Chapter 29: EP 8: Earth, Sea, and Sky Part 1.

The Angel of the Owl House

Season 2: The Human Realm

Chapter 8: Earth, Sea, and Sky

Following the heist at Spriggan Manor and the defeat of Terra Snapdragon, Eda was in very high spirits. She spent much of Sunday evening recounting the adventure to Luz, King, Rasiel, and Hooty, including talking about her new Harpy Mode, which she sadly couldn't use right away due to the Owl Beast taking a rest. Her family were suitably amazed however, especially when Eda used an illusion to show what her new form looked like and talked about what it could do. When Willow talked about her battle with Hanu, as well as how she escaped from Spriggan Manor with the girl after she was betrayed by Terra, Luz was even more amazed and lavished her with praise over how far she'd come from the little Wallflower she'd been when they first met.

The next day (a Monday) had seen Eda report what happened to the rest of the CATTs leadership in a meeting at the Digale Island HQ, and finally show off her Harpy Mode in the flesh. Lilith had been jealous and begun trying to figure out how to get her own Harpy Mode, but unlike Eda, she and Raine didn't have true Beasts inside them; theirs were just pieces of the original's magic, similar to how the Cherub Luz inside Eda was just an embodiment of the magic Luz had given her. It was theoretically possible for them to merge with the magic and gain Hybrid Forms of their own, but neither was sure how to go about it. That same day at school, Willow had told the rest of the Hexsquad about her adventure, amazing all of them just as she had Luz. Telling her Dads the night before had been a little less successful and both Eda and Raine had gotten an earful from Harvey and Gilbert for putting Willow in danger, though Willow had insisted she'd volunteered and wanted to go along. The result had been her Dads were very proud of her… and she was also grounded for a few days. It would have been longer, but Willow's 15th Birthday was only a few days away and she had come home mostly unscathed, so they let her off easy.

Hanu had also met Luz and King that Sunday evening, and had been courteous but distant, not sure how to interact with them after her fight with Willow. Luz had accepted her immediately, while King had been a lot less trusting, but both had agreed with the others' decision to take her in, either for her own safety or to keep an eye on her. She'd been allowed to sleep in Lilith's room for the night (since Lilith was currently staying with her parents), then after taking the usual oaths of secrecy, she had been taken to Digale Island the next morning for the meeting with the CATTs. After Eda had given her report, Hanu had been given Blabber Serum (which she consented to) and made to give up every detail she knew about the Plant Coven, the Emperor's Coven, and their plans, as well any crimes she personally committed and basically her entire life story. Darius was very thorough in his questioning of her, but Hanu had accepted this as the price she had to pay for her crimes and made no effort to resist.

Thankfully, Hanu had been considered the "Baby" of Terra's Elites, so had mostly been kept at the Spriggan Manor and trained by Terra whilst maintaining the Rare Plants Greenhouse. Aside from attacking Willow (which was admittedly aggravated since Willow had struck first), Hanu's greatest crimes had been beating up Plant Scouts while training in the Manor's underground arena, and being less than kind to the servants (though she was also never outright cruel). It was decided that while she would not be allowed to join the CATTs, she would be given sanctuary there, and room and board in one of the lodgings in Digale Village. She would also do a form of community service by helping to maintain and manage the jungle on the Digale Island Titan's palm, seeing as she was one of the few Plant Witches the CATTs had access to. Hanu had accepted and actually seemed fairly happy in that role, shedding some of the noble lady persona Terra had instilled in her and starting to show more of her cheeky, silly side.

As usual, it had been a busy but productive couple of days for the CATTs, the Hexsquad, and the Owl Family… which was why it was so odd for Tuesday to find Luz laying on the couch, totally listless.

Lilith walked into the Owl House around mid-morning, humming to herself as Hooty followed after her in his Portable Form, chatting away about anything and everything that crossed his mind. When Lilith saw Luz laying there and blankly staring at the Palisman Log, she frowned.

"Luz? Why aren't you in school?" Lilith asked.

"School's closed for the day. All the teachers were asked to help back up the Town Militia today, since the Construction Coven has come to knock down the old EC Police Precinct." Luz said, sitting up with a sigh; "The Bonesborough Town Council is worried they'll get into a fight with the CATTs, especially since some of our people still like to hang out in the Precinct, and since the teachers are all strong witches who've decided to be neutral, they asked them for help."

Lilith nodded; "I see. But then why are you here on your own?"

"Everyone else is busy. Mom's over on Digale Island stocking us up on potions. Raine took King with them on a recruiting mission to the Thigh. Rasiel is off at the Library searching for clues on other Titan Archipelagos, and all my friends are busy." Luz sighed.

Amity was helping her Dad on Digale Island, the Twins were on a double "date" with Viney and Jerbo (though Edric and Jerbo still weren't dating yet officially), Barcus was currently working a part-time job at Morton's shop, Willow was technically still grounded, Skara was hanging out with Boscha and the Banshees, Gus was enjoying a day out with his Dad, and Matt was hanging out with his brother and watching the demolition going on in town.

"I see. So what are you doing then? It's strange to see you not full of energy." Lilith said.

Luz groaned; "I know! I just feel so listless! There's usually so much for me to do or study that I don't have time to feel like this! But Darius kicked me off Digale Island, saying I needed some time to unwind after the Ash Moth incident… That was a whole three days ago! I'm fine now!"

Lilith snorted; "You're starting to sound like me when I was in the Emperor's Coven; ever the workaholic."

Luz pouted; "It doesn't feel like work to me. I like helping people! It was basically my whole purpose in life before I came to the Demon Realm! But I guess… maybe that's the problem." she said, sadly staring down at the Palistrom Wood in her hands.

Lilith smiled; now she understood. "So that's why you're so down in the dumps! You're trying to figure out what you want in life. You need to speak your deepest wish and ambition to be able to bond with your Palisman."

"Yeah… I always thought I knew what I wanted. To become a good Angel who helps everyone and makes the world a better place. But now that I'm actually doing that, I just feel… weird. I'm asking myself if I did that because it's what my heart wanted, or because it's what I thought I was supposed to do." Luz confessed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the way my life is going and what I've achieved! I just… I don't know how to explain it."

"I think I understand." Lilith said, taking a seat beside her; "A lot has changed in your life in the last few months, and you're still at the age where you're trying to discover yourself and the kind of person you'll be as you become an adult. Your ambitions and wants in life are bound to change as your circumstances do. Without thinking about your Palisman, what is it you want right now?" Lilith asked.

Luz thought about it for a moment, then said; "Well I want to keep helping people. I want to learn all I can about magic, and keep being the best angel I can be. I want to be with Amity for as long as I can. I want to help you and Raine with your curses. I want to help King find answers about his birth Mom, and help Rasiel put himself back together. I want to bring my Demon Realm and Human Realm families together… and I want to defeat Belos, once and for all!" she declared, before rubbing a hand across her face; "Ugh, maybe I want too many things… maybe I can't get a clear idea of what I want most because there's too much stuff I wanna do!"

Lilith shook her head and patted Luz on the back; "That's normal. Most people have a lot of things they want to achieve. And sometimes, the things that bond us to our Palismen are achieved or even changed! When I first bonded with Corvanc, my heart's desire was to join the Emperor's Coven with Edalyn! But now I'm working with her to bring down the Coven, yet Corvanc and I are still as close as ever!" she said, snapping her fingers to summon the white raven Palisman, and petting him, much to his joy. "We focus on our deepest desires when trying to bond with our Palismen because that's when our hearts are open enough for the Palisman to see inside us and connect their heart to ours. It's less about the desire itself and more about the emotions behind it that connect us. That's even more critical with Palismen that you carve yourself, as they are true reflections of your heart and soul."

