《Ain't A Hero》


 Episode 1

    "We''re Nexus News! At the great battle between the Chosen One, Sebastian Warwick, and the Dark Lord Noxian! The Chosen One''s party have made their way to the magical rift that Dark Lord Noxian is attempting to consume. Wait! The moment is here! The Chosen One is charging in to give the final blow and-"


    "That was the last transmission received from our on-site action news crew of the battle. The aftermath of the battle has been inconclusive. Our Nexus News investigative team is diligently gathering accounts from witnesses and we will report when we have more. Our technical experts are attempting to recover footage from damaged recording equipment. Thankfully, the magical rift was sealed. But no sign of Dark Lord Noxian was found and his whereabouts are presently unknown. Unfortunately, the only trace found of the Chosen One was the Legendary Sword of the Spirit Realm-"


    The old and battered television screen blacks out and the faint, internal click sounds off as the unit powers down. A brown haired, overweight man sits on the couch in t-shirt and boxers. He tosses the remote onto the makeshift milk crate and two-by-four table. Sinking into the old, ripped couch, he blows the white streak in his hair out of his eyes. A distant, disconnected stare forms on his face, and a somber sigh slips out. His mind sifts slowly through the heavy thoughts as his shoulders slack with mental fatigue. "Shit, Sebastian... I... I-I can''t believe it. I mean, you had your shit together. An awesome party. THE magical sword. The battle was going your way... You had Noxian''s ass in a sling after that attack."


    Another voice ethereally echoes in the room. "I know, bro. I thought I had him, too. But, the bastard had that one nasty trick up his sleeve."


    The man holds his hands up in the air and puzzles out loud. "Well, what the fuck would have been that powerful to take you down-"


    Pausing a moment in shock, he slowly pivots his head to the ghostly figure lounging on the other half of the couch. His blue eyes spring open as his pupils narrow to mere pinpoints. A shriek of terror strikes an octave short of glass shattering. "AHHH!"


    Backpedaling frantically up the back of the couch, the heavy set man launches himself into arc and flops a meter away upon the floor. He continues the panicked slide on the carpet and plows through takeout boxes, dirty laundry, video games, books, and empty cans of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. "AHHH! AHHH! AH-"


    The ghostly figure rockets into the air from the couch with hands on his ears. His ethereal form zooms to within mere centimeters of panicked man''s face. "BACH! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"


    Bach''s mouth seals firmly as he stares wide eyed, pale in shock. The apparition removes his hands from ears with a relieved sigh. "Gods, I''ve forgotten how loud your shrieking is!"


    A flash of recognition springs up Bach''s face as he concentrates upon the transparent form. "S-S-S-Sebastian?!"


    Sebastian leans closer and eyes Bach with a slight curl to the corner of his mouth. "Yes."


    Bach blinks uneasily with horror bubbling into his face. "Oh gods! You''ve come to haunt me! All those times I got revenge against you- You''re going to make me pay now..."


    Holding his hands out, Sebastian slowly waves them up and down to put Bach at ease. "No. Calm down, bro. I''m not here to haunt you."


    Keeping his eyes on Sebastian, Bach turns his head away slowly. "Okay."


    Sebastian twists his mouth and averts his eyes momentarily. "Well, not exactly."


    Glancing around the rundown living space, Bach slowly mouths out the words as discomfort grips his expression. "Okay..."


    Righting his ghostly form in front of Bach, Sebastian regains his footing, stands upright, and drifts down to contact the floor. "So... Long story short, I may have died, but I''m not dead."


    Bach narrows his stare apprehensively and furrows his brow with growing curiosity. "No shit, man."


    Sebastian snaps an annoyed glare back at Bach, and curls his upper lip with a frustrated sneer. "Stop being a smart ass."


    Getting back onto his feet, Bach walks over to the small kitchen island. He sits down in a rickety seat next to aged stained island in the small combo kitchen/dining area, and squints uncertainly at Sebastian. "Fine. Sorry. Just a lot to process at once. So, um..."


    Drifting over near Bach, Sebastian crosses his arms and recites a summation. "The Sword was able to capture the magical energy around the area. We''re guessing it captured my spirit, mind, body, or whatever in the moment Noxian blasted me. And, it stored me within. I''m still figuring out the details, it''s all still a blur. Bad news. I''m bound to the sword."


    Bach quirks a brow and cocks his head intrigued. "Good news?"


    The ethereal brother cracks a short grin as he eyes Bach. "I can be brought back with a substantial amount of the right magical energy infused into the sword."


    Bach sits up straight for a moment, lost in thought. "I see. With enough of the right magical energy... It''d power whatever it does to fix up or reform your body, then I guess attach your mind or consciousness to the body. Probably like one of the old school resurrection spells."


    Opening his arms out, Sebastian nods with a proud smile and chuckles. "EXACTLY! It''s good to know those years in adventuring school weren''t wasted!"


    Bach grimaces with a grumble and sighs with stale pain. "Dammit, man, don''t bring that up. I was doing just fine in school and I know my shit. Just never cared for the whole... risk your life everyday thing."


    Brushing back a white streak in his translucent brown hair, Sebastian perks his brow with a sly smirk. "Well, that''s why I''m here. I know you know all your stuff. And, you can help me out... Right?"


    An awkward silence looms over the two and presses down around them. Sebastian hovers closer to his brother and focuses his attention upon him. Bach leans over to his fridge, intentionally avoiding eye contact. He opens the door and pulls out a bottle of cola. Using one of the drawer handles to pop the cap off, he eventually meets his brother''s gaze and sighs. "Ah, fuck it. I''ll give it a try for you."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form momentarily brightens. "YES! I knew I could count on you."


    Bach sets up a swig from his drink and glances hesitantly at his brother while he ponders out loud. "Okay. So... Where are we going to get this ancient power source? Given how old that sword probably is, it can''t be anything common today. Ancient ruins? Magical rifts in weird zones? Maybe, old magical focal points? It''s going to be hard to hunt down one find one substantial enough. And the right type, too. Damn, we might be looking for a while if it needs something like raw elder power."


    As Bach tips back the glass bottle and pour the soda back, Sebastian awkwardly shifts his eyes away from Bach, and swiftly slips out. "Lord Noxian''s Heart."


    Swallowing almost half the bottle of cola in one, painful gulp, Bach opens his eyes wide in horror. He struggles to contain the beverage, tears welling, and finally gasps for breath. "NOXIAN''S HEART?!"


    Sebastian snaps his fingers to a point, right at Bach. "Yes, and you must be the one to plunge the sword through it."


    Bach sputters and coughs, leaning away away from the ghostly finger. "ME?!"


    Putting his hands up in the air off to his sides, Sebastian shrugs. "You''re my twin."


    The bottle clanks on the kitchen island, and Bach hastily wipes his mouth in confusion. "Fraternal twin! The sword knows that, right?! You did tell it that, right?!"


    Sebastian scratches the back of his head and rolls his eyes. "As long as we share enough chromosomes, it''ll work. From what we could gather from the sword, it should allow you to activate it fully."


    Bach places his hands on his temples and then throws them forward. "DUDE! Lord Noxian almost wiped you clean from existence! And you want ME to try that?!"


    He leans in to glare at his brother. His brother reflects the emotion. The two stare each other down. After tense seconds pass in silence, Sebastian speaks firmly with encouraging hints. "Listen, bro. We don''t know where Lord Noxian is and his power is weak. He won''t be trying anything soon. From what we know, he is going to be recovering for some time after this. Which will be plenty of time to get YOU into fighting shape again."


    Bach crosses his arms, sighs, and drones in a lower tone. "You do realize, I was never really in a fighting shape."


    Devious hints tinge Sebastian''s grin, and he chuckles. "Well, I guess we ALL are going to have to work extra hard to get you there, whether you like it or not."


    Bach''s eyes spring all the way open. "We ALL?"


    A door bell rings throughout the small, rough house, and the sound echoes faintly against the barren walls. Bach scans around for the source of the noise and furrows his brow bewildered. "I have a doorbell... that works?"


    Sebastian''s ethereal form unknowingly drifts into the kitchen island with a sly smirk. "Well, they''re here. My party. More correctly, OUR party."


    Bach''s expression withers into nervous dread, and he darts uneasy glances around. "All of them?! The Half-emin, Grath, Fvalian, and that Evuukian?"


    With a sinister ear to ear grin, Sebastian trains his full attention to Bach. "Yes. All of them, ESPECIALLY the Evuukian, want me back among the physical living."


    Bach stares at his brother, his head turns side to side as his eyes examine his brother from different angles. Sebastian backs away after noticing. "What?"


    The corner of Bach''s mouth pulls to a smirk, and he perks an eyebrow. "You and the Evuukian?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly form puffs his chest, and he confidently grins. "Yes."


    Bach laughs and shakes his head. "Huh, I thought their whole cultural bias thing would never allow it?"


    The flash of ego subsides, and Sebastian crosses his arm. "Well, officially. It''s a little complicated."


    After watching his brother think about the concept, he motions his head to the door. "Hey, could you answer the door? I physically can''t. Don''t want to keep them waiting and all."


    As Bach walks over to the door, he remembers his overly casual attire and pat his faintly stained t-shirt and wrinkly boxers. He musters a bit of courage and carefully cracks the door open. "Oh hey... Everyone."


    The half-emin, grath, fvalian, and that evuukian stand around concrete steps leading up to the small rundown house in the outskirt town. None have the most enthused expressions, except the Fvalian. She gives a greeting smile, with her sharp teeth. With a few remaining shreds of confidence, Bach smiles and holds a finger up to the group. "If you give me a few minutes, I''ll get ready and come on out. I wasn''t expecting to travel so soon."


    The large, muscular Grath woman crosses her arms and grumbles in a low tone with a trailing sigh. "Hurry. Up."


    Bach nervously strains a grin to gritting teeth as the door closes. He looks expectantly at his brother, and Sebastian bounces his eyes to either side. "What?"


    Bach motions his hands down himself and lifts an annoyed brow. "A little privacy, man? I gotta get dressed."


    Sebastian rolls his eyes and waves his hand as he drifts towards the front of the house. "Oh, right. Sorry, being on the adventuring road so much, you start to not worry about that."


    After Sebastian slips through the front wall of the house to greet his party members, Bach pauses for a moment and thinks to himself. Simmering apprehension and worry drive his glances around the room, and he briefly stares towards the back of the house.


    ----


    The party intensely discusses future plans. The tall, muscular grath woman retrieves a large map from inside a modified, ancient humvee and rolls it out upon the hood in one motion. The fvalian hops out of the driver''s seat, climbs out the large, open roof hatch, and slides down the windshield. She stretches out her small, lithe frame and pins down the two corners of the map with a heel each. Holding down the top edge in the middle with a hand, she taps upon the map with a claw tip. The half-emin steps up in front of the grill and flips the hood of her cape off. Placing her hands on the sides of her waist, she picks at her belt of pouches with long black nails. She sighs, and her golden eyes glance at the fvalian on the hood. Leaning forward, she places a nail point on another part of the map. "Cideeda... We talked about this. There''s no reason for Noxian to go back there."


    Cideeda''s long, furry tail flicks out from behind her, and she presses a claw tip down her choice on the map. "I know, Sotalia! But, you can''t deny there might be some stuff left. Maybe notes, or some clues to where he may have gone."


    Sotalia straightens her back and stands a moment to ponder before grimacing at the bright sun beating down. With a frustrated sneer, she pulls the toque off her head, letting down her dark red hair and revealing a pair of swept back horns. "What is with the weather around here?! It was near freezing last night at the hotel, now it feels like summer!"


    The grath woman wipes beads of sweat off her tan forehead, shifts a number of platinum blonde hair braids, and removes her leather jacket. Walking over towards an open door, she leans into the vehicle and tosses it onto the back bench of the humvee. "Not the worst change in weather experienced. Surprising still."


    Sotalia nods to the grath woman and loosens up her cape off the shoulders. "I know. Do you have to just keep two seasons of clothes out all the time?"


    Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes, leans back on the windshield, and combs through her short, multicolored hair with her clawed fingers. "I''ll agree with Dretphi. But, it''s better than it being as cold as it was on that ridge getting here."


    Sotalia and Dretphi each nod in agreement, before continuing the debate over where to go next. Standing off to the side an ivory skinned, lean figure, confidently rests a hand upon a large sheathed sword at her side. Sebastian''s ghostly form glides over to her side. She smiles gently as he approaches. "So, did he agree to help us, Sebastian?"


    Sebastian pridefully puffs his chest out with a heroic grin. "Of course, my dear!"


    She breathes a sigh of relief and rolls some tension out of her shoulders. Twisting her foot inside her boot, discomfort flashes on her face, and she twists a grimace. Glancing around, she finds nothing conveniently around her. Lifting up her boot while keeping balance, she undoes a few buckles, and eventually works her leg free of the knee high boot. "The finest artisans crafted these boots for my family. And, yet, they still manage to find every loose rock in the area..."


    She aggressively shakes her boot until a stray rock tumbles out and narrows an irritated glare at the offending pebble. Drawing a long calming breath, she balances on one foot and slides her leg back in. Taking a few moments to readjust her fine clothing back to a neat presentation, she gazes at Sebastian with a roll of her violet eyes. Sebastian shrugs his shoulders. Cideeda waves over to Sebastian and the evuukian woman with a toothy grin. "Hey! Aristespha! Sebastian! Are you two going to join in on this argument? Or, do you want to be ALONE?"


    Aristespha checks the sword, resumes a distinguished posture, and gazes lovingly over to Sebastian. "Let''s not keep them waiting."


    ----


    The group eventually settles upon a rough plan. During the lull in the debate, Sebastian gazes over towards Bach''s house and furrows his burrow. Cideeda glances around to the spaces around the house and follows her perking furry ears. The rest of the party halts the discussion and curiously glances towards the run down structure. Hovering over to the dirty brickwork wall, Sebastian leans his upper ethereal form through the front wall. After a few seconds, he pulls back for a moment confused and goes all the way through into the house. Cideeda''s ears flick around again, and she twists her mouth. "That sounds like the kick starter of a motorcycle."


    "MOTHERFUCKER!!!"


    The ethereal, booming, echoing eruption seizes the attention of everyone. Sebastian launches out of the building with his ghostly figure billowing red with ethereal flames. "THE BASTARD SQUEEZED HIS FAT ASS THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW AND IS ESCAPING ON HIS BIKE! GET HIM!"


    The muffled rumble of a motorcycle blasts out over the battered roof of the house. Tires spin up and dirty gravel peppers the back of the small house. Frantically throwing everything into the humvee, the team rushes aboard. Cideeda floors the accelerator, and the machine spins out towards the back road behind the house. Sebastian stands on the roof, floating in sync with the humvee, and ahead glares at angrily. He roars out at the man on the side-car motorcycle many meters down the back road. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING, BACH?!"


    The Bach glances behind him, and spots the ethereal figure, flaming red with rage. He snaps his head forward, contains a reflexive scream of fright between clenched teeth, and opens up the motorcycle throttle.


    ----


    The motorcycle speeds as fast as the barely paved roads allow. The small town streets remain empty on an early morning as Bach darts through an empty bank parking lot. He sharply turns down a side step around an advertising sign flashing the current date "Sunday March 2nd, 3017". Darting his gaze around in a panic, he spots a narrow alley and power slides the motorcycle with a heavy lean to line up the approach. Zipping between the trash filled passage, the humvee turns away at the last moment and launches powerfully down the roadway, and turns down an intersecting route. The powerplant of the military machine screams, and the huge vehicle accelerates. Down the long stretch of rural highway, the humvee closes the divide between it and the sidecar motorcycle. Sebastian launches from the roof, and flies towards Bach. He hovers himself in front of the motorcycle and loosely anchors himself near the handlebars opposite of Bach. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HELP ME, BACH!"


    Bach leans his head left and right around Sebastian''s ghostly form, each time meeting the enraged, transparent face of his brother. "DAMMIT, SEBASTIAN! I''M TRYING TO FUCKING DRIVE HERE!"


    Sebastian looms his face forward. "FUCK YOUR DRIVING! WHAT ABOUT HELPING ME?!"


    Bach narrows his eyes at his brother, and a faint blue glows from his pupils. "Well! Maybe you should mention needing to destroy a world ending horror BEFORE asking your brother to help! Full disclosure, man!"


    Sebastian continues his ranting. "FULL DISCLOSURE!? I was trying to be nice about the whole situation! Because YOU are GOING to HELP ME whether you like it or not-"


    Bach nods his head and raises it, eyes pulsating blue, and Sebastian blinks blankly. Cocking the back of his left hand away from the handle of the motorcycle, Bach stares at his brother as flows of magical energy coat his arm. "Full disclosure. This might sting."


    After a blur, a loud resonant clap follows the impact as the back of Bach''s hand pushes into Sebastian''s shocked face. His ethereal, warping visage tumbles loose from Bach''s motorcycle and returns right back into the sword on Aristespha''s lap. The others in the humvee glance over in absolute surprise. Streaming out from the sword, Sebastian frustrated visage reforms in the seat next to Aristespha. Sotalia spins around in her front seat towards Sebastian. "How the fuck did he do that?!"


    Sebastian grumbles in a low tone. "I told you. My brother is full of surprises. He was ranked the same as ME in adventuring school."


    Drawing herself forward from the back seat, Dretphi positions herself between Sebastian and Aristespha. "How do you want us to capture him?"


    Sebastian sighs with irritation tainting his tone. "Alive."


    Dretphi narrows her steely gray eyes and slowly shakes her head. She directs a stern expression at Sebastian and focuses an unamused glare. Sebastian groans. He twists his mouth and averts his face away from Dretphi''s piercing stare. "I know... Just no permanent injuries, please! He''s just running scared, but he''s not going to make it easy."


    Cideeda briefly pulls herself over the steering wheel and squints her emerald green eyes on the motorcycle. Holding her hand up to the open hatch, she directs the air above into her light brown face and sniffs. "It''s a biodiesel engine. Sotalia, how far can your freeze spell reach, again?"


    Perking her brow, Sotalia glances over. "Pretty far if I narrow the ray down. But, it won''t be as cold."


    Cideeda points at the motorcycle ahead and grins toothily. "Think you can hit it at this range with a headwind?"


    Nodding confidently, Sotalia smiles slyly. "Of course."


    With a motion of a claw tipped finger, Cideeda directs Sotalia''s attention to a series of metal tubes on the engine. "Those are the fuel lines. Freeze them and it should stall the engine out."


    Sotalia rolls up the long sleeves of her top and stands up in her seat. Steadying herself within the open top hatch, she grasps the top of the windshield and aims with a free arm extended ahead. She swiftly gestures with her hand and incants while symbols along her light tan and dark gray patterned arm glow brighter and brighter. "Try to get me closer if you can."


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    With an eager grin, Cideeda floors the accelerator and guides the humvee closer to the motorcycle. Bach snaps a worried glance back. Maintaining careful aim with concentration, Sotalia summons up the flows of magical energy down and releases the power. As the humvee tire rolls over a large rock, the beam of energy lances out. The ray hits a much higher target and contacts small of Bach''s back and swiftly jumps up between the shoulders. Bach screams in shock, reflexively tenses up, and nearly clenches up the entire motorcycle seat. Sotalia twists out embarrassment on her face and quickly gathers more energy for another attempt. "Stupid bump! I''ll get it this time!"


    Another beam of energy streaks out and hits the tubing around the engine, forming a misting coating of ice over the metal. As Bach recovers from the surprise, he notices the motorcycle engine sputter. Leaning over, he spots the ice on the fuel lines. "Shit..."


    He snags up a backpack from sidecar, and throws it over his shoulder. Keeping a grip on the handle bar, he steadies the machine as the engine completely gives out. When the motorcycle nearly stops from the coast, he spring into a run towards forest near road. The humvee brakes to a hard stop, and the back passenger''s side door flies open. Dretphi launches herself and lands in a full sprint. Between the trees, Bach rushes across the forest floor, nearly stumbling. Loud snaps and rustles erupt from behind him, and he twists his head back. Dretphi powers through the dense floor, glides over the terrain without trouble, and swiftly covers the distance. Bach''s eyes open wide in fright with a slight blue glow. When Dretphi closes right next to him, she reaches out. When her hand hovers over to grab, Bach speeds forward out of her grasp. Dretphi watches in astonishment as his footsteps grow faster and each stride lengthens. With speed unfitting his physique, Bach leaves Dretphi behind to her disbelief. A crackly voice sounds off in Dretphi''s ear from a radio. "Dretphi? Have you caught him?"


    Between heavy breaths Dretphi responds. "No. He. Somehow. Outran. ME."


    A very confused Cideeda continues on the radio. "What?! How?! Never mind. We found an access road. Are you still running west?"


    Dretphi flicks her eyes up to the sky through the freshly green canopy and notes the location of the sun. "Yes."


    The radio crackles out with Cideeda''s voice. "Okay. We found a clearing up ahead. Keep chasing him in this direction."


    ----


    Bach coughs and sputters as the forest around thins. A wave of relief washes over him as he notices the upcoming brush leading to a clearing. As Bach lands his first step outside the forest, Cideeda pops up from the tall grasses and points a modified shotgun at him. She pulls a trigger and a payload of netting and weights explode outwards from the bottom barrel. Bach''s luminescent blue eyes witness the expanding strands, and he drops into a feet first slide immediately, unnaturally onto the dirt. The net flies clear over. Cideeda adjusts her aim down and rests her finger onto another trigger. Bach raises his hands up instinctively towards the direction of the barrel. With a precise squeeze, the shotgun sends another projectile with electrical probes out the top barrel. The projectile bounces sharply off a materializing golden transparent disc. Cideeda immediately cycles the shotgun and fires. The golden barrier deflects the slow stunning projectile. Bach regains his footing and flings the shield right at Cideeda with a surge of magic flow down his arm. The golden disc knocks the shotgun free of Cideeda''s hand. After a reflexive wince, Cideeda snatches the golden disc from the rebound off her weapon. "How the fuc-"


    As Bach sprints across the field, Aristespha confidently strides out from behind a tree on the other side of the clearing. With a precise gesture and fast incantation, waves of energy pass rush out from Aristespha through Bach. He staggers, each step more lethargic and exaggerated, until he barely manages to stand. Aristespha carefully approaches, narrows her intrigued gaze, and aims her steady hand at Bach. "Strange. Most creatures fall completely asleep. There may be something to your brother''s claims after all."


    Something inside Bach stirs, and he tips his head up against the effects of the spell. He remains standing, while Aristespha''s curiosity shifts to genuine caution. Bach flutters his eyes and starts to regain his senses as the effect of the spell fades. Shock sparks on Aristespha''s blue and gray hinted, ivory face and she releases another wave of energy. Bach slowly drops into an unconscious heap and flops out onto the grass with a faint snore. Sebastian''s ethereal form floats next to Aristespha, and she snaps her head at him with a harsh frown. "You did not mention how DIFFICULT he would be to capture. Sebastian."


    Sebastian drifts back and shrugs. "I said he''s full of surprises. But, I honestly didn''t expect he''d be able to pull this much off."


    Cideeda arrives holding the golden disc at her side, and glances over to the slumbering Bach. "Wow! He sure put up a fight. I''ll have to use specially made restraints on him."


    She passes off the golden disc to Sotalia as she stops from a jog. Sotalia examines the disc with confusion and intrigue. After digging through her utility vest pockets, Cideeda pulls out a collection of restraints. In between securing Bach, she pats him down, turns out pockets, and searches his backpack. "Looks like he was planning to run pretty far. A bit of money, passport, and a fake ID."


    Sebastian hovers over and joins her in examining all the random things found. Sotalia pauses from investigating the golden disc and gazes between the team. "Where did this come from? Did he have it with him?"


    Cideeda pulls her attention away from looting and thinks back to recent memory, lifting an eyebrow. "Um. No. It appeared when I tried shooting him with the stunner rounds. Pretty weird. Just popped into existence."


    Glancing over to Cideeda curiously, Sotalia furrows her brow. "Have you found any artifacts on him?"


    Surveying the items on the ground, Cideeda shakes her head. "No. Nothing I think is magical."


    Sotalia holds the golden, translucent disc in front of her and squints in mild disbelief. "So... you''re saying he conjured this?!"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda tilts her head to the side. "I guess. I didn''t see him do any kind of incantation. It just materialized."


    Craning her head over to Sebastian with a growing glare, Sotalia furrows her brow. Sebastian eventually notices the concentrated attention upon him and glides over to Sotalia. "Yes?"


    Sotalia narrows her golden eyes at Sebastian and takes a step forward to bring her face closer to his. "You said he FAILED out of the mage program."


    Sebastian''s eyes dart around confused with an awkward grin trying to settle in. "Uh, yes. He did."


    Holding up the golden disc in one hand, Sotalia points to it with the other. "THIS isn''t the work of a failed mage!"


    Sebastian uneasily shrugs, biting his lip, and tries to avert his transparent face. "Well, what do you call not passing your fifth year finals?"


    Sotalia''s jaw drops, and she cringes as her mind processes this information. "Wait! He made it through FIFTH YEAR?!"


    Glancing around desperately, Sebastian stumbles for a better response. "Um... Uh... Yes?"


    Sotalia grimaces sharply and shakes the disc, waving her hand to punctuate. "Fifth year is the last year for school work! The only reason for the sixth year is internship hours!"


    Lifting his hands up in the air, Sebastian struggles for a response. Dretphi steps up, taking huge breaths and long strides while recovering from the long sprint. "Sebastian. There are things you have not told us. Need to inform us."


    Sotalia motions a thumb at Dretphi behind her, keeping her glare upon Sebastian. "Exactly! While your brother sleeps, we are going to have a nice long discussion."


    Aristespha crosses her arms, straightens her posture, and narrows a glare at Sebastian. "ALL of us are going to have a nice long discussion."


    Sebastian smiles nervously, pivoting between all the unhappy attention. He only finds difference with Cideeda''s face, as she points to an electronic device freshly fished from Bach''s backpack. "What?"


    With the most innocent batting of the eyes, Cideeda eagerly inquires. "Can I have this? These are really RARE. And, I have been looking for one FOREVER."


    Sebastian grins halfheartedly as he glances between everyone else. "Uh, sure. Go right ahead. Yeah, um..."


    Cideeda giggles with sly contentment and continues to sort through the backpack. Sebastian shrinks with the walls of his party closing in and points over to the humvee. "How about we get on the road and discuss this further?"


    ----


    As the world returns to Bach''s senses, conversation hits his ears. His mind reconnects with consciousness, he assesses his situation with the faintest motions. He feels the bumps of the road shaking the vehicle and constraint of the ropes binding him. Hearing the voices of those he failed to escape, he resigns to the loss with a quiet sigh. He slowly and stealthily opens an eye to survey the area. Inside the humvee, he lies in the middle aisle between everyone. He glances up to the furthest back seat to see Dretphi laying out on the bench seat with a few pillows for comfort. In the driver''s side seat next to him, Aristespha holds onto the sword with its scabbard across her lap. Sebastian hovers roughly on the opposing passenger''s side seat. Focusing towards the front of the vehicle, Bach watches Cideeda in the driver''s seat flipping through the holographic list of music on his Universal HoloPlayer Pro. Sotalia excitedly points out a selection in the list and taps to start playing it. "I can''t believe he has a copy of this! These guys were totally my favorite band back in my gloom and doom phase."


    Cideeda chirps back with a sly smirk with her canines peeking out. "I told you this thing is amazing. And, it''s got all the unofficial modifications and unlocks."


    Aristespha sighs and groans as she reverts her attention back to Sebastian. "Back to the discussion at hand... So Bach made it to the end of his fifth year and just dropped out."


    Sebastian nods with arms crossed. "Yes. He didn''t even take the final test. Just walked away from it all."


    Sotalia twists her seat to face behind her. "You don''t just walk away from that after getting that high of marks. What happened before he left?"


    Staring towards the floor board in frowning thought, Sebastian sighs. "Something happened on an assignment he went on with his instructor and a few other students. Things went really bad. Bach was the only one to get out without any serious injuries."


    Concern flashes up in Sotalia''s face, and she focuses upon Sebastian. "What... happened?"


    Sebastian angles his head to the side and grimaces, contorting his mouth. "They ran into a Nightmare Geist."


    Silent looms in the vehicle. Only the sounds of the engine and road creep into the cab. The tension drives the swelling discomfort within everyone. Cideeda unconsciously sinks her claws tips into the steering wheel cover as her stare ahead grows distant. Bach winces as memories bubble up. Sotalia breaks the silence. "A Nightmare Geist?! They all lived?!"


    Sebastian uneasily darts his gaze around and simply shrugs at a loss. "Yes. Though everyone except Bach needed to be hospitalized to recover."


    Dretphi straightens her posture in the back seat and furrows her brow. "There are old legends my house told me. Whole towns destroyed by such creatures. Only viable option is to use magic to seal it. Secure the vessel far from anything we value. Hope nothing disturbs it."


    Cideeda''s happiness drains as something more solemn overtakes, and she goes quiet. Her breath occasionally shudders as something within occupies attention not towards driving. Sotalia notices Cideeda discomfort and gently holds her shoulder. Cideeda''s breathing calms and she pats a free hand on Sotalia''s. Aristespha narrows her eyes at Sebastian. "So, how did they... Seal it?"


    Sebastian pauses and blinks blankly. After a few false starts, he responds with a mix of confusion and uncertainty. "Sealed? It was destroyed- Maybe. No one was sure, but there was no trace of it. Maybe it just left? I don''t know..."


    Bach closes his eyes and keeps quiet with a trace of frown. Sotalia rubs the bridge of her nose in frustration and grumbles to herself. "They didn''t say anything?! Did your own brother say anything? This is pretty damn significant."


    Sebastian rests his head on his hands and echoes an ethereal sigh. "No. He''s never said anything about it. In fact, that''s when he grew distant, and then just stopped doing the whole school thing. I tried to get him to tell me. But, I could tell something bad happened and he didn''t want to talk about it."


    Dretphi settles down into the back seat again and moves some pillows around. "We may be able to help your brother."


    Sebastian twists his visage to gaze at Dretphi. "I hope so."


    Dretphi stares out a side window and squints in thought. "No. We will. Before he sounded incapable of fighting. Different now. He can fight. Just, not."


    Bach feels fatigue washing over him again. A spark of defiance furrows his brow. After a long, silent sigh, he submits with a defeated sigh.


    ----


    Bach wakes to firm tapping of a finger upon his forehead. His eyes greet Dretphi''s as she stares stoically at him from above, her platinum blonde, darker ended braids draping down. "Will you cooperate?"


    Bach takes a breath in and frowns. "Yes. I really don''t have it in me to run at the moment anyway."


    Dretphi nods and carefully lifts Bach up to seat in the humvee aisle. She undoes the many restraints on Bach. Grabbing hold of the seat to the side, he pulls himself up the rest of the way. Turns around to the open humvee side door, and slips behind the shifted seat out onto a gravel driveway. Dretphi follows right behind him and stands to her full imposing statue. Bach slowly spins around to survey the area. A single, two lane road runs through the remote countryside. The gravel leads to a well kept single level, ranch style with obvious amenities. Bach surveys the front of the house and glances behind him. "So, this place got cable TV?"


    Cideeda leans hard upon the sidecar motorcycle and pushes it past Bach and Dretphi. "Not yet! The installer is coming tomorrow, sometime between eight in the morning and eight at night. At least they''re honest about it around here."


    Bach watches his motorcycle roll up into the garage, and a very eager fvalian begins to examine it. He glances over to Dretphi. She shrugs with a slight twist in the corner of her mouth. "She has wanted one. Among other things. She refused to leave without it."


    Bach puts his hands in his emptied pockets, pushes the inner cloth back in, and shrugs. "At least it''s here. It''d be gone by nightfall if it was left in Tullachester."


    Flicking a furry away back from Bach''s voice, Cideeda perks her brow and rolls her emerald green eyes. "That''s what I said, too. Too nice to leave it out there."


    Bach plods over to the open front door, and Dretphi occasionally directs him via a firm but gentle nudge. When Bach crosses the threshold, he notices the house''s furnishings and plain decoration. Afternoon light slips through the windows and reflects upon the well-cared for hardwood floors. He walks into the big living/dining room and scans the vicinity. He spots Sotalia and Aristespha going over a document at the window bar leading into part of the kitchen. Pointing to the couch in front of a big screen television, he awkwardly smiles. "Probably best I stay out of the way?"


    Dretphi nods and motions a hand at the television. "Yes. That would be best. Maybe you can find some channels, for now."


    Bach agrees, sits down on the couch, and reaches for the remote. He idly browses the television''s settings and turns his ear towards the nearby conversation.


    Sotalia sits down on a stool and flips through a stack of paperwork. "Well, that''s the checklist. So, everything looks in order. You want to drop this by the leasing office in town tomorrow?"


    Aristespha nods as her violet eyes follow the settling pages. "I need to stop and talk to a few representatives of the local guild office for some work while we get our investigations and... Training started."


    Bach narrows his eyes at that remark, watching the television search for over-the-air channels. Sotalia drops the stack of papers on the bar counter, and guides stray red locks over her black swept back horns. "Not a bad deal for a six month lease."


    Aristespha smirks as she slides the document closer to her. "My family''s property agent recommended it, and said it would be perfect for adventurers needing a base to operate from."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form settles next to Bach on the couch. After darting his blue eyes over, Bach groans as he confirms the presence. Sebastian turns to his brother and sighs. "Look, bro. I know we got off to a BAD start, but this is important stuff."


    Rolling his voice with a growl, Bach keeps his head forward at the blank display. "To YOU."


    Sebastian throws his hands to his sides. "To everyone, asshole! Dark Lord Noxian is going to cause trouble again, and we''ve been THE group closest to stopping him."


    Bach''s lip curls, and he scoots over to one side of the couch opposite of Sebastian. "Man, fuck you. This is all about you, and I''m just being used as your fucking proxy."


    Placing the palm of his hand on his forehead, Sebastian grits his teeth with a long exhale. "BRO. This is a chance to get you in the game! Like we talked about when we were in school... All the adventures I''ve been on, you should have been a part of them!"


    Bach sighs as he flips through the channels. "Whatever. Kiss my ass, ghost of fucking failure."


    Sebastian glares at Bach, drifting opposite to Bach on the couch. "Shit, look at you! All brave now that I''m intangible and can''t kick your ass."


    The two remain silent on the couch. Both stare angrily at the television screen. Minutes later, the brothers actually pay some attention to the programming on the TV. Snapping out his stale ire, Sebastian cringes and grumbles. "Could you change it, bro? I can''t. Gods, this crap is awful."


    Bach flips the channel in search of a tolerable station and settles on the weather. "No kidding, man. Figures that be the one of the stations coming in clearly."


    Silence falls again until Bach drops his head and sighs. "Goddammit. I want to help you, Sebastian. But, holy shit, there''s GOT to be a better route than going to Noxian to get you released."


    Sebastian leans in to whisper to Bach. "That''s what I thought, too. But, Aristespha was pretty adamant about Noxian. The sword seems really tuned in on him as a source for the right magical power."


    Bach sinks into the couch cushions and lets his eyes search his mind. "Well, that''s a currently known source of that type of magical energy. But... There''s GOT to be other places. Most artifacts just need the right type of energy, doesn''t matter where it comes from. Okay, listen, Noxian is basically a conduit of really old school Elder magical energy. Rawest energy stuff. Almost all magical energy sources today are really tame in comparison to that. It''s all derived from Elder, and Elder used to be the only source for a very long time."


    Sebastian scratches his chin and nods. "Yeah. So, there''s got to be some old ruins that might still be an easy source of that Elder energy."


    Bach turns his upper body to Sebastian and gestures with his hands. "Exactly! Even if there isn''t enough in one location, there''s probably enough residual around to charge up the sword. So, we explore some ruins, find enough Elder energy, charge up the sword, get you back, and we both get back at Noxian."


    Cracking a grins on his transparent face, Sebastian waves a finger at Bach. "I''m with you on this. Either way, you still need to get yourself into fighting shape."


    Bach settles back to his half the couch and sighs. "Fine. I''ll try. But, let me try to find a better route to getting you back along the way."


    Sebastian smirks as he shifts back to his side of the couch. "Deal. Either way, it''ll be good to get you into the action."


    Rolling his eyes, Bach shrugs apprehensively. "Sure."


    Sebastian thinks for a moment and uneasily glances at Bach. "Hey, your house back in that town... Um... Do we need to do anything to handle the rent, or...?"


    Bach''s blue eyes search his mind, and he sinks back into the couch cushions. "Not really. My lease was up this month, and I already sold most of my unimportant crap to make last month''s rent. Also, I didn''t expect my deposit back when I signed up for the place. About the only thing of great value I didn''t cram into my backpack and the sidecar was the television. No great loss there, it was on its last legs anyway."


    Sebastian stares at the television. "Yeah, that place was a real hole in the wall. Plus, you''re a shitty housekeeper, bro."


    Bach shakes head and eyes Sebastian. "Fuck you. It''s called depression, asshole."


    Sebastian tilts his head to the side. "Fair enough. Honestly, I haven''t been anywhere long enough lately to really live in a place."


    Bach gazes at the television. "So, how''s the whole not-really-dead and ethereal thing been for you?"


    Sebastian scratches the back of his head of coiffed brown hair. "You know... Not bad. Not good. It''s been... Interesting. Yeah, interesting to say the least."


    Both Bach and Sebastian settle in and watch television. Channels flip as the two catch up and the other members settle into the house.


    ----


    The sun rises slowly in the early morning, dew glitters of the blades of grass, and life stirs in the forest nearby. Standing in the middle of the large field behind the house, Sotalia paces around in casual workout clothes and lectures to Bach. "Okay, so let''s find out what you can do."


    She searches around the area and points to a spot. "Stand up here. I want you to cast the standard mage bolt you learned in first year."


    Bach rises up groggily and yawns, while wiping the sleep from his eyes. He shambles up to the spot Sotalia indicates and scratches his back. She crosses her arms and aims a scrutinizing stare. Bach gestures out into the vast area of the field in front of him. "So... Any target you want me to-"


    Sotalia dismissively waves in the general distance of grassy open expanse, and rolls her golden eyes. "Just cast it in the air. It should dissipate before it hits anything."


    Bach sniffs through the morning haze and stretches his arms back out. "Okay. Sure. I think I remember those motions."


    His hands gesture through the motions of the spell, exaggerating points and drifting lethargically on others. His incantations jumble and the magical phrases butt into each other sloppily, leaving near indecipherable distinctions between parts. Narrow his faintly glow blue eyes, a swell of magical flow materializes to a perfect bolt in his palm. From his hand, the projectile flies off into the distance and bursts by hitting a tree deep in the forest.


    Sotalia glares with a fleeting facial twitch she vainly tries to suppress. "That was THE sloppiest gesturing and the worst incantation pronunciation I''ve EVER heard. But, somehow-"


    She takes a deep breath in, places her long finger nailed hands together, and releases her bubbling tension through a long sigh. "Okay. Let''s try something that is more sensitive to proper spell craft, the Hover Disc spell."


    Bach shrugs nonchalantly and goes through the motions. He pauses in the middle of gestures to scratch, yawns at parts, and leaves the verbal components out of sync at the end. A large hover disc forms without any trouble next to him. Sotalia''s glare intensifies to a glower. She pops individual knuckles of her long black nailed fingers, each snap releasing a tiny amount of bubbling frustration. "Step. On. It."


    Gazing down at the hovering disc, Bach places a foot on top. He places his weight on the disc, and it does not move, even when he lifts his other foot off the ground. The disc then glides slowly with Bach''s gentle lean towards a direction. Sotalia''s anger seeps into her thoughts and her golden eyes meet Bach''s. Just as she''s about to react, she notices the faint blue glow in his eyes. Her anger flashes over to curiosity and wonder. "Wait... That would explain it... I''ll be damned..."


    Bach stops moving the disc around and apprehensively raises a brow to Sotalia. "I''ll be damned... What?"


    Sotalia opens up her large satchel and rummages inside of it, eventually pulling out the same golden, transparent disc from yesterday''s chase. Still formed and solid, it shows no signs of decay. An evil grin grows, Sotalia''s golden eyes glint with a newfound intrigue. She pulls off her hoodie and begins stretching and humming a happy, ominous tune. Bach steps cautiously off the hovering disc. "Something happened. I''m not sure what. What''s going on?"


    Sotalia circles a finger towards Bach with a smile. "I know what you are."


    Bach freezes, nervously eyeing Sotalia as he turns his head away slightly. "What am I?"


    Sotalia arcs her back and pops a few joints. "A Direct Caster. You actually got all the way through the mage school with high marks. So, I bet they never tried looking for it."


    Glancing around uneasily, Bach fails to find a reason for the situation. "Huh? I''m not following you all the way."


    Sotalia now smiles with a spring in her step. She brushes her shoulder length red hair out of her face and around her swept back horns. "You see, those motions and sounds YOU make now, don''t mean anything to you. You don''t NEED them."


    While sorting through her satchel, she perks her brow and rests a hand on her hip. "You may have initially needed them, but after a point you just did them to pass the tests. They don''t help you get into the whole spell casting mindset anymore. Your brain just does that on its own."


    Glancing over to Bach, she grins devilishly and chuckles to herself. "I don''t think you''ve ever quite realized it... Until now."


    Bach''s eyes scan side to side in a vain attempt for an explanation. "Okay. Uh, this has just officially turned weird. Whoa, is that magical sparring gear you are putting on- Oh. Shit."


    Holding his hands up to Sotalia, he tenses up and searches the immediate vicinity. Sotalia smiles in delight and amusement while putting on gear. "You see, Bach. I''ve been teaching myself to direct cast, but I''ve never run into anyone that naturally did it. And to find someone that got through school without anyone figuring it out..."


    Bach furrows his brow and grimaces as his understanding falters. "Alright, still confused at the change of attitude here."


    With a mischievous, evil grin, Sotalia winks at Bach, holding her hand up with a tiny ball of fire forming. "I thought I was going to have to play kindergarten teacher to some oddball dropout. Instead, I''ve just gotten the sparring partner I''ve been wanting, to learn all I could WANT from. Don''t worry. If all goes well, you''ll have my respect."


    Bach''s eyes widen as his expression shatters to anxious worry, and a blue glow sparks in his eyes. "Oh that does NOT fill me with good feelings. Um, I''m really, really rusty on the magic stuff. Let''s take it slow and easy, just some of the basics and- Why don''t we have a nice sit down class and talk about things?"


    The small ball of fire fully forms in Sotalia''s hand, illuminating her face. She perks her brow and smiles at Bach. "Class IS in session. Right now, your real training begins."


    ----


    Cideeda sits at the dining table with various mechanical and electronic bits and pieces strewn across the table top. She plays with the holographic menu and flips through the contents of the holoplayer. Aristespha reads through old tomes and other scripture, scribing notes in a journal. The ethereal form of Sebastian hovers near her, examining the material. Dretphi sits on the couch, inspecting armor and other equipment. The sliding glass back door of the living room opens. Sotalia struts in with an ear to ear grin, wiping sweat off her light tan face with a towel around her neck. "That was NICE."


    She continues around the dining table, straight into the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator and pulls out a sports drink. Sebastian eyes Sotalia and then examines her previous path. "Where''s Bach at?"


    Bach steps through and drags the sliding door shut. He brushes off the small singed sections of his shirt. He pulls the loose thread from the leg of his pants, turned uneven cut shorts. And, he flexes the toes in his wet sock and glances at the shoe on his other foot. Dretphi lifts her head up as Bach plods to the couch and drops onto it, opposite to her. Cideeda, Aristespha, and Sebastian observe Bach as he stares blankly ahead. In between chugs of the sports drink, Sotalia points to Bach with a confident pose. "You did REALLY good. After I catch a shower, we''ll continue for the rest of the day."


    Bach blinks, still not moving his head. "You should treat yourself. Take a nice... LONG... Bath. Relax. Take the REST of the day off."


    Sotalia perks an eyebrow with a wry smile. "And you miss out on all this great training? I''d like to try some magic homing missiles out. Don''t worry, they''re just training versions."


    She finishes the drink, tosses the bottle into the nearby garbage can, and walks out of the room down a hallway to one of the bathrooms. Attention briefly returns to Bach, before everyone resumes their tasks. Bach stares forward still. "So... Dretphi? Does your training tomorrow include fire, ice, bolts of energy, manic gleeful laughter, and repressed emotions feeding some form of psychosis?"


    Dretphi gradually rotates her head and cocks it to the side. "No. Training weapons. Padded armor. Simple exercise routines."


    Bach nods with a neutral expression. "That sounds nice."


    Dretphi analyzes the state of Bach''s attire. "You want a new shirt? I think mine will fit you."


    Curling a lip, Bach shakes his head nonchalantly. "Nah... It''d only get destroyed. Thank you, though."


    Nodding with a hint of concern, Dretphi slides over a bottle of water to Bach on the coffee table. Bach reaches out, grabs hold of the bottle, removes the cap, and starts drinking it. Dretphi cracks a small smile out of the corner of her mouth. "Maybe after training tomorrow, we will get you battle-ready clothing."


    Bach nods appreciatively and returns the smile. "Thank you. That would be nice."

 Episode 2

    Laying on the bed in the furnished room, Bach stares above at the ceiling fan, blowing down a gentle current. A modest bedroom, quality compensates for the smaller space. Bach studies the well made furniture and wanders his gaze around the room. He plays with the alarm clock on the nightstand and refreshes himself on the functions of a dedicated device, while glancing over at his old flip aetherphone. Surveying the bedroom, he nods to himself with a faint, approving smile at the stark contrast of prior living conditions. A knock sounds from behind the door. Bach pulls himself to a seat on the bed. "Um... Come in?"


    The door opens, and Dretphi, the tall, defined Grath woman, steps in. She deftly balances a large stack of clothes in one hand and holds onto the straps of a backpack in the other. With a quick twist and slide of the hand, she places the clothes stack on top of the wooden dresser as Bach recognizes the garments. Dretphi walks towards Bach and calmly holds out the backpack. "I have recovered your belongings. I apologize that we went through them. Our practice from experience with capturing bounties."


    Bach holds his hands up in front of him with a shrug of the shoulders. "Well... I mean... I did run and try to escape. I honestly can''t blame you there."


    He grasps the backpack with both hands, pulls it into his lap, and unzips the top. While he inspects it for the major items, Dretphi drops her head slightly and sighs. "I have not recovered your holoplayer. Cideeda has it. Refuses to let it out of her possession. She is stubborn when obsessed about something."


    Bach pauses from sorting stuff along bed and gives Dretphi a slight smile. "Hey, I''m glad to get anything back. I mean apart from the holoplayer it looks like everything is here."


    Dretphi places her hands on her hips and frowns with a hint of irritation. "We may have luck retrieving it when she finds another curio to obsess over."


    Bach sighs and puts the backpack down on the floor next to the nightstand. "Honestly, I really haven''t felt like listening, reading, or watching anything lately. I''m trying to process everything that''s happened in the last... two days? Wow..."


    Concern colors Dretphi''s face, and she crosses her arms with a long frustrated exhale. "That was not how we wanted our initial meeting to go. We should have shown you respect..."


    A few moments of silence punctuate the unease. Bach holds his hands up and pulls an awkward smirk at the corner of his mouth. "Well, it wasn''t my finest moment either. Half an hour after I promised to help my brother, in his time of need... The first opportunity to actually get into adventuring... I tear off running like some chicken shit coward."


    He lowers his head into his hands, shaking his head. Dretphi examines Bach and cracks a small smile. "You are not a coward."


    Bach tilts his head up and peers over his hands with a prominent quirk of the brow. "How do you figure?"


    Dretphi thinks for moment and meets Bach''s blue eyes as he lifts his face out of his hands. "After years of little contact, your ghost brother demands you help him destroy the evil that destroyed him. He knows you have never adventured. Your brother''s party is at your front door. You have little time to pick up everything you established to join him. It seems you have no choice."


    Bach''s eyes slide side to side in thought, and he directs his intrigued gaze up at Dretphi. "That... Sounds about right."


    Dretphi nods and continues to explain. "An undesirable situation. You retreated. Hoped to get into a better position. Maybe force a change in the situation that would benefit you."


    With a sigh, Bach grimaces with a curl of his upper lip. "Some would still say I ran like a coward."


    Shifting her weight towards her other foot, Dretphi perks an eyebrow. "Some who have never been in bad situations."


    Bach tilts his head to the side and focuses on Dretphi, fighting the confusion on face. "I still might run away some more-"


    The slight smile on Dretphi''s face morphs seamlessly into a smirk. "You will not."


    Bach''s puzzlement taints with an incredulous twist. "As demonstrated, I''m perfectly capable of making a good effort to escape."


    Dretphi''s smirk edges towards a grin. "Indeed. Still here."


    Straightening his posture on the bed, Bach attempts a retort. "Well, um, I-"


    Maintaining her gaze at Bach, Dretphi focuses her steely gray eyes and directs her tone. "There have been opportunities for you to escape. You can dismiss your brother. Outrun me. Dodge Cideeda. Resist Aristespha''s magic. Hold your own against Sotalia. There is a vehicle you are familiar with in the garage. We are in an area we are not familiar with."


    Bach opens his mouth briefly as a phrase stalls out to silence and contorts his face indecisively. Crosses his arms, he slouches forward and breaks eye contact with Dretphi. He idly scans the floor while he ponders to himself. Dretphi observes carefully and resumes her breakdown. "Did not attack us. Did not try to harm us. No attempt to sabotage us. You did not look for escape routes last night. You came back from practice with Sotalia today. I stand without armor, a weapon, in my casual clothes. I do not see a desire to attempt escape."


    Bach sighs loudly and signals defeat with a slight shake of the head. He shrugs and places his hands on his knees, before gazing up at Dretphi. Confirming Dretphi''s attire of a simple dark green tank top, blue gym shorts, and socks, Bach chuckles weakly. "You got me. I figuratively and literally have nothing left to hide. As awkward and weird as it was yesterday, this is honestly the best opportunity presented to me in years. I get a chance to help my brother out. I actually can get into adventuring. And, maybe we get to keep the Dark Lord Noxian from causing some kind of world ending event in my lifetime."


    Unfolding her arms, Dretphi places her hands back on her hips. She gives a solid smile to Bach and nods. "Good reasons. The ones I hoped to hear."


    Bach winces with a grit of the teeth as he analyzes his situation. "But, I''ll be honest... I have no real idea what I''m doing. I''m just doing what little I can that makes sense to me at the moment. I don''t know if that''s a good thing."


    Dretphi darts her steely gray eyes around and wrestle an uneasy grimaces on her tan face. "A sentiment that I share these days."


    Within the quiet moment, Bach thinks and scratches his head of brown hair to briefly puzzle at Dretphi. "Not that I don''t appreciate it, but you''ve been pretty open and straightforward with me."


    Dretphi cocks head slightly and faintly twists her mouth as a few platinum blonde braids shift on her shoulders. "So have you. I hoped I would have caught you in the forest. Then, I could talk to you. Maybe explain the situation properly. I wish Sebastian had gone with my recruitment plan."


    Bach blinks away from a thought and gazes curiously at Dretphi. "Um, which was?"


    Drawing a long breath, Dretphi exhales slowly and fights against a frustrated grimace. "Lunches, dinners with everyone to acquaint you. A chore quest from the local guild to give you a sample of adventuring. An offer to join us on your terms."


    Bach nods with a mixture of mild surprise and approval. "That probably would have worked pretty easily on me. I mean... I didn''t have that much going on, and likely a lot less next month. So, why didn''t he go with that plan?"


    Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes before she returns her attention to Bach. "Sebastian is impatient. Aristespha is encouraging it."


    Bach twists his mouth, before gritting his teeth and hissing a breath in. "Yeah... Sebastian is easy to convince when routes opposite of his mind are taken."


    Genuine amusement warms Dretphi''s face. "Believe that is not recent behavior."


    Bach exaggerates a series of nods. "You are most correct in that belief."


    Fighting off a mix of discomfort and awkwardness, Dretphi sighs down a grimace, gazes down at Bach, and stiffens her posture. "Understand... The last weeks have been off. Not our best behavior."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach sorts through his mind and returns a nod with a smile to Dretphi. "Yeah. Strange times I guess."


    Dretphi glances over the shoulder towards the door. "I need to finish armor repair. Continue laundry for everyone. I wish to start on good terms. Your training with me tomorrow will be demanding. I wanted an understanding beforehand."


    Blinking to attention, Bach leans over to the side, searches around Dretphi, and scrutinizes the stack of clothes. "Wait. Did you wash my clothes?"


    Dretphi pivots to the direction of the clothes on the dresser. "Yes. They had a smell to them."


    Bach averts his eyes while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Dretphi smirks slightly with humored tint. "You need a change of clothes after what Sotalia did to your current ones. I gave your laundry priority."


    Bach holds out his shirt and inspects out the holes and damage. Prominent burn rings discolor the fabric and faint magic miasma drifts off the surface. Bach''s light skin shows through the gaps in the shirt without a sign of injury. Poking his finger out hole, he chuckles appreciatively. "Thank you. Really. I... really do mean it."


    Dretphi expresses a warming smile and walks towards the door. "We will start early. Rest up. I will fit you for armor afterwards."


    Bach watches Dretphi step through the doorway and close the door. Standing up from the bed, he moves over to the clothes stack. He sorts through the pile until he finds a shirt, peels off his old shirt, and works into the clean shirt. Bach returns to a seat on the bed, and stares out the window towards the dark evening sky. After minutes occupying thoughts, he shudders back to the present and glances around the room. Settling his attention upon the clock on the nightstand, he flops over the bed, reaches out, and plays around with the alarm settings for the morning.


    ----


    Early morning sun drags slowly across the open trimmed lawn and reflects off the drops of dew upon the blades of grass. Bach drags his feet with each step and moves towards the spot in the backyard where Dretphi stands. Wincing as the bright light from the sun catches his eye, he grumbles to himself and shudders against the last remnants of sleep. "...gods... ...haven''t been up this early in... a while."


    He groggily searches around the vicinity and furrows his brow at the plain, open space. "Huh. I thought you''d have some training gear, some kind of equipment, or something..."


    Dretphi shakes her head and straightens her posture. "Not at this time. In the future. Today, we focus on an exercise routine for you first."


    A reflexive cringe grips Bach''s face, and he drops his head in dread. "Okay..."


    Crossing her arms, Dretphi steps in front of Bach, her head craning down to find direct eye contact. "When was the last time you exercised?"


    Bach raises his head back up and averts his eyes from Dretphi''s examining gaze that follows his attempts to escape scrutiny. "Ah- Um... Well..."


    Taking another step closer, Dretphi tilts her head gradually down to finally intercept Bach''s eyes when he peers up. She stares through him. The truth finally escapes Bach, and seeks refuge far from Dretphi. "Dammit- I guess three-"


    As Dretphi''s head of platinum blonde braids tilts unconvinced, Bach swallows hard and sighs. "FOUR... Four years ago when I got on some self-improvement kick. I went fully into it for a day, ached for a week, and never did it again."


    With a simple nod, Dretphi thinks for a moment and perks her brow. "Stand up straight."


    After pondering the notion, Bach rises out of the slouch, straightens his legs out, squares his shoulders, and pulls his head back. After a minute of struggle against physically manifested bad habits, he settles into a posture with blatant discomfort showing. He stiffens his form and holds the posture along with belief waning into certainty. Dretphi circles around reaching out to adjust Bach''s form with firm but gentle directions. She stops in front Bach and tilt her head down to meet his eyes. "You may be taller than your brother."


    Bach darts his eyes around and eventually furrows his disbelief at Dretphi. "Really?"


    Dretphi stands tall next to Bach, and gauges the height difference. "Hard to judge. Very close. You need to stop slouching."


    Lowering his gaze down to his now more apparent gut, Bach wrestles his embarrassment, and a disappointed sigh slips out. Dretphi reaches a hand out and firmly pokes Bach''s midsection. "If this bothers you, do what I say."


    Dretphi pivots and steps away from Bach. He relaxes his posture and rubs the pain away from the prodded section of his belly. Dretphi halts, pivots towards Bach, and points to the ground. "Set up for sit-ups. Do twenty five of them."


    Bach blinks blankly at Dretphi. Returning a stern glare, Dretphi gestures to a clear section of trimmed grass near the back patio. Bach warily walks over to the spot, lays down on the ground with his knees up, and puts his hands behind his head. Bach breathes in and out a few times and attempts to lift his upper body up. He closes his eyes, grits his teeth, grunts, and groans. The meager momentum dies short of halfway through the sit-up. Straining in place for seconds, the remaining hold-outs of Bach''s pride and honor finally abandon him. His upper body drops onto the grass, punctuated with a sad breath forced out of him. He keeps his eyes closed, shame plain on his face. "You know you probably have exercises you need to do. I''ll work on this. No one needs front row seats to witness this..."


    Easing down to a spot beside Bach, Dretphi prepares for sit-ups. Bach hears movement beside him and opens his eyes to Dretphi gazing right back at him. "You are correct. I need to do twenty five sit-ups."


    Without a bit of hesitation, Dretphi cleanly and properly does a sit-up and calmly sets up for the next. "Your turn."


    A mix of emotions contend for a place on Bach''s face. With an exhale, Bach steels himself for another attempt. "You realize I''m about to embarrass my entire lineage."


    Dretphi nods calmly with a reassuring tone. "Let them be embarrassed now. You will impress them later."


    Bach closes his eyes, grits his teeth, and grunts as he tugs his upper body towards his knees. Similar to the prior attempt, he runs out of strength right before the halfway point. As the last bit of effort surrenders to the strain , Bach feels a hand on his back. Gradual force pushes him forward, and the extra force eases him over the halfway point. Summoning up the little strength available, Bach pulls himself the rest of the way up. Holding himself up for a few moments, he lowers himself slowly back down. Sniffing and closing his eyes, he rests upon the grass and stares at the passing clouds above him and Dretphi. "I... I knew this was going to be demanding, physically. But, the psychological... Not something I quite expected..."


    Dretphi gazes at the sky and smiles reassuringly. "When we take a break, I will tell you of my first time training with my birth father."


    Bach glances over to Dretphi and perks his brow. "Does it include embarrassing the family name?"


    Grinning slightly as she executes a sit-up, Dretphi readies for the next. "Does almost stabbing one of my house fathers with a magic sword count?"


    Bach flashes an amused expression. "I''ll count it."


    Dretphi rotates her head towards Bach. "Your turn."


    Bach shakes the grimace off to determination and attempts another sit-up, with Dretphi hand behind him as he strains.


    ----


    With his body trembling at the rising apex of a push-up, the strain squeezes the last bit of air from Bach''s lungs. "Twenty- URK. Five!"


    He collapses face first into the grass. Coughs blast long mowed grass clippings upon the ground out from under Bach''s face. Turning his head to the side, he gasps for breath and settles to exhausted pants. Dretphi swiftly switches from a push-up stance to a sit next to Bach. "Your other exercises need work. Your push-ups are not bad."


    Bach draws the strength to roll over and face the sky, and breathes heavily in his sweat drenched shirt. "Thanks... I''m just glad I... didn''t have to resort to the cheater push-ups."


    He tilts his head towards Dretphi. "I''m going to ache so much tomorrow."


    Dretphi calmly breathes deep and wipes a few beads of sweat off her forehead. She leans forward and lifts herself up. She holds down a hand to Bach. "Yes. You will be sore. You should still do the stretches I showed you."


    Bach clumsily raises a hand to grab onto Dretphi''s. He throws himself up and she pulls him up the rest of the way. Steadying himself on his feet, Bach pulls in long deep breaths. "I''ll try. But, I''ll be honest, the pain might be too much right in the morning... I''ll try in the afternoon."


    With a nod, Dretphi strolls towards the house, stretching her arms and back along the way. Gesturing Bach to follow, she reaches into the side pocket of her shorts, pulls out an aetherphone, and inspects the time after a tap on the screen. "That''s all for now. Lunch will be ready soon."


    Bach startles and snaps his head up to the sky to see the sun directly overhead. "Really?! Did I really take that long?"


    Dretphi glances back and nods. "We did walk the laps in between the exercises."


    Frowning in defeat, Bach hangs his head. "Yeah... That does make sense, now that I think about it."


    Slowing down Dretphi waits for Bach to catch up to her and pats his back. "Hold yourself to high standards. Do not hang yourself with them."


    Bach''s eyes drift along with thoughts in his head and eventually settle upon Dretphi. "Is that another one from your birth father?"


    Nodding with a smile, Dretphi sighs. "Yes. Has many. Despite all he taught me, certain he has more saved for the right moment."


    Bach tightens his smile and chuckles short of breath. "Still can''t believe you nearly harpooned your house father."


    Twisting an uneasy grimace on her tan face, Dretphi sighs and tosses back a few darker tipped platinum blonde braids over a shoulder. "My birth father warned him to not sit close when we sparred. It is not the worst that has happened to him. I have heard tales from my mother about how wild of adventurers they were."


    Lifting a hand up, Bach counts off with his fingers and ponders out loud. "So, three fathers and one mother in your house?"


    Dretphi nods plainly and nonchalantly glances over to Bach. "Yes. My mother and birth father are the heads of it."


    Churning over the concept in his head, Bach furrows his brow. "That sounds like an interesting childhood."


    Dretphi rocks her head side to side gauging her thoughts, and blinks indifferently. "I do not know. Such seems normal to me."


    Stale frustration and long buried irritation briefly rise up into her expression, and she rolls her steely gray eyes. "Only problems I experienced were from my two younger brothers getting into trouble. Having to keep them out of trouble."


    Bach nods understandingly and groans out a similar sentiment. "Yeah... I know how that can go. But, I can''t imagine what having TWO brothers would be like."


    A subtle, sly smirk grows on Dretphi''s face, and she narrows her attention at Bach with a seeking gaze. "Any tales to share about your brother?"


    Bach chuckles evilly as he flashes a devious smile to Dretphi and nods eagerly. "Oh, I got plenty. I''m sure he''s told you about his heroic exploits in High Alton?"


    Dretphi rolls her eyes and nods begrudgingly. "Yes. Numerous times. Proud of his part in them."


    A sinister grin roots itself in the corner of Bach''s mouth, and he laughs to himself as old memories rush to front of his mind. "Did he ever tell you all the time he called me at three in the morning from the bathroom of another dorm with two Fvalian women fighting over him in the bedroom?"


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes shoot open wide in honest shock, and a glint of intrigue lights up her interested gaze at Bach. She points Bach to a worn path in the grass near the house that leads away from the back patio. "Could we walk around the house first? I would like to hear this, before we back inside."


    Bach gives a simple nod and grins. "Oh. Yes. Yes we can."


    ----


    The bathroom opens and a faint cloud of steam drifts into the hallway. Bach squirms in the loose fitting shirt and shorts as he steps out onto the hardwood floor of the hallway. He flexes his body and feels out the aches between winces and foreboding grumbles. Adjusting the towel wrapped around his head of wet hair, he glances down at the dirty clothes under his arm and ponders idly while searching the area. Walking through the archway leading into the living area, he spots Dretphi sorting through laundry. Glancing up from her chore, she points to a basket. Bach tilts the basket up with his foot and reads his name written on it. "Nice. Thanks."


    Dretphi shrugs and resumes sorting through the freshly laundered clothing. "Makes it easier."


    Bach deposits dirty clothes into his basket and the towels into the community basket. "So, when do you want to fit me for armor?"


    Finishing the last stack of clothes, Dretphi sweeps it up and onto the couch. She reaches for a large toolbox nearby and slides it along the floor next to her. "Now. Stand here. Straight posture with your arms out."


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Bach side steps under Dretphi''s guidance. Flipping the toolbox open, Dretphi takes out a cloth tape measure. Standing up, she pulls out a length of the measuring tape while eyes over Bach. Tucking an end between Bach''s toes, she leads the rest up to near the top of his head. "One hundred and ninety centimeters? Hmm."


    She narrows a stare at Bach''s posture, grabs a shoulder, and pushes his lower back. Taking another measurement, she nods satisfied. "One hundred and ninety two centimeters."


    Continuing her examination, she writes down other various measurements on a notepad upon the coffee table. The sliding glass door opens, and Sotalia casually and happily strides in. "Ah... I was dubious about spending the extra coin per month for a hot tub. But, I. Am. Sold. Now."


    Pausing mid walk, she ponders the situation and studies Bach standing still with his arms out. Noticing Dretphi taking measurements, she shifts her attention to the clean laundry in her basket behind Bach. She flings off the colorful beach towel draping over her onto Bach''s outstretched arm. Strutting on by Bach in her two piece bathing suit, she curls a hint of a sinister grin. Bach blinks in brief confusion and twists his head to check the towel now hanging off his arm. He mutters to himself. "Really..."


    Dretphi leans away from Bach and motions Sotalia towards a hamper. "Got the stains out of your cloak."


    Quickly digging through the basket, Sotalia pulls out the cloak, opens it up with a flourish, and excitedly smiles. "Oh, thank you! The enchantments on this thing always interfere with any cleaning spells I try. What did you end up using?"


    Directing her voice at Sotalia, Dretphi returns to writing a few figures in the notepad and readying the cloth measuring tape. "Denatured alcohol. Worked the best. Armored fabric layer required scrubbing."


    Sotalia holds the cloak away from her, flips it around to each side, and admires it thoroughly. "Wow. That was tougher than I thought it''d be. Amazing work as always."


    Dretphi resumes her attention to Bach, takes more measurements, and writes them down. Bach stares idly forward and allows his attention to drift inwards as the late afternoon sun filters in through the back sliding glass door. As he relaxes his arms down a little, another object flops onto his arm, upon the prior beach towel. Blinking back to awareness, Bach turns his head towards the side and glances down at the new addition. Cocking his head, Bach furrows his brow and squints confused. A rush of recognition burst forward from the back of Bach''s mind and onto his face. Top to Sotalia''s bathing suit lays upon the beach towel. Bach eyes widen between bewildered blinks as other parts of his mind confirm initial suspicions. A moment later, the matching bottom of the bathing suit lands on Bach''s outstretched arm. Tensing his body, Bach carefully pivots his head forward and stares out into the backyard as the spring breeze washes over the field, keeping his eyes firmly affixed ahead.


    Sotalia''s voice oozes with a provocative tint behind Bach. "Yes... Nothing like putting on freshly dried clothes!"


    A pair of strong hands firmly grip Bach by the waist and he immediately tenses. Bach snaps an unnerved stare down. While sitting on the carpet, Dretphi narrows a suspicious gaze at a few measurements on the notepad upon the coffee table. She quirks brow, tilts her head of platinum blonde hair, and mumbles unsatisfied Grath to herself. Leading with a light, nervous chuckle, Bach inquires uneasily. "Um, what''s going on?"


    Squinting at the written measures on the notepad upon the coffee table, Dretphi grimaces with her full focus upon the math in her head. "Need to double-check measurements on your other side."


    Bach eyes the parts of Sotalia''s bathing suit draped on his arm, feels Dretphi tighten her grip, and whispers. "Um, yeah, if you can just wait a moment and-"


    Dretphi firmly torques Bach into a pivot, her attention fully upon solving the measure discrepancy. Spinning around, Bach greets the almost clothed Sotalia. Finishing slipping on a shirt, Sotalia pulls it down into place, lifts her head up with a sly grin, and playfully narrows her golden gaze. She steps up, reaches for her towel and bathing suit on Bach''s arm, and smiles while guiding dark red hair over her black swept back horns. "Thank you. I didn''t want these to pick up dust and fuzz from the floor."


    After a few moments, Bach remembers to allow air into his lungs and manages a reply. "Not a problem?"


    Sotalia strides to the hallway and exchanges a glance with Dretphi out of sight of Bach. Dretphi perks her brow at Sotalia and narrows a stare. Sotalia holds her hands up dismissively in the air in a grand dramatic shrug, heavy with playful sarcasm. Dretphi rolls her eyes before resuming business. "Sotalia. Could you bring out the backup equipment chest?"


    Sotalia stops and alternates an uncertain point between two directions. "Is it the one in the store room or the office?"


    Dretphi searches her mind for a moment. "Store room."


    Sotalia slips into the hallway, loosely grips the side of the archway, and raps her long black nails on the wooden trim. "Be right back, then."


    After shaking her head, Dretphi taps Bach''s arm. "You can rest your arms."


    Dropping his arms to the sides, he takes a few moments to roll the aches out of his shoulders. Leaning her weight back, Sotalia drags in a large metal, wheeled, machined chest of many thin drawers. "So, what are you going to put him in? Gods know, we have plenty to choose from."


    Sliding the chest closer, Dretphi slides out one of the shallow drawers and peers inside the deep space within. Bach''s curiosity leads him closer to the chest, just as Dretphi reaches her whole arm into the few centimeter thick drawer. His eyes widen in surprise and he cranes his head around for a better view. "Wow! A chest of linked aether pockets?!"


    Sotalia quickly shakes her head and rests her hands on her hips. "Nah. Expanded space frames."


    Bach moves closer to the chest and examines it. "Ah! Yeah, I''ve heard these are becoming popular. well, those who can afford them, at least. Those types of enchantments aren''t cheap."


    Sotalia gets on her knees next to the chest and opens the top lid. Beyond the magically inscribed frame, the space inside occupies a volume slightly larger than the chest itself. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and tools fill deceptively deeper space. Sotalia digs around and holds up a wearable, adjustable flashlight to Bach. "That they aren''t. We actually had a few bags of holding and a chest of storage. But, after one bag lost connection to its aether pocket, we all decided to switch over to the expanded space frames. Thankfully, Cideeda was able to work a very nice trade for our old bag and that chest."


    Taking flashlight in hand, Bach peers into the volumes beyond the framed portals. "I guess it''s better to have your stuff launch out than have the pocket drift away in aether."


    Sotalia groans with a roll of her golden eyes and shudders to a stale, frustrated frown. "You don''t know how right you are. Gods, it took Aristespha a month of her communing with spirits every night and astral projecting before we tracked that pocket down and relinked it. Almost lost my arcane book collection."


    Leaning back from the space frame, Dretphi pulls her arm out from the deep dredging and reveals what she found. "Almost lost a rare rifle in that pocket. The expanded space frames are reliable. They fail gracefully."


    Sotalia and Bach shift their attention to the object Dretphi holds. Sotalia quirks her brow in surprise and smirks as recognizes it. "That''s Sebastian''s OLD helmet. The first one I ever saw him in."


    Bach reaches his hand out to it with a smile on his face. "Wow. He kept it."


    As Dretphi passes the helm to Bach, both Dretphi and Sotalia exchange intrigued glances. Bach rolls the high tech helmet in his hands, pauses to inspect signs of battle damage, and nods. "Yeah. Sebastian spent all his summer job money getting his first full suit of armor. But... He didn''t have enough money for a good helmet. So, I did some research and got him this one. Titanium mesh construction, ceramic plating armor, a kevlar outer coat, ballistic visor, and attachable respirator mask. I did some basic magic deflection enchantments, too."


    Holding the helmet upside down in one hand, Bach clicks on the flashlight and shines a beam of light into it. "Hell, I even personalized it a bit for Sebastian."


    Sotalia grasps the helm and tips the interior to her view. Her golden eyes widen then squint as she reads the text. "With a skull as thick as yours, you probably won''t need this. But every warrior needs a helmet to hold in photographs. Love ya, you shithead. Bach."


    Dretphi leans close for a peek and furrows her brow in surprise. "I never knew this was written here."


    Sotalia settles back on her hands, shakes her head, and snorts into a laugh. "Well! That explains why he would never let anyone else hold that helmet for very long."


    Bach gazes at the helmet, rotates it around in his hands, and sighs. "Yeah. I don''t know how much he used it-"


    Pausing from searching further within the void of the expanded space frame, Dretphi glances at Bach and smiles reassuringly. "All the time."


    Sotalia grins at Bach and nods in confirmation. "Gods. You have no idea. First sign of trouble, that helmet went right on his head. It outlasted a few suits of armor. I think he was looking for a suit to go with it for a long time."


    A smile slowly grows on Bach, and he feels the battle marks upon the paint, the faint dents in the exterior, and wear in the fabric straps. Dretphi stirs around within the next drawer and glances at Bach. "There is armor that can go with the helmet. I think you should try it."


    Bach familiarizes himself with the helmet again and adjusts the fit enough to get it on his head properly. "That sounds good to me. I''ll give it a try."


    ----


    The alarm clock beeps constantly, and the sound bounces around the walls of the small bedroom. From under the bed covers, a hand emerges and seeks out the source of the jarring noise. With a groggy strike, the hand drops down on top of the snooze button. It remains motionless until it slips off onto the nightstand. Moments later, the body attached to the hand stirs under the sheets against the morning light beaming into the space, and defiant grumbles slip out with the annoyed turns under the covers. The bed linens slide away from the head board and reveal Bach''s morning adverse face. One blue eye opens and wanders towards the alarm clock. In the quiet moments with faint sounds of activity leaking in from other parts of the house, he slowly peers around the room. His barely conscious gaze settles upon a coat rack turned impromptu armor stand. Admiring the eclectic assembly of armor, Bach attention wanders between his brothers helmet, a synthetic fiber duster, composite shoulder pads, a segmented kevlar breastplate, a pair of plain plate bracers, leather gloves, combination shin and knee guards, and a pair of old alloy plated boots.


    After staring at the combination of gear balance between uncertain grimaces and dismissive sigh, Bach gazes back up at the ceiling fan, and a grin gradually grows on his light tan face. Wincing against the morning light flooding into the room, Bach finally concedes defeat to the start of the day and sits up with a great surge of enthusiasm. He freezes. His eyes widen, face contorts, and a faint strangled yelp of pain squeaks out. His seized body falls to the side on the bed. Bach groans and winces, feeling every post workout ache in his body. "...every... ...thing... ...hurts..."


    ----


    After a quick rinse from the kitchen sink faucet, Bach places a cereal bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. He stiffly steps over to the dining room table and watches Cideeda lay out weapons, boxes, tools, and other parts out upon the tabletop. Suffering through pained wince, he fights against strained muscles and settles into a chair across from Cideeda. "So, what''s your training going to be about?"


    Cideeda blinks blankly at Bach and searches her mind with a tilt of her head of short, multi-colored hair. Large furry ears on the sides of her head twitch in sync to her thoughts, she furrows her brow on her light brown face. Her ears perk and her emerald green eyes flit open with a glint. She dons a sharp smile and reaches down on the floor with a lean. Placing three small stylish wooden lockboxes on the table one at a time, she slides them over to Bach. She then balances her small frame upon the dining room chair while reaching down under the tabletop and grasps hold of something within a satchel. With a deft twirl in her hand into a flip of the bundle, she unrolls a very worn and old set of lockpicks and grins toothily. "You can help me unlock these things."


    Examining the tools before him, Bach rolls a pick between his fingers and inspects it apprehensively. "You want me to open these... With these lockpicks?"


    Cideeda cocks her head, lowers her furry ears gradually, and narrows a suspecting stare at Bach. "And... What''s wrong with that?"


    Furrowing his brow, Bach holds the pick closer to Cideeda and twists the end of the tools around the end. "This pick is almost worn to nothing! I mean, I''ll try... But, don''t expect results any time soon."


    With a sly smirk, an amused quirk of a brow, and intrigued lift of the ears, Cideeda reaches out and pushes Bach''s hand back to him with a claw tipped finger. "Good, you do have some knowledge. I still want you to try. And... No cheating!"


    Bach grumbles as he pulls his hand back, studies the arrangement of tools in the roll out set, and plucks a torque wrench from a cloth sleeve. "Fine... So, what are these anyway?"


    Cideeda carefully glides a metal chest on a thick rubber and felt mat along the tabletop and sets it up in front of her for the next operation. "Those? As far as I can figure, they''re old personal chests we found in an old ruin. They probably don''t have that much in them, especially since Sotalia and Aristespha didn''t sense anything magical. But, the chests are in good shape and early era artifacts are really popular right now."


    Bach drops his head down and studies the chests with an apprehensive perk of his eyebrow. "Really? I mean, I can understand some things. But, old chests?"


    Cideeda lifts her head up from rummaging for something below the tabletop and nods excitedly at Bach with an entrepreneurial spark in her emerald green eyes. "Oh, yeah! I''ve got buyers willing to give me a couple hundred for each one, even before I do any clean-up on them. People these days are into anything retro and antique. Even these chests, since they''re likely from the Second Period from the style and aging."


    Bach uncertainly rotates one of the small chests around on the tabletop, examines the thing in disbelief, and flashes an incredulous glance at Cideeda. "A few hundred for this? Dust and stains included?"


    Shrugging up her shoulder in her loose t-shirt, Cideeda dons an indifferent smirk and rolls her emerald green eyes with a flick of her long, fuzzy tail. "Hey, I don''t make the fads. I just sell to the people who follow them."


    Rocking his head side to side while examining the old chest, Bach nods in agreement. He focuses upon the small box in front of him and pokes around the hardware upon the container. Inserts the torque wrench loosely in the old lock, he fumbles around the inside of the lock with the pick in his other hand. Concentrating on the task at hand, he pauses in thought and waits for his mind to dredge up old lessons. Glancing up from her project, Cideeda narrows an inquisitive gaze at Bach and smirks with a prominent canine. "Need a refresher on what to do?"


    Bach blinks back to awareness and shakes his head slowly as bubbling knowledge guides his hands. "Not yet. It''s slowly coming back to me. I haven''t had to do anything like this since adventuring school. And, even then, I only got any real practice when getting my brother out of weird and really awkward situations."


    Flicking up an interested furry ear, Cideeda furrows her brow while reaching down with both hands below the dining table, her long, furry tail counter-balancing with subtle wags. "Hmm... What kind of weird and awkward situations?"


    Twisting his mouth with the growing focus on the lock, Bach chuckles lightly and squints his blue eyes at the progress of the lockpicks. "Well, I''ll tell you after I get this one done."


    Sifting through relevant knowledge, he sinks himself into the task at hand. The torch wrench applies gentle pressure on the cylinder. The pick lightly slides across the heads of pins within the device. Applying the right amount of force, a faint click sounds out and the tool shifts slightly. In the moment of progress, the unmistakable whine of a high speed motor breaks Bach from his trance abruptly. Searching around the area bewildered, Bach snaps his stare ahead. Cideeda wraps a bandanna on top of her head and pulls her short, multi-colored hair out of her face. She snatches up and flips out some safety glasses from the table. With an excited, toothy grin, she hoists up a cordless power drill with one hand and slides a drill bit into the chuck.


    Indignation manifests a sneer of the upper lip upon Bach''s face, and he holds his hands upwards in disbelief. As a sigh of disgust leaves Bach, Cideeda''s furry ear flicks towards Bach. She glances over to Bach with a confused blink and secures the drill bit in the chuck with a slow spin up. Meeting Bach stare, she wraps her claw tips around the polymer chassis of the power tool. "What? These metal chests aren''t worth THAT much. I totally can get a far better price for them after I drill out the old lock and replace it with a new one. People like the wooden ones for their looks. They seem to like the metal ones more for function."


    Glancing between the pick and torque wrench in his hands, Bach settles an incredulous stare at Cideeda and furrows his brow in disbelief. "Um... NO. CHEATING?"


    Cideeda pauses a moment, draws a smug smirk with an amused hint in her emerald green eyes. "Oh. That. You see, you are a beginner and need to learn these skills. You need the practice. But, I am an expert."


    With a swift squeeze of the trigger, the drill briefly spins up and glints against the flood of late morning light radiating into the area from the back sliding glass door. Cideeda flashes a toothy grin and a proud wink. "And, experts get to cheat."


    ----


    Examining the small, stamped gold token in his hand, Bach lifts an apprehensive brow as the faded yellow sheen glints. "Are you sure? This seems really valuable."


    Rapping her claws tips upon the small wooden chests, Cideeda nods while inspecting the construction of the lock hardware. "Yes. You unlocked all the chests and kept the locks working. That''s at least fifty or more a piece I can charge on top for them being historically intact and functioning."


    Bach ponders a few moments and then swiftly pockets the token. "Well, no objections here then."


    Cideeda rummages around the floor near her chair, her long furry tail occasionally flicking up into view. "Also, I saw how little you had in your wallet when I was going through everything."


    Silence punctuates Bach''s unamused expression, and he narrows mildly annoyed glare Cideeda. As it fades from Bach''s face, Cideeda brings up another assortment of tools up onto the tabletop. After setting Bach''s holoplayer off to the side, she places a simple rifle, pistol, a knife, and accessory pieces upon the table. Bach focuses upon his device, glances over to Cideeda searching the floor below between at the different containers of gear. When she dips down well below the tabletop, Bach slowly reaches his arm out and carefully watches Cideeda balancing upon the chair. Glancing between his hand and Cideeda''s tail twitching up in the air, he hovers over the holoplayer. Firmly planting his hand upon the device, Bach feels five sharp points digging around his forearm near his wrist. He halts in place. Spotting Cideeda''s hand, he feels each claw tipped finger curl tighter and press harder onto his skin. His stare follows along Cideeda''s arm, and he finds a soft hair filled furry ear perked him. A pair of emerald green eyes greet Bach''s blue eyes. Narrowing his determined stare, Bach tightens his grip on his holoplayer and pulls it back. The pressure from five claw tips increase with his efforts. Relaxing his grip, clawed grasp loosens. After a minute of staring deadlock, Bach releases his hold of the holoplayer and Cideeda loosens her grip fully. Rubbing his arm, Bach examines the five pressure marks still visible.


    Cideeda draws an evil, toothy grin and hoists up a victorious brow. "Not today?"


    Bach shakes his head in defeat and sighs. "Not today."


    Sitting back up in the chair, Cideeda''s grin fades to a happy smile and nods. "Good! Because, today I want to give you a gun."


    Blinking off-guard at the statement, Bach awkwardly stumbles to an amicable attitude. "Really? Okay. I mean, that sounds good. I wouldn''t mind having one given I''m not able to throw that much magic around."


    Cideeda happily perks her furry ears and slides a pistol over to Bach. "Now that''s what I like to hear. Here''s one I picked out for you. I think this might work best for you right now. We can change it up later, if you want to try something else. "


    Bach pulls the weapon closer to himself and inspects curiously. "It... It''s an Arc and Spark Plasma- Um. Damn, what model is it- Ah... Crap, um... It''s been awhile. The Plasma Power Pulse Six?"


    Fidgeting with a spark of excitement, Cideeda lifts an eyebrow and smiles. "That''s correct! And, it''s yours to use if..."


    Cautiously picking up the pistol, Bach checks the routine areas. "If?"


    A curious air hangs around Cideeda, and she dons a sly smirk. "If you can get it to work again."


    Bach sighs and continues to examine the pistol. "So, what''s wrong with it? I mean, what''s it not doing?"


    Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes and grumbles with a twist of her mouth. "Well... Sotalia says she doesn''t know. But, I think she tried experimenting on it based some guide she read on the aethernet and fucked it up."


    Gazing up from the weapon, Bach cocks his head and furrows his brow at Cideeda. "Okay. What exactly did she fuck up on it? What was she trying to do?"


    She coyly rests her chin on her hand and winks with a widening, toothy grin. "Oh. That is for YOU to find out. You seem to have some basic mechanical understanding. Now, let''s see how much you know about tech."


    Bach pinches the bridge of nose and groans with hints of hesitance. "Okay, fine. Can you at least give me some decent tools this time? Then, I''ll see if I can get it fixed."


    Sliding over a flat rectangular box to Bach, Cideeda bites her lower lip with an apologetic tone. "Well, good luck on that. Here''s the service kit I got back from her. There definitely was some struggle and frustration involved when they were last used."


    Bach flips the lid of the kit and his expression deflates to incredulous disappointment. "What the-?! I mean, I guess these will work. But, damn... I don''t know how you expect me to do these-"


    Leaning in towards Bach, Cideeda focuses her stare and bluntly asks. "Oh, I expect a little bit from you. Because, how did you do the mods to the holoplayer?"


    Bach blinks puzzled for a second and darts his confused glances around before settling back upon Cideeda. "Uh, what do you mean? I just installed the mod chips some guides recommended and did the tweaks they instructed you to do. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Just the standard stuff they told you-"


    Genuine curiosity overtakes the expression on Cideeda''s face, and she levels an honest inquiry. "HOW did you do it? I''m talking about the method. The warranty seals are intact somehow. So, the mods are installed, but there is no sign of someone disassembling it to install them. The work, from what I can tell, is ridiculously clean. You seem to know enough, and you may have done this. But, I can''t quite figure out how you could have pulled it off."


    A smug smirk emerges on Bach''s light tan face, and he confidently sits back in the chair. He places his hands together and taps the tips of his fingers, while slyly smiling. "Well, I can show you. But, I want my holoplayer back-"


    Cideeda narrows her hesitant glare and curls a lip up around a pronounced canine. Gauging the reaction, Bach furrows his brow and eases in a compromise. "In a few months, after you are done BORROWING it."


    Scratching her chin softly with a claw tip, Cideeda weighs the proposition in her mind with the sways of her tail. After some more contemplation, Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes and nods in agreement. "That, I can work with that. There''s that collection of graphical novel files I want to go through and see what I don''t have on my laptop."


    Bach holds his hand out flat, places the plasma pistol on top, then hovers the free hand over. A blue glow flickers in his eyes. Bach remains motionless save a few facial twitches for a minute. Cideeda leans forward and watches for any signs of activity. As she starts to shift back in her seat, both her ears perk and twitch towards the pistol in Bach''s hand. With a twist and turn, Bach spins his hands perpendicular to the table and slowly draws them apart. The pistol erupts in activity as it floats in the middle of Bach''s hands. Simultaneously in sequential orders, screws spin out, latches depress and release, components unlock, and pieces drift methodically away. When Bach''s arms stop moving, the components and assemblies of the pistol float in an exploded mechanical view of the weapon''s entire composition. Cideeda''s jaw drops, her emerald bordered pupils widen in astonishment, and her face brightens with sheer wonder.


    Bach grins humored and rolls his glowing blue eyes. "You know this is technically cheating. Right?"


    Cideeda holds a finger up and smirks eagerly at Bach. "Well, you are under the supervision of an expert."


    She darts her eyes around in thought and directs a hopeful smile. "After this one... Could we do a few more?"


    With a faux sigh, Bach shakes his head and frowns playfully. "I don''t know. I think I''m going to be a little busy with this. I mean, I do have to check out all these parts on this pistol you gave me-"


    Snapping her full attention to a floating component, Cideeda holds up a matching part close. "She fried the main power coupling. Here''s a spare."


    The power coupling hovers out of Cideeda''s fingers. The failed component drifts down from the hovering cloud onto the table top, and the new part moves into position. Flexing his finger, Bach slides his hands underneath the demonstration. In almost perfect reverse, the pistol starts to reassemble. Within the flurry of activity, components lock in place, pieces snap together, and screws tighten. When the bit of casing locks into place, the plasma pistol feather falls down to Bach''s awaiting hand. Switching the main power switch on, he presses the self-test button. After a moment, the pistol status lights blink different colors, and eventually they all turn on and stay green. A happy digital chirp signals the end of the self-test and tickles Cideeda''s furry ears to her enjoyment.


    ----


    Door in the kitchen cracks open to reveal a glimpse of the garage. Pushing through the doorway, Sotalia backs in, clears through it, and pivots around with a wrapped pack of sports drinks. Hoisting up the pack on the counter, she opens the fridge. Ripping open a pack with a poke into the wrapper, she loads them into the fridge and rearranges for more space inside.


    Uncertainty creeps into Bach''s voice. "Hmm. Um, something doesn''t feel right..."


    Cideeda chimes in. "You have to release the clip first."


    A faint click echoes in, and Bach acknowledges. "Ah. There we go, and it''s free now."


    Grumbling on the verge of a growl, Cideeda eases off to a frustrated sigh. "Well, shit. The sear spring bent, again! I''m going to have some words for Ralado next time I see him. That''s the second damned spring I got from him that''s done that. Well, here''s the replacement. Gods, where did he get this crap?"


    Metal contact clacks through the air, and Bach ponders out loud. "Okay. I think that''s in there as best I can get it. And so, back together we go."


    Stepping back from loading the fridge, Sotalia plucks a bottle from the pack and side steps over to the nearby counter. Cracking open the seal, she pours back the beverage, her attention wandering through the bar window into the dining area. Leaning over the tabletop, Cideeda lifts up a rifle and places it in Bach''s hands. Sotalia curiously perks her eyebrow, watching Cideeda sit down expectantly. Golden eyes catch the blue flicker in Bach''s eyes. Gawking wide-eyed, Sotalia mentally stalls out, the now floating rifle rapidly self-disassembling. A shocked gasp sucks in sports drink. Reflex squeezing her lungs, only a small portion of the beverage returns to the bottle, and the rest spews forth uncontrollably out of Sotalia''s mouth and nose. Slamming the bottle on the counter, she launches herself to the kitchen sink. Hacking, gagging, and retching, her body sorts out air and fluid between stuttering curses in different languages. Bach and Cideeda stare towards the kitchen with concern. Maintaining the floating rifle disassembly, Bach''s glowing blue eyes dart around for Sotalia. "Are you going to make it?"


    Sotalia yanks off a run of paper towels from a nearby roll, wipes the orange sport drink and spittle off her face, and vainly attempts to clean her splattered shirt. Darting in from the kitchen into the dining area, she points at the floating cloud of rifle pieces. "WHAT IS THIS?!"


    Blinking uncertainly, Bach shrugs in confusion at Sotalia''s outburst. "Uh, just something I''ve been working on since adventuring school. It was originally going to be my master''s thesis, but I never got to really show it for that."


    Sotalia draws in a few calming breaths, pulls a chair out next to Bach, and sits. She halts herself before speaking, holds up a finger, and turns her head to the hallway archway. "Aristespha! Could you come in here? Like, right now!"


    Aristespha''s voice disapprovingly echoes down the hall. "I am in the middle of an important-"


    Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia interrupts louder. "Just get in here! You need to see this!"


    Faint footsteps hit the hardwood floors, and the proper and dignified figure of Aristespha trots out into the room. "Okay. What is this all about-"


    As Aristespha processes the scene, the words halt in her mouth. Sotalia furrows her brow at Aristespha and gestures to the floating disassembled rifle. Sebastian''s ethereal form passes through the wall, and he glances around at everyone, then Bach. He finally notices the target of everyone''s attention and grins proudly. "Holy shit, bro! You''ve gotten really good at that. That''s a whole lot better than you were back in school."


    Sotalia and Aristespha exchange stares, then simultaneously grind their glares into Sebastian. Feeling a strange sensation, Sebastian shakes his head away from the spectacle and bounces his gaze between condemning stares of Sotalia and Aristespha. He settles on Aristespha and tries to present a smile against his discomfort. "Don''t look at me like that... I told you about his research! Even what it was-"


    Aristespha narrows her violet eyes at Sebastian and lifts an eyebrow. "You said he was looking into ways to take apart things."


    Sebastian motions at the hovering rifle parts pleadingly. "Well... Was I wrong?"


    Aristespha darkly furrows her brow. "No. You were correct."


    Sebastian grimaces uneasily as he reflexively shrinks away Aristespha''s cold glare. "How do you make that sound like a bad thing?!"

 Episode 3

    A pile of heavy leather bound books slaps down upon the dining table and a wooden echo bounces off the living area''s walls. Brushing off her hands dismissively, Aristespha angles a hard stare at Bach and watches expectantly. Freshly rattled from his early morning haze, Bach perks a confused eyebrow at the literature before him and glances up at Aristespha from his seat. With a swift pivot, Aristespha walks with a rigid properness to an opposing chair. Presenting a cool confidence, she settles into her seat, stiffens her posture, and locks her violet eyes with Bach. Backing further into his chair, Bach averts his blue eyes for moments to avoid the pressing glare. Aristespha draws in a long breath, folds her ivory hands on the tabletop, and dons a faint frown on her blue and gray hinted face. "I am a Master Sage of The Grand Library, caretaker and researcher of the Sword of the Spirit Realm, and specialist in magics dealing with the mind, body, and spirits. I serve as the doctor, historian, and the spirit expert for this team. None of which I expect you to learn, as those roles take significant knowledge, experience, and discipline. Any questions?"


    Bach searches his mind for a question, pauses in thought, and narrows a puzzled gaze edging close to insulted. After a tense few seconds of quiet, he points at the books on the tabletop and furrows his brow. "So, what are these for?"


    Aristespha lifts the front cover of the book resting at the top of the stack and reveals the title page and rotates the book to face Bach. "These are books that will provide basic knowledge of first aid, psionic magics, and spirits. I expect you to read them as soon as possible."


    Cocking his head, Bach flips through a few pages and blinks at the material. He returns his incredulous gaze to Aristespha. "Is there going to be a test or something? I mean, you just said I wasn''t supposed to learn all this?"


    Focusing a stern glare at Bach, Aristespha chills her violet eyes and twists her frown with subtle hints of irritation. Bach gives the stack of books a more concerned inspection between glimpse of the change expression on Aristespha ivory face. Tossing her lengthy silvery blue hair over very long, pointed ears, Aristespha groans into a sigh with a slight shake of her head. "No. There will NOT be a test. But, if you want to be a productive member of this team, I expect you to retain some of this knowledge. Knowing even a cursory amount could mean the difference between life and death."


    Mixing understanding and wariness with a nod, Bach carefully closes the book and neatly rearranges the stack. He ponders a moment and summons up honest sincerity in voice. "Okay. I''ll get right on it. It sounds important and I think I see why. And, I''ll do what I can. Uh, I can start right now if you want me to?"


    Despite the minute shifts in her expression and body posture, Bach notices Aristespha''s mood lighten with her exhale. While initially confused, Bach''s blue eyes glance around uncomfortably, and he pushes close against the back of the chair. Aristespha slides over an electronic tablet from nearby on the table in front of her. Tapping on the screen a few times, she presses a side button and sweeps up a released pen stylus. "Read them and retain the knowledge you can. That''s all I can ask given current circumstances. I want you to be prepared as we have encountered much in our adventures."


    Straightening her posture, she perks an eyebrow at Bach. "On to the next order of business... I have already filled out the information I know. But, I will need to ask you questions of a medical nature. We have found that keeping medical histories when we travel is vital, since we never quite know what clinics, hospitals, or facilities will be around."


    Bach nods in agreement and sits up in his seat at the ready. "Yeah, that makes sense. Uh, I guess ask away?"


    An ethereal voice beside Bach mockingly questions him. "When was your last sexual encounter?"


    An audible slip of breath squeezes out of Bach when he winces reflexively in shock. Blinking bewildered with a flushed face, his mental processes resume from the abrupt halt, and he snaps his head towards the source of the familiar voice. Sebastian''s ghostly face hovers with a prying grin. "So, bro? When was it?"


    Realizing the originator of the question, Bach rolls his gaze away into outright irritation. "Fuck off, asshole."


    Drifting his ethereal form down into the chair next to Bach, Sebastian smirks amused. "Morning to you, too! So... When was it?"


    Bach grimaces, defensively crosses his arms, and defiantly glares at Sebastian. The brothers stare at each other, and the silence weighs down. Sebastian rolls his eyes with an exaggerated throw his head away from Bach. "Oh! So a Not Applicable, still? Why am I not surprised?"


    Remaining silent, Bach stares sternly at his brother as a flit of irritation creeps out on his light tan face. Sebastian shrugs nonchalantly and shakes his head dismissively. "Oh, lighten up! It''ll happen for you. You don''t have to be so uptight about it. I mean, bro, I''ll help you out-"


    While smiling slyly Sebastian notices the devious smirk forming on Bach. Slowly turning his head to face Aristespha, the smirk grows to a full grin on Bach''s face. "Has he ever told you the one time I was working at the bowling alley when he stumbles in drunk or high... Maybe both? And he has each arm around an emin woman-"


    As ethereal hands desperately phase through and fail to cover his mouth from speaking, Bach pauses the story and smirks smugly at his brother. Sebastian halts his flailing arms and simmers his anger and embarrassment. "BRO. Shut. Up! Brother to brother confidentiality..."


    Bach twists his upper body with an arm upon the back of the chair and studies Sebastian transparent form glowing light red, curling fingers in frustration. Flicking up two middle fingers to Sebastian,Bach cackles while waving. "Whacha gonna do ghost boy!? Haunt me?! Too late! We''re already there! What else you go up those transparent sleeves of yours-"


    A stern and cold voice resonates throughout the room. "AHEM. Can I continue?"


    Sebastian immediately transforms back into his normal translucent, faintly blue tinted form and snaps his attention back to Aristespha. Slowly putting his hands down, Bach settles back into his seat and meets Aristespha''s violet stare. Pulling in a long, calculated breath, Aristespha addresses Sebastian and furrows her brow. "Sebastian. I am trying to get work done. You will have plenty of time to harass your brother AFTER I am done. I will only have this room to myself and Bach for another hour before everyone arrives back from chores and practice. If you could excuse yourself for a moment and attend to something else, I would greatly appreciate it."


    Accepting the cue, Sebastian hovers up out of his seat and floats towards the sliding glass door. "Okay. Sorry, dear."


    Aristespha glances at Sebastian and meets his ghostly blue eyes before phasing through the exit. She slyly smiles at him and concentrates quietly with her hand on the sword leaning against a nearby chair. Sebastian pauses, searches in his mind, and contorts his face. With a lift of an eyebrow and a gleam in her violet eyes, Aristespha grins subtly. A faint blush colors Sebastian''s ethereal face, and he contentedly smiles while coasting through outside.


    Bach waits patiently for Aristespha and idles quietly drifting his attention around the vicinity. With a sigh, Aristespha taps the pen stylus on the tablet and gazes at Bach with a professional smile. "My apologies... First question. Any known allergies?"


    ----


    Aristespha finishes writing a few last notes on the tablet. "Thank you for answering my questions."


    Bach sits back in his chair, wrestles some apprehension, and perks his brow. "Well, that wasn''t too bad. So, uh, is there anything else you need me to do?"


    Placing the tablet off to the side, Aristespha motions towards the tabletop in front of Bach. "Hold your arm out across the table."


    After a few awkward glances around, Bach unfurls his arm out over the spot indicated and opens his hand palm up. Aristespha reaches out, holds underneath Bach''s hand, and holds the underside of his forearm. She briefly drops her head and lifts back up with her eyes glowing brightly violet. Focusing upon Bach''s palm, she calmly instructs. "I would like to examine your magical ability and control. I am going to observe as you cast a few basic spells. Start with any simple light spell."


    Uncertainly eyeing his arm in the firm grip of Aristespha, Bach flexes his fingers and pushes back his hesitation. "Okay. Just curious... What are you trying to see, or find out?"


    Aristespha briefly lifts up on Bach''s arm and punctuates her serious tone with a collected stare. "I am trying to make sure that how you are presently casting spells won''t lead to serious injury, permanent damage, or other more immediate side effects."


    Morbid curiosity nudges against Bach, and he grimaces with an uncertain cock of his head. "Uh, Immediate side effects? Like what, exactly?"


    Despite the faint curl of a smirk from the corner of her mouth, Aristespha''s tone remains calm. "Rupturing of organs, self-immolation, and in some notably rare cases... Detonation."


    Bach blinks blankly with an unsettling grimace. He stares distantly inwards, and facial twitches lead to uncomfortable twinges as his blue eyes dart between mental imagery. Shuddering back to the present, he dons an awkward smile and nods understandingly. Aristespha''s gaze shifts up and narrows with a commanding tint. "Now. Cast a light spell."


    With brief, reflexive wiggles of his fingers, faint flows of magical energy rise up from Bach''s palm. A small blue-white orb materializes from the condensing haze, hovers above Bach''s open hand, casting a bright light into the area. Aristespha stares at the glowing object and momentarily closes her eyes with distinctly uncertain body language. She tips her head back with a side tilt and trains her glowing violet eyes on the small, few centimeter wide orb of light. Her stern, stoic demeanor cracks around the edges, and genuine confusion colors her ivory face. "Please release that. And... Do it again."


    Fighting an uneasy squirm in his seat, Bach searches for an answer with glances to the glowing sphere. "Ah... Um... Okay."


    He reaches out with his free hand, plucks the light orb up with his fingers, and deposits it off to the side on the tabletop. The magical object remains hovering in place. Aristespha quirks her brow incredulously and focuses her confusion at Bach. "I thought I said to release it? Did you hear me correctly?"


    A wave of worry tenses up Bach, he meets the examining stare of Aristespha with an awkward chuckle. "I... Um... Well, I can''t. I made that one independent. It''ll go out on its own in about... Ah, 30 minutes or so?"


    Aristespha''s very long, pointed ear twitches, and she removes her hands from Bach''s forearm. Snatching the glowing orb from the tabletop and she brings it in front of her face. Studying it close, she spins and rotates it around with her ivory fingers. The violet glow in her eyes brightens as she squints her stare through it. "There is a hover enchantment, surrounded by an energy containment field, wrapped in a light conversion matrix, and all within a... Structure of some design..."


    Bach sheepishly interrupts as nervousness drives his words. "Well, it''s a stabilized lattice, with a static charge so it can stick to things."


    Continuing the same intense violet glow from her eyes, Aristespha''s attention drifts away from the light orb towards Bach. Averting his gaze from the directed eye contact, Bach stiffens his posture in the dining chair and nervously explains. "You can throw it, and it''ll hover along that path until it hits something. Then, it''ll cling to whatever surface until the stored energy is used up."


    Aristespha blinks slowly and puzzles at the magical object in her fingers. Her expression drifts towards disbelief, and sparks of confusion fight for facial realty. Battling unease and nerves against the looming silence, Bach scratches the back of his head of brown hair and chuckles with a stammer. "I-I-I... I created it when I couldn''t pay the power bill one month. I mean, I just got really tired of wandering in the dark at night. So, I crafted this spell, since I had nothing better to do."


    Aristespha calmly places the light orb down in front of her and props her arms by their elbows on the tabletop. The palms of hands meet, and she rests her chin at the peak. Closing her eyes, a minute passes. She reopens her eyes and trains a studious stare upon Bach. "We will need to do different testing."


    Bach nervously crosses his arms and leans against the back of his chair. "Okay. Don''t know how to take that."


    ----


    Bach stands several meters away from Sotalia, Aristespha, and Sebastian in the backyard and glances around at the training equipment off to the sides. Sotalia adjusts her training gear with a straightening of her posture and listens to Aristespha speaking close to her ear. Bach''s head bounces between Sotalia and Aristespha, and eventually settles on Sebastian ethereal visage hovering between the two. Sebastian notices his brother''s attention and only shrugs with awkward side glances between Aristespha and Sotalia. After a few minutes, Aristespha calls out to Bach and rests her hands upon her sides. "For this exercise, I need you to dispel the magic bolts we cast at you. Sotalia will cast small training bolts. I will cast larger bolts, when appropriate. We will start out slow and speed up to your limit."


    Assuming a defensive stance, Bach raises his hands out at the ready. "Okay. Just so you know, it''s been a while."


    Sotalia playfully grins, stretches during her prance into position, and rolls the faint yellow glow between her long nailed fingers. "Don''t worry! I''ll hold your hand like a good little girl. I''ll be nice... I promise."


    Bach shakes his head and rolls his blue eyes with a faint cringe. With a few flicks of her wrists, Sotalia casts the first barrage of slow moving glowing orbs. The multi-color orbs coast roughly a meter a second in loose pairs at a time. Sotalia pauses between waves of magical flow and lines up her aim. Bach moves his hands and body to intercept the bolts, magical energy forming within his palms. When his hand nears a bolt, a pulse of energy pops and contacts the bolt. The bolt breaks down almost immediately with a faint puff of energized mist. Sotalia''s golden eyes studiously track the speed Bach counters and adapts casting and bolt speed to maintain the challenge. Off the side, Aristespha observes with her violet eyes radiantly glowing.


    Within the minutes, the pace between Bach and Sotalia ramps up to feverish. Despite demands of skill and focus, the two trade banter constantly. Sebastian excitedly watches the two and floats up for a better view. Sotalia whips a few bolts into trick shots and yells to Bach with a grin. "Oh my! Where''s all this bravado coming from? Looks like someone''s pride needs to be put into check."


    Bach dispels the wild orbs and cracks a smile in return, wiping some of the sweat from his head. "You know, that''s actually really funny coming from you. Don''t think the irony is lost on me!"


    Watching Sotalia lift an amused eyebrow with a subsequent flurry of magical projectiles, Aristespha raises her violet eyes up at the floating ethereal ghost. "Sebastian. How close is Bach to performing as he did in school?"


    Sebastian glances down to Aristespha and furrows his brow at old memories. "I''ve seen him do faster, dear. But, not by that much more. This is just above his average."


    Aristespha quickly swirls her arms and flexes hands in regimented, purposeful motions and flicks out a large potent bolt towards Bach. "Good. Time to start the test."


    The large magical projectile blazes across the yard and flies towards the other bolts. Zipping through the volley, the fast moving orb startles Sotalia when it weaves into her stream of magic darts. Spotting the large bolt homing in on his center mass, surprise flashes upon Bach''s light tan face, and he reflexively whips his hand out to intercept. The bolt crashes into the pulse of energy from Bach''s palm and briefly pauses mid flight. Another larger emission of magical flow breaks down the orb into a fine miasma. Taking advantage of the break from Sotalia recovering, Bach adjusts his stance and readies for the next onslaught with a roll of the shoulders. "Okay! I think I still got it here. Yeah... I think."


    Aristespha and Sotalia release their waves of magic Bach, and he balances his attention between the intermittent large orbs and the smaller bolt barrages. The burgeoning confidence fades when the larger bolts launch more often. With a stern and calculating stare, Aristespha throws out two large bolts. Bach''s blue eyes widen, and he grits his teeth uncertain hiss. He flings his arms to intercept the two bolts. Countering blasts of energy erupt from each of his palms more violently than before and immediately disrupts the large bolts. Bach draws in enough breath between pants and uneasily chuckles. "OKAY. I think I''m at my limit. Anything past this, I don''t got. We can stop now. Please?"


    Sotalia halts her casting and waves the remaining magic flow of her hand. She pulls stray locks of dark red, straight hair over her swept back black horns and glances over to Aristespha. "Girl, I think that should be good. To be honest, I''m actually getting a little tired. We''ve been casting a lot for a while."


    Narrowing her brilliant violet eyes at Bach, Aristespha furrows her brow and cocks her head of long silvery blue hair. "One more test..."


    She deftly gestures, chants fast incantations, and heaves both arms towards Bach. Three large orbs simultaneously rocket out in a chaotic spiral. Too quick for shock to manifest on his light tan face, Bach reflexively flings his hands out at two of the bolts and snatches them. Sparking and warping in Bach''s grip, the bolts waver against some forces and disappear. Faint trails of magical essence sink into Bach''s body. Both of Bach''s hands slap together upon the third bolt directly in front of him. In moments, it puffs away into another fading cloud of miasma. Bach shakes off his hands out while panting heavily, and eyes Aristespha suspicious with an uneasy curl in his frown. "Wow... Uh, yeah... Could you warn me next time! I''m pretty tired, and I haven''t dispelled that much in a long time. Really not ready for that much right now."


    Sebastian zip right in front of Bach and grins proudly. "Holy shit, bro! That was awesome! Oh man, that took me back to training back at school. We''ll have you back in fighting shape in no time if you keep it up like that!"


    Bach hangs his head down with a smile as his brother hovers around him. Sebastian tries to pat him on the back, but retracts his ghostly hand when it starts to pass through. Lifting his head up, Bach chuckles at the praise and encouragement from his brother and smirks at the attention. Sotalia and Aristespha gawk in shock with jaws agape. The violet glow fades in Aristespha''s eyes as her attention shifts to other thoughts in her mind. Sotalia blinks blankly and slowly turns to face Aristespha with a narrowing, golden eyed stare. "That was... Was that... A complete spell decompilation he did right there?"


    Genuine bewilderment overtakes Aristespha as he furrows her brow in disbelief. She gradually puts together a cohesive thought into voice. "Yes. Three of them. In under two seconds."


    Sotalia sidesteps close, pivots in front of Aristespha, and gazes quizzically at her. "What... What were you trying to test? Was it this? That''s really rough test to throw at someone who hasn''t been in the game in-"


    Aristespha''s very long, pointed ears twitch, and she arrives back to her senses. Shaking her head at Sotalia, she dismissively waves off the idea and frowns with a confused tinge. "N-no! I was trying to flush something out to the surface."


    Sotalia leans closer and lowers her tone to a whisper. "Like what? This was a surprise, so what were we hoping to find out?"


    Aristespha draws a thoughtful breath in, and her violet eyes search her mind for a proper explanation. "There is a strange feel to how he flows magical energy. I don''t quite know much more. My hope was that putting a little stress on him would reveal more. Well, specifically more about his flow control. THIS was unexpected."


    Sotalia crosses her arms, straightens her posture, and glances back to Bach and Sebastian talking. She raps her fingers on her light tan and dark gray patterned arm while watching. She returns to face Aristespha and perks her brow with intrigue and curiosity blatant on her face. "Now, I wonder what spells he''s developed. He has to have a few that use his abilities specifically. That might reveal a lot more than just testing for things we don''t know to... Or, even HOW to test for?"


    A proper and collected facade reforms on Aristespha. A sly smile sneaks out for a moment, and she settles her attention upon Sebastian. "Sebastian? You once told me about a particular spell of Bach''s you liked? What was it?"


    Summoning up a graceful dignity, Aristespha strides over next to Sebastian''s visage and beams a loving smile to him. Sebastian meets Aristespha''s gaze and pauses from playfully hassling his brother. He thinks for a moment and glances over to Bach with an excited grin. "Bro! Can you do the D-Ball right now? Oh, please tell me you can pull that one off!"


    Bach drops his head with a sad, embarrassed sigh and rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. He lifts his head back up shaking. "Sorry. No can do,. man. I''m really out of practice with casting anything that powerful. That''s going to take me some time to get back to casting that."


    He halts and his eyes light up. Bach smiles with hope and holds his hands out to Sebastian. "Wait. I got enough left in me for a Plasma Bolt. That''s one I can do."


    Sebastian ethereal form drifts next to Aristespha as Sotalia joins them, and he points at Bach. "Dear, this one is pretty cool. We used this one to get through a whole section of the fourth year team assessment tests."


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Bach scans the vicinity and finds a thick steel plate hanging in a frame, off in the side yard with the rest of the target practice setup. He plants his feet, extends his arm out, and holds his hand up. Remaining still, he silently concentrates. Air swirls into a point above his palm and condenses to a mist, while a faint glow forms around the growing haze. The white streak in Bach''s hair rises up with the charging of the atmosphere surrounding. With a loud, low thump, his brown hair drops back down. The air chills with faint specs of glinting frost. The compressed mist ignites above his palm. A low hum emerges from the background noise and the contained haze glows red. The mist glows brighter, and the color shifts to white while the noisy pitch rises. In seconds, the orb glows a bright, brilliant blue and whines inaudibly. Bach orbits his hand behind the orb and guides the magical energies with a careful aim. Bracing his hand with the other, Bach stabilizes the energy orb as it spins up fast in place. With a loud crack and boom, the newly formed plasma bolt streaks across the yard and bores into the steel plate. A mix of vaporized steel and plasma explodes from the front and erupts out the back. The remaining mass of the bolt bounces off the ground and dissipates in an expulsion of leftover gasses after a few more bounces.


    Bach stumbles back a few steps and tips himself forward. Regaining his balance, he rests his hands on his knees and grimaces with gasp through his clenched teeth. He straightens back up, shakes his hand vigorously, growls out. "OW! The damned thing launched too fast! Shit! It broke the sound barrier next to my hand. Dammit, that crap stings! Gods, I can''t feel my fingertips..."


    Sebastian glides eagerly to Bach and laughs with a grin. "Some things don''t change. I thought you''d figure out how NOT to do that by now."


    Rolling his blue eyes, Bach winces while flexing his fingers. "It''s not that easy, man. Release it too slow and you burn your fingers from the heat when the containment bubble drops. Better to just send it as fast as possible and hope for the best."


    Aristespha and Sotalia watch with genuine intrigue and furrowing impressed stares. Sotalia rests her chin upon her propped up hand and glances at Aristespha with a sly grin. "I think he can do a simple mission with us. I mean, he''s not completely helpless. There''s some potential here."


    Aristespha nods slowly and crosses her arms with a thought twist of her mouth. "We will need to check with the local guild office. There should be a few quests in the area that should work. We also need to stock up on some supplies. It has been too long since we have really taken inventory and replenished."


    Sotalia puts her hands on her hips and perks her brow. "Cideeda mentioned seeing a few good places we could check out when she was driving through town. I think a group trip into town this weekend would be perfect."


    ----


    Finishing a leftover piece of bacon from breakfast, Bach flips a page of the First Aid handbook upon his bed. His blue eyes wander down the page, drag upon long segments of biology, and backtrack after halting on terms. Furrowing his brow, Bach mulls over the concepts between blank stares at the dense literature and peels back the previous page in a hunt for context. Sebastian passes his ghostly upper body through the window above Bach and gazes down with an incredulous lift of his eyebrow. "Bro, it''s a nice day outside. What are you doing in here, still? There''s, like, stuff and things you can do out there."


    Resting the book open on his chest, Bach tilts his head back and glances up at his brother. "After all the crash course training this week... I''m really enjoying not doing anything right now. And, I''m still kind of sore in spots."


    Sebastian pulls the rest of his ethereal visage through the window and coasts to rest down next to Bach on the bed. "So, what are you reading anyway?"


    Bach flips the book up and turns it to the cover towards Sebastian. "Not a bad read so far. Pretty dry, but it''s not like I was expecting a psychological thriller or something."


    Recognizing the book, Sebastian wanders gaze back up to the ceiling and wrestles a smirk on his face. "I mean, it''s not bad as far as text books go. It''s one of the few books Aristespha made me read I actually liked. Pretty useful stuff to know."


    Bach quirks his brow, pauses in thought, and slides his blue eyes into an inquisitive stare at Sebastian. "So... I guess you and Aristespha are pretty serious? Just from my observations so far."


    Contorting his face into an uneasy grimace, Sebastian groans out a wavering sigh. "It''s complicated."


    Rolling his eyes away from his brother, Bach flops the book back down. "Gods, really? Why is that always the case for you? It''s complicated. Like how this time?"


    Sebastian throws his arms up in the air and narrows an indignant glare at Bach. "Yes, it is! Bro, here''s the breakdown. Aristespha is the fifth child in a moderately powerful Evuukian House."


    Bach interjects and posits. "So, like, powerful enough to control some industry or a bunch of land, but not that many votes on the whole Council thing?"


    Sebastian nods in agreement and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, pretty much. I think her family gets five or something votes instead of the default one all the minor ones get."


    Crossing arms, he leans close to Bach and explains quietly. "So, anyway... She''s the fifth child. Which traditionally means all her older brothers and sisters have taken all the cushy positions in the family affairs and drained the coffers of any easy money for upper tier school tuition or even investment capital. So, with no ruling prospects and no easy money, she goes to a discount adventuring school."


    A thought jumps across Bach''s mind, and he narrows an uncertain glance at his brother. "Wait, she didn''t happen to go to our-"


    Sebastian waves off the statement and chuckles lightly. "Nah, bro. She DID go to one of the sister schools in some Evuukian lands. Completely aced everything as medical mage, and she got a fellowship to The Grand Library. Enjoying it all. Understandably a little sad that the family doesn''t give shit about her accomplishments. But, hey, no political bullshit to deal with."


    Bach nods and sighs with a grimace. "Yeah, I mean if there''s going to be any benefit, that''s not a bad one. Still, that''s crazy about her family. Medical mage programs are pretty brutal, and The Grand Library just doesn''t hand out fellowships... I mean, usually people have to donate more than what the fellowship pays to get those."


    Shaking his head, Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes. "Shit, I know! Mom and dad would be thrilled to death if we managed to be janitors at The Grand Library. So, yeah... She gets in. She''s studying ancient history for old medical spells, and just has the TV on for background noise. One of those goofy ghost hunting shows had a marathon running. She notices that some of the supposed ghosts are actually spirits. And they weren''t trying to scare people off by yelling gibberish but begging them to stay in their ancient, forgotten language."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach sits up and searches his mind as the significance sinks in. His face blanks and he ponders the notion further. Astonishment fills Bach''s face, and he looks back to his brother. "Wait... Holy shit... That was her?! I remember reading up about some new line of research over at The Grand Library about investigating popular media for signs of spirit activity."


    Sebastian drifts up with a proud grin and puffs up his chest. "She wrote the grant proposals, dove head first into spirit studies, and hit a few ruins. When she came back, she brought back more historical records in a year than some of the Elders ever did in ten years."


    He leans close to Bach and whispers behind his hand with a smirk. "Though, good luck getting any of them to admit it."


    Catching Bach''s understanding eye roll, Sebastian settles his visage back upon the bed. "But, they made her a Master Sage on the spot. The youngest one EVER."


    With a righteous undertone, Bach nods in agreement. "Well, hell yeah! I mean, you make a discovery like that, you should get some recognition. I think you deserve that much."


    Sebastian darkly sighs and frowns as his eyes drift down. "Yeah... Recognition she got alright..."


    Noticing the drastic change in tone, Bach focuses on his brother with a quirk of an eyebrow. After a few moments, the problem dawns upon Bach. "Aw, dammit... I think I know where this is going."


    Sebastian nods grimly and draws in a long ethereal breath. "Yep. The whole family recognized that achievement. Everyone now paid all kinds of attention to her... And, specifically, her achievements to tout to the other families. What''s worse is the first major research assignment entrusted to her was the Sword of the Spirit Realm. It awoke and said it was instrumental to destroying Lord Noxian... The world''s latest pain in the ass."


    Bach holds his mouth briefly and slides his hand down to his chin. "Wow... That''s some crazy Murphy''s Law bullshit."


    Sebastian shakes his head frowning. "I know, bro. Gods, I was really hoping we''d defeat Noxian. Then, the Sword''s quest is done! We return the damn thing back to The Grand Ol'' Library, and go adventuring far from the fanfare. And..."


    Bach cranes his head around, and sees his brother''s somber face hung low. "And?"


    Sitting up with a faint hope in him, Sebastian rests his hands on his knees. "See if she would be willing go official and public about our relationship. It''s not easy given how a lot of evuukians are adamantly against any kind of intermarriage. Disowning family members is not uncommon. But... Despite all the bullshit, she does still care for her family."


    Bach straightens back up and sorts through the drama in his mind. "Well, maybe the man who killed Noxian would have gotten a free pass? I don''t know. But... Damn. Just, damn, man. That''s her call on that front and a hard one."


    Sebastian lowers his face into his hands and groans. "I know. So, I haven''t really brought it further up to her, since I''m not going to put that kind of pressure on her. But, holy shit, I will be at her side the day she decides to tell them to deal with it."


    Bach draws a smile and gazes at his brother''s ghostly visage. "You know. I never would have thought you''d go for someone so serious... So seriously?"


    Shaking his head, Sebastian chuckles and leans towards Bach. "Don''t let that proper and uptight appearance fool you. She''s just as crazy as I am, and it''s amazing!"


    Bach holds his hands up and twists his head away slightly. "Alright. I''ll take your word on it. But, I really don''t see it."


    Sebastian simply shrugs with an uncomfortable, wavering grumble. "So much for those plans. I gotta get myself back together again, before I even worry about all that."


    Pivoting on top of the bed, Bach sides to the edge and places his feet on the floor. He laughs to himself and wrestles a frustrated wince. "Yeah, you''re not the only one with plans that got wrecked."


    Sebastian''s visage floats around in front of Bach, and he narrows his concern. "Hey, bro... I''ve been a real dick in pulling you into all this mess as hastily as I did. I promise to work with you and make things right and all-"


    Bach waves his hand up and halts Sebastian midway. "Whoa! Hold up... Let me finish, man."


    While Sebastian hovers nearby in curious anticipation, Bach draws in a deep breath and concentrates on his words. "I hoped that you would have defeated Lord Noxian. Because after all the fanfare was over and your group resumed normal, simple adventuring... I was going to ask if you''d let me join up."


    Sebastian yanks his head back in sheer surprise and shudders at the full realization. "R-r-really?! I thought you didn''t want to do the whole adventuring thing? Not risking your life and all that?"


    Exaggeratedly shaking his head side to side, Bach groans. "No. No. No. That was just some bullshit I spun to hide the real problem. You know that encounter with the Nightmare Geist?"


    Nodding his head slowly, Sebastian furrows an inquisitive brow. "Yeah."


    Bach sniffs in a long breath and sighs. "It left me a lame mage... I... I just... I just couldn''t tell people that, especially not mom and dad."


    A distant glare at some point beyond the room masks Bach''s face. Tears run down when he closes his eyes. Sebastian reaches out for Bach''s shoulder, watches his hand through, and musters up all his encouragement into his voice. "Well... That''s obviously changed... Which is fucking awesome!"


    Bach dons a determined grin and chuckles. "Yeah. Something has changed. Gods, it took me over five fucking years to figure it out. But, I think I got a way, again. I just wanted to join you when I at least had it working decently enough, first. No sense in just being dead weight when you all were in the midst of chasing Noxian around."


    Sebastian shines brightly with an ear to ear smile. "Bro, I think you''re more than decent enough right now. Hopefully, Aristespha finds a good local job soon, and we''ll get you on your first real quest. It''ll be good experience, and I''m sure you''ll figure it all out soon enough."


    Bach rubs the back of his neck and contorts an unsure expression on his light than face. "Uh, you think I''m ready? It''s only been a week of training and-"


    Laying back and drifting in the air, Sebastian laughs and waves off the concerns. "Ah, bro... Don''t worry. Simple task. Nothing too fancy. I looked over Aristespha''s shoulder when she was browsing the job listings. There''s a bunch of ruins in the area the county needs adventurers to check up on to make sure nothing moved in, or awoken there the last few years. Usually, you go out there admire the architecture, take a few pictures to confirm nothing has changed, and then go home for the day."


    Bach tilts forward off the bed and nods. "Yeah... That sounds good."


    He cracks an eager smile and snatches his boots over to him with a swing of his arm towards the floor. "And, you know, you''re right. It''s a nice day, I should at least take a walk outside. Go see what everyone is up to."


    Sebastian floats off towards the bedroom door and glances over to Bach. "Speaking of which, I''m going to go see what Aristespha and Sotalia are up to. They''ve been studying magic articles all morning and talking about a light orb spell or something?"


    ----


    Kneeling next to the steel plate in the side yard of the ranch style house, Dretphi inspects the frame holding the target at an angle. Cideeda reaches into her tool bag''s front zipper pocket and retrieves a micrometer caliper. Examining the hole straight through the steel, she furrows the brow on her light brown face and picks at the charred edges with a curious claw tip. She measures with the caliper, narrows her emerald green eyed gaze, plops to a seat on the ground with legs stretched out and flick of her furry tail. "What put a twenty five millimeter wide hole through thirty millimeters of steel armor plate?!"


    Dretphi investigates the outer rim of the hole and feels the surface of the metal. "Not a kinetic projectile. This was melted."


    Groaning contemplatively, Cideeda lays back in the grass and huffs with a twitch of her furry ear. "It couldn''t have been magic, at least not any magic we use. Aristespha doesn''t care much for those types of spells. And Sotalia wouldn''t be able to put that clean and round of a hole into the thing. There would just be a molten pile of slag and a small forest fire."


    She throws out her arms to the air with her upper body and motions to the target. "I mean, this looks like the work of an anti-armor plasma cannon."


    A familiar voice sounds out nearby Cideeda and Dretphi. "Well, I kind of modeled the spell after one."


    Cideeda''s tail twitches, her ears flick, and she glances back to see Bach standing behind her. Twisting and twirling herself up in an agile display, she hop ups and stands in front of Bach. Crossing her arms, she aims an inquisitive gaze up to Bach and flexes her toes claws into the dirt. "Really? Now... Mind you, I''m not mad. I''m just disappointed I wasn''t here to see it happen. That had to be quite a bit of power."


    Tapping the steel plate to a faint resonate ring, Dretphi stares curiously at Bach with traces of disbelief. "One of your spells did this?"


    Bach slouches as the embarrassment and hangs his head with guilt. "Yeah. Sorry about the plate. I got a little carried away yesterday showing off. Sebastian and I got caught up in talking about past stuff we''ve done and some of the old spells I know..."


    Cideeda glances over at the plate and snorts with a dismissive, toothy grin. "Ha! Don''t worry about it. The plate was doomed the day I bought it from the scrapyard. Dretphi and I are going to sight her anti-armor rifle with a new scope we picked up some time ago today. There''s a few targets around I set up at different distances, down safe fire lines."


    Dretphi points over a heavy frame off the side nearby, similar to the one suspending the metal plate. "We use paper targets in front. Hang the plate at an angle behind so the rounds bounce into the dirt."


    An embarrassed grimace grips Bach, and he walks over to the metal plate. "Ah. Shit. Um, let me fix that, then. Don''t want any bad ricochets off that hole."


    As she stands up to her full imposing height, Dretphi smiles and calmly waves off Bach''s concerns. "It is okay. That hole should not cau-"


    With a perk of her furry ears, Cideeda raises up a clawed finger towards Dretphi and flashes a sly, toothy grin to her with a wink. "Let him fix it, since he did offer. I''d like to see this."


    Bach eases down to his knees in front of the steel plate. Glancing over the area, he picks up one of the larger chunks of steel slag poking out of the short grass behind the target. A blue glow flows into his eyes. With a flick of the wrist, the large chunk floats out from Bach''s hand and hovers steadily. He guides the chunk near the ground and sweeps around near the steel plate. Small specks and bits of steel pop out of the grass and tumbles upon dirt to join the chunk. The collection of metal merges into a larger mass. Eventually, the sounds of scrap impacting the collection silence. Bach opens his free hand near the hole in the plate and closes his eyes. The metal around the hole morphs slowly. The entry and exit edges warp flush with the rest of the plate as the interior of the hole smooths. Bach opens his glowing blue eyes and concentrates his stare upon the hovering, steel fragment collection. An orange-red glow brightens within the gaps of the bits, and the mass melts into a fluid ball. Directing the molten orb into the hole in the plate, Bach guides ooze into the gap. A smooth plug forms and cools seamlessly to the edges. The heated glow radiates out from the middle of the plug to the outer edges, briefly glowing brighter before fading completely.


    Waiting a few moments to collect himself, Bah wipes the sweat off his forehead and releases a worn breath. He stretches his legs out from underneath and sits down on the grass. "That should do it. Unfortunately, I couldn''t find every little bit I blasted out, so there''s an indentation on the back of the plate. Got most of it though..."


    Blinking blank as his words wane to confused silence, Bach eyes Dretphi and Cideeda to either side of him. Both Cideeda and Dretphi stare at the plate in awe. Bouncing a gaze to either side, he settles his attention forward. A large hand rests on Bach''s shoulder, and Dretphi leans in with an enthusiastic smile. "Your training now includes armor repair work."


