When Dala played her part to trip the person up, Shiloh figured the last thing they wanted was more witnesses. Aura sight helped her sense if people were coming their way, and Shiloh wasted no time in paralyzing the intruder with stasis. 'Nice work. I hear footsteps, let's try to divert any attention first. I can hide the body, but we need to explain the mess.'  Shadowy limbs crept up from the ground and took hold of the cloaked humanoid, then quickly moved it under the bed. Shiloh then went to stuff her bag under the bed and messed up the sheets so it looked like she fell off due to carelessness. 'If you want to stay hidden, that's fine with me too. I'll think of something either way. Excuses aren't hard to come up with.' Contrary to her tense and paranoid behavior, when it came to cleaning up a mess–she became unusually calm. It was like she'd done this before and knew the ins and outs like clockwork. 'Keep calm. They know less than you think. As long as you don't act suspicious, no one will suspect a thing.'

When the innkeeper came to see what all the racket was about, they found Shiloh on the ground rubbing the back of her head. "Oh–sorry about the noise. I fell off the bed. The window slammed shut all of a sudden." The key thing here was that everything she said had been the truth. She did leave out several of the more important details, however. The room looked as normal as it could be, and Shiloh was conveniently blocking any views to the underside of the bed. "I see. Please be more careful, then." The innkeeper was confused, but they turned and went back downstairs. Once she sensed they were far enough, she mentally messaged Dala. 'And they're gone. Let's shut the door and have a little chat with our new hostage.' The shadows brought their cloaked captive out from under the bed and receded into the darkness. Binding them with a mysterious rope made of spider's silk, she released them from stasis. Speaking up, there was an oddness in her tone as she addressed the humanoid directly. "You should tell us the truth, or else things aren't going to go so well for you." 

Once Shiloh paralyzed the intruder, the child quickly and carefully retrieved her snare and freed the neck, careful not to cause any damage. She hopped off the stranger and watched as shadowy limbs crept from the ground and pulled the cloaked humanoid underneath the bed. Rushing into the room she watched as Shiloh messed up the sheets, then moved to help, placing a pillow on the side of the bed, making it look like she had fallen right out and taken the pillow with her. 

'I'm not a good liar.' Dala mentally admitted, 'It would be better if I stayed hidden.'

The child always looked to the left whenever she lied. That was something she still worked on but if they were to succeed, she couldn't be visible. The innkeeper ran up the stairs and looked into the room, clearly confused by all the noise. The child kept herself as still as possible and even held her breath, hoping that she wouldn't give them away. Shiloh's lie fell easily off her tongue and the innkeeper seemed to accept the answer. Maybe Dala would have to ask the woman for lessons on lying. 

Dala listened for a moment until she heard the innkeeper reach the bottom of the stairs. Quickly shutting the door and locking it, she rushed over to the bed that now held their prisoner. The humanoid was bound with a strange rope that the child had never seen before. The humanoid had already seen her face, so Dala took off the cloak, allowing herself to become visible again. 

'If you're worried about him telling a lie, I might have something in my bag that can help with that.'

She reached into her satchel, then opened the purple bag that held infinite space. The girl brought out a chalice made of crystal that had an image of golden scales on the front. The little girl held it out of view from the humanoid but gave Shiloh a nod then began filing it with water from her own canteen. Water should be enough as it was the chalice itself that held the real power. 

'Its a chalice of truth. I think. I've never really gotten around to testing it yet. They could still avoid the question or answer in vague truths but this should keep them from outright lying. I think.'

Using a chalice of truth wasn't a bad idea. But first, they needed to see if their so-called harbinger of misfortune had a mouth. 'Not bad. If they try to dodge the questions, I can press them harder for information.' Without delay, Shiloh started to tear off the cloth and bindings that the humanoid used to obscure themselves. Beneath the scraps of tattered material was a thin, lanky man wearing patched up armor over important parts of their body. "You ready, kid?" The goddess forced the man on his back and pinched his nostrils shut so he would be forced to open his mouth for air. Once a few mouthfuls of water went down the right way, she'd let him use his nose again. It was time for the interrogation. Activating her geas, she looked straight into the man's eyes and began the questioning. 

"Who are you and why are you here?"

An involuntary shudder came over the man as the chalice and the spell went into effect. His body strained and convulsed as he tried to resist the enchanted compulsion.

