4.1

The little flat was half a wall of cardboard boxes. Less utilities then any apartment for living people. The last loose piles that contains torn page files and books were being shelved onto the dark Victorian oak shelving unit. She was drifted in her reflection of all that other universes presented her experiences. Her hand was brushing a dream catcher of hung small bits. A random mage coin, feathers, bones and scales. She smiles, all that she has left of her freinds. She missed him, reaching for a lock of hair tied on a lone red thread.

"Miss Trick." The loud call from the old solid doorway. She softly paused at touching her dream catcher, porlean hand left a chalk dust. She was finished moving in. She gently opens the door with the glare of gloomy undertakers, "Queen Faust wishes to see you. You have mail and packages at the gates." The pair left no second sooner or later. There isn't anyone living around here. She listened how much the place echos of steps but no draws of breath. There wasn't any of that living stuff like saying hello or goodbye. No sense of time.

Her eyes adjusted to the constant dimming bright light and the way the realm makes itself. A art gallery of door sized portraits, the corridor is a portion of Sigil but between hell realms. Paintings can take you through many demon Lord mansions, hellscape owners and the chaotic law court houses. Small slips like her doorway constantly move section of walls, floating off the hang string and redirected to new locations. Undertakers bedrooms are all like this. Yet everyone can find their rooms with ease. The corridor is always full of floating moving paintings or pairs of undertakers.

She puts on her best outfit, given this was a queen and not the king that Curiosity served. This was the queen that took after the king shock, lengths of time has no matter. She has no leverage of this monarch and no power. She was simply abnormal soul with a terrible family name.

With being as ready for dying again as she get. She pockets her door portrait doorway, there wasn't anything point of leaving it behind. It was her shadow power manifest into a real doorway, so it was hers as she pleases.

No one was spying her like last time. No one was distrustful that she wouldn't follow simple instructions. She stares around these twisted Alice and wonderland corridors. Photographs of all the undertakers grouped together in sort of a graduation ceremony. She will not be in any one of them. She sees that Curiosity was often hidden among them, or rather the illusion that he was here. She turly stops at some images to see her mind playing tricks, Curiosity never came around here, or he had yet to. She isn't sure when and how far of her life is anymore. Disillusioned of understanding that all her memories as a living are just as shattered as her mask. She has to wear a fake one over her face to hide her scars. Plenty of material to hide her breaking puppet husk form. Awakened as a broken husk, crawled from a trash heap and managed to sneak herself among undertakers, with little fuss.

She treads this realm carefully, there isn't light or darkness to be affected by. She treads this way because of the creatures the undertakers can't see. The dream worlders that use this place as short cuts. She know some of them herself. She heard of them... not met them.

Pairs that walk beside are mute and have mental conversations. None pairs speak loudly and carry not echo on the air. There was no chances of reverberating notions here.

"Lady Tricky." A guard open the study into the restricted tomes section, these are the shelves of dangerous souls, entire realms or race of beings that were damaging if not watched carefully by high powers like the monarch of undertakers. The queen was pretty women with blue hair and cold eyes. Beside her was her advisor nicknamed the four eye demon. Well, his just a typical office animine hottie with Clark Kent glasses affect. He looks like Question in the tight smart suit uniform but this soul was strictly for undertakers. Tricky gave courtesy to the Royal. Respect goes a long way.

"Stand." The queen commands and sighed. Tricky nods, and in total habit of crossing her hands to her stomach. She stands slight of kilter and held a soft low gaze in waiting to listen to them, "I don't know your history and I don't know how you got here. But your the perfect person I need." The queen frowns, "Do you know what a Clothus is?" Tricky waved her left hand in sort of knowing but she wasn't going to trust the definition to share.

"Accounted to the compendiums, Clothus are often souls of creatures whom been in a realm torn or broken. In order to adapt to survive, they were tainted as both living and dead. All are souls whom were exiled from the normal tomes and are always beings with other purposes." Her advisor summaries, "Occasionally broken human souls or fragments from hollow attacks are turned into clothus. We believe that clothus are the same category of soul as damned." So these lot know something about shadow of the damned. interesting. Damned don't interact with undertakers, "A study published by death gods have researched about the way souls work and cycle in the many universes. Thanks to having connected Sigils, we can obtain such studies across a multiverse."

