The Second Circle had been more busy than usual as of late, and Serafina was thrilled. It seemed that Luxurium, the wine she had created with the help of a certain alchemist, had gone over as a hit. The people of Revaliir were partying harder than ever, and business was booming. Luxurium had not been created with her business interests in mind, but they were certainly a secondary benefit that had come to light. The liquor was flowing, the women (and men) in her employ were endlessly busy, and debauchery seemed to be had by all.

A few days after business had picked up, Serafina was in her private office, going over profit reports that her now business partner, Jasuin, had put together for her. She wasn’t overly concerned about whether or not she was making any money, but there had been such an influx since the introduction of Luxurium that she was rather impressed and wanted to see just how much more money the bar had been taking in. She was just about to start adding a few days together when Adeline, one of her newer working girls, knocked on the door before cracking it open.

”What is it?” Serafina asked, looking a bit concerned. Most of the employees knew better than to disturb her when she was in her office, unless it was something very important.

”I’m so sorry to intrude, my lady, but there’s been… an incident,” she said, and she truly looked as though she would rather be anywhere than there at that current moment. The girl was in a minor state of undress, her hair mussed up somewhat – it was clear that she had just been with a client. She also had a rag held to her arm, and Serafina could smell the coppery scent of her blood beneath the rag.

”What’s happened?’ she asked, getting up from her seated position and moving to the girl with ethereal speed, both a gift of godhood and being a vaewolf. She grasped the girl’s arm gently and pulled the rag away, revealing what looked very much like a human bite mark. There were no fang marks to indicate were or vampire… just human.

The girl looked almost embarrassed. ”I was with one of the johns, see, and he… well, he just up and bit me,” she said, sounding utterly confused. ”And it weren’t no love nip, either, see,” she said, pulling the rag back over the wound as Serafina let go of her arm. This, of course, had been noticeable. The bite mark almost looked as though she had been chewed on. ”It was like he was trying to eat me, and not in the fun way,” she said, sounding more annoyed than anything at this point. ”The boys threw him out,” she added, letting her employer know that the issue in itself had been handled by a few of the male employees. .

Serafina brought a hand to her brow and furrowed her eyebrows together. ”Go see Jasuin and have him get you cleaned up,” she said, finding herself grateful once again that her business partner, although an incubus in truth, was skilled at first aid. ”Thank you for letting me know. You will receive additional compensation this week,” she added, and with that Adeline took her leave, giving Serafina respectful nod as she did so.

-

Only five days had passed since Adeline had been attacked by a customer, and unfortunately, that had just been the start of it. Chaos had descended everywhere that Luxurium had been distributed. Those afflicted the most ran rampant in the streets, some even feasting on the flesh of those that were unfortunate enough to be caught – and even some of those who were caught didn’t care as they were eaten alive, laughing jovially as they were consumed. Gangs of violent one-minded afflicted took to the streets as well, inflicting their violence on anyone caught in their path. People were dropping dead left and right, from over consumption, exhaustion, and many other things. Serafina had been at such a loss that she sought out help from the people of Revaliir, and she found herself praying to the Voice that they would heed her call.

Prayers were far from her mind at the current moment, however, as her hand formed a fist and punched forward into the chest of a man barreling straight for her. She let out a primal shriek, her eyes having gone completely crimson. Her hand pulled back and the man’s heart was grasped in her hand, still beating. The man let out a crazed laugh before collapsing dead on the ground in front of her, right outside of the Second Circle in Vilpamolan. She dropped the heart on the ground and looked to her right – Jasuin was currently crouched down, withdrawing his blade from the skull of another attacker.

The pair had managed to clear everyone out of the Second Circle except those who were unaffected, and were now attempting to keep them safe. A horde of cannibalistic, violence crazed attackers had descended upon them, and while they were able to keep up, Serafina could tell that Jasuin was beginning to tire. She didn’t know how long they were going to be able to keep this up, not without additional help.