Luz looked up at Lilith, slowly starting to smile again; "Wow Tia Lily! You really know your stuff!"

"Well, I am the daughter of the Isle's greatest Palisman Carver!" Lilith said proudly, "Speaking of, has Eda made any more progress in deciding to come and see Dad?"

"She's decided she's definitely going to do it, she's just gathering the courage. Now that she knows the Owl Beast is a living thing, Eda's been finding it hard to blame what happened on her, but that's just made her feel guilty again. She's working through it with Raine, but it'll likely be a little while before she can face Abuelo." Luz answered.

Lilith's eyes turned sad for a moment, then shook it off; "Getting back on topic, have you thought about what you'll carve this log into? There's a bit of a betting pool amongst the CATTs and I'm hoping for a tip off." she winked, deciding to channel a little of the "Cool Aunt Lily" persona she'd been working to cultivate since becoming Amity's mentor again.

Luz giggled but shook her head; "Sorry, but I wanted a clearer idea of what I want before I started to carve. I'm kinda creating a life here; I don't want to decide their shape while I'm stuck being so indecisive."

"Wise. But you're not going to get anywhere sat here on your own and staring at the wood! So how about you come with me and help me with some chores? I have a few errands to run on Digale Island and in Bonesborough, and I could use the company!" the older woman suggested.

The young Angel nodded immediately; "Great idea! I could use some fresh air! Maybe that'll help me make up my mind!"

Luz hurriedly tucked the Palistrom Wood back into the carefully warded box she'd been keeping it in, then ran to hide it in her nest before coming back down. She stood in front of Lilith and gave a little salute; "I'm ready for your orders, Captain Tia Lily!" she said with a giggle.

Lilith rolled her eyes good-naturedly; "Good to see you perk up quickly! Let me just drop off this package I came to deliver, then we can go to Digale Island. You being here is actually a stroke of luck, as now I don't need to wait until you get back from school to take care of my jobs there!"

Luz nodded and watched as Lilith reached into her hair and pulled out a white box with a red ribbon tied around it like a little present. "These are some freshly made Chocolate Chip Spookies Mother baked as a congratulations to Eda for finally taming her curse. That ought to make Eda eager for a trip home!"

"It smells awesome! Also, I'm liking your new style, Tia Lily!" Luz commented.

Since moving back in with her parents, Lilith had stopped straightening and dying her hair, so now she had some of her old red roots creeping back in and her hair was starting to regain its old curliness. She'd also replaced her old wardrobe with more casual (if somewhat old fashioned) outfits, which included a light green blouse under a brown open vest, and a burgundy coloured skirt over lilac tights and brown, heeled shoes. Combining that with the old, round lensed glasses she now wore had Lilith looking like an intellectual young woman and historian, which a nerd like Luz could appreciate.

"Thank you, Luz. Before long, my hair will be curlier than yours! It certainly makes the hair storage spell that Eda taught me work a lot better!" Lilith smiled. "You should have your Mom teach it to you too! Your hair only needs to be a little longer for it to work well."

"Maybe, but until then…" Luz snapped her fingers and summoned her satchel; "… I've got this instead! Shall we head to Digale Island now?"

Lilith nodded, and after a request from Hooty (who'd been quiet thus far, so Luz and Lilith could talk in peace), it was decided that he would come too, so Luz put up her customary barriers around the Owl House and they all headed to the Teleportation Circle and warped to Digale Island.

Since Lilith had arrived on the island a lot earlier than expected, most of the people she needed to coordinate with to complete her tasks simply weren't available just yet, including Rasiel (who was her unofficial assistant), so there wasn't a huge list of chores they could get done just yet. As they walked around Digale Village doing the few odd jobs Lilith had available (largely following up on complaints and requests from the village's residents, and making sure everyone had what they needed to do their jobs), she and Luz discussed different career paths that Luz might be interested in when she graduated Hexside and Belos was defeated.

Helping people was obviously an overarching ambition, but it wasn't exactly a job. Luz toyed with the idea of being a healer, a vet (like her Mami), an explorer beyond the isles, an artist, and even finding a way to use Belos' research into reviving the Basilisk race to revive other extinct creatures in both the Demon and Human Realms. Lilith, who was also currently looking for a job (since the CATTs didn't have enough resources to support everyone and she didn't think any should be spent on her when she was in a position to work for it), suggested positions like a teacher or a librarian, since Luz was a good instructor when it came to the glyphs, and was obviously an avid reader. She'd also suggested archaeologist with the excuse that Luz had found three major archaeological discoveries since coming tot he Isles, though at that point Luz thought Lilith was just suggesting jobs she wanted! Hooty gave his own suggestions too; Hooty Back Scratcher, Hooty Tea Party Guest, Hooty Feather Washer, Hooty Feeder, and amusingly enough, Amity's House Wife.

Lilith teased Luz with that last one for the remainder of their chores in the village!

After about half an hour on Digale Island, the two began heading back to the Teleportation Circle so they could complete Lilith's chores in Bonesborough, which was mostly just shopping. Not everything was available on Digale Island, so Lilith took it upon herself to buy what was missing (using snails given to her by Darius for that purpose) while also doing some shopping for her parents in Bonesborough.

As they walked, Hooty looked to Luz and hooted; "Hey Luz, why is your bag moving? Do you have a friend in there?"

Luz blinked, then looked down at her satchel. To her surprise, it really was moving! "Huh, weird! What could it be?" she frowned, reaching into the satchel. Her whole arm disappeared into the magically expanded interior and she rummaged around for something moving. She grimaced as she eventually found something damp and slimy inside what appeared to be a bag of chips. With a shudder of displeasure, Luz let go of the slimy thing and grabbed the bag of chips itself, pulling it out of the satchel and scowling at it.

"Dang it, I told King not to leave his open snacks in my bag!" Luz complained, "That Goober is lucky he's adorable!"

"That he is." Lilith agreed, trying not to giggle at Luz's displeased face, "It looks like something was attracted to the chips."

The bag was still wiggling in Luz's hands, and a high-pitched squeak emerged from it whenever Luz poked it. Cautiously, Luz opened the bag so she and Lilith could peer inside and see what was in there. Immediately, Luz gasped with recognition while Lilith blinked in surprise.

"Some kind of Axolotl?" Lilith questioned.

Inside the bag was a large Axolotl-like creature that was about the same size as Corvanc. It had light brown skin that was slightly slimy, two stubby little arms and no legs, dark brown fins with orange membranes, and orange frills on the sides of its head, and matching orange membranes on the sides of its tail. It had no visible mouth and only two big black eyes, but as it grabbed another of the stale chips in the bag, it revealed a large hidden (and apparently toothless) mouth, which promptly disappeared again once it chomped down the snack.

"Pebbles!" Luz gasped, grabbing the little guy out of the bag; "What are you doing here!? You're supposed to be with the Bat Queen on Titan Cradle Island!"

"Hold on, are you saying this little guy is a Palisman!?" Lilith exclaimed.

Luz nodded; "This is Pebbles, one of the Stray Palismen that the Bat Queen was looking after. But how did he get here!? He must have stowed away in my satchel at some point!"

Pebbles squeaked at her, but Luz couldn't understand what she was saying. However, Hooty apparently could and translated for him. "He says he crawled in there during Palisman Adoption Day, Hoot! He smelled some yummy snacks in there, but fell asleep after eating! Hoot hoot!"

"He's been in there for days!? How did BQ not notice one of them was missing!?" Luz exclaimed.

