Gazwin leaned in close to the ogre’s face. Mospe-Tr-Gan of the Unblinking Eyes didn’t blink, even when the Izzet-turned-Gruul mage was literally nose to nose with him. When that failed to get any response he backed up and flicked the ogre in the forehead, right between his vacant eyes. He sat back with a sigh and turned to the others. “Anyone willing to wager that this isn’t the Selesnyans?” Mojmir started to raise his hand, but Jaroslav quickly made him put it back down. “Thought not.”

“Why-”

“Would we assume you’re with the Conclave? Why not?” Jaroslav threw his hands up in exasperation. He sounded quite tired. “Half the guilds are represented on the back of this dragon, and those who aren’t just got done doing their best trying to murder us. We’re on a quest given to us by a magical fey goblin who wants us to save the world from a mad sorcerer hell bent on unraveling all of reality, using the power of Fate or Destiny or some other capitalized word that bad bards like to throw around as a reason for why their heroes have to go off and do something. Honestly, I’m surprised that you lot waited this long to get involved – though I suspect that with your rather sudden and suspiciously well timed hijacking of our more physical acquaintance you have been more involved than you would like to pretend.”

“Is that really what we were all thinking?” Mojmir whispered to the others. Jakob nodded, while Kazuq just shrugged. The burly Gruul warrior hadn’t hit anything for a while, and was starting to get impatient.

“Great danger threatens all,” Sain whispered back over her shoulder. “It is only to be expected that each Guild be called on in this time of need, even those who spend their time cushioning their soft bottoms with dandy things.”

“We did not know that we were so predictable,” Mospe-Tr-Gan said in that flat, monotone voice.

“Well, not entirely predictable,” Gazwin admitted. “I was expecting a wolf rider or dryad, or something similarly impressive, not a talking, body-jacking lawn. Still, beggars can’t be choosers.”

There was a long moment of silence as the Selesnyan representative tried to decide whether or not it had been insulted, and what that meant for its mission. “Is our help not desirable?”

“That depends on whether or not you are going to be leading us to our destination, or into another trap,” Jaroslav pointed out.

“Ardir’s experiment cannot be allowed to succeed. It puts the all in danger.”

“Which is not the same thing as, ‘Yes, I know where to go’ or ‘No, I am not leading you into a trap,’” Gazwin pointed out. “Still, we have little choice on the matter. We might as well listen to what you have to say.”

“Ardir thinks he is clever, hiding deep, hiding dark, where even the Golgari do not tread to bring their dead,” the possessed ogre pronounced. “He has found an ancient lab, part of a city thrice lost, sheltered beyond even the dirt and worms by the bones of the earth. But even there there is life, and through our eyes we can see.”

Jaroslav felt a bit lost at the explanation, but Gazwin nodded with understanding. Then again, he had been Izzet, and like all Izzet he had started out on one of the many work and renovation crews that toiled constantly throughout the city. Ravnica was always in the process of being demolished to various degrees and by one thing or another, so the effort to rebuild, renovate, and restore went on daily. What few understood, however, was that this process was not as static as it might appear. Ravnica had existed for more than ten thousand years, but the city had only existed for a century or two, and was even younger than that in some places. There were a few places that were older – the Guildhalls, for example, actually were ten thousand years old, with the exception of new Prahv - but the vast majority was younger, and there were really no new areas to build on. There was some virgin land left, but that was jealously guarded by the Gruul.

The solution, then, was to simply build the new city over the older cities. Sometimes a build was demolished and removed entirely to make space for a new one, but far more often it was simply dropped into its own footprint, sealed by geomancers, and then re-excavated from where construction needed to begin. If, however, the original structure was still sound, then sometimes the construction teams redesign the new structure to incorporate the old one as part of the new one. Gazwin knew of one apartment pyramid that had started as a butcher shop more than eight hundred years ago, before serving as the anchor of a continuous expansion that had absorbed the entire block. The shop itself had remained as it was, still owned by the original family and everything, and now had a monopoly on selling meat to the entire apartment complex.

But to go deeper than that… Gazwin let out a whistle of amazement as realized just how deep ‘a city thrice lost’ must be. From the sounds of things, Ardir’s hidden lab must have been sealed with in the bedrock of the very world. How could he even get down that far? Gazwin wondered. The excavations alone would have taken years. He would have risked collapses, flooding, goblin warrens… One wrong move and he could have had half a dozen blocks dropping on his head. Why would he want to dig down that far? What does he know, or what did he find, that would make the risks worthwhile?

“I think we might be in more trouble than we originally thought,” Gazwin said before quickly explaining his epiphany to his comrades.

“We could try and find his tunnel…” Jakob offered with a frown. That was a several day task, though. The Golgari had thousands of tunnels crisscrossing under the city, many of which would offer false positives to their search.

“We will take you,” Mospe-Tr-Gan of the Vocal Mold said. The ogre pointed to a well-tended garden several hundred feet below. Gazwin aimed the dragon to where the possessed cultist was pointing, landing amidst several blooming pear trees.

“So, now what?” Mojmir asked.

As if to answer his question, the earth began to shake. Several hundred feet away the ground began to crack and split as an enormous wurm, far larger than any creature any of them could have imagined, thrust itself free of the dirt. For a brief moment it hung there, towering over the city skyline as if to say, “See? No matter how hard you try, you will always be puny compared to ME!”

Then it crashed back to the earth, throwing them all momentarily back into the air and leveling every building within three blocks of the garden. Hundreds died in that moment, but their loss went uncounted in the greater bustle of the city as just another long list of faceless casualties. It took thirty minutes for the wurm’s coils to pass, and when it finally disappeared all the way it left behind a tunnel as wide as a city block was long. The tremors continued for several more minutes, and then finally everything was still once more.

“Well, that was impressive,” Kazuq said to fill the silence. He wondered if he had finally found something too big for even him to fight, but eventually decided he would still try if given half a chance.