Gustafa clenched his teeth, his face turning red as he tried to keep his mouth from moving. If he kept this up he might burst a vessel, then they wouldn't be able to get any more out of him. It was clear he did not want to give that answer. Shiloh's patience was wearing thin and she didn't know how long the chalice's effects would last, so they needed to make this quick. "Tell us who hired you to come here in the next ten seconds. Do not resist." The hired mercenary's body began to shake as it went against his wishes. "A man named Rahadiin hired me to go after a described foreigner for 500 silver." The muscles in his body started to slacken now that the compulsion from the spell had briefly stopped. And last but not least, the most important question:

While Shiloh had started the torturing process, Dala was taking notes. This strategy would be useful when she needed to get information out of difficult prisoners during times of war or unease. With her little quill, she began jotting down exactly what Shiloh was doing and how she was doing it. Dala noted the strain on the body and the convulsions. She wondered if it the process wasn't handled carefully enough, if the prisoner would end up killing himself through resistance. 

Instead of actually helping, she was more like a little scholar in the corner, completely unfazed by the pain on the man's face. Thanks to the magic, the chalice and Shiloh they were able to gather a lot of information, all of which Dala had written down. Their enemy went by the name of Rahadiin and lived on the outskirts of town. Apparently he had a significant amount of devoted followers, so they would have to be careful in this mission. Now there was only one thing left to figure out. 

"What do we do with him?" Dala asked, "We could wipe his memory or give him a good warning beating or something. I'd rather not kill him since he did answer our questions and I don't think he'd be so quick to attack us next time. But what do you say?" 

Killing someone wasn't below her ideals or morals. She just was very careful about using death as a way to solve problems. Often death led to more chaos and trouble that could spiral into unending revenge kills. She wasn't keen on going down that path, but at the end of the day it was up to Shiloh. She was the boss and the center of their operations. Dala would simply have to trust Shiloh's judgement on this matter, though personally she didn't think he deserved death, despite trying to kill them and all. The child turned to the assassin on the bed and decided to have a few words with him. 

"You really should be more careful on who you decide to target." She lectured, "Do your research next time. For all you know one of your targets could be an mercenary too. Or worse. What if they cannot be killed by a moral weapon? Or what if only magic can harm them? Also I would suggest doing a poison next time. That would have been completely unexpected for us. Also I would suggest investing your time with different kind of weapons. Don't get me wrong, the glass weapons you had were cool and all but you can't be a one trick pony. Have neat backups. Also-" 

She was lecturing the mercenary and trying to get him to do better….This was the one thing that never changed in this child. When she felt people could do better, she always would try to push them in the right direction, regardless of who they were or their intentions. Strangely enough, her ramblings were just as torturous to the mercenary as the interrogation. He gave Shiloh a look that screamed 'please kill me' as he couldn't take the child's lecture anymore. He already felt terrified and like a loser, having a 10 year old lecturing him was only destroying his self-esteem further. 

While Shiloh really didn't care about what happened to Gustafa next, she wasn't going to just let him go. Murder was messy and a memory wipe would be easy, however she felt it wouldn't be satisfying. While Dala began to tell the mercenary why his life choices were bad and that he should be ashamed of himself, the man was looking at her with eyes that begged for sweet release. Shiloh simply smiled, which anybody who knew her understood was never a good thing. "Alright kiddo, that's enough yelling at the poor man. He's had enough." Giving a reassuring tap on the girl's shoulder, the deity released the man and let him get to his feet. But the moment his back was turned, Shiloh grabbed her knapsack and clocked him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. It was so quick that if you blinked, you'd miss it. Using Gestalt, she distorted the man's perception so he didn't see it coming. Leaving the man on the floor, she packed up the rest of her things and prepared to check out. "Looks like it's time to pay a certain someone a little visit. But first, we're going make sure this man never forgets what he did today."

She calmly went down the stairs to the reception desk, where the innkeeper was surprised to see her and Dala. Without missing a beat, Shiloh put on the face of a 'reasonable customer' and said the words no business owner wanted to hear: "Ma'am, I would like to file a complaint." The innkeeper was confused and alarmed, after all she had great pride in her establishment and its service. "What's the matter? Is something not to your liking?" She stammered. Keeping up the pleasant facade, Shiloh continued. "A strange man broke into my room while I was resting, I feel very unsafe here so I'm leaving." Handing the innkeeper her room key, she bid her farewell as the woman rushed upstairs to see for herself. Once she was gone, Shiloh walked out with Dala with a smirk on her face. "You know, sometimes it's ok to let people take care of things for you too." The next moment there was a shrill scream and the sound of someone getting hit by a very angry innkeeper.

