Under the bright but waning moon, two unlit cars made their way along a narrow road winding into the mountainous area to the south of Tradeborough. In the distance, the lights of the city illuminated the horizon over the trees but the sounds of its bustling life were silent. Eventually, the vehicles slowed and stopped upon approaching a looming wall in the darkness with a small natural portal lingering at the base leading into the earth. Four figures stepped out and regarded their surroundings with wary, thoughtful eyes. All of them stilled when a fifth appeared in front of the cave, dark eyes gleaming falsely in the moonlight. His amused smirk was obvious by the feel of his aura alone.

                The woman in the group blinked once and stepped forward with a wave of her hand. “Remind me why we couldn’t take the shadow paths,” she murmured, her voice just respectful enough to not border on a taunt.

                It amused the man across from her even more. He laughed once and shook his head. “You would have attracted far too much attention,” he explained with a nod at the cars. “I thought that was something you wanted to avoid?”

                She sniffed in response and crossed her arms before glancing back at her companions. “Eric. Sweep the area. Make sure there’s no one here we need to worry about.”

                “Of course,” he grinned, giving a feral smile with a respectful bow before he slipped into the darkness with enviable ease, perfectly at home in the cold dark.

                “Mage. Start your preparations inside,” she instructed, pointing at the truly human-esque figure among them.

                He tsked and wagged his finger in front of her as he stepped close. “Payment first.”

                “Just like a human,” she groaned in disgust. He shrugged innocently but waited with infinite patience, apparently completely at ease around her despite her reputation. Not entirely surprising for a Mage but it was still irritating. “Hongki,” she called, reaching out towards the fourth man.

                Pale under the moonlight, his dark hair was a stark contrast against his face with the uneven fringe of bangs hanging over one eye intentionally. “I’ve got it,” he promised, reaching into his coat and hauling out a small sack that clinked dully when he tossed it to her.

                “Satisfied?” she asked, handing out the sack on an open palm as she waited for the Mage to take it.

                He plucked it from her hand and opened it to inspect the contents quickly before a pleased smile illuminated his face. “It’s always so nice doing business with you,” he crooned, giving her a coy look.

                She made a face and waved him off towards the small opening in the mountain. “Go on then. We’ll join you shortly,” he added, turning her attention to the cars instead. The Mage made no effort to stay and disappeared inside quickly. “Hongki,” she called, turning to face the other man with a nod at the vehicles.

                “What about him?” he asked, glancing at the patiently waiting vampire.

                The woman paused and looked his direction. Black threads of bangs hung mostly over his naturally narrow eyes, partially hiding them from sight, but she didn’t miss the raised brow paired with the corners of his mouth turning up. “He’s fine,” she waved, approaching the first car herself. With a click, she popped open the trunk and peered inside with a thoughtful look.

                “They smell good,” the vampire nearby grinned, staying where he was but obviously interested.

                “They should,” the woman answered without looking up. “Since we both know they tend to be very difficult to find. The Poachers were worth every cent,” she conceded, waving at her companion to come assist first. For the moment, they were temporarily bound in their human forms, but that would change shortly. It certainly made transport easier though.

                They both paused when their previous companion returned, slipping from the surrounding darkness in silence. “The area is secure,” he promised, belatedly wiping at the corner of his mouth where a small smear of red lingered.

                “Shame on you,” the woman tsked with a quiet laugh.

                “What?” he shrugged, looking down at her with wild dark eyes before he reached in to pull out the first of the bodies himself.

                “Nothing,” she assured him with a subtle shake of her head. Seeing that Hongki grabbed the other one in the trunk, she closed it behind him and then moved to the second car. It held two more bodies and she grabbed one in each hand to follow the others into the cave, carrying them awkwardly but with little physical trouble.

                “Need a hand?” the vampire asked, drifting close though his remained very much at his sides.

                “You’re welcome to close the trunk,” she responded with a teasing sidelong look.

                “Hah! I like you,” the vampire barked a laugh. “It’s nice having someone around who doesn’t act afraid of me,” he promised with a pleased smile. But when he stopped, the atmosphere turned tense and dark as he turned and reached out to catch in his slender fingers. She froze as a long-nailed thumb brushed against her jaw and stopped on the bottom of her chin. “But don’t think for a moment I won’t kill you if you cross the line,” he warned, leaning close as his eyes roamed her face before meeting her gaze.

                Her heart pounded in her chest and she was well aware he could hear it, but her words were steady despite that. “And waste even more time for what you truly want?” she asked with a gently raised brow.

                His smile was dangerous as he lingered just in front of her. “What’s another century or two for someone like me?” he shrugged, fingers loosening on her neck to lightly grab her chin instead.