    Another smaller, clawed hand lightly grips Bach''s other shoulder. Cideeda''s sly, toothy grin widens, and an eager spark lights up her emerald eyes. "You are going to save this team so much money on repairs and replacement parts. I hope you are prepared to make a lot of money by fixing up and modding all the extra gear we pick up for sale."


    Bach closes his eyes, grimaces uncertainly, groans with begrudging acceptance. Dretphi pats his shoulder and smiles comfortingly. "Do not feel bad. Your value to the team grows. More you can contribute to our efforts."


    Grumbling to an annoyed wince, Bach lowers his head and sighs. "Yeah... Sure... As a magical multi-tool."


    Cideeda playfully squeezes Bach''s shoulder and chuckles with a wag of her tail. "Hey! That''s not a bad thing to be. You don''t see those other two mages pulling shit like this off. Anyway, we''ll make it worth your while. You want to shoot guns with us?"


    Bach rocks his head side to side in deliberation. After a few quiet moments, a humored smirk cracks out the corner of his mouth, and he quickly nods. "Yes. Yes, I want to shoot guns. That sounds fun."


    Cideeda springs up eagerly with a hop to her step. Dretphi rises up and offers an assisting hand to Bach. After getting pulled up, Bach joins Cideeda and Dretphi as the group sort through ranged weaponry.


    ----


    Leaping over the couch arm, Sotalia vaults onto the nearest cushion. Searching under the random things on the coffee table in the living area, she snatches up the remote and flips through channels on the TV. "Gods, dammit... Hey! What station is it around here?!"


    Cideeda leans on the dinner table scrolling through a holographic schedule listing from the holoplayer and directs her voice over. "Channel three dash ten!"


    Squinting at the numbers appearing on the screen, Sotalia presses the right sequence. Dretphi scoots over behind the coffee table and settles on the middle cushion. Placing a large bowl of popcorn on the tabletop, she scoops a handful for herself. Brushing off some fuzz on her casual clothes, Aristespha glides into the nearby reclining chair and pulls it back, releasing the footrest. Cideeda scrambles into the remaining spot on the couch and eager stares at the display across the group on the wall. Bach wanders into the area, pans a gazes over everyone, and cocks his head. "Okay... What''s going on here?"


    Cideeda sweeps up a handful of popcorn and explains to Bach in between bites. "The two hour premiere for the... New season of the Next Adventurers of Nexus is on tonight!"


    Sliding over a chair over from the dining table, Bach sets up next the couch and furrows his brow curiously. "Huh. I''ve heard of the show before. I''ve caught it a few times on bar TVs. I''m kind of surprised you all watch it."


    Propping her socked feet onto the coffee table, Sotalia stretches her arms back and sinks into the couch. "Gods, it''s a total shitshow. But, we can''t help but to watch the trainwreck each season. It''s one of those guilty pleasures and all. I wonder what incompetent mage they got this time around."


    Phasing through the wall above the couch, Sebastian glances around eagerly between the group. "Hey! Did I miss anything?"


    Aristespha shakes her head and spreads out a blanket over her. "No, Sebastian. They just got done with the introduction. They haven''t even announced the new party."


    Bach leans back in his chair expectantly with an apprehensive perk of the brow. The entire gathering quiets down when the announcer on the television screen goes into his routine.


    "Welcome everyone to the new season of the Next Adventurers of Nexus! We have an amazingly diverse party to follow this season! Without further ado, let''s get to know our Adventurers! Hailing fresh out of school from High Alton, Chad Bosch!"


    The show cuts to a montage of pre-recorded segments of all this season''s cast with extensive editing and special effects. The other visual bits fade away until it zooms on a brightly smiling muscular human with well kept, short brown hair.


    "Hello, people. I''m the heroic, all mighty leader of the Flames of the Phoenix adventuring group. Let us fight your fires with our fire!"


    Struggling to contain herself, Sotalia snorts out in a cackle. Aristespha visibly cringes with a grimacing eye roll and averts her violet gaze. Snickering with a sharp grin, Cideeda shakes her head and combs the fur on her fluffy multi-color tail. Dretphi simply groans into a sigh. Sebastian glances over to Bach and points at the TV. "So... This is why we don''t have a team name. Period. I used to want one. Then, I saw one episode of this. Now, I''m just happy to have the registration number only."


    "A choice slogan for sure there! Next on the roster is Tassilda Evernia, the Emin enchantress!"


    The show cuts to a shapely, voluptuous woman with long raven hair, swirling horns, and piercing blue on black eyes. She tosses her hair back over the shoulder with her black nailed fingers and reveals more gray, patterned skin under her form fitting robes. "No one can escape my charms... And my spells."


    Aristespha incredulously quirks a brow and cocks her head to the side. Sotalia disapprovingly contorts her face and narrows a glare at the screen. "Gods... That one is just trouble. I can feel the sheer bitchy through the screen."


    "Magic we have! But, what''s a party without some muscle? Here to lead the charge into battle is Trakenthin Stakken Olig Brecomin, the Grath warrior!"


    The camera starts at the midsection of a large Grath man and tilts up to his face. He maintains a deadpan, stoic expression on his dark bronze face and stares unmoved at the camera. After a long drawn out silence, a single, loud grunt sounds out from him, and he glares at the camera as it backs away. Dretphi pinches the bridge of nose as flits of aggravation trickle out onto her tan face. Flashing an ireful glare at the screen, she twists her head side to side, works her irritated tension, and tosses her platinum blonde braids. "Our native language contains more words than other languages. A palette of diction at his disposal. He... Grunts."


    Sotalia and Cideeda pat Dretphi on the arm and playfully sooth her frustrations.


    "Truly, a stunning, poignant statement... Next on the list is the infiltration specialist, a mysterious Evuukian, Modoran Lotherin!"


    A nicely dressed Evuukian man steals the scene. He stands prominently, his dusky bluish gray skin contrasting his white hair. Brushing back his locks from his face, he reveals his long, pointy ears and smirks smugly with a nonchalant posture. "I''ve put my abilities towards the greater good, in spite of my Dark Evuukian heritage."


    With sharp wince and eye twitch, Aristespha reflexively blurts out. "Oh, bullshit!"


    She crosses her arms under the blanket and tilts her head back, swelling with indignation and contempt. "It''s bullshit! There hasn''t been a Dark Evuukian in Nexus since the last cataclysm! Gods damned children these days... Just because you have dark skin does NOT mean you have ANY ancestry to those raving, back-stabbing, psychopathic head cases! It is a complete misnomer from a bad translation into Americ!"


    Listening attentively to the grumbling stream of Evuukian curses under Aristespha breath, Sotalia snickers with an amused smirk. "Oh, girl. Tell us how you really feel, why don''t you?"


    Aristespha squirms back into the couch chair and shakes her head with a disgusted roll of her violet eyes.


    "An enthralling back story, I''m certain... Finally! The last in the pack, but the one who you want to watch your back, the Fvalian healer, Deedri Preetta!"


    Blinking in sheer disbelief at the screen, Cideeda gawks with her jaw hanging open. "Is... Is... Is that bitch wearing a bell around her neck? Someone else is seeing this, right?!"


    The TV shows a very excited and young Fvalian woman with auburn eyes hopping around energetically, waving to the camera. She neatens up an extravagant top matching her long skirt. Light from overhead glints off of medical magic script decorating her attire. Rings sound out from the bell necklace around her neck. She holds out a peace sign briefly and gestures her hands up in cat-like gestures. "Meow! I hope they never need me, but I''ll always be here to patch everyone up in no time!"


    Watching Cideeda flop back into the couch cushions, Bach waits for pause in her grumbles and inquires with a light tone. "So, uh, how many years did that set back the perceptions of Fvalians?"


    With an annoyed hiss, Cideeda rolls her eyes and speaks through gritted teeth. "About fifty, if she doesn''t keep the damned stupid cat routine up."


    "For this season to mix things up, we''ve decided to set our adventurers out in new territory! Let''s see how their first day went..."


    The show fade cuts to a discussion between party members on their drive down the highway. The camera focuses on a grand roadside sign, and an odd silence presses down upon the room when the fanciful "Amaranth Valley" script into clear focus on the screen. Bach glances around to the stunned looks and furrows his brow in thought. Reading the sign, he cracks a mean smirk and glances at Sebastian. "So... I''m guessing this is a sign I missed, because I was asleep when we all drove through?"


    With an awkward smile, Sebastian uncomfortably nods. "Yep. That''s the big town we''re technically in the city limits of."


    Bach returns to watching the TV. Flashes of indecision and uncertainty play out on his face, and his attention wanders between his thoughts and the drama flare ups on the show.

 Episode 4

    The ancient military machine rolls down the two lane highway, falling in line with other traffic approaching the thickening civilization surrounding. The powerplant within the humvee settles to faint, constant background whine, and the vehicle coasts down the gentle curves bordered by thinning forests and thickening stretches of residential. The road widens to four lanes right before long rows of small business fences in the highway. Sebastian floats within the middle aisle of the cab inside the humvee. "Okay, everyone. Here''s the plan. Aristespha, you got medical supplies and digging for any kind of info about the ruins in the area."


    Flipping through a menu on her tablet, Aristespha taps in a few entries on a checklist and nods. "Any problems with the self-adhesive bandages or the quick patch spray I got the last time?"


    Dretphi shakes her head. Sotalia points to Cideeda across from her in the driver''s seat, and Cideeda shrugs indifferently. Sotalia twists around in the front passenger''s seat and leans out to look at Aristespha. "We''re good here."


    Aristespha jots down notes into the tablet with her pen stylus. Sebastian turns to Dretphi sitting in her backseat. "Dretphi, stock up on food and expendable gear. Since we''ll probably be back doing ruin exploration, if you find a good deal on decent spotlights, grab a few please."


    Confirming silently as her eyes focus on her aetherphone, Dretphi types out a list. Glancing up through the rearview mirror, Cideeda waves down the aisle for Dretphi''s attention. "Hey, if you find any more of that jerky in the yellow and green bag, get me a few packs."


    After a quick thumbs up back to Cideeda, Dretphi returns to her growing phone notes. Shifting his attention to Sotalia, Sebastian furrows his brow in thought. "Sotalia, you know what magical stuff you need to get. But, keep an eye out for any more of those disposal magic detector sticks. Also, check to see if there''s any places with Aristespha for local history. If we''re going down into the ruins nearby, I wouldn''t mind knowing about any local legends or tales... That could turn out to have some truth to them."


    Sotalia peeks back into the aisle and settles her golden eyed gaze at Aristespha. "Girl, you hitting the pharmacy first?"


    Aristespha meets Sotalia''s inquiring look and deftly dances her ivory fingers upon the tablet. "Yes, I hope there isn''t too much of a line. Let me message you my list of magical supplies I need, real quick... There, sent it."


    Checking her aetherphone, Sotalia settles back into her seat. "Got it. Message me when you get done, and we''ll figure what places to check out. There might be a local history section in some bookstore around here."


    Confirming nods, she pulls back stray locks of silvery blue over her very long, pointed ear. Sebastian shifts his attention to Cideeda. "Cideeda. Ammo, tech toys, selling of loot, and some updated reading material? Hmm. Anything I''m missing?"


    Shaking her head, Cideeda keeps her eyes on the road and smirks confidently. "Nothing that I can think of. I''ll message Aristespha if I think of anything, unless that sword has figured out how to use the AetherNet."


    Sebastian perks a brow and angles a cold glare at the sheathed sword in the aisle next to Aristespha. "No. Turns out a few hundred year old relic isn''t keen on keeping with the times. Not much of a conversationalist either anymore, since I moved in."


    Finally turning to Bach, he smiles eagerly. "As for you Bach, I figured you could tag along with Cideeda and-"


    He lowers his head forward and stares intensely at the old flip aetherphone within Bach''s hands. A reflexive laugh slips out of Sebastian, he squelches to a snort. "Holy shit! And get you a new phone! Speaking of a fucking relic, is that the same one you had in school?"


    Defensively darting his head around, Bach quickly follows the new attention towards his old phone. "Y-Yes. What about it?! It still works just fine! I mean, I just need it to make calls."


    Sebastian raises his hands up diplomatically and seeks to calm Bach. "Hey, now... No judging here. But, I''m totally gonna hook you up, bro. Cideeda, can you get this man a proper phone?"


    Cideeda momentarily flicks her eyes into the rear-view mirror and dons a toothy grin. "Will do! I saw one or two places that should carry decent phones. We''ll check them out and see what we can find."


    Spinning completely around in her seat, Sotalia''s golden eyes peeks over the head rest. Her eyes flit wide at the target, and she smirks slyly. Her hand whips out, and her black, long nailed fingers snatch up the phone right out of Bach''s grasp. "Ooo! Let me see!"


    Bach blinks at the sudden loss of his phone and tries to reach around the front seat after it. Sotalia slaps a hand underneath her seat and pulls a bar up. The seat slides forward out of range of Bach''s effective arm reach. She grins excitedly at the device and swiftly taps familiar sequences of buttons. "I haven''t seen one of these since graduate school! Oh! Does it have any of the good games on it? I used to be a total master of the snake game."


    Approaching for a grand rescue attempt, Bach''s blue eyes judge the uncomfortable proximity of the tips of Sotalia''s swept back horns. Bach settles back into his seat in defeat and crosses his arms with a frown. "I''d like my phone back, please."


    Sotalia playfully sighs and rolls her golden eyes. "Okay. Here you go."


    Holding the old phone over the back of the seat, Sotalia tosses back her dark red hair and waits. Bach snatches back his phone, flips it open, and inspects it suspiciously. Sotalia pulls the bar underneath her seat again and attempts to slide the seat back. The seat slides only a few centimeters and far short of its original position. Struggling within the tight, cramped confines, Sotalia strains against an immobilizing force. Watching the scene, Dretphi sneaks a smile out the corner of her mouth. Sebastian glances upon the cab floor and finds Bach''s boot blocking the seat slide tracks. While Sotalia squirms uncomfortably in the narrow space between her and the dash, Bach holds a finger up to the rest of the intrigued team and searches through phone menus. "One moment, I''m just making sure she didn''t do anything to it..."


    Sotalia crooks her head around the seat, spots the blockade, and traces it back to Bach. With a faint grumble, she stretches back for a deep breath. "I didn''t do anything to it! Really! Can I have some knee room now... Please?"


    Flipping the phone closed, Bach lifts his boot back. The seat slides back swiftly and hits the limit of the track. Sotalia flops onto the back of the seat and blinks in surprise. Combing back her hair over her swept back, black horns, she collects herself and enjoys the space from the front dash with new relief. Aristespha points to Bach with her eyes trained on the tablet. Her arm unknowingly goes through Sebastian, and he cringes uncomfortably at the intrusion. Aristespha furrows her brow at information on the screen. "Sebastian, we need to get Bach officially registered with our group and fill out some more paperwork."


    Hovering to the side and clear of Aristespha''s arm, Sebastian thinks for a moment. "Let''s see... Okay. After we are all done, we''ll all meet at the local guild office. Sounds good, everyone?"


    The gathering agrees in their own ways, as a familiar large sign for Amaranth Valley comes into view on the side of the road.


    ----


    Around a busy parking lot, people stroll between the different storefronts surrounding the perimeter of the huge space. Colorful signage blending tech and magic decorates the different businesses in the open air mall, and townspeople peer inside the display windows to peek at the latest deals and activities happening inside. The door of "Aether Innovations'''' opens. Cideeda steps out with a satisfied smile and holds the door from closing. After a few seconds, Bach walks through the doorway, slides the plastic bag around his arm, and pokes at a new aetherphone. He furrows his brow completely perplexed and eyes Cideeda with an awkward grimace. "Okay... So, how do you make call with this thing?"


    With a humored snort, Cideeda pops up on the balls of her feet within toed shoes, and points a claw tip at the aetherphone screen. "The phone icon. Right there."


    Rolling his blue eyes at himself, Bach grumbles and sighs. "Thank you."


    Settling back upon her feet with an amused sway in her stance, Cideeda quirks her brow and eyes Bach with a grin. "A man who can weave together technology and magic in ways that astound me and freak-out our mages... Undone by a phone."


    Following Cideeda when she walks down the sidewalk, Bach continues to navigate through the new menus, icons, and screens. "Hey! It''s a massive increase in complexity to a device that didn''t require much from me... But, I''ll admit, having the expanded band two-way radio is nice."


    Cideeda nods with a wag of her tail and squeezes her phone into a brand new case. "It costs extra, but it''s a good feature for our line of work. We''ll have to mod it up with the extended frequency chips I got from..."


    A sly, toothy grin widens on her light brow face, and Cideeda''s emerald green eyes glint against the shadowy context. "The Usual Sources."


    Averting an uncertain gaze away, Bach slips the phone into his side pocket and glances between the advertising signs of the stores nearby. "Well, sounds good to me. So... Where to next?"


    Cideeda flicks a point towards a game shop, eagerly struts down the path, and pats the satchel at her side. "There! I need to pick up some reading material. And, I might be able to sell one of the early era chests there."


    Bach tags along behind as Cideeda strides to the double doors between front windows plastered with board, tabletop, and war game posters. Both enter the store on either side of the entryway. A brilliant assortment of entertainment vices for the Nexus nerd, geek, or dork litters the large area. Boxes of comic books upon tables fill a few aisles. Board games and books overload tall shelves along the wall that narrowly fit under the aged drop ceiling tiles. A long display counter showcases choice cards, miniatures, and dice. Regulars congregate in the chairs around open tables bouncing between playing games and discussing the latest episodes of shows. A few grant a momentary peek at the door, and promptly return to their activities. Bach scans over the chaotic expo of entertainment, stops, and angles his confusion down to Cideeda. "Huh... Why are we in a game shop? I mean, not that I wouldn''t mind grabbing the latest issue of Tales of Orion, but..."


    Smiling, Cideeda points to Bach and leads as they navigate the store. "You have your brother to thank. Sebastian recruited me right out of a comic book shop. I was between groups and decided to catch up on the issues of Tinkering Tina I missed."


    Bach blinks in thought, and twists of mild disgust color his face when memories bubble to the front of his mind. "Gods... He tried to flirt with you, didn''t he?"


    Cideeda rolls her green eyes and giggles. "Oh, pitifully so. But, I humored him. Found out he needed a technical expert, and I got with the group. So, I can''t complain about getting a steady enough job."


    Lowering his head shaking, Bach sighs. After a moment, he puzzles at Cideeda. "What about the comic books?"


    Cideeda gingerly flips through wrapped comics in a box and judges her position in the collection. "Come to find out, two comic book geeks are enough for it to be contagious to others in a group. Also, comic books are perfect for down time when you are too far from the Aethernet relays, and you have a few hours of night watch to kill."


    Rocking his head side to side, Bach mull over the idea to an agreement. "Makes enough sense to me. I''m going to look at the miniatures they have."


    Cideeda pauses with a perk of her furry ear and catches Bach''s attention before he wanders off too far. "Wargaming or RPGs?"


    Waving an indifferent gesture with his hand, Bach shrugs his shoulders. "A little bit of both? But, I really got interested in miniatures when I figured out how to morph the metal and plastic into custom poses for people. I got paid a lot for custom figures back in school."


    A spark of intrigue lights up Cideeda''s eyes, and an intrigue smile forms as her thoughts deepen. Bach makes his way to the display and kneels down to examine the assortment of miniatures through the glass. From above the counter, a frustrated voice mumbles out from the other end. "Dammit... Still doesn''t work... Why won''t it work? I read all the instructions."


    Peering over the counter, Bach watches the shopkeeper concentrate his frustration to stare a hole through a paperback book. The large, round man keeps his fists on his sides and frowns, quietly muttering to himself. Bach stands up and casually drifts towards the register, while sneaking a peek at the book. Magical symbols adorn the page with scattered instructions at the top and bottom where space permits. Recognizing the type of discount text, Bach grits his teeth and curls his lip in disgust. He narrows his blue eyes at the contents apprehensively, and visibly lowers his expectations. The shopkeeper puts his hands on either side of the page and concentrates. Furrowing his brow, Bach stiffens his posture and studies the effort from the large man. As the seconds pass, he refines his suspicions to the markings on the book''s page and cocks his head intrigued. Following his curiosity, he slides up next to the register across from the shopkeeper. In a lull of focus upon the book, the shopkeeper notices Bach, double-takes, and startles slightly. "Oh! Hello. Welcome to Amaranth''s Wrath Game Emporium! The name is Steve. So, um... Can I help you?"


    Bach makes eye contact with Steve and twirls his finger down at the book. "You have the ink bottle that came with this?"


    Searching either side of him, Steve spots a bottle sitting on the shelf underneath the counter. He fetches the bottle and curiously eyes Bach. "Here it is. Um... Are you magically inclined?"


    Bach holds his hands up and shrugs with a nonchalant smirk. "Well, somewhat. I''m kinda getting back into it lately."


    Steve happily grins at Bach and respectfully pleads with a slight bow towards the materials upon the counter. "Man, I don''t want to bother you, but if you can share any tips, I''d really appreciate it. I''ve been trying every book around. And nothing seems to work. I feel it flowing through me. But, damn... Nothing seems to happen. I don''t know what I''m doing wrong."


    Bach holds his hand out for the bottle and Steve passes it over. Twisting the cap off, Bach wafts the bottle underneath his nose, then seals the top with a finger. After briefly turning the bottle upside down, he lifts the finger and licks it. Steve blinks stunned and cocks his head confused. Bach furrows his brow and groans with a sneer of his upper lip. "Yep. This mix is pretty watered down. If it''s the same stuff they use to print that page, unless you know how to brute force a lot of magical flow already... It''s not going to work. You got any salt and... A lime, maybe?"


    Steve arrives back to awareness and pivots around hunting. He plucks a salt packet from a fast food bag. Leaning over to a small mini-fridge behind the counter, he opens the door to reveal canned sugary drinks and a lone, lime-shaped plastic bottle of juice. "Will lime juice work?"


    Bach nods, cracks open the paper salt packet, and dumps the contents into the ink bottle. Steve holds out the plastic lime juice bottle and Bach grabs it. With a flip the cap, Bach squirts a healthy amount inside with the dissolving salt. "Okay. Cap that bottle with your finger. Shake it a few times, and hold your finger out. We''ll test to see if the rest of the mix is still good."


    Following Bach''s instructions, Steve perks a quizzical eyebrow. "So, what''s all this supposed to do?"


    Bach points at the container towards the sloshing dark concoction inside. "Recharge the mix. The watering down messes with the electrolyte mix, and the pH often gets screwed up during bottling. The cheap reagent they use is really picky about the solution it''s in."


    Steve stops shaking the bottle, places it down, and holds out his ink spotted finger. Bach stares at Steve with an instructing tone. "Okay. Now, I want you to concentrate and direct your flow to that point on your finger. If the mix is good, it''ll glow."


    Steve nods, closes his eyes, and summons a deep focusing breath. Bach narrows a studious gaze down and attentively watches the spot on Steve''s finger dimly glow orange. "Steve. You''re forcing it too much. Don''t listen to what those guides on the Aethernet said. Calmly guide it. Take your time to think clearly about it."


    The faint light shines brighter with each passing moment. Faint shadows form out behind action figures posed on the countertop and contrast the orange tint swelling out. The ambient conversations among the tables lower, and the regulars observe with growing interest. Bach smiles confidently and side steps out of the way. "Steve. Open your eyes."


    Apprehensively opening his eyes, Steve tips his head down into a gaze of his finger. His eyes widen as he processes in stunned silence at the bright light upon his digit. The awe overtakes him as ear to ear smile grows. Bach snaps his fingers and points at the orange sheen. "Now THAT is a good sign. So, you want to fix this page right with your recharged ink?"


    Steve slowly raises his head to Bach with sheer determination in his eyes. "Fuck. Yes. I do."


    A small gathering of regulars surround the counter watching Steve''s progress. After an important lesson on arcane dynamics, Bach instructs Steve with the application and motions to the symbols on the page. "Now... Trace those last outlines and put some curve on those sharp corners. They do that to save on ink, but with the poor print quality it really does a number to the energy flow."


    Steve hovers his head over the page with an attentive eye and carefully applies new ink to the page. Standing back up after finishing the last flowing line, Steve waits expectantly. Bach examines the page closely and crosses his arms with a smile. "Alright. Give it a shot. Only way to know now."


    Steve places his hands down on the sides of the page and takes a deep breath. His eyes narrow intensely upon the arcane symbols darkened by fresh ink. A flow of ethereal orange glow travels along the marked paths on the page. Reaching the center, the energy condenses and forms a simple rotating cube. The illusion floats up to a fixed point above the book and hovers in place. Steve slowly removes his hands from the page, and the cube exists for seconds before dissipating away. Awe quiets the crowd. Cheers for Steve break the silence.


    "I got it on video, Steve! Fucking awesome, dude!"


    "Holy shit, you finally did it!"


    "It looked better than how-to videos on the Aethernet!"


    Steve slides a stool behind him and plops down. Disbelief and wonder mix upon his face, and he blinks between moments of thought. He places his hands to the sides of his head. "Wow. I... I... I don''t know what to say. I''ve been trying all these months and all these guides and... I did it."


    He settles his attention upon Bach. "You... Man. Thank you. I don''t know how to pay you back."


    Putting his hands in his pants pockets, Bach shrugs his shoulders and acts nonchalant. "Don''t worry about it. I''ve kinda been there before. Know how it feels."


    Steve pats his legs and stands up in triumph. "I got it! Your next few visits, including this one... Twenty-five percent discount on purchases."


    Astonishment radiates through the gathered crowd, and pockets of discussion bounce between those wrestling the notion in utter disbelief. In comic book aisles, a pair of perked furry ears above the shorter shelves flick before dipping swiftly. Bach bashfully chuckles and scratches the back of his head of shorter brown hair. "It seems like quite the honor. I''ll have to find something to-"


    A voice chimes cheerfully out beside Bach. "Sweetie, there were a lot of issues we didn''t have. Would it be okay if we got them all?"


    Bach''s expression struggles to stay unchanged, and his body tenses in surprise. Moments of sheer bewilderment slip through the cracks of the facade. Bach''s blue eyes dart around as his mind and frantically sort through the sudden change in the situation. The voice sounds familiar, but the cadence does not match. Claw tipped hands plop a large stack of comic books, graphic novels, and other media onto the counter. Smaller arms wrap around Bach''s arm, and a short figure playfully leans on him. Donning a calm exterior, Bach follows a path down his arm and spots Cideeda acting sweetly affectionate. A chaotic blend of confusion, frustration, embarrassment, and indignation swirl through Bach''s expression, and he aims a searching stare right at Cideeda. Discreetly revealing the screen of her aetherphone, Cideeda winks cutely to Bach, an entrepreneurial grin just beneath the surface, and lightly presses a hand of five claw tips into his forearm. Bach silently reads the note on the screen. "25% discount!!! Play along! PLEASE!!!"


    In the moment, a stir from the back of Bach''s brain refocuses his blue eyed gaze. A surge of confidence rises from sunken depths and solidifies his facade. As memory and old skills reemerge, a suave presence overlays upon Bach exterior. Tempering the act with a humble air, Bach dons a smile and endearingly addresses Cideeda. "Well, I don''t know, dear. I wouldn''t want to impose too much upon Steve''s generosity, now."


    Steve bounces his gaze between Bach and Cideeda and arrives at a conclusion. "Oh! No, man! It''s completely cool! It''s no problem at all! I thought I wasted my money on all those magic workbooks. But with what you taught me, it''s going to be an absolute trip going back over those and practicing inking all those tweaks in. You''ve totally got me my money''s worth back."


    Shrugging nonchalantly, Bach glances at Cideeda with a smirk. "Well, if he has no objections, I have none for you, dear."


    With an energetic wag of her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda smiles softly and perks her furry ears happily. Glancing around at the customers in the area, she reaches into the satchel at her side and inquires. "Steve, question. Would you know of anyone who would be interested in one of these?"


    Cideeda presents Bach''s holoplayer, presses an option on the holographic menu, and projects the hologram of an early era chest. Steve and other regulars study the imagery. Stroking his chin with great interest, Steve narrows his intrigued stare upon Cideeda. "That does look genuine. Does it have a working lock and key?"


    Tugging lightly on Bach''s arm, Cideeda reveals a toothy grin and entrepreneurial spark in her emerald eyes. "A working lock and maybe a key. If keys aren''t that much different than miniatures. Are they, sweetie?"


    Bach musters a smile with a brief twitch in the eye. "We''ll find out, won''t we?"


    ----


    A relevant quiet drifts through the huge open space and over the rows upon rows of bookshelves within the large book store. Murmurs of conversation wane over the distance around the corner coffee cafe and the surrounding tables. People wander down the aisles and follow their interests between spotting the covers of books and inspecting the first pages. At the glass window front of the store, large automated doors of slide open to let the raw daylight in with a spring breeze. As the two walk in, Cideeda pats Bach on the back with a triumphant grin. "Come on! That was pretty good on the spot acting you did back there."


    Bach rolls his eyes and grumbles as puts his hands in his pockets. "I''ve had plenty of practice getting out of awkward situations. Thanks to Sebastian. I didn''t think I''d need to use that to con someone to give you a discount."


    Twisting her mouth incredulously, Cideeda raises an eyebrow at Bach and cocks her head of short, multi-colored hair. "Con nothing. You just used your fair and honestly earned discount to buy everyone their reading material. You still technically brokered the deal, hence the discount still applies fully."


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Remaining silent, Bach narrows his stare down at Cideeda. Adopting a genuine tone in her voice, Cideeda glances up to Bach. "You... You shouldn''t feel bad. You helped Steve significantly with his magic. He got to repay you with a decent discount for you..."


    A sly curl creeps out the corners of her mouth, and she averts her emerald green eyes briefly with a flick of her furry ears. "And assumed lady friend. He also got a good deal on a genuine early era chest, with a working lock..."


    An entrepreneurial spark lights up Cideeda''s gaze as she taps her finger tips together. "And a key custom formed on the spot with magic before everyone''s eyes."


    Bach stops walking and aims an uncertain stare down to his side. Cideeda wags her tail with her stride and winks with a toothy grin. "As someone who was a game shop regular and worked a lot behind the counter a decade ago... That would have been a hard day to top for many, many years."


    Slowing her pace, she crosses her arms defensively and frowns faintly at Bach. "Now, if you are a little angry at me for putting you on the spot... I''ll accept that and apologize to you."


    After a long halfhearted glare, Bach eventually releases a sigh and dismisses the charges with a shrug of his shoulders. "It''s okay. Really. It just brought back memories of some crazy moments with my brother that I''d conveniently forgotten about."


    Cideeda nods, plucks her aetherphone from her shorts, and squints at the screen. "Yeah, I understand. By the way, do you see Sotalia anywhere? She messaged me that she was here and I''m not seeing her."


    Peering above the tops of the display shelves, Bach scans the tops of heads wandering through the aisles and random people down the walkways. Halting his hunt, Bach spots familiar dark red hair and swept back horns and points Sotalia out near a history section sign. "There. Way down this next row across in the next section."


    Cideeda peers down the aisle and catches sight of Sotalia. "I see her."


    Bach blinks as his vision notices something else and snaps his attention over. His blue eyes widen, and he punctuates with gritting teeth. "SHIT...."


    Cideeda perks her furry ears and glances over her shoulder at Bach. "What?"


    Spotting an emin woman with swirling horns and raven black hair strut confidently toward the book shelf rows near Sotalia, Bach watches the small camera crew trailing behind. "We need to get over there and warn Sotalia."


    Cideeda flits her emerald green eyes wide, perks her furry ears, and nods. She deftly sneaks upon the toes of her shoes and leads the charge. Bach sinks low behind the stacks and keeps as quiet as possible. At the far end of the aisle, Sotalia plucks a book out from a row and flips it over to the summary. As she reads the text, she furrows her brow. Blinking to awareness, her eyes lead her head, and she spots Bach and Cideeda frantically signaling her. She squints confused and tilts her head incredulously. "What?"


    Bach motions to something behind Sotalia in the next aisle. Checking over her shoulder, Sotalia tenses when she catches glimpses of activity nearby. "Oh, shit."


    Spinning back around, she promptly replaces the book and stiffly walks down the aisle towards Bach and Cideeda. When she joins the two a distance from the camera crew setting up around the young emin woman, she groans with a roll of her golden eyes. "Gods. Thank you. I did NOT want to get caught up in that bitch''s path. Just something about her puts me off."


    Bach peeks his head over the top of a long display shelf row and observes the flurry of activity. He ducks back down when the cameras shift, and the emin woman stands in front of another nearby section. A human woman steps out from the mix of recording crew, reads notes from a tablet, and prompts the young emin woman. "Okay. Tassilda. Talk about what books you''d recommend for people wanting to learn more about magic."


    With a toss of her long, raven black hair behind her shoulders, Tassilda strikes a flattering pose in front of the shelf within the "Magical History" section. Glancing at the nearby contents with her light blue on black eyes, she slyly draws a book out and holds it suggestively close to her chest. "I will always recommend a favorite of mine, the Collected History of Nexus Magic series. It always captivates my attention and the details are all so enthralling. If you want a complete history of how Nexus got its magic, this is my first choice."


    Bach cringes at the suggestion and disagrees with a shake of his head. Sotalia contorts her mouth in disgust and parts a spot in the books to spy through. "Really, woman? Out of all the books on that shelf, you pick the one that''s a proven insomnia cure."


    Tassilda gradually places the book back into the shelf and adds a purposeful bounce to highlight personal assets. Sotalia narrows her golden glare at Tassilda and grumbles while annoyance simmers to the surface. "Oh. And I bet you are the first to take offense at about people comparing you to a succubus, too."


    Plucks another book from the shelf with her black nailed fingers, she presents a playfully suggestive smile on her light gray face. "Another one I''d only suggest to the most dedicated is The Great Magical Handbook of Nexus."


    Bach slides his head right next to Sotalia''s and sneaks a peek through the opening. He furrows his brow at the volume in Tassilda''s grasp and frowns disdainfully. "Okay... She''s GOT to be getting kickbacks from a publisher. I remember spending way too much money on that damned thing in school, and it was useless to get any useful information out of it. Also, it was pretty shitty doorstop, too."


    Bouncing her examination between the two, Cideeda quizzes Bach and Sotalia. "Well, if you two are such experts, what book would you recommend?"


    Sotalia holds her face and ponders to herself about the subject. Bach steps back and searches the books on the shelf. Walking down the aisle, he hunts through the titles on the spines, following the order. He slows and places a finger on a book, and tilts a paperback out. Stepping back over, he hands it to Cideeda with an encouraging tone. "The Illustrated Guide to Magical History. It''s pretty much first semester magic history in illustrated novel style."


    Straightening her posture, Sotalia stares at Bach incredulously. "Really?"


    Cideeda inspects the paperback and flips through the table of contents. Bach points out the subjects in the listing. "It covers the Three Cataclysms, the Three Periods, the Abstract Prism, Foundation Constructs, and even basic Magical Flow Dynamics."


    Sotalia peeks over Cideeda''s shoulder and cocks her head in surprise. "Huh. It goes in how ridiculously dangerous Elder Energy is. Okay... Even how it caused the Third Cataclysm and prompted the creation of the Abstract Prism."


    Noticing Cideeda''s furry ears flicking around searching, Bach checks over the shelf and finds no camera crew visible on the other side. He returns his attention to the book in Cideeda''s hands. "See. It''s not bad at all. It has textbook parts after the story section, and it does a good job explaining it all. It even has a decent high-school romance subplot."


    He cautiously scans the area and locates Tassilda and crew far off. "I think we''re in the clear. They''ve moved on to the coffee shop."


    Popping up on the ball of her feet, Cideeda''s furry ears perk over the top of the shelving and flick around. "I was wondering where they moved off to."


    Taking out her aetherphone from her tight fitting pants, Sotalia glances around before focusing upon the device. "Good. Anyway, I messaged Aristespha to see how far along she was and- Oh. Oh my."


    Cideeda and Bach turn their attention to Sotalia. Scooting next to Sotalia, Cideeda reads the screen and blinks in astonishment with a flick of her tail. "Yeah. She''s just MAD right now."


    Fighting a flit of worry, Bach moves to peek at Sotalia''s aetherphone. "Uh, what''s going on? Huh?"


    Sotalia holds her phone out for a better view to all and explains the developing situation. "Wow. Girl has gone full Low Evuukian in her rants. I''ll be honest, I can only make out half of this, but I think we''re not the only ones who ran into one of the Next Adventurers of Nexus."


    With an uneasy groan, Cideeda hovers her claw tip over a few characters. "It''s the fvalian. I recognize that term. Seems like she''s stuck... behind her... in line?"


    Bach squints at the new lines of characters and visibly struggles to comprehend between rocks of his head and contorting his face. "Uh, that''s something not good. I''ve never seen half of these before. The ones I have... Um, it''s never with anything you want directed at you."


    Sotalia holds her phone up close and carefully reads the line a few times. She grits her teeth briefly. "Oh, girl is definitely furious. She''s dropping out all the proper structure parts and really going off straight context."


    Blinking her golden eyes, she stifles a snicker into a snort and tosses back her shoulder length dark red hair. "Okay... So, what do you two think this direct translation means? Brain devoid furred abomination destroy time. Yank bell broom handle feed, necklace reach rip start bell expedient ass exit."


    Bach''s blue eyes widen, and he scratches his head with his hiss of air through his teeth. "Um... Maybe we should check to see how Dretphi is doing?"


    Nodding in agreement, Sotalia winces to an uncertain grimace as another line pops on the phone screen. Returning the illustrated guide back to its spot, Cideeda pats her pocket and slips out her phone. She motions towards the front exit while reading a message. "Dretphi says she is still waiting for the staff to get her order together over at the general store across the way."


    After a quiet agreement, the three calmly but expediently escape the aisles towards the front door. Wincing at a thought, Bach shudders to a frown as they step out to the sidewalk in front of the bookstore. "Gods... Poor Sebastian. Hiding in the sword strapped to Aristespha''s side right now."


    Sotalia hisses breath through her teeth. "Yes. But, he''s the only one keeping her calm right now."


    Grimacing at the situation, Bach nods with a vaguely hopeful frown. "Well, I hope he''s gotten better at that. That wasn''t his strong suit back in the school."


    ----


    In the open lobby of the general, overhead fans hang from the high rafters and blow a constant breeze down upon the customers shopping through the front aisles. A mix of brightly colored advertisements scattered around every convenient corner showcase the latest name brand fads with their products arranged in eye-catching displays. Throughout the store goods desired by the locals intermix with products geared towards adventuring groups. A banner waving gradually in the air conditioning currents displays "Amaranth Valley General Store" in big bold letters with "Last bit of civilization before your next adventure!" underneath in fancier script. The modest general shopping area contained with tall partition walls contrasts against the heavy metal structures supporting towering warehouse ceiling. Echoes of people and equipment filter in as distant noises, and employees rushing through doorways give glimpses of a greater, unseen complex.


    Towards the back near huge double doors, a number of long counters with registers exist with different customers waiting for service. Dretphi''s imposing form stands tall, and she sighs with stale annoyance trickling into her tone. Her steely gray eyes stare at a long, folded receipt in her hand, and her gaze wanders between the nearby double doors, the register showing order information, and the pallet platform next to the counter. The muffled squeaks of the wheeled cart sift through the closest doorway to the back, and Dretphi perks up. The metallic rumbles grow louder. Then, the noise fades. Seconds later, an employee rolls a hand truck stacked with goods through another set of double doors to a customer a few counters down. Rolling her eyes, Dretphi tosses back her platinum blonde braids over her shoulder and notices a grath man a few registers away. Cautiously peeking out of the corner of her eye, she observes the grath man subtly pose and straighten his posture with a tensing flex of his physique. Spotting the cameraman nearby, Dretphi eases out a long, frustrated sigh and keeps her gaze to the nearby doorway to the back with a hopeful grimace.


    Retrieving his aetherphone from his belt holster, the cameraman studies the scene and reports with the phone against his ear. "Hey, Samantha... Your lone Unit C is still here with Trakenthin. He''s failing to flirt with some grath woman. Complete no sale. It''s getting sad."


    Listening to the voice on the other side, he furrows his brow. "Hmm? Sure, I guess. Give me a moment.


    Lowering his phone down and tap through the functions discreetly, he angles the device towards Dretphi and quickly snaps the image. With a nonchalant, wandering gaze around the room, he taps through a rehearsed sequence on the display and presses the speaker back his ear. "Sent it."


    He briefly squints at Dretphi and nods with a thought. "You know... Now that you mention it, she does look familiar. Yeah... Huh, Unit A saw an evuukian woman with a really nice sword strapped at her side? I''ll let you know if anything changes."


    Summoning his confidence into his exterior, Trakenthin struts over towards Dretphi with a smile, his hand gliding over the counter tops along the way. Dretphi reads a new message on her aetherphone and searches around the nearby store. She gazes towards Trakenthin and waves in his direction. Smug smile springs forth on his dark bronze face, and he picks up the pace with a swift brush of his short, dirty blonde hair. Sotalia, Cideeda, and Bach hurry by Trakenthin right to Dretphi. Trakenthin sharply pivots and walks himself back to his original spot. He wrestles against an embarrassed grimace and his stride tenses up. Off to the side, the cameraman chuckles to himself while watching the retreat through a camera viewfinder. "Ouch. Denied."


    Breathing out her anxious energy through a sigh, Dretphi quietly addresses everyone. "I am glad you arrived. Believed IT was going to talk to me."


    Sotalia crosses her arms and tips her head back towards Trakenthin. "You mean the two meter tall ego back there?"


    Dretphi groans with an annoyed grimace. "Yes. Unfortunately."


    Grinning with a tinge of evil, Sotalia drips sarcasm. "Come on, Dretphi. I''m sure he''s quite the accomplished man. Probably has plenty of trophies he wants to show you in the bedroom."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach eyes Dretphi with a bit of concern. "Do you want us to do anything? I mean, is there something about him we should know? Sorry to pry, but you seem bothered by him."


    Dretphi meets Bach''s gaze and smiles warmly. "It is okay. Thank you for your concern. He seems an unfortunate nuisance from an aspect of Grath culture. One day he may achieve great things."


    She narrows her eyes and peers at Trakenthin without moving her toward him. "For men that abide by those ideals, their deeds will receive a paragraph in history. Men the level of my fathers, write the history that paragraph will go in."


    Containing her laughter, Sotalia reaches up to pat Dretphi on the shoulder. "You keep that bar high for the rest of us, girl."


    Dretphi straightens up, crosses her arms, and dismissively rolls her eyes with grumble. "My bar to set."


    Cideeda snickers with a shake of her head, and checks a new message on her phone. "Well, Aristespha is going to meet us at the guild office. I don''t think she''s in the mood to do any researching today."


    Blinking her golden eyes widen, Sotalia briefly grits her teeth and settles upon an uneasy grimace. "Yeah. There''s no translation for what I read.


    Furrowing her brow, Dretphi searches for an explanation between the assembled group. After noticing the attention, Bach leans and whispers up. "She got held up by one of the Next Adventurers of Nexus."


    Dretphi shakes her head and draws in a deep breath while relaxing her shoulders. "A sentiment I understand."


    Noticing a clerk coming to the register, she pivots around in anticipation with a hopeful smile. The young emin clerk stands behind the register and promptly types upon the point of sale system. "I am so sorry about the wait. But, good news, your order is ready! We''ve already processed payment to your group card, and I am printing out your claim ticket. One of our warehouse assistants will be happy to cart your order out to your vehicle."


    Dretphi takes hold of the claim ticket and her group card with a relieved nod. Stepping out from behind the counter, the clerk leads the way to a side door and guides the team. The intrigued cameraman finishes capturing a series of photos and presses the send icon on his aetherphone. Seconds later, a message window pops up on the display.


    "Gods, Gerald. This is getting WEIRD now. Unit B is wrapping up with Tassilda right now. Meet me in the parking lot when you get done. We might need to call up Howie."


    ----


    Gentle spring sun shines down upon the brick plaza between tall government buildings. As the image of the overhead sky reflects off the mirror tinted wall of windows, breezes sift through the young leaves sprouting out the branches of potted trees outlining a courtyard. Locals wander through the vicinity and quickly find paths towards the large parking lot of the open air mall. Between the crowds, small groups of people dressed in armor and other adventuring attire travel between the doors of a smaller structure with a simple sign next to the entrance, "Amaranth Valley Guild Office." Gathered around a metal mesh picnic table under the shade of an older tree, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia idly entertain themselves and occasionally check the areas. Furrowing his brow at the display of his aetherphone, Bach tilts the device into view of Cideeda and points at a line of text. "Okay, what does this setting actually do? I''ve never used that setting."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk, and she glances her emerald green eyes at the screen. After a moment, she cracks a smirk and lifts a brow at Bach. "That''s the automatic color mode setting. If you want it to change the color temperature depending on what time of day it is, you flip that on.


    Bach gradually nods his head at the revelation and grimaces as understanding fails to fully materialize. "Okay... I might need to be educated on that."


    As Cideeda taps claw tips on her phone and brings up an aethernet article, Dretphi scans across the plaza, slowing her hunt at the entries into the area, and frowns with concern. "She said she would be here."


    Rapping her long, black nails upon the painted metal mesh of the table top, Sotalia leans back on her bench seat and glances around. "That''s what she sent me. I wonder if something... Oh, there she is..."


    A pair of violet eyes contrast the dark shade upon an ivory and blue and gray hinted face, framed by long silvery blue hair. Faint grumbles of Evuukian curses drift through the air with a part of very long, pointed ears twitching with her furious punctuation. Aristespha marches with her fists clenched, head bowed slightly, and frustration blatant. She halts in front of Bach, Sotalia, Cideeda, and Dretphi and tips back a distant glare. As she starts to open her mouth, a resonant voice at her side interrupts. "Dear. Take a deep, long breath first."


    Fighting against a hesitant wince, Aristespha collects herself, closes her eyes, draws deep, filling breath. Exhaling with a long growl hidden in the mix, she stretches her neck to both shoulders. Sebastian''s ethereal tone sounds out from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "You might need another breath."


    Aristespha grits her teeth, slowly hisses out her aggravation, and adjusts her attire back in order. "Thank you, Sebastian. I think I''ll be fine."


    Summoning up a new wave of calm, she relaxes her posture and sighs. "Well. It seems that some children''s cereal is giving away medical mage licenses as the prize in the box. But despite the excessive delay, I was able to get the medical supplies we need."


    A chipper tone colors Sebastian''s voice. "Good! So, medical supplies, check. Sotalia?"


    Sotalia works off a tight, humored smile, and tosses back her dark red hair. "Magical supplies are good. Unfortunately, there was nothing of value at the big book store. We didn''t find a Local Lore section."


    Sebastian resumes his run down and a ghostly hum sounds out. "Okay. We''ll try the local library and maybe there''s college that has some adventurer access program through the guild. Dretphi?"


    Straightening her posture, Dretphi clears her smirk as she shifts her attention away from Aristespha. "Food requisitioned. Gear acquired. Found the jerky requested."


    Cideeda happily grins with a perky wag of her long tail. "Thank you! Oh. We got Bach a new phone. And... We got new reading material at a really good price. Also, we managed to find a good source to sell any ancient trinkets in the future. But, didn''t get to the ammo today."


    Sebastian sounds out an understanding and appreciative tone and chuckles. "Well, I think that''s pretty good for today, given all the interruptions we''ve had to work around. Before we call it a day, Bach, let''s get you officially registered. Then, we can get out of here before we run into any more celebrities. Also, while Aristespha, Bach, and I handle all the paperwork stuff, the rest of you see if there''s any missions, quests, and jobs you like posted."


    As the group reassembles and enters the guild offices, off in the distance a cameraman and woman casually hang out by a van with the Next Adventurers of Nexus show logo plastered on the side. Despite the idle conversation, the two keep a very attentive eye on the guild office. As the minutes pass, the sun slowly drifts closer to the horizon and hints of orange sneak up high into the bright blue. The dark blonde haired cameraman sorts through equipment in the opened up van and idly chats with the brown haired woman with a packed clipboard. As minutes roll over to an hour, the two coordinate inventory efforts and review video clips. As late afternoon starts to lose out against early evening, the cars and people cycle out of the large central parking lot of the open air mall. With the change of locals, the volume of customers between shops shifts with the new demands, and entertainment businesses light up and ready for their evening prime time. Small groups wander towards Amaranth''s Wrath Game Emporium with books, carriers of figurines, and boxes of neatly kept cards.


    The metal framed, tinted glass doors of the guild office open. Bach trails behind the exiting team and examines his registration card closely. Sebastian''s ethereal form floats behind Bach, and he peeks over his brother''s shoulder with a proud smile. "It''s pretty thing, bro."


    Bach feels the card''s facets, takes his wallet out, and carefully settles the card into the most prominent spot. "Yeah. Still though... I''m only, technically, an intern."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes glance over at the card in Bach''s wallet and she perks her brow. "Still pretty cool that they can work it as an internship and have it count for college credit. Surprising given how long it has been."


    Darting a quick peek over at the guild identification, Aristespha nods in agreement. "That paperwork is significantly easier now. On the other hand, the paperwork for denoting an authoritative proxy due to a team''s leader being in a state rendering them physically incapable of signing forms through typical means due to unclassified magic from an ancient sword... THOSE are harrowing forms."


    Sebastian catches Aristespha stare with an amused smirk and groans with a long roll of his translucent blue eyes. "Dear... If I could actually sign stuff, you know I would."


    Aristespha winks playfully, rests a hand on the handle of the blade in the scabbard at her side, and taps. "I know. Well, before you scare the locals, if you could, Sebastian?"


    Swirling his visage into the sword, his voice echoes out. "Understood. I just wanted to see Bach''s registration card in the light while in that form. Vision is so weird from within the sword. Oh, anyone find anything good on the boards?"


    The rest scroll through their aetherphones and take turns reading job descriptions. Debates follow after each reading and the team discusses jobs on their way to the humvee. Nearby a particular van, a cameraman records the group from a secluded spot and the woman with a clipboard stares in complete astonishment. She checks with the cameraman and stares hopefully. "Gerald. I hope you recorded all that."


    Gerald grins smugly and lifts an confident, amused eyebrow. "Of course, Samantha. You''d think I''d miss something like that?"


    Samantha flips up a section of pages, reveals her tablet, and quickly taps in notes. "I can''t believe it. It''s actually them and they are here. I''ve got to send all this to Howie. There''s got to be a way to work this into this season."


    ----


    Evening falls around the ranch style house as the last bit of the orange and red in the sky fades to dark blue. Through an open garage door, Cideeda flips on switch, and overhead lamps light up the large garage. Stepping around slowly, she surveys the workbenches surrounding the space. Eyeing the cabinets curiously with a pondering claw tip scratch of the chin, she hums to herself and wags her long furry tail with her thoughts. Through the doorway into the pantry section of the kitchen, Dretphi inspects the arrangement of groceries in the fridge. Standing up to her full, imposing height, she rests her hands on her hips and bounces her steely gray eyes between the packages of supplies on the nearby countertop and the scarce vacant spots inside the refrigerator. Sotalia walks on by with a casual glance over to the situation and continues her walk around the dining table and through the hallway archway. While walking down to her bedroom door, she turns her attention down one end of the hall and catches a glimpse of Bach plodding around his room with a new aetherphone in hand. An humored smirk appears on her light tan face and she guides stray locks over her pointed ears beyond dark gray patches below. Shifting her attention to the other end of the hall, she watches Aristespha step through the doorway with exhausted yawn. As Aristespha closes the door to her room, she removes the sheathed sword from her belt and places it on the bed. She slides the sword to a corner of the mattress and plops down in the middle. After removing her boot and excessive attire, she lays down the rest of the way on the bed and sighs deeply. Moments later, Sebastian''s visage materializes and floats above her. "You okay, dear?"


    Aristespha rubs her eyes and keeps them closed as she stretches out on the bed. "Yes. Just the state of things bothers me. I was ready to accept certain elements, but now new ones have been introduced that I was not anticipating."


    Hovering down next to Aristespha on the bed, Sebastian grimaces uncertainly. "I know. But, we are making good progress. Bach is going on his first quest soon. That a big step."


    Twisting her mouth with her thought, Aristespha ponders out loud. "Sebastian, your brother is still an unknown factor. Not that it is a bad thing. But, there''s still much we don''t know, and much you do not even know."


    Sebastian frowns lightly and sighs with hints of self disappointment slipping in. "I know. I really wish I knew what more to tell you. He did mention the Nightmare Geist incident to me. And... How it left him a lame mage."


    Aristespha ''s violet eyes spring open, and she pivots her head to lock an examining glare on Sebastian. "Anything else?"


    Blinking blankly from the sudden change of expression, Sebastian awkwardly glances around the room. "Uh, no. I kind of didn''t want to push the issue. I mean I was amazed he mentioned it without me pestering him. So, I''m hoping he''ll open up more once he gets some confidence back. I mean he''s been out of the game a bit, and he''s just recovering some of what he was capable of."


    Closing her eyes, Aristespha rubs her temples in thought and massages her very long, pointed ears to the tips upon the mattress. Sebastian quickly stiffens up and glances down at Aristespha in a surge of concern. "I mean, is there something wrong with Bach? Like really wrong?"


    Aristespha opens her violet eyes with a faint glow, reaches her hands up, and places them around Sebastian''s translucent face gently. "Your brother is just fine. It''s just... He has his abilities. What I am trying to figure out is how or even why he arrived at them. They are proficiencies that you would not expect."


    Placing a hand on one of Aristespha''s as his visage interacts with the faint magical flow around her, Sebastian smiles lovingly. "I''m sure you''ll figure it out soon enough, or he''ll eventually tell us. I''m just happy to have him along... It just might turn out like what we promised each other when we were kids."


    Aristespha warmly returns the smile as she lightly touches Sebastian''s ethereal face. "We shall see. But, I want some answers eventually."


    ----


    With a backdrop of a calm night through the windows above his bed, Bach examines his new aetherphone as he lays on top of the comforter. Flipping through menus, settings pages, and lists of icons, he eventually settles back on the home screen and mumbles to himself. "Well... ...it''s time..."


    Bach presses the phone icon and taps a series of numbers on the shown numeric pad. Holding the phone next to ear, he0 waits for the call to connect. After a few moments, Bach hears a familiar voice and his blue eyes soften. "Hey, mom. It''s me. I just got a new phone and everything. Thanks to Sebastian. So, I wanted to try it out and... thought I''d call you."


    Bach listens to his mother talk, nods with the conversation, and responds with the prompts. "He''s doing well enough. Well, all things considered... Yeah, still getting used to it myself. So, I guess he''s been keeping you up to date with- Well, I guess, technically, Aristespha has, since he hasn''t figured out a way yet."


    He tilts his head to the side and ponders a moment on something said. "Huh. Yeah, I guess his voice would sound weird over the speakerphone. When did you last talk to him?"


    He nods briefly. "Okay. Well, saves a lot of long explanations. Give me a second... I think I got this figured out on the phone. It''s got so many new functions, I''m barely about to make a call happen."


    Removing the phone from his ear, Bach aims the front camera at his registration card. After he presses a few buttons, he replaces the aetherphone on his ear. "Did you get tha-"


    Stopping mid sentence, he gently smiles with a tear welling in his eye. His mothers voice, happy and excited, calls out to someone in the background on the other side of the call. After a cheerful explanation from her, another masculine voice calls out loud enough to be audible near the phone speaker. "Well, it''s about fucking time! Went to school long enough."


    Bach rolls his blue eyes with a snort and shakes his head. "Thanks, dad!"


    The voice of Bach''s mother continues in a rapid succession of excited prompts that rise up from the speaker. Easing the phone away from the loud excitement, Bach interrupts. "Hey, mom, I''ll answer all those. But, there''s something I''ve been working on that I want you to see first. Let''s see if I can figure out this feature. Cideeda show me it once, and I hope I can remember the steps."


    Holding his hand out and palm up, Bach aims the front camera of the phone. He presses an icon on the screen, and a video stream of his mother''s face appears in a smaller corner overlay on top of the video of his palm. Concentrating with a dim blue glow in his eyes, faint, flickering outlines appear in Bach''s hand. The framework fills in with a transparent form, and soon details and color materialize. In seconds, the vague outline of flowers morphs into a bundle of violets, the forms solidifying into stabilized magical energy. Bach''s mother''s face floods with awe and pride as she watches the process. He presses the icon on the display again and puts the phone back to his ear. "I kind of wanted to show you in person. But, I figured, with everything going on, I''d just show you now. I''ll get it in the mail to you soon."

 Episode 5

    A split unit air conditioner in the two bed hotel room hums up to speed as the vent blades slowly open. Seconds later the electronic door room beeps loudly and disengages with a solid thunk. The door swings open, and Samantha rushes in with Gerald following immediately behind her. Gerald hurries over to a desk near the large room window, places his camera down, and flips up a laptop screen. As the device springs to life, he eagerly connects the camera to the computer. Throwing herself onto one of the beds, Samantha pulls herself to the edge and fishes a laptop out of a carrier bag with an excited grin. "I can''t fucking believe it! Howie is going to love this! When you get the video downloaded, send it straight to his aethermail."


    Gerald swiftly slips into the chair near the desk and concentrates his full attention to the screen. "Will do! Howard is going to flip when he see this in his mail tomorrow."


    A wicked smile emerges on Samantha''s face, and she toggles the speakerphone on her aetherphone. "Tomorrow?! Oh, he''s seeing this tonight!"


    Blinking from a flit of shock, Gerald halts mid key presses and spins his head to face Samantha. "Are you sure about that? It''s pretty late his time where he''s at right now. And... Last time we called him late... It wasn''t with good news."


    Samantha places the phone next to her, taps the screen, and situates herself on the bed with a smug perk of her posture. "Oh, he''ll be fine once he sees the video."


    The phone rings, rings again, and again. After a few more chimes, the device clicks loudly as sounds of ambient quiet from the other side of the call filter out. A loud cough, a phlegm choked growl, and begrudging groan blasts out from the speaker. "Oh gods... Who the fuck is it at this hour?"


    With her sweetest and most innocent voice, Samantha cheerful chimes. "It''s me, Howie!"


    A long pause hangs in the room. A long strained sigh breathes out from the other side of the connection and the voice dreadfully pleads. "Dear gods... Please tell me one of the lemmings hasn''t gotten themselves killed already-"


    Samantha squirms annoyed and blurts out with tinges of disappointment. "NO! They''re all alive. Check your mail, Howie."


    The phone resonates with the sounds of Howard stirring around on his side of the world. Grumbling to himself, he directs his frustration over the phone. "GERALD. Are you there?"


    Gerald cringes, pauses from his work on the laptop, and chuckles uneasily. "Yes. I''m here. And I warned her!"


    Sounds of movement stop, and Howard sniffs up groggy congestion and sighs long. "Okay, I''m opening it. I swear this had better be good. I''m coming down from a night I may not remember in the morning, and my head is pounding. If this isn''t good, I''m booking you two rooms at the roach motel the new team are-"


    The sudden drop into silence steals the attention of Gerald and Samantha. Loud gasps from the phone interrupt the glances Samantha and Gerald exchange. Gleeful cackles prompt Samantha and Gerald to curl celebratory fists to each other with growing smiles. A pleasureful moan rolls in from the phone. "Oh... Oh my. This... THIS is why I keep you two around. You two can find the speck of pure gold in a sea of shit."


    Samantha lowers her head to her phone with an inquiring curl at the corner of her mouth. "So... How should we proceed?"


    A few hums and clicks of the mouth play over the speaker before settling, and Howard drawls in a contemplative breath. "You two keep on task. I''ll mail over a copy of the mission our adventurers are going on at the start of the work week. It''s just some simple survey of some musty old ruins. There''s a few on the list they had, so I got the one closest to town. I''m going to pound down two aspirin and a liter of water, and sleep some happy dreams thanks to you two. I''m going to call in a few favors from certain people who didn''t realize they owed me. Then... We''ll go from there."


    With a sly smile, Samantha sinks into her pile of hotel bed pillows. "Will do. Oh, and they''ve already had some encounters with each other."


    Howard''s anticipation exudes from the speaker. "Oh? Do tell."


    A fully evil grin overtakes Samantha''s face. "Deedri held up Aristespha. I swear Aristespha was about to draw the sword. And, Trakenthin flirted with Dretphi... and got shut down."


    Howard releases a satisfied breath and chuckles darkly. "Oh my, dear. If you talk any dirtier to me, I might need to start paying per minute."


    Samantha laughs and reaches over to her phone. "Then, I guess I need to let you off. If we get any more goodies, we''ll let you know."


    Gerald directs his voice towards Samantha''s phone. "Hey, Howard. You wouldn''t happen to know who the new guy is in the group? I''ve never seen him before."


    Samantha nods in confirmation to Gerald and waits for Howard''s response. After a very long stretch of silence, a whisper of genuine surprise finds its way over. "Oh my. That has to be Sebastian''s brother! Bach Warwick. I remember seeing his name mentioned in some material about Sebastian. Oh, I am interested now... What is he doing around with them now?"


    ----


    A collection of documents litter the dining in the living area of the house with a few tables and a holoplayer in the mix. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia debate between each other and shift their attention between different quest information packets. Bach sits back in his seat, occasionally glancing towards his brother curiously. A faint reverberating sigh slips out from Sebastian, and he grants an understanding nod to Bach. After some time, he manages an ethereal whistle and grabs everyone''s attention. "Okay... So, I think we''re all in agreement that we''d all like to slum it a bit with a whole bunch of easy jobs. Correct?"


    Throwing her head of dark red hair back, Sotalia lifts an eyebrow and huffs. "Yes! Just some straight forward gigs for once. Preferably anything that a good fireball could fix. I''m starting to feel out of practice?"


    Bach momentarily furrows his brow and narrows an incredulous stare. Cideeda stretches her arms out across the table and rests her head on the tabletop with flicks of her furry ears. "That would be nice. Though, I still like mine. It''s not everyday a local government gives free reign to crack open an old military installation. Just think of what we could find..."


    A toothy grin graces her light brown face, and a greedy spark glints in her emerald green eyes. "That really wouldn''t be worth reporting to the government officials.


    Dretphi nods with both her hands propping her head up above the table and stares inwards contemplatively. "I am interested in that job. Not now. Later. We need a simple, safe job now."


    Uncrossing her arms, Aristespha shrugs her shoulders and idly with her silvery blue hair. "I''ll admit that after all we have been through, a few easy jobs would be nice. BUT... We will need to start thinking about looking for signs of Noxian after this."


    Sotalia, Cideeda, and Dretphi nod in agreement, while Sebastian ponders quietly and Bach remains uncomfortable in his seat. Sotalia swings her attention to Sebastian and narrows her golden eyes in anticipation. "So, what''s the plan?"


    Sebastian points to three packets and motions for Dretphi and Cideeda to group them together in the middle of the table. "Well, these three seem simple and straight-forward. Since this will be Bach''s first mission, I think he should choose."


    Startling back to the awareness, Bach glances around at the situation around him and uneasily notices the attention upon him. He leans forward slowly and pulls the three stacks of paper closer. Reading over the summary texts, he furrows his brow as memory flips back to the recent. After deliberation and swapping between the packets, he summons up a bit of confidence and places down his choice in front of his brother. "I think I like this one best."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form leans closer to the document, and he nods with a intrigued smirk. "So, tell us, why that one?"


    Bach sits up straight in surprise. Sorting through a flurry of thoughts, he draws in a deep breath and ponders out loud. "Um... Well... It''s a survey job. The place is an abandoned outpost for a long dead government. It was last reported inactive. All the job says is they want a group to go out and make sure it still is inactive. If all goes well, we tour a piece of history, take some pictures, and go home without any trouble. Also... If this one isn''t too much trouble, it looks like they''ve got a few similar places that need surveying, too."


    Sebastian surveys the rest of the team''s reactions and gauges their expressions. When agreement manifests upon Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia''s faces, Sebastian crosses his arms and smiles proudly. "Alright. If there''s no objections, let''s do it. We''ll see how this one goes and pick the next one from there."


    Reaching over the table from her seat, Aristespha plucks up the job and keys identification numbers into her tablet. "I''ll send our bid in. I should get confirmation sometime tonight, and we''ll set off tomorrow morning."


    Sebastian drifts down and gazes at Bach with a grin. "How does it feel choosing your first mission, bro?"


    Bach blinks with his thoughts, breathes deeply, and groans uncertainly. "I don''t know. Excited and worried? I don''t know which is winning out right now."


    With an understanding nod, Sebastian throws his hands to the sides with a shrug. "That''s par for the course. It means you''re keeping all possibilities in mind."


    Tipping her head back, Sotalia laughs while guiding stray bangs over her horns and slyly grins. "Oh, don''t worry... If the mission is a bust, we''ll just blame you."


    Cideeda furrows her brow at Sotalia from across the table and tilts her head into a hand with a smug smile. "Yes. And, we''ll always remind you just when you think everyone has forgotten about it. Right, Sotalia?"


    Averting her eyes away from the group briefly, Sotalia narrows her golden eyed stare and briefly sneers into a defiant grimace. "Gods damn it, girl... ONE time. Just one time. None of you will let me live it down."


    A low grumble emanates from Dretphi, and her attention goes into the internal distance with uncomfortable memory. "Dried slime in my hair... WEEKS... Afterwards."


    Bach scans around the group and furrows a curious gaze at Sebastian. "Um, do I want to ask? Or should I leave that one alone?"


    Sebastian chuckles with a few snorts and rubs the back of neck as his bravado fades. "Oh... THAT... Uh, that was NOT one of our finer missions. Admittedly, there were moments. Funny moments to remember... Now."


    Aristespha cringes with a shudder down her spine and shakes her head side to side as memories surface back up. "Gods... We went to check out an unexplored ruin for a newly formed county, since the ruin was in their land grant from the state. The only history we could find was that a very strange mage from the second era lived around there. A VERY strange mage indeed..."


    Sotalia groans with traces of disgust surfacing and raps her long, black fingernails upon a paperwork packet as her discomfort simmers. "It turned out that mage had some crazy idea to find a commercial purpose for this breed of ooze he found on some trip. It was a herbivore slime that was harmless."


    Narrowing her emerald eyes with a stubborn muscle twitch forming, Cideeda grimaces and squirms in her chair with irritated wags of her tail. "Harmless, physically. Mentally, on the other hand..."


    Bach wanders his expectant gaze between the team, pausing with hopes of new information. Dretphi meets Bach''s attention, closes her steely gray eyes, and monotonously speaks. "They spit slime. Excessive amounts. EVERYWHERE."


    Aristespha sinks back into her chair with a slight frown on her ivory face and sighs as she crosses her arms. "That was such a nice top and matching skirt. It was such a shame what happened to it."


    Sotalia nods somberly to Aristespha. "Girl, I know. It really looked good on you. But, there was just no saving it."


    She glances over to Dretphi. Both shake their heads in unison, and Dretphi grits her teeth briefly and sighs. "I am skilled. Not that skilled."


    Sebastian draws a breath in and grins sinisterly. "But, destroying that spawning pool and the lab was fun though."


    Sotalia giggles evilly and flexes her hand in spell casting motions. "Oh gods, we were on our WORST behavior. I fried SO MANY of those little snot ball shits. We absolutely wrecked that place."


    Glancing at the near devious and manic shift around the table, Bach witnesses the displays of satisfaction and vindication around. Aristespha breaks away from her reminiscing. "You will have to understand that while it was certainly destructive and immensely cathartic, it was within mission parameters. The slimes were an invasive species and would need to be destroyed. And despite filing it to the Grand Library, that mage''s notes read worse than a fetish fanfiction."


    Dretphi gazes forward, wrestling down an unamused grimace. "Initially, our actions may have not been appropriately justified. After an hour with the garden hose... In the fall... Before we were allowed into the hotel to shower... Believe our response was MERCIFUL."


    With excited wags of her long tail, Cideeda snickers loudly and rocks back into her chair. "Oh gods! You should have seen the front desk clerk. That was a brave man to stand up to us and tell us we had to wash ourselves off before going any further."


    Aristespha smirks, rolls her violet eyes, and sighs dismissively. "To be fair, they did just get new carpet in the rooms and hallways when we were there. I certainly would not want to explain the mess to my boss, if I were him."


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia narrows her golden eyes and snorts. "Girl, that was probably the best job that guy had going for him in that town. So, I can''t fault him for wanting to keep it."


    Shaking his head with the memories, Sebastian floats away from the table and addresses everyone. "Okay... Well, lets get everything filed and get ready. We''ll head on out early tomorrow and see if we can find a good place for breakfast."


    ----


    The humvee rolls into a parking space behind a large diner, and the powerplant winds down. Cideeda hops out, adjusts the tactical vest over her body suit, and places her keys in a pocket of her cargo shorts. Stepping down, Sotalia ruffles through her armored cloak, unfastens her belt pouches, and places them on her seat before closing the door. Confidently exiting the vehicle, Aristespha brushes off her long sleeved top and pants combination, taps her boots of debris, and cinches the strap to the scabbard of The Sword on her side. Bach steps out and gazes around the area. A gust of wind fans his duster and blows his longer hair around. Grinning as the fluttering duster dramatically reveals the rest of his armored attire, Bach stands tall as a swell confidence washes over him. Sotalia rolls her eyes with a smile and walks towards the front door quietly snickering. Dretphi works her way through the aisle of the humvee and squeezes behind a pulled up seat to get outside. Her tall stature imposes with the dark gray soft armor plating layering her body. The group gathers back up and ventures to the front door of the diner. Bach calls ahead towards Cideeda. "So, I guess it''s easier parking in the back?"


    Flicking her furry ear back, Cideeda glances over her shoulder. "That, and it keeps us from tipping people off. I try to park away from the windows."


    Sotalia pulls open the front door to the building and pivots to face Bach while holding the door open. "Gods, we were having the WORST luck capturing bounties when we got the humvee. Then, it finally dawned on us that even an old humvee was just suspicious enough to make people on the run nervous."


    Rolling her emerald green eyes, Cideeda steps through the doorway with a wry smirk. "I don''t know. I always thought the old battered work van we had was scarier than an antique military vehicle. That''s just me, I guess."


    Aristespha strides in front of the group to the restaurant host and greets him with a calm smile. The host perks up and surveys the group while hovering a stylus over a podium mounted tablet. "Hello! Welcome to the Amaranth Dining House, we are currently serving breakfast! Seating for five?"


    Nodding in agreement, Aristespha pats on the handle of the sword at her side. "Yes, a table please, if possible. Also, is there any issue with this?"


    The host glances down to the sword and shakes his head nonchalantly. "Oh, none at all. All we ask is that melee weapons remain sheathed and locked. Any large firearms will need to be unloaded and placed into these lockers over there. Finally, we kindly request no casting of powerful or dangerous spells on the premises."


    As the rest of the team approve of the rules, Bach relaxes his shoulders and tilts his head curiously to the side. "Huh, wow. That''s a pretty permissive policy."


    The host sweeps a stack of menus, taps commands on the podium tablet, and motions the party to follow him. "Well, here at the Amaranth Dining House, we like to accommodate adventurers, mercenaries, and specialists that often operate out of our city. In fact, we even have seating geared for such groups to make it easier to enjoy your dining experience!"


    Bach chuckles lightly and glances around the busy restaurant, as the group weaves through the walkways between seating sections. "Ah. Probably to keep from scaring the locals?"


    The host glances back, quirks a brow, and smiles amused. "Well, actually, it''s quite the opposite. There''s a yearly adventuring convention at a center nearby, and the attendees have an annoying habit of bothering our adventuring patrons. So, if ever we ask for guild registration cards, that''s because the convention is happening and we want to make sure you all can dine in peace."


    The party enters an area with larger tables, wider gaps separating the tables, and reinforced steel chairs with extra cushioning. The host surveys the area and visually checks the two other groups dining already. A dozen of specialist military personnel from the Greater Azure Alliance converse between two tables, and a small team of three people with the markings of Borderland Rangers idle with fresh coffee between them. Directing the party to a table, the host distributes menus and bows politely. "Your server will be with you shortly. I hope you enjoy your time here."


    Everyone slides the sturdy steel chairs and sits down to browse the menus. Dretphi quirks an intrigued eyebrow and twists her mouth uncertainly. "Grath style steak, eggs. Interesting. Shall see how Grath that is."


    Sotalia points to a spot on the menu and squints her golden eyes down the list. "Yeah, I saw that. I think I''m going to play it safe with the pancakes, bacon, and eggs platter."


    Placing the menu down, Bach nods and straightens his posture. "Think I''ll have to do the Grand Tour."


    Cideeda licks her lips, agrees with herself, and passes the menu down to the forming pile. "Fruit, yogurt, and juice for me."


    Perplexed at Cideeda, Bach furrows his brow and cocks his head. "That''s all?"


    Lifting an eyebrow, Cideeda cracks a smirk and motions to herself. "I have a figure to maintain if I''m to fit in half the ducts I crawl into in most of these ruins. That..."


    She bounces her emerald green stare between Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia with a wry curl to her grimace. "And, I don''t have the convenience of being able to nuke calories like you mages."


    With a perk of her furry ears, she taps a claw tip upon a colorful picture on the front of the menu. "Also... I think I''m going to get a dozen of those honey buns to go. I''m going to need a little something later if we''re digging around ruins."


    A server arrives at the table with a tray of mugs and a glass pot of coffee. After delivering the precious cargo to the table, she stands by ready to take orders and sweeps gaze over. "Hello, I''m Kimberly and I''ll be your server. Are you all ready to order?"


    Aristespha lifts a finger up to catch Kimberly''s attention, points to a section of the menu, and smiles politely. "Yes. I''ll have the sausage and bacon platter. And if at all possible, could they cook the toast on the grill after they fry the bacon?


    Kimberly jots down the request and nods with a smile. "I''m certain our cooks can manage that."


    She cycles around the table while writing down orders and leaves towards the kitchen. Pausing to talk to the manager, Kimberly and the manager both watch vans pull into the parking lot with the "Next Adventurers of Nexus" logo prominent on their sides. Samantha exits out of one of the vans and walks to the back. Gerald hops out and steps to Samantha as she opens the back doors to the equipment. He hoists up a large television camera onto his shoulder and eyes Samantha curiously. "Okay, so what''s the plan here?"


    Samantha flips through her clipboard, furrows her brow as her hazel sort through the maze of notes, and takes a deep breath in. "Okay... The kids will get here in the next few minutes. We''ll run them through some video journal bits and get them in there. If you could, can you record some scenery bits? The editors will need some B rolls to lead from and pad with."


    Gerald nods and takes a quick survey of the area. "I think I''ll get the sign and go from there. You going to confirm with the manager here?"


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Samantha sighs, flips over another mass of paperwork, and pats around her pocketed vest. "Yes. I''ll need to get them prepared and make sure all the arrangements are still good. Plus, I need to make sure they''ve signed all the waivers."


    Inside the reserved section, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia begin to eat their orders of food. Dretphi chews on her steak and furrows her brow uncertainly. Taking a break from his meal, Bach gazes over and judges Dretphi''s reaction. "So, are the steak and eggs really Grath style?"


    Dretphi swallows and balances her opinion into indifference on her tan face. "They are not bad. Do not have a proper stone slab grill. Competent despite limitations."


    Aristespha devours her bacon with ravenous satisfaction, pausing only to answer the stare from Sotalia. "What? It''s been months since I''ve been able to enjoy some greasy breakfast food. Medical magic takes energy, anyway..."


    Sotalia snickers, holds her hand up placatingly, and returns her plate. "Girl, however you want to justify it is fine with me."


    Cideeda''s furry ear flicks repeatedly. Blinking to awareness, she perks her ears towards a source. She pops her head up and searches distantly towards the entry lobby. With a wincing cheek, she grimaces and faces the rest of the team. "Shit..."


    Bach and Sotalia twist in their chairs. Dretphi focuses her gaze and frowns. Aristespha lifts her head up and angrily bites a breakfast sausage in half. Sebastian''s voice echoes faintly from the sword. "Um... I''m obviously missing something here. Anyone want to fill me in? I can''t see much inside the sword."


    Bach settles back in his seat and directs his voice towards the sword. "Uh, the Next Pains of Nexus wants breakfast, too."


    Within the small group of Borderland Rangers, a man briefly aims a steely glare over to the entry point. He grumbles and returns to his meal, shaking his head. "If you see our server, flag him down, Heccaeh."


    The fvalian man nods, takes a moment to scan the area, and then resumes eating. As the sword at Aristespha shifts with her stiffening posture, Sebastian''s ethereal tone rises up. "Dear, just enjoy your meal. We''ll leave before they get too stupid."


    Aristespha grumbles lowly in nearly silent Evuukian between bites. Dretphi glances over to Aristespha with an amused, tight smile and rolls her steely gray eyes. Cideeda resumes eating and flashes a disdainful glare at Deedri. Bach returns his attention to his plate. He stares in confusion as his fork hovers over an empty spot. Sotalia quickly sneaks in a piece of bacon between her lips and into her mouth. Straightening up, she aims the fork back to her own plate and nonchalantly continues her meal. A flurry of activity erupts a few tables down, and recording crews search for positions near their desired shots. The Next Adventurers of Nexus stride prominently to their table in the adventurers section. Chad Bosch leads the pack and stops in front of the Greater Azure Alliance specialists. "It''s always good to check the local places to see what other adventurers and heroes are in town. Such as our men and women in uniform."


    The specialists cheer roughly together in a halfhearted display. Chad continues down the path with a bright smile. Stopping beside Sotalia and Aristespha at the end of the table, he perks his brow with a pleasant tone. "Why hello fellow-"


    Examining the group quickly, his posture stiffens, and he contorts the corner of smile. "Diverse adventurers. What brings all of you to this fair town?"


    Aristespha takes a breath in and molds her posture to project an air of propriety and superiority. "Oh. Nothing significant. Just simple tasks and chores, and other bores to fine adventurers like yourselves. Hopefully, we will be moving on to other quests soon enough."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes size Tassilda up. Noticing the attention, Tassilda smugly judges Sotalia with a light blue on black glare. Donning a stoic exterior, Dretphi remains silent and steers her stare clear of Trakenthin. Deedri happily and excitedly waves to Cideeda, and the bell around her neck rings with the motion. Cideeda weakly waves back, and her halfhearted smile barely hangs on against the awkwardness. Bach eats slowly and sinks slightly down to avoid attention. Nodding at Aristespha, Chad''s brown eyes analyze each member, and he pauses his survey upon Bach. "My knowledge of adventuring allows me to figure out everyone here... Except you..."


    Carefully turning his head, Bach meets the examining gaze from Chad and uneasily glances around. "Um... Intern. You know, just learning the ropes. I''m picking up my schooling where I left off a while ago. Figured I''d try to complete it."


    Chad''s expression flashes back his iconic, non-threatening smile. "Ah! It''s good for a group to take on someone and help them on their journey. It was good to meet all of you, but we must be off."


    Trailing behind the host, the Next Adventurers move to the final table before their own. When the Borderland Rangers get their ticket from the server rushing off, they stand up into the aisle. As the leader just manages to get his wide brimmed, pinched-front hat on, he pivots towards the exit and meets Chad. Extending a hand to shake, Chad grins proudly and nods towards the man. "I''m Chad Bosch, Leader of the Flames of the Phoenix adventuring group. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir!"


    The Borderland Ranger leader squares his shoulders as muffled sounds of cybernetics actuate. He reaches with his right hand into his jacket pocket and hands a roll of cash and the bill to Heccaeh. "You two go pay up and wait in the truck. I''ll be out soon."


    Heccaeh and another woman ranger deftly weave through the crowd of adventurers and crew. The leader fixes his cold, steely eyes directly at Chad. Crossing his arms, he taps upon his right arm with a cybernetic left hand. "Captain Hays of the Borderland Rangers. Acquaintance made. Any business with me you need to discuss?"


    Chad bolsters his bravado and attempts an equivalent stare back at Captain Hays. "Maybe. Any news?"


    A dry corner smile cracks, and Captain Hays bows his head slightly as his hat shades his sun weathered face. "Well... Hauled what was left of some group of would-be adventurers after a supposed geist had its way with them. Thinking about it... You all look real similar to them."


    The harsh silence weighs down upon the area with the epicenter between Hays and Chad. As the seconds pass, Chad struggles against his growing unease as his body fights to squirm. Captain Hays''s smile widens to a thin grin across his scarred cheeks, nearly touching both gray sideburns. "Do us all a favor, and keep out of the zones for... a while."


    Nodding slowly, Chad drags his iconic smile back onto his face and stumbles to finish up the conversation. "I''ll... take that as advice, sir. You have a... nice day."


    The Next Adventurers shuffle over to their table, and the camera crew surrounds them afterwards. Captain Hays shakes his head at the spectacle, and pivots away down the aisle. When his view changes, he stares at Aristespha, Dretphi, Cideeda, and Sotalia with recognition. Halting next to the party''s table, he tips his hat and gazes over the group. "Excuse me. Am I safe to assume you all are who I think you all are?"


    Aristespha perks up, studies Captain Hays, and gently nods. Dretphi, Cideeda, and Sotalia follow suit, while Bach watches uncertainly. Captain Hays reaches into another pocket on his jacket and pulls out a few business cards. "Good. I was told by my commander that if I were to encounter certain persons, I was to give them my contact information. And, I was also to give them assurance that they would have assistance in their quest to eliminate a general pain in everyone''s ass when requested."


    He visits each member around the table, extends a hand to shake, and gives them a business card. When Hays reaches Bach, he pauses a moment, tilts his head, and engages his piercing gaze. "You look... Similar to someone."


    Bach shrugs nervously and chuckles awkwardly. "Um... I''m the brother trying to get back into the swing of things. And eventually... Take on this general pain in the ass."


    Captain Hays holds his hand out and Bach shakes his hand. Flipping the last card out, he places it in Bach''s hand and nods. "I can appreciate that. Good luck, and if you all need to head into the zones, let me know. I''d be happy to get you all a guided tour."


    He gives a final tip of the hat and walks to the front exit, his heavy boots sounding upon the floor and cybernetics actuating when his left arm swings. Rotating the card in his hand, Bach studies it closely and glances at the rest of the team. "Huh. Neat. At least somebody else is on our side."


    Chad narrows his eyes and frigidly stares over his menu, his characteristic smile missing in action.


    ----


    Outside a large perimeter fence, the humvee slows to a halt and the powerplant winds back down. From inside the cab the team stare curiously out at the large warning signs, in different languages and posted at regular intervals. Opening the front passenger''s side door, Sotalia hops out and groans with a roll of her golden eyes. "That woman is such an Emin Purist. Did you see the way she looked at me?! She was totally trying to figure out if I should be called a half-breed or a mutt."


    Stepping out the rear passenger door, Bach glances around the parking area at the dirt and intermixed chunks of pavement. He scratches the back of his head and furrows his brow at Sotalia. "I really didn''t get that from her. It seemed like two mages sizing each other up to me."


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia tosses back the red hair in her face to reveal a smug grin on her light tan face. "Ha! That little wannabe has nothing on me."


    Cideeda slips out the driver''s seat and grumbles while securing her vest and light backpack. "Gods. I just hope they didn''t record me waving to HER and use it in the show."


    Rigid and stiff, Aristespha steps around the vehicle and closer to the perimeter and sighs long. Sebastian''s ethereal visage coasts in front of her, and he presents a loving smile. "Hey. It''s okay, dear. We''re at the job, and we''re away from them."


    Aristespha stretches the tension out of her shoulders and takes in a deep breath with a grimace. "I''ll be fine, Sebastian. I just wanted to have a nice start to the day."


    Sebastian grins and gazes into Aristespha''s violet eyes. "I think we handled it well. And, we got a good contact out of it. So, it''s still a net gain. Let''s get started on the mission."


    With a calming exhale, a reserved smile cracks on Aristespha''s ivory, blue and gray hinted face, and she returns a loving gaze to Sebastian. "Yeah. You are right. Let me get the access code into the perimeter fence, and let us see the entrance to this place."


    Sounds of shuffling and shifting equipment emanate from the back of the humvee, and Dretphi squeezes out. She stands tall, adjusts the hard plating attached to her under-armor, and flexes her body in the suit. Taking hold of a bullpup submachine gun, she guides the carrying strap over her shoulder and checks over the weapon. While the group congregates around the perimeter gate, Aristespha reaches over her shoulder into her small backpack and retrieves a tablet. She reads a few lines of text on the screen and presses buttons on a keypad lock. The status light turns green, a tone rings out, and the gate lock disengages. Aristespha pushes cautiously, and the gate drifts open the rest of the way. The party walks down a rough dirt path between overgrown grass to the entrance of the old outpost. Behind shrubs and vines, another series of moss stained warning signs decorate the walls near the entrance of the facility. Holding the tablet up to the group, Aristespha angles the screen to avoid the glare slipping through the sparse canopy of the surrounding trees. "Okay. This was the last picture taken of the entrance."


    The team scrutinizes the picture on the tablet, compares it against the worn and aged entrance, and bounce between the finer details. After a few minutes, the group settles upon a mix of indifference and unimpressed. Gauging their expressions, Sebastian confidently poses and puts on a daring grin. "Well, that''s a good sign so far. This is looking like it''ll be a straight forward-"


    Low, barely audible noises of utility systems powering up flood the air around the entrance. Dim lights switch on down the previous dark hallway past the entrance, with a lone exterior lamp flickering to life at the end of the chain. Sebastian''s confidence wilts away into an awkward smirk. He blinks in disbelief, while holding his arms out puzzling. Moments later, he glances over his shoulder to Aristespha and furrows his ethereal brow. "This is NOT in the description of how it was, right?"


    Aristespha slowly shakes her head as her violet eyes dart around seeking an answer. The group checks, primes, and readies their weapons and equipment. Sebastian hovers in front of the group and motions the team. "Alright. I''ll scout five to ten meters ahead to check for anything obvious. Dretphi and Cideeda mind the front. Aristespha and Sotalia be ready with magic and range. Bach, support where you can and keep an eye on the back to make sure whatever doesn''t try to pull a cheap one on us from behind. Okay... Let''s do this."


    The team filters through the entrance cautiously steps through the long hall, deeper into the structure. They wander down wide, dusty corridors under the glow of grime coated lamps. At each intersection, Sebastian''s visage coasts down each path and carefully surveys the passages. During the exploration, Cideeda''s furry ears perk towards suspicious devices, and she halts the team to investigate further. Dretphi keeps watch over the group as her suspicions bounce between the dark ends of hallways and the shadows beyond open doors. Glancing her golden gaze around, Sotalia pauses with a grimace during the inspection and frowns uncertainly. Aristespha eyes unique details of the structure and compares it against a similar picture on her tablet. With paranoia keeping him tense, Bach uneasily darts his gaze around each turn and corridor with his hand on his holstered plasma pistol.


    As the party delves further in the barely functional facility, tension gives way to suspicion. Phasing through armored doors, Sebastian peeks beyond physical reach and puzzles at the findings with confusion growing. Steps upon the concrete floors echo over the still, stagnant silence. Concern and worry wanes against the waves of bewilderment and frustration washing over the team. As the team reaches another intersection of pipe and panel lined halls, Cideeda rubs her temples in frustration and growls out. "OKAY. WHAT is going on here?!"


    Drifting back down the dimly lit, concrete hallway towards the group, Sebastian surveys the vicinity as he flies along. "Nothing. The lights are on, but... there''s literally no one home. I checked behind the doors, and there''s a few defense droids that might be functional. I mean, there was that one room with stasis pods for cyborgs or something crazy like that. But, it doesn''t look like anything has moved in decades. Plenty of undisturbed layers of dust everywhere, and nothing else is on besides some emergency lamps."


    Gritting her sharp teeth, Cideeda lowers her furry ears and cocks her head with a frown. "This is not right. I''ve found detectors and sensors not even powered up for some kind of advanced security system. Hell, I bet the cameras aren''t even active."


    Bach glances up and spots an aged coated dome on the ceiling within the next stretch of hallway. When he points it out, Cideeda nods, squints her emerald green eyes, and aims her furry ears at the device. Reaching into a pocket, she draws out a green beamed laser pointer and aims a dot right at the camera. "Yeah. That definitely is a camera and looks like one on a gimbal. But... normally, I would hear servos running or even high pitched electrical whines from some of the components. There''s nothing."


    Bach''s eyes glow a faint blue, and he holds his hand out. A small glowing orb immediately forms in the palm of his hand. He glances around at the team and waits. Cideeda quickly nods a confirmation and points a claw tip down the hall. With a flick of the wrist, Bach sends the glowing orb drifting down a dimly lit passage. Cideeda carefully watches and listens with her furry ears flicking around the air. Shaking her head, she twists her mouth and contorts an unsatisfied grimace on her light brown face. "Nothing. Didn''t even TRY to motion detect and track. Even if it was on some kind of standby mode that should have woken it up."


    Aristespha closes her glowing violet eyes and rubs the fatigue forming in her face. She opens her eyes back up, no longer glowing, and sighs. "I am not detecting any kind of magical activity here. No recent or even past disturbances from what I can sense."


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia spins in place and scans the immediate area, unamused. "I can confirm that. Absolutely nothing."


    She bends over, picks up a small toothpick sized stick on the floor, and holds it for everyone. Faint traces of magic flow coast up her arm to her hand, the toothpick glows brightly, and she frowns. "The only time I''ve seen any of these magical detector sticks activate is when I trigger them. There''s nothing magically going on here."


    Dretphi furrows her brow, kneels down to the smooth, concrete floor, and drags a gauntlet covered finger along it. Countless years of dust collect during the long swipe, and the cleared section reveals the contrast between the caked on dust and floor. "I have not seen any area disturbed. No signs of activity."


    Sebastian crosses his arms, stares off in thought, and ponders out loud. "Dear? Does the info you got have a map showing where the command center is?"


    Pulling out her tablet, Aristespha flips through documents and settles upon a detailed image. After searching through a rough map, she points down a hallway. "Yes, Sebastian. It should be on this floor. That way, from what this says."


    Sebastian narrows his determination down the corridor. "Anyone against going straight to the command center and figuring out what the hell is going on here?"


    No one voices an objection and similar curiosity grows within the group. Sebastian nods and floats down the hallway, and the team follows soon after. Leading the squad down, Sebastian ethereal blue eyes dart around to the age coated wall panels, the dark recesses of the metal piping, and the faintly fluctuating lighting fixtures. As he sweeps down another intersection at Aristespha''s instruction, Cideeda and Dretphi swiftly sweep the other avenues before proceeding. When Aristespha and Sotalia round the corner, Bach briefly slows his pace and stares down the still corridors into the hazy shadows beyond his sight. Shuddering back to awareness, he rushes to catch up with the group and keeps a nervous glance around at the dark corners of the concrete and metal passage. Down another turn, Sebastian coasts to a halt in front of a huge, reinforced doorway and studies the imposing steel sealing off the entry. Stepping up, Cideeda scrutinizes the massive security door and cringes as her inspection continues with a frustrated sigh. "THIS is going to be rough to open. They really only built this thing to be serviceable from the other side."


    Tapping her claw tips upon the steel and sniffing the air, she presses her furry ear upon the frame and waits while her emerald green eyes search around her mind. "And... It doesn''t seem like... The door is getting any power."


    She steps back from the massive entry and walks along the nearby wall glancing between different panel outlines. "So, I''m afraid that there probably isn''t a proper override I can do on this side. While most of the security seems to be out... There may be a separate alarm system that I don''t want to trigger by digging too deep in the control circuits."


    Nodding at the conclusion, Sebastian''s ethereal form phases through the door. Seconds later, he slips back from the other side with a concerned frown. "The panel looks dead on the other side, too. But, this thing, um, feels like a solid chunk of steel. Well, it doesn''t feel hollow for me. Also, there''s definitely some activity going on with the computers and electronics in this command center."


    Cideeda paces around the hallway near the doorway and mutters to herself. "Okay... So, there''s probably nothing critical inside the door, which makes sense to keep all the important bits safe... We might be able to cut it. But this thick of a door..."


    A thought springs to the front of Dretphi''s face, and she cocks her helmeted head. Perking her brow, she gazes down at Bach for a moment and sorts through her ideas. She steps besides Bach and taps him on the shoulder. "You can precisely melt the steel into a hole. Can you precisely melt the steel out to form hole?"


    Drifting off in thought, Bach furrows his brow and scratches the back of head with building intrigue. "I... I think I can. I should be able to melt a pinpoint column through the steel and extract the molten stuff out. That should effectively cut it, right?"


    Dretphi shifts her gauntlet from Bach''s shoulder to the middle of his back and firmly but gently pushes him towards Cideeda. Bach follows the physical hint, steps over, and kneels next to Cideeda while she examines the door. Sotalia and Aristespha watch curiously. Bach taps the door with a knuckle. "Okay. Where do you want to cut?"


    A toothy grin grows on Cideeda''s face, and she reaches into a pocket on her vest for a white paint marker. Deftly sketching out an outline, she taps upon the massive doors. "This should be big enough for everyone to fit through without taking out too much structure and making it too hard to remove the cut."


    Watching his brother, Sebastian smiles with pride and motions beyond the doorway. "Okay, bro. I''ll keep a watch in there to see if any alarms go off."


    Bach situates himself, braces a hand on the door frame, and hovers the other hand a few centimeters away from the door over the sketch line. His eyes flicker to a constant blue glow, and a pinpoint spot on the door brightens from a dull red to a brilliant white. A thin stream of cooling steel specks flow from the glowing spot and spatter upon the concrete floor. As the glowing spot creeps along, it leaves a thin ribbon of space behind. Slowly the slicing dot crawls centimeters from its origin. A swell determination fills Bach''s focused stare, and he opens his hand wide, splaying fingers out. Transparent outlines of objects materialize between the door and his palm, and the details fill in. They form into mechanical, technological manifestations, and traces of magical flow etch pathways upon the ethereal objects. The cutting point slides faster and more molten spatter erupts. Another series of magical objects manifest within the streams of flow wrapping around the magical machinations and weave the forming constructs. Bach''s eyes glow brighter, and energy flows surges to brilliant illumination around his arm. Over the intense minutes, Bach drives the cut down Cideeda''s white paint outlines faster with each lamination of magical constructs.


    When Bach''s hand reaches the original starting point, he relaxes his arm as the ethereal constructs break down into cloudy masses. His eyes dim, and the magical manifestations dissipate into the flows that sink back into Bach. Bowing his head down, he wipes the sweat from his brow and breathes deeply. He raises his head back up, pauses a moment, and glances around at the closely gathered audience, Sotalia and Aristespha watching over a shoulder and Cideeda and Dretphi kneeling close to the door. He tilts his head up and spots Sebastian hovers above. Furrowing his brow, he glances up confused at his brother. "Hey! Weren''t you supposed to be watching the inside? For alarm or something?"


    Noticing the shift of attention upon him, Sebastian shrugs nonchalantly and nods his head towards the door. "Bro, if the first five minutes of this didn''t trigger anything, I figured the last weren''t either. I don''t think they expected someone to be able to magically slice through this thing without someone inside taking issue with it."


    Leaning forward to get his feet underneath, Bach attempts to stand up, stumbles in a daze, and partially doubles over. Sotalia and Aristespha support Bach, taking an arm each. Sotalia pats Bach''s shoulder and grins slyly with an amused tone. "Okay. That''s enough showing off today. I''ll take care of the rest."


    Aristespha ushers Bach away from the door and eases him down on the floor against the opposing wall. Dropping to a knee, she performs a simple check over on Bach. Catching her serious glare, Bach sighs. "I guess I did something you are going to be questioning me about later?"


    Aristespha calmly nods and softens her serious tone. "Yes. Admittedly, your control and restraint lessens many of my concerns. Just don''t forget those, and pace yourself, please."


    Planting her feet back from the door, Sotalia shifts her stance and holds her arms out. She recites incantations, moves her arms with the forming flows of energy, and gestures methodically with her hands. Symbols beam brightly on arms, a golden light shines from her eyes, and streams of magic surge through the air onto her palms. Placing both hands together, she directs a beam of energy onto the cut section of the door. Translucent power envelops the massive chunk, and faint metallic clunks sound out. Tugging upon the beam of flow, Sotalia slides the steel out of the greater whole of the door, and rough scrapes resonate as the circular chunk grinds against the fresh slices. She exudes an air of confidence, glee, and accomplishment when the hundred millimeter thick, meter diameter steel plug drifts free. With grace and pride, she strides out of the way of the chunk, rotates it with a wave of her hand, and guides it down on the concrete with a heavy thud. Finishing with a dramatic flourish, she directs everyone towards the opening. "Volunteers?"


    Cideeda leads the way and the team slips through the opening. Underneath the layers of dust, the command center contains rows of computing equipment, desks, and chairs. Old stationary and supplies litter the tops of tables under worn and stained whiteboards. Above the team, a complete drop ceiling remains with minimal stains coloring the tiles. As the team explores further into the space, attention shifts towards the badly damaged section of floor and the one large widening crack leading towards a corner. Dretphi sweeps the area with a spot lamp and keeps a close hand on her sub-machine gun. Sotalia searches some desk drawers near the entry. Cideeda signals Aristespha to an active terminal glowing underneath a thick coating of grime. After she wipes the display clear, Aristespha leans close. As she stares at the constant line after line of text, Sotalia curiously peeks over her shoulder and squints her golden eyes. Furrowing her brow, Aristespha cocks her head as recognition fills her face. "I don''t remember the exact dialect. But... I get the rough idea. It looks like status messages and warnings about environment controls."


    Sotalia follows another stream of output from the terminal and nods in agreement. "You''re right, girl. That''s the impression I''m getting, too. Serious looking warnings.


    While wandering around in awe at the place, Bach notices a dim glow and wipes dust off a screen. "Hey! I got a working one here, too. It''s spitting out a bunch of messages."


    Sotalia rushes over, guides a stray strand of dark red over a horn, and reads the text. "Communications control. It received a status update from another remote site a week ago? And a full alert from another site nearby a few hours ago? Error... Security offline?"


    As she edges closer to the opening the concrete floor, Dretphi stomps a foot down ahead and waits a moment. After checking the floor in front of her, she shines the spotlight down into a small chasm. Cideeda cautiously approaches and examines the area. "All these large power cables in the ceiling with data lines are running down to-"


    Blinking her emerald green eyes in surprise, she smirks with a dismissive snort. "Well. That''s probably the security system master control. It looks like something shifted below this place?"


    Aiming the spot lamp around into the deep pit and tracing the smooth depths through the thin edges, Dretphi cocks her helmeted head and grimaces behind her full face visor. "Sinkhole. Hard to tell the cause. Limestone cave? Collapse in an unknown cave below? Significant damage regardless."


    Perking her furry ears up, Cideeda squints her emerald green eyes and slink back after the edge. "Yeah... Looks like the security control system fell down and took the main power generator out with it."


    Cideeda reflexively pats a vest pocket and cocks her head of short, multicolored hair. Dretphi taps control buttons on the side of her helmet, and Bach pulls out his aetherphones. Inspecting the alert on the screen, Cideeda blinks confused and puzzles at the message. "That''s an emergency radio broadcast? That''s strange, how are we receiving anything this deep in here?"


    Sweeping his phone around, Bach watches the signal strength. "It''s weak, but... I think it''s somewhere around here? Is that right?"


    Dretphi glances around and shrugs. Cideeda taps through a few menus, holds her phone out, and pans it around. After a few passes, she points to a direction. Bach nods, pivots in place, and motions towards slack cables hanging from torn conduits. Aristespha and Sotalia approach and their aetherphones chime when they get close. Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach gazes curiously at Cideeda. "Uh, could it be coming from those lines?"


    Carefully stepping up to the mass of torn cabling, Cideeda holds her phone near the exposed copper wiring and ponders out loud while isolating the signal. "Um, that''s possible. If something is transmitting on those lines, or maybe some outside interference is getting relayed? But, this emergency signal is using a modern protocol, why would that be going across some ancient ruin''s lines? Okay, let me turn on the speaker now-"


    "To anyone- ... Mission to Outpost- ... Base security system came online. Part of the camera crew for Next Adventurers of... Trapped in the Command center. SEND HELP!"


    A wave of dread looms over the team, and they collectively cringe.

 Episode 6

    Samantha lunges right into the mercenary leader''s face and scowls. "What do you mean, you don''t do rescue missions?!"


    Weathering the verbal assault, the leader remains stoic and collected with strictly business exterior. "We were hired to guard key targets. We have guarded them to extraction, and we will remain with them until they are away from this site. As per the exact specifications of our contract."


    Stepping back in huff, Samantha''s face reddens with bubbling anger, and she growls loudly. "YOU. CAN''T. BE. SERIOUS! I''ve got a whole camera crew unit trapped down there, and you bunch of fucking tools won''t move a gods damn finger to rescue them!"


    Straightening his tall, armored form, the leader glowers over Samantha, summons up his resolve, and points over to The Next Adventurers of Nexus. "Ma''am. We guard the specified assets until they leave the site. Again. That''s our contract. Period."


    Boiling rage swell up into Samantha''s twitching face, and she grits her teeth with hiss. "Then, what do YOU propose I do with my trapped camera crew?!"


    The mercenary leader quirks his brow, glances behind Samantha, and coolly directs her. "I don''t know. Maybe you should try hiring them."


    Aristespha leads Dretphi, Cideeda, Sotalia, and Bach around the chaotic gatherings of recording teams and scans the different people rushing about. Settling her stare upon Samantha, she stops right behind her and hems. "Excuse me. Sorry to intrude, but are you in charge here?"


    Spinning around quickly, Samantha greets Aristespha with brief shock. "Hello- I- Oh. Hello! Yes, I''m in charge for all practical purposes. And, I''m SO glad you are here!"


    Aristespha nods with a slight bow, draws in a long breath, and maintains a calm expression against her unamused tone. "Excellent. We picked up an emergency broadcast at another site, and were able to ascertain that it was coming from here. What is the exact situation?"


    Samantha blinks her hazel eyes blankly a moment but swiftly gathers her thoughts. "Oh... Yes! It seems that some of the outpost''s defenses have been reactivated. We got everyone out except a camera crew unit of six people that got separated in the chaos. They are currently held up and trapped down in the command center of the base."


    Nodding her understanding, Aristespha holds her hand out and levels a commanding gaze right at Samantha. "Give us a copy of any maps you have. Mark their known location, along with any information about where you encountered the defenses. Also, have there been any recent communications from the crew?"


    Gerald overhears the conversation from nearby, scrambles over searching his pockets, and presents his materials with a pencil at the ready. "Here! We were last together in this hallway running from the things. They''ve radioed that they''ve barricaded themselves here and managed to lock the security door."


    Aristespha passes the marked map to Cideeda nearby while Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia peek over. "Thank you. What defenses did you encounter?"


    Samantha wags her finger to a few bodies near the entrance of the outpost. "Over there! They look like cyber-zombies or something like that. Like rotting bodies with machine parts."


    With a curt nod to Samantha, Aristespha signals the rest of the group. They walk over towards the entrance, and gather around the unmoving humanoid figures on the ground. Samantha follows until she breaks off to the side with Gerald in tow. Well behind impromptu barricades and equipment, Chad Bosch narrows his brown eyes at the other team. Ignoring the requests of a mercenary guard, he storms defiantly around him. He lines up an intercept to Samantha and stops in front of her. "What the hell is going on here?! I thought we were going to get a chance to go back down! We''re supposed to be the heroic adventurers here! So, why aren''t we being the heroes?!"


    Samantha''s voice rises louder than Chad in sheer indignation, and glares through his being. Chad crosses his arms, puffs up his chest under his breast plate, and stares down at Samantha. Chad snaps a retort, and an argument between Samantha and him ignites fully. Escaping out of earshot of the verbal outbursts, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi and Sotalia split around to inspect the strange bodies near the entrance to the ruins. Twisting her mouth in thought, Aristespha sneers her upper lip and kneels for a closer examination. "Oh my. I haven''t seen beings like this in a while."


    Sotalia stands next to Aristespha and uncomfortably wanders her golden gazes over the humanoid creatures. "They look like vat grown cybernetic soldiers... Oh, ew. They look like they''ve been out of the stasis pods for too long."


    Aristespha gestures as a violet glow lights up her eyes. Moving her hand over the body, parts of the body move with Aristespha''s hand motions. She scrunches up her hose as she investigates further. "Yes, they certainly have. The preservative bio-gel spoiled quite some time ago. There is only the barest amount left to maintain basic functions."


    Sotalia fans her free hand against the stench and covers her nose. "Gods, that''s a lot of decay. Is there any natural tissue left?"


    Pondering a moment, Aristespha furrows a curious brow at the body. "That is a good question."


    She gestures deftly within a faint haze of magical energies branching onto the corpse, and a slice of rotting flesh peels off the body''s leg. Snapping her head the other way, Sotalia winces her golden eyes shot and gasps loudly. "Dammit, girl! Warn me before you do that!"


    The rest of the team huddles around another, similar corpse. Cideeda hovers a claw tip above the many exposed implant lines in the body and traces out the routes within the flesh. "These are some serious cybernetics inside here. They''ve got some serious power throughput with implanted conduits that big."


    Dretphi searches the area, finds a stick nearby, and taps spots on the body. "Armor reinforcements in key areas. Small arms did not affect them significantly. Concentrated vital hits were ineffective."


    Cideeda''s investigative stare stops around the neck, and she holds her hand out for Dretphi''s stick. Passing the stick over, she follows Cideeda''s gaze and squints her steely gray eyes through her full face visor. Bach scoots over to get a better view. Cideeda pries a severed cable from the neck and perks an intrigued brow. "I bet that''s what stopped this thing."


    Hovering a hand over the cable, Bach''s eyes glow faintly. "I guess that''s some kind of power cable, because I''m feeling some power in it."


    Bach slides his gaze to a round metal cover on the chest of the body. "And THIS has to be a power source. I feel it."


    Cideeda taps the metal cover with the stick and grimaces with a light bite of her lower lip. "I think these use removable power cores. From the construction, it looks like you should be able to change them out. You want to try to open it?"


    Tilting his head, Bach groans with an uncertain twist in his expression. "Ah... I don''t know. But... It''d probably be best if we could make sure they had no power. I''ll give it a shot."


    Bach readies his hand right above the metal cover and concentrates as his eyes illuminate with a blue glow. After a minute, the power core cover turns sharply and then slowly unscrews itself. As Bach smirks with flits of confidence, the small plate floats off to the side, locking mechanisms within the chamber disengage, and a metallic tube with a row of lights along the side rises out. Both Cideeda and Dretphi focus on the extracted device. Dretphi reads the characters etched on the side and furrows her brow. "Military issue. High capacity power core."


    Cideeda widens her emerald green gaze at the power core. "Holy shit.... That thing is almost fully charged. After all these years, it''s still got that much in it."


    Aristespha and Sotalia peer above the gathering. Shaking her head, Aristespha sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "That means they have plenty of power to make up for the lack of functional biological tissue. That unfortunately explains a lot."


    Bach grabs the power core and stands up along with Cideeda and Dretphi. Holding her chin, Aristespha thinks and briefly pivots her head to Samantha who is now arguing with Chad, Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran. Sebastian''s voice ethereally sounds out from the sword at Aristespha''s side "Hey, Bach, Cideeda? Could you make sure these cyborgs out here are disabled. We definitely don''t need any more trouble out there."


    A loud and feverish argument between Samantha and the Next Adventurers rises up from the background noise. Sebastian sighs with faint reverberation from within the sword. "Sotalia and Dretphi. Get what equipment we need ready. Dear?"


    Aristespha hardens her composure, neatens up her attire, and groans as she watches Samantha berate the other group. "I know. I''ll inform... Them... That we are going in, and meet everyone back here."


    A flurry of voices clash in the air and flood clearing around the facility with the back and forth of confrontation. Within a section of crumbling pavement encircled by mercenary guards, the Next Adventurers of Nexus stand around either arguing or idling. Recording crews slink around the edges of the space between capturing a few shots of the action and avoiding the attention from those in the conflict. With Tassilda and Trakenthin at his sides, Chad stands defiantly up and glares unamused at Samantha. "Listen, WE are supposed to be the Next Adventurers of Nexus! So, why are we not adventuring back down there?! This whole show is about people doing adventures."


    He jabs a point towards the entrances of the ancient facility and narrows his glower. "There''s literally an adventure right THERE! Yet, you say we can''t do it!"


    Samantha twitches her cheek under her eye and focuses her ire at Chad. "LISTEN! This was supposed to be a simple mission to get all of you familiar with each other and establish a group dynamic. Cybernetic zombies were NOT in the plan!"


    Tassilda pouts, tosses back her raven black hair, and puts her hands on her hips. "This is a perfect opportunity, and you are WASTING it on another group!"


    Samantha curls her lip and bares her teeth in reddened face rage. "Opportunity?! You HAD an opportunity and you all RAN!"


    Chad explodes in retorts and counterarguments against Samantha with Tassilda and Trakenthin pitching in and verbally jabbing back. With a long sigh, Modoran leans against an old fence post near Deedri, perks an amused brow, and crosses his arms. "Well... This is turning out to be quite the day of... Entertainment."


    Watching the clash of personalities, Deedri nervously rubs her hands together and rolls her shoulders through the tension. "Why are they fighting so much? Aren''t we on the same team here? I don''t know what they''re trying to accomplish here. "


    Twisting an ambivalent expression on his dusky bluish gray face, Modoran holds his hands up and shrugs nonplussed. "I really don''t know. The only thing I can figure is that we have got three A-type personalities all wanting a chance to impress on the screen."


    Deedri turns her head slightly towards Modoran and perks her furry, tufted ears. "A-type personalities?"


    Modoran grins smugly and snorts with an ill-humored tone. "Assholes."


    Returning her attention to face the argumentative scene, Deedri takes a deep breath in and groans with a trailing sigh and roll of her auburn eyes. "Yes. That, unfortunately, seems to be the case."


    Carefully approaching Samantha from behind, Aristespha lightly taps her on the shoulder and presents a calm, professional exterior. Samantha spins out mid sentence, halts her retort to Chad, and presents a welcoming smile. "Yes? How can I help you further?"


    Aristespha stoically meets the glares from Chad, Tassilda, and Trakenthin and focuses upon Samantha with a calm tone. "We are going in now. We will need to have a discussion AFTER we rescue your people. As a precaution, please have your guards mind the entrance in case anything else tries to come out."


    Samantha genuinely smiles and exhales in relief. "Thank you so much! We''ll do what we can up here. Please, get the crew back to safety."


    After a quick nod into a bow, Aristespha pivots away and walks calmly to Bach, Sotalia, Dretphi, and Cideeda near the entrance way into the ruined facility. Chad squints his ire and frowns at Aristespha. Continuing towards the entrance, Aristespha signal the rest of the team to join her. Just past the entrance to the ancient structure and down the entry hallway, she grumbles loudly and wrestles her irritation. "That was... Horrifically awkward. Last thing I need is a bunch of self-important shits trying to play hero after they''ve run off with their security detail. And having the gods damned nerve to glare at me when we go do the job they should have done."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha and shares a disapproving expression on his face. "Okay, I do not like that Chad guy. Something about him doesn''t feel right. I picked up that much from within the sword even."


    Glancing around the smooth concrete floor and reinforced wall, Sebastian narrows a studious gaze around the vicinity. "But... Enough about those guys. We got people to rescue from here."


    Visually checking the team, he bounces his gaze between everyone. Dretphi rolls her armor plated shoulders and double-checks the large machete on a magnetic holster on back and an energy shield gauntlet. Cideeda checks the chamber of her shotgun and cycles a round in. Sebastian nods and speaks to the group. "Okay. We''ll do it similar to last time. I''ll scout ahead. Dretphi and Cideeda, keep the front covered. Sotalia and Aristespha, hit anything at range. I''m guessing electrical attacks and anything that slices and dices will be the right type of attacks?"


    Brushing off her bodysuit, Cideeda nods and points around her neck. "It looks like there''s a main cable for the cybernetics in the neck. So, I''d aim for there first and see if you can damage it and bring them down quick."


    Thinking for a moment, Dretphi sighs with a frown as she readies her sub-machine gun. "Attacking vital areas is not effective. Bodies outside showed that. Go for the power cable. Otherwise, attempt to disable limbs."


    Sebastian''s eyes search his mind and he glances to Bach. "Bro, watch the rear, provide support, and try to pull the power cores out of these things. It seems like they need them to work. So let''s make sure they don''t have them."


    He floats over to the first intersection, studies all the directions, and glances back at Aristespha. She flips through a small packet of maps, scrutinizes a page, and then points towards a direction. Sebastian grins as the group readies themselves. "Okay. Let''s do this."


    ----


    Bright light floods the dark corridor as a long arc of electricity flashes into a plodding figure. Shuddering and shaking as the current flows into it, sparks erupt from the cybernetic cabling that decaying, necrotic flesh doesn''t conceal. Smoke belches out through sizzling flesh of the figure, and it stiffly topples onto the floor. Another nearby cybernetic abomination pauses, listening to the downed cyber-zombie smoldering, and sloppily swings its partially decayed head toward another hallway run. Forceful pops and mechanical clacks bounce the halls, and fresh perforations rip open through the creature''s neck. A few more holes open up in the rotting mass, and a bright flash explodes out from the flesh. The cyber-zombie collapses to the smooth concrete flood as plumes of acrid smoke raise up the slumped mass. The ethereal form of Sebastian zips around the corner of the intersection, points down a corridor, and holds three fingers up to the team behind. Cideeda and Dretphi position themselves at the sides of the hallway and Aristespha stands slightly back in the middle, starting a spell incantation. Sotalia''s golden eyes dart between the shadowy corridors nearby, and she flexes her fingers within the faint magics mists enveloping them. Sebastian nods, turns back down the hallway, and ignites his form brighter. "Hey rot boys! Come get some of this, you fuckers!"


    Backing away perpendicular from the team down another run of the intersection, and he holds a hand out to signal the others. Three cyber-zombies trudge out from the pipe lined corridor in a loose group with their hazy glares upon Sebastian. A red laser dot wanders up to the neck of one. When the three cyber-zombies near the middle of the intersection, Sebastian yells out. "NOW!"


    Aristespha throws out an ivory hand with a forceful flick, and a large wave of translucent energy expands to the walls of the corridor. The pulses of flow push down the hall, reach the middle of the intersection, and coat the creatures in a thick, transparent energy. Struggling against the constricting magical gel, they manage only the tiniest, strained motions. Lining up her sights, Cideeda braces her small, lithe form and squeezes the main trigger on her shotgun. A loud kaboom blasts out and the middle upper chest region of a cyber-zombie liquefies into a gray green, chunky goop. Light flickers within the rotten soup, and the creature ceases fighting the energy enveloping it. Dretphi burst fires her submachine gun, and rounds punctures a cybernetic horror, pops reflecting down the hard concrete walls. A sparking corpse freezes in the energy and hovers within the magical mass. Aristespha raises her free hand as flows of power condense to an illuminated point. A beam of brilliant light streaks across the distance, she slices through the neck of the remaining abomination. The initial binding energy dissipates, and the leftovers from the fray flop onto the gunk and chunk coated floor. A decaying head rolls along the ground and rights itself on the laser sliced neck as few final twitches fade.


    Sebastian gives the group a double thumbs up and squints down the hallway. "Okay! This way looks clear, and I think there''s a big door here. Looks kind of important."


    Aristespha swiftly straightens up her attire, retrieves the collection of maps, and traces a path on one of the pages. "That should be it!"


    The team quickly reassembles and rushes through the intersection down a hall to a large door within the confines of a lighted section. Lagging just behind the group, Bach kneels down to the corpses of the cyber-zombies. He deftly hovers hand above the metal chest covers and swiftly extracts power cores. Extracting the last power core, he stuffs it with the others in his duster pockets. Dretphi takes a watch position towards the unlit, unexplored hallway past the large doorway. Typing on an active control panel, Cideeda''s furry ears flick when blares out error tones. "It''s locked. That might be a good sign."


    Bach stands up from the pile of bodies. As he lifts his head up, he squints at something in the dark. In another shadowy, unknown stretch of hallway beyond the intersection and away from everyone else, he observes unusual flits of motion rising out of the blackness. A sleek humanoid figure moves precisely and purposefully without any waste. Its head tracks Bach perfectly with a slight rock in each step. When Bach discerns the faint red glow coming from where eyes should be, the being precisely snaps up the end of the rifle barrel. Bach''s eyes flash bright, brilliant blue with terrified recognition, and he thrusts his hands forward. Both Sotalia and Aristespha freeze confused and search towards Bach. A rush of magical flow bursts forth from Bach''s body, plumes out in a torrent, and swirls towards a point in front of Bach''s hands. The flow condenses, and explodes out into a golden, splintering web of hexagonal fractals. The framework flashes up to the ceiling and sinks into two corners at the intersection, and floods full of golden transparent energy. The sleek figure smoothly engages the trigger on its weapon, and a chain of plasma bolts stream upon the golden barrier. The gaseous orbs bounce off, explode into the plasma splatter, or dissipates into the magic barrier. Bach staggers back and barely remains on his feet in the panic. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE?!"


    The team snaps their focus to the golden barrier as plasma bolts pound onto it. Raises his head up from the ground to the others, Bach''s pupils shrink to shock. He spots another sleek humanoid figure darting out from a shadowy corner down the unexplored section of hallway behind Dretphi and everyone else. With another bright flash of blue in his eyes, Bach lunges his hand forward. "BEHIND YOU!"


    A woven centimeter thick cord of stabilized magical energy launches from a glowing mass of flow billowing out in Bach palm. Jetting through the air, the stream arcs over the group and descends directly towards its target. The sleek, near featureless being trains its plasma rifle at Dretphi. The magical cord plants itself onto the weapon. A web of blue energy threads spider out on the rifle from the contact point and root through the entire weapon. The cyber soldier strains its finger against the unmoving trigger. Bach grasps onto the cord, and a pulse of energy arcs down the path. Swiftly following the fuse, the energy hits the plasma rifle, and a burst of power propels the weapon out of the soldier''s grip. The sleek being puzzles a moment with erratically flexing hands and processes the change of situation as an ominous shadow envelops it. Dretphi raises the massive machete with both hands. Its faintly glowing edge gleams with off-color outpost lighting. The blade slices down into the sleek humanoid and splits the meeting point between shoulder and neck. A stream of transparent red blood waterfalls down smooth contours of the body from the machete and splatter upon the smooth concrete. The figure shudders with fading life for moments and limply drops off the blade into a sloppy heap.


    The tension surges and stifles in the minutes of still silence. Everyone watches either end of the hallway for activity in paranoid glances. Dretphi''s steely gray eyes behind her full face visor scan her direction, and she pants tensely with sub-machine in one hand and blood stained machete in the other. "Think we are not under threat... Currently..."


    Dragging himself up from the floor in a slight daze, Bach nervously bounces his glowing gaze between the golden barrier sealed intersection and the inky darkness the other way. "Okay... Um... Door? Please?!"


    Sebastian rams his intangible upper body through the thick doors. The two crew members leap in fright as the angry ghostly figure materializes on the other side. Sebastian glares between the two crew members and an annoyed grins. "Will someone... OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR! PLEASE? We''re only trying to RESCUE YOU here."


    ----


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Aged lamps overhead light the large command center. Flickers of text stream out on a few dust caked monitors in a row of old consoles. Blinking indicators pulse on a control panel next to the heavy security beyond a barricade of upturned old office furniture. Away from the barrier, Sebastian hovers in front of a few recording crew members and inquires. "Huh... So, you actually got into the control center, and then something brought the system out of standby mode?"


    A cameraman nods and shrugs uncertainly. "Yeah. We can''t figure out if one of the adventurers hit something ,or if it was remotely triggered. I mean, the place was silent. Like completely dead. Then before we knew it, alarms were going off everywhere. Our group ran into those cyber-commandos- Or whatever the fuck they are. Gods, we were just lucky to get everyone into this old command area, I guess. From the looks of it at least."


    A half-emin engineer sighs and shakes her horned head. "Unfortunately, the only thing we''ve managed to do is to get the door to lock. Seems like this room is off the main security system and on its own loop. Poor Radnae caught a plasma bolt to the shoulder blade. Harris got a bunch of ribs broken by a few punches from those freaks. And, Urdi got her ankle twisted when one of them swept her legs out of nowhere."


    Sebastian drifts in thought for a few moments and blinks back to awareness at their expectant gazes. "Okay... Hang tight, I''m going to scout our path back and see what exactly is going on out there. I get the feeling these cyber-commandos are the real defenders to worry about. The cyber-zombies were nowhere near this dangerous. Meanwhile, I''ll have my team help the injured and work on a plan for getting everyone out safely."


    He waves to Aristespha and signals towards the door. Aristespha nods back as he phases through the heavy security door. Resuming her medical treatment of the large fvalian man, she inspects a very serious plasma burn on his shoulder. "You are incredibly fortunate. It seems like your camera harness and backpack broke the plasma bolt early. While these are pretty terrible burns, you still have a shoulder and shoulder blade intact. I''ll apply some initial healing and preventive magic, and a synth skin cover. Anything further will have to wait until we get to the surface when we are in better circumstances."


    The fvalian man winces against the pain and nods while laying on his belly. "Yes, ma''am. Um... Is Urdi''s ankle serious?"


    Gazing upon the fvalian a moment, Aristespha smiles slyly and pats him on his uninjured arm. "Oh. It''s only a bad sprain. She saw that sweep kick and dodged most of it. But for you, Radnae, I have a question."


    Blinking confused, Radnae twists his head carefully up to Aristespha curiously. "Uh. What''s that, ma''am?"


    Aristespha leans close to one of Radnae''s big furry ears and whispers softly. "Do you know of any really nice restaurants in Amaranth Valley? Because from the way Urdi has been trying to catch your eye, you might be going to one."


    A flush of pink fills Radnae''s face, and he lowers his head to hide a surge of embarrassment. "Y-you really think that- She''d ask me out?"


    With a small grin, Aristespha chuckles softly to herself while applying the next stage of Radnae''s treatment. "Oh, call me old fashioned, but I think when a brave man shields a lady from a ball of superheated gas, he should at LEAST get a nice dinner out of it. Now... Make eye contact, smile, and wave at her with your good arm."


    Sotalia sits nearby lightly applying the last thick cloth strip along a middle-aged man''s heavily bruised and sore side. He groans and grumbles with each unintentional, painful move. Reaching into a belt pouch, Sotalia pulls out a small vial of blue liquid and narrows her golden eyes. "Now drink this."


    The man eyes the vial with suspicion and furrows his brow. "What''s it do?"


    Sotalia lifts an eyebrow back and holds it closer to the man''s face. "Oh, you know. It prevents you from experiencing tremendous amounts of pain when the brace strips I put on you activate and move your broken ribs away from your internal organs."


    The man glares at the vial again warily. Sotalia rolls her golden eyes and sighs with a smirk. "It''s blue raspberry flavored, if that helps, Mr. Harris."


    Harris twists his mouth uncertainly and takes hold of the vial. "Like the slushies at the convenience store?"


    Sotalia nods with an amused smile. Harris twisting opens the top and pours the solution into his mouth, tilting his head back. He swallows and gives a nod of approval. "Okay. Not bad. So, what''s next?"


    With a grin, Sotalia presses her hand on the side of Harris. "This."


    Harris''s eyes widen as the strips glow. A few ribs shift slightly underneath his skin when magical bandages stiffen. He checks his side, gently pokes the bruises, and lifts his intrigued expression to Sotalia. "Man, that is such a fucked up feeling."


    Applying a cover pad over the strips, Sotalia laughs with Harris. "Gods, I KNOW. I''ve used these a few times, and I never get used to that."


    On the other side of the command center in a cleared out section of floor, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Bach sit on the ground around a downed cyber-commando. The darkening transparent red solution slowly seeps out onto the dirty floor panels from the dividing machete wound. A fading status light pulses on the open chest chamber, sans power core. Bach rests his head back on the wall, blinks blankly, and eases a breath out with a faint whistle. "These are some serious cyborgs. I''m glad you had that machete. Otherwise... we might still be fighting it."


    Dretphi straightens up and draws a small knife from her belt. She presses the blade firmly on the exterior covering of the cyborg and struggles to leave anything more than a pressure mark in the synthetic coating. Waving a utility scanner over the corpse, Cideeda growls out her frustration and shakes her head of short multicolored hair. "Damn this thing! It''s like my scanner pulses are going right through. I''m getting more a signal from the plating in the floor panels."


    Bach tilts himself forward and gets his legs underneath him. As he rises up unsteadily and reflexively braces himself against the wall, both Dretphi and Cideeda reach out to catch him. Bach waves his hand appreciatively and chuckles awkwardly. "I''m good. My leg fell asleep sitting on that floor for so long. I''m recovered enough, in the magic department."


    Dretphi stands up fully, walks around the cyborg cautiously, and pats Bach on shoulder. "Thank you for shielding us. Disarming it."


    Bach hangs his head and shrugs his shoulders. "Ah, not a problem. But... I just get the feeling when we get out of this Sotalia and Aristespha are going to have more questions about how I did all that."


    He glances down to familiar gentle five claw point squeeze around his forearm and soft shoulder nudge in his side. Meeting his gaze, Cideeda flashes a toothy grin, winks her emerald green eye, and let''s go. "Hey, you''re getting the results that keep us alive. That''s good enough in my book."


    She glares down in disgust at the cyborg and shoves it away from her with the heel of her toed boot. "Let''s get away from the dead thing. I''ve studied and gotten all I want from it."


    Dretphi and Bach agree and follow Cideeda as she leads them to Aristespha and Sotalia. Bach briefly glances back at the cyborg corpse, winces uncomfortably, and squirms a bit. "Damn... Still feel a bit weird about killing that thing. It was alive and all..."


    Nodding solemnly, Dretphi turns her head down to Bach. "It is never easy when it is something you can sympathize with. It did force a decision upon us all. It... Us... Do not feel bad for choosing us."


    Cideeda aims her head over her shoulder to Bach and Dretphi with a faintly saddened frown. "Honestly, if there''s any poor souls trapped in those things, I think we''re doing them a huge favor. Give them a chance to move on to something better."


    Bach ponders quietly in thought. After a few silence seconds, he sighs with grim acceptance. "Yeah... Especially those rotting ones. Gods... That HAS to be some kind of hell."


    Sebastian rockets through the closed large doors, halt in the middle of the room, and calls out to everyone in the command center. "Everyone! We have a situation... Gather around."


    People gather closer and attention shifts towards the middle of the room where Sebastian hovers. When the team gets near and Sebastian glances over the crews, he wrestles an uneasy grimace and sighs ethereally. "I checked most of the way back, until I could go any farther. So... Everywhere we ran into the cyber-zombies, we have cyber-commandos waiting. From what I can gather, they are able to coordinate with each other. After the first few groups shot at me, the rest stopped trying."


    Members of the crew wither as dread weighs over them. Dretphi crosses her arms, lowers her helmeted head, and ponders out loud. "Any tactics you witnessed them employ?"


