Author Games: Path of the Guildpact

Task Four: The Beast Below

Allard examined the files of Trezene Cavrian, Tharius Masveld, and Midnight Lynx. Then he closed them with a sigh tucked them away with the others fallen candidates. There would be time to mourn later.

For now, he had a job to do.

~*~

"Speaker Zegana, may I just say how grateful I am that you returned all your paperwork undamaged, complete, and accurate? It's something of a novelty at the moment, and I'm deeply delighted to know that Simic understands basic propriety."

The elderly merfolk flickered her nictitating membranes in a gesture Allard had learned to identify as the equivalent of a raised eyebrow. "I've been told the Azorius specialized in damning others with faint praise. I now see that the reports had more than a grain of truth. Tell me, guildmage, have you brought the supplies we required to complete the trial?"

He nodded, reaching into his robes to pull out a symbol gently glowing with blue light. "One barrier charm, enchanted by our finest lawmages. It's been keyed to the request you specified, so it should dissolve as soon as our candidates, ah..." He paused for a second as he scanned the runes on the little charm. "Open a door?"

He paused for a moment, then looked back up at the guildmaster. She looked at him for a moment, then sighed. "They didn't tell you what the actual trial was?"

"Well, no," he admitted. "I was originally supposed to oversee the Selesnyan trial, but then the guildmaster in her boundless wisdom decided I would be best suited to manage relationships and diplomacy during this period... It's quite an honor, of course."

"Yes, I can tell because you sound so thrilled about it." Zegana snorted, then sat down behind her desk. "Well, if you're behind on your homework, I don't mind filling you in. You may not be aware of it, but Simic has an...arrangement with the Golgari. As a side effect of our research, we sometimes accumulate entities and other waste which we are incapable of processing on our own without diverting serious resources. However, the Golgari are happy to harvest them for nutrients. As such, we can simply lock any offending material in the lowest level of this building. There an entrance to the Undercity deep in the center of the floor, and harvesters can come dispose of our mishaps at their leisure."

Allard paused for a moment, actively wrestling down his imagination. Legends of Simic horrors escaping to terrorize the populace were the subject of many a campfire tale in Ravnica, made all the more unnerving by the fact that lay behind it without so much as a hint of necromancy. "I'm assuming something out of the ordinary took place?"

Zegana smiled thinly. "Something like that. Two weeks ago, a Golgari mage and her...insect arrived to collect the contents of the floor. However, they discovered that the door to Undercity had been closed and locked from the inside. Once it's been locked, that entrance is quite impenetrable- we don't trust them enough to give a solid foothold into the building."

He swallowed. "I'm guessing your people didn't lock the door?

"No. They did not. In fact, I sent a team down to the floor in order to reopen it. They never came back."

Allard looked at the charm in his right hand, then back at Zegana. "You're going to use this to lock them down there." It wasn't a question.

"Only until they get the door open. I rather hope they succeed, but even if they fail...well. What's the point of a Guildpact who can't even take out the trash?"

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Requirements

-Go to the main Simic research center, and descend to the lowest level of the complex. Once you get there, unlock and open the door to the Undercity, which is Golgari territory.

-Be careful, though. Something is still down there, locked in the maze of corridors, and it's already killed a group of trained biomancers. Simic monstrosities can be almost anything, and this one is already far too intelligent for your comfort.

-I'm looking for mostly atmosphere this task, everyone. That and horror. Put my nerves on edge. Got it?

Deaths: Two ballot kills. Four tributes will be going up for votes this round. Two will be leaving us.

Due Date: Sunday, March 5 at 10 PM EST