Corvanc, seated on Lilith's shoulder, cawed in response and Lilith translated; "Corvanc says that the Bat Queen probably used her nose to do a headcount. If you and your satchel were nearby, she likely would have still smelled Pebbles."

Pebbles squeaked some more, so Hooty translated; "Hoot! Pebbles says he woke up but it was hot, so he went back to sleep. Then when he woke up again it was dark and he couldn't see anything, so he ate some more and went back to sleep. Then he woke up again and was covered in clothes, so he got comfy and went back to sleep again."

Luz frowned; so that's why one of her socks had been weirdly damp that weekend! She'd just assumed King had gotten his nose stuck in it and sneezed it off… again.

"So he couldn't find his way out, so just kept eating junk food until he fell asleep? This Palisman isn't the brightest…" Lilith commented. "Also, how much junk food do you carry in that thing?"

"King likes to hide his snacks in their so Mom doesn't find them, and so he can have me summon them for him whenever he wants." Luz shrugged, before looking back to Pebbles, who was now making grabby hands at the remains of the chips. She allowed him to finish the bag, then incinerated the trash and held Pebbles in both hands as he wagged his little tail contently.

"And I thought Flapjack was a rascal! You shouldn't just crawl into strange places and eat other people's food." Luz said, waggling her finger at the Palisman. The little guy replied with a sad squeak to say he was sorry.

"We should take him home. The Bat Queen is probably worried sick!" Lilith said.

Luz nodded and placed Pebbles on her shoulder. They used the Teleportation Circle to get back to the Owl House but then as she, Lilith, and Hooty left to go to the Bat Queen's Forest to use the circle there too, Luz had an idea.

"You know, Pebbles here used to be Steve's Palisman." she began.

"Truly? Steve always was my favourite subordinate. I'd often wondered what kind of Palisman he'd had. Some how, I'm not surprised it's Pebbles here." Lilith smiled. "But how did he avoid giving Pebbles to Belos?"

Pebbles squeaked sadly, and Luz replied; "Steve severed their bond and sent him away to protect him."

Lilith's sighed; "I see… I was lucky to be allowed to keep Corvanc, though I always wondered why. He just said the Titan had big plans for me that involved Corvanc. With how enraptured I was by him at the time, I fear that I would have given him Corvanc if he'd asked…"

The woman looked guiltily at her Palisman, but the white raven offered no judgement and just nuzzled her cheek.

"I was thinking… before I take you home, would you like to see Steve again, Pebbles? He's been worried about you all this time, and I'm sure he'd love to see you! And his little brother Matt is one of my friends!" Luz smiled.

Pebbles stared up at her for a moment, then gave a little nod and affirmative squeak. Luz's face lit up, and she turned to Lilith; "Tia Lily, is it okay if we detour and see Matt and Steve? You had stuff to do in Bonesborough anyway, so we won't be going out of our way."

"Of course. It's no bother." Lilith agreed.

"Perfect! Let's go!" Luz cheered, growing her wings back to full size and taking to the sky for the flight to Bonesborough. Lilith followed her on her staff, carrying Hooty on her back with her. They flew into the town square and landed, finding a large crowd watching the demolition of the Police Precinct nearby. Members of the CATTs and the Emperor's Coven were both supervising the Construction Coven's work, while civilians watched with curiosity. Luz could see a few of her teachers in the crowd, but she didn't see any signs of either Matt or Steve. They were supposed to be hanging out together while Steve supervised the demolition, but Luz couldn't see them or detect their magic.

Curious, Luz whipped out her scroll and called Matt.

"Hey Matt, where are you right now? I'm at the demolition but I can't see you." Luz asked as Lilith and Hooty listened in.

"Hey Luz. Plans changed so I'm at home right now. Did you want to come over or something?" Matt replied.

"Definitely! I've got a surprise for you and Steve! I'll be right there! Oh, and I'm bringing Lilith and Hooty too! See you in a minute!" Luz said cheerfully.

"Wait Luz, Steve isn't-"

But Luz had already pulled the scroll away from her ear and hung up, unaware of what Matt was trying to tell her. Totally oblivious, Luz hummed happily as she skipped through Bonesborough to Matt's house, Lilith and Hooty following along with her, occasionally stopping at stores to buy things on Lilith's shopping list along the way.

They arrived at Matt's house and Luz pulled up the hood of her school uniform so she could hide Pebbles inside it before she knocked on the door. Her knock was swiftly answered by Matt, who greeted Luz with a smirk and Lilith with a polite nod.

"Well someone's eager! You're not normally this eager to hang out with me all on our lonesome." Matt said teasingly.

"That's because we normally spend three classes in a row together every school day, you dork!" Luz giggled, "Besides, we're not on our own; Lilith and Hooty are here! And Steve too!"

Matt frowned; "Oh right, about that; I tried to tell you this before you hung up on me-" Luz bowed her head apologetically, "-but Steve isn't here. He got called away on important business for the EC."

"He's not here! Aw Farts… there goes my big surprise plan!" Luz pouted.

"What is this important business?" Lilith asked.

"Interviewing the Latissa Gardening Club. Apparently the EC is investigating the CATTs raid of the Plant Coven, and found out Willow was spotted asking around about the Palistrom Tree in Latissa. Steve got called over to help interview the gardeners since he's got the best people skills of the Scouts on the Right Arm." Matt answered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wanted poster.

The poster was for "Willow Park, Wanted for Theft, Trespassing, Assaulting a Coven Head, and Rebellion against the Empire." and carried a 50,000 Snail bounty, as well as the stipulation that she had to be delivered alive and in relatively good condition.

Luz whistled; "Wow, who'd have thought Willow would be the first person in the Hexsquad to end up with a bounty after me?"

"I'd be more surprised if she hadn't put the fear of the Titan into me back when I was still a jerk. Still, sorry to say that if you wanted to see Steve, you're out of luck. He won't be home until this evening." Matt said.

The Arch-Angel crossed her arms with a sigh; "Well that's not good… Do you think you can wait until this evening? We can hang out with Matt in the meantime?" she asked, talking to Pebbles inside her hood.

Matt gave her a strange look, then blinked in surprise as he heard a squeak. Hooty translated; "Hoot! He says it's fine, hoot!"

"Who says it's fine? What was that noise?" Matt asked suspiciously.

Luz gave him a wide grin; "My surprise! Did you wanna see…?" she asked coyly.

"Yes!" Matt replied, leaning forward with anticipation; "I've gotta see this!"

"Well then, feast your eyes on…" Luz reached up and grabbed her hood, then yanked it down to reveal Pebbles sitting on top of her head; "… an old family friend of yours!"

Matt stared up at the Palisman, who squeaked happily and gave him a little wave. The boy's face was completely dumbstruck as his brain worked hard to fully register the punch of surprise that had just hit him. Then it all finally snapped into place and he practically screamed.

"PEBBLES!?"

Matt's shocked yell, combined with a sudden lunge forward to grab the familiar Palisman, startled both Luz and Pebbles, the former of whom flinched back while the latter squeaked in surprise and fear. Matt caught himself before he actually grabbed Pebbles, but the little Axolotl still ended up leaping off of Luz's head in fear. He landed roughly, tumbling head over tail a few times before he finally came to a stop with a pained squeak. A tiny crack now appeared on his cheek, and while it wasn't deep enough to be bleeding essence, it still hurt the poor creature.

"Oh no! Pebbles! Matt, you startled him!" Luz cried.

"Shoot! I'm so sorry! Pebbles, I-"

Matt reached down to help the fallen Palisman, but Pebbles just squeaked in fear and fled, running as fast as it could away from him.

"Pebbles!" Matt yelled after him; "Come back! I'm sorry I scared you!"