    Sebastian nods gravely. "Yeah. Plenty. They changed up hiding spots between when I passed them the first time and on my return. They''re in groups of three now. And, it looks like they are concentrating the groups the closer you get to the exit. I think they know we''re going to try to get out of here and are looking to contain us."


    Straightening her posture, Aristespha rolls her shoulders and breathes deeply with worry in her voice. "Any signs they are going to break into here?"


    Shaking his head, Sebastian frowns and motions around the space. "No. They''re waiting for us to make a move. I think they know they can wait us out."


    Frustration bubbles into Dretphi''s tone, and she tightens her gauntlet covered fist. "We were lucky with the two we encountered. It will be a perilous fight to get out. If they can communicate, our cautious tactics will cease to work. They will surround us."


    Sotalia rubs her temples, guides back stray dark red locks over her swept back horn, and groans at the situation. "There''s only so much firepower I''ve got, but I can throw my heavy hitters. How many are we looking at?"


    Darting his translucent blue gaze around awkwardly, Sebastian lowers his head in grim understanding. "Fifteen or so from my count along the path. At least, those are the ones I saw."


    Blinking in abject surprise, Sotalia uneasily bites her lower lip and drifts from the gathering with a single word. "Fuck..."


    Cideeda paces around near the huddle, her distance stare inwards sorting through a flurry of thoughts. "We need a distraction or something. If only to just to keep them from attacking us, much less running in us. Even just for a few minutes. If we run for it, we should get to the exit easy enough before they form up enough of a resistance."


    Listening attentively to Cideeda, Dretphi nods in agreement. "Avoid engagement. Move fast. That would be our best option."


    Sotalia spins around towards the group holding a hand up in protest and balks. "Gods, we need something more than just a distraction. We need something to temporarily take them out! Stun them or shut them down. I can throw some ball lightning. They didn''t seem to like electrical magic that much... But, that only can reach within a few meters of a spot."


    An idea sparks inside Bach. He narrows his blue eyes, and glances around his head as pieces fall into place. Tilting his head towards Cideeda, he inquires. "When you scanned the cyborg, the pulses were going through it? Not like refracted around or being absorbed by it?"


    Lifting a flap on her vest, Cideeda retrieves the small scanner and presses buttons to bring up the last reading. "Right through. I got some internal data of the cyborg, but mostly reflections from the micro-mesh reinforced concrete that makes up this base. It''s weird they''re so electrically permissive."


    Stepping next to Cideeda, Aristespha angles the screen of the device towards her searching violet eyes as her very long, pointed ears perk up slightly. "Wait... I read about these once. There were such things as infiltration commandos by a few older nations. Recovered documents mention they have electromagnetic transparency augmentations to avoid being detected by radar systems. They were specifically designed to be used in areas that used robotic soldiers and radar systems for detection."


    A sly smile cracks from the corner of Bach''s mouth, and he perks a daring brow. "So, how much would say a powerful EMP fuck them up?"


    Blinking in thought, Cideeda perks her furry ears, straightens her posture, and rests her hands on her hips. "They have some protections, and their augmentations obviously allow signals to go through. But..."


    She furrows her brow, glances over to Bach while stroking her light brown chin with intrigued claw tips, and reveals an eager, toothy grin. "That''s for defeating detection equipment. An electromagnetic pulse is orders of magnitudes more powerful than even standing directly in front of a microwave transmitter. Only hardened front line battle droids and mechs are capable of weathering blasts like and functioning through it. So, an EMP might fry them and definitely should take them down for a while."


    Sebastian breaks into a hopeful smile and gaze expectantly at his brother. "Whacha got, bro?"


    Bach nods with his thoughts and explains. "I believe I can construct a magical device that can release a powerful enough EMP. I think the construction of the outpost will keep it in the hallways?"


    Meeting Bach inquiring gaze, Cideeda smiles slyly and perks her brow. "Oh yeah. This place is packed with metal plating and mesh throughout the entirety of the structure. It was meant to keep stuff out... But it works just as well to keep it in."


    Narrowing her steely gray eyes in thought, Dretphi smirks and crosses her armored arms. "That will disrupt their communications. Leave them completely uncoordinated. Any we encounter active would be unable to relay intel. Keep our position obfuscated."


    Sotalia furrows her brow and faces Bach seeking hope. She sighs with a reservation heavy in her tone. "I''m certain between you, Aristespha, and me, we can power this up and make it work. But... If we do have to fight, I don''t know how much magic we''d have left to defend ourselves."


    A cunning sparks glints in Bach''s blue eyes, and he grins ear to ear. "Oh, don''t worry. I got most of the power covered."


    He grabs the edges of his duster and fans it open. A dozen salvaged, nearly fully charged power cores rattle metallically against each other in the duster pockets. Bach smiles smugly and chuckles. "Well, technically, they covered it."


    ----


    Sebastian ethereal form flies around and directs people as they ready themselves near the security door. "Okay!"


    He gazes over to Dretphi with a point. "Dretphi. Shield deployed and machete ready. Bash and slash anything that doesn''t have the sense to get out of the way."


    As Dretphi confirms the order, Sebastian meets Cideeda¡¯s expecting expression. "Cideeda. Shoot anything that tries to get up in front of us."


    He glances over to Aristespha with a smile. "Dear. Ward and barrier the crew."


    Straightening his hover posture, he calls out to the gathering crowd. "Crew members! Line up two wide. Help Mr. Harris, Urdi, and Radnae along."


    Glancing over his shoulder, Sebastian spots Bach and Sotalia. "Bach and Sotalia. When it blows and the crew clears the doors, I want you two to cover the back and make it hell for anything that tries to follow us."


    People form up along the length of the wall near the heavy security door with a cautious distance from the actual entry. Reaching inside an open access panel, Cideeda readies a rigging of wires and components. Stretching her arms out, Dretphi holds her gauntlet forward as a force field forms into a tower shield from a mounted generator. She draws out her large, glimmering machete and inspects it. Aristespha recites incantations, precisely gestures, and fans out a protective warping bubble around the crew members with ample space. Bach and Sotalia stand facing each other in front of the heavy entry door. Bach holds his hands half a meter apart in the air front of Sotalia. "Okay. To build this thing real quick, I''m going to need you to flow some energy into it to keep the build processes going. That way I can concentrate on charging it up with the power cores. Okay?"


    Nodding slowly with vague hints of uncertainty, Sotalia aims her golden stare at Bach and awaits further instruction. "Yes. So, what do I need to do, specifically?"


    Bach motions his hands up and down and indicates the space between them. "Keep your hands right here. Then, when I say so, just flow energy into it."


    Sotalia cautiously reaches her hands out next to Bach''s. He rotates his hands around a center pivot until they are at the top and bottom. Taking in a deep breath, his eyes glow brightly, and he releases a calming breath. "Okay. Here we go..."


    A surge of magical flow erupts from Bach and jets into the space between his hands. The amorphous energy solidifies into a ball outer structure and mechanical and technological shapes materialize inside. Two discs form, slide on the outside of the ball, and park next to Sotalia''s hands. Gawking at the creation, her golden eyes dart around to follow the orderly chaos made manifest before. Bach calls out as his blue eyes flash brightly. "Now! Flow into it!"


    Sotalia shudders her head of dark red shoulder length hair, blinks her back to awareness, and stumbles upon her words. "W-w-wait! What kind of magical energy!?"


    Letting go of the top and bottom of the magical creation, Bach searches his duster for a power core. He briefly glances nonchalantly at Sotalia with a spark of confidence. "Well, any really... It''ll process it out."


    Furrowing her brow, Sotalia twists an uneasy grimace on her light tan face and tilts her head slightly. She shrugs her shoulders and releases a form of magical energy down her arms. Startling as the discs lock on to the streams from her hands, she studies the build process before her. Her fingers flex around the flurry of activity between, and she stares into the constructs materializing within. Bach presses a power core into the bottom of the creation. Placing his hand on top, he concentrates with a slow inhale. Sotalia''s attention darts between flits of activity throughout the device, shifts in magical flows, and the adjustments to the discs near her hands. From the connected power core, a massive surge of energy floods into the center. Bach returns the empty power core into his duster and replaces it with another one. Each power core flushes the center with a new wave of power, and the whole magical orb shines brighter. Fighting off her fascination, Sotalia snaps back to her senses as the discs tremble near her hands. Stopping short of retrieving the seventh power core, Bach returns his free hand on the bottom of the magical bomb and narrows his brilliant blue stare. "Okay... That''s all it''s probably going to hold... Uh, safely for a bomb. Time to seal her up and prime it."


    With a pulse of magic flow, the intertwined constructions within solidify around the radiating blue-white core. The exterior shell darkens to an opaque red. The discs next to Sotalia''s hands dissipate into a cloud of miasma that sinks back into the manifested EMP bomb. Cautiously pulling her hands away to the sides, she stands fascinated at the creation. Bach shifts over to the side and hems to get Sotalia''s attention. "Hey, you might want to move out of the way. It''s going to fly out the door when I trigger it."


    Sotalia blinks her golden eyes, side steps away, and dons a hasty front of confidence. Bach nods to Cideeda. "Open the door! It''s ready to fly."


    Taking her hand off the handle of her shotgun, Cideeda presses the button upon the rigged control panel. The large security door opens. After Bach taps a spot on the bomb, it rockets off through the door and charges down the hallway. Bach rushes into the protection bubble with everyone else. Cideeda presses another button, and the door quickly seals. She hops into the protective field. Tense moments hang over the gathering in the silent, still seconds. A chorus of alarms sound out from the banks of control center consoles into a chaotic cacophony, before the heavy security vibrates within its reinforced frame. Lights flicker to a very dim glow, old computer displays flash a rainbow of error messages, and the protective bubble crackles with tiny arcs. A low singular tremor pulses through the very structure of the outpost, and showers of ancient debris rain from clouds of dust from the ceiling rafters. Cideeda rushes over, yanks back an emergency release handle inside a maintenance access panel. A loud rush of fluid sounds from within the doorway frame, and hydraulic override rams swiftly drag open the security door. Sebastian darts open into the hallway, glances down both ways, and yells. "LET''S MOVE IT!"


    Sebastian leads well ahead of the column and glides down the hall of flicking lamps and occasional waterfalls of sparks. Dretphi and Cideeda set the pace down the hazy passages of fresh smoldering electrical systems and swiftly gauge the threats from disabled, twitching cyber-commandos. Sweeping over the still and barely shuddering humanoid creatures, both push forth, with Dretphi booting cybernetic bodies clear. Aristespha calls out directions while guiding flows of energy into the protective bubble over the crew. Holding the rear of the formation, Bach aims his plasma pistol into the chaotic darkness, and Sotalia keeps a hand of sparking magic at the ready. The group weaves through the maze of the ancient facility, and swiftly darts through barricaded choke points.


    A cyber-commando stumbles around in the middle of the hallway and ambles aimlessly. Fighting through daze, it gains enough awareness to face a powerful energy shield bash straight in its muted features. As it slams into the concrete wall with a resounding thud, another recovering cyborg menace spins shakily around to the noise and shudders when a large, glimmering machete slices into its neck. Falling into a wet slump, another one of its kind sluggishly sits up from the ground. A loud report echoes down the corridor with a bright muzzle flash. A lead slug bounces off the rising cyber-commando''s head, and it flops back down onto the concrete floor. Cideeda cycles another round into her shotgun and calls out. "They''re getting back up! These weren''t hit as hard as the others!"


    Sebastian''s ethereal visage rockets around the corner and shouts back down the hallway. "Last three are still groggy, and then it''s a straight shot out!"


    Dretphi and Cideeda charge through the intersection. A loud crackle of energy sounds out, and another body smacks against the metal piped wall. Another shotgun blast booms, and heavy metal impacts with a wet crunch. Sebastian remains in the middle of the intersection, and directs the formation down the passage. Pausing a moment, Sotalia unleashes a bolt of lightning behind her and sprints back into pace. Bach lays a covering volley of plasma bolts from his pistol and suppresses the advance of awakening cyborgs. Setting up for another casting, Sotalia waits for Bach to run past, and another arc of electricity erupts down the hall in a flood of blue-white light and crackling chaos. Sebastian flies next to Sotalia and Bach and motions towards the exit. "Save the firepower and run! We may need it outside!"


    Dretphi and Cideeda leap to either side of the facility entrance. The crew flee out in formation with Aristespha commanding from the middle. Cheers fill the air from the crowd of the other Next Adventurers of Nexus support staff. Samantha and Gerald run out to the rescued crew and immediately lead them away to the safety perimeter. Deedri eagerly rushes over to assist with the injured and happily assists. Modoran nods respectfully to the team with honest applause. Chad, Tassilda, and Trakenthin glower at the events unfolding before them. Bach and Sotalia halt and pivot around after clearing the entry. Panting heavily, Bach squints down the corridor beyond the main doorway. "What the- Oh shit! I don''t think they''re stopping. They might actually come out here!"


    Peeking around from the side, Cideeda narrows her emerald green eyes towards the sleek wandering figures in the dark, hazy chaos. "Fuck! There''s probably no central control to keep them from wandering off now!


    Sotalia squints down the corridor into the distance, and her eyes widen in horror as she spots the unsettling humanoid outlines in contrast to the flickering backlight. "Are they all coming back online?! That''s more than what we shot!"


    Dretphi flips up her visor, draws in a deep breath, and bellows out to the crowds. "MOVE BACK! THEY ARE COMING TO THE ENTRY! GET BACK NOW!"


    Sebastian zip out of the entry, pivots around, and watches the masses of movement swell out from the dark depths of the ancient ruins. "Gods damn it. I guess they engineered them to handle an EMP. Oh fucking hell, they''re all coming towards the exit. We''re going to need to set up a choke point here and try to keep them contained."


    Aristespha slides to a stop behind everyone. "Bach! Do you have another one of those barriers left in you? Even if we call the guild and military, it''ll take them at least half an hour to get out here. Anything to slow them down now."


    Panic rushes up through Bach''s rigid form with nervous trembling and shuddering breaths. He searches the area frantically and wrestles down the flits of fright. "Uh- I- Uh- Maybe! But, one or two won''t get through, but this many?! I need a power source to recharge the-"


    His eyes snaps o a large trailer power cell with runs of cables to Next Adventurers of Nexus equipment in the vicinity. Pointing at the device, Bach commands determined. "THAT. HERE. NOW!"


    Dretphi and Cideeda bolt to the power cell. While unlocking the restraints, Dretphi prepares the device to roll on its wheels. Cideeda rips out plugs and disconnects cables in bulk to free it. Aristespha gestures out an incantation and throws both hands forward. A massive wave of force funnels down the corridor, and launches cyborgs back in the commando pile up. Sotalia flings out shock wave bolts, and each erupting impact knocks a cyborg tumbling behind the amassing horde. Dretphi lifts the tongue of the trailer and summons the sheer brute strength to drag it back. Ripping out the last few cables, Cideeda sprints ahead and feverishly clears the way in front of Dretphi. Reaches his hand out, Bach''s eyes glow, and energy flows into a hexagonal grid in front of him. The magical matrix grows onto the heavy archway and roots itself to the concrete around. As the seal strengths, Sotalia and Aristespha stand back and keep spells at the ready. Dretphi heaves the power cell trailer into position behind Bach. "It is here!"


    Bach draws his hand away from the framework of hexes, and a woven cord of magical threads form from his palm. Quickly pivoting around, he swiftly studies the power cell. Flipping open an access panel covered in warnings, he glances at the cord in hand and the high voltage electrical insides of the power cell. Gritting his teeth uncertainty, he winces and jams magical cable inside. After a moment of concentration, a rush of flow jet down around his arm and floods the insides of the power cell. The cord flashes to a bright prismatic glow, and the energy framework sinking into the archway fills in quickly, growing denser by the second. A thick golden barrier materializes and anchors securely into the structure of the outpost. Plasma bolts barrages from inside pelt the magical seal. The barrier holds with no signs of damage. Bach sighs with relief and quickly backs away from the entryway. "It should be good! I guess... I hope?"


    Minutes of constant assaults from cyber-commando wane. After a few tactical changes, the cyborgs fall back, and only a few rotting bionic husks idly press against the entryway seal. The Next Adventurers of Nexus crews and adventures collect themselves. Meanwhile, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia retreat to the humvee as Sebastian dissipates back into the sword at Aristespha''s side. As the team rests, Aristespha hangs up on her aetherphone, walks back over to the humvee. "Well, the GAA military should be here soon enough to lock down the area. The local guild office was happy for the containment and information. So, we might get a nice bonus."


    Grumbling as she sits in the front seat, Sotalia sips from a bottle of water. "Gods... Still can''t believe we had to help them out."


    Sebastian''s voice resonates from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "To be fair... That was a fucked up situation for anyone.


    Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia scratches the dark gray patches under her pointed ears and sighs. "Yeah..."


    Cideeda finishes chewing a large piece of jerky and laughs while tapping on Sotalia''s shoulder. "Did you see the look on their faces when we got the crew out? I hope THAT gets put on air!"


    Dretphi groans while laying on the far back seat, throws her head back into her pillows, and sinks into the cushion. "I worry what will be on the show."


    Bach yawns and stretches his neck. Pauses a moment, he chuckles to himself and shakes his head. "You know... I don''t think they''ll have much material to work with."


    Blinking her emerald green eyes, Cideeda''s furry ears perk with her thoughts, and she widens a toothy grin. "That''s right... Oh, they''ll be lucky to get anything of use from today."


    Aristespha puzzles at Bach and Cideeda, and steps closer to lower her voice with a wry smile. "Why do you two say that?"


    Bach gestures towards the power cell near the magical barrier. "I think that''s the only one they brought, and they have a lot of power hungry equipment."


    An evil smile settles upon Cideeda''s light brown face, and she wiggles comfortably into the driver''s seat. "Also, I know the EMP didn''t help."

 Episode 7

    Rubbing the fatigue from her eyes, Samantha kicks the shoes off her feet onto the hotel floor. Adjusting her aetherphone on a nearby nightstand, she groans and flops back on one of the beds in the double room. "So... After the Greater Azure Alliance specialists, that we ran into at the Amaranth Dining House, blasted the barrier off, they put their own up and sealed the area off tight. Thankfully, we got the power cell trailer back in one piece. So, that''s one rental deposit we''ll get back. I''m still fighting MERC about SUPPOSED damages to other equipment."


    Howard''s tone steady to neutral and calming cadence from the speakerphone. "Huh. Interesting. Well, I''m glad that everyone got out in one piece. Be sure to give Radnae, Urdi, and... even that Ol'' Harris a week off. Give them coupons to that spa and magical hot springs we got the advertising deal with. Back to business... How much footage did you all manage to get?"


    Samantha winces, drags out a heavy sigh, and draws a deep breath in. "A little. Between the military lockdown, that electrical thing which corrupted a bunch of recordings, and then not having power for most of the equipment... I''m surprised we even got that much. Gods, I''m not sure if it''s enough for an episode. I mean what kind of episode is this going to be?! They boldly eat, fail miserably on their first mission, and then go home to lick their wounded egos? That''s at least an early to mid season thing. You can''t just lead with THAT."


    After a still silence, a low laugh grows into loud cackling through the speaker. Staring at her phone, Samantha''s hazel eyes bounce between confusion and concern as an uncertain squirm travels through her body. From the other side of the double hotel room, Gerald halts work on his laptop, slowly turns his head, and narrows an uneasy stare on the phone. The laughing stops, and Howard exhales with a sinister glee. "Yes... Just that... With a little twist!"


    Leaning an ear closer to her phone, Samantha contorts her face curiously with anticipation. "What kind of twist, Howie?"


    Howard chuckles darkly to himself and explains with a proud, plotting tone. "You see... We have a team of young, ego-heavy, special little stars that just got their spotlight stolen by another team. A team of old, experienced adventurers that made them look like complete chumps. With all that happened, soon to be on national television."


    Blinking with the rush of ideas, Samantha''s attentions turn inwards and her eyes frantically sort through her mind. After a few seconds, she flits her eyes wide with revelation. Gerald and Samantha exchange matching eager gazes. Samantha mutters under her breath. "Holy shit."


    Howard snickers at the subtle sounds of epiphany and pride manifest into voice through the phone. "Yes! We have something to catch all these young egos'' frustrations and ire. Challengers... Conflict... Catalysts... We don''t have to do anything! We just need these two groups to be in the same area as each other. Then, give them opportunities."


    Drawing an evil grin across her light face, Samantha listens attentively to her phone, her anticipation renewed. "So, what''s the plan? What do you need?"


    Scratching of chin stubble resonates through the speaker, and Howard hums to himself as deliberation tempers his tone. "Keep the crew checking the spy cameras in their rooms at that roach motel. With those living conditions and today''s humiliation, I''m pretty sure they are in the BEST of moods. I want you to arrange some video journal segments and pry as hard as you can into how they feel about the other group. Dig up some embarrassing shots to really get under their skin, so they''ll be encouraged to be... Honest. I''ve got a few informants to call up... I wonder where Sebastian and crew are staying, because it''s strange they''ve been in the area for so long and where doing regular work so close. I got a feeling they are staying somewhere nearby."


    ----


    Stepping out of the bathroom doorway in socks, shorts, and a simple shirt, Bach presses the towel on his head over his longer hair. He plods through the hallway and wanders out into space between the living area and the dining table. Scouting out a nice spot on the couch warming in the morning light slipping through the back sliding glass door, he pivots but slows to a halt. He pulls the towel down out of his face and furrows his brow suspiciously. Facing the dining table behind him, he notices Aristespha and Sotalia sitting opposite of each other. At the end of the table, a chair slides out. Both Aristespha and Sotalia watch Bach expectantly. Aristespha directs Bach to the chair with a motion of the hand and a reserved smile. "Have a seat, Bach."


    Cautiously approaching the chair, Bach maintains uncertain contact between the two. He sits down and notices the still solid and stable golden shield disc and magical cord ensnaring the cyber-commando plasma rifle. Sighing uneasily, he lowers his head and grumbles. "Okay... So where do you want to start the inquisition?"


    Gently lifting her open hands off the table, Aristespha cranes her head and levels a genuinely concerned gaze at Bach. "Bach. We just want to ask some questions, if you are comfortable with them."


    Sotalia straightens her posture and curls a grateful smile at Bach. "Hey, you saved our asses yesterday. So, thank you. Also, we really want to help you out, but..."


    She furrows her brow and narrows her stare. "Gods damn it, you''ve got to give us something to work with! This whole mysterious ability out of nowhere thing is fucking annoying to work with."


    Bach glances over to Aristespha''s hand patting his shoulder softly. Maintaining a calm and purposeful voice, she focuses her violet eyes. "I know it is an uncomfortable subject. But, to help you out to the best of our abilities, we need to know more about your abilities. How are you able to perform these feats? And importantly, why you got to this point? We can help you. You can definitely help us. First, we need some information to start with."


    A strained sigh escapes Bach, and he briefly grits his teeth. Furrowing his brow, he grimaces sharply as he bounces his gaze between Aristespha and Sotalia. After a few seconds, he relaxes and resigns to an acceptance. Raising his head, he settles back in his seat and draws in a long calming breath. "Okay. I guess it''s only fair. And... I don''t want to leave you guys in the dark. So... Um... Here''s the quick and short version. After the encounter with the Nightmare Geist, I was left with limitations on the magical energy reserves I could use safely. I could get maybe one low level spell off. Then, that was it for half an hour or more. So... I was... A lame mage."


    Aristespha keeps her focus on Bach with a slight understanding nod, while Sotalia squirms uncomfortably with the subject. Narrowing her violet eyes, Aristespha dutifully observes Bach''s body language. "What restrictions do you have?"


    Bach pulls in a thoughtful breath and ponders quietly for a moment. "Well... My throughput from the abstract prism is limited. What I have stored on me, I can use just fine. But, if I use too much of that and tap hard on what''s near me... Well, I risk a complete drain out. I just can''t draw much from what''s near me."


    Sotalia blinks in surprise and aims her golden eyed gaze right at Bach. "Huh. That explains the physical weakness after the big stuff. But, you recover fast enough."


    Scratching the back of head of brown hair, Bach shrugs nonchalantly and smirks indifferently. "I mean, I use what''s on me just fine and tap a little in what''s near me. But, I can''t get the throughput to sustain any normal spells. Even direct casting can only help so much."


    Aristespha maintains her examining stare upon Bach and taps on the golden shield disc. "It certainly seems you found a way around those limitations. Describe it to me."


    The long silence looms and agitates Sotalia. She bounces a confused glance between Bach and Aristespha. Bach grimaces and searches his mind for the words while his expression drifts at a loss. Sotalia twists her mouth in the bubbling frustration and pokes Bach hard in the arm with a long nailed finger. "Well?! Describe it already."


    Snapping out of the stupor, Bach rubs his arm and narrows an annoyed stare. "Ow! I''m trying to! Gods, it''s just a bit hard to describe. I mean I don''t know the official words for it all."


    Sotalia crosses her arms and quirks her brow with an unamused twist. "Well, how did you figure it out? Start there."


    Bach nervously rubs his light tan hands together, darts his blue gaze around uneasily, and attempts cohesive explanation. "I was pretty depressed about not being able to cast spells. So, I thought about it a lot and obsessed over magical energy efficiency. Direct casting helped a bit... But, it was still too inefficient. It felt like there was still too much extra surrounding the magical flows. So... While laying around in my bed one night, unable to sleep and staring at the ceiling... Um, I tried to..."


    After the silence stretches out to seconds, Sotalia prods Bach in the arm again with an impatient stare. Bach reflexively shifts his body away from the poke and sneers back. Leaning towards Bach, Sotalia furrows her brow with a demanding tone. "Stop drifting off mid sentence."


    Grumbling aggravated, Bach places his elbows on the table and holds his head in his hands. "I''m sorry! It''s going to sound completely insane, but I tried to SEE the process of casting in my mind. To see a Foundational Construct function... To LOOK... Where the Foundation Construct connects to the Abstract Prism? Gods, that doesn''t make any sense when you say it out loud, I know."


    Shaking his head in defeat, Bach pauses in thought and glances around. He meets Sotalia''s bewildered expression and shifts his focus over to Aristespha. Nodding understandingly, Aristespha addresses Bach with genuine interest on her ivory face. "Bach. What you are describing is called Reverse Flow Perception. It''s a process many at the Grand Library have been using for years to study magic fundamentals. It''s a method of back-tracing how magical energy is manipulated via willing flow back up to the Abstract Prism and interpreting the sensations visually in your mind."


    Snapping her head to Aristespha, Sotalia blinks incredulously and tosses back her dark red hair flustered. "Wait! What?! This is a thing?! Why haven''t I heard of it?!"


    Lifting an amused eyebrow with a playful smile to Sotalia, Aristespha chuckles. "Well, how many advanced theory classes and high-level magical analysis courses did you take in school?"


    Sotalia snorts dismissively, rolls her golden eyes, and flicks back stray locks over her swept back black horns. Returning her focus to Bach, Aristespha presents a respectful smile and an encouraging tone. "I would guess you studied what you saw, experimented further, and eventually got tangible results."


    Bach nods within the confines of his hands and lifts his head up with a long sigh. "Yes. It took a LONG time. But, I kept on figuring out how to use magic a little more efficiently, control flow better, and perform new magical operations. The individual parts aren''t hard to figure out. The real problem is applying them properly. The sheer number and speed you have to do so is really intense, to say the least. I mean, it''s gotten easier as I''ve grown more familiar with it all."


    Sotalia crosses her arms and tenses her fingers. With the internal irritation rising, she squirms anxiously in her seat. Seconds later, she grumbles and slides back. "Let''s take this outside. The mission yesterday bumped our training time, so let''s do it NOW. I want YOU to SHOW me what the hell you are talking about."


    Shooting up out of her chair, she marches to the sliding glass door, slings it open, and swiftly struts out to the training field. Bach scratches his head confused and returns his stare from the open door. Aristespha dismissively rolls her eyes and calmly rises from her seat. "Don''t worry. I believe she was just hoping for an answer she should easily understand and immediately use for her own practice of magic. She''s a very powerful and capable mage."


    Glancing out to the backyard at Sotalia, her tone lowers and leans closer to Bach. "And she''s developed quite the competitive streak and temperament to match, too."


    Bach shrugs and throws his hands up in the air at a list. "Well, I don''t know what to tell her. I mean, I couldn''t do anything of significance for two years even after figuring out... the basics of this? Gods, only recently have I gotten the hang of the big things you all have seen. It took forever to get most my old spells adapted and working enough to function like they did."


    Aristespha stands near Bach and waits for him to get out of his chair. "You have to understand... This is a woman who has always had top of the class energy capacity and throughput. She has never needed to optimize. There''s spells she can cast with ease that would stress me too much. So, to phrase it nicely, her style of magic isn''t SUBTLE in the slightest. Now, she wants to develop that horribly neglected skill set."


    She twists her ivory face, fights against a grimace, and groans. "I have TRIED to advise her before, but she''s a difficult student. She has tried so many gimmicks in some attempt to find shortcuts. Truthfully, I''m glad she has settled her focus on direct casting. THAT is an actual method to optimize your spell crafting. So, I can only hope to keep her trying."


    standing up, holds his arm out, points along his forearm, and furrows quizzical gaze at Aristespha. "Okay... Are the magical runes on her arm another attempt at optimizing her spell casting? I''ve been wondering what those were."


    Wincing sharply into a groaning cringe, Aristespha pinches the bridge of her nose. "Thankfully, they''re just surface dyes that will fade out eventually. But... Gods... They look ridiculous."


    ----


    In the large open field behind the ranch style house, Aristespha, Sotalia, and Bach stand near a stone boulder and propped up rocks in the middle of grassy landscape. Sotalia stretches her arms out and arches her back. Planting her feet down, she raises her palm into the air and closes her eyes. The runes on her arm illuminate, faint flows of magical energy rush out, and a flaming ball of orange hovers centimeters above her hand. She confidently grins with a wily glint in her golden eyes and glances back at Bach and Aristespha. "A fire bolt, direct cast, with runic optimization. Now show me your best version, Bach."


    Bach blinks a moment, glances around uneasily, and ponders his predicament. Pulling a devious smirk from the corner of his mouth, he perks his brow. Aristespha furrows her brow curiously, places her hands on her sides, and waits in amused anticipation. Bach walks up next to Sotalia and stares forward to the target. Lifting his palm up, he firmly grabs underneath Sotalia''s hand holding the fire bolt. Sotalia''s confident expression pops, and she blinks dumbfounded. A blue glow dimly pulses in Bach''s eyes, and the fire bolt''s outer flame dissipates. The ball shrinks slightly and the orange fire blends to blue. A blowtorch hiss replaces the rolling crackles. Bach directs Sotalia''s hand behind the bolt. Aiming for a stack of rocks next to the stone boulder, he releases Sotalia''s hand. The bolt zooms off. A loud crack sounds, and it crashes onto the stony surface. A trail of magical gasses dissipate as a fading glow at impact cools.


    Sotalia blinks in disbelief and gawks at the soot smudged rock. Holding her chin thoughtful with a slight violet glow in her eyes, Aristespha surveys with renewed interest. Bach poses a moment and nods with smug accomplishment. Recovering to her senses, Sotalia whips her hand, snatches the collar of Bach''s shirt, and yanks him down to her level. She bares teeth, drills her golden eyes Bach, and punctuates each word with a resting growl. "WHAT. WAS. THAT?!"


    Bach fights to keep a calm exterior and hesitantly meets Sotalia''s piercing glare. "Uh, well, my best version of a fire bolt?"


    Furrowing her brow to an irritated squint, Sotalia curls her other hand on the collar and draws Bach closer. "OH. Don''t be CUTE with ME."


    Satisfaction beams out from Aristespha, and she observes the unfolding exchange with smirking humor. Bach cautiously places his hands on Sotalia''s forearms and gently pushes them away. Sotalia reluctantly releases her grasp upon his shirt collar and aims a demanding glare at him. With a nervous tremor, Bach smiles and chuckles. "I''ll... Show you the best I can. It will not be easy, but I will show you some basics of what I did."


    Sotalia rolls her shoulders, assumes a ready stance, and summons forth her previously confident posture. "Go ahead. I''m ready."


    Bach motions his hand towards the stone targets. "So, well, get another fire bolt ready."


    Holding her hand out, Sotalia concentrates and manifests another fire bolt. She maintains a careful watch of Bach. Hovers his hand next to the side of the fire bolt, Bach ponders a moment and, with a bright blue glow in eyes, plucks the flaming orb away from Sotalia''s hand. He levitates the magical ball of fire between both his hands, narrows an scrutinizing stare upon it, and hums thoughtfully to himself. Blinking in pure bewilderment, Sotalia flexes her empty hand and flashes a confused glance at Bach. "What the hell is this?!"


    As Sebastian''s ethereal form lands nearby, Aristespha grins mischievously and scoots close. Pointing to Sotalia and Bach, and Sebastian leans close to Aristespha whispers. "So, what''s going on here, dear? I heard her yelling from inside the living room."


    Barely containing her amusement, Aristespha hides the grin on her ivory face behind a hand and motions between Bach and Sotalia. "Your brother is instructing Sotalia on the finer aspects of magical optimization."


    Blinking in surprise, Sebastian furrows his ghostly brow. "Is she actually LISTENING to him?"


    Shakes her head, Aristespha smirks with a roll of her violet eyes. "Well, not in the strictest definitions. But, his blunt demonstrations are reaching her in ways she just can''t ignore. I believe it has been very effective. I''ve certainly learned by watching."


    Sebastian squints curiously at the continuing exchange between Bach and Sotalia. "What''s Bach doing right now?"


    Bach points out a flicker of energy within the fire bolt spell. Sotalia furrows her brow with initial defensive flits. Her body language softens, and her golden eyes watch attentively. Aristespha giggles to herself and winks to Sebastian. "He''s telling Sotalia the issues with her spell. He is quite literally picking it apart before her eyes and critiquing it."


    Sebastian grimaces and grits his teeth. "Oh, he doesn''t know how she gets. She''ll- Wait-"


    He narrows his translucent blue eyes and cocks his head incredulously. "Is she actually paying honest attention and not going on the defensive?"


    Keeping her comments close to Sebastian, Aristespha nods and quietly laughs. "She has been actually receptive. Something she knows nothing about, but she actually WANTS to learn it. Bach has made it very apparent that she should shut up and pay attention. So... She actually is."


    Sebastian shifts his gaze over to Bach and Sotalia. "OH... This is going to be good. Gods, I hope this will get her to stop spending money on all those magical gimmicks."


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Drawing in a faintly annoyed breath, Aristespha puts her hands together and glances upwards with vague hope. "Oh, that would be so nice..."


    ----


    Sotalia grimaces intensely, locks her eyes to her hand, and winces with a eye twitch. Keeping his hand underneath Sotalia''s, Bach watches the fire bolt slowly form. The orb manifests into its final stage, appearing similar to prior incarnations. Sotalia gasps and exhales relieved. "Oh gods. That took forever!"


    Tapping a button on her tablet, Aristespha sits on a nearby log and relishes Sotalia''s efforts. "Seven minutes to be exact."


    Bach pulls his hand away and nods at the stable, orange flaming ball. "So, that''s just one tweak you can do. Practice that a bunch, and we''ll cover the many others later."


    Sotalia wipes a few beads of sweat from her forehead and brushes some of her dark red hair over a horn. "This is ridiculous! It''s so excruciating! The amount I have to hold back and little details I have to handle..."


    Slowly averting his gaze with a tight smile, Bach glances back to Aristespha and Sebastian, while Sotalia continues to rant to herself. He simply shrugs with an awkward grin. Shakes her head of long silvery blue hair, Aristespha rolls violet her eyes. She stands up from the log, walks over to Sotalia, and pats her on the back. "Welcome to what many of us have to contend with."


    Sniffing the air, Bach searches the clouds streaming overhead in the afternoon sky. He squints over to the house and steps in that direction. "Let''s go back inside. I''m getting a bit hungry, and it''s getting really cloudy. The dark and stormy kind of cloudy."


    Aristespha joins Bach at his side and keeps pace with him. "So, I have a question about the magical materials you create. How are you stabilizing the magical energy? I''ve done research into similar methods for medical uses, but longevity has been an issue."


    Bach searches his mind and furrows his brow in thought. "Geometric substructures. That''s what''s given me the best results. I found that most spells don''t bother messing with the substructures of the magical energy lattices and matrices, since they aren''t intended to be permanent things. I created my first stabilized energy dish after watching a chemistry show on fullerenes."


    The last statement piques Aristespha''s interest, and she quizzes Bach. "Oh. So, a disc, similar to the one you created recently?"


    Blinking his blue eyes, Bach furrows his brow and cocks his head of longer brown hair. "Uh, no. A dish. Like the ones you eat on. I mean... Okay, this is embarrassing... I, uh, that week I created it? Um, I hadn''t washed dishes for a LONG time and didn''t want to waste money on paper plates.


    Averting his face from Aristespha, he uneasily chuckles. "So, I got inspired to form one. It worked decently enough. Still faded away after a week, but I refined the process. In fact, I eventually made a set of dishware for eight people that included dishes, bowls, saucers, tea cups, glasses, and spoons. The knives and forks were a bit hard to-"


    Bach coasts his words to stop when Aristespha steps right in front of him. She cuts a glare right right through him and barely contains the sheer exasperation seeping out. "You mean to tell me... Your kitchen was stocked with stabilized energy... DISHWARE?!"


    Sebastian juts his arm out in front of Sotalia. They both stop a few meters behind Bach. Immediately recognizing THAT tone from Aristespha, Sebastian motions Sotalia around the confrontation. Sotalia unquestioningly agrees, and the two circumnavigate around at a safe distance with a cautious watch of the situation nearby. Aristespha pinches the bridge of her nose, closes her eyes, draws a deep breath, and exhales slowly. "It''s okay. It''s fine. A little frustrating that an intriguing development in magical materials was used to manufacture... DISHWARE. So, am I to guess that your prior landlord has them now?"


    Bach bites his lip and warily nods with a defensive smirk. "Yeah. When I was ABDUCTED and then released to my room here, I called my landlord and told her to sell or keep whatever was left to pay this last month''s rent.


    Perking his brow, he shrugs his shoulders and grimaces. "I mean, it wasn''t bad dishware. Non-stick, microwave safe, and it looked pretty. Hate to say it, but I''m pretty sure my old landlord probably has already rented the place out again. Knowing her, she probably advertised it as furnished now to scam a higher rent."


    Aristespha grumpily pivots away from Bach, and stiffly steps away. Bach searches the area and follows behind her with a half-hearted plea. "I can create more. Would you like a set? I''m sorry, I don''t know what is significant or what isn''t these days with magic. I''ve kind of been out of the loop for some time."


    Aristespha sighs heavily, relaxes her shoulders, and halts in front of the sliding glass door. A recognition of opportunity sparks in her eyes. She lifts her head to face Bach with an unamused, but faintly forgiving grimace. "I actually have many magical materials I''ve designed for medical use. I can create small batches, but they are prototypes. You help me create them, I''ll start teaching you medical magic. You''ll need to know it anyway to properly manufacture the materials."


    Bach puts both thumbs up in agreement. "Hey, that''s fine with me. Just let me know what you need."


    A cunning smile emerges on Aristespha''s face, and she glances at the magical cord on the dining table. "Start with ten meters of the magical cord stuck on that gun and enlightening me on its properties."


    ----


    Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi sit around the dining table with roll-out pads and cloths covering sections of the tabletop. Detaching the barrel of her field stripped sub-machine gun, Dretphi runs a cleaning rod down the length. Cideeda checks the ejector of her shotgun, oils a few spots, and removes the bright orange safety plug from the chamber. Cycling it to her satisfaction, she puts the rubber chunk back in and stows the weapon into a carrying case. Bach hovers the cloud of parts for his plasma pistol between his hands. After a few final tweaks, the pistol reassembles itself and floats gently down to the pad in front of Bach. Cideeda shakes her head with a toothy grin. "That''s still fascinating to me. By the way, since you are done, could you..."


    Leaning over in her chair, below the table, she hoists the magically webbed up plasma rifle upon the tabletop. She taps a claw tip on the weapon and lifts an eyebrow. "Could remove the jam in and ON this thing, please? I''d really appreciate it."


    Bach reaches out, grabs the magical cord attached to the rifle, and draws up the slack. Coiling the bundle in his hand, his eyes flick blue and a pulse of magical flow rush down his arm. Energy threads retreat from the gun and the excess dissipates back to the thick of the cable. Lifting the bundle off the table, he glances around with an uncertain grimace. Dretphi curiously quirks her brow. "What are you looking for?"


    Bach twists his mouth indecisively. "Trying to find a place to put this. I don''t want it. I''m full up energy wise, so breaking it down is a waste."


    An evil smile emerges on Cideeda''s light brown face, and she eagerly holds her hand out. "Hey! Let me have it! I got an idea."


    He passes the coil over apprehensively. Signaling both Bach and Dretphi close, she lifts the cord up. "Sotalia has been wanting this ever since we got back from the mission. She''s left it alone probably because she couldn''t figure how to get it off the plasma rifle. And the only reason she hasn''t walked off with the whole thing is because I''d come looking for it."


    Tilting his head to the side, Bach blinks confused and narrows his gaze. "Wait, why would she want the cord? I mean, I think Aristespha seems more interested in magical materials than Sotalia."


    Dretphi chuckles softly to herself, eyes the hallway, and whispers. "She likes to collect magical oddities. Of all varieties. An obsession."


    Flicking her furry ears, Cideeda playfully groans with an emerald green eye roll and scoots her chair back. "Gods, that''s a nice way of putting it. When it comes to oddball magical garbage, she''s practically a hoarder. If it wasn''t for all the folded space frame carriers we have, we''d need a separate trailer to haul it all."


    She peeks at the hallway entry, wags her long tail, and walks softly into the kitchen prep and pantry area. Stepping next to the garbage can near the garage door, she waves the cord side to side at Bach with an excited grin and plops upon the tile floor. A few steps later, she directs her voice to the hallway. "Hey, Bach!"


    Bach blinks bewildered. Cideeda points at Bach and motions her hand from mouth to the hallway. An understanding sparks in Bach, and he aims his voice down towards the hall archway. "Oh, um. Yes?"


    Cideeda gracefully slides herself into her chair and raps her claw tips upon the tabletop. "What do you want me to do with this magical cord from the plasma rifle?"


    Searching his mind for a response, Bach projects his casual tone. "Uh, well, I don''t know. I don''t want it. Just put it by the garbage can in the kitchen for now."


    Grabbing hold of a chair next to her, she dramatically slides it around. After a few seconds, she moves the wooden chair back into place and whispers. "Now... Act like you''re working and wait for the show."


    The three work on their tasks, occasionally sneaking a peek towards the archway. Minutes later, Sotalia confidently strides out of the hallway. She casually glances over the gathering at the dining in route to the kitchen. Humming a tune to herself, she adjusts her loose fitting t-shirt in front of the refrigerator. She opens the door to the fridge and briefly darts her eyes to the dining table. She slowly dips down with the cover of the open fridge door and below line of sight bar window into the space from the dining table. Clanks and plastic shuffles sound out. In between the thinly veiled diversions of rearranging fridge items, frustrated, quiet grunts and clumsy movement upon the tile floor contrast the other noises.


    The scrambling sounds stop with a relieved sigh. Sotalia pops back up with a vegetable snack pack and a sports drink in hand. Pulling her shirt down over the waistband of her shorts, she casually closes the fridge door. She swiftly steps to the hall archway with a nonchalant exterior. Cideeda winks to Bach and Dretphi. When Sotalia passes by, Cideeda flicks a part off the table to nearby Sotalia. "Oh, damn it. Hey, can you get that for me, Sotalia?"


    Sotalia freezes mid step, pivots slowly, and nervously smiles. "Oh! Sure."


    Squatting down to the floor, she keeps her back straight and her midsection quote inflexible. She snatches the part from the floor, carefully stands back up, and drops the piece into Cideeda''s awaiting hand. "There you go. Now, back to reading! You all have fun with your, um, fixing and stuff."


    Sotalia swiftly slips into the hallway, and faster footsteps upon wooden floor echo out. Placing her elbow on the table, Cideeda props her chin with her hand, and just shakes her head. Dretphi returns her gaze from the hallway and smiles humored. "She does try."


    Cideeda shrugs and dismisses with a wave. "Oh, I know. Wrapping the cord around the waist wasn''t a bad idea. I''ve got to give her some credit this time."


    Scratching the back of his head, Bach bounces his confusion between Dretphi and Cideeda. "Huh. Okay. Why be so secretive?"


    Cideeda laughs with a toothy grin and points towards the hallway. "Oh! It''s because we''ve given her so much shit about collecting all that magical crap. She says all the time that she''s totally going to prune her collection. But, when something catches her eye, she''ll try to get it without us noticing. That way, we don''t have a chance to call her out on it."


    Dretphi taps Bach on the shoulder with a smile. "Matter of her pride. Similar to when she stole your last piece of bacon at the Amaranth Dining House."


    Bach blinks his blue eyes and furrows a distant stare inwards. After sorting through a rush of memory, his jaw drops. His expression slips into disbelief, and he straightens his posture with the realization. "The fuck? She stole a piece of my bacon? Wait, what- Why?"


    Perking her furry ears with a surprised flick of her tail, Cideeda covers mouth and giggles. "OH GODS. That''s right. I thought I saw her fork move down on your plate. Wow, she actually moved quick that time. I only caught a bit of it out of the corner of my eye."


    Bach leans forward in his chair, a tight frown on his face, and furrows his brow contemplatively. "But, why didn''t she just ask, or just order some more?"


    Dretphi locks the last part into her submachine gun and places the reassembled weapon in its case. "Pride. Image. Ego."


    She uncovers something on the floor. Her arm muscles tighten, and she raises her huge machete up and carefully places it down upon the tabletop. Sorting through her repair kit, she procures a magnifying glass, and starts inspecting the glimmering edge. Bach carefully examines the section of blade closest to him curiously. "So, what are you looking for exactly? It seems like it doesn''t have a scratch on it."


    Gliding a metal pick along the edge of the blade, Dretphi quickly examines it to satisfaction and glances up from the magnifying glass. "Inspecting the blade. Verifying the enchantment upon the edge remained intact. Our last enemies were significantly hard."


    Cideeda breaks from examining the plasma rifle and gazes at Bach with an inquisitive glint. "Speaking of which. Bach? Have you done any weapon or armor enchantments before?"


    Blinking in thought, Bach furrows his brow and stares internally. Seconds later, he shakes his head and grimaces. "No. I don''t think I''ve ever really tried any real enchanting. Never had any spare weapons or armor to experiment with."


    Dretphi and Cideeda exchange eager grins. Cideeda leans close to Bach, perks her furry ears, wags her long, fluffy tail, and flutters her emerald green eyes at him. "Would you like some?"


    ----


    A constant curtain of rainfall drops down upon the rural region surrounding Amaranth Valley. Water flows through the manmade drainage paths along with natural topography, and the trickles merge to larger currents. The creek in the nearby woods swells to the edges of its banks. The chorus of drops upon the roof drums a low background drone inside the ranch style house. Bach places down a large rifle barrel next to others on the tabletop. Tracing the length of the barrel, he rocks his head side to side uncertainly. "I... I might be able to do something. Um, anti-friction coating inside the barrel? Maybe some micro-grooves on the rifling? I not sure what you''d want on something like this."


    Cideeda energetically pantomimes something bursting out in front of her. "Can you make it so the rounds sent through it explode into fire on impact?! That''s possible right?"


    Bach''s face blanks, and he tilts his head blinking. Cideeda''s excitement wanes as she gauges Bach''s expression. Lowering his head down to inspect the barrel closer, Bach furrows his brow, and inspiration brews within. He mumbles a debate with himself and mutters out a grand plan. "But... Put mechanisms to... How much energy can I take from the round and convert... Then..."


    Perking her furry ears, Cideeda cranes head around and focuses upon the quiet discussion. As pieces of words slip out, excitement flushes back into her face. Reading the mood shift, Dretphi waits in anticipation. Bach pulls a deep breath and holds his forehead contemplatively. He mulls over the options in a series of unsure winces and uncertain grimaces. Taking his hand off his forehead, he furrows his brow and shrugs with a hand held up. "It would take A LOT of testing to get it right. There''s a good chance a barrel might get melted in the process."


    Dretphi and Cideeda smile at each other. Sitting back in her chair at the dining table, Cideeda stretches her arms back. "More reasons to shoot guns? Well, I''m not going to argue."


    Bach picks up a submachine gun round on the table and grabs a shotgun shell in the other hand. "I might be able to do something with these rounds. I know I need to be careful with the submachine gun stuff, since there''s stuff with, like, the gasses and recoil that are important."


    Granting an understanding nod, Dretphi cracks a smirk on her tan face. "Gas operated with an intricate mechanism. Do not worry. I will explain later."


    Bach smiles gratefully and turns his attention to the other munitions. "Shotgun shells, I think give me a little more room to work in. We might have to do something to barrel, depending on what you want."


    Sinking back into the chair, he sighs and squints distantly at the figures inside his mind. "It''ll take some time to figure it out... And, I can only make so many a day. Now, if you want simple part performance tweaks, THAT I can do fast enough."


    Cideeda and Dretphi discuss amongst each other, pointing out specifics in the party arsenal. During the detailed debate between the two, Bach casually picks up his plasma pistol on the pad in front of him. He removes the power pack and presses the safety discharge button a few times. Holding up in the air, he points it at the ceiling and rotates it thoughtfully. Narrowing his blue eyes, he gazes upon the workings of the device, angles different components into view, and examines the machine in his grip. As he relaxes his shoulders, a flush of blue illuminates his stare.


    Flows of magical energy creep up along his arm onto and into the plasma pistol. The weapon partially disassembles. Parts shift, new magical components manifest in place, and the assembly melds together. The top lifts up, the sides of the barrel housing expand outwards, and the muzzle slides forward a few centimeters. Gaps between the outer casing fill with magical plating. Minutes of methodical process later, the last traces of flow drift off the magically bolster plasma pistol. A confident, roguish grin grows from the corner of Bach''s mouth.


    Bach admires the device in his hand. Furrowing his brow against flits of doubt, he fights back the uncertainty and summons up an experimenter''s courage to the unknown. His blatant satisfaction fades against the awkward stares of Dretphi and Cideeda. Resorting to waving a hand in front of Bach, Cideeda narrows her emerald green eyes. Bach blanks his expression, and his eyes dart around the room with embarrassment filling in the gaps. "Uh... Y-yes?"


    Cideeda exhales briefly with relief and grins toothily. "Good, you''re back with us again. You zoned out for a while there, and we didn''t want to interrupt you. But, I figured you were done when you started to admire your latest doomsday weapon like some kind of evil mad scientist."


    Shuddering with frowns at the last part, Bach''s gut tenses up uncomfortably. He eyes the plasma pistol with less enthusiasm. "Yeah. Well, this might be a bit overkill."


    Dretphi pats Bach on the shoulder. "Overkill today. Enough kill tomorrow."


    Cideeda nods, flicks her furry ears, and gives Bach a knowing gaze honed from experience. "Oh, don''t be afraid to put a few aces up your sleeves. The key is to keep them hidden until they are needed the most. A lot of people forget that part. Don''t want to give your enemies time to prepare."


    An odd comfort exudes from the wisdom, and Bach relaxes. Agreeing with an accepting nod, he shifts his attention back to the plasma pistol. "Yeah. First, I have to find out if everything I did actually works. But, until then..."


    The magical augments gradually vanish. The floating parts hover, reassemble themselves, and lock back into their original places. Bach places the pistol, holster, and power into a nearby case. While idly brushing her platinum braids, Dretphi eyes the glimmer edge of her machete and perks her brow at Bach. "What can you do for melee weapons?"


    Gritting his teeth, Bach rocks his head side to side. "Ah. If you get the weapon how you want it, I know how to apply a stabilization matrix onto and into it to help keep it that way. It''s similar to what''s on your machete right now. As for putting magical edges on things, I''m actually a little wary to experiment on that."


    He twists his mouth against a grimace. "Especially after my experiences making a knife and fork with stabilized magical energy."


    Wagging her tail curiously, Cideeda blinks thoughtfully. Catching a similar reaction from Dretphi, she levels an inquisitive stare at Bach and awaits a further explanation. Lowering his head in embarrassment, Bach summons his composure. "Okay. Long story short. The knife sliced through the tough steak I had... Right into the last ceramic plate I had left. The fork fell off the table, landed tines first, and stuck itself a centimeter into the vinyl and wood floor."


    Dretphi and Cideeda stare in wide-eyed shock. Bach throws his hands up in resignation. "I know. After that, I''ve avoided that APPLICATION until I can make anything like that safe. Well, at least enough for the user. Gods, I''m glad that fork fell off before I tried to eat with it."


    He holds up a finger and smirks with a tinge of confidence. "Now, spoons on the other hand... Those I can do just fine."


    Inspiration glints within Cideeda''s emerald green eyes, her long, fluffy tail wags eagerly, and she perks her furry ears. "Make me a spoon."


    Bach and Dretphi exchange confused stares, and squint expectantly at Cideeda. Slyly smiling, Cideeda waves towards the kitchen counter with cereal boxes upon it. "We''ll place it over there. Then, we''ll see how long before Sotalia steals it. We can even get a betting pool going, I''m sure Aristespha will want to join in."


    The collective plot manifests between intrigued glances at each other. Bach holds his palm up, and a flash radiant blue illuminates his eyes.


    ----


    Dragging her wandering gaze across the dimly lit bedroom, Aristespha jots down a few lines of notes and saves the document on her tablet. She reaches behind her and rearranges the pillow stack to supportive satisfaction. Sebastian''s ethereal visage materializes next to her on the bed. He nonchalantly hangs an arm around her with the ethereal form phasing with contact. "So, brushing up that sex scene in the chapter of your latest slash fic?"


    Aristespha lets the tablet fall forward on her chest and gently swings her amused gaze at Sebastian, sarcasm tinting her voice. "Why, yes! I think I have settled on a surprise three-way now, with a voyeur hiding in the closet."


    Sebastian grins smugly and meets Aristespha''s gaze. "Ooo... Is that a double entendre?"


    Pausing in thought, Aristespha snorts lightly and vainly hides a guilty smile. Sebastian peeks over and motions for her to flip the tablet back up. "So, what were you writing down?"


    Aristespha tilts the tablet up and reveals a sundry of writing with magical symbols, scribbles around curious points, and overflowing footnotes. "Just my research. Nothing really that exciting. Unfortunately..."


    Sebastian''s translucent blue eyes wander towards the title line of a referenced paper. "Effects of counter-phased magical energy exposure? Wow. That''s an oddly specific field of study. What are you reading it for?"


    Furrowing her brow, Aristespha sighs and gazes at Sebastian. "Your brother, of course. So far, it''s all inconclusive. Again, there''s certainly more to his story he has yet to tell."


    Sebastian drops his head down and ethereally groans. "In time. I''m sure he''ll tell it all in-"


    With faintly glowing violet eyes, Aristespha holds onto Sebastian''s hand and speaks softly. "It''s okay. Really. We all have got stories that are uncomfortable to talk about. And, I have gotten enough information to begin to understand how he manipulates his magic."


    Against the flows of magic coating Aristespha''s hand, Sebastian lightly squeezes her hand and ponders out loud. "Begin to understand? You? Don''t you have it figured out? You usually figure these things out before I even know what the question was, dear."


    Twisting her mouth, Aristespha shrugs her shoulders and groans. "Sebastian, I consider myself very proficient in magical knowledge and practice. To put it in a way, some of the shit your brother does would freak out the experts well above me. I honestly have difficulty perceiving half of what he does."


    Sebastian blinks in astonishment, and his expression grows more concerned with a tinge of worry. "Is there anything I can do? Anything I need to look out for? Or, maybe anything I can ask him?"


    Aristespha slides down into the bed sheets and sinks her head of long silvery blue hair into the plush pillows. "No, not right now. He''s fine. He has outstanding control of his abilities, and he is capable. It''s just..."


    Gazing down at Aristespha, Sebastian turns his head curiously. "It''s just...?"


    Pulling up the sheets, Aristespha squirms for comfort within the covers. "I have diagnosed and treated people with magical disabilities. I''ve discussed advanced topics with professions who specialize in that field. People have found effective ways to treat, compensate, and work around such disabilities. But..."


    She drifts off in thought, gazing at Sebastian''s concerned face. "I do not believe anyone has taken the route Bach has, with any degree of success. Especially not to such an extreme..."

 Episode 8

    Laying upon the top of his bed, Bach flips through the unending pages in a thick textbook. His blue eyes wearily scan the elaborate medical terms and drift between the dense paragraphs. Blinking hard with a grimace, each moment of focus grows harder to maintain, and Bach''s attention wanders away in desperation. Fruitless minutes later, he closes the book, tosses it to the side on the bed, and winces. Letting his head sink into the pillow, he rubs the strain from his eyes and blinks his vision clear. His arms lead the rest of his body to a seat on the bed. Pulling his back into a stretch, he yawns, stands up, and plods to the bedroom door. He glances out the window at the sun-backed gray and listens to the surge of rain against the pane. A distant thunder washes over the house, and Bach opens the door to the hallway.


    Walking into the large living room, Bach notices Aristespha lounging on the couch staring a hole through the paperwork splayed on the coffee table. He steps over next to the arm of the couch and surveys the piles of documentation with an electronic tablet dividing the masses. Aristespha shakes her head side to side, fights against the building fatigue, and straightens her posture in protest. Rubbing her very long ears, she notices Bach out the corner of her violet eye. "Oh! Sorry. I''m trying to finish up some paperwork. I should be done in an hour or... So... Then, we can work on your training and my materials research..."


    Bach studies the scene. Stacks of paperwork liter the area into roughly organized piles. Boxes of receipts and invoices sit on the floor around the coffee table. A dulled flash from the sliding glass back door illuminates an uncomfortably familiar tax form. Points to a seat cushion on the couch, Bach furrows his brow and smirks. "Um, you want help with this? I mean, after trudging through that last book, this seems like a nice change of pace. Feels like I could be somewhat constructive and useful here."


    Aristespha perks a brow and eyes Bach curiously as she scoots over on the couch. "Which book are you talking about?"


    Bach carefully slides a pile of papers over, takes a seat, and sighs out his frustrations. "Greyhawk''s Guide to Magical-Biological Interactions."


    Fighting down a reflexive cringe to a frown, Aristespha nods heavy with commiseration. "That is an unfortunately rough one to get through. I remember burning up one coffee maker keeping myself awake when studying it. Despite how absolutely dry it is... It does contain the best information I''ve found on that topic. I recommend any mage of advanced proficiency read it at least once."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach leans his head over to idly read some random piece of paper on top of a nearby pile. "Yeah, I''m starting to agree. It''s actually nice to get the official terms for stuff. Gods, calling everything That Thing was getting old quick."


    Aristespha chuckles to herself, stops as she remembers something, and fishes out a packet of papers from a stack next to her. "Speaking of official terms... If you could, fill out how and where you want your pay, please."


    Bach grabs the form curiously and flips through with confusion. "Oh. Um... Okay. So, how does this all work out? I have no clue."


    A surge of pride manifests as a smile on Aristespha''s ivory face, and she pulls out a tablet from between a pile of papers. Tapping commands on the screen, she presents the device to Bach. "That''s right. I forgot, you never did your internship year. Well, thankfully, I created a few diagrams over a year ago when we got together to formalize the financial process for our group."


    She slips the tablet between Bach''s hands, swipes through diagrams, and selects one to full size. "Depending on the mission, quest, or contract, the payout goes into our group''s company account with the guild. We deduct any related expenses, then the money gets distributed evenly to everyone''s individual guild accounts, up to a quota we all agree upon once every few months. Any excess gets put into another company account that is for shared party expenses, up to a quota. Anything above this quota at the end of the month, is divided out as a bonus to everyone."


    Studying the diagrams, Bach zooms in on sections and watches summarizing animations of the process on the tablet. He eventually nods understandingly and hands the device back. "Okay. That makes sense to me, and seems pretty fair. It sounds like it avoids a lot of possible money drama."


    Aristespha draws in a deep breath, exhales her relief, and quells a corner twist in her smile. "Yes, it certainly does. Money issues tend to break apart adventuring groups faster than any other issue and often with more dramatic results. Just ask Dretphi or Cideeda, they''ve got a few choice stories about financial fights between team members."


    Lifting up a section of paperwork upon the coffee table, Bach bounces his bewildered stare between Aristespha and the overwhelming stack. "Damn... I hope this is just a backlog of paperwork, because this might actually be scarier than facing those cyber-zombies."


    A genuine laugh slips out of Aristespha, and she passes Bach a pen and takes one for herself from behind her ear. "Yes, it thankfully is just a backlog. Chasing and confronting Noxian forced A LOT of our documentation to be left... Unfinished. It is normally a modest sum of pages of legal documents that amount to a few signatures. I have got most of the accounting handled by software. Most of the time, the only time consuming part comes from matching receipts and invoices to account transactions. I''ve got logging software on a tablet to help that process."


    Bach stares at the mass of paper, readies his pen, and cracks a wary grin. "So, uh, where do you need me to start?"


    Aristespha taps the packet with her pen and retrieves another tablet for Bach to use. "First, fill out your payment information. You can use the guild account system if you don''t have a bank account. They''re not fancy or featured, but they do work enough to hold your funds. After that, you can use this tablet to catalog receipts and invoices. It has the better camera for that."


    Shifting his attention to the packet, Bach reads a few lines and a thought crosses his mind. "Hey, um, just curious. How much does that monthly individual quota go up to?"


    Leaning next to Bach, Aristespha traces a finger down the page and stops next to a number. Bach follows the trail of text down to the spot. His eyes widen, jaw drifts down, and head slowly tilts. Aristespha grins with satisfaction and returns to her stack of papers. "Why do you think anyone considers this line of work? The actual pay can vary based on the workload we take on. There have been some slow months when we were fully dedicated to tracking down Noxian that cut into our ability to work other assignments from the guild. While you are starting at the end of a month, Sebastian wants you to have his share for this month."


    She presents her tablet screen and points out an account summary. "As a... Oh, how did he put it? An apology for abducting you and flipping the fucking table that was your life."


    Bach blinks in astonishment. After failed attempts to form a coherent response, he draws in a breath and shrugs appeased. "You know... I''ve now come to full acceptance of that incident and look forward to our future business ventures with a refreshed adventuring spirit."


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes with a humored smile, tosses back her long, silvery blue hair, and circles her finger over a box of receipts on the floor nearby. "Right. Sure. Let''s see how you feel after sorting through this box."


    ----


    Steadying the tablet, Bach lines up the shot and captures a picture of the last receipt from the box next to the living room coffee table. He sorts through the menus and links the image to an outstanding traction. Leaning back into the couch back, he blinks his blue eyes and snorts with a humored smirk. "By the gods... You guys have must have single-handedly kept Pancake Shed in business for the last few years. I mean, they''re good and all. But, I mix it up a little bit."


    Aristespha twists her mouth mildly defensive and lifts an eyebrow at Bach. "Well, you find another restaurant that widespread, near every major highway, open all hours, and that takes you as you come with no questions."


    Using a pen to scratch a check mark on the last receipt, he stuffs it under a rubber band with others. "Yeah, fair enough. The one in High Alton was the perfect place to recover from all the crazy misadventures I had to rescue Sebastian from. Their hash browns are REALLY good at three in the morning."


    Aristespha places her pen, tablet, and papers down on the coffee table and sinks back into the couch. "Indeed, they are. And, the Pancake Shed is very accommodating to adventures. There''s one in Perimeter that lets you order your captive''s food off the children''s menu. That way bounty hunters can save money on food."


    Bach slowly pivots his head to Aristespha and furrows an uncertain brow. "That''s... Interesting."


    Ducking forward to put herself on her feet, Aristespha stands up and stretches her back. "A lot of fugitives try to hide out in the Perimeter Weird Zone. Most are usually very thankful when a bounty hunter finds them, so they can get escorted out of the zone. It''s very easy to get lost and find yourself in a bad predicament out there."


    Stepping around the coffee table, she brushes her faded T-shirt off and guides stray silvery blue hairs over her very long, pointed ears. "Oh, I''m going to make some tea. Do you want any?"


    Bach tidies up his immediate area and carefully pulls himself up and away from the nearby haphazard piles of paper. "Uh, sure, I guess. Are we done with all this for now?"


    Spinning a carousel of single-serving drink packets on the kitchen counter, Aristespha plucks two of them out and loads one into the brewing machine on the counter. "Yes. It''s not going anywhere. We''ve made good progress, so I''m not too terribly worried. Thank you for helping me with that mess."


    Settling into a chair at the dining table, Bach wanders his gaze aimlessly. A question lands in his mind, and he quizzically stares at Aristespha. "So... You''ve been in a weird zone? You mentioned Perimeter and the Perimeter Weird Zone. It sounds like you''ve had some experience with them."


    Aristespha fits a mug underneath the brewing machine and presses a button. While the machine hums with flowing water within, she ponders a moment as her violet eyes search her thoughts. "Yes. I have been in a few. They were some of the spots I visited during my research into spirits, sprites, and other such entities."


    As his interest piques, Bach keeps his attention on Aristespha. "So, what do you know of magic in that realm of study?"


    Aristespha deftly pops out the spent packet, pitches it into the garbage can without looking, and sets that mug off to the side. In a quick series of motions, she loads the next packet, hits the button, and slides another mug underneath the machine. Bach cocks his head curiously, and Aristespha smirks smugly. "Studying at the Grand Library, you learn how to run these things as fast as possible. Anyway, as for spirit magic... Most of my study has been focused on sensory, communication, and projection types of magic. Honestly, that was all I was really interested in. I know the theory behind the spirit family of magic."


    Eying the cup as it fills, she waits expectantly. When the last drop hits, she sweeps up both containers and walks to the dining table. Placing a mug in front of Bach, she takes a seat opposite from him. "I just don''t care for how those spirit mages perform most of their magic."


    Bach lifts the tea up to his nose for a sniff. Feeling the hot vapor flowing around his nose, he lowers it back down. "So, um, what about it don''t you like?"


    Aristespha sighs with a slight frown on her face. "Most spirit mages are absolute ASSHOLES to all those entities."


    Bach blinks to attention and gazes in surprise at Aristespha. "Wait- Really?!"


    Nodding with a grumble, she lifts her mug and sips the tea. "I could go on for hours about it. They coerce, con, and manipulate spirits to do their bidding in exchange for some magical energy. Now, the smarter spirit types will negotiate up front. But, the simpler ones are lucky to get anything after getting controlled by spells. Thankfully, there''s a growing movement towards spirit magic that is far friendlier and drastically more ethical. I actually spent a week with the teacher that inspired the initiative."


    Leaning back in his chair, Bach ponders with bewilderment toiling on his face. "Wow. That''s... Surprising. I''ve met a few spirit mages, but I didn''t realize that''s what they were doing. I mean, I never had any of the same classes with them after the first year. I focused on far different things than them."


    Aristespha shakes her head and stares down at her cup. She smiles kindly and sighs. "I really didn''t want anything to do with spirit magic after learning that, but meeting that teacher changed my mind. His name is Marcus Harold. A simple, old man on the outside that holds the favors of thousands of spirits, sprites, daemons, and ghosts. He keeps to forests out in the wilds. There''s one spot he visits in the unclaimed territory between the GAA and Appaland."


    She lifts the mug to her lips, drinks a moderate sum, and stares off distantly. "That was the most beautiful forest I''ve ever been in. The density of spirits inhabiting that area is a magnitude of order greater than anywhere else. It actually affects the biology of the flora and fauna out there. As for Marcus , he is a very laid back and kind man. While I learned much from him, he always summed up his lessons to two things."


    Breaking from listening, Bach remembers to enjoy more of his tea. "Huh, what were those?"


    Aristespha snorts with a humored grin and glances at Bach. "Ask nicely and be reasonable."


    Bach nods slowly and shrugs his shoulders in agreement. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Seemed to work for him."


    Taking a deep breath in, Aristespha tenses her voice. "It does. His resident Elder Geist told me that''s why it lives there."


    Bach''s eyes spring wide open, and his jaw drops agape. Using his remaining cognizance to land his mug on the table, he summons up his senses to keep tea from dribbling out of his mouth. "Uh... Eh... Hu- What?! Just to make sure I heard you correctly... By Elder Geist, you mean a five meter tall creature formed of pure elder energy, that has probably been around since after the first cataclysm?"


    Aristespha sips long of her tea, and her violet eyes meet the shocked stare of Bach. After finishing, she places the mug back down on the table and cracks a smile with hints of old tension rising from her recollection. "Oh. Yes. It was my last day there. I was talking to Marcus. It came over. Sat down next to me. Apologized for not meeting with me sooner, as it took it a while for it to go through its memories. It translated some audio transcripts I had played for Marcus. And then, it showed me the location, on my tablet''s map, of an ancient ruin that housed a library and manifested a pass card for me to use to get in. It wished me well, said it would see me again in the future, and left."


    Bach gawks in awe at Aristespha as she exhales with a faint shudder. He finally blinks and recovers enough to form words again. "What did Marcus do?"


    Aristespha playfully sneers as she curls an upper lip. "Oh. He just absolutely fucking failed to hold back his laughter as I was scared for my very existence. He tends to forget most people aren''t used to being that close to such a powerful magical entity."


    ----


    Morning lights beams onto the rural landscape. A two lane road weaves through the countryside, and the last vestiges of rain upon it dries in the growing heat of fresh sun. Clear pools of water litter the low spots upon gentle rolling hills, and the excess drains down worn channels in the earth into the nearby stream. A few drops on the open garage door break free and fall onto the gravel junction between the ranch style house''s gravel drive and interior concrete floor. Metallic clicks, clacks, and clanks echo faintly from within the garage and drift outdoors, in contrast to the ambient calm. Bach tightens a frame bolt with a wrench and grants a quarter turn twist to satisfaction. Standing back to survey his side-car motorcycle, his examining stare wanders across the machine. Morning light reflects off the freshly cleaned surfaces, while minute warps in the sheen hints at dents undone. Bach admires the close to new presentation of the vehicle before him.


    Sebastian''s ethereal breaks the long moment of quiet. "Sweet machine you got there, bro."


    Bach turns around to Sebastian as he hovers through the door leading inside the house. "Oh, yeah. Cleaned it up and checked everything. Should be good for a ride, man."


    Flying over the vehicle, Sebastian appreciates it from different angles. "I''ll admit it''s a lot nicer to look at when you''re not riding the handlebars."


    Bach grants a single laugh and shakes his head at Sebastian. "Well, I mean, to be fair, it''s not like I gave you that long to take in the beauty."


    Eying his brother with a smug smile, Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes. His ethereal form lightens and his expression softens. "Hey. Thanks for saving everyone. It''s been rough getting used to just being an over-glorified cheerleader slash doomsayer, and mostly feeling useless. It could have gone really bad down there, but you delivered us the leverage we needed to make the best outcome happen."


    Bach rubs the back of his neck and sheepishly shifts his shoulders up and down. "Man... I couldn''t just let that happen to anyone and not do something. But, I''ve got to be honest..."


    He awkwardly gazes at Sebastian, grits his teeth uneasily, and hisses in uncomfortable breath. "I was totally pulling stuff out of my ass! I mean, I knew the THEORY behind the whole EMP. I''d imagined a few designs in the past. But... Shit... That was the first time I''ve ever actually implemented an EMP bomb of all things! Gods, that was such a ridiculously complicated piece of machinery, I just-"


    He drags his fingers through his longer brown hair and wanders towards the garage door with worry in each footstep. "Holy shit... I mean it''s great that it worked and we got out, but- Dammit! Oh, it could have gone so wrong! If the blast wasn''t enough, if they were fully insulated, or even if they just took cover in broom closet- I just- Well- I- FUCK! Two weeks ago I was just happy enough to get out of bed and read a decent story on an Aethernet forum..."


    Holding his half-open hands shakily out in front of him, Bach''s eyes shift between the bullet points of his rant. "Somehow in less than two weeks, I have gone from living in an over-glorified shack, seen as a failure of a mage, to somehow resuming our dream of adventuring together!"


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    He glances over his shoulder at his brother and sighs with an uneasy smile. "Don''t get me wrong. I''m all for getting my life back on track, but... It feels like I''ve been strapped to the front of a runaway train! I try to keep focus on the many positives. But, I can''t shake these feelings that I''m setting everyone up for disappointment... And... And, uh..."


    Letting his arms go limp and flop to his sides, he slacks his shoulders and searches for serenity in the peaceful day outside. Sebastian stares at the floor with each floaty step towards Bach, shaking his head with a knowing smile. He circles around in front of Bach and waits to meet his brother''s gaze. "Good. You''ve gotten to the freak out and situational awareness stage. I was starting to get worried."


    Bach refocuses his narrowing blue eyes upon Sebastian with a dumbfounded expression. "W-what? This is... Normal?"


    Sebastian doubles over laughing with an ethereal echo and holds a hand up to Bach. "Oh, gods yes! It happens to any sane adventurer. In fact, most of the veterans get worried when they think some newbie isn''t freaking out, or worried, or not aware of how fucked-up their profession is!"


    Blinking and drifting his gaze around the area, Bach follows his stare and paces the driveway in thought. Sebastian hovers close to Bach with a sly grin as he waits expectantly. Bach halts in place and furrows his brow at Sebastian. "So, YOU went through this, too?"


    Sebastian nods with a ghostly snort. "Yes. Yes, I did. I tried to hide it from the group I interned with, because I was trying to impress them. We were camping out in these woods up in the Southern Crags near High Alton, clearing out this invasive species of dire rat. I volunteered for firewood gathering duty right off the bat and did it for a week. I didn''t realize it, but they were totally expecting me to freak out after the first few days of fighting these things.


    He darts his attention back to Bach and twists his transparent face into a disgusted grimace. "Fucking nasty, angry things, bro. The textbooks make dire creatures sound like enlightened, cooler versions of animals... Totally doesn''t translate when it comes to rats. Fuck, those things still give me the creeps."


    Turning his head away, Sebastian squints his eyes briefly and finds the dangling thought. "Anyway... The ranger in that group finally tracked me when I left the camp for firewood and figured out why I was so willing to do firewood duty."


    Bach quirks a brow, bounces his eyes side to side, and leans closer. "Which was?"


    Sebastian throws his hands up to the sides and exaggerates his shrug. "Oh, you know. Cursing the job, party members, school, the world, and so on... All the while chopping at trees like an ax murderer with blue balls."


    He pauses a moment as his mind stumbles upon a random tidbit. "By the way, I so need to show you how to throw an ax, if you don''t already know. Learned the basics from that ranger, after she enjoyed watching me rant and rave."


    Narrows his eyes at Sebastian, Bach figuratively and literally stares right through him. Sebastian matches Bach''s scrutiny and places his hands on his sides. "What? Why are you-"


    His gaze darts between possibilities, and his eyes flit wide briefly. He relaxes his posture, and a goofy, unapologetic grin sneaks onto his face. The first few words fall out his mouth. He put his hands behind his head. "Well, you know, bro. She made a really good point about not letting such youthful energy go to waste."


    Lifting his head up to the clear skies just outside the garage door, Bach rolls his blue eyes dismissively and plants his face into the palm of his hand. He slowly slides his hand down and just stares at Sebastian. "I, of all people, shouldn''t be surprised. Especially after all those times I had to rescue you."


    Sebastian smirks and jokingly shakes a finger at Bach. "Hey! I''m trying to pay you back for all those times. So, you feeling any better, bro?"


    Bach tenses up his shoulders, puffs his chest up with a breath of air in, and relaxes with a long exhale. "A bit... If I am going insane, at least I''m on schedule, which somehow makes it normal. Right?"


    Floating at the side, Sebastian presents an honest smile and genuine tone. "Hey, listen. We do good work for good reasons to achieve good things. But, that doesn''t change the fact that what we are doing ranges from being a bit weird to really fucked up."


    He gazes directly into Bach''s eyes. "It''s normal to feel this is insane. It''s insane to feel this is normal."


    Bach and Sebastian stare at each other for a minute. Sebastian watches Bach''s familiar body language. Summoning up traces of determination, Bach wrestles a frown to a smile. "Yeah, it''s insane and fucked up when you break it down. But... Everyone got out safe, and we kept those cybernetic monsters from getting loose. I don''t think anyone else was going to get it done before really bad stuff started to happen."


    Nodding with pride, Sebastian drifts back satisfied. "And that''s what you have to focus on. It''s a hard balance between striving for the best outcome and keeping aware of what it is you actually do. But, that''s a balance you want to maintain. I''ve seen what happens when it goes too far one way or another. Not a good time either way."


    Bach wanders his attention around the front yard and sighs. Taking in the nice sun filled scenery, he gazes off across the two lane road into the large open field bordered by greening forest. Sebastian floats next to Bach and stares off into the same distance. "Too nice of a day for any more heavy shit, bro."


    Bach simply nods with a smile. "Yeah. I''m feeling okay for now, brother. Thanks for the talk. I kind of need to get that stuff out of my head. By the way, what''s everyone else up to?"


    Sebastian tilts his head to the side and furrows his brow thoughtfully. "I think Sotalia and Aristespha were analyzing the magical material stuff you made for practice yesterday?"


    Grimacing into an unamused frown, Bach groans in disgust. "Well, I''m not going in there for a while. Already feel like enough of a lab rat for them."


    Sebastian directs a thumb towards the side of the house with a scheming glint to his eyes. "Dretphi and Cideeda should be sorting through all the random melee weapons we''ve picked up-"


    Bach swiftly sets off towards the side of the house, swinging an arm out ahead to signal Sebastian. "Sold! Sounds like fun to me."


    ----


    Aristespha slides a box of paper with her foot, clear of the recliner. She swiftly drops into the recliner, pulls the handle for the foot rest, and spreads a blanket over her. "We''ve got about five minutes. Last week''s rerun is finishing up."


    Switching out a bowl under the spout of the hot air popcorn popper, Dretphi hands Bach the popcorn filled bowl. Bach ferries it with another in his hands over to the coffee table. Sebastian zips through the sliding glass door and drifts down to Aristespha''s side. Wrapping herself tighter in the blanket, Aristespha gazes curiously to Sebastian. "Where have you been, Sebastian? You disappeared earlier today."


    Pointing a thumb out the sliding glass door, Sebastian twists his mouth to the side intrigued. "I saw some lights coming from a house on the big plot diagonal to this one. It''s the first time I''ve ever seen activity over there. Thought I''d check it out."


    Aristespha settles deeper into the plush cushions of the recliner and tilts her ivory face. "Probably the property management company getting it ready for new renters, if I had to guess. Many of these properties are rentals."


    Sebastian hovers closer and wanders his gaze towards the television. "That makes sense. I couldn''t get close enough to make out anything, since I hit the limit from the sword. Anyway, apart from that, not much else is happening around here."


    Furrowing her brow, Aristespha guides a few stray silvery blue hairs back and glances her violet eyes out into the evening beyond the sliding glass door nearby. "If I remember correctly, I explored that property as an option but it was not ready to rent when we needed it.


    A bowl of popcorn lowers down near her. She happily lifts her hands underneath the blanket, and Bach places the bowl right between. Dropping off the other bowl on the coffee table, Bach departs back to the kitchen. Checking to see if anyone is paying attention to her, Aristespha smiles mischievously. With swift hand gestures underneath the blanket and soft incantations, her violet eyes briefly flicker. A small helping of popcorn drifts from the bowl into her mouth. Crunching down on the popcorn, she catches the mockingly judgmental glare of Sebastian. "Whut?"


    Shaking his head, Sebastian sways his attention back to the television. Aristespha rolls her faintly glowing eyes and another batch of popcorn leaves the bowl. "Oh, please... You''d do it, too."


    Dretphi immediately switches out another bowl under the popcorn popper and gives the freshly full bowl to Bach. Zipping through the hallway archway, Cideeda vaults over the couch arm and deftly maneuvers to the opposite end. Her long, fluffy tail wraps around her, and her clawed fingers reach out eagerly for the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. The last of the popcorn drops out of the popper. Both Dretphi and Bach carry a bowl each from the kitchen into the living area. Shuffling between the coffee table, Dretphi settles onto the middle spot of the couch. Bach lines up to get between the coffee table and couch.


    Sotalia''s voice sounds out. "Hey, Bach!"


    Freezing, Bach stands upright and pivots towards the kitchen. Searching the area, he squints confused. A flow of air accompanies a hazy blur directly behind him. Sounds of scrambling over a couch arm sound out along with a struggling grunt. Bach spins back around and snaps his gaze at the previously empty spot at the end of the couch. Causally waving off the last traces of magical mist off herself, Sotalia slowly stretches her legs onto her part of the coffee table, wiggles into the cushions, and puts her arms behind her head. Grinning with smug self-satisfaction, she perks her brow. "Oh, too bad. I guess you''ll just have to get your own seat."


    Narrowing his blue eyes at Sotalia, Bach cocks his head. Maintaining her smug attitude, Sotalia gently twists into the cushions more and flashes a sly smile. Bach stares at her briefly. A smirk forms on his light tan face and gradually grows into a grin. He lifts an eyebrow at Sotalia with an amused tone. "Well... I guess I will."


    Sebastian blinks away from the programming on the television and turns his attention to his brother. Lifting his free hand up, Bach stretches his arms and flexes his fingers as a blue glow pulses from his eyes. Sotalia''s smug attitude cracks, and she tenses her body and widens her golden gaze. Following Sebastian''s focus, the rest of the team watches expectantly. Bach''s hand twists down and drops just above the height of the couch. A framework of magical energy flows out and spreads to the floor. The framework fills in, and reveals an emerging structure. Parts materialize into existence, shift into place, and arrange to form a greater whole. Within the minute, the stabilized energy manifests fully, and a deck chair solidifies completely with translucent cushioning in the right places. Laying into the chair with another word, Bach magically adjusts it and scoops out a handful of popcorn from his bowl.


    Sotalia gawks at the new chair, while Dretphi suppresses a laugh behind a hand. Leaning into view around Dretphi, Cideeda gives a quick thumbs up to Bach. Both Sebastian and Aristespha nod with approval. The television blares out the iconic intro music for the Next Adventurers of Nexus show.


    "With that recap out of the way ladies and gentlemen, let''s see what our adventurers were up!"


    The screen cuts to a shot of Chad Bosch. Sitting by himself in a room for individual interviews that''s decorated with a simple chair, background, and some lighting, he draws in a deep breath. "We decided to pursue a contract to investigate an old military facility where there may have been some recent activity. As the leader, I believe it would be the perfect mission to test team cohesion. But first, we needed to get supplies and equipment."


    Clips and segments showcase the Flames of the Phoenix team shopping. A video journal segment shows Deedri uncomfortably sitting in the individual interview room. "Well, I''ve only done small medical supplies orders for myself. I never had to get everything for a whole team! Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than I expected. But, the people at the pharmacy were really nice and understanding! But... There was this one evuukian woman. Um, she didn''t seem happy. I overheard her grumbling and-"


    A piece of paper finds its way into Deedri''s hands from an out of frame source, and she blinks at it confused. "Oh! Uh, what is this?"


    From off camera a woman''s voice speaks. "That''s a translation of what that woman said."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes follow each sentence. Hints of distress slip out with each line she reads, until she covers her fair face with a hand in shock. Staring wide eyed at the bottom of the page, she grabs hold of the bell on the collar around her neck, muffling ring. "S-she wanted to put my bell WHERE?!"


    Attention in the room turns to Aristespha. Crossing her arms, she returns an unamused and unapologetic glance to everyone else. "I''m not sorry."


    Another clip shows Trakenthin seeking Dretphi''s attention and the prompt denial by the group arriving. Trakenthin observes from a distance and notices Dretphi giving a warm smile to Bach. Trakenthin trains a sneering glare right at the back of Bach''s head. Bach squirms uncomfortably when Trakenthin cracks his knuckles.


    The next segment shows Tassilda posing for the camera and presenting her choice books with purposeful positioning of the material in compliment to her figure. Through the narrow gaps between the tops of books and bottom of shelves, Sotalia, Bach, and Cideeda occasionally show up in the frame of the shot. A few more shopping segments play out before a cut to the adventurers meeting together and planning for the mission. After a fade to the next day, the segment continues with an outside shot of the Amaranth Dining House. With a swipe cut inside, Chad walks and talks to the camera. He takes time to greet the soldiers. Then, he focuses upon Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia at their table. The video playback dramatically hangs upon the group into a slowdown to a freeze frame. Different angles of the team appear, and quick shots of each member follow. Unease swells through the living room, and an uncomfortable pressure looms heavy and thick.


    Chad''s voice cuts mid way into the sequence with a hard cut over to him in the individual interview room. "This group... I got a strange feeling about this group. There was something about them I couldn''t quite put my finger on."


    Tassilda''s voice interrupts an individual shot of Sotalia. "Oh. I''ve had to deal with HER kind before..."


    Sotalia sneers and narrows her golden eyes at the screen. "MY kind? That. BITCH."


    The screen shows Tassilda in the interview room, sitting with proper posture. She takes in a deep breath and exaggerates her chest movement with a sly smile. "Yes, she is of the ilk that try, often in vain, to tap into the magic potential of their ancestry. But, unfortunately, especially for her... Their distance from their Emin ancestors is often too far for significant results."


    Facial twitches of confined anger flit upon Sotalia''s light tan and dark gray face, while those around watch for further development. The show cuts to a clip of Aristespha before switching to Modoran. He calmly sits in the interview chair, arms stretching behind his head and an idle smirk on his face. "I really don''t know what everyone''s problem is. I thought the evuukian was pretty cute. It''s kind of a pity she left before I had a chance to talk to her and all. I caught sight of her leaving... I wonder if she''s spoken for?"


    Sebastian''s blue-white ghostly form sparks hints of small flame-like distortions around the edges. A segment plays back Cideeda awkwardly waving to Deedri. Cringing at the display, Cideeda sinks into the couch. "Gods. Damn it. Of course, they used THAT clip."


    Deedri sits in the interview chair and excitedly fidgets. "There was another fvalian on the team! She seems really nice and even waved at me! I hope I get a chance to talk to her in the future."


    Viewing the screen in abject horror, Cideeda slowly shakes her head with a wince and mouths. "Please. No."


    A video clip with Dretphi plays out. It cuts to Trakenthin, and he silently stares stoically to some point off camera. The camera shifts and zooms on Trakenthin, and he gives a dismissive snort. The show cuts to another segment. Dretphi groans to herself, places her face into her palm, and breathes a hard sigh. The show highlights some footage of Bach at the restaurant. Chad tips head back and his nose high. "Well, I guess it''s nice they''re helping out a drop out get back on the right path."


    In subsequent clip, Tassilda quirks brow and rolls light blue on black her eyes. "I guess they thought they needed a token human."


    Following the prior segment, Deedri searches overhead in her mind while tapping a claw tip on her lips, and simply shrugs. "I guess he seems okay. What does he do?"


    Immediately after the previous sequence, Modoran''s attention lies elsewhere. A female voice out of frame hems, and Modoran snaps his head back to the camera. He squints his dark blue eyes at something off camera. "Huh? Oh. Um? Sure. Whatever."


    Finally, Trakenthin crosses his dark bronze arms, narrows his hazel eyes with flecks of anger, gusts in air through his nose with a rattle, and spits a wad of phlegm onto the floor. Bach blinks in disbelief and gawks in shock. Leaning forward, he glances around to the rest of the assembled group and his arms out to the sides. "Okay... THE FUCK was THAT?!"


    Sebastian gazes over to his brother and twists his ethereal face confused. "I don''t know, bro. They certainly gave you a special treatment."


    "Looks like our Adventurers may have some friendly competition... Or not! Who are these people? Why are they here? And more importantly, what did they do NEXT!? All will be answered!"


    The music drops into a suspenseful tune, and the video clips fade in. Chad sits in the interview chair with disgust and resentment plain on his tan face. "We hit a snag. That''s to be expected with any adventure. We were regrouping and getting ready to make the rescue and be THE heroes. Then... They showed up. Strangely, just right at THE perfect time to swoop on in."


    The show transitions to another clip with Tassilda. She crosses her arms and pouts defiantly. "They kept us away. We never got a chance to go back in there and prove ourselves. How DARE they take that away from us! We could have handled the rescue without question."


    A final clip of the adventurers around a table shows them complaining back and forth, getting upset and yelling at each other. The screen fades away from the program and a commercial flashes up.


    Sotalia shoots up from the couch, slips from behind the coffee table, and marches over to the kitchen. Opening the cabinet above, she reveals a variety of different glassware. Pulling back doors below the counter top, she procures multiple bottles of alcoholic beverages. She straightens up and wryly smiles at everyone in the living room. "So. Raise your hand, if you want a drink."


    Hands go up for everyone, including Sebastian. Noticing the attention, Sebastian shrugs with a sigh. "Yeah, I know. But, I can still WANT one."


    Turning her head away from Sebastian and towards the kitchen bar, Aristespha notices a new alert on one of her tablets on the coffee table. She picks up the tablet, props it up on her lap, and taps in a password. Flipping through the notification and alerts, a message from the local guild office blinks for attention. Opening the message, she reads the first few lines. Her head tilts back puzzling, and she furrows her brow, leaning close to read. Sotalia readies glasses and assesses the resources available. "Okay, I can mix a few good ones with these. What do you want, Aristespha?"


    Aristespha darts her violet eyes between text messages. The perplexed expression on her ivory face and lack of awareness beckons the interest of the team. Returning to present reality, she notices the attention from everyone else. "Oh. Sorry. We just got a message from the local guild office. Someone just directly bid an existing contract to us."


    ----


    On the living area television screen, a segment of Deedri happily chimes. "I know I keep saying it, I''m just excited there''s another fvalian in the other team. It''s just nice having someone else that could-"


    The screen blanks to black. Cideeda pulls a claw out of the soft plastic power button on the remote and tosses it onto the couch. Turning to walk to the dining table, she shudders uncomfortably with a tinge of disgust. "Little creepy."


    Aristespha picks up the whiskey glass of dark amber liquor and calmly sips. She directs her voice towards Bach, across at the table. "It''s not unusual for different patrons to all bid on the same contract. In fact, that can help a common problem between multiple parties get the best group to address it."


    Sotalia sits back, stirs the mix within her glass, and rolls a hand out to punctuate. "Yeah. Let''s say a town has a bandit problem. At first, the one merchant that ran into them might set an initial bid. Then, later, as the bandits harass the town, other people with some money will throw in more into the overall pot. Eventually, it gets good enough that a decent team takes it and gets it done right, rather than a desperate group attempting it and fucking it up."


    Holding a finger up, Aristespha slowly points down at the tablet in front of her. "But... What can also happen is that a patron can put in a bid with stipulations. It is often used for contract conditions on bounty hunting with the payout difference between the target being dead or alive. It can also be for limiting availability to groups with specific skills sets or requiring conduct conditions. Now, bids restricted to specific groups through the guild system are uncommon."


    Settling into her seat, Cideeda claws the cap off of her bottle of beer and cocks her head of multi-color short hair, bewildered. "A specific group with an unpublished ID number? That''s RARE."


    Sebastian''s ethereal visage drifts next to Aristespha, and his eyes trace text on the tablet. Taking a moment to appreciate the aroma from Aristespha''s whiskey glass, he shifts his attention to Bach. "Yeah, most of our families know our team''s ID number. And, we''ve gotten direct work by references and even contracts forwarded our way. Some really good ones, too."


    He directs Bach''s attention to Dretphi. Nodding as she holds her large bottle of cider with both hands, Dretphi furrows her brow and recounts. "My birth father maintains Grath military connections. There were contracts we were allowed. Hidden from the public."


    Aristespha tips back a little of her drink, exhales, and narrows her violet eyes at the tablet screen. "What we have here is a direct bid to our unpublished ID number for a two month old contract that paid very little before to what is offered now... From a patron, undisclosed, with an ID number I don''t recognize."


    The gathering around the table idle amongst their own thoughts with hints of deliberation playing out in expressions and body language. Bach tips his head up, narrows a stare at the television, and furrows his brow curiously. "And... We got sent the job right after we were on TV. Maybe someone recognized you guys?"


    Dretphi puzzles at Aristespha and drops her steely gray eyes at the tablet. "What IS the job?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, she slowly shakes her head. "Ah. It is an investigation of some odd disturbances in a forest reserve an hour''s travel from here. No major threats or problems listed. Just some strange activity has been scaring people away when they travel around, camp, or visit the area. There isn''t much more in the description. The local park service put a really low bid initially... And now it''s a very high sum."


    Aristespha gently slides the tablet to the middle of the table. The payout number lights up prominently on the screen. The team leans in together, and different degrees of interest and surprise manifest between them. Resting back in her seat, Aristespha watches the group to process the amount. "So. Should we investigate? Personally, I am intrigued."


    Sotalia knocks back a bit from her glass and shrugs amused. "Sure! If they want to pay us that much to wander around a damn forest, that''s fine with me."


    Cideeda quirks her brow and gently scratches her chin. "It''s weird how we got this. But, it''s not the first time. There''s more to this, but for that amount I''m willing to take a look."


    Dretphi nods in agreement. Bach watches the reactions and slowly nods. "Yeah, I''ve got no objections. If it''s not another cyber-zombie den, I can work with that."


    Sebastian grins proudly and clasps his hands together. "Awesome! Well, if tomorrow sounds good, let''s do it. For now, let''s find something else to watch on the TV and get a good night''s rest."

 Episode 9

    A gentle breeze coasts over the tops of the fresh green canopy below and sifts through the thickening forest foliage. The wind sways young branches and flutters the pedals off new blooms. Reaching the perimeter around a cleared area, the strength of the gust dies and deposits a few old, decayed leaves in the thick patches of grass surrounding a gravel lot. With a swift turn of the front wheels, the humvee pulls into the parking space closest to the wide paved pathway leading between small buildings nearby. A faint squeak of brakes sounds out, and the powerplant inside the machine winds down to silence. Cideeda hops out from the driver''s seat with a happy grin as the wind blows through her short, multicolored hair. Stretching her arms out, she lets the breeze ripple across her dark green, short-sleeve shirt. Sotalia steps onto a crumbling of asphalt and flips open a pair of sunglasses. Placing them on her light tan and dark gray face, she smiles as another gust tosses her loosely worn button down shirt over her bikini top and jean shorts. Aristespha glides down from the vehicle and turns around to retrieve a backpack behind her seat. Hoisting it up, she adjusts the backpack straps and her indigo blouse. With a final check, she guides the hilt of the Sword of the Spirit realm comfortably in the middle of her back, hides the sheath''s straps with the backpack straps. Lifting another backpack out, she hands it to Cideeda and puts on her floppy hat. Bach lugs a large backpack around from behind his seat and throws it on over his loose-fitting t-shirt. He slides his seat forward and clears the way for Dretphi to shuffle out from the backseat. Sotalia puts on her belt of pouches and confidently struts out, peeking her golden eyes over her sun tipped down sunglasses. "Well, this doesn''t seem so bad, right now. It''s beginning to get that abandoned feel, but still better than some places we''ve been."


    Aristespha circles around the front of the humvee and stands at Sotalia''s side with an inquisitive perk to her brow. "It said in the briefing that they have done everything short of officially closing the area to the public. All events canceled, no posted times, and all services suspended. It is practically closed."


    Cideeda checks the doors on the humvee and clicks the security system on with the key fob. "So, what''s the plan?"


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice emanates from Aristespha''s back. "Check the visitor area, and then hike the main trail? From what it sounds like, whatever was scaring people wasn''t isolated to any particular spot. So, we might as well try the major paths and see if we run into anything."


    Rolling his shoulders, Bach adjusts his backpack to a comfortable spot on his back. Scanning the path ahead between overgrown grasses and the park picnic furniture, he stops his gaze at rows of the rough wooden frame buildings and curls his upper lip, hinting of apprehension. "I guess that sounds decent enough. But... I''ll admit a few of these buildings look straight off a horror movie set."


    Dretphi joins up with the group, checks the knife sheath on her thigh, and cinches up the straps on her hiking pack over her tank top. "I think we could be mistaken for hikers."


    Aristespha scrutinizes appearances, furrows her brow momentarily, and nods satisfied. "It is close enough. Nothing in the briefing indicated the disturbances so far caused any significant physical harm. But, we would be best to keep it low-key and avoid unnecessarily escalating the situation."


    Reaching her arms up high, Sotalia arches her back in a stretch, and relaxes her postures with a sigh. "So? How are we going to do this? Building by building? They don''t seem too big, so we should be able to clear them fast."


    Retrieving her aetherphone from her capri shorts pocket, Aristespha browses the device and taps up a map of the area. "The largest building far away is the visitor center. There''s one building for gift shop stalls and one on the opposite side for vending. Finally, there''s the bathrooms and the utility building."


    Sebastian''s voice resonates from the sword on Aristespha''s back, covered by the backpack. "Okay... Let''s split up to check the small buildings, and then we''ll meet up for the visitor center. I''ll stay out of view for now, since I don''t think most hikers have a ghost following them around. Let''s try to keep up some appearances for now. Keep around the area, don''t wander too far out of sight of others, and hit the alert on your phone if anything gets weird."


    The walks down the paved path between the natural reserve wooden buildings. They split up to investigate. Aristespha wanders towards the vendor stalls. Dretphi taps Bach on the shoulder and points towards the bathrooms. Bach stares at the long rectangle structure with rows of doors on two sides, and nods. Each takes a side and carefully opens the doors to individual restrooms. Cideeda slinks cautiously to the utility shed, studies the locked door, and curiously glances around the area. Resting her hands on her hands, Sotalia lifts a brow at the activity around her and grimaces indecisively. Her attention wanders to a closed up snack with an extended roof sheltering rows of vending machines. With a nonchalant shrug, she struts down a branch route towards the area.


    Minutes leading to an hour pass, and the morning sun rises higher towards the center of the clear blue sky above. Holding her floppy hat down against the breeze, Aristespha stands outside the visitor center on the long, wide walkway leading to the main doors. Narrowing her violet eyes at the many windows, she hunts for a glimpse inside through the reflections, tint, and dirt. Sprinting up to speed from the walkway, Cideeda perches herself up on a low, rough wooden fence near Aristespha. She smiles contentedly, wags her long, fluffy tail, and perks her furry ears. "Well, nothing to speak of in the utility building. Well, except for a lock on the door.


    Rolling her emerald green ears, she flashes a toothy grin. "But, THAT wasn''t hard at all."


    Aristespha angles her head towards Cideeda and crosses her arms thoughtfully. "Did everything look normal to you? Anything out of place?"


    Cideeda digs her claws into the wooden beam beneath her. Leaning herself back, she stretches her light brown legs out, and balances herself gracefully on the fence. "Looks like the park crews turned everything off properly. There were some marks on the door frame around the handle. Just looks like some kid with too much time and a stick tried their best to break in. Obviously, it didn''t work out for them."


    Her furry ears flick back, and she tips her head back. She spots the rest of the group approaching, and tips her balance forward back to an upright seat on the wooden beam. Pushing her arms down on the wooden beam, she pops herself up, swings her legs over, and spins around to face the other side of the face. Settling back down to a seat, she waves over to the rest of the team and muses to Aristespha. "Seems like nothing too exciting happened with everyone else."


    Glancing over her shoulder, Aristespha pivots around in place and meets the gazes of everyone else. "Anything to report?"


    Dretphi shakes her head and works out a stale grimace. "Bathrooms are clear. Have not been visited for some time... Including cleaning staff."


    Bach nods in agreement and shudders with a brief frown. "Yeah... I think we''re better taking our chances behind a bush, if anyone needs to go.


    Glancing at Aristespha, he points a thumb over his shoulder at the gift shop stalls. "Did you find anything? Because all that looked pretty empty from walking by up here."


    Aristespha shrugs indifferently and sighs. "No. There has been some sign of activity, but I believe it was the park employees clearing out inventory."


    Swallowing down a bite from a chocolate bar, Sotalia directs everyone''s attention to the vending area with the partially unwrapped candy. "Well, someone broke the windows on all the vending machines. They nearly cleaned them out of everything."


    She snaps another morsel from the chocolate bar and slowly chews. Surrounding attention settles upon her, and she swallows with a long pause following. Underneath the sun glasses, her golden eyes dart between gazes, and she defensively puffs herself up. "What?! This was the last one left! If you want, there''s plenty of granola bars left. Whoever broke into those things obviously didn''t like those."


    Rolling her violet eyes, Aristespha pivots to face the visitor center. "Anyway... I am getting a strange feeling from the visitor center."


    Cocking her head to the side, Sotalia blinks her golden eyes and squints curiously at the visitor center. "Well, I''m not feeling any strong magic from there, girl."


    Aristespha shakes her head and holds her chin as she scrutinizes the spaces beyond the larger glass windows. "It''s not strictly magical energies, but more of a presence. It''s similar to what I''ve felt before... We''ll have to get inside and investigate."


    Cideeda hops off the wooden fence and walks towards the front door while flexing her clawed fingers. "Sounds good to me. Let me check those front doors out."


    Standing next to the metal framed glass window doors, she studies the construction of the entry. She peers through at angles and spots the locks and other supporting hardware. After scanning the outer frame, she presses her light brown forehead against the glass and darts her emerald green eyes into the darkened interior. Focusing on the top and bottom deadbolts, she furrows her brow, puzzling. She steps back confused with quirks of her furry ears, wags her tail with her thoughts, and steps back staring at the entryway. "Okay. The doors don''t seem locked. The deadbolts on both doors are disengaged. And, I don''t see anything that''s obviously a trap, or even an alarm on them."


    Backing away from the door, Cideeda gestures hands towards the doors and wiggles her fingers, perking her brow at the group. Sotalia cracks a slight grin, proudly straightens her posture, and stretches her arms and hands out. "A telekinetic pull sound good to everyone? Just to make sure?"


    Aristespha, Bach, and Dretphi collectively nod and move off into the grass near the concrete path leading away from the doors. Reciting an incantation, Sotalia gestures a well rehearsed sequence of motions. She reaches a hand out in a grabbing gesture to one of the door handles. With a sly smile, she pulls back and the visitor center door opens in sync with her hand motion. The door swings a quarter of the way and stops. Sotalia''s eyes spring wide open startled, and she reflexively opens her hand. The door slams shut with a resounding crash, and the door frame rattles. Tilts her head while narrowing her stare, Sotalia grimaces with waning confidence and cautiously retreats back to the group. "Something... Broke my hold of the door."


    She glances over the rest of the team and combs back her dark red hair of her swept back black horns. "THAT was really WEIRD. I felt there was magic behind it... But, something else, too?"


    Training her gaze at the door, Aristespha approaches methodically, carefully. Within a few meters of the door, Sebastian''s ethereal form immediately materializes in front of her. "STOP."


    Aristespha halts in place and blinks her concern at Sebastian. "Okay, but why though?"


    Sebastian hovers around and searches the area in vain with an uneasy grimace. "I don''t know, dear. I just felt something strange. The sword picked up on SOMETHING, and I felt it. But, I don''t know how to interpret it. Ah, um... I''m at a loss here, but I KNOW I felt something unusual."


    Checking the immediate area, he settles his translucent blue stare right at the front doors. He straightens up his form and warily watches the doors. "There''s... Some things... Behind the door? I see some faint, wavy shapes."


    Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia ready themselves into defensive postures. Sotalia holds her hands forward in preparation to cast. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi each unzip a side pocket of their backpacks, reach inside, and wait. Aristespha waves an open palm to the team and squints her eyes as they glow violet. Her eyes widen and her jaw hangs agape. Shaking her head, she recovers her senses. Standing up straight and hands held close, she closes her eyes and concentrates. Moments later, a field of shimmering energy forms between her hands. Dretphi gazes at the door, then turns her attention to Aristespha. "What is at the door?"


    Aristespha flutters her eyes open with a bright stare. "We are about to find out."


    With a swift motion, she flings her hands out in an arc to her sides. The shimmering energy expands into a bubbling wave and swells out into the vicinity. As the tide washes through the visitor''s center, dozens of small glowing entities appear at the front doors along with a large being resembling a huge badger. It tightens clawed grips on the interior handles for the front doors. Aristespha meets its glare. "Well..."


    Cideeda gawks and blinks dumbfounded at the badger entity, pointing a finger at it. "Okay... What is that?!"


    Dretphi draws her head of platinum blonde braids back, furrows her brow, and narrows her stare. "That form is similar to a dire badger."


    Keeping her stance at the ready, Sotalia desperately glances at everyone else for some indication for how to proceed. "Okay. So, that''s probably a spirit? Maybe a sprite? Gods, that''s really fucking big sprite..."


    Bach relaxes his posture, and his focus drifts between the many small orbs tightly hovering behind the badger. Removing his hand out his backpack pocket, he zips it back up, while both Cideeda and Dretphi notice. He puzzles at the situation before him and motions towards the orbs. "Hey, everyone... I think the badger is defending the sprites by holding the door shut. Maybe we should ease back here?"


    Cideeda and Dretphi each zip up the side pockets of their backpacks and relax their stances from defensive to cautious. Sotalia puts her hands down, while keeping an eye on the ghostly dire badger. "Okay... I guess that makes sense. But, how is the over-sized sprite defending anything by holding a door shut?"


    Hissing a breath through gritted teeth, Aristespha rolls her eyes and exhales a groan of disappointment. "Bach. After you are done with that copy of the Spirit Guide, give it to her!"


    She snaps a stern stare over the rest of the team and wrestles down her unease on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face. "This is NOT a sprite. It''s a full fledged daemon! Fairly powerful and quite intelligent spirits that are usually sentient and VERY capable."


    An reverberating presence echoes out over the area. "Correct."


    Aristespha''s glowing violet eyes slowly tow her head to face the daemon. Cideeda''s furry ears snap forward at the door, and she remains motionless as fends of a whole body squirm and fluffing tail. Dretphi maintains her calm, stoic exterior, but stiffens her upper lip. Sotalia remains speechless and cocks her head in blinking disbelief. Bach and Sebastian exchange uneasy glances, shrugs, and hand signals. Regaining her composure, Aristespha politely addresses the daemon with a calm, reserved tone. "Excuse me, spirit. Why are you here, holding the doors closed?"


    A low voice resonates through the air around the front doors, and faint metallic rattles slip out around the frame. "Defend."


    Cautiously drawing breath, Aristespha nods as hints of concern well into her expression. "From?"


    The badger daemon''s ghostly eyes search for the words. "Abuser. People here, Abuser avoid. Hide safely. People not here, Abuser near. I defend. I can ignore abuser, they can not."


    Bach''s mind flings up recent memory as he tilts his head to the side. He furrows his brow while his eyes search through his thoughts. "Oh shit... There might be a spirit mage in the area."


    Sotalia catches that idea, ponders to herself, and nods in agreement. "That could explain the strange disturbances without any solid explanation. Even a rookie investor mage would have figured out if someone was using regular magic to cause all the problems. But... Spirit stuff is harder to identify, since it''s spirits doing all the work, rather than someone just casting spells."


    Crossing her arms as faint irritation swells up, Aristespha stares into the daemon''s eyes and inquires resolutely. "Where and who is this abuser?"


    The same detached voice echoes into the area. "Big path. Always near. Awake now, will find. Careful. Bold now, desperate, waiting... Similar to you."


    Aristespha lowers her head, intrigued, and puzzles out loud. "Similar to me? Interesting..."


    Sebastian shrugs and dissipates back into the sword hidden on Aristespha''s back. "So, I guess we do some hiking."


    Aristespha bows respectfully to the daemon. "Thank you for the information. We will try to address this abuser."


    The badger daemon nods appreciatively and its voice emanates out from the door. "Must stay here. Good fortune. Hide now."


    Readjusting her floppy hat, Aristespha glances over her shoulder. "That sounds like a plan."


    Sebastian''s voice rises up and addresses the team. "Okay! Keep alert and let''s see if we can find this abuser and what''s causing the disturbances."


    The group reassembles and makes its way to the main hiking path. Bach lingers behind and gazes at the spirit entities when they fade from sight. He walks around the corner of the building and hears a high pitch whine coming from his backpack. Snapping to attention, he stops immediately and quickly unzips the backpack''s side pocket. An audible click sounds out and electrical whine tapers off. Bach sighs relieved and zips the side pocket back up. Lifting his face forward, he halts in place and stiffens his posture. Darting his blue around searching, he pivots towards the building and meets the daemon''s curious stare through a window. A voice softly sounds near Bach''s ears. "You... Hide. Hold. Why?"


    Bach''s guard slips and his eyes widen in uncomfortable realization. Confusion, shock, worry, and embarrassment bubble up on his face, splashing up and washing away to the whims of the next. Finally, an overwhelming honesty cuts through the turmoil, and Bach drops his head with a sad frown. "Fear."


    The badger daemon simply nods and moves away from the window. "Understand, now. Not forever."


    Recomposing himself, Bach draws in a deep calming breath and rushes along the path to catch up to the group. Contemplation flits on his face, but he fades back down upon nearing the team.


    ----


    Noon sun slips through the spare, young canopy above as the party travels down a well worn rock and earth trail. Above the ambient drone of wind sifting through the leaves, Sotalia exhales in frustration and clenches her fists in front of her. "Dammit! You keep on telling me that the series gets good, and it''s just been a non-stop drama rollercoaster!"


    Chuckling to herself with a smug grin on her light brown face, Cideeda glances over to Sotalia. "You have to invest into it. Patience, you need."


    Groaning, Sotalia shakes head, tightly purses her lips, blows air out, and relaxes to an unsatisfied grimace. "FINE. BUT... If I pull my horns off from frustration, I''m blaming you."


    Bach shrugs contentedly with a smile. "This is why I stick to reading Tales of the Orion. No drama fatigue."


    Watching the clouds go by in the blue sky between the foliage of the trees, Dretphi calmly walks with the group. "Forest canopy is thickening. Summer will be here soon."


    Aristespha glances up and searches overhead, while holding her hat against the strong breeze. "It is. I wonder if we are-"


    Furrowing her brow, her violet eyes dart between the dimming light flickering between the openings in the trees above. "Is it getting darker for anyone else?"


    Dretphi squints and notices a strange change in illumination. "Yes. Something is shading the sky from us? Do not know what. Magic?"


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Sebastian''s voice emanates from the sword softly. "Heads up. The sword is feeling some activity around us."


    Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia stop their debate and search the nearby area. The wind fades away and leaves behind a still, stagnant air. The light in the area declines rapidly. The group halts expectantly.


    "WHO HAS DEFILED THE SANCTITY OF THE FOREST BY THEIR PRESENCE?"


    Heads seek the source of the low, booming voice. Echoes bounce around the surrounding forest, and the darkened vicinity obscures the origin. Cideeda''s furry ears flick around scanning, and she grumbles low with a frustrated shake of her head. Sotalia plucks off her sunglasses, closes them up, and places them in her shorts pocket.


    "I SEE A KINDRED. BUT, I ALSO SEE A BRUTE, A DEMON, A BEAST, AND-"


    Promptly counting the members around him, Bach closes his eyes, breathes out in begrudging anticipation, and strains a grin.


    "A FILTHY MOTHER TERRA DEFILING FUCKING HUMAN!?!?"


    The rest of the team glances at Bach. Placing his face into his palm, Bach grumbles to himself. He rubs the bridge of his nose and vainly tries to suppress his simmering annoyance in voice. "Why? Why put that on me? Don''t even know me and dumping that shit on me. Powers that be, fuck me."


    "I WILL SHOW MY GLORIOUS MERCY UPON YOU THIS ONCE... IF YOU LEAVE NOW WITHOUT YOUR BELONGS, AND NEVER COME BACK!"


    The last part echoes throughout the area and fades into a dead silence. The group stands resolute and waits expectantly.


    "MAYBE I NEED TO DEMONSTRATE MY NEW POWER!"


    In the distance a chorus of trees rustle. A wall of wind rockets down the path, sweeping up dirt and other debris inside a swirling torrent. Sotalia quickly gestures an incantation and steps forward with a both hands flung out. A thick energy shield rises from the ground to just above Dretphi''s towering height. Aristespha finishes her casting and throws a hand up into the air. A barrier bubbles over the group and meshes with Sotalia''s shield. The chaotic wall of wind blasts past. Sticks and tiny rocks pelt the shield and barrier. Almost a minute later, the wave dies down and the last bits of debris bounce into the surrounding leaves of the trail. Sotalia and Aristespha release their energy barriers, and the energies dissipate away.


    "SO, YOU DEFY ME! I HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THOSE WHO DARE CHALLENGE MY MIGHT!"


    Cideeda reflexively springs up and instinctively leaps away towards the middle of the path. "LEGS! Watch your legs! Something tried to grab me!"


    From the underbrush, swarming masses of vines slither and whip out. Dretphi draws her knife and postures herself defensively. Swiping purposefully, she counters attack after attack, slices taking end segments off vines each time. Sotalia backs away from the swarm and prepares a spell. As she raises her hand back for the final part, a plant strand wraps around her arm and yanks her back. Long stretches of ivy peel off the trees and descend upon the melee. Cideeda nearly rips open the zipper of her side pocket and draws out her laser pistol. With careful flicks of the wrist, she carves searing paths through the vines with blue beam bursts. Bach sprints and grips the vine pulling Sotalia with blue radiating from his eyes. Part of the vine snaps out from Bach''s grip, cleanly cut. Sotalia wrestles the uncoiling the vine from her arm and finishes her spell. A freezing jet bursts forth from her hand onto the vine mass after her. Frost coats over the plan and freezes into to crackling stillness. Sotalia kicks through it with her boot, and it fractures into misty chunks upon the forest floor. Aristespha releases the buckles on her backpack straps. Firmly grasping the sword''s handle, she swiftly draws the blade free. Stepping forth, she spins and slashes low with the momentum. She cuts high to split a descending vine and drops the blade down onto a vine sneaking along the trail. Bach watches in astonishment, and recognition dawns on his face. Sebastian materializes above the group and follows the scene in initial surprise. Recovering quickly, he calls out attacks. "Dretphi, twelve high! Aristespha, nine low! Cideeda, six mid!"


    More vines rip from tree trunks, and whole sections of the ivy covered forest floor writhe under the blanket of old leaves towards the battle. A plant mass pulls from two trees nearby and joins a rolling swarm. Bach shakes his head, grits his teeth, and pulls his plasma pistol out from his backpack side pocket. "MAN, FUCK THIS!"


    Bach hits the power button to full and disengages the safety. The pistol sounds out with an empowered whine. With a pull of the trigger, the weapon ejects a plasma bolt into the center of the rolling heap of vines. The bolt explodes with a fiery super-heated eruption of gas and incinerates a huge chunk of plant matter. The surrounding portion ignites into billowing fire and plumes out crackling cinders into leaf piles.


    A higher pitched voice blares out into the area. "W-w-w-what are you doing?! You fucking maniac! Are you trying to cause a forest fire!?"


    Many vines drop limp, and others abruptly halt their attacks. Flaming vines separate from the swarm and beat themselves out, rolling onto the dirt. Bach glances behind him to the rest of the team, quirks his brow curiously, and points his free hand to his ear. "HEY! Did that sound like a teen-aged girl to anyone else?"


    Cideeda cocks her head, furrows her brow, and nods in growing agreement. "Yeah. Yes, it did."


    Meeting Bach''s inquiring gaze, Sotalia thinks for a moment and pulls an evil grin across her light tan face. "I don''t know. Maybe we need to hear it, AGAIN."


    Dretphi perks a brow, Sebastian gives a thumbs up, and Aristespha nods once. Bach spots another still mass of vines and squeezes the trigger. Another bolt flies out the barrel and explodes another bundle into a blaze.


    "Oh. My. Goddess! What is wrong with you?! This is a FOREST! Stop setting fires!!"


    Putting her hands on her hips, Sotalia processes this new information with indignation spilling out into her. "That- Gods, that does sound like a teen-aged girl."


    Aristespha narrows her glare and closes her eyes with a long, annoyed sigh. "I think we ARE dealing with a CHILD. The wind wall was weak. Impressive looking, but lacking any significant power behind it."


    Kneels down cautiously, Dretphi examines the inert vines at her feet. She pulls them apart with trivial effort and cocks her head with a frown. "Thin vines. Even the tree vines are not thick. Few attacked at a time."


    Sebastian touches down on the ground perplexed. "You know... I''m surprised the tree roots didn''t spring up, and the tree branches did reach out to swipe at us. We''ve encountered worse before."


    Bach stares down the sights of his pistol and aims at another pile of leafy vines. "She either doesn''t know the spell or isn''t powerful to cast it- Hold a second, she''s almost got the last two put out."


    Pulling the trigger again, the plasma gun ejects another superheated ball into the vine mass on the forest floor. The writhing plants erupt into flame, and fiery bits splatter out in the area.


    "AHHH! STOP!"


    Aristespha focuses her violet glowing eyes and analyzes a bundle of limp vines. Her eyes follow the twisting mass up a tree and into the overhead canopy. Tapping her foot, she bites her lower lip and narrows her thoughtful glare above. "The magic in use is basic spirit control magic. It looks like sprites are doing all the grunt work. Unfortunately, there''s too much going on with the sky and voice illusions to easily see where it leads to."


    Dretphi scans overhead with a tight frown. "If we could locate her..."


    Sinister curiosity creeps onto Bach''s face, and he smiles slyly at the group. "Hey... I wonder if we get her frustrated or mad enough, if that will strain her concentration. It seems like she can barely maintain what she''s got."


    Rapping her long, thick nailed fingers on her crossed arms, Sotalia shifts her weight in thought and grins evilly with a wink to Bach. "Well, YOU are the- Oh, what was it, again? The filthy mother terra defiling fucking human? Oh, I''m certain you can live up to that namesake."


    Bach nods slowly, mischief building, and gauges everyone''s reaction. "I AM. Am I?"


    A toothy grin appears on Cideeda''s light brown face. Dretphi smiles and nods. Aristespha reservedly agrees and returns to observing the canopy above. Sebastian gives an encouraging chuckle. Taking a few steps in front of the group, Bach waves his plasma pistol loosely around and laughs loudly in an enthusiastic, dark tone. "STOP? STOP?! Why, this human filth you so proclaim is only getting started! I quite enjoy a good bonfire. In fact, I need another one right- HERE!"


    He snaps his pistol at a resting mass of vines, squeezes the trigger, and sends yet another small ball of plasma straight into the center. The brilliant super-heated gasses rush out through the spaces between the bundle and vaporize much of the plant matter. Bach holds his pistol loose and nearly skips around the trail with a taunting grin. "AH! Ever SO enjoyable watching mother nature BURN! I could do this ALL day."


    "OH! OH! You- You are- You are not filth, human! You- You are a THREAT! T-t-take THIS!"


    Aristespha''s stare darts to a section of the trees above, and she squints movement in the canopy. "Incoming! Energy bolt of some kind! I can''t make it out clearly. It''s taking a long route this way."


    Sotalia pivots towards the same direction as Aristespha faces. "That''s regular magic this time. I can feel that, barely."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk towards the new faint sound, and she points with a claw tip. "It''s moving down behind that tree!"


    Bach spins towards the tree and waits at the ready. The small magical energy bolt whips out from the base of the tree. Bach tenses in anticipation. With a clear sight of the bolt, he relaxes down to moot disappointment and snatches the bolt out of the air.


    "What?! How did you do that?!"


    Plodding over to the group, he confines the small magical bolt above the palm of his hand. He turns off his plasma pistol and returns it to his backpack. Reaching everyone else, he presents the bolt with a long roll of his blue eyes. Aristespha drops her head down, and frustratingly winces with a groan. Sotalia stifles an initial snort and bursts out in mocking laughter. "HAH! A training bolt! OH. MY. GODS!


    She points at the diminutive orb of magic and cackles out to the treetops. "GIRL! This is your attack?! AHAHAHAHA!"


    Groaning, Dretphi draws in a deep breath and sighs deeply. "Can we flush her out? Capture her? The day is nice. I want to enjoy it."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Bach nods as the magic bolt starts to warp and change. His eyes flush with blue light and mischievous intent. "I think a return to sender is in order. Give me one second and..."


    The magic bolt balloons into a larger, energized incarnation, and Bach lofts it up into the air. It jets off down the reverse of its original path and flies faster with an angry, high-pitched buzz. The teen-aged girl''s voice cries out. "Huh?! What the fuck is THAT- OH SHIT!"


    Leaves rustle, branches snap, someone screams out Evuukian expletives, and bits of bark fleck down. The chaos above blends into a cacophony of panic with a warbling, angry, high-pitch whine punctuating the moments of scrambling. Cideeda''s furry ears twitch and pluck out the bigger target from the soundscape. She tracks the sound and points it out to everyone else. With a crack, a branch drops from above. Someone hastily slides down a tree and flees into the trail path. The thin, lithe figure dive into a roll on rock and dirt path and dodges angry magic bolt trying to dive-bombs her. Scrambling back to her feet in a panic, sticks, leave, and vines stuck in her hair and clothes shed off her. The bolt whips sharply around and zooms right at her head. She covers her very long, pointed ears and dirt-caked golden hair, and squats to the ground. Summoning enough frustration, she defiantly stands back up. The bolt banks long near the group and rockets down the trail straight at the thin figure. The young evuukian woman holds both her hands up and projects an energy shield with the last bit of defiant pride on her dirty smudged face. The bolt barrels within centimeters of the shield. It turns at a right angle and slips drop below the shield. Zipping between her legs, underneath her tattered skirt, the magical orb halts behind her. The young evuukian shrieks in surprise, and reflexively grabs the front of her skirt to hold it down. The orb detonates into a burst of force behind. The waves hits the young woman''s backside, tips her off balance, and shoves her onto the dirt. As the evuukian gathers her senses, the group approaches carefully.


    Leading the approach, Aristespha stares at the young, evuukians woman lifting her ivory face off the ground, and her violet eyes light up with recognition. She laughs out loud and garners the attention of everyone else, including the girl. "OH. Of all the people in this whole world..."


    She stands off to the side and waves out a hand to the evuukian girl on the ground with a devious grin. "Behold everyone... Valavera Tala Erisa. Fourth child of the Verherin house."


    Valavera shudders to frozen fright. She slowly raises her head up towards Aristespha and blinks her green eyes, seeking an explanation. Shock and bewilderment surge as the back of her mind desperately tries to dredge something up from the past. "H-h-how d-d-do you know my name?!"


    Aristespha takes a dignified hold of her hat, gently slides it off, and tosses her silvery blue hair around. She glares a dark, tooth-bearing grin down at Valavera with a strange, otherworldly shade upon ivory face. "Oh, after ALL the years I spent changing your diapers and baby-sitting to help out your mother... How could I EVER forget THAT face."


    Valavera gasps to choke, her green eyes widen, and her pupils narrow to pin points. Defensively drawing herself up, she shrieks in sheer terror. "A-A-A-ARISTESPHA!!!"


    ----


    Valavera sits defeated on the grass near the utility building with her legs and arms crossed, and sneaks a glance back behind her at the towering grath. Dretphi returns a commanding glare through her. Snapping her awkward stare forward, Valavera lowers her head down and meekly rubs her dirt smeared forearms. Aristespha stands with her back against the humvee, snorts out an irritated breath, and just shakes her head disapprovingly. Sotalia slides up next to her, crosses her arms, and sighs incredulously. "That''s something else right there. She turns eighteen and has a paid ride to school. Then, runs off to join a damn Evuukian supremacy cult."


    Aristespha winces, rubs her temples underneath her long silvery blue hair, and groans in frustration. "I know... Admittedly, her mother is pretty strict, but she''s very nice and fair most of the time. I never thought THIS would be the way she would be rebellious. Gods, I just hope all this humbles that little brat. She''s always been difficult, but this is a whole new level of STUPID trouble."


    Walking up to the two at the humvee, Bach uncoils a section of garden hose off his arm every meter. He places down the remainder of the hose and the end with a sprayer nearby. "Well, the power was even to turn on. Water pump on the well is running, and there seems to be enough pressure."


    Cideeda rounds the front of the humvee. Stepping towards the group, she holds a dirty, worn satchel at arms length and fights against a grimace. She orbits around the filthy belongs to stay upwind and winces in mild disgust. "It was exactly where she said it would be. Honestly... I could have tracked it down by her smell, though. Found an aetherphone with a dead battery and cracked ID chip. Apart from that, there''s just some other junk..."


    Narrowing an very unamused gaze at the team, Cideeda presents a battered, handmade book. "And, a Terra Priest handbook."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice echoes from the sword on Aristespha''s back. "So, how do you want to handle this, dear? You know her. As far as I''m concerned, we''ve completed the contract. I''m pretty sure if we just told the park service folks we scared off some dumbass kids and gave them that book, they''d believe us. Any other thoughts, everyone?"


    Sotalia puts her hands up behind her head of shoulder length dark red hair, leans onto the humvee, and rolls her golden eyes. "Meh. She''s not worth turning in to the police. She''s an idiot. But, I think she deserves a chance. Maybe learn something and make better choices. Plus, I got a good laugh out of it."


    Bach shrugs and directs a thumb over his shoulder at Valavera. "She put on a good show. But, I recognize that look of impending regret anywhere. The justice system has better things to deal with than her. I get the feeling dealing with what at home will be punishment enough."


    Flipping opens the top cover of the satchel at a distance, Cideeda showcases the overflowing amount full of vending machine food wrappers within, and laughs amused. "She was going to starve anyway. She''s been eating out of the vending machines, and I bet she tried to open the utility building. That girl is, and has been, in WAY OVER her head. She was probably just desperate."


    Aristespha rubs the bridge of her nose and breathes deeply. "Thinking about this job now, I am CERTAIN it was her mother that put in the other bid now. Evuukian politics at their finest. They probably tracked her down to this area through her phone. And, I am certain they were trying to get to her without being obvious with their resources. When she left like she did, it probably got the attention of some other houses. It just happened that her mother saw we were in the area and decided to bid in hopes we''d handle it. Some timing and luck there."


    Sebastian''s voice resonates from the sword sheathed on Aristespha''s back. "I''m gonna guess they knew about the source of the park service''s problems well before the job got posted. They probably didn''t want the average batch of adventurers to bring her in. They were likely trying to work out a discreet option... Then we happened."


    Aristespha nods grimly and stares at Valavera. "She has NO IDEA how fortunate she is."


    Stepping calmly away from the humvee, she arrives next to Dretphi. "We were thinking of getting her back home. Do you have any objections?"


    Dretphi focuses on Valavera, shakes her head with a firm frown, and gazes down at Aristespha. "No. She is scared. Tired. Hungry. Defeated. Send her home. That fate will be sate me."


    Agreeing with Dretphi, Aristespha catches Valavera peering over her shoulder. She concentrates her full attention on Valavera and dons a stern expression and proper posture. "Stand up. Face me. Now."