”Doing okay?” she called over to Jasuin as he stood up again. He had just opened his mouth to call back to her when another attacker came at him from the side, taking him down to the ground. Serafina was about to rush over to him when she was jumped on from the back, a shrieking woman sinking her teeth into the goddess’s shoulder.

Serafina let out a yelp of pain and threw the woman off of her, whipping around in an attacking stance. She could see three more people behind the woman – one other woman and two men – bearing down on her. ”Not again,” she said, preparing to fight, with the hopes that Jasuin would make it up from the ground, or perhaps someone else who had heard her plea to the people for help would arrive to make this fight a little less troublesome.

The streets were in chaos, and not the usual kind. Lawless Vilpamolan was now shaping up to be 'Inferos on Revaliir' with mad men and women attacking each other like starved dogs. Her plans for shopping had quickly gone sour as Mezereon was now on the run for her life. As she pressed onward towards the nearest safe haven, her path led her towards the Second Circle. Instead of sanctuary she found a raving, mindless mob attempting to overwhelm anyone not afflicted. Their attention turned toward the new arrival, and the diminutive woman scarcely had the time to draw her bow before they got too close. Suddenly several basalt steles erupted from the ground, blasting the cannibals away. Standing atop one far out of the reach of their grasping hands, the diviner glowered at them with an envenomed arrow at the ready. "Don't you dare touch me, you filthy brutes!" The rapid change in the terrain provided a temporary obstacle to the swarm as stone ramparts and spears violently jutted from the earth. From her vantage point, Mezereon began picking off the deranged who were closest to Jasuin and Serafina–aiming for the eyes and heads.  

She had yet to know the reason for this mysterious outbreak of madness, though the answer would come soon. Lowering the stele she was standing on, the elven deva rushed over to the two faces she recognized. "The entire city's gone mad! Milady and Sir Jasuin–what is going on here?!" Since she couldn't perform a divining ritual safely in this mass pandemonium, she was forced to rely on the primitive method of asking. Her tone was less of concern and more of great annoyance, as madness was disruptive to the leisurely lifestyle she had worked so hard to build. She wasn't suited for direct combat, and she had to hurry back to her current residence to see if her pets were safe. If she had brought her giant spider Lydie, she wouldn't have had to work up a sweat running away from her attackers. She was incredibly displeased at it all: being forced to physically exert herself, being in immediate danger, and having her clothes soiled by blood in self-defense. 

As Serafina began to fend off her attackers, she saw something in the distance. Large stone structures had sprouted forth from the earth, and even from this distance, Serafina thought she recognized the figure standing atop one of them. Soon, a few arrows were raining down upon her attackers, as well of those of Jasuin. Jasuin was able to get himself up off of the ground, and he sent a wave of thanks in the general direction the arrows had come from.

When Mezereon called out, Serafina was able to match her figure with her voice and immediately realized who it was that had come to their aid. ”Earning your pay more and more!” she called out to Mezereon, just as she had grabbed the one female coming at her. She snapped the woman’s neck with ease, tossing her corpse to the side. ”Seems that a certain mage wasn’t pleased with the product,” she said as the small elven woman came to them. ”To put it bluntly, things are rather fucked,” she said, knowing no other choice of words to use. ”What started out the way I had planned went well – unending parties, no one needed to sleep, everyone was having a great time,” she said, her eyes scanning the area as she kept an eye out for any of the groups beginning to move to closely. Jasuin was doing the same.

”Little things started to happen – one of the clients bit one of my girls, for instance,” she said, frowning. ”Then, just… everything. They started to get together in these gangs, beating the living hell out of anyone who got in their way. And some of them… some of them just started to eat one another,” she said. ”It’s why I put the call out to the people for aid. This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she said.

