice filled with pain, Artemis could hear how much effort speaking had on the other male. Digging his claws into the loamy soil of the Viridian Tangle Artemis dragged himself forward, noticing his back legs weren’t too keen on being in a working order. Why were they here again? There had to be some reason… The three a em wouldn’t be tangoing in the tangle for nothing. Speaking of three. Where even was the third party member they always brought with them on these things? As if on cue, the third member let out a wet cough and a whimper, bringing Artemis to turn and see Danny laying on the other side of him. “Artemis… Artemis I can’t see you.” The other male said weakly.

“You’re blind Danny.” He pointed out. Before Daniel could respond a voice spoke out to him. “You could save them, if you’re willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.” It was female and unfamiliar. Artemis heaved himself forward a little until he was approximately sitting and coughed painfully. Something in his rib region seemed a little broken here. Really kind of hurting even. “No I can’t. I ain’t that good at no first aid, y’know?” Artemis pointed out. The voice responded, “You don’t need that, you have the power to save them within you.” “Is that some kinda a believe in myself sorta a message you’re giving here?” Artemis asked, looking skywards for the mysterious voice. “I think,” Quince spoke up, before hacking his lungs out, “I think she means you got some kinda a magic Art… Art you got magic.” Artemis snorted and shrugged the best he could then dismissed Quince with a dry, “No I don’t. Quince? When did I ever have any magic?” Quince groaned louder, “Artemis, gods sakes, I’m dying over here. Don’t you love me enough to drag your carcass over here and help me?” Artemis flopped on the ground and replied, “Yeah but what about Danny? You think I’m going to drag myself over there, heal you with some unknown bs magic, then drag myself over to him with the last a my strength and heal him too?” Quince looked up at him, coughed up some blood, and gave him a frown, “Artemis. You just gotta come over here, use yer magic, then I can go over there, and fetch you Danny. Is that so hard? Or you can, I dunno, suck the life outta Danny, and then come here and help me? This isn’t some sorta difficult thing to process here.” “Well I don’t know Quince,” Art raised a brow, “Is it? Quince why’re we here? We had to have come here for a reason.” Danny spoke up finally to ask him in a wavery voice, “Wasn’t it so you could master your new power, Artemis?”

Artemis scoffed, “No? Why would I drag you two here for some stupid nonsense like that. Nah we had a job. What was the job Danny, Quince?” Danny seemed to look at him, blind eyes focusing way too well on him, “For one of us to learn the Dasrah spell?” Quince chimed in, “Yeah Art, did one of us wanna learn Dasrah magic?” Artemis replied, “Hel no. You two idiots? Learning Dasrah? Get outta here. None of us were looking to learn us any magic, Dasrah or otherwise.” Quince sat up with an, “Oh.” Artemis raised a brow and looked over at Danny who two was getting up despite the grievous injuries to look sheepishly back at him, “Well Artemis, I guess we made a mistake here then.” Artemis frowned some, “You two even real?” The two injured kets looked at one another then back at him, “No,” Danny admitted, “not really… We’re figments made to see what sort of choices you’d make while here.” “Choices?” Artemis asked, Quince looked at him then sounded apologetic, “Yeah… You were supposed to choose either saving us or yourself and boy ain’t this been embarrassing.” “More like sick is what this is. You going around subjecting people to these sort of visions all the time you spooky voice lady?” Artemis accused the unknown voice in the sky. “Artemis don’t speak to a goddess like that it’s rude.” Daniel looked wary at him.