Before anyone could answer the ground began to shake again, and this time nine more wurms erupted from the ground. They were tiny compared to the monster that had just passed by, but each one was still individually longer and wider than the dragon the party was riding on. Each also wore a metal cap, emblazoned with the Selesnyan crest and dragging reins.

“But why are there nine?” Gazwin asked. “There are only eight of us.” He started ticking them off on his fingers. “Dove, Mospe-Tr-Gan, Mojmir, Jaroslav, Sain, Kazuq, Jakob, and myself.”

“I counted nine life forms present,” the mold answered with Mospe-Tr-Gan’s voice.

“Who is the ninth?” Gazwin asked. The dragon snorted behind him, and Gazwin turned around. Then he looked from the dragon to the last wurm, and then back at the dragon. “Oh, by the Paruns. You cannot be serious.”

Dienda yawned as she walked back to her room, the meeting with the other members of her alliance was as exhausting as ever. At least now I know what forces each of us can supply, and what I can expect in the near future. Dienda thought to herself as she walked down the stone corridor of the Orzhov cathedral, the stained glass depicting people worshipping priests of the Orzhov guild in a variety of ways. The sound of hurried feet came from the hall ahead of her. Within seconds Dienda could make out the shadow of one of her faithful priest as he flew around the corner, Dienda could tell something was wrong by the way the priest didnt meet her gaze as he kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"What is it priest?" Dienda asked, her face void of emotion, her voice as monotone as ever. "Mi'lady" he started off, his voice quivering in what Dienda suspected anger, something that Dienda wasn't accostumed to hearing "there are forces from several different guilds in battle aganst each other inside our district, at this moment the price for reconstruction is already astronomical, yet still they battle on even as we have sent envoys trying to send them off. Unfortunatly these envoys are being destroyed before they can get close to the fighting. We have already recieved word from several orders of our knights that they are mobilizing and will attack these chaos bringers, wiping them from the face of Ravnica, all that is needed is your word of approval." The priest was now on his knees, eyes glued on her boots.

"Very well, if these interlopers will not listen to reason, then let the knights practice with them, I want them eradicated with extreme prejudice, understood?" The priest nodded, never rising from his kneeling postition. "One more thing Mi'lady, we have seen a Boros angel fighting in this battle, the knights would like to know how you would want them to deal with this foe?" At this Dienda smiled. "An angel you say? Tell the knights that they shall witness the full might of our holy guild in action, against this false angel."

At this the priest looked up, his face was shining with devotion. "At once Mi'lady." with this he got off his knees and rushed back down the hall, his footsteps fading away fast. Dienda continued down the hall, her face as devoid of emotion as usual, except for a slight smirk, and the twinkle in her eyes.

The crashing of blades, the scream of the dieing, the flap of wings, this was the sound of battle that had permitted the district for several hours now. With a huge boom, all movement and sound stopped. Within seconds dark storm clouds filled the sky, blocking out the sun. Heads swiveled as a huge black sphere radiating light appeared in the midst of them, growing bigger and bigger, the light coming off of it going brighter and brighter.

With a great flash, the sphere shot out streams of darkness and light, whatever it touched dissappeared, seeming to get sucked into the sphere. With this all of the forces backpedaled in full retreat. All that is except for the Boros angel who was suspened in air by ropes of pure light. The Boros soldiers would have moved to help out their commrade except that they had been engaged by Orzov knights. Within seconds the district was clear of all living fighting forces, and all that remaind was the rubble and ruin left in the battles wake.

Deep down in the Orzhov Cathedral

Dienda walked into the chambers of investigation, still feeling drained from casting the culling sun earlier but she had recoverd enough to finally see what had happened to the prisoner that she had captured. Once the doors opened Dienda smiled once again. Tied down with ropes of light, was the angel surrounded by priest of the church of Orzhov who repeatedly chanted mantra upon mantra of holy doctrine. Walking in, Dineda spoke "Now angel, let us talk about the damage you and your Boros commrades have inflicted upon me and my district, and about how you will be repaying me for the next 5,000 years..."

Flibt found herself cursing the fact that she had gotten to the Undercity and had lost Gazwin in the process. Amidst the gathered aerial forces she had to retreat to the ground and take to the sewers. Staying in the skies for an skirmish would have risked her becoming prey for a more adept predator. Had events been more favorable, she would have contacted the hastily married Mage and led him as best she could towards Ardir.

"I really shouldn't have left him alone that long," Whether events would lead the former Izzet in the right direction, if he ever could find this place, were at best in the goblin's mind questionable.

In the meantime the best course of action would be to delay the Fate obsessed elf any way possible. Just if only she had a clue what led the former Simic to a place on the plane where only fungus and vermin seemed to congregate. And if only the path was fresher in her mind...

Reverberations of footsteps reached Flibt's ears. Thinking it better to not be immediatly known by those approaching she assumed the form of a rat and skittered along the walls.

"Are you certain this is the way the ogre meant?" Mokosh asked lip curled back nearly into a snarl.

"Based on his deliberations, yes. Though even I doubt what item of value is down in these depths," Droskan said as he channeled more mana into the glowstone in his hand.

"If you say so," the elf said, not letting herself be caught back first to the vedalkin. "Your friends better not wait around to catch up,"

"Don't worry. When we arrive, they will be along shortly. In full force," he said reaching for the strap of his satchel.

Mokosh sighed. "They better,"

She was about to continue the thought when she felt the floor shudder beneath her feet. And for a while it seemed to intensify, only to fade.

"Please don't tell me Rakdos is celebrating down here tonight elf,"

"It wasn't a normal quake blue skin. If you lived down here long enough you'd know that,"

"Then do tell us what it was,"

The Devkarin sneered, "It means we better hurry."

