Seekers of the Stone Maker
Blackened Constellations

Rhokhishi pulled Lyla from the building as Mr. Muffins walked over to the nearest tree. Rhokhishi sat Lyla down on the cool grass and laid her hands on her arm. She focused her energy outward, thinking of the changed oath she made: To heal and protect those who could not defend themselves. The light grew as she lifted her hands, causing the shadows to reel back as she worked her magic. She could hear that Mr. Muffins was angrily mumbling under his breath, and as she looked over at him, she saw that he was staring up at the leaves.

It was Lyla’s gasp that brought her back to focus. Lyla’s eyes were wide, and her breath caught in her throat. Rhokhishi followed her eyes down. On Lyla’s arm, just like many places on her body, she carried both brown and black freckles. As she worked, the black ones shook violently. Lines started forming between them, connecting each dot on her skin before fading away slowly.

“Are those…”

“Curse points.”

She realized what had happened. Myla didn’t have these black freckles, and Rhokhishi remembered using them to tell the two sisters apart when they first arrived at the carnival. These were the signs they all missed. Each point, each freckle, was a marking of Ramona’s curse placed on Lyla, who had spent the most time with the Taromancer.

Lyla’s eyes filled with tears, but the moment’s shock kept them from falling. Instead, Rhokhishi could see her taking it in, bottling it up, and not letting it out. When she was done with her magic, she placed one hand on herself to remove the same curse on her body and held Lyla’s hands in the other.

Minutes passed, and when she finished removing the curse from herself, she walked over to Mr. Muffins. She didn’t want to leave Lyla sitting there alone on the grass, but it didn’t seem like she was ready to stand yet, and Rhokhishi wanted to ensure they were safe. Mr. Muffins had stopped speaking under his breath at the tree and was looking off into the distance, lost in thought.

“Let’s get your curse removed.”

“Mhm.”

Rhokhishi laid her arms on Mr. Muffins’ shoulder and let her magic move from her body to his. The radiant light cast shadows through the fur on his face and pushed back against his coat, shining light in a small radius around them. Mr. Muffins looked down, then froze in place.

“Do you see that?”

“What?”

Rhokhishi looked down, where he was gesturing, and saw it. Something white was hidden in the grass. Mr. Muffins leaned down, picked up a piece of it in his hand, and let it fall.

“Salt.”

“Why would there be salt on the ground?” She asked.

“Wait…”

He held up his other hand and then placed it on the salt. Carefully, he followed the salt as it formed a line and crouched as he examined it for a moment.

“It’s not a line… It’s a circle.”

Mr. Muffins held his hand up, tracing a small circle in the air between Ramona, the Twins, and Nix and Meg’s cabins. Sitting right in the middle, Lyla stared at her arms and hands.

“Lyla! Get out of there!” Mr. Muffins hollered out.

Lyla turned her head towards them, but Rhokhishi knew something was wrong. Her head was tilted uncomfortably as if controlled by an invisible hand. She stood up, her body almost coming off the ground as she landed on her feet and ran towards Ramona’s cabin.

“What do we do?” She yelled over to Mr. Muffins.

He kicked at the salt on the ground, breaking up the line, and Rhokhishi watched as Lyla’s body gave in, and she smacked her head right into the front door.

“Lyla!”

Rhokhishi ran over. She knelt and pulled Lyla onto her lap, checking the gash on her head. Placing one hand over her, the light shone again, and she waited as the wound closed up.

“That… hurt,” Lyla mumbled out.

“You’re okay now. Let’s get out of here.”

Rhokhishi lifted Lyla and took her over to her cabin. Inside, Lopper and Rags were sitting at a small dining table. A wine bottle sat between them, and they looked tired. As the satyrs turned and saw Rhokhishi carrying Lyla, they immediately went to work, helping to clear Rhokhishi’s bed and get her some water.

“What happened?” Rags asked.

“I’m not too sure. There was a magic circle on the ground. I need to speak with Elysium. He’ll be able to help.”

Quickly, Mr. Muffins and Rhokhishi made their way across the campground to Elysium and Torra’s home. She knocked on the door forcefully, causing the wood to rattle on its hinge. A moment later, Torra opened the door, a sheet wrapped around her body, tiredness still in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“We need to speak with Elysium. Rhokhishi can heal him, but Ramona left bigger traps before leaving.” Mr. Muffins exclaimed.

“I’ll wake him.”