The Queen of Shadows

Chapter 18: Respite

The Servants were waiting while the masters underwent their lesson with Scathach the Shadow. Her daughter, Uathach, had treated them to some recuperation after their tumultuous day enduring the warrior queen's gauntlet. Tensions between them were still somewhat high after the revelation that Scathach slipped them all a potion that severely limited their strength, but most of it was melting away as the remaining servants indulged themselves in the service being given by the Shadow's Revenants.

"Ahhhh..." Astolfo lets out in sweet relief as one such Revenant massages his aching back while he laid face-down on his chest. Everything from the waist-down was covered by a cloth-towel; something the other two servant occupants with him were thankful for. "Scathach wasn't kidding... these Revenants sure know their way around a person's spine-" he cuts himself off as the Revenant's remarkably supple hands hit a knot in his shoulder-blade. "Oooh! Right there..."

Jeanne stifles a giggle at the paladin's expense while she was nearby with another Revenant giving her a similar treatment.

"Around someone's feet too..." She remarks as her Revenant starts tending to her toes. "For something undead, their hands don't feel nearly as clammy as I thought..."

"Mmm hmm..." Mashu was inclined to agree. She was currently having her shoulders massaged while having her feet dipped in hot water, feeling the fatigue from today melt into nothingness. She, Jeanne, and Astolfo were the remaining servants to receive such treatment after their session with Scathach, with the others outside waiting for the masters to finish their turn with her. While Mashu was enjoying herself at the moment, it has given her time to reflect on how much things have progressed since finding the elusive Queen of Shadows. The Demi-servant eventually spoils the serene atmosphere with her fellow teammates.

"You, know," she starts reluctantly. "I still can't believe how Scathach handicapped us, and Cu knew about it the whole time. Made us leave the masters alone in the fortress too..."

Hearing this, Astolfo is pulled out from his euphoria while Jeanne seriously considers the Shielder's worries and offers her opinion.

"With the aura I'm getting from this place, I wouldn't have left them alone if I'd known our strength as servants would be briefly taken from us. With the masters being humanity's last hope, if something did happen, would even the masters' Command Seals have worked when we were under the effects of Scathach's potion? I still can't believe this is Cu's idea of "helping" us..."

Mashu sighed, knowing this was where the conversation would eventually lead. They all still have less than positive thoughts on the matter, but after the initial bombshell, Mashu wanted some assurance that the Hound of Ulster meant well when he led them here.

She was coming up short...

"It was awfully reckless of Lancer," she remarked. "Does he really expect us to trust a stranger who has power to overwhelm several servants and null our abilities? We're gambling a lot on Cu's word, which is now questionable at best."

Astolfo groans as the mood drops from the topic at hand, diminishing the relief given to him by his massage.

"As if the monsters lurking in this place didn't by itself set off alarm bells..." he says with slight annoyance. He tilts his head to speak directly with Mashu. "What I want to know is just how Scathach made that potion and nerfed us hard. How did she do that?"

Thinking about it, Mashu speculates:

"I think it reduced how much mana we get from our connection with Senpai and Gabby. Servants use mana in a more fundamental way than mages do. It's the very fiber of your being."

Saying this, Mashu was sadly reminded that she is not like the other servants, yet the potion still worked on her. If anything had happened to her masters, she'd be ashamed of not being able to protect them.