It took some time to reach Rahadiin's hideout, but once it was found it wasn't hard to miss. It was slightly fortified, but nothing too overt as to avoid being questioned by the ruling body of Namibia. They probably used the excuse of being on the city outskirts to justify the defensive measures. The lights were on and someone was home; now it was time to give the cult leader and his cronies a very unpleasant evening. Looking to the girl, Shiloh asked: "So what do you think would be better–going in from the front or through the back?" Either way, somebody was going to get a big wake-up call.

Dala was only half-way through her lecture when Shiloh gave her a tap on the shoulder and told her that their prisoner had enough. The child huffed but relented from her ramblings and instead watched as Shiloh freed the man. The man had a look of relief on his face and was about to leave when she clocked him on the back of the head. He fell to the ground with a thump. Seeing that their first mission was complete, Dala gathered her things together and packed them away in her backpack with the exception of the ragged cloak. She followed Shiloh down the stairs to the reception desk and watched as the clever woman made a complaint to the innkeeper. The look of fury on the innkeeper was worth more than a thousand silver. Before the innkeeper rushed up to the room, Dala gently tugged on the innkeeper's dress. 

"He also damaged that pretty door." She said in a sweet childish voice. 

The innkeeper had a look that screamed, this man is dead. The child rushed back to Shiloh's side, not bothering to hide her snickering. Shiloh told her it was fine to have people take care of things for them. The sound of a shrill scream pierced the air along with the sound of someone receiving beatings. There was a shout from the innkeeper that Dala was barely able to understand due to the anger in the lady's voice. 

"THAT WAS MAHOGANY!"

Dala couldn't help but chuckle as they continued onwards to find the hideout. At first it was difficult to find in the abundance of houses in the city but eventually they had discovered its location. The home was fairly fortified while still keeping up the ruse of being a simple home for a wealthy individual. The child observed it for a while, trying to think of a way to handle entrance into the place. 

"Back. We'll want to take care of Rahadiin and more of the higher ups first. A cult without its cult leaders will have a challenging time." She said, "A direct attack will rally people to try to defend him but if we take the main leaders then we might be able to get them to disperse without too much violence. What do you think?"

Her goal was to handle the situation without too much violence against the people in the lower parts of the cult. The main leaders were a direct source of the problem but the lower levels of cultists were often victim themselves. She would fight them if necessary but her main goal was to cut at the root of the problem. After all, the best way to get rid of weeds was to pull out the roots. 

"Alright, from the back it is." Although charging in the front gate would give a good psychological impact, it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying. Besides, the girl had a point. They were here to aim at the head of this whole operation. Shiloh took out the cloak again and offered it to Dala. If they were going in for a surprise attack, it would be better if they didn't see them coming. Closing her eyes, she began to focus her aura sight on the area. There were several life signatures in the cult's headquarters–most of them gathered in one area with a few sparsely distributed throughout the compound. "There's a lot of people inside, but most of them are all holed up near the center. Let's hope Rahadiin and the higher-ups aren't there." Identifying individual presences wasn't easy with so many of them in one place. While she could easily sneak in and clear the way, the deity had a better idea that would certainly make chills run down the man's spine. "Instead of splitting up, I'll hide in your shadow while we slip inside. I can alert you if people are coming and you can let me know when we've got Rahadiin in our sights." When it came to psychological warfare, the presentation was half the battle. It would look like the girl came on her own until the very last moment. They'd never see it coming. 

If she agreed, Shiloh would then sink into the girl's shadow and establish a mental link with telepathy. While she could easily take care of a group of fraudsters herself, the girl deserved a part of the action for calling them out earlier. They were both in this together as partners to ruin a cult and make its leader regret it. No one scammed people using the Machinarium's name. Not now, not ever. And she had the perfect punishment for Rahadiin too. 'Ready when you are. We are now entering the lion's den.' She said to Dala telepathically. The back of the residence had guards keeping watch behind the palisade wall. From their clothes and armor, they were common hired mercenaries. To maintain the facade of a cult focused on good fortune there weren't any armed initiates. Violence wasn't permitted in the city, so this was what they went with. There weren't any guard animals around, so as long as they stayed quiet and careful they wouldn't be discovered.

If this had been located in a different part of the world, they'd likely be facing tighter security measures. However, just because the outside wasn't airtight didn't mean the same for within. If they ran into defenses built by magic, things would get complicated. Hopefully Rahadiin hadn't thought that far ahead.