“No Danny, or not real Danny. Look lady, this is sick of you. It’s messed up. You got a blind ket acting like he can see any everything, which is insensitive I’ll have you know. And I know my partner. He don’t got the balls to say something like he loves me cause he ain’t comfortable with saying that yet and I respect that. What sort of a bracket even is this? What you wanting to put some kets in therapy? You going around traumatising people over here? Get outta here. I got a job to do, not lay around bleeding to death in some crazy god-induced hallucination.” Artemis stood up, aware the bleeding and the broken body was all just some huge con. “Enough. I’ll end this vision.” The voice spoke and in a flash Artemis was in a clearing with a goddess and his two partners laying on the ground twitching and moaning. “You’re doing this to them too? Lady, you are one sick animal.” Artemis scowled at the goddess Saoris. The goddess frowned back and just like that the two woke with a jump. “Mom? Mom! Where are you?!” Danny shouted, frantically searching around with his sniffer. Artemis gave Saoris a hard look and asked her sternly, “You gave the blind ket visions of his mother?” “Art?” Danny asked, going still, confused. Next thing Art knew he was on the ground his ribs getting compressed by Quincey, “Art! Art oh my gods partner I saw you dying and we were arguing and next thing you know it you’re fine and we’re here don’t you do that to me again!” Art pet his frill and spoke up, “Relax you two, you’ll remember in a second. Everyone meet Saorise the life goddess. Seems we all had some sort of a mix up and she’s real sorry, now let’s get this over with.” The face of Quincey pressed into his chest rubbed itself against his light fur and nodded, “Alright. Alright Art. We got a job don’t we?”

After a few moments the three were back to normal and sitting in the presence of Saorise. Whether or not she was still here because she felt bad any or not about the mixup nobody knew but Artemis was a businessman and they all now knew the reason they came. Quince was briefing the goddess on the situation while Artemis kept a close eye on the lady. Every so often he glanced at Danny to make sure he was okay. Whatever it was he experienced, he still seemed the most out of it. And the most quiet. “So you see, your highness, or goddess, whatever you guys like to be called, we’re in need of some personal belonging of yours to complete a ritual. Or well, not us, our client.” “Tell her Ace is a good kid and we know her, Quincey.” Artemis chimed in. Quince looked over to him nodded and continued without missing a beat, “Right, you ain’t gotta worry about your artifact or whatever falling into the wrong hands here cause we did a character evaluation and everything and our client is a grade a genuine certified good person. So whatever this ritual is, you can be assured, it’s probably something either real harmless, or potentially, real good for the community. Which is why we’re here asking you for a donation.” “Make that a contribution, Quince, I don’t think they’re an organization.” Art corrected. Quince sighed, rolled his eyes, and continued on his pitch. Danny rubbed one paw over the other and stayed quiet, looking towards the ground, not that that meant a whole lot.

Saorise looked bored, if not mildly interested, and listened to the spotted ketucari absently in a form of polite acknowledgment. It was hard to say if she was sticking around because of her mistake or if what they were asking for was interesting enough to hear them out about. Either way. The goddess of life laid in the clearing and occasionally nodded while the one named Quince talked. She subtly watched the one ketucari, Artemis, as he reached a hand over and placed it on the blind ones’. The blind ket seemed to react to the contact by shifting to sit closer to the leader until he was pressed against the other’s side. Normally she didn’t stick around once her visions were complete. Yet the curiosity of this gaggle caused her to linger. They came all this way and one even was able to shake the vision without completing it all for a personal belonging of hers? It was apparent enough, being in the company of the three now that none of them had any particular spark towards Dasrah magic. Really, they shouldn’t even be here in the tangle with her at all. Yet somehow they stubbornly made their way here anyways for her audience. That was what shifted her decision. Once the spotted one finished his spiel with a, “Did you get all that?” She rose. “Artemis, Quince, Daniel. For braving my trial and seeking me out I will do as you ask. Come with me and I will impart to you one of my cherished belongings. But, know this; the next time our paths cross, I expect you to be more ready.” Artemis finished licking Daniel’s frill and let him go to reply, “Sure, but if you ever play some sick head game on any of us again, you do well knowing we’re not going to take it very kindly. Your highness.”
“I suspect you will not.” She replied, and lead the three to her home.

