After a battle with Cecil and what appeared to be two undead students it was time to regroup and reprocess. Malady and Luna ran off to see what had happened to the teachers and why no one came to their aid while the others stayed behind. Domino began collected scraps of metal as Jo'Han appeared on the scene while Chef walked away with the idea that the others were to go on ahead without him. Jo'han had informed the others of what he learned and saw.
In the mess hall Jo'han recognized one of the students as the girl that was dead in the building back in Dyonis. The girl appeared to be live and well with no indication that she was dead. Cecil had pulled the girl away from her friends and he proceeded to follow. He learned from there that the other student that was with them was also one that was killed in the alleyway. It appeared that they were discussing some sort of plan in regards to using a charm like effect. From there Jo'han moved into the Star district where he found a spot along the outside wall that was different from the rest. At this spot he saw what appeared to be Umbra's lute and an orc girl. The orc girl had similar diamond like marking around her forehead that eventually was the cause of her end.
Regrouping with the others they each shared the information that they had learned from one another. Jo'han had mentioned that he overheard Cecil and the others mention the library and how a cat man stole something. It was decided from there on that they would head towards the headmaster to discuss the events going on. Along the way, Domino followed and informed them that he knew about what had happened in the library. There was a cat family that had visited the academy and the dad had gone into the restricted section and stole two books. Cecil was the only assistant around at the time and was tasked to go retrieve them and take him in.
Once at the headmaster, it was learned that she was unwell from the after effects of the events and Vix Silvertail spoke on her behalf. They eventually had learned Vix had approached Domino about the strange feelings she had as well. Her feelings were getting progressively worse around the same time his nightmares were getting worse. He spoke with Kather a friend of his about the nightmares and strange feelings. Kather only replied with the idea that they should be on the ready because something was about to go down. Domino was under the impression that she had reached out to Copper for him to get involved in the matters.
Vix was addressed by the group to see if there was something that she could do as a safety measure. She was asked if she can pull all of the teachers aside and check to see if they were undead of some kind much like how the two students were. It was going to be a large task so she speculated Zarconias was going to be the best suited to help her take on this mission. She agreed and informed them that if she were to find anything she would let them know.
In the end, it was decided that the group would head out to Kather's Mystics and Wares or "Kather's Emporium" in order to collect more info and figure which direction they needed to take to reach the shadowy figure. After inquiring the situation with Vix, she informed them that the academy will most likely handle the situation with Cecil for now. However, should things come up she would try to reach out to Shiloh.
Before heading out Domino told them that in order to go to Kather's they needed to head to his hometown of Varla. However, the travel distance was going to take them about 10 days to get there even with horses. He offered to his pin to teleport them to the nearest town Shelanava but then they would have to trek it from there. He suggested using his "Super Secret method" which involved sneaking onto a supply train that went to the small farming town.
Domino escorted the group and sent them on their way. They reached the small town and off in the near outskirts saw billowing smoke. The smoke was the result of magical essence being used from lacrimas as a source of fuel. The magical essence itself was being burned to power a large high scale supply train. As they approached there were many people walking about loading up various cars. Erato used his skills after they were approached by what appeared to be a leader of the space. Using a lie and claiming that they worked for the royal family, the leader did not hesitate to allow them to remain on the site and to get on the train. They announced to other workers in the area to not disturb the new individuals who appeared.
Once on the supply train they were able to explore a bit. They find a green barrel of ooze and the construct was dipped into the ooze with nothing exciting happening. After some time had passed the train had stopped. It was only for a few minutes before the train started up again. Jo'han went ahead into the next car to find several individuals flipping through the supplies along with a dog. After getting near the end did they take notice to him and question what was going on. One of the guys tried punching and grappling him but failed both times. At that point Jo'han had managed to psychically connect to Shiloh and informed him that he needed assistance. The other two came into the car and the fight went on.
During the fight, Erato manage to speak with the dog that was attacking him and managed to calm it down enough to where it laid on the floor. What was thought to be the conductor and a large dog joined the scene and the fight. Erato and Jo'han took most of the damage nearly dropping if it weren't for their quick thinking. Erato communicated with the small dog to get the big dog to stop attacking. Eventually the dire wolf was calmer and all others were down.
Erato asked the canines what was happening. The Valenar, the small dog, informed them that they were here to take supplies. The strange thing about that was how the slain individuals had a lot of gold on them for someone who was stealing food.
Once in Varla, they got off of the train with a few eyes on them. Erato did what he does best and informed the now forming crowd that they were a part of a circus. Now under the belief that these individuals were a part of Cirque du Mystère, they were directed to the location of Kather's. However, they were warned that Kather was a bit odd and not many travel that way. Not matter to the party, they proceeded onwards where they would set up a camp and rest for the night with their new canine friends.