Serafina had opened her mouth to say something else when a rather large rock had sailed through the air, pummeling the goddess in the side of the head. She let out a yowl of pain and fell to the ground, though she was back on her feet within seconds. A small trickle of blood was visible on the side of her head, though the wound had already started to close itself. Turning her attention in the direction that the rock had come from, she could see another group headed towards them. This one looked to be comprised of three men and three women. ”You’d think they would have learned by now,” she said off handedly, and turned her attention to Jasuin. ”Get back inside and make sure the girls are alright,” she said. It looked as though Jasuin was bout to protest, but she gave him a rather stern look, to which he said nothing else and nodded, turning to head inside.

Turning back to Mezereon, Serafina had a bit of a grin on her face. She did enjoy a good fight – she just wished it wasn’t one that had been brought on by something that could so seriously jeopardize her reputation. ”Didn’t think we’d be fighting side by side when I hired you,” she said to Mezereon. ”But here we are. Looks like you’ve a few tricks up your sleeve… let’s see them put to work!” she said, before rushing forward towards the group of oncoming attackers.

With ethereal speed, Serafina rushed through the group, splitting between one of the men and one of the women. The two she passed between fell to the ground, sputtering. One glance at Serafina showed the blood dripping from her mouth as well as her hand – clearly she had ripped out both of their throats. ”That should make it a bit easier,” she called to Mezereon, panting slightly. Even with her godly powers, it was still becoming a bit tiresome. ”Your turn!” she called to Mezereon, and lowered herself into a defensive stance as one of the remaining men turned towards her, snarling.

Hearing that this was all due to some obscure nobody's discontent made her blood boil. "How dare some upstart charlatan tamper with the Luxurium without given consent! He should be drawn and quartered once we find him." She prided herself in her skills, especially her efforts in assisting Serafina in the creation of the special wine. Having what she considered her greatest work altered was tantamount to a slap across the face. She had no mercy for those who showed such blatant disrespect. The goddess then recounted how the situation in Vilpamolan had rapidly devolved within a few days. If the hex on the shipments started shortly after it was distributed, then it was no wonder that things escalated so quickly. Their brief moments of respite were now over as more mind-addled cretins crawled into view. While Lady Serafina appeared to relish the incoming confrontation, Mezereon was less than interested. Still, she showed her solidarity with her employer and fellow appreciator of finely crafted poison with a smile. "A regrettable turn of events, as I was hoping for a more leisurely situation."

The goddess dispatched a pair of the tainted swiftly, red staining her hand and face. It was clear that sheer numbers were beginning to wear the lady down as fighting the whole city as taking its toll. The baton was passed, and Mezereon snapped her fingers, creating an archer's tower formed from earth and stone. With a stake in this madness as much as anyone else, she would not fail to disappoint. Raising her bow, she struck down a man with a fiery bolt through both temples. She easily began picking off targets having the high ground, and her small stature made her difficult to hit from below. When the mad men and women rushed at her vantage point, they were met by a swarm of lashing vines that kept them from scaling the stele. Sharp stalagmites impaled through limbs and torsos while the plants held additional targets down. It was a pity that these people were so far gone, making poison meaningless unless it was instantly lethal. Paralysis and pain meant nothing when they didn't feel a thing. 

"Now, hold still while I end you. It will only take a second." Mezereon called out to the mob in a calm and courteous tone. "Don't make me spend more effort than I have to." Her shots were clean and efficient, without any wasted movement. Even in such dire straits the diviner couldn't be bothered to break her habit of laziness. "They'll still keep coming, milady! Perhaps we should seal off the Second Circle to prevent them from breaking in?" As there were no afflicted inside the establishment, increasing the building's defenses seemed to be an entirely reasonable suggestion. They should first protect their own, then consider if others were worth saving.

Serafina tilted her head somewhat at Mezereon. She was glad that the diviner was willing to fight, but she could certainly sense her trepidation. ”Take one for the team, that’s the spirit,” she said to herself, letting out a bit of a laugh. She could find humor in the situation even with the afflicted running at her, after all – the diviner was a woman of a rather diminutive stature, and it was rather amusing to watch as she began to take on the afflicted in her own way, even though she was attempting such with quite the amount of disdain.