Ritual item obtained the three left the Tangle in favor of camping out in the Bayan for the night. Daniel was this time pressed to one side of Artemis while Quince was held on the other. “We were in our home cave and I was young again,” Daniel talked, recounting what happened in his vision while seeking the solace of his leader. “Sick goddess.” Artemis supplied, Daniel nodded against his back and continued, “I heard my mom calling out to me and everything smelled like blood. I think my brother could have been there it was hard to tell cause I couldn’t really find my way around. And she was trying to guide me over to her and then she tried to explain there was only one way to save her or myself and I...“ Quince spoke up, “Hey, you ain’t gotta tell us what all you decided there Danny. Ain’t nobody going to judge ya either way. It don’t count anyways on account of none of us even got no magic. I imagine we couldn’t have completed them trails anyways no matter what all we picked.” Artemis nodded before resting his chin on Quince’s head. “That’s right, whole load of bogus right there. All over some crazy misunderstanding.” Daniel pressed his face against Art’s back and breathed in his scent, “Yeah… Yeah I know… I never got a chance to even speak to my mom before she left me. I don’t even know what I would have chosen anyways. Art woke me up. What’d you pick Quince?” the blind males asked, curious but mindful of the question. Quince sighed, shrugged in Artemis’ arms and answered, “I didn’t get a chance to. We were arguing too much to make any decision before I woke up.” The admission made Artemis chuckle and run a tongue across the top of the other male’s head. Daniel then asked him a question, “Art? How’d you know it wasn’t real?” Artemis sighed and answered simply, “Because I know you two. And cause none of the details really worked right under a little scrutiny. The goddess relies on you to be in shock and too shook up and rattled to really question nothing and just go along with it. She didn’t know me well enough to pull it off I think.” Quince snorted, “Yeah, you don’t just go along with nothing.” Artemis felt Daniel nuzzle his neck and told him, “You can’t be tricked too good if you question everything. Besides, who’d go to that dump willingly unless they got a damn good reason anyways?” Daniel actually managed to laugh, “I guess you’re right.” The three then grew quiet. Squished up against each other they let the stress from the day drain out of them. Come morning they’d be ready for the trek back.

Description
Artemis was on the ground wounded and bleeding, with a groan he lifted his head and looked around. A few yards away laid Quince, bleeding heavily from some sort of a mauling. “Art… Art I can’t see you. Art. Art where are you?” the white spotted ket rasped, voice filled with pain, Artemis could hear how much effort speaking had on the other male. Digging his claws into the loamy soil of the Viridian Tangle Artemis dragged himself forward, noticing his back legs weren’t too keen on being in a working order. Why were they here again? There had to be some reason… The three a em wouldn’t be tangoing in the tangle for nothing. Speaking of three. Where even was the third party member they always brought with them on these things? As if on cue, the third member let out a wet cough and a whimper, bringing Artemis to turn and see Danny laying on the other side of him. “Artemis… Artemis I can’t see you.” The other male said weakly.

“You’re blind Danny.” He pointed out. Before Daniel could respond a voice spoke out to him. “You could save them, if you’re willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.” It was female and unfamiliar. Artemis heaved himself forward a little until he was approximately sitting and coughed painfully. Something in his rib region seemed a little broken here. Really kind of hurting even. “No I can’t. I ain’t that good at no first aid, y’know?” Artemis pointed out. The voice responded, “You don’t need that, you have the power to save them within you.” “Is that some kinda a believe in myself sorta a message you’re giving here?” Artemis asked, looking skywards for the mysterious voice. “I think,” Quince spoke up, before hacking his lungs out, “I think she means you got some kinda a magic Art… Art you got magic.” Artemis snorted and shrugged the best he could then dismissed Quince with a dry, “No I don’t. Quince? When did I ever have any magic?” Quince groaned louder, “Artemis, gods sakes, I’m dying over here. Don’t you love me enough to drag your carcass over here and help me?” Artemis flopped on the ground and replied, “Yeah but what about Danny? You think I’m going to drag myself over there, heal you with some unknown bs magic, then drag myself over to him with the last a my strength and heal him too?” Quince looked up at him, coughed up some blood, and gave him a frown, “Artemis. You just gotta come over here, use yer magic, then I can go over there, and fetch you Danny. Is that so hard? Or you can, I dunno, suck the life outta Danny, and then come here and help me? This isn’t some sorta difficult thing to process here.” “Well I don’t know Quince,” Art raised a brow, “Is it? Quince why’re we here? We had to have come here for a reason.” Danny spoke up finally to ask him in a wavery voice, “Wasn’t it so you could master your new power, Artemis?”