Railu, Ardir and Maria had been walking for hours. The ancient masonry of the subterranean tunnel offered little in the way of distraction, and the tunnel itself seemed to stretch on forever. During their entire walk, the passage never once broke off into another tunnel or crisscrossed with another path. It merely stretched ever forward, though with a slight bearing to the right. It also seemed to be slanted minutely downward, but the angle was so slight that the three rarely took notice of it. All they really noticed as they went was the growing chill in the air, and the anticipation of what was to come.

No one spoke. Occasionally, Railu and Maria would exchange increasingly uncomfortable glances, but Ardir's gaze never drifted from the darkness in front of them. The only sound they heard were their own soft footfalls and the strange rushing of the seemingly sourceless wind, blowing constantly in their faces. Suddenly, however, that near-silence was shattered by a terrible rumble through the earth. Whatever had caused it must have been utterly massive, and disturbingly close to them. Ardir, Railu and Maria stopped dead in their tracks as the sound abated, and waited as the tunnel settled itself, raining dust and dirt on them as it did.

There was still a light rumbling that they could hear and feel in the distance, but it was nothing compared to the initial burst. Ardir signaled them to move on, which they did in a mixture of caution and urgency. For nearly half an hour the rumble continued, and Ardir, even more than the other two, was growing nervous, casting his gaze around now in a way he hadn't yet done in the tunnel. After about half an hour, that noise finally ceased, but just as Railu was giving a sigh of relief, another crash sounded from a distance, this one softer, yet more varied.

After just a moment, Ardir spoke the first word any of them had spoken in that tunnel, perhaps the first word spoken in that tunnel for thousands of years. Although he spoke in barely above a whisper, the word seemed to echo in each of their ears like the thundering trumpet of doom.

"Impossible..."

Railu and Maria were both about to ask him what was wrong, but he was faster than they were. "There is no more time, we have to hurry. We must run."

Maria shook her head as she glanced back at her aged grandfather. "Are you sure that you'll be able to run?"

Ardir shook his own head right back at here. "It doesn't matter whether or not I can make it. It's the two of you that matter."

Railu had finally had enough of this. "Ardir, we've been putting up with your cryptic nonsense for too long. I need to know what's going on here."

There was desperation in Ardir's eyes now. "There is no time! Please, Railu, I promise you our goals are the same. You have trusted me this far, you must trust me to the end. But the others are coming now. They will try to stop us, and if we are not quick, that is precisely what they will do!"

"He's right, Railu," Maria added. "We've agreed to come this far, and besides, it's too late to turn back now anyway."

Ardir grabbed Railu's arm to emphasize the point. "Even if you give up now and make for the surface, you will never get out of this tunnel before they get here. Before we came down here, you were already wanted by half the guilds. How many do you think are after you now?"

Railu considered for a moment, then swore. "Damn the Paruns!"

"Indeed," agreed Ardir. "Look, Railu, I am sorry that it had to be you, but it is your Fate. If we do not destroy the guilds, it is only a matter of time before they destroy the guildless."

Railu thought it over for just a few moments before another rumble of the earth, closer this time, reverberated through the ancient tunnel. Then he merely nodded, glanced briefly back the way they had come, and took off running toward their mysterious destination.

Dienda had to admit, this angel had an amazing command of the law. For the better part of an hour, the two of them had been engaged in one of the most interesting debate, featuring some of the most impressive verbal and legal acrobatics Dienda had ever witnessed. The Orzhov had started things off aggressively, pointing out that as the only survivor of an unlawful military campaign in Orzhov territory, the angel would basically be indentured to them for the remainder of her existence. Valia, the Boros angel, had deftly countered that the Azorius had gathered their forces first, and replying to the threat not only fulfilled the Boros's duty according to the original guildpact, but also fulfilled a currently active security contract they had with the Orzhov themselves. Dienda countered with the unreasonable damage toll, but Valia countered that with the unlawful use of the culling sun spell, which matched in life the loss in damages.

On and on this debate went, until finally Dienda had to admit that Valia had successfully navigated an incredible series of loopholes that would get her and the Boros out of nearly all of their debts to her and the Orzhov. Dienda, naturally, was not particularly happy about this, but she knew that a true Orzhov advokist used the law as a weapon, not a crutch. Finally, she looked up at the captive angel and smiled.

"I have to give you a certain amount of credit. I never thought one of you Boros brutes would be able to muster the brain power to so utterly comprehend the law."

The angel's expression remained entirely unchanged, as it had throughout the conversation. "Dealing with the Orzhov without knowledge of the law is like dealing with the Gruul without knowing how to swing a sword."

"True," Dienda admitted with a smirk, "but the Gruul have other means. Clubs, spears, fire, bare hands. So it is with us."

For a few moments, the angel was silent. Then, with an only barely perceivable squint, she said, "Meaning what?"

Dienda smiled. "Meaning you and I both know that I can keep this tied up in the courts for the rest of my natural life, and probably a lot longer. I can turn this into tremendous trouble for you and your guild."

The angel did not even wait for the pause. "And what is the circumstance in which you would not waste everybody's time?"

Dienda laughed. "Right to the point! You angels are something else. Time is running short, so I'll be brief. Something significant is occurring here, and I need some muscle. Fulfill a favor contract for me, and I'll ignore the rest of the ramifications of your assault. Well, apart from the financial liabilities the Boros legion is now responsible for."

"One favor and we are done?"

"Of course," Dienda validated with a smirk.

Surprisingly, Valia returned the smile. "Deal. Now where is Ardir?"

Dienda gulped audibly. Perhaps she hadn't been quite as clever as she thought.

Railu, Maria and Ardir stood in stunned silence as they stared at the sight before them. They were all breathing heavily, having run at nearly a sprint until they burst forth into the chamber they found themselves in now. To say the room was massive would be like saying Niv-Mizzet was smart. From the entrance, it was impossible to see the ceiling or the far wall, even though the entire room seemed to glow with a dull, pale light. In the far distance, straight ahead of them, Railu could just make out a few huge but indistinguishable shapes.