”Right,” called Serafina as Mezereon suggested she seal off the Second Circle to protect its inhabitants. Of course, she had every intention of doing so, but she was currently grappling with a rather large man who was very clearly under the violent effects of Luxurium. ”Damn it,” she hissed as the man’s fist connected with her head. He was strong, more so from the fact that he couldn’t feel any pain, but Serafina, of course, was still stronger. She balled her hand up into a fist and sent it sailing directly at the man’s face. When it connected, he flew backwards, taking out another one of the attackers. Both assailants’ heads smacked against the stone of the ground, rendering them unconscious.

This afforded Serafina the opportunity to ward the doors of the Second Circle. It only took a moment of concentration, and the symbols adorning the doors and windows were only visible for a second before becoming invisible. This would allow Mezereon and Serafina safe passage inside if they needed to retreat, but it would seal out the attackers, albeit temporarily. Serafina was skilled at necromancy and the dark arts, but warding and protection magic wasn’t exactly in her wheelhouse. ”That should take care of them for now, at least,” she said, calling out to Mezereon.

She could see the diviner taking on the afflicted from a distance with her bow. It seemed efficient, and it certainly kept her out of harm’s way. The earthly manipulation she had taken up in order to secure herself on higher ground was impressive, and Serafina found herself grinning, if only for a short moment. She moved quickly to dispatch of one of the two attackers coming towards her left standing, which did not take long. One fell to the ground with his head twisted around backwards, and the other was missing her head all together. Serafina chucked it off into the distance much as one would toss a ball, and called out to Mezereon. In the distance, she could see another horde of the afflicted headed towards them, and this group was much larger. ”Think it might be time to head inside, yeah?” she yelled, beginning to back up towards the entrance of the tavern.

She was busy picking off stragglers with her bow while creating earthen blockades to keep those who were mad from overrunning them both. Mezereon had her hands full staying on top of things. The diviner was grateful to have the goddess on her side of the fight, especially when she saw Serafina send a large man flying. A single person could only focus on so many incoming threats before they needed assistance. As fatigue was starting to creep into her arms, she clenched her teeth and redoubled her efforts. The look of disdain was now cold and emotionless as the arrows flew faster to gain the upper hand. The lady called out to inform her that the Second Circle was now secured, and Mezereon turned her head to give a quick nod of acknowledgement. Her gaze caught sight of a new incoming horde, to which she lowered her aching arms to wipe her face with a handkerchief. "And not a moment to soon!" She exclaimed, her words alluding to the turn of the tide. 

"Oh I'm sure we've spent more than enough time out here already, my lady! I wager today has been the hardest I've ever worked in my entire life–outside of business." With a wave of her hand, she raised several stone walls simultaneously to buy them both more time to retreat. Her earthen tower receded into a pile of rubble with a solid slab atop, and she quickly jumped off to run towards the tavern's door. Even though she was confident in her abilities, the stone barricades wouldn't hold for long. These people weren't thinking straight–let alone thinking at all–and a simple obstacle like this could easily be circumvented. She anxiously threw a glance over her shoulder to see heads starting to emerge above the stones with a horrendous swarm of bodies writhing behind. Once inside with the door firmly shut behind her, it was then that she noticed her hands were shaking. 

"As long as we aren't in the streets that mob won't try and come after us, right?" She asked, allowing fear to enter her voice. Placing her bow beside her, Mezereon took the chance to catch her breath and calm down. "I need a drink." The diminutive blonde sighed. In her case, it was more than a means to destress. It was best that she try and perform a divination ritual while she could afford the opportunity. Having wine or spirits was in poor taste regarding the current situation, so she steeped the contents of a tea satchel in some cold water. The dried flowers and leaves sat in the porcelain cup as color began seep out, tinging the contents a light sienna. Right now she wanted to know if the present danger would pass, and if so, what they could expect to happen in the near future. When she drained the cup, her answer would reveal itself in the way the remaining contents arranged themselves.

