“I’m exhausted.” I throw myself to the ground, completely exhausted. My lungs were burning, I was covered in sweat, and I felt like my legs would just collapse right from underneath me.

  “I don’t think I can keep going.” I groan just as a bag lands on the top of my head courtesy of Avis.

  “We are here you moron.”

  I immediately jump back to my feet.

  “I knew that I was just-”

  “Being dramatic.” Avis continued walking towards the gate of the small town that stood before us.

  “You know, where I come from calling someone a drama queen is rude. Some would go as far to say it’s bigoted. I would say it’s personally offensive and I don’t find it—”

  “Gust.” Dardania’s voice echoes through the wind and Avis and myself immediately blow over face first into the dirt. Yet again, I immediately pop back up.

  “My harness!” I gasp and I start wiping off my new harness that I just got prior to leaving Electra.

  “Well, if you didn’t choose to have a leather daddy look and instead wore a shirt you wouldn’t have that problem.” Madison said as her and Dardania walked past us.

  “But I like it… I guess I could change. It is a bit weird not wearing a shirt.” I look down at my bare chest, with only a harness on. It does have a leather daddy vibe to it, but I don’t know—

  “I’ll never admit this again, but I like it. Don’t change.” Avis grabbed the bag off the ground and started walking faster towards Taygete and away from the rest of us. Dardania and Madison just look at each other, and then back to Avis, and then back to one another. They continue after Avis toward the town.

  “Did he just say I look good?” I yell after them, but no one answers.

  “Did he?” I scream again, and yet no answer.

  “Everyone is so rude.” I chase after them.

  As I pass through the gate in Taygete I’m immediately blown away by the town in front of me. Based on the way both Maia and Electra looked, I didn’t not even remotely expect this.

  Taygete was quite a bit larger than the two previous towns, but it was in complete disrepair. Half the buildings were desolate, the streets were filled with grime and trash, and the population was virtually nonexistent.

  “This— this is not what I was expecting.” I mumbled to myself, but Dardania heard me.

  “Over the last few years Taygete has fallen into disrepair. It used to be major trading hub but when the church burned down several years back, the Order abandoned and decided to move their operations elsewhere.” Dardania continued on further into the town not giving me time to ask any questions.

  At the end of the main street into town stood the burned down church, which was now nothing more than a pile of rubble, soot, and stone. Based on the size of the rubble, it appeared to be quite grand once upon a time. I’m not sure what the overall aesthetic of it would have been, but it was clearly large. Avis stepped up beside me and stared down the church.

  “Ten years. It burned down ten years ago.”

  I quickly whipped around to him, shocked.

  “Ten years? Then why has no one ever cleaned it up? Wouldn’t the Order do that?” I ask, genuinely confused. When Notre Dame burned down, the Catholic Church, and others, immediately jumped in began the work to repair it. This on the other hand was completely abandoned.

  “I don’t know.” Avis said softly before continuing further into the town. I figured this was the perfect time to look around, see if I could learn anything more about this town or the Order.

  After walking for a few minutes I found what appeared to be a market street. Several booths and open store fronts lined the street, but there was more empty stores and spots that there were functioning businesses. The cobble stone on the street was either broken or completely missing bricks making for a very uneven walk. Some places the street was completely gone and just dirt remained.

  Weirdly, there was a single wanted poster that lined the street. Every single building was plastered with this wanted sign. I walk up to it and immediately recognize it from Maia; it was for a serial killer.

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  “Be careful out there.” A woman calls after me.

  I turn to see an older woman standing several feet from me pushing a cart with some fruit on it.

  “They say that man has been committing murders all over the country, even The Order is having trouble catching and stopping him. So, just be careful out there.” She smiled gently as she continued on after issuing her warning.

  “Excuse me, may I ask a question?” I rush up next to her before she gets too far away.

  “Of course.” She smiles gently.

  “What happened to the church?” I motion towards the church at the center of the town.

  “Those terrorists in the Minor Arcana happened. About ten years ago, they attacked the church when several of The Blessed were passing through and burned it down. Countless lives were lost that day, mostly citizens of Taygete.”

  “Why didn’t the Order rebuild?”

  “Why bother? After the attack no one wanted to do trade anymore. They were too scared that they would be attacked if they did. For any issues people may have with the Order, they didn’t think about the citizens here before committing such a heinous crime. So, when trade bottomed out, The Order opted to move their trading hub to another city instead. Taygete hasn’t been the same since.”

  “Thank you very much.” I smile at her and nod gently to her. She smiles warmly back towards me.