Taking the cloak once more, the girl wrapped it around her shoulders and listened to Shiloh's information. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she tried to think of the best way to find where the head of the cult would be. Suddenly, Shiloh mentioned an idea of not splitting up and instead suggested she hide in Dala's shadow. The girl's eyes widened with surprise when she realized that was just one of this lady's many abilities.

"Geez, you're the definition of Jack of All Trades, aren't you?" Dala said with smirk, "Alright shadow lady. Hop on in!"

The girl double checked her weaponry and supplies before activating the tattered cloak. As she faded from sight, she wondered if the lady would let her keep the cloak if she asked politely. Climbing down from their hiding spot, she began to head towards the back of the building. The telepathic link was set up but even so, the child felt a nervous energy in her heart. She had plenty of experience sneaking into places but this would be the largest establishment she infiltrated. Pushing away her nervous thoughts, she gritted her teeth and remembered that anger she felt when she found the damned cultists in the first place. All of her anxiety fled at the sight of her wrath. 

'Lets hunt some lions then.' Dala telepathically responded. 

The back of the residence had mercenary guards, the type Dala often saw when traveling. They hadn't bothered too much protection which confused Dala for a moment until she remembered the no violence policy on the city. The girl was smaller than the mercenaries, who all had a bored expression on their faces and looked like they were ready to take a nap. Remembering her invisibility, Dala lowered to the ground and began crawling past the guards. The guards were talking amongst themselves and didn't take notice of her. But there was another problem. The doors to the back entrance were shut. An idea popped into the girl's mind as she gave the door three knocks then quickly moved out of the way. The guards didn't see anybody from the outside and assumed it was coming from indoors. They opened the door and Dala quickly snuck in. 

"A prank I bet." One of the guards muttered before closing the door. 

The first room Dala looked for was the kitchen, partially because she was hungry but partially because she knew something key about ranking systems. The kitchen was bustling with cooks and servants, all cultist themselves who dedicated themselves to serving Rahadiin. The scent of freshly cut potatoes hit Dala's nose as she noticed the massive cauldron with potatoes being chucked in. The cultists had to be fed, like anybody else so bread and potato soup had been prepared. But there was one dish that was far more spectacular than the others. A seasoned rib roast with lemons sauce and green beans decorating the edge along with a goblet of wine prepared next to it. Dala waited for a few moments until the dish was fully prepared before following the servant carrying the tray. The girl followed the servant as carefully as possible and tried to mimic her footsteps so nothing would sound off. At one point Dala even had to hold her breath for fear of the servant noticing her. 

The servant carried it up the stairs and towards a guarded door with a mercenary standing right next to it. The servant knocked on the door and the sound of Rahadiin was heard from inside. After receiving approval the servant entered with the food, and the hidden Dala entered as well. Dala moved to the corner of the room and waited quietly until the servant left. A sense of relief spread throughout Dala's mind. She hadn't been expecting to get this far in… And luckily only Rahadiin was in the room. The interior of the room matched a richly dressed office one might find in a merchant's home. Comfy colorful sofa's decorated the room while the walls were covered in fine paint. 

"You can drop that invisibility spell, or whatever you have, child." Rahadiin said.

Dala's eyes widened but she stayed quiet. 

'Don't reveal yourself yet.' Dala telepathically said to Shiloh, 'I wanna see what I can get out of this guy.'

"H-how did you know?" The girl asked with a confused look. 

"I could hear your breathing." Rahadiin explained. 

"Damn it." Dala cursed. 

"I was expecting your older friend to stop by as well. But I suppose she felt more comfortable sending a child in by herself. How cruel." Rahadiin said standing up from his desk. 

Dala took off her cloak, but kept her distance from Rahadiin. She had big, wide eyes while making herself look as small as possible. The less she looked like a threat, the better. 

"But why are you doing this? Cults only last a few years at maximum. I just don't understand! And aren't you afraid the goddess of luck will come after you?" Dala whined a bit, emphasizing it all with a confused expression. 

'I like to have my bases covered.' The deity replied when the girl liked her idea. Getting in was much easier than she had thought, but her worries were still there. There was nothing she could do about what they didn't know, so she silently followed as they navigated the place. With Dala's clever thinking they found him, sitting comfortably in the lap of luxury gleaned off of the backs of the naive and foolish. She didn't have much sympathy for those who were easily duped, but she had none for those who knowingly exploited them. Abedian rugs, Ataiyan silk, exotic curios from who knows where–all paid by the man's con. To her surprise, Rahadiin had been expecting them. Did Gustafa send him a message before they arrived? She should have stripped the man and searched his entire person for any communication methods back in the inn. Maybe the fact that Gustafa wasn't here had told the cult leader that things weren't going according to plan.