"What is this place?" asked the archer, nearly under his breath.

Ardir, who was looking around at some of the equipment nearby, answered in an equally astonished voice. "It is an ancient lab," as he spoke, he picked up some apparatus or another from a nearby table, "an unbelievably advanced ancient lab."

Maria cast her eyes from one side of the room to another, lost in the amazement of this forgotten wonder. "So where do we go now?"

Ardir stood stupefied. "I am not sure. I admit, I did not expect this place to be so large."

Railu pointed to the shapes in the distance. "What about those? Do they look important to you?"

The former Simic squinted to see what Railu's younger eyes had spotted, and he visibly shook as a chill went down his spine. "Yes, Railu. They look impossibly important."

Without another word, the three moved off toward the shapes. They moved quickly, but no longer at a run, their haste partially dulled by their wonder. After fifteen minutes, it became clear that the shapes were gigantic, probably the equivalent of two or three stories tall. After half an hour, they could recognize them as statues. But it wasn't until nearly an hour that they actually reached them that they saw their true wonder. They were indeed statues, but some of the most beautiful and lifelike statues any of them had ever seen. They varied greatly in design. One was of a human man, another of a dragon, still another an angel, and a fourth a demon. Most of them stood in a circle facing one another.

Railu and Maria were admiring the craftsmanship and artistry of the statues when Ardir suddenly let out an exasperated cry of "By the Paruns!"

The other two were by his side in a moment. He was shaking his head, staring up at one of the statues. "What is it, grandfather?" Maria asked, concern lining her voice.

"It's Simic." He said simply.

Railu nodded. "So this is some sort of ancient Simic lab, then?"

But Ardir shook his head, dumbfounded. "No, no, you don't understand. This is a statue of Simic, the parun of my former guild!" He looked at the other statues in the circle, then pointed at the dragon. "And that is Niv-Mizzet, and there is Azor I, Razia, Rakdos, all of them. The Paruns of all ten guilds!"

Railu shook his head in disbelief. "But then what about that eleventh statue standing in the middle? Some lost guild?"

He pointed to the statue of a non-descript elven man standing directly in the center of the ring formed by the Parun statues. Ardir scoffed. "Impossible," he asserted. "There is no eleventh guild. There never has been!"

"But there have been guildless." Railu, Ardir and Maria all froze in a moment of sheer terror. The voice that spoke those words had not come from any of them, but somehow from the statue in the center. It did not move, not even its lips, but still, that deep, rumbling voice came somehow from its head. And it continued to speak to them. "I have been waiting for you for a very long time." As one, the three travelers tried to form the same question, but the statue anticipated them. "Who am I? I am the forgotten one. I am the forsaken one. I am the forbidden one. I am the Parun of the Guildless."

‘A Parun for the guildless?’ Gazwin mentally asked as he listened to the booming voice of the statue below. The wurms had deposited the group, including one very confused and terrified dragon, on a wide ledge big enough to serve as a Gruul polo pitch, one that overlooked the enormous artificial cavern. Its construction fascinated Gazwin, as it should have been impossible for anything so big to exist under the crushing weight of the city above. The Izzet were always trying to find new and improved ways to sate Ravnica’s ever hungry need for space, and anyone who came up with a workable solution was sure to curry favor with the Fire- ‘Stop that! You’re Gruul now, and you shouldn’t forget that.’

“Did you know anything about this?” the confused mage whispered to the Azorius commander lying next to him. Jaroslav shook his head in denial.

“There is nothing in our histories that mentions anything like this,” he admitted. “Granted, I haven’t had to put as much time in the library as one of our legal scholars, but I can’t believe that such a detail as an eleventh Parun would go unremarked! The political ramifications alone… At the very least, if this is true, it would invalidate the Guildpact that Orzhov witch orchestrated, as no one thought to invite a Gateless representative to the negotiations.”

“Not Gateless, Guildless,” his lieutenant remarked. “I wonder if the distinction is important?”

“It is very important,” Mospe-Tr-Gan Of the Selesnyan Host replied. He spoke a little too loudly for everyone else’s liking, but then the Worldsoul had never really been much for subtlety. “Ten were meant to serve, and in service lead. They were never meant to rule.”

“But to rule is to lead,” Dove snapped. “You cannot command those who will not obey.”

“No.” Sain’s tone was quiet, but firm. “One does not rule simply by wishing it. One must earn their position with their own strength.”

“STRENGTH!” the Gruul statue below bellowed, as if echoing her beliefs. It seemed to serve as a cue for the other statues, which each began to speak in turn.

“WISDOM.” the Selesnyan statue sang with a voice of heartbreaking purity.

“HEALTH,” added the Simic statue in an utterly reassuring way.

“ORDER,” Azorius statue declared with unquestionable authority.

“DUTY,” hummed the Orzhov with childlike innocence.

“JUSTICE.” The Dimir statue said in a thunder-like whisper.

“HOPE.” Niv-Mizzet’s statue spoke with the borrowed voice of the dragon himself, and Gazwin couldn’t stop himself from smiling at those paternal tones.

“EXCITEMENT,” Rakdos’s statue growled, as if unhappy with the position it had been forced into.

“RENEWAL,” the Golgari statue chittered in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

“SECURITY!” the Boros statue howled, as if daring anyone to challenge it.

Ardir stared in surprise as the statues finished their litany. What had changed? Was it that he was no longer alone in their company? Or was it simply Railu’s presence? ‘I was right! He is the key to bringing down the Guilds!’

