After walking for a minute, the Witch asks Ailuros, "Is there a reason we are heading back the good old fashioned way?"

"I have my reasons."

As the two walk through along the paths of Sluagh na Marbh, Fairies gather along the way to lay eyes upon the Witch and Ailuros. After a short way, a Fairy wielding a guisarme steps out from among the throng and offers the weapon to Ailuros. With a smile Ailuros takes the polearm.

The ornate weapon has two hooks under the main blade. The Witch tries to study the weapon, but finds it difficult with her helmet.

The Witch removes her helmet's visor, "Did you know this would happen?"

"Yes," Ailuros says, "I requested this weapon awhile ago."

The crowd of Fairies thins as the Witch and Ailuros approach the buried library, and soon it is just the two of them once more as they reach the clearing in front of the main entrance. The Witch moves to enter the library, but Ailuros stops her.

The Witch says, "What's the hold up? What's your plan?"

Ailuros takes her guisarme and knocks the base on the ground three times. After a moment's hesitation a black substance bubbles up from the ground and takes the form of two dogs.

Ailuros smiles at the sight and the Witch says, "That-Came-From-Before."

Ailuros nods, "Yes, things below ground seem to be going well."

Bursting forth from the library entrance in a hail of fire and shattered wood, Ernest in his insectoid armor carries one servitor over his right shoulder, drags a second on the ground using his left hand, and is assisted by the humanoid form of That-Came-From-Before.

The humanoid Mold walks along a growing carpet of Mold that carries the other three servitors and recedes back into the ground once That-Came-From-Before moves far enough along. Ailuros motions for everyone to follow her down another path away from the underground library.

The Witch drops into the procession following Ailuros alongside Ernest and asks, "I haven't seen Bishop Clement or that poor secretary. Are they alright?"

Ernest grunts out his answer under the weight he carries, "The Bishop is fine, if shaken. The secretary was used as the doorway for these Central Sun people to break into this protected place here in the Library. She's alive, but unconscious. The Bishop is looking after her."

The Witch thinks about the situation as she walks past Ernest, catching up to Ailuros, "How are we dealing with these . . ."

"Servitors," Ailuros finishes, "We will surrender them to Selene on her altar."

The Witch accepts the answer with a nod and follows Ailuros towards the altar belonging to the Personification of the Moon. Walking along the path, the trees and structures of Sluagh na Marbh give way to a meadow on the edge of the town, the red and purple grass shimmering under the Eternal Moon.

The meadow is not empty, but is home to large structures constructed of dark stone basalt. Most visible from a distance are two towering lighthouses each housing an eternal flame. The procession following Ailuros reach a smaller structure before and in between the towers.

The small structure allows for entry underground, and Ailuros has everyone stop by the portal down. Ailuros says, "Ernest you and That-Came-From-Before will take the servitors with you through this door. That-Came-From-Before knows what to do, follow their lead."

"Understood." Ernest says.

Without a second moment's notice That-Came-From-Before's humanoid form subsumes Ernest whole, armor and all. The Witch is startled, saying, "Ernest."

Ailuros waves down the Witch, "It's alright. Ernest is fine and will continue to be so. How do you think he got that armor in the first place?"

The Witch shakes her head and watches as the Mold takes Ernest within itself, forming into a giant scarab beetle. The carpet of Mold carries the five servitors into the underground chamber. The two dog forms of That-Came-From-Before take their place at Ailuros's side.

Ailuros says to the Witch, "Come, let's get up to the altar. There is still work to be done."

The Witch follows Ailuros and the two dog forms up onto a large, circular platform made of basalt much as the two flanking towers. High up in the sky, the Eternal Moon remains partially hidden behind its own shroud, only a crescent visible.

Ailuros takes position in between the two basalt towers and chants a spell in an ancient language. Again reality itself shimmers and breaks, and from a long seam torn in the fabric of space and time Ailuros herself is ripped in two.

Instead of death, both halves have other halves step forth from the tear. Where there was once one Ailuros there are now two. Continuing her chanting, each Ailuros takes position in front of either tower. From the ground great streamings of dark material bursts out and into the air.

The dark material pools around each Ailuros's feet, raising her up into the sky, eventually enveloping each Ailuros completely. The new form for each Ailuros is different from her human form, she now resembles two identical jackals.

The two jackals each stand watch, tips of their ears reaching just below the upper platform housing the eternal flame of each tower. From the Witch's vantage point, each jackal holds a guisarme the left jackal holds the weapon in its left hand and the right jackal in its right.

The two dog forms of That-Came-From-Before take their positions in front of each jackal, standing on mounds of earth, and the Witch stands outside of it all as sole witness.

A voice enters the Witch's mind and says, "Now the fun will begin."