Inscrypion x Wings of Fire : Leshy's Endgame

Chapter 19 (Darkstalker)

Darkstalker considers himself lucky. It's not like everything was ruined. He was well aware that Fathom was keeping cards on him. Next time we meet, he decides, I should wear a cloak and reintroduce myself as the Scrybe of Stories instead, then when I have the trust of Fathom and his "bodyguard" to the point where they won't care, then I shall reveal that it's just me, and then explain the situation. Then we'll all be happy. He smiles. It's the perfect plan in his mind.

He prepares his deck in case he has to duel Fathom. From what he knows, Fathom uses Hecate's cards. His own cards need to be able to deal with them. He finishes a particularly lengthy story, meant to counter Clearsight's slowly-developing deck, then rolls the scroll up. Before the party, he learned what the scroll does when he has a story like this. As expected, when he unrolls it, it is a piece of parchment, folded neatly with perfect creases to fit several cards.

He withdraws them all and smiles. Perfect, he thinks as he looks through them. Every single one of them is exactly as he needs. The stats are great, the names are easy, and the sigils all focus on using his opponent's bones against them. The last bit of sand runs out of the hourglass he has sitting on the table. The final turn... Clearsight should have decided by now, surely. He puts the Scroll of Stories up, slides his new cards into a box so he can reorganize, grabs a cloak that he had enchanted last night to conceal his features, and leaves quietly so as to not disturb his parents.

He makes it to Clearsight's home and sits there, hoping that Clearsight is not asleep. She opens the door and Darkstalker smiles. "Hey," he says.

Clearsight doesn't waste much time without pointing out the broken promises. "I thought you promised not to do anything too big without me nearby," she says, pointing at the box, then at the cloak. However, she's smiling.

"It's for Fathom and Indigo. I hope to duel them and win a chance to get my words out without causing a scene like what happened at the party."

As he talks, Clearsight tosses the bracelet at him... three moonstones... copper wires woven around them... It's just a nice accessory and nothing more now. No way can it betray him. Darkstalker puts it away. "Don't let anyone figure out what you chose to do," he warns. "Not until you have to, anyway."

----

It's late in the afternoon, and Darkstalker has a personal assignment from Vigilance. He failed to find Fathom and Indigo the past several times and it's now getting old. Now both he and the "Scrybe of Stories" are getting invitations as he has yet to alert the queen or her council that he and the Scrybe are the same dragon. Today, he'll have to reveal the truth to Vigilance, as he currently has to bring Clearsight before her.

Surprisingly, it was easy this time around. She said she already has business with Queen Vigilance. They are now outside the throne room, Peacemaker nearby, listening in and watching things play out. He had not gotten the chance to enchant a replacement for the tail band. He adjusts and fights with Clearsight's necklace for her. It refuses to cooperate. If not for him locking his magic away, he'd have probably gotten angry enough that he would have enchanted it to behave. "What in three moons?" he growls as the pendent catches on a row of scales and gets stuck. The robe he's wearing miraculously conceals his tone of voice as well, hiding anything that may suggest that he's Darkstalker. Eventually, it finally gets on correctly and Clearsight takes a moment to push through the pain that Darkstalker had been apologizing for.

And it was just in time too. The doors to the throne room swing open. Two guards usher them inside. Darkstalker winces as he sees that they aren't alone this time. He notices, out of the corner of his vision, that Clearsight is acting in the same way. Right next to Vigilance is Allknowing. Leshy loves complaining about her and how she treats him and Clearsight (Darkstalker was upset for a good hour when he learned that Leshy and Clearsight share a class). He could tell that the Scrybe of Beasts wasn't kidding. Allknowing is glaring at Clearsight so hard that he actually looks at her, afraid she would die on the spot from the look alone. He didn't even need to read her mind. "I guess Leshy wasn't kidding after all," Darkstalker mutters to Clearsight. "THAT is who teaches you and him to see the future better?"