Railu was staring at the statues as well, though he was staring at them more in anger and confusion. He focused his attention on the one in the center of the circle, the one that claimed to speak for the Guildless. “Lies! I do not believe you! How can you claim there is a Parun for the Guildless, how can you claim there is supposed to be a voice that speaks for us, when there isn’t? There is no one to protect us! No one tries to stop it when the Azorius twist the laws to steal our homes so that the Selesnyans might build their gardens! No one stands up for us when the Dimir murder us in our sleep or the Rakdos kidnap our sisters and daughters to use as their toys! The Boros standby and do nothing as the Orzhov rob us blind, the Simic experiment on us to cure plagues spread by the Golgari, and the Izzet blow us up trying to fix the damage caused by the Gruul! How is any of that fair?”

The jaw numbing sound of stone grating on stone echoed throughout the cavern as the center statue turned its head to stare at the young elf. “Why should it be fair?”

Railu was flabbergasted by the question. Why should it be fair? Why shouldn’t it be fair?

He didn’t realize he had said the last bit out loud until the statue answered the question. “Because life is not fair. Fair is for children’s board games, fair is a compliment for a young maiden’s hair. Is it fair that you have not been punished for the lives you have destroyed, Railu?”

“Wha-? But I haven’t-!”

“As a child, you stole a golden bracelet from an unattended carriage to buy food for dinner. The bracelet belonged to a young woman whose family had fallen on hard times, but who was still trying to keep up appearances for the sake of her younger sister. The same younger sister that was kidnapped by Guildless thugs for a ransom that could not be afforded without that bracelet. When they did not get paid, they slit the girl’s throat and left her to rot in an alley.

“When you were a young man, you threw an apple at a Wojek patrolman. The apple missed the man, but struck his horse who reared in fright. The horse knocked down a carter who had spent his wages on a bottle of perfume for his wife. The bottle broke, and when he returned home smelling of perfume and without any money, she assumed he had spent the day in a brothel. That night she murdered him in his sleep.

“As a man grown, you helped build a barricade on Tin street, to protest the rising cost of bread. When a squad of Izzet troops tried to get by, you threw and others threw dung and refuse at them, refusing to let them pass. One of those troopers was a viashino who had learned that his sister was being threatened by an anti-viashino gang. By the time they arrived at her house, her head was mounted on a pike outside the door, and the eggs containing his nieces and nephews had all been smashed.”

“That’s not my fault!” Raillu tried to protest. “I didn’t know! I couldn’t have known!

“But you DO know!” the statue roared, sounding angry for the first time. “You DO know about the huddled families depending on the clean water pumped through their buildings by Izzet pipes. You DO know about the gangs who are only kept in check by the constant Boros patrols. You DO know about the food grown by Golgari farmers in conditions you would never accept for yourself. You DO know about the soup kitchens and bread lines operated by the Orzhov. You DO know about all the children who are only live because of the Simic’s health clinics and Selesnyan clerics. You DO know about the demons kept in check by the Rakdos’ revelries. Tell me, Railu, WHO MURDERED OLD DEMETHRE?”

‘Uh oh,’ Ardir realized. ‘This is not going as expected.'

Mokosh and Droska sped down the mossed covered corridors, trying to keep the rumblings as far away from them as possible. Looking ahead, Mokosh spotted a door with the Golgari symbol painted on it, moss growing from the eyes as the wood that made the bug face rotted away from it. Finally, a rot farm, now we should be fine.

"Click, click, click" Slowly started to resonate from the ceiling ontop of them. It started slowly at first, like the first raindrops that come from a raincloud, before the noise crashed down upon them defeaning their ears. Within seconds the noise died down and the shaking slowed. Holding out her hand, Mokosh signaled Droska to halt. "The thing that was chasing us will be pushed away, don't worry the swarm is protecting us." Seconds after hearing those words, roars of pain and rage came from behind them before a slight tremor picked up and started to slowly disappear, from what Mokosh could tell, it was heading in the opposite direction of them.

Looking around, Mokosh noticed that the shadows in the hall that they were standing in currently had lengthened. With a sigh Mokosh raised her hands, flashing her shoulder so that all the shadows could see her Golgari symbol. "I am Golgari, you shall not hurt me or my companion." Droska looked at her, his face showing a puzzled look. "Look at the shadows fool, we are not alone."

"Welcome guildmate," A voice that sounded like it came from all around them replied "but know that you are not allowed down here, as per the guild masters, Jarad, Golgari guildmaster, laws. All who come shall be killed, be they Golgari or otherwise. We are sorry." With that the shadows continued to grow before taking the shape of Golgari warriors, all wearing insect maskes, all carrying make shift spears made from wood that looked so rotted through, Mokosh could see bits and peices of it fall onto the floor slow.

"Uhhhh... Mokosh what happened to 'safe' and the 'swarm will protect us part'?" Droska asked, his voice quivering ever so slight.

"Save your breath fool, and just run!" Mokosh yelled as she dashed back the way they came, not even looking back to see if Droska had followed her or not. What is this place Jakob? And why are they permitted to slaughter on site, even if it is part of the Golgari?

Sylene directed the remainder of her izzet forces, which was 6 guildmages, 4 majer weirds, 2 lesser weirds, and a cyclops as they continued construction on her new project. "How much longer till the mana charges reach full capacity?" She called out as she pulled levers and cranked knobs. With screeches and bangs, Sylene watched with pride as she saw her weirds continue to set up the info structure for her project.

"Another 33 minutes ma'am." A hoarse voice called back, no doubt their throat already parched from the heat and smoke that their project was producing.

"Make it ten minutes, on the double!" Sylene yelled back, knowing that they really didn't have that much time left.

"Well well, what do we have here? Izzet mages building a unregistered construct on Orzhov property without a permit, how interesting. How have you been Sylene?" A female voice came from behind her. Twirling around Sylene made out a woman figure that she recognized and a angel that looked oddly familiar, except that her armor was different.

" Oh by the paruns, not you." Sylene groaned as she realized who this was.