    The tone of Aristespha''s voice frightens Valavera into unquestioning, prompt compliance. Narrows her eyes at Valavera, Aristespha cuts a stare right through her. "Do you have any more surprises for us, or are you going to cooperate?"


    Valavera trembles in place and lowers her head sheepishly. "N-n-no. That was all I had. It took me two weeks to work it out. When people stopped coming here, I had time to set something bigger up than what I was doing. But the daemon kept the rest of the nearby sprites away from me. So, I don''t have anything else now."


    Aristespha powers the glare upon her and orders. "Good. We are going to take you to our place for now. Then, home."


    Valavera''s face lights up, and she shows some genuine relief. "Okay. So, should I get in the vehicle and wait or-"


    Cackling, Sotalia tests the hose sprayer and sends a jet of water off to the side. Cideeda closes the back hatch of the humvee and flashes a toothy grin to Valavera while holding a bottle of liquid dish soap in one hand and a stack of clothes in the other. Bach snorts to himself and averts his anticipating smile. Valavera blinks bewildered and gazes to Aristespha for an answer. Aristespha firmly bellows one word. "STRIP."


    Valavera''s face pales and her eyes dart around in fear. Summons the last bit of courage in her, and she defiantly shouts with an angry glare. "NO!"


    Putting her hands to her sides, Aristespha tilts her head and examines Valavera up and down. "If you think we are going to let you track that stench into that vehicle and inconvenience our long ride home, you are very wrong. Now. Either you cooperate, or I''m certain Dretphi will be happy to pull that filth off of you."


    Dretphi smirks, stands to her full towering height, and flexes the many muscles in arms with a few stretches. Valavera shrinks back, grits her teeth, and weakly nods. "Okay... Okay... I guess I probably do smell really bad."


    Crossing her arms, she musters up a plea bordering on demand. "Can''t I just take a shower in one of the bathroom stalls?! They''re right over there!"


    Aristespha leans her cold glare closer to Valavera and explains with a tinge of a growl. "NO. We''re letting you out of our sight right now, especially your WONDERFUL performance today."


    Her expression softens, and Aristespha grimaces tinged with disgust and whispers. "Also, I am certain the grass and hose are FAR cleaner options than anything in those restrooms right now."


    Acceptance washes over Valavera, and she nods with defeated sigh. Awkwardly glancing off to the side, she focuses pleading embarrassment at Aristespha and motions to Bach. With an understanding smile, Aristespha calls out. "Bach, could you try to see if you could get that phone working, and give us a bit of privacy for a while? Please?"


    Bach nods, searches the satchel for the aetherphone, and waves to the group. "Oh. Yeah. Not a problem. Uh, just let me know when you are done. I''ll see what I can do with this stuff."


    Tapping the hilt of the sword on her back, Aristespha gently calls out. "Sebastian, could you join him, please?"


    Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha, nods with a smile, and flies over to Bach''s side. Valavera watches in a mix of surprise and awe, with a faint flush of color in her ivory face. Bach ejects the ID chip from the aetherphone and scrutinizes the small device as he walks further away. Sebastian peeks over Bach''s shoulder with curiosity, and both brothers furrow their brows at the tiny electronic device. A girlish shriek echoes out into the clearing. "OH GODS! IT''S COLD! WHY IS IT THAT COLD?!"


    Between a mix of laughter and snickers, other members offer honest suggestions to make the process tolerable. Sebastian snaps his head back momentarily and shrugs at Bach. "Huh, I guess the water heater is broken."


    Shaking his head with an evil grin, Bach chuckles to himself. "Nope. Works just fine. That hose is just hooked up to a cold water only faucet."


    As a burst of shrill evuukian curses bounces between the surrounding trees, Sebastian reflexively laughs and blinks in surprise at his brother. "WOW. You EVIL asshole. Nicely done, bro."


    Bach simply shrugs and rolls his blue eyes. "Hey, I''m just making sure she remembers this experience. And MAYBE, a little bit of revenge for singling me out."


    Sebastian perks his brow and crosses his arms, judging playfully. "A little?"


    Twisting his mouth against a flit of guilt, Bach shrugs. "Maybe a little more than that.


    As Sebastian nods knowingly at the responding, Bach furrows his brow and inquires. "Oh, by the way? When did you start teaching Aristespha mom''s sword style?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage strokes his chin, and he searches his mind. "Ah, I think it was shortly after she joined. Figured if she was supposed to protect the sword, she needed to know to use it, too"


    Bach pops the battery out of the phone and nods. "Good call. Might have to get Cideeda to help me on this one."


    ----


    Valavera sits in the aisle of the humvee cab between Aristespha and Bach. Her arms hug her folded legs and her cleaner golden hair drapes over a faded t-shirt. Squirming in the worn pants, she sighs sadly. Aristespha stares down at Valavera. "Continue."


    Breathing in reluctantly and Valavera tells her tale. "So... I went to the forest reserve and park thing to try to scare everyone off and get it shut down. I figured if I did a good enough of a job and proved myself by doing what they asked, the Terra Priests would consider me for full membership. But..."


    Sotalia chuckles to herself and cranes her head back with a smug grin. "Let me guess, things didn''t go to plan?"


    Valavera squeezes her arms tighter around her legs, and her ego shrinks even more. "NO. After a few days, my friend with the Terra Priests... He stopped responding to my calls. Then, my phone ran out of power and I broke when I got angry. The visitor area was abandoned, and the utilities got cut off. The daemon locked me out of the visitor center. I had next to no food left. I was losing control of the spirits I could control. And the big thing I set up to maybe get some major attention... Well... You all made short work of it."


    Staring sternly at Valavera, Aristespha inquires coolly. "What are you going to do now?"


    Valavera sheepishly gazes up at Aristespha. "Go home. Go to school. Learn to do magic correctly. Never get involved with any group like this ever again."


    Aristespha nods and softens to a caring smile. "A very good answer."


    Bach loads the battery into the aetherphone and presses a few buttons on the side. "Okay, battery is charged. The cracked ID chip pins should be fixed as per Cideeda''s recommendations. So... In theory, it should boot up and come online, any time now?"


    The aetherphone screen flickers to life, and a series of company logos splash up with a loading bar. After a few seconds, the home screen initializes and icons for the various functions and applications load up. The finer decorations overlay onto the interface and paint a colorful theme of evuukian pop idols and art. Bach blinks at the unfamiliar font, furrows his brow uncertainty, and taps the touch screen on the system status bar. He watches indicators flicker and progress between states. "Well, looks like it''s working. Oh, it seems like it found the network and re-registered itself to it-"


    The phone vibrates and chimes a distinctive ring. Every muscle on Valavera tenses. She remains motionless in wide-eyed horror. Squinting at the screen confused, Bach hands the phone over to Aristespha. "I can''t read Evuukian, I''ll leave this to you."


    Taking the phone, Aristespha quirks a brow at the screen, and smiles with a sinister tinge. She presses a button on the screen and happily puts the phone to her very long, pointed ear. "Lady Verherin. It has been too long. How have you been?"


    The conversation''s language immediately transitions to an Evuukian dialect. Minutes later with Sotalia barely containing her amusement, Aristespha switches to Americ for group clarity. "Yes, of course. The phone battery is fully charged, so take your time. We''ll discuss those details later."


    She removes it from her ear and lowers it down the Valavera. "It''s for you."


    Valavera shakily accepts the aetherphone and warily brings it close. Speaking a few words in another dialect of Evuukian, she cringes and waits in silence. Lady Verherin''s voice sounds from the phone''s speaker enough to drift up into the cab of the humvee. While the words dissipate with the road noise filtering it, the cringes and winces Valavera displays, fuels smiles of accomplishment on the faces of everyone else.

 Episode 10

    A bundle of blankets twists and turns on the couch. A mass of golden hair slips out from under the cover, and green eyes peer out through the parting strands. From underneath the sheets, a light skinned hand reaches out and pulls hair back, revealing a sleep-dazed, evuukian face. Valavera rubs the drowsiness out of her eyes and groggily examines the living room. Past noon sunlight glows into the living around through the sliding glass door and warms the space. Lifting herself up to a seat on the couch, Valavera scans the room with fresher consciousness. She abruptly stops her head at the sight of movement. In the kitchen, Aristespha places a plate of breakfast food in the microwave and taps a few buttons. "Good afternoon, sleep-deprived one."


    Blinking in confusion, Valavera swiftly glances at the sliding glass door and squints at the short shadows underneath patio furniture. She bites her lip in nervous anticipation, and her voice shakes. "I- I didn''t mean to sleep in so late. I was just so tired and well... I..."


    Aristespha calmly walks into the living room, drops a mug of tea off on the table in between some papers, and stands in front of Valavera. "You were busy with your thoughts for most of the night. I heard."


    Valavera sheepishly hangs her head low and sighs remorsefully with a slight droop of her very long, yellow and blue hinted, pointed ears. Sinking into a back cushion of the couch, she averts her green eyes. Aristespha''s stern exterior softens, she motions Valavera up. "Stand up."


    Pulling herself up off the couch, Valavera stands at attention. Aristespha meets Valavera uncertain gaze directly with a soft smile and holds her arms out to the side. Valavera winces with tears forming in her eyes and embraces Aristespha. Burying her face in Aristespha''s shoulder, she sniffles between tearful sobs. "I''m so- sorry. I just got so- caught up in trying to make it work that- I didn''t think about whether it could work... Or, even if I wanted it- to work."


    Aristespha wraps her arms around Valavera and holds her motherly with light pats on the back. "It is okay. You have kicked yourself enough for now. There will be other times for that when you are older. And... You need to save some for your mother in the near future. I''m really happy we found you first, with no harm done."


    Lifting her head up, Valavera takes a deep breath and releases a tear choked shudder. "What did my mother tell you? She said she''d work out something with you. But... She didn''t say anything more to me... Well, about THAT... At least."


    Aristespha soothingly rubs Valavera gently on the back. "We talked, caught up, and hatched a plan. Your uncle Becker will pick you up later tonight. It works out. He just got done trading in surrounding towns and wants to acquire a few things to trade along the way back. Thankfully, we happen to have a variety of items we''ve collected that need to be sold to someone like him."


    Valavera pulls herself back from Aristespha and wipes some of the tears from her eyes with a smile. "I haven''t seen Uncle Becker in a year! I can''t believe my mother would call upon him."


    Aristespha shakes her head and sighs with a grin. "Well, despite how far he stays away from the politics, he is the best... BULLSHIT artist I''ve ever known. If anyone can weave a tale so thick that no one is going to question where you''ve been for the last month or two, it will be him."


    Rolling her green eyes, Valavera smiles firmly amused. "After the first half hour of the story, no one will want to ask anymore."


    Tilting her head towards the dining table, Aristespha smirks and pats Valavera''s shoulder. "Take a seat. Let''s catch up. I saved some breakfast for you."


    Valavera nods and dries out the few remaining tears with her worn T-shirt. "That... Sounds really good."


    She searches around and listens carefully with her very long, pointed ears. "Uh, where is everyone else?"


    Aristespha pauses en route to the kitchen and points outside. "Outside. It is a nice day, and they''re getting ready for our next mission tomorrow. They didn''t want to wake you with the noise. They have held off test firing their guns. So, I assume they are checking armor and other gear."


    Examining Valavera closely, Aristespha studies her up and down and smiles with a plotting confidence. "Speaking of which, we need to get some better clothing than that. I should have a few things that will fit you. And, to fit with your cover story of self-discovery... We have got old extra adventuring gear you can have your pick of."


    Valavera rushes up and excitedly hugs Aristespha. "Thank you, so much!"


    Aristespha pats Valavera on the back and discreetly wipes a tear off her blue and gray hinted face. "Consider it making it up to you for being so scarce for these past few years."


    Sniffling, Valavera squeezes Aristespha with a smile. "You saved me from a HUGE mistake and... You''ve been chasing and fighting Dark Lord Noxian..."


    She meets Aristespha''s gaze and sighs. "It doesn''t matter. You were here when I needed you, and that''s all I care about."


    Aristespha pulls in Valavera tight. The two hold each other for a minute. Loosening her arms, Valavera pulls away and furrows her brow at Aristespha. "I REALLY do appreciate everything. But... I have to ask... Um..."


    Lifting an intrigued brow, Aristespha cocks her head to the side. "Yes?"


    Valavera twists an uncomfortable grimace and grumbles. "Was the shower with cold water really necessary?"


    Aristespha narrows a cold stare. "If I told you another one of those experiences would be awaiting you, if you EVER attempted a stunt like this again, would you think VERY CAREFULLY about committing such?"


    Valavera slowly nods with wide eyes. "Yes."


    Aristespha presents an evil smile and chuckles. "THEN, it was absolutely necessary."


    ----


    Under the afternoon sun, Bach props his elbows upon the wooden top of the picnic table. Spinning his helmet around in his hand, he inspects closely and squints his blue eyes at parts. With a satisfied smirk, he rests the modern military helm upon the tabletop and sits upright on the bench seat. With her head upon her crossed arms, Sotalia watches Bach from the opposite side of the table. She stares and sighs out her sheer boredom. Reaching her hand out, she picks at a loose sliver of wood from a plank with a long, black finger nail. "So... What are you doing? That helmet looks fine to me. So, we should practice spells now."


    Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach shrugs with his gaze upon the helmet. "I''m going to try my hand at enchanting it. I mean, if I''m going to do anything with anyone''s equipment, I should probably test it out on my own first. That only seems fair, right?"


    Sotalia furrows her brow and focuses her golden eyes on Bach with a curious quirk of her light tan and dark gray face. "Wait. Didn''t you say that you enchanted that helmet for Sebastian?"


    Bach blinks confused and searches his mind. Realization dawns upon him, and he curls the corner of his mouth with a snort. "Well... I have never personally enchanted anything with my own spells. I used a store bought kit on this helmet. So, did you consider Elander''s Econo Enchanting actual enchanting?"


    Sotalia sneers her upper lip, lifts her head up off her arms, and stretches back on the wooden bench seat. "Oh! Oh no. Not in a million years. Gods, you really used Elander''s Econo Enchanting?"


    Rolling his eyes, Bach briefly grits his teeth with a slight twist of the head. "Well... I mean- What else do you do when you are a broke college student? I mean, all things considered, it''s actually held out decently enough."


    Poking the helmet, Sotalia shakes her head of shoulder length dark red hair in mild surprise. "Can''t believe Elander''s anything blocked the shots thrown at this-"


    She places her hand firmly on the helmet and squints at the piece of armor. Searching her mind, she studies the helm closer. "Huh. I''ll be damned. That old spell is still there! It''s really faint, but I can still feel it. Gods, how is that even possible? Those slow burner spells usually run out after a few years, at best."


    A proud grin appears on Bach, and he puffs up with the praise. "Well, I used to have some serious power to throw around. I do remember dumping A LOT of energy into that kit. WAY MORE than they''d ever recommend... or honor the warranty for."


    Propping up her head with her hand, Sotalia cracks a sly smile and narrows an inquisitive gaze upon Bach. "Oh. Really? You had power?"


    She perks her brow and focuses her stare. "How much?"


    Bach glances up from the helmet and his eyes dart around the question. "Ah, um. A lot? I used to be able to cast a few good spells. Nothing too crazy, really..."


    Sotalia squints her golden eyes and maintains an expectant smile. "How many cells were you rated at? There¡¯s no way you didn''t have a measurement done in a flow chamber."


    Bach grips the helmet with both hands. While keeping his awkward stare upon the helm, he gestures dismissively at Sotalia and laughs with a nervous tinge. "Uh, it''s been so long... I''ve forgotten the exact number. I mean, it''s been over five years since I''ve even thought about it. Anyway, it really doesn''t matter what my numbers were at this point. I mean, do you remember your-"


    Sotalia stares through Bach and concentrates on every move. "Eighty six, sixty nine. Biased towards raw throughput. First year of school."


    Bach''s expression blanks, and he blinks in uneasy silence. Glancing at Sotalia''s expectant glare bearing down on him, he awkwardly grins and begins to raise his head up to meet her scrutinizing, golden eyes. An ethereal voice echoes out near Sotalia. "Ha! I can''t believe you forgot your score, bro! After the scene you made at High Alton University''s Grading Chamber?"


    An ear-to-ear grin sprouts on Sotalia''s face, and she spins her head to Sebastian. "OH! Really? Tell me ALL about it."


    Sebastian floats down onto the picnic table top and smirks deviously. "Oh, man! I mean most people just throw a bunch of spells until they can''t anymore. But, we both got this idea of just venting magical energy out like characters from this animated show we were really into. So, Bach goes first."


    He snorts and laughs while tensing his muscular visage. "And, DAMN! He goes all out, and just blasts energy throughout that huge chamber! I remember some of it leaking out the door seals. The graduate assistant freaks the fuck out and nearly yanks the emergency energy siphon and purge lever. Gods! They were SO fucking pissed at us."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he rolls his translucent blue eyes. "But, they counted Bach''s score anyway. Begrudgingly, since they didn''t want to rescore him again. Also, he did pass out."


    An eager glint flashes in Sotalia''s eyes, and she assumes her most charming posture and tone. "So, do YOU remember his score, Sebastian?"


    Sebastian opens his mouth and notices Bach waving around erratically just out of Sotalia''s view. Bach motions cuts his hand across his neck and mouths out the words. "Don''t tell her."


    Grinning with confidence, Sebastian chuckles with bravado. "Why, of course! It is..."


    He drifts off mid sentence, drops his head down in thought, and scratches his chin. Attempting to say something a few more times, he places his hands to his sides in frustration. "Well, shit. I''ve forgotten, too. It has been awhile."


    Rolling her eyes, Sotalia plops her head back onto her folded arms with a huff and groans aggravated. "I can''t believe you two. Forgetting important things like this!"


    Bach shrugs with a relieved smile and resumes work on the helmet. "I mean, it doesn''t matter. I''d probably be lucky to break a thousand these days. Hell, I haven''t been able to get all the spells I used to be able to cast working with how I have to do magic these days."


    Slowly turning her head towards Bach, Sotalia focuses an inquisitive gaze. "Oh? Which spells?"


    Bach rubs his hands together and places them around the sides of his helmet. "Well, a number of small ones that I just haven''t been focusing on. And the D-Ball spell."


    Sebastian frowns slightly and crosses his arms. "Aw, man,bro. No D-Ball still?"


    As magical energy flows out from Bach''s arms onto the helm, he shakes his head and keeps his eyes on the helmet. "Nope. Sorry, man. I still haven''t figured out how to optimize it enough to even get past the start-up phase. I think I could do everything else, but that initial setup is complex and power hungry."


    Sotalia glances between Sebastian and Bach, leans back, and raises her hands up. "Okay. Hold up. What''s the D-Ball spell you two keep talking about?"


    A coating of magical energy rests upon the helmet and solidifies. Adjusting his grip, Bach rocks his head side to side. "Um, it''s a ball form of the disintegration beam spell. Just something I managed to hack together in third year."


    With an annoyed grumble, he slumps his shoulders and glances off to the side. "And, it was promptly banned from ever being used on any official tests."


    Sebastian chuckles while shaking his head. "Ha! One of the many Warwick rules instituted because of us. Damn, that spell would have made those team assessment exams so much easier."


    Sotalia''s eyes spring wide open, and her mouth hangs open in astonishment. A devious grin reemerges, she slyly watches Bach with an intrigued charm in her voice. "So, that means you know how to cast the spell like you used to, correct?"


    The magical energy sinks into the exterior coat of the helmet. A few faint glimmers flicker and fade while Bach tweaks the magical energies involved. With his brilliant blue stare full upon the helm, he obliviously explains. "Yes, of course. I used to direct cast it often enough to-"


    His words stumble to silence. Revelation yanks his attention away from the helmet, he reflexively grimaces. Slowly lifting his gaze up, he turns to meet the eager, winning grin radiating from Sotalia. Happily standing up from the picnic table, Sotalia steps back over the bench seat. She rests her hands at her sides and tilts her hips into a smug, victorious pose. "Well... Looks like I have a spell to look forward to learning from you, in the NEAR FUTURE. Don''t forget it any time soon. I think you''re due for another training session with me."


    She pivots and strides off to the house, accomplished. Sebastian glances away from her to Bach. "Sorry, bro. That was all your doing. I couldn''t spare you there."


    Bach sighs deeply and shakes his head. "Bah. It''s okay. I''d rather her be obsessed with learning a spell than knowing my old magic statistics. Gods, she''s already competitive enough, I don''t need her to have numbers to justify it."


    Sebastian circles a finger over the helmet with a smile. "So, how''s the old helmet coming along?"


    The remaining bits of energy visibly fade around the helmet. Bach hoists the helmet and stands up from the table. "Well, I meshed in a mix of some of the magical materials I''ve been working on and figured out some kind of energy storage system with an ambient energy recharging mechanism and-"


    Narrowing his blue eyes at his brother, Bach perks his brow and groans. "You stopped listening after magical materials, didn''t you?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage stands up next to the picnic table, and he confesses with a tinge of embarrassment. "Well, yes. I mean, you know I try to keep up, bro. But, I studied swords, armor, and psychology. You know the few spells I eventually figured out."


    Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Bach raises a brow at his brother. "You know... I always wondered why you went with psychology. But, I think I understand now. Man. The strangest things that turn out to be useful, you know?"


    Sebastian draws in a long ethereal breath and nods with a firm smile at Bach. "Oh, you don''t know the half of it. I didn''t realize how much I''d put those psychology classes to use."


    He eyes the helmet and points at it. "Anyway, how are you going to test that enchantment? Going to shoot stuff at the helmet?"


    Bach examines the helmet and shakes his head to Sebastian. "No. I kind of like this helmet, and I''m not THAT confident about my abilities. The firing range that Cideeda and Dretphi set up over in the yard off to the side of the house has a bunch of steel plates. Figured I could enchant those the same way I did this. Close enough of a test?"


    Sebastian rubs his chin and gives a nod of approval. "Sounds like a plan, bro. If nothing else, maybe the metal plates will last a bit longer. They always figure a way to wear them out."


    ----


    Late afternoon sun slides down the shingles of the ranch style house and beams upon the grass field on the side of the property. Glancing over his shoulder, Bach eyes the thick, chained back steel plate hanging between posts, and sweeps his gaze over the thick forest behind. With a shrug, he walks towards the house on the opposite end of the field and stands next to Cideeda and Sebastian. "Well, I got the same type of enchantment on that first metal plate. So... Um. Fire away, I guess?"


    Cideeda squints down the improvised firing range and flicks free the locks on her hip holsters. Drawing a laser pistol out, she clicks the power switch, disengages the safety, and levels her aim. The sights line up on the steel target and narrows her stare against the glint of sun of the faint magical shimmer. She slips a finger in front of the trigger. With a slow squeeze, the trigger clicks. A blue beam splashes upon the surface of the metal plate. Light diffuses off a translucent golden barrier before the surface of the metal plate. The laser pistol cuts the pulse off. Seconds pass, and the barrier fades back to obscurity. Cideeda nods intrigued with a perk of her furry ears and glances at Bach out of the corner of her eye. "Not bad. Not bad at all. I held that to the max pulse time."


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    A sense of pride wells up in Bach, and a confident smile forms. "Well. It''s just an initial draft, but it is similar to the barriers I put up when we encountered the cyber-"


    A wicked grin flashes upon Cideeda''s face, and she quickdraws the other laser pistol from the holster. "Let''s see if it can handle two beams!"


    Both triggers engage. Two rays of blue erupt from the ends of the photon weaponry. Both accurately contact the barrier and splash their energy on target. Smaller threads of enchanted light reflect off the barrier as it grows opaque. Both laser pistols discharge the last bits of energy and shut off the emitters. Bach''s eyes slowly guide the rest of his head to watch Cideeda''s dark glee manifest. Perking both her eyebrows at Bach, Cideeda shines a toothy grin. "I approve. So far, that is. We''ll have to see what Dretphi brings out."


    Sebastian ethereal visage hovers behind the two, and he glances around the corner of the house. Biting his lip in a wary anticipation, he furrows an uncertain glance back. "Huh. Well, she seemed really happy when you told her to hit it hard. I wonder what she''s-"


    Trailing of mid sentence, his eyes stare off into the distance while an epiphany shoves other thoughts out of the way. He blinks and turns his head towards Cideeda. "She just got that scope sighted on her rifle, didn''t she?"


    Cideeda winks at Sebastian with a smug smile. "Yes. We might as well throw a real test at it."


    Catching the exchange between the two, Bach furrows his brow as his confidence withers. "Oh. OH-"


    A loud, heavy mechanical clack echoes into the area as the large rifle bolt disengages. Dretphi strides around the corner of the house''s brick wall with a hint of a skip in each step. Hoisting the anti-material rifle up, she keeps the muzzle pointed into the air with one arm. She reaches into a satchel hanging at her side, removes her hand, and playfully twirls a large rifle round in her fingers. Bach gawks the long, solid barrel of the rifle. Glances between the heavy metal and sturdy construction factor into the physics calculations eroding Bach''s confidence. Dretphi stops in front of Bach and gazes down at him with a slight smile. "Doubting your abilities?"


    Bach nods slowly and honestly slips out. "Yes. Oh, yes. Ah, um... Especially, with THAT much firepower."


    Dretphi examines the first metal plate in the distance and glances back at Bach with a glint in her steely gray eyes. "A little doubt is healthy. So, we test."


    Bach crosses his arms and contorts his grimace to side with a grumble. "Yes. I know. I was hoping to enjoy a few smaller tests before... absolutely shattering the thing to a million pieces."


    Dretphi walks over to a mat next to a stack of sandbags on the ground. Kneeling down, she places the rifle on the ground and slips the satchel off. She sets the rifle up for firing, settles down prone behind it, and readies herself. Turning her head to look over her shoulder at Bach, she smiles warmly. "With what I have seen, I am not assuming the outcome. You should not either."


    Bach meets Dretphi''s glance. Puzzling a moment, he parts a reserved smirk and relaxes his arms to his sides. "Well, okay. It could... Possibly... Withstand that. I ain''t putting my money on it though."


    Perking her furry ears, Cideeda furrows her brow and gets Sebastian''s attention. "Sebastian? Could you warn everyone inside real quick? This might be a little loud."


    Sebastian flits his eyes wide and flies off towards the wall of the house. "Good call, be right back."


    A minute passes with the bright sun beaming down on the region and a gentle wind blowing through the fresh green forest. Sebastian phases through the brick wall of the house and gives everyone a thumbs up. "They''ve been warned."


    Dretphi returns her focus towards the target. Squints through the optics, she dials in a distance on the scope, and lines the crosshairs up on the first metal plate. She picks up the rifle round, loads it into the chamber, and carefully locks the bolt. She put in a set of ear plugs from the sachet. Holding her hand out from the grip, she calls out. "Cover your ears!"


    Cideeda presses her palms against the sides of her head and seals up her large fuzzy ears at their bases. Bach plugs a finger in each ear and eyes his brother. Sebastian hovers with his arms crossed and catches Bach''s glance. He raises an indifferent eye brow and gestures with his hands to his ethereal form. Bach drops his head momentarily with a bit of embarrassment and smiles awkwardly apologetic to his brother. Sebastian puts his hands up in the air and nonchalantly shrugs. "It''s cool, bro."


    Dretphi wraps her fingers around the grip of the rifle, rests a finger on the trigger guard, and checks her shot. Sliding her finger on the trigger, she gently squeezes. A loud boom ripples throughout the area, vibrating any surface it washes over. A bright yellow flash shines out. A crash rings out. Glimmering speckles of bullet fragments and magical sparks scatter away from the target and into the dirt below it. Silence floods into the acoustic void. Trickles of background noise filter in and lead a swell of normal environment noise over time. Dretphi pulls the bolt open and locks it back. Bach removes his fingers from his ears with a shudder and notices Sebastian staring at the target. Floating in place, Sebastian crosses his arm, and holds his chin intrigued. "That was strange, bro. I think I heard... Crackling? Almost like glass or something starting to break."


    Uncovering her ears, Cideeda squints at the metal plate, unsure. "The plate is still there. But, the magical barrier is really easy to see. It looks cracked?"


    Dretphi engages the safety and positions the barrel of the rifle pointing up and away from the first metal plate. Pushing herself off the ground, she stands up confused. "Need to get a close look."


    Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi walk, while Sebastian hovers, down the field to the metal target. Intrigue grows the closer they gather around the enchanted metal plate. The golden, magical barrier glimmers almost fully opaque. A meshing web of cracks spider out from the center impact point. Width and density of the cracks wane further out in the translucent field. Despite the fractures within, the barrier''s surface remains smooth with a gap. Underneath the metal plate remains untouched.


    Dropping down to a knee, Bach lifts up the bottom edge of the hanging metal plate, unhooks to chains, and angles the plate forward for a better view. "Holy. Shit. I think it actually held. Gods, looks like hell, though."


    Cideeda squats to the side of the target with an eager wag of long, fluffy tail and peeks behind the plate. "Nice! No signs of denting on the backside. It shook the plate around, but it seems just fine to me. That''s SO cool."


    Sitting down on the grass, she examines the golden field on the front of the plate. Her emerald green eyes widen, and she points a claw tip to a disappearing fault lines within the barrier. "Is it- Repairing itself?"


    Bach studies the spot and rocks his head side to side. "Well. Sort of? Technically, it didn''t break enough to need big repairs. It more or less got stretched out in places. But, I did put in bits to recharge the barrier and maintain the internal alignment with any ambient energy. So, it must be using all the sunlight to recharge and realign itself. This is probably the very limit of what it can handle."


    Cracks shrink slowly as the seconds pass. The lines fully retreat back to the impact point and clear the edge of the barrier. As the fissures close and the magical material solidifies, the golden field fades into transparency. Dretphi kneels down and spots a few bullet fragments in the grass underneath the target. She pinches onto the largest and lifts it up for a better view. Examining it carefully, an excited hint sneaks into her smile. Bach feels a strong hand grasp his shoulder and follows it back to the source. Dretphi cracks a slight grin. "When can this be put on my armor plates?"


    ----


    Uneasily eyeing the team at the dining table, Valavera timidly approaches. From the huge collection of large takeout cartons and aluminum trays in the middle part of the tabletop, the team scoops and plucks out servings of different vegetables and meat dishes. Valavera stands nearby and nervously brushes off her nicer outfit of old clothes and leftover adventuring gear. She reluctantly hems and visibly tenses when everyone''s full focus lands upon her. "Um. Before I leave with my uncle, I just wanted to properly apologize to everyone. I made a huge mistake, and I am forever thankful you stopped me before I did anything REALLY stupid. And... I am very sorry I called you such terrible terms and attacked you."


    She holds her hands together low in front of her, bows forward gracefully, and remains in silence. Aristespha smiles gently at her and signals Sebastian in the seat next to her with her eyes. "That''s a very nice gesture. Thank you. Sit down and eat. I am not sending you out hungry."


    Sebastian floats up next to his seat and bows to Valavera with a gentleman''s grace. Sebastian pulls his ethereal hand through the back of the chair and grimaces at the reminder. Dretphi reaches next to her and slides the seat back. Under Sebastian''s direction, Valavera takes a seat in-between Aristespha and Dretphi. Gawking at Sebastian, Valavera blinks herself out of a trance and glances around the busy and full dining table. Aristespha places a translucent, dark green plate of stabilized magical energy in front of Valavera. The strange plate immediately seizes Valavera''s interest, and she carefully prods it. Gently patting Valavera on the shoulder, Aristespha whispers. "We ran low on regular dishes. I will explain later."


    Cideeda catches Valavera''s wander glance and chuckles with a toothy grin. "Ah, don''t worry about the names. I''ve been called far worse with a lot worse intent. Beast doesn''t even register with me anymore."


    Sotalia leans over the table, hunts down her target with a wandering plastic fork, and stabs a large fried egg roll. Returning to her seat, she cracks a smile at Valavera and rolls her golden eyes. "Don''t worry, girl. We''ve all made mistakes. Big ones."


    Taking a big bite out of the egg roll, she roughly points the fork, with the half eaten egg roll, at Valavera, and flits her brow with a wry smirk. "You try ending a contract with a group in a town full of backwater emin purists as a second generation half-emin. Gods... I had heard stories of how bad some towns were, but I thought they were just exaggerating the more extreme stories."


    Sebastian''s eyes open up with a spark of memory and laughs. "Yeah... That was such a fucked up place. I still remember going through the door of that dive bar. Everyone was mean mugging me, except you. The one half-emin woman in the place, sitting alone at the worst table, with a dirty glass of water, and literally pointing me to the chair in front of her."


    Sotalia shakes her head of dark red hair, holds her free hand up, and bites her lip. "Gods, this will sound terrible. But, I was just happy to see someone other than a emin. Thank the gods, no horns, I might be able to talk to him. I REALLY didn''t want to be alone around there."


    Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda sits back in her chair, holds her chin, and wags her fluffy tail. "Oh, that town that wouldn''t take your money?"


    Emphatically nods at Cideeda and gazes at Valavera, swaying the forked egg roll with each punctuation. "YES! If someone warns you about the town a contract ends in... TAKE. THEIR. ADVICE. I didn''t and nearly got into some really bad trouble. Here I was in this little shit hole of a town. Paid in cash from a successful escort mission as an independent contractor. And... I couldn''t spend ANY of it!"


    Pausing in between shoveling rice into her mouth, Valavera blinks confused and draws her head back in shock. "Wait? They wouldn''t take your money at all?"


    Sotalia shakes her head wide-eyed and takes a deep breath in. "NO. These were racists, with principles. Biggest storm to hit the area was a few hours out. Nightfall in an hour. All transportation out of the place had already cleared out or was closed for the night. And, I had only managed to find a single dive bar to sit at with a dirty glass of water."


    Furrowing her brow, Sotalia rolls her golden eyes and snorts derisively. "Which I''m sure they spat in. Anyway, they were closing early because of the storm."


    Sebastian ethereally exhales in disbelief and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah... I had gotten a pretty shit welcome to that place, too. They''d at least take my money, even if they were gouging me. Long story short, I managed to get a room at this awful motel, sneaked her in during the start of the storm, and we basically laid low until the start of my contract."


    Sotalia sighs, uneasily flexes her long nailed fingers, and levels her head solemnly at Valavera. "Every time I think about those few days, I still get chills. I KNOW there were people looking for me. Gods, I was SO lucky."


    Smirking at Sebastian, she shakes her head. "Turns out Sebastian''s contract was the next part after my contract. After I explained everything to them, they were completely fine with me tagging along."


    Sebastian grits his teeth briefly and sneers with a quirk of the brow. "Turns out the rest of the group didn''t have the best time with that town either and wanted to leave for the next one with as much help as they could get."


    Valavera loses herself in thought and squirms a bit in her seat with the flits of empathy. "I just don''t know what to think about all that."


    Finishing the remaining egg roll off the fork, Sotalia holds her hands up and shrugs with a smile. "It was a... LEARNING EXPERIENCE. You''ll have plenty more of those, girl. Just hope the next one doesn''t try to teach that much that quickly."


    Taking a break from his meal, Bach furrows his brow with a growing through and faces Sotalia curiously. "Wait. So, you were the first one to team up with my brother?"


    Sotalia twirls the plastic fork in her hand and twists her mouth with a nod. "Yes. Yeah, I was. Gods, we were SO limited with the jobs we could take."


    Sebastian catches Bach''s attention and motions a hand towards Dretphi. "Yeah, that was some rough times, bro. BUT, a few months later Dretphi joined up."


    Dretphi smiles and idly stirs some noodles on her plate. "Was in a bad situation. Offered me a chance to move on from a... questionable team. No regrets."


    Pointing towards Cideeda, Sebastian wrestles a grimace into a smile. "And, after an awful run of contracted technical specialists, Cideeda got on board."


    Cideeda shakes her head of short, multi-colored hair and snorts. "I STILL can''t believe what passes for technical specialists these days. I was amazed they weren''t killed by those moronic fly-by-night contractors."


    Sebastian smiles lovingly to Aristespha and adopts a more proper tone. "Then the wonderful Lady Aristespha graced us a few months after that."


    Stirring a large spoon in a bowl of soup, Aristespha tries to hide a humored smile. "Well, I place most of the blame on the sword for leading me to you. I still debate if following its guidance was the best of ideas some days."


    Sebastian hovers next to Valavera and lowers his head near hers with a wry grin, while eying Bach. He gives his brother a wink. "All was well with our group, then misfortune happened a month ago. Hence, I am now a bit more transparent than previously. So, two weeks ago, we picked up this scrub."


    Valavera stifles a snicker with her hand, watching the exchange. Bach narrows his eyes at his brother and lifts a lone eyebrow. "Scrub, eh? Well, I think the word you are looking for is abductee, ghost man."


    Sebastian straightens his hovering form and crosses his arms with a proud grin. "Well, strong words from the intern."


    Valavera leans close to Aristespha and lowers her confused voice. "Is... Is he really an intern?"


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and sighs softly. "Technicalities. A long story. This is why you should make sure you finish your schooling."


    Bach and Sebastian stare at each other for long seconds, until both break down into laughter. Bach shakes his head and resumes eating with a humored smirk on his face. "I really don''t know how you all have dealt with this asshole for this long."


    Dretphi calmly responds in between bites with a hint of a grin at the corner of her mouth. "The paycheck helps."


    A collection of snorts, chuckles, and snickers fill the air around the table. Sebastian gradually turns his head towards Dretphi with a warped smirk. "Ow. Good shot. Here I thought Cideeda was the only one with claws around here."


    ----


    The turbo whine fades as a large cargo truck rolls down the two lane rural highway. Closing in the mouth of the gravel drive leading to ranch style house, pressured air hissed out and the six large wheels slow to a stop. The last of the momentum bounces through the machine and the back cargo pod rocks slightly on the suspension system. Loud mechanical clunks sound as the transmission disengages. A motorized grind reverberates with the parking brake clamping down. Finally, the engine sputters to a stop and the huge machine drifts off to silence. The driver''s side door opens and a round figure steps down the short ladder. His worn trench coat of scattered patchwork flutters with the last leap onto the roadway. The pot-bellied evuukian struts off the highway, down the side of the gravel driveway. Reaching the doorway, he moves his head to follow along the door frame and finds the doorbell with a firm poke. Seconds later, the front door unlocks and opens, revealing a smiling Aristespha. "Well, if it isn''t Former Regent Beckeri-"


    The evuukian quickly holds up his hands, gestures them downwards, and respectfully shushes. "No titles here. But... I do appreciate that you still know them... Young Lady Aristespha."


    Aristespha pulls a firm smile on her face and sighs. "Okay, Becker. Come on in."


    Walking alongside Aristespha, he laughs heartily and scratches his clipped ear. "Strange times we live in. But, if I get to see you and my niece, they are good times to me. I hope the little one has not been too much to handle. Some habits, she really shouldn''t take from her mother."


    As soon as Becker clears the archway into the living room from the main entry hall, Valavera gleefully bolts from her chair at the table and throws her arms around. "Uncle Becker!"


    Becker hugs back and warmly whispers numerous things in a dialect of Evuukian with a happy tone. Gently pushing her back, he studies her up and down, noting her clothing. "You are dressed for the occasion! Very good! I am glad you took care of the clothes. Because..."


    He pats his belly, shakes his head with a good humored sigh. "Your Uncle Becker has nothing of his that will fit you."


    Valavera laughs with a smile at him. "I''ve got everything packed in this bag. I don''t have much at the moment. Should I put it in your truck?"


    Becker scratches his short golden hair and brushes back the stray locks over one very long, pointed ear and tries to so over the other missing the upper half. "Not quite, yet. I have been informed that I may be able to acquire a few more things to trade along the way home."


    Cideeda steps forward confidently, stands in front of Becker with her emerald eyes studying him, and extends her hand to shake. "So... I''ve heard you are a broker of unique and interesting items."


    Furrowing an intrigued brow, Becker shakes Cideeda''s hand firmly and draws a sly smile towards the corner of his mouth. "I often engage in such activities."


    Focusing on Becker''s face, Cideeda perks her brow and armors the inquisitive stare on her light brown face. "What do you define as unique and interesting?"


    Grinning with entrepreneurial bravado, Becker reaches inside his trench coat, retrieves curious artifacts, and displays them on the nearby dining table. "Why, I just got back from an interesting adventure to Perimeter and the surrounding Borderlands. There, I met a strange character who claims to have lived near the heart of the Perimeter Weird Zone for untold years! He had an amazing collection of strange and wondrous artifacts..."


    He darts his eyes around with faux paranoia. "Many that should never be so far from the zone. But... Here before you is just a small sample of what I have."


    Sotalia''s pupils dilate. Watching Becker place the artifacts on the table, she subconsciously drifts closer to investigate. Becker proudly grins as he effortlessly reads Sotalia''s extreme interest. Returning his gaze to Cideeda, he adopts a similarly hardened, stoic stare. "But, I have other definitions, too. What do you define as unique and interesting?"


    Stepping to the side, Cideeda slides her clawed fingers into a backpack on a dining chair next to her and slowly draws out a drained cybernetic soldier power cell. She firmly, soundly places it down on the wooden tabletop next to Becker''s artifacts. She maintains eye contact with Becker and searches for his reaction. Becker remains silent. The neutral expression on his face shows no wavering. "Let us conduct some business."


    Resting a free hand on her shorts waistband, Cideeda straightens her posture and calmly states. "Five thousand."


    Lifting his eyebrow, Becker counters. "Two thousand.


    The price point bounces between a narrowing divide. Twists of tone and inflection color the next bid for either side. Cideeda slowly spins the cybernetic power cell between her claw tips upon the finished wood table, and darts a piercing emerald stare to Becker. "These are very hard to find. Intact. No official documentation of their existence."


    Becker narrows his calculating gaze and crosses his arms stoically. "Very hard to sell. Lack of documentation works for AND AGAINST the price point."


    Another exchange of bids spring up in between the justifications. The rest of the audience stays back and watches the spirited financial sparring. When the number divide closes close, a tense silence looms over the two. Becker furrows his brow and takes a deep breath in. "I do have buyers. But... I would have far more eager buyers if... You had a fully charged cell to go with it?"


    An evil grin cracks from the corner of Cideeda''s mouth. She reaches into the backpack, procures a brightly lit, charged power cell, and gently places it next to the first power cell. Becker nods blankly. "Six thousand."


    Another battle of economic prowess sparks, and Cideeda presses the price point harder against Becker''s defenses. Aristespha leans close to Valavera with a sly smile. "He certainly hasn''t lost his love of the haggle."


    Valavera shakes her head with her green eyes affixed to the exchange. Another lull in the fiscal fight leads to a contemplative quiet between Cideeda and Becker. Becker confidently puffs his chest out. "For what you are selling... The number you say you have to sell... You have to admit that''s the fairest price you''ll get anywhere, anytime soon. And, I''ve given you my exclusive friends and family bonus."


    Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda nods her head and aims her face down, resting her lips on her fist in thought. Becker holds his hand out to shake Cideeda''s. "I think we have a wonderful deal."


    Wagging her fluffy tail, Cideeda lifts her head up and drives a toothy grin right through Becker. Pausing intrigued, Becker cocks his head and furrows his brow. Holding a finger up to Becker, Cideeda rest straightens her shirt and side steps. "I''m curious how eager your buyers would be to pay a premium if they had something that USES those power cells."


    Reaching her foot back underneath the table, her toe claws find purchase on top of a rectangular case, and she gracefully slides it in front of Becker. While crossing her arms, she taps it with her claw tips and gestures with a hand for him to open it. Becker strains to gets down on one knee, releases the case locks, and lifts the lid. The cyber commando plasma rifle glints faintly in the dining room lamp light. Leaning forward with a toothy grin and glint in her eyes, Cideeda firmly and confidently quotes. "THAT. That will be seventy five thousand. FIRM. It works, too."


    Becker examines the rifle in silence. Grumbling to himself, his mind calculates the margins between mumbled numbers. Eventually, he releases a long groan. Cideeda chuckles triumphantly and shakes her head while checking her finger claws. "Oh, don''t act all pained. I know you have to pass near The Grand Library, and the end of the budget year is just around the corner. I''m certain plenty of professors with research budgets would like to buy the set."


    Hoisting his heavy self up, Becker laughs happily and points to the rifle. "It is not pain... But longing for a future session in which I get to surprise you with something as wonderful! I WILL see my money again from you."


    Both Cideeda and Becker vigorously shake hands with satisfaction throughout. With the bidding war over, Sotalia returns her ogling to the artifacts on the table from Becker. Patting unconsciously for her wallet, she leaves quickly for her room. Becker bows slightly to Cideeda and relaxes to his normal posture. "Hopefully, I don''t have to fight you for this, but... Where did you get THAT chair?!"


    Bach halts mid-step. Gradually pivoting around in a circle, he notices Cideeda staring at him with a toothy grin and a clawed finger beckoning him over.

 Episode 11

    The digital display on the fuel station pump flickers increasing numbers. Leaning against the side of the humvee, Cideeda wipes a few remaining bits of sleep from her eyes and holds the fueling nozzle. The pump clicks off and the hose shudders. Cideeda stares at the display, reading the final tallies. Lifting off the side of the vehicle, she removes the fueling nozzle, deftly twirls it around, and holsters it back into the pump. The pump display flicks through a series of status prompts, and the machine prints out a receipt from a slot. Cideeda closes the outside cover on the fueling port, and snatches the receipt. Stepping to the open driver''s door, she stretches her arms and arches her back. She hops into the driver''s seat and shuts the door. Arching herself up the back of her seat, she extends an arm over the head rest, and waves the slip of paper at Aristespha. "Here''s the receipt."


    Aristespha blinks away from the tablet, and slowly raises her violet eyes at the receipt. She reaches out, calmly pinches it between her fingers, and pulls it from Cideeda''s light grasp. "Thank you. What''s the tank odometer say?"


    Cideeda slides back down in her seat and hovers her hand in front of the display in the middle of the console. Pressing a series of buttons on both sides of the display, she navigates the menus to fuel tank information and usage statistics. "Nine eight zero kilometers using that tank and filled up about fifty liters of synth-diesel."


    Bach''s eyes dart around the numbers processing in his head. "That''s about... Twenty kilometers per liter? Pretty good for something this size. Strangely good, actually."


    He sits up in his seat and leans out with a curious stare. Glancing back to Bach, Cideeda presses the buttons around the console screen, and shows off some statistics with a tap of a claw tip. "Well, the turbine powerplant is nowhere near stock anymore. The electrical drive system is pretty close to original. The batteries had to be replaced when we first found it, since they literally fell apart when I poke them with a stick. And, there''s solar panels on top that I added to give us some other power options."


    With a proud glint in her emerald eye, she grins. "For an ancient military vehicle, she''s still doing good."


    Bach leans forward and clings to the side of the front passenger''s seat, focusing on the console screen. "Any particular reason you use synth-diesel? That stuff is not cheap."


    Cideeda curls her upper lip into a sneer and rolls her eyes with stale regret and prior irritation. "Quality. We used to use bio-diesel..."


    Narrowing her frustration into a distant stare at the side, she grumbles. "But, it seems like every place has their own SPECIAL blend that either runs okay, or tries to jam up the powerplant in this thing. Synth-diesel consistently works thanks to The Grand Library keeping a tight grip on the production."


    Aristespha positions the receipt in front of her tablet and taps an onscreen button. An captured image appears on the tablet''s screen, and status icons about the analysis flash up. Seconds later, a final prompt confirms with a notification showing a numeric amount. Aristespha taps Bach on the shoulder with a sly smile on her face and reveals the front of the tablet. "Also, since I am a Master Sage under the employ of The Grand Library and the group is presently on retainer to defeat Dark Lord Noxian, a healthy rebate is VERY easy to obtain."


    Bach reads the information on the tablet and slowly nods in surprised approval. "Oh. Wow! That''s hell of a discount in the end. Do you have to provide justification or some proof to keep getting it?"


    Aristespha rests back in her seat, sets the tablet down in her lap, and rolls her hands with her thoughts. "Yes. But, they aren''t very strict given the nature of what we are presently doing. We came to this region since it''s around a number of places Noxian was known to be at. While it''s an educated guess, this still may be a region he would fall back to try to recollect himself."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice emanates from the sword near Aristespha. "But... Noxian has been REALLY quiet lately. The sword used to detect traces of his presence all the time, especially when he used any Elder energy to power his spells. Even from great distances. But lately... Nothing. No disturbances at all. So, either he''s gotten really stealthy, or he''s currently really weak."


    Aristespha crosses her arms with frowns and sighs. "Or... He may have unfortunately decided to go somewhere else. Honestly, we theorized he would at least visit an old hideout or maybe something meaningful to him in the past before going too far. That... May have changed."


    Cideeda spots Sotalia exiting the doors of the fuel station''s convenience store and notices the cardboard drink carrier in one hand. Sotalia holds the door open. Dretphi steps out carrying a large tank of water over one shoulder and tightly gripping a large bundle of bags in the opposite hand. Cideeda directs her voice to both Bach and Aristespha. "Before Sotalia gets back... I STILL think we need to find and check out Noxian''s old haunt, back when he wasn''t a crazed Dark Lord. He''s been spotted in that one area a few times."


    Aristespha nods in agreement and breathes in deeply. "I have to agree with you. It might take some time to locate it. But, I doubt we are going to get lucky and find him anytime soon. Even if we do find signs of him, it is going to be extremely difficult to track him down... Without the sword guiding us."


    Sebastian''s voice resonates with a solemn tone. "I''m certain he knows the sword can sense big releases of Elder energy. I''d wager he''s playing it very safe and reserved until he feels he doesn''t need to anymore. So, we are just going to have to do some hard, tedious investigating and try to get some insight to what he may be doing. But... Mission at hand first, we''ll debate it later."


    The back hatch door of the humvee opens up. Dretphi plops the large water tank inside and hoists the bags inside. Bach opens his door, hops out onto the pavement, and slides his seat forward. Walking around the side of the vehicle, Dretphi nods at Bach with a smile and lifts herself through the door to her rear seat. After Dretphi crawls back, Bach slides the back and hops in with the door closing behind him. Sotalia finishes arranging cargo, closes the back hatch, and strides quickly to the front. Opening the front passenger door, she carefully steps up into her seat and sorts through the drink carrier on her lap. "Okay, everyone, I hope they got the orders right."


    Sotalia picks up a covered cup and examines the writing on the side. "One fruit tea combo for Cideeda."


    Cideeda taps a claw tip near an empty cup holder in between her and Sotalia. Inserting the drink into the holder, Sotalia checks another beverage. "Black tea with a shot of thick coffee for Aristespha."


    Aristespha reaches out expectantly, swiftly pulls the bounty back, and greedily drinks a long, satisfying swig with a relieved exhale. Sotalia inspects the next drink. "Hot spiced milk tea for Bach."


    Waving it around Bach''s open hand with a playful grin, she mischievously gazes at him with a glint in her golden eyes. "What do you say?"


    Bach narrows his stare at Sotalia, and a wry smile creeps onto his face. "How far forward do you want your seat?"


    Sotalia lifts a humored brow, pouts jokingly, and releases the cup in Bach''s hand. Reading the writing on one of the two remaining drinks, she reaches an arm far back around her seat and down the aisle. "A Grath Black for Dretphi."


    Dretphi shifts forward, extends her long arm out, and grasps the cup firmly. Sotalia turns her attention to the remaining container. Happily picking it up, she cheerfully reads the long, complicated order. The litany of ingredients and processes detailed captures everyone''s attention and distracts them from their beverage. Each attempts to decipher the convoluted creation in Sotalia''s grasp. Sebastian''s ethereal voice breaks the awkward silence. "So... There''s coffee in it... Somewhere... Right? Or Tea? Maybe?"


    ----


    A whine of the turbine powerplant resonates out from the sparse section canopy. Between the thick forests bordering a narrow strip of aged ravaged asphalt, the humvee rolls slowly through the brush and debris cluttered passage. Hanging out the humvee''s window, Cideeda supports herself on the frame and watches the front tire roll on the edge of the overgrown path. Her hand cranks the steering wheel with the terrain and adjusts to the contours of the narrow dirt trail. She stare uncertainly against the rocky grinding and wooden snaps underneath the tires and grits her teeth. "We might want to put a note in our report that vehicle access is QUESTIONABLE, at best. I can''t tell if the road really is this winding, or if it''s just that overrun with the plants and dirt."


    The humvee crawls on top the layers of dirt, gravel, and debris upon the obscured, ancient pavement. Bach squints at a small object in the underbrush of the forest bordering the rough drive. Leans out his open window, he points out the object and calls out to the team. "I think that''s an old road marker over there. It just might be this overgrown. Anyone else seeing this?"


    Sotalia swings herself from observing the front tire on her side and checks the area Bach points to. Sliding her sunglasses down her nose, she spots the same object. "Yeah, that looks like a road marker to me, too. Looks like there was at least another full lane, this way."


    Aristespha breaks away from staring out her window, flips through her tablet, and zooms in on some text. "This was a major research base at one point. Old government records indicate it had significant staffing. A two lane road would not be out of the ordinary."


    Sitting back in his seat, Bach quizzically eyes Aristespha with a tinge of hesitation. "Just have to ask, but... What were they researching?"


    Aristespha catches Bach''s expression and shows him the tablet. "Electromagnetic phenomena. Non-military."


    She adopts a partial smile with a reassuring tone. "No cybernetics or genetics. I''m not going to say it''ll be any better. But, we can hope some possible problems are not as likely to occur."


    While Bach reads the information, Dretphi bends forward, holding onto the backs of Aristespha''s and Bach''s seats, and peeks at the tablet. "Above ground. Wide open. Small buildings. Multiple antenna arrays in cleared fields."


    She nods with a reserved approval. "A drastic change from the previous mission."


    Shrugging with a faint bit of hope, he returns to searching the treeline. "Well, I''m willing to give anything that''s not a cybernetic horror filled dungeon a chance at this point."


    Sotalia lifts her head back from staring down along the border of the path and the underbrush. "I''ll second that. Never have been a fan of those underground bases. Too tight and cramped."


    Curling her upper lip into an irritable sneer, she grumbles. "And they are really limiting on the spells I can use!"


    Cideeda flops back into her seat as the overgrowth and treeline retreats away to reveal a far less constricting path. Checking her seat belt, she accelerates the humvee and grins relieved. "I think we''re good for now. Thanks for watching the road everyone."


    She angles her head towards the group and directs her voice back. "As much as I don''t want to run into a situation where I NEED them, I much prefer having the explosives option. So, I''m all for avoiding underground tunnels."


    Dretphi nods in agreement and stretches her arms back onto the top of the back bench seat with a sigh. "Dungeons are nostalgic. Prefer to live in the present."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice resonates from the sword near Aristespha, a tinge of sarcasm hinting through. "Aw... Come on, you all! You got to love the classics! Dank, dark tunnels with enemies lurking around every corner. Traps everywhere you step and more where you don''t."


    Groaning heavily, Sotalia dramatically rolls her golden eyes. "Oh. Yes. Please. Please, take me away to convoluted structural design that children would question."


    She crosses her arms and flicks an unamused gaze towards the team. "Gods, I don''t know why people just don''t fill all those tombs, dungeons, and tunnels with concrete once they clear them out."


    Aristespha sighs with a shake of her head of long, silvery blue hair. "I, unfortunately, have to agree. Despite SOME historical value... Most of those places were First Period projects by egotistical mage kings that read too many ancient fantasy novels. Most were purposefully designed to be obtuse with no real function."


    Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda sneers sharply. "They''re just death traps. The only places I''ve ever visited that had some sense of purpose were the towers."


    An old memory perks up Aristespha''s smile, and she giggles while covering her mouth. "Oh! Remember that one governor that pestered us non-stop to clear out that old mage tower?"


    Sebastian''s voice emanates from the sword with an unamused tone. "Yeah... That guy could NOT take a hint."


    An ethereal reverberates into the cab of the humvee, and Sebastian groans. "No, we won''t investigate the tower. No, we''re not interested in whatever you want to pay us. No, you ain''t going to arrest us with those bogus charges. No, begging is not going to help. No, we don''t care how many other adventurers want this opportunity, too. Feel free to go bother them."


    Giggling to a snort, Cideeda easily navigates the less overgrown, wider road. "That governor, or whatever his position, was so slimy. I still can''t believe what he planned to do with that tower. Trying to give us a non-guild job under the table."


    Dretphi briefly winces and sneers, revealing a hint of a canine. "Would not stop staring at my chest. His eyes followed me everywhere."


    Sotalia twists in her seat and glances back at Dretphi. "Girl, I remember that. I think the only time he stopped staring at you was to leer at my ass."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach sorts through his mind and narrows his stare distantly. His blue eyes spring open and recognition swings his head to face the group. "Wait! Was that the guy who tried to pull a Sundial Tower Scheme a few years back?"


    Aristespha nods and rests her cheek on her hand, lifting her brow in thought. "To be honest, we did not know what he planned on doing. Thankfully, nothing he proposed sounded good in the slightest. It was so obviously bad. Especially when he tried to extort us with those ridiculous, made-up criminal charges. He was SO desperate."


    Twisting a frown on her mouth, Dretphi slowly shakes her head and draws a deep breath with her hands on her knees. "I remember when the news showed his picture, months later. Pointed at it. Yelled to everyone in the hotel bar."


    Sotalia frowns tightly in disgust and shudders. "Gods, I''m so glad we reported his sorry ass to the guild. It was sleazy enough he was trying to sucker people into a non-guild job."


    Cideeda tilts her head of short, multi-colored hair to the side, flexes her claws tips on the steering wheel, and rolls her emerald green eyes. "At least no one fell for THAT scheme."


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Bach groans annoyed. "I just never get those schemes. Do they just expect no one to ever figure it out?"


    Drooping her furry ears to the sides, Cideeda resettles in her seat and sighs with a trailing grumble. "It''s a race against time. Get the ruin. Convince some adventurers to do a quick clear job. Doctor up some legit certificate of clearance. Hire shady contractors to clean and paint. Then, you pawn it off on the first people with more money than sense."


    She glances over her shoulder and smirks dismissively. "All the while, you hope that Fate, Karma, Hubris, or Murphy don''t take notice of what you are trying to do."


    Sebastian''s ethereal visage materializes in the middle aisle, and his wry chuckle sounds out. "Yeah, you better hope whatever remote part of Nexus you run off to doesn''t have an extradition treaty."


    Aristespha sits up in her seat, leans out into the aisle, and focuses on some distant structures through the front windshield. She returns to her seat and flips through a few maps on her tablet. "I think we are getting close. A few of these landmarks are on the map we got from the guild. We will probably reach the main entry in the next half hour."


    Cideeda scans the horizon and watches the scenery go by. Wryly smiling, she adjusts the humvee''s course along the scattered bits of proper road. "You know if, I didn''t know this road led to yet another abandoned relic of the past, that probably contains some unmentionable horror, this would actually be a nice drive."


    Bach glances out his window and eventually nods at the observation. "If the road was a bit better, I''d take my bike out for a trip. Need to do that anyway. Next break we take."


    Dretphi reaches down on the floorboard. She hoists up a shoulder armor plate and works on securing the worn piece to her under-armor. "If the mission proves easy, we should enjoy the remaining day."


    An uneasy sigh slips out from her. "If the mission permits us."


    Bach hears velcro pads and mechanical fasteners behind him. Turning around, he observes Dretphi locking in the shoulder plate. He checks his own equipment and plasma pistol in the holster. "So, how much do we have to check and verify at this site? How thorough do we have to be?"


    Aristespha flicks through various documents on the tablet and stops on one article. "Thankfully, most of the facility has been surveyed before. There are notes about anything important to know. Only two buildings on site are still sealed. Hence, they only require inspection to make sure they still remain sealed. The only hard part will be comparing how the antenna arrays look with the pictures on file. We will likely have to take all new ones."


    An awkward silence looms inside the cab. Breaking the uneasy quiet, Sebastian grumbles momentarily. "Okay. I''ll say it, so no one else has to... Sounds simple enough. "


    A collection of eyes rolls, groans, and sighs fill the air in the cab. Sebastian drops his head and lifts it up with a smiling bravado. "But! We all know how that usually goes. So, let''s keep the group together when we get there. It''ll take longer to check everything out, but I think we''re okay with taking our time on it. Correct?"


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Dretphi nods in agreement, leans forward, sweeps up another armor plate from the floor, and sticks in place on herself. Aristespha gives a singular nod and continues to analyze the maps of the site. Cideeda removes a hand from the steering wheel and gives a brief thumbs up. Sotalia nods and inspects her belt of pouches. Bach shrugs at Sebastian. "Sounds good enough to me, brother."


    Sebastian grins proudly and sets his sights ahead into the distance. "Good. Let''s see what we got today."


    ----


    A strong wind blows through the decaying metal frameworks. The remnant stretches of rusting braid steel cables and synthetic strand tethers sway gently with the breeze. Breezes whistle through the heaps of many, the once towering, structures on the ground. Still standing anchors in crumbling concrete bases fence in air spaces once occupied. Defiantly against time and wear, a significant number of the unique designs stoically hold above the tops of the trees nearby. Another gust rolls through the sparse stretches of thin, high grass growing between the cracks of the treeless asphalt lot. Fencing in the desolate space, six smaller buildings oppose each other into two columns of pairs with equal wide spacing. The collection pens in a space leading from the antenna array field towards the large, single-story, bunker at the other end. Within this paved courtyard joining all the structures, concrete barriers, steel girders, and other forgotten construction fodder litter the area in pockets of order against overall disarray.


    The party rounds the corner of a small building next to the large bunker. Sotalia throws her head of shoulder length, dark red hair back while plodding along and seeks something of interest in the clouds above. "Gods, I think I''ll skip mentioning this mission to my mother next time she calls."


    Pulling away from investigating one of the small building windows, Cideeda pivots and grins slyly at Sotalia. "What? Don''t want mother to hear about all your exciting adventures in comparing pictures of metal heaps and debris piles in abandoned buildings?"


    Shaking her head slowly, Sotalia dismisses with a wave of her hand up in the air. "I try to keep it interesting for her. Have to justify the years of magic courses and adventuring school somehow. Don''t think she''d be all that impressed that I''m spending all my time doing stuff like this."


    Cideeda steps back over to the group with a slight shrug and tilts her head at Sotalia with a smile. "Fair enough. Thankfully, my mom is happy to hear my voice... And getting any pictures of the random artifacts and trinkets I find. Dad just loves to hear about the deals I''ve worked out of people."


    Bach puzzles for a moment and gazes down to Cideeda. "What do your parents do for a living?"


    Cideeda returns a nonchalant glance to Bach while stretching her arms back. "Mom''s a metal sculptor most of the time, but does contract specialty repair work for large machinery to pay the bills when no one is buying art. Dad is the owner of one of the larger scrapyards down south."


    Furrowing her brow to a sudden thought, Aristespha breaks from studying a gallery of pictures on the table and glances over her shoulder to Cideeda. "Has your mother put another batch of her Second Period styled statuettes?"


    Cideeda scratches her long, furry ear, twists her mouth in thought, and squints an eye through recent memory. "I think so? I''ll have to double-check. She was excited about finishing up a few big projects last I talked to her, so she didn''t spend a long time talking about what she had in stock.


    She gazes with newly piqued interest at Aristespha. "Why do you ask?"


    Annoyance gently bubbles into Aristespha''s ivory face, and she vents out her reluctance. Her violet eyes in stare defeated to the skies above with a corner frown. "I have a cousin getting married. I am expected to send a gift in lieu of my inability to attend. Both the bride and groom fancy themselves art snobs..."


    She rolls her eyes and contorts with a tinge of disgust. "But, I don''t know when and where they got that idea into their heads."


    Cideeda slinks up to Aristespha''s side with a toothy grin and gives her sly wink. "Well, I could get my dad to bolt some random junk together, from the almost Second Era, onto a nice wooden stand. He''d even gift wrap it for you."


    Aristespha bites her lower lip and internally debates with herself in vain, seeking a reason for this scheme to not work. "That is... VERY tempting. I truly doubt they would know the difference... Or care after a certain point, so long as it would give them a reason to sound like they knew what they were talking about."


    The group arrives in the middle of the courtyard in front of the large bunker building. Dretphi cautiously alternates her stare between the closed bunker and last small, sealed building along another edge of the paved space nearby. "Two remain. Both should be sealed. Large or small?"


    Sebastian ghostly visage hovers back from the group casually and points a thumb over the shoulder to the small building. "I''ll do a fly through of this one real quick. It looks locked up as it is. I''ll just make sure no one has tried to crack it open or cut a hole in the side."


    After a round of approvals, Sebastian lines up for the approach and holds a hand out with a finger up. "You all wait here for a minute, I''ll be as fast as I can."


    He darts off across the courtyard and drifts down the space between the sealed small building and another small building. While in flight, he studies the aging concrete wall. As he rounds the corner, he hunts for anything unusual along the backside of the structure. Inspecting the other side, he drifts out towards the tall, wide front doors. Sebastian''s stare follows the outline of the huge doors, making an entire trip around. He squints at the door''s dead and lightless control panel. With a shrug, Sebastian spins to fly away. He halts as suspicion swirls with curiosity on his face.


    Crossing her arms, Aristespha narrows her stare. She quirks an eyebrow when Sebastian reverses his course and puts his ethereal visage, head first, through the doors. "What is he doing?"


    Bach tilts his head to the side and watches his ghostly brother with a shrug. "Maybe he heard something inside?"


    Sebastian withdraws his head from the metal doors and launches back a few meters. Holding his hands out, he shakes his head with a resistant expression and emphatically mouths. "No"


    He glides back to the group and lands to stand before them. Sotalia crosses her arms and visibly ponders with a nonplussed expression on her light tan and dark gray face. "So? What DID you find in there?"


    Straightening his posture, Sebastian wrestles a grimace with an uncomfortable tint in his tone. "Well. I got this weird feeling. So, I thought I should take a look inside. Good news. The building looks sealed up. Bad news. There''s two security bots in there, of the three meter tall, armed and armored variety."


    Cideeda springs open her emerald eyes and darts her attention between staring at Sebastian and the small, hopefully sealed building behind. "So... What''s the condition of the two bots?"


    Bouncing his head between his shoulders, Sebastian fights down an uncertain grimace. "One looks like it was parted out a LONG time ago. So, that one is sitting in a pile of pieces. The other looks all together, but I don''t know how functional it is."


    Briefly gritting his teeth, he hisses an ethereal breath out. "I... don''t really want to find out today, if that''s okay with everyone."


    He glances over his shoulder at the small building. "But, I didn''t see anything online and active in there. It might be in a sleep mode and just completely offline. That''s a mystery I''m willing to leave alone."


    Aristespha pulls out her tablet and swipes to the note section of the report. She twists an uneasy frown and draws an uncomfortable breath. "Well... That is good to know. I will add THAT in the report. I hope they will get the GAA to try to secure and salvage that. But, I don''t think we should linger much longer here."


    Bach blinks blankly, and his attention slides over to the large, closed doors of the small building. Snapping his head to Aristespha with a nervous frown, a nervously squirm slips down his body. "Uh... Um... I thought you said this was a non-military research base?"


    Dretphi maintains a careful watch of the area as mild concern creeps into her voice. "Third party defense company security robot. Bought along with the construction of the site?"


    Perking her furry ears with her thoughts, Cideeda lifts an intrigued eyebrow and drums her claw tips on the waistband of her body suit. "That''s probably when they would have had the money to afford such a thing. Government budgets and all."


    Furrowing her brow under her full face visor, Dretphi rolls her armor plated shoulders. "Surprised it is together now."


    Cideeda rests her hand underneath her chin, closes her eyes contemplatively, and nods slowly. "If they did part out one of them... It''s feasible that the other could be functional, probably from the parts it got from the other. It has been stored in a good shelter for all these years..."


    Gritting her sharp teeth, she shudders against an uneasy wave through her. "I think this falls under stuff we can talk about, on the drive home."


    Dretphi focuses a quizzical quirk of a brow to Sebastian and momentarily hums low in thought. "What weapons did you see?"


    Sebastian closes his translucent blue eyes and rubs the temples of his transparent head. Sorting through recent memory, he contorts a grimace. "It was dark, and I only got a quick look. But... Uh... Two arms. One had a minigun on it? The other looked like a plasma particle cannon? It wasn''t a railgun, gauss rifle, or a laser. Big port, lots of venting."


    Sotalia sighs as she drops her shoulders in mild disappointment. Groaning against a sensible color to her voice, she darts her golden eyes to the side. "As much as I would LOVE the chance to test out some spells... I''m perfectly fine with leaving that much firepower alone. I''m okay with checking out this last building and going home for the day."


    Aristespha closes her violet eyes, pinches the bridge of her nose, and nods in full agreement. "I will gladly second that. This will be sufficient to report on."


    Putting his hands on his sides, Sebastian presents a slight smile and lifts his head back towards the large bunker. "If no one else objects, let''s head for the doors, check them out, do a quick look around, and double-time it home. Probably make it to town before all the nice restaurants close."


    Bach chuckles with a sarcastic twist as a dry grin emerges on his face. "What? And not help keep Pancake Shed in business as usual?"


    Sotalia bites her lip and sways her hips as her face wrestles with temptation. "Damn it all. We did pass one on the way here."


    With a spark in her green eyes, Cideeda pats around her hip at one of the pockets in her bodysuit. She pushes her fingers inside, grips hold of something, and retrieves a stack of small rectangular cards. Flipping through a number of them, she stops on one, Pancake Shed branded. "I am one stamp away from a free Shed Stack."


    Aristespha rolls violet her eyes with a reserved smile and directs everyone''s attention to the large bunker. "Okay. We''ll debate THAT after we take care of this last part of the mission."


    The group reassembles behind Aristespha and Sebastian, and the two lead the team towards the front sliding metal doors of the large bunker. Aristespha and Sebastian step onto the walkway directly in front of the bunker.


    "HE. WAS. HERE."


    Aristespha''s tablet drops onto the pavement, bounces off the ground in its protective case, and settles a meter shy of the front sliding metal doors. Gripping the sword at her side, she gawks in shock. The sword vibrates in its scabbard as an ambient background noise rises up to nearby ears, and Sebastian''s visage wavers with the sound. Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia collectively skid and slide to a halt behind Aristespha and watch the sword with anticipation.


    "TRACES. FADING."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage warps and waves for a few seconds afterwards. His ethereal form stabilizes as the sword drifts off to silence along with the ambient din. Aristespha cautiously removes her hand from the hilt of the sword. Kneeling down, she grabs onto her tablet and stands back up to face everyone. Exchanging glance, tensions rise between the group as heavy quiet looms over. Dretphi readies her submachine gun. Both of Cideeda''s hands simultaneously hit the power buttons for both her holstered laser pistols. The fading high-pitched whine of Bach''s charging plasma pistol joins the chorus. Sotalia and Aristespha slowly adopt textbook defensive magic casting positions. Sebastian scans around the immediate area for anything blatant. "Okay. Nothing obvious, right now. Everyone... Take a minute and scout it out. Call out anything."


    While everyone searches for the out of the ordinary, Bach pauses. He stills, closes his eyes, and waits. His cheek twitches, and his head leads the rest of his body towards the metal doors. Opening his eyes, his stare works up from the ground to the top of the doors. His body tenses, and his full attention focuses on the top arch of the door frame. Frowning, his eyes glow blue, and he concentrates his stare. His pupils shrink, eyes open wide, and clenching teeth yank his frown down with a reflexive gasp. Blinking spooked, he shudders, and his eyes dart around to see what the others are doing. He watches Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Sebastian search in directions away from him and without knowledge of what is upon the doorway. He draws deep breath in, exhales out his tension, and slowly raises his arm to point at the top of the door frame with an inquisitive, uncertain tone. "I see something up there?"


    The rest of the group notices Bach''s arm extending and hand pointing to the top of the door frame. Both Aristespha and Sotalia notice Bach''s glowing blue eyes. Aristespha closes her eyes briefly, pauses to focus herself, and reopens her eyes with a violet light. Sotalia closes her eyes, too. She winces, cringes, and grits her teeth, straining. Eventually, she opens her eyes and they emit a very dim golden glimmer. "This is REALLY hard to maintain..."


    Aristespha studies the top of the door frame and draws the corner of her mouth into an understanding smirk. "It gets easier. Eventually. I think I see... Yes!"


    Her hand whips up with a finger out and traces a path across the top. She takes a step closer and squints as bewilderment flushes in her face. "It is really faint, but this is definitely left over from the use of Elder energy magic. It''s significantly decayed, so it was some quick spell, of sorts. Or just raw energy manipulation?"


    Trickles of suspicion slip into her demeanor, and a sterner tone filters into her voice. "But... What could he have done to the door, that would have it still be here?"


    Cideeda''s nose twitches, and she sniffs the air. Narrowing her eyes, repeatedly pulls in more air through her nose, and her head drops down, searching ahead. She steps next to Aristespha, squats down, and studies an odd patch of grime upon the concrete pad in front of the doorway. Her claw tip lowers into muck, and she swirls the patch to reveal an oily, reddish-brown fluid hidden underneath. Cideeda tilts her head back and glances up at the top of the doors. Spotting the control panel in the wall at the side of the door, she cracks a cornered grin. "This is hydraulic fluid. Noxian must have forced the doors open and blown out the hoses. This pool is leaking from the other side of the door."


    Sotalia blinks a few times as the golden light dims out completely, and quizzically gestures at the closed doors. "If he forced them open, why are they closed now?"


    Bach scratches the back of his head and carefully walks up to the side of the doors. Craning his head around to examine the area between where the top of the frame and the top of the doors meet, he squints at the construction. "This doesn''t look like heavy, high-security doors. Maybe it''s spring loaded enough that with the hydraulics busted, they moved back once the magic decayed?"


    Darting her emerald green eyes around the mechanics before her, Cideeda nods at the theory. Dretphi traces her pointing finger up and down the door meeting point between the doors. She slightly twists her helmeted head to the side as her stare settles on the intersection between the two sliding doors. "An uneven junction. The gap is wide for this type of door. I could attempt to pull it open."


    Sebastian drifts towards the doors in thought and nods. "Well, if it''s been opened, we need to investigate, for the mission... AND, we need to find out what is going on here. Let me check the other side, and see if there''s anything waiting for us."


    Dretphi positions herself to the side of the doorway opposite to Bach. Sotalia and Aristespha get behind Bach, and Cideeda hops over with Dretphi. Sebastian gives a confirming thumbs up and floats through. The group waits in minutes of silence. Popping his head out the doors, Sebastian signals both groups in with a perplexed expression on his face. "It''s clear from what I can tell. But, gods damn. Someone turned this place upside down. So, it''s a bit of a mess in here. Be careful when walking around."


    Dretphi positions herself in front of the doors and forces her gauntlet covered fingers in between the gap. Pushing her armored digits in, she cracks the two doors apart. With modest effort, the doors slowly slide apart. Air hissing and liquid sputtering echo from inside the bunker. Bach grabs hold of the edge of the opposing door and pulls with his weight leaning back. Once the divide widens enough, Dretphi puts both hands on her door, shifting her mass to wrench the door further back. "Not hard. Not easy. Have to coordinate going through ourselves."


    Bach nods and strains as his door slides stubbornly inside of the frame. "Yeah. Agreed. Okay, watch the hydraulic fluid. I think more got pumped out."


    Cideeda draws both her laser pistols. She aims them down the dark hallway leading deeper into the bunker and hops into the bunker over the oozing pool of hydraulic fluid. Sotalia braces herself on Bach''s shoulder and awkwardly steps over the muck. Aristespha gracefully leaps over the obstacle and lands solidly inside. Bach glances at Dretphi and tips his head towards the inside. "After you."


    Dretphi flashes a warm smile at Bach. She orbits around her half of the door frame, while pinning the door in place, and steadies herself inside. Bach attempts to copy Dretphi and slides a bit on the hydraulic fluid when the force of the door nearly gets the best of him. He manages to recover and swing inside. Releasing their respective doors simultaneously, and Bach and Dretphi watch the entry shut with another chorus of hisses and sputters from the broken hoses.


    The courtyard remains silent. A breeze washes across the pavement and stirs up bits of dirt. Darkening clouds above move across the sky and project flowing shadows onto the earth below. In the lull, no signs of life reveal themselves.


    A previously lightless, inactive console on the small building returns to light, active.


    ----


    Lines of computing equipment fill the huge space with rows of order. Images and text mix and flick on the screens, and similar patterns travel between the displays. At the front of the large room, huge flat monitors occasionally scroll with new lines of text or update to a new variation of a prior image. An omnipresent sound of idle computation equipment lingers throughout and secures the ambient din in the huge room. A glowing orb of light drifts up into the air, touches the ceiling, and sticks. Another similar light orb lands on the ceiling a few meters away. Bach readies another small ball, and holds it while gauging the visibility. "This must be the nerve center for the whole operation. I mean..."


    Aristespha holds her hand of condensing magic up and projects a bright light across the banks of computers. "It is. There are station labels on these machines. The language isn''t that old."


    Sebastian floats over to a station and reads, surprised. "Wow! It''s something I can actually read. The spelling is a bit weird, but it must have been before phonetic spelling got popular. Looks like these are the utility control and monitoring stations. Not much going on here."


    Sotalia shines her variation of a light spell over the nearby row of consoles, and perks a brow with spark of interest. "Ooo! Security monitoring station! Looks like some camera controls and other neat stuff."


    She taps the thin, dust covered monitor and drags the system''s mouse across the age coated desk. After a few seconds of inactivity, she repeatedly taps the space bar on the keyboard, and waits to no response. Grumbling in frustration, she investigates the system further and halts upon spotting on dark indicator light. She sighs, rolls her golden eyes, and clicks the power button on the monitor. The screen glow lights up the area around her, and she groans with an annoyed droop of the shoulders. "Of course, they logged out. Figures, the one time there''s any competency."


    Lifting a hopeful eyebrow, she taps her long black nails on the desktop. "Maybe... They wrote it down somewhere."


    While walking towards Sotalia, Dretphi scans the room and spots an active station on the front row. "Front right station. It looks logged in."


    Cideeda rushes over to the station, inspects the office chair, and carefully sits down. She squints at the screen and examines the current state of the computer. "It looks like a data visualization station? Wait! Huh, I think I recognize this operating system? It seems like an ancient ancestor of a few of the older ones today. Hey, Bach, could you come over here?"


    Bach navigates through the strewn papers, stacks of extra computer components, and layers of cabling littering the floor. Rolling a nearby office chair over next to Cideeda, he eyes the seat of it, shrugs, and carefully rests his butt in the chair. "Well, at least they spent good money on the furniture."


    He watches the monitor and analyzes the interface''s layout and design. "It''s definitely ancient. Well, I mean, I''m sure some of the old core commands haven''t changed that much."


    Nodding in agreement, Cideeda rests her clawed fingers on the keyboard. She furrows her brow in thought and clacks in a command to the terminal prompt on the screen. Streaming out on the screen, a list of commands with dates unrolls up the display. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes flit open, and her jaw drops. Placing a claw tip on the screen next to her recent command''s date, she slides up to the date of the next command. "Oh my gods... That command was entered TWO WEEKS AGO!"


    Sebastian rockets across the room and stops right over Cideeda and Bach. "WHAT?! Holy shit. He was here!"


    Bach winces uncertainly and glances up to his brother. "You sure it was him?"


    Frowning sternly, Sebastian nods back. "Yeah, bro. Elder energy use. In an area he''s been known to be around. Two weeks ago. I mean, I can''t think of too many other people right now."


    Aristespha runs over, deftly leaps over debris, and squeezes in behind Bach and Cideeda, excitement overflowing. "What was he doing here?!"


    Her violet eyes dance around the command list on screen, and sparks of recognition twitch her ivory, blue and gray hinted face. "He was looking for something. He picked through everything in this place, logged into this station, and did something... What was it?!"


    On the other side of the room, Dretphi finishes checking a file cabinet with her flashlight and shakes her head. "Nothing."


    Sotalia growls and firmly crosses her arms, unamused. "Dammit! I can''t find an username and password for this fucking thing! I so wanted to get that bastard on video!"


    Bach blinks as a random thought jumps to the front of his mind. He glances over his shoulder to Sotalia and gestures a flipping motion with both hands over his head. "Have you checked under the keyboard?"


    Sotalia lowers her golden eyes down at the keyboard. She lifts it up from the front and lowers her head to inspect. Grinning ear to ear, she carefully peels a laminated sheet with an username and password. "Good call! Now that''s the security employee I''ve come to know and love..."


    She types in the logon credentials. The system unlocks and a number of monitors nearby light up. Dretphi wipes dust away from the screens and watches the video feeds. Recognizing most of the camera locations, she stops upon one view. Panning into view, the display shows an open exterior doorway to one of the smaller buildings. A robotic figure missing parts resides in the space within, and an empty robotic dock for another similar machine blinks with activity. Dretphi steely gray eyes spring wide open. She immediately stands up straight and yells out. "WE. HAVE. A. PROBLEM!"

 Episode 12

    Idle hum of ancient equipment fills the large room. The light of banks of monitors glows into the illumination of huge flatscreen displays at the front of the control center for the bunker. Bach stares at the end of a faintly glowing cord of condensed magical energy, focusing hazy mists of flow swirling around. Holding the cable, he hovers his other hand near. Strands of colorful energies solidify within the miasma as the power coalesces. The magical haze materializes around and fills in the gaps. Examining the new plug, Bach compares it to a port on the computer workstation. "I''ve only done this a few times this small, but it should be electrically sound. It should meet your requirements."


    Cideeda gestures on holographic screen projecting out from the holoplayer, shifting commands upon the interface. She squints and hems while checking the messages on the screen. "Well, it should be this connection standard with this plug and use this protocol.


    She glances down at Bach underneath the console and shrugs with a smirk. "So... Plug it in. We''ll find out if it works soon enough."


    Bach guides the plug into the port and stops when it refuses to go in. He rotates the plug over and attempts again. Furrowing his brow with the sparks of confusion, he turns it over and slides it into place. Shaking his head dismissively, he pulls himself into an old office chair and rolls near Cideeda. The two search between the holoplayer output and workstation display. Cideeda rubs her hands in anticipation, gritting her teeth as her eyes dart in anxious anticipation. "System detected the device... It''s querying it... Holoplayer confirms the proper protocol and is trying to emulate a data storage device to the system.... And...


    With a surge of excitement, she bounces in her seat. "YES!!"


    She wraps her arms around Bach''s arm and squeezes tightly. Letting go, she holds her hand for a high five. Bach grins, happily returns the high five, and points to the screen. "Nice! That holoplayer has got the largest data drive I could manage on it. I hope it''s plenty for this system."


    Clawtips clacking upon ancient polymer keys, Cideeda eagerly types up commands in the terminal prompt and bites her lower lip as she focuses. "I''ll repeat whatever commands Noxian did and dump the output to files. Then-"


    Bach''s blue eyes widen as an idea sparks in his mind, and he gestures over the entire system. "Hey! Can you do a direct dump of the system drives? Maybe you have the permissions to grab other stuff on connected machines?"


    With an eager glint in her emerald gaze, Cideeda snaps her fingers, points at Bach, and nods in agreement. "Yes! That will take a while. But, anything might help make sense of all this stuff Noxian pulled off. Right now, it''s just random numbers and graphs."


    Scratching his rough chin, Bach glances over his shoulder to the others at the back security console. He sighs uneasily and gazes back at the screen. "Well... I get the feeling we''ll probably have some time here. I don''t think we''re in a rush to go outside. Anyway, once we do, I doubt we''re going to get a chance to grab data like this."


    Cideeda frowns slightly to Bach, with hints of concern. "Yeah... I know. I''ll get the transfers started. We should go see what they''ve found out. I''ll be over in a bit."


    Bach stands up and navigates his way to the main central walkway. Stepping over the junk equipment littering the area, he arrives next to his ethereal brother. He scans over the security area where Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia observe screens of still images and video feeds. Sebastian contorts a concerned grimace and tilts his head towards Bach. "Any good news on your end of the room, bro?"


    Nodding slowly, Bach wanders his attention between security displays. "Yep. Conjured up a data cable, and Cideeda got the holoplayer working with the system. She''s recreating the commands Noxian used, saving the output, and then setting the thing to mass dump everything else on the systems she can access."


    He shrugs plainly at his brother. "I don''t know, man. Maybe there''s some other useful information in the mess. If nothing else, there should be some hint as to whatever the hell all this data is. I mean, there''s a method to the madness, I guess since there''s some kind of order to it all. But, damned if I know what it is at the moment."


    Aristespha rolls upon a dusty office chair away from the console and leans into the back rest. Rubbing her eyes, she cups her hands over her mouth and nose. She sighs deeply with a faint flex of her very long, pointed ears and rests her hands at her thighs. "Well, that''s good to hear. I do have some friends in the computer science department at the Grand Library that might be able to help us."


    Nodding at Aristespha, Bach''s wandering gaze spots a figure on the screen. He gawks at the video of a large, armored robot. "OH. GODS. Is that it?!"


    Sebastian nods slowly and groans with an ethereal echo as he sternly stares at the monitor. "Yes. And it''s not getting any better the more we look at it."


    Dretphi taps the towering machine showing on the grimy edged monitor. "Yes. Heavy armor. Fluid movement. Autonomous AI. Short barrel minigun. Plasma Projectile Cannon. DANGEROUS."


    Scratching the back of his head uncomfortably, Bach searches around for an explanation. "How did it reactivate? It was quiet and behind the doors before. Right?"


    Sotalia snorts out her boiling aggravation, grabs the monitor''s bezel, and pivots the display to Bach. "You can thank good old, Dark Douche Noxian, for that."


    She crosses arms and rocks back on her chair''s backrest, frustration radiating through her motion. "From the logs and the crappy time lapse video I found, whenever he forced open the doors, he triggered an alarm. The system woke up, started to fire up the bot, and Noxian did... Something.


    A spiteful growl rolls up from her, and she stiffens her posture angrily. "Fuck! I can''t tell! Every time that asshole does anything magical, the camera loses its shit."


    Wincing, Bach rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose and groans in begrudging realization. "Dammit... Yeah. That makes sense. Yeah. The magic on the entry door had decayed. It would only make sense that the magic stopping the bot, cast at roughly the same time... Would have also decayed, too. Right around this time."


    Cideeda slinks next to Bach, assesses the monitors, and bites on a claw tip thoughtfully. "Are there any remote controls for it tied into the system? Maybe a remote shutdown? Or an alert cancel?"


    Aristespha shakes her head and waves a hand to the graphical menu on screen. Two robotic pictograms regularly flicker with status messages and color coding. Aristespha takes in a deep breath and rests her cheek upon the palm of her hand. "I have checked multiple times. There are all kinds of remote control features. Unfortunately, the one robot, that is still in contact with the system, happens to be the useless husk, gutted of parts. The system has endless pages of error messages trying to contact the working robot."


    Finding a nearby chair, Bach pulls it over to him and sits with a firm frown. "Bastard Noxian probably fried or corrupted something by throwing that elder magic around... Now this thing is either stuck in alert mode, or worse."


    He pulls out his aetherphone, clicks the power button, and sharpens his frown with the "No Relay Found" flashing in the status bar. Sebastian eyes Bach''s phone and shakes his head. "I know, bro. We''re too far out to easily call for help. We think we can radio for help if we get of the bunker and-"


    Cideeda raises her hands abruptly and waves out an emphatic warning. "Whoa! No! We do NOT want to do that this close to it!"


    Quizzical expressions appear on others, and all attention lands upon Cideeda. Moving closer to a screen with a video feed of the robot walking outside, Cideeda taps a button on the console. The stream freezes to a still frame of the towering mechanical soldier. Cideeda circles a claw tip over the head and shoulder section of the humanoid robot. "This thing looks to me like some kind of government hand-me-down. This HERE looks like some kind of antenna array. If we key up the radios on our phones, there''s a good chance it might home in on the source expecting a fight. It''s already doing an elevated alert patrol, so it doesn''t need much more of a reason to go all out."


    Squinting at the screen, Bach leans forward and spins a dial on the console, zooming in on the freeze frame. He swallows uneasily and pokes at the image of the armored mech. "Shit... It looks like it''s got a little bit of everything, too. There''s a lot of stuff on it."


    The hard plates of Dretphi''s armor suit clack when she crosses her arms, and she nods in agreement. "Yes. Possibly can see into multiple bands. Maybe radar. Probably thermal. Ultrasound."


    Sotalia curls a lip in a sneer and huffs out her building frustration, shaking her head with an eye roll. "Gods, that figures. No amount of invisibility magic is going to obscure anyone enough from that thing. The best you could manage is to stay absolutely still IN a good hiding spot... And just hope you''re lucky."


    Sebastian''s ethereal visage floats above the group and coughs for attention. "Okay. Everyone. Calm down. We can do this.


    He furrows his brow, straightens his posture, and ponders out loud. "Here''s an idea. From what I''ve watched, this thing has a rough patrol pattern. If we can plot it out and time it, there might be a few windows of opportunity we can use to get out of this bunker. Then, we move through the courtyard into the clearing, then bolt it for the outside antenna array. Once we clear the perimeter force and hit the forest, we should be good."


    Nodding with the unfolding plan, Bach cracks a reserved smirk and sighs. "Yeah. I mean, that could work. If we can keep hidden between the buildings, we might be able to get far enough out. But, I don''t know if breaking line of sight is enough with this thing."


    Cideeda''s emerald green eyes sort through the top of her head and her furry ears flicks with her thoughts. "These buildings are reinforced concrete. They should block radar enough that it won''t be able to get a solid ping if we''re behind even one. I don''t know about acoustic detection. "


    Dretphi presses buttons on the security console and iterates through a number of external cameras. "Windy outside. Storm nearby. It would be difficult to pick out footsteps with this noise."


    Sebastian cracks a proud grin and gazes over the team. "Exactly! Ideally, we would get to the humvee, drive off, and put as much distance between us and this place as possible. Get to an aethernet relay, call the guild, and let the GAA have fun with his thing."


    Aristespha narrows her violet eyes, pushes back in her chair, and analyzes the plan in her mind. "The open field of the antenna array will be difficult, since it is so open. We may need to find what cover is available and hide during a patrol sweep. But even if we are seen, we will hopefully have the distance to buy us time to mount a counterattack."


    Sotalia rubs her hands together and an evil grin emerges. "Hopefully plenty of time for some powerful spells."


    Sebastian drifts down to stand on the floor and directs everyone''s attention to the security console. "Okay! It''s a plan. Probably the best we''re going to put together right now. So, let''s get to studying this metal monster and figure out our escape route."


    ----


    A harsh gust of wind blows ferociously through the courtyard, pushing flecks of age smooth pavement around in the current. Distant rustles of leaves chorus the air with a wavering drone that engulfs the area. The last remnants of white fluffy clouds jet across the sky in long, thin trails, and a darker front looms closer. The source of the constant, rhythmic thumping steps out from behind the corner of a small building near the bunker. A metal behemoth pivots its upper body, aims two weaponized arms down the path to the courtyard, and adjusts its walk to a measured strafe. Each step executes with an inhuman grace and precision, while the rest of the thickly armored humanoid body moves with exact coordination. The head of the security robot briefly turns, scans the area. Glints of sunlight reflect off the optics in its head and an array of sensors hunt down into the space. After a swift sweep, the towering machine returns to face its previous course. The body smoothly realigns with the head as it passes by. Continuing along the side of the bunker, the security robot moves away from the courtyard grounds to the outer perimeter of the facility.


    As the last glimpses of its huge, rigid backpack unit and whip antennas leave sight around the corner of the bunker, Sebastian eases his face through the doors. His head emerges clear of the structure, and he glances to the corner and ground vibrating thumps. Silently tense, he listens and eases the rest of his ethereal form through the doors. Cautiously, he floats up to the bunker''s roof, crests his head above eye level, and watches the security robot continue its patrol into the distance. After a minute of still observation, he quickly zips down and shoves his head through the doors. Pulling his head back, he flies back up to the roof line. The bunker doors slide open with a messy sputter and gurgling hiss. Bach and Dretphi swing outside to each side of the doorway, keeping grips on the doors. Cideeda leaps out onto the concrete walkway silently and swivels her head around while her furry ears scan the area. Sebastian motions towards the last passage the security bot used, keeps an arm pointed to the machine''s position, and aims his voice down to the team. "It''s still on course. Clear to move."


    Aristespha and Sotalia rush out from the bunker and assume defensive casting stances near Cideeda. Bach and Dretphi simultaneously release the bunker doors to a final waning hiss that mutes when the bunker seals. Both swiftly walk up near the group. Forming a loose line, they sweep carefully across the courtyard, paying attention to Sebastian''s tracking arm. Over the minutes, the group navigates the debris littered courtyard and stays within the perspective cover of the bunker from the distant security bot. Judging the path of the security robot, Sebastian drifts away from the roof, keeping level. He glances down to the group with a reserved grin, gives a thumbs up, and quietly mumbles to himself. "Keep it up... Doing good... Just a little while longer to the array..."


    Something catches Sebastian''s eye. Pivot midair towards the tree line, he puzzles at a strange wave of swaying treetops. A massive gale manifests into a wall of air and draws up debris from the bent over trees. A few treetops drop below the green canopy, and roots momentarily flip into view before sinking beneath the leafy sea. Sebastian waves an alarm and points. Cideeda''s furry ears flick to the oncoming roar, and she alerts the rest of the group. "A huge gust of wind is coming. Get behind the concrete barriers."


    The group gathers down low behind a chain of worn concrete construction barriers in the middle of the sparsely littered courtyard just as the wind speeds up through the alleyways of the buildings. The wall of wind blasts through. Dirt and sticks from the nearby forest soars through the area. A strange, loud noise grinds into the air, slicing through the drowning din of the gale gust. In the open, nearly barren field of the array, rust chunks crumble off a tall antenna tower assembly. Their ringing, bouncing impact on ground seizes the attention of Cideeda. She gawks wide-eyed at the tower. "Oh gods. No..."


    An explosive snap of a support cable thunders out. The wind yanks the heavy steel line, and the supports audibly strains against the force. The last support cable slacks. The tower lurches past balance and flings the last support anchor, including broken off concrete base, into the sky. The massive structure of steel flexes as the bottom warps against the weight of the free-falling top. A cacophony of metal screeching and crushing upon the earth erupts, with the last crisp snaps echoing as the last of the strain escapes the fallen tower. The gust blasts through and sweeps the air, leaving an eerie silence. A repetitious thumping drifts up into the air, rising from the background with each passing second. Sebastian spins around to face the source. His eyes spring open, pupils narrow at the sight, and he bellows out an ethereal scream. "HIDE! IT''S COMING!"


    Closing the distance beyond the bunker, the towering security robot clears swathes of ground with each thunderous, leaping bound. Each impact stamps deep indents into the dirt. Flowing articulation launches it into the next bound, crushing the soil beneath and leaving behind plumes of debris. It powers along the other side of the bunker and rockets around the corner in a calculated lean. Surging forth towards the center of the courtyard, the head of the robotic monster scans the area, spotting all targets in fractions of a second. Cideeda sprints behind a barrier in front of a tall pile of steel beams. Dretphi forcefully ushers Sotalia and Aristespha around to the back of a collection of concrete barriers, behind a pile of gravel. Bach''s eyes glow as he flees to another barrier at great speed. Sebastian hovers in the air and frantically tries to logically assess the situation. The robot focuses on Sebastian. Riding a slide on the pavement to a bracing stance, barrels of its minigun spin up, and the machine aims the armed arm. Sebastian hears the spin up and glares down at the robot. Flaring up his ethereal form, he charges. "FUCK YOU, SHIT HEAP! TRY TO SHOOT ME! How much ammo you got?! Because I got all day!"


    The minigun erupts blinding fire and precision mass. Rounds zip through Sebastian''s form, and he dramatically dissipates. Seconds later, he reforms behind Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia, trying to keep anxiety in check with a rigid grin. "Okay! Um! Ah... Ideas?!"


    The military surplus war machine positions itself equally from each hiding spot, both weapons seeking a new target. The minigun winds down. The robot waits, pivoting its upper body and head independently and arms panning.


    Aetherphones chirp out and echoes faintly bounce upon all the hard weather stained surfaces. Aristespha retrieves her phone and activates the speakerphone. Sotalia reaches into the collar of her armored cloak and slips a compact headset over a pointed ear. Dretphi taps the underside of her helmet. Cideeda''s panting voice crackles through the speakerphone. "Okay! Well... It knows we are here. So we might as well use the radio. I think it''s trying to jam us, but we''re too close for that to work. Is everyone okay?"


    Aristespha sighs with a wave of relief and lifts her phone close to her mouth. "Dretphi, Sotalia, and I are okay. Sebastian is with us here. Bach, where are you?"


    Bach''s voice briefly distorts over the speaker, and his excited, near panicked tone sounds out. "I''m okay! I''m down from you all and opposite from where I think Cideeda went. Uh, um, the concrete barrier closest to the middle building. Ah, any ideas so far?"


    Sotalia pulls a menacing grin across her mouth and flexes her hands. "How about a few hard hitting spells?"


    Sebastian shakes his head with a grimace at Sotalia. "No. Sorry. I''m going to have to veto that. Your hard hitters take time and positioning to cast."


    He rocks his head towards the metal behemoth beyond cover. "It''s not going to give you the chance."


    Sotalia briefly sneers in frustration at Sebastian, takes a deep breath, and releases it with an accepting nod. "Dammit! You''re right. It took no time to target you and fire at you."


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Cideeda presses her back against the middle of the concrete barrier, slides her aetherphone in a front upper chest pocket near her neck. Closing her eyes, she lets her furry ears search the air and flick through the soundscape. She opens eyes after a few passes and bites her lip. "This thing isn''t using servos or hydraulics. I can''t hear them. It has to be polymer muscles. That''s why it''s got a ridiculous reaction time."


    Dretphi growls and clenches a fist tightly as her gauntlet strains audibly. "The right rifle for this is in the humvee. That is too far. It is too fast."


    Cideeda reflexively pats through her gear, confirms a filled pocket, and retrieves a rectangular bundle of a yellow clay substance. A devious grin cracks upon her light brown face, and she finds a few other items. "Well... I remembered to bring my block of breaching explosives. Got a mounting magnet and remote detonator with a controller, too."


    Listening to the silence on the radio, she focuses on attaching the remote detonator and mounting magnet on the small brick of explosives. She tilts her head close to the phone and speaks in a lower, determined tone. "Permission to proceed?"


    Sebastian responds over the radio with an eager hint in his voice. "Permission granted. Let''s see if it''ll fall for me again. Let me know when you are ready and I''ll make a run at it."


    Cideeda shakes out a plastic mesh bag from a small pocket. "I doubt I''ll be able to stick it, but if it lands close enough I''ll trigger it. Hopefully, the concussion will knock it down and give us a chance to get further away. Maybe damage it just enough."


    She tosses the explosive assembly inside and gives a light test swing. "I''m about ready."


    Sebastian prepares himself, watching Aristespha listening to her phone. Cideeda''s voice hisses over the phone. "Ready!"


    Aristespha keeps her eyes on Sebastian and speaks to her aetherphone. "Okay. Sebastian is going to draw its attention. He''ll yell out if it is distracted. Then, you toss the explosives. When they detonate and the robot is down, everyone is to regroup and head straight into the woods to the west. Confirm Bach? Cideeda?"


    Bach voice distorts over the phone against signal straining interference. "That sounds good to me. That bulky bastard should have some trouble getting us in there. If he can manage to get back up..."


    Cideeda chirps excitedly over the static hiss. "Let''s do this!"


    Sebastian gives a thumbs up to Aristespha, Dretphi and Sotalia. He lunges out from cover, waving his hands in the air. Flaming up his ethereal form, he screams. "I''M BACK FOR YOU FUCKER! YOU CAN''T HIT ME! OOGITY BOOGITY!"


    The robot''s head snaps towards Sebastian, precisely tracking, and both arms immediately line up at the target. The minigun''s barrels spin up. With a wild glint in his translucent blue eyes, Sebastian yells out. "IT''S WATCHING ME! DO IT NOW!"


    Cideeda springs up from cover and vigorously swings the plastic mesh bag around with her arm in a large vertical circle. Holding her free arm out to aim, she launches the package in a lofty arc. The bag soars through the air and reaches the apex of its trajectory. As it sails down, the robot breaks lock on Sebastian. Pausing, its head snaps upwards. It crashes down to a squat and springs back into the air. It lands securely with a loud earth-shaking whump over ten meters away, its head tracking the bag. Cideeda''s jaw slams to the ground in shock, and she scrambles frantically behind cover. "FUCK! ABORT! Stay in cover! It jumped out of the way!"


    The robot redirects its attention towards Cideeda. The minigun spins down and a new low rumble resonates. Cideeda''s furry ears twitch, and she nervously grits her teeth. "What is that noise? That sounds like an energy charge up of some kind."


    She sneaks a peek out the side of her barrier and yanks back in fright. "Shit! It''s charging up the plasma cannon! It''s aiming at my position! I can''t see exactly where!"


    Bach flips the visor of his helmet down and rises just over the top of his barrier. He follows the angle of the cannon arm, as his panicked stare flutters between a flurry of visual calculations. A shock of tension jolts him, and he screams as loud as he can. "IT''S AIMING BEHIND YOU!"


    Cideeda glances at the tall stack of steel beams behind her. Paling with mouth agape, her furry ears perk at the loud energy eruption. A twenty centimeter diameter ball of blue-white plasma streaks out from the huge barrel and blazes across the courtyard. Cideeda dives out from behind the concrete barrier. The plasma ball explodes into a concussive wave of superheated gas, filling the space behind the barrier and shaking steel beams down. Darting her eyes around, Cideeda collects her senses. The barrel of the minigun spins up. Cideeda spots a small pile of concrete parking stops. The claws on her hands and feet scratch upon the cracked pavement. She panic scrambles to the pile and desperately flattens herself, covering her head. A torrent of fast, unforgiving mass swarms her position. Chunks of dirt explode from under the pavement and concrete from the stops waterfalls over her back. The barrage relentlessly chisels down the pile.


    Cideeda''s short, dust covered hair vibrates from bullets passing over. Flecks of ricochets patter around. Bodysuit fabric ripples. Tears rips out with a faint mist of crimson and reveals light brown skin. Emerald green eyes spring open in abject shock at the hot searing pain and cooling red seeping out from the middle crest of both butt cheeks. Gasping in a frightened breath, Cideeda''s throat tightens against another narrow wave of crimson pain streaking across her shoulder blades. A reflexive cry of pure terror shrieks out of her. "HELP!"


    Sebastian''s form blows out in a flaming aura and launches right at the robot. "FUCK OFF! JUST FUCK OFF WILL YOU!"


    The robot briefly stops the assault, and prioritizes Sebastian. Bach pops out above his concrete barrier, levels his plasma pistol at the robot, and fires off a series of plasma bolts. The energy balls impact and lightly rattle the bot. The machine pivots its upper body and swings its aim around. Bach plummets behind the barrier as the loud rumble of minigun fire coats the area. Cideeda scapes up any sense left. Gritting her sharp teeth, she attempts to flex the muscles in her back and butt. Cringing against the pain exists, she moves, somewhat. She reaches an arm back and checks the extent of the injuries. She bites her lip, wincing. A sigh of annoyed relief slips out as she finds only grazes. Footsteps sprint across the ground and close in on her with a familiar clank of armor. A shadow crouches over Cideeda and pats the top of her shoulder with a firm but gentle gauntlet covered hand. "Can you move?"


    Cideeda smiles through the winces and cringes. Lifts herself up, she crawls around to the back of Dretphi and forces herself up into a crouch. She taps a confirmation on Dretphi''s back. Nodding her helmeted, visor protected head, she raises her arm mounted energy shield up. The two carefully move across the courtyard to an awaiting Sotalia and Aristespha. The impacts of bullets stop around Bach. Tense moments later lead to a realization, Bach radios through the headset in his helmet. "Look out! It stopped shooting at me!"


    Dretphi watches as the robot''s head locks upon her. Its arms follow. Holding her energy barrier up, Dretphi braces her shield gauntlet with her other arm. The minigun sprays a unyielding volley of metal. Dretphi concentrates every bit of herself and keeps the energy shield in place against the hammering impacts. As Dretphi and Cideeda edge closer, stray shots and debris from the blasts force Aristespha and Sotalia back into cover. Sparks erupt from the shield gauntlet and the energy field wavers with the overload alarm chiming through the thunderous onslaught. Dretphi pulls in her arms, plants her feet, and slowly squats down. She solemnly states to Cideeda. "Whatever happens. Stay behind me."


    The shield flutters into a dissipating plume. Bullets slice through the air at Dretphi. Before each impact upon an armor plate, a golden magical barrier flashes. Metal careens at the plates of Dretphi''s armor and bounce off barriers. Dretphi tenses herself and strains to slide her feet closer towards cover. Each hit shakes and rocks her. The barriers grow more visible and cracks form. Rounds contact Dretphi''s helmet and throw her off balance. Cracks spider over most of the plates. The bullets stop. Bach''s voice booms out into the courtyard. "OVER HERE! GOVERNMENT SURPLUS!"


    Bach stands out from cover, eyes brilliantly glowing blue under his visor. His voice blares from the magical energy covering his respirator. "EAT PLASMA SHIT!"


    The magically modified plasma pistol overflows with energy. Bach levels his aim at a spot on the robot. A powerful ball of concentrated energy vibrates inside the device with a whine rising from the background din. Bach pulls the trigger. The blazing white bolt screams out, and the recoil jerks Bach''s arms up in the air, stumbling back. The robot curls the cannon arm up to shield itself. The bolt drops low, and rockets up to the minigun. A faint line of magical thread flickers into existence behind the powerful orb, leading back to the pistol. In the explosive swell of heat and energy, the force slams the minigun arm away and yanks the robot off balance. Metallic screech echoes out. The minigun halts, drive motor straining in vain. Sebastian sets down next to Dretphi and frantically motions her to cover. "It''s distracted! RUN for it! I''ll keep an eye on it for you."


    Summoning all her willpower, she forces herself up, sweeps Cideeda into her arms, and sprints over to Aristespha and Sotalia. Sebastian hovers overhead, keeping sight off the robot. A smoking power cell drops from Bach''s pistol, and he reaches into his duster for another. A surge of confidence drives a manic grin on his face. "Thought you were a badass! Huh!"


    The robot stabilizes itself. The seized minigun drive motor struggles and groans. Bach pats around and retrieves another cell. "Don''t worry, fucker. I got seconds for you-"


    A familiar low rumbling vibrates through the area. Bach''s wide blue eyes shine through his visor and hint at stunned shock. The robot levels its glowing cannon arm towards Bach. A plasma ball flares out. Bach drops everything, throws his arms out, and braces. A network of magical energy spreads out in front of him and solidifies with a golden fill. As the energy field grows towards the ground, the plasma ball crashes into the shield and explodes. The shield smashes into Bach, and his boots grind upon the battered pavement. The golden field crackles to full opacity. Plasma leaks burst forth through the cracks. A loud shatter rings out, and the magical barrier fragments into hundreds of shards. A concussive wave of blue-white plasma washes over. Bach flies backwards towards a concrete wall, and slams solidly with a dull thud. Sliding into a limp heap on the pavement below, smoke rises from his armor and clothing. Sebastian pupils shrink to mere dots as horror drenches his face. "Bach? Bach! BACH! OH GODS! BACH! NO!"


    Sebastian''s visage tries to fly over, and Aristespha seizes him with a hand, staring at him with glowing violet eyes. Sebastian sputters frantically. "What?! I gotta get over there and check on him!"


    Aristespha fiercely glares and growls intensely. "It. Still. Targets. You. It may fire at you and near Bach! Calm down and THINK!"


    Sotalia crests her golden eyes over the top of cover, glowers at the robot, and starts moving her hands to cast. Aristespha''s other hand firmly snatches Sotalia by the collar of her cloak and yanks her back down. "Don''t you fucking dare! I know it''s hard. But, we need to lay low long enough to figure a way to get to him."


    Grabbing hold of Aristespha arm, Sotalia glares back at Aristespha and slowly breathes. With each breath, her grip loosens until she lowers her head and wipes her eyes. "Gods, dammit. Okay. Sorry..."


    Slowly lifting his head above the barrier, Sebastian watches the robot. The military machine waits patiently, the cannon arm pointing at Bach. Sebastian sighs with an ethereal echo. "Yeah... It still is targeting me. I don''t think it has figured out that bullets don''t work on me. I''ll distract it. Get it to aim somewhere else. And, Sotalia, you go and at least drag Bach to cover."


    Sotalia nods firmly and readies herself near the edge of the barrier. "Sounds good. Let me know when to run for it."


    Sebastian darts out, mimicking a sprint to another pile of debris. The robot''s head swings over and locks on to the new target. Peers over the top of the debris pile, Sebastian mumbles to himself. "Good... Pay attention to me, you bastard. Just long enough so we can get over to Bach-"


    He squints over to a now empty spot. Sotalia peeks out, notices Sebastian gawking in utter confusion to the building wall that Bach ISN''T at. A distorted voice sounds out over the phones. "OWWW! Gods dammit, that hurt. I''m sorry. I didn''t want to do anything when it was aiming right at me. Ow. Shit."


    Ducking back down behind the protective barrier, Sotalia smiles firmly. "Damn you, asshole! You had us scared."


    Aristespha lifts up her phone and sighs with a happier tint. "It''s okay. Good call. I''ve got to treat the grazes on Cideeda, so she can move enough. Stay there for now."


    Sebastian''s visage reforms next to Aristespha, sheer joy in his face. "Bro, I know I seem like some kind of ghost, but my heart really didn''t need THAT. Apart from pain, anything else wrong?"


    Bach pats down another smoldering spot on his duster and winces when he slides up on the back of the concrete barrier. "Not really. Well, some burns. Sore back and ass. And, another shirt ruined."


    Cideeda vocally eye rolls over the radio. "Oh? Sore back and ass?"


    Bach sighs sarcastically. "Sorry. Forgot about that with all the plasma in my face."


    In the lull of combat, the robot reaches over with its other arm and grips the barrel assembly with a mechanical hand. It sharply torques the weapon and rough metal grinds out. Sotalia slides her head from the side of the barrier, squints, and raises an eyebrow. "What is it doing?"


    Flicking her furry ears to the noise, Cideeda crawls out enough to peer around the other side. Aristespha scoots along with her and continues treating her injuries. Cideeda narrows her stare and frowns. "Shit. It''s trying to unjam that minigun. Figures this thing would be smart enough to know how to do field repairs."


    Sebastian rubs his transparent temples and grumbles as he thinks out loud. "Okay. Let''s all hit it hard at once. Hopefully, that will occupy it long enough, so we can get to the woods. I''ll see how long I can distract it-"


    A sharp, metallic crack shoots through the courtyard and the echoes bounce between the hard surfaces. An electrical groan of a motor follows, and an ominous cyclic scrape of steel shrieks, growing faster with each second. Bach''s voice filters in through the radio. "Dammit! It must have broke the heat weld that plasma hit did. It''s-"


    Bach yells out. "WALKING RIGHT TOWARDS YOU ALL!"


    The robot marches forward. Each footfall thumps solidly. Both arms aim ahead. The minigun fights friction to spin and achieves a threatening speed. A glow pulsates the inside barrel of the cannon. Sebastian pops his head over the top of cover and drops back down. He solemnly exchanges glances with everyone and desperately searches himself for a plan, a route, or a solution. Cideeda winces, gritting her sharp teeth, and covers her furry ears. "The hell is that noise?!"


    Sotalia blinks blankly and snaps her confused glance at Aristespha. "Do you feel that?"


    Dretphi feels the ground, waits, and furrows a puzzled brow. "It stopped walking?"


    The crackling white noise surges out from the background and drastically pitches to a high piercing shrill. Upon a wave of excitement, Sebastian flashes a manic grin with his eyes fully open. "HE. CAST. IT!"


    Heads peek out from the barrier. Bach stands behind his barrier, faint wisp of smolder drifting off his outfit. He struggles to maintain both his arms out his hands together as a half meter spherical maelstrom of visual white noise swirls chaotically in front of his palms. Wind vortexes around the orb as countless streams of magical energy pour into it. Bach''s eyes spotlight blue through his visor, and veins of magic flow brilliantly in and around. The robot slowly turns its head at Bach, and spots the orb. Tensing his body, Bach draws his hands back. The orb jets at the robot, leaving hazy streams of magical energy in the wake. The robot leans away from the attack and raises its cannon arm to block. The orb adjusts course and contacts the upper arm. An explosive burst of fine powder and vapor billows out into a particle cloud around where the upper arm WAS. The forearm with cannon crashes out of the mist. The orb tunnels through the cloud, smaller. It sharply turns straight into the robot''s chest. A plume of particulate mass blasts out, and the orb burrows into the machine. A heavy fog of vaporized material floods the air as it violently ejects out the gaping hole.


    The courtyard silences. The robot remains still. A small pin point of daylight pierces out the center of the fresh, deep conical void inside the robot''s chest. Bach''s eyes dim, and he catches himself along the top of the barrier. He whispers to himself. "Please be dead."


    Sotalia gawks at the scene before her. Aristespha slowly rotates her head to Sebastian and stares thoughtfully at him. "I can see why that spell was prohibited."


    Sebastian beams with pride and casually shrugs. Cideeda drops her smile. "I hear something! It''s not done yet!"


    Everyone drops back to hiding. Bach slides down the back of the barrier. "Gods dammit! I''m sorry... I thought that''d get it."


    Cideeda curls a lip as her mind processes the numerous noises coming from the robot now. "Don''t be sorry! That hurt it A LOT. It''s NOT doing well."


    The robot struggles with its footing. The minigun spins up and the arm sweeps erratically for a target. Wisps of smoke vent out from the massive hole in the chest of the machine. Each struggling, sluggish action fans more haze out. Nodding thoughtfully, Sebastian watches the monstrosity barely stand. "Yeah, it''s still a threat. But, it just might be one we can deal with."


    Studying the robot, Dretphi squints her steely gray eyes through her full face visor, and growls in thought. "It is compensating. Better with each second."


    Sebastian sighs with a trailing grumble. "Damn. We''ve already risked too much. I want to put this thing down hard, with as little risk to us. That minigun may still be functional."


    Cideeda edges around the side of the barrier and spots the plastic mesh bag. Reaches into a pocket, she retrieves the remote control. She flips up a guarded switch and a green light blinks on the device. A second later, the light stops blinking and remains solid green. A sly, toothy smile grows upon her light brown face, and she hoists the remote control to Sebastian. "The explosives are still alive..."


    A sinister glint sparks in her emerald eyes. "There''s also a big gaping hole to put them in."


    Sebastian points to Cideeda, and he furrows his brow as his mind pieces together a plan. "Okay... We need to get it there."


    Dretphi holds her hand up. "I can run it in. Unfortunately, a few hits is all I can take. Magical barriers are worn."


    Nodding, Sebastian takes a deep breath in. "Okay. I don''t know if it will fall for me again. And... That will only work for so long. Dear, can you immobilize it with your magic?"


    Aristespha contorts her ivory face as she deliberates. "Maybe for a few seconds? That spell was never meant to restrain machinery, even damaged. It could easily overpower me, eventually."


    Bach listens to the discussion over the radio. Straining to lift himself up, he manages to place his back against the cold concrete of the barrier. Blinking in thought, he searches around his head at scattering of ideas and pounders out loud. "Polymer muscles. Cideeda. You said polymer muscles, right?"


    Cideeda''s voice crackles on the radio. "Yes? It does have them, I saw a few strands hanging out of the cut forearm. Why?"


    Squinting at distant memory, Back cocks his head, focusing from a daze. "They have a freezing point, right? Or, something like they stop working right after a certain temperature? I remember that from a series I watched..."


    Cideeda eagerly grins, showing her pronounced canines, at Sotalia. "How cold can your freeze spell get?"


    Thinking for a moment, Sotalia laughs darkly with a swell of confidence. Cideeda chuckles. "We''ll probably have a minute before it turns on the internal heaters, but it should work."


    Sebastian nods slowly as the plan solidifies. "I''ll distract. Aristespha will hold it down long enough for Sotalia to freeze it. Dretphi runs, snatches the bomb, and plants it inside. Cideeda triggers it. Bro, just sit back for now."


    Bach''s voice distorts over the radio. "Will do. I hope this works. I really don''t want to look that far up my sleeve for cards at this point."


    The robot sweeps its minigun side to side, seeking a target. The arm steadies more with each pass. Shuddering and stuttering in each motion, the head scans. Sparks sputter and bounce out of the hole. Sebastian runs out from cover. The robot''s head tracks, the minigun swings out, and a roar of fire spews forth. Mass peppers the area around. Sebastian mimics a sprint, dramatically exaggerating dodges and dive rolls. "Oh no! I''m all in the open! What will I do!"


    Rising up, Aristespha eyes glare radiant violet at the robot. She precisely gestures her arms and perfectly calls out her incantations, ending with a wide swing forward of both arms. A massive wave of energy speeds to the robot, impacts, and engulfs the damaged machine. The robot strains against the constricting, immobilizing energy enveloping it. Aristespha''s body shakes, and she flows a surge of her power into the spell. "Now!"


    Sotalia hops out the barrier and flings her cloak off to the side. Planting her boots, she gestures her arms quickly in front of her and yells out incantations at a feverish pace. Her eyes flare golden. The maelstrom of magical energy flows around her body, condensing into a point between her hands. The runic markings on her arms shine brightly, burn out, and wisp into the air. Wind gusts into the growing clear liquid orb in front of her, and waves of heat thrust behind her. The whites of Sotalia''s eyes blacken around bright golden light. Shoving her hands forward, a guiding stream of energy spirals out to the robot, and a torrent of liquid deluges the machine. The clear liquid boils off upon contact with the metal beast and dryly steams. With each passing moment, less vents away and slip into roiling pools. An ear to ear grin shines on Sotalia, and she directs the stream to each part of the machine''s body.


    The stream cuts off. The frost coated and iced locked robot remains motionless. Stumbling to a knee, Sotalia rolls back behind the barrier, while Aristespha relaxes her hold on the bot. Dretphi tears out into a full sprint, straight for the plastic mesh bag. She coasts across the surface of the terrain, guides herself near the bag, and sweeps it cleanly from the ground. Powering on at full speed at the robot, she springs up to a jump and climbs onto the chest of the metal beast. The robot''s head turns to meet the visor-covered face. Dretphi bares her teeth in a menacing grin, and drills an icy glare into the optics of the robot. Maintaining eye contact, she rams the bag upside the robot, shaking it violently from the force. Dretphi kicks off with both feet, sticks the landing, and sprints to safety. The tipped machine topples over stiffly onto the pavement of the courtyard. Sliding around the side, Dretphi swings herself behind the barrier, and Aristespha drops down.


    Cideeda disengages the main safety of the remote control and yells out. "ONE!"


    The frost begins to fade from the robot in a loud electric hum. Cideeda clicks the trigger, and a yellow light illuminates. "TWO!"


    The robot slowly elevates its upper body up to a sitting position. Cideeda clicks the trigger again, and a red light flickers to life. "THREE!"


    The head of the robot dips forward and examines the new filler within its chest hole. It pauses briefly. It lifts its head back up and long beeps once. Cideeda clicks the trigger.


    The chest of the robot shatters and erupts out in a loud kaboom. Ammunition cooks off in a cacophony of thousands of cracks and riddles the rigid backpack unit full of holes. A loud piercing snap echoes in the area. Jets of plasma erupt from any open from a power core. A shockwave blasts across the ground and thunderously rattles the courtyard. A massive plume of plasma savagely vents up into the air, fading into the windy sky above.


    Silence looms over the landscape. Fresh smolders drift up from the blackened crater in the courtyard pavement. Dissipating trails of smoke waft up from the larger bits of the robot in new, interesting locations. The last broken chunk of glass in the area drops out of its frame and shatters crisply. A strange whistle overhead grows louder with each moment. The head of the robot collides with the pavement and bounces poorly to a roll.


    Sebastian floats up above and surveys the destruction. Hovering up higher, he scans the greater surrounding area and releases an ethereal sigh of relief. "Yeah... Think it''s fucking dead this time!"

 Episode 13

    Through a golden, crackled, haze coated helmet visor, Bach gazes up into the fast moving clouds above. The sun nears the horizon by the minute, slipping between a clear northern sky and the darkened southern bank. Bach takes a long breath in through his helmet''s respirator and exhales slowly. Laying behind the concrete barrier on his back, he rests his band on his stomach and stares upwards. A gust of wind blows through, and flutters the tears and char spots on his clothing. A few flakes of ashen cloth break free with the flow and drift away into the distance. Bach spots Sebastian scouting the area overhead. Floating down closer to Bach, Sebastian waves at him. "Hey! Bro! You alive?"


    Bach gradually rolls a soot stained, gloved hand into a thumbs up and calls out through his respirator. "Yeah. Wiped out. But. Alive, man. Some fucking how."


    Sebastian smiles proudly, returns a thumbs up to his brother, and points around to the surrounding area. "Cool, bro. I''m going to look around and check the area again. Make sure nothing else is aiming to join in the clusterfuck of our day. You... You rest."


    Sighing, Bach glances to the edges of the vision as his head slowly lags behind. "Not going to be a problem."


    Sebastian flies up and off over the top of a nearby small building. Aristespha rolls out a pack of medical supplies and brushes a flat space nearby clear for Cideeda. "Lay on your stomach. Let me work on those injuries more, and heal them properly."


    Sotalia flips open a pouch on her belt, pulls out a vial, and hands it to Dretphi. Narrowing her eyes through her helmet visor, Dretphi suspiciously sneers at the vial and holds at a respectful distance. Standing up with her hands on her hips, Sotalia quirks an unamused brow at Dretphi. "Oh, don''t be that way. It''s cherry flavored. Drink up. It''ll cut the swelling down."


    Dretphi groans with heavy hesitation, lifting up her visor. She pops the cork off and slams the liquid back. Her tan face contorts in stiff disgust, and she mutters a number of Grath curses under her breath. Sotalia rolls her gold on black eyes and shakes head with a dismissive smirk. Taking a moment from tending Cideeda, Aristespha makes eye contact with Sotalia and points over towards Bach''s location. "Could you check on Bach and make sure there isn''t anything that needs my immediate attention?"


    Sotalia glances over towards the concrete barrier near Bach. "Of course. It''ll give me a chance to survey the damage around the crater."


    Cideeda winces against an excited, toothy grin, slipping her arms out of the top of her body suit with help from Aristespha. "Keep an eye out for any big parts from that robot. I want its head!"


    Dretphi pops the locks underneath her helmet and pulls it off, letting her platinum blonde, dirty blonde tipped hair air out in the breeze. "I call the weapons on the arms. If salvageable."


    Nodding with a confirming wave of the hand, Sotalia walks confidently over towards Bach. She strolls carefully through the courtyard, casually eyeing bits of robot embedded into strange spots. Stopping in front of the barrier, she notices a number of golden stabilized magical energy shards on the ground. With a quick check side to side, she kneels down, snatches up a few handfuls, and deposits them in her pocket. In her search, she stares upon Bach''s plasma pistol. Shimmers of extensive magical modifications glint brightly upon the weapon. Sotalia reaches out, picks it up, and gawks. Blinking back to her senses, she sweeps up the two power cells into another pocket and stands back up. She rounds the corner of the barrier and glances at Bach on the ground, looking up into the sky. Bach''s blue eyes shift under the visor and meet Sotalia''s face. Raising an intrigued eyebrow, she places her hands to her hips and smiles out of the corner of her mouth. "Cloud watching?"


    Searching around, he resigns himself with a narrowing gaze and speaks through the respirator. "Kinda."


    Sotalia shakes her head of dark red hair, motions for Bach to get up, and starts to turn around. "Come on. Let''s get back to everyone else. Aristespha needs to give you at least a once over."


    Bach sheepishly mumbles as averts his gaze away. "You go ahead. I''ll be right over. I''m going to need a few minutes."


    Cocking her head to the side, Sotalia''s curiosity halts her step. She slowly pivots around, and lowers an inquisitive gaze. Bach watches her step to his side and sit down right next to him. Sotalia gently places Bach''s plasma pistol off to the side and focuses her attention on Bach. Reaching out to Bach''s helmet, she flips the visor up and detaches the respirator off to the side. Craning her head over, she hovers her face right above his with a devilish grin. "Let me guess. You tapped yourself out, and your limbs are worthlessly weak right now."


    A long sigh of embarrassment grumbles out from Bach, and he meets Sotalia''s expecting stare. "Yes."


    Sotalia lifts her head back and covers a giggle with her hand. "Wow! Throwing all that caution to the wind in a time of crisis. You ARE certainly Sebastian''s brother."


    She mockingly holds her arms out in a casting pose and imitates Bach''s voice badly. "Hey, government surplus! Eat plasma shit!"


    Tossing her shoulder length, dark red hair back, she snorts. "Really? A bold leap from cover AND a one liner? We should put you on the Next Adventurers of Nexus if you keep that up."


    Bach rolls his head away with an embarrassed grimace, and his pride escapes through a defeated sigh. Sotalia pats Bach on shoulder, and he turns his head back to face her. Gazing upon him kindly, she gently smiles. "All that aside. You did good getting the heat off Cideeda and Dretphi. So... Thank you."


    Perking her brow, she smirks. "But, next time you piss off a battle bot... Head for cover afterwards. Okay?"


    Bach weakly nods, and squints at Sotalia''s eyes. "Um..."


    Sotalia notices the puzzling attention. "Yes?"


    Twisting an uncertain expression on his light tan face, Bach blinks. "Uh, you know your eyes are gold on black at the moment... Right?"


    Sotalia momentarily frowns and groans annoyed, averting her gaze away. "I do now. I''m not exactly surprised."


    She dismissively waves a hand around and drones on technically. "It''s a Magically Reactive Biological Trait that is common with those with some Emin genetics in the mix. Thankfully, it only happens when I dump a lot of magic out."


    A pouch snap clicks off, and Sotalia pulls the top flap open. Feeling around inside, she retrieves a labeled vial and checks the writing. She sets it to the side. Bach feels Sotalia''s hand under his neck. She removes the helmet off to the side and carefully lifts Bach''s head up. "Let''s get this down you, it''ll help get the magical flow going and electrolyte balance right."


    Bach barely manages a shrug and opens his mouth. Sotalia pops the cork off and pours the contents into his mouth. Almost wincing one eye closed, Bach strains to swallow. Immediately reading Bach''s reaction, Sotalia curls her upper lip and sniffs the vial. "I thought I did okay with flavoring with this batch. I followed the instructions exactly as Aristespha told me. It even smells right."


    Bach stares at Sotalia. "So... What flavor is it supposed to be?"


    Sotalia''s gold on black eyes drop down to Bach, and she dons a very unamused expression. "Cherry."


    Drifting his gaze away from Sotalia''s developing glare, Bach fights down a grimace. "How do you define... Cherry?"


    Sotalia lowers Bach''s head back down and crosses her arms with a pout. "Dump all this magic into these potions, and you are telling me the flavoring is off?"