Pebbles didn't respond and kept fleeing, forcing Luz and Matt to give chase, followed closely by Lilith and Hooty. Despite having no legs, Pebbles was shockingly fast; his slick, slimy body allowed him to slide across the ground like it was ice, and his little arms pulled him along with surprising speed that the others struggled to keep up with. The frightened Palisman ended up leading them on quite the chase, rushing out of Matt's neighbourhood and into the market, then from there to the town square, where it quickly slid through the crowd watching the demolition. Matt, who'd been hot on Pebble's tail, lost track of him as he fled between the legs of the watching crowd.

"No! I lost him! We need to find him before he gets caught up in the demolition!" Matt exclaimed.

Luz answered by casting a Beast-Keeping Spell on herself, making her eyes glow orange and allowing her to see tracks. Using such a thing in a busy town would usually be confusing, but Pebbles' unique trail allowed her to quickly spot it and differentiate it from the rest of the crowd.

"This way! He went around the edge of the crowd!" Luz said, already following the trail. Matt, Lilith, and Hooty followed her, and ended up having to skirt along the edge of the crowd watching the demolition until they reached what had originally been the Precinct's cart depot, which had already been demolished and was now occupied by a break area for the Construction Coven Witches, as well as a landing zone for their airships.

"Pebbles is here somewhere! His trail leads right up to-" Luz stopped her sentence as her eyes followed the Palisman's trail until it suddenly stopped at a witch's foot.

Gulping, Luz and her companions looked at the witch whose foot it had stopped at… the witch who was currently clutching Pebbles (gently) in his large hand.

Mason, Head Witch of the Construction Coven.

Luz's heart sank as Mason looked impassively from the Palisman in his gloved hand to Luz and her friends. He nodded to Lilith and then Luz.

"Miss Clawthorne. Miss Noceda-Clawthorne." he said, tipping his builder's helmet to them.

"Mason." Lilith nodded back warily, preparing to fight if necessary.

"It's been a while. I owe you for those Power Glyphs you gave me and my friends back at the Covention." Luz said, smiling nervously; "But could I have Pebbles back please? My friend here accidentally scared him and wants to say he's sorry before I take Pebbles home."

Mason stroked his beard in thought, then asked; "Who does this fella belong to?"

"W-Well no one right now, but he-" Luz tried to explain, only for Mason's teal eyes to gleam for a moment.

"So he's a stray? Then sorry Miss, but I can't hand him over." Mason said apologetically, once again tipping his helmet.

"But why!?" Matt growled, stepping forward in what he thought was an intimidating manner.

Mason didn't react beyond saying; "Law says all stray Palismen belong to the Emperor. Nothing I can do."

Luz and the others gasped; "You can't take Pebbles to Belos! He'll kill him!" Luz cried.

Lilith turned Corvanc into his staff form and brandished him at Mason, while Hooty elongated himself so he was surrounding, but not touching, the Construction Witch. Mason was nonplussed by both and ignored them in favour of Luz.

"Sorry Miss, but the law is the law."

Luz's fearful expression became one of determined anger, and she produced a light sword from her hand; "I can't let you take him away!"

"Yeah! We'll pummel you and take Pebbles back! Luz was a match for Belos, so the four of us together can easily kick your butt!" Matt growled, drawing bronze spell circles.

Mason shook his head; "You attack, you break the truce. Your group will get kicked out of town."

"You started it by stealing Pebbles!" Luz growled.

Again, Mason shook his head and calmly replied; "I didn't. This fella is a stray; he's not your property, nor was he in your possession. I didn't use force or trickery to steal him from you. According to the conditions of the truce, I've done nothing wrong."

Luz and Matt both scowled angrily, while Lilith frowned; "He's not technically wrong… unclaimed property can't be "stolen" and Bonesborough's truce agreement states that they still have to obey the Emperor's laws, so long as they don't directly impact the truce."

"So we just have to let him take Pebbles or break the truce!?" Luz gasped, horrified.

Lilith nodded reluctantly, but Mason then said; "I'd be willing to make an exchange however."

"What do you want?" Matt demanded suspiciously.

Mason pointed at Luz; "Miss Noceda-Clawthorne. The Emperor wants you. Come with me to his castle and I'll let the Palisman go."

Luz and her friends all scowled; so Mason was going to use Pebbles as a hostage to capture Luz? They should have figured something like that. Naturally it was out of the question as far as Lilith was concerned; Luz was vital to the Rebellion and was her own dear niece! It was far from a fair exchange. Matt and Hooty also looked ready to refuse, albeit with Matt looking pretty upset by the idea of losing Pebbles again. However Luz was looking contemplative, seeing if she could turn this situation to her advantage.

"If I agreed to this… how would we do this?" she asked.

"I'll take you to my private airship." Mason pointed to a small personal airship docked not far away, marked with the sigil of the Construction Coven on the balloon. It was big enough to have a cabin, but not much else. "We'll fly to the Emperor's Castle. Once we land, I'll release the Palisman."

That was short and simple, much like Mason himself. Luz narrowed her eyes; "Can Matt, Tia Lily, and Hooty come? If I go with you alone, no one will be able to bring Pebbles back to safety, but if they come, they could do it."

"If they want." Mason said shortly. "I'm not one for restraints or oaths, and my ship ain't big enough for a lot of people, so it'll just be me and the four of you. Do you accept?"

Luz blinked; Mason wasn't going to try and chain her up or make her swear an oath like Lilith had? And he was going to let her bring her friends but not bring any of his own!? He was either extremely confident, or profoundly stupid.

Bringing Matt, Lilith, and Hooty into a huddle, Luz whispered; "What do you guys think? If we agree, we can wait until we're out of Bonesborough, then jump him! We can rescue Pebbles and take out a Coven Head in one go!"

"I'm in!" Matt grinned viciously; "I'll teach that guy a lesson for messing with my Bro's Palisman!"

"I'm in too, Hoot! Oh boy, I get to help again!" Hooty said loudly, thankfully not saying enough to alert Mason to what they were planning.

Lilith looked unsure though; "Something about this feels off. Mason is a simple man, but he's no one's fool. Why would he agree to something so wildly disadvantageous to himself?"

"Well, we can ask him after we beat him up! He might have more info than Terra did too! Come on Tia Lily, do it for Pebbles and Steve!" Luz implored her.

Lilith sighed; "Alright, but don't let your guard down!"

Luz beamed and briefly hugged the woman, then broke up the huddle and turned back to Mason. "Alright! I'll come with you on your airship, so long as Matt, Tia Lily, and Hooty can come along."

Mason actually gave a small smile, the first expression Luz had seen him make. "Good. Right this way." he said, showing them to the gangplank to board his personal airship.

As they went towards it, Mason grabbed one of his Coven members and spoke to them; "I'm taking the Angel and her companions to the Emperor. You're in charge of the rest of the demolition. Do a good job and tell the guys that grog's on me tonight."

The Construction Witch, as well as several others in earshot, all cheered. "Thanks Boss! But do you really wanna take these guys on your own airship? Wind's are choppy today and a small ship like that could get blown off course! Wouldn't it be better to take a bigger one?"

"I prefer to fly myself. Ol' Bessie hasn't let me down so far. Good day." Mason replied, tipping his hat once more then boarding his ship; Ol' Bessie.

Luz and the others joined him and watched as he used just one hand to prepare the ship for take off, keeping the other firmly around Pebbles, who was strangely calm and just looking around at everything. Once they were all in the air, Mason began piloting the ship eastward towards the capital city of Manubrium. Luz and Matt exchanged looks and were already subtly preparing to attack the man, while Lilith still had Corvanc in staff mode and was idly drawing tiny spell circles with the end of it whilst chatting with Hooty. Then, just as they were about to leave Bonesborough airspace and the tension on the ship got worse, Mason suddenly span the ship's wheel to the right, causing them to turn sharply and knocking Luz and the others off balance. They hit the deck with a series of groans, but seeing as they were now officially out of Bonesborough, they all prepared spells instantly.