"Whats wrong, you don't want to talk to your own little sister?" Dienda asked, her face blank as always, but eyes sparkling with laughter.

Railu was livid. The statue that had proclaimed itself the Parun of the Guildless was staring at him with cold, dead eyes, yet there seemed to be a fire in its voice, the same sort of fire Railu felt whenever he spoke of the guilds. Although it had been no more than a few moments since the statue had spoken, demanding Railu of all people name Old Demethre’s killer, the time seemed to stretch out for months or even longer. Finally, though, the Guildless Elf shook his head.

“What are you saying?” Railu demanded, his own voice now a fiery vibration of rage. “Are you saying I killed Old Demethre? How dare you!”

“How dare I?” The statue retorted in its grated, inhuman voice. “I am your Parun. That is how I dare.”

“Damn the Paruns!” Railu screamed, his voice reverberating through the ancient, cavernous hall. “Damn every single one of them to Rakdos’s bowels! I loved that old man like the father that was taken from me by the guilds!”

“And yet,” the statue said, its voice eerily calm, “you did nothing to save his life. You were blinded by your rage at the Guilds, and because of it, Old Demethre was alone when he died. You could have saved him, but you chose not to. How is your crime any less grave than that of the Izzet, who demolished a derelict district where they had no way of knowing your mother was healing the weak?”

“That’s not the same thing!” Railu yelled, his fist tightening around the imperfect bow in his hand.

“Why?” The Parun of the Guildless pressed. “Because you do not wish it to be?”

“Shut up!” The elf bellowed. “Or I’ll…”

“You will what?” The statue laughed. “Loose your arrow? Is that not why you have come anyway? Then do so. If you strike me with that arrow from that bow, I will be destroyed, along with all those I represent. Destroy me, Railu, and you destroy the Guildless!”

“What?” Railu asked.

“That’s it!” Ardir exclaimed, clapping his hands. “Railu, listen to me. These statues are fated, just like you, and the bow, and the arrow! Whichever statue you shoot, that guild will be fated to fall first! And once one goes, the rest will topple! That’s why we’re here, my boy!”

Maria shook her head. “It can’t be that simple, Grandfather.”

“Indeed it is not,” a voice cut through the hall as a dragon landed nearby. Railu, Ardir and Maria looked over in shock as Mospe-Tr-Gan slid from the beast’s back, his ogre skin shimmering in a fungal green.

“Hey!” Railu yelled. “It’s that blasted Rakdos ogre that stole my gem!”

“While we are borrowing the form of this creature,” Mospe-Tr-Gan of the Strange Voices said, “I assure you, we have no love of the demon and his carnivals.”

“By the Paruns,” Ardir breathed. “No. It can’t be! The Selesnyans!”

“Of course, Ardir,” the thing that was Mospe-Tr-Gan said. “Did you truly believe the world would not have told the Conclave of your violation?”

As the large ogre spoke, his companions also climbed off the dragon and moved to surround the three elves who were threatening to destroy Ravnica. Whether intentionally or not, they seemed to gravitate toward the statues of their own guilds. Jakob stood near the statue of Svogthir, while Jaroslav and Mojmir stood just a few feet from the statue of Azor I. Sain, Kazuq and Dove all appeared near the form of the massive Cisarzim, while Gazwin, despite his likewise Gruulish tendencies, stood nearer to the draconic statue of Niv-Mizzet.

Gazwin winked as Ardir as the older elf looked his way. “Hey, Ardir. Remember when I tried to kill you and you blew up my lab? That was fun. I’m going to try it again, okay?”

Ardir stared at the mage with a simmering hatred. “You’re too late, all of you! All Railu needs to do is fire one shot, one single arrow, and all of it ends!”

“Sadly for your plans, Ardir,” the Mospe-Tr-Gan creature said, standing equally between the statues of Rakdos and the Selesnyan Parun. “These ancient figures are quite safe from you without a Guildmaster’s token.”

The color drained from Ardir’s face. “No…” he whispered.

Jaroslav looked from Ardir to Mospe-Tr-Gan and back. “And you’ll not be getting that. Now, it is my duty to place you under arrest for…”

Suddenly, Jaroslav broke into an uncontrollable fit of coughing, a deep, hacking cough that seemed to rumble in his throat. He had been feeling progressively worse all throughout their journey here, and he could no longer hold back. Mojmir put a hand on his fellow Azorius’s back. “Are you alright?”

Jaroslav shook his head vehemently, but managed to point at Ardir, Railu, and Maria. Finally, he stopped coughing long enough to speak. “Never mind about me. Get them!”

“Not so fast!” A commanding voice sounded from above them. Then a second dragon landed, and Casamir slid down near Jaroslav and Mojmir, grinning like a cat who caught a mouse. Behind him, several more forms slid down and moved near the statues, Dienda to the Orzhov statue, Nara to Simic, Sylene to Niv-Mizzet, the angel Valia to Razia, and Mokosh to Svogthir.

“Casamir!” Ardir screamed.

“Ardir,” Casamir replied. “You played this game well, I admit. Your trap at the lab was a masterful stroke. But the game is over now. I win.”

“You have won nothing, Casamir,” Mospe-Tr-Gan said. “Ardir wishes to destroy all of the guilds. You wish to destroy those you believe will not serve your purpose. Both of your vile plotters are destined to fail.”

“Now hold on a minute!” Railu yelled. “How is it that almost everyone involved in this blasted thing found their way here? The only person I’ve met who isn’t here is that damn Boros Civisward who gave me this damned bird!”

With that, Railu ripped off the bird pendant from around his neck and threw it violently to the ground. The instant it smashed, the air shimmered and suddenly Allia was there, lying on the floor at the foot of Razia’s Boros statue. She looked around, deeply confused, and then smiled when she saw Railu. Then her eyes turned to Mospe-Tr-Gan, who had killed her entire Civisward unit, and she shrieked.