    Bach squints into his mind briefly and narrows a curious stare. "Speaking of dumping magic... You managed to freeze the air down and pipe liquid nitrogen at that robot. Correct?"


    Sitting up straighter with pride, Sotalia beams at Bach. "Yes. That is correct. It''s a composite spell I weaved together a while back."


    She huffs, blinks in surprise at her forearms, and plays off the discovery nonchalantly. "Unfortunately, it takes a while and a lot of energy. But... I believe you can''t argue with the results."


    Bach nods with a bit more strength. "Certainly can''t. Completely devastated that bot. Pretty sure Dretphi could have punched it to pieces with how brittle it was."


    He returns his sights to the passing clouds overhead and grimaces with disappointment bubbling up. "Damn, I really thought a D-Ball would take it out. But... I''m still not there yet."


    Sotalia shakes her head, snorts, and tilts Bach''s head towards her. "Bach. Take it from someone who always wanted to be THE one that saves the day..."


    Her tone softens, and she sighs. "But learned otherwise. It''s not important to land the final shot. It''s important to make that final shot even possible."


    Bach blinks between flits of thought. Seconds later, she reaches out, puts her hand on top his longer hair, and ruffles it with a warm smile. Her eyes catch something along his collar line. Running a finger underneath his shirt collar, she carefully lifts it away. "Looks like you got some burns there. I''m going to go check to see how far along Aristespha is with patching up Cideeda''s ass and back. I''ll get some burn cream for you, at least."


    Sotalia gets her feet underneath herself and pushes up. Midway through the ascent, her legs wobble. Her arms spread out, and she braces herself against the concrete barrier. Glancing around, she shifts her weight against the barrier and gently eases herself back on to the ground. Bach turns his head with a smug smile at her. "There''s no rush. Sit down. Watch the clouds for a while. It''s kind of cool how fast they''re moving right now. Definitely a storm moving in."


    Grumbling to herself, Sotalia fetches a vial from her belt. She pop the cork and tosses back the liquid down her throat. Contorting her face into shades of disgust, she coughs and gags. "Oh gods! Wow! This tastes awful!"


    She eyes the remaining red traces in the tiny bottle and fights down a surge of embarrassment. "Oh, I owe Dretphi an apology."


    Bach stares unamused at Sotalia. Glancing over towards Bach, she swallows her pride. "And, sorry to you, too. I really had no idea."


    Sotalia scoots over, places her back up against the concrete barrier, stares up into the sky. Bach flits his eyes back to the sky above. "Hey. Next time we train. Could you do that spell again? I''d actually like to examine that one up close."


    A wicked smile sprouts on Sotalia''s light tan and dark gray face, and she provocatively eyes Bach. "I''ll show you mine, if you show me yours."


    Bach closes his eyes hard and opens to awkward uncertainty. Lifts his head up, he glances over. Sotalia quickly turns her gaze away to a passing cloud. Bach lowers his head back down and meekly responds. "Sure."


    Sotalia simply nods, hiding her sheer satisfaction away.


    ----


    Through the rippling sheets of rain, the Pancake Shed sign illuminates the lone highway intersection with a hazy projection upon the mirror slick road. Within the middle of the dark, hazy night, the traffic lights simply blink red and swing with the whims of the storm. In stark contrast to the surrounding deluge, the Pancake Shed restaurant interior shines out from the large windows and casts a glow upon the encompassing parking lot. An older grath woman with gray-streaked black hair scrapes the grill top effortlessly and guides the refuse into a hole off the side. A middle-aged woman plays with her curly hazel hair and eyes the shift figures on a clipboard. "Well, Triti, I think this is it until Havok''s bar closes at three. This storm is something else."


    Triti nods as she finishes cleaning off the last bit from the grill top. "Big storms lately. It is the season."


    The woman taps menu buttons on her aetherphone and a radar weather map cycles through an animation. She shakes head and gazes out the store front window. Flashes of light erupt in the distance and spider across the sky. Her stare drifts back to the clipboard full of sales and supply notes. "The storm probably picked up something when it passed over that damn weird zone. Oh well. It''ll be a nice break after dealing with those adventurers and that camera crew."


    A long growling groan fills the air near Triti, and she stabs the scraper tool corner first into a wooden knife block, away from any slot for a knife. Stepping to the side to a sink, she turns on the water and washes her hands. She faintly mutters a variety of curses under her breath. The woman spins around and narrows her gaze at Triti. "Hey! I thought we agreed. If you are going to say something bad about a customer..."


    The woman picks up her clipboard and slides next to Triti with a devious glint in her eye. "Say it so I can hear it."


    Triti cracks the start of a smile from the corner of her mouth and quips just over a whisper. "They were not natural."


    The other woman laughs and lifts the clipboard to hide sight of her mouth. "Oh, they HAD to be magically enhanced. With the way she was flaunting them? I''ve paraded around dresses I got on sale less shamelessly than her."


    A pair of headlights shine down the highway and beam through the rain. A yellow light blinks out of the front corner of the shadowy mass pushing through the torrent. The humvee slips out from a curtain of rain and turns into the lot. Pulling into a spot close to the entry, a fading whine sounds as the powerplant spins down. The rear driver''s side door cracks open, an ivory finger pokes out, and a thin sheet of magical energy expands outwards. Seconds later, a floating barrier against the storm stretches over the humvee and forms a path to the front door.


    The woman giggles in between sly snickers. "I almost wish that Rekeeka worked today. She would have flipped seeing how that fvalian girl was dressed up."


    An electronic door chime rings out from a box above the entrance doors. Both the woman and Triti shift their attention towards the entry. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia stand in the small entryway as the door closes with another chime. Aristespha attempts in vain to straighten up her attire, and just accepts the state of her clothing. Bach rubs the bandage around the base of his neck and tugs a worn t-shirt away. He brushes some dirt off his pants, stopping when flakes of charred cloth break off along with the dirt. Wincing, Dretphi stretches her arms and back out in small motions. She pulls on her long sleeve shirt and examines underneath with a slight frown. Sotalia slouches forward and covers a yawn with her hand. Blinking repeatedly, she drowsily scans around the area and fights the urge for another yawn. In shorts and a tank top, Cideeda holds on to her Pancake Shed card with a pillow tucked underneath her shoulder. The woman and Triti exchange glances between sparks of recognition. Walking to the front register, the middle-aged woman places her clipboard down and gazes at the group. "I say this not just out of Pancake Shed policy, but you all can take whatever seats you want. I''ll be right with you."


    The group meanders towards the largest table. Bach slowly eases himself into a seat and cringes when his back settles against the chair. Dretphi slowly works her way to the seat and briefly grits her teeth for a few movements. Aristespha slides out the chair and plops down. Sotalia lazily drags out the chair and slumps down. Placing arms on the tabletop, she rests her head down upon them. Cideeda turns her chair around ninety degrees, places her pillow on the chair, and carefully lowers herself. Leaning her side on the chair back, she throws an arm over the top, her fluffy tail wagging slowly. The woman arrives with menus in hand and surveys the group. "Welcome to the Pancake Shed, I''m Clara. I''ll be your server this fine early morning. Is some coffee in order or anything else to start with?"


    Sotalia lifts her head up and yawns through the strands of hair freeing themselves from her swept-backed horns. "Coffee. Please."


    Unanimous agreement chains around the table. Clara nods with a knowing smile. "I''ll bring a few pots just for you all with all the fixings."


    Cideeda hoists up her Pancake Shed card. Clara plucks it out of Cideeda''s hand, lifts a brow, and smiles. "Shed Stack for you. Anything else before I get the coffee?"


    Dretphi raises her hand up. "May I ask the cook a question?"


    Clara shrugs and waves at Triti. "Hey, Triti, the lady has a question for you."


    Triti slowly turns her head to Dretphi. Bows slightly and Dretphi inquires with long elaborate sentences in a dialect of Grath. Triti thinks with a long inhale, her eyes searching her mind. With a single nod, she grins with her reply. A smile sneaks onto Dretphi''s tan face, and she gives another slight bow. Aristespha glances over at Dretphi with curiosity. "What did she say? I do not pick up all that."


    Dretphi smiles fully with a hint of anticipation. "It is not a stone top. Should still get honorably close."


    Clara steps away from the table and walks straight to the coffee machines. The group rests at the table in silence. Everyone individually drifts in their own minds and mindlessly gazes upon the menus. Clara and Triti chat briefly, and the two look over a few times. Clara returns to the table with two pots of coffee, mugs, and extras. She spreads them out to everyone at the table. Examining the group, Clara sighs and addresses the team. "Okay. It''s none of my business, but I got to know what you all did today. If nothing else, the coffee is on the house. You all seem to need it more than it needs to sit in the brewing tank."


    Sotalia draws a slow grin and perks up. "Government surplus. Eat plasma shit."


    Bach sinks into his chair and groans as the laughter erupts from the rest of the table. Even a quiet ethereal chuckle from the sword at Aristespha side joins in. Shaking his head, Bach narrows a gaze over the gathering. "I''m never going to live that down. Am I? It was all I could think of in the moment, it''s not like I have a lot of experience with that stuff!"


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Clara takes orders in between hearing the different perspectives of the latest mission with Triti listening nearby.


    ----


    "A near maelstrom stage storm passed over the city of Amaranth Valley. Local authorities report no casualties or injuries. The mayor of Amaranth Valley went on to praise the efforts of public services and the Greater Azure Alliance specialists that have been serving in the area lately to assist in the local guild office efforts to manage nearby ruins. Authorities still warn citizens to be on alert for flooding and to avoid travel in flooded or flood prone areas for the next few days until the water table settles-"


    Flicking her furry ears away from the television in the living area of the ranch style house, Cideeda adjusts the pile of pillows under her on half the couch. Briefly wincing, she settles belly down upon the plush mass and sighs. "Okay already... I can''t stand hearing the same news stories over again. Could someone next to the remote change it? I think the Research Channel is doing a marathon of Tech of the Ruins."


    Dretphi eyes the remote on the coffee table from her seat on the couch. Staring at the remote, she sighs. Her tank top and shorts barely cover any of the bruises and welts across her body. She grimaces and reluctantly readies herself to lean forward. Just as she starts to get up, Bach pulls himself out of his chair, plucks the remote off the coffee table, and aims it at the television. "What channel is it again?"


    Dretphi settles back into the cushions and exhales in relief. Cideeda searches around the top of her head and thinks out loud. "Four dash two nine? That''s what I remember for this area. I know it''s around there."


    Pressing a few buttons on the remote, Bach rubs his back. Drifting between a few channels, the Research Channel title pops on the screen. Bach reaches over the coffee table and hands the remote to Cideeda. "I''ll let you handle this. Anyone need anything while I''m up? Wanted to grab a drink anyway."


    Dretphi retrieves a cold pack from behind her back, unwraps one from around her shoulder, and strains to pull one off her leg. She holds the lukewarm batch in the air and glances at Bach with a warm smile. Cideeda slips a hand behind her shirt and presents another pack. Bach collects all in his hands and glances over at Sotalia. "You need anything, Sotalia?"


    Furrowing his brow, he cocks his head. "Sotalia?"


    Snoring loudly, Sotalia startles briefly and rolls over in the couch chair. An aspect of her subconscious self tugs a blanket back over herself, and she squirms back into comfortable slumber. Bach quirks a brow and glances between Cideeda and Dretphi. "Wow. She is out for the count."


    Cideeda crosses underneath her head and rolls her emerald green eyes. "Oh, she''ll be fine around dinner. This usually happens when she goes all out and drains her reserves."


    Chuckling quietly, Dretphi shakes her head and flashes a smile at Bach. " She was given an opportunity. Wanted to show off."


    Bach shrugs, pivots, and walks towards the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator, tosses the warm cold packs in, and digs around for fresh ones. Leaning forward, he quickly puts a hand on his lower back and slowly straightens back up with a cringe. "Not that I don''t appreciate the wonders of magical medicine, but... Damn, I wish there was something for the aches."


    Dretphi nods slowly and lifts her feet up on the coffee table. Cideeda tucks the remote between two pillows under her and carefully stretches her arms out. "You and me both. But, careful use of the powerful pain management magic is the best practice. I once knew a guy who got addicted to healing potions."


    Bach hands Dretphi two cold packs and slowly leans over to place a third on her leg. "Really?! Damn. That''s a pretty expensive addiction. I bet that didn''t win him any friends."


    Shaking her head wide-eyed, she grimaces with an uneasy sigh. "Well... He was fine... Until he started stealing from party members."


    Bach secures the wrap around Dretphi''s leg and hands the last fresh cold pack to an awaiting Cideeda. "What happened to him? I don''t think anything good happens if you are doing crazy shit like that."


    Cideeda slides the new cold pack under her shirt onto her back. Wrapping her arms around the piles of pillows, she flexes her clawtips into the fabric while squirming back into a comfortable position. "He eventually got help. Of course, that was AFTER he was found passed out in some small town alchemist shop with a bunch of empty potions around him. Guy had to go through some pain tolerance reconditioning for the withdrawal hyper-sensitivity. From what I heard, it''s usually a one time thing for most people. Most don''t go for a second time."


    Blinking a few times, Bach eases back into his chair and stares at the television screen.


    "On this episode of Tech of the Ruins, we take an in depth look at security robots, drones, androids, and cyborgs. How were they created and what were they used fo-"


    The television flips to another show. While the twitch in her eye fades, Cideeda slowly retracts her arm back and returns the remote between the pillows. "We''ll try that marathon later on. After THAT episode."


    The front door opens. Aristespha strolls in, gripping a large sack in each hand. She shuts the door behind her with a press of a boot. She quickly walks to the dining table, hoists the two sacks on the tabletop, and takes her hat off. "Took three times and a manager to get the order right, but we have the finest greasy burgers this side of town can offer."


    Cideeda peers over her shoulder at Aristespha with a toothy grin. "Any new dents on the humvee?"


    Placing her hands on her sides, Aristespha sways her hips into a playfully defensive pose and bites her lip as her violet eyes wander. "No. But... I may or may not have cut off one of Next Adventurers of Nexus vans. I also may or may not have also used choice language and gestures, during prior possible event."


    The ethereal voice of Sebastian echoes, as his visage materializes. "To which I may or may not have fully approved of. You did signal anyway, dear."


    Aristespha removes various bags, cartons, and containers from the two large sacks. She spins around, steps over to Bach, and hooks a finger around the collar of his shirt. Examining around his neck, she nods. "Looks like most of the burn has healed. Back and chest feeling any better?"


    Bach shrugs and waves a finger behind him. "Much better. Still sore when I move certain ways."


    Aristespha releases Bach''s shirt with a smile. "It should be safe for you to take a few aspirin. We''ll have to wait and see to see if there''s a muscle group that needs more attention."


    She shifts her attention at Dretphi and sighs. "Looks another dose of the anti-contusion and anti-swelling mix for you."


    Dretphi curls a lip into a sneer and grumbles. Aristespha crosses her arms and shakes her head. "Now. Now. My potions have the proper amounts of flavoring. You''ll feel and look a lot better. I promise. You can also mix it with your drink."


    Gracefully steps around to Cideeda, Aristespha slowly flips the back of her shirt up and lifts the waistband of her shorts up. She quickly assesses and gently releases the garments. "Probably another day and the swelling should go down. Still touchy on the upper back?"


    Cideeda slowly nods and sighs. "Yes, doc. Trying to keep it elevated. It seems to help a bit."


    Aristespha nods and glances at Sotalia with a wry smirk. "Has she moved from that spot since this morning?"


    Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi shake their heads. Aristespha moves over to the dining table, picks up a carton, and returns to a spot next to Sotalia. Cracking open the box, she gently fans the scent of food. Second later, Sotalia sniffles loudly and stirs in the chair. She sluggishly sits up on the couch chair and squirms around as sleep releases her to consciousness. Her hands drift to her face, and she rubs the sleep out. Her eyes flutter open, and she lethargically stares at the gathering. "Hey."


    Aristespha covers her mouth and stifles a giggle. Cideeda presses her jaw down past her crossed arms into the pillow below. Dretphi tightens smile, and her steely gray eyes wander to the others. Bach and Sebastian exchange glances. Sebastian ethereally snorts while Bach laughs. Sotalia awakens fully and glares at the team, hunting for clues. "What?! Are my scleras still black?"


    Sotalia fishes her phone out of her robe pocket, presses a camera app open, and stares at the screen. "What is so funny- OH GODS DAMMIT!"


    She narrows her eyes at the image of herself with one black sclera eye and one white sclera eye. Putting her phone away, she crosses arms into a frustrated pout. "Always! Can''t fade to shades of gray. Or change back in sync. Nope! Has to be one before the other."


    ----


    In the dining part of the large room of the ranch style house, the team lounges around the dining table. In the quiet moment, distant stares wander over the leftovers of fast food destruction upon the table. Bach assesses the pile of empty burger cartons in front of Sotalia and wanders his gaze at the heap in front of Dretphi. Comparing the very similar dimensions of the refuse, he furrows his bow inquisitively and visibly ponders. He briefly opens his mouth, closes it, and shakes the thought out of his head. His curiosity retreats against the satisfaction of self-preservation. Aristespha retrieves her aetherphone from her pants pocket and places it upon the table with a sly grin. "Since everyone is here and not going anywhere soon, I wanted to share this interesting voicemail I got from Captain Hackle of the Greater Azure Alliance Specialist Squad."


    While everyone exchanges confused glances, Aristespha taps the play button on the phone screen.


    "Hello. This Captain Hackle of the Greater Azure Alliance. I apologize if this is not the correct means of contacting your group, but it was the only means granted to me by the local guild office. First, I would like to congratulate you on a... Successful operation in handling the rogue security robot. We are currently securing the site and surrounding areas as indicated by the guild''s request for containment assistance. This brings me to the reason for this call. While we have collected most of the security robot, we are missing some components. Namely, the head and both arm mounted weapon systems."


    Cideeda and Dretphi gaze at each other. They glance down to the wall behind them. A security robot head lays on its side with a plasma projectile cannon and minigun propped upon it. Dretphi smugly smiles. Cideeda dons with a wide, toothy grin and whispers loudly. "They may be looking for a while."


    "As per local, state, and other such laws, you are not under any obligation to assist any further than the initial requirements of your contract with the guild. However, I would recommend that you consider providing assistance as a professional courtesy that I would happily repay when the time comes."


    Another irritated voice rises up from the background noise of the recording.


    "Wait a minute... Are these same assholes from that cyborg den?! ... What the fuck did they do to this thing?! Plasma burns, part of it is... Disintegrated?! Holy shit! They froze this thing and blew it up! Motherfucker. And I thought the dick who put that barrier around that base entry was troublesome enough. Where are they finding these people?!"


    Captain Hackle grumbles over the sounds of a microphone readjusting.


    "As I''ve been... Informed... by Specialist Theyal... You are the same group that rescued the... Unfortunately titled adventurers'' camera crew. Again, I would strongly recommend at least a meeting between my group and yours at your earliest convenience. I strongly believe that we may be able to assist each other in future endeavors. Please contact me at the number and aethermail I have attached to this voice mail. Thank you, and have a nice day."


    The phone silences and returns to another menu prompt. Sotalia muffles a burp and barely contains her sheer prideful amusement. "Wow. We''re making friends in all kinds of places."


    Bach warily eyes Aristespha''s phone and tilts his head away. "Uh, I think friend is a strong word. Maybe, associate? I suggest if we do meet them, we do it somewhere public?"


    Shaking her head, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and brushes back her long, silvery blue hair. "It will be fine. They are a very decorated, but very offbeat group. They are just adventurers under the military umbrella for all practical purposes. I am curious if they have some information we don''t have."


    Sebastian hovers over Aristespha''s shoulder and peeks at her phone messages. "Dear, speaking of information, any word from your friend Nash over at the Grand Library?"


    Lifting up the phone, Aristespha stares at the screen and lifts an eyebrow. "Nothing new since last night when he responded to my initial message. But, he''s probably just waking up. I''ll send him an aethermail to call me."


    Sebastian scratches the back of his head and puzzles at Aristespha. "Why not just call him?"


    Aristespha taps the last few characters of the message and sends it out. Placing the phone back on the tabletop, she twists a smile. "Won''t work. Being a head of a department, his official phone gets constantly rung by everyone. So, it''s usually on silent. He has a personal phone he only lets family know of. For everyone else, the best route is an aethermail."


    The phone plays a new chime and vibrates on the table. Grinning deviously, Aristespha answers and places the phone up to her very long, pointed ear. "Let me guess, passed out in front of the console after watching videos, waiting for something to process?"


    A long silence follows before the speaker on the phone sounds out a response. Aristespha smiles satisfied, pulls the phone away from her ear, and presses a button on screen. "Well, wake up, you''re on speakerphone."


    Nash''s voice resonates out Aristespha''s aetherphone. "Damn, woman. Wake me up, and already put me out in front of an audience. Slave driver. So, who''s all there?"


    Aristespha glances at everyone at the table and says their names. Nash yawns loudly and grumbles to a more aware state. "Okay! Suppose you all want my expert analysis of the bits and pieces you sent over from those weird ruins? I mean, I got some really good soup and hot sauce recipes I''m willing to share, too."


    Aristespha eye rolls with an amused smirk. "Your culinary wisdom will have to wait. What have you found out?"


    Nash dramatically stretches a mock sigh over the speakerphone. "Fine. Someday, though. Well, when it comes to the tidbits you sent. All I can figure after looking it over... It''s GOT to be some mapping data. The formatting and patterns just scream it. Unfortunately, I don''t got much more past that. Have to figure out the exact time period, which government had their hand in it, and all the other factors. Then, there''s this whole thing with all these extra vectors and dimensions it''s tracking."


    Cideeda leans forward and directs her voice to the phone with a bit of curiosity showing. "Could it be just part of the data set, or maybe an index?"


    Nash responds with an equally intrigued tone. "You know I thought that, too. But... The formatting isn''t right. It''s strictly header then data, repeating. So... What is it indexing? Anyway, I''ll see what I can do. I think we might have a system that might be a close match given we get the rest of the system dumps?"


    Aristespha nods and places her chin on her intertwined fingers. "I think we can do that. Send me the transfer account and link?"


    Keys clacks rise up from the background, and Nash hems. "Yep, I''ll get that to you right about... Now. I keep a few anonymous accounts for such reasons. I''ll see if I can sneak you all some Finder''s Reward from the department acquisitions account. Might take a while..."


    Lowering her head closer to the phone, Aristespha inquires with a vague condemning tone. "What did you DO this time?"


    A long pause hovers in the air. A long drawn out groan echoes through from Nash''s side of the call. "You know. I make strides in nurturing interdepartmental cooperation and worked with the materials science guys to buy a mass document incinerator. Since, they were a bit short at the end of the budget year."


    Aristespha maintains her tone and focuses her inquisition. "What was it REALLY?"


    Nash takes a long breath and exhales equally long, before slipping a response at the very end. "... a military surplus flamethrower..."


    Cideeda snorts and breaks out laughing. Dretphi''s eyes open fully, and she stares at the phone. Bach and Sebastian nod at each other with a mix of astonishment and respect towards the achievement. Furrowing her disbelief, Sotalia glares at Aristespha and mouths, "Who the fuck is this guy?!"


    Sitting back, Aristespha simply shakes her head with a chuckle. "Did the deans ever stop being mad at you for smuggling those kegs of beer through the department purchasing system for the graduation party?"


    Nash laughs for a few seconds and snorts. "Mad? Well, officially they do not condone such misuse. Unofficially, they''ve been using that same trick with that same local brewery. That place has the craziest beer names now on their hidden roster. It''s made them pretty popular with a few other departments and businesses. Copier Paper is a really good pale ale. Black Toner is great oatmeal stout. Whiteboard Markers is a solid collection of different sours."


    Aristespha bites her lip with a sly smile, and her eyes reflect upon memories. "That was a really good party, though."


    An office chair squeaks over the speaker, and Nash gives a few trailing chuckles. "I know. Well, I won''t pester you all any further. I''m going to hunt down a few graduate assistants, and press-gang them into actually doing some work. I''ll message you with the progress and call you if I get any breakthroughs. Don''t know how long it''s going to be. It¡¯s kind of the way these reverse engineering jobs are. Luck can go either way depending on what we try. I''ll hopefully know more later."


    Aristespha nods thankfully. "That will work. You take care."


    Nash sounds out over speakerphone one last time. "Will do. You all do the same."


    The phone switches back to the menu screen, and Aristespha tucks the phone away in a pants pocket. "So... That''s Nash for you."


    Sebastian crosses his arms and shrugs. "Seems like an interesting fellow. Was he an adventurer at some point?"


    Aristespha shakes her head and snorts. "No. Never. I fear what he may have been capable of if it wasn''t for the confines of the Grand Library."


    With a smirk, Sebastian laughs dismissively. "Please. What trouble could you get into at a respected place, like the Grand Library."


    The longer Aristespha tightly keeps her mouth shut and awkwardly averts her gaze, the curiosity grows from the rest of the team.


    ----


    The idle drone of the television fills the space and joins the soft flow of air from the split unit air conditioner. Early afternoon sun filters in through the back sliding glass door and casts a warm glow upon the carpeted floor. Lounging in his stabilized energy chair, Bach lifts the remote at the television and flips through a few more channels. "Damn... There''s NOTHING on. I forgot how bad mid-week, mid-day television is. I mean, I knew it was bad. But, wow. At least I wasn''t missing much when I slept in past noon."


    Coiling her fluffy tail around herself, Cideeda squirms into her pile of pillows behind her back and underneath her on the couch. "Yeah, I know. But, until the holoplayer is done uploading everything into that account Nash sent us, I don''t want to bother it. Connection speed is slow enough as it as, I don''t want to have to restart it."


    Dretphi stretches her neck side to side and glances over to Cideeda. "Should we try the marathon again?"


    Cideeda droops her ears and groans with a frown. "Not quite yet. I looked up the schedule, and the whole bots and cyborgs thing is a few episodes. Out of all the things to make a multi-part series out of."


    Adjusting her shirt and shorts, Sotalia strolls in through the hall archway. Gazing over at the group, she blinks her usual white sclera golden pupil eyes. "No kidding, girl. Gods, I''ve had enough robots and cyborgs to last me a while."


    She glances over to her side along the wall and scrutinizes the robot head near the dining table. "I can guess the plans for the two big guns, but why did you take the head of that bot?"


    Cideeda slowly puts her arms behind her head and widens a toothy grin. "Mostly as a trophy. And... Judging by how quick it was to target us, I bet there''s some choice parts in there. Part that might be either useful or worth something..."


    An entrepreneurial spark lights up her emerald green eyes. "Or both."


    Shaking her head with a smile, Sotalia slowly plods over to the sliding glass window. She stares out onto the backyard and admires the afternoon sun overhead. She rests her hands on her hips and idly shifts her weight between her feet. Squinting through the glass, she grimaces inquiringly. "Huh. Sebastian is rushing back here awfully quick. What''s going on-"


    Sebastian phases through the sliding glass window, zips through the room, and flies down the hallway. Jetting straight to Aristespha''s room at the end of the hall, he wrestles an awkward smile. "Dear, I need you to get the sword and follow me... There''s... Something I think we all need to get a better look at. I can''t get close enough to get a clear look."


    After a minute of confused exchanges between Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia, Sebastian glides out of the hallway into the living room and signals everyone to follow. "Follow me. I really hope I''m wrong about this."


    Aristespha walks out from the hallway, holding the sword in its scabbard. Falling in behind Sebastian, the group trudges across the large open field of a backyard. Near the corner of the property, Sebastian points over to the lot diagonal and motions towards the house. "You know that house I mentioned that had someone going through it? The one I saw the lights on and other activity?"


    Aristespha crosses arms and squints her violet eyes to the distant house. "Yes? The one I said someone was probably getting ready for renters?"


    Sebastian groans reluctantly and raises a point to one of the vehicles near the house. "Well, looks like THEY''RE moving in."


    Cideeda steps forward, shields the sun from her eyes, and focuses on the distant target. Her light brown cheek twitches, and she grits her sharp teeth. "No... No way. How?!"


    Dretphi quirks her concerned brow at Cideeda and searches in the same direction. Spotting a tall, unfortunately familiar figure carrying adventuring equipment from a vehicle, she growls to herself. Placing her face well into the palm of her hand, she groans. "Of all things..."


    Sotalia gestures out a quick incantation and holds her hands in front with finger tips touching. Staring through for mere moments, she grimaces and grabs her horns swearing a few different languages. She steps angrily away and grumbles to herself. Bach eyes Sebastian and slowly sighs with a wary frown. "I can''t exactly make it out. But... I think the mass of people with recording equipment gives it away."


    Sebastian nods as his ethereal form pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yes. It was exactly what I thought. Well, at least we know where they''re at. Great. Well, let''s head back before anyone notices us.


    He glances over to Aristespha with a smile. "Dear?"


    Hovering Aristespha''s side, he drifts cautiously in front of her. "Hey. Dear? Let''s go back to the house. And..."


    Aristespha''s ivory face reddens in stark contrast to the blue and gray hints. Her grip shakes around the sword. Her head tilts to one shoulder with a crack and to the other with another similar crack. Gritting her teeth, she hisses as air draws through and screams out. "FUCK!"


    Next to the house in the middle of the crews and adventurers, Samantha snaps her head toward the direction of the angry voice with a smug smile. Waves at the group in the distance, she holds her aetherphone close to her head. "Good news, Howie! Looks like the locals have just found about their new neighbors."


    A dark, ominous laugh bellows forth from the speakerphone, growing in volume with each passing second. Eventually, it fades and Howard speaks through. "Good. Very good."

 Episode 14

    A historical documentary plays on the living area television, cutting between long explanatory dialogues and reenactment sections. Occasionally, a head turns to watch a brief segment before returning back to current projects. Aristespha flips her long, silvery blue hair back with a sigh and sorts through another stack of paperwork upon the coffee table. Lifts the stack up, she places it in another forming mass next to her on the couch. While resting upon a nest of pillows on the other half the couch, Cideeda squints her emerald green eyes and focuses upon a small patch of torn fabric on her body suit. She carefully weaves a needle between the fibers around a tear and cinches the edges closer together. Dretphi sits on the floor nearby in the middle of five baskets, each with a name written on the side. Plucking an article of clothing off the top of the large pile next to her, she briefly examines it and tosses it to the matching basket. In the main part of the kitchen, Sotalia slowly traces a fingernail along the text in a notebook, pouring full attention into each word. She eyes over at the various alchemy instruments and ingredients along the kitchen countertop and bites her lip with frustration. Grumbling to herself, she scrutinizes her notes further. The kitchen door leading to the garage opens, and Bach backs in with a laundry basket in his arms. Pivoting once clear of the door, he continues into the living room with a grimace upon his face.


    Dretphi glances over curiously to Bach as he places the laundry basket down. "Any success with your clothing?"


    Bach immediately shakes his head and snorts as a reflexive chuckle forces its way out. "Oh... Not really. I mean, the duster is salvageable. But... The shirt is a total loss. And the pants..."


    Kneeling down next to the laundry basket, he rummages through the mix and pulls up a pair of very holey, burnt pants. Dretphi''s steely gray eyes follow the length of the pants, and she blinks while her mouth twists faintly in disapproval. She holds her face, covering her mouth, and nods in agreement. "Yes. Those are rags now. You will need a new pair."


    Tossing her dark red, shoulder length hair back, Sotalia lifts her head away from her notebook and gazes across the way to see the hole, burn ridden garment hanging from Bach''s hand. She rests her hands on her hips, rolls her golden eyes, and cracks a smug grin from the corner of mouth. "Rags?! Come on, don''t you recognize designer clothing when you see it? I''m sure some teenagers would pay top coin for THAT."


    An entrepreneurial eyebrow perks on Cideeda''s face, and her eyes flick up from her repair work. Examining the pants, her mind churns on an idea, and a scheming smirk grows on her mouth. "Hey. Fold those up, and put them with the bot''s head."


    Bach swiftly turns to face Cideeda and tilts his head in mild confusion, narrowing his eyes. "Are you actually going to try to sell my holey burnt pants?!"


    Cideeda shrugs and focuses back on repairing her suit, dragging a threaded needle up off the body suit. "Hey! You''d be surprised what sells. Again, I don''t make the fads. I just sell to them. Anyway, Steve at the game shop put me on the local aethermail list, and I just found out a fandom convention is happening in a week and a half."


    Aristespha pauses from calculating numbers on one of her tablets and leans back into the couch cushion. She lightly taps the tablet stylus to her lips and glances through thoughts in her head. "You know I haven''t been to a decent convention in years. I actually wouldn''t mind going."


    Bach thinks for a moment and nods with flits of memory brightening his face. "Same here. I haven''t been able to afford to go to one for a really long time. Used to be a lot of fun back in school. Perfect break from everything."


    Dretphi bounces her intrigued stare between Cideeda, Aristespha, and Bach, curiosity growing with each second. "I have never been to one of these conventions. Heard of them. Never gone. Would not mind going."


    Sotalia glares at the others through the opening to the main kitchen. Her jaw hangs open in astonishment, and she poses incredulously towards the discussion. "You all DO realize, we literally do what those people obsess and act out at those places? Right? They fantasize about our actual profession."


    Cideeda perks her brow and narrows her gaze at Sotalia. "This one is a general fandom convention. They have a little bit of everything. So, the whole adventurer fandom thing is only a part of it."


    A devious grin creeps onto Cideeda''s face as she continues describing. "I mean, this is a larger one. It even has a large ballroom just dedicated towards all the various vendors of small, unique items that many claim to be of a magical nature..."


    Briefly, the cheek around Sotalia''s eye twitches as the corner of her mouth draws upwards. Shaking her head away from the temptation, she brushes stray locks of dark red hair over her swept back black horns and quickly redirects part of her attention down to her alchemy project. Cideeda pushes up into her pillow covered seat upon the couch and widens a toothy grin. "And, the writer and artist for a particular series is on a few of the panels."


    A few moments of silence loom in the air. Expectant members of the group watch and wait attentively with gazes towards the kitchen. Staring down onto the counter top, Sotalia goes through the motions of combining ingredients into the glass bowl. She bites her lip and contorts her face against her winning desires. "Well... If you all want to go, I''m... Not against going. You might want to check with Sebastian."


    Bach rolls his blue eyes and laughs. "Oh, he''ll go. Hell, he probably could be in the open. We''ll just say he''s a hologram or magical illusion."


    Furrowing his brow, he glances around the living area. "By the way, anyone know where he is?"


    With an unamused expression seeping onto her face, Aristespha lifts her arm up and points her finger in a sweeping gesture towards the outside. "He''s outside trying to spy on THOSE adventurers. Nothing to speak of at the moment. Thankfully, they''re staying on their property."


    Groaning and shaking her head, Sotalia pours a vial of liquid into the mixing bowl. "Gods, I still can''t believe they picked the one place next to us."


    Dretphi dons a stern frown and flings a bundle of clothes into a basket. "That was not a coincidence. Previous seasons, they kept adventurers in dilapidated places. That house is generous."


    Crossing her arms with a twist of her mouth, Aristespha eyes Dretphi with a confirming nod. "I thought about that, too. We are going to have to be careful if they are around. We really don''t need to give them any material they can put on the show."


    Sinking down in her pillows, Cideeda finely maneuvers the needle through another section of the body suit''s fabric. "Well, hopefully they''ll find something else to do, and let us actually enjoy the rest of the week off. I''d like to see if we can get the plasma projectile cannon and minigun working."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form passes through the sliding glass door and coasts into the room. "Hey. Anything new?"


    Bach sets out the last article of clothing from the laundry basket and glances up with a grin at his brother. "Up for going to a con in a week and half?"


    Sebastian excitedly twists himself mid flight to face Bach and halts his drift through the room. "Hell yeah, bro! It''s been FOREVER since I''ve been to one. Damn. Been so busy between getting a group together and chasing Noxian the last few years that the opportunity never came up. But... I don''t know how much I''ll be able to enjoy it. Being a ghost and all. But, I''ll make do."


    Staring at Sebastian, a smile forms on Aristespha. Sebastian lands his feet onto the ground, pivots in place, and spots Aristespha''s attention. His translucent blue eyes search the immediate area, and he raises a curious eyebrow at her. Aristespha grins and gives Sebastian a sly wink. "Of course you''ll make do. Guess who''s going as a magical interactive illusion to the con?"


    Standing in thought, Sebastian his mind mulls over the idea. With a growing heroic smile, he puffs out his chest, brightens his visage, and puts on his best hero pose. "Hello! Welcome to the insert convention name here! I''m your friendly interactive illusion, state your command, and I will try to comply."


    He releases the pose, places a hand on his waist, and scratches his chin. "You know... That could actually work. No one would even bother to question such a thing. People will just assume it''s just some kind of thing you''d see at a convention."


    Chuckling to herself, a sly, toothy grin grows on Cideeda''s light brown face, and a greedy glint sparks in her eyes. "Also, we''ll only have to pay for five passes."


    Sebastian glances thoughtfully at Bach, crosses his arms, and searches his mind. "Is it strange that I''m honestly looking forward to seeing how much I can fuck with people in this form, bro?"


    Bach shrugs and holds his hands up indecisively. "I mean, I don''t know, man. Might as well have fun with it? It''s not like many people get a chance like this. Enjoy it while you can?"


    Calling out from the kitchen, Sotalia huffs with a faint tint of a grumble highlighting underlying frustration. "Aristespha! Okay. So, I''m at the last part of this potion. Just to double check, it''s seventy milliliters of the cherry flavoring? Correct?"


    Aristespha blinks blankly and shudders her head. She quickly snaps her confused gaze towards Sotalia. "What? No! Twenty milliliters of cherry flavoring! Where did you get seventy from?!"


    A long silence lingers. The sounds of notebook pages flipping back and forth break the quiet. Sotalia mumbles out loud and leans very close to her notebook. "But... I wrote down seventy for some reason. Why the hell would I write seventy, but it actually be twenty-"


    After another long pause, she growls out. "Oh gods dammit!"


    With a quick, violent flick of the wrist, Sotalia whips a small plastic pen at the lid of a nearby garbage can. The pen bounces off the open lid into the plastic bag. Groaning to herself, Sotalia pours twenty milliliters of cherry flavoring into the mixing bowl. She sniffs up some semblance of pride and calls out to the team. "Hey! Next time we go shopping in town, let''s pick up some decent pens."


    ----


    Bright columns of light pour through the forest canopy onto the mossy ground below. With the gentle wind, small patches of underbrush shake the remaining beads of morning dew, and the light sways along woodland floor from the fresh, green branches above. A fvalian woman in a plain green blouse and dark blue skirt follows behind an emin woman wearing a form fitting gray t-shirt and shorts. Both maneuver through the trees and brush and trudge towards the edge of the forest. The fvalian woman forces a whisper towards the emin woman. "Tassilda?! How close are you going to get?"


    Tossing her long raven black hair back, Tassilda glances her light blue on black eyes at the fvalian with a confident, smug grin. "As close as I can, Deedri. How close did you get?"


    Nervously flexing her clawed fingers, Deedri gazes over her shoulder and points out a spot quite a distance away. "Over there. I just watched them briefly yesterday before they called us in for individual interviews."


    With a quick roll of the eyes, Tassilda quickly turns her attention away from Deedri''s spot and focuses ahead to a patch of grass behind a concealing, short shrub. "Come along now. I want to get a good view of these practice exercises you saw."


    Glancing to Tassilda and behind herself, Deedri reluctantly sneaks along. She carefully squats down and settles next to Tassilda, carefully peeking over the very top of the leafy plant. Tassilda guides a finger in front of Deedri and leads her gaze to three people standing in an open field. "There they are. Both the mages and... The intern? Interesting. I wonder what poor examples of spells they are going to teach that... Intern."


    Shaking her head braided multi-colored hair slightly, Deedri frowns faintly, and her auburn eyes remain fixed to the targets in the distance. "I wouldn''t call him an intern. At least, don''t treat him like one. I think it''s just some title they''re using for paperwork reasons."


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Tassilda draws the corner of her mouth to a side smile on her light gray face and her eyes shift over to Deedri. "Really? That is how they even referred to him. And, I haven''t seen anything to the contrary. Is there something you haven''t told me?"


    Deedri blinks in surprise, pivots her head at Tassilda, and quickly shakes her head. "No. It just doesn''t make sense to me. From the information Samantha gave to Chad, he just joined recently and never completed school. But... Somehow he put up that barrier the military had to blast off.


    Furrowing her brow, she contorts her fair tone face between flits of confusion and puzzling. "I mean... That magical barrier didn''t dissipate! The concrete around the anchor points shattered, and it continued to exist after that weird magical cable was pulled off!"


    Narrowing a curious stare at Tassilda, she inquires with her long fluffy tail idly wagging. "Have you ever known an intern to do magic like that? Because, I sure haven''t."


    Tassilda''s eyes drift away from Deedri back to the three in the field and guide the rest of Tassilda''s head along. Her expression wanders between thoughtful quirks as her mind ponders recent memories. Pulling a few strands of her black hair over a swirling horn, she squints her light blue on black eyes into the distance. Seconds later, her eyes open wide, and activity in the distance seizes her full attention. "They are practicing magic. Good. I wonder what..."


    Fighting down a reflexive snarl of her upper lip, she draws in a long breath. "She... Is capable of."


    Deedri concentrates out into the field and squints her auburn eyes. "She''s pretty good. She''s been practicing a fireball spell a lot, but it''s strange. She''s direct casting, but there''s something else going on. Even with my mage sight I can''t tell what exactly is going on from this far away."


    In the distance, Sotalia stands with her hands out around a glowing, orange-red orb of flames. While she grimaces and her posture strains, the fiery ball fluctuates and gradually changes colors to an orange-yellow hue. Dropping her head down, she exhales dramatically and lets her shoulders droop. Bach steps up to Sotalia''s side and motions with his hands at spots of the orb, calmly explaining. Initially, Sotalia drifts her glare away from Bach. An indignant pout manifests throughout her body language, and her hands slowly slide the orb away. Bach pinches the bridge of his nose, shakes his head, and sighs to Sotalia. Tassilda notices Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perking and flicking minutely. Leaning closer to Deedri, she whispers curiously. "So... What are they talking about?"


    Deedri squints her auburn eyes and deftly aims her ears at the distant conversation. "He''s trying to get her to use her mage sight spell. But... She says she can''t while focusing on casting this one. He just offered to... Hold the spell for her?"


    Tassilda blinks hard, cocks her head to the side, and mumbles in confusion. "Hold the spell? How does he expect to do that-"


    Bach slowly extends his arms out, positions his hands at the ready around the flaming orb, and talks while craning his head around to gaze at Sotalia''s face. She eyes Bach with a defiant flash in her eyes. A long sigh escapes her, and an appreciative smile grows from the corner of her mouth. Pivoting around towards Bach, she carefully maneuvers the orb of flames between Bach''s awaiting hands. The fiery ball momentarily shudders when Sotalia pulls hands away. It stabilizes to a gentle hover, Bach guides the magic to an easy viewing level. Shaking the residual flow from her hands, Sotalia stretches her arms back, walks around, and works out the tension in the rest of her body.


    Staring wide-eyed with her jaw creeping open, Tassilda blinks blankly at the display. Deedri glances over to Tassilda, raises an eyebrow, and twists her mouth. "So. He''s the intern. Who never finished school. And, just started adventuring with a group a few weeks ago."


    Tassilda slowly nods and searches the scene before her for hints of explanation. Closing her mouth fully from a gawk, she collects her composure and hums with a contemplative grumble. "I think I understand your suspicions, QUITE CLEARLY now."


    Aristespha stands up from the bench seat next to the picnic table near Bach and Sotalia. Moving to a spot next to Sotalia, she catches her attention and points at each other''s eyes while explaining. Sotalia nods attentively after each key point in Aristespha''s instruction. Aristespha stands right beside Sotalia and gestures towards the flaming orb Bach maintains. Both Aristespha and Sotalia close their eyes with Aristespha''s cue. Opening her violet glowing eyes first, Aristespha attentively observes Sotalia. Initially struggling, Sotalia manages to open her golden, glowing eyes and keep them consistently bright. Bach tows the flaming orb closer and hovers it conveniently in front of Aristespha and Sotalia. A minute of debate later, Bach flares his eyes to a bright blue. The fiery ball''s color changes slowly from orange-yellow to bright blue-white. Sotalia and Aristespha scrutinize each second of the transformation, and Bach pauses at moments to rotate and adjust the orb''s position and aid in the demonstration of the process. The magic shrinks down into a smaller ball, and the waving flames wane into a thin jet veil that coats the surface of the orb. With a final nod from both Aristespha and Sotalia, Bach swings the orb away from Aristespha and Sotalia. Aiming towards a large boulder in the field, Bach flexes his hands and the magical fireball darts across the open field,exploding upon impact with the boulder.


    Tassilda sits back upon the forest floor, straightens her posture, and crosses her arms. Drawing in a slow, deep breath, she exhales just as slowly. "What... Just happened... There?"


    Deedri drops down from watching over the top of the shrub and gazes uncertainly at Tassilda. "I don''t know. I didn''t catch anything he did there. That may have been direct casting. Maybe some form of it that I''ve never seen before? It''s too far away, even if I did use my mage sight. I would guess it''s just too fine of spellcrafting to really observe from this far away."


    Furrowing her brow with her thoughts, Tassilda places a hand upon her cheek and rest her face upon it. "Maybe..."


    A devious grin widens from the corner of her mouth, and she gazes eagerly at Deedri. "Regardless, I believe WE WILL be visiting this spot quite a bit more often in the future."


    Deedri musters up a weak smile and darts her eyes nervously around before settling upon Tassilda. "O-Okay. I don''t have any problems with that."


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ----


    A thickening front of clouds coasts overhead, occasionally obscures the sun, and casts down patches of shadow upon the large field. Sotalia, Bach, and Aristespha stand near the wood plank picnic table. Sotalia interlocks her fingers, flips her hands around, and stretches her arms out with a content grin beaming on her face. "Well, I think I''m getting the hang of all this low level stuff."


    She slyly flicks her eyes to the side and gazes at Bach. Gently narrowing her stare, a sinister motive tinges her emerging grin. "Maybe someone will teach me that wonderful disintegration ball spell in the very NEAR future."


    Averting his eyes to one side and then another, Bach dons on a wary smile and uneasy chuckles. "Ah, you know... All in good time... Right? How about we sure up those low level basics and then cover some slightly more advanced topics. Then, we''ll DEFINITELY get to THAT spell."


    Sotalia pivots upon on foot and faces Bach. Concentrating a glare upon Bach, Sotalia frowns with simmering disapproval and breathes out a low growl of building frustration. Bach blinks uncomfortably when Sotalia places her hands on her hips and postures with obvious irritation. He glances over pleadingly to Aristespha and motions with his eyes to Sotalia, trying to maintain an honest smile. Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and steps in to stand between the two. "Bach. You should teach her the spell..."


    A smug smile pushes the frown off Sotalia''s face, and she poses triumphant and satisfied. Catching sight of Sotalia''s posturing, Aristespha flashes a wicked smile and turns her attention upon Sotalia. "BUT. Sotalia. You need to get MUCH better at controlling your magical energy flows, first."


    Sotalia immediately snarls her lip, crosses her arms defensively, and turns her head away with a pout forming quickly. Aristespha claps her hands together, and her expression brightens while glancing between Bach and Sotalia. "And, I have a way of helping you learn and teach a valuable skill that is normally reserved for medical mages."


    The pout on Sotalia gives way to an unamused expression, thinly veiling her developing interest. Returning her gaze to Aristespha, Sotalia awaits with an idle shift of her weight to another foot. Aristespha smiles and gestures with her arms for both Bach and Sotalia to come closer. "Since we have three major magic users in the group, with different levels of magical energy reserves, I think it would be prudent to teach you two about energy transfer between people."


    Sotalia perks a brow and cracks a smile. Unfolding her arms, she places her hands on her hips with an eager pose. "Girl, now we''re talking. It''s about time! I forgot how many times I''ve asked you to show me that."


    She narrows her stare quickly at Aristespha, and her smile fades with recollection. "And... I almost forgot how many times you said you were too busy to show me."


    Aristespha maintains a happy grin and nonchalantly holds her hands out to her sides with a dismissive shrug. "Well, things have changed. We have some time now. Also, we have a third mage in the group which will make this a lot easier to teach."


    Bach scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair and pounders out loud with a glance towards Aristespha. "Okay. So, why does a third mage make this easier to teach?"


    Aristespha gazes over to Bach with a sly, ulterior motive hinting through the positive facade. "Because, with your ability to manipulate low level energy flow, I fully expect you pick up any lesson I give very quickly."


    Turning her attention to Sotalia, she perks an amused eyebrow. "Then, you''ll be able to help Sotalia get ALL the practice she will need."


    Sotalia stares back sternly to Aristespha. The two lock eye contact for seconds. Aristespha maintains a stoic, unmoving front, and peers right through. Sotalia breaks off the staring contest with a huff and sulk. "Damn it, girl. You KNOW I''m getting better at that."


    Placing a hand on each of Sotalia''s shoulders, Aristespha lowers her head slightly to look Sotalia in the eyes. "You most certainly are. Just keep in mind how much more you will be able to accomplish with your massive reserves of magical energy when you learn proper energy control. I think I know a simple enough way to demonstrate the potential that will certainly motivate YOU."


    Wrestling between a grimace and frown on her light tan and dark gray face, Sotalia subdues her surge of pride, cracks a reserved smile, and sighs. "Okay, girl."


    She waves her hand out and perks her brow expectantly. "Let''s see it!" I''m curious as to how this is supposed to motivate me."


    Letting go of Sotalia''s shoulders, Aristespha steps back and holds an open palm up to both Back and Sotalia. "Okay, you two. Put a hand in mine, and get ready to cast a spell."


    Flicking her violet eyes up to the dark skies above, she twists a smile on her ivory face and twitches her very long pointed ears. "I think the storm is going to hit soon. So, let us keep it simple with a light orb spell. I will compare the energy efficiency between how you two cast spells."


    Both Bach and Sotalia rest hand in one of Aristespha''s. Closing her eyes briefly, Aristespha reopens them with a glowing violet light. She turns her head to Sotalia and stares down to her hand. "Go ahead, and cast."


    Sotalia watches her hand and deftly gestures out very small motions with her fingers. In mere moments, an orb of light appears above her hand. As it hovers above her palm, Sotalia dons a prideful smirk and lifts a smug eyebrow. Aristespha grants a reserved, acknowledging nod. She shifts her attention to Bach and calmly explains. "For you, I want you to keep on casting that specific light orb spell of yours, until I tell you to stop."


    Bach simply shrugs and blinks his eyes to blue glow. Stares down at his hand, a glowing orb manifests in a swift swirl of faint flow and floats above Bach''s hand. He plucks the glowing orb away with his free hand and releases it in the air nearby. The process repeats for the second, third, forth, fifth, and sixth orbs. Sotalia slowly removes her hand from Aristespha''s and crosses her arms to defend her pride. Bach continues to create the seventh, eight, ninth and tenth orbs. Squirming while resettling her crossed arms, Sotalia tilts her head indignantly and gawks with her mouth hanging open in confusion. Removing the eleventh orb from his hand, Bach blinks at the small swarm of prior light balls around him and searches for an opening space nearby. He squinting around at the lighting, shrugs, and flicks the orb in hand towards the tree line. He sends off the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth orbs off roughly towards the tree line. One orb drifts over a low, short patch of bushes, and drops sharply behind out of sight. Sheer astonishment flushes away Sotalia''s pride and indignation. With the faintest whisper strained to a higher point, she dramatically mouths to Aristespha. "Really?!"


    Meeting Sotalia''s shock, Aristespha slowly nods with a satisfied smile on her face. Bach readies for the sixteenth orb. Aristespha calls out quickly. "Stop there. Thank you. That is sufficient."


    Bach glances around, blinks his eye back to a normal blue, and nods. Aristespha narrows her full focus upon Sotalia and hammers the point with a lower tone. "All he cast used the same amount of energy YOU used."


    Tapping her long nailed fingers on her arms, Sotalia fights flits of discomfort and processes the demonstrated implications. Bach gazes up at the darkening skies as the lighter clouds retreat from the darker, heavier variety. He fans away most of the orbs nearby and snatches up one to wield. Aristespha''s eyes dim back to normal, and she drops her hands to her sides. "I hope that was informative for the both of you."


    She glances over to Bach and rests her stare on Sotalia. Briefly squinting her golden eyes at Aristespha, Sotalia releases an accepting sigh and nods a few times with an uncomfortable smile. "Yes. It was."


    An eager grin cracks and her confident aura surges back up to the surface. "So? What about this energy transfer skill you are going to teach us?"


    Aristespha spots a drifting light orb and gently coaxes it into her hand. "Let us go inside, first. It will take time to explain the basics, and I do not want to be interrupted by the rain."


    Bach and Sotalia agree. Bach and Aristespha walk towards the house, using the light orbs to illuminate the way under the dimming light. Sotalia starts to step along, pivots, and snatches a drifting light ball nearby. Tagging behind the other two, she studies the light orb, fighting between her curiosity and practically using it for light. From the distance, a loud rumble of thunder rolls over the area and motivates the three to rush through a sliding glass door into the ranch style house.


    As the field darkens and the stormy clouds completely coat the sky above, two figures rush across the tall grass. Drops of rain fall upon the area, and their march speeds up to a full charge. The soft patters of water surge into a pounding torrent that obscures the view of the wooden picnic table. Only the light of the orbs shines through the gloom and haze as they descend upon the wood plank table top. The two figures arrive around the blips of light. Balls congregate into the arms of the figures. Some light orbs disappear completely and a few dim underneath clothing. The two figures dart off back into the tree line, with dull specks of light tracing their sprint and journey into the forest.


    ----


    The rain pelts the side of the sliding glass door, and soft patters resounds into the living area. Dretphi aims the remote at the television and flips through the wasteland of channels, only pausing briefly check for anything of value. With a sigh, she drops the remote onto the coffee table and sinks into the couch cushions. Cideeda slowly blinks her emerald green eyes, fending off a wave of drowsiness. She stretches out her arms and legs out, narrowing her distant stare in thought. Glancing over to Dretphi, Cideeda perks her brow and flicks her furry ears towards Dretphi. Noticing the attention, Dretphi narrows an expectant gaze. Cideeda simply nods and presents a sly, toothy grin. "I think it''s time. I''ll get the adapter cables, you get the television ready and clear the area."


    Dretphi smirks confidently and springs up from the couch. Cideeda pulls herself off the couch and darts into the hallway. Seconds later, the faint sounds of shuffling and rummaging carry into the space from the archway leading into the hall. At the dining table, Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia sit around on one end. Sebastian hovers overhead and splits his attention between Aristespha''s lesson and Cideeda and Dretphi''s new project. Sotalia concentrates with narrowing golden eyes and presses her open hand against Aristespha''s. She contorts her face in genuine struggle, and her eyes faintly illuminate a golden light. Calmly observing Sotalia''s antics, Aristespha keeps her hand in place. After tense, strained seconds, Sotalia carefully draws her hand away, and a small ball of magical energy emerges from Aristespha''s palm. Pulling her hand further back, a grin of sheer accomplishment flashes onto her face. Her fingers curl around the energy ball, and she hoists the prize into the air, beaming proudly. "YES! Finally! Wow!"


    Letting the tension leave herself, she calms down with a long exhale. "THAT was much harder than before. Holy shit, girl."


    Aristespha smiles satisfied and glides her hand over to secure a mug of tea. "Hence the difference between a cooperative and an idle energy transfer. Your body and mind naturally want to avoid leaking magical energy everywhere. So, when you are not actively willing it, magical energy will tend to keep to established flow routes and avoid deviations. Also, established flow routes are typically the path of least resistance in comparison."


    Lifting the mug up, she slips the hot, steaming brew. With a calm grace, she places it back down and continues her explanation. "There is another type of transfer. That is confrontational energy transfers. Those are the type made when the mind and body are on a full active defense. We will cover those another time. For now, you can practice the basics. If you need more of a challenge, you can use magical energy insulation techniques from basic spellcasting to put up a more active defense."


    Behind Aristespha, Cideeda skips through the hallway archway and hauls a metal suitcase covered in game and gaming company stickers. Withdrawing her head from behind the walled mounted television, Dretphi nods at Cideeda and returns to her work behind the screen. Sotalia swings her intrigued gaze at Bach and radiates a superior arrogance through a cornered smile. "I''ll have you know, I was top of my class in all my spellcasting courses."


    Holding her open palm up towards Bach, she concentrates a golden stare upon. "I''ll just use a number of those insulation tricks, and maybe a few of my own, to make it challenging to you."


    Bach tilts his head to the side and meekly shrugs at Sotalia. "Umm... How about we just try a few of those cooperative energy pulls? Maybe a few idle ones? I mean, let''s make sure we know what we are doing before making it needlessly difficult."


    Sotalia narrows her incredulous gaze at Bach. Her smile morphs into a devious, amused grin. She provocatively stares, propping her chin on her hand, and giggles with a patronizing tone. "Aww. Are you too tired? Did those little light orbs run you out of energy today?"


    She exaggerates a mocking sigh and rolls her golden eyes dismissively. "Well... If that''s the case, I guess I understand..."


    A faint disapproving growl rumbles up the back of Aristespha''s throat, and she glares at Sotalia with a sharp frown. Just as she begins to open her mouth, Sebastian zips down next to her very long, pointed ear and whispers with a smile. "Wait. Look."


    Blinking to awareness, Aristespha notices an odd, wry smirk hidden in the corner of Bach''s mouth, away from Sotalia. Placing an open palm against Sotalia''s, Bach smiles smugly. "Okay. I''ll humor you."


    Sotalia grins eagerly with a competitive glint in her ear. She rolls her shoulders in a stretch and settles into her seat ready. She focuses on her and Bach''s hands. "Whenever you are ready. Don''t hold back, because I want a challenge."


    She closes her eyes and takes a long deep breath in. Narrowing a demanding stare at Bach, she growls with a hint of a laugh. "Surprise me."


    Bach''s smirk erupts to a wicked grin. "Okay. I''ll surprise you."


    Sotalia''s eyes fly wide open at sudden, firm grasp of a hand on the back of her neck. She follows the hand back to Bach and starts to open her mouth. Flows of energy stir between her neck and Bach''s hand. Her jaw opens midway through gritting her teeth and her lips twist in confusion. "THE FUCK-"


    A cringe nearly closes one eye. Her head cocks to the side. Both shoulders tense up, and her surprise chills down the spine. She squirms in her seat, and her fingers claw up. Utter shock and childish disgust manifest into a shrill howl. "AIIIEEE!!!"


    Bach swiftly removes his hand from the back of Sotalia''s neck with a small orb of magical energy securely in his palm. Covering the back of her neck with her free hand, Sotalia flashes a death glare right through Bach, failing to maintain her composure between goofy shivers. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"


    Aristespha tightly secures her mouth with a hand and barely contains the snorts of laughter. Sebastian keeps quiet with the stiffest smile he can muster and avoids direct eye contact with Sotalia. Cideeda stares over towards the table and blinks confused, holding a game controller and its plug. Lifting her finger from the television''s power button, Dretphi searches the dining table area and furrows her bewildered brow at the outburst. Grinning triumphantly, Bach displays the energy orb. "Well, your surprise, of course."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes flash with anger, in contrast to her awkwardly flush face. In the next moments, the rage subsides, and she settles to an amused smile. Bach''s confidence degrades, and his grin decays a wary, uneasy smirk. Lightly laughing to herself, Sotalia sighs and tips her head up. "Well. To be fair, I DID ask for a surprise."


    She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "And, I did goad you. But, your master plan has one flaw."


    Darting his eyes around his mind, Bach blinks bewildered and cocks his head searching for an explanation. He snaps his surprised gaze down. Sotalia deftly weaves her curling fingers between Bach''s and presses her thick, long black nails into the back of his hand. She torques her hand forward and seizes Bach''s full attention. "I''m the middle child between two sisters. I can take it and dish it out."


    Leaning her face closer to Bach, she grins wide and chuckles darkly as a faint golden glow radiates from her stare. She points to the energy orb in Bach''s other hand and gestures for its return, flexing her fingers. Bach grimaces at the annoying pain and grumbles against his pride. After deliberative seconds, he places the energy orb into Sotalia''s awaiting hand. The power flows back into Sotalia''s body, and she releases her grip of Bach. Aristespha rolls her eyes and shakes her head disapprovingly. "Okay. So. Are you two children done for the day?"


    Settling back into her chair at the dining table, Sotalia nods simply with a content smile. "Yes, teacher."


    Bach glances over while rubbing his hand. "Yeah. I''m good. No more surprises."


    Aristespha props her arm on the table top and rests her chin upon her hand with a sigh. "Good. Now, I do have a question for you, Sotalia."


    Curiously facing Aristespha, Sotalia pays attention. "Yes? What is it?"


    An amused expression emerges upon Aristespha''s ivory face, and she lifts her mug of tea close to her mouth. "So, did it feel like a bucket of ice water going down your back?"


    Sotalia nods quickly and squirms in her chair at the thought. "YES! Oh gods! It felt like someone dumped everything in the ice maker down the back of my shirt."


    Bach squints Sotalia and snorts with a snarl of the lip. "Oh, sort of like someone cast a freeze ray spell up your back?"


    Opening her mouth, Sotalia halts, lifts an incredulous eyebrow at Bach, and pulls her mouth to a corner. "Gods, I hope you aren''t holding a grudge over that. I honestly missed that time."


    Bach rolls his blue eyes and shrugs. "Nah. But, I thought it might be a good point of comparison."


    Sotalia returns to Aristespha with a quizzical expression. "Wait... How did YOU know it felt like ice water down your back?"


    Aristespha finishes a long sip of her tea and smiles with a tinge of nostalgia. "Oh, it''s something all the medical mage students would do to keep each other on our toes. If you got caught napping anywhere other than the break room, or were late to your shift because you were napping in the break room, you could expect a VERY rude wake up. Honestly, that sensation is almost better than coffee."


    Placing her mug back down on the table, she gazes to Bach and Sotalia. "And, in emergency situations, that region is one of the easiest and accessible places to tap into the body''s major magical energy flows. It was not uncommon for a medical mage to snag a student for energy when the situations got dire."


    A stern, dark glare manifests, and her tone turns serious. "That said... I would recommend that you two stick to hands and arms for practice. You two are NOT medical mages, and neither of your energy control skills are good enough to casually play around with major energy flows like that."


    A violet radiance cuts through the shadowy, cold stare from Aristespha. "Understand?"


    Bach and Sotalia nod slowly, wide-eyed. Aristespha returns to a satisfied smile. "Very good."


    A melodic, electronic tune sounds out from the television. Aristespha, Bach, Sebastian and Sotalia turn their attention towards the other side of the space. Cideeda and Dretphi sit comfortably on the couch with game controllers in hand. Upon the coffee table, the holoplayer projects a status screen and indicator lights blink upon adapters with cables running to the television and an old gaming console. An eager glint forms in Sotalia''s stare at the machine, and she slides back in her chair. "Well, that''s enough training today. We''ll continue tomorrow."


    She rushes over to the couch and perches upon a couch arm. "I call next!"


    Bach turns around in his chair, bites his lip, and faces Aristespha with a whisper. "Hey, um... Sorry, if I went a little too far with Sotalia and trying to pull energy from the back of her neck and all."


    Aristespha softly chuckles and shakes her head slightly with a soft tone. "Oh. Don''t worry. You have far better energy control, and you wouldn''t have done anything to harm her. It takes a surprising amount of effort to disrupt major flow like that."


    Glancing over to Sotalia, Aristespha smiles smugly. "Also... Someone needed to put her ego in check, and you just happen to know the right way to do it."


    Sebastian leans in closer to the conversation with a proud grin. "Also, I think you had every right to show her up, bro. She called you out. And, well, you delivered."


    Bach nods calmly and exhales in relief. "Okay. Wanted to make sure I didn''t do anything too stupid."


    Snorting with an ethereal reverb, Sebastian winks at his brother. "Hell, no worse than standing out from cover, raving like a madman, and shooting a pistol at a rampaging combat robot."


    Bach groans and partially buries his face into his palm. Aristespha gently pats Bach''s shoulder. "No need to kick yourself. It did that more than enough."


    Sebastian leans further, partially through the table, and gazes at Bach with a sincere smile. "And you helped save our asses. So, can''t fault you too much."


    He rights himself and watches a video game load up on the screen. Drifting towards the couch, he glances back. "Now come on, I can''t play, so you''ll need to defend the family honor."


    Aristespha stands up from the table with her mug. Bach pushes his chair back and joins the gathering. Watching the title screen appear, he smiles in honest surprise. "Wow! Champions of Nexus. I haven''t played this since school."


    Crossing her arms with a slight grin, Aristespha nods. "Yes. We found an old warehouse, and, for some reason, there was a perfectly good system and cache of games."


    Furrowing her brow, she wrestles her dissatisfaction on her gray and blue hinted face. "I have been TRYING to get back to what I was, back in my medical mage school days. Who did you normally play?"


    Bach scratches the back of his neck and sheepishly admits. "Um. Ionis, actually."


    Aristespha blinks and angles her head toward Bach with a trailing pivot of the body. "Ionis? Really? Gods... I could never figure out his power up chain, and his energy use is ridiculously hard to manage..."


    While Bach watches the action on the screen, Aristespha blinks in thought and occasionally ponders with a glance at Bach.


    ----


    In a small, nicely furnished bedroom, Samantha straightens her back while on the top of a bed. Squinting through the rain speckled window briefly, she repositions her laptop and gazes at her aetherphone nearby. Howard''s voice resonates through the speakerphone. "How are our adventurers settling in? Any good moments for show?"


    Samantha stacks another pillow onto the bed and settles herself on top and into the pile. "They''re doing just fine, Howie. And, plenty of moments when moving in."


    She rolls over closer to the aetherphone on the nightstand. "We got an hour-long clip alone of Chad, Tassilda, and Trakenthin in a yelling match at who would get the biggest room. The best part I think was seeing Mordoran and Deedri working together to sneak their stuff into two of the rooms off at the end of the house."


    An intrigued trill colors Howard''s voice through the speaker. "Ooo. That''s a possibility I hadn''t quite considered yet. Let''s leave it alone for now and see if something sparks. Also, is the crew enjoying their house?"


    Samantha smiles and types notes into her laptop. "Yes, we are! A really good vantage point, great reception with the wireless cameras, and plenty of room for us to stage."


    Howard yawns as the creak of a bed frame echoes in the room on the other side of the call. "Excellent. Truthfully, it turned out to be much cheaper than the hotels. Anything else before I get some much needed sleep?"


    A plotting grin grows upon Samantha''s light face. She leans in very close to the aetherphone with a suggestive tone. "Yes. Quite. One of our cameras pointed to the forest, near the other group, caught Deedri sneaking off into the forest yesterday. Then today, Deedri and Tassilda went out together."


    With a sudden squeak of the bed frame, covers fluttering sound out, and Howard''s voice grows closer with an anticipating breath. "And?!"


    Samantha bites her lip and seductively tenses her voice. "When the rain fell, Gerald recorded them running from the forest carrying some kind of magical artifacts. They played off needing to change in their rooms to the others, but they actually were studying the artifacts."


    A giddy chirp peaks out of the speaker. "Keep me updated. Watch quietly for now."


    Samantha grins deviously. "Will do, as always."

 Episode 15

    Thin traces of clouds drift above, and the wind occasionally picks up speed to quickly fade back into the calm scenery. Morning coasts across the front yard full of sparkling drops of morning dew and the left traces of rain. Murmurs of activity drift out from the open doors of the garage, and the team gathers around the humvee. Pulling his door shut, Bach hops in last and settles into his seat. Cideeda swings her head out her window and sniffs in the fresh morning air. She casually steers the vehicle with her claw tips rapping upon the steering wheel. Aristespha glides her finger across a tablet surface and hunts between pictures of items on a long store listing. Leans over, Bach catches glimpses with honest interest at the search. "I''ve never actually been to a Merc-Mart. I mean, I''ve heard they have everything and anything. How true is that?"


    Aristespha shrugs and gently rocks her head side to side with an unconvinced twist of a grimace. "I will say that they have a very good marketing department. Admittedly, their selection overall is better than most places."


    Fiscal experience manifests from memory, and her enthusiasm drains, leaving old frustration twisting her face. "Unfortunately, they are a bit proud of their prices."


    Sotalia happily peers around her seat, and a fiercely frugal edge sharpens her smile. "Which is why Free Fridays are THE BEST! Gods! I can''t wait to see what they have on their point tables!"


    Blinking over a gap in understanding, Bach bounces his gaze between Aristespha and Sotalia. "Uh, point tables?"


    Pausing a moment with a twist of her mouth, Aristespha gauges the eagerness radiating from Sotalia and rolls her violet eyes. With a dismissive hand gesture, she defers to Sotalia. Taking a long breath, Sotalia subdues her excitement just enough to explain to some degree of coherence. "Okay! So, Merc-Mart keeps a huge inventory of many, many things. Once every while, they will clean out ALL the old inventory and put it on display tables out front. Now, depending on how much you buy during their Free Fridays, you earn points. You can use those points for cash back on your purchases, OR..."


    A rush of commercialist glee swells up through her, and she grins with a tensing grip on the top of her front seat. "You can redeem them to get things on the tables. Everyone calls them Point Tables because that''s where you spend your points."


    Aristespha raises her tablet near Bach. While he furrows his intrigued gaze between items on the screen, she scrolls through pages of random inventory. "To help advertise the event, they post many of the point table items on their Aethernet page. This store actually has a few interesting items listed."


    Glancing into the rear view mirror towards the conversation, Cideeda flicks a furry ear back. "Yeah, as pricey as Merc-Mart usually is, the Point Table stuff is discounted A LOT. Regardless of how you like to determine the point to cash equivalency, they''re decent deals."


    She narrows her emerald green eyes into the distance and surveys the glistening grit of the county asphalt roadway. "The best deals are the damaged and incomplete items."


    Entrepreneurial pride shines from a toothy grin on Cideeda''s light brown face, and she combs her short, multi-colored hair with accomplished pride. "One time we found the carbon fiber plate kit to Dretphi''s armor suit. I think it was only missing one plate."


    Holding up two fingers, Dretphi aims a corrective stare ahead and calls out from the far back seat. "Two plates."


    Satisfaction still finds purchase as a smile, and she shrugs. "Not important plates. Use the old plates instead without a problem. Still a good find."


    Sebastian materializes his ghostly visage in the aisle of the cab. "Yeah, bro, it''s not a bad place. If you go at the right times, otherwise it''s absolute chaos."


    Drifting lower next to his brother, a smug smile flashes on his transparent face. "We have a team membership, so we get a few perks. The after-hours order and pick up has been really handy in the past."


    Aristespha shakes her head with a slight snort and softly chuckles to a humoring memory. "I still cannot believe you managed to get all those sandwiches."


    Bach quirks an eyebrow and glances at his brother. "I guess there''s a story here. Isn''t there?"


    Sebastian rubs the back of his neck and straightens his hovering posture with a proud grin. "Well. Yeah. It was a few months after Aristespha joined up, and we just got done combing through these old ruins looking for Noxian. It was really late, and we were lucky to find a Merc-Mart with an overnight parking lot."


    Holding his hands to his side to highlight to past dismay, Sebastian squashes down old embarrassment into a grumble. "Our finances weren''t as organized as they are now... So..."


    He rolls his translucent blue eyes away from the shame. "We only had a little bit of money on hand to buy some food. But, the vending machine stuff wasn''t looking that great."


    Leaning closer to Bach, Sebastian flashes a sly, scheming grin. "So... I had an IDEA."


    Bach narrows an expectant stare through Sebastian, tugging at the corner of his mouth with winces of memories. "Well... THAT''S always a dangerous situation."


    Sebastian rolls his eyes away from the condemnation. "Come on, bro! I occasionally get a good one. Anyway..."


    He motions to the team surrounding him. "We pooled our money together, and I went to the after-hours window. It took some negotiating, but I managed to get a great deal on all the deli sandwiches before they cleared them for the night."


    Straightening himself up, he surfs the wave of pride. "Even had change leftover."


    Sotalia snorts dismissively and covers mouth to contain the laughter. Between shorts gasps of derisive humor, she speaks under her breath. "Negotiating?! Gods! That''s what you''re calling it?"


    Sebastian defensively crosses his arms against the disrespect. "Well. Uh. Yes? It took some convincing to get such a good deal."


    Gritting her teeth to contain her commentary, Cideeda shakes her head and mouths. "Bullshit..."


    Dretphi cracks a warped smile and avert her steely gray eyes away. Aristespha cocks an unconvinced gaze through Sebastian and huffs into call out. "Sebastian. You can tell everyone what really happened. It''s okay."


    Grimacing against honesty, Sebastian squirms while he accepts the truth. "Well..."


    Unfolding his arms, he shrugs and places his hands on his hips. "I MAY have used my charms on the well-aged lady at the window. I mean, there''s nothing wrong with a few choice compliments to make someone more agreeable with you."


    A sinister grin manifests across Aristespha''s ivory face, and she concentrates her stare further into Sebastian''s soul. His eyes darting around at the attention upon him, Sebastian relents against the existential pressure. "HEY! I got a lot of good food at a really good price, when we needed it!"


    Aristespha eases back to a sly smile and resumes browsing her tablet. "We know, Sebastian. I saw the numbers on the receipt."


    Pausing a few moments, a wicked grin lights up on Aristespha, and she finishes with a playful tone. "Especially the handwritten numbers on the back of the receipt."


    Bach shakes his head away from Sebastian and pinches the bridge of his nose, without a bit of real surprise. A defeated sigh slips out of Sebastian, and he weathers the humored glances of the team. "Well! No one''s stomach complained! I know that for sure."


    ----


    In a massive warehouse, rows of overhead lights hang off metal framework and illuminate dozens of long, wide shelf lined aisles below. Droves of people wander between the towering racks of merchandise, flow through the capillaries into the dividing veins, and pulse over to other sections of the huge mega store. Glancing above at the large advertising signs that showcase Merc-Mart specials, Bach gawks in astonishment at the gigantic commercial enterprise under the metal roof. During many moments, he slows to a halt and stares down the corridors of consumerism, attempting to process all before him. He scans around the area and spots Cideeda and Aristespha staring intensely at a display in the electronics section. He swiftly walks through crowded main, plain concrete lanes and drifts in the flow of customers crashing upon scattered kiosks in the wide open areas. Arriving behind Cideeda and Aristespha, Bach brushes himself off and peeks around. Aristespha glances over her shoulder and grants an acknowledging nod. "I wondered where you got to. Did you find anything?"


    Shaking his head, Bach blinks through his bewilderment to an uneasy grimace. "Uh... No. To be honest, this place is a bit intimidating."


    From the sword securely sheathed at Aristespha''s side, Sebastian''s ethereal voice emanates out. "Yeah, I know what you mean, bro. First time I went to one of these places was with Sotalia. She basically just dragged me around while I gawked like an idiot. Did you catch the armor section on the way here?"


    Glancing through memory Bach''s awe pulls him back in a direction, and he shudders back to the conversation. "Oh, yeah. Kinda hard to miss the power armor suit they had on display."


    The high racks packed with boxes loom overhead, and his disbelief remains blatant staring above. "Man, I thought UltraStop was huge. We''d spend hours in one of those on the weekends back in school."


    A ghostly laugh echoes from Sebastian. "Yeah, bro. I remember those days. Too much fun almost getting kicked out every other weekend. Surprised they just didn''t do it preemptively the next time we showed up. Totally deserved it."


    Lowering his head back down, Bach surveys the electronic merchandise in the aisle and compares the collection to determine a theme. "I knew Amaranth Valley was a bigger city area. But, big enough for a place like this?"


    Standing back from studying a display headphone frame, Aristespha glances to Bach with an explanatory tone. "Merc-Mart actually does not count on surrounding towns to be customer bases. What they tend to do is pay attention to common guild mission locations, historical points of interest, and unclaimed zone borders."


    Her ivory hand reaches out to a plastic package and twists the glare off the advertising text. She rolls her violet eyes and shorts dismissively. "About the only reason they are near any towns is for the workforce. I distinctly remember hearing about the number of social-economic studies they order regularly from The Grand Library."


    Bach nods into a pondering trance and crosses his arms with an inwards gaze. "Huh, I guess that makes sense. All the ruins around here, the big weird zone, and the main highways running through here. Yeah..."


    Wandering his focus outwards upon the display, he observes Cideeda traces a claw tip along detailed specs of small speaker modules. He steps back and pans his studious stare across the entire intimidating collective of displays. Below big lettered category labels, brands compete for attention upon vertical real estate and showcase a plethora of buzz words common to electronics. Bach narrows down his focus to the colorful shelves packed with pieces and parts for kit build headphones. Stepping between Aristespha and Cideeda, Bach lifts a cardboard backed plastic package from the hooked row and cocks his head curiously. "So... Um... Headphones?"


    Nodding, Cideeda twists her indecision on her light brown face and places her hands on her hips with an idly contemplative claw tip picking at her short''s waistband. "Yes. I''ve been wanting to get some new ones..."


    Rocking her head with the wags of her long, fluffy tail, her furry ears flick between each point of internal deliberation. "And, Merc-Mart actually carries most of the F-Tech custom pieces that I REALLY like."


    Placing the package back upon the display hook, Bach scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. "Wow. I never actually knew there were so many different styles and designs."


    Cideeda darts up her emerald green eyes towards Bach and grins toothily, eagerly to educate. Combing out her large, pointed, fur filled ears on the side of her head, she gently tugs them out so the tips wiggle above the ends of her shoulders. She points to both ears, lifts and droops a few times, and winks with a bright smile. "Normal headphones are NOT comfortable on these."


    Watching the demonstration, Bach snorts and scratches his chin thoughtfully as revelation widens his perspective. Newfound curiosity leads his exploration to biological dynamics different audiophiles endure. Watching the interest, Cideeda reaches out and taps a logo upon a base kit. "F-Tech started out in the old Fvalian territories around the Yellow Provinces. So, they''ve always designed their stuff with different ears in mind."


    Aristespha plucks a package off the display and brings it closer to her studious stare. Furrowing her brow, she tosses back her long, silver blue hair and entertains a passing thought. "If I remember my history classes correctly, F-Tech was either the second or third foreign company to be granted distribution rights within Evuukian counties."


    Waving the F-Tech earpiece kit side to side, she sighs with a humored smile. "As self interested as Evuukian House politicians are to their own businesses, even they couldn''t resist having comfortable headphones."


    Cideeda picks two packages, places them in a shopping basket nearby on the basic tile floor, and lifts up the basket. "Well, not sense in changing a sure thing. Same cup and headband styles as my old ones."


    She peers around Bach towards Aristespha and frowns briefly with an irritated snarl. "BUT, I''m definitely going for the softer padding."


    Aristespha places the chosen kit into the shopping basket as she passes by Cideeda. "Well, I think I will do the same. My headband is still good, but the cup padding has worn out."


    A frustrated frown twists on her face, and she grumbles. "Getting very tired of waking up to pinched ears."


    Bach perks his brow and quizzically glances towards Aristespha. "Oh, listening to music when you go to bed?"


    Shrugging nonchalantly, Aristespha pivots herself at opening of the aisle leading to the main, smooth concrete avenue. "Occasionally. It depends on mood..."


    She darts her gaze down and lightly pats the hilt of the sword. "Also if I''m trying to drown something out."


    While she walks to the end of the aisle, Sebastian''s quiet tone rises from the sword just audible enough for Aristespha. "Really, dear? You know I haven''t even been able to snore."


    With a few meters of distance from Bach and Cideeda, Aristespha lowers her head momentarily, fighting for a smile over her longing sigh. Sadness colors her soft whisper. "I... I miss being woken up in the middle of night to that sound."


    After a long, gloomy pause, Sebastian musters up a cheerful tone and brightens with gentle encouragement. "Don''t worry... You won''t miss it for long. We''re making progress. Just... One day at a time, dear."


    Standing next to Bach, Cideeda flicks her furry ear away from Aristespha''s and Sebastian''s conversation and tightens her grip on the shopping basket. She pulls a short, somber smile while watching the subtle droop in Aristespha''s very long, pointed ears. Seconds later, she works off the sad expression and dons an eager grin. Ushering Bach along, she regroups at the end of the aisle and perks her furry ears with a wag of the tail. "So, where to next, Aristespha?"


    Straightening up her posture, Aristespha taps a spot on her tablet and checks a box on a list. Searching the grand arena of commercialism penned in by towering monoliths of product shelving with roving bands of other shoppers, she points over towards a section across the distance with a narrowly clear line of sight. "I think we should join back up with Dretphi and Sotalia. Bach needs some new clothes and some proper sparring gear, and I think that should be located over there."


    Bach squints at the designated spot and grumbles with trickles of defensive pride. "Well, I don''t need THAT much. Just a few shirts and pairs of pants really."


    Sebastian laughs out ethereally from the sword. "Yeah, bro... No. You NEED some new clothes. I actually recognize the socks and underwear you have from our school days. Seriously, my treat. Buy some NEW clothes for once. Have fun with it."


    Bach resigns to the chore with a sigh and shrugs as traces of interest slip out. "Okay! I mean.. I guess I SHOULD. If only to go along with all the other changes in my life."


    Sebastian musters up some bravado and encourages his brother along. "That''s the spirit!"


    Suspicion and wariness mix into the ethereal reverb of this tone. "Also... I think we need to make sure Sotalia doesn''t wander off to the point tables without us."


    Cideeda snarls her upper lip, and a spark of fierce frugalness glints from her emerald green eyes. She flexes her claw-tipped fingers with a restrained growl. "Gods, if that woman spends all our points on magical crap..."


    ----


    In a vast open space, merchandise completely coats rows of large tables, and Merc-Mart associates stand at the ready with a chipper smile and tablet in hand. Sotalia drops the last question piece of kitsch in the bag with a nod of approval from the salesperson and struts off with a delighted grin. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi filter through the outer perimeter of the contained bazaar and regroup around Sotalia. Behind a loaded up cart of individual Merc-Mart branded bags, Dretphi guides the merchandise vehicle with one hand and lifts up a small fluffy toy boar out of a bag. She smiles happily at the prize and holds it close. Wrestling down a flit of disapproval, Cideeda glares out of the corner of her eye at the single, stuffed bag Sotalia wings and flicks her furry ears away from the satisfied tune Sotalia hums. "I STILL think the 5% overall discount would have been a better deal."


    Sotalia flashes a pout at Cideeda and draws the bag up into her arms in a playful defense. "But, they had so many neat magical things with a really low point cost! You got that dock for the holoplayer. And everyone else, got something."


    Shaking her head against the notion and Cideeda sighs with heavy resignation. "I know."


    Aristespha pats Cideeda on the shoulder with a commiserating smile. "Don''t worry. Merc-Mart would probably fight stacking that many discounts with my Grand Library discount. It would have been a wash."


    Cideeda nods while flicking her furry ears with her thoughts. She shrugs with a begrudging acceptance and opens her bag up to glance at the holoplayer dock box within. "True... And, it will be nice to have a proper dock for that old holoplayer."


    Sebastian chimes into the conversation from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "Hey, we found that copy of Zone Runners for that old console."


    Bach closely examines the game box in his hand and blinks in stale surprise at the find. "Yeah, I mean, I haven''t seen a copy of THIS since back in school. Even back then, only one guy in the dorm managed to ever get a legit copy."


    A brief, ethereal laugh slips out from the sword. "Gods, all the hours we put into that one epic run, bro."


    Shaking his head slowly, Bach drops off the game box in a bag within the shopping cart. "Man, We ALMOST got to the Veil. Wouldn''t mind trying it again someday. I''d totally be out of practice though, and we''d really need someone else experienced to switch up with. Else you start making mistakes when you get worn out and tired."


    Wandering her focus from the conversation, Aristespha motions towards Merc-Mart''s dining area. If no one is against eating here, I am a bit hungry, and they do have a decent menu. Anyone else?"


    Nodding in agreement, Dretphi returns the fluffy boar toy back into the safety of its bag and steers the cart towards the automatic exit doors. "I am not against it. I will put our bags in the humvee. Order a number five special for me, please."


    After Cideeda tosses her the keys, Dretphi splits from the team. Leading through the archway of the in store restaurant, Aristespha usher the group ahead of her towards the counter. Fighting to keep her idle confidence on her ivory face, twitches of uncertainty crack through the facade, and she grumbles to herself. A reverberating snort sounds out from the sword at her side, and she flicks down a brief violet glare and crosses her arms indignantly. Sebastian''s voice whispers out. "Seriously, just get the twenty pack of chicken nuggets, dear. I know that''s what you want."


    Aristespha wrestles down an defiant pout and huffs to a narrowing stare at the menu suspended over the counter. She projects down a frustrated mumble. "For your information, Sebastian, I thought I would try something different today."


    Suppressing the humor bubbling in his tone. "Okay. So, what are you getting?"


    Straightening her posture with a deep breath, Aristespha tosses back her long silvery blue hair and squints indecisively at the back-lit array of trademarked names, fanciful glamor photos of food, and prices. "I haven''t decided."


    Faint ethereal snickering resonates out, and Aristespha drops a swift, reflexive elbow from her folded arms against the handle of the sword. Standing before the large showcase of fast, fine cuisine choices, Bach and Sotalia slowly scan the options, each pausing their hunts in moments of internal deliberation. Perking her furry ears, Cideeda quickly spots her choice and gets in a line in front of a register. Leaning closer to Bach, Sotalia furrows her golden gaze and motions to the menu. "What are you thinking?"


    Bach scratches the back of his head and twists his mouth with a shrug. "I think I''ll give the house special a chance."


    Glancing around the walkway leading to aisles dividing booths and tables, he pats his pockets. "Hey, could you order for me? I''m going to go find the bathroom."


    Sotalia smirks at Bach''s distracted search and waves him off. "Sure. Go use the bathroom, I''ll cover yours."


    With a thankful nod to Sotalia, he maneuvers between the small groups of people waiting for their orders. Scanning over the sea of occupied tables and chairs spread out in the dining area, he spots a simple sign pointing the way to salvation. He goes around a corner and quickens his pace down the walkway along a long wall of windows to a green space. After a swift double-check against monetary doubt for the right door, he slips on in. Minutes later, Bach exits the facilities and steps down the path. Gazing outside through the windows to the paved walkway running through a grass lot, he surveys the small runs of shrubs and other commercial landscaping encircled by old mulch. He returns his focus forward, and a spark of familiarity gravitates his gaze to someone. Sitting a few window side tables down, a man sorts through his order, checking each item with experience-earned scrutiny. He unconsciously brushes off the chest and leg harnesses over his tough, padded jumpsuit. After a few crackles slip out, he turns off the personal radio rig along the chest harness, and pats tech enhanced goggles hanging from his neck. He raises his head from inspecting his order and brushes his hand through his bright, blonde hair with a satisfied, relieved sigh. Bach halts in place, and recognition seizes his stare upon the man. The man notices the attention. Catching sight of Bach, his light brown eyes spring open fully. "...Holy shit... BACH?!"


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Bach''s jaw drops, and a huge smile explodes on his face. "KALEB?!"


    Kaleb hops out of his chair and stands straight up with his arms out. "Motherfucking Bach Warwick! Where the fuck have you been, you bastard?! Get over here!"


    Bach walks up with a hand out and shakes Kaleb''s hand. Kaleb pulls him close and both path the other one back. Kaleb steps back and glances over Bach. "I''ll be damned, my dude. Out of all the places to find you. How the hell have you been?"


    Bach shrugs uncertainly and laughs with a tinge of embarrassment. "Well... That''s kind of a crazy story, really. Gods, I don''t even know where to start with it all."


    Kaleb holds his hands out expectantly to his sides with an eager grin. "Well, I''m not doing anything right now. Tell me all about it."


    Furrowing his brow against the rush of recent memory, Bach takes a deep breath in and grins awkwardly. "Well... Long story short for now... Sebastian got taken down by Noxian. But, he didn''t die, technically, and ended up tracking me down. He and his party practically abducted me and have been getting me into adventuring. And, I''ve actually been on a few crazy missions and-"


    Lifting his hands up to Bach, Kaleb blinks incredulously a few times and narrows a curious stare. "Whoa! Okay! Hold up. Back up to that first point. Shadeesa and I saw the news about Sebastian and his group."


    Cocking his head to the side, he fights through blatantly bewilderment. "He''s not dead? Technically?! The fuck does THAT mean?"


    Bach rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose. "Yeah... It''s a bit weird, man. I know. Uh, how about we go to my group, and he''ll explain it, him... self..."


    Kaleb nods quickly and snaps his head out towards the rest of the dining area, searching the vast space. "Sounds like a plan. So, where are they at?"


    Subconscious recognition pulls Bach''s attention to activity beyond the window behind Kaleb. Slowly blinking numerous times, he squints and fails to fully process the scene before him. Outside in the grass lot a large scaly creature wanders into view. With a strange feline grace walking on four limbs, the massive creature steps lazily behind a small shrub and sits down, towering above it. A long, finned tail coils up nearby, and two pairs of folded wings shudder as it yawns open its large maw. Bright green eyes focus down upon the small shrub, and a black tongue licks the creature''s lips. The sun shines across blue and black shiny scales, between white bony plates. The creature deftly digs claws into the dirt around the shrub, and scoops the top layer with dexterous hands. Craning a head down with its long neck and open maw, it fits most of the shrub within its mouth. The maw closes tightly around the shrub. Lifting up its head, it uproots the plant effortlessly from the lawn and slowly chews upon the plant, bits of dirt shaking free with each motion.


    Kaleb faces Bach again and quizzically asks. "Hey? Bach? Where are they at-"


    Noticing Bach staring past him, he follows Bach''s eyes to a point behind him. Kaleb tenses at spotting the creature and growls in frustration. "Oh, gods dammit! Lagi!"


    He rushes down the dining walkway to an external door to the grass lot. Bach tilts his head to the side and mouths out through the state of confusion and shock. "Lagi?"


    Kaleb storms out through the doorway, stomping his boots with each step on the paved walkway. Stopping with rigid parental authority, he throws his hand down and snaps to a point on the ground. "LAGI! SPIT IT OUT! NOW! You''re being a bad boy!"


    Lagi slows munching upon the shrub to a defiant, unamused halt. With roots dangling out, he slowly shifts his stare to Kaleb and waits. Narrowing his bright green eyes upon Kaleb, a faint frown curls around sharp teeth. Kaleb stands in front of Lagi and sternly glares up. "You put it down, right now! That''s not your shrub, you can''t eat it! Put it down now, or no treats after dinner tonight."


    Lagi meets Kaleb''s glare and defiantly grunts with an undertone of frustration and a trailing snort. Crossing his arms, Kaleb exaggerates the taps of his boot and maintains an unmoving parental stare. "Put. It. Down. Or. No. Treats."


    An odd silence flushes out all other sounds in the area. Kaleb and Lagi maintain eye contact throughout the quiet, heavy tension. After a quick squint challenging the authority, Lagi opens his mouth and tosses the rest of the shrub into his maw. He closes with cheeks bulging slightly. Kaleb pivots around, throwing his hands up in the air. "Welp! No treats for you!"


    He reaches inside a chest pocket, pulls out an aetherphone, and waves it above his head. "Guess who I am calling? I''m going to tell her what you did, and you better hope she just sticks with tonight. Because she might say no treats for the rest of the week, and she''ll be right."


    Lagi''s eyes spring wide open, and his pupils dilate in childish terror. He drops his head down above the fresh hole in the ground. With a low, guttural wretch, Lagi deposits the shrub back into the dirt. A coating of mucus and phlegm glistens in the sun, and a gust of wind tips the half-chewed shrub crooked. He frantically sweeps up loose dirt around the base of the shrub with his hands and pats it down haphazardly. Speeding over behind Kaleb, Lagi attempts to nuzzle his head on Kaleb, pleading through pitiful chirps and whines. Kaleb firms his resolve and holds the aetherphone in front of him. He hangs his thumb above the call button on the screen. The pines grow desperate, and Lagi begs for forgiveness with bright green eyes affixed upon the aetherphone. Bach cautiously opens the external door and steps onto the walkway outside. Turning towards Lagi, he gawks in utter shock and tilts his head to the side in pure disbelief. He rubs his eyes and blinks again dumbfounded and entertains the conclusion old memories offer. "Lagi... That''s you?"


    Lagi ceases. Lifting his head up towards the sound, his eyes lock onto Bach and his jaw opens in surprise. A happy shriek pierces the air. Lagi excitedly lunges forth into a hopping, bounding gait. A wide eyed stare spring open on Bach''s light tan face, he throws out his hand to the more than ten meter long creature and tries to command. "Lagi! Sit! Sit, Lagi! Lagi?!"


    Inside the Merc-Mart restaurant, a growing crowd around the large windows watches the scene unfold outside. Standing up from the table with Aristespha, Cideeda, and Dretphi, she narrows her golden eyes at the gathering of people. "Gods, what is going on over there-"


    Squinting for a glimpse of the action, she brushes back a stray lock of dark red hair over a swept back horn. "What the fuck is Bach doing outsid-?!"


    Lagi charges up to Bach, sweeps Bach into tackle with his front legs, and curls up around. Sotalia glances back to the awe-struck, blank stares of everyone else. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sprint out of their seats and rush towards the exterior door.


    Outside, Kaleb runs over and calls out. "Bach? You okay?"


    An arm reaches out and pats the head of the purring beast defensively curled around. Bach chuckles while wiggling for more freedom. "Yeah! He''s still pretty gentle despite how big he''s gotten."


    Lagi whines happily and shudders both pairs of wings in sheer joy. Bach pulls him himself free and meets the light headbutt from Lagi. Scratching under Lagi''s chin, he laughs with a bright smile. "Yes, I missed you, too."


    Kaleb walks around Lagi next to Bach and pats him on the back. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia pile out the door and observe Bach petting the large creature. Examining the situation, Aristespha furrows her intrigued brow and cocks her head to a hint of memory. Resting her hand on the handle of the sword, she glances down thoughtfully. Cideeda and Dretphi cautiously approach Bach, being very mindful of Lagi. Blinking her golden eyes in astonishment, Sotalia flings her hands out in front of her and yells out with an incredulous expression on her face. "Okay?! What the fuck is a DRAGON doing out here?!"


    Starling him from a quiet conversation with Aristespha, confusion overtakes Sebastian. "Wait, what?! A dragon?!"


    A curious grin grows upon Aristespha, she respectfully nods to Kaleb. "Kaleb Hellstrom, I presume?"


    Kaleb pivots to Aristespha and nods with a slight bow. "Yes, ma''am. I-"


    A spark of recognition flashes his sun tanned face, and he smiles brightly. "Oh! Your Sebastian''s group! Where is he?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly form materializes next to Aristespha. Lagi spots Sebastian. A surge of joy stumbles to a pause, and he quizzically tilts his head at the visage of Sebastian. Examining closely, he chirps out his confusion and whines. Sebastian nods to Lagi with a calming smile. "Don''t worry, boy. I''m doing fine all things considered. This is only temporary."


    An awkward pause looms over in the lull of activity. Kaleb takes in a long breath, puts his hands on his waists, and chuckles. "Well! I guess we got A LOT to talk about."


    The group collectively nods, including Lagi. Aristespha briefly scans the windows leading inside and sighs holding back her embarrassment. "If I may make a suggestion, let us continue this back at our place? Somewhere private."


    Bach follows Aristespha''s glance and tenses at the small audience of a dozen people watching. Sebastian shrugs in acceptance and waves to people. Many wave back, while eating their food. One man gestures for the group to keep on going. "Don''t mind us! We didn''t know there would be a show."


    Kaleb slowly nods with a clenching grin. Points to the harness and saddle upon Lagi''s shoulders, he whispers to the team. "If you can give me the address, I''ve got a holographic HUD with a navigation system. I''ll meet you all wherever."


    ----


    Afternoon light drifts across the wooden floor of the small bedroom through an open doorway. Sliding from a recording equipment cluttered desk, Gerald stands up from his chair and steps through the doorway onto a small balcony. From the third story overlook, he wanders his stare over the large backyard of the property and drifts his attention to the nearby properties. He lifts a condensation covered bottle of beer up and enjoys a long swig. Resting his idle gaze above the treetops of the filling in the forest, he absorbs freshly spring scenery and slowly sniffs in the warming air. Creaks and cracks of old wood sound out from the stairs near the entry to the bedroom. Samantha steps onto the landing before the doorway and studies the slight disarray of the room. Pausing to note major caches of equipment within the chaos, she presents a short grin. "Well, I see you''ve settled in quickly."


    Gerald glances over his shoulder and casually shrugs. "Pretty easy when you have plenty of space to scatter stuff around. I''ll sort it out later. Just happy enough to get it up here."


    Samantha walks carefully across the room, avoiding large blockades of travel containers. She slides next to Gerald on the balcony and blinks in honest surprise at the view. "This IS a nice view. I can see why you claimed it."


    Nodding, Gerald waves his hand across the scene. "Pretty enough. But... I especially like the clear shot I''ve got of our adventurers'' yard, and..."


    He settles his pointing finger towards a large open field behind a ranch style house. Taking another swig from his beer, he guides Samantha''s curiosity towards a nearby plot. "A nice shot of our OTHER adventurers."


    Leaning slightly over the handrail, Samantha squints over the forest tree tops and grows a mischievous grin. "Oh! That IS nice. I''m sure you have some plans for that."


    Gerald chuckles and perks his eyebrows with a smug smirk. "Oh, yeah. I''m thinking of using the outdoor case with a telephoto lens and motion trigger. Fix it on the railing. I still haven''t decided on the high resolution camera or that one with the good night-vision mode. "


    Samantha stands back and crosses her arms. Resting her chin on her fist, she sighs. "If you want my opinion, I''d go with the high resolution one for now. I''ll talk to Howie and see if he can send us another outdoor case, because I would love to have both at the ready. You never know what''s going to happen-"


    A loud shriek echoes out from above and low, repetitious thumps vibrate through the air. Samantha blinks and searches to the left and right. Recognition springs Gerald stare wide open, and he immediately tilts his head up. The balcony briefly darkens under a huge shadow passing over. Samantha hunts in vain. "What WAS THAT?! It sounded like a hawk, but huge!"


    Gerald''s eyes lock themselves to a single target. Slamming back the remainder of his beer, he tosses the empty aside and reaches through the balcony doorway. Puzzling at Gerald, Samantha spots the source of the strange noises and gawks in sheer astonishment. Her jaw drops with a blank stare, and the few words that manifest in her mouth tumble out into incoherence. Coasting low into the field, Lagi stretches his arms and legs out for a landing. Riding a breeze to hover over a clear stretch of grass, Lagi pitches his massive front wingspan and deftly flaps his smaller back wings. With a final dip down and cushioning slam of air, he touches down, routine and smooth. As he glances over his shoulder, Kaleb pats him on the head from the saddle. Leaning forward, Kaleb speaks a few words to Lagi and waves his hand towards the wooden plank picnic table. Samantha slowly pivots towards where she remembers Gerald being. "By the gods, I hope-"


    Her smiles grow wide with satisfaction. Gerald adjusts his large shoulder camera rig. Feeling a pat and squeeze on the shoulder from Samantha, he laughs. "You know better than to ask that."


    ----


    A strong breeze sways the tops of tall grass in the field. Lagi stretches his two pairs of wings, and afternoon sun glints off the blue black scales on the dragon. While rolling the stiffness out of a shoulder, Kaleb walks up to the wood plank picnic table that Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Sebastian congregate around. Bach meets approaching Lagi with arms outstretched, and Lagi quickly nuzzles his head close to Bach. A low purr rumbles out from the content dragon, enjoying scratches under his chin. Bach smiles with a chuckle and hugs Lagi. "Yeah... I missed you, Lagi."


    Kaleb shakes his head with a grin as he watches the two. Cautiously approaching Kaleb, Dretphi keeps a calm facade over her overwhelming eagerness and politely asks. "Would it be okay for me to pet Lagi?"


    Glancing up to Dretphi, Kaleb chuckles and gestures with a wave towards the dragon. "Oh! Go right ahead. Really. He LOVES the attention. I won''t be able to convince him to go back home until he shows off for a bit, anyway."


    Flicking her furry ears away from the conversation, Cideeda steps up to the side of Dretphi. She carefully reaches up and gently scratches Lagi under the neck in between the attention from Bach and Dretphi. Sotalia crosses her arms vaguely petulant and sniffs in a demanding air. Alternating an expectant stare between Sebastian and Bach, she furrows her brow. "Okay! I guess I''m going to ask the questions. Dragon. Why? How? When?"


    Bach and Sebastian exchange awkward glances and converse quietly through flashes of expressions. Sebastian shrugs in defeat and tilts his head to the side with an appeasing grin. "Well, to be fair, I did mention a few times my roommate had a pet dragon."


    Sotalia pivots a glare upon Sebastian and rests her hands on her hips with incredulous tilt. "You made it sound like a little dragon, something like a whelp!"


    She throws her hands out towards Lagi and waves her arms emphatically at the dragon. "I honestly didn''t think it was a legitimate DRAGON."


    Stepping back from Lagi, Bach frees up space for Aristespha to slip in to caress Lagi. Studying the large creature, he scratches the back of his head. "Well, I mean... Back THEN, Lagi could fit in the bathtub... after a little bit of a fight."


    Bouncing his glances between the ground, the top of Lagi''s, and the tips of the wings, Bach faces Kaleb and points a thumb over to Lagi. "Dude, how big has he gotten?! I''m amazed his back wings grew that big. But... He''s HUGE."


    Kaleb pulls a deep breath in and exhales with a trailing sigh. Blinking through his memory, he strokes his chin. "Umm... Last time Shadeesa and I managed to get a tape measure on him, he''s easily pushing a fifteen meter front wingspan and maybe eleven meters long head to tail. He''s probably gotten bigger."


    Cocking his head, Sebastian eyes Kaleb with a sly grin. "Aha! So you and Shadeesa are still keeping in touch?"


    Kaleb works a smile on his face and laughs. "You could say that. In fact, I wanted to thank you, Sebastian."


    Sebastian lifts an eyebrow and places his hands on his hips with hints of smugness slipping out. "Really? And, why is that?"


    Kaleb proudly straightens up his posture. "Well, I finally took your advice and asked Shadeesa out. I mean, I''m a biologist. She''s an exotic veterinarian. Totally made sense when I thought about it."


    He shrugs his shoulders and crosses his arms. "And well, I got a job traveling to strange and weird places, which worked perfect for her research of creatures that live in those same places. It made for some really interesting places to have dates. So, we''ve been together since a few months after you graduated."


    Bach and Sebastian exchange glances and focus upon Kaleb with knowing smirks. Sebastian puffs up his chest with an ethereal chuckle. "Damn, Kaleb. That''s really awesome. Well, I figured you two would do well-"


    Kaleb flicks up a finger as a point of attention and grins. "Hey, I''m not done, yet. But, yeah, you were right. We''ve actually settled down a little over an hour away and well..."


    Wrestling the mixture of pride and embarrassment, he laughs. "We''re expecting our first in six months."


    Sebastian''s mouth opens silently in dumbstruck awe. Bach walks up and shakes Kaleb''s hand. "Congratulations! That''s great news!"


    Kaleb humbly accepts a wave of courteous congratulations, and shrugs. "Everything is... Good. Shadeesa makes sure of that. She can give more details, herself. When we get inside, I''ll get a video call going to her on my aetherphone. Hopefully next doctor visit, we''ll find out the sex of the baby and figure out if the baby will have her mother''s horns."


    Pausing from petting Lagi, Sotalia glances over her shoulder at Kaleb with an interested, hopeful smile. "So, Shadeesa is part emin?"


    Kaleb nods. "Oh yeah, full emin."


    Sotalia bites her lip briefly and allows a confident grin to form. "Well, if she needs a half-emin to talk to, I''ll answer any questions she''s got."


    Blinking through a wave of parental worries, Kaleb shakes back to the conversation and exhales in relief. "Thank you. Any bits of wisdom will help us so much."


    Lifting his head up, Lagi cranes over Kaleb and mutters a sequence of clicks, chirps, and rumbles. Kaleb rolls his light brown eyes and rubs Lagi''s chin. "Okay! I was wondering when you''d want to show off for everyone."


    Kaleb sweeps a gaze over everyone else and gestures out into the field. "Would it be okay if Lagi does one of his spells? It''s something he likes to show new people."


    Bach searches around for any objections and points off to the lone boulder in the field. "I don''t have any problems. We train in this field anyway, and THAT boulder is usually the target."


    Nodding, Kaleb steps next to his saddle on Lagi and draws out a large, bulky energy pistol from a holster. Cideeda squints at the high-tech weapon and quirks an intrigued brow. "That''s a Particle Power Blaster isn''t it?"


    Kaleb hoists the pistol up, keeping it muzzle up into the air with a sly grin. "Yes it is! It''s nothing fancy and old. But, it has a multi-spectrum laser target painter module. I use it to point out things to Lagi."


    He whistles, snaps his fingers, and levels his aim at the boulder. "Lagi! Get ready!"


    A spark of excitement courses through the dragon''s bright green eyes. Slowly unfurling his massive wings into the air, the blue and black scales shimmer shades between. Claws dig into the dirt, and anchor in the soil a large frame. Opening his maw wide, glowing trails of magical flow funnel towards a central point building in front of Lagi''s mouth. Sotalia slides next to Aristespha, and both carefully observe. Sotalia eagerly waits. "This is so cool! I remember the last time I saw a dragon breathe fire, it jetted almost a hundred meters across the sky!"


    Kaleb taps a second set of triggers on the pistol and a bright blue beam flashes on the boulder. Lagi full attention focuses upon the point, and the magical condensing energy warps. Misty flow erupts into a flaming orb of orange fire, and a river of energy rushes in from tributaries all across the dragon''s body. Staring in wonder at the manifesting power, Aristespha blinks her eyes to violet glow and concentrates upon the torrents of flow. Sotalia''s excitement stalls while watching the orb, and flashes of familiarity border on recognition on her light tan and dark gray face. The energy ball near Lagi''s mouth compresses down, and colors blend from orange to yellow to blue to blue-white. Rolling flames surge into powerful jet torches, roaring loudly. Tilting her head, recognition springs out of Sotalia, and she gawks in disbelief with a hanging jaw. Aristespha grins in sheer amusement and enjoys the expression on Sotalia.


    Kaleb pulls and holds the second trigger down. A glint of excitement flashes in Lagi''s bright green eyes. The blue-white orb of magical fire streaks across the field, and crashes upon the boulder into a fiery explosion. The shockwave ripples through the grass and carries a loud thunderous boom across the field, smacking into the leaves of the bordering forest and vibrating the glass nearby. Quickly turning his head, Lagi eagerly watches reactions from the team with a toothy smile, and happily hops in place. Sotalia blinks out her astonishment. Gradually pivoting around, she raises a hand with a point at Bach, and narrows her golden stare. "YOU had something to do with this. THAT was not normal for any dragon I have ever heard of."


    Bach awkwardly shrugs, hands out to his sides uneasily. "Uh, yeah... You could say that. It turns out dragons learn their fire blast spells from their parents. Neither of Lagi''s were alive. He was trying to mimic a lot of the spells I was doing..."


    He chuckles and averts his gaze away from the condemning glare. "So, I... Improvised a few spells?"


    Laughing, Kaleb places his blaster pistol back into the holster on the saddle. "Yeah, it''s kind of strange. Lagi only ever paid attention to Bach when it came to spell casting. So we figured he might learn from him. Lagi knows a lot of different spells from Bach."


    Sotalia grins ear to ear and flutters her eyes at Kaleb. "Well, I would LOVE to see them. Would it be too much to ask for Lagi and you to showcase a few of the more spectacular ones?"


    Barely containing her excitement, Cideeda grin sharply. "YEAH! I''d like to see a few more! That was amazing."


    Dretphi eagerly nods with a large smile. Aristespha sits on the picnic table bench, and amusedly watches Bach''s uncomfortable grimaces under Sotalia''s scrutiny. Kaleb nonchalantly pivots to Lagi. "You up for a few more? Looks like we''re putting on a show."


    Wagging his long, fanning tail, Lagi nods and chirps delightedly with an energetic sway. Kaleb plucks his blaster box out, side steps from the dragon, and levels an aim on the boulder. "Okay! Well, I''ll do some of the usual routine. This next one is called Homing Laser. Available in single shot or flurry attack."


    ----


    At the edge of the field behind the ranch style house, a pair of furry, tufted ears flick up and a pair of swirling horns rise just into view from behind a bush. Peering above a small shrub at the edge of the forest, Deedri and Tassilda stare eyes wide at the large, blue-black dragon sunning himself in the grassy field. A strong breeze sweeps over the open space and bends the taller stems still out of the green sea. Lagi instinctively pitches his wings up and sinks his front claws into the dirt. The current gradually hoists up the dragon just enough to hover above the ground briefly, and Lagi relaxes in the drift. Tassilda tilts her head close to Deedri and keeps her tone hushed against her anxiety. "What is a dragon doing here?!"


    Deedri raises her auburn stare above the top of the brush with her hands covering her mouth and squirms excitedly. "I-I-I-i... I can''t believe it! It''s really a dragon! A BIG, QUAD wing... They''re so RARE."


    Warily glancing over to eager Deedri, Tassilda stares back at the dragon. "Right. Yes. How about we sneak back and call it a day?"


    Determine glints in Deedri''s eyes, and she bites her lip with a grin. "I''m going to call him over here."


    Tassilda snaps her head at Deedri and blinks blankly. "Uh- You''re what?"


    Two clawed hands reach out over the bush and gesture Lagi over. Deedri clicks with her mouth and directs her voice. "Hey! Yeah! Over here!"


    Another set of light gray arms snatch the first set away, and Tassilda puts her face in front of Deedri''s. "WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING?"


    Pulling her arms back, Deedri quirks an indignant brow. "Calling him over. I want to see him up close."


    Tassilda shudders her body in disbelief and narrows her light blue on black eyes. "Are you insane?! That''s a DRAGON!"


    While taking in a deep breath, Deedri slowly nods her head with a determined smile growing. "Tassilda. I know. My undergraduate thesis was titled The Engineered Genetics and Magical Alterations of the Modern Day Dragon. So, when presented with an extremely rare octopod, tame, and unusually large dragon..."


    She leans her confident stare closer to Tassilda and asserts. "I''m going to get a good look at him. And, I would like to pet this creature."


    Fumbling in surprise, Tassilda leans away and grimaces. "Okay. Go ahead. Go pet the dragon."


    Deedri stands up slowly and walks out to Lagi. "Hey, big dragon! What''s your name?"


    Wincing in anticipation, Tassilda watches the approach. She furrows her brow, pulls back a stray raven black lock over a horn, and blinks in surprise. A flurry of confusion washes over her light gray face, and she mumbles to herself. "She''s... actually petting it... It''s purring?"


    Minutes later, she shakes her head free from dumbstruck bewilderment. Standing up, she brushes the dirt and leaves off her form fitting outfit, regains her air of confidence, and struts out. "Well... Hello. What big tough dragon do we have here?"


    Deedri smiles tightly and rolls her eyes to Tassilda. Meeting the stare, Tassilda sighs and scratches underneath Lagi''s chin. "Well. I couldn''t very well let you have all the fun."


    ----


    Inside the living space of the ranch style house, a gathering around the dining room table gazes upon the tabletop. On the table, an aetherphone screen shows an emin woman smiling warmly. She exhales in joyous relief and wipes a tear off her white freckled cheek, underneath her green on black eyes. "Gods... It''s just so good to see you again, Bach. And, to also know you''re not dead, Sebastian. Kaleb and I were so worried, but didn''t know how to contact you."


    Sebastian visage awkwardly grits his teeth to a smile. "Well. To be honest, we haven''t been very reachable. My fault there."


    Bach shrugs with a sigh. "And, I kind of dropped off the face of Nexus. So... My fault there, too, Shadeesa."


    Shadeesa guides her dark green hair over her light gray pointed ears and shakes her horned head. "Oh, it doesn''t matter. We got each other''s contact information now. I''ll hopefully be there in person in the near future."


    Tilting her head to the side, she tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Or, you all are more than welcome to come visit our home. Whatever works. It''s not much of a place, but we have plenty of land."


    Glancing over his shoulder to the dimming light outside, Kaleb gazes at Shadeesa on screen. "Hmm... Hate to break up the party, but the daylight hours are running thin. Hey, could you check the radar real quick for me, please?"


    Shadeesa spins to a side with a faint squeak of a rolling chair and leans out of view. "Yes, I will. And... Oh my. Good gods, really?! Again?!"


    Kaleb leans in closer to the aetherphone with concern. "Did that damn weird zone kick something else out?!"


    On the screen, a hand grabs around the camera lens on the other side of the call. With the sounds of movement filtering in, the view clears to show a computer screen. A weather radar loops a time lapse animation, showing large, dangerous storm cells in bright highlights. Kaleb hems and rubs his chin in contemplation. "Well. Damn. That''s going right into my flight path back to the house. That is pretty big and slow moving, too. Okay, I need to lea-"


    A stern voice floods the surrounding space from the aetherphone and Shadeesa firmly stares through the phone. "Stay for the night."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Kaleb stares at his phone and begins to open his mouth. The aetherphone screen fills with Shadeesa''s face. Her stoic, stern, unamused glare slices through Kaleb''s very being and seizes his complete attention. Bach and Sebastian instinctively take a slow step away from Kaleb and wait. Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange bemused glances, off to the side, while Aristespha curls a hidden smirk. Kaleb nods his head and smiles with a resigned breath. "You are right. No sense in chancing it right now."


    Sebastian steps back to Kaleb''s side. "We won''t put you out into the storm. You are welcome to our most comfortable couch."


    Bach taps a fist into Kaleb''s shoulder. "Plus, Lagi can curl up comfortably in the garage. I''ll just need to move my bike."


    Dropping into a seat on the couch, Cideeda settles into the cushions with a remote in hand. "Hey, you can help us suffer through watching tonight''s episode of the Next Adventurers of Nexus."


    Crossing his arms, Kaleb shrugs in agreement. "That works for me. We haven''t caught the latest season yet. Anything interesting happened?"


    Silence looms in the air. A consensus of nods follow. Kaleb warily picks up his phone from the dining table and directs his voice to the phone. "I think we might want to get caught up."


    Shadeesa nods on screen. "Yes. I get the feeling we should."

 Episode 16

    Morning light drifts into the living space through the back sliding glass door, and warmth radiates from all the floor and furniture covered. Soft clicks of metal upon ceramic bounces off the neutral tone painted walls from the gathering at the dining table. Fighting back the lingering drowsiness, Bach brushes his fingers through his longer brown hair and wrestles his head back against yawn. Rubbing the remaining traces of sleep from his blue eyes, his attention wanders a moment and spots a stray gray hair hanging prominently in front of his eyes. The gray hair sways with faint air currents, separate from Bach''s white streak. Hovering his fingers around the target, a quick clamp seizes the offending hair. He plucks and flicks the gray hair away upon the floor and returns his distant gaze to his bowl of cereal. Starling back to awareness, he cracks a smile. "Damn... It''s been FOREVER since I binged on Zone Runners."


    Kaleb loses his fight against a yawn and shakes his head. Shuddering into the conversation, he scoops up a spoonful of cereal from his bowl and lazily hangs in midway. "No shit. That was NICE. Gods, wish I could have stayed up longer. Can''t put off sleep like I used to."


    Bach shrugs while crunching down and glances at the coffee table. "Well. That third run was too good to risk sleep deprivation on. I think it was best that we saved it for later. We got lucky to find those artifacts so early. Got real potential to make it to the veil and get through it."


    Nodding in agreement, Kaleb cracks a slight grin, eagerness hinting. "Gives me a reason to stop by again then. Can''t let it go to waste."


    Sebastian floats in through the kitchen door and drifts near the dining table. Glancing between Bach and Kaleb, he eyes behind himself at the kitchen door with an amused smirk. "Despite how big he''s gotten, Lagi is still that spoiled little dragon we used to chase around the campus."


    With a snort, Kaleb shakes his head of blonde hair and rests his spoon into his cereal bowl. "Well he''s still just as thrilled about baths as he ever was, too. Uh, what is he getting into, anyway?"


    Scratching his chin, Sebastian''s visage briefly turns towards the kitchen door and back to the question. "Oh. He''s doing a bunch of tricks for pieces of jerky. He''s making out like a bandit, too."


    Kaleb rolls his light brown eyes and sighs with a humored smile on the side of his face. "Gods, I can''t believe he''s even thinking about treats after all he drank yesterday."


    Bach perks his brow and stares at Kaleb. "What DID he drink? In fact, what ARE you feeding him these days?"


    A chuckle erupts, and Kaleb dons a sinister grin. "Used cooking oil. Leftovers. Whatever plants that aren''t part of the landscaping. Small children that get lost in the woods. But, mostly used cooking oil when doing long flights."


    Blinking a moment, Bach drifts into his thoughts. He nods in acceptance, twisting a strange grimace with his memories. "You know... I''m really not that surprised. After a few of the things I''ve seen him eat..."


    He rolls his blue eyes. "Or, at least attempt to."


    Sebastian crosses his arms and widens his eyes as a flash of the past arrives at the front of his mind. "Yeah, especially after the synth diesel incident..."


    Twisting his grimace, an ethereal snort slips out of Sebastian. "That residential director was PISSED."


    Kaleb rests back into his chair with a smile. "Well, his stomach hasn''t gotten any less indestructible and destructive. Shadeesa keeps track of his nutrition for anything he needs. But after all my research, those Pre-Cataclysm scientists covered all the bases for all the biological basics, when it comes to Lagi''s ancestors. He just needs a food source dense in energy and his metabolism will do the rest. Just mapping out the digestive processes going on will probably get me enough material for my doctorate."


    Bach sweeps the bottom of the bowl with his spoon for the remaining milk, scoops up a few bits of cereal. "Does he still eat rocks?"


    With a grumble, Kaleb lifts his hands up in stale defeat. "Occasionally. I kind of wish he would stick with that instead of what he''s been doing lately."


    Placing the spoon into his bowl with a slight clink, Bach quirks his brow. "Shrubs?"


    Kaleb groans and tips his head back. He sways his head shoulder to shoulder and works out the lingering annoyance. With a sigh, he drops into a hanging nod. "YES. Gods... Shadeesa was out picking some wild berries with Lagi following her around. She fed him a few and went inside."


    Narrowing his unfocused frustrated gaze between Bach and Sebastian, he grimaces. "Well... Let''s just say the next morning there were A LOT of uprooted, half-eaten bushes and shrubs ALL around the area."


    He props his arms upon the tabletop and rests his head between his hands, unamused. "It''s like he''s on this one dragon quest to find other tasty shrubs, bushes, and hedges. Thankfully, most places I stop at are willing to overlook their landscaping getting eaten and are quite happy with the free disposal of cooking oil. And, the customers a dragon attracts."


    The kitchen door opens up and reveals Sotalia. Stepping forward to the refrigerator, confusion fights contemplation upon her face. She opens the fridge open, retrieves a bottle of a fruit shake and strides over to the dining table. With a firm grasp, she pulls back the chair and sits down. She quaffs some of the fruit shake and wanders a curious stare between Bach, Kaleb, and Sebastian. "Okay. That dragon outside is unlike any I''ve ever read about or seen. Let''s start with the basics."


    She narrows a borderline glare with a demanding undertone. "How the hell did a biology student get a dragon?!"


    Blinking blankly, Kaleb bites the lip near the corner of his mouth and pulls in a long breath. "Well... Here''s the quick version..."


    He straightens his posture in the dining chair. "I needed to take an elective at the last minute to keep my scholarships. There was this selected topics course in dragon biology. Turns out it was mostly military minded guys taking the course for credit, so they could meet requirements to ride dragons. I was really the only one interested in the details of the biology, and the professor and I got to know each other. Due to the death of a mother dragon, there was a clutch of eggs and I got one. Bach, Sebastian, Shadeesa, and I hatched it and raised Lagi during his early years. Now, he''s a big dragon, and I''m furthering this whole field of study. Off to the side, since that doesn''t pay the bills."


    Sotalia pauses and winces against a flurry of thoughts. Narrowing her eyes, she points at Kaleb and squints incredulously. "Okay... First question, of many... Who the fuck was your professor that even had ACCESS to dragon egg that could spawn a beast like Lagi... And even give it to you?!"


    Kaleb grits his teeth into a wary smile, anticipating Sotalia''s reaction. "Well... A Commander Blaureiter."


    With a distant gaze on her face, Sotalia flutters her golden eyes in disbelief. As recognition of the name solidifies, she pulls her head of dark red hair back slightly and settles her widening stare upon Kaleb. "Excuse me- Wait... The? Commander Blaureiter?!"


    Bach nods slightly, exchanging intrigued glances with Kaleb and Sebastian. "Yeah, I guess. He didn''t care to be called commander most of the time. He really liked professor a lot more. Considers the whole commander thing to be in the past."


    Sotalia slowly and firmly rubs the temples of her head. Sliding her hands through her dark red hair, she frustratingly grabs her black swept back horns near the bases. "Are you- Really?! You guys KNOW Commander Blaureiter?!"


    Her golden irises flick to the floating ethereal visage of Sebastian. Her face follows after with a glare right through him. "OKAY. Why the FUCK didn''t YOU ever tell me this?!"


    Presenting an uneasy smile, Sebastian nervously averts his eyes from the attention. Drifting back slightly, he raises his arms up defensively in the air. "Hey! It never came up! I didn''t know you were a fan of his! He was just a really cool professor that really loved his job. Also, just a really awesome guy to hang with. We were really thankfully for him teaching us how to take of care Lagi."


    Kaleb exchanges a wary glance with Bach, and both share the forming trepidation. Sighing, Kaleb manages to summon up a firm smile. "Yeah, I got to know Blaureiter. He was very interested in having an honest student for once, and I learned a lot about the Pre-Cataclysm, First Period, and Second Period histories when it came to dragon biology. I even got to meet..."


    He stiffly sniffs and steels his grimace against a flash of remembered fear. "Blaureiter''s dragon..."


    Her jaw slowly dropping, Sotalia gawks, and shock claims against all other possible expressions. With a quick head shake, she regains her senses and gazes at Kaleb with a genuine interest. "By the gods... You actually met the Night Terror?"


    Kaleb nods, exhales as memories arise in his mind, and squirms reflexively in his seat. "Yes. That was quite THE harrowing experience. Just the stare she gave me the whole time."


    He blinks to a visage inside his mind and shudders back. "But, as Blaureiter said, she was just being... VERY DEFENSIVE of her eggs."


    A twitch nearly winks her golden eye, and Sotalia straightens herself in the seat. Floating her hand to point towards the kitchen door, she fumbles with her words. "Wait... No... There''s NO WAY..."


    She bounces her gaze off the door and to the gathering around the dining table numerous times. "That goofy, playful, child-like dragon... Doing tricks for jerky... Through that very door and just outside the garage..."


    Furrowing her brow, she stares barely able to contain the sheer bewilderment escaping her being. "Is the SON of THE Night Terror?!"


    Bach, Kaleb, and Sebastian silently converses through glances. After a quiet agreement, they nod in unison to Sotalia. Sinking back into her chair, she drifts her gaze around in haze of shock. "The Night Terror. A winged weapon of mass destruction. A creature that once broke out of her military containment to destroy a twenty kilometer stretch of anti-air batteries, because she felt insulted that one took a shot at her."


    She covers her mouth, searching the chaos inside her head. Pulling her grasp down to her chin, she eyes Kaleb incredulously. "I- I just can''t believe it. The terror that took both the arms of Commander Blaureiter and could breathe fire so hot it melted stone..."


    Her golden eyes spring wide open. "But, WAIT!"


    She pivots in the chair and leans towards Kaleb, narrowing her eyes with an accusing tone. "I remember reading about The Night Terror''s death! A massive positively charged lightning strike in a maelstrom? They said all four of her eggs were donated to different nations'' research facilities as part of an old peace treaty."


    Nodding in total agreement, Kaleb narrows his stare at her. "Yes. She broke out of containment in a strange fit. I mean, she wanted to get out for some reason. And when flying around, she got hit with a positively charged, magic empowered lightning strike. Probably the only thing that could have ever taken her down."


    He leans back into his chair and sighs to a serious, somber tone. "She was dead. Her first clutch was in trouble. They just couldn''t find another dragon to tend her nest. Most fled in sheer terror when they caught the scent of it."


    Furrowing her brow, Sotalia rests her elbow on the table top, props her head up with the back of her hand, and ponders out loud. "But... Most attempts to hatch an egg without a parent usually results in a pseudo-dragon or whelp. Correct?"


    Grimacing to the past, Kaleb sorts through an explanation. "Yes. But... I had a theory. Many younger breeds of dragon have various genetic and magical protections to prevent stolen eggs from becoming viable weapons. A few protections even manipulated genetics, so you couldn''t really breed anything useful. It was very common in the Second Period. One of the reasons we have so many whelp and pseudo-dragon varieties today."


    Piecing together his explanation, he places both elbows on the table, intertwines his fingers, and rests his chin on his hands. "For what she WAS, she HAD to be descended from a much older, untouched bloodline. Something that was well before all the specialized breeding and protective measures. And... I bet the mate she found during her two week absence from a previous escape was from an equally old bloodline."


    He furrows his brow and frowns. "She would NOT have settled for anything less."


    Lifting his head up, he separates his hands and grins deviously. "So, before the authorities came to claim the eggs, I asked Blaureiter for the fifth one."


    Tilting her head to the side, a few stray dark red hairs fall off Sotalia''s horn. She quickly sweeps them back over and raises a very curious eyebrow. "Fifth? But... All the news outlets and government reports said there were four."


    With a proud grin blatant, Kaleb slowly nods. "Oh, I know. And, I had the fifth one. There was only four left when they showed up."


    He draws in a long breath and smugly smiles. "I theorized there was a good chance those eggs didn''t have all the biological protections and could be hatched into proper dragons without a parent. So, I explained my theory to Blaureiter, and he agreed. When the officials came, they took the decorated war hero''s word. Since he was also the only person who had ever gotten close enough to count the eggs, so they had no means of proving him wrong. They continued to believe him well after they never found him caring for an egg or running around with a dragon hatchling. After a year, they never really checked further. Since each nation part of that peace treaty got one egg, no one really cared."


    With a humored smirk, Bach chuckles and tilts his head to the memories. "Gods, those were some crazy months. I still remember keeping that big egg between Sebastian and me on the couch when we played video games. "


    Sebastian crosses his arms with a smile and floats down to a mimic sitting upon a chair. "That freak winter storm, too. Heaters couldn''t keep up, and we nearly destroyed the clothes dryer warming blankets to cover someone while they held the egg in their lap."