"Well, now my crew watching from town will think a gust of wind blew us off course." Mason said, not even turning to look back at them. To the shock of everyone, he then stooped down and released Pebbles onto the ground; "You get on back to your pals now, you hear?"

Pebbles squeaked and nodded, then casually slid himself back to Luz, who scooped him up in a flash.

"Pebbles! I-I don't understand, what's going on here!?" Luz cried, carefully holding the little Palisman.

Lilith pointed her staff at Mason; "What are you trying to pull here, Mason!?"

The Construction Witch turned around and put his hands up slowly in surrender; "My apologies for the subterfuge, Ma'am. I needed an excuse to talk to the Little Lady away from prying eyes. I don't know who in my Coven I can trust."

"Subterfuge? You mean this was all a lie!?" Matt yelled.

"Aye Boy, it was. I wasn't ever going to hurt the little one, or hand him over to Belos. But holding him got you all on my airship. My Coven will think I captured you, then you escaped sometime after the wind blew my ship adrift. We can talk all peaceful-like." Mason said calmly, unperturbed by the staff and spell circles in his face.

Luz carefully nestled Pebbles into the hood of her cloak again, then said; "And you did all this just to get me alone to talk to me? What exactly did you want to talk about? Are you interested in joining the CATTs!?" she gasped, beginning to smile.

Mason shook his head. "Not exactly. I wanted to ask a favour, but if things work out well, I might be interested."

"A favour? What kind of favour?" Luz asked.

Mason held up a finger, gesturing her to wait for a moment as he went into his cabin. He was in there for a few minutes, then emerged in a new outfit. He'd changed out of his construction attire and into his normal outfit; a grey tunic with short brown sleeves, brown pants with a lighter brown castle battlements design along the hem, and brown boots. He'd left his helmet off too, and added a simple dark grey cloak over his shoulders. A small hammer with the sigil of the Construction Coven was attached to his belt.

He walked up to Luz and opened his clenched fist to reveal a small stone butterfly, which made Luz giggle.

"Aw, how cute! I could never carve something this small and dainty out of stone! I guess you're the Head of the Construction Coven for a reason!" Luz complimented, accepting the little figurine.

Lilith and Matt were confused by the gesture, while Hooty just wondered why someone would make a stone butterfly, since it wouldn't taste good if he ate it (not that he wasn't tempted to try). However Mason's face was grim.

"I didn't carve it. That's a real butterfly. It was petrified."

Luz squeaked in surprise and almost dropped it, but managed to catch it at the last second. "Petrified?"

Mason nodded; "Belos has been working to repair the Petrification Statue you destroyed. This is the result of a test."

"I see… why are you giving me this?" Luz asked, puzzled.

Mason's expression remained neutral, but his eyes bore into hers intensely; "At the Petrification Ceremony, you did something impossible and revived someone who'd been petrified. I want to know if you can do it again."

Luz stared at Mason with curiosity. Strictly speaking, thanks to the Panacea Mirror, Luz now had the power to cure Petrification. She'd been wanting to test it by freeing the other witches that had been petrified during Belos' reign of terror, but sadly they had all been smashed to gravel shortly after the big escape. Darius had reluctantly told her and the CATTs this during one of their first meetings, as Belos was afraid Luz would free all his old enemies and the "dangerous criminals" he'd had petrified, bringing chaos and destruction to the Isles. Of course, Belos was actually just afraid of Luz building a larger army with people who already hated him, so he'd ordered the statues destroyed and that was that.

"I guess I can try. It'd be nice to actually get to use this power again." Luz said, holding the butterfly statue in both hands. She closed her eyes and focused on her magic, drawing out the deep, tingling feeling that had settled into her bones after the Panacea Mirror had disintegrated and blended into her. She didn't normally feel it unless looking for it, but once she felt it Luz was able to direct the magic to her finger tip and drew a golden, glittering spell circle over the Butterfly.

The others all watched with amazement as the spell circle wrapped around the statue and then shrank into it, causing the entire Butterfly to begin turning from stone to crystal. This crystal shell then began to crack and break away, and a moment later, a perfectly healthy (if disoriented) Butterfly fluttered away from Luz and away from the airship, off to continue its life elsewhere. Lilith and Matt watched it go with amazement, still having trouble wrapping their heads around Luz's ability to cure the thought-to-be incurable affliction, while Mason actually smiled again.

"Perfect." he said, "So you can still do it… In that case, I would like to make a deal with you, Miss Noceda-Clawthorne."

"Please call me Luz." she replied, "And what kind of deal?"

Mason went and sat on a crate of tools, inviting the others to sit too; "I want you to revive somebody who has been petrified. In exchange, I will work for you and show you where the other petrified people are."

Luz gasped; "B-But I thought they were all shattered!"

"Belos gave the order. I volunteered to do it, seeing as demolition is half of my Coven's job. He accepted and I took the statues away. I flew them out, claiming I was going to destroy them elsewhere and use the gravel in my work, but instead I took them to a safe place. Every Witch and Demon that Belos had petrified is now safely hidden away, and only I know where." Mason explained.

Luz, Matt, and Lilith all smiled brightly; this was excellent news! Not only would they get a powerful new ally, but they'd be freeing all those poor petrified people! Luz couldn't agree fast enough.

"I accept! I'd be happy to revive your friend, and all the others too!" Luz beamed, barely holding herself back from hugging the man.

Mason smiled again; "Thank you, Little Lady. I owe you big time."

He reached over to the steering wheel and gave it a turn, making sure the airship was heading directly south along the western coast of the Titan. "I hid them all in a secret place past the Knee. I'll take you there; you'll get lost otherwise."

Luz nodded, while Lilith couldn't help but question Mason; "So you're a traitor to the Emperor too? Why? Because he petrified someone you care about?"

Mason nodded gruffly; "I was never on his side. I became Coven Head in hopes of finding a cure for Petrification right under his beak. If anyone deserves to rot in stone, it's that monster."

Luz and Lilith exchanged looks; that wasn't far off what Darius and Eber had said. They wondered how many Coven Heads actually supported Belos and weren't just working with him to bring him down, achieve some other goal, or get the rewards he promised them. The man clearly inspired less loyalty than he thought!

"So what exactly is your beef with Belos?" Matt asked.

"I'll explain more once we get there. I don't like talking while driving, especially since the winds really are choppy today." Mason said, turning back to the ship's wheel.

He wasn't wrong either; the winds were quite intense and Mason had to keep fiddling with the ship's controls to maintain the correct heading even as the winds tried to blow them off course. As they got further and further into Autumn, the winds got colder and stronger… it wouldn't be long before Luz would be seeing the dreaded Cutting Gales!

"Hey Luz, can't you use your wind glyphs to control the wind?" Matt asked.

Luz frowned and shook her head; "I can't. I can draw the wind glyph on paper and use it to make wind, which I can sort of control, but existing wind is beyond me."

"Come to think of it, you've barely used the wind glyph since finding it." Lilith pointed out.

"Because using paper glyphs alongside my normal magic is just too cumbersome. And I'm not as good with them as King is." Luz replied. She had more of an affinity with them than Eda, Lilith, Rasiel, and Raine, but she paled in comparison to King. Though considering he was a Titan and the son of the glyphs' source, Luz wasn't too surprised.