“Look out!” She yelled. “He’s Selesnya! He killed Old Demethre!”

“What!” Railu yelled, drawing his bow and leveling it at the Ogre. Almost as one, every other person there yelled at Railu to stop, and the combined effort was enough to make the elf pause.

Ardir whispered to the other elf. “Save your shot, Railu! We cannot waste it, not when we’re so close!”

“Besides,” Mospe-Tr-Gan said. “While we were forced to kill this young woman’s colleagues, we have killed no one named Old Demethre.”

“Liar!” Railu screamed. “I can smell it on you! The same scent on Old Demethre’s body! It was you!”

“Just put down the bow and let us kill Ardir already,” Gazwin said, sounding bored. “We’ve been waiting a really long time to kill Ardir.”

“Wait longer,” Ardir spat. “Railu, shoot a statue! It doesn’t matter which one!”

“Without a Guildmaster’s token,” Mospe-Tr-Gan reminded him, “your shot will be useless.”

“Mokosh,” Casamir said with a smile. “Do you remember that artifact we discussed? I think now would be a good time to bring it out.”

Mokosh nodded. “You had better know what you’re doing, old man…”

As she spoke, she pulled out a blackened emerald that bore the mark of the Golgari guild, a trinket given to her by Jarad the Lich-Lord himself. The moment the artifact left her pouch, the ground began to rumble, and, as one, the Statues spoke, their voices becoming an unnerving chorus.

“WE ARE PREPARED!”

“No!” Mospe-Tr-Gan said. “Golgari’s token! It cannot be!”

“Success!” Ardir yelled, his eyes manic. “Quickly, Railu! Shoot a statue!”

“Grandfather, no!” Maria yelled. “If Casamir brought out the token, then that’s what he wants!”

“But don’t you see, child,” Casamir grinned as he spoke. “Ardir and I have wanted the same thing from the very beginning. It’s just that neither of us knew.”

Ardir’s eyes narrowed at his foe. “You can’t be serious, Casamir. That’s a sloppy play, coming from you.”

“No more play,” Casamir said. “Think about it. Who is the true enemy? Gazwin, the Gruul, and the ill Jaroslav here, the meddlers, the ones who do not know what this is truly about, who led them here?” He turned to Jaroslav, who was looking like he was about to die. “Hang in there, Guild-brother, at least for a few minutes.” Jaroslav’s eyes snapped up at him then, suddenly realizing something that he couldn’t express. Casamir continued without noticing the look. “It was the Selesnya! That thing! This was not a game between you and I, Ardir, though we were led to believe it was. This was the Selesnya endgame.”

“You lie,” Mospe-Tr-Gan said, unconvincingly.

“Do I?” Casamir laughed. “Then why send a hijacked body seeded with your mind-seeds? Only now do I see your plan! Now that the statues are active, you plan to seed them yourself, to control all the Guilds!”

For a long time, there was silence. Then, suddenly, Mospe-Tr-Gan started to laugh. “Well played, Casamir. Truly, you were a worthy foe. But now that you have brought us the token, the game is over. Selesnya shall be the world, and the world shall be Selesnya.”

“Kill him, Railu,” Casamir said suddenly. “Only your fated bow is strong enough!”

“No!” Ardir said. “Shoot a statue, it’s out only chance!”

Railu spun around and aimed his bow at the Selesnyan statue. “Damn the Paruns!”

“Not if I can help it,” Mokosh yelled, dark power radiating from her eyes. “Here’s one artifact the old man didn’t plan on!” Then she took a small seed from her pouch, a paralysis seed, and threw it at Railu. Before he could react, however, Jakob jumped up and grabbed it, his body almost instantly freezing in place.

Mokosh looked at her fellow Golgari with shock and rage. “What are you doing?” she yelled.

“Only part of me knows,” he admitted. “But I think I now know why Lord Jarad sent you. It was for this moment.”

Mokosh scoffed. “Then why did he send you?”

“For this,” Jakob said, his voice deepening and taking on an eldritch tint. His body seemed to grow, and in moments, he had again become the plant-zombie terror that had dominated the battle at the warehouse. He was still immobile, but smiling.

“What the hell did that accomplish?”

The plant-zombie Jakob smiled. “Look down.”

Mokosh did. Extending from the ground beneath her, a single zombified vine tentacle was wrapped around her leg. When she tried to move, she found she couldn’t. One by one, the vines broke the surface and wrapped around legs of the others there, until everyone, including Jacob, was partially paralyzed. They could still move their bodies from the waist up, but any further movement was impossible.

“Great,” Gazwin said. “What was the point of that?”

“I admit that I’m not quite sure,” Jakob said. “The voices aren’t clear down here. But all I know is this: Everyone here is up to something, and I intend to stop it. It seems to me the only one who doesn’t have a scheme or an agenda is Railu. So if I can’t decide the fate of Ravnica, I’ll let him do it.”

For a long time, no one spoke, until all of a sudden, nearly everyone was speaking at once, each one trying to get Railu to do something different. Some were asking him to put down the bow or break it, others to shoot one guild’s statue or another. Railu could barely make out all of the voices under the chaos and cacophony of the sound. The only one who wasn’t talking at him was Jaroslav, who seemed to be whispering to a small goblin Railu had never noticed enter. Suddenly, Railu’s memory sharpened and he remembered the little goblin, first from the tavern when Mospe-Tr-Gan had stolen his gem, and then from Gazwin’s lab.

“You!” Railu yelled, his voice cutting through the din and silencing the others. All other eyes followed Railu’s to where, moments earlier, a large dragon had been standing, but now there was only Flibt.

“Hello, Railu,” she said, her body changing from the male goblin the elf had known into the female one who had visited Gazwin before the battle at Ardir’s lab. She walked over to him, being the only one who was not in the grips of Jacob’s vines.