    Sotalia flutters her eyes in thought. A intrigued grin settles down upon her lips. "If the results weren''t outside in the front yard, I would never believe this. SO, your theory was correct, and he hatched to a proper dragon."


    Kaleb snorts and draws a long breath with a tight smile. "Well, turns out hatching was only the first part... The easy part. Yeah... The stories to be told, and the many to never be told."


    Bach hems, leans next to Kaleb, and speaks out the side of his mouth. "By the way, did that sorority ever stop hating us for when Lagi chewed up all their laundry?"


    Scratching the stubble on his cheek, Kaleb laughs with an eyeroll. "Yes... Eventually. When Lagi got big enough to walk people around on his back, I helped with a few fund raisers. Plus, they thought he was pretty charming when he wasn''t trying to eat elastic out of their underwear."


    Sebastian draws a wicked grin and sighs in pleasant remembrance. "I had almost forgotten how much attention I got when taking little Lagi out for walks. So easy to get noticed."


    Bach narrows his stare at Sebastian from across the table. "And, so many numbers?"


    Sebastian shrugs with an upward, guilty glance. "Well... You know. When they come to you, who are you to refuse?"


    ----


    White fluffy clouds float overhead in the noon sky and drift shade across the world below. Gusts rustle the leaves of fresh green treetops and sway the heavy branches. Standing near the wooden plank picnic table in the open field, Aristespha squints into the distance and coasts her stare just over the treetops of the forest. "I think I see them. It looks like they''re coming this way."


    Lifting up her arm, she points out a huge creature aggressively flapping. Lagi speeds over the green sea of leaves, each powerful beat of a wing rippling upon the surface. Clearing the forest near to the grassy plot behind the house, he lines up an approach next to the picnic table. Bach, Aristespha, Sotalia, and Sebastian wave the dragon and passengers. Two pairs of massive wings fling open wide, and Lagi air brakes just short of the landing zone. With a gentle drop upon the ground, his claws securely grasp the grass. Kaleb pats Lagi on the side and chuckles. "Alright. You''ve terrorized them enough, left them off."


    Lagi crouches low to the ground. Quickly unbuckling the safety harness, Cideeda deftly dismounts from behind Kaleb and sticks the landing. Springing up exuberantly, she cheers excitedly with her hands up in the air above her head. "That was AMAZING! I can''t believe you do that for a living!"


    Kaleb gazes over his shoulder towards Dretphi with a concerned smile. "Hey, uh, you need any help? Lagi can lower down a bit more if you need it."


    White knuckled hands release from handles on the large saddle rig on Lagi''s back. Dretphi slowly and purposefully pulls in wary breaths and carefully exhales with faint shudders. Guiding her platinum blonde braids roughly back, she blinks her wide open steely gray eyes. Her calm, stoic demeanor haphazardly reassembles itself bit by bit, and she manages to shake her head. "No... I will be fine... I can step down. Thank you for your concern."


    While releasing herself from the safety harness, she relaxes her clenched leg muscles, and Lagi faint sighs in relief. Lifting a leg over the saddle with pivot, she slides slowly onto the ground. With staggering steps upon the firm earth, she navigates her shaky, large frame towards the nearby picnic table bench and flops down. Sotalia walks to Dretphi''s side and comforts her with gentle pats on the back, steadying her by holding her shoulder. Her amused breaches into a smile and fights to be a grin. "You screamed A LOT."


    Dretphi nods blankly and leans back heavily upon the picnic table edge. Detaching from the saddle, Kaleb hops down onto the grass and pats Lagi. "You okay, Dretphi? I''m sorry. He''s a bit of a show off with new people."


    Dretphi rests her hand on her chest and takes another long slow breath. Cracking a faint grin, she glances over to Kaleb. "I am okay... Despite my outbursts. Had an absolutely exhilarating time."


    Laughing, Kaleb puts his hands on his sides and gives Dretphi quick wink with a sly smile. "Ah! Well, is that so? Want to go again?"


    Lagi cranes his head around Kaleb and gazes at Dretphi. A draconic, eager smile draws itself upon the open maw. Slow, careful airflow halts midway. It resumes, and Dretphi''s expression shrivels to a nervous smile, her eyes flitting wide open. "Another time. Eventually... "


    Perking her furry ears, Cideeda dons a toothy grin and struts around with a wag of her tail in each step. "How much do you usually charge for that long of a flight?"


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    A loud snort comes from Kaleb, and he chuckles loudly. "Multiple thirty minute rides?! I should show the price list Shadeesa wrote up. You should see the ten minute cost alone."


    Kaleb pats his shirt pocket, flips up the flap, and plucks out his aetherphone. "Huh, speaking of... Her ears must have been burning."


    With a tap on a screen button, Shadeesa''s bright green on black eyes, white freckles on her gray face, and upward swept horns appear on the screen. "Hey! Good. I caught you before you left. It looks clear today, by the way. So, I also looked up on the guild system and found an aerial survey job on your way back."


    With a quick nod, Kaleb rotates the phone screen out to everyone else. "Sounds good. Just got done doing a few flights with everybody, so Lagi is ready to go."


    Shadeesa waves with a glowing smile to everyone through the screen. "Hey everybody! I''m glad you got a chance to fly."


    Twisting a humored smirk, she playfully rolls her eyes. "Unfortunately, I need them back now. You know how it is."


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Aristespha lifts a tablet off the picnic table and steps over next to Kaleb. "So, you two are in the guild system? Would you mind sending me your ID number? I will send you ours."


    With few taps on another device off screen, Shadeesa faces the camera. "Oh gods, I completely forgot! Yeah, if we see any work near us, we''ll definitely let you all know."


    Aristespha''s tablet chimes moments later. Bach crosses his arms and narrows a quizzical gaze at Kaleb. "So, what types of missions do you take on from the guild?"


    Searching his mind, Kaleb twists his grimace between thoughts. "Ah... Well... Mostly surveying, aerial photography, and exploration near weird zones. Nothing too crazy. Just flying around really. Occasionally, we get search and rescue."


    He scratches underneath Lagi''s chin. "The nice thing is that Lagi can go where a lot of planes, helicopters, and drones have problems, without any trouble."


    Lagi purrs low, closes his eyes, and angles his head to guide Kaleb''s hand to the right spot. Kaleb shakes his head with a smile and gazes back over to the rest of the group. "That''s the really nice thing about creatures that can manipulate magical flow and put up defensive barriers. So, those contracts pay pretty good. There''s even a good market for delivery to remote locations. I once delivered food to a science team researching some hard to reach mountains."


    With a final pat on Lagi''s head, Kaleb rolls his shoulders in a straining stretch and straightens up his posture. "So... Yeah, we are totally exploiting the big goofball."


    Rolling his bright green eyes indifferently, Lagi spots a number of small bushes nearby. A long sigh sounds out from the aetherphone speaker, and Shadeesa lowers her head, fighting a flit of embarrassment. "Unfortunately... Well, I guess fortunately? Anyway, showing Lagi off pays the bills REALLY well. Hopefully, in the NEAR future, I''ll get my veterinary practice set up. Then, we''ll live off that. And let Lagi... Well... Just be Lagi."


    Rolling her green on black eyes, she shrugs with a humored grimace. "But, gods, I can''t ignore how much people are willing to pay to be near a dragon that won''t attempt to eat them at the first sight. And, especially, one who knows a bunch of cute tricks and loves to show off. Thankfully, Lagi doesn''t seem to mind it at all."


    She perks up and narrows her gaze at the camera on the side of the call. "Oh! That reminds me! Kaleb?"


    Kaleb pivots the phone to his face with a curious quirk. "Uh, Yes?"


    With a bit of cheer in her voice, Shadeesa clasps her hands in front her. "The convention we''re scheduled for? I checked the location again, and it''s really close to Amaranth valley! We''ll be in the area this coming weekend!"


    A wave of excitement moves through the team and interest in the event grows. Bach smiles and glances at Kaleb. "Well, I guess we''ll have to go now. I mean, we HAVE to see your act."


    A groan of comedic dread emanates from Kaleb, and he wanders his stare up to the skies. Letting his arms droop down, a resigned sigh slips out from him. "Oh gods. Okay. But, be warned... I''ll be wearing an old knight''s costume."


    His glare bounces between Bach and Sebastian. "If you two can keep the peanut gallery commentary to a minimum, I would REALLY appreciate it."


    Shadeesa calls out from the phone with playful defensiveness. "Hey! I think you look good wearing shining armor. And, I REALLY love my First Period princess dress."


    Twisting her mouth into an awkward grimace, she grumbles. "Unfortunately, it''ll probably be the last time. For a while... Since I won''t be able to fit in it soon. So, I want to enjoy it while I can."


    An ethereal snort slips out from Sebastian, and he dons a genuinely happy smile. "Well, we''ll definitely try to make it out. With a dragon there, I might actually stand out the least for once."


    Kaleb glances over at the phone screen and holds it out one last time. "Okay. I''d better get up in the air. Say bye, Shadeesa."


    On the screen Shadeesa waves through the screen. Kaleb aims the screen at his face and shines a loving smile. "See you in a few. Love you."


    A softer tone from Shadeesa comes through the phone speaker. "Love you, too."


    Before the connection closes, Shadeesa quickly drops in one last remark. "Oh! Don''t forget to stop by somewhere and get some milk! Breakfast was really rough this morning."


    Kaleb grants a simple, confirming nod with a wink, and presses the end call button on the screen. Walks up to the group, he shakes hands and exchanges goodbyes. A loud crunch and a series of snaps sounds out and captures everyone''s attention. Lagi lifts his head back and munches down on a shrub, small branches and leaves filling his mouth. Kaleb grumbles and musters his parental prowess. "Lagi! Spit it out now!"


    ----


    In the front yard of the two-story house, Next Adventurers of Nexus recording crews rush about, keeping track of Chad, Tassilda, Deedri, Trakenthin, and Modoran in the area. Standing out in the yard, Chad meticulously combs his coiffed light brown hair, adjusts his collared, down-down shirt, and brushes off his designer blue jeans. When the crew member levels the tilt of the camera and pans the aim over, Chad almost instinctively assumes a heroic pose and makes sure his well defined, tanned physique hints through his clothes. A boom mic slips into the air space above Chad. Emerging from the mass of crew, Samantha inspects the scene, checks her clipboard, and points to Chad. "In three. Two. One."


    With a wag of the finger from Samantha, Chad directs his gaze straight to the camera. Taking a long, thoughtful breath, he places his hands on his sides and puffs his chest out. "I have been thinking greatly about how to improve our group. I, along with my party, have the talent. We have the burning desire for adventure that only the Flames of the Phoenix can show to the world. But, I thought..."


    He lifts an eyebrow. "We are still lacking something."


    Appearing casual on the exterior, Chad purposefully struts over towards a shiny, new, and black sport utility vehicle. Slowly pivoting, he rests his hand upon the front fender and straightens his posture. Brown eyes lead the rest of his face to the camera, and he winks with a gleaming, white smile. A near seductive undertone hints within Chad''s voice. "And, I figured it out. What better thing for a promising adventuring party to have than a means of transportation befitting them. When the quests come in, we need to venture out to them... In style."


    Behind the wall of crew recording Chad, another team keeps a watch over the other Flames of the Phoenix members, standing underneath the front porch overhang. With arms crossed, Modoran rests his back against the front door frame and rolls his dark blue eyes away from Chad''s monologue. He lightly bounces the back of his short, white haired head against the door frame in futile attempts to distract himself. Feigning an arm stretch, he covers his long, dusky bluish gray ears, and mumbles to himself. "We get it, Chad. It''s a fucking nice car. Can you stop the info dump... Maybe take us somewhere in it?"


    A furry, tuft tipped ear back from Modoran, and Deedri glances over with her auburn eyes. Tipping her head up, a long braid of red, white, blonde, and tan hair slides from her shoulder. The medium length fur on her long, tapered tail brushes against the other side of the door frame underneath her skirt. Holding her claw-tipped hands together in front of her on her blouse, she draws in a long breath, and sighs hopefully. "Well, I''m just happy we''ll have a working air conditioner. Those vans were pretty dreadful."


    Tassilda tosses back her raven black hair around her swirling backward pointing horns. Narrowing her blue on black eyes at Chad, she hoists an annoyed eyebrow. She places her thick, black nailed fingers on her hips and squirm her figure against the house''s siding. With a quick pass, she adjusts the waistband of her tight fitting yoga pants and arches her back just enough to reveal more gray, patterned skin through her top. Cocking her head to the side with a slight sneer, her small pointy ears peek through her hair. "So... I have to ask. Is there a Grath word for... this... display?"


    Dark bronze arms flex their muscles. With his arms crossed, Trakenthin''s face follows his hazel eyes to a gaze down at Tassilda. The sunlight reflects off and slips through his short styled, dirty blonde hair. Quirking his brow, he slowly returns his unamused stare ahead. Boredom and idle frustration flex his large, very muscular frame through his gym shorts and tank top, many small scars apparent upon his arms and legs. He grunts with a grimace. "Yes."


    A hin of an amused smirk cracks out the corner of his mouth. "Translates to... Large surrogate manhood."


    A sly smile graces Tassilda, and she crosses her arms with a lift underneath her chest. "You will HAVE to teach it to me. I believe that Chad doesn''t know Grath."


    Trakenthin snorts and shakes his head. "He does not."


    Samantha calls out to the camera crews, and motions towards members standing on the porch. "That''s good. I want some promo photos of the SUV right now. Alpha Crew, I need you to set up inside around the table for mission planning."


    Modoran slowly raises his face towards the placid skies above and closes his eyes in grim anticipation with a groan. "Gods, what I wouldn''t give for something to come up to put that off. My aetherphone is still charging from the last few meetings I had to sit through."


    Deedri''s furry ears flick, and she blinks in surprise. Taking a step forward, she squints up to the white fluffy clouds above and shield the sun from her eyes with a hand. Her ears scan above and track a source. From a distance above, a loud, low shriek cries out. Gerald immediately freezes. Hoisting his camera up to the sky, he frantically adjusts zoom and focus while searching the sky. Another shriek halts abruptly to sickening hacks and retches. Deedri tempers her curiosity, fights down tinges of disgust, and places her hand over her mouth. Faint, low powerful sounding thumps of air resonate from above with an erratic rhythm. Wet gurgling color the distant hacks and retches and loaded coughs punctuate the moments between. Visibly upset crew glance around exchanging unsettled expressions and uncertainly search for a source, less eager by the second. A heavy frown pulls down the corners of Tassilda''s mouth, and she places a hand firmly upon her chest. Fighting a wave of nausea, she carefully exhales. "Oh. My. Gods. What is that?! It sounds like a giant version when one of my mother''s cats hacks up a hairball."


    Trakenthin curls his lip in a snarl. Gritting his teeth into a stern grimace, he scans the area. "Reminds me when... My dogs would vomit a bone."


    With a sudden muffled retch, the sickening noises halt, and the thumps of air fade away. Modoran''s dark blue eyes dart around, and he furrows a puzzled brow. "Well... It''s stopped. But, I don''t know if that''s a good thing."


    Deedri''s ears flick to a new sound, she mumbles to herself bewildered. "A whistling... Getting louder?!"


    An explosive, wet splat bursts forth. A spray of viscous gel erupts out from the hood of the shiny, new, black sports utility vehicle. Bits of glossy matter plaster the hood, the windshield, and the many people surrounding the machine. Crew members examine the new mix of muck upon their bodies. Samantha slowly lowers the clipboard from her face and inspects herself to find nothing. She glances at Chad in front of her. He glares distantly, absolutely unamused with a stiff face and posture. With a gradual pivot, he beholds the minor disaster behind him. A gelatinous mess of mucus, chewed up leaves, and small gnawed branches oozes down the front of the green muck coated sports utility vehicle. Blinking away from the astonishment of the point of impact, Samantha notices a similar mess on Chad''s back.


    Blinking in sheer astonishment, Deedri keeps her mouth covered with both hands. Modoran gawks with his jaw agape, absolutely speechless. Her light blue on black eyes scanning the cosmetic devastation, Tassilda lifts an arm up, places the hand in front over mouth, and stares in awe. Trakenthin tilts his head towards one shoulder, then to the other. A grin rips across his mouth, and he erupts into a booming guffaw. Straightening his back, Chad spins in place and angrily points quickly to Trakenthin. "Shut the fuck up, Trakenthin! I REALLY don''t need your shit right now!"


    Crews quickly clean equipment, find their new marks around the fresh splatter, and ready themselves. Trakenthin laughs relentlessly and only pauses briefly with a snide smirk. "Correct! You have plenty now!"


    A low growl crawls out from the back of Chad''s throat and ceases moments later. A devious grin springs up on Chad. "Well! Since YOU are so amused by this, MAYBE, as party leader, I should task you with cleaning it up! We''ll see how funny it is for you afterwards! I paid for this for the group, and you''ve been slacking on your chores! Time to chip in and clean!"


    Trakenthin crosses his arms tightly, puffs out his chest, and dons a defiant sneer. "I will NOT clean."


    Chad postures in response, narrows his eyes at Trakenthin, and tilts his head back. "That''s probably for the best. Given how much you stink most of the time, I think it''d be worse off."


    Failing to contain herself, a titter escapes Tassilda. Chad snaps his glare in her direction and puts forth a mean grin with a condescending tone. "Well, Tassilda... You have any USEFUL tricks for this? Or are you just going to stand there and let everyone else do the work?"


    Placing her hands firmly on her hips, Tassilda levels a death glare at Chad and growls petulantly. "I''m sorry! Maybe if our glorious leader could pick missions better, we wouldn''t be in situations suddenly facing creatures without minds to charm! My specialty is in illusion and enchantment. Not-"


    Chad interrupts, drowning the rest of Tassilda''s word with a derisive shout. "Useful magic? OH! I''m fully aware of that, along with everyone else!"


    Swearing in a dialect of Emin, Tassilda storms out across the yard to Chad. Another quip grates Trakenthin, and he follows his ego into the fray. At the intersection, the three argue to a stand off. Crews morph around, hunting for ideal angles and perfect positions. Deedri sniffs in a long breath and exhales, lowering her head with a sad frown. Modoran glances at Deedri, pulls the corner of his mouth in thought, and eyes the front door. Grabbing hold of the knob, he opens the front door, and aims a whisper. "Hey... They''re fighting again. Might want to get out here."


    Seconds later, a wave of crew hastily rush out the front door with equipment in tow. Modoran gives them quick nods and encouragement when they pass by. Once the last one clears, he gazes at Deedri and smiles reassuringly. "Hey? Deedri? You want to get a look at the missions before everyone else?"


    Deedri startles back to awareness and turns to Modoran. Glancing over her shoulder at the three way squabble, she catches the moment Chad scoops up a congealed blob of goop from his back and slowly approaches Tassilda. Deedri returns her awkward stare to Modoran. With a simple nod, she musters up a happy smile against her discomfort. "Yes. I don''t feel like watching another fight, right now."


    Modoran smiles slightly, bows, and gestures with a wave towards the open door. Deedri walks forward through the doorway, and Modoran follows behind her. He steps to her side and glances over curiously. "I have to ask... Do you KNOW what that was that made that noise?"


    Deedri halts rigidly in place and nervously darts her auburn eyes around the room. "I, uh... I... Um..."


    With a light chuckle, Modoran smirks and holds a hand up. "Later? Where the cameras aren''t?"


    Deedri smiles brightly and quickly nods. "Yes."


    Modoran nods in return and narrows an inquisitive stare at various papers and documents covering the dining table. "Understood. Let''s see what they got in store for us."


    Outside a loud shriek of disgust erupts from Tassilda. "AHHH!! You fucking asshole! It went down my top! EEWWW!!"


    ----


    Afternoon sun radiates through the sliding glass door into the living space of the ranch style house. Standing in front of the tall glass, Bach cranes his head down and angles his stare out to the clouds coasting above. Scanning the light blue, he wanders his search to the horizons and sighs to his own thoughts. A chime sounds out from Bach''s shorts, and he rummages within his pocket. Squinting at his aetherphone, Bach reads a message out loud to himself. "Next week''s episode will be interesting... Looks like THEY got some new wheels to drive around in. Huh..."


    He shrugs and slip aetherphone back in his pocket. Glancing curiously at Bach, Sebastian drifts closer to his brother. "What was that again, bro?"


    Bach gestures with a wave to the horizon before him. "Ah, it was Kaleb. Looks like the adventurers next door got a new car or something. He must have seen it on his way out."


    Nodding contemplative for a moment, Sebastian peeks out the sliding glass door and narrows a stare to the two-story house just visible above the trees, towards the corner of the backyard. "Well... Good for them."


    He rolls his translucent blue eyes and snorts ethereally. "Hopefully, it''ll take them on some missions far from us for a while. Give us a buffer zone for a bit."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders and turns away to the coffee table. He sweeps up the remote from the tabletop and flops down the couch. The television flickers to life, and Bach wrestles an indifferent smirk. "Well, I mean... They really haven''t bothered us yet. Well, here, at least. Maybe if we ignore them, they''ll leave us alone? Without any drama, I don''t there¡¯s anything worth recording."


    A low reverberating grumble rumbles out from Sebastian''s visage, and he fights down sparks of suspicion. "I don''t know, bro. THEY might be fine with doing their own thing. But, I get the feeling the people behind the show aren''t going to leave it alone. Them moving in right across from us was no accident."


    Bach resigns from the debate, throws his hands up in the air, and shrugs. "Oh well. Hell, man. At this point, after dealing with cyber-zombies, a spirit commanding teenager, and a super battle bot... I doubt they''ll be much trouble in comparison."


    Sebastian crosses his arms, tracks the thoughts crossing the front of the mind with his eyes, and grimaces towards an acceptance. "Ah, you''re right, bro. And, if they get too annoying, we''ll figure something out. We''ve got a few tricks up our sleeves."


    Flipping through the wasteland of channels upon the television, Bach tilts his head towards the dining table and projects his inquiry. "So... What''s the agenda this week?"


    Faintly perking her very long, pointed ears, Aristespha withdraws herself from the fortress of paperwork upon the dining table and relaxes upon the back of her chair. "Well. First thing Monday, I think we should schedule a meeting with Captain Hackle and see what he would like to discuss with us."


    A wave of unease flows through Bach upon a cascading full body squirm, and he twitches a sneer through a slight frown. "Okay. Just make sure it''s somewhere public?"


    Noticing the questioning stare from his transparent brother, he narrows an reserved gaze back. "I don''t know. I guess I''ve just read too many rumors about how some nations have handled some adventuring groups in the past. Kind of strange that you never hear about the success stories."


    Twisting in her chair, Aristespha quirks her brow at Bach with an amused grin on her ivory face. "Oh, do not worry. We will, of course, disavow any evidence of your handiwork if they pry too much. Regardless, I think Captain Hackle just wants to have a nice chat and know who is in the group. Even the military has a hard time getting information from the guild apart from the quick party identification guides."


    Sebastian smiles reassuringly at Bach. "I wouldn''t worry about it too much, bro. Usually, they just want to know who is in their territory and chat them up to get a feel for them. Hey, they might even have some useful information about Noxian. It wouldn''t be the first time some official has passed along intel unofficially to us to help us out. They don''t care much for what Noxian has done either. It''s a lot of containment and cleanup most don''t want to have to do, if someone can put a stop to it."


    Glass vials rattle and ring out from the kitchen. Moments later, Sotalia walks into the living room, carrying a handful of small vials. With a sly grin prominent, she winks to Bach. "Oh, don''t worry. You''re only the intern, they won''t expect anything of you. Honestly, knowing how some military groups are, they probably won''t even want to talk to you. That whole command structure thing slips out into a lot of what they do."


    She hands a small vial to Aristespha, moves next to Bach, and holds one out to him. Bach carefully pinches the sides of the glass container and examines it closely, recent memory driving his hesitation. "Yeah, fair enough. If nothing else..."


    He curls a humored grin. "They''ll probably blame all the crazy stuff on you."


    Squinting closely at the red fluid inside the small vial, he slides his uncertain stare up toward Sotalia. Hoisting up a similar vial, Sotalia shakes it for Bach''s curiosity and uncorks it with an eye roll. "I''ll try it out first. I''m sure this batch will taste right this time. I made sure to recopy my notes with working pens full of ink this time."


    She places the mouth of the vial to her lips, tips her head back, and shows the empty vial with a confident stare at Bach. Aristespha exchanges a reserved glance with Bach and waits with her vial at the ready. For seconds, Bach inspects Sotalia''s expression for any deviation from the smug norm. Opening his vial, he drinks the solution. His eyes wander around his head, and he judges the concoction. Moments later, he grants a satisfactory nod. Aristespha tilts her vial back and arrives at a delightfully similar conclusion. Sotalia grins proudly and confidently strides back to her alchemy setup in the kitchen. "HA! See! I know what I''m doing. I''ll get the rest of the batch portioned out and bottled."


    Walking through the doorway, she spins back around and bounces a point between Sebastian and Aristespha. "Oh! If Bach keeps on doing any more crazy magical stuff that people start noticing, we might want to get him reclassed as something other than an intern. The guild does not like it when you misuse the intern classification."


    She flashes a devious grin to Bach and perks her brow. "As much as I would love to make claims to some of your more interesting feats, there''s some credit I think YOU solely deserve."


    Bach narrows a stare and wrestles between different shades of uncertain expressions. "Yeah... Right... Why do I not feel exactly good about that?"


    Sotalia shrugs with a flippant smirk and slides the rest of the way through the doorway. Floating towards the dining table, Sebastian peeks over Aristespha''s shoulder and scans through the listing of aethermail messages. "So, any word from Nash, dear?"


    Aristespha sighs and works a half smile. "He''s still working on it. He sent an aethermail about what he has done so far. They''ve found a system that should run the software. But, now they are trying to get it to either run on the actual hardware or figure out how to emulate it. They are not quite certain which will be easiest given this situation."


    Tapping a title line within the list, the full body of the message opens up to the entire screen of the tablet. Sebastian reads over the document on screen and snorts into a laugh. "Damn, he''s got a way to describe his day. Whipping graduate assistants into shape and press-ganging student workers. Testing the limits of tenure? Look at this line..."


    Leaning his ghostly form closer, he squints and grins. "I found some old network cable, so I should have a new whip ready tomorrow. If the free coffee and donuts doesn''t get them motivated, this will?! Gods, he must be hilarious to work with."


    Aristespha''s neutral expression pours into the tablet, and her violet eyes follow the same lines slowly. Sebastian notices the strange gaze. "Um? You okay? Dear?"


    Aristespha blinks back the awareness and shines a loving smile to Sebastian. "Yes, I am, Sebastian. I''m trying to figure out which bits are facetious and which are real. He purposely mixes them up to keep the administration guessing. So far, I think the network cable whip is real."


    Blinking blankly, Sebastian snaps his confusion towards the screen. Aristespha continues to smile and points out a line. "Don''t worry, the coffee and donuts are too. He usually gets a few boxes of the really nice selection of the specialty shop ones. He actually treats the students a lot nicer than most of the faculty."


    Bach contorts his face and glances at Aristespha. "There''s something worse than the possibility of being whipped with a networking cable?"


    Aristespha slowly glances over her shoulder with a dark grin and shadowy eyes towards Bach. "Oh. Yes. Someone has to be the target of an induce vomiting spell when you are learning to cast it."


    From the kitchen, Sotalia groans, disgust heavy in her tone. "Ewww..."

 Episode 17

    Resting her elbows upon the layers of padding upon the dining table, Dretphi props her head up and wanders her gaze over the battered minigun. Glints of early morning light bouncing into the living space reflect off the few shiny specs of intact finish on the ancient weapon. Between Cideeda shifting her inspect to another part of the machine, Dretphi reaches out, grasps onto the barrels of the minigun, and slowly torques the circular assembly. Cideeda holds a flashlight at an exposed section of the machine and squints her emerald green eyes at mechanisms inside. Wagging her long fluffy tail with her thoughts, her furry ears flick with each pick of a claw tip into an internal device. Seconds later, a plotting grin cracks onto her light brown face, and she nods confidently. "Yeah... I think we can do something with this."


    Dretphi stops rotating the barrels idly and glances over, running her hand hopefully over the weapon. "Can it be adapted to our use?"


    A full, toothy grin appears, and Cideeda pats the minigun. "I think so. They removed the delinker and added a return path for the spent casings."


    Searching the top of her head, she grimaces between mental calculations. "Finding an ammo belt will take some time... But, it seems to take the older rifle rounds..."


    A sly smile sneaks out from Dretphi, and she examines the security robot''s minigun upon the pads on the dining table with growing interest. Cideeda briefly grits her teeth, sighs out with ponderous grumble, and examines a note covered pad of paper. "But... Then there''s rigging up an ammo backpack, reducing the weight, designing handles, and safety features, and..."


    Each of Cideeda''s bullet points chips away at Dretphi''s smile, and reality looms over the project. With a mildly frustrated acceptance, Dretphi sighs and eyes over the minigun, and rests back into her chair. Cideeda winks to Dretphi and addresses a point encouragingly. "We''ll have to figure out a rate of fire you can handle, too."


    The sly smile returns to Dretphi, she nods with eager gaze at Cideeda. "That step will be fun."


    Cideeda chuckles and flips back the pages folded over on the notepad. "Yes, it will. We''ll probably have to get Bach to help brace the thing for the test firing."


    Walking through the hallway archway, Bach glances over to the dining table and blinks confused. "Why is my name being mentioned this early on a Sunday?"


    He stops and recognizes the minigun on the table. Quickly tracing the path of the barrels, he notes the firing line and swiftly steps back. Cideeda snorts and shakes her head reassuringly. "Don''t worry. The firing pins are in a bag and I''ve put safety plugs in the chambers."


    Resting her hands on her hips, she narrows a playfully accusatory gaze at Bach "Plus after what you did to it, anyone will have a hard time doing anything accidental with it."


    Dretphi grips onto the barrels and manages a slow spin. Muscles in her arm flex to definition with each partial turn of the device, and she smirks. "Significant amount of force required. Hopefully... Repairable."


    Bach scratches his head of brown hair with a nod. His gaze drifts over to the nearby wall, and he points a thumb over to the large plasma projectile cannon. "So, any big plans for that thing?"


    Turning around in her chair, Cideeda crosses her arms upon the top of the back and rests her head down with disappointment twisting her mouth. "Unless I somehow get a working micro-fusion power pack, probably nothing anytime soon."


    Her furry ears droop down, she releases a long sigh with a drop of her tail. "Anyway... If I somehow got my hands on a micro-fusion power pack, there''s a number of other things I''d use it for first. But, I can''t bring myself to just pawn that cannon off."


    Eyes wander to Bach, and he darts his head between the curious and expectant gazes of Cideeda and Dretphi. Cideeda props her arm up on the tabletop and rests her head on her palm with a toothy grin. "Do you have any plans for it? COULD you have any plans for it?"


    Bach squints uneasily at the cannon and returns a wary expression to Cideeda and Dretphi. "Uh... I won''t say no. But, I''ll be honest..."


    Lifting a brow, he contorts a reluctant grimace on his face. "I''m not quite there with my abilities, yet? And, I''m not really that keen on giving that thing life, so soon after it almost annihilated me. Just saying."


    Dretphi rocks her head side to side while her mind judges and grants Bach an accepting nod. "Understandable. In the future, we will ask again."


    Cideeda settles back in her chair and starts cleaning up the area. Turns her head slightly towards Bach, she grins devilishly with a wink. "Just make sure you have a few plans when we ask."


    Bach lowers his eyelids and grumbles. "No pressure, I''m sure."


    Cideeda playfully puts her hands up in the air and shrugs. Dretphi lifts the weapon off the table onto the floor and Cideeda clears the space that was beneath the minigun. The sliding glass door opens up. Sotalia leans into view midway of the door''s height from a patio chair and scans the room. Her golden eyes lock onto Bach, and a smile appears on her face. Shuffling the rest of her body around in the chair, she raises an arm in front of her face, and gestures a curling finger at Bach. "Bach, could you come out here? Aristespha and I were having an interesting discussion... And since you''re awake..."


    Groaning, Bach cautiously pivots to meet Sotalia''s overtly delighted face. He lifts an eyebrow and points over his shoulder towards the refrigerator. "Before I play guinea pig, I''m getting a breakfast shake."


    Dretphi eyes Cideeda, and motions her head slightly towards the sliding glass door. Cideeda nods and leans closer to Dretphi over the table to whisper. "This could be fun to watch."


    ----


    Tipping back the plastic bottle, Bach scavenges the last bit of the breakfast shake, and rests the container on the patio table. He rubs the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes with both hands. Dragging both hands down underneath his jaw, he scratches his shadow of a beard. He gazes between Aristespha and Sotalia lounges in the patio chairs and the morning sun. "Okay... What experiment am I going to be a part of today?"


    Aristespha settles into her patio chair, sips from a mug, and sighs with a roll of her violet eyes. "No experiments. Just questions."


    A low grumble escapes from Bach, and he narrows his stare at Aristespha. "Right... Yeah, that''s how it starts."


    Sotalia crosses her arms and confidently straightens her posture in her patio chair. "Can you do a flight spell right now?"


    After traces of contemplation wandering around his face, Bach draws in a deep breath in and shrugs with a long exhale. "No... Haven''t managed that, yet."


    Blinking blankly, Sotalia''s jaw hang open, she ponders in disbelief. "You don''t have a flight spell?"


    With her golden eyes searching her mind, she briefly bites her lip and draws a scheming grin across her face. Aristespha smiles, swelling with intrigue, and drums her fingers upon the mug near her face. A few strands of silvery blue hair blow free, and she furrows her brow. "If I may guess, sustained generation of force to counter gravity, pushing against wind resistance, and creating acceleration is a bit much right now?"


    Nodding in agreement, Bach scratches the back of his neck, and grimaces, averting his embarrassed gaze. "Yes. I haven''t figured out the optimal means of doing all that. And, well..."


    Stepping out in thought across the patio, he reaches the border between brickwork and grass. He turns to face Aristespha and Sotalia, and notices Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian curiously watching from the open sliding glass door. "It''s also REALLY dangerous to experiment with flight without safety equipment, an open area, and someone to spot you. I mean, there are really good reasons those normal flight spells take so much to cast. A LOT of safety features woven in there."


    Pulling a hand free from her arms, she points quizzically at Bach with an honest question. "Then, how did you clear that courtyard so quickly when running from the security bot?"


    Dretphi pivots in place gradually and perks her brow at Bach. "You outran me when we pursued you."


    Placing her hands on her hips, Cideeda stares, playfully sneering with a hint of accusation. "AND, you dodged that net shell from my shotgun. That was an EXPENSIVE shell you completely avoided..."


    She squints and curls a toothy grin. "Magically."


    Closing his eyes momentarily, Bach reopens them with a slight blue glow. Small flecks of dirt tumble upon the bricks, and blades of grass sway away. Drifting centimeters off the ground, Bach hovers in place. He shifts his body around with brief twitches and centers his balance back. The longer he maintains the height, the more he wiggles with his fight for balance. Swaying side to side, Dretphi positions herself near Bach to catch and Cideeda readies on the other side. Bach gradually lowers back down to the solid patio brick, and his eyes dim back to normal. "So that''s about all I got when it comes to hovering. Now... I''m able to generate force and use it to move parts of my body. It works. It''s not the most precise. But, it''s less riskier than other options."


    Dretphi briefly squints her suspicion at Bach, and glances off to her thoughts. Sebastian shakes his head and floats closer to Bach. "Damn. Well, we''ll have to work on that. Not to put any pressure on you, bro. But... It would really be nice to have someone else who can do some flight spells."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Bach stares at his brother with a smirk. "Yeah, I know. But, that might take a while."


    He feels long-nailed fingers slip in between the back of his neck and the collar of his t-shirt. The front of the t-shirt collar tightens against his throat as someone pulls. Twisting in his own shirt, Bach spins around. Sotalia grins wide and eager. Her golden gaze meets Bach''s confusion with an oddly calm, cheery tone. "What are you waiting for?"


    He squints incredulously directly at Sotalia. "Um, well... An explanation?!"


    Placing her free hand on her chest, Sotalia smiles smugly. "Well... You see, I can spot you during your training..."


    She waves her hand wide out towards the open field of the backyard. "And, we have a very open area for you to do your training in..."


    She snaps a point to Cideeda with a sly smile and winks. "And... We have safety equipment?"


    Cideeda''s green eyes dart around searching her mind. After a spark of memory, she perks up with a similarly sly smile and nods excitedly. "Yes, we do! We still have those climbing harnesses from that one mission in the mountains."


    Dretphi tilts her head down to Cideeda. "Mine will fit."


    Shifting his desperate stare to Aristespha, he eyes the other team members and settles a silent plea upon her. Wrapping her hands around the mug on the patio table, she slides the patio chair back and stands up from the circular metal mesh table. "I think I''ll need another cup for this. Anyone else?"


    Cideeda and Dretphi follow Aristespha inside. Both quickly walk to the hallway, and Aristespha nonchalantly picks up a few more mugs and packets of tea. Bach shifts his attention to Sebastian and awkwardly grimaces, falling short of a smile. "Brother? Come on... It''s too early for this stuff."


    Sebastian hovers up to Bach and releases an ethereal sigh, looking right into Bach''s eyes. "Bro, you are in capable hands. We have the means. We got a lot of ground to cover before we go up against Noxian. And really, bro..."


    He leans closer to his brother and whispers. "I can only make strong suggestions to everyone else at this point, given my lack of a solid body."


    Narrowing his eyes halfway, Bach stares all his irritation upon Sebastian, sounding a low, defeated growl. Sebastian shrugs with his hands to his sides. "Personally, I''d really like to see that Air Catapult spell of yours again."


    Sotalia leans to the side of Bach and makes eye contact with Sebastian. "Ooo! What''s that one?"


    ----


    The sun pushes through the overcast sky, slipping beams of light between the thin gaps. Clouds project shadows upon the rural lands below, drifting across green forest canopies and dropping into the grass expanses between. A gentle breeze coasts through the fields and wanders along the front lawn''s tall grass. Standing on the front door landing, Aristespha''s violet hunts from one distant end of the roadway. She wanders her stare down at the overgrown lawn and ponders with a furrowed brow. Squinting off towards the other distant end of the roadway, she frowns vaguely. "We really need to mow the lawn."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice emanates from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "We? Dear, that''s what neighborhood kids are for. There''s GOT to be one around here somewhere that would do it for some random trinket we found adventuring."


    Stepping out from the open garage door, Cideeda stretches both her arms above her head and follows her perked furry ear over to Aristespha. "I''ll send an aethermail to Steve and see if he knows anyone. Most did seem really into the few things I brought."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes, she curls an entrepreneurial grin upon her light brown face. "I wonder if any of them collect coins. Still have all those penny coins from that one empire that no big collectors seem to want."


    Brush bristles lightly scratch against concrete, and a cloud of dust and debris swirls up with each sweep. Bach shoves a growing pile with a push broom out from the garage floor into the driveway. Placing the broom up inside the garage near the door, he spots something contrasting the detritus in the pile. He kneels down, flicks away bits of futz, and plucks out a few centimeter wide dragon scale. Standing up, he walks over to the other side of the garage door and presents the scale in front of Cideeda. "Hey, you think you can get one to work for a dragon scale?"


    A beam of light grazes the scale, and Cideeda''s eyes snap to black-blue glint. Carefully pinching onto the scale, she nods at Bach, and a scheming smile manifests. "Oh, I might be able to work something out."


    Bach glances over to Aristespha, traces out her stare towards the road, and returns to her quizzically. "So... What time did you all agree upon meeting up?"


    Aristespha blinks back to awareness and gazes over to Bach, retrieving her aetherphone from a pant pocket. Tapping on the screen, the clock appears. "Today, Monday, at noon. When I called him this morning, he said his schedule was clear today. He still has a few more minutes."


    The front door opens inwards,s and Sotalia steps out onto the front door landing next to Aristespha. Flicking a few stray dark red hairs over her horns, she leans over and peeks at the clock on Aristespha''s phone. She places her hands on hips, arches her back into a long stretch, and wanders her golden eyes along the roadway. "Well, I hope this doesn''t take too long. I really could go for more flying lessons today."


    A loud singular laugh erupts from Bach, and he shakes his head while twisting an uncomfortable grimace upon his light tan face. "Not today! Already booked!"


    Snapping her attention right at Bach, she narrows an incredulous glare. "What?!"


    Aristespha puts her aetherphone away, draws a long breath, and sighs with an eye roll. "Yes. He''s helping me with research and materials manufacture."


    Sotalia slides her stare at Aristespha, quirking her brow. "Can''t THAT wait? I finally got a chance to do more flight magic..."


    Averting her eyes, she wrestles a flit of embarrassment down. "For honest work reasons..."


    Tilting her head towards Sotalia, Aristespha lowers her tone and squints a stern stare. "After being swung into a tree by a tether from a hover disc, I believe he needs a break."


    Sotalia defensively crosses her arms, pivots away to face the road, and bites down the embarrassment upon her lip. "I''m SORRY. I forgot how easy hover discs drift laterally. It''s been a few years since I tutored in that type of magic."


    Inside the garage, the door leading into the kitchen opens up. Dretphi steps down the few concrete stairs and steps behind Bach and Cideeda. Squinting at a distant military truck upon the road, she points. "See a vehicle. Maybe theirs."


    A turn signal blinks yellow and the truck slows its approach near the mouth of the driveway. After a turn down the gravel entrance, the light truck pulls up just behind the team''s humvee. The driver''s side door swings out, and a human woman hops out swiftly. Precisely adjusting her green military uniform on her slender frame, she finishes with a corrective tilt of her hat upon her short, light brown hair. She steps around the front of the truck, promptly opens the passenger''s side door, and waits patiently. A tall, thin older man stands upon the gravel and surveys the area. The woman swiftly closes the door solidly. Placing his officer''s hat on neatly, the older man in high rank attire walks out from between the front of the truck and the back of the humvee. He turns and approaches the front steps. The woman immediately joins his side, maintaining a proper, official posture in contrast to the calmer stance of the older man. When the older man arrives at the first step of the front stairs, he stops. After a slight bow, he extends his hand to shake Aristespha''s with an almost undetectable smile near the graying corners of his mustache. "I am Captain Hackle of the Greater Azure Alliance. Am I safe to assume you are Lady Aristespha?"


    Aristespha returns the gradual bow, reaches out, and firmly shakes Captain Hackle''s hand. "Yes, you are."


    Captain Hackle straightens his posture and allows his smile to grow a tiny bit. "Excellent. I am happy you returned my call and offered to meet me. There''s a number of recent events I would like to discuss, and a few bits of information I would like to relay. But, first... Let me introduce two members of my unit."


    He sidesteps and pivots with a calm gesture towards the woman at his side. "This is Sergeant Violet, an expert on information acquisition and analysis."


    Sergeant Violet bows and holds out her hand to shake. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    Returning in the respect, Aristespha shakes Sergeant Violet''s hand. Sotalia quirks a reserved eyebrow and stares at Sergeant Violet, curling a lip into a smirk. "Information specialist?"


    Sergeant Violet pivots herself to meet Sotalia''s gaze, proudly smiles back, and straightens her posture with arms behind her back. "Yes! I assist by gathering data about the where, when, why, who, and how of any assignment we are given. Then, I find relevant information to relay to others in my unit."


    Twisting her mouth against the swell of defiance, Sotalia gently narrows her golden eyes and sprinkles condescension in her tone. "Okay, give me an example of this relevant information."


    The corner''s of Sergeant Violet''s smile sharpens and clears way for a confident grin. Focusing her full attention to Sotalia, she draws in a deep breath. "Well, Sotalia Aurica Feratosia, I know you are second generation half-emin, scored eight thousand six hundred sixty nine cells when you tested at the small magic university near your home town, your current age is-"


    Spring her eyes widen open, surprise completely flushes down over Sotalia''s face, and she interrupts, forcing out a very respectful, pleading tone. "Let''s keep it civil!"


    She clears her throat and nods in begrudging agreement. "Um... I can see why your skills... Would be very useful."


    Captain Hackle sways his brown eyes to Sergeant Violet, hems purposefully, and curls the corner of his gray mustache. "Now, now. We are here as guests, Sergeant. Could you please assist Specialist Thayal with removing their property out of the truck?"


    Sergeant Violet flashes a smug glance at Sotalia, and exactly pivots away to face Captain Hackle into a salute. "Yes, Captain!"


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She departs straight to the military truck with a stiff march. Sotalia settles back against the door frame with squirm up her spine and flex of her crossed arms. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi exchange tight lipped expressions, failing at suppressing their satisfied smile. A brief snort slips out of Bach and prompts a suspicious glare from Sotalia. Sergeant Violet halts near the bed of the truck, draws a deep breath in, and shouts out in a shrill bellow. "SPECIALIST THAYAL! Get your butt into gear, and get the other end of this artifact! If I for a moment do not feel you are putting your effort into carrying it, you will be on double PT until I believe you are contributing your fair share!"


    Wide eyes immediately find the source of the spectacle. Panic scurrying sounds out from the truck bed, and a lanky uniformed half-emin man springs up from the bed. "Good fucking gods almighty-"


    His silver eyes spot the condemnation from Sergeant Violet, and he scrambles. "Yes, ma''am!"


    Specialist Thayal places a hand quickly to the side of his head in a salute, pushing away long black hair underneath a horn roughly broken short. He reaches down to lift up the end of a roughly-edged, golden sheet of transparent stabilized magical energy. Narrowing her dark blue eyes at Thayal, Violet lowers the tailgate, firmly grips the other end of the sheet, and summons a scowl on her dark tan face. "Ma''am?! I work for a living! You will address me as Sergeant until I deem so otherwise! Do you understand me, Specialist THAYAL!?"


    Thayal''s posture snaps rigid and straight. Assisting in carrying out the golden sheet out of the bed of the truck, he grits his teeth with a subdued sneer. "Yes, SERGEANT."


    Captain Hackle returns his attention from observation and gazes over the everyone else with a long vaguely apologetic sigh and lower tone. "If you could please excuse Sergeant Violet, she recently made the rank and is establishing herself to the rest of the unit. In particular... Specialist Thayal has gone to great lengths in the past to... Earn... the particular attention he is getting."


    He glances back over his shoulder as Thayal and Violet move the golden sheet up towards the front door. With a calm tone, he pauses to punctuate the moments, spending time to find the right words. "As a point of order... I wanted to return this strange bit of magic we had to... Separate from the entryway into the ruins you successfully sealed. If you would not mind, Specialist Thayal has some questions to ask."


    Both Thayal and Violet set the golden sheet on the grass of the front lawn. Squinting his eyes at the golden sheet, Bach immediately recognizes it. Thayal steps up next to Captain Hackle, examines everyone present. Receiving a confirming nod from Captain Hackle, he points to the golden sheet. "Okay, first off... Who the hell MADE that?!"


    Eyes sweep over to Bach, and he eventually raises his hand sheepishly, feeling the peer pressure.


    ----


    Inside the living area, the team around the dining table waits expectantly and watches Captain Hackle. Gently lifting the tea cup to his lips, Captain Hackle carefully tilts the brew back for a long sip and almost silently places the cup back onto the dining table. Straightening his posture in the wooden dining chair, he gazes over the anticipating expressions upon Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia''s face. Glancing over to Sergeant Violet, he grants a slight nod and addresses the team. "You are an interesting group, which I have come to appreciate in my long career. I have found eccentricity often accompanies excellence. And, I must say for your short time here, you have shown your capabilities admirably."


    Hovering seated in a chair next to Aristespha and across Captain Hackle, Sebastian smiles proudly. "Well, we try to do the jobs right. Despite what some of them turn into."


    Captain Hackle nods calmly and briefly gazes outside through the sliding glass door. Returning to attention to the team, he perks her brow. "Hopefully, Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal aren''t being too nosy, but I do appreciate all of you humoring our many questions."


    Aristespha nods gracefully and gradually lifts an intrigued eyebrow with a reserved smile. "It is only fair. You have given us interesting information about the area and rumors about odd events."


    Captain Hackle subtly widens a slow grin and nods a tiny bit. "Yes. Rumors, simply. Nothing more. Certainly, no official validation... Officially... Of course."


    Furrowing his ethereal brow, Sebastian mimics a similar nod. "Of course."


    With a deft sweep of his hand, Captain Hackle takes his hat, bows forward in his chair and rises from the table. "Unfortunately, while I would love to indulge in more conversation, I must attend to other affairs today. Truth be told, I would actually prefer to stay longer, given my..."


    Placing his officer''s cap on his head of short graying curly hair, he strains a breath through his nose. "Next stop."


    Sebastian quirks his brow and floats up to a stand. Tilting his head to the side, he narrows his curiosity at Captain Hackle. "If you don''t mind me asking, what would that be, Captain?"


    A faint smirk creeps from the corner of Captain Hackle''s mouth, and he sighs, straightening his uniform. "Your neighbors."


    A small twitch pulls at Aristespha''s cheek underneath her eye. A mix of irritation and frustration trickles up into the face of the rest of the group. Standing up out of her chair upright, Aristespha calmly exhales against the swell of ire. "I can understand your... Trepidation."


    With a nod, Captain Hackle walks towards the sliding glass door. He stops next to Specialist Thayal, standing at attention, and stares out diagonally across the peaceful green field. Turning his head slightly towards the team, he hides a smile from view. "Yes. A requirement of my job."


    Lifting a hopeful eyebrow, he pivots to address the team at the dining table. "Speaking of jobs, I actually have an assignment I would like to send to your group through the guild system."


    Sebastian crosses arms with an interested smile and perk of the brow. "We may be interested?"


    He gauges the reception reactions from Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Fighting a grimace, he meets Bach¡¯s uncomfortable frown. Captain Hackle nods and stares outside at the waves of wind coasting over the field. "A number of days ago, a farmer provided my group shelter during one of the strong storms we unfortunately found ourselves in. In return, I gave him my contact information and informed him if he needed help, I would try to provide. He called me this weekend."


    With a motion of a hand, he signals Thayal to follow and steps towards the team at the dining table. "He has an interesting problem with a pack of large bird-like creatures that now prevent him from getting to certain parts of his farm safely. Unfortunately, they seem to be a protected species and a straight elimination isn''t allowed."


    Noticing a inquiring glance from the Captain, Sergeant Violet straightens her posture and recites. "They are exceptionally rare weird zone birds that have proven to be very hard to study. There is not a lot of information about them."


    Captain Hackle nods and gazes over the assembled group. "The local government will be happy to relocate them to an appropriate habitat, but will not do the initial capture. My group isn''t particularly geared for this type of task. But, I feel your group would be... More appropriate for the task at hand."


    Dretphi crosses her arms and wrestles a reserved frown with her thoughts. Flicking her furry ears, Cideeda leans against the chair back and cocks her head of short, multicolored hair. "So, you want us to herd a bunch of birds?"


    Sotalia dismissively snorts and rolls her golden eyes. Bach remains silent and quietly observes the building rejection. Captain Hackle nods calmly with a vague understanding. "Understandable. I wanted to check to see if your group would be interested."


    A hint of a confident smirk sneaks out onto his face. "Given the disinterest, should I forward this task to your... Neighbors?"


    Silence flushes out the room and the team meets Captain Hackle''s intrigued stare. Noticing the change over the team, Sebastian even spots hints of interest from Bach. Meeting Aristespha''s demanding stare through him, Sebastian''s ethereal form holds up a hand for a point of attention. "One moment, Captain. I think we all would like to discuss this a little further-"


    Aristespha snarls her subdued ire upon her ivory face and slips out. "We''ll take it."


    Captain Hackle grants a nod with a vague grin and motions to Sergeant Violet. "I think Sergeant Violet will be happy to explain the situation in detail."


    ----


    The humvee bounces along the narrow dirt access road, kicking up dust and the occasional rocky chunk of packed clay. Closing in on a gate within the fence row, the machine slows to a stop, a hint of squeal sounding from the brakes. The powerplant spins down and all the doors open. Everyone works their way out of the vehicle and spreads out, admiring the scenery. Cideeda steps up to the fence upon the crest of a small hill and surveys the huge, wide-open grassy field within the perimeter. "This is actually really pretty. Not a bad day for another nature hike."


    Walking up next to Cideeda, Aristespha scans the horizon and checks on her tablet in between visual sweeps. "Hopefully, nothing too demanding, so we can enjoy the rest of it."


    She bites her lip and sighs with a glance over her shoulder to the rest of the group. "Again... I want to apologize for agreeing up front for the mission without allowing you all to discuss it fully."


    Swallow down her embarrassment, she frowns. "I wasn''t exactly thinking clearly at that moment."


    Sotalia stretches her arms over head and rests her hands on her hips. Assuming a confident stance, she gazes into the green field with a sly grin. "Girl! As IF we''d let THEM have anything intended for us first."


    With a long yawn, Bach ambles up to the gathering at the fence row and clears the sleep from his blue eyes. "Well, it''s not a cyber-zombie den, an abandoned park, or a ruin. So, I mean, it''s already got a lot going for it. "


    Dretphi stares off in her own thoughts, and she slowly pronounces a long scientific sounding name to herself. "Should know that name. Feels familiar."


    Glancing over to Dretphi, Sotalia crosses her arms and shrugs, puzzling out loud. "Well, I tried searching all night. I only got a few bits here and there about these things. They sound like big angry chickens to me."


    Cideeda lifts up a pair of binoculars and scans the distant parts of the field. Flicking her furry ears around the soundscape, she slowly pivots herself in a sweep of the horizon. Aristespha taps on her tablet a few times and furrows her academically annoyed brow at the annotated notes on the display. "Unfortunately, it seems that the species name applies to a number of different breeds of all shapes and sizes. Natural breeding, past genetic modification, and even magically modified. The species name is just a catchall for anything similar."


    Sebastian''s transparent visage materializes behind the group. and he chuckles to himself. "Yet another wonderful thing our ancestors left for us to deal with."


    Cideeda halts her pivot and leans forward with the binoculars. Her tail furry fluffing out, she peeks over the eyepieces in surprise. "Holy shit. Are those..."


    Dretphi rushes up next to Cideeda and taps her on the shoulder, holding out a hand. Cideeda lowers the binoculars, blinks blankly, and places them in Dretphi''s awaiting hand. Dretphi lifts the binoculars up to her eyes, briefly searches the area, and then stares silently. After a minute of quiet study, she removes the binoculars from her eyes and frowns slightly. "OH."


    The building attention from the rest of the group prompts Dretphi for a further explanation. "I know what these are. Their name in Grath translates roughly to... Thudkicker."


    From the treeline surrounding the field, four tall, large bird-like creatures casually hop over the fence. Each of the beasts walks upon two long, thick legs, with three sharply clawed toes each. Investigating patches of grass in the field with long colorful necks, their feather covered, oval bodies show the faintest hints of small wings tucked away. Upon the front crest of their heads, a large bony crown encircles a head dress of bright plumage. The tallest of the group stands proudly to two meters tall, and the other creatures appear close to that height. Dretphi passes the binoculars to Aristespha. Sotalia casts a quick incantation, places her fingertips together, and squints through the space between. Aristespha lowers the binoculars from her blank ivory face and hands them to Bach. With the dawning situation, expressions between the group grow uncertain and mix heavily with unease. Sebastian observes the mood shift, puffs up his chest, and addresses the team with hearty bravado. "Alright everyone! Team planning on the hood. Let''s get a plan together. I mean, we have recently just handled FAR more and bigger things than them."


    Shaking out of their collective stupor, the team regroups around the humvee with confidence recovering by the minute.


    ----


    While the wind gently blows over the large open field, the team awaits and hides in the brush at the edge of the surrounding forest. The pack of thudkickers wander through the shorter grass and hunt the field for anything edible. Peeking out, Sebastian hovers out from behind a tree and checks the current position of the pack. He slips back and gazes at the team laying low. "Okay. Final review of the plan. Aristespha and Sotalia will go invisible and move to the middle of the field. That''ll give me enough range from the sword to fly around and get the leader''s attention."


    He furrows his brow and double checks with Dretphi. "When the leader charges after me, the rest will join up with the leader to assist."


    Dretphi confirms with a confident nod. Pointing to Sotalia, Sebastian resumes to the explanation. "Sotalia should have plenty of opportunities to levitate and isolate one from the pack. Which, given how crazed they get with defending their territory... They probably won''t immediately realize they are missing someone. Correct?"


    He shifts his attention back to Dretphi. Nodding, Dretphi furrows her brow thoughtfully. "Yes. Thudkickers are notoriously single-minded. All will focus on the leader''s target until the leader decides otherwise."


    Changing his focus to Aristespha, Sebastian pounders out loud. "Aristespha will sedate them with a spell. Sotalia will drop them off near Dretphi and Cideeda, who will tie them up and drag them off into the woods. Bach you keep a lookout in the treeline near the middle of the field. Be ready to come up with a distraction in case we need one or whatever backup we might need."


    Dretphi takes in a breath and gazes between the team with concern. "Thudkickers have good vision, good senses of smell. Keep hidden when possible. Watch for wind changes. They are NOT stupid. This breed lives in weird zones. Dumb one do not make to adulthood out there."


    Gauging the readiness of the team, Sebastian nods contemplatively and addresses the team. "Everyone. If they don''t take the bait or it becomes too dangerous, everyone scatter and regroup at the humvee. We''ll figure something else out from there. Ready?"


    Nods and affirmative expressions appear all around. Minutes pass, and the team spreads out to their positions. Dretphi and Cideeda sneak over to the cleared alcove pushing into the forest. Bach squats down behind a tall, leady scrub and peeks through a sparse section. A fading breeze barely trickles across the field and rattles the shorter stalks of grass. Across from Dretphi Cideeda''s spot, two faintly distorted, transparent figures crouch down in the middle of the field. Sotalia''s voice softly crackles over the radio. "We''re in position and ready."


    Cideeda sounds out over the airwaves. "Ready here."


    Bach secures his helmet and gives a thumbs up to Sebastian next to him, behind some underbrush. "They''re all in position from the looks of it. And, the thudkickers are hanging out in the corner over there. So... Ready when you are."


    Sebastian nods, quickly zips off into the open, and flies towards the pack, diving low into the scattered taller stretches of weeds. Bach calls out over the radio. "Sebastian is going in."


    Rising out of the grasses right next to the pack, Sebastian hems loudly, and projects an annoying, ethereal cough. The largest thudkicker snaps to attention and focuses an immediately angry glare right at Sebastian. Feathers ruffle up. Posture shifts straight to aggressive. And, a low, powerful honk echoes out into the vicinity, faintly bouncing off the surrounding perimeter for trees. The other three thudkickers halt and form up into a rough V-formation behind their leader. In the swell of tension, Sebastian takes a few steps back. The pack narrows the widening gap back in kind. Sebastian hovers back at a constant pace. The pack matches and maintains their distant pursuit. Sebastian takes off, and the pack charges in a full sprint. Keeps track of the progress of events, Bach announces over the radio. "They took the bait! Sebastian is moving them to staging area, get ready."


    The Sebastian flies in a long circular path around the field, the thudkicker pack feverishly pursuing. The last of the pack passes between the pairings of Sotalia and Aristespha in the middle of the field and Cideeda and Dretphi hiding just beyond the brush line. The transparent distortion around Sotalia fades, and she expediently runs through a series of incantations. The trailing thudkicker falls behind the pack. Despite how fast its legs kick against the air now beneath it, the creature speeds backwards. It hovers against its comprehension towards the center of field and halts. Another distorted transparency fades off of Aristespha. With glowing violet eyes, she points an ivory hand at the bewildered thudkicker and releases a directed wave of energy at its head. The creature''s eyes close and body goes limp. With a gurgling snore sounding out, the feathered beast coasts off towards the edge of the field and lands gently on the grassy alcove. Dretphi jumps out from the brush, snatches up the legs of the thudkicker, and hoists them up, placing the massive bird on it''s back. Cideeda rushes out with thick rope. Quickly wrapping coils around the legs, she secures the bindings around the beast. Dretphi directs Cideeda to the thudkicker''s head. "Secure the beak. Tie the neck to the legs. Prevent them from headbutting."


    Bach maintains an overwatch between Sebastian''s progress around the field and the rest of the team. Settling back into their mid-field hiding spot, Sotalia and Aristespha grow transparent and fade from view. Cideeda finishes her knots, and Dretphi drags the huge bird off the field into hiding. Glances over mid-flight, checks the staging area, and spots Bach''s thumbs up from the top of the bush. Curling his winding path around, he tightens it up and lines up for another pass. Bach radios an update. "Okay. He''s coming in for another pass. Get ready."


    Sebastian blazes through with the pack in tow. Transparency washes off of Sotalia, and she rapidly works the gestures and flows for another casting. A trailing thudkicker lags behind the other two and coasts backwards towards the center of the field. Mid flight, the bird sporadically bobs down. It springs back to the previous altitude. The floating thudkicker squirms and tenses with faint flits of magical flow sparking out. It bobs closer to the ground than before. Muttering a series of curses in a few choice languages, Sotalia grumbles to herself, straining her tone. "The FUCK are you doing?! STOP doing THAT!"


    From a faint, transparent distortion field next to Sotalia, Aristespha inquires worried. "What is going on?"


    Grimacing with fresh frustration, Sotalia growls out. "I think the bird is actually trying to counter my spell!"


    She readjusts her gestures and concentrates on the growing challenge. "And, it''s doing too good of a job of it!"


    The cloak of invisibility flop down from Aristespha, and she narrows her glowing violet eyes at the erratic, hovering thudkicker. "Oh my gods, it is! It''s actually consciously directing magical flow against yours! Admittedly, very crude, but-"


    Sotalia snaps a worried glare at Aristespha and grits her teeth with a twitch of the cheek. "Crude and effective! Can you knock it out?! I''m wasting a lot of time and energy fighting it!"


    Sebastian checks over towards the middle of the field. Concern flashes over his face, and he jet down his path over the grass. Slowing down, he glances behind him, and the pack drops to a slow march. The lead thudkicker sways his head side to side and carefully examines Sebastian visage in front of him. Lowering its head to sniff the ground passed over by Sebastian, it stops walking. Keeping his head facing the beast, Sebastian eyes over to the middle of the field. Aristespha summons a more powerful wave of energy and manages to sedate the defiant, hovering thudkicker. Sebastian shifts his eyes over to the treeline and meets Bach''s worried stare. Finding similar concern in his brother''s gaze, Bach keys up the radio. "Problem! I think the leader has figured out Sebastian isn''t physically there. They''re not chasing him anymore. I''ll try to distract them, and keep them busy for a bit."


    Lifting his hand up, a glowing ball forms in Bach''s palm, and he flicks it off. The orb zips out right in front of the leader. The light ball flits and flutters around the leader thudkicker''s head. Disregarding the nuisance, the leader sniffs the air and searches the growing breeze. Peeking over his shoulder, Sebastian spots Dretphi starting to tie up the sedated thudkicker. He yells out to Bach and waves his arms at the lead thudkicker. "Bro! I don''t think it''s falling for that shit anymore! I think it knows something is up!"


    Bach''s eyes dart around, sorting through all the pieces of the situation in his mind. Dretphi and Cideeda work on wrapping up the thudkicker on the other side of the field. Aristespha and Sotalia fight a wave of fatigue and start focusing magical energies. A strong breeze pushes a branch against Bach''s helmeted head, and he watches the wind coast from Cideeda and Dretphi, over the mostly visible Aristespha and Sotalia, and right towards the thudkickers. Mustering his determination, Bach secures his helmet on his head and rushes out towards Sebastian. He searches the ground, spots a clumpy patty, and cracks a devious grin across light tan face. The pack leader starts to turn its head away from Sebastian, and a loud shout from Bach seizes its attention. Snapping its glare upon Bach, a large, old cow pie smacks upon the bony forehead and crumbles over the beak of the lead thudkicker. It sniffs in the unmistakable scent of old cow manure. Rageful pride and overwhelming disgust drive the fetid odor back out the nasal passages in a furious snort. A spiteful glare pierces through all other distractions to Bach. The pack leader''s eyes glow dimly dark red. Every feather ruffles out in furious tremors. And, an enraged honk bellows out, reverberating far from the field. Sebastian''s jaw drops, and he gawks in pure astonishment. "WOW."


    Bach stiffens with fear and blinks blankly. "Oh... He knows what I threw at him..."


    Staring at Bach for a moment, Sebastian yells. "RUN, BRO!"


    Snapping his jaw shut, his eyes illuminate a bright blue, and Bach tears off at speeds beyond expectation. The enraged lead thudkicker tears off in a psychotic sprint. Red flows of magical energy course around its body, and savage honks shred the air. Bach screams out into the field and over the radio. "NEW PLAN! IT''S AFTER ME! OH FUCK!"


    Bach blazes down the field, a faint blue energy vapor fading behind him. Powering on with long, fast strides, he sprints up to speed and barely outpaces the enraged thudkicker. Aristespha calls out on the radio. "We''re ready! Get over here!"


    He frantically runs towards the staging area and flies through with the pack leader right behind him. The other thudkicker passes through the zone seconds later. It strains to a halt and floats up stiffly. A powerful energy wave blast floods over him. Tensing her body, Sotalia deposits the creature in front of Cideeda and Dretphi. She releases the spell and pants out. "No more chancing. Let''s skip the cloak and use the energy for the big one!"


    Aristespha nods and summons up flows of prismatic power. Dretphi and Cideeda swiftly tie up and drag the sedated thudkicker off to the others hidden in the forest. Sotalia yells over the radio. "Bring the big one in Bach!"


    Bach''s pace gradually slows. The distance between him and the lead thudkicker closes. His breath shortens with each second of frantic gasping. Banking around the edge of the field, he lines up for the approach. The enraged leader shrinks the divide. Bach bolts through the trap. Sotalia activates her spell, and the last thudkicker lifts off the ground. Aristespha lines up her aim and flows the powers. A thunderous honk bellows out, and a wave of red energy pulses across the huge beast. His feet touch ground again. and a wavering field of energy fades off. Sotalia struggles to perform the incantations for another attempt. Fighting for air against exhaustion, Bach slows to a stumbling run. Aristespha launches a wave of energy at the leader. It pauses for a moment, blinking and stumbling forward. With another booming honk, a red wave radiates over the densely feathered body, and it launches into sprint. Bach spins around and watches the creature charge down at him. Panic plain on his face, he scrambles inside his mind for a solution and lowers his head in exhaustion. Lifting his head up with a wild spark in his blue eyes, he calls out on the radio. "Dretphi! How do these things challenge each other?!"


    Halting in surprise at the question, Dretphi''s steely gray eyes speed through her mind, and she commands out. "Stare! Honk loud! Kick up the dirt! Flare out your plumage!?"


    Gritting his teeth, Bach locks eyes with the charging thudkicker and screams out a strained honk. Repeatedly kicking up the dirt behind him, he flares out and flutters his duster. The huge thudkicker slows his pace, stops a few meters short of Bach, and curiously glares. After seconds of head twisting study, it belts out a different tone and pitch of honk. Scratching at the dirt beneath, it flares out its plumage. Bach maintains eye contact with the feathered beast and stiffly speaks into the radio. "Okay... What now?"


    Watching the scene while rushing over with the rest of the team, she instructs Bach further. "Circle with it. Keep eye contact. Watch its head."


    Readying their spells mid stride, Aristespha and Sotalia scramble across the field toward the distant face-off between Bach and thudkicker. Cideeda runs with shotgun ready, loading a taser round in the bottom barrel. Bach and the thudkicker circle around, matching mannerisms and posturing. Noticing flows of magic creeping up the neck of the creature, muscles tensing, and balance shifting, Bach inquires over the radio, worry creeping into his tone. "Uh, what''s next after the circling?"


    Dretphi states over the radio. "A headbutt."


    Bach''s eyes spring wide open. The thudkicker rears its head back, magical energy surging up to it. Curling his lip to a defiant sneer, and Bach narrows his glare, flush with resolve. A brilliant blue glow flashes out his eyes, and streams of magical energy spiral up his body to his head. Riding the sheer determination, he rears back his head, prismatic energies swelling. Bach and the thudkicker lunge heads first at each other. A thunderous, solid thud bounces off the nearby hills and back into the field. A bright flash wanes from the collision, and the two remain in contact with each other for the moment. Staggering back, the big thudkicker dizzily stumbles over itself into a heap. It releases a loud grunt before a series of gurgling snores. With cracks spidering out from the impact point on his helmet''s magical, golden barrier, Bach straightens up with a triumphant ear to ear grin. "Fuck you... Chicken..."


    Pain receptors finally inform him of his sheer stupidity, and his bravado disappears before reality. "Oh gods... Why did I do that... OWWW!"

 Episode 18

    Within the cab of the humvee, golden eyes peer over the front passenger seat''s headrest. Straight, dark red hair flutters with the wind venting in through the lowered door window and strays over swept-back horns. The headrest conveniently obscures Sotalia''s ear to ear, highly amused smile. Sitting knees into the seat, she gazes upon Bach, almost fully reclined in the back seat. Exaggerating a breath into a pained groan, Bach winces from the last tap of Aristespha''s gloved hand. Aristespha settles into her seat across the aisle from Bach and calmly removes her medical gloves. Slowly shaking her head to rest into her hand, she rolls her violet eyes and puffs surprised. "How you haven''t even managed a concussion is astounding."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice resonates from the sword resting next to Aristespha''s seat. "Honestly, it''s genetic. At least that''s what mom always said about dad. Then again, dad said the same thing about mom. Depends who you asked and when."


    Dretphi carefully lowers a plastic cold pack onto the red, lightly swollen patch in the middle of Bach''s forehead. Slowly raising his hand up, Bach grasps the pack and secures it upon his head. "Thank you..."


    Patting Bach''s shoulder lightly, Dretphi leans into the far back bench. She picks up Bach''s helmet next to her and carefully rotates it around, examining the fading crackle in the magical barrier. Furrowing her brow, she gazes at Bach with a humored smile. "Tried to warn you they headbutt. Did not intend for you to..."


    Fighting back a humored curl, she tightens her smile. "Respond in kind."


    A long groan mumbles out from Bach, and a withering sigh punctuates the embarrassed upwards wave of his hand. "I know. I- Uh... I... Got caught up in the whole moment...?"


    Fluttering his blue eyes open, Bach squints through a flurry of memory and glances around inside his head bewildered. "I... I don''t know- What the hell was I thinking?"


    Sotalia slides her hands over the top of her seat, wraps her arms around the headrest, and plops her chin on top with a radiant, smug grin. "Well, there''s a dangerous assumption right there."


    Perking her brow, she barely subdues the giggle in the undertone. "Thinking?"


    The cold pack gradually shifts back up Bach''s head and clears his line of sight of Sotalia. He manages a weak glare at her. Deflating under her unrelenting grin right back at him, he sighs. "At this point, I''m not even going to argue. It hurts too much."


    Sotalia unwraps an arm from the head rest, flips open a pouch on her belt and retrieves a vial. Holding the vial over the aisle, she waggles it in sight of Aristespha and directs her inquiry. "Is it safe for a simple anti-inflammatory?"


    Aristespha glances up from the windows of text upon her tablet, briefly quirks a brow at Bach, and smirks at Sotalia. "Yes. Go right ahead. I''m sure our brave hero of the day will appreciate it."


    Sotalia cranes the vial over to Bach, taps it upon his knee, and offers it. Bach flutters his eyes open under the shadow of the cold pack, spots the potion, and drifts his free hand over. "Thank you."


    Briefly lifting his hand from the cold pack, he uncorks the vial, tilts the vial into his mouth, and caps it back. Securing the cold pack again, he presents the empty vessel back to Sotalia. "So... I''m not going to live this one down any time soon..."


    Sotalia giggles to herself and dramatically shakes her head side to side. "OH. No. Of course not."


    An amused grin widens on her light tan and dark gray face and sun from the window glints in her golden eyes. "Oh, what was the one liner? Fuck you, chicken?"


    Cringing into an uncomfortable grimace, Bach exhales defeat. Aristespha closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. "You are certainly Sebastian''s brother."


    From the sword, Sebastian adopts a playfully defensive tone. "Hey! I don''t know how to feel about that... Anyway."


    Brotherly pride radiates from his encouraging tone. "I think it was pretty fucking awesome, bro! Damn, you beat that bird at its own game. You out thudkickered the thudkicker. Seriously, fuck that overgrown chicken."


    Dretphi leans forward, rests a hand on Bach''s shoulder, and smiles with a slight lip bite. "You have earned a rare honor. Few challenge a thudkicker. None I know have won. None were sober when they tried."


    Chuckling to herself, Sotalia crosses her arms back around the head rest. "Gods, I still can''t believe you won!"


    She furrows her brow at Dretphi and twists a smirk. "Hey! Doesn''t that mean he becomes the pack leader or something?"


    Dretphi leans back against her seat and searches her thoughts with darting steely gray eyes. After uncertain contemplation, she simply shrugs. "Yes? If the pack had been awake to witness."


    The driver''s side door opens, and Cideeda hops behind the steering wheel. Glancing down the aisle, she cracks a smile and perks her furry ears. "So, how''s patient?"


    Aristespha pulls the corner of her mouth into an amused half-grin and flicks her eyes over to Bach. "Oh. He will live. Hard head intact, pride defended, sanity questionable, and ego shrinking."


    Cideeda nods, flashes a toothy grin to Bach with a quick wink, and turns forward into her seat. "Well that''s good. So, the thudkickers are in the hands of the relocation crew. I got our restraints and rope back, and..."


    Reaching into a vest pocket, she pulls out a folded piece of paper and lifts it over her seat to Aristespha. "A delivery confirmation receipt."


    Aristespha plucks the paper from Cideeda''s hand and opens it for inspection. Sweeping her violet eyes over the paper, she nods and positions in front of her tablet. "Excellent. I will get a photo of it and send it along with the rest of the paperwork."


    Cideeda quickly checks over her immediate area of the cab. Inserting a fob into a port on the humvee''s dash, she glances over to Sotalia, still sitting knees into the seat. A startled squeak escapes Sotalia. Reflexively tensing up, she wraps her arms around herself low, guarding her sides. She searches nearby and finds Cideeda''s claw tip pointing at her. Following it back, she blinks blankly. Cideeda furrows her brow, twirls a finger, points down, and motions towards Sotalia''s seat belt. Pouting briefly, Sotalia spins around and sits down properly. "Aww..."


    Cideeda flips a series of covered toggle switches on the dash, locks them in place, and presses the ignition switch firmly. "That''s enough for now. We can remind him of this later."


    A low whirl spins up to a high pitched whine, and a muffled pop erupts to muted roar as the system status lights upon the dash flick to green. Cideeda lowers her head, peers through the windshield, and stares concerned up to the clouding sky. "I want to get home soon."


    Her emerald green eyes scan the darker horizon and flick between runs of graying clouds. Wrestling an uneasy frown, she straightens her posture and puts the humvee in gear. "Walking back, the clouds looked really off. I don''t want to be driving in whatever they''re bringing."


    ----


    The constant drone of heavy rain rolls over the roof and seeps throughout the house. The intensity wavers with the gusts of wind. Rattles of water drops upon the window glass peaks over the stormy ambiance. Snoring against the surrounding din, Bach unconsciously draws up bed sheets and cocoons away from the chaos. A white flash beams in through the windows, and the room lights up brilliantly. Between winces, Bach stirs and crack open his eyes to thin slits. His blue pupils drift side to side aimlessly and wander without consciousness. An explosive, house shaking boom pulses through. Bach''s eyes spring wide open, and he waits with muscles tense, surveying the situation. He watches the eerie ambient dim, green glow radiate from the windows above the head of his bed and erratically pulsate upon the plain walls. Sittings up in bed, he groggily fails to catch the warm cold pack, and it flops off his forehead onto his bed sheet covered lap. He pulls off the sheet, and stands up, facing the window. Outside through the window, the rain falls in sheets upon the glass, flooding the view in drenching waves. Dark green, omnipresent light oozes through the clouds overhead, and flickers of purple, pink, and orange streak through the same clouds. Bach slowly blinks to blank stare and clears the sleep out of his eyes, waiting for consciousness to arise. A distant low rumble vibrates the windows, and a wave of tension freezes Bach. Continuing to scan the chaotic scene outside from his bedroom window, he manages to mumble the question his mind provides no answers to. "What the fuck is this?"


    Brushing off his shirt and short, he collects his thoughts and glances towards the faint light creeping in under his door from the hallway. After a few distant and muffled voices slip through the hollow door, he ambles over to the exit.


    In the living room, the television casts a glow onto the couch and coffee table while a single light in the kitchen illuminates the living area. The door to the garage opens and reveals Cideeda pressing a button on the garage side of the wall. A mechanical groan of the garage door cycles, and the chorus of rain gradually loses out, eventually subsiding to the background noise when the garage door seals up. Cideeda closes the kitchen door firmly, releases a satisfied breath through the drips of water down her light brown face. She brushes back her wet short, multi-colored hair with her fingers and flutters her emerald green eyes with a whole body shiver. After a few moments of twirling the humvee''s key fob in her hand, she glances down at her water soaked nightshirt and tugs it away from her figure. It clings back to her upon release, and she huffs out an annoyed sigh. Sotalia stirs within her house coat, turns her head towards Cideeda, and quietly projects from the couch. "You know we have rain coats, right?"


    Cideeda steps across the kitchen floor, her bare feet softly sounding out a light, wet pats with clicks from her claws. Putting her hands up to the sides with an acknowledging smirk, she shrugs. "I know. But, honestly, I don''t think it would have helped much."


    Picking at the clingy and soaked shirt, she coils her water-logged tail around her waist. "I''ll be right back. I got to get a new shirt and wring out my tail."


    Granting an acknowledging nod, Sotalia slides her attention back to the television. Lifting up the remote at the screen, she turns up the volume, and the audio from the broadcast climbs out of the background storm drone with each tick on the on-screen gauge.


    "... we are currently still waiting on confirmation from the Greater Azure Alliance Department of Meteorology. But, from all observations and our equipment, a Maelstrom Warning is very likely for cities within the projected path of the storm. Amaranth Valley and surrounding areas are presently under Severe Storm warning for the reminder of the night and..."


    Bach wanders groggily out from the archway leading to the hallway, and Cideeda casually slides past him. Quickly patting him on the shoulder, she smirks. "Morning."


    Fighting a yawn, Bach nods towards her. "Technically... Yeah... I guess."


    He pauses in thought and notices the wet sheen of kitchen light reflecting off Cideeda''s hair. "You''ve been outside?"


    Cideeda nods and sighs with a shrug. "Didn''t want to risk our only ride to this mess outside. Got it to fit in the garage. After soaking up a couple liters of water in my tail alone."


    Walking down the hallway to her bedroom, she slips through the door. Seconds later a rolled up, wet nightshirt flops onto the floor just outside the door. Bach blinks, turns towards the television, and wanders next to the nearby arm of the couch. "Wait... A maelstrom? I thought we were too far out for those."


    Sotalia shakes her head with an uneasy twist in her grimace. "So did I... But, I guess if the storm picks up enough from the weird zone, it can stay near maelstrom stage long enough to get here."


    The dim green glow through the sliding glass door flickers pink with bright flashes of white slipping in. Bach and Sotalia snap their heads at the colors and gawk outside at the pulsations to many individual, constant glows. The dim green drifts between a strange range of colors, and the sky paints itself with a fading rainbow of streaks. Mixing with the torrents of rain, orbs of magical light pelt and bounce off the ground. A low distant hum resonates through the structure of the house, and a lightning strike in the distance erupts into a spidering swirl of expanding miasma. The concussion wave from the strike warps through the walls of rain and impacts the house, shaking to a long rumble. Sotalia stares in awe with her jaw agape. Bach slowly blinks in disbelief and stretches his facial muscles in search of a fitting expression. Peering out from the hallway archway, Cideeda''s wide eyes and narrow pupils reflect the barrage of lighting from outside. She holds up a finger, points down the hallway, and uses her free hand to pull down her dry nightshirt the rest of the way. "So... I''m going to wake Dretphi up... If she isn''t already."


    Placing her sock covered feet squarely on the ground, Sotalia quickly stands up rigidly and nods slowly. "Good idea, girl. I''ll go get Aristespha up. She''ll want to see this."


    "This is an update from the Greater Azure Alliance Department of Meteorology! We have confirmations from multiple sources that the storm is now classified a Class One Maelstrom! Residents in the path of the maelstrom should seek shelter within an interior room, basement, or dedicated storm shelter..."


    While the alert scroll overlay attempts to display, the picture on the television shifts, shudders, skews, and distorts in a myriad of erratic directions and shapes. Aetherphones throughout the house fire off loud emergency alerts. Seeping into the room, a chorus of sirens across the countryside spin up to a haunting wail, echoing out to swirling glows of the sky above.


    ----


    A tan hand tugs on Bach''s foot beneath the blanket. After a quick grumble, Bach tosses in the sleeping bag upon the living room floor, fighting against consciousness. Another firm pull on his foot stirs him from slumber, and he groggily cracks his eyes open. Dretphi holds onto Bach''s foot through the sleeping bag and nods. "I apologize. I need your help."


    Fluttering his blue eyes, he slowly rises up to a seat on the floor and begrudgingly pushes through the haze of sleep fading away. He rubs his eyes, yawns, and scratches his beard stubble. "Sure... Yeah... So, what do you need?"


    Dretphi gazes out towards the sliding glass door and waves to the golden magical barrier encasing the exit. Bach follows her direction and blinks blankly, his brain sluggishly loading memory from last night. "Oh. Right. I remember. Yeah, let me get that down."


    Bach unzips the sleeping bag, steadies himself up on his feet, and checks the living area. Cideeda snores quietly on the couch. She unconsciously wraps blankets into the cocoon around her from another spot on the couch, and her tail flicks out from underneath the sheets. Glancing at other impromptu bedding on the couch and the chair, Bach quirks a brow at Dretphi. "So, I guess Aristespha and Sotalia are up already? Investigating outside?"


    With a nod, Dretphi confirms and smiles reassuringly, tossing back a stray platinum blonde braid. "House is intact. Both checked for lingering magic. They are now outside. Assessing the property."


    Bach stretches his neck side to side, fights another yawn, and scratches his side. "Probably a lot of trees down. THAT was something else last night."


    Staring over towards the dining table resting against the wall, he surveys the collection of patio furniture packed in the dining area. "Well, I''m glad we got the patio stuff inside. Gods, after that first chair tried to float away, I''m pretty sure it all would have been gone by now."


    Dretphi slightly grimaces with a twist of her mouth and slowly nods at the furniture. "With our security deposit."


    Standing idly in a near daze, he notices Dretphi staring expectantly at him. Meeting her eye contact, he ponders through confusion and remembers the task. He rubs his eyes again and tries to mask the embarrassment. "Oh. Right. Yeah. The barrier! Uh, I''ll get that down real quick and help you with the patio stuff."


    Crossing her muscular arms, she smiles watching Bach groggily step to the sliding glass door. "Coffee has been made. Do you require a cup?"


    With slow, exaggerated motions, Bach glances over his shoulder and confirms, fighting down a yawn. "Y-yes. Please."


    ----


    A breeze rustles the leaves above, and water drops patter down upon the soggy forest floor from the canopy. Staring out between the tall trees, Dretphi slowly surveys the sparse destruction within the forest She walks up to a large fallen tree and kneels down with a studious gaze at the aged trunk. Narrowing her steely gray eyes, she picks at the spongey, rotted heartwood within an old hole. She crumbles the weak fibers between her fingers and shakes her head with a frown. She stands up tall, searches the area, and squints down a long, winding erosion in the fresh mud. Stepping over the fallen tree upon the sun spotted forest floor, she cautiously steps upon the wet earth, testing her weight. Bach notices her moving away and follows behind. He slides foot first over to the other side of the fallen tree and studies the torn, snapped roots lying above the ground. "Gods... This is scary impressive. I mean, I knew the wind was powerful, but... Wow. Just wow."


    Squatting down, Dretphi examines the damp soil and traces the start of a water worn creek with her eyes. "It is amazing..."


    She cocks her head to the side and wanders her investigative stare over the area. "Tremendous amount of water. Lead towards the stream."


    Stepping up behind Dretphi, Bach gazes off into the distance and perks his brow. "Yeah. This must have practically been a river last night. All this fresh around..."


    Standing back up, Dretphi glances towards the ambient babble of the stream. With Bach close behind, she hikes through dense forest, surveying the area. Both wander closer to the sparser run along a stream, and their footsteps sink further into the earth. Mud and dirt coat the banks, and a constant water flow churns over stones. The stream spreads out into a wide, shallow pool of silt slurry. Sunken into the middle, a large tusked creature lays on its side, murk completely covering its hide. Spotting the creature, Dretphi halts, and a frown drags down. "Oh."


    Bach notes the change of mood, gazes out in the same direction, and matches with a similar expression. "Damn... Poor thing. Must have worn itself out and drowned."


    A labored breath struggles to get inside the lungs of the creature, and it releases a weak grunt. Dretphi''s steely gray eyes spring wide open, and she jogs over to the edge of the pool. She cautiously halts, lowers herself down, and cranes herself close, examining the creature carefully. "It is alive. Could be dangerous."


    Bach stands next to Dretphi and shrugs uncertainly. "Umm... Well, even if it is dangerous, I don''t think it can put up that much of a fight right now."


    He offers a reassuring smirk and motions towards the sunken beast. "I''ve got your back, if you want to check it out closer."


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Dretphi glances over with a reserved smile, nods, and steps into the pool. Her hiking boot sinks into the murk and touches solid ground halfway up her calf. She eases down to a squat next to the meter long boar and gently rests a hand upon it. Feeling the rise and fall of its breath, she moves her hand along its side. Bach trudges closer through the muck and leans down nearby. "So, how''s it looking?"


    Petting its dense fur, Dretphi grimaces sadly and inspects the large boar. "Do not know. It is weak. Dangerous to treat a boar of this siz-"


    Her hand stops. Pressing her fingers into its thick coat around its upper back, and she traces an outline of a small boney bud. Her eyes widen in surprise, and her jaw drifts open. She scoops up water and pours it onto the thick fur. Each handful washes away a layer of the dirt coating and reveals hidden patterns and colors of the fur. Recognition rattles Dretphi, and she gasps in shock. Diving her arms underneath, she strains to dredge the boar up from the mud. "Help! Get him out!"


    Dropping down to his knees into the muck, Bach digs through the watery murk. Dretphi struggles to hoist the boar free from the unforgiving mud, suction weighing down each attempt. Bach growls and slaps his hands on the surface, and a blue glow flashes from his eyes. "Fuck! To hell with this!"


    With a surge of flow down his arms, a sprawling mesh of magical energy strands erupt from Bach''s hands. The threads spread across the surface of the water to the boar and dive underneath the surface. Against an expanding energy lattice, the muck recedes from the body of the boar, clearing out underneath and around its legs. Dretphi quickly slips her arms underneath and hoists the critter free. Steading herself in the murky pool, she strains to pull her boots free. The energy threads swiftly pull back the murk. Stepping upon solid ground, she secures her hold of the weakly struggling boar. Bach slips out from the mire and helps Dretphi get a proper hold of the beast. After a moment of assurance, the two rush back to the house.


    ----


    Staring at the bundled up boar upon a cleared section of living room floor, Aristespha covers her mouth and darts her examining violet eyes between parts of the creatre. "I can do the basics."


    She twists an uncomfortable frown on her ivory face. "But... I specialized in humanoid medicine. Any specific spells may do more harm than good on him. We need a specialist."


    Dretphi gently props the exhausted boar''s head upon a folded towel and sighs with a concerned gaze. Sebastian floats over gathering, sorting through his thoughts, and stirs when one idea hits. Cracking a smile on his translucent face, he points at Bach. "Bro! Call Kaleb and Shadeesa."


    Bach meets his brother''s gazes, thinks with a furrow of her brow, and rolls his eyes at himself. He pulls out his aetherphone and fumbles through the menus to a contact list. "Dammit! That''s right!"


    After tapping a few on screen buttons, a rhythmic chirp sounds out from the speaker. Kaleb''s voice calls out from the speakerphone. "Hey! What''s going on? We were just wondering how you guys weathered that maelstrom."


    Bach holds his phone out towards the middle of the gathering. "Well, we''re all fine. But, we''ve got a veterinary emergency on our hands. I''ll turn on the video."


    Kaleb''s voice wavers with tinges of confusion. "Okay... Well, Shadeesa just got out of the bathroom. Let me get her over here."


    Aiming his phone towards the boar with Dretphi and Aristespha tending at the side, Bach kneels down for a better shot. The phone screen displays Kaleb sitting down and adjusting his view closer to his face. Shadeesa appears behind and wraps her arms around Kaleb''s neck. She squints at the other side''s camera, appearing to stare out through the screen. "Huh, a veterinary emergency? What kind of-"


    Tilting his head side to side, Kaleb scrutinizes the image of the mud-caked boar on his end of the call and hums thoughtfully, mentally flipping through possibilities. "Wow. Well, it looks like that boar has been through a lot. But... That coloration of its fur... I''d expect that from a baby."


    Shadeesa leans forward, her green on black eyes gradually closing in on the screen. Reaching a hand out, she directs their phone towards her light gray, white freckled face. Kaleb curiously watches Shadeesa hanging over him, the pupils of her eyes widening. She bites her lip with an ear-to-ear grin and excitedly stammers. "T-t-that''s a baby dire boar. An actual dire boar piglet. The coloration of the fur. The size. Does he have the start of any horns, bones, or spurs along his back?!"


    Lowing her head into view of Bach''s aetherphone camera, Dretphi nods and parts a patch of the boar''s fur, revealing a boney bud. Shadeesa locks onto the phone with her full undivided attention. Determination fights to curb her excitement, and she draws in a calming breath. "Okay... Aristespha, could you start giving me basic vitals and information? I''ll instruct you on what you need to do to make sure he''s stabilized until we get there."


    Blinking blankly, Kaleb turns his head towards Shadeesa and stares with a raised eyebrow. "Uh? Get there? We aren''t leaving for the convention until tomorrow. I mean, our hotel reservations aren''t until tomorrow night, Thursday night."


    He furrows his stare concerned. "It''s Wednesday, today. I don''t feel comfortable with you doing that long of a round trip either and..."


    Explanation fumbles to a halt the moment Shadeesa''s arm around Kaleb''s neck tightens by a slight but important amount. Shadeesa gazes right into Kaleb''s light brown eyes. The two maintain eye quiet contact for seconds. Faint shifts in expression relay a silent conversation between the two. A long sigh escapes Kaleb, and he smiles at her with a nod. "Okay, love. I want to help the piglet, too. I just want to make sure everything is in place for you."


    Shadeesa pecks Kaleb on the cheek with a loving smile. "Honey, I''m only three months along. You have my full permission to stop me in the future when I get too crazy with traveling. Okay?"


    Kaleb shifts his gaze to the camera on his aetherphone and cracks a smirk. "Bach? You hear that? I need a witness here to call up in the future."


    Narrowing her eyes briefly at Kaleb, Shadeesa flashes a playful defiant pout. With an uncomfortable chuckle, Bach awkwardly smiles. "Uh, sure. Yeah. Cool. Well, anyways, I''ll offer my bed for the night if there''s no objections. I think the couch will be clear, since we aren''t taking shelter from any maelstrom."


    With no objections from Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia, Sebastian gazes down upon Dretphi. Petting and comforting the baby dire boar, Dretphi focus remains far from the current conversation. Sebastian smiles appreciatively at his brother. "Well, since you volunteered, bro. I don''t believe anyone has any objections."


    Kaleb gives a thumbs up from his side of the video feed. "Thanks, you all. I doubt we''d be able to book a decent hotel at this point."


    With Shadeesa''s hands sweeping around the phone, he rolls his eyes with a smirk. "Well, I''ll hand the phone over, now. Got to get Lagi loaded up and ready."


    Bach passes his phone over to Aristespha. Settling down into a chair, Shadeesa readies herself, and her focused, determined, expectant stare fills the screen.


    ----


    Contrasting the looming shadow, pulses of condensation spread out on the sliding door''s outside with each breath from the nostrils of the black and blue dragon. Lagi presses his head closer against the glass, and his bright green eyes attentively follow the activity inside the living room. Shadeesa lifts her head back, rolls her shoulders into stretch, and sighs with a smile. "If he''s this goofy and worthless now, I think he''ll be just fine to stay the night inside."


    Dretphi holds another handful of cereal loops in front of the baby dire boar''s sniffing snout. Casually licking up the cereal, the huge piglet munches down with a constant, happy wag of the tail. Aristespha props her arms behind and leans herself back on the floor next to Shadeesa. "I hope I am not asking too much, but I would love to get the recipe for that nutrient paste you have."


    She cracks a humored smirk and lifts an eyebrow. "I do hope it''s not a veterinary trade secret."


    Shadeesa shakes her head and brushes her apron off with a giggle. "Oh no! It''s something I''ve worked on for cases like these with exhaustion, starvation, and so forth. It¡¯s actually very similar to the standard nutrient mixes. But, I put a few fast absorption spells on it."


    Narrowing her green on black eyes, she twists an amused smile. "I''ll warn you, though... It''s REALLY potent. So, only use very little once a day."


    With a faint shudder, she sighs. "The side effects are annoying and... Messy."


    Kaleb sorts through items in a medical pack on the dining table and grumbles loudly with a sarcastic ring. "And make sure you label it clearly when you put it in a cream cheese tub."


    Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia glance over to Shadeesa. Momentarily gritting her teeth in an embarrassed frown, Shadeesa bites her lip and quietly whispers. "I changed up the binder and flavoring after that... Incident."


    Sebastian slides next to Kaleb, pulls his gaze away from the gathering around the dire piglet, and quietly inquires. "Any more details to THAT story?"


    Kaleb sighs and shakes his head. "Three hours at a rundown truck stop bathroom."


    Lifting his hand up, Sebastian slowly nods with a tight smile. "Say no more. I know your pain. On and off, half a day, camp ground with an old outhouse."


    Kaleb and Sebastian exchange mutual commiseration with glances and stale, pained sighs. Dretphi brushes the clean hair ridge of the dire boar with her finger. With a smile ever present on her face, she puts forth another handful of cereal in front of the critter''s snout. Aristespha shifts her gaze over to a paper notepad between her and Shadeesa and studies it further. "I see the similarities between our professions, but the differences are fascinating..."


    Bouncing her violet eyes between the dire piglet and Shadeesa, she smirks with a snort. "And, I will admit, quite challenging."


    A delighted smile appears on Shadeesa, and she shrugs, resting her hands on her lap. "Some days, I don''t know why I signed up for it all. There are many days more I would really LOVE to have the wealth of premade spells, potions, and procedures humanoid medicine has. But..."


    Reaching her hand under the chin of the baby dire boar, she scratches underneath with her long, black nails. The boar happily responds with a series of short, muffled grunts and tail wags. Shadeesa chuckles to herself. "I''d miss opportunities like these."


    Walking out from the hallway entryway, Bach sniffs the air, searching. "Huh, I still can''t smell anything out here."


    Cideeda steps past him with a shake of her head. "Don''t worry about it. You don''t have my sense of smell. Trust me, the bathroom and tub are back to normal enough."


    Bach wipes his hands with a towel over his shoulder. He rolls it up and places it in a nearly full laundry basket. "Well, at least the big piglet cleans up nicely. It''s amazing how well simple baking soda works for that."


    Shadeesa glances over to Bach and Cideeda and returns her gaze towards the baby dire boar. "Yes. I tend to use it to not upset the natural oils in the hair and disrupt any natural scent too badly. Most shampoo detergents and fragrances are too much."


    Lightly sniffing the air, Cideeda stares at the dire piglet and furrows her brow. "Its scent is certainly a bit stronger than it was before."


    Shadeesa shuffles her legs underneath herself from a seat on the floor and works her way up to stand. "Oh, that''s good."


    Mid-way through, Kaleb moves to her side and offers assistance up, and Shadeesa lovingly accepts. She steps over and eases herself onto a chair next to the dining table, stretching her legs out inside her scrub pants. Glancing around the imposing figure of Lagi, she studies the bright afternoon scene beyond the sliding glass door. "I think the mother is still alive and well."


    Dretphi gazes up from the large piglet and perks a curious eyebrow at Shadeesa. "What makes you say that?"


    Shadeesa settles back into the chair and ponders her theory out loud. "Well... It''s theorized that dire mothers not only use natural means to keep track of their piglets but a lot of magical means, too. I think the little one got separated in the maelstrom. The mud blocked the natural scent and magical chaos disrupted the magical tracking. So, given how calm and friendly he is..."


    Smiling at the ever hungry beast, she watches the piglet devour another bowl of cereal. "He still thinks his mother is still around and has nothing to worry about. Hopefully, if he''s outside long enough, his mother will pick up the scent and find him. As happy as he seems, I believe the mother will be..."


    She wrestles a surge of unease on her light gray, white freckled face and darts her eyes around. "Amicable... But, we should keep our distance to be safe if she shows up for him. I would hope she''d tolerate us for taking care of her piglet. I don''t expect anything more after that."


    Sotalia ponders about the theory and wanders her golden gaze close to the sliding glass door, meeting Lagi''s longing stare. She pivots in place and observes the dragon. Lagi bounces his bright green, pleading stare between her and the handle of the door. Seconds of inaction from Sotalia later, he repeats the gesture slower and exaggerates the individual motions, tilting his head. Blinking at the antics, Sotalia cocks her head to the side, unconvinced. Narrowing his eyes, Lagi sighs and droops his shoulders slightly, lifting a clawed hand up. With a claw tip, Lagi point at Sotalia. Humoring the creature, Sotalia directs a finger to her chest. Lagi nods, moves the claw to the sliding glass door handle, and pantomimes sliding it open. Sotalia gawks in astonishment and directs her bewilderment over her shoulder towards everyone else. "Um? Is there any reason the dragon would be asking me to open the door for him? If he wanted, I think he could do it himself?"


    Kaleb exchanges humored glances with Bach, Sebastian, and Shadeesa and laughs. "Oh! Don''t mind him. He''s just trying to work the system... Again."


    He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "He''s been taught HE can''t open doors unless they''ve been specifically marked."


    Sebastian shakes his head and hovers over to glance at the patiently waiting Lagi. "Wow. Still following that rule, huh?"


    Grinning at Shadeesa, Sebastian ethereally snorts. "You certainly left some mental scars on him."


    Shadeesa crosses her arms defensively and puffs up. "Listen! The first few times he opened the door to the dorm apartment bathroom and stole my clothes AND towels, while I was in the shower... was cute. Everything after the tenth time was aggravating. I HAD to do SOMETHING."


    Lowering his head into his hand, Bach rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose. "Oh, man. That summer when he learned he had opposable thumbs. GODS, that was a rough one."


    Cideeda twists her toothy grin in thought and glances over to Bach. "So, he can pick locked doors?"


    Bach shakes his head and grits his teeth, pulling at the corner of his mouth. "No. THAT actually would have been cheaper. He used to either rip the door knob off, chew a hole into the door itself, or try some kind of magic upon it if it was still locked."


    Glancing over to Kaleb with a knowing smirk, he smirks. "Never got that deposit back on the apartment I bet."


    Kaleb snorts into a dry chuckle and places a hand on Shadeesa''s shoulder. "HELL NO. Of course not. We were lucky after you and Sebastian left to not have to pay extra in damages."


    Placing a hand on Kaleb''s, Shadeesa sighs with a slow shake of her head. "Gods, I''m just glad we found something else, before he got his first growth spurt. It took FOREVER for him to realize how big he had gotten and not get stuck in EVERYTHING."


    Kaleb directs a whisper to Sotalia with a sly grin. "You want him to be your friend forever?"


    Sotalia glances over her shoulder and perks her brow. "Sure... I guess."


    With a wink and obscured point to the door, Kaleb continues. "Open the door for him. He just wants to stick his head in for a bit, anyway."


    Sotalia walks over towards the door. Bright green eyes open wide, and Lagi scoots his massive frame over towards the handle on the sliding glass door. Sotalia grasps the handle with the full attention and focus of Lagi. She clicks the lock open and slowly slides the framed glass over. Watching the door open, Lagi wobbles in anticipation and halts. He waits with eyes upon Kaleb and Shadeesa. Gradually poking his head through the doorway, he constantly checks for any objections. After a reserved minute, he nuzzles his face on Sotalia''s side and purrs. Losing a fight against a smile, Sotalia shakes her head and rolls her eyes. She giggles to herself and delightedly scratches underneath the dragon''s chin.


    ----


    A calm breeze blows across the brickwork patio and sweeps up a mix of pollen and dirt into the nearby grass. Underneath the noon sun, Sotalia walks off onto a worn path leading towards the picnic table with her aetherphone pressing against her ear. She turns her head to shield the wind from the phone and guides stray strands of dark red hair over her swept back horns. Glancing around the open field, she sighs with a reserved smile. "Yes, mom. I know I should have called you sooner, but yesterday was pretty crazy."


    She darts her golden eyes around and slows her pace upon the mix of worn gravel and dirt, waiting for an opportunity. "Anyway, I''m fine. When the maelstrom hit, we put up some wards and camped out in the living room. It was quite the light show, but didn''t do too much damage to the area."


    She casually strolls and rocks her head side to side with the other side of the conversation. "Well, Bach and Sebastian''s old college friends are here, and I think later they''re going to head off to their hotels for the convention happening in town."


    Blinking a moment, she shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh, some science fiction, adventuring fandom thing. I don''t quite know. We''re going to go to it. See what it''s all about."


    With the response through the phone, a smile cracks on Sotalia''s face, and she closes the distance between her and the picnic table. "OH. Don''t worry. You know I''ll get all my nieces and nephews souvenirs. They''ve sent me plenty of messages about the last ones."


    Twisting her mouth, she grumbles in confidence to the other side of the call. "Gods, I still don''t think they should have aetherphones at their ages."


    She bites her lip into a satisfied grin and stops next to the picnic table. "Well, we''ll just have to keep our opinions away from Maelvia and Talelia won''t we?"


    Her grin softens to a smile, and she takes a long breath in. "I love you, too, mom. I''ll harass dad later when I think he''s near a phone of some kind. Gods know where he''s probably wandering off to now."


    With a quick few emin terms, Sotalia finishes up the call, and surveys the gathering at the table. Kaleb kneels down on the ground with a professional grade camera. He aims the lens at the dire boar piglet hunting through the high grass for cereal loops and clicks a number of pictures. Shadeesa and Dretphi take turns reaching into the cereal box between them and tossing grain loops out into the grass in front of the piglet. Scratching a few more notes onto the pad of paper next to her, Shadeesa props a grinning face with an arm upon her lap. "I can''t wait to write up my notes. Not many people have ever gotten this close to a dire boar piglet... And this young."


    Dretphi holds open a handful of cereal, and the piglet happily presses his snout in. Petting it on his head, she ruffles the bristly ridge of fur on the back of his neck. "A rare honor. Possibly unique. How long will it take for the mother to find him?"


    Shadeesa tugs a corner of her mouth and exhales uncertainly. "I don''t know. I don''t think long. The few people that have been crazy enough to trap and remove a baby from any dire mother usually had the mother showing up within a day or two, despite dozens of kilometers."


    Scanning along the treeline surrounding the clearing, Dretphi nods, sighs, and smiles at the cereal crunching creature. Kaleb stands back up, presses a few buttons on the camera, and hovers the device in front of Shadeesa. "These came out pretty good."


    Shadeesa lifts her head up, hoods the view screen with a hand, and giddily squirms on the bench. "Those are going to be great! I know I shouldn''t be thinking about business at a time like this, but damn if documentation of the treatment of a dire boar piglet isn''t going to get some attention for my future practice!"


    Nodding, Kaleb rests the camera upon his chest, hanging from the attached neck strap. "Hopefully, we''ll be going to conventions for just the sake of going to them more in the future... Despite how profitable presenting a dragon is."


    Cideeda slides next to Kaleb, flicks out a blue-black dragon scale in hand, and presents a sly, scheming smile on her light brown face. "Speaking of which, do you have any more of these?"


    Perking his brown, Kaleb nods and motions over towards Lagi. "Yes, I do. He typically loses a few when new ones grow underneath. But, I often pluck them before they get too roughed up."


    He leans and lowers his voice closer to Cideeda''s attentive furry ear. "People pay a lot more when they look nicer."


    Cideeda rolls the scale deftly between her clawed fingers and lifts an entrepreneurial eyebrow at Kaleb. "So... How much trouble would it be to get a few more?"


    Kaleb laughs with a wry smirk. "Not hard at all. There''s a few that are overdue that have been bugging him."


    Narrowing a curious stare at Cideeda, he smirks. "Any particular reason? Going to try to magic up your own dragon?"


    A disgusted scoff escapes Aristespha, and she rolls her violet eyes. "Oh gods! Do people still believe those myths and legends?"


    Bach slowly, dramatically lifts his head up and down and groans with a cringe. "OH. YEAH. There''s whole aethernet forums dedicated towards finding the secret, forbidden formulas and forgotten spells to summon all kinds of things. Good for cheap comedy reads. I always wonder what random ancient tome someone is going to try to push as legit stuff."


    Sebastian shrugs with his hands out to his sides. "Well, bro, you can''t exactly blame them. It''s kind of hard to sort out the facts from fiction with a lot of this stuff."


    He waves over his ethereal visage. "I mean, I can''t say anything. I''m stuck in a magic sword with a number of mages around me, a dragon over there, and a baby dire boar eating breakfast cereal in front of me. I can''t fault someone for stretching their beliefs a little.


    Narrowing her eyes at Sebastian, Aristespha huffs and returns her stare forward, grumbling. "I still have to question the sanity of anyone expecting to spawn anything other than a biological hazard by mixing household cleaners and yelling a few magic sounding words out of their mouths."


    A loud crackling snap echoes into the area and silences all conversations. In the lull, the gathering around the picnic table search for the source. Following her perked furry ears, Cideeda points towards the forest. Out from the treeline through a wide gap between trees, a huge two meter tall creature walks effortlessly through a large bush. Bony armor plates cover parts of her head, large tusks gleam in the daylight, and a ridge of back spines rustle with each shift of her shoulders. The adult dire boar struts with pride and purpose in each step, a strange barely visible miasma wafting out. With glowing green eyes, she scans her head around and settles her stare upon the picnic table. She focuses upon the dire boar piglet and sniffing the passing breeze with her snout. In her pause, five piglets of similar size and fur patterns trot out from the cleared path and wander around her. Wide eyes from everyone at the picnic table affix upon the dire boar mother. Lagi cautiously steps next to Kaleb and Shadeesa, lowers down to the ground and motions with his head back to the saddle on him, whining out a series of low tones. Kaleb rests his hand on Lagi and assures. "Good thinking, but let''s not jump to conclusions yet."


    Gawking ahead, Shadeesa waves around to find Kaleb and pats upon his arm. She speaks out the side of her mouth and pokes him in the side to punctuate. "Kaleb. Camera. Record. NOW."


    Slowly and purposefully, Kaleb lifts the camera up, aims, and presses the recording button. Sotalia steps carefully behind the picnic table, kneels down next to Aristespha, and maintains her watch. "Are you feeling that?"


    A violet glow radiates from Aristespha''s eyes, and she finally remembers to blink at the sight before her. "I am seeing IT."


    Cideeda slinks back in retreat, putting the picnic table between her and the dire boar. Sebastian glances over, nods in agreement, and drifts forward. "Okay, everyone. Let''s be ready to run if needed."


    Bach regains his awareness enough and notices the dire boar piglet still sniffing through the grass for cereal. Leaning over the table, he reaches over and pats Dretphi''s shoulder. "HEY. Point the piglet at his mother. I don''t think he''s paying attention."


    Dretphi blinks her mind back into focus, glances down at the piglet, and rattles her head in confirmation to Bach. Putting her arms on either side of the piglet, she gradually eases him to turn around and aims his facing right at his mother. She slides her hands back onto his back legs and nudges gently but firmly forward. No longer sniffing food, the piglet lifts his head up from the grass, glances around, and stops his head in the direction of his mother. With a series of delighted grunts and a constant vigorous tail wag, the piglet trots down the slight hill, straight towards his awaiting mother. The dire boar matriarch lowers her head, meets her snout to his, and sniffs. Raising her head up, she focuses her piercing eyes at the gathering around the picnic table. The stare lingers and wanders over those present, an odd flicking of the eyes upon each. With final snort and sniff, she blinks long to a final gaze and turns around, marching off with piglets in tow. Everyone watches motionless. The dire boar mother and piglets disappear into the forest. Glancing over the general area, Sotalia strides off towards the house, fighting to keep a collected facade. "I''m going to go inside for a while, anyone is welcome to join. I''m... a bit... thirsty."


    The group arrives at a quick agreement and soon make their own ways towards the house, including the dragon.

 Episode 19

    A few beams of morning light slip in through the blinds and reflect off the hard armor plates upon the desk. The air current from an oscillating fan gently nudges the soft armor suit upon the hanger stand. Dretphi concentrates on her tan hands and braids the last bit of long hair in between her fingers. With a few twists, she slips on a stretchy band and secures the end. Inspecting the braid, she runs her fingers from the dirty blonde end to the platinum blonde root. She twirls her hair in her fingers a few moments and drops the braid upon her chest. Lifting her head up against her bed pillow, she searches the shelf above, behind the bed. She stretches her muscular, grayish striped arms out and grasps an object. The small fluffy toy boar rides down in her hands into the focus of her steely gray eyes. A smile briefly rises upon her face but fades to a frown. She sets the plush toy boar upon her rising chest and ruffles the wild furry head ridge. Exhaling a long, sad sigh, her blonde eyebrows droop somberly. A knock at the door snaps her back to awareness, and she sits up quickly. "You may open the door."


    The door opens slowly, and Bach leans around into view. He politely waves and glances at Dretphi. "Hey, uh, just wanted to let you know, we''re about ready to head off to the convention."


    He cracks an amused smirk. "I think Cideeda finally figured out all that she''s going to try to pawn off to convention folks."


    Dretphi nods and dons a faint smile, masking her frown. "Good. I am interested in what will happen today. Much happens at these conventions from what I have been told."


    Bach confirms with a smile. Wandering his gaze around the room, his eyes home in on the small toy boar Dretphi holds against her chest. Briefly puzzled, Dretphi follows Bach''s eyes and glances at the toy boar in her hands. Biting her lower lip, the realization hits, and she attempts to casually put the toy boar back upon the shelf behind her. With a few awkward stretches, she tries to obscure the flush of embarrassment. Bach blinks and politely averts his gaze elsewhere around the room. "Miss the little pig, don''t you?"


    Dretphi pauses mid stretch of her arm, returns her hand in front of her with the fluffy toy boar, and noticeably sighs. "Yes."


    With tug at the corner of his mouth, Bach nods a similar sentiment. "Well... Glad we found him, and got the help he needed. Back with his mother, too."


    Bach glances back over to Dretphi with a knowing smirk. "You really wanted to keep him. Didn''t you?"


    Swaying her head slowly shoulder to shoulder against an internal debate, Dretphi winces between different grimaces and shrugs uncertainly. "Feelings... Conflicting..."


    She holds the toy boar in front of her with both hands and ponders out loud. "Would have been happy to raise the boar. Would have been difficult. Albeit... rewarding. Ultimately, I am delighted that I was not needed. The best happened. I am happy to have made it possible."


    Twisting around, she places the toy boar on the shelf and turns herself on the bed, placing her feet onto the area rug. A warm smile returns to her tan face, and she gazes at Bach. "Thank you for your assistance. Did not know how much time we had. You made sure we did not waste that time."


    Bach scratches the back of his head and tries to humbly play off the given credit. "Ah, well, you carried him the rest of the way and were at his side the whole time. I''m just glad the mother showed up when we were outside. Sounds like it could have gotten pretty dangerous otherwise."


    Dretphi glances over from tying her boots and takes a long breath in with a serious hint in her tone. "Indeed. Walls may have been missing after she was done."


    Standing up, she brushes off her shirt and shorts in place, and walks towards the door. "I am ready. I am curious as to what I should expect?"


    Bach darts his blue eyes around his thoughts and bites his lip, trying to condense the difficulty in his voice. "Well... Uh... I''ll try my best to explain some of it on the way there. It''s just hard to explain. Really."


    Spotting Dretphi''s furrowing brow, he awkwardly chuckles and leads the way down the hall. "You''ll understand once you get there. It''s just something to be experienced."


    ----


    Crowds of people flow through the divided paths of registration lines and gaps of space between, traversing the snaking runs when people shift forward in line. A floating animated visage drifts above the hordes with extravagant messages heralding the Amaranth Adventure Con in grand spectacles, with colorful logos emphasizing favored sponsors. Intermixed in the masses, people showcase their thematic attire, and discuss topics of fiction and more between themselves. The parallel conversations rise into a low, droning echo, bouncing around the high ceilings of the entryway of the convention center. Small bits of dialog lodge themselves in Cideeda''s ears, and she deftly navigates her small frame through the gauntlet of people. A tall emin woman poses seductively in a succubus costume and gives a wink to the photographer. A passerby stops, points out the emin woman''s tail, and inquires excitedly. "OH! How did you do your tail?! That''s so life like!"


    The emin woman giggles with a beaming smile, strokes her tail up into her hand, and wags it slightly. "Oh, THAT is because it''s real! My great grandfather was Fvalian, so it shows up in my family. It really sells the whole outfit!"


    Cideeda slips in between a few armor suit wearing grath, expertly dodges the swing of an over-sized plastic sword wielding man, and slides by a group of evuukians comparing older era mage robes. With a final dash through a momentary break in the waves of visitors, she rushes clear to the awaiting group of Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia. Retrieving a collection of badges and pamphlets from her backpack, she distributes them to everyone else. "Whew! Okay! Damn, it''s been awhile since I''ve had to dodge that many people."


    She sorts the supplies into kits and presents them with a smile barely concealing her excitement. "BUT... Here''s our weekend passes, official literature, and guides to all that''s going on."


    Aristespha clips her badge onto her belt, next to the sword sheath. She flips through a few pages of the guide and wanders her violet eyes around the architecture. "Well, this is quite the place. It feels weird... Feels like I''m in a-"


    Cideeda grins slyly and perks an eyebrow. "A shopping mall?"


    Glancing over to Cideeda, she slowly nods with the revelation. "Yes!"


    After a few claw-tipped page flips in the guide, Cideeda presents Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian a page with the About headline. "It used to be. But, a few decades back some crazed, rich old adventurer sunk his life savings to buy this place after an economic slump and overhauled it into a massive convention center."


    She flicks to the next page and taps a finger upon pictures nestled between the paragraphs. "Offered discounted rates to attract renters. Now, it has some kind of convention every month with this one being THE big one."


    Bach opens his guide to the same page and skims down the paragraphs of text, nodding. "Huh. Can''t go to adventures, so bring the adventures to you. Well, that''s not a bad retirement plan."


    Hovering over Aristespha''s shoulder, Sebastian''s translucent blue eyes wander over the words on the page, and he squints at the biography segment. "Wow! He lived to hundred sixty three. Damn. Not bad at all. Dude must have seen it all."


    Aristespha thumbs through another set of pages and flits her brow with a smile to Sebastian. "To think Pre-Cataclysm life expectancy was approaching two hundred. I still find it astounding what they did without magic Pre-Cataclysm."


    A segment of the event schedule snags Aristespha¡¯s attention, and her violet eyes widen at the event title. An eager smile cracks upon her ivory face. "Interesting... I did not think they would have something like THIS here."


    Sebastian twists his mouth at the title and grumbles with an ethereal resonance. "Well, I guess I''m going with you to that one."


    Sliding her finger over to another part of the schedule, Aristespha gazes lovingly with a smile at Sebastian and watches his eyes light up figuratively, also a tad literally. "Oh, don''t worry, Sebastian. I think we''ll both like THIS one afterwards."


    Boyish glee swells up within Sebastian and an excited grin firmly plants itself. "Yes, dear. I believe two hours of Sword Style Demonstrations would be great for the both of us to experience together."


    A voice from the crowd calls out. "Cool! Awesome illusion!"


    Sebastian blinks blankly up from the page and turns himself to the source of the voice. Assuming a bravado flushed pose, he snaps a point back and smiles heroically at the passersby. "Enjoy the convention!"


    The passerby enthusiastically waves back, and the surrounding group of friends gawk in astonishment at the Sebastian "illusion". Hovering his head over Aristespha''s shoulder, he chuckles to himself. "Holy shit, I think this illusion ploy might actually work. This is going to be great!"


    Bach stops shuffling pages in the guide and studies the schedule closely. "I think I might join you two for the sword style showcase. Might be helpful for me to see some other styles..."


    Sebastian stares at Bach with a quirk of an eyebrow and narrows his ethereal gaze at him. "Let''s concentrate on getting you proficient with A style, first. That''s next on the list after flight."


    A low groan rumbles from Bach, and he meets Sebastian''s stare. "Man, I know a style!"


    Amusement wanes from Sebastian, and he cocks his head back with an examining glare. "So... Bro... Does that style involve THROWING the sword? Because, I distinctly remember THAT."


    Bach averts his eyes and grits his teeth against a surge of embarrassment. Attempting to shrug off the unamused gaze of Sebastian, he grumbles back. "Dammit! What the hell else was I supposed to do? I could never match you in sword fighting."


    He tightens a smirk and avoids Sebastian''s vague annoyed glare. "So... I had to... Improvise."


    Sebastian rolls his eyes and sighs with a begrudging smile, laughing. "Well, that instructor learned NEVER to pit us against each other ever fucking again."


    Stifling a snort at the interplay between brothers, Cideeda wanders emerald green eyes over to Sotalia and Dretphi. "Hey. You two find anything... Uh... Yet?"


    She watches Sotalia and Dretphi stand, idly grasping onto their badges and guides. Both stare off to the convention around them. Dretphi scans the busy scene, riding the edge between chaos and order, and slowly absorbs in the spectacle before her. Delight swells up in her and drives a strong smile upon her face. She continues to watch people in costumes and listen to passing discussions. Activity within a part crowd seizes her focus and directs her gaze upon two grath men hauling a large flat stone grill top. She gawks at a grath woman carrying a collection of cooking utensils with obvious recognition for the tools. Sotalia blinks her wide golden eyes blankly in stunned silence. Managing to break away from the stupor, she turns slowly to the group. Her face remains indecisive on any tangible expression. "So... I''ve been watching all THIS... For the last twenty minutes."


    She drifts her gaze across the group and works through another variation of confusion. "Gods, I still have no idea what is exactly going on here."


    Cideeda grins toothily, exchanging humored glances with Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian. Returning her attention to Sotalia, she steps up to the side and pats her on the back. "Don''t worry. It''s really simple. Just pick something from the guide and go with it. You''ll figure it out after doing that a few times."


    Sotalia nods in a daze, lowers her eyes uncertainly to the guide in her hands, and wanders aimlessly through the pages. "Right... Okay... Sure..."


    ----


    Through the wide halls of the mall turned convention center, people flow and pulse through artery passages leading to events and return back through veining detours towards side booths. Individuals dart with purpose in mind. While loose groups wander from one location to the next random choice, experiencing what Amaranth Adventure Con offers. Through the convention chaos, Bach manages to locate a sparse cove out off the main river of traffic. With a few well-timed side steps, he shifts out from the masses into the clearing, slowing his pace and appreciating the space. Benches and chairs offer their surfaces, and Bach gladly uses them. Unfolding his guide, he searches his pants pocket and furrows his brow during the hunt. Finding a in his hand, Bach strikes off list items on the guide''s schedule and circles others of interest. Minutes go by, and Bach idly taps the pen upon the page between two events in the same time slot. Lifting his head up, he places his back firmly against the wall behind the bench and closes his eyes. The chorus of sounds from the area wash over in waves. Conversations drift on by. Distant echoes of loud voices escape from a large room with celebrity panels. And, other curious noises pepper the flooded soundscape.


    Nearby, a sighing whine from a small child rise above the din and reaches Bach''s attention. Opening his eyes, he glances around the traffic tree branch off the main hall. He finds the saddened source over at another collection of benches. A sitting evuukian woman gently rubs the shoulders of a small child standing in front of her, trying to comfort. The little boy holds a wand in both hands, sadly staring with disappointment. He waves it around vigorously, and the wand remains inert. Despite his effort, nothing happens in the space before him. A long, sadder sigh escapes, and he stares longingly at the wand. The evuukian woman leans forward and wraps her arms around the child. She rests her head on top of his, letting her long golden brown hair flow around, obscuring his long but rounded tip ears. "I know my son. We''ll try tomorrow to see if we can find that dealer again. Maybe he can get it working for you."


    With as much care as his young motor skills can manage, the boy waggles the wand through different motions. "It was working. It lighted up and everything. Am I doing something wrong, momma?"


    The boy''s mother presents a reserved smile, leans back, and ruffles her son''s dirty blonde hair. "No, my dear Mylo. I think it is equipment failure. You had it working just fine. I saw you. It was very good."


    Mylo squints at the wand and concentrates, furrowing his brow intensely. Across the way, a strong tug pulls the corner of Bach''s mouth. He lowers his head back to his schedule and taps the pen idly upon the page.


    Within his head, a long ignored motivation stomps around. The drive behind the recent split-second shield saves, heroic plasma barrages, an energy draining D-ball, and a bold thudkicker challenge, now loudly, annoyingly taps a foot over the other thoughts, leveling a demanding glare. Over the span of a minute, a long wince overtakes Bach. He exhales his resignation. Placing the pen back in his pants pocket, he folds the guide back up and stands up, a hint of heroic determination slipping out. With purposeful, calm steps, Bach walks over in front of the woman and child. "Excuse me. I couldn''t help but overhear that you have a problem with a wand?"


    The evuukian woman blinks her focus away from Mylo, gazes up, and nods with a polite smile at Bach. "Why, yes. I purchased a toy wand for him, since he was enamored by it. Too many stories about his grandfather, I guess.


    She furrows her brow at the toy in Mylo''s hand. "Unfortunately, I think this one is broken... But, I could not find the person I bought it from."


    Bach returns a smile on the edge of a grin and understandingly nods. "He may have left or closed up for the day. If it''s not a problem, I could take a look at it and see if there''s anything I can do about it. I have some skill in fixing electronics."


    The smile on the woman''s face grows brighter, and she lowers her head next to her son''s. Directing his attention to Bach, she asks in a motherly tone. "Mylo, do you want the man to look at the wand and see if he can fix it for you?"


    Mylo glances up at Bach, back at the wand, and back up. Extending the wand in his hands toward Bach, he watches expectant and hopeful. With a slow descent, Bach kneels down and settles on the floor, taking the wand. Mylo''s mother softly pats her son on the shoulder and watches. "I greatly appreciate you taking the time to help."


    Hints of parental exhaustion slip out, and she smirks with a sigh. "If you can get it working even for an hour, I will be in your debt."


    Bach studies the plastic wood-textured toy wand and rests it in the palm of his hand. A confident grin widens on his face. Blue light flickers into his eyes. He hovers his other hand over the wand. With a slow twisting, pull of faint threads of flow to the sides, the wand hovers midair and disassembles methodically in all its pieces. The parts float in the air between Bach''s hands, and his glowing blue eyes examine the components. A stray wire away from a solder joint bends around under the influence of magical forces. Perking his brow at the defect, Bach glances over to the awestruck mother and gawking son. "Ah. There''s the problem. This one was probably the last one made for the shift, and they skimped on that wire. Give me a moment."


    The stray wire end frays out to the individual strands of copper, and intertwine back into a cleanly raveled wire. The cloudy gray, solid blob of solder morphs into a liquid silver. The fluid reaches out and seeps into the wire closing in. The copper settles into the cooling silver coat, securing the connection. With a waggle of a small sensor, the light from the tip illuminates and a small speaker chirps out. Bach watches the floating parts snap and merge into the complete toy wand and thinks with distinctly unimpressed grimace. A bold grin springs up on his face. "Well, it should work just fine now... But..."


    Glancing at the mother, he gazes at her son, determination within shining up in a heroic grin. "I don''t think you came out just to settle on a simple toy wand."


    A bright flash of blue shines from Bach''s eyes, and he focuses upon the wand. Thin shimmering fibers of magical flow spring out from his hands, contact the wand drifting in between, and sink in. Pathways of multi-color energy etch onto the surface of the wand in systematic, geometric designs, encasing the entirety of the wand. In between the larger paths, patterns of magical mesh grow into the outer surface and partially embed into the plastic. Brilliant lights shine upon the area and the faces of the mother in astonishment and son in sheer wonderment. The magical flow wanes, the glows fade, and the wand feathers down upon Bach''s open palm. Lowering his hand to Mylo, he gestures with a little lift. "Take it. It is yours."


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Mylo blinks blankly, his young mind recovering from the spectacle. He reaches out with his hand and grabs onto the toy wand. His mother watches on, her face attempting comprehension, failing halfway. Mylo lifts his hand up, his finger on the other hand approaches the power button. Bach shakes his head with a smirk. "Not yet. It does work as a regular toy wand. But... try it right now, without turning it on."


    Blinking confused, Mylo stops, angles his head to stare with an exaggerated attempt to raise an eyebrow, and squints back at the wand. "How?"


    Bach chuckles softly, clasps his hands together, and mimics straining in concentration. "You know how you tried to think really hard to get it to work before? Try that again, just imagine all the magic going right to it."


    A long, uncertain gaze, tinged childish suspicion settles up Bach from Mylo. Taking the wand in both hands, Mylo stares at it. Moments later, the child fumbles from a faux concentration grimace to properly focused gaze. With a brief flash of determination beyond his age, the pathways of the wand illuminate, and the tip sputters to a shining haze of green magical energy. Mylo''s eyes spring wide open. The green glow and joy lights up his face. Waving the wand around, he notices the trail of misty energy lingering. He launches out his mother''s arms, twirling the wand in rough shapes around in an empty area nearby. Covering her face with her hands, Mylo''s mother gasps. She gazes in disbelief and rushes over to hug Mylo, leading him back. Bach slowly nods, content and satisfied. His mind wanders from the happy scene. Furrowing his brow, he notices something very strange with the acoustics of the space. A tense quiet fills in the normal drone of the convention center. Something muffles the sounds from the background activities behind. Bach begins to pivot in his place upon the floor and catches a glimpse of someone holding a phone recording the scene. He turns the other direction to find another. And another springs forth. Behind Bach, a whole crowd of people watch on, many phones recording Mylo playfully drawing shapes in the air. Bach returns his head forward, wide-eyed. Darting his eyes around, he hunts for an exit route. "Shit..."


    Shrinking against the pressure of camera attention, Bach slumps his posture and scoots carefully away to an opening around the gathering. With each kneeling shuffle, he cautiously glances at the camera holding crowd, waits for a response, and continues to slink away. Mylo''s mother finally convinces Mylo to go where she keeps pointing him to and walks him there, with wand distraction securing his attention. She glances up to the crowd. Summoning a defensive but respectful motherly glare, most in the crowd stop recording. After a few tense seconds, a few politely ask questions. Many break off into their own debates about the events. Sensing something missing, Mylo''s mother turns to the spot Bach was. She snaps her head around to points around the area, staring at the crowd. "Where did he go?"