"A certain slayer was credited to this study." The queen raised a book with the title and research names, "So was Castor and The Helix foundation." She doesn't know who the helix foundation was but Castor was the angel that Twilight was partner to. It also would mean there a Link to Sean... the scythe of judgement for his universe. Her eyes reflect with many swimming thoughts. How did queen Fuast link Tricky to this study? or was this to do with Clothus. This was about clothus.

"Twilight and Castor have long left these universes." A hand hiding that her jaw wasn't visible, "I find it surprisingly that Undertakers known about the whisper of the dark." She tilts downwards, "Do please forgive me. You ask if I know about Clothus. I do. I know they are soul stealers. I have a personal interest in them. I am currently in research of the shadow races too." She tilts, "You have a request of a total stranger like me... or maybe you have some of my history somewhere. Even still..."

"I no longer trust Riddle. He is meant to be looking after my next in line, a living human boy. His soul had compatibility to take over my title, nothing more. Riddle has proven more then enough to me. He is equal parts a help as a hinder." She points, "I will grant you title under me to murder him. You have my permission to work through his schemes." Riddle? Not odd at all.

"Riddle is clearly influenced by his history of king slaying and is not a normal undertaker. We suspect his a damned soul. This sounds in your interest." The glassed are pushed back to the nose ridge, "Do not disappoint us."

Tricky gives a bow and step back to the wall. The knock of the door. There someone alive here, how they breath out of breath from running. The need to caught breath with a raspy young voice. The child complained about being fussed over with how his clothes looked as he opens the door. The sheer pressure of air around him warps the strength of the bricking of the walls. He steps close enough, creaking book cases and there was warmth from him. He turly was a ball of energy, ticking to explode at somepoint.

Following the young lad is the tall watcher. A gentleman torn out pages from drawings, pink long hair and sharp features. His skin was clear and ageless but the gaze he carried was cold and analyzing everything. This was Riddle and he turly was protective of this kid, arms that blocked directions and putting his torso in blocking her from staring at the child so long. He had already sensed she wasn't a undertaker.

"Lady Faust, I don't think we should be entering any sort of contract with those mask folks." The lad is fearless before the queen, "There something wrong about them."

"The souls don't teach the minds the mysterious way of the laws." Tricky steps around delicate, "I however see that you know of James and Daniel. He always says things that retain a out ones soul." She tilts in posed frown, "His a creep for sure but his not a Clothus. His a titled being. A concept holder." She backs around, "Making deals with such things is no different to clothus."

"What are you?" Riddle protective to have a weapon out and shielding his partner.

"A tome keeper." She replies gently and draw a sigh, a sigh that makes a living recognize another, "I am not in access of your books, as you would want access to mine." She bows, "Young Prince, you have much to learn before you accuse the queen of being clueless. Lady Faust wishes the best for the undertakers that she has under her. She wouldn't make a deal to harm anyone without due care."

"You must be another mutant creature like the cat crawlers and dementors." The young lad is learning, "Thankfully your not a hollow."

There must be a interesting soul system around these worlds. Hollow isn't a soulless or is it? Breaking out the homework books will be work.

"I have hired Miss Tricky to be a soul researcher. She will be looking into the study of the difference between shadows, hollowed and clothus. Her work will be vital at convincing the true gods to fix this mess."

"What exactly has happened to the gods?" the young prince asked slowly in confusion. Likely that being told gods are real would do that. Equally it was news to Tricky, she thought this place had no such concepts and let alone the beleive thst gods didnt interact among human worlds so bluntly anymore. Higher power being to fix things. She does consider the white lie the queen stated to her prince. Tricky is hired to kill Riddle. Riddle is wearing the same partner ring to the prince... so there is no reverse of this notice.

