The door to the round house slowly opened. Mimilly looked at with the eyes of a hawk in wariness as she hid Xiotal behind her arm. She couldn't even imagine what kind of cryptid, creepy, nefarious bag had set his sights on poor and innocent Xiotal.
When the door opened as wide as a forearm's length, something left the door.
"Gyah!"
However, it wasn't a person who left the house, nor did it leave the house at a speed at which a person usually left a building.
Mognog's skull had flown out of the house and landed shortly in front of Mimilly and Xiotal. Mimilly instinctively stomped it. Thankfully, it was hard enough not to break. Instead, it simply flew away.
The light of Mognog's green eyeflames was dull as he rolled on the ground a couple of times before stopping. He sighed.
"Coast clear."
Ritzy poked his head out of the gap between the ajar door and doorframe.
"You sure? That Mimilly guy sounded pretty dangerous."
"The situation is neutralized, kiddo. Come on out."
Mognog spoke with a deadpan voice that embodied the lifelessness of his state as undead and his feelings after being treated like…whatever it was that he was being treated as again. It wasn't the first time Ritzy tossed him like this. He was numb to it.
"Ah, what a cutie!"
Mimilly shouted before Ritzy could ask Mognog for further confirmation. She squealed and tugged and pushed Xiotal around in excitement.
"Is that him, Xiotal? You didn't tell me you hooked a damn fine one, you bad girl!"
'I didn't have time to tell you anything.'
Xiotal suppressed her retort as she pressed two fingers against her forehead while stopping Mimilly from tearing her dress. Mimilly's first impression of Ritzy would be ruined as soon as he opened his mouth or did something anyway.
Ritzy shied away and hid behind the door while gazing at the two pixies with wariness.
"Moggy, I suggest a tactical retreat."
"Sure. I'll fall back—Oh, wait, I can't move."
"Hmm. I will remember your honorable sacrifice for at least two weeks."
"Three."
"Four, and we have a deal."
Ritzy sealed the agreement with confidence before stepping out and going over to pick Mognog up again. Their little conversation had ensured that the coast was clear.
He met Xiotal's exasperated and Mimilly's confused gazes before nodding in greeting.
"Hello. You must be Mimilly. It's a pleasure to meet you. Xiotal has told me much about how great of a person you are."
Ritzy reached out a hand in greeting.
"She has?"
"I have?"
"Anyway. Did Xiotal have time to fill you in on the sitch? That's slang for situation."
Ritzy bulldozed the direction of the conversation by building on Xiotal's shock and Mimilly's surprise at his manners and appearance.
"A little."
Mimilly answered while regaining her situational awareness. She gave Ritzy a scrutinizing look as she tried to determine who or what Ritzy was.
He looked like any other young human child, just with white hair and a pretty face. Mimilly had a feeling he was older than he looked, but she couldn't tell if it was a couple of years or a couple of centuries since his eyes were difficult to read, even for her.
But he didn't seem strong. It was like he had started training his mana just a couple of weeks ago, maybe slightly more. Of course, it had just been the other day, but Mimilly had no way of knowing that unless Ritzy or Mognog told her.
So, Ritzy was either a freakishly good but young necromancer of some kind. Or he was freakishly old but hiding his appearance and deceiving Xiotal. But she found it unreasonable that a person strong enough to fool both of their senses, even if Xiotal was weakened, would be interested in whatever they could get by doing that.
"that's good. But I didn't have time to tell Xiotal more than that she was poisoned. The poison, in my humble opinion, was pretty extravagant. It separated her soul and body, and it was a bitch to do something about. I don't think it's any ordinary poison, but I'm not sure how pixies work or how poison-resistant they are."
Ritzy shrugged while inviting Xiotal or Mimilly to express their knowledge regarding pixie physiology and their opinion regarding the poison.
They both grew thoughtful with concerned expressions.
"It sounds like Soul-Separating Poison, right?"
Xiotal said what was on her mind.
"Oh, wow. I could not have guessed that."