Artemis scoffed, “No? Why would I drag you two here for some stupid nonsense like that. Nah we had a job. What was the job Danny, Quince?” Danny seemed to look at him, blind eyes focusing way too well on him, “For one of us to learn the Dasrah spell?” Quince chimed in, “Yeah Art, did one of us wanna learn Dasrah magic?” Artemis replied, “Hel no. You two idiots? Learning Dasrah? Get outta here. None of us were looking to learn us any magic, Dasrah or otherwise.” Quince sat up with an, “Oh.” Artemis raised a brow and looked over at Danny who two was getting up despite the grievous injuries to look sheepishly back at him, “Well Artemis, I guess we made a mistake here then.” Artemis frowned some, “You two even real?” The two injured kets looked at one another then back at him, “No,” Danny admitted, “not really… We’re figments made to see what sort of choices you’d make while here.” “Choices?” Artemis asked, Quince looked at him then sounded apologetic, “Yeah… You were supposed to choose either saving us or yourself and boy ain’t this been embarrassing.” “More like sick is what this is. You going around subjecting people to these sort of visions all the time you spooky voice lady?” Artemis accused the unknown voice in the sky. “Artemis don’t speak to a goddess like that it’s rude.” Daniel looked wary at him.

“No Danny, or not real Danny. Look lady, this is sick of you. It’s messed up. You got a blind ket acting like he can see any everything, which is insensitive I’ll have you know. And I know my partner. He don’t got the balls to say something like he loves me cause he ain’t comfortable with saying that yet and I respect that. What sort of a bracket even is this? What you wanting to put some kets in therapy? You going around traumatising people over here? Get outta here. I got a job to do, not lay around bleeding to death in some crazy god-induced hallucination.” Artemis stood up, aware the bleeding and the broken body was all just some huge con. “Enough. I’ll end this vision.” The voice spoke and in a flash Artemis was in a clearing with a goddess and his two partners laying on the ground twitching and moaning. “You’re doing this to them too? Lady, you are one sick animal.” Artemis scowled at the goddess Saoris. The goddess frowned back and just like that the two woke with a jump. “Mom? Mom! Where are you?!” Danny shouted, frantically searching around with his sniffer. Artemis gave Saoris a hard look and asked her sternly, “You gave the blind ket visions of his mother?” “Art?” Danny asked, going still, confused. Next thing Art knew he was on the ground his ribs getting compressed by Quincey, “Art! Art oh my gods partner I saw you dying and we were arguing and next thing you know it you’re fine and we’re here don’t you do that to me again!” Art pet his frill and spoke up, “Relax you two, you’ll remember in a second. Everyone meet Saorise the life goddess. Seems we all had some sort of a mix up and she’s real sorry, now let’s get this over with.” The face of Quincey pressed into his chest rubbed itself against his light fur and nodded, “Alright. Alright Art. We got a job don’t we?”

After a few moments the three were back to normal and sitting in the presence of Saorise. Whether or not she was still here because she felt bad any or not about the mixup nobody knew but Artemis was a businessman and they all now knew the reason they came. Quince was briefing the goddess on the situation while Artemis kept a close eye on the lady. Every so often he glanced at Danny to make sure he was okay. Whatever it was he experienced, he still seemed the most out of it. And the most quiet. “So you see, your highness, or goddess, whatever you guys like to be called, we’re in need of some personal belonging of yours to complete a ritual. Or well, not us, our client.” “Tell her Ace is a good kid and we know her, Quincey.” Artemis chimed in. Quince looked over to him nodded and continued without missing a beat, “Right, you ain’t gotta worry about your artifact or whatever falling into the wrong hands here cause we did a character evaluation and everything and our client is a grade a genuine certified good person. So whatever this ritual is, you can be assured, it’s probably something either real harmless, or potentially, real good for the community. Which is why we’re here asking you for a donation.” “Make that a contribution, Quince, I don’t think they’re an organization.” Art corrected. Quince sighed, rolled his eyes, and continued on his pitch. Danny rubbed one paw over the other and stayed quiet, looking towards the ground, not that that meant a whole lot.