There was silence from her end of the telepathic link when Dala asked her to stay hidden a little longer. Getting information was worth the wait before they beat him to the point where it was a forced confession. "I just don't understand! And aren't you afraid the goddess of luck will come after you?" Dala asked, leading him on. A sarcastic, cackling laugh came from the 'high priest'. "And why would she? She should be thanking me for giving her such good publicity! Haven't you ever thought of it? What kind of goddess of luck has almost no presence in worship outside of word of mouth? She has no collective of religious faithful, no statues even in Canelux. I bet most who know of her don't even give her a second thought unless they need her." Taking one of the forged luck symbols in his hand, he began to slowly walk towards the girl. "Those foolish and superstitious people need something to believe in when their straits are dire. Now what's wrong with making a little profit on the side? Does this goddess of luck even exist?"

It would be troublesome if someone were to find out a child went missing here, but Rahadiin could easily fool the city's watch. As long as no one saw or found signs of a murder, taking care of this meddlesome brat would be simple. If she had come with the older woman from before, then things would get a bit more complicated. "It truly is a shame that you're come all this way for nothing, little girl. But since you're here, that means no one will talk if you disappear." His hand pulled out a saber that had been concealed by his desk. Shiloh had been quiet for some time now, but an oppressive aura suddenly filled the atmosphere. "Now, it's time for you to leave, brat!" The fake smile on his face turned into a hateful glare as he rushed at Dala and swung his blade at what appeared to be a defenseless child.

A figure emerged from the girl's shadow as the saber was stopped. The man froze, his sneer turning into horror. Having transmuted her arms, her hands didn't bleed as they were holding the blade. "You think I'm cruel, don't you?" Shiloh asked as the weapon's edge began to scrape against her gauntlets. "Have you ever wondered why a deity would choose not to be worshiped? If you really knew anything about the goddess you're 'promoting', you'd know that she is the Goddess of Luck and Misfortune. The moment you decided to run your little con was the moment your luck ran out." Shoving Rahadiin to the ground, she pulled out her switchaxe and slammed it into the ground in front of her and Dala to make a point. An overwhelming pressure bore down on everyone in the room as she raised the weapon with one hand, bloodlust gleaming in her eyes. "You're guilty of copyright infringement, solicitation of murder for hire, and religious fraud. The Steward of Antikythera…sends their regards." She was hopping mad.

The information pouring from his mouth was more truth than they would ever get during an interrogation. If they forced him to speak, he would be shouting out apologies to save his own skin. All the words he spoke were honest on how he felt and his intentions, showing the depths of his greed. His reasonings for using Shiloh was beyond stupid and stunk of a self-righteous attitude. He held little respect for the gods or the goddess of luck, which wouldn't have been a problem if they were just another superstitious legend. But Dala knew something he didn't. As he pulled out the saber, a devious smile spread across Dala's face as she watched him with glee in her eyes. She didn't flinch when he swung his blade at her and instead continued smiling. 

"Now Shiloh, what do you think about that?" The devious girl asked. 

Her friend emerged from the shadows and stopped the saber with her bare hands. Dala watched with as the man's sneer transformed into a face of sheer terror. Shiloh's anger burned through whatever confidence the cultist had left. The girl quickly ran towards the room and locked the door, ensuring that guards wouldn't interrupt the goddess easily. The door was made out of a tough wood and would be difficult to just kick down. They would need at least a couple of people to do that. Giving Shiloh a bit more time, Dala flopped down on a chair and watched as Shiloh began lecturing the cult leader. 

Rahadiin was terrified beyond belief and desperately looked around for some escape. He ran to the door, trying to open it only to realize the damned child had locked it. The guard knocked on the door, wondering what was going on. Rahadiin cried out for help but the guard couldn't break down the door and ran off to get some other guards. The cultist leader got on his knees and began begging for forgiveness from Shiloh, as she was the one holding the switchaxe. He even had the audacity to look towards Dala and give her a quick plead to call off Shiloh. 

"Idiot." Dala said with a chuckle, "You still don't realize who she is." 

The man's eyes widened with realization and began begging for his life from Shiloh and only her. He crawled on the floor like a little worm and held up his hands in a begging motion. The guard came back with reinforcements and a glimmer of hope fluttered in Rahadiin's heart. But the door was strong enough to hold out and Shiloh was fast. Dala didn't bother looking away, knowing she had seen much worse in her life.