After Serafina and Mezereon had made their way inside the Second Circle, Serafina did feel a bit of relief wash over her body. While she would have most likely been just fine out in the streets fighting with the afflicted, she didn’t know the diviner well enough to know how long she could have held up. From the looks of it, she wasn’t entirely exhausted, but had certainly had enough, at least for the time being.

”For a while, at least,” she answered as Mezereon questioned their safety while inside the bar. ”Problem is that they know this is a tavern as well as a brothel, and they don’t give a rat’s ass who owns it. Now, there’s a bit of warding on the windows and the door, but it won’t hold up forever,” she explained. She was not trying to scare anyone, more so just sharing the information she had. ”We didn’t go too gung-ho with the protection on this place, as anyone in their right mind would think more than twice about raiding an establishment owned by a god,” she continued.

She left Mezereon to her tea and took a few moments to check in on Jasuin and the others inside the bar. Jasuin had a few scrapes and a couple of bruises forming, but it was nothing he wouldn’t recover from. She had worked with the incubus long enough to know just how tough he was, and this was nothing compared to some of the things he had talked about going through. When he had assured her he was alright to the point where she was satisfied, she checked in on a few of the working girls throughout the pub, and they all seemed to be ok.

Turning her attention back to Mezereon, it only took Serafina a few minutes to come to a conjecture of what she was doing – reading the tea leaves, of course. She was just about to walk over to her and ask if she had seen anything just yet, when she heard a thudding sound against one of the windows. She frowned, and walked in that direction instead. She drew open the curtains just enough to see what was going on – one of the afflicted outside was ramming his forehead repeatedly against the glass. The warding flickered each time he did so, but Serafina knew it wouldn’t hold forever. ”Well, isn’t that just lovely,” she said, though her voice dripped with sarcasm as she did so.

With an exasperated sigh, she turned around, letting go of the curtain and walking back to Mezereon. ”See anything useful in there?” she asked. If necessary, Serafina would be able to transport everyone to the Hall of Indulgence to keep them safe, as Luxurium’s effects hadn’t reached that far – but it would be time consuming, and was certainly not a permanent solution. She was hopeful that the diviner saw something useful in her tea leaves – if not, perhaps taking everyone to her realm would end up being the easiest solution until something else could be done.

Once the water was drained, the corners of Mezereon's mouth gave away what the reading was. Then she heard the pounding. Throwing a glance at the window and back to her cup, she clenched her teeth and hastily began cleaning it out. "The immediate future is less than inviting; though the path straightens out beyond that. A bit of good news: things will settle down–but not in the present. I suggest that everyone here be moved to a more secure location as this place will be the focal point of a raid soon. When the other taverns have been picked clean, we'll be next." Most of the people here were regular staff. As far as she knew, the only Jasuin and the goddess herself were capable of fending any of the lunatics off. Defending the establishment was a viable option, but only worthwhile in the short-term. The supply of Luxurium was limited as shipments were stopped once the curse began manifesting, but that wouldn't stop those who were already under its spell. 

As much as it pained her to think of it, a beautiful place such as this could suffer great damages. This was no time for hesitation, and the diviner spoke up to present her proposal: "Milady, may I add my own personal layer of protection to the Second Circle? It won't be as glamorous as a ward, but it'll last much longer and buy us a bit more time. My plan is to encase the entire building in an earthen shell and create a deep ravine surrounding it." Mezereon gave a brief explanation for her course of action. "The raid will commence within a half hour and all of the city's afflicted will pour into the nearby streets. There are already a few groups attempting to breach the building from the outside now, but we can prevent more from getting in. The ravine and earthen barrier will at least keep them occupied until we can find a direct way to handle the curse." She knew it wasn't perfect, but this was all she could do. When they were out of immediate danger, she could begin a series of more complex divination rituals to scry for the individual responsible for tainting what she and Serafina had worked so hard to create.