  “May the Saint Bless you.” She turns and continues pushing her cart down the street, calling out that she has fresh fruit for sale. Though, there aren’t really any customers on the street to purchase them.

  “I don’t get it.” Avis said stepping up beside me. “The Order abandoned them and they just continuing worshiping that good for nothing Saint.”

  “Belief is complicated.” I didn’t really know how to respond to him. I had a guess as to what his issue may be with the Order, but I didn’t know for certain.

  “I think that’s bullshit.” Avis spat, not at me, just in general. He spun on his heel and walked back toward the church where Dardania and Madison were.

  As I approach the church, I arrive at the end of a screaming match between Madison and Avis.

  “Don’t give me that bullshit!” Avis screams at her. “You think just cause you hold all that power that you know everything. These people deserve our help. After what the Order did to them-”

  “What do you suppose we do, huh? We can’t solve their problems for them. We can’t rebuild the church and somehow make this a trading hub again. There is literally nothing we can do.” Madison yelled back at him.

  “So what are we supposed to do? Just let it happen? Just roll over and let the Order keep destroying towns like this?” Avis’s voice trailed off towards the end, he kicks a burned piece and lumber and storms off into the rubble. Madison walks into the rubble as well but in another direction.

  “What did I miss?” I ask as I step up next to Dardania.

  “Avis wants to play the hero. He wants to save everyone, but Madison is right, we can’t.” Dardania sighed. “I guess he heard what happened with the church and immediately suggested we do something to help the town. What that something is, no one knows. His heart is in the right place, but that’s about it. But, it’s one of the things I love most about my brother, his big heart. No matter what he’s been through, he doesn’t give up and just continues on wanting to save everyone.”

  Dardania smiled softly as she looked after her brother. I clearly missed a lot in a matter of just a few minutes.

  Avis prior to Madison’s story is different than the man I’ve seen since then. Granted I didn’t really know him all that well to begin with, but he was snarky, sarcastic, and just overall wry. But the man who stands before me is still those things, but quick to anger, and quick to completely lose it. I thought I was finally getting to him know him over the last few days, but that doesn’t appear to be the case because he’s much more complicated than my original assumption.

  “Oh my god!” Madison screams as she digs through a pile of rubble.

  All three of us quickly rush towards her, Avis being the first one to her side.

  “Are you okay? What happened?”

  “This.” Madison gently pulls a book from between two bricks. “There is still something left from the church that didn’t burn. Kinda cool.”

  “That’s it?” Avis rolls his eyes. There’s the snark.

  “Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.” Dardania says kneeling down next to Madison, and looking at the book over her shoulder.

  “The Pilgrimage of Lucias.” Dardania mutters, her eyes a glow. “I can’t believe it actually exists.

  “The Pilgrimage of Lucias?” Madison repeats questioning.

  “Lucias is the Demon of Tabathia. At least, that’s what some thought. There was talks about a Lucias in several historical records and manuscripts. He had ties to both Tabathia and Sirius, but no one really knew much about him. It’s said most of the documentation surrounding him had been destroyed which led many to believe he was the Demon.” Dardania takes the book after Madison hands it turn her and she gently wipes off the cover and begins thumbing through the pages. Tears slowly started to fill her eyes

  “We have a map now.” Dardania chuckles through her sobs. “With this, we can retrace his steps I think.”

  “It’s somewhere to start.” Madison smiles at Dardania. Well, that’s convenient that we just happened to find this here. I’ll ignore the Deus Ex Machina of it all and just be happy that we don’t have to wander aimlessly.

  “I knew I left that somewhere.” A male voice booms and the ground begins to shake slightly.

  Madison immediately freezes, her eyes wide, and she slowly backs away until the runs into me.

  The air immediately began to thicken and then pressure was almost unbearable. What was this force pressing against us. Dardania closes the book and presses it against her chest and slowly begins backing away as well.

  Avis steps in front of everyone, knife drawn.

  “I’m glad it survived the fire. I wouldn’t have wanted to lose such an important relic.” The voice booms again as a tall very pale man steps out from the shadows at the back of the church. He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. Which complimented his striking modelesque features. Bleached blonde hair, eyes blue eyes, and a strong jaw made him stand out more than any person I have ever laid eyes upon before. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something about this man. When he walked it’s always like he floated, and when he spoke, you couldn’t help but listen. It was as though a spell was cast on us every time he opened his mouth.

  “Saint Anthony, the Current Saint of the Order.” Madison said, answering me before I could even ask the question.

  “In the flesh.”