                She swallowed once and struggled to meet his gaze. “But why wait that long when we can both get what we want in less than a quarter of that time?”

                “You don’t know that,” he laughed, though his grip loosened just a touch.

                “Maybe not, but we can at least find out tonight,” she reminded him, hefting the bodies in her hands up just a bit to remind him.

                The vampire held her eyes for a long moment, almost as if daring her to try something, but when she didn’t react anymore, he shrugged and laughed in the back of his throat. “You make a good point,” he conceded, shifting his hand to pat her on the head instead. “Come on then,” he instructed, turning around and stepping into the cave first.

                Her hackles rose at the patronizing gesture paired with the mere verbal command and dark eyes flashed once before she took a calming breath and walked in after. Eric and Hongki were waiting for her inside, their narrowed distrustful eyes swinging to her for confirmation after appraising the vampire themselves. She gave a slight shake of her head and moved to deposit the bodies next to the other two. “Well, Mage. Are preparations complete?” she inquired, examining the stone floor carefully.

                “Almost,” he soothed, busy still drawing his arcane markings upon the surface. “You can’t rush brilliance, though,” he added after a brief pause where he slowed to mark an intricate design at the outermost edge of the circle.

                “What is that?” the vampire wondered, clearly intrigued. All eyes turned to him in obvious surprise and even the Mage seemed slightly taken aback. “What?” he barked a laugh, settling his gaze on the Mage in particular. “I may be old but my interactions with Mages tend to be… limited,” he explained, opening his mouth enough to reveal his tongue dragging slowly along his teeth in an unnerving smile.

                To his credit, the Mage didn’t react with more than a huff and a shake of his head. “Vampires,” he added before he stood up and dusted his hands off. “That,” he pointed at the intricate mark, “is a transfer sigil.” When he was met with confused frowns from everyone, he threw his hands up in irritation and scowled. “Uneducated peons,” he grumbled. “Fine. Allow me to break it down so that even you can understand,” he huffed, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest arrogantly.

                “Please,” the vampire grinned, gesturing at the marks before them. “The more we learn now, the less we have to ask later,” he prompted with a dangerous looking smile as the shadows around him appeared to begin moving on their own.

                For a moment, the Mage seemed to realize just what he was standing up against and his façade cracked with a quick blink. But then he banished it with a sniff and he let a neutral expression fall back into its place. When he spoke next, his tone was far less imperious, though still very assured. “Just like you had to be picky about who your poachers picked and where they got them, I have to take steps to cover my trail too. Any magic worth casting is going to be noticeable to those watching for such a thing. Even with our,” he gestured between himself and the vampire, “best efforts, it would still be possible for someone to detect what we’re doing.”

                “Which would be quite bad,” the woman reminded him with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

                “Exactly!” he confirmed. “Which is why I am using a transfer sigil. It will transfer the same power signature to the receiving sigil in my workshop, thereby putting me as working in the city instead of out here.”

                “But won’t such a power signature seem odd if you aren’t there?” the woman wondered, brows knitted together in concern.

                The Mage’s eye roll was irritating enough. “You think me that stupid?”

                “Maybe,” Hongki grinned at the woman’s side.

                “Idiot,” he spat, brushing off the dark look he got in return. “Of course a version of me is there. I am not a fool. And barring making an actual clone, a timely and hyper expensive process,” he explained with a grimace, “you can’t find a better stand-in than a mimic.”

                “A clone we can trust,” the woman stated simply. “A mimic…”

                “Sounds intriguing,” the vampire laughed. “I wonder what such a creature tastes like,” he mused, much to everyone’s discomfit.

                “Relax,” the Mage brushed off her concern as he tore his gaze away from the vampire. “Creatures with single minded agendas are inherently trustworthy under the right circumstances. And I’ve promised to help it so long as it helps me,” he reassured them. “Needless to say, I have an iron clad alibi. Furthermore, my transfer sigil plus my containment ward, and with a little help from the vampire there,” he gestured at said individual, “this should be a done deal. So long as you fulfilled your side of the bargain.”

                “We did,” the woman promised, gesturing at her companions to help loose the bindings on the bodies. When the ropes fell away, their human forms shimmered and faded, leaving behind four distinct magical creature bodies. “One barghest. One banshee. One descendant of the rainbow serpent. And one bird person with a strong connection to Seers in their family.”

                “An actual Seer would have been better,” the Mage grumbled, though his eyes danced as he looked at the demonic dog creature. Barghests were particularly hard to come by.

                “Yes, and actual Seers are highly accounted for,” Eric reminded him with a short growl.

