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The Dark Lord had swept into the inn in the dead of night. There was no way they could have seen the sneak attack coming. Still in a sleepy haze, there was no way they could have done anything to resist their capture. There was nothing they could do. For the first time since they had started this venture, deadly as it was, this was the first time they felt true unadulterated fear. There was no time to think, unlike any other time they were hit with any kind of curse, or forced to confront thoughts they'd rather avoid. There was no safe spot for them to be placed in until they recovered. There was only the now, and there was nothing they could do in the now.
They could hear the Dark Lord chanting out some incantation (”reen al nulo,” they would remember later). What it did, and what exactly it was supposed to do, they didn't know. They felt the magic wash over them in an oppressing wave, but they weren't the target. With increasing horror they realized the target was their leader.
Before their eyes their leader’s clothes (the ones that showed her job for all to see) faded into simple traveling gear. All of the weapons stacked in a haphazard pile in the corner of the room creating a sickening screech of metal against metal as the swords and daggers rattled against each other before the swords (which also belonged to their leader) vanished, presumably to the same place as her armor.
Then, his work seemingly finished, the Dark Lord left the inn, with them and two of their companions in tow. The flight was silent, cold, and dark. If it had been warmer, brighter, and under slightly different circumstances, they might have found it enjoyable. As it were, the Dark Lord was clearly not content with allowing his ‘passengers’ to see the destination. All it took was a simple spell (dormu nun) and they knew no more.
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When they came to, they were still surrounded by their friends. However, even with their extensive history of travel and exploration, they had no idea where they were. There were no walls (just a shifting mass of something (the faces of the innocent, of those with less power than them, those without a job, they knew, they knew, but they were scared to acknowledge it)), but they also couldn’t see any sort of entrance. When the rest came to, they set off.
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Meeting others in this strange realm was unexpected. The others knew their leader, but when they knew her, she was a chef. It was a confusing detail, but not a large one. The two groups banded together, and continued on.
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Then there were nine. When there were nine of them adventuring together, they finally found the exit. There were plenty of monsters blocking it, but they didn’t stand a chance against the nine adventurers.
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Trying to escape the way they had was a mistake. A terrible mistake. The Dark Lord had expected their escape. They barely made it out of his castle before he had descended upon them. There was no way they could have stopped what came next (ŝteli vizaĝojn). Their face was stolen.
Thinking back to the conversation they had had with their leader, about what having your face stolen felt like, they regretted ever asking about it (It hurt so much, so much worse than they ever thought anything could). Even more than that, they regretted pretending to know (it wasn’t a tingling sensation it was a soul-deep burning that stays with you). Now they knew for sure (All that you were leaving your body, a fear so deep that you felt it in your soul, leaving a body you’re not even inhabiting unable to do anything but shudder). It was ten-thousand times worse than they thought it could ever be (when your face is missing all you can feel is a terror that grips everything that was and is ‘you’). It was agony.
Their face was not on their body. They saw their body trembling in fear in the middle of the Karkaton wastes (they felt the terror of their body too). They knew where their face was at all times, even after it was placed on a monster. Even if the body couldn’t speak without a mouth, it could point out on a map where the face was (it was a purely instinctual knowing that was more terrifying to their addled mind than the fact that a monster wore their face and they saw all that the monster did).
Cats had nine lives and three of them were spent worrying over what the monster could and would do with their face.
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They saw as a monster attempted to kill their leader, using the power having a face gave something (especially their face with their thirteen levels worth of experience). It was a sort of giddy feeling to see that their leader had no one with them but the Great Sage, who had relocated their body to Haven Hollow. It felt gratifying to know that they were the first face their leader had tracked down.
Their leader was a popstar now. She had chosen the Male Pop Star job. A job more support based than offensive. Knowing that they were their leader’s first choice on the ‘Who to Save’ list was gratifying yes, but it hurt worse when their leader was defeated by the beast their face gave power to. The Great Sage carried away their leader’s body, presumably back to an inn so she could rest.
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Their leader returned to Haven Hollow. While there, the diluted senses of their body told the cat that they had asked another of their teammates where their face was. They were not first on the list anymore. It hurt, but the monster had already proven itself too strong for their leader alone. They were just getting back up (They knew there was a reason that they were saying this, why they had to reassure themself that their leader cared. They weren’t prepared to face that explanation. Not right now (the cat should stop ignoring their problems until they were inflicted with status effects that brought those issues to the front).).
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With teammates from the other areas that his leader had journeyed through and the Great Sage, their leader once again stood ready to fight. They hoped that this battle didn’t turn out as poorly. The magma golem using their face was tough, and there was only one among them whose job was geared towards fighting.
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There was nothing they needed to worry about. Apparently, they hadn’t known the others that well. They were Stubborn and Airheaded respectively, so their personalities managed to keep the monster from doing too much damage. Although, playing with the enemy in the middle of a battle isn’t a strategy they would have engaged in. They were a fair bit too Cautious for that.
Now though, they were united again, and were on their way to the Dark Lord’s palace to reclaim the rest of their party. There were some, let’s say minor inconveniences, but it turned out alright. They even found a hidden big chest on the way (it contained a golden mic). The Dark Lord’s castle looming in the distance, and determined looks on all their faces, they thought this might just turn out alright.