Xiotal raised an eyebrow at Ritzy's sarcasm but didn't respond. Her hope that his facade would continue as long as he was in Mimilly's presence faded as quickly as it had sprouted.
"Yeah. Now that we know the what, we just need to figure out the who, how, and why."
Mimilly nodded, agreeing with Xiotal's guess that it was Soul-Separating Poison.
"Any ideas, Xiotal?"
Mimilly turned to her friend, the victim and target of the incident.
"Ahem."
But Mognog cleared his throat before Xiotal could answer to get everyone's attention.
"Before that, there's something more urgent to deal with."
"What would that be?"
Mimilly tilted her head slightly. Wasn't solving Xiotal's murder the priority?
Mognog glanced at Ritzy before looking at Mimilly again.
"What is your galére's stance on humans, necromancy, and pseudo-revived pixies?"
"Oh…"
Mimilly realized the extent of the situation.
"It's not a benevolent stance, I can tell you that."
"Exactly. And I have a feeling, based on your reaction, that words won't necessarily be the first display of non-benevolence."
Mimilly hesitated. She couldn't help but feel that Mognog was rightfully pointing out her prejudice.
"...Yeah. I guess preventing Xiotal and you from dying again and Ritzy from dying for the first time is a little more important than figuring out who killed Xiotal the first time."
Mognog glanced at Xiotal.
"I had an idea to let Xiotal take all the blame while me and Ritzy took off."
Mimilly shot a glare at Mognog. They were going to sacrifice her friend? After taking all her treasure?
But it wasn't their fault. They had brought Xiotal back. It would have been tragic if they died by doing that. And since Xiotal was still a pixie, it wasn't impossible that she would still be allowed to live.
Mimilly sighed.
"I understand where you're coming from. But the galére, especially the Matron, won't let Xiotal shoulder all the blame. She might even decide that you two should perish simply for trespassing or laying eyes on us pixies."
Ritzy frowned, and Mognog would have done the same if he had had something to frown with. Instead, his eye flames narrowed.
"Any suggestions?"
Mognog asked Mimilly. He and Ritzy were a little out of their depth, considering the strength available to them at the moment. It only made sense to ask Mimilly, who was a fellow pixie and a member of the same galére. Hopefully, she wouldn't let Xiotal's saviors suffer.
Mimilly thought for a moment.
"At the moment, I should be the only one aware of what's happened to Xiotal in its entirety. At least someone else should know that Xiotal has died. It shouldn't take too long for that person to begin to express to the galére that Xiotal's belongings and den go to the galére, which might be what they want."
Mimilly tilted her head to the side.
"That is unless they put in a failsafe or sensory magic around her den, in which case, the murderer should already be aware of something being amiss and either coming to investigate or, depending on the complexity of their magic, reporting to the matron that Xiotal has accepted human necromancer visitors."
Mimilly shrugged.
"Regardless, the only option I can see is for you three to run. You will either have a headstart or pixies on your tail."
The mood grew somber. It wasn't like they hadn't expected it, so it didn't come as a shock. But Mimilly's tone helped hammer in the hopeless reality they had gotten themselves into. If they didn't run, and if they weren't successful in running, they would die. That was the most likely outcome, at least, especially for Ritzy and Mognog.
Well, Mognog was technically dead already, but he would perish completely without a chance of reanimation. Xiotal might have hope still, considering she was a pixie and a murder victim. But the hope was slim since she had willingly accepted and paid for a necromancer's help despite the pixies being unable to see or help her.
"I guess there's no time to waste, then."
Xiotal spoke before looking at Ritzy.
"Did you get everything?"
She looked around curiously, looking for where Ritzy might have stored all the treasure.
Ritzy nodded. He was a little worried about how it would be to transport the Deathbeds through the portal leading to and fro Xiotal's den since the other Deathbeds with Talia, Maya, and Pile O' Bones hadn't followed him inside. But it could be a safety measure, and if it didn't work, he would just have to carry it by himself or ask Avie to do it.
However…
"Moggy."
"Yeah?"
"I don't want to run away again."