Dealing with the wind as best they could, they continued flying until they flew past the Knee after a while, and began to descend as they followed the slope of the Shin, causing Lilith to turn to Mason questioningly; "Where exactly are we going? There's nothing south of the Shin besides open sea. We'll need to start heading south east if you want to go to the Swampy Toes."

"We're not going to the Swampy Toes." Mason said, not taking his eyes off the sky.

"Are we leaving the Boiling Isles then? Because it'll be hours before we reach anything on this heading." Lilith said.

The Construction Witch shook his head and began pulling levers, which caused a propeller to emerge from the back of the air ship, and large fish-like fins to emerge from the sides. "We're going into the sea. I wanted to take my airship for more than just personal reasons. Ol' Bessie is also a submersible."

"This thing can turn into a Submarine!?" Luz exclaimed with a face splitting grin, "That is so cool! How does it work!? Where did you get it!?"

"Easy Little Lady, one question at a time. I need to concentrate." Mason said, beginning to lower them down onto the surface of the water. With practised skill, Mason landed on the Boiling Sea with barely a splash, then cast a spell up at the balloon that opened a valve beneath it and caused it to begin deflating. Once the balloon was empty, Mason pressed a button on the controls to trigger an enchantment that made the balloon and its rigging wrap itself up and slide into a compartment below deck, turning the airship into a regular ship. A second button was pressed that caused a thick glass dome to cover the entire top of the ship, making it water tight.

"Seal is good. Air Refresher Enchantments are active. We're ready to dive." Mason muttered to himself. He then pulled on a previously untouched lever, and the Airship-turned-Submarine began to descend beneath the waves, much to Luz, Matt and Hooty's excitement and the bewilderment of Lilith. Things became very hot and stuffy as they descended, as the Boiling Sea heated the submersible up rapidly. Mason dealt with this by activating another enchantment that lowered the temperature of the air being refreshed, keeping everyone from being roasted alive.

"Phew! I was about to bust out the ice glyphs! Who'd have thought my hottest experiences in the Boiling Isles would happen in the Fall!" Luz chuckled to herself.

"The surface of the Boiling Sea is actually the coolest point." Lilith informed her, "The further down you go, the hotter it gets. In the deepest parts of the sea, the Volcanic Trenches, you can actually reach the core of the Demon Realm. But only a few rare breeds of Demon can survive that; even your ice glyphs would be useless in that kind of heat."

Luz whistled; "Note to self, don't go deep sea diving in the Demon Realm!"

"Forget that! This machine is amazing!" Matt gushed; "Submersibles are super rare! How did you get one Mason!?"

"I made it." Mason replied. "I'm good with mechanisms and metal, and I've got an affinity of sorts with the deep sea. I took an old airship and converted it myself. Took a few years, but it turned out pretty good."

"P-Pretty good!? This thing is a work of art!" Matt cried, "You made this yourself with just Construction Magic!?"

Mason nodded; "For the most part. A Wild Witch pal of mine helped with the enchantments, but I did the building. Now look down on the starboard side."

The passengers obediently ran over to the right side and looked down beneath the ship, were they saw the massive right foot of the Titan, laying flat against the seabed. It was absolutely teeming with life, from various varieties of fish to demonic coral, anemones, and sea sponges. It was a colossal reef, the likes of which Luz had never even dreamed of.

"Wow!" she gasped, "Look at it all! It's incredible!"

"That is the Metatarsal Reef." Lilith explained. "Since it was entirely underwater, the Titan's right foot couldn't be occupied by surface dwellers, so it was instead inhabited solely by aquatic life. Purely Aquatic Demons tend to be simple-minded creatures, but the intelligent ones are very dangerous, though thankfully peaceful."

"I remember Viney telling me about an underwater city for Aquatic Biped Demons on the side of the Ankle." Luz said, not looking away from the giant reef, "How come there aren't more settlements like it down here?"

"No need for one." Mason said shortly, "Aquatic Bipeds are the migratory type. They prefer to travel in flotillas of ships rather than put down roots. Only the very old and the very young stay in one place."

Lilith nodded; "That's right. The city on the Ankle is named Talus-" Mason flinched almost imperceptibly, with only Matt noticing, "-and it's something called a Nursery City. The oldest Aquatic Bipeds, who are too old to work on the Flotillas, live there and raise the young until they're old enough to join the Flotilla with their parents. Other members of their species only tend to stop by to give birth, spend some time with their infants, then leave again."

That made Luz frown; "That sounds a little too much like Crest Chastity for my tastes…"

"It's not quite the same. There's no match-making for one thing, and only very young children are left in the cities just because they're too young to help out on the Flotillas. Everyone needs to pull their weight to keep the ships moving." Lilith explained. "Besides, Talus is largely abandoned these days… not many Aquatic Bipeds want to live there since the Lunar Rebellion 30 years ago."

Luz tilted her head in confusion, while Matt paled slightly; "I learned about that in history class two years ago. Apparently the Head Witch of the Potions Coven betrayed the Emperor and poisoned a lot of people, leading to their deaths. She was then caught and petrified… She was the last petrification before Eda."

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with the Moon? Hoot!" Hooty asked.

"Or the city of Talus?" Luz added.

"She was a Merrow." Mason answered, completely stone faced as he stared ahead.

Lilith nodded grimly; "She was. Not a lot of records about her remain; they were all classified by Belos. But the people of Talus respected her greatly and didn't believe the Emperor's accusations. When she was petrified, they fled in droves. Talus is now a ghost town occupied only by the oldest, stubbornest, and shadiest Aquatic Bipeds, and almost none of their kind live on the Isles now. I think there are fewer than a hundred…"

Luz's expression fell; "How awful… I bet it was all a lie! Belos is nothing but a liar!"

"You got that right, Hoot!" Hooty nodded sagely, while Lilith and Matt agreed as well. Mason remained silent, staring fixedly at the water in front of him as he carefully piloted the submersible down to the ocean floor.

Sensing a tension in the air, Luz decided not to ask any more questions and instead played with Pebbles a little, including finally healing the crack on his face from his earlier fall. Matt tried to approach and talk to the little Palisman too, but the poor thing was still a bit frightened of him after the scare from before and would hide in Luz's hood whenever he approached, forcing the crestfallen boy to keep his distance. Eventually Mason piloted the Submersible into large opening in one of the Titan's foot bones, moving it through the flooded interior until they reached an underwater cavern, which they surfaced through.

Mason pressed a button and the Submersible's glass dome retracted back below deck, then lowered the gangway onto the dry land within the large cavern. They all disembarked and looked around at the cavern with awe; it was just like the outside of the reef in that every wall and ceiling was coated in bioluminescent sea life of some kind, which illuminated the cave in a veritable rainbow of different hues. The only way in or out of the massive room was diving back into the water and using the undersea passage they'd come from, or taking a narrow and easily missed path at the other end of the room. The place was also very muggy thanks to the heat of the Boiling Sea, but it was nothing Luz couldn't solve with a few ice glyphs.

Picking up some stray fragments of Titan Bone, Luz engraved them with ice glyphs using her red light beams, then handed them out to her companions; "Just tap these and they'll cool you down." she instructed.

Matt and Lilith happily activated theirs and put them in their shirts, while Mason put his in his pocket without activating it (though he still nodded his thanks). Luz even gave one to Hooty, who swallowed it whole with a happy hoot.

"This way." Mason said, leading them all towards the narrow path; "This is my secret grotto. I have a workshop here, and it's where I built Ol' Bessie."

Luz oohed and ahhed in amazement, while Matt raised an eyebrow; "Wait a second, if you build your Submersible here, how did you get down here in the first place?"

