[using VOTG pass!]

d'Artagnan was in a foul mood. Even if he was going to visit his beloved Goddess, the sheer journey from the steppe to the veins was enough to put him on the verge of lapsing into insanity again. He had walked far and resisted the urge to take a detour through the Edge land, finding the idea of intruding on their 'peace' rather entertaining. Not enough, however, to want a band of their idiotic followers chasing him half way across Helovia. It was far enough without travelling at break neck speed, he would of course have cut their numbers by at least half. So in essence it would only be a small band. Or so the Nightshade thought, his daydreams filled with shrill screams and the blood of his enemies as they fell one by one beneath his mighty form. A dark smile formed on his lips, each step taking up and closer to the shrines. The last time he had come here was when Mauja accompanied him, to learn the secrets of poison from the Earth.

It was when he reached the top he realized he hadn't actually seen his Goddess since the day she presented Mesec to him. The more he thought about it the more stranger it became, what was he supposed to say if she appeared? "Honey, I'm home!" The idle thought almost had him crying with laughter, what an intriguing notion he had just stumbled upon. Of course, d'Artagnan would not say such a thing as he found it absurd. Besides, his heart truly belonged to Kou whether he admitted it or not. Recovering from his lapse of idiotic hysteria, he coughed slightly embarassed and looked at the shrine in question.

"My Goddess I have many questions to ask of you, but one weighs more pressing on my mind." Gruff as always the shade thought of all the questions he wanted to ask. Why did she allow Mirage into their land? Had she betrayed them? What do they do now? Where is Mauja? However, the question he most wanted to pose was instead the ability to remove idiots like Azzuen should they ever get in his way again. A power that would render his enemies incapable of anything. How could he be Doctor of the Plague when he couldn't serve them properly. Sometimes there just wasn't any time at all to stand around and make a poison, especially in the heat of battle. Now he needed something that would give him the advantage he needed.

It was in the meaning of his name he found just the thing. The one problem he could foresee was the cost of obtaining such a magic. He could not poison somebody without healing them, although in the end he healed more than he poisoned. What would he have to do this time in order to be granted such a gift.