    ----


    Smells of delicious food from all around the world mix into an alluring aroma, wafting above the high glass ceilings of the food court. Heated sizzling intertwines with rattling cookware and enriching conversation upon the area''s acoustic canvas. Bach navigates through the vague walkways between the crowds. Changing between brief routes flowing through people, he finally finds refuge in an unused alcove. He pulls out his aetherphone and checks a message on his aetherphone. Searching the area for anyone familiar, he feels five pressure points gently press into his arm with a slight tug. Cideeda''s snicker draws Bach''s attention to his side, and she perks her furry ears. "So... What''s this I hear about some mystery mage fixing up toy wands into artifacts of power?"


    Bach''s blue eyes flit wide, and he attempts to casually avert his gaze away from a piercing emerald stare and toothy grin. "Ah... Um... What are you talking about?"


    Narrowing her gaze, Cideeda smiles confidently, raises her aetherphone up from her side, and aims the screen at Bach''s face. "Oh. Don''t play THAT game with me."


    She furrows her brow and chuckles smugly. "WHO else could possibly be at this convention and perform such feats. I don''t know of many that could manage such."


    Scrolling briefly through the comments and back to the video playback, she grins with a glance up to Bach. "And, neither does the rest of the aethernet from the looks of it."


    The video replays on Cideeda''s phone. It showcases the wand revamp process from a perspective behind Bach and off to the side of his shoulder. A strong twitch yanks at the cheek beneath Bach''s eye into a wary, unnerved grimace. Lowering the phone down, Cideeda pats Bach on the shoulder and laughs. "Don''t worry. Everyone was too focused on the magic to get a good shot of your face. Most the aethernet''s finest armchair mages are too busy in arcane knowledge pissing contests to bother figuring out who you are."


    A long sigh escapes Bach, and he stares at the ground with a hand on his chest and relief solidly upon his face. "Oh. Good. I really didn''t want to have to dodge attention and questions for the rest of the convention. I just really want to enjoy all this."


    Cideeda glances up from her phone at Bach and shakes her head with a smirking smile. "Still questioning the logic behind arming a small child with potent magic."


    Lifting head up towards the ceiling, Bach groans with a long eye roll. "It''s NOT anything powerful. It''s just a simple magical focus. A training tool. Simple energy collector piping to a simple vapor light trail effect. My dad had a bunch of different ones to help refine his magical flow control. It''s still just a TOY."


    A poke into his side prompts Bach to lower his head back down to Cideeda. Winking, she smiles humored. "I know."


    She points to a table near several large stone grill tops. "Anyway... Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sebastian are over there. Let''s eat, first. Then, worry about how much you are trending on social media."


    Cideeda steps away with a sly grin. Blinking back to awareness, Bach follows behind with worry on his face. "Wait- I''m WHAT?!"


    Dretphi sits patiently at the table, her gaze wandering between the stone grill tops and grath cooking. Aristespha taps through menus on her tablet upon the table with Sebastian hovering nearby peeking over her shoulder. Bach settles in a seat next to Dretphi, rests his elbows upon the tabletop, and props his head up. Leaning close, Dretphi keeps her steely gray eyes on the culinary arts around her. "Excellent timing. They are close to completion."


    Slipping into the seat between Bach and Aristepsha, Cideeda carefully slides her phone over towards Aristespha and nudges with an elbow. "I see you found the app they posted for the convention."


    Aristespha cocks her head with a hint of curiosity to Cideeda. Scrutinizing the urging stare from Cideeda, Aristespha gazes down at the phone with an intrigued corner curl of her mouth. Discreetly tilting her head to Bach, Cideeda glances at the phone and holds a finger to her lips. Aristespha nods back, slides the phone over next to her tablet, and taps a prominent play button on the phone''s screen. "Yes. It has really helped with planning everything out, and posts all the updated information."


    Cideeda sways her head to face Bach and pokes him in the shoulder. "You have the app, yet? Get your phone out. It allows you to show your schedule to other people and plan with others."


    Bach grumbles a moment and reaches into his pocket. Retrieving his phone, he holds it out and wanders through the levels of icons and windows. Cideeda directs, nearly commands, Bach on the setup process, keeping his attention on task. Aristespha focuses upon the video and watches it silently play. Her expression softens over time. A warm smile grows on her face. Sebastian smiles proudly, glances over to Bach in mid-distraction with Cideeda, and unconsciously tries to rest his hand upon Aristespha''s hand. Sebastian''s ethereal visage starts to pass through. He sighs but halts. Aristespha turns her hand and holds onto his hand. Sebastian gazes at the faint violet glow of her eyes. Both watch happily until the video''s end. Aristespha discreetly slides Cideeda''s phone back, pressing it carefully against her elbow. Without changing her focus from Bach, Cideeda deftly swipes the phone up, swiftly exits out of the video player, and places it up next to Bach''s phone. "Here. Let me add you to the group, and we can see our schedules and choices."


    Aristespha''s eyes dim to normal, and she gazes at Sebastian lovingly with a happy sigh. Sebastian chuckles quietly and shrugs. Dropping into the seat across, Sotalia blinks wide-eyed to the team. "Okay. I think I''m figuring this all out. I''m going to things. I''m doing things. And, I''m seeing things."


    Shuddering out of the over-stimulated daze, she draws a deep breath with a sniff of the air. "Now, it is time to eat. So I can go, do, and see more things."


    The alluring odor seizes her and turns her around in the seat. "Wow! That smells amazing! Is that what we''re getting to eat, because I''m all for it."


    Dretphi nods quickly with a wide smile and keeps her eyes on the grills. "Yes. All cooked properly."


    Sotalia leans her head back at Dretphi quizzically. "How so?"


    Dretphi lifts her hand to point out and energetically explains. "Stone grills. Dense stone has very small holes. The stone is oiled. Takes time to heat up. It stays hot no matter what food you put on it. When you are done cooking it will warm the house at night."


    Shifting her aim, she directs everyone to collections of ingredients nearby on tables, in buckets, and some in water, the excitement welling within. "Main ingredients. Very few other small ingredients. Plenty of spices. Those that you need very little to flavor. Those that are trivial to have great amounts of. Enough to enhance. Never overtake."


    Dretphi sits up in her seat and thinks a few seconds, twisting her mouth, testing out words in her mind. With a renewed, calmer smile, she gazes at the group and carefully speaks, her hand gesturing to the grath cooks. "There have been many times in Grath history when we could not anticipate what food would be available. Grath developed streamline, simple recipes. Focus on the preparation to compensate for lack of abundance."


    The team pays attention to the careful movements of the cooks. The grath chefs shuffle food around on the grill, cycling ingredients around from the center region to outer areas. Each position carries significance, and each change done with purpose. Flipping through the screen on her phone, Cideeda notices a new update from the Amaranth Adventure Con news feed. She taps the notification, and the article expands out on her phone.


    "Mystery Guests of Honor revealed to be The Next Adventurers of Nexus''s own Flames of the Phoenix..."


    Disgust trickles up Cideeda, and a cringe distorts her light brown face. Snarling her upper lip, she stares at the painfully familiar promo group picture filling the phone screen. She manages to fight back the grit of her teeth and hisses a calming breath through her sharp teeth. "Well... That''s... Interesting... news."


    Bach tilts his head back and peeks at Cideeda''s phone, lifting an uneasy eyebrow. "Oh. Well... There goes the neighborhood."


    Craning her head over, Aristespha catches a glimpse of the headline on screen and returns to her own tablet with a few taps. "Oh. I''m not exactly surprised. But, it looks like they are pretty booked for the rest of the convention."


    She hovers a finger over a spot in the convention schedule app and waits, narrowing her violet stare. Sebastian leans for a better view of what lies underneath and curiously eyes Aristespha, an evil grin forming on his translucent face. "Really, dear?"


    Aristespha bites her lip. A playfully sinister impulse contains the fleeting embarrassment. She presses down on the scheduling selection. An alert pops up on Bach''s and Cideeda''s phones. Both slowly rotate their stares from the alert and concentrate their collective, awkward confusion at Aristespha. Glancing back down at her phone, Cideeda darts her eyes over at Aristesph, flicking her furry ears with her thoughts. "Whatever are you thinking, woman?"


    Aristespha shrugs, feigning coyness, and averts her eyes up and away. "Oh, I don''t know. All of them... In one place... In front of a few hundred people... On a question and answer forum. For two hours?"


    Cideeda blinks. Lowering her head at the screen, her grin widens, and she taps a spot on her phone. Bach wrestles the options visibly for a few seconds. He firmly places his finger tip on his phone screen, right on the same schedule spot. Dretphi furrows her brow, retrieves her phone from her shorts pocket, and quickly reads through the screens towards the current topic. Cracking a grin, she taps her phone screen and casually places it back in her pocket. Sotalia darts her confusion between the others. "Um? I''m missing something. What is it?"


    Aristespha spins her tablet around and eases it over to Sotalia. Golden eyes follow the literature on the screen. Sotalia laughs to herself with a dark undertone. "Oh. Well, I know where I''ll be tomorrow."


    A directed voice calls out from the grath grills. Dretphi snaps her head towards the source and spots an older grath woman gesturing everyone at the table over. "The food is ready!"


    She stands up, halts herself abruptly, and turns to the group, her excitement spilling out. "Please enjoy what you want. I will pay. It is rare to enjoy this away from home. I want to honor all of you with this meal."


    She waits patiently for the rest of the group to go ahead, her eyes betraying her desires with longing glances at the fresh stone grilled food. Sebastian smiles proudly at Dretphi and shakes his head. "Thank you for the honor, but there''s no need to wait for us. Get over there."


    Dretphi bows slightly to the group and happily rushes over, the first customer in the serving line.


    ----


    A chorus of laughter echoes above the crowd around the simple wooden riser, cobbled together stage, bordered by suspended curtains, in a large hallway intersection. Upon set and surrounded by an audience of convention goers, Kaleb secures his pants with a pull, readjusts his helm back upon his head, and twists his fake breast plate back straight on his body. Stomping dramatically up to a large stone prominently in the front center of the stage, he rubs his gauntlet-covered hands together and firmly grips the sword stuck in the middle of the stone. With a heroic grin and nod, he glances over his shoulder to Shadeesa upon a painted castle set piece. "Don''t worry my fair princess! I will have this sword out in no time and use it to slay the dragon!"


    Shadeesa rests her elbow on a handrail in front of her and props her head with an unamused frown on her light gray face. Narrowing eyes at Kaleb from the platform decorated as a tower balcony, she sighs dismissively. With an exaggerated eye roll, she flows her fanciful green princess dress and shakes her head to the crowd. "Heard that a few times before."


    Kaleb''s brave grin to the audience wanes with his wary thoughts. He snaps his head back over his shoulder again. "Uh... A few times? Um, how many times?"


    With a disinterested wave, Shadeesa poses into a ponder, tapping a finger to her chin, and glances around the stage. "Oh, I don''t know anymore. I''ve completely lost count. How many charred suits of armor do you see around here?"


    The eyes of the audience along with Kaleb wander between the many piles of decorative armor pieces littering the stage. All finally settle back on the sword in the stone. Chuckling uncertainly towards the crowd, Kaleb returns his determined stare to sword and frantically pulls at the sword. He tugs, yanks, and exaggerates straining with each motion. The sword remains solidly in place. Wrestling a bold grin on his tan face, Kaleb laughs at the edge between panic and enthusiasm. "Come on! Don''t be shy, sword! There''s dragon to slay!"


    He shakes around with a pull. "FULFILL."


    Twisting his body, he fumbles around the handle and fails to wrench it. "YOUR."


    With a boot upon the stone, he tilts back. "PURPOSE."


    Blinking her green on black eyes dumbfounded, Shadeesa firmly facepalms at the struggle. Witnessing the greater and more ridiculous lengths of the battle with the rock, she groans loudly. "Really? THIS is what it has come to?"


    She darts her eyes over the side of the stage and gasps with both hands covering her mouth. Lagi casually and confidently strides on the risers and surveys the crowd. Acknowledging their cheers and gasps, Lagi works the crowd and absorbs the attention. During the distraction, Shadeesa directs a harsh, loud whisper toward Kaleb. "HEY! HEY! HERO!"


    Furrowing her brow, she spits out a shout. "BEHIND YOU!"


    Kaleb struggles at a feverish pace, trying to work the stubborn sword loose from the imprisoning stone. The children in the audience chatter about the looming Lagi behind. They point, wave, and scream. With each second, Lagi steps closer and closer, his opening maw leading the rest of his body. His loud grumbling and constant pleas to the sword seemingly block warnings from the audience. Lagi his wide open mouth just behind and over Kaleb. Theatrically powering all his remaining strength into one final yank of the sword, Kaleb plants his feet, grasps the sword with both hands, and whips his body up with a scream. "AHHHHHHh-"


    The sword shifts up. Kaleb''s light brown eyes spring wide open. "Ooooohhh GODS!"


    Launching out of the stone, the sword frees itself from Kaleb''s grip, and he flops backwards. The prop blade flies right into the dragon''s awaiting mouth. Lagi slams his mouth shut around the sword, engulfing it. Kaleb scurries up off the floor to the side of the stage and watches Lagi the dragon warily. Lagi blinks in surprise and staggers in exaggerated steps along the stage, gurgling out dramatic choking noises. He stiffly pauses in the middle of the spotlight upon him. With slow, careful grace, he places one draconic hand on his chest, reaches up towards the light with another, and gazes into the heavens. The moment hangs for seconds. The spotlight cuts out. Lagi unceremoniously flops onto the stage floor, releasing a final contrary death cry. "Bleah."


    Sliding step by step up to Lagi, Kaleb checks with the crowd, shrugs, and pokes Lagi with a boot. He waits. He pokes again and waits again. Doubt no longer plaguing him, he assumes a bravado filled, bold stance. He gives a bright grin and wink to princess Shadeesa. "So? This counts, right?"


    With a frustrated twitch in her cheek, Shadeesa sternly crosses her arms and turns away with a flowing flare of her green dress. Walking out of view into the castle set, she flings her arms to the sides and cries out. "I can''t believe THIS! Years of waiting, and THIS is the..."


    With a shrug and pivot to the crowd, Kaleb gazes out with a sly smile. "Well, I''m counting it."


    The lights cut out, the suspended stage curtain closes, and the audience cheers and applauds. Noises of movement sound out from behind the stage and stop. The curtains open back up. Kaleb holds Shadeesa''s hand up high. Lagi quickly spits out the wooden sword onto the stage floor. Swaying himself over to join in the bows to the crowd with Kaleb and Shadeesa. The curtain closes for the final time. A convention staffer flips the show sign over, revealing no further showtimes for the rest of the late evening.


    The crowd disperses over a few minutes, leaving only a group of people standing nearby. Bach fumbles with his phone and fights a bit to get it to playback a recording. Chuckling with an evil undertone, he holds up the screen in clear view of Sebastian. "Man, I''m SO saving this."


    Sebastian grins and nods darkly. "Oh yeah, bro. Now... If we could get in touch with that drama professor he took classes from..."


    Bach snorts and shakes his head, watching the video. "Oh, YES. I''m sure that the whole department would be laughing their asses off at Mister I''m-Just-Taking-These-To-Kill-Electives."


    Waving her hand at Bach and Sebastian, Aristespha catches their attention and directs around to the side of the stage. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia congregate near Kaleb, Shadeesa, and Lagi. Seizing another chair nearby, Shadeesa slides it over and carefully hoists up her legs, with dress in tow, upon the seat. "Gods, I''m so glad that''s the last show until late tomorrow. This princess needs to start wearing more comfortable shoes."


    Kaleb slips off the costume slippers from Shadeesa''s feet, tosses them into an open suitcase, and glances at the team. "Next script revision, I''ll work in the princess having gel insole work boots."


    Sebastian floats over to Kaleb and laughs with a smile. "That actually wasn''t too bad. Good to know all those theater classes came in handy."


    A sighing groan escapes Kaleb, and he rolls his eyes with a finishing shake of the head. "Well, I''m glad you enjoyed the show and didn''t add too much commentary of your own.


    Cracking an amused smirk, he lifts his brow. "By the way, how''s your hologram, illusion act been going?"


    Shrugs with his hands out to the side, Sebastian snorts ethereal. "Pretty good, I guess. Mostly getting compliments at how lifelike I am. No one seemed to recognize me, or if they did they just thought I was a joke done in poor taste. Everyone just thinks I''m some really amazing magical illusion. It''s been kind of a relief."


    Aristespha briefly glances away from admiring Shadeesa''s elegant dress with Dretphi and Cideeda, and scoffs with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Well, there was one exception with that one poor girl."


    Kaleb narrows his stare quizzically at Sebastian. With an ethereal grumble and a palm firmly on the forehead, Sebastian grimaces. "You know, dear, the sad part is, I really don''t think that the exorcism she tried was an act to her. She was SO into it. I kind of felt bad when I was still standing there afterwards."


    With a curious quirk of the brow, Bach glances between Shadeesa and Kaleb. "So, what are you two doing tomorrow?"


    Shadeesa gazes at Lagi with a playful roll of the eyes and sarcastic smile. "Well, you know, pimping our dragon out to pay the bills."


    Lagi gnaws on the wooden sword from the show and pauses at the attention. Shuffling the sword from his mouth underneath him, he attempts a facade of innocence. Shadeesa shakes her head and returns to face the group. "Any particular plans yourselves?"


    Bach digs out his battered guide from his pants pocket, unfolds it out, and flips through a number of pages. "Well, apart from one big event, I think I''m going to wander around the dealer room for a while."


    Blinking to attention from watching Lagi, Sotalia scoots over to Bach''s side and squints at the page with her phone out. "Dealer room? What''s that exactly?"


    Opening the guide to a page with a map detailing a section of the mall, he circles out a large area with his finger. "Well, it''s a huge area dedicated to shops and vendors of all varieties. They mostly just sell supposedly magical trinkets and..."


    Wincing at the realization, the words fumble to silence, and he awaits expectantly. Sotalia''s golden eyes widen, and she deftly flicks through menus on her phone to a picture gallery of the location. Her eager stare grows even wider, studying the colorful, captivating commerce. "OH..."


    With a glint in her golden gaze, a hungry grin sharpens on her light tan face. "We are DEFINITELY going THERE tomorrow."


    In the distance, far away, Samantha and Gerald walk down a hallway of the mall towards the intersection. Samantha taps on her clipboard and nods to Gerald. "Okay. That should all work. They arrive tomorrow, do the first panel and-"


    Samantha halts mid sentence with Gerald''s pokes into her shoulder. Flicking her hazel eyes up, she stares up from the clipboard. She swiftly hoists her phone up, taps the screen a few times, and smiles sinisterly. "OH. Howie is going to be so happy..."

 Episode 20

    Rows upon rows of dealer booths sprawl out along the set paths of the grand hall. People ebb and flow through the aisles between the booths, with individuals stopping to admire merchandise or hear a sales pitch. Magical baubles, reproduction weapons, games, artwork, crafts, and other sundry prominently present themselves upon elaborate booth displays. Their owners praise their products and elaborate on their qualities, hoping to bolster customer desire enough to drive the elusive purchase. Sotalia excitedly zips through the spaces between people from one booth to another, brushing her dark red hair to the side to gaze in wide, golden eyed wonder at what awaits in the next booth. Bach wanders aimlessly in the sea of people, searching the crowd a few aisles over. Scratching his head of brown hair with strands of gray, he expresses honest bewilderment and scouts out the area. "How the... Where the hell did she go?"


    Cideeda blinks her emerald green eyes, with the faintest hint of a wince in the very corner of her eye. Her pupils track the energetic Fvalian in front of her. She calmly guides her short cut, patterned mix of brown, white, tan, orange, and black hairs back over her long furry ears. An ear briefly, reflexively flicks against a stray hair tickling the fur inside and levels back to point out from the side of her head. Maintaining a toothy and outwardly cheery smile, she occasionally darts her searching eyes around, and the forced facade wanes thin for a moment. She nods calmly with the conversation washing upon her from a very enthusiastic Deedri. Her light brown hand slides purposefully and slowly into her shorts pocket and retrieves her aetherphone. Aiming the screen of the phone to her glance, she quickly taps a message with claw tips of her other hand and reflexively flexes her toe claws into the flat hall carpet. With a few flicks of her tufted, fluffy tail, she shits her lithe, fit frame to a slightly different standing pose. Noticing the acknowledging nod from Cideeda, Deedri finally stops her long explanation and sighs. "Oh, gods. I''m so sorry... I''ve been talking your head off. I''m just not used to meeting other Fvalians that aren''t family. Especially other adventurers!"


    Cideeda grants a nonchalant smile and tilt of the head. "It''s okay. I understand, really. It sounds like you''ve been doing some very exciting things with your group."


    Deedri attempts to mirror the expression but honesty sabotages. She settles for an amicable shrug. "Well, you know... They really do try, despite our... interesting... dynamic."


    A crack of a grin forms in the corner of Cideeda''s mouth, and she perks an amused brow. "That I have seen."


    Deedri''s eyes awkwardly avert from the subject in her mind. She drops her focus down upon Cideeda''s feet and pushes herself to broach the subject. "I HAVE to ask you something... Um... Where DID you get those shoes?"


    Blinking through the puzzling moment, Cideeda flutters her eyes back to the subject. She glances down herself and examines the rubber and fabric, individual toed shoes with holes for her claws. Deedri bites her lower lip, takes a deep breath, and sighs with a pleading hint. "I''ve seen you wear them. And, I''m honestly really jealous."


    A faint squirm travels up her body, and she genuinely smiles. "They look so nice. I bet they are SO comfortable, too."


    Sliding her gaze up, Cideeda studies the plain canvas top shoes on Deedri''s feet. Her attention wanders up, and she scrutinizes the regular knee socks, the tasteful, mundane skirt, and matching blouse upon Deedri. Settling her gaze upon Deedri''s pleading, auburn eyes, Cideeda presents a genuine smile and relaxes her body language. Tapping up an aethernet site on her phone, she reveals it to Deedri and scrolls through a gallery of products. "This is the company that makes them. They specialize in custom clothing for Fvalians, for all kinds of jobs and activities. I''ve used them for many years, and they work with you to get the sizing just right."


    Beaming with a bright smile, Deedri shuffles through her few pockets, extracts her phone, and quickly notes the site. "OH! Thank you, so much! These last few small jobs we''ve been on have left my feet aching. I swear I''ve spent hours stretching and massaging out all tension."


    A commiserating smirk grows on Cideeda, and she nods in agreement. "Yeah... When I first started adventuring, I only had boots that were two sizes larger than my feet."


    Darting a surprised glance over, Deedri perks her tufted ears up and cocks her head curiously. "How were you able to walk around in those? Much less RUN?"


    Rolling her emerald green eyes, Cideeda snorts while searching through the aethersite''s listing of products. "A lot of socks... But, that caused OTHER problems."


    Glancing around, Deedri leans closer to Cideeda and whispers with hints of embarrassment bubbling up. "Um... Are there any, um, tail-friendly pants and... panties you recommend?"


    Cideeda''s furry ear twitches at Deedri''s tone, and she smiles reassuringly with a nod. She guides Deedri through the aethersite on Deedri''s phone and navigates to the right garment section. Discreetly switching to a dialect of Fvalian, Cideeda regales a bounty of information. Waves of discovery and relief wash over Deedri, and she commiserates back in the same dialect in a natural cadence. Cideeda briefly furrows her brow curiously, and returns to explaining the benefits of another piece of custom tailored clothing. Bouncing their attention between aetherphones, the two share and compare different products in the comfort of the space out of the flow of traffic, within the relative privacy of the ambient drone.


    Minutes later, Bach rounds the corner of a nearby booth back. Scanning the area with his aetherphone out, he spots Cideeda and waves. "Hey! Sorry about taking so long."


    Staring out to the ocean of commercial chaos, Bach shakes his head and navigates through the thinning crowd. "I lost Sotalia SOMEWHERE in the mix. I tried to find her, but..."


    Spotting Bach walking up, Deedri''s eyes flit wide and her body language stiffens slightly. Cideeda pivots to Bach and rolls her eyes with an amused smirk. "Not surprised. Don''t worry. She''ll show back up when she''s either too loaded..."


    She strains out a stalely frustrated sigh. "Or, too broke to continue."


    Nervous energy trickles up Deedri, and she exaggerates a glance at her aetherphone. "Oh no! I''m so sorry, I need to run and get ready!"


    Briefly awaiting Cideeda''s glance, she happily smiles. "Thank you so much! It was really nice to talk to you!"


    She bows quickly and rushes off into the river of people nearby. Watching Deedri slip away into the masses, Cideeda rests her hands upon her hips and ponders about the sudden departure. "Interesting."


    Bach bounces glances between Cideeda and the crowd Deedri disappeared into, and settles upon Cideeda with awkward confusion. "Wow... Uh... Sorry, if I scared your friend away. I didn''t mean to intrude and break up the conversation."


    Cideeda lifts an eyebrow at Bach with a twist in her mouth and crosses her arms. "I wouldn''t say friend. More of a... Professional Acquaintance, at the moment."


    Recognition dawns upon Bach, and he gawks with a quick snap of the head to Cideeda. "Wait! That was-"


    Nodding simply, Cideeda narrows her eyes at Bach with a curious grin, and perks her furry ears up. "Yes, it was. She was really eager to talk to me."


    Thinking out loud, she lightly scratches her chin with a claw tip. "But, she was a bit... nervous about you."


    Bach shrugs with his hands out to the sides and grimaces closer to a frown. "Uh, I really don''t know why. I mean, that''s the second time I''ve actually been close enough to even talk to her."


    Cideeda pivots in place, lifts her arm up to prop her chin up, and stares into the crowd, pondering. "I know. Certainly strange to say the least. If I was to guess, probably trying to keep a low profile and dodge too much attention."


    Rocking his head side to side in internal deliberation, Bach sighs and scratches the back of his head. "That makes sense."


    He motions towards a general direction over the crowd and glances down at Cideeda. "I''m going to stop by Steve''s booth for a bit. You want to join?"


    Shaking her head politely, Cideeda smirks with a chuckle. "Thanks, but I already checked his booth out."


    Furrowing her brow, she pops up on her toes and narrows a scanning stare through the flowing crowds in the huge space. "I think I''ll wander around a bit more... Maybe hunt down Sotalia."


    Bach coasts his gaze over the swarms of people moving through the aisles and twists his mouth uncertainly. Briefly, a familiar shade of dark hair and black, swept back horns appear clearly. After disappearing back into the flurry of activity, Bach sighs. "Good luck..."


    ----


    Steve rests his elbow upon the booth table and leans his large, heavy frame over, holding his tablet out in view of Bach. Grinning, he enthusiastically points out parts of the video playing on screen. "Come on, man! What''s your opinion on this? I''ve been on a dozen forums. And, NO ONE can agree upon what is going on to make that wand!"


    Bach uncomfortably watches the playback and suppresses a twist at the corner of his mouth. Shrugging nonchalantly, he carefully glances over to Steve and averts direct eye contact, focusing upon the array of merchandise in Amaranth''s Wrath Game Emporium''s booth. "Well... Maybe it''s just... Non-standard direct casting?"


    Steve sways his head side to side to the internal debate in his mind. Circling a finger over another point in the video, he squints at the pixelated details. "Yeah, I thought about that, too. BUT... THAT doesn''t explain all this. This is stabilized magical energy."


    He pauses a moment and shrugs with a smirk. "Well, at least, that''s what a few people on a few forums think it is. Now that usually requires a whole lab or altar or some kind of dedicated setup to do. That''s stuff you just don''t hammer out in the field like this."


    A low buzz vibrates the loose change in Bach''s pocket. He pulls out his aetherphone enough and catches the brief message notification from Cideeda. Sliding out the phone from his pocket, he checks around the area quickly and settles his gaze at Steve. "Well... I''m being summoned. I''ll catch up with you later."


    Lowering the tablet upon the table top, Steve sits back down in his chair behind the booth and smiles with a knowing wink. "Ah! Yeah. Totally understand, man! Don''t need to keep you and get you into trouble with her."


    Bach nods appreciatively and pauses a moment. A thought wedges in a flash bit of guilt in his mind, and he sighs apologetically. "Hey. Uh, I just wanted to apologize for not telling you about being part of an adventuring group and everything. Kind of new to it all, so..."


    A hearty laugh leaps out of Steve, and he shakes his head with a wide, happy smile. "Dude. It''s cool, man! People come to my shop to get away from work. I SO totally understand. I mean, I started the whole thing to get away from doing an actual job."


    Narrowing a inquisitive gaze at Bach, he grins knowingly. "But... I FIGURED you guys might be adventurers with the stuff Cideeda sells, or at least have some awesome connections. I''m just totally stoked that you guys come to my shop! Those Next Adventurers guys haven''t even looked at my place. So, you all are cool in my book."


    Bach extends a hand, chuckling with a smile. He shakes Steve''s strong grip and nods, walking off into the flow of people traffic. He searches the vicinity and floats through the flows people, pondering and scratching his head. Peering over the tops of the morphing crowd, he spots Cideeda towards the sidelines. Sliding between the gaps in the groups of people in the busy aisles, he navigates closer and closer to the sparser alcove. Arriving next to Cideeda in a pocket of space, he smiles appreciatively. "Thanks for the message."


    Cideeda glances up with a sly grin and winks. "Well, I walked near there and saw Steve trying to get your opinion on one of those videos."


    Rolling her emerald green eyes, she parts a smug smile on her light brown face with a wag of her tail. "So... Figured I''d give you an easy out."


    A long sigh of relief escapes Bach, and he tilts his head back with an upward gaze. "Yeah... Gods, I REALLY didn''t think it''d be THAT popular."


    Placing her hands on her hips, Cideeda quirks an eyebrow with a short smile and perks her furry ears. "Didn''t think that showcasing an unusual form of magic at a convention dedicated to everything adventuring would be popular?"


    Bach levels his head forward and narrows his eyes at Cideeda. Slumping his shoulders down, he stares ahead, the obvious error blatant in his mind. "Point taken."


    He thinks for a moment and scratches the beard hairs on his chin. Cideeda focuses her gaze upon Bach, idly shifting her weight between feet with wags of the tail. "So, plotting your next great reveal?"


    Blinking back to awareness, Bach shakes his head and crosses his arms. "Uh, um, NO."


    He glances to the corner of his mind and twists the contemplation on his face. "BUT, the thought did just cross my mind to maybe make a few more of those focus wands. I know Steve would be interested."


    Lifting an eyebrow, he smiles at Cideeda. "Hey, I know you don''t usually mess with magic, but would you be interested in one? There''s a few simple but really useful effects I may be able to get working."


    Cideeda slowly averts her eyes away from Bach and lets them wander around the area. She bites her lower lip and pins her frown up, hints of sadness leaking into her exhale. "No thank you. It''d be useless with me."


    A positive tone reinforcing his voice, Bach reassures and gestures confidently. "Hey! Don''t say that. It''s frustrating initially, but once you get the basics of magical flow, it starts to make sense."


    He notices Cideeda''s stare into his eyes, the sadness tainting her kind smile. He halts the speech in the midst of concern and confusion. Cideeda draws in a deep breath and sighs. "I really wish I could do magic."


    Fighting through a hard swallow, she props up her smile, her furry ears drooping slightly. "But... You''re not the only one with a magical disability."


    A flush of embarrassment floods up Bach''s apologetic face, and he struggles with a few words in his mouth. Cideeda breaks the gloom with a strong grin and shakes her head. "Don''t feel that way. No one told you."


    She averts her gaze briefly and breathes out the last few clinging bits of melancholy. With a squirming shudder over her body, she straightens herself back to her usual confidence and gazes at Bach. "Long story short. Had a run in with a Nightmare Geist, too. I was really young, and it attacked my town. I guess it grazed me?"


    With her eyes sorting through her thoughts, she furrows her brow. "I don''t remember all that much from the attack. Just knew some adventurers fended it off and sealed it before I got killed."


    Crossing her arms tight, she pulls in a deep breath and glances forward. "Unfortunately, I was somehow left unable to flow magic. Something always disrupts the flow no matter how hard I try. No medical mage has a real clue as to why that is."


    Shrugging her acceptance and shaking her head, Cideeda rolls her eyes to Bach with a rumbling sarcastic tone. "Which is a real dampener to a young girl''s dreams of being a mage, let me tell you."


    Bach blinks in silence and deflates slowly, failing to find something to say. Eventually, he hides the embarrassment upon his face in the palm of his hand. "Wow... I''m sorry. I, uh, really didn''t mean to bring stuff like that up-"


    A sharp poke in the side grabs Bach''s attention. Pulling his hand away from his face, he glances down and meets Cideeda''s gaze. Cideeda grins toothy and snorts reassuringly. "Oh, don''t worry. I''m okay with it. And, it was over twenty years ago. I''m, MOSTLY, over it by now."


    She waves dismissively and shrugs. "I got to go to a nice local college for technology and spent a lot of time with both my parents. It honestly worked out."


    With a wink, she parts an entrepreneurial smile. "Saved us all A LOT Of money in tuition that any specialty mage''s college would have charged."


    Bach rubs the back of his neck and sheepishly averts his eyes with an awkward grit of his teeth. "Cool... But, I still feel a little like an asshole..."


    Cideeda pivots around and lifts her hand up to a claw tipped point. Gently pulling Bach''s shoulder down with her free hand, she guides his gaze to a spot in the distance. "Well, you can still make something for me. Look over there and tell me what you see."


    Squinting through the gaps between people and following the path Cideeda indicates, Bach''s eyes open wide and his jaw drops slightly. He lifts his head back up, straightens his stance, and laughs. "Huh, I kind of wondered if that old hag of a landlord had sold my junk yet."


    In the distance, through the clumps of dealer hall customers, upon a prominent decorative pedestal, in a booth filled with an assortment of supposed antiquities, resides a single translucent gold cup that faintly sparkles of stabilized magical energy. The man dressed in the flowing robes of a stereotypical mage calls out to passers-by and showcases the wares in his booth with a dramatic salesman''s flair. In between the pitches, his demeanor recedes towards a back alley dealer''s, examining his merchandise greedily and seeking out another mark from the crowd. Upon the display cases and platforms, cards with extravagant claims rest in front of most items. The biggest and most fanciful resides underneath the golden magical energy cup. Bach squints and shakes his head after a few attempts. "I can''t make it out. I wonder what the sales pitch for that one is."


    Cideeda snidely pulls the corner of mouth into a half grin and narrows her gaze at Bach with a perk of an eyebrow. "Behold the ancient magical artifact from the First Period. A mysterious item said to empower the liquids poured within it..."


    She squelches a snort and snickers. "Or, something like that. Gods, I stopped listening after the first few loads of bullshit."


    Crossing his arms, Bach leans his posture back and inquisitively rests his stare at the booth. "So... I wonder how much he''s trying to pawn the thing off for."


    An evil grin creeps up on Cideeda''s face. She draws a long, slow breath, places her hands on her swaying hips, and directs a fast whisper to Bach. The price flies into the air into Bach''s ear and stuns him. He bluntly stifles an impulsive snort into a series of coughs, his sheer bewilderment interrupting whatever other thoughts he had. "Really?! What a fuckin'' con artist!"


    The evil grin pushes Cideeda''s lips apart and she lifts an eyebrow to don a plotting expression to Bach. "I know... If he''s charging that much to sell it... I wonder how much he''d pay for another "artifact"."


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Bach''s blue eyes meet Cideeda''s emerald green. Gradually, he mirrors a near exact copy of her scheming grin. Cideeda holds a finger up, steps back, and lowers her head. Taking a breath in, she exhales and rolls her shoulders. She lifts her head up, presenting a bubbly smile. Her body language lightens, she cutely sways and bounces with each word from her mouth. "Oh. My. Gods! You actually have one! I''ve been totally looking SO long for somebody to tell what this is!"


    Cideeda pantomimes hoisting a cup up into view, perking her furry ears up and wagging her tail fully for effect. With excitement rising in her voice, she giggles brightly. "Can you, like, please tell me what it is? You SO seem like an expert in this stuff, and I, totally, have no idea what it is... Also, I REALLY don''t need it. SO, maybe you''d be interested in buying it?"


    Bach fights to keep his hand covering his mouth, mentally processing the theatrics. Laughter escapes through his fingers. After a final perky pose, Cideeda relaxes back to her normal posture and demeanor and presents a confident smile to Bach. "I think THAT will get his greed''s full, undivided attention. Hopefully, just enough to be a bit too eager to think it through."


    Scans around the area, Bach searches for quiet, secluded spots. "I agree. Now, if we can find somewhere out of the way, I''ll form something up real quick. I''m thinking a wine glass. Nothing too complicated."


    He glances down at Cideeda with a scheming grin. "If this works, it might pay for some nice meals for all of us for the rest of the convention."


    Cackling, Cideeda narrows her eyes and focuses her plotting on the con man behind the distant booth. "Ha! Once I''m done, he''ll be paying for our weekend passes AND meals."


    ----


    A chorusing drone of idle conversations flood the long, open auditorium. Convention assistants adjust and secure advertising banners for "The Next Adventurers of Nexus" and scurry off to sides of the large stage. One assistant positions microphones on the long table in front of seats, and another assistant follows behind placing name tags inside holders at the base of each stand. People flood in through the entry doors and filter up aisles towards the front seat. Few break from the pattern and detour towards the very back row. Aristespha, Sebastian, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia shuffle down the very back row and settle into chairs near the middle. After a minute, Aristespha glances around with a playfully guilty squirm and firmly smirks mischievously. "This feels strange. I so rarely sat on the back row of anything, on purpose. I really feel like I am completely up to nothing good."


    Leaning forward, Sotalia directs her voice over to Aristespha with an evil grin. "Welcome to the back row delinquents club... Where I spent most of my school years. It''s fun back here."


    Sebastian chuckles and eyes Bach. "Bringing back any memories, bro?"


    Bach rolls his eyes and groans, crossing his arms. "Hey! I tried that whole studious, front row kid thing all through grade school, and even high school. Back row for me after that, for the most part."


    An ethereal snort sounds out from Sebastian, and he quirks a brow at Bach. "Hey, I remember you joined me up on the front row for a few classes."


    With a shrug, Bach relaxes his shoulders and settles into his seat. "Well, THOSE instructors were cool and pretty fun to be around. They were nothing like that one bitch I had for basic spellcasting form that HUNTED for reasons to fail me."


    Shaking his head with a long, hard blink, Sebastian exhales in agreement. "No shit, bro. She HATED you."


    Cideeda laughs and stretches her legs out, flexing toe claws. "See. That''s why you stick to the middle of the room. Teachers always check the front and back when they are looking for students to single out."


    Dretphi squints towards the activity ahead and focuses at the stage. "It is starting."


    An announcer sounds out from the public address system. "Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention. Please give our guests of honor, The Next Adventurers of Nexus, The Flames of Phoenix, a proper Amaranth Adventure Con welcome!"


    The gathered crowd cheers loud and applauds in an echoing cacophony. Just as noise reaches an apex, the announcer yells out. "Welcome to the stage, the leader of the Flames of the Phoenix, Chad Bosch!"


    Chad confidently struts out onto the stage in clean, new armor with the Flames of the Phoenix logo prominently on the breastplate. He waves out to the crowd with a gleaming white smile and nods to a few select areas. Stopping center stage, he bows slowly with a dramatic flair. He stands back up and quickly tosses his head to settle his hair perfectly back in place. Winking to an attractive lady in the front row, he finishes his tour around the stage to his center spot at the table.


    "The alluring, mystical enchantress, Tassilda Evernia!"


    A long, flowing, form revealing robe trails behind Tassilda, and she steps with a sway in each motion. Stopping center stage, she bows down and reaches her arms inside the opposing sleeves of the robe. The room lights dim. She springs up, flings her arms out triumphantly, and releases a hundred small blue orbs of light out over the crowd, sending them up to the lofty heights of the ceiling. She waves out to the astonishment of the crowd and blows a kiss to a random person in the masses. Following a similar path to Chad and she takes a seat left of him. The lights brighten back to normal, and the glowing orbs featherfall down.


    "The strong, tall, indomitable Trakenthin Brecomin!"


    Solid impacts of heavy boots resonate out from the stage floor. Trakenthin puffs out his chest and stomps across the stage. Near center stage, he pans a mean glare out to the crowd and shakes his head with a boisterous, dismissive grunt. Flexing his muscles underneath the armor plates strapped to him, he snorts. He turns away from the crowd and walks around the table to take the seat right of Chad.


    "The cheery medical mage herself, Deedri Preetta!"


    The rhythmic ring of a small collar bell follows Deedri, and she happily rushes out on stage. Her long braided-back hair bouncing on her ornate blouse and tail flowing along underneath her dress. Smiling brightly, she waves out with both hands to the crowd. She stops center stage, straightens her posture, and bows properly with both hands on her apron. She pops back up and nearly skips her way to the seat next to Tassilda.


    "And finally, the dark, mysterious, Modoran Lotherin!"


    The stage remains empty, upon initial inspection. Members of the crowd search the area. A few camera operators pan around and check various points upon the stage. A faint dark shadow on the stage floor slides along steadily and slows to halt at center stage. Flowing leaks of dark miasma erupt out above the spot and spill forth out onto the floor. Moments of awe-struck gasps later, the dark cloud disperses and reveals the nonchalant stance and casual smile of Modoran. The last few bits of darkness disappear, and Modoran glances around the vicinity. Shrugging his jacket up, with his hands in the pockets of his black pants, he ambles off to his seat next to Trakenthin.


    A convention-appointed host steps up to the stage, and he goes into a summary speech about the current season of The Next Adventurers of Nexus. In the back row, Bach aims his head high and studies the glowing orbs with a narrowing stare. "Huh... Why do these things look familiar to me?"


    Sotalia quietly and sneakily gestures out an incantation and aims a finger point toward an orb overhead. With careful concentration, she tugs at the air and shifts the orb''s drifting fall into a new flight path. Seconds later, the glowing orb lands in her hand. Scrutinizing it carefully, her golden eyes widen with each passing moment. She stops studying it and passes it to Dretphi, motioning towards Bach. Dretphi reaches her long arms over Cideeda and holds the glowing orb next to Bach''s face. Turning his head, Bach''s eyes flit open at the magical ball. Pinching the orb out from Dretphi''s hand, he furrows his examining brow. He places the glowing orb in between his hands, and his eyes flicker a faint blue. Sparks of irritation bubble up to his face. Aristespha, Sebastian, Dretphi, Cideeda, and Sotalia watch expectantly. The orb shudders and pops into a mist in Bach''s hands. A strong twitch squints Bach''s eye, and irritation pulls the corner of his mouth back to a grin. "Oh... So, you''re going to crudely copy my spell... And, use it for your own gain? Okay..."


    The grin settles into a dark, scheming smile, and Bach chuckles. "So... You like the glowing orb..."


    Over the minutes, the host sits down and reads through a list of soft ball questions to the different members of the team. Queries about leadership land upon Chad. Tassilda receives questions about magical tips and tricks, with a few attempts to delve more personal. A few attempts to get information fall short with the strong stoic and resistant Trakenthin. Modoran casually answers a few inquiries and nonchalantly dismisses a number of others. A few medical mage related questions slip through the onslaught of other general, and some more personal, pries towards Deedri. Finally, the host flips through to the last card of canned questions and speaks loudly into his microphone. "Well, that''s the last of the questions I have. Members of the Flames of the Phoenix, The Next Adventurers of Nexus, are there any announcements you''d like to make to our wonderful audience?"


    Chad straightens his posture in his chair and beams with a heroic smile. "Why yes, there is!"


    Staring out into the greater audience, he leans forward towards the microphone in front of him. "First, I would like to let everyone know that the fine folks at Stalwart Sword have chosen this convention to unveil their latest model, the Storm Striker. And to celebrate... They are putting forth their classic Still Sword challenge. Five swords lay still in stone, only to be moved by their true owner. Please visit, try to pull a sword out, and find out if one is going home with you."


    Chad clears his throat. A lone glowing orb, with a tint slightly off from the many above, descends from overhead and lands gently on Tassilda''s head, without any reaction from her. Grinning big, Chad gazes out into the crowd. "And second, after THIS very convention, we are going on a mission of GREAT IMPORTANCE. One that is going to take us through dangerous territory as we guard extremely important cargo. Unfortunately, none of us can divulge much more, but you''ll see it all on next week¡¯s episode!"


    The host nods out to the suspenseful crowd and signals a number of awaiting convention workers. "Exciting news! Okay, everyone, we are opening it up for audience questions! Please line up behind one of our wonderful assistants near you and we''ll try our best to get to your question."


    Turning around to glance back at the panel, the host quickly spots the glowing orb sitting on top of Tassilda''s head. His eyes dart around. Shadowing his movement from the crowd, he points to Tassilda, with hands close to his chest, and gestures her attention to her head. Blinking at the host, Tassilda snaps out of her idle stare to the crowd and calmly brushes her hand through her hair. She feels the glowing orb and grabs hold of it. With a faux laugh, she flicks the orb off towards the crowd. Drifting off, it gradually reverses direction and lines up a return path to Tassilda. Her attention returns to the crowd, and she gazes aimless with a sultry posture. The glowing orb bumps right into Tassilda''s forehead. Finding it extremely difficult to keep the facade up, Tassilda flutters her light blue on black eyes in surprise. "What the hell?!"


    She swats at the orb, and it zips clear of her hands each time. It looms closer and closer to Tassilda, dodging her attempts to bat it away. A low rumble of laughter rises out from the crowd, and more of the audience watches the scene unfold. Gesturing through a swift incantation, Tassilda swings her hands out with a confident smile and releases a focused burst of wind. The hovering orb strafes out of the way. Blinking in confusion, she snaps a glare at Deedri next to her and harshly whispers. "What''s wrong with this thing?! What did you do to it?!"


    Deedri shakes her head between Tassilda''s stare and the orb and nervously shrugs at a loss. "I-I-I don''t know. I followed the same process as you."


    Narrowing his gaze at Tassilda, Chad furrows his brow and leans close to his microphone with a smug grin. "Having magical malfunctions again, Tassilda?"


    A growing chorus of laughter wells up from the crowd. Tassilda stiffly grins, nearly gritting her teeth, at Chad. Flutters her eyes, she fans an arm out at the approaching orb. "Oh. Nothing I can''t handle. Just need to make a few adjustments on this one."


    Chad laughs, eases back into his seat, and snidely smiles. "Well, I''ve heard THAT a few times."


    Trakenthin snorts and resumes watching his aetherphone screen in one hand and idly toying around with a bottle of water in his other. With the crowd cheering on, Tassilda''s composure cracks against the one light orb assault, despite her best efforts. The part of audience cheers on the persistent orb, and the other part encourages Tassilda efforts. Modoran calmly watches the struggle between Tassilda and magical light ball. Pondering to himself, he tilts his head, an idea manifesting with the observation. He slides his chair back quietly, leans around the back of the chair, and aim a whisper to Deedri behind everyone else. "Deedri! Deedri!"


    Deedri''s left furry, tufted ear perks at Modoran''s voice and guides the rest of her head to meet his gaze. "Oh. Yes?"


    Modoran motions to the orb and Tassilda. "I think it only dodges fast movement towards it."


    Searching her mind, Deedri nods thoughtfully and blinks with a forming plan. She gives Modoran an appreciative smile and shifts her attention to Tassilda. "Tassilda."


    A growl of frustration slips out of Tassilda. "What?!"


    Deedri glares sternly at Tassilda and calmly commands. "Sit. Down. Stay. Still."


    Tassilda draws in a breath, begins to open her mouth, and the words retreat under Deedri''s stare. Lowering herself back down upon her seat, she quickly brushes her raven black hair roughly back in place and adjusts her wardrobe. The light orb gently drifts closer and lands right on the very tip of Tassilda''s still, gray skinned nose. Deedri carefully lifts her hands up, keeping both open palms facing the other. Positioning her hands to either side of the light orb, she slowly and meticulously closes the gap around the magical sphere. With a fast incantation and subtle gesturing of her hands, a magical field materializes between Deedri''s palms, and she pulls the field and orb away in one swift motion. Cheers roar from the crowd. Chad claps with a smile, Trakenthin pays no attention, and Modoran sneaks a thumbs up and wink to Deedri. After a small, vaguely embarrassed bow, Deedri sits back down. The host seizes the opportunity and regains control of the forum. "Thank you, Deedri! Always there to help the group!"


    The host starts summoning questions from the audience and directs them to different members of the Flames of the Phoenix. In between barrages of inquiries, Tassilda and Deedri examine the captured light orb. Finishing up a question with a nod, Tassilda pushes her microphone away and whispers to Deedri. "So, what is going on with THAT one?"


    Deedri bites her lip uneasily and anxiously glances back at Tassilda. "Um... It''s not one of ours..."


    Twisting an uncomfortable grimace, she furrows her brow. "It... It''s like... One of the ORIGINAL ones..."


    Tassilda blinks her light blue on black eyes and rears her head back. In unison, both Deedri and Tassilda gaze out into the crowd, searching the rows upon rows of people seated in front of them. In the back row, a very amused bunch barely contain their mischievous smiles and watch the realization brew upon Deedri and Tassilda. Bach chuckles darkly to himself. "Oh yes. We are here."


    Over the next minutes, the audience ask their questions, and the members of the Flames of the Phoenix answer them. Trakenthin remains a notable exception, either grunting, rolling his eyes, or completely ignoring the attempt. Standing next in line to speak into a convention worker''s microphone, Bach glances at his aetherphone and awaits his turn. An imposing figure moves right behind him, and he glances over his shoulder. Blinking his confusion, he cocks his head at Dretphi. "Oh. You have a question?"


    Dretphi briefly averts her eyes with a firm smirk on her face. "Yes."


    The host catches a signal from an assistant up in the sound booth, turns to the crowd, and projects his voice into the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we are just about out of time. But, I think we can handle a few more questions. So, let''s give the people in the way back a chance!"


    The worker presents the microphone up to Bach and nods for a cue. Checking his aetherphone one last time, Bach stares out front to the stage. "Well, this one is from a friend of mine stuck watching the hotel TV feed, and it''s for Chad."


    Chad''s smile faintly sours at the sound of Bach''s voice, and he squints with a new interest towards the far back. Bach continues with a smug grin. "How''s your car doing?"


    Snickers and laughter echo into the open space of the tall ballroom. Each second of the din weighs upon Chad''s trademark smile, pulling it down towards an unamused frown. He perseveres despite his ire. "Just. Fine. It took some effort... From all of us..."


    Puffing up his chest, he forces his smile back on his face. "But, the Phoenix will rise again."


    With a chime from his aetherphone, Bach nods smugly. "Thank you."


    Retreating away quickly, Bach sits back down in his seat next to Sebastian. Peering over at the message from Kaleb on Bach''s phone, Sebastian snorts with an ethereal echo. "Damn. Kaleb''s right, bro. He IS touchy about that SUV. He almost completely dropped that smile of his."


    Aristespha curiously eyes Dretphi in line, and ponders out loud to the rest of the group. "Did Dretphi say anything about what she was going to ask?"


    Bach, Sebastian, Cideeda, and Sotalia offer only uncertainly shrugs and inconclusive shakes of heads to Aristespha. Dretphi steps up, and the convention worker holds the microphone higher up for her. Drawing in a breath, she pauses in thought. A flowing, fluent stream of the Grath language leaves her lips with an eloquent pace and impeccable pronunciation. At the end, Dretphi pivots and walks away from the microphone, leaving a bewildered convention worker. Grath throughout the audience laugh, gasp, and snort. Other non-Grath respond similarly, including Sotalia. Covering her mouth, Sotalia muffles a snort into a contained chuckle.


    Dully glinting in the stage lights, a plastic bottle cap launches up towards the heights of the ceiling upon a jet of water. Trakenthin instinctively crushes the plastic bottle in his hand further. Snapping his head away from his phone, he actively hunting through the audience, an angry sneer blatant on his face. He bellows out a litany of Grath phrases furiously, seeking a reply. Dretphi settles into her seat next Cideeda and Sotalia, crossing her arms. With the trace of smug smile upon her tan face, she notices the quizzical gazes of the group and sighs. "Pity. He CAN speak."


    The other members of the Flames of the Phoenix allow Trakenthin space and get up from their seats, leaving the stage. The host quickly calls out with a nervous smile, keeping a watch on Trakenthin enraged glare out towards the audience. "Well, uh... That''s all for now folks! Please enjoy the rest of the convention! And, be sure to visit our Next Adventurers of Nexus in Personality Alley for photo opportunities and signatures."


    ----


    Large, long mall walkway skylights reveal the night sky overhead. A low, distant thumping radiates through the airspace in contrast to the ambient convention din. People move between demo and game booths, trying their luck and skill with different goods or services being sold. Aristespha casually strolls down the path between the gatherings of people, flipping through a list of messages on her phone. Sebastian''s voice sounds out from the sword on her hip. "So, where are the others at, dear?"


    Aristespha''s violet eyes sort through a few more messages, and she quirks her brow. "Seems like they ditched the concert now. The opening act was amazing. But, the main act is some pop star from another TV show.


    Tossing back a stray strand of silvery blue hair, she sighs with an amused smirk. "They left after the first few songs."


    Sebastian hums in thought. "Yeah, I think I remember. She''s that crazy half-fvalian girl. Really likes to stir up all the shock and drama. At least, that''s what it seemed like on that show she was on."


    Sending remaining messages away with finger swipes across the screen, Aristespha puts her phone away into her pants pocket. "They are going to the humvee to clear a path through Sotalia''s purchases..."


    She rolls her eyes with a snort. "So Dretphi can get in the back. They''ll be around the main entrance in a few minutes."


    Sebastian chuckles ethereally from the sword. "Figures. Oh well. Hope she didn''t go too broke-"


    "Lady Aristespha?"


    Aristespha slows her steps to a halt and gradually pivots herself towards the source of the voice. Lifting an eyebrow, she tosses her silvery blue hair back and levels her violet eyes upon Modoran. With a simple, casual wave, Modoran smiles in return. "Hello. I am Modoran Lotherin, pleased to meet you. I guess officially now."


    Curiosity pulls an amused grin across Aristespha''s face, and she confidently walks up to Modoran. With a shift of her posture, she gazes at Modoran. "Official enough. Any camera crews I need to be made aware of?"


    Modoran laughs and shakes his head, rolling his dark blue eyes. "Not right now. They have a hard time finding me when I feel like it. I''ve got about a few more minutes before I need to make my presence, to keep them happy."


    A barely audible ethereal grumble resonates from the sword. Aristespha nonchalantly taps the sword handle a few times. Modoran quirks his brow with a sly smile and crosses his arms. "I have to hand it to your group. They certainly know how to rile up the more... prideful of my group."


    An equally amused smirk appears upon Aristespha''s ivory face. She sighs with subtle shakes of her head and shifts her posture. "If you will excuse me, I have no idea about what you are talking about, sir. I believe you may have the wrong group in mind."


    Aristespha and Modoran maintain reserved stares, analyzing expressions and body language. After a few quiet seconds, Modoran laughs into a sigh and lowers his head with a sway. "Oh my. Despite the group I''m with, let me show there''s no hard feelings from me to you. How about I treat you to a few games at the archery booth here."


    The young evuukian woman running a nearby archery booth perks up in her seat by the register and expectantly awaits Aristespha or Modoran. With a momentary twitch at the corner of her eye, Aristespha gradually turns her gaze and studies the booth near her. She examines the layout and contents of the displays and rests her attention upon the bows. Her chilly, contemptuous glare condenses a swell of harsh disdain upon the stylish wooden bows. With an audible sniff through her nose, she dons her previously sly smile and politely shakes her head. "Unfortunately, I am not much into archery these days. But, I do greatly appreciate the offer."


    Cocking her head, she smiles shortly, vaguely dismissive. "It is charming, really."


    Blinking confused, Modoran lifts up an eyebrow, genuinely puzzled. "Oh? Really? That IS interesting. I distinctly remember hearing stories of a very accomplished, young evuukian woman performing great feats of archery for the Tarikira family. The descriptions of this amazing woman seem to match you almost exactly."


    Aristespha maintains her smile and shakes her head with sigh. "Oh, I am afraid you must have mistaken me for someone else. I have personally moved on from the bow."


    An eager grin cracks upon Modoran, he perks an encouraging brow at Aristespha. "Oh, Lady Aristespha, you just cannot say something like that without a demonstration."


    Slowly shifting her stance, Aristespha examines the booth tabletop. Her eyes faintly glow violet, and she briefly rests her hand on the sword hilt. Grasping an arrow on the table, she twirls it in her fingers and slides her grip near the fletching. With the arrow firmly in grasp, her arm extends behind her, and her legs move to balance. Her upper body whips fluidly, flinging the arrow through air. Whizzing roughly dozen meters away, it solidly sticks into the target, near the bullseye. She straightens up, brushes her hair back, and observes the dumbfounded expressions of the booth attendant and, specifically, Modoran. Aristespha pivots cleanly and strides away with a wave behind her. "Have a good night."


    Once out of ear shot, Aristespha''s eyes dim back to normal, and she grins satisfied. "I hope you got to see what I saw, Sebastian."


    A ghostly cackle emanates from the sword. Breaking from the laughter, Sebastian ethereally snorts. "I fully approve, dear. That look on his face was priceless."


    Biting her lower lip, Aristespha wrestles a grimace and rubs her shoulder, stretching out her arm. "Need to get back into practice. I can already feel that I¡¯m going to be sore in the morning.


    A confident smile parts on her face. "But... I still got it."


    Sebastian lovingly encourages from the sword. "As if you could ever lose it, dear."


    Lowering his hand down from a weak, perplexed wave in response to Aristespha''s departure, Modoran gawks at the arrow firmly planted in the target. The young evuukian woman pronounces some incantations and gestures to the arrow. With a few exaggerated motions, the arrow frees itself from the target. It floats over towards the woman and hovers down upon the tabletop. The young evuukian woman gazes at Modoran and smiles surprised. "Wow. That was in there good."


    The young woman glances over the stunned Modoran, and watches Aristespha disappear in the distance. After patiently waiting, she eyes at the later night through the skylights above and smirks humored at Modoran. "So... I''m about to close up for the night. Would you like a few free pity rounds before I shut down?"


    Modoran blinks back to awareness and meets the amused gaze of the woman. He sighs with a smile and shrugs nonchalantly. "THAT... Actually sounds very nice right now. Thank you."

 Episode 21

    Booths and tables bookend a large Stalwart Sword display upon a riser stage. Representatives for the company excitedly urge passersby to try their luck at pulling one of the finely crafted blades embedded in different stones. A young man steps up the plate, stands behind the stonework pieces, and grasps hold of the remaining sword of his choice. Aristespha''s faintly glowing, violet eyes examine and study the four swords still present. Guiding back her very long, silvery blue hair, she allows it drape wavy runs upon her back and refocuses her inquisitive stare upon the empty rocky pedestal. She idly runs her fingers along her extremely long, pointed ears, and brushes stray hairs off the tips behind her head. Resting an ivory toned hand upon one side of hip, she shifts her athletically thin frame to another foot and contorts the gray and blue hints of color upon her face with an intrigued eyebrow quirk. "Interesting..."


    Sebastian''s ethereally transparent form pivots in place, and he gauges Aristespha''s reaction. Briefly squinting his blue eyes at Aristespha''s face, he gazes over to where she concentrates. He folds his translucent tan colored arms across his shirt covered muscular chest and tilts his head to the side. The loose pompadour on his head settles, and a number of short brown hairs break free, hanging in front of his face. The free hairs distract his eyes enough for him to notice, and a quick hand rakes them back in place next to the white streak. Sebastian scratches the back of his head and leans next to Aristespha. "So... What do you see, my dear?"


    A finger from Aristespha leads Sebastian''s eyes, and she draws in a breath, hinting her suspicions. "The empty pedestal''s magic is gone. Some residue remains, but I believe the locking enchantment is on the swords rather than the pedestal."


    Her gazes wander towards the center most, largest pedestal, and stops upon it. Sebastian darts his glances between the center pedestal and Aristespha. "Okay. Makes sense. So, what''s wrong with the one in the center?"


    Aristespha gradually pulls her head back. Sliding her posture,she rests her hand underneath her chin with a critical stare securely upon the center, sword-housing pedestal. "Originally, I thought the different pedestal explained the slight difference in that enchantment''s aura."


    Narrowing her intrigue upon the stonework encasing the blade, she twist her grimace uncertainly. "But... If the enchantment is on the swords, then that means the enchantment is different for supposedly the same thing. Unfortunately, the obfuscation and shielding they''ve used makes it extremely difficult to discern from casual inspection."


    A Stalwart Sword salesman notices Aristespha attention upon the display and waves happily. "Hello! I see you have a keen interest in our latest and greatest model. And, judging by the sword at your side, you most certainly have just as keen tastes, that Stalwart Swords aims to please. Please, come over! Let me help you find the sword for YOU."


    Blinking from her focus, Aristespha flashes a polite smile and starts to wave off the representative. Sebastian hems with a faint reverb and grins slyly. "Dear. Let''s see what he can offer us."


    Aristespha halts, lowers her hand back down with an awkward stare at Sebastian, and she lifts a questioning eyebrow. Grinning, Sebastian perks up and eyes over at the rep. A slyness cracks the smile on Aristespha, and shes nods intrigued. Aristespha and Sebastian calmly walk over to the booth in front of the salesman. Behind the table, the representative smiles happily and bows in greeting to Aristespha. "Thank you for coming over and granting me your time. First, I must say..."


    He examines Sebastian up and down with honest amazement. "That is a most impressive illusion you have with you!"


    Sebastian puffs his chest out, postures proudly with a heroic flair, and winks at the salesman. "I know."


    The salesman blinks and slowly returns his head to Aristespha. "Amazing..."


    Clapping his hands together, he straightens his posture and grins, a faint entrepreneurial glint slipping through. "I can already tell YOU have particular desires in the swords you acquire. If it is not a problem, I would like to inspect your current sword and see what Stalwart Swords can do to exceed your needs. Do not worry, I am allowed by the convention to undo and redo peace bindings."


    Aristespha and Sebastian eye each other, mischief developing in their smiles. Releasing the scabbard''s lock upon her belt, Aristespha gently rests the Sword of the Spirit Realm upon the table in front of the salesman. She and Sebastian await for the salesman''s response, both fighting to hide their anticipation. The salesman respectfully nods, aptly releases the convention mandated peace binding, and professionally slides the sword out from the scabbard. His gaze absorbs the details and workmanship of the sword. His mind processes the attributes. After a long thoughtful pause, he arrives at the shocking identity of the blade. The salesman''s smile wavers against the building astonishment, and his eyes widen to the artifact in his hands. Seconds of stunned silence later, he slowly slides the sword back into the scabbard. Resting it respectfully back upon the table, he stands up straight and releases a composure regaining sigh. A different genuine smile appears upon his face, and he gazes at both Aristespha and Sebastian. "This is a very gracious, surprise honor you have bestowed upon me. To even examine such a fine blade is an amazing experience... As high as I hold Stalwart Swords, a unique blade as this is beyond us..."


    The smile upon the salesman''s face gradually gives way to an entrepreneurial grin. "BUT. A unique discount for a sword to compliment that fine blade IS well within the capabilities of Stalwart Swords."


    Sebastian crosses his arms and smirks eagerly at Aristespha. "Ooo... He''s good."


    Aristespha lifts the scabbard and sword off the table, locks it back onto her belt, and smiles at the salesman. "I believe we will take you up on that discount. We do need a training blade and a weapon grade blade that''s roughly the same size, weight, and shape of my current one."


    ----


    Sotalia stares expectantly at the fvalian woman behind the table. With a graceful flourish, the woman signs her name "Ardere" on a Tinkering Tina comic, adding an artistic flair and a small drawing of the lead character Tinkering Tina. Ardere gazes up to Sotalia with a knowing smile bordering close to smugly satisfied. Seconds of silence pass between the two. A toothy grin springs on Ardere''s face, and she tilts her head a number, loosening glinting reddish brown hairs from underneath the large bandanna on her head. "I''m so sorry. You''re just going to have to wait until the next issue."


    Wrestling an mildly annoyed frown, she sighs with a roll of her bluish eyes. "I already gave away WAY too much at the last panel."


    Sotalia draws in a deep breath and strains a long exhale. She lifts her gaze up to the ceiling of the long hallway containing the packed booths and sprawling lines of Personality Alley. "Really?!"


    Ardere slides a curious glance to Cideeda, tapping together the large black claw tips on both hands. "New to the series?"


    Shaking her head with a humoring smile, Cideeda eyes Sotalia''s frustration and nods slowly at Ardere. "Oh yeah. She binge read the series recently."


    Patting down the bandanna on top of her head near two solid bumps underneath, Ardere tightens the knot in back. "Oh..."


    An amused grin cracks forth from the faint patterns on her cheeks, and she giggles in delight. "THAT explains it. Just got through the Great Contract arc, didn''t you?"


    Sotalia lowers her head down, crosses her arms, and pouts. "Yes, I have."


    Furrowing a seeking stare, she borders on a grumble with a vaguely unsatisfied tone. "And, I have SO many theories... And not evidence to either prove or disprove them."


    The pout wears away into a mischievous smile, and Sotalia focuses Ardere. "But, I do have one theory that I do have evidence for."


    Quirking her brow with intrigue, Ardere squints and dons a scheming smile. "Which is?"


    A giggle escapes Sotalia, and she bounces her gaze between Ardere and Cideeda. "Tina and Byron are SO going to be couple in the future."


    Ardere''s eyes flit open in shock and quickly narrow to honest examination of the present proposal. "Really? That''s an interesting theory."


    Cideeda laughs and nods to Sotalia with a tight smile. "Well... I have to agree. There''s something there between those two. I don''t know what, but it more there than not."


    Sotalia counts off points with her fingers, and her eyes hunt through her mind. "Despite all the times Tina''s has practically kicked down the door to Byron''s place, he''s never mad at her for being there. Despite all the questions she asks, he''ll always answer them... Even if he''s grumpy about it."


    Snapping her golden eyes upon Ardere, she smirks with a chuckle. "And don''t forget the Embargo Arc!"


    Cideeda places her hands on her hips and ponders out loud. "He FORGETS about collecting rent on her shop when business was bad. She''s the first to check on him when he hasn''t left the house in a few days. AND, he''s the one that pushed her to lay down the contracting law upon that general."


    Pivoting with a finger raised, Sotalia points at Cideeda. "AND... Don''t forget who he calls FIRST when he finds some crazy technology."


    Both Cideeda and Sotalia contemplate the growing fan theory. Ardere observes the conversation and listens in, great interest obvious. A muffled buzz and phone chime startles her. Pulling away from the discussion, she retrieves her aetherphone from a pocket. With a few taps of the screen, a text message from "Jasper" appears on the display.


    "Hey, sorry about the silence. Just got enough signal from a radio relay tower of all things. Found something from the zone you might like when you get back from your convention. After I get this to transmit, I''m heading to back to Gateway. Here''s a picture of the find."


    Ardere bluish eyes focus upon the image. Fighting back a wave of giddy delight, she covers her mouth briefly with squirm in her seat. Moments afterwards, she lowers her hand down. The previous giddiness yields to a building revelation. Reading the message one last time with a warm smile, she puts away her phone and returns her attention to the winding fan theory between Cideeda and Sotalia.


    Rolling her eyes at Cideeda, Sotalia scoffs dismissively. "Self worth issues? He was THE designer behind major innovations in robotics! How could he feel like he''s not worthy enough for her?!"


    She snorts and shakes her head of dark red hair. "Gods, why is THAT always the case?


    Cideeda sighs and cocks her head. "He lost it all when that competitor company won that ridiculous lawsuit. He''s got some royalties, the plot of land his house is on, and the shop that Tina is renting from him..."


    A suspecting smirk materializes on her light brown face. "For half market average."


    Groaning at the debate, Sotalia shrugs into a trailing grumble. "Well, I don''t think we''re proving it today."


    With a quick nod to Sotalia, Cideeda pulls out her aetherphone and widens a toothy grin. "Before we go..."


    An entrepreneurial glint sparkles from her gaze. "Are you still interested in seeing fan findings of ancient technology?"


    Ardere''s furry ears perk up, and her smiles brightens. "Of course! What do you have?"


    Cideeda deftly navigates the phone and turns the screen towards Ardere, remaining silent. Ardere''s eyes lock onto the screen, almost reflecting the image of the old security bot head. An ear to ear grin grows more the longer she studies the picture. With a toothy grin, Cideeda aims a quiet, suggestive inquiry. "Would you like to hold it?"


    Blinking to full awareness, Ardere perks her head up and nods slowly with a sly smile. "Oh. You know, I think I should take my lunch break now."


    ----


    Leading the way through the vendor demonstrations lining the tall intersection of the mall turned convention center, Sotalia glances between different fanciful displays of products. With a frustrated twist of her mouth, she mumbles to herself and slips between the gaps of the wandering crowds. Trailing behind, Bach lingers a gaze at interactive scroll vendor and nods to himself, a spark of interest flitting up. He searches around, spots Sotalia further down the way, and pushes though the traffic to close in. Closing in, he notices the line up of equipment, lanes of platforms paired with booth. He fights down an uneasy grimace and divert his path away. A firm grip from behind snag his shirt collar, and a tug guides him closer to the demo area. He drifting closer to the destination after each attempt to slip away. Sotalia releases Bach''s shirt collar and smiles eagerly. Lifting a hand up with a wave to the goal, she motions to the row of stalls and platforms with a variety of arcane markings and electronics intermingling the structures. "Here they are! These are the magical energy measuring stations I told you about!"


    Bach adjusts his shirt back to comfort and pans his gaze upon the magical measurement equipment with an uneasy smile. "Neat. Um, reminds me of the ones back in school. Must be showcasing the newer models..."


    Averting his blue eyes away from the scene, he searches for a convenience and nearby divide in the crowd. "Well, that''s all pretty cool..."


    He warily watches Sotalia''s sly grin and stare upon him. Straightening up confidently, she unrolls a wave towards two empty platforms and stalls and concentrates on Bach, an evil tinge infecting her grin. Bach pivots in place, examines the stalls briefly, and faces Sotalia with a pleading expression. "You know I can''t beat you in raw power."


    Placing her hands on her chest, she smiles full of delighted amusement and giggles. "Oh, I know."


    Narrowing her eager stare, she grins slyly. "I figured WE could compete with EFFICIENCY."


    Bach bounces glances between the platforms and stalls. He catches hints of the excitement slipping free from Sotalia''s dwindling attempts to suppress and sighs with an eye roll. "I guess it couldn''t hurt. I''ll take the one at the end."


    Sotalia rushes off gleefully to one of the attendants next to a "Merlinatech Magical Machinations" logo display. The human woman in branded magician robe gives a quick nod and directs Sotalia and Bach to the platforms. She steps up to an advertisement poster and explains the system with the visual aid. "Thank you so much for coming up and your interest. At Merlinatech Magical Machinations, we specialize in figuring out the quantities of your magical qualities! As you can see here, we have brought our latest line of flow measure suites for you to try out. With newest revisions in the detection algorithms and energy flow sensors, Merlinatech has been able to reduce the size of our professional line of flow meters to allow easy home installation! A mere corner of room is all that''s needed where a whole room once was!"


    The woman steps around a system and motions to the setup, smiling brightly. "All you have to do is stand on the platform and cast your spells. The system will measure the flow to, from, and within the space of the platform and stall. Then, our patented computers will calculate all the most pertinent statistics for your magical ability."


    She leans forward slightly and smirks playfully. "But, for demonstration purposes here, we''ve put big displays up to show your energy usage. It''s the most popular number everyone wants to know."


    The woman smiles wide and directs Sotalia and Bach''s attention to the nearby stalls. "If you have any projectile, beam, or other types of spells, please feel free to direct your power into our containment stalls. We ask that you PLEASE keep it simple and moderate for safety reasons."


    Stepping back toward another group of interested people, she departs with a slight bow. "If you have any further questions, please ask. But for now, feel free to put our equipment to the test, and we''ll measure your best!"


    Bach thanks the woman and swings his head over, witnessing Sotalia stretch her arms up and cracking her intertwined fingers. "Simple and moderate, now. Please?"


    An almost seductive grin parts, and Sotalia bites her lip with a long breath in. "I''ll... TRY."


    Stepping upon the platform, she gestures swiftly through an incantation under her breath and flicks out a small training bolt of magical energy. It darts from the tip of her finger into the space of the stall, impacts a barrier at the back, and dissipates. Seconds later, a status message pops up on a flat screen monitor near her platform, and a colored bar highlights around the fifty unit range on a sliding number line. Sotalia rest her hands on her hips, sways with confidence nearing pride, and eyes Bach with a smug lift of an eyebrow. Bach sighs, shaking his head. Pulling a reluctant smile, he holds his palm out towards his stall. A magical bolt manifest into existence in front of his palm, darts out into his platform''s containment stall. Halting in the middle, it disperses into a fading mist. Bach and Sotalia watch the display near Bach''s platform. A status prompt appears on the screen, and a sliding number line charts a much narrower range within the teens, just short of twenty units. A zealous ear to ear smile expands upon Sotalia''s face. Bach''s jaw drops lower with each moment, his mind analyzing the results. "Hold up. How the fuck does that shitty of a bolt register so low?"


    Sotalia''s smile collapses to neutral confusion, shifting towards an extremely suspicious glare at Bach. " Shitty bolt?"


    Crossing her arms, she tips her head back and bares her teeth in a indignant sneer. "OH... Don''t you DARE flub these on purpose.


    She furrows her brow and levels a glare at Bach. "Now give me a REAL one."


    Bach blinks blankly and droops his shoulders in defeat. Pulling a long breath in, he conjures another bolt into the palm of his hand and flicks into the containment stall. Sotalia''s smile returns in full force, witnessing the display show a narrow bar hovering just below the ten unit range.


    Over the next minutes, a small gathering forms and murmurs out a mix of conversation. A few people occasionally point towards two displays near the platforms Sotalia and Bach stand upon. Sotalia squints into a grimace, summoning intense concentration upon a forming ball of energy in her hands. Glancing up at the target ahead of her platform, she carefully launches the ball towards the containment stall and watches the ball burst on the surface of the backplate. Bach unrolls his hand out, producing a near mirror match of Sotalia''s energy ball. After a gentle nudge, it drifts on its own into the designated stall, halts midway through, and pops into a faint plume on its own. Status messages appear on the displays, the bars narrow, and the indicators settles upon the lowest end of the range. The score on Bach system rattles between the single digits, while Sotalia''s score drift higher to the upper teens. Gripping onto her black, swept back horns in frustration, Sotalia growls and winces. "Argh! How?! Just how?!"


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Bach attempts in vain to contain the exceedingly amused grin on his face. He averts his satisfaction, dripping with smugness, from Sotalia. "Well... Just a lot of practice, I guess."


    Sotalia narrows her golden stare upon Bach and crosses her arms. The few technicians behind a collection of magical machinery and computer equipment stare bewildered, readouts continuing to vex and baffle their knowledge.


    "Is it a calibration error?"


    "No, we just calibrated it a few hours ago. Are they just less powerful versions?"


    "That''s the weirdest part! They''re actually slightly more powerful. At least that''s what the stall sensors are picking up..."


    From around the corner of the giant mall intersection, a small horde of recording equipment hauling personnel orbit a singular lone emin woman. Tassilda proudly struts across the floor, granting a small wave to those that notice her along the path. Her pointed ears detect the surge of discussion the small crowd around the Merlinatech demo space, and her head follows the lead to the source. Her light blue on black eyes open wide, spotting Sotalia. She watches Sotalia form another energy ball and Bach idly flicking, very familiar glowing light orbs into his platform''s containment stall. A sneer flashes on her gray face, and she summons up a superior, dominant posture, stepping with intent over to the Merlinatech demo stations. Sotalia flings out another energy orb into the containment stall and watches the number calculations. When it barely improves over the previous, she groans out her frustration, eyeing Bach. "Oh, you stop smiling already and start telling me what I need to do!"


    Crossing her arms with an upwards hoist, a condescending tone drifts into the air from Tassilda. "Maybe consider a career in stage magic? You seem quite capable of drawing a crowd."


    Snapping her posture rigid, Sotalia pivots, adopting dominant pose in competition to Tassilda. She glares with the faintest hint of a grin. "Oh. You flatter me. But, I couldn''t possibly compete with your demonstrable abilities upon the stage. Such a fine comedy yesterday! Did you plan all that, or do you dabble in improv?"


    A light twitch tugs at the corner of Tassilda''s eye, and she cocks her head to the side, allowing her long raven black hair to sway along her revealing outfit. "Interesting. It seems strange for someone of your obvious experience to be instructed by the... INTERN of your group?"


    A snide smile creeps widen on her face. "Hmm. What deficiencies could you ever possibly be addressing?"


    An evil grin creeps onto Sotalia, and she tips her head up, tossing of her dark red hair. "Refinements, really. As for the INTERN, I saw you have learned plenty from him yourself..."


    She gestures with her goldens eyes,and sways head towards Bach. The shift in attention from Sotalia, Tassilda, the crowd, and the camera crew stuns Bach, clueless to the next action. Holding a light orb in his hand, he glances over at the many floating in the magical containment stall for his platform. Sotalia slowly returns her smugly satisfied smile back at Tassilda and tilts her head with a confident sway her of hips. A wave of unease billows through Tassilda''s body. An insightful spark emerges from memories and boils up her confidence. "Well. Certainly to be expected from a lady of your... EXCEEDINGLY REFINED AGE."


    A noticeable wince cracks Sotalia''s facade. Tassilda delightful watches the turmoil and walks to a platform next to Sotalia. Stretching and flexing exaggeratedly to the crowd, she gestures an incantation into a small bolt of energy and flicks it into her platform''s containment stall. Staring for a moment, Sotalia responds with a slightly larger bolt at her target. Bach leans out from his platform and cranes his head around for better view of the unfolding event. "Ah, shit."


    Jabbing conversation punctuates Sotalia and Tassilda contest, and each conjure slightly more powerful spells to edge out prior. The metrics on the displays grow with volley of growing bolts. Double digits lead the climb. Low triple digits swell with the balls of power forming. Moderate triples digits flicker, and gauges drift higher on the screens. Both maintain indomitable airs of superiority against the other and nearly sneering smiles. During a lull in the action, the two mages summon the powers and build up their finales. Sotalia scoffs defiantly and flows the prismatic energy in her hands. "I grow tired of such trivial displays. Let us make these count."


    Tassilda dramatically opens her hand palm up and reveals a growing ball of brilliant green fire. "YES. I agree."


    The two glare down at each other, the magical flows condensing in their hands. Merlinatech technicians glance over to the containment stalls nervously. Following the uncertain stares to the stalls, Bach eyes glow blue. He squints at the stalls, rears his head back, and blinks in surprise. He steps off his platform towards the competition. Sotalia readies her energy orb and waits. Tassilda aim her palm out towards the target in her stall. Both glare intensely at each other in silence, cameras and the crowd anticipating the release of their potent spells.


    Sotalia flexes her arm muscles. Tassilda flares out her fingers-


    Walking right between the two of them, Bach snatches Sotalia''s energy orb with one hand and yanks Tassilda''s green fireball away with the other. "Okay! I think that''s ENOUGH right now."


    He grins with a nod towards relieved technicians. "Looks like they need to let the stalls cool down a bit."


    Sotalia''s energy orb shakes for a few moments and puffs out into a cloud of energy, fading into Bach. Tassilda''s brilliant green fireball flickers and snuffs out in a haze, drifting into Bach''s hand. Grumbling, Sotalia seizes Bach by the collar of his shirt. "Damn it, Bach! What the hell are you doing?!"


    Perking up her posture in the confusion, Tassilda curiously examines the hand that the fireball once hovered near. She blinks in absolute, sheer bewilderment and glances over, pondering the fate of her fireball. Bach narrows his eyes at Sotalia and points to the stalls. "You were about to overload the system.


    He furrows his brow and sternly explains. "So. I stopped you."


    Sotalia glances over to stalls and squints her eyes to a flickering gold for a few moments. Embarrassment washes over her, and she releases Bach''s shirt with a light, apologetic pat on the chest. "Oh. Right. Good call. Sorry."


    Rolling his eyes, Bach shrugs and sighs. "No problem. Can we get out of here? Away from the cameras? Please-"


    He halts mid thought and rubs together the fingers of hand that seized Tassilda''s green fireball. "What the hell? There''s something on my hand."


    He moves the hand closer to his face. "A powder?"


    Sotalia quickly snatches his arm, and pulls his hand close to her eyes. She squints, picks at the reside lightly coating, and puzzles. A sudden flash of shock erupts on her light tan and dark gray face. Covering her mouth, she rears back with a cackle. "OH. MY. GODS! It''s copper powder! She''s using material components in her magic!"


    Sotalia unleashes a loud mocking laugh and stares at Tassilda, incredulously amused. "OH! Really?! You couldn''t manage to use magic to make the flames green?!"


    Drawing in a long breath, she exhales and calm herself down. With a smug strut, she walks near Tassilda. "So! I have to ask... Which kit do you use?"


    Resting a hand on her chest, Sotalia twists up a derisive smile and giggles mockingly. "I have to admit, back in high school, I used them, too. Gods, I liked the one with black candles myself! You know how all the emin girls go through that doom and gloom stage."


    Tassilda''s normally gray complexion darkly reddens, and she levels a twitching, furious death glare upon Sotalia. When Sotalia leans close with an expectant, smug grin, a harsh spouting of an emin dialect slip out from Tassilda, just above a whisper. Processing the words and Sotalia tilts back. She crosses her arms and chuckles darkly, her eyes widening along with a triumphant smile. "Oh! So, THAT is what you think of ME! Would mind saying THAT lovely term a bit louder for everyone else!"


    With dismissive wave, Sotalia perks her brow and tosses back her dark red hair. "Gods, I haven''t heard THAT one in a while. Did your racist grandfather teach you that one? I would love to know."


    Tassilda whips around without another word. Rushing away in an angry huff, she nearly knocks over a camera woman along the way. Sotalia waves with a delightful smile. Sliding next to Sotalia, Bach glances at the irate Tassilda in the distance and over to Sotalia. "Uh... Um... Everything okay?"


    Sotalia sways happily around, grinning satisfied. "OH. Yes. Gods... I, SO, knew it!"


    ----


    Padded training swords impact loudly and echo above in the high ceilings of the enormous storage warehouse. A few people sparring crash on soft mats upon raised platforms with resonating thuds, grumbling their frustrations of defeat. Off to the side of the practice areas, Dretphi converses with two other older grath. Both wear old grath military uniforms. Many prominent awards and ranks sparsely decorate sleeves and front pockets. One grath man laughs out a few words in his native dialect. Patting the empty folded sleeve of his shirt with his only hand, he shrugs with a nonchalant smile. Other man shakes his head with an eye roll, buries his face in the palm of his hand, and rocks with a chuckle. Dretphi stifles a reflexive laugh with a happy smile and continues the conversation.


    Behind her, a very old grath slowly steps forward with solid crane presses on the floor preceding his footsteps. With a warm smile and gaze at Dretphi, he orbits around her and stands next to the other two men. Immediately recognizing the very old grath, both men rigidly pause and salute. The elder grath eyes the two with an amused grimace. With some effort, he straightens his posture and properly fills out his uniform. Standing taller than everyone else, he lifts a strong but shaky hand to his temple. With a nod, he releases his salute from the short white hair encircling his bald head, relaxes his back, playful groaning, and chuckles, rolling his eyes. With a sly grin, he turns his head to Dretphi and shifts his support to the cane in front of him. Pointing at finger her with a slight wag, he smiles and speaks a short sentence. Dretphi blinks in confusion and her mind sorts through memories, desperately attempting to identify the man before her. The elder grath laughs, gives a comforting wave of the hand, and shakes his head with a smile. He taps the side of his head a few times to punctuate his words and shakes a point to Dretphi. Carefully lowering his hand down near his knees, he gestures a certain height. He draws himself back up, and joking references a topic. Dretphi immediately blushes in sympathy to her childhood. The other two grath snicker in fun and mercifully push to another topic of discussion.


    Across the way, a camera crew catches the tumbling crash of an opponent upon the mats. A triumphant Trakenthin looms above with a practice sword end tapping the fallen opponent''s chest. The referee witnesses and confirms with a hand signal to Trakenthin. "Winnner by vital hit, Trakenthin!"


    A small crowd applauds and cheers, and Trakenthin absorbs the praise, holding his arms out and up during his circuit around the mat. Cameras focus upon him, and Samantha flips through notes on her clipboard with boredom assaulting her. "Again, he beats yet... another opponent."


    Trakenthin scans out around the area, his eyes scrutinizing each person for a possible opponent. His search expands outwards and further out in the warehouse space full of practice mats and rings. A swift double take later, he spots his next target, a hungry grin spreading across his dark brone face. His hazel eyes settle upon Dretphi in the distance. With a loud bellowing shout in grath, he snaps his fingers and jabs a point at Dretphi, issuing a challenge. Dretphi reflexively cringes with low grumble and sighs dismissively. The one armed grath quirks his brow at Trakenthin. The other old grath sidesteps around to block line of sight between the rest of the group and Trakenthin. The elder lifts a brow at Dretphi, asking a question. Dretphi shakes her head and narrows her steely gray eyes with her pupils gesturing to Trakenthin. She gazes to all of them, pointing to the ground to emphasize her query. The old grath men nod, and the elder waves for her to leave for now with an understanding smile. Dretphi respectfully bows, steps away, pivots, and power walks straight towards the nearest exit.


    Trakenthin''s grimace sours, and he watches Dretphi swiftly navigate towards the exit. Narrowing his eyes, he slides his stance back and thinks. Moments later, a mean grin crackles upon his face, and fully focuses upon Dretphi. He calls out to her, words tinging with arrogance and contempt. Dretphi maintains her stoic demeanor and keeps her attention forward. A long pause swell between Trakenthin and Dretphi. Dismissively snorting, he exaggerates the emphasis on a slow, purposeful derisive grath sentence, anticipation in his eyes. Dretphi freezes in place. A subtle twitch flexes her cheek. She straightens up her posture and drags in an angry breath through gritting teeth peeking through her lips. The three old grath concentrate stoic, harsh glares upon Trakenthin, the face of eldest leaking with his boiling ire.


    Dretphi''s twists her head to a side and crack her neck. Pivoting to face Trakenthin, she powers forward, cracking her knuckles along the way. The elder grath smiles and examines a nearby rack of training weapons. He spots a weapon and secures his footing. With a strong grip on his crane, he lifts up a training sword with the end. Judging the weight, he calls out to the one armed grath and launches the weapon over. The one armed grath effortlessly snatches the practice blade out of the air and tests it with swings and swipes til satisfaction. Marching over to the side of Dretphi, he presents the weapon to her. The other older grath steps along side her and carefully whispers into her awaiting ear. Dretphi nods confirmingly at each paragraph of information. She gradually wills her focus, and her stare grows more serious and stoic. Finally spotting Dretphi''s approach to the ring, Samantha gawks in utter astonishment. "Holy. Shit. Everyone check batteries and storage drives! I want every last bit of this covered! From every angle!"


    Trakenthin and Dretphi stand near the middle of the mat, waiting with their padded training blades ready. The referee glances at both of them. He holds his hand in the middle and lifts his arm up with a step back. "Fight!"


    Trakenthin launches a flurry of strikes upon Dretphi. Each impact hits solidly against Dretphi''s defending blade. The two circle around the surface of the mat, Trakenthin aggressively assailing Dretphi with barrages of swings and swipes. Occasionally, Dretphi attempts a strike upon an opening, and Trakenthin proficiently blocks. The constant exchange of attacks continues. Dretphi''s practice sword rocks back more and more with the next wave. Trakenthin mixes in banter and derisive words between his attacks. Dretphi''s serious, concentrating stare never wavers. Samantha studies the combat and cocks her head with an emerging suspicion. She catches brief amusement slip from behind the stoic front of the older grath nearby. "What''s going on?"


    With an elaborate overhead slam upon her sword from Trakenthin, Dretphi drops to a knee. A flare of eagerness ignites Trakenthin''s hazel eyes, and he steps forward, pressing down his blade against Dretphi''s defense. She maintains the shaking deadlock above her with both hands on her sword''s handle. Trakenthin glares down with a clenched grin, unyielding in his desire for her defeat. Dretphi locks eyes with Trakenthin. Her serious expression shatters, revealing a wide, tooth bearing grin and a fire of sheer confidence in her stare. Trakenthin''s bewilderment barely manifests, and he feels something change with the blade deadlock.


    New lines of muscle definition manifest upon Dretphi''s arm, and she powers her blade up toward Trakenthin. Drawsing up her knee from the ground, she puts the foot underneath her. A hand frees itself from holding the blade and sweeps forward, a clawing grip around Trakenthin''s ankle. Dretphi roars upwards with the defiant flex of every muscle in her body. She yanks out Trakenthin''s foot from underneath and hoists upwards. Following his leg, Trakenthin drops flat on his back. A loud resounding slam echoes out into the warehouse. Trakenthin attempts to blink. His eyes flit wide, and he feels Dretphi lever his leg forward. Openning his mouth to growl, the pain of a boot pressing down upon his sword wielding fore arm interrupts any other thoughts. The pressure of a padded training sword on the side of his neck yanks Trakenthin out of the chaotic mental haze from the last few seconds. Dretphi beams a furious glare down upon him and slowly traces the tip of the training weapon symbolically across Trakenthin''s neck. The referee observes the action, nods, stands up, and motions towards Dretphi. "Winner by vital hit..."


    The referee pauses a moment and directs a police whisper. "Excuse me, what is your name?"


    Dretphi releases Trakenthin''s leg, exhales calmly with an air sheer satisfaction, and respectfully bows. "Dretphi. Dretphi Prakkenten Reti Veranattin."


    The referee confirms with hidden contentment. Dretphi calmly exits the ring. Returning the training sword to the smugly smiling old grath men, she bows and leaves quickly to the exit. Trakenthin sits up from the mat floor. Blinking in sheer bewilderment, he stares out, silently tryint to process the lsat few minutes. A camera close in too quickly. The machine suffers the full ire of a grath, and Trakenthin backhands the lens right off.


    ----


    A large, loosely packed crowd hangs out near the Stalwart Sword demo. A common topic buzzes in the air from the conversations spread out, the last remaining sword in the large center stone. The other four sword stones remain on stage, empty with names and location cards in front to show the new owners of the previously housed swords. Bach steps up to the center platform at the direction of a Stalwart Sword representative. Cautiously reaching out, he firmly grips the sword handle. Shoring up his footing, he readies himself. Pulling up, his arm muscles flex and body strains. The sword remains unmoved, without a single shudder. He shakes his head and gazes up at Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sebastian with a nonchalant shrug and an accepting smile. "Oh well. Guess it''s not for me."


    "A valiant try! Quite impressive. Really..."


    Bach stands back up and glances over his shoulder, watching Chad Bosch wave to the crowd. Camera crews disperse into the area, while Samantha and Gerald maintain a professional distance away to oversee the impending operation. Stepping up to the side of the large center stone, Chad works the crowd and smiles brightly to the masses. With the hilt of the lodged sword still in hand, Bach quizzically stares at the blade curiosity, hints of surprise upon his face. He glances at Chad and returns his stare to sword. Bach''s eyes glow blue and search through his mind. Seconds later, he flits his eyes wide and narrows a brief glare to Chad. The expression fades into a scheming smile, and the glow in his eyes dims back to normal. Chad maintains a bright heroic smile and glances at Bach. "If you don''t mind... I''d like to give it a try. Sir."


    Nodding against Chad''s intimidating, demanding stare in contrast to the smile, Bach steps away with a welcoming bowing motion to the blade. "Oh! Yes, of course, and good luck."


    He exits off the stage and slips back into the crowd. Chad maintains a stare upon Bach. He only breaks off when he notices a variety of other stares and glares from Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia. When Bach slides in behind the group, Aristespha whispers over her shoulder. "I sensed something strange about that sword''s locking enchantment. Did you feel anything?"


    Bach grins, a dark tint looming, and laughs quietly. "Oh yes. When Chad walked up, I felt something stir. I think it was some kind of remote trigger syncing. I bet he''s got a key enchantment or something on him."


    Cideeda shakes her head with a dissatisfied sneer. Dretphi crosses her arms and stoicly glares right at Chad. Sotalia leans closer to Bach and comments in a low voice. "Fucking figures. I wonder how much the cheat paid for the privilege?"


    Bach chuckles with evil coloring his tone and perks a knowing eyebrow. "Too much for what he''s going to get."


    Blinking against rising familiarity, Sebastian narrow his gaze and hovers near his brother. "What did you DO?"


    Shruggin with playful guilt, Bach merely grins. "Oh. We''ll see. I''ll have to apologize to Kaleb later."


    The group watches on with less-than-kind, anticipating stares. Chad secures his grip around the sword for his attempt. Calming himself, Chad concentrates in the drawn out dramatic tension and quiet of the crowd. He flexes his muscular upper body in an exaggerated display of strength and pulls upon the sword. The initial facade of struggle slides towards genuine strain and significant effort. The seconds wear on, and the sword remains in place. When the determination upon Chad''s face cracks to desperation, the sword gradually slides up, and the crowd anticipates. The blade sluggishly leaves the stone platform, ignoring the shakes of Chad''s arms struggling against some force. Sliding half out of the stone, the sword slams back into place. Chad unceremoniously smacks forehead first into the pommel. Releasing the sword, Chad stands up and assures the crowd with bold, heroic waves. "Do not worry! It''s just a little shy with such a wonderful crowd witnessing."


    He squats down and carefully grips onto the sword tightly. Panning a gaze to the crowd, he slows for a passing glare to Samantha and the very confused Stalwart Sword representative. He waits for crowd to quiet down and prepares himself. Mustering all his power, he pulls upon the stone embedded sword with all his strength. The blade gradually moves up, rewarding Chad''s outstanding effort. At the halfway point, the binding force completely disappears. In a chorus of laughter and applause from the large cword, Chad topples backwards and crashes out onto the stage floor with a resounding, echoing thud. Sword still in hand, he summons all his being and contains the irritation swelling out onto his face behind his trademark heroic smile.


    ----


    Within the near empty branch of convention center hallway, Kaleb doubles over from laughing and rights himself back up to face Bach. "Holy shit! Nicely done! Gods, that arrogant prick deserves all he gets. I so wish I could have seen his face. It was probably just as bad as when you asked about his car."


    Shaking her head of dark green hair, Shadeesa relaxes in a chair and pets Lagi''s head at her side. "We need to be careful. If they keep it up, they''ll put our act out of business."


    Kaleb glances with a shrug to Shadeesa and Lagi. "They still don''t have a dragon. I think we still got them beat."


    Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia join the conversation, and the groups converse about the events of the day, exchanging various stories.


    "MYLO! Stop running! Get back over here!"


    Mylo rushes toward the gathering, waving his glowing wand around, and calls out. "Dragon!"


    Mylo''s evuukian mother runs after him with human man beside her. The man calls out. "Come on, son! Slow down!"


    Mother and father split out to either side, and close in on Mylo charging towards the teams in front of Lagi. After some effort, the parents manage to capture the excited child. With son in arms, Mylo''s mother turns to apologize. "I''m so sorry for him-"


    She immediately recognizes Bach. "THERE YOU ARE!"


    Blinking in surprise, Bach weakly waves. Mylo''s mother smiles and bows slightly. "You disappeared before I could thank you. Again, thank you so much! You have saved the day for all us and kept our sanity intact for a little while longer."


    The human man, with the same dirty blonde hair color as Mylo, steps forward and extends a hand out to Bach. "Hello! The name is Mason Anderson. Just wanted to say thanks for helping my wife and son out."


    Bach shakes Mason hand and humbly shrugs. "Hey, it wasn''t a problem, really. Just couldn''t leave it be."


    Mylo''s mother lowers Mylo back down with her hand holding his, securing him from wandering too far. "Oh! I never got your name. I am sorry to have been so rude. I am Lalyanpha. And this wild one is Mylokia, or Mylo."


    Lalyanpha lifts her head up towards Bach with a smile and notices Aristespha. A tinges of unease stiffens her pose, and nervous energy seeps out into the building tension in the air. Aristespha''s violet eyes widen, and she calmly raises a reassuring hand to Lalyanpha. "Do not worry. I do NOT share those biases. You do not study proper medicine without seeing the fallacies behind those prejudices."


    A genuine smile graces Aristespha''s ivory face, and she gazes at Mylo. "You two have a beautiful son."


    A great weigh leaves Lalyanpha, and she sighs with relief, Mason wrapping an arm around her. "Thank you. That is one of the reasons why Mason and I come to these type of events. There is far more acceptance to be found."


    Mason grins and winks out to the group. "Also, I get free tickets from the organizers. Helps when you''re the guy they get to come out to fix everything that likes to fall apart around here."


    Mylo looks pleadingly to his mother and points to Lagi. Shadeesa meets Lalyanpha''s glance with a happy nod and motions for Mylo to comes over. While Lagi enjoys the new attention from little Mylo, the larger gathering converses more about the events of the convention. Eventually, the groups go their own ways, the night sky in the above skylights wearing on. Everyone takes great care to not disturb a sleeping Mylo from the cradle of Lagi''s front legs.

 Episode 22

    In the brightening morning light, a figure stirs under the covers of the bed in the small bedroom. Bach groggily lifts his upper body off the bed, and sheets roll off. Rising up sleepily, he cracks his eyes open. He slowly pans a stare across the room, blinking hesitantly against the sunlight filling the space. He throws the bed covers off and slides to the edge of the edge, waiting for the consciousness to stand. Yawning, he leans forward, rises up on his feet, and wipes the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes. His hands work out the tangles from his long brown, graying hair and guide the white streak to one the side over an ear. Blue eyes search around the space, and Bach surrenders to another yawn with stretch of his back. Briefly standing tall with proper posture, he sucks in his gut and puffs out his chest in front of the tall wall mirror. For a few moments, he enjoys the heroic ideal in the reflection. Releasing his breath, he slouches and slumps his shoulders. Inspecting the farmer''s tan on his forearms in stark contrast to the rest of his fair skin under his shirt, he scratches the forming beard at the chin. A sigh of disappointment slips out, and he places his hand upon his stomach. He stops in surprise. Glancing down, he notices the difference of where his hand rests, expectation twisting confusion on his face. "Huh..."


    He darts his curiosity around the room and eyes the door, lifting an eyebrow. "... there is a bathroom scale..."


    Bach opens the nearby dresser drawer, puts on a new shirt and pair of shorts over his underwear, and opens the door to his bedroom. He peeks out into the hallway and spots the morning slipping out from the bathroom. Swiftly claiming the space, he closes the door behind him. Minutes pass, and the bathroom door opens to a content Bach, wearing a satisfied smirk upon his face. Stepping out into the hallway, he turns and walks back toward his room. Sotalia''s mumbling voice drifts out into the hallway from her room. Bach halts with his curiosity, slowly spins around, and cautiously approaches Sotalia''s open room door. He peeks around the door frame, peers into the room, and surveys the situation. Sitting upon her bed legs crossed, Sotalia resides in the middle of a sprawling collection of trinkets, folded space frames, shopping bags, and labeled boxes. Her attention jumps between a single red crystal in her hand and the semi-circle of labeled boxes around her. Biting her lip with blatant deliberation on her face, she gestures the red crystal towards one box. Her head sways and leads it back over to another box. The debate in her mind continues. She idly grabs hold of her foot while her other foot unconsciously fidgets. Blinking hard, she straightens up her back and opens her eyes, noticing Bach in the doorway. Wrestling down a reflexive awkward grimace, Bach weakly waves. "Oh... Hey... Uh, sorry. I didn''t want to interrupt anything."


    Sotalia perks her brow with a smile and points the crystal at Bach, punctuating her thoughts. "Actually... Perfect timing. YOU might be able to answer this one for me."


    Rolling the red crystal in her hands idly, she secures it between a finger and thumb and shows it to Bach. "If you were a seven year old boy, would you be interested in a magical artifact that charges by sunlight and produces an illusion of a flame with light and warmth when tapped?"


    Easing fully into the doorway, Bach braces a hand on the frame and ponders the inquiry between furrowing his brow. Lifting an eyebrow, he quizzes back. "Okay... Can it light stuff on fire?"


    Sotalia shakes her head slightly and keeps her curious gaze upon Bach. "No. Just light and safe to touch warmth."


    With a shrug, Bach crosses his arms, leans his shoulder against the door frame, and hums in thought. "I mean... Sounds neat. BUT, I remember being a bit more into the more dangerous sounding things when I was that age."


    Sotalia nods satisfied and carefully deposits the crystal into another box nearby. "That''s what I was thinking. Well, to Dellena that one goes. I think I got something for Kalant..."


    Her golden eyes flick over to a labeled cardboard box, and she grimaces briefly. "BUT, I need to make sure Sontaila has enough small things to keep her distracted from anything I give Kalant."


    Sotalia wanders off in a dialog of thought to herself. In the lull of conversation, Bach studies the space and walks into Sotalia''s room, closer to her bed. "Just curious. Um. But, what are you doing, exactly?"


    Seconds pass before Sotalia registers Bach''s question. She blinks away from an internal debate and breaks free from the task with a shake of her head. "Oh. Yes! I''m figuring out what to gift my nieces and nephews from everything I''ve found and bought."


    Bach glances down with a questioning quirk to his brow. Peeking inside the boxes with names written upon them, he furrows a suspicious stare at Sotalia. "So... You are gifting your nieces and nephews possibly potent magical artifacts?"


    Sotalia narrows her gaze and distinctively flits eyebrows up in return. "Oh, yes. I believe I''m not unique in the practice..."


    A sly grin grows upon her light tan and dark gray face. "As SOMEONE has demonstrated recently."


    Releasing a long sigh, Bach buries his face in his hand and groans, mixing acceptance of fact and defeat from counterpoint. Sotalia chuckles to herself and reaches an arm down deep into a thin rectangular frame next to her. "Don''t worry. Anything I gift to my little ones I screen personally. I keep a whole stock of detection strips, meter vials, and the usual kits for figuring out what magic might be bound to these things."


    Recovering his face from his hand, he glances around Sotalia''s room with interest and stops his gaze upon a few square and rectangular containers in the corner. "Huh. I see. How many of those isolation containers do you have?"


    Sotalia retrieves a small scroll out from the space frame and slides her glance to the containers. Tapping a finger upon her lip, she sorts out the accounting. "Aristespha and I originally got a dozen of a few different sizes. Two of them have worn out and their isolation enchantments barely work anymore. One was rendered useless when a dangerous artifact we found in a ruin exploded and sprung every safety on it. So..."


    Rocking her head side to side, she wanders her gaze between the transparent vessels. "We have nine working ones, hopefully."


    She squints her eyes, leans forward across her bed, and cocks her head to the side. "Is that indicator strip blue?"


    Bach steps close to the glass box in question. Kneeling down, he scrutinizes the bluish strip inside next to a small metal cylinder with a bright orange cap upon its end. "Pretty much. Huh. What type of indicator strip is this?"


    Lifting herself back, Sotalia plays with the small scroll in her hands and ponders the development. "It''s a standard two alpha magical type indicator strip. I''m not surprised it changed, since I remember feeling something strong in it when I picked it up at the dealer room."


    Bach stands back up, scratching the back of his head. He shrugs, shaking his head in confusion, and glances back. "Okay. So, what magic would be on a paint pen?"


    A nonchalant smile appears on Sotalia, and she draws in a breath in, twirling the scroll over each finger of a hand. "Well... That''s what I hope to find out. People have put far more powerful magics on stranger things..."


    Bach keeps his face away from Sotalia. Rolling her golden eyes with a smile, Sotalia bites her lip. "Speaking of which..."


    Lowering his eyelids half mast, Bach grimaces unamused. A smirk creeps out on Sotalia''s face, and she tosses back her dark red hair. "I bought some lovely decorative wooden wands that would be perfect for enchanting into practice focuses."


    Bach continues to face away from Sotalia, slowly breathes in, and slowly exhales. Sotalia grins with an evil tinge. "Such application of magic would certainly be a great exercise that would most assuredly count for today''s magical training session with me."


    Wrestling down a few twists of the mouth, Bach pivots around and smirks in acceptance. "Okay. You got a deal. How many?"


    Sotalia angles her head away, brushes some of her hair over a black, swept back horn, and casually plays off her request. "Nine."


    A few hard blinks later, Bach shudders his head side to side and aims a scrutinizing stare at Sotalia. "Nine?! How many nieces and nephews do you have?"


    Still avoiding direct eye contact, Sotalia counts out. "Three nieces, two nephews, and one nephew on the way."


    Bach turns his hands up towards him, counts down from nine, and flexes three remaining fingers on a hand, exaggerating his stare to Sotalia. "And?"


    Sotalia sighs and sways her head around against a spark of guilt. "Well. My two sisters, too."


    Two fingers curl down to the palm. Bach prominently holds up the remaining index finger. He glances between the finger and Sotalia. Under the incredulous stare from Bach, Sotalia crosses her arms and curls an eyebrow, pouting. "Well! One for me. I''m not missing out."


    ----


    At the dining table in the living space, Aristespha presses the play icon on her tablet screen and watches another video highlighting the creation of Mylo''s wand. Smiling gently, she watches the reaction of the child and his mother, Lalyanpha. She tilts the tablet up from the papers, notes, and research materials coating the tabletop. Sotalia steps out from the hallway archway with a small scroll in hand, Bach following behind. She steps next to Aristespha and peeks over her shoulder, catching the video on the tablet. "Aww. He is such a sweet little boy."


    Bach leans his head around, spots a glimpse of the video, and immediately changes course for the couch. "Great... Yet another video has surfaced."


    Adjusting a few pillow underneath her claim of the couch, Cideeda snorts and flashes an amused, toothy grin. With a flick of her long, fluffy tail, she lifts her arm lazily up from the side and lowers the volume on the television with the remote. "OH. THAT''s nothing. You should SEE the comments on a video posted of you two and Tassilda. I''ve seen some aethernet forum fights..."


    From her lounging spot, she waves out her hands in the air with an eager glint in her emerald green eyes. "But... These? These are AMAZING."


    Stretching out her foot from her half of the couch, she cautiously pokes the side of Dretphi''s leg with a gentle toe claw tip. "And... There''s rumors SOMEONE might make it into the next episode of you-know-what..."


    A low grumble rolls out from Dretphi, and she squirms for comfort on her half of the couch, hints of embarrassment sneaking out. Attempting to maintain her stare forward towards the television, she tries to ignore the focus upon her. Eventually, she sighs with a nearly sneering curl to her upper lip. "I apologize. Did not think about the recording equipment at that time."


    Sotalia snickers with a grin and glances at Dretphi. "Girl, what''s there to apologize for? He asked for everything he got saying THAT to you. I just hope they got a good shot of you throwing him onto the mat, so I can see it."


    Dretphi briefly meets Sotalia''s gaze, and a smile gradually cracks. She returns her stare to the television. "I am certain the recording equipment functioned properly at his defeat."


    Aristespha rests the tablet down upon the table and turns her chair, sliding out towards the rest of the group. Drawing in a long breath, she sighs into a serious gaze over the group. "As the one that files the paperwork for the group, I would like to remind everyone that such activities can alter perceptions of the group and could affect how mission bids are or are NOT accepted."


    A sly grin emerges on Aristespha ivory face, and she perks an eyebrow, tossing back her silvery blue hair. "But... Certain sacrifices need to be made from time to time for all the right, unofficial, reasons."


    Smug satisfaction wafts over the living room. Second later, Aristespha''s violet eyes home in on the small scroll in Sotalia''s hand. "What is that? That script on the outside seems to be... an old high Evuukian dialect?"


    Sotalia lifts the small scroll up in her hand and presents it to Aristespha. "Oh. It''s that decorative star chart I found a few months back. My little sister, Talelia, mentioned that Kalant is getting interested in astronomy. So, I thought he might like this."


    Placing the small scroll into Aristespha''s awaiting hands, she crosses her arms and grumbles. "But, gods, I can''t remember what calendar it uses when you write in a date to look up. Thought you might be able to figure it out quicker."


    Aristespha nods, carefully unrolls the scroll, and examines the changing chart and scripts. After a minute of reading, she reflexively groans in disgust. Momentarily sticking her tongue out, she rolls her eyes at the realization. "Bleah. I remember. I am NOT going to honor that man by saying his name. It''s practically the ancient Gregorian calendar."


    She wrestles down a grimace and sighs. "But, the year and day offset is based on that bastard''s birth date."


    With care, Aristespha rolls the scroll back up and places it on the table. "Before you gift it, let us see if we can adjust it to the proper Nexus calendar."


    Sotalia snorts with a humored curl in the corner of her mouth. "I still can''t believe how many Evuukian high nobles tried to push their own calendars after the monarchy was dissolved."


    Rubbing the temple of her head, Aristespha groans dismissively and stalely winces. "None of them were above a vanity project, especially... THAT one."


    Bach quirks his brow and gazes over to Aristespha, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Huh. Certainly sounds like a revered historical figure you got there."


    Shuddering up to her head, Aristespha draws in a long breath and exhales out tinges of irritation. "Unfortunately, revered by too many evuukians in positions of power... Even today. That man is responsible for popularizing so many terrible aspects of Evuukian culture..."


    She tilts her head over and glances sadly at the paused video of Mylo and Lalyanpha. "And making life hard for those that do not follow those aspects."


    Bach nods and gazes towards Aristespha with a cautious curiosity. "I''ve always heard intermarriage with other races is really taboo with some Evuukians."


    Aristespha nods slowly and tugs at the corner of her mouth with distant dissatisfaction. "Taboo is a nice way of putting it. Most are disowned by their own families, and many are forced to change their names legally to strip both house and family names from them."


    Crossing her arms, she leans back in her chair and chuckles dryly with a dismissive crack of a grin. "It''s just considered the proper procedure in proper Evuukian society for anything that could tarnish a family or house. Gods, to think I was that deluded when I was young."


    Sotalia pulls a tight smile and momentarily averts her eyes off from anyone, hinting past reflections. "Well. You know better now. That''s all that matters."


    Scratching his chin, Bach sits down in his lounge chair next to the couch, eyes Aristespha inquisitively, and ponders out loud. "If I''m not digging too much... Umm... What changed your mind?"


    Aristespha smiles with a snort and gazes at Bach. "College, of course!"


    She places her hand on the side of her face, and her violet eyes search up in her mind. "Specifically, one project comes to mind. I will never forget. It was the start of my second year, and it was a selected topics course in humanoid genetics and history. Oh, that first major project that sneaky professor gave."


    Her hands reach out to gesture and demonstrate vague columns and rows of information. "He gave us a sample set of summarized genomes. We had information about the gender and race of each genome in the set. He wanted us to write up a simple ruleset to help categorize another set of genomes by race, that would be at least better than random chance."


    Shaking her head Aristespha sighs, and rolls her eyes. She props her head up with her hand. "I was SO certain I had it figured out. Even tried to optimize it to use fewer rules for identification. I turned it in."


    Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia crack amused grins. Aristespha dramatically drops her head forward and covers her face with her hands. Bach grits with an awkward smirk. "Not good, I guess?"


    Aristespha lifts her head up, gazes up at the ceiling with her hands up, and deflates. "Significantly worse than RANDOM chance upon the greater data set. I was SO furious."


    She hisses in a breath through gritted teeth. "I wrote the nastiest aethermail I have ever written to any person. And, I used my entire spring break to research and show him wrong."


    Sitting in silent remembrance for a number of seconds, she pulls in air to speak again. "Sunday before the break, I started my research. Wednesday night, I couldn''t process any more information. Thursday, I laid in my bed all day and comprehended how much an arrogant bitch I had been. Then, I spent the rest of the break trying to figure out how to make up for the worst aethermail I have ever written to any person."


    Aristespha chuckles and smiles at Bach. "Monday after the break, I tried my best to apologize to him, and he just laughed wanting to know what changed my mind. We had an amazing time discussing all the details of what I found."


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Bach nods and shrugs nonchalantly, returning the smile. "I didn''t take that many biology courses, personally. But, between talking to Kaleb and Shadeesa, it never seemed like there was that much difference between the races."


    Aristespha slyly grins and sits up in her chair. "Oh! There is NONE. Biologically, we are all just post-cataclysm humans. No other species have formed."


    Guiding out a bundle of her silvery blue hair over her long pointed ears with one hand, she gestures towards her eyes and facial coloration with the other. "The common characteristics that most attribute to defining a race are just a collection of Pre-Cataclysm genetic modifications that have been passed on in physically, socially, or politically isolated groups for hundreds of years. And, the most fascinating part is that the modifications aren''t unique to ANY race."


    She eyes Bach, focuses upon the white streak in his hair, and points. "For example, that white streak. You have it. Sebastian has it. And from the pictures Sebastian has shown us, your mother has it, too."


    A realization lands solidly in Bach''s mind, and he blinks a few times, cocking his head to the side. "Come to think of it... My grandfather has it and my great grandmother had it. And, there''s a few cousins on my mom''s side that have it."


    He furrows his brow and sorts through the dawning revelation. "All in the... Same... spot."


    Crossing his arms in thought, he wanders his eyes around his mind, pulling down the white streak in question into his sight. Sotalia grins with a chuckle to herself and walks towards the kitchen. "Oh, that''s nothing. You should have been here the first time she ranted about all of this to us."


    Fighting a wave of embarrassment, Aristespha twists her mouth and stiffens her posture. "Well, I was a drink too far that night and made the mistake of watching political news. I''ve learned to never let the two mix again with anyone else nearby."


    Cideeda flexes out her hand in front of her and examines the claw tips on each finger contentedly. "Still pretty amazing how it''s the same modification that gives Fvalians claws and Emin their nails."


    Dretphi raises her arm up and rotates her forearm to show Bach the gray stripes on her skin. "Never thought my skin would be similar to both Emin, Evuukian."


    Sotalia withdraws her head from inside the refrigerator, takes a moment to pose her head to showcase the side, and traces the edge of her pointed ears with a finger. "Same old modification on both Emin and Evuukian."


    Bach shifts his attention between the different examples with interest. Eventually, he settles down in his chair and shakes his head. "Huh. So, all the same mechanisms with just different settings?"


    Aristespha slowly nods in confirmation. "Exactly. Often, modifications are present but have very mundane parameters. So, you will never know they exist normally. There''s so much to be researched when it comes to how iterative generations, mutations, and magical influences have affected the modifications."


    She shifts some papers on the table nearby to the other of the table and positions the small scroll in the middle of the bare tabletop. "I was VERY interested in that field, but standard and magical medicine captured my heart more. Though, I still read up on the latest developments."


    Sebastian drifts through the sliding glass door and adjusts his altitude to coast clear of the television screen. "Well, nothing to report on the neighbors. Looks like they either are busy or not currently trying to spy on us."


    Landing next to the dining table on his feet, he glances around to everyone else curiously. "So... Did I miss something?"


    Bach directs Sebastian''s attention to his white streak and with an amused smirk. "Talking about ancient genetic modifications we inherited."


    Sebastian lights up with interest and grins, the thought welling up in his mind. "Oh yeah, bro. It''s actually pretty neat stuff they''re figuring out."


    He smiles lovingly at Aristespha. "What was the name of that paper you got a while back, dear?"


    Aristespha carefully unrolls the small scroll out on the table top, pauses a moment, and glances towards Sebastian. "I think it was called New Methods in Detecting the Propagation of Pre-Cataclysm Genetic Modifications, Sebastian."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form floats up, leans over the table, and peeks at the small scroll. "They talked about how most people have at least one modification somewhere in their DNA, and it reminded me of that lab partner I had for that forensics elective I took."


    Moments later, Bach stops sifting through memories and gazes at Sebastian, quirking his brow. "The one with green hair?"


    Nodding, Sebastian briefly grits his teeth with an ethereal sigh of defeat. "Yeah. We had a lab using microscopes to analyze hair. I jokingly suggested something about making a bet on what her natural hair was... She warned me that it was green. But, I decided to call her bluff with dinner at a nice restaurant as the wager..."


    Sebastian contorts his mouth a few ways, his pride shrinking a bit. He shrugs with his arms in the air. "So. Well. After paying for a very expensive dinner-"


    Bach grumbles to himself in the middle of Sebastian''s sentence. "And eating all your brother''s frozen dinners for a month..."


    Furrowing his brow, Sebastian ignores his brother''s addition. "I learned there are just some things you take someone''s word for. Proved to be a lot cheaper for me when I followed that rule."


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia sit around the end of the dining room table watching the pictures and text upon the small scroll shift and change erratically. Aristespha''s glowing violet eyes dim to normal, and she removes her hands away from thick fabric. In moments, the visuals settle down to stable and consistent imagery and script. Sotalia smiles and checks her aetherphone, comparing a picture of the night sky to the diagram upon the scroll. "Looks like a match to me. Well, at least what it should look like tonight."


    Bach blinks away the glow from his blue eyes and rests back in his chair at the table. "I would NOT be surprised if they had a huge stock of these and just hacked in that date adjustment."


    Closing her eyes briefly, she shakes her head and dismissively rolls her eyes. "I am certain someone tried to make a quick profit by selling these as promotional materials. Thankfully, it was simple enough to undo."


    Sotalia rolls the woven material back up and happily holds the scroll in her hands. "Thank you, so much. I hope Kalant likes it."


    Aristespha opens her mouth to speak and halts. She glances down at her side towards a chime emanating from her pants pocket. Reaching into her pocket, she retrieves her aetherphone and furrows her surprised brow reading the screen. "It''s Nash! And... He''s making the call?"


    She quickly taps a few on-screen buttons, rests the phone down upon the tabletop, and directs her voice. "Hello, Nash. I have you on speakerphone."


    Nash''s voice sounds out along with a repetitious background squeak of a rolling chair, wariness hints into Nash''s tone. "Good. So... I''d like to make sure everyone can hear this. I''ve got... News.


    Sebastian hovers closer to Aristespha. Cideeda''s ears perk up, and she sits up on her part of the couch. Dretphi reaches over to the coffee table, presses the mute button on the television remote, and twists her upper body towards the dining table. After a long exhale echoes out in the distant room and the phone''s speaker, Nash resumes. "We''ve started to figure out the system based on the data you gave us. We haven''t figured out what the extra data is all about, but I''ve been able to map the coordinates to locations using a current standard coordinate system. But..."


    The idle chair squeaks stop, light taps slip into the call, and shoes plant themselves upon a tile floor. Nash sighs and groans. "Oh, fuck it... I''ll drop it now. I asked myself one of those questions."


    He grumbles under his breath and pauses for a breath. "I asked myself, how the hell does anyone know a login to a system this old. Answer? They don''t. They crack it."


    Aristespha leans closer to the phone, concern growing on her face. "Nash? Are you okay?"


    Nash coughs, collects himself, and brightens up the tone in his voice. "Me, personally? Oh. I''m fine. Really... It''s just I''m about to tell you all some details that just make room for harder questions."


    Tension squelches another uncomfortable grumble, and Nash clears his throat into a sigh. "But... Long story short, someone cracked this system with Grand Library software... Five years ago."


    Surprise and confusion spreads through the group. Everyone exchanges reactions, returning full focus upon Nash''s voice from the phone. Nash continues the explanation. "Judging from the Oh Shit gasps and silence I heard, you are just as surprised as I was. But wait! It gets WEIRDER. The software used was ten years old. AND... It''s not the stolen hacking edition that most of your black market tomb raiders often use. This was the official, tagged, archaeological edition."


    Bach squints and grimaces, resting his chin down upon the palm of his hand. "Um. So, what''s the difference between the two editions?"


    A rolling tap of fingers upon a desk resonates through the speaker of the phone, and Nash thoughtfully breaths in. "Well... The hacking edition is designed to get the job done no matter what. While the archaeological edition is designed to carefully open systems up, preserve the integrity of the target, and leave notes about anything changed for other researchers. It''s the difference between drunkenly chainsawing a door open while raging about your ex, versus using precision tools to calculate and create a proper key to unlock the door."


    With an understanding nod, Bach acknowledges the statement, and furrows his perplexed brow at the analogy. "That is strange. Why would someone use that software to perform that task? And, huh..."


    Nash''s voice mirrors the confusion rising in Bach''s tone. "No, exactly! The only thing I can think of is that it was the only thing whoever had at the time. Which makes this next detail a bit frightening to think about. That recent login you all suspect that Noxian used to acquire that data set... Was the same login created by that software five years ago."


    Aristespha''s ivory skin pales further and shock widens her violet eyes. She covers the mouth over her dropping jaw. Sebastian blinks in sheer bewilderment. He shifts his focus to Aristespha and attempts to get her attention, checking on her. An awkward, tense silence looms above the room, and minds process out new possibilities. Nash''s voice rises up from the background noise on the other side of the call. "Now! I don''t know any more than that! So, PLEASE don''t make any assumptions yet!"


    Flit of frustration slips out, and he groans. "I want to make sure I get ALL the information first. Especially, before I have to report this to the Grand Library''s Powers-That-Be."


    After a few waves of Sebastian''s ethereal hand, Aristespha shudders back to awareness and draws a careful breath with a nod to Sebastian. "I''ll send you anything you need. This is certainly a... Twist."


    Chuckling to himself, Nash humors against the stagnant stress. "Oh, yes! This is WAY too much serious business for me. I''m just supposed to babysit graduate students and play tablet games during budget meetings. But... I''ll do my best. Well, I really got back to this, but I wanted to pass this info along to you all. I''ll send you the mapped out coordinates we''ve gotten so far."


    Aristespha smiles and speaks in a soft, comforting tone to her phone. "Are you going to be okay, Nash?"


    A laugh sounds out from the phone, and Nash snorts. "YEAH. Don''t worry. It''s nothing a refresher course in all the ways I misspent my youth won''t fix. You all take care. Really."


    Before pressing the hang up button on the screen, Aristespha calmly speaks with warmth. "We will. You do so, too."


    The prior awkward silence rises up and hangs above the team. A message notification rings out from the aetherphone. A tablet on the table buzzes moments later. Aristespha checks her phone and reaches out to the tablet. Tapping through screens to an aethermail open on the screen, she sighs to an uncomfortable grimace. "Well. Here is the coordinate list. It seems like he has figured out what timestamp format they were using and sorted by most recent activity. He has put notes on a few entries about anything located near the coordinates."


    Aristespha reads out coordinate numbers from the list along with Nash''s notes. After a dozen readings, her voice drifts with the monotony of the task, distracting her focus. Mentioning a series of numbers, Cideeda''s ears perk up, and her eyes flash open wide, surprise tensing her posture rigidly. "WAIT! What was that one, again?!"


    Aristespha glances curiously to Cideeda and carefully recounts the coordinates. Cideeda leaps up from the couch and searches the area in a driven hunt. " Where''s THE map?! That sounds familiar for some reason!"


    Dretphi thinks to herself briefly, pulls herself to her feet, and holds a finger up with a bite of a lip. She rushes through the hallway archway to the office. The sounds of rummaging and shifting items echo out into the living room. Dretphi steps back into the room with a large folded map in her hands. She spreads the map out onto the tabletop with Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia securing it down. Cideeda slips into a space between chairs, leans over, scans over the entire map. A clawed finger hovers above the longitude axis at the top of the map, and carefully moves down square divisions of latitude. Her claw point glides along, searching. It slows over a familiar, prior made indentation on the material. Resting her point down, Cideeda''s claw tip fits onto the spot perfectly. With a toothy, proud grin, she taps the spot and gazes over the team with an air of victory. Sotalia blinks in surprise, dropping her jaw slightly, and rests her hands on her hips with a conceding nod. "Well. I''ll be damned. You were right, girl."


    Aristespha compares the location and the notes on her tablet. "That is a match... But..."


    She squints between the listing on screen and the thick paper of the map. "That location''s timestamp is ten years old."


    Tilting her head to the side, Aristespha entertains a spark of intrigue and furrows her brow with the fury of thought. Sebastian ethereal form nods with determination and a growing grin and stands up confidently. "I think we found our next place to visit! It might be an old timestamp, but Noxian has been reported to have been spotted around there in the past. And now, the place he visited recently points it out, too."


    Sebastian assumes a more heroic posture and smiles at the group. "That''s enough to be worth the trip to me. Any objections?"


    No objections present themselves over the idle pondering and figuring of the group over the new information. Dretphi enters data into her phone, squints at a sketched out route, and turns the screen towards the group. "Travel will be two days. Location is remote. Need to prepare to establish a camp. Recommend two weeks of supplies."


    Cideeda nods in agreement, studying the map closely. "Yeah, that sounds good. If we''re there for a week, we''ll probably need to come back anyway."


    Aristespha sits back in her chair, stretches her arms out with her back, and focuses upon her tablet. "I will inform all the usual people. I will also let the guild and Grand Library watchdogs know."


    Bach quirks his brow and seeks further explanation. "Huh, sorry, but guild and Grand Library watchdogs?"


    Sebastian gazes to Bach and motions with his hand. "Oh. Yeah, they''re groups you let know when you are going on risky trips and quests. That way if you don''t check in or respond to calls after a certain time, they know to send people after you."


    Pondering a moment, Bach directs an inquisitive stare at Sebastian. "So... Have you ever needed them?"


    Collective stale annoyance floats up to the surface from the rest of the group, and Sebastian sighs with a tangible dip in pride. "YES. ONCE."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes, Cideeda shakes her head with a growl and flicks down her furry ears. "Let''s put it this way. There''s a REALLY good reason there''s a lock on the humvee''s fuel door and mesh screen collar inserts in the fueling tubes."


    Sotalia crosses her arms tightly and sneers her upper lip. "GODS! Fuck that hick town of thieving shits. I still think most courts would have seen fireballing that place as justified."


    ----


    A television flickers out the bright and colorful graphics of a video game on the screen in a modestly decorated living room. Many toys litter the area with a few partially wedged between couch cushions and piled on top of other things on a nearby bookshelf. Sitting next to Mason, Mylo rocks a game controller in his hands with the action on screen. He frantically presses buttons on the controller. Frustrations slip out in grumbles and growls. Flopping back into a blanket covered couch, he frowns at the television playing a loud jingle for the game character''s demise. "Not fair!"


    Mylo sits back up, gazes pleadingly at Mason, and pushes the game controller into his hands. "Can you get past this part, daddy?"


    Smiling at his son, Mason grips the controller and shakes his head with a laugh. "Okay. But, you really need to do these parts yourself. I can''t just do all the hard ones for you."


    With a quick nod, Mylo snaps his attention back to the television screen. " I know. I''ll do the next hard one. Promise."


    Mason smirks knowingly, chuckles, and narrows his brown eyes to the task before him. "Sure. Okay. Now, watch carefully. I''ll show you the boss''s pattern."