Mason didn't answer and just continued to lead them down the narrow path until they reached another large room, which was a bit smaller than the entrance. It had been decorated like a simple hideaway, with a bed against one wall, a makeshift kitchen against another, and an armchair surrounded by books against a third. There were also two more tunnels besides the one they arrived from, one of which Mason pointed to; "That's where my workshop is."

However he led them down the other tunnel instead, and after a couple of minutes of walking and trying not to disturb the coral or sea sponges growing on the walls, they arrived in the largest cavern thus far; one made entirely of some kind of translucent blue crystal. The ocean and countless fish could just barely be seen through the crystal walls, but it was the contents of the room that caught everyone's eye; rows upon rows of statues, each unique and each carved with an expression of terror, pain, or resignation.

"Belos' victims…" Luz whispered as she looked around at them all. There were fewer than a hundred, so it wasn't a mind-melting number of people that she'd have to free that upset her, but the fact that Belos had petrified so many people in his 50 years in power… and since the most recent was 30 years ago, all of them had been petrified in the first 20 years of Belos' rule. Some may have even been petrified before he "unified" the Isles into his Empire! And of course there were the people he just straight up killed, like the occupants of Radia Town…

"That man is a monster." Luz said, her heart beating faster with anger, even as she felt a pit in her stomach.

"He is." Mason said, suddenly stopping and turning to face Luz. As usual, his face was set in stone, almost as unmoving as the petrified victims, but his eyes were intense and burned like teal flames.

"Before you free anyone, I have three things I need to say to you first. An apology, a confession, and a warning." he began.

Luz and her friends looked at him oddly; "Why are you bringing this up now?" Lilith asked him.

"The young lady is an honest girl. I am an honest man, at least when I can afford to be. I believe honest people should treat each other honestly, and I'm asking Miss Luz for a very important favour. I want the air between us to be clear before she helps me; I won't have it be said that I tricked her. I've got my honour… what little can survive working for a man like Belos." Mason said, now frowning.

He looked Luz in the eye and said; "My apology is for fighting against your friends that day at the Petrification Ceremony, and for standing by and doing nothing while Belos hurt you outside the castle. My only excuse was that I didn't want to break my cover. But still, I could have done something and I chose not to. I am sorry."

Mason bowed his head contritely, and Luz smiled kindly at him; "I understand, Mason. You're not the only one of my friends to do the same thing in those situations…" she reassured him, thinking of Darius and Eber, "… and I won't judge you for it. If you hadn't lied, you'd have been exposed and all these petrified people would be rubble now! So you did good!" Luz gave him a big smile and thumbs up.

"Hoot hoot! The Beard Man is a nice guy, Hoot!" Hooty helpfully added. Lilith and Matt didn't feel the need to comment; both had caused Luz trouble a lot more directly and had been forgiven, so they definitely weren't going to judge Mason!

The man's frown shrank a little as he accepted Luz's forgiveness; "I'm not one to argue with a lady. Though that leads into my confession and a second apology; I eavesdropped on you and the Young Lady Blight back at the Covention."

Luz's eyes widened, remembering how she and Amity had run into Mason after leaving the break room; "You overheard our conversation about me being an angel, didn't you?"

Mason nodded; "I did. I'll admit, I had my suspicions after the little Nose Demon called you an Angel, and when I saw your reaction to that obvious lie at the duel, it confirmed it for me. I followed you with the intent of making sure you were okay and ended up eavesdropping on you. It wasn't my intention, but I apologise all the same. I also swear that Belos didn't hear about your identity from me."

The young Arch-Angel smiled and waved him off; "Don't worry about it. I believe you. Besides, the Power Glyph you gave Amity when we ran into you ended up being a really big help! It all worked out for the best!"

"I'm glad. As for my warning; it is twofold and to do with the Petrified Witches and Demons around us… releasing them from stone may not end well in some cases." Mason warned.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"We have no idea how Petrified people perceive the world around them. It could be like a deep slumber, or being trapped in a black void, or something equally nightmarish. If they've all been conscious this whole time…"

Luz and her companions all paled at the implications, and Luz, Lilith, and Hooty looked especially worried, having remembered what Eda had said when she was first released from the stone. She'd described it as being cold and unable to move, like some kind of hazy nightmare!

"The most recent was 30 years ago… if these people have been conscious in there for 30 years, who knows what kind of mental state they'll be in!" Lilith gasped, "But then the same could be said of your friend, Mason."

"I'm aware. But I still want to save them. If there is no quality of life for them, then I'll end their suffering, but I need to try." Mason replied. "The second part of the warning is that while Belos is a monster and a liar, it is possible that some of his victims were really guilty of the crimes he accused them off. Freeing them could be very dangerous."

That thought hadn't occurred to Luz, but it was a fair point; Belos would have just as much incentive to petrify real criminals as he would innocents who got in his way… but he was such a liar that it was impossible to tell which was guilty and which was innocent. Oddly enough, it was Hooty who offered a solution.

"Lulu can figure it out!" Hooty said happily; "She can make a potion to make them tell the truth! Luz frees them, then Lulu questions them, then we either let them go or do something else with them!"

"That's not a bad idea." Lilith smiled; "It'd take time, but I can make Blabber Serum. If Luz releases them one by one, I can question them. Also, depending on their crimes, even the guilty ones might be able to go free; they have served an over 30 year sentence after all. It there are any really dangerous ones, we can easily restrain them and figure something out."

Luz nodded eagerly; "Perfect! We'll need to leave to get the ingredients for the Blabber Serum, but we can totally do this! Great idea Hooty!"

Hooty began to wiggle around happily, much to Matt and Mason's discomfort, while Pebbles watched him and began to wiggle his tail too, amusing himself. Mason then cleared this throat; "I'll leave all that in your hands. Now, let me show you to the person I want you to free."

Mason led them to the far end of the blue crystal chamber, and revealed another tunnel. This was one was made of blue crystal too, and as they walked down it, Luz could just barely see the fish and other deep sea life swimming around outside.

"So cool! This is just like the Sapphire Mines of Calgara from Azura Book 3!" Luz grinned.

"What is this stuff anyway?" Matt asked, idly running his hand over the smooth blue crystal.

"Crystallised Titan Blood." Mason said simply, causing the others to gasp in shock. He quickly added; "Don't get excited. It has no magic left, just like Fool's Blood. The high temperature of the deep sea boiled out the oxygen in the blood, so when it coagulated it didn't become crumbly like regular Fool's Blood. It's basically just very hard stone now; pretty to look at but too unwieldy to shape. I mined out this cavern in hopes of finding some usable blood in the middle, but found nothing."

"Man, that sucks. Imagine what we could have done with this much Titan Blood!" Matt sighed; "We could have made a super cool magic cannon or something, and blasted Belos to smithereens!"

"With my luck, we'd have been more likely to blow ourselves up! Let's just be glad this stuff isn't gonna crumble on us." Luz said, suddenly eyeing the crystalline walls far more cautiously.

Lilith, Hooty, and Matt all chuckled at her comment, while Mason looked back with a raised eyebrow.

Moments later, they emerged into another cavern; this one smaller than the last but still sizeable, and made from the Crystallised Titan Blood. There was a massive hole in the ceiling too, one that had some kind of magic barrier over it to keep the water from flooding in, and the reason for the hole became obvious when Luz noticed the contents of the chamber. Taking up the majority of the chamber was a single, huge statue; the person Mason wanted de-petrified. They were a woman, with a beautiful face frozen in a look of defiance, and whose head alone was as tall as Luz. The woman was easily 25 feet tall, and had been wearing some kind of dress and robe when she'd been petrified. However it was not just her impressive size that caught Luz's attention; it was the sharp nails on her hands and feet, the scaly texture to her bare skin, and the fin-like appendages on the sides of her legs and forearms. The woman also appeared to have webbed fingers and toes, and fins on the side of her head in place of ears, as well as a large fish-like tail attached to her tail bone.

