An Owl's Rise

"NO! NO!" Burkhart screamed in the face of Evelyn's heavenly flame. "SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! HELP!"

With all of his might he struggled to break free of Evelyn's gravity magic, and shouted louder than he would have even thought possible in a bid to save his life.

Nevertheless, Evelyn had already cut off all avenues of escape for him. Not a single whisper could escape the wind barrier she had set up, and the difference in their abilities made it impossible for Burkhart to break free of her gravity field.

With only the slightest movement of her hand, Evelyn let loose the powerful flames she had conjured.

There was not even time for Burkhart to scream in pain as he was engulfed and reduced to ash.

"Okay, time to return to the others."

Having accomplished what she had set out to do, Evelyn exited the hidden room.

Back in the alleyway where the entrance was located, she did not spare the building another glance before using her gravity magic to bring it down. She doubted that anyone would particularly care about an old, abandoned building collapsing in this area, and it would serve as a countermeasure against someone discovering what she had done on the off chance that someone came looking for Burkhart.

A little under an hour later she returned to Maeve's estate.

"I'll admit that you obtained some exceptional intel from this, but the risks were high. What if someone saw you, or perhaps that man had other accomplices that will try to track his killer down. There is also a very real chance that Osvaldo and Uriah will become far more guarded when they find the Knowledge Bead they purchased to be empty."

Upon gathering with her companions, Evelyn received a heated lecture from Lucia.

"I understood that there was a chance that something might go awry, but I think learning about what those two are doing here was too important to pass up. Plus, I was very careful. I used wind magic to scout my surroundings at all times and made sure that no one could see me.

I doubt that there are many individuals in the Miris Sect that could have trailed me without my notice." Evelyn responded, defending her actions.

Lucia let out a long sigh, but she did not chastise Evelyn about the matter any further. It was true that she took heavy risks, but she always got results in return.

"Fine, let's not worry about what could have gone wrong. Still, you now owe a favor to Maeve and Vivienne. There is no telling what she'll ask for, but I doubt it will be insignificant."

Evelyn winced slightly hearing this. She had pushed the debt she had accrued to gain entrance into the performance venue to the back of her mind.

"Well, whatever Maeve wants from me does not matter right now. Instead, we need to rethink our plans and goals here. I still want to eliminate Osvaldo and Uriah, but I want to save the captured owls as well. I'm not sure what the Deamhain Sect wants with them, but I can only think that it has something to do with me." Evelyn said, her expression resolved.

While it may have seemed a bit conceited to believe that everything revolving around the captured owls led back to her, the entire Tyrannis Union had worked together to attack the Roost just to capture her. It was quite likely that whatever scheme the Deamhain Sect was cooking up, was another bid to obtain her and the Aethersphere residing within her.

"Evelyn, I understand that you want to help, but we already have too much on our plate. Aiming for anything else could cause us to fail." Rehni said, trying to be the voice of reason.

She had decided long ago to follow Evelyn, but sometimes she needed to speak up when she felt that her friend was being too reckless.

Of course, Bylur was always on Evelyn's side no matter what, and Aralee was looking around at everyone nervously, though she was likely to go along with whatever her sister wanted in the end.

"Rehni, it is not just that I want to help them. If it was because of their own actions or just some unlucky fluke that they ended up in the hands of the Miris Sect, I would not particularly care. But it's my fault. I brought catastrophe to the Roost, our home. I need to do whatever I can to make things right."

Evelyn normally was not considered with the wellbeing of strangers; however, she could not help feeling some guilt for the Tyrannis Union's attack on the Roost. Even if it was only to satisfy herself, she wanted to do something.

Naturally, the others understood this sentiment. Still, causing a mass breakout of the captured owls would be practically impossible. There were over a dozen being held in the Miris Sect, and most in separate locations. After a few successful rescues, the sect's authorities were bound to catch onto their aim. Something which Rehni impressed upon Evelyn.

"Fine. You're right Rehni. It would be too dangerous to attempt right now. Let's just focus on the goals we already set. We can retrieve our captured brethren at another time." Evelyn said, conceding to Rehni's logic.

"Thank you, Evelyn. I know that this is hard on you. Don't worry, though. We'll help them out soon enou-"

"Actually, there might be a way for us to accomplish everything. It might even turn out to be the best outcome." Lucia said, interpreting Rehni.

She had been silent for a while as the others talked things out, and during that time she had been formulating a means to succeed on all fronts.

When she explained what they needed to do, it really was quite simple. Except it was not something that was easy for Evelyn, Bylur, Rehni, and Aralee to accept.

"You want us to assist Osvaldo and Uriah in gathering the captured owls?!" Bylur said, wearing an enraged expression.

Everyone else was likewise discontented with Lucia's suggestion. What would be the merit in helping their enemies.

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