Gazwin stared at Flibt. “Not you again! And where’s my dragon?” He stood there staring for a few short moments until the connection finally dawned on him. “Oh, by the Paruns!”

“I’m sorry, Gazwin,” Flibt said. “I wish I could have told you. I really do. But things needed to happen the way they have. Everybody, guilded and guildless, needed to be represented here, and only by posing as your assistant could I get you and Sylene here. I have been tracking Mospe-Tr-Gan and the Selesnyan within him for a while now, but the Dimir agent Daog did much to keep the truth hidden, and the alliance between Selesyna and House Dimir, as well. Didn’t he, Maria?”

All eyes turned to the young elf, but none were more surprised than Ardir. “Maria. What…”

“I’m sorry, grandfather,” she said with a sly smile. “We had the opportunity to control half the world. We had to take it.”

Ardir looked heartbroken. “You mean, this whole time…”

“You would have been spared, grandfather,” she soothed. “And mother would have been avenged, as you wished. I’m sorry. It had to happen.”

“So we’re all here,” Railu said, his eyes piercing through Flibt. “Now what? What’s this all really about?”

Flibt shrugged. “Who knows, really? Schemes upon schemes within schemes. Everyone here is up to something. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has a scheme.”

“I don’t!” Railu yelled. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”

“I know,” Flibt said. “You’re just a fated guildless holding a fated bow fitted with a fated arrow in the most fated place on Ravnica. It’s your decision which scheme succeeds, and which ones fail. I have been waiting for this moments for thousands of years.”

“Thousands?” Railu said, incredulous. “What…what are you?”

Flibt shrugged again. “You wouldn’t understand. The best word is planeswalker, but for most of my time here, that word hasn’t meant anything. I was the one asked by Ravnica herself to set up this enclave.”

“You set this all up?” Gazwin asked, confused. He wasn’t alone in that confusion.

Flibt nodded. “It needed to happen. The Guildpact has been broken. Some arrangement had to be made between the Guilds, and the Guildless. Who do you think helped the Selesnya infect Mospe-Tr-Gan? Who do you think pulled the strings to get Ardir to flee the Simic? Who do you think killed Casamir’s first catalyst, forcing him to find another.” Casamir’s eyes grew wide here. “Who do you think sent that transpornado to get Jaroslav to the tavern so quickly? Who do you think risked her own existence to close the time rifts Ardir’s and Casamir’s probability manipulations were causing?”

Flibt paused here, meaningfully. She looked all around her at those gathered, lingering just a moment on the ill form of Jaroslav directly behind her before turning back to Railu. “And Railu? Who do you think killed Old Demethre?”

“What!” Railu yelled.

Flibt nodded. “I took the form of a Selesnyan and killed the old man. Because I could. Because I had to. I did it just after you escaped from Jaroslav. I slipped away, returned to the tavern, killed the old man, and then returned to Gazwin’s lab as if nothing had happened. Because that’s how little it mattered!”

“No!” Railu said.

“And you know what, Railu,” Flibt asked. “If you hadn’t tried to escape Jaroslav along with Ardir, it never would have happened. I wouldn’t have needed to. If not for you, Railu, Old Demethre would still be living right now. What do you think about that?”

“Nooooooo!” Railu screamed. He had had enough. He had made his decision. Railu brought the bow up and released the arrow, the very bow and arrow that Flibt herself had brought to this world and given to Ardir so many years earlier. Flibt smiled, and disappeared into the aether. The ripple of air where she had once been standing coalesced into all of the other tangible fate inherent in the event, from the arrow, to the bow, to the room, to Railu himself. The arrow began to glow as it flew through the air, past where Flibt had just been, and sank deep in Jaroslav’s heart.

“Noooooooo!” Casamir screamed.

Jaroslav looked up at the chessmaster and forced a smile. “You almost won, you son of a bitch. But I won’t be your catalyst!”

A moment later, Jaroslav slumped over, dead. One or two tiny white grains poured from the wound, but even before they touched the ground, Jaroslav’s body vanished, and the room was silent again. Finally, Mojmir looked over to his former commander. “You…you were going to sacrifice him! To seed the statues yourself!”

Casamir brought his hands up to his face. “The catalyst! It was nearly ready! Another minute or two, and I’d have truly won!”

The Statues, as one, all spoke, including the enigmatic voice of the Parun of the Guildless. “IT IS OVER. THE STATUS QUO SHALL PERSIST. LONG LIVE RAVNICA!”

As all of those gathered looked at one another, they knew there was nothing left to say. They would be stuck there in silence until the paralysis wore off, and then they would need to return to their homes, to their respective guilds, and find some way to explain what had happened. Gazwin would need to seek permanent refuge with the Gruul, accepting his place as Sain’s husband. Jakob and Mokosh would have to return to Jarad, where they would be judged by whatever standard the lich-lord desired. Valia would return and report to the Boros Legion. Sylene would return to the Izzet and perhaps face the wrath of Niv-Mizzet, while her estranged sister Dienda would continue to feud with Nara over the rights to the district, while facing punishment from the Obzedat for so many unprofitable contracts. Dove would honor her unwelcome friendship with Mospe-Tr-Gan, and try to help the Rakdos Ogre exorcise the Selesnyan parasite from his body. Casamir would go into hiding, and Mojmir would likely do everything he could to hunt the bastard down. Maria would return to the Dimir, and Ardir would flee. Flibt would likely never be seen again on Ravnica.

And Railu? Railu had no idea what he would do. He thought about it a great deal as he was stuck there, surrounded by guilded people and the statues of their founders. Perhaps he would reach out to Allia, the only guilded to have ever been kind to him. Perhaps, though he doubted it. Most likely, he would simply go on as he always had, alone and guildless, constantly seeking some semblance of justice in an unjust world. Railu looked around at the statues, and scowled.

“Damn the Paruns!”