"Miss Tricky you will find that your study beside these two will help up. Given they contact with the living lands they have. It help your cause." The bow of acceptance, "I expect results."

Yup... she would rather do the tasked lie then to screw with anything lord Ender of this universe was up to. She would rather help fill in passages of the tomes. These intention set within her, she makes effort of being protective of the young loving lad, gifting him of god's charms and universal wards. Such items had even made him feel better in this dead realm. She pets him on the head gently and is moved away by Riddle. She gives a bow of respect to Riddle being so protective of his partner.

"I find that these charms help living folks like me and you. You need them more then me." She posed her left hand, "See for yourself. I will not be breaking any law anytime soon. No dead or visitor from beyond has no right to kill the living. This is a universal concept." She folds back to holding her front again, "The one you should fear breaking that law is any Enders. They have duty to each universe, created due to the universes wishes. Bending the rules of boundaries. Even boundaries that gods fear breaking have been bent in the hands of Enders." She frowns at them all, "You play a dangerous game with such beings. Your right to feel discomfort and feel the words to be stirring."

"Lady Tricky, are you doubting the queen?" Glasses lowered to glare.

"I would worry what the Ender and the Clothus. Benders and breakers of laws. It's not the queen I doubt." She bows, "They are sly. Speaking double meanings or even lie."

"Its what I was trying to tell you. I trust you but it is these beings that have complicated issues." The young lad crossed his arms and certainly carries his voice in that worry. Riddle leans at his back, reassuring him in order to not let the emotions affect the realm around them.

"You are to kind to worry but we undertakers are not clean hands ourselves. We wouldn't be stuck here if we were sinners or saints. So many realms of purgatory, hell and heaven... here we are." The queen makes a interesting point. Even animals don't tend to be this way. Just human souls end up undertakers.

"Even Riddle has a past that murdered many. He is the left hand." That made her change pose at wonder. The queen wishes to kill her personal spy, whom she had bind a contract to her next in line. That is unless the next in line was here on accident. Indeed there is history here to uncover.

"I know that." The young man wavers slightly in some doubt or that he voiced distrusting Riddle himself. He seeks more words to counter her but she is right. They have dirty hands themselves, undertakers meddle with living realms too. Not breaking law but certainly they shouldn't do things as visitors. They cause the death of living people by thier influence, directly or not.

"I have no tasks for you two. Take rest." The prince bows respectful where Riddle does so softer or that he was calculating something. Swift at leaving the room, Tricky followed them.

"There is four living lands that queen Faust looks after. They began to bleed together since the boundaries of living and dead began collapse on them. My world is the only one left still ignorant of the truth and is functioning well." She walks along side but spacing respectful of the living lad explaining this to her. Riddle constantly glares at her in knowing the queen lied about what she is here for, "The three that lost humanity or have little humans left are post apocalyptic landscapes. Mutant creatures and harsh environments. We nicknamed them all by what is a feature that differs them. My home is the Ghost hunters, as slowly cases of paranormal activity is slowly making public knowledge. There is a realm more advanced then mind, we call it the Machine realm. The Helix foundation is the system the machines use." She nods gently understanding, "There something humans still there but they are mixed between oath makers and reptile traders." She snorts at that and clears herself of it. Posed her left hand for him to continue, "There a crystal realm and the clothus rule over the last one." She nods really seriously with this.

"I understand. Sorry for the laugh. I know a lizard that would find you funny. What you said made me think of her." He slows down totally and golps, "I don't know what you are thinking. But I am a human soul. Broken but human." She folds in and bows, "Please. If anything, I am grateful that your talking to me. I don't have many people around me. Those that I do are terrible or terrifying. Your the most normal I met."

"What is the real thing your hired for?"

"I can't do it anyway. It breaks laws." She looks around, "This isn't a place for this conversation. I can however consult a terrifying being to do this task correctly. Yet... I would impose on them. They will do something about it if it was late breaking." She sees that they at least continue walking. She mutely keeps her distance as they all left for somewhere more private. She looks back to knowing a pair of glasses was clicked to a pocket in passing. Taking a different route elsewhere.