Saorise looked bored, if not mildly interested, and listened to the spotted ketucari absently in a form of polite acknowledgment. It was hard to say if she was sticking around because of her mistake or if what they were asking for was interesting enough to hear them out about. Either way. The goddess of life laid in the clearing and occasionally nodded while the one named Quince talked. She subtly watched the one ketucari, Artemis, as he reached a hand over and placed it on the blind ones’. The blind ket seemed to react to the contact by shifting to sit closer to the leader until he was pressed against the other’s side. Normally she didn’t stick around once her visions were complete. Yet the curiosity of this gaggle caused her to linger. They came all this way and one even was able to shake the vision without completing it all for a personal belonging of hers? It was apparent enough, being in the company of the three now that none of them had any particular spark towards Dasrah magic. Really, they shouldn’t even be here in the tangle with her at all. Yet somehow they stubbornly made their way here anyways for her audience. That was what shifted her decision. Once the spotted one finished his spiel with a, “Did you get all that?” She rose. “Artemis, Quince, Daniel. For braving my trial and seeking me out I will do as you ask. Come with me and I will impart to you one of my cherished belongings. But, know this; the next time our paths cross, I expect you to be more ready.” Artemis finished licking Daniel’s frill and let him go to reply, “Sure, but if you ever play some sick head game on any of us again, you do well knowing we’re not going to take it very kindly. Your highness.”
“I suspect you will not.” She replied, and lead the three to her home.

Ritual item obtained the three left the Tangle in favor of camping out in the Bayan for the night. Daniel was this time pressed to one side of Artemis while Quince was held on the other. “We were in our home cave and I was young again,” Daniel talked, recounting what happened in his vision while seeking the solace of his leader. “Sick goddess.” Artemis supplied, Daniel nodded against his back and continued, “I heard my mom calling out to me and everything smelled like blood. I think my brother could have been there it was hard to tell cause I couldn’t really find my way around. And she was trying to guide me over to her and then she tried to explain there was only one way to save her or myself and I...“ Quince spoke up, “Hey, you ain’t gotta tell us what all you decided there Danny. Ain’t nobody going to judge ya either way. It don’t count anyways on account of none of us even got no magic. I imagine we couldn’t have completed them trails anyways no matter what all we picked.” Artemis nodded before resting his chin on Quince’s head. “That’s right, whole load of bogus right there. All over some crazy misunderstanding.” Daniel pressed his face against Art’s back and breathed in his scent, “Yeah… Yeah I know… I never got a chance to even speak to my mom before she left me. I don’t even know what I would have chosen anyways. Art woke me up. What’d you pick Quince?” the blind males asked, curious but mindful of the question. Quince sighed, shrugged in Artemis’ arms and answered, “I didn’t get a chance to. We were arguing too much to make any decision before I woke up.” The admission made Artemis chuckle and run a tongue across the top of the other male’s head. Daniel then asked him a question, “Art? How’d you know it wasn’t real?” Artemis sighed and answered simply, “Because I know you two. And cause none of the details really worked right under a little scrutiny. The goddess relies on you to be in shock and too shook up and rattled to really question nothing and just go along with it. She didn’t know me well enough to pull it off I think.” Quince snorted, “Yeah, you don’t just go along with nothing.” Artemis felt Daniel nuzzle his neck and told him, “You can’t be tricked too good if you question everything. Besides, who’d go to that dump willingly unless they got a damn good reason anyways?” Daniel actually managed to laugh, “I guess you’re right.” The three then grew quiet. Squished up against each other they let the stress from the day drain out of them. Come morning they’d be ready for the trek back.