Now may be the time to panic.

You cast read mind on Juniluny Snickerbottom!

There... it’s done. The tension in John’s entire body, wound up to maximum for the precious minutes of waiting and searching, of fearing the worst for Moira or whoever else, and from seeing the state of Kim Moon... finally slipped away. He won... they were almost safe, now. Involuntarily, his face split into a toothy grin.

The halfling did not share his elation.

Indeed, her terror was magnified as he continued to hold her shoulder and seemingly do nothing for a full five seconds. A squeak was all she offered before she finally reached for his hand with an instant casting of fetid touch filling her mind. She might have pulled it off fast enough to catch John off-guard before... but now he could see her every move and spell play out in her mind. Her spell fizzled before it left her brain.

Sovereignty: the Eye of the King has countered Juniluny’s fetid touch.

The caress of her three dainty fingers was gentle, even sweet, once stripped of the horrible spell she had intended to inflict upon him. She looked down at his healthy fingers.

His grip on her shoulder grew firmer. His brief elation was over; his smile vanished. “After everything you did... to think you’d still...”

Juniluny tried to tug away, but his vice grip demonstrated his absurd strength by keeping her anchored. She tried to cast an illusion of a laughing, fully dressed her, trying to stun him into releasing her-

Sovereignty: the Eye of the King has countered dark illusion.

... and nothing came of it. She could feel the wrench of loss in her soul as she paid the cost- no, she knew the spells she was casting were being cast... ...so how?! Think, Juni, think! Being strong is one thing, but can he really-

John had plenty of questions for her: how she could return stolen soul energy to its owners, how to get out of the Maze, who else would come now that she was beaten... but her **** thoughts, each one contemplating how to escape or capture him, told him how cooperative she’d be. More, how much time did he have? There was also the fact she remained a quest target, even now. “Well... I guess I might fulfill this one after all...”

Juniluny didn’t even hear him so focused was she on preparing a hellfire blast to throw into his face-

Your serpent’s lunge deals 557 subdual damage to Juniluny!
Your quickcasted serpent’s lunge deals 557 subdual damage to Juniluny!

Without armor, magic, or walls to protect her, Juniluny was out like a light in his grip. He circled her right forearm with one hand as he willed his gamer’s brand onto her.

Juniluny Snickerbottom has been BRANDED! Juniluny Snickerbottom has lost her Earthbound quality!
Juniluny Snickerbottom been added to your Temple.

Juniluny Snickerbottom has been defeated!
(Rewards reduced due to significant aid from non-party members.)
+8,913XP
+$18,405
+19 **** pearls
+7 jars of halfling laughing gas
+3 human baby skulls
+1 choker of silence

In a familiar flash of purple light, she was gone. No longer afraid of what would happen to the others in his absence, he followed her.

High-pitched wails suddenly issued from all around the laboratory, though none could hear it over the blazing beam of red streaking from Layla’s index finger and into the lab entrance. Sweat poured down her face as she focused her power into it; the other girls watched from a fair distance as they avoided the dry heat of that side of the lab. Moira remained half-bent by Kim, trying to heal her. Galley had just finished “modifying” a black lab coat, that must’ve belonged to the Cabalist, and now wore it as a small, black, and sleeveless vest after tearing the arms off of it to let hers slip through. Each fold barely covered her nipples, but it was more decency than she had been afforded by the day so far. Even now she contemplated a short pair of halfling pants with a curious, but determined concentration.

When the beam of light finally died down, punctuated by Layla’s exhausted gasp, they finally heard the last throes: groans and sobs that slowly snuffed themselves out from beyond the laboratory walls. Moira raised an eyebrow as she looked around the lab. “What was that?” Kim, now sleeping soundly on a lab table Moira had swept clean, didn’t answer. Her flesh remained sealed but ruined; the Lady’s blessings could apparently go no further.

“There’s... huh,” Galley mumbled. “Layla.”

“Don’t... huff... refer to me like we’re... nicely acquainted...!”

Galley ignored her complaint and continued to sniff the air sharply. “Do you see what I smell?”

“What the Hell are you... talking about?” Layla looked all around at the walls. She would see the auras of any living beings still patrolling this floor of the maze; she saw nothing to alarm her... “Wait...”

“Yeah... they’re all dead.”

Moira raised her head at that. “What?”

“... She’s right,” Layla blurted, “they’re... I mean, this barrier is empty now, except for us... wait, even my love is missing-!”