                “Well, if you want to honestly push this off for another six months or longer…” the woman trailed off with a hand gesture as if to point above them.

                “Fine, fine,” he waved off with a scowl. “I have no desire to wait for the next equinox either,” he admitted, looking between the bodies and the circle as he gestured with his hand in a thinking movement. For a brief second, he murmured something under his breath and then pressed down. Pressure appeared over the circle before literally pushing down and hollowing out a shallow depression in the stone, the center of which was the center of the circle. “Okay. Rainbow serpent first,” he pointed, moving to stand on the opposite side of the circle nearest his transfer sigil. “Vampire,” he murmured, glancing up to nod at the creature one time before focusing on his task once more.

                “Here we go,” the vampire grinned, taking a breath as if summoning his power and then exhaling like he was breathing life into something. Shadows abounded in the dark space, but with his arms raised up, they grew darker and more numerous in number, whispering and writhing over each other in unintelligible sounds. The woman and her companions flinched slightly closer together as tendrils brushed at them, cold and curious at the same time. All ambient light from the entryway disappeared entirely as the shadows devoured any illumination beyond the gently glowing circle, trapping them in a miasma of nothingness.

                Mesmerized, they didn’t move again until the Mage cleared his throat and gave them a disappointed look. “Rainbow serpent,” he repeated, looking at the bodies and then nodding his head towards the magic circle.

                “Hongki,” the woman urged, brushing at her companion with a quick hand as she took in the happenings with keen eyes.

                Wordlessly, he moved to do as she asked, hefting the humanoid winged serpent up and then tossing it into the center of the circle. The warm body tumbled awkwardly and then settled in the shallow depression. When the Mage spoke, power thrummed and crawled over the observers like an army of ants. The drawn circle glowed first, illuminating the body before it too began to glow. Words continued, foreign and powerful, and the body became light incarnate before unraveling from its creature form and spreading out like a mist over the bespelled stone, settling not unlike the dew on grass on a spring morning.

                The Mage took a breath as the spell settled and he looked over at his audience. “Now the other three. Bleed them at the same time into the circle,” he explained, pointing from their bodies to the glowing focus of their attention.

                “Seems like a waste,” Eric mumbled as he dutifully moved to grab one of the three creatures after a look from the woman.

                “We’re trying to punch a small hole through the realms for a very particular creature,” the Mage reminded him with a raised brow. “Their physical forms are merely pale shadows of what they used to be, but their blood is still pure enough. It still holds the memories of what their true powers should be,” he explained snidely.

                The woman and her companions chose not to respond but dutifully, albeit begrudgingly, got into place. Claws flashed briefly in the magical illumination. With a look and a nod, three hands moved swiftly, followed by the sound of gurgling gasps and bubbling liquid before the viscous red fluid trickled down the stone in three slow streams. The golden mist began to turn ruby in hue and power thrummed again as the Mage resumed his casting.

                Disturbingly, the changed mist coagulated into a gelatinous solid as it pulled the last remnants of vitality from the three bodies and then shifted to align with the etched markings in the circle. The Mage barked a word as he his hand towards the circle again and a sharp keening sound emerged, just on the edge of their hearing. Within the innermost part of the circle, a fist sized hole opened and in wound the gelatinous mist like a vile rope of some kind.

                When the Mage spoke again in his archaic tongue, the woman listened carefully but the only word she recognized was flaga. And that was only because she had been told to ask for such a creature from him. She tensed as the red strand pulled taught, resembling a foul fishing line. She looked up to see the Mage smiling, and though the expression was unnerving, it also thrilled her. He’d found one.

                His next words were harsh and commanding, hand drawing up in a forceful motion. The red strand reeled outwards, spiraling loosely to surround the hole in ascending circles. It reached the end of the line, pulled straight and taught, obviously resisting. “Flaga, come!” the Mage commanded, using his other hand to scoop below his first like he was trapping something between them.

                With a pained keen, a silvery mist blossomed from the hole. It immediately tried to flee but ran into the spiral of red surrounding it. Mimicking the pattern and following the pull of the end of the red strand, it wound up and up in turn, seeking an exit, but as soon as the rest of its shimmery body emerged from the hole, it closed. In the same instant, the opposite end of the red thread pulled away from the stone to attach to the tail end of the mist and pulsed, becoming shiny and solid.

                “No!” the mist wailed, condensing in on itself before it was slowly forced into a vague human form, each wrist bound by the red thread and the excess floating around it like a loose prison.

                “Got it,” the Mage grinned, though his voice was exhausted and he seemed fit to fall over at a moment’s notice.