"This person is massive!" Luz gasped.

"She's a Merrow." Lilith said, examining her closely; "Female Merrows can be up to 30 feet tall, and the Males can be up to 20 feet. This woman is actually quite average for her species."

"A Merrow…" Luz repeated in a whisper. Her eyes suddenly widened as she pieced together some of the things Lilith and Mason had said earlier; "This woman is the one that Belos accused of poisoning people, isn't she? The one from the Lunar Rebellion!"

Mason went to stand in front of the petrified woman and reached into his beard, then pulled out a small flower and placed it at the woman's feet, before bowing. "She is. But I should correct you on something… It was not the Lunar Rebellion, and it has nothing to do with the Moon. It was the Luna Rebellion… This woman's name is Luna Miphari, the Head of the Potions Coven from 30 years ago, two generations before Vitimir."

Mason kissed his fingers, then pressed them to the petrified woman's leg, then turned to face Luz with a stony expression. "I have one more confession to make to you, Miss Luz. My name is not Mason; it is an alias I adopted when I returned to the Boiling Isles ten years ago. My real name is Talis Miphari, and I was named after the city in which my parents met and fell in love."

"Wait, Miphari? Then that means…!?" Luz gasped.

Mason nodded; "This woman behind me… she is my mother."

"Oh Titan! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have brought it up earlier!" Lilith said remorsefully, fearing she'd upset the man. His stony silence at the time suddenly made even more sense.

Mason shook his head; "It's fine. You meant no harm and said nothing wrong."

"So does that mean you're a Merrow too? You're kinda small…" Matt said, muttering that last part to himself. In truth, Mason (or Talis) really was quite short, being below average for a witch too and certainly well below what a Merrow should be. Mason didn't appear to be offended by the boy's comment, and explained.

"My father was a Witch with Gnomish ancestry. Officially, I am Half Merrow and Half Witch, with the same distant Gnomish ancestry. As for my lack of aquatic features… Miss Luz, care to splash me with some water?" Mason requested, reaching into his shirt and taking off a Concealment Stone.

Still slightly stunned by the revelation, Luz just nodded dumbly and sprayed him with a weak water spell. Wherever the water touched, Mason's skin was replaced with teal and silver coloured scales, and his beard became a tangle of seaweed-like green hair. He splashed some of the water onto the side of his face too, causing one of his ears to become a fish-like fin.

"Pure Blood Merrows are always in their true forms, but Half Blood Merrows like me only transform when wet. I keep a Concealment Stone on for safety's sake." Mason said. "Pardon if I don't show you my tail; it'd rather not rip my britches."

"So you brought me down here to save your mother!" Luz said with awe, "She's beautiful… I'll definitely free her! You'll have your Mom back in a jiffy!"

Mason gave her a heartfelt smile; "I am grateful, Miss Luz."

"Please, just call me Luz." the Angel replied, but the Merrow Man just shook his head.

"No can do. It's not in my nature to refer to a lady so informally, especially one doing me such a grand service. You're ending a 30 year nightmare! I only wish my Pa was here to see it."

"Your Pa?" Matt asked.

"He passed away 15 years ago. He was never the same after Ma was petrified. His health suffered for years, but he hung on until he was sure I could make it on my own." Mason explained.

Matt and Luz both bowed their heads sadly, and Pebbles gave a depressed little squeak, which Hooty (in an oddly subdued voice) translated as Pebble's condolences.

"I am sorry for your loss, Mason. I had no idea you'd suffered such an injustice while we worked together in the Coven system." Lilith said gently. "Do you know the real reason Belos wanted your mother petrified?"

Mason nodded and took a seat; "It's a long story, but you deserve to know it. It started 60 years ago, not long before the Empire was formed. The City of Talus was already a thing before then, so we Merrow were going there to have our kids. My Mother was born at that time, and lived there until she was 10. That's when Belos officially took power. The Coven System was introduced and all Witches and Demons of age had to join a coven. Ma was supposed to leave to join her parents on their Flotilla, but had gotten word that a storm had hit and they'd both lost their lives. With no one to return to, Ma chose to stay on the Boiling Isles, eventually meeting my Pa when she was 20. Pa was a fresh new member of the Abominations Coven, and he and Ma wanted to marry, but Ma wasn't in a coven yet and so they couldn't. But Ma was good with potions and so decided to join the Potions Coven. She was real good in fact, and within five years, she was the Coven Head!"

Lilith whistled; "Becoming a Coven Head at 25 is impressive. Not counting special cases like the Golden Guard, no other Coven Heads reached their positions before the age of 30."

"Ma was real good at potions." Mason said proudly; "I was born not long after Ma and Pa married, so I was only ten when everything went south. Belos wanted to go on an expedition to an island about five miles to the east of the Boiling Isles. Ma said the island was some kind of Dragon Graveyard, and a place Galdorstones could be found. I figure Belos wanted to build a mine there to get the stones."

Luz and Matt exchanged shocked looks; knowing what they did about Galdorstones, it was more likely that Belos had been after the hearts of some of the people laid to rest in there, just like the Looking Glass Graveyard.

"Ma and a few from her Coven were part of the expedition, as well as the old head of the Beast Keeping Coven. They apparently encountered a Dragon who wasn't quite dead and it killed half the expedition team before Belos brought it down. Ma survived the fight, but saw what Belos had become… she described him as some kind of monster! An abomination made of rot with feathery wings, antler-like horns and creepy blue eyes all over his body. I don't know exactly what Ma meant when she told my Pa about it, but she said Belos was no Witch or Demon. When Belos saw that my Ma and some of the others had seen his true form, he began slaughtering them. He killed every surviving member of the expedition except for Ma, who was able to swim in the Boiling Sea to escape."

"How awful! Belos killed all those people just to hide what he really was!?" Luz cried, "He really is a monster! And your Ma was right too; he's no Witch or Demon!"

Mason looked surprised at Luz; "You know what he really is?"

"I do… but it's complicated. He's actually an Angel… a ten-winged one that became corrupted somehow. I don't know how, but he blames Wild Magic and the corruption of the Demon Realm as a whole." Luz explained.

The bearded Merrow scowled and began to stroke his beard in thought; "An Angel… so that explains why he wanted to make sure Angels were seen as servants of the Titan! You Angelic Folk aren't related to the Titan at all, are you?"

"Well… technically I am. But that's a really long story. You should finish telling yours first." Luz said, knowing that explaining the glyphs would add an extra hour to the conversation at least.

Mason accepted that; "Fine by me. You've done a few good turns for the Demon Realm and you're helping me out; I'll trust you. Now where was I? Ah yes, Ma swimming home."

His eyes immediately turned sad; "Ma swam all the way back to Talus, where Pa and I were living. She told us what had happened, and warned the city that Belos was a monster and a murderer. But not long after, Belos returned from the island and announced to the Isles that my Ma had poisoned the expedition crew to try and seize control of the Isles. He claimed he was the only survivor thanks to the Titan's blessing, then put out bounties for her and sent his coven to our home. The Emperor's Coven began a brutal occupation and inquisition in Talus, wanting to find where Ma was hiding and discover anyone she told the truth too. Luckily she told no one but Pa, so no one else was petrified or killed, but that incident is partly why so many of us and our cousin races chose to leave. Ma eventually gave herself up to end the cruelty… She was taken to the Conformatorium and petrified at Sundown the very same day."

Luz looked to be nearly in tears; "That's so horrible! I'm so sorry…"