“Your what?” Moira spat. No.

“She means John,” Galley added with a smirk.

Not another one!

“John and the Cabalist are both gone, too... ah, but I don’t smell their deaths, just the ones of all the guards who used to be on this floor.”

“What killed them-“

“What do you mean ‘your love’?!” Moira demanded. “How long have you known John?!”

Layla blushed and cradled her sweaty face with both hands. “Oh... I remember it like it was but moments ago...”

“It was,” Galley sighed.

“Not then, you giant buffoon! The first time I... knew him...” Her eyes fluttered open as she recalled the moment.

Moira shook her head in fury. Knew him?! I can’t even be mad about this right now when he’s gone and vanished with the halfling... no, did he capture her?! John, you already own two devils, this can’t... wait. Then perhaps he’s... Lady help me, I barely even understand how his abilities work, but If he’s gone off somewhere private to spoon with a Cabalist, I will rip him apart-!

“I laid eyes upon his gentle, overpowering soul... and it’s fierce light... just... like...” Layla’s words drifted as she looked down at Moira... and her joy seemed to grow bitter.

What now from this insane rogue mage bit-

Layla blinked at it... and shook her head. Had it always been there? Was her lover's radiance so bright that she didn't even notice? “Why do you... have a ring of his essence... around your finger?”

Moira froze in place. Galley raised her eyebrow. The Warden didn’t dare look at the Order mage. I can’t let anyone know...! “As the Warden of the Golden Rose, I’ve taken him as my responsibility.” She stared Layla in the eye as she lied. “This ring lets me keep a close eye on him... and the same will apply to you, if you continue your rogue activities.”

O-Of course... wait, no! That “Hellbat” had a similar mark, along with the one on her tongue... but does that mean Tara is somehow... no, it doesn’t make any sense... what significance does such a mark possess? The idea that John could be married to someone besides her, let alone two or more others, fell beyond Layla’s grasp of reality.

But not beyond Galley’s. She smelled the lie... and the other budding, musky perfume from the Warden’s energy. Geez... this boy is a bigger problem than Lord Brighton knows...

“I helped save your life,” Layla bluntly retorted. Moira’s glare didn’t change. “Show some gratitude... and leave John and me the Hell alone once we’re out of here.”

“You won’t take John from-“ Moira began, nearly biting her tongue as she finished, “... the Order.”

Galley looked between the obvious women and shook her head. Good grief...

Juniluny’s eyes fluttered... and her body felt light as a revitalizing energy filled her. She inhaled a clean, even nicely scented air, stretched against her bed, albeit firmer than she remembered, and idly cupped her breasts for a gentle, good morning squeeze. The worst nightmare she had suffered in a while came to her in flashes of unpleasantness, but at least now she was safe...

Her eyes finally opened. She was not in her bedroom in the Maze... or in her own bed. John Newman, the nightmare, loomed over her in his Academy uniform. His eyebrows wrinkled in frustration; his hand remained firmly planted on her right thigh as he sat by her side.

The halfling moved to spring out of bed, her hand raising to cast a reflexive blast of hellfire at-

“Stop,” John sighed.

Her body froze. He hadn’t even met her eye when he said it. Her hand was still stretched out... and she couldn’t bring herself to cast her spell, or any spell, as she sat upright and naked on a stranger’s bed. The gentle trickle of a water fountain nearby echoed softly in the room. A set of closed wooden doors could be seen beyond John’s head. The rest of the room was mostly barren except for a low bookshelf at the corner of her vision, and every surface was a white marble brick, pillar, or tile illuminated by some omnipresent light. She tried to fight his order; her body didn’t move. In her panic, she looked over her extended arm... and noticed a tattoo or mark, an unfamiliar sigil of no language or magical script she had ever seen, now boldly drawn on her right forearm.

“I technically have plenty of time, now... but we’ll cover the rest later, once the girls are safe.” Juniluny struggled to say a word; she could not will her lips to move or her voice to squeak. “You’re now bound by the Temple’s rules, so you can’t lie to me... so when I say ‘proceed,’ you’re going to tell me everything you think I would want to know, and we’ll go from there. You won’t leave this bedroom. You won’t avoid me or hesitate to answer me. You will answer my questions and warn me of anything I should know as if you desperately yearned to help me.”

What layer of Asmodeus’ asshole is this?! Lords of Wisdom and Truth, I pray to you: what has happened to me?!

“Proceed.”