                “Oh,” the vampire hummed thoughtfully as he approached the still glowing magic circle. “I haven’t seen one of these in over a millennium. Well done, Mage,” he crooned in obvious satisfaction.

                “What is it?” Eric asked as he leaned closer to the woman in curious fascination.

                “A flaga,” she explained, amazed herself. “Supposedly, it can tell the future,” she added, crossing her arms with a thoughtful frown.

                “Indeed,” the vampire purred, eyeing the cowering flaga intently. “They all but disappeared shortly after the Dark Ages. Magic’s doing of course,” he added with a flippant wave of his hand. “And they can see the future,” he agreed, squatting to be closer to the creature’s face as it hovered just above the ground, head hiding behind loosely curled fists. “But remember, it is not set in stone. There are many possible futures,” he grinned, giving the trio an amused side-eyed look. “Though I must admit, I am curious to see what you’ll be able to do with it,” he added, standing up and brushing off his pants like they were dirty. “For now though,” he began, sliding his gaze to settle on the Mage, “it appears as if we have succeeded for today and things are no longer interesting. See you around,” he winked, literally disappearing before their eyes. And the shadows vanished with him, freeing the air from their oppressive darkness once more.

                The woman took a small breath and gathered her wits about her again. “It seems we are finished as well,” she explained, approaching the magic circle.

                “Wait!” the Mage denied, waving a hand to stall her. “I want to study it!”

                “That was not our deal,” she reminded him with one finger pointing in his direction.

                “I summoned it. I should get to keep it first,” he continued as he tried to pull himself to his full height, though he was nowhere near as tall as Eric and his powers had obviously been drained in the casting.

                “That. Was not. Our deal,” she stated again, letting her human guise slowly fall away. Hissing snake heads hovered around as she rose up on a serpentine body and looked down at him.

                Wisely, he lowered his gaze so as not to make eye contact and then lowered his shoulders upon revisiting the reality of his situation. “At least let me keep the barghest,” he grumbled, pointing at the demonic dog body.

                “No,” Eric smirked while he wandered close to snag it with a clawed hand.

                “What?!” the Mage yelped, looking over with an almost pained expression.

                “I want to see what it was tastes like,” the taller man grinned, dangerously pointed teeth shining through his mouth in the expression.

                “You are shamelesssss,” the woman hissed in amusement as she lowered herself back down and began reverting to her human guise.

                “I’m hungry,” Eric corrected, dark eyes gleaming like the cold night.

                “Hongki?” the woman asked, turning her attention to the otherwise unchanged companion in their midst.

                “I’m good,” he shrugged with a dismissive glance at the bodies of the banshee and the bird person. “Personally, I’m more curious about what this thing can tell us,” he murmured, drifting closer to the still imprisoned flaga.

                “You and me both,” she agreed, reaching into her inner coat and pulling out a small silver hand mirror. Carefully, she reached down and broke the magic circle with a swipe of her claws. The flaga took that moment to try and escape, darting past her in a blur of silver and red.

                “No!” the Mage yelped, stumbling after it reactively.

                The woman merely reached out and snagged a length of the red thread, jerking slightly and holding tight as the flaga hit the end of the distance and tumbled to the ‘ground,’ lying prone but hovering just over the surface. “Get back here,” she rolled her eyes, tying part of the thread around the handle of the mirror as an anchor and then shifting to point the reflective face towards the creature. “In,” she instructed, pointing at the mirror.

                “No,” the flaga denied, shaking its head and cowering down again.

                She sighed and glanced at her companions. They nodded in tandem and moved behind the flaga. “If you don’t get in the mirror now, you will die,” she promised, waiting for the flaga to look up before she nodded behind it. The flaga looked over its shoulder with obvious dread and then shrieked upon seeing the full forms of a wendigo and cockatrice towering over it with open maws and flexed claws. It turned into mist and fled into the mirror wordlessly.

                “Childish,” the Mage tsked with a shake of his head.

                “It worked,” the woman shrugged, smiling as she saw the mist swirling in the confines of the reflective space. Bound by the red thread, it had some movement but was not free by any means. “Alright boys. Let’s go home,” she murmured, stuffing the mirror back into her coat and waving for them to follow after.

                “Hey! What about the clean up!” the Mage scowled behind them.

                “You’re a Mage. It should be easy for you,” she tossed back as the wendigo happily dragged his prize away and the cockatrice brought up the rear.

                She didn’t miss the Mage’s grumbling when they left but even tired, it would still likely be child’s play for him to return things to normal and dissipate any remaining magical residue. As for them, they had some plans to start getting figured out. Now was as good a time as any to officially begin again. And perhaps with the flaga this time, they would have more luck.