    With a warm smile, Lalyanpha watches Mylo and Mason together on the couch. Turning back from the archway into the small, simple kitchen, she adjusts a few dials on the oven. She lifts a lid on a pot and inspects the food cooking inside. Opening a cabinet, she reveals a number of mixed style and theme ceramic dishes inside. She retrieves three plates from a stack inside the cabinet to the countertop, opens a drawer below the counter top, and hovers a hand over the utensils. A ring tone sounds out from her apron pocket, freezing her rigidly with the unique and familiar chime. Carefully, she slowly draws out the aetherphone, raises it up to her eye level, and stares at the caller''s ID in Evuukian. Closing her eyes, Lalyanpha strains a breath in and releases to slow exhale. She opens her dark yellow eyes and musters a stoic expression upon her face. Tapping the answer button on the screen, she places the phone against her long pointed ear and responds in a monotone proper high evuukian greeting.


    An older male voice replies back in an equally stoic, monotone cadence. Both sides of the conversation continue dryly, stilted at each awkward pause. The strain of the exchange wears upon Lalyanpha, chiseling away the edges of her strong facade. Summoning her resolve, she steels herself. The older male voice wavers and staggers. In the moment, Lalyanpha puzzles and clicks the volume up on the phone, furrowing her brow and concentrating on the other voice. Stammers hinder the other voice. Eventually, through the wavering tone, the question arrives to Lalyanpha''s ear. Her posture relaxes faintly, her eyes search her mind for the reason, and she answers back in the confusion. "Mylokia."


    The silence lingers for seconds. Sniffles lead to sobs. Almost audible tears echo from the phone''s speaker. Lalyanpha dark yellow eyes spring wide open, and absolute shock and concern flood her face. Covering her mouth, she desperately searches herself for how to react. She speaks with a shaky, worried tone to the other voice with questioning and confused phrases. After a series of sniffs, the older male voice collects himself and calms himself enough to relay a long careful sentence. He pauses thoughtfully and speaks key, purposeful words. Lalyanpha gasps softly and clasps her mouth with her hand. Firmly closing her eyes, tears gush out down her cheeks. The voice on the other end of the call wanders off in audible, uncertain thought, regret rising through the lost pacing. Lalyanpha removes her hand from her face and reveals a tear covered smile of absolute elation. Her voice fights through sniffles and stammers, and a warm, cheerful statement leaves her. The conversation continues with moments of emotion that keep a smile on Lalyanpha and a happy tone from the other side of the call.


    On the living room television, a final power shot and trick slide from the player character drops the boss down in defeat. The level completion screen flies up and a blitz of numbers spin up with elaborate animations. Mylo cheers out and happily rocks on the couch. "That was amazing!"


    Chuckling, Mason ruffles the dirty blonde hair on Mylo''s head. "Many years of practice, son."


    The sounds and music quiet down for the level transition. Hearing a series of familiar sniffs and sighs, Mason glances towards the archway leading to the kitchen and concern tints his expression. He returns the controller to Mylo. Patting him on the head, he smiles and gets up off the couch. "Give the next level a shot. I''ll go check to see how far along mom is with dinner, okay?"


    Mylo nods quickly, faces the television, and presses buttons on the controller. Mason carefully walks at a normal pace across the living room and passes through an archway. With an immediate pivot towards Lalyanpha, he quickly and carefully approaches. Standing holding her phone to her chest, Lalyanpha stares idly, her head slightly down, and sighs. Mason gently wraps his arms around her and guides her close. "Is everything okay, Laly?"


    Lalyanpha breathes out and rests her head against Mason''s shoulder. "My father called."


    Mason grimaces, nearly frowning, and tries to comfort Lalyanpha. "I''m so sorry-"


    A renewed smile appears on her, and Lalyanpha places a hand onto Mason''s face. "He- Someone sent him one of the videos of Mylo and me at the convention."


    Her eyes search her mind, and she gazes at Mason. "He asked to know his name. He heard the name..."


    Darting around her memory, she furrows her brow. "He cried... I''ve never heard him cry."


    Gazing up lovingly to Mason, new tears wait in her eyes, and she wraps her arms around him. "He said... He wants to come meet his grandson. He wants to meet... His daughter''s-"


    Lalyanpha pauses. Closing her eyes to squeeze out new lines of tears, she concludes the sentence with delight hidden beneath old pain. "...son."


    Mason gazes upon Lalyanpha, manages to fold up a clean section of his shirt off his chest, and dries off the tears on her. The two enjoy quiet moments in each other''s arms and share a quick kiss. Mason gently sways Lalyanpha around in his arms with her shifting her weight in sync. Eventually, the two let each other go. Lalyanpha moves to inspect dinner, and Mason examines the area. Scratching his head with a tinge of nervous energy, he chuckles. "Well... Any time frame for when he''s going to visit? We don''t exactly have the biggest place. But, we can manage something... I''m sure."


    Shaking her head with a smirk, she opens the oven door. "Nothing yet. We both agreed to talk about it later after we''ve both emotionally rested. He also has to talk to mother. But, she''ll be EASY to convince."


    Mason exhales in relief and studies the vicinity. "Good. Good... I just want to make sure the place is presentable-"


    With over mitts on her hands, Lalyanpha stands, gripping a covered pan, and lifts an amused eyebrow at Mason. "We live in a house with a four year old. THIS is as presentable as this place is going to get for them."


    The groan of an annoyed child radiates into the kitchen. Mason turns with a point towards the archway. "Speaking of which, I better go help him out, again."


    A warm smile meets Mason''s glance back. With a wink, Lalyanpha rests the pan down upon the counter. "Keep him occupied for ten more minutes, and we should be good for dinner."


    Mason nods, gives a thumbs up, and steps through the archway into the living room. "What''s wrong Mylo? Another hard part?"

 Episode 23

    The humvee rolls along the roughly paved surface of the four lane highway. Thick forests border the cleared, grassy shoulders of the roadway. The many bumps and dips in the roadway rattle the humvee''s suspension, regularly rocking the chassis after each shudder. The front wheels turn and lead the old military vehicle out of the way of obvious minor hazards within the extra wide lanes. The road noise suddenly shifts from a constant drone to a gritty rumble, and the humvee rolls from the rough asphalt onto packed gravel. Harsher rises and pits jar the suspension system, and the vehicle slows, large all-terrain tires following into the worn, hard dirt valleys between dusty rocks mounds. Lifting his head up from his seat''s headrest with the sway of the cab, Bach blinks into a yawn and glances out the window, peeking downwards. "Well... So, I guess we hit the Greater Azure Alliance road maintenance limit?"


    With her eyes continuously scanning the road ahead, Cideeda gently pulls the steering wheel and leads the humvee towards a calmer path in the road. "Yes. I''m guessing in a few hours, I''ll be lucky to keep it at sixty kilometers per hour. Don''t think this road is a high priority for anyone."


    A sigh escapes Aristespha, and she smiles tight lipped. "It is unfortunate, really. These routes used to be maintained so well when the Greater Azure Alliance and United Appaland States had a comprehensive trade treaty."


    Stirring from her back seat, Dretphi opens her eyes, and gazes towards the front of the vehicle. "Thought about a route through Hattan. Good roads. Did not save time. This route is faster."


    Harsh bumps shake the vehicle, swaying everyone around inside with the upwards and downwards shift. Dretphi reflexively grabs onto the bottom of the back bench seat, securing her position, and groans to herself. "Despite unfortunate travel conditions."


    Snarling her upper lip, Cideeda grits her teeth and stares at the road ahead. Fighting her brief frustrations with a wince of her eye, she apologetically calls back. "Sorry about that one. Looks like the storms did a real number on this section. Hope that was the worst of it."


    Sotalia glances up from her phone and squints her golden eyes at the road ahead. Resting her gaze back down on the device in her hands, she ponders out loud. "It''s still in pretty good shape. I wonder if this is an old road the Train reworked at some point."


    Darting her emerald green eyes around, Cideeda examines different aspects of the road design nearby. "Oh, it definitely is. Extra wide lanes. Huge shoulders. And, the actually useful designation markers. They probably used to run some of their triple length haulers down this route... At some point in the past."


    Bach sinks back into his seat, a thought pulling at the corner of his mouth. "So... Don''t know if there''s any truth to this... But, I remember hearing a few rumors that the Train has been working on a new route through the Berland river valley."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach bounces his blue eyes to the sides of his mind. "Well, at least that''s what the drunks at the bar kept rambling about."


    Faintly perking a very long, pointed ear, Aristespha eyes Bach curiously and focuses her intrigue upon him. "Beckerin mentioned similar... Did these drunks wear Train uniforms?"


    Tilting his head with a memory, Bach glances over to Aristespha and smirks into an acknowledging nod. "They DID actually. As much of a dump as Tullachester is... It does attract all the Train workers from the Hunt Train depot as a stop along their runs."


    He twists his mouth and grumbles under his breath. "Plus, the local bars were about the ONLY attraction to THAT place."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice resonates from the sword secured next to Aristespha''s seat. "Noticed a few of those less than a block from that shack you were in."


    Bach shakes his head with an eye roll and sighs. "Yeah... I stayed away from those places. Too many brawls on my front lawn at three in the morning to make me ever want to actually go into any of them. I mean, if all that spilled over into my yard, I don''t even want to know what was going on inside."


    A small smile sneaks out onto Bach''s light tan face, and he relaxes his gaze up to the ceiling of the humvee''s cab. "I usually went to an adventuring themed tavern a kilometer down the way. Nice atmosphere."


    He snorts to chuckle and shakes his head. "And, I traded magical tricks and trinkets for free food and drinks."


    The pair of swept back, black horns poking through dark red hair in the seat in front of Bach stir. They rotate around, and a head rises up from behind the headrest, revealing a pair of interested golden eyes. Sotalia grins slyly, spins the rest of her body around in the seat, and gazes at Bach. "Really? What kind of magical tricks and... trinkets?"


    Flashes of embarrassment trigger a few winces upon Bach''s face, and he squirms uncomfortably. "Oh. Uh, um, just simple little bar games and... Other... Stuff. They weren''t anything too great, really. Just what I could scribe on these little novelty scrolls the owner bought in bulk."


    Sotalia''s gaze narrows, eagerness tinging her intrigue. She wraps her arms around the headrest, places her chin down, and concentrates her stare at Bach. "I see. Give us an example."


    Lifting his head forward briefly, Bach attempts to nonchalantly dismiss the attention of Sotalia, glancing over to another part of the humvee cab. "Uh, nothing great really. I mean, the old owner retired. Sold the place to his son. Then, he made it into a sports bar. Not really worth talking about."


    His wandering stare drifts to another spot. He catches a glimpse of Aristespha with a wicked smile, pausing in the confusion. Aristespha edges close to a grin and narrows her violet eyes upon Bach. "I am actually curious myself. What feats of magic keep someone fed and grant them free drinks? This certainly sounds like useful information that might be good to know."


    Bach surveys the rest of the cab. Dretphi angles her head slightly from her lounge on the back seat and perks an anticipating brow. Flicking a furry ear back, Cideeda glances up to the rear view mirror and graces the reflection back to Bach with a toothy grin. Sebastian speaks from the sword with a slight reverb in his amused tone. "Well, bro... We got a few more hours of travel today. Plenty of time for you to entertain us all about your magical tavern exploits. I''m sure we''d all like to hear it."


    The peer pressure compresses Bach into his chair, and he awkwardly grits his teeth into a reluctant, strain grin. Silence looms over and eyes watch from around in the cab. Releasing a long sigh, he palms his face and groans. "Ah, shit..."


    ----


    A gust of wind blows bits of debris and flecks of dust across an almost empty parking lot surrounding a single large wooden building. The wooden, rustic theme of the structure blends in with the remote location and surrounding dense forest, despite the more modern underpinnings beneath the surface. A fan inside an air conditioner unit spins up and rattles the system to life. Next to the packed gravel road at the edge of the lot, the internal light intermittently blinks inside of an old sign reading "Cookes Inn and Tavern". The flickering light casts far out upon the lot and mixes with the warm evening twilight, eventually fading into the plentiful ambient light.


    Two headlights crest the top of a distant hill and beam down the declining roadway. Minutes later, the humvee''s front tires turn and lead the vehicle into the parking lot, the left blinker going off. A slight squeak escapes the brakes, and the ancient military machine slows to a stop within a marked parking space next to the building. From the powerplant under the hood, the turbine spins down and the faint, high pitched whine drifts off to silence. The headlights switch off and doors open up. Cideeda, Sotalia, Aristespha, and Bach disembark, and eventually Dretphi exits behind Bach''s slid up seat. Sliding his seat back into place, Bach pushes the door close and scans the huge lot. "Huh. Doesn''t look too bad. But, it''s a bit... Um... Vacant?"


    Sotalia places a hand on her hip, sways to a side, and tosses back a few stray dark red hairs over a horn. "Well, that''s pretty normal for these places on the outskirts. Dead for days. Then, everyone shows up."


    Walking with a long stretch to each step, Cideeda slowly pulls her arms around to the limits of motion and relaxes her body with an exhale. "Don''t let the empty lot fool you. These places make a good bit of money. When you are the only place with beds and bathrooms for kilometers, you can name your price and people WILL pay it."


    Nodding his understanding, Bach squints towards a series of long, large parking spaces arranged in a spacious lot with small utility stations rising out of the pavement between each. "So, I guess those spots over there are for the big trucks?"


    An outstretched foot taps down next to Bach. Cideeda slides the rest of herself up next to Bach and perks her furry ears in agreement. "Yes, they are. Usually these places have charging, water, and waste hookups rigged up in those stations. Also..."


    She sniffs the passing breeze and scans her emerald green eyes towards the back corner of the building. "They probably have a fuel pump somewhere in the back... Don''t know if I''d trust what it''s pumping."


    Dretphi reaches inside the back of the humvee, pulls out a wheeled duffel bag, and carefully lowers it to the ground. Stepping around the side of the vehicle, Sotalia grabs hold of the top handle, pulls it out, and rolls it out of the way. Another gust of wind washes through the area, blowing ripples through clothing and rustling a chorus of leaves in the surrounding trees. Securing another bit of luggage from the back of the humvee, Dretphi rests it upon the ground. Aristespha lifts the bag by the strap over her shoulder and waits along with Sotalia. While Dretphi sorts through other equipment, Cideeda slips over, and a claw tipped hand snagged her backpack. Wandering over, Bach widens his blue eyes in surprise and instinctively opens his arms out, catching a simple draw-string duffle bag. Dretphi hoists up a fancier version of the bag over her shoulder and closes the back hatch. Reaching into her pocket, Cideeda draws out the humvee''s controller fob and clicks a series of buttons. The machine blinks its lights and emits a beep. Aristespha sets off towards the front door of the building and glances back, leading the way. "I called ahead and reserved one of the large common room suites upstairs."


    Sotalia strides along behind Aristespha, rolling her bag with her. Lifting a brow, she cracks a sly grin, sarcastic toeing the line. "Oh. Splurging a bit aren''t we?"


    Aristespha shrugs and returns her head forward. "I figured we might as well enjoy it while we can. It was about the same price as a bunch of smaller rooms."


    Briefly narrowing her stare forward, she sighs with a hint of a stale groan. "And, we will have that part of the upstairs to ourselves... And not get woken up by any later arrivals."


    She wraps her hand around the metal horizontal handle upon the ornate wooden door and pulls it open for everyone else. Sebastian''s voice echoes from the sword at her side. "Everyone hit up the shower while you can. Including YOU, bro."


    Bach furrows his brow and focuses a glare at the blade. "The fuck is that supposed to mean, man."


    An ethereal sign resonates, and Sebastian placates with a genuine tone. "Hey, bro. I''m just saying, if you even feel like you vaguely need to shower, it''s A LOT easier HERE than in the WOODS."


    Dretphi shudders at passing memory with a twisting cringe across her face. "THAT is the TRUTH."


    A sneer perches on Cideeda''s upper lip, and she sighs out past frustrations nearing aggravation. "Less leeches, too."


    The group files in through the door into a large lobby. Worn but carefully polished wooden floors adorn the area and contrast against the intricate stone tile leading into the spacious dining hall. The tall ceilings provide ample room for local artifacts and other treasures on display. A wiry, muscular older man gazes up with a smile from the handcrafted counter. "Hello! Welcome to Cookes Inn and Tavern. I''m Goff, and I believe one of you is Miss Aristespha."


    Aristespha spins around from examining all the details of the lobby area and bows slightly to Goff. "That would be me, Mr. Goff. I called earlier today."


    Goff stands up quickly from his seat behind the counter and grins happily, pulling open a jingling drawer on the side. "Just David or Goff, ma''am. Mr. Goff is my father. I appreciate the respect, though."


    He rummages around inside the drawer. "Just let me get the key and paperwork up on the counter..."


    Fishing out a few keys and a few page stack of papers, he lays them out on the counter''s top. "Here! Just got the room ready. Those should be the freshest bed sheets and towels for quite a while."


    Grinning excitedly, he motions out towards the large hall. "And, I got some good options for dinner, too!"


    Aristespha steps up to the counter and briefly scans over the paperwork. Retrieving a few cards from her pocket, she copies information onto key fields on the forms. "We will certainly be partaking. It was a LONG, ROUGH trip."


    Goff nods with an understanding sigh, checking over the sheets after Aristespha fills them out. He shakes his head, filing them away in another drawer. "Yeah... Getting rougher by the day, too. I REALLY wish the Greater Azure Alliance and the United Appaland States would get over themselves and strike a new trade deal soon. I''ve been real tempted to build an add-on to this place just to sell tires and shocks."


    Glancing out the front window to the main roadway, Cideeda lowers her furry ears and flicks out an annoyed flit of her tail. "You have no idea."


    Goff stands back up behind the counter, scooping the keys into his hand. Energetically walking out from the counter, he excitedly gestures to everyone to follow. "Come on! Let me show you all to your room. It''s got the best view around. After you all are settled, come on down and I''ll give you the grand tour."


    ----


    Windows in the walls surrounding the dining hall reflect back the warm light inside, contrasting the darkness outside beyond the glass. Around the largest table in the space, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sit with plates of food encircling center serving trays. Sebastian hovers near Aristespha, enjoying the aroma of the meal. Goff settles back into his chair at the head of the table and laughs. "That''s an amazing story! Ones like that keep me believing I made the right decision building this place."


    Sebastian shrugs and chuckles with an ethereal echo. "Yeah, we got plenty of them. I''m still amazed I''m not the strangest thing you''ve seen before."


    Returning the shrug, Goff waves to the general area and snorts, smirking. "THIS far out? Man, I''ve seen plenty of crazy stuff. The further you get from a civilization, I guess all the weirder things get more comfortable with being in the open."


    Rubbing his forehead around a prior story-worthy injury, Bach nods at the sentiment and grimaces lightheartedly. "Comfort is a nice way to put it..."


    Goff motions generally upwards and cracks a proud grin with an adventurous glint. "Plus, I''m originally from much further north, closer to the Lakes. Around there... There''s some utterly wild things up there, especially on the Yoop."


    Aristespha quirks a curious brow at Goff. "I have to admit, you picked a very nice spot for this inn."


    Chuckling to himself, Goff collects his silverware upon his plate and slides his chair back. "Oh, yeah! I figured out the right spot from experience.


    Waving out towards the barely lit road beyond the windows, he wanders a pointed finger along the path. "Used to go around with my son and crew down this very road doing tree care. Pretty good work, but I had to travel a bunch."


    He stands up, lifts his plate off the table, and walks back to a door behind a bar counter bordering the dining hall. "Man, I lost count the number of times we had to camp out around this very place. One day, I figured..."


    Glancing over his shoulder at the team, he cracks a grin. "Someone needs to build a nice tavern and inn along here."


    Depositing his plate and silverware into a cart bin just past the doorway, he steps back out and gets behind an ornate bar with a wide selection of beverages upon the display shelf behind him. "When I finally handed over the tree care business to my son, I figured I''d might as well build such a place. That way, my boy and old crew always have a place to stay after a long trip."


    Examining the craftsmanship of the woodwork on the table, Cideeda squints at a few of the surrounding chairs and scrutinizes the bar with growing interest. "Is this all your woodworking?"


    With a proud nod, Goff grins brightly and places his hand out upon the top of the bar, rubbing the smooth finish. "Yes it is, ma''am. You see, I always saved the choice bits of wood I got from the trees I worked on. After I retired, my wife demanded that I do SOMETHING with it all.


    He gazes around the dining hall of the inn and motions to the rafters, paneling, and other wooden details. "So, I built this very building and the furniture in it. I got my place, and she was happy to get the barn back."


    Inspecting the woodwork, Sotalia scoots her plate to the side and lifts her head with a smile to Goff. "So, where is Mrs. Goff?"


    Goff shakes his head with a happy eye roll. "Oh, she stays at our nice house down the road. She likes to avoid all the chaos here. Always has been the wiser one. Nice to have someone on the outside to bail you out."


    Bach glances over to the bar and Goff, scratching the beard underneath his chin. "So, do you get a lot of people going down this road?"


    Fingers drum on the counter top of the bar, and Goff searches his mind with a few tugs upon the corners of his mouth. "Well... It has been a little slow leading up to yesterday. I got a few regulars that travel through this area a lot. A few couples that want a taste of the rustic life."


    Glancing over the team, he furrows his brow and recounts. "One guy stayed a few days a couple weeks ago. Really nice guy! He had A LOT of amazing stories, and we talked for hours every night. Then, yesterday..."


    Quick snort escapes Goff, and he grins slyly with a guilty shrug. "I got my fill of chaos and fun for the month!"


    Curiosity seizing Bach, his spoon midway, and he glances towards the bar, at Goff. "Huh, so what happened yesterday?"


    Goff whistles in thought and draws in a deep breath. Collecting the timeline of events in his head, a spark of excitement energizes his voice. "Sunday, I get this call from this lady. She says her group and another smaller group are heading out this way, and they will need accommodations. For the first time in a long while, I''m going to have a full house!"


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    Pantomiming with his hands, he grins during the depiction of the events. "I get all the rooms ready. I even call up my old friend Oyn to come over and start cooking up a storm. Man, I even convince my wife to come down and tend the front desk for me. The time comes when they said they''re going to arrive..."


    Furrowing his brow, he leans slightly over the bar counter at the team. "And nothing..."


    Holding his arms out, he shakes his head, putting his hands down upon the bar top, and grits his teeth. "Here I am... Man, I was starting to think I had made a huge mistake. But, this one lady with a clipboard and a guy with a camera, like one of those television cameras, comes in."


    A slight crook warps the side of Bach''s mouth. Goff idly rolls his hand, punctuating the situation. "She gives me all this PAPERWORK to sign to allow them to run cameras in here. I''m thinking, yeah, it''s strange. But, I don''t mind showing the place, and I''m not going to let everything I did to get ready go to waste."


    Pointing to large main doors, he wanders his gaze across the big dinner table to everyone. "The second I signed the paper, she radios to someone. The camera guy starts recording. Then, this group pushes the doors wide open!"


    Goff flicks his index finger up on a hand. "There was this heroic looking guy with a big bright smile..."


    Sebastian halts mid drift and barely contains a cringe, flashing upon his ethereal face. Bach squirms a bit in his chair, glancing around uneasily. Another finger rises on Goff''s hand, and he furrows his brow with his memory. "An emin woman with black hair, blue and black eyes, and way more revealing clothes than my wife would approve of..."


    A piece of meat flops back into the soup bowl from the spoon in Sotalia''s shuddering hand. Goff counts off another description and thinks more into that moment. "A nicely dressed fvalian with this bell around her neck."


    A brief twitch squints Cideeda''s eye, and a low groan strains out from Aristespha. Four fingers flex in Goff''s hand, and he searches into his mind. "And, there was this evuukian guy that seemed nice enough. But, he was scarce most of the time..."


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes, and Sebastian echoes a low groan very similar to hers. Goff closes his fist and holds a thumb up with a final shake for emphasis. "Finally, this BIG grath nearly clips the door frame coming in. I think he was just putting on a show, because I know that door is much taller than him."


    The grip tightens upon the fork in Dretphi''s hand, and muscles flex in her forearm. With an astounded sway of the head side to side, Goff laughs loudly. "The second they cleared the door and went up the counter... This flood of camera crews just filled in around them."


    He snorts and shakes his head. "Oh, the drama between them. They argued back and forth about who would get which bed in the other big common room suite. After dinner, they fought about who should do what and that on this mission. They were a mess! I guess it makes for good television... I guess..."


    A heavy silence looms over the group at the dining table, Goff remembering other details of the events from yesterday. After a few minutes, Dretphi raises a hand with an index finger up and snags Goff''s attention. "Excuse me. Question. Did they state when they would return by this route?"


    Scratching his chin, Goff seeks out the bit of knowledge in his head, between searching flicks of his eyes. "I think they mentioned possibly in a few days. The woman with the clipboard said she''d give me a call if they were coming this way again. And, from where I guess they were going, it''ll take a few more days to get there."


    A collective release of tension flushes away the heavy silence, and relief finds the group at the dining table. Goff surveys the change in mood and quirks a brow with a curiosity driven smile. "They wouldn''t happen to be friends of yours?"


    Snickers, snorts, and laughs escape the group with shaking of heads. Goff grins, places both hands upon the top of the bar, and nods. "Well, that sounds like at least a story or two to be had over a few drinks. Consider the bar open! I still got to run a business. But... I''ll let the first round go at cost."


    Sotalia sips up the last bit of soup, placing the spoon down. Plucking a roll from a basket on the table, and she waves it around in sync to her thoughts. "Speaking of discounts, Bach over here actually used to create this wonderful line of mini magical scrolls..."


    She cracks a sly grin and perks a devious brow. "They''re perfect for a place like this."


    Abrupt gurgling sounds out, and an ill timed gasp of food sends Bach into a coughing fit. Sotalia''s expression adopts a playfully sinister undertone. Goff blinks thoughtfully and focuses his attention on the proposed concept. "Well, I''m always looking for things to sell or show. What do they do?"


    Biting a piece off, Sotalia waves the roll around in her fingers to punctuate. "There''s the random fortune teller, drink tracker, drunk detector, and..."


    A toothy grin springs up on Cideeda, and she aims a mischievous gaze towards Bach. "Oh! Don''t forget all the games. Bomb defuser, balance the card, and that mini role playing game. I still think that collectible card game would have done well if you had a marketing department behind."


    A brief, sudden snort manages to escape Dretphi, and she averts her steely gray eyes away, keeping a small, mischievous smile from progressing further. "Love tester."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form fails to hold back the cackle, triggering almost the rest of the table to laugh. Bach sighs with twitches of a lip curl and rolls his blue eyes. Moments later, a facetious shrug and shake of the head accompanies a thinly veiled crack of a smile upon Bach. "Well, I mean, that all that sounds great. But... I don''t have anything to write on that would fit the bill."


    Goff tilts his head down and examines the area behind the bar, a finger hovering with the focal point of his attention. He kneels down behind the bar, stops, and returns with a roll of receipt printer paper in hand. Puzzling over the item, he draws out a long sheet from the roll. "Hey, will this work?"


    Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia spot and scrutinize the receipt printer paper roll. Aristespha and Sotalia nod in unison, evil tinges coloring their smiles. Bach only blinks with an awkward cringe. His demeanor stumbles to a recovery, and he tries to adopt the previous facetious shrug. "I mean... That COULD work. But... I would need special pens and inks to-"


    Popping the remainder of the roll into her mouth, Sotalia stands up from the table, chewing. She perks an eyebrow to Aristespha and holds her hand open, walking from the table towards the main hall. Aristespha reaches into her pants pocket and tosses the room key with a flick into Sotalia''s awaiting hand. "Third zipper pocket from the right. It is the small roll out kit."


    A long exhale of defeat slowly vents from Bach, and he pivots his head to the side and tilts up to Sebastian, hovering nearby. "I guess I''m doing this, huh?"


    Sebastian nods with his hands behind his back and glances down to his brother. "Yes, bro. You must placate them. Peer pressure and all."


    Dropping his head low for a moment, he draws in a long breath. He straightens back up with an accepting semblance of a smile. "Okay... Fine. So, which one first?"


    ----


    The morning light floods the large, long common room. The sun¡¯s warmth beams upon the six beds lined up perpendicular to the outer wall, each just under a wide window, upon the wooden floor. Two tables rest flush against the opposing wall, loaded with a number of chairs each, and lockers line the remanding, clear stretch of wall after the dividing doorway. At the far end of the room, another door opens, and flow of steam and bright light beams in, reflecting off bathroom tile. Sotalia steps out bare footed onto the wooden floor, walking with a relaxed smile. Balancing the towel wrap on her head between her horns, she keeps a hand on the towel tuck over her chest. She glances over at the other roughly remade beds and the personal items arranged upon each. Passing over the unused bed, she pauses and stare at the furthest bed. Bach stirs under the covers, still slumbering. Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia shakes her head amused and continues to her bed, a quiet chorus of hardwood floor joining the pats of each foot. She kneels down over her open luggage and gazes over the selection. Picking out clothing for day, she notices the hum of her aetherphone vibrating on the bed. With a swift snatch, she reads the message on the phone. Glancing to Bach, she watches. A long intermittent snore from Bach barely graces just above the background noise. Sotalia snorts to herself and shakes her head side to side, her thumb tapping out a reply. Seconds later, the phone vibrates with another message. Sotalia quirks an eyebrow and gazes at Bach. Slyness curls the corner of her mouth, and evil widens the expression.


    Bach slumbers on his side, facing the end wall, and subconsciously shifts his face away from the line of sunlight creeping up the sheets. His current snore fades. A faint rush of air echoes out in the room with a muffled sound of flapping fabric trailing. A damp towel impacts the back of Bach''s head, and momentum carries over, flopping part of it on his face. Bach startles and stirs groggily from sleep, grumbling incoherently. His hand aimlessly paws at the towel on his face. Soon, enough motor coordination and consciousness reassembles itself. Bach lifts himself up to a seat up in the bed, the towel still covering most of this head. A snicker momentarily sounds out, quickly squelching quiet. Bach manages to finally remove the damp fabric from his head and reveals a chaotic mop of hair. Opening his eyes halfway in a morning daze, he spends almost a minute examining the towel, in between blinking and clearing the sleep from his eyes. Idle mumbles of deliberation lead Bach''s attention and sways his head towards the source. His groggy vision watches an hourglass figure finish pulling up a pair of pants to the small of her back. Puzzlement and confusion mix harshly within the morning fog inside Bach''s mind, and familiarity tries to cut through the stubborn haze. Bach''s blue eyes move up the two color pattern on the skin of the woman''s back. Black nailed hands reach up to the towel on her head and unfurl the fabric, revealing dark red hair and black swept back horns. Recognition finally manages to shriek clear through the lethargy in Bach''s head. A flush of embarrassment overtakes Bach and tightens his throat. Shock drains the color from his face and forces a gasp into a short lived squeak. The reflexive twist of his head away, nearly sprains Bach''s neck.


    After the sounds of clothes rummaging, luggage zippers, and button snaps, Sotalia calls out over her shoulder. "You awake, Bach?"


    Bach blinks in silence for a few moments, stalling long enough for functional speech to leave his mind. "Uh... Y-yes?"


    Other faint noises emanate from Sotalia''s direction, and a series of softer footsteps grow in volume. Sotalia snaps her fingers a few times to get Bach''s attention and calls out with a curious tone. "Hey... Over here. Wake up!"


    Hesitation staggers Bach. With a deep breath, he forces his head to turn the rest of the way. Sotalia lifts an inquisitive brow and stands at the side of Bach''s bed, pants, shirt, and socks on. Relaxing, Bach releases the tense breath. Sotalia works a questioning twist to her smirk. "I guess I''ll count this as awake enough. We''ll be leaving in an hour or so. Shower and come down for breakfast. Your brother''s orders... via Aristespha message."


    Bach nods a confirmation, fighting a yawn. "Okay... Yeah... I''ll be down in half an hour."


    Returning the nod, Sotalia spins around with a smile and walks to the room door. "Sounds good to me. I''ll let them know."


    Opening the door, she goes through the doorway into the hallway, and a guilty smirk curls from the corner of her mouth. Bach watches the door close and stares forward, contemplating. A minute passes in the faint morning din from below and nature outside. Tilting over onto his side upon the bed, he groans and greets the new day.


    ----


    In the middle of a wide, overgrown gravel road, the humvee slows to a stop just before an abrupt, thick tree line. Peering out through the windshield, Cideeda scans the out from the vehicle. Sotalia squints her eyes and seeks anything of interest in the forest bordering the roadway. Sebastian''s ethereal form floats out forward from the aisle, between Cideeda and Sotalia, and stares uncertainly ahead. "Okay... Something is NOT right about this."


    Cideeda taps her finger on the steering wheel thoughtfully and turns her head to the side, checking out the driver''s side window. "We''re near the area where people reported seeing someone matching Noxian''s description."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes, she wrestles a grimace on her light brown face and flicks her furry ears. "And, this is really close to the coordinates from the research base data."


    She leans out the driver''s side window and squints down at the packed gravel, her long tail twitching. "But... This is also a road not on any map I have."


    Sebastian hovers in the middle, slowly scanning the horizon, and hems to himself. Crossing his arms, he drifts through the windshield out to the front of the vehicle and calls out. "Okay. Let''s get out and check around. If there''s nothing here, we''ll drive around a bit more and see if there''s some other route around."


    Reaching under her seat, Dretphi rummages around and pulls out a hard shelled case by the handle. "We should verify our position."


    Doors open and the team exits out, wondering and wandering the terminal point of the gravel roadway. Cideeda opens the back hatch, and Dretphi reaches in, lifting out three telescopic poles and a tripod. Aristespha, Bach, Sebastian and Sotalia spread out from the humvee, watching the bordering forest. Both Aristespha and Bach blink their eyes to a bright glow, carefully surveying sections of the road and overgrowth surrounding. Sotalia¡¯s golden eyes flicker to a constant dim illumination, and she strains her concentration, maintaining the effect. Sebastian rises high up into the air, rotates around, staring out at parts of the horizon. Dretphi opens up the tripod, rests its feet securely upon the ground, and adjusts it to a level point. Opening the hard case up, she carefully lifts a complicated piece of machinery, incorporating elements of a sextant and other measurement devices, and attaches it to the top of the tripod. Dretphi retrieves a book from the hard case, flips to a worn section, and reads intermittently between tweaks of setting knobs on the device. Cideeda climbs up to the top of the humvee and locks the telescopic poles into welded on mounts. Extending the last pole, she screws in signal cables into each pole''s base, connecting to small, rugged electronic device. Flipping a switch and pressing buttons through the thick rubber weatherproofing, Cideeda commands the device life and watches a series of numbers and gauges render upon the protected screen. She leans back and glances over her shoulder toward Dretphi. "It''ll be a minute or two. Nav beacons out here are a bit old and use an old spec."


    Dretphi nods and returns her attention to the machinery on the tripod. "Similar delay. Want long measurements to reduce inaccuracy."


    Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach shrugs his shoulders and alternates a glance between Sotalia and Aristespha. "Well, I''m not sensing anything magical around here. Any luck?"


    Aristespha blinks her eyes back to normal, pivots towards Bach, and walks with a sigh. "Nothing, either. I really was hoping for at least an illusion spell. That actually would have made some sense."


    Closing her eyes to a rough wince, Sotalia rubs her face and shakes her head, stepping back to the group. "Gods. Well, I don''t see or feel anything over here. Seems pretty normal to me."


    Sebastian flies back down from a lofty height and lands his ghostly self, standing on the ground in front of the humvee. "Anything to report, everyone?"


    Aristespha shakes her head and crosses her arms, her mind processing possible next steps. "No magical influence at the moment, Sebastian. If there is anything, it''s no stronger than the typical background energies."


    Cideeda lifts the radio navigation console and shows the screen towards Sebastian, Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. "Land navigation beacons put us roughly where we think we should be. I''m waiting for the computer to refine the area down."


    Dretphi calls out behind the humvee, squatting down and carefully writing measurements and calculations in a notebook. "Need time difference in measurements to reduce error. We are in the vicinity of where we should be, regardless."


    After a few pondering nods, Sebastian points out towards the dead end of the road and drifts slowly in that direction. "I think I saw an odd clearing a few kilometers away. Maybe? I couldn''t make out much more than that, but the clearing has a really weird shape to it."


    The group roughly assembles behind Sebastian. Turns to face the team, Sebastian smiles and meets eager and curious gazes. "Well... I guess no one is against a bit of a nature hike?"


    Grins, shrugs, and smirks appear, and Sebastian leads the group into the woods beyond the dead end.


    ----


    Leaves crackle in a chorus with the occasional stick snap, and the group navigates through the dense forest. Minutes later, Dretphi stops, reaches up to a tree branch, and lowers it down to her eye level. Studying it with intense curiosity, she furrows her brow and contemplates internally between deliberating grimaces. Sebastian glances back and calls out with a hopeful hint. "Did you find something, Dretphi?"


    The rest of the group halts, face Dretphi, and wait expectantly. Glancing around at surroundings, Dretphi reaches out for another branch from a shorter tree and brings it down next to the previous. "This Forest... Is not... Natural."


    Bach blinks a few times and puzzles at Dretphi''s statement. "Uh, how so? There''s no magic that we''ve found so far."


    Wrestling the conflict on her tan face, Dretphi lifts her head back, and her eyes search upwards in her head for the right phrase. "Not naturally occurred."


    Entertaining her observation and proposal, interest quickly turns to the surrounding forest, intrigue building each second with sparks of suspicion. Dretphi eases down the branches lower and shows her findings. "The tall trees here are not native to this area. The short trees are."


    She turns the tree limbs in her hands and angles for better comparison. "Both similar in appearance. From the same family. Different species."


    Easing the branches back up to their respective trees, she squints into the forest ahead, eyes out to the sides, and glances behind. "It is strange that the non-native tree is found only in this narrow band here."


    She crosses her arms and frowns, paranoia tickling the corner of her mouth. "That species grows fast. Does not live long."


    Spinning around gazing up at the canopy above, Sotalia twists her boot on the ground. Patting the sole upon earth a few times, she furrows her brow and heels out the ground. "Okay, has this been like a really easy hike for anyone else?"


    She stares down at the ground and motions to the terrain beneath. "I just think this terrain should be... A lot rougher? It''s an incline but really consistent?"


    A series of long, slow nods punctuate Dretphi''s silence. Kneeling down, she digs at the forest floor with her hand and ponders implications between sifting through the dirt. Sebastian holds his chin, thinks, and gradually spins back forward to the direction of the clearing. "Let''s see what this clearing is. It should be up ahead. But... Let''s approach it carefully."


    He waves a hand signal to the team. "Everyone, stay in the forest when we get to the edge. I''ll go scout ahead."


    Sebastian glides out in front of the group. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia spread out and cautiously hike on. Venturing forward, they keep loosely behind tree cover. Close to a quarter hour later, the group reaches the edge of the forest and stares out into the clearing. Blinking in disbelief, Bach mumbles astonishment. "What... The... hell?"


    Before the group, an overgrown, wide strip of land cuts out into the hilly distance, devoid of trees. Strangely even height grass grows upon the track, matching the oddly flat and smooth topology. Almost hidden, worn ruts indicate the only semblance of path through the stretch of field. Off to the sides of the grassy strip lay different piles of rubble, scattering out into the surrounding trees. The age mounds of debris provide a place for covering undergrowth to root. Sebastian jets back to the group and signals them out, waving his arms. "Nothing dangerous I could find. But..."


    He glances over his shoulder and guides the rest of his form. "So... What do you all make of THIS?"


    Cideeda''s eyes spring wide in surprise, and she points a claw tip towards one of the rubble piles. "Wait! That''s broken up asphalt! Gods! There was a road here!"


    Dretphi nods with a wave of shock washing down. "Land has been graded to suit that purpose. Felt unnatural. Tilled. Packed tightly. Too even... Too consistent..."


    Sotalia puts her hands on her hips and idly gazes out ahead, dumbfounded. "So... Making sure I''m following all this...."


    Flicking her golden eyes to Cideeda, she points over to the nearest pile of rubble under the trees. "Someone removed this road..."


    She glances back to the forest behind. "And planted trees to hide it?"


    Shifting her weight, she gazes between the team and motions behind her. "So, why didn''t they just take it all the way to the highway?"


    Aristespha draws a breath in and slowly exhales the nervous energy out through her reserved stare at the situation before her. "I would theorize it would be less suspicious to keep that much of the road there than obviously removing it from the main highway. Easier to dismiss it as some old access road or some other mundane thing."


    Sebastian shakes his head and sighs with an ethereal reverb. "SOMETHING has been covered up. This is A LOT of effort to hide anything. There definitely IS something here we need to investigate."


    Glancing back into the forest, Cideeda growls in frustration and grits her teeth. "I hate to leave the humvee back there. But, I didn''t see an easy path through...."


    Perking her brow, she tilts her head curiously and crosses her arms with a wag of her tag. "Now that I''m thinking about it, it''s like the trees were planted close enough to stop most vehicles."


    A sinister grin creeps up on Sotalia, and she stretches out her arms over her head eagerly. "Oh. I''m very certain I can remedy that. I mean, the trees aren''t native here anyway. They really should be pruned down."


    Laughing, Sebastian stands proudly before the group. "Sounds like a good enough plan to me. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia get ready to make some lumber. Cideeda and Dretphi, navigate the best you can and see if we can keep the clear cutting down to minimum. I don''t know if we should be too obvious about what we''re doing."


    ----


    A large furry ear twitches towards a repetitive tapping noise upon the roof of the humvee. Cideeda press down on a control button, rolling her window down. Reaches out through the open driver''s side window, she plucks out a small branch stuck in a gap between roof and roof rack. She brings the branch inside, hold it near Sotalia, and aims a brief glare at her. Meeting the attention, Sotalia attempts to innocently play off the accusation with a shrug. "What? That wasn''t on my side."


    Rolling her emerald green eyes, Cideeda chucks the branch out of the humvee and focuses on driving through the grassy pathway. Humvee rolls smoothly through the field, and only the constant patter of large grass blades add to the background rustle of road noise. The vehicle crests over a hill and coasts through the sea of green. Rubbing her temples, Aristespha concentrates upon her tablet and the sparse mapping data. "We were already kilometers off the main highway. Now, we''ve gone almost five more. Why is this not on any map? This isn''t some kind of forgotten logging trail."


    Bach leans over from his seat and peeks at topological charts on the screen. "I mean, I keep on seeing more piles of road they ripped off. All of it dumped off in the forest."


    Staring out a side window, Dretphi frowns, concern tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Without the road surface the forest will reclaim the area naturally. This... This was purposeful. Planned."


    Cideeda squints ahead down the hill and spring opens her eyes wide. Following Cideeda''s stare, Sotalia blinks ahead and tilts her head to the side in confusion. "What? Is that a town up ahead?"


    Working her way up from her seat into the aisle, Dretphi stares forward bewildered. Aristespha rolls her window down and leans out for a clear look. Bach and Sebastian peek around the headrests of Cideeda''s and Sotalia''s seats. Cideeda focuses her gaze harder and ponders out loud, puzzled. "I guess it used to be? It looks like it has been abandoned for some time now."


    The humvee drives further towards the collection of rundown, derelict buildings in a larger cleared section of the landscape. The faint squeal of brakes trails off, and the vehicle stops short of a perimeter of uninviting barricades and huge warning signs, encircling the main entry point. In many languages and dialects, the same phrase repeats upon each surface possible.


    "WARNING! DEADLY DISASTER ZONE! NOTHING WORTH YOUR LIFE EXISTS HERE ANYMORE! GO BACK! THE DANGER STILL EXISTS HERE! NO HELP WILL COME!"

 Episode 24

    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia stand just outside the perimeter of the imposing barricade of fencing, alert symbols, and warning signs. Wary eyes seek out the elements worthy of the caution and foretold danger. Only the placid fields and peaceful forest surround the team, contrasting all implications. Glancing to either side of himself, Bach gauges everyone''s demeanor and pinches the bridge of his nose with a cringing close of the eyes. He draws in a long breath and releases a wary sigh. "I get the feeling we are going to COMPLETELY ignore these warnings...


    He shifts his gaze over to his ethereal brother. "Aren''t we?"


    Sebastian pivots his ghostly form toward Bach and lifts an eyebrow, shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalant smile. "Half the places we usually go to on missions have warning signs, bro. And... The other half usually SHOULD have them."


    With a hand supporting her chin and an idle finger tapping the side of her cheek, Aristespha ponders the signage, focusing on areas around the messages. "It is very strange. There are no organizations listed anywhere.... But, these signs are extremely well made. These were not hastily made. Which oddly isn''t that surprising when you consider the road removal and tree planting."


    With a brief perk of her brow, Sotalia''s golden stare wanders between the different alphabets and languages written upon the signs. "There''s just about every major language listed here and a few older minor ones, too. I''ve never actually seen a warning message this thorough in so many languages."


    Leaning forward, she reads the smaller text under a large warning paragraph and stands back straight in astonishment, tempering her curiosity. "OH! Wow! Gods, that''s a really old dialect of Americ on there, too."


    She furrows her brow and chuckles to herself. "Still can''t believe the spelling rules they had back then."


    Cideeda pans her gaze along the perimeter, and her head halts at a large gate section of the tall, solid metal fence. She focuses upon the thick, long weld running down between the gate and frame. "Interesting..."


    Motioning towards the gateway, she squints at the metalwork, curiosity leading to intrigue. "Looks like whoever decided not to even bother with a lock and just welded the thing shut. I don''t think they planned on coming back to this place."


    Dretphi turns her head to Cideeda and lowers her quizzical gaze. "Strange. The gate must have been used before. Sealed afterwards."


    Glancing around the concrete anchors holding metal posts, she wrestles a number of possibilities on her face. "This fence construction is high quality. Built with the town?"


    A nod slowly gains momentum from Cideeda, and she meets Dretphi''s attention with a thoughtful gaze. "I think so. You can''t easily put this much high grade steel up, this good, without some serious planning. This looks like a lot of the old small town perimeter fences my dad would get in the scrap yard when the town upgraded to something bigger."


    Placing her hands on her hips, she surveys the work ahead, involving the welded gate. "I should be able to cut that gate open in an hour..."


    Her weight shifts with an idea. She twists in her bodysuit and faces Bach with a toothy smirk. "Or... I''m certain Bach could crack it open in a few minutes."


    Blinking back to the discussion, Bach catches Cideeda''s widening grin. He notices the encouraging attention upon him and stares briefly at the door, lowering his forehead into the palm of his hand. "Yeah... Of course... Let me go forth, ignore all the warnings, and crack open the gateway to our doom. Oh, this makes TOTAL SENSE."


    Sebastian rolls his ethereal blue eyes and shakes his head with a ghostly laugh. "Oh, come on, bro! This is nothing on the scale of crazy things you''ve done, including recently."


    Bach removes his head from his hand. Narrowing his eyes at his brother, he groans and returns his stare to the gate. "I know... I know... BUT, at least with those other crazy moments, I didn''t have signs, quite literally, EVERYWHERE telling me to do the OPPOSITE."


    Sotalia stretches her arms and interlocked hands out forwards, straightens her back, and flexes her head from shoulder to shoulder with a growing grin. "Well, if you don''t feel up to it, I''m still plenty fired up from that bit of deforestation. This gate isn''t anything that a few plasma flares couldn''t fix."


    A long sigh crawls out from Bach, and he draws a long, uneasy breath. "No, no. I got it. Despite that little voice in the back of my head telling me not to."


    A grin cracks across his face and widens. "Plus, I''d much rather the gate be functional afterwards. Just in case we need it."


    A few blinks later, Sotalia quickly snaps her stare at Bach with a quirk of the brow and a reserved, neutral expression on her face. A sly smirk develops, and she perks her brow, resting her intertwined hands on the back of her head. "Fair enough."


    Sebastian nods and addresses the group. "Okay, here''s the rough plan. Bach will get the gate open. Cideeda and Dretphi, I''m leaning towards camping out in the humvee tonight. Things have been plenty weird, so I think we might need to be ready to leave on a moment''s notice. Hence, best to stay in our primary escape."


    Processing the situation, Dretphi examines the treeline near the grass overtaken roadway, slowly nodding to her thoughts. "I agree. We should hide the humvee in the forest. Clear a path for escape. Hide obvious traces."


    Cideeda motions a thumb behind her and grins to Sebastian. "I saw a spot not too far away that should obscure us enough. And, the humvee should fit into it without too much trouble."


    With a gradual pivot, Sebastian''s ghostly form faces Aristespha and Sotalia. "Good. Okay, while they get camp ready, I''ll scout as far out as I can. Could you two check for any possible magical weirdness nearby?"


    Aristespha smiles lovingly to Sebastian, and her eyes illuminate with violet light. "I will see what I can find, Sebastian."


    Noticing the violet glow, Sotalia squints hard, and her eyes flicker a golden light. "Sounds like a plan. Gods, I still don''t know how anyone does this for any period of time."


    ----


    Faded gray asphalt roadways form a rough mesh around decaying buildings and overflowing vegetation. Years of abandonment eclipse the original craftsmanship of the structures, and the long strain against the environment reveals the shortened lifespans left. With a low whistling, the wind blows by a broken hole in a window, and the traveling sun reflects off the jagged edges of glass. A rusted metal post grinds to the will of the breeze, and the sign face twists with a faint squeak, revealing the stubborn paint outlines around the original message. "Central Administration Office."


    Aristespha carefully approaches the sign, grips the weathered edge, and turns the barely legible lettering to her sight. "This... Seems familiar to me."


    Darting her stare around her surroundings, she fights against a frown on her ivory face. "The terminology, the layout, and the building designs..."


    She releases the sign, straightens her posture, and pivots back to Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia. Her violet eyes search low for an explanation, and she grimaces against the theory forming. "This HAS to be a Grand Library outpost. I''ve visited many, and most were laid out very similar to this."


    Pulling his head back blinking, Sebastian directs a concerned gaze to Aristespha. "But, dear... Wouldn''t this have shown up in the searches you did on our map locations?"


    Comfort withers from Aristespha''s body language, and she grits her teeth in a battle between bewilderment and nerves. "Yes. Yes, it SHOULD have. Something as significant as an outpost SHOULD have a number of entries in the main database... Unless..."


    The rest of the teams keep their expectant attention upon Aristespha. Covering her mouth briefly with her hand, she slides her hand down to her chin to speak. "Unless... This place has been... Decataloged."


    Aristespha shudders her focus to the group. She watches the confusion and uncertainty wander between themselves before seeking her. Drawing a slow breath, she exhales and explains carefully. "It is a core Grand Library law that data within the main database can never be deleted. But, there have been some... liberties... taken with the catalog that indexes all the data. Unfortunately, I think this is one of those liberties."


    Crossing her arms, Aristespha grips her elbows tightly and stiffens her posture. She eyes the area with a new aura of caution and tenses with her thoughts. "We NEED to be extremely careful. I can''t imagine what is here that has to be hidden so thoroughly. I''ve only ever heard rumors about minor items getting decataloged. But..."


    She stares out to the aged, weathered, and once orderly outpost. "Nothing like THIS."


    Sebastian hovers close to Aristespha and gazes into her eyes. "You okay, dear?"


    A long sigh strains out from Aristespha, she nods with a slight smile. "Yes. It''s just the situation has changed in ways I didn''t think it could."


    Bach surveys the streets running between lines of derelict buildings and shrugs nonchalantly with a comforting smile to Aristespha. "Well, I think I know how you feel."


    Dretphi glances up to the afternoon sky and checks her aetherphone, stepping forward. Squinting to a point through the broken front door windows, she calls out to Sebastian. "We have four hours left of daylight. Stay together. Clear perimeters of buildings."


    She glances over her shoulder and perks her brow. "Search interiors?"


    Sebastian nods slowly and pivots his ethereal form towards the large remnants of the Central Administration Office. "That sounds good. It''ll take longer to investigate areas, but I would much rather keep everyone close. So, keep within line of sight of someone else, and have anything strange checked for magic before disturbing it. We don''t know what happened here, so let''s not make any assumptions of what''s safe."


    Sotalia stares out to horizon down each major roadway path from an intersection, puzzling and furrowing her brow. "So, they built an outpost here. But, WHY? Gods, I haven''t seen or detected ANYTHING strange yet.


    She waves her arm out and motions towards the abandoned structures all around. "THIS is a lot to build in the middle of nowhere."


    Smirking, Cideeda unbuttons a pouch on her vest, draws out a flashlight, and beams a bright spot towards the doors of the Central Administration Office. "Depending on how careful they were on their way out, we might find something in here."


    Satisfaction wanes from Cideeda''s face, and she thinks about the circumstances around, grumbling to herself. "But... This would be the FIRST place I would clean out if I was getting rid of evidence."


    Crossing his arms, Sebastian floats forward and shrugs with a glance back. "Hey, it''s still worth checking out. Might be a good test to see if there was some kind of cover up happening. And, if nothing else, maybe they were too busy removing all the secret files to get rid of general stuff?"


    Bach scratches his head, puzzling, and asks Aristespha. "So, are Central Administration Offices similar to town halls or city capitals?"


    A few hard blinks later, Aristespha arrives back to her senses. Facing Bach with a curious grimace, she internally debates and ponders out. "Oh, yes, for most purposes. It is more structured towards outpost management than legislature."


    Pointing at the structure, Bach curls the corner of his mouth and lifts an eyebrow. "Okay. So, you think they have a map of the place in there?"


    Aristespha nods with a growing grin and stares towards the front doors with a violet glow to her eyes. "Why yes. They should have at least ONE somewhere."


    A smirk sneaks out on her face, and she chuckles softly. "It might be a visitor''s pamphlet."


    ----


    Through weathered, dingy glass windows, beams of light reach into the empty offices on either side of the main hallway. Reflecting off the unkempt spaces, the remnants create ambient glows, spilling onto the hallway floor from the doorways. A weak breeze slipping in from all the fractured panes stirs the illuminated dust floating in the stagnant air. Within the Central Administration building, steps upon the simple, smooth concrete floor echo distantly down the corridor, the softest pats still resonating. Dretphi stands in the middle of the central rotunda, scanning down the hallway leading to the exit. She pivots in place and leads her sight to one of the many doorways in the large, circular room. From a heavy duty flashlight, she guides a bright spotlight along the search, keeping the other hand upon her strap-hung submachine gun. Sotalia exits from a doorway and drags out a disappointed sigh. Dretphi lowers the light down towards the floor away from Sotalia and quizzically furrows her brow. "Anything found?"


    Shaking her head, Sotalia guides her dark red hair with both hands over her horns and places a hand on her hip with a halfhearted frown. "No. Nothing. Not. A. Damned thing... at all. Whenever everyone left, they must have taken everything that wasn''t nailed down."


    Aristespha side steps out from behind Sotalia through the doorway, discouragement weighing heavily upon her. "Gods... The times I wish people were not so thorough."


    Bach wanders out into the rotunda from another doorway with a shrug, twisting the corner of his mouth. "So, we found nothing."


    Toed shoes lightly patting upon the floor, Cideeda shakes her head with her thoughts. She idly scratches a furry ear with a claw tip and grumbles. "There''s got to be SOMETHING here. There''s always something that gets looked over, especially when people are leaving a place with the intent to never come back. They had to have been pressured to leave..."


    She lifts her head up, and her emerald green eyes hunt around the forgotten space, pausing along the way to squint out her theory. Sebastian drifts through a door and releases an ethereal sigh, shrugging with his hands up to his sides. "The rest of the rooms look pretty empty. Some rolling chairs, desks with all the drawers open, and a table or two."


    Contorting his smirk, he grumbles. "But overall... It looks like it was cleared out pretty thoroughly some time ago."


    Bach walks towards a reception desk off the center point of the room, near the archway leading to the exit hall. Placing his hand on the age-touched rolling chair back, he gradually leads it away from the desk, a trace of a squeak leaving a wheel. He spins the chair around a few times, stops it towards himself, and plops down into it. Dretphi glances up to the domed ceiling''s windows and studies the orange light from the dusk sun. "An hour of daylight left. We should return to camp."


    Sebastian nods with a frown curling and crosses his arms. "Yeah... We''ll try again tomorrow, and maybe check further out. Don''t worry, everyone. It''s just the first day. We''ll find something soon."


    Everyone shares some form of agreement to the sentiment. The encouragement from Sebastian subdues the collective, mild disappointment briefly. Bach halts a slow spin in the chair, secures his feet on the ground, and leans forward to stand. He pushes the chair back underneath the reception desk. The chair stops short with a soft thud and lighter, crispier sound. Cideeda''s furry ears immediately perk towards the noise and flick around in a search. Her head spins the rest of her body around, and her wide eyes lock on to Bach. "Garbage..."


    Meeting Cideeda''s gaze, Bach blinks, puzzling a moment at the word. He kneels down, peeks underneath the desk, and rummages around. The crinkle of plastic twitches Cideeda''s ears and echoes around the rotunda. A toothy grin flashes wide upon Cideeda''s light brown face. She rushes over to the other side of the desk and eagerly greets the plastic garbage bag Bach slides out from underneath the desk. Sebastian flies over ahead with renewed interest. Dretphi steps over and cranes above the reception desk, watching curiously. Aristespha and Sotalia walk around and wait. All witness Cideeda gleefully slice open the plastic bag with a claw. Sotalia wrestles a sneer and rolls her golden eyes with snort. "Gods, this may be another part I''m going to conveniently forget next time I talk to my mother."


    Aristespha smiles slyly at Sotalia and lifts an eyebrow at her. Crossing her arms, Sotalia leans her posture back and huffs dismissively, slipping out a finger to point at Aristespha. "Girl, if you can somehow spin taking a two day trip to a forgotten, forsaken town..."


    She waves out to the surrounding area, glancing around. "Where something terrible, that drove off an entire village of people, that may very well still exist..."


    Resting her point upon the gutted garbage bag, she groans. "To dig through a bag of garbage, and NOT have it sound like a good reason for my mother to suggest a career change... AGAIN..."


    She leans close to Aristespha and twists a smirking grin, furrowing her brow. "I''d LOVE to hear it."


    ----


    Reaching to the roof of the humvee cab, Aristespha adjusts a small reading light down upon the document in her hand. Her violet eyes focus upon a sequence of numbers and letters barely visible along the tattered edges of the information pamphlet. Angling the aged paper, she discerns the faded paragraphs upon a web of crumpled lines. "This document is in the database... It has to be. This looks like a valid database address."


    She flips the paper around and stares at the "Orth Ridge Archaeological Site Welcome Guide" title font. Carefully folding it up, she places it into a hard, thin case next to her seat, and expels a long sigh, staring at the ceiling of the humvee cab. "I wish we were not so far out. If I could only access the database right now, and get some damned answers to this mess."


    The seat back across the aisle reclines, and Bach settles down into the new position, squirming and hunting for comfort. "Honestly, that''s still WEIRD you can lose track of information like that with just having the catalog entry removed."


    A long boot thuds upon the humvee floor in front of Aristespha, and she flexes her sock covered toes. Wrestling off the other boot, she turns it upside down and shakes it a few times. A sole, singular pebble drops out. Squinting her violet eyes upon the offending rock, Aristespha contorts a twinge of frustration on her ivory face and groans to herself. Dropping the boot, she drapes a blanket over herself and wraps up in it, glancing at Bach with a frown. "It''s not USUALLY a problem. But... The infrastructure the Grand Library''s main database uses to allow its flexibility, robustness, and capacity can theoretically have such... Issues."


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Searching his mind, Bach pieces together a question, furrowing an genuinely curious brow. "So... What type of infrastructure is it... Well, uh, roughly?"


    Aristespha fidgets around, finds a sweet spot, and rests her head against a small pillow. Glancing around, she remembers the reading light above and slips out an arm from comfort, turning it off. Her silvery blue hair flows over the cushion, she gazes at Bach, hints of internal unease sneaking through her smile. "Well, it only used to be one big massive, singular database, a VERY long time ago. Unfortunately, a near complete crash occurred, and they nearly lost a massive chunk of the records. Hence, a new design was requested and what was chosen happened to resemble a smaller version of the Aethernet system."


    Rolling her eyes dismissively, she curls a vague smirk. "Technically, it could be considered an intranet, but there''s debate about THAT being a fitting definition rather than all the others that keep getting proposed."


    Bach ponders quietly, furrows his brow thoughtfully, and stares distantly. He turns his head forward, processing the concept, and blinks his blue eyes, pondering. "Wow... I''ve heard it was big and complicated. But, a Mini-Aethernet?"


    A large figure stirs underneath a blanket in the back bench, and Dretphi slowly rolls her head, facing away from the back of the seat. A faint snore drifts into the air, and her platinum blonde braids with darker ends unfurl upon her pillow and tan face. The driver''s softly door opens, and Cideeda quietly sneaks in, sliding into her seat. Pulling open the front passenger''s door slowly, Sotalia gently maneuvers herself inside. Both softly guide their doors closed and tug, door latches engaging with a muffled click. Sotalia opens a dash compartment and stows a roll of toilet paper inside, closing it back up. "We checked the perimeter one last time. All the magical wards were undisturbed and active. We should be good for the night."


    Peeking her head around her seat, Cideeda perks her furry ears and glances at Bach and Aristespha. "So, anyone else got to go before I arm the exterior alarm?"


    Both Aristespha and Bach shake their heads. Dretphi sounds out a slow slumbering exhale. Cideeda smiles, returns fully into her seat, and presses buttons on the dash console. With a final dull click of a button on the side of the in-dash display, status messages gradually and continuously scroll on the dimming screen. Sotalia checks around her seat and reclines it down, stopping above Bach''s legs. Pausing with a flit of evil on her face, she subdues the urge and raises the seat back, providing ample leg room. She flashes a sly smile at Bach''s watchful stare and flops a pillow down, pulling a blanket snugly over herself. Cideeda raises her hand up from the center display and adjusts a few setting knobs on another control panel. Moments later, a barely audible stream of air flows from the front air conditioning vents into the cab. Cideeda coils up in the front seat under a blanket, the tip of her long fluffy tail poking out and covering her neck.


    The humvee cab grows quiet, the group slumbering. The surrounding forest tightly pens in the vehicle. In front of the vehicle, the ambiguous haze of night obscures details and dithers any focus upon inspection, flits from imagination transparent to the faint moonlight above. Further out, small metal posts with antennas masquerading as twigs quietly monitor, outside of view behind trees. Near each, thick sticks with magical script barely reveal themselves out of the ground and faintly illuminate in a split second pulses with each other. Further out, the humvee blends into the backdrop of the forest, hidden from the waving tall blades in the grassy pathway leading to the stark barricade.


    ----


    A shock pulses through Bach''s body, and his eyes spring wide open. He freezes rigid, mid breath, remaining still in humvee cab. A distant stare silently echoes upon his face. Second of stillness later, he free his gaze away from within. Carefully, systematically, he inspect his surroundings. Aristespha sleeps peacefully with the slight rise and fall of her chest under the cover and a hand resting securely upon the Sword of the Spirit Realm. Slowly peeking behind his seat, Bach watches Dretphi and listens to faint snoring. He turns forward and notices a few locks of dark red hair peeking over the head rest. Carefully lifting himself up, he gazes upon Sotalia''s less than glamorous, sleep contorted face. Blinking more aware of the surrounding, he stares out into the darkness beyond the windshield of the humvee and inkiness of night past the hood. Squinting further into the dense forest, he searches between the trace outlines of tree nearby and further into the dark, obscuring woods, sorting reality from imagination.


    Cideeda''s incoherent mumbling yanks Bach away from growing paranoia, and he watches her grimace. Wincing and cringing, she mouths out unintelligible phrases, clenching her fists around the blanket. Tension travels through her body, claws sink into fabric, and she grits her sharp teeth. Writing uncomfortably, her furry ears droop down, and she mumbles enough to be heard. "...no... ...go away... ...stay back..."


    Frowning, Bach witnesses another wave of unease wash over Cideeda and carefully leans forward with a soft voice. "Cideeda... Cideeda?"


    A furry ear flicks up, perking towards the source. Bach pauses uncertainly in thought and searches his mind. Returning his gaze to Cideeda, he keeps his voice low and calm. "Cideeda?"


    The same furry ear flicks again, perking towards Bach. Cideeda''s head turns slightly, and her short multi-color hair presses against the reclined driver''s seat. Summoning a smile, Bach gently whispers. "Hey... It''s just a bad dream."


    Cideeda''s light brown face twitches and her lips move, faintly voicing. "...it''s back... ...not again...."


    Bach states with the most reassuring tone he can muster. "Hey. It''s just a bad dream. Just a dream. It''s not real. It can''t hurt you. You can CHANGE it."


    Through the unconscious confusion, Cideeda stirs under her blanket and winces between squirms. "...dream... ...change it..."


    Nodding with a relieved smile, Bach softly speaks. "Yes. Just a dream. Change it to what you want. You are okay. Change it to something you like."


    Flits of understanding twitch upon Cideeda''s face, and her tail tip flicks next to her neck. Moments later, her uneasy expression calms, her body relaxes, and she slips back into peaceful slumber. Bach eases out a tense breath. Staring out into darkness contrasting the moonlit forest, his relieved smile wavers. For minutes, his blue eyes hunt through the voids between the trees around the vehicle. He drops his gaze upon the constant stream of nominal status text upon the dimmed center dash display. Lifting his head up from the display, he halts, closing his eyes hard. He draws in a shuddering breath and lowers himself back upon his reclined seat. Pulling the blanket back over his body, he wraps up a section and hoods his head, warily sighing with his eyes still firmly closed. Sleep eventually finds Bach, at its own reluctant pace.


    ----


    The rusting handle slowly turns, the bolt grinds against the door jam, and specs of dust shake free off the aging door. A claw-tipped hand with a laser pistol slips between the narrow gap and sweeps the aim across the growing span. The door bumps into the crumbling rubber doorstop on the wall. Another hand trains a similar laser pistol across the room. Cideeda glances over her shoulder and meets Bach''s glowing blue eyes and waits expectantly. Bach sweeps his vision around the space and shakes his head. Engaging the safeties, Cideeda holsters both her laser pistols and lightly steps, eyes watching and furry ears flicking around. Bach walks into the room and stands just behind Cideeda, panning his dimming gaze at the features of the office. "Huh. Yeah, I don''t think anyone has been in here in a LONG while."


    Cideeda steps next to a desk and surveys the arrangement of items on top, underneath a faint gray haze. Resting a finger tip upon the surface, she clears a speckled path with a drag across the surface. "Dust and some mold. It''s definitely been undisturbed and closed off for years."


    Bach pivots slowly in place, assessing the major contents of the room. Old books rest upon the shelves and manila folders occasionally divide sections. Written notes nearly burst out from the gaps between shelves. A drafting table sits at the ready near drawers of supplies and rolls of decaying paper. Large ring binders rest upon the nearby desk corner next to a variety of measurement hand tools arranged neatly. The desk bridges the office half to the other side of the room. Bach wanders his stare over to a child''s toy box upon a play rug. The sight twists an unsettling grimace upon Bach, and he gazes back at Cideeda, cautiously inspecting the desk. "Okay. This seems so strange... Especially this room."


    Nodding her head, Cideeda sighs and scans the area again. "I know... All the other houses so far were almost completely cleared out... Or just abandoned hastily. This place feels like it..."


    Bach turns to Cideeda, frowning. "Was left like this PURPOSEFULLY?"


    After a long breath, Cideeda nods in solemn agreement, twisting her mouth uncomfortably. "YES. Not just left behind... But, left like THIS."


    Silence looms above Bach and Cideeda. They investigate parts of the room, exchanging glances between possible items of interest. Exhausting other points of interest, both stare at the barely touched desk and approach. Cideeda kneels down, investigates the gaps and joints, and shrugs her shoulders. "So, there''s no obvious traps."


    Rolling her emerald green eyes, she smirks dismissively. "But, I haven''t seen anything resembling one the whole time I''ve been here."


    Bach reaches out a hand underneath the wide middle drawer handle. "So... Open it?"


    Cideeda peeks under the desk and scrutinizes the underside of the drawer. Rapping her claw tips upon the thin wood bottom, her furry ears flick with the sound. Cideeda stands back up and steps back, resting her hands on her hips. "If you don''t feel or see anything magically dangerous, go right ahead."


    A secure grip on the handle, the drawer slides out with a little hesitation. The inside compartment stores a single book, a necklace and ribbon wrap binding it shut. Bach and Cideeda cock their heads in confusion, glance at each other, and stare at the book uncertainly.


    Aristespha leans into the room through the doorway and enters, the contents of the room capturing her intrigue. "THIS is very different."


    Bach places both hands on either side of the book and carefully raises it out of the drawer. Turning to Aristespha, he angles the front of the book to her. "Yeah. Very different."


    Opening her violet eyes wide in surprise, Aristespha carefully reaches out with open hands towards the sealed volume. "Oh..."


    Aristespha wanders her gaze around the room, furrowing her brow. "We are going to search this place from top to bottom now. Let''s get back to everyone else. They were about to check the bedrooms down the hall-"


    Sebastian darts into the room and halts in between Aristespha, Bach, and Cideeda, holding a finger to his lips. Signaling them through the door, he jets out. Sebastian leads Aristespha, Bach, and Cideeda to Dretphi in the dining area. Against a corner, Dretphi waves a point along faint trail footprints pressed upon the hallway carpet leading from the kitchen. Blinking in surprise, Cideeda quizzically perks her brow at Dretphi, whispering. "I thought we checked the perimeter of this place to make sure no one has been in it? Those are relatively fresh in the dust and mold."


    Nodding in thought, Dretphi sneers her upper lip and grumbles, narrowing her steely gray eyes under her full face visor. "Back door leads to a brick patio. Connects to the driveway from the street. All surfaces that tracks do not last long upon."


    Sebastian floats over and quietly addresses the group. "Get ready. I''ll go through the bedroom door and see what''s there. Be ready for my command."


    The rest of the group moves into position, lining magic and firepower down the hallway at the door. Sebastian nods, and his ethereal form phases through the door. A tense silence swells down the hall and looms over the team. Sebastian''s ghostly visage pops through the door. "Okay, no one is in here. Don''t see anything rigged to the door, but double check it on this side."


    Cideeda slinks up to the door, her eyes guide her head in methodical stare around the frame. Glancing to Sebastian with a nod, she reaches out to the door knob. She turns the knob and pushes the door open, swinging it into the room. A fine layer of dust lightly coats the two dressers, a pair of nightstands, and the large wooden bed frame in the room. The group cautiously fans in, checking the area. Squatting down, Dretphi squints at the area rug upon the carpet. Not able to determine how recent this activity was. Material is old. Dusty room. Closed environment. Strangely preserving. Not within a week?"


    A low grumble slips out of Dretphi, and she frowns frustrated. "Could be more? Less? Difficult with countering factors."


    Cideeda sighs and drags a finger tip along the top of a dresser, revealing similar results from the office. Sebastian hovers into the room further and puzzles at the environment. "This house has been a real odd one. Figures it would be one of the last we checked for the day."


    Pivoting mid air, he wanders his curious concern around the room. The rest of the group expands out into the space, investigating sections. Sotalia places her hands on her hips, lifts an eyebrow, and examines the space unamused. Resting her glare upon the shadowy corner behind the open door, she halts abruptly and her eyes widen slightly. She casually steps over and pulls the door back, removing the shade obscuring a simple wire waste basket. With a nearly reflexive eye roll, she dismisses the object and starts to turn around. A glint off something reflective seizes her attention. Kneeling down, Sotalia peers into the waste basket and plucks out one of many plastic wrappers. She brings it close to her and inspects. Cideeda sniffs the air and pauses perplexed. Her nose leads her toward Sotalia with a breakfast snack bar wrapper in hand. The odd silence draws in everyone else, and they all stare at the discovery. Leftover crumbs fall out onto the carpeted floor, each relatively fresh and mold free. Upon the folded join, the ink of a future expiration date contrasts the shiny coating of the wrapper. All eyes rest upon the extravagant promotional image overtaking most of the label space, featuring a recent group shot of the familiar Next Adventurers of Nexus.


    Sebastian drifts near a large window and stares out through the cleaner spots of the dirty glass pane. Through the frame of the window, a long, well-engineered road leads out to a distant set of structures near the base of the nearby mountain. Sebastian addresses the group with an air of determination. "I think we NEED to take a tour of this Orth Ridge Archaeological Site ourselves..."


    Narrowing his stare, he wrestles an uneasy frown. "As soon as possible."


    Dretphi checks her submachine gun and adjusts the strap to the large rifle on her back. Cideeda nods and subconsciously rests her hands near her holsters. An eager grin emerges upon Sotalia''s face. Aristespha nod calmly and straightens her posture with hand on the sword at her side. Bach gives a simple thumbs up gesture with a smirk.


    Sebastian smiles proudly and squints through the window. "Good. I''ll scout ahead. Move fast there, but keep watch for anything off. This place isn''t as abandoned as we thought."


    ----


    Gigantic, ancient structures stand solemnly in spite of the hundreds of years of exposure to the world. Stone, metal, and traces of arcane intertwine and form massive buildings of purpose that remain silent. Between the tall weathered archways, imposing, battered walls, and worn roadways, modern constructions add minor conveniences via stairs, doors, walkways, lifts, and lighting. Massive areas with magical ruins and strange industrial equipment stand beneath the skies above, whether by original intent or the eventual decay of time. Sebastian darts around and scans the path ahead, waiting for the team to catch up. Dretphi and Cideeda lead the group with a submachine gun and laser pistol at the ready. Aristespha and Sotalia follow close behind, pondering the purposes behind each structure. Bach maintains the rearguard, keeping a watchful eye behind. Hearing the murmurs of discussion, he steps up and joins in on the current debate. "Yeah, I have no idea what was supposed to happen here. But..."


    He wanders his gaze to the blends of magic inscription and technology upon huge stone and metal amalgamations. "It had to be big and significant."


    Aristespha bounces her intrigue between one significant structure to one of the many more littering the area. Pausing to rub her eyes away from the afternoon sun, she slowly shakes her head in disbelief. "I know... And, so much effort and time was taken to set up here. So, why leave so fast? I would be disingenuous to say I am not worried about what such a reason was."


    Sotalia rests her stare forward to newer construction industrial doors, standing five meters tall within an ancient archway. Noticing the smaller sub-doors open, she squints her golden stare into the dark beyond. "I''ve seen a few places with that big and open style, but... I don''t think this was a style choice."


    Shaking her head slowly, Cideeda''s eyes peer into the darkness through the small embedded doorway, in stark contrast to the outside light. "Oh, the construction of this place isn''t just for looks. Despite how old this main roadway is, they only installed some up to date safety rails and maybe some basic patching."


    She waves her arms out towards the mesh of stonework and alloy framework before the team. "THIS... was made to handle heavy, HEAVY traffic."


    The team approaches the tall archway and positions themselves around it. Dretphi and Cideeda ready weapons and aim through the open small doorway into the next area, cautiously seeking. Dretphi steps her large armored boot onto the roadway inside, and a faint echo bounces around the massive, cavernous space. A spotlight, flashlight, three different lights spells, and an illuminating ghostly figure shine out, pushing away the darkness and stretching the shadows. Through small cracks and worn seals in the ceiling, natural daylight creeps in, providing the barest ambient light into the space. The bridging roadway from the entry arches over the floor meters below and meters under the ceiling. The path leads to another archway with a similar configuration of modern doors and ancient archway. The group spaces out on the heavy walkway, cautiously searching out towards the assumed distant walls deeper in the inky darkness. Cideeda steps quietly next to Bach and aims her flashlight down over the guard rail, guiding a circle of light through chaotic, long undisturbed debris below. Wincing briefly, she uncomfortably squirms all over and guides her flashlight ahead.


    The pupils of Cideeda''s emerald eyes narrow to pinpoints. Her light brown skin complexion drains and pales. In a frantic, split-second flurry, another laser pistol leaves its holster. The flashlight free falls and bounces on the floor. Simultaneously, both weapons aim rigidly ahead and shriek to full power charging. Bach snaps his head to Cideeda''s terror driven determination. Following the trajectory of her laser pistols, he blinks to a blue glow in his eyes and searches for the target. Horror stuns him in the moment. A force from within powers through the fright, Bach gritting teeth and a snarling lip. His determined stare explodes with brilliant blue light, and swarms of magical flow swirl within and around him, condensing between the palms of his outstretched arms. Layer by layer of tightly packed, hair thin rings of magical energy build upon each other. Each shell of rings rotate, spin, and turn, forming a growing chaotic maelstrom of visual white noise in orb form. A shrill drone from the ball of destructive energy joins the resounding chorus with the powerful energy whine of laser pistols.


    Sotalia and Aristespha shiver from the nearby magic and pivot towards Bach and Cideeda. Sebastian and Dretphi hear the familiar noises and spin around, seeking the source. Quickly hunting through the dark void, Dretphi raises her spotlight towards where Cideeda aims. She instinctively raises her submachine gun, her body tensing in anticipating. The spotlight shines upon the far wall and reveals ancient industrial machinery and arcane components against it. In the middle, one mass remains pitch black. Encapsulated with an outline of illumination, a billowing cloud of black miasma lingers, remaining in place. Spitefully ignoring all light within its aura, the fluctuating entity idly looms, the edges of its twisted, vaguely shaped entity overflowing in black ethereal fire. Weapons and magics ready. The team stands still. The whines of laser pistols and the chaotic shrill drone of a disintegration ball flood the air. Cideeda frantic pants punctuate her terror, her tensing form struggling against frightful tremors.


    A still, stifling minute passes. Squinting his brightly blue glowing eyes, Bach gradually tilts his head in thought and breaks the silence. "T-That''s... That''s not one of THEM."


    Suddenly cringing, Cideeda growls back, forcing down panic, and tenses her rattling grip on her pistols. "The FUCK do you mean?!"


    Her emerald green eyes widen, her body shakes with her frightened gasps, and she grits her teeth. "I KNOW what IT looks like! It''s right THERE waiting for us!"


    Swallowing hard, Bach releases a long, shuddering sigh, and drags a long breath in. "That... It... It''s not a whole... Working one... It''s not all there... It''s like the components to make one..."


    Lowering her furry ears back, Cideeda defiantly maintains her terrified glare upon the black form engulfing a cylindrical tank. The mass ripples out through a rupture on the side of the container. Bits of arcane material, runes, and equipment rest in scattered fragments upon the floor and stick into other pieces of nearby equipment. Gazing over to Cideeda, Bach waits, struggling to keep the disintegration ball going. Cideeda darts her eyes away briefly and blinks out of the fear into the analytical. Her focus breaks away from the dark shape and wonders upon the whole scene. A long painful sigh struggles out, and the tension releases hold of her body. She concentrates on her breathing and flutters eyes back to awareness. "IT... It... It would have come after us by now."


    Laser pistols slowly lower. The charging whine disappears, safeties reengaging. The disintegration ball shrinks with the reverse flows of magic entering back into Bach''s body. The last spec of energy fades, and Bach relaxes his arms limply to his sides, panting with his head hanging. A painful grimace flashes upon his face, and he growls loudly. "THE FUCK IS WITH THIS PLACE!? What THE HELL did they DO HERE?!"


    Drifting around in her dazed thoughts, Cideeda glances over, feeling Sotalia''s hand on her shoulder. She notices the concern on Sotalia''s face and returns a weak smile with a nod, glancing over to Aristespha and Dretphi nearby. Bach closes his eyes hard and pinches the bridge of his nose, idly shaking his head. Sebastian slides next to his brother, angling for a clear view of Bach''s face. "Hey... Hey, bro... You okay?"


    Bach draws in a deep breath and eventually manages to nod. "Yeah... Yeah. But... Oh, holy shit, man."


    Lifting his head up, he stares into the darkness at the black miasma fluctuating. "THIS... This is a bit much."


    Sebastian stares out solemnly to the black mass leaking out from the tank and furrows his brow against his discomfort. "Is THAT what they look like?"


    Swaying his head from one shoulder to another, Bach recollects himself and grimly smirks. "Generally. Well, usually about five meters tall with all the fucking anger, spite, and hate you could ever imagine one damned thing ever having."


    He narrows his stare at the nightmare fuel. "But... Mostly... THAT."


    Sotalia steps next to Bach, gently bumps her shoulder into his, and gazes at him, masking her concern with a grin. "Hey..."


    She winks with a sly tint. "You still have to teach me that spell."


    An honest smile surfaces on Bach, and he playfully rolls his eyes at Sotalia. Feeling light but firm pats on his back, he glances over his shoulder and meets Dretphi''s warm smile underneath her helmet''s visor. Sebastian stares towards the light coming in through the small door within the larger archway door. "Good. Everyone, I''m going to check ahead. Let''s see if we can avoid any new surprises like that."


    Pauses his flight next to Aristespha, Sebastian hovers in front of her, parsing her expression. "Dear?"


    Seconds later, Aristespha turns to Sebastian, relinquishing the tremors of anger, twitches of irritation, and strain of gripping frustration. "I am fine. Sebastian."


    Sniffing in a breath, she calms and collects herself. "I am going to get answers to this madness once we get within aetherphone reception. Someone WILL tell me what happened here."


    Sebastian waits concerned. Aristespha finally shows a loving smile and motions Sebastian off. The group reforms to the previous marching order. Feeling a set of light pressing claw points on his arm, Bach glances down to Cideeda smiling back. She sighs and gazes at him for a moment. "Hey. Thanks for the backup."


    Bach shrugs modestly with a smile and rubs the back of his neck, hinting embarrassment. "Well, I don''t know how much it would have helped. I mean, I was just mostly scared there."


    Cideeda tightens her wrap around Bach''s arm and releases it. "You still stood your ground."


    She moves up to the front of the formation, and Bach positions himself to the back of the reforming group. The team approaches the small doorway in the larger archway doors. A powerful low hum resonates throughout the area, startling the group. In between the team''s worried glances, a voice echoes from the sword.


    "ENERGIES. FLOW. STRANGELY... NOT. NATURAL... HE. RECEIVES. THEM."

 Episode 25

    Emerald green eyes peer out through the small, ajar door within the larger modern doorway. A furry ear flicks out and scans the soundscape nearby. A few sweeps later, Cideeda narrows her focus upon an opaque safety panel upon a balcony railing. She lowers herself to a cautious crawl across the ancient stone flooring and slinks silently up, placing her back against the mounted surface. Wrestling moments of suspicion, she hunts for threats around the long walkway, overlooking a massive cavernous space. Satisfying her paranoia, she edges her head close to the gap between panel and railing post. Her eyes spring wide open in surprise, and she snaps her shocked stare at the doorway. Holds a finger to her lips, she jerks a thumb over her shoulder. She points to either side of herself down the walkway and nods silently. With care to angle the contact, a heavy boot slowly presses down up the stonework floor, and Dretphi cautiously creeps in, ducking down low into a crouch next to Cideeda. Her hands secure her sub-machine gun and the large rifle on her back from rattling against hard armor plates. Kneeling next to her railing panel, she watches over the area. A faint ethereal glow illuminates near the door, and Sebastian''s transparent face gazes at Cideeda in anticipation. Nodding with a calm, serious stare, she points to the huge circular opening above to the sky, and mouths. "Open air. Bright."


    Sebastian reaches his arm out low and watches his visage''s glow blend with the ambient sunlight in the area. He silently floats just over the floor to another railing panel. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia creep out in a loose line and fan out to positions in the shadows behind Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian. Pairs of eyes peek around the gaps between panels and railing posts, and dart wide-eyed upon the vast area. Aristespha mumbles to herself. "Gods... What is this place?


    Beams of sunlight flood down upon the massive circular platform, and the shade from overhead clouds drifts across the long diameter. Intricate meshes of ceramic, glass, metal, and advanced polymer form concentric rings around a central disc. Faint waves of white light flow inwards in sync to the low resonating hum. Wavering, snaking shadows develop underneath and contrast the warps of space just above the surface of the platform. From beyond the outer edges, translucent white energy flows into the twisting air and swims through the space towards the middle. Upon the central point, a humanoid figure stands within a gentle vortex of magical flow, energy constantly merging into the person''s body. Heavy leather boots shift for a wider stance. Worn cotton dress pants faintly ripple with the waves of power swirling around. Long sleeves cover rising arms, and fingers flex within form fitting leather gloves. The hood of the pullover jacket lifts, revealing wisps of white hair fanning in the aether breeze. A bright blue scarf in a tight wrap obscures most of the tan face, and a pair of gray eyes pulsate white with the waves of energy. Jaw hanging, Sebastian opens up his eyes fully, astonishment overtaking. "Noxian."


    All other pairs of eyes immediately lock on to Noxian in shock and awe, certain pairs glowing blue, violet, and flickering gold. A minute later, heads turn back away from the gaps, and the team exchange uncomfortable glances. Aristespha slowly releases a tense breath and blankly stares off in uneasy thought. "I did not recognize him immediately. But... That handle of Elder magic flow is his. With what the sword said..."


    Furrowing her brow, she wrestles down her grimace. "That has to be HIM."


    Sotalia narrows her stare towards the rest of the team and sneers, confusion tainting her doubt. "How? I''ve felt his presence before. I would have been able to sense him well before this point if this was him."


    Shaking his head, Sebastian frowns tightly and swallows hard. "It''s HIM. I know those eyes. He may not have that old mask and outfit anymore."


    Glancing over his shoulder, he squints through a nearby gap, a mix of natural sun and magical light casting through his ethereal form. "But... That is HIM."


    He attempts a reassuring smile to Sotalia, only managing a reserved smirk. "He''s changed his tactics from the last time we ran into him. Even the sword didn''t pick him up until now. He''s been very stealthy and sparing with his magic lately."


    A daring grin pushes away the sneer and doubt, and Sotalia perks her brow with a bright, eager glint in her golden eyes. "He might be low on elder energy."


    A curl of a lip quivers on Aristespha''s ivory face, and her glowing violet eyes analyze the gentle vortex flowing around and into Noxian. "Might HAVE been. He''s drawing in energy from that device."


    She squints through a gap and sighs. "It must be a collector? A storage system of sorts? I don''t know at the moment."


    Peeking through the gap near her, Sotalia gazes over the team, determination bold upon her face, and harshly whispers. "Well! We can''t just let him charge back up! We HAVE to stop him!"


    Sebastian stares at Sotalia, lifts a calming hand, and nods. "I know. BUT, we are facing a HUGE unknown here. We have no idea what he''s like after he tried his power against that rift down in Anta."


    Furrowing his brow with his racing mind, he deliberates between determination and caution. The humming peaks and suddenly dies off to silence. The group watches the circular platform and Noxian. Moments of silence later, Noxian''s head levels down from basking in the flow, and he glances around in brief bewilderment. His shoulders droop, head lowers, and he pinches the bridge of nose with a grumbling groan. His low growls of frustration echo out against the surrounding, encircling tall walls of the huge chamber. Cideeda''s furry ears flick to a string of complaints, and she concentrates on the muffled sounds, curling a toothy smile. "I think the machine down there is a bit cranky from age. Doesn''t sound like it''s going to plan."


    The magic flows fade. Slight warps of light loosely follow Noxian stepping off the center disc. He walks across the circular platform to a lone control station just outside the perimeter. Standing in front of the ancient control station, he stares, huffs, and contemplates the new predicament. Thoughts play out underneath the blue scarf covering his lower face. Noxian presses a series of icons on a changing surface, adjusts knobs, and slides levers. Checks read outs, lights, meters, and other measurement equipment, he waits. Second later, he shakes his head and attempts another series of tweaks. Sebastian flashes an eager grin, turns his head away from watching Noxian, and quietly addresses the group. "Okay. This might be our chance. Cideeda and Dretphi, I need you two to sneak into some opposing cover from good vantage points."


    Dretphi peeks her helmeted head just above the top of the safety railing and searches around the chamber. She scrutinizes the large evenly spaced support pillars for the balcony and small awning roof overhead. "Pillars present the better option."


    Tilting her head down, she surveys the area below and searches around the circular platform. "Other options below. None grant an ideal firing position. Protective cover. Hiding spots."


    Sebastian scans along the outer rim, spotting containers, relics, abandoned machinery, debris, and piles of never deployed safety platform equipment. "Okay. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. We need to figure out how to shut that machine down enough to keep it useless for Noxian."


    Narrowing his stare at ancient control station and Noxian, he grimaces with a grumble. "Preferably as safe as possible. Of course, given current circumstances, we might need to push it a bit."


    He meets Aristespha''s and Sotalia''s gazes, and cranes his head towards Bach. "Hey, bro? Did you hear what I said?"


    Bach stares silently at Noxian, a neutral expression devoid of emotion. Slow shuddering breaths escape him, and a constant slight tremor shakes his hand idly resting on his leg. Dretphi follows Sebastian''s concern to Bach, along with everyone else. She calmly reaches her hand out, gently rests it upon Bach''s shoulder, and firmly squeezes. "Bach?"


    Her hand buffers a tense flex of Bach''s back. Startled, Bach squelches an involuntary gasp and blinks back to awareness. He turns towards Dretphi''s warm, worried smile. Glancing around to Aristespha, Cideeda, Sebastian, Sotalia, and Sebastian, he shudders back to his senses. "Oh gods. Sorry. Just spaced out there..."


    Breathing out his relief, Sebastian nods with a comforting smile. "Don''t worry, bro. None of us really expected to find him here. NOW. Maybe signs he was here at some point, but..."


    He twists an uneasy smirk and motions towards the center of the huge chamber. "THIS is a bit more than what I expected, to be honest."


    After grimacing the emotionally concealing blank expression off his face, Bach forces a slight smile and sighs. "Seems to be the running theme of this place."


    The team shares a series of nods, head shaking sighs, and other expressions playing off stress. Noxian stands up straight, draws a long breath, and crosses his arms. Exhaling his frustrations loudly, he studies another series of readings upon a magical screen streaming ancient text. He squints his gray eyes, studies the output, and springs his eyes open, his body tensing. Straightens his posture momentarily, he bounces his eyes around the boundaries of his vision. He relaxes his form and resumes a cool, collected exterior. Calmly pivoting, he meticulously hunts around the arena, paying careful attention to the shadowy areas and the long, surrounding balcony.


    Sebastian dons a confident grin and softly addresses the group. "Okay. One last time to make sure..."


    He glances between Cideeda and Dretphi. "Cideeda and Dretphi, take hidden firing positions, and be ready for the signal over the radio or by me."


    Gazing over the other, he instructs. "Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia, try to get close to the control part of that machine and figure out how to shut it down..."


    He furrows his brow and twists an uncertain grin. "Or do whatever the hell will shut it down for good."


    Pointing around, he motions towards different sections nearby. "As for getting down, there''s some stairs over there. Otherwise, maybe one of the ladders down will work. We''ll see. I''ll try to keep watch over and be ready to be a-"


    A cool, collected voice projects itself out into the area. "Excuse me. Who. Is. Here?"


    Tension seizes everyone. Sebastian''s jaw hangs open in shock, and his pupils shift to the corner, leading his stare over his shoulder. Noxian steps away from the control panel and walks upon the dusty stonework floor surrounding the perimeter of the platform. "I KNOW you are here. Something has changed in this area recently. You have been detected."


    Squinting his gray eyes, he methodically guides his stare along the walls of the huge, circular chamber. "So. Please show yourself. I do not mean you immediate harm."


    Noxian angles his head towards suspicious points around the vicinity and pauses, seeking out signs of activity. "To be quite honest, I am actually quite curious as to how..."


    Lifting a graying eyebrow, he cocks his head slightly to the side and sweeps his searching stare. "And, WHY are you here?"


    Worry weighs down upon Sebastian, and he watches the looming tension press upon the team. They remain silent and expectant. Searches his mind, he lowers his head and his ethereal eyes flip through his thoughts. He stops, lifts his head up with a reassuring smile, and nods. "Okay. Keeping almost the same plan, while he''s distracted, try to do your parts."


    Aristespha narrows her stare at Sebastian, reading the details on his face. "Sebastian... How are we going to distract him?"


    A sly smirk boldly appears upon Sebastian''s face, and he quirks his brow deviously. "Well... With the one thing he doesn''t expect to see."


    ----


    Tense silence weighs down upon the arena. Standing upon the platform in the middle of the cavernous space, Noxian narrows his expectant stare and hunts for disturbances or movement around him, pausing upon anything vaguely suspicious. He pivots and steps towards the control panel. Leaning forward, he squints at the status messages flowing upon the magical surface. He stares at the screen in contemplation and rereads the same numbers, text color contrasting the other values upon the display.


    "So... Noxian! How''s it been?"


    Noxian''s eyes snap wide open, and his upper body swings to the source of the ethereal voice. Glaring at the source, he rears his head back in utter shock. He shudders to his senses, focus renewing upon the visage in front of him. "S-Sebastian?!"


    With transparent arms casually to his sides, Sebastian shrug nonchalantly. A smug grin shines upon his ghostly form, and he lifts an eyebrow with a faint chuckle. "Yes. In the... spirit, I guess? Maybe, in spirit?"


    Stepping forward towards Noxian, he crosses his arms confidently. "Didn''t expect to see me again, didn''t you?"


    Gray eyes sort through the rush of confusion, and Noxian contorts the bewilderment upon face, underneath his blue scarf. "Well, not exactly... Especially, considering our last encounter was less than... amicable?"


    Sebastian''s grin deflates to a mere smile, and he locks his stare at Noxian. "You can fucking say THAT for certain."


    Straightening his thinner frame tensely, Noxian lifts his head up and returns the stare back to Sebastian. "Speaking of our last encounter, I saw the news report. I need to ask...


    Faint pains of worry manifest into a grimace, and he sighs uncomfortably. "Do you know if there were any other casualties besides yourself?"


    Sebastian perks an intrigued brow and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Not really. I caught most of that blast of yours, and the whole aether rift kicked up a serious concussion wave when it slammed shut. Maybe some broken bones and I think one guy got knocked out by some debris caught up in the wave. Chipped a tooth maybe? Of course, I did hear all this SECONDHAND."


    Tension eases within Noxian''s body, and he relaxes into a reserve, guarded posture. "That is a great relief to hear. I''m certainly glad no one else suffered. I had difficulty garnering any reliable information after that incident."


    Drifting gradually closer to Noxian, Sebastian maintains a cautious watch of him. "Most of the aether network towers in the region overloaded, and I think the network news crew''s feed got cut. Nothing using the aether relay system worked for days around there, and radio barely functioned."


    He sneers and groans to a trialing grumble. "I''m guessing the news producers decided to take some artistic liberties with the presentation to punch the drama up."


    Noxian rolls his eyes long and sways his head side to side, the curling of his lip showing under the scarf. "Oh, tell me about it. Depraved and morbid as the usual tactic."


    He eyes the control console display momentarily and darts his eyes around the area with an uneasy sigh. "Sebastian. I do not know what has happened to you, but I would be remiss if I didn''t take the opportunity to say this."


    Through blue scarf, the remorseful frown''s outline reveals itself, and Noxian''s gaze softens. "I am sincerely sorry for the results of my actions towards you. I had to stop you... But, I truly wanted something far less than your demise."


    Sebastian cocks his head and examines Noxian''s covered face with an itching glare and an eyebrow lift. "I guess that''s the best apology I''m going to get, so..."


    Contorting a reluctant smirk, he sighs with an ethereal reverb. "Thank you? Haven''t quite made it to forgiveness yet. I''m sure you understand."


    With a slow nod, Noxian releases a singular laugh. Glancing back to the control system status display, he subtly seeks around the area within his field of view. "Yes. I do understand. I very well can''t blame you, either."


    Sebastian straightens up and eyes Noxian with a growing sneer. "OKAY. Noxian. What ARE you doing HERE?"


    Noxian tilts his head and flits his brow at Sebastian, a smirk barely perceptible through the scarf. "Well... If you have been here a while, the blatantly obvious. Finding a path towards completing my goals."


    Blending reluctance and wonder, he gazes out over the platform and surrounding chamber. "It turns out this ancient place could be of service to me... Still."


    Averting his head away from Sebastian, his face winces with a thought. A long mournful breath escapes, and his eyes close tightly, painfully with the exhale. Reopens his eyes slowly, he forces the traces of sadness back down and meets Sebastian''s stare again. He cocks his head to the side, puzzling. Furrowing his brow, he squints suspiciously at Sebastian. "So, all in fair play... What are YOU doing HERE?"


    Noxian''s gray stare pierces right through Sebastian, both figuratively and literally. Sebastian works up to a grin and postures darkly and sinisterly. "Haunting you, of course! Why else would my ghostly form present itself to you? Stranger things happen all the time."


    A deep smile manifests underneath the blue scarf wrapping Noxian''s face. Closing his eyes hard, he laughs genuinely, echoing into the chamber. His eyes open and emit a bright white light. He widens his stare and tips his posture back, curious. Casually pointing to Sebastian, Noxian motions his hand with his pondering. "Now, that is a curious form of existence you presently find yourself in. Hmm... Interesting."


    Narrowing his distant gaze to a thought, he wonders out loud and idly pantomimes a rolling gesture with his hand. "That damned sword of the? Of the?"


    Sebastian wrestles down a surge of frustration and groans, blatant annoyance dipping his words in sarcasm. "Legendary Sword of the Spirit Realm..."


    A faint sneer interrupts Noxian''s smile under the scarf. "Gods. That has to be a translation error. I do not remember anything from that period having that fanciful of a title. But... That unique energy signature is quite unmistakable."


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Leveling his head, he stares at Sebastian and draws in a slow breath. With a tinge of warmth and a pleading tone hinting, he calmly explains. "Before anything else happens... Your group has shown themselves to be the heroes that Nexus should have. And, the heroes that will still be needed. Even more so, when I set things right again. So..."


    Furrowing his brow, Noxian stares right into Sebastian''s translucent blue eyes. "I will make this offer again to you and your group. Stop hunting me. Let me do what needs to be done. And, I will do what I can to undo the harm I''ve caused."


    An eerie silence presses down over the two. They keep their eyes locked upon each other. A minute later, a defiant grin splits wide on Sebastian, and he chuckles to himself. "Sorry. But I''m going to have to go with a solid... NO."


    Rolling his shoulders to stretch, Noxian laughs and nods in grim acceptance. "To be quite honest, I would question my judgment of character if you had said... Yes."


    He calmly walks towards the control machinery. Maintaining a watch over the surrounding area, he alternates between high balcony spots and low areas around the scattered debris and abandoned equipment. Sebastian''s stare follows Noxian. Hovering closer to Noxian, Sebastian flares up his ethereal form brighter. "Stop right there, Noxian! Keep away from those controls. You can stop all this right now. LEAVE. IT. ALONE. NOW."


    Noxian halts, glances over his shoulder at Sebastian, and lifts an amused brow. Returning his head forward toward the control system, he reaches out with a finger and approaches a button. "I wonder who will-"


    Two blue beams flash out from the darkness near the support pillar. The streaks of light impact a warping coating of space around Noxian''s center mass and refract off into chaotic scatters of illumination at his sides. Noxian narrows a humored, smirking glare towards the attack''s origin. "Cideeda! I see you brought your laser pistols today."


    Eying the balcony support, he lifts an open palm up to aim and furrows his brow. "I''m certain you''ve slunk off to another position. But, I can''t very well leave that convenient hiding spot intact."


    A small marble of white energy condenses in front of Noxian''s palm. With a sudden flex of his fingers, a ray erupts and digs into the ancient stone pillar, flooding the area with blinding light. A spread of brilliantly glowing cracks overtake the structure completely. With a final flicker, the support crumbles into a pile of large, loose gravel. Newly formed chunks of rock rain down through balcony railing gaps onto the floor below, each impacts cracking loudly. Three pairs of eyes glowing violet, blue, and wavering gold briefly watch the spectacle. From behind the cover of a heavy cargo container, they return their stares towards the control station. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia exchange understanding glances and nod in silent agreement. Along with Bach and Sotalia, Aristespha ducks back down behind and out of view. Lifting up her aetherphone close to her mouth, she keys the radio function. "Dretphi. Shoot the control console. It drives the logic behind the system to move energy around, but does not seem to be active in controlling any other function."


    From behind another support pillar opposite the newly graveled side of the balcony walkway, Dretphi peeks out cautiously. Through her helmet visor, she scans the situation below with a massive rifle in hand. "Need time to prepare the shot. I will be dangerously exposed. Arrange a distraction?"


    An eager, confident grin explodes on Sotalia''s face, and an orb of fire materializes from swirls of magical flow above the palm of her hand. "OH. One distraction coming up!"


    With a fanciful flurry, Sotalia pitches a series of fireballs from alternating hands, traversing the spaces between cover. Noxian cracks a brief smile, pivots towards the incoming projectiles, and extends his arms out. "There you are, Sotalia! I was quite curious how long you could actually wait before taking a shot at me."


    His eyes brighten briefly and eruptions of energy burst out from his hands. Within a meter of himself, the projected power pops the fireballs effortlessly, fizzling into drifting, magical mist. Lifting an intrigued brow, Noxian hems and rolls his shoulders. "Well... These feel a little different than before. Interesting."


    Aristespha peeks around the container and pulls back, securing a firm grip around the handle of the sword at her side. The sword rattles intensely inside its scabbard, and Aristespha contorts her annoyance out on her face. Tightening her grip on the hilt, she closes her eyes and exhales in concentration. Sebastian halts, briefly diverts his attention inwards, and smirks mischievously at Noxian. Zipping in front of Noxian, Sebastian keeps his ghostly visage occupying the hooded, blue scarf covered man''s field of view. "So. About haunting you..."


    The humor swiftly drains from Noxian''s face, and he glares in sheer frustration at and through Sebastian. "Oh gods! Even in quasi-death you have figured out new ways to be an absolute nuisance."


    Aristespha pronounces a fast series of incantations, gesturing rapidly to a final stance. Summon up a surge of flow through her body, she releases a powerful wave of energy across the distance towards Noxian. The narrow wall of magical power glides quickly over the stonework floor and splashes around Noxian, struggling to engulf him. The restrictive field strains against the protective barrier around Noxian. Forcing his movements through the barrier, he fends off magical orbs, bolts, and rays from Sotalia. "Ah! Yes! Your favorite trick, Aristespha! Making things more difficult than they have to be."


    Another volley of twin lasers beam down from a section of balcony. Cideeda darts back into the shadowy areas and sneaks off to another spot along the balcony. With a bright flash of white from Noxian''s eyes, the swell of his protective barrier rips apart the restrictive wave into misty sections. Snapping an open palm at Cideeda''s previous hiding spot, another ray floods the area with light. Energy fractures another support pillar and the sounds of rolling rocks echoes out into the chaotic chorus of the chamber. Noxian focuses upon Sotalia, slight curling to his upper lip. Suddenly his concentration breaks away and he searches the area confused. "Wait..."


    Arcing out from behind cover, a large orb jets out in a winding, spiraling path and weaves chaotically through the air towards Noxian. The heavy magical bolt grows closer. Noxian narrows his eyes and puzzles at the spell. "Is... Is that an oversized magic missile?"


    Keeping a hand out to deflect and disperse Sotalia''s attacks, he squints at the lone flying ball of energy and glances at Sebastian. "Gods. I sincerely hope you didn''t drag some poor mage school dropout into this mess."


    A bold grin widens across Sebastian''s face. "Well... About THAT..."


    Noxian holds his other hand out, angling it up high to meet the incoming vector of the missile. Readying a field of energy in his hand, he glares unamused at the target. He flits his glowing white eyes wide in absolute bewilderment. "What was THAT?!"


    The singular, large orb explodes into a swirling, interweaving flurry of smaller, speedier bolts. The swarm streams outwards, navigating into an all sides approach at Noxian. Fascination filling Noxian, he watches the smaller orbs fly wildly closer with genuine wonder upon his face. He pulls his arms close to his body, and the warping coat of his magical barrier swells outwards, anticipating the missile pack. "WHO is this? There was an energy surge- I''m actually curious as to how much power is behind these."


    Sotalia halts her attacks, drops back down to cover, and watches, eager for the impacts. The swarm of magical bolts zip into close range of their target. Simultaneously, they halt just short of Noxian''s barrier and idly hover in place. Each projectile drifts clear of the magical shell''s fluctuations and slips back into their holding position. Blinks in sheer surprise, Noxian gazes quizzically to Sebastian hovering in front of him. "Who did you find?! That initial bolt did NOT have the power to do this. And, then there was that surge and..."


    He squints at a nearby floating bolt with piercing, glowing eyes and mumbles to himself. "There isn''t anything standard about this... Even to the actual construction."


    Calmly waving his hand out, he guides a swell of his protective barrier and observes a few bolts hovering back. "How is it reacting to my movement? OH, there''s a control mechanism. But... There would be too much interference right now with all the..."


    Briefly pausing with a lift of an eyebrow, and Noxian launches his hand out. Snatching an orb, his hand grasps it tightly. A pulse of white energy floods the bolt, and a streak of flow zips through a barely visible, fine magical thread. The overpowering surge burns through the ethereal filament, ignites a path to the splitting point, and lights up the route to the origin. Bach crashes out from cover behind a crate onto the hard floor. "OH SHIT!"


    Waving his hand frantically, he frees himself of the magical thread, the white energy burning right up to the end. He curses and flips the visor up on his helmet in a panic. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"


    Noxian cocks his head to the side and scrutinizes Bach. Glancing over to Sebastian, he returns a curious gaze to Bach. He levels a longer stare upon Sebastian and opens his eyes wide in astonishment. Turning his head slowly back to Bach, he curls a smirk underneath the blue scarf over his face, fully recognizing. "The BROTHER."


    Bach spins his head toward Noxian and blinks in sheer shock. "Uh?! The what?! How did you-"


    Straightening his posture, Noxian crosses his arms, visibly puzzling at the situation. He cocks his head and furrows his brow contemplatively. "Of all the things... I, truly, did not expect this as a practical possibility."


    His focus shifts, and he pours his full attention upon Sebastian''s ethereal visage. He balances confusion and genuine intrigue upon his partially hidden face. "Why would you bring your adventuring school drop out brother into this? And... How is HE casting these strange spells?"


    Noxian catches a glint of the shiny metal pommel of the sword at Aristespha''s side through Sebastian''s transparent form, and his ears narrow down the source of intermittent background rattling. A twitch tickles the top of his cheek near the corner of an eye. An enthusiastic glare stiffens his face under the scarf, and he draws the outline of a snarling grin, vaguely hinting at his teeth through the fabric. "WELL. That would certainly explain some of THIS. But, certainly not all of this..."


    He takes a step forward away from the control console, his stare alternating between Bach and the sword. A streak of mass, fire, and light tears into the space behind him. An explosive, thunderous report violently erupts and savagely echoes within the massive chamber. A thick, foggy barrier flashes up and protectively envelops Noxian. Moments later, the last traces of the cacophony dissipates through the open air above and off the ancient stone surrounding into eerie silence. Noxian slowly pivots in place. Blankly, his wide, glowing eyes witnesses a spinning rifle round hovering a mere centimeter away from the center of the control panel. A warping field constricts and slows the rifling rotation to a halt. Noxian traces the tunnel of disturbed magical energy, following the path cut nearly across his back, and concentrates a hardening glare to a space next to a balcony column. "As patient. Calculated. And dangerous. As always, Dretphi."


    He turns away and studies the rifle round and the system controls. Struggling against a thoughtful stare, he hisses a long, deep breath. Enthusiasm fades from him. A stoic expression overtakes him and barely contains the remorseful reluctance leaking around the edges. His eyes flash bright white, and the control station stirs. Underneath a fluctuating field, buttons depress, levers slide, and knobs spin by themselves. The status screen upon the magical machine streams brightly colored alerts, a shrill alarm shrieks out into the area, and the console gauges slam to their upper limits.


    "BEWARE. ENERGIES. SURGING... TO. HIM."


    A low, resonant vibration pulses through the platform, rattles equipment, and shudders through the chamber. From the central disc, torrents magical flows stream out and funnel into Noxian. The sheer volume twists the air and flexes space. The loose edges of Noxian clothing ripples with the swirling energies. The current lifts the tail end of the blue scarf and feathers stray white hairs from underneath the hood of his pullover. Flinging out both his arms to his sides, he flexes his fingers and feverishly utters incantations. Two massive flaming orbs roar into existence from his palms, rocket out to opposing sides of the chamber, and slam into the balcony walls. Exploding simultaneously, the fireballs burst forth snaking jets of flame. They billow out into all engulfing blazes and erupt out along the balcony walkways.


    In utter shock, Cideeda snaps her wide-eyed stare over and witnesses the fiery bright orange-red wall ignite debris along the way to her hiding spot. She reflexively bounds over the balcony railing. The flame flash-fries her hiding spot, belching out smoldering ash. Through panicked gymnastics in the air and haphazard tumbling upon piles of debris, she sticks a serviceable landing upon the lower floor and scampers frantically into cover next to Aristespha. Heavy boots stomp out upon the stonework of the balcony walkway, and armor plates rattle against each other. Throwing herself over the balcony railing, Dretphi crashes upon the top of a large wooden container. The dry rotted framework of the huge crate splinters and collapses, dumping Dretphi into a roll towards Bach. Sebastian flies back away from Noxian, glances over Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia, and yells. "Change of plans! Form up! We''re getting out of here!"


    Returning his tense stare to Noxian, Sebastian witnesses the slow side to side sway of Noxian. Briefly closing his eyes, Noxian dons a somber frown and remorsefully watches the group form up. Sotalia expediently gestures out incantations and throws an arm out, projecting a protective barrier. With a brilliant violet glow from her eyes, Aristespha concentrates and merges another layer to the forming energy shield. Noxian raises his arm calmly from his side, pointing a single finger at the dual barriers. A white beam of magic flashes out. The energy arcs, sparks, and crackles into the protective fields. Both violently warp, twist, and tear apart, dissipating into shreds of fizzling miasma. Noxian hiss in a pained breath through a grimace. Shifting his aim, he opens his hand, palm out, and sighs resolutely. "I am truly sorry. This world needs heroes like all of you. But..."


    He narrows his cold, determined stare. "I need to do what I need to do. Things HAVE to be set right. Unfortunately, you were able to find me. You are trying to regain your ability to stop me..."


    A flash of white light pulses from his eyes, and he twists a glare upon the team. "And... You''ve come TOO CLOSE to halting my progress."


    Magic flow erupts out from him and condenses into a bright white ball in front of his palm. "When I am done, I will make sure that people know you all died heroes in their defense... Despite how misled you all were."


    Glancing over Sebastian, he frowns sadly and sighs. "And if that damned sword survives this, I promise to find a way to free you, so you may at least join them beyond in peace."


    Horror chokes Sebastian, and his translucent blue eyes widen fully in stark recognition of the forming, lethally familiar energy gathering into the orb. Bach spots the terror upon his brother. With glowing blue eyes, he gazes upon the condensing magic in front of Noxian''s palm. Rushing out in front of the group, he slides to stop, swings his arms forward, and stares at Noxian. Magical flow gushes forth through and around Bach. Energy flows spin off his body and rush out to a developing hexagonal lattice in front of him. From Bach''s hands, translucent hexagon panels fills out the latticework and other magical connections. In mere moments, a golden structured energy barrier melds into the floor and rises up tall, intersecting the line between Noxian and team. Shaking his head, Noxian mutters. "A noble effort."


    A brilliant flash bathes the room in light and floods the chamber.


    The pure Elder energy beam slams into the golden barrier and splashes explosively over the surface. Individual hexes of the barrier shudder violently, arcs of power crackle between, and the structure ripples chaotically. Magic from the beam infiltrates into structure and flushes out the golden color. Jets of the Elder flow rush through magical conduits from the shield and into Bach''s body. Sparks spatter out from the clashes between Bach power and the Elder energies. Tension rips through Bach, he twists against the agonizing strain radiating throughout his being. His eyes pulse a brilliant blue, and the waves of flow push against the power overwhelming him. Noxian blinks bewildered and squints his eyes at the struggle. "What the-"


    The overloading flow jolting through him, edges of white Elder power press against the glowing blue of Bach''s eyes. Cracks fracture into the blue and sink threads of white closer and closer to the center. A pinpoint of bright white flickers into existence well within the pupils of glowing blue of both eyes. Abject utter terror ruptures any calm within Bach, and he gawks distantly in horror. Gritting his teeth, he winces his eyes shut, grimaces in agony, and roars out in a bellowing howl of absolute defiance. "NOOOOOOOOO!"


    Opening his eyes to a solid, clear blue, Bach vents out mists of prismatic magical energy. Streams of gold, blue, red, green, and other colors blend out from Bach, bolster flows, and shove back the infiltrating Elder energies to the barrier. With the gigantic surge through all the channels of flow spiraling from Bach, the hexagonal field expels a massive wave of the invading energy back at Noxian. The powerful pulse crashes into Noxian and hoists him into the air, dropping him unceremoniously upon the floor. Noxian slides up onto the circular platform and stops at the central disc. Blinking back to his senses, he quickly lifts his upper body off the ground and manages to stand back up. In the middle of the maelstrom of white energy seeping into him, he stares upon Bach and the barrier. In addition to the golden hexagonal tiles, blue energies seal the divisions between, red threads interweave inside the tiles, and a green coating rests upon the front of the evolving shield."


    Noxian gawks at the energies weaving and shaping together and ponders quietly, perking his brow with fresh interest. The ambient vibration eases into silence. The remaining specs of Elder energy from the central dais and the expulsion wave from Bach''s barrier funnel into Noxian. Pausing in thought for a moment, he steps cautiously towards the control console and glances upon final messages upon screen. He stares at the shielded group and glances up into the blue sky above. A swirling vortex of air spins up around him, and he gazes over the group through the barrier. "I do believe I will take my leave now."


    Sniffing in a long breath, he sighs with traces of sadness slipping out. "There''s... Nothing more for me here."


    He levels his full attention upon Bach just beyond the elaborate barrier, and the outline of genuine smile forms underneath his blue scarf. The ends of the cloth flutters around behind him in the air currents, and he narrows a curious gaze. "I do hope we meet again. Preferably, under far less confrontational circumstances. Your name is Bach, if I am correct?"


    Fluttering his dimming eyes, Bach pants and fights the haze of fatigue. He summons up enough of his senses and grants Noxian a slow nod. Lifting his head upward, Noxian bends his knees low and lunges up into the air, a gust of air rocketing him up into the sky. Shaking her head, Sotalia regains her senses, notices Noxian gaining altitude, and runs forward. "What the-?! GODS DAMMIT! He''s getting away! NOT AGAIN!"


    She straightens her posture, positions her hands at the ready for incantation gestures, and gasps breath in. Sebastian snaps a point at Sotalia and yells out. "SOTALIA! STAND DOWN! DO NOT CHASE HIM!"


    Sotalia growls defiantly with a sneering glance back to Sebastian and begins to cast her spell. "I''m just going to SEE which way he GOES! I''m not THAT crazy!"


    A hand clamps upon her forearm and startles Sotalia. She flashes an irritated, teeth bearing grimace towards the owner of the hand. Finding the outstretched arm of Bach, her anger pops away, and she blinks to a confused glare. Bach lifts his face up and gazes at Sotalia, shaking his head. The physical, mental, and magical drain growing more apparent by the second, he pants shuddering breaths and wobbles with his drifting balance. "No... No... More... Risks... Today. Please..."


    Concern overwhelms Sotalia, and she nods slowly, placing her hand upon Bach''s. "Okay."


    Feeling the trembles through Bach''s shaking hand, she gazes at him and rests another supporting hand on his shoulder. "You need to sit down. You can take the shield down. It''s okay."


    Bach slowly nods and closes his eyes. The barrier fades component by component back through the conduits of magical flow into Bach. Pants of exhaustion slow, and Bach steadies himself upon his feet, the tremors subsiding. He gradually releases Sotalia''s forearm, slides his hand out from underneath hers, and lowers his head into the hand to cover eyes and forehead. He steps away from the platform, swaying off balance in the turn. Sotalia slips an arm underneath Bach''s shoulder and keeps him upright. Heavy footsteps sound out behind Bach, and Dretphi secures a firm, gentle grip underneath his other shoulder, resting her other hand upon his back. "Slowly. No need to rush."


    Dretphi and Sotalia support and guide Bach to a cleared spot on the floor, Aristespha awaiting with medical kits rolled out. Cideeda glances up towards the balcony and the lingering clouds of smoke underneath the roof awnings. "Good. It looks like that flame burst thing didn''t catch anything too big or too important on fire."


    Relaxing her shoulders, she stretches out her lower back. "We should be able to get back out the way we came in."


    Sebastian releases an ethereal sigh, venting his tension. He scans around the area, nodding with his thoughts. "Okay... Okay. After Bach gets checked out, we''ll get out of here-"


    Attempting to roll on his side, Bach lifts his upper body off the floor and groans in stress shaken fit. "Oh, fuck that! Let''s just get out of here right now. I''m okay enough to get the fuck out of here-"


    A medical gloved hand grasps onto Bach''s shirt collar and gently guides his wandering gaze to Aristespha narrowing her violet eyes. She stares silently, and Bach resigns himself back onto the floor. Aristespha removes Bach''s helmet and lightly pats him on top of his head with a slight smile. Bach curls a wary smirk out from the corner of his mouth and closes his weary eyes. A few minutes of resting upon the stone floor later, he tilts his head towards Sebastian. "So... Brother?"


    Sebastian hovers over and kneels down next to Bach with a comforting smile. "Yeah, bro?"


    Bach sighs exhausted, flutters his eyes, and gazes up into the blue sky above through the circular opening in the roof. "Man, how much longer are we going to be at this place?"


    Wrestling an uneasy frown back, Sebastian musters up a reassuring smile and nods to his brother. "Honestly, bro. I think we got more than what we needed."


    He searches around the large chamber at the stirred debris, the scorched balcony, the fresh gravel, and the silent platform control console. "I don''t think there''s anything more we need to experience first hand with this place. Time to turn this over to someone else."


    Sebastian slowly glances between the rest of the group, gauging opinion on their faces. "I think we should leave tomorrow. Head back to base. Objections?"


    Between silent head shakes and post-adrenaline exhaustion, no one voices an objection. Late afternoon light slips through the circular opening in the roof and casts down drifting shapes of shade upon the stonework floor. The team settles down, resting up and collecting themselves. Noises of idle movement and quiet contemplation contrast the stagnant silence, echoing throughout the chamber. Sebastian gazes over the reflective and concerned expressions of the team, and stares out to the lifeless magical platform.


    A large cloud passing overhead obscures the sun, and the room dims. The last flickers of light from the control console fade out.

 Episode 26

    Early morning sun beams through the rows of trees and scatters a warming glow upon the humvee. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia sit within the small clearing around the vehicle. Dretphi slides a spatula underneath the last few pieces of bacon in the frying pan above a small cooking burner. Carefully balancing the last slices away, she deposits them on a transparent green plate on a log nearby. The bacon settles in the space between scrambled eggs, biscuits, oatmeal, and gravy. Dretphi turns the burner knob to an off click, and the blue jets of flame flutter out with a poof. Glancing between the full plate and the humvee, she gazes at the rest of the team. "I know we agreed to let him sleep. Prefer he eat fresh food before it gets cold."


    Aristespha lifts her stare up from her tablet towards Dretphi, thinks for a moment with her eyes searching, and nods with a smile. "We might as well wake him. I doubt he will sleep much once we get back on the roadway anyway."


    A wicked smile flashes upon Sotalia''s face, and her golden eyes light with a mischievous gleam. Pinching the last piece of bacon off her plate, she places the plate to the side. She stands up and strolls towards the humvee, a faint giggle in her tone. "Oh, don''t worry! I got it!"


    Watching Sotalia walk away from the gathering, Dretphi wrestles down a grimace and turns her attention back to the cooking burner. She rolls her steely gray eyes long and grumbles. "She enjoys the torment."


    Narrowing her gaze, she peeks back over her shoulder. "Possibly too much for good."


    Cideeda shakes her head and perks her furry ears with an amused smirk. Sipping steaming coffee cautiously from a thermos, she sighs with an ending chuckle. "Oh, don''t worry... She''s just having fun with his inhibitions. "


    She lifts an eyebrow, grins toothily, and slides her emerald green eyes over to Sebastian, floating in thought next to Aristespha. "I''m sure she did worse to you, right, Sebastian?"


    Blinking back to awareness and the conversation, Sebastian darts his eyes around confused and finds Cideeda''s expectant gaze. He pauses in thought, waiting for the last few seconds to play in his mind, and nods. Twisting a tight smile on his translucent face, she wavers between a smirk and grimace. "Oh. Yeah... She''s actually been pretty mild. Probably still gauging his tolerance for being messed with..."


    He laughs to himself with faint reverb, shrugs his shoulders, and glances over to Dretphi, amused. "Anyway... My bro will be fine. Really. He''s not defenseless here. He just needs to learn how to stop being so awkward, anyway."


    Dretphi contorts a grimace between a few variations with her thoughts, mulling over the sentiment. Swaying her head side to side, she shudders out a flit of uncertainty and sighs her reservations. "Indeed. There are lessons to learn."


    She furrows her brow at Sebastian and curls a vague frown. "Doubt the effectiveness of present methods implemented."


    Biting her lower lip, Cideeda rolls eyes, sweeps her long, fluffy tail behind her, and snickers in between sips of coffee from her thermos. "Well... We shall see."


    The smile upon Sebastian fades. Returning his head to a rest upon the fist of his propped arm, his ethereal visage stares distantly in thought. Aristespha pulls her attention away from the events in front of her and gazes upon Sebastian with a quiet, calm voice. "Are you okay, Sebastian?"


    Sebastian flutters his eyes back to awareness, returning his attention back to the outside world. He pivots his head upon his fist and smiles warmly to Aristespha. "Huh? Oh. I''m fine, dear. Just... Thinking about... Things."


    A curious quirk of the brow poises itself over Aristespha''s violet eyes, and she trains a concerned, piercing stare to Sebastian. Seconds later, a long ghostly sigh escapes Sebastian, and his smile weakens. Deeper thoughts rise up his body and play out upon his face. Sebastian smiles lovingly at Aristespha. "It''s okay. I''ll explain it to you later, in private."


    A gentle, ivory hand grasps onto Sebastian''s hand resting upon the pants of his transparent visage. Aristespha''s glowing violet eyes gaze into Sebastian''s with a warm smile, hinting faint concern. "Okay, Sebastian."


    Inside the humvee, intermittent snores from Bach softly fill the cab. His head rests upon a small pillow and face away from the morning light invading through the windows. A blanket covering his body rises and with each long breath. Bach twists and turns within the sheet, averting himself away from the imposing sunlight. The front passenger''s door opens, and the sounds of the outside world leak into the muted interior. The front seat rocks slightly. A woman with golden eyes, dark red hair, and swept back horns places her chin down upon the headrest. Wrapping an arm around the seat, Sotalia eyes the sleeping Bach with a playful grin. Two fingers secure a piece of bacon between them, and an arm reaches out, slowly waving the slice near Bach''s nose. Seconds pass, twitching cheeks contort Bach''s nostrils, and his face animates with the first stages of consciousness. His head moves subconsciously and briefly follows the scent trailing behind the bacon Sotalia leads away. Bach''s blue eyes flutter open and struggle through the haze of sleep, barely perceiving Sotalia. A crispy snap and muffled crunches kick Bach out from his mental haze. Sotalia presents her devilish grin in between bites of the diminishing bacon slice and flutters her golden eyes at Bach. "Well, good morning!"


    Bach blinks the remnants of sleep from his eyes and slips out a hand from underneath his blanket, wiping the stubborn holdouts away. "Uh... Um... Morning?"


    Perking her brow, Sotalia rolls her eyes and sighs to a smile. "Yes. Morning. Dretphi wanted you to eat breakfast while it''s fresh and hot."


    The blanket slides off to the sides of the seat. Bach pulls the side lever and angles the seat back from a recline. "Oh, okay. Yeah... That sounds good... Right."


    Sotalia''s smile drifts closer to concern, and she tilts her head to the side, her attention fully upon Bach. "Hey. Are you okay?"


    Bach blinks and yawns closer to full awareness. Watching Sotalia vainly fail at suppressing a reactionary yawn, he manages to put forth a weak smile and faintly chuckles. "I guess. I think? I don''t feel bad or anything."


    Drawing a long breath, he sighs and wanders his stare off into the internal distance. "It''s just... A lot to process, still?"


    Sotalia rocks her head upon the headrest, mimicking a nod, and renews her smile to Bach. "Well... That makes sense. Last few days have been pretty wild."


    Long brown hair with rare strands of gray free themselves from last night''s arrangement and rest upon Bach''s shoulders. He brushes out a few stubborn tangles with his fingers and finishes with an uneasy exhale, shaking head side to side. "I''m going to be honest... Yesterday really pushed me to the breaking point..."


    Sotalia''s smile lowers gradually into a frown, and she watches the discomfort and tension sneak out through Bach with memories of yesterday resurfacing on his face. Swallowing hard, she furrows her brow. "I know."


    She lifts her arm from a wrap around the seat, stretches a hand out, and places her fingers underneath Bach''s chin. Angles his head upwards, she inspects Bach''s face and gently guides his head, checking a few spots. A smile reemerges on her light tan and dark gray face, and she drops her hand away from Bach''s chin. "You are looking A LOT better today. And... Since we''re being honest..."


    The morning sun reflects the worry in Sotalia''s golden eyes. "You really spooked me yesterday."


    Bach sadly curls the corners of his mouth, twists a pained grimace, and briefly grits his teeth, averting his eyes. "Ah... Yeah... Well... Sorry about that."


    Sotalia slowly blinks her eyes, lightly sways her head, and draws a widening grin from a corner. "Sorry nothing. Thank you. Really."


    Wrapping her arms tight around the headrest, she sighs and glances away. "I NEEDED someone to blatantly remind me of the situation, before I ran off doing something stupid in the heat of the moment."


    The dry smirk finds its way upon Bach''s face, and he chuckles softly. "Hey, I''m glad I could help there. But, I really hope it doesn''t require something like that to remind you in the future."


    A confident laugh escapes Sotalia, she lifts her head off the headrest, and her hands settle to either side of the top of the seat. "Gods. I hope so, too."


    Seconds of silence pass in the humvee cab, the morning light flooding the space more. Gazing out his window to the rest of the team in the clearing, a thought wanders itself across Bach''s face. Moment of contemplation later, he gazes back at Sotalia with a wary tense in his tone. "So... I guess you and Aristespha are going to question me how I sent that blast back?"


    Sotalia narrows her eyes upon Bach and slowly nods, maintaining her stare. "Oh, yes. Especially since that''s the FIRST time we''ve seen someone pull a return to sender on anything from Noxian."


    She cocks her head to the side, her gaze upon Bach. Placing the now short piece of bacon in her mouth, she bites sharply and crunches loudly. "But... THAT can wait a few days after we get back to the house."


    She smiles evilly and a hint of satisfied giggle slips out. "That''s the least I can do for you after seeing the look on Noxian''s face after what you did to him."


    Rolling her golden eyes, she vents out her mental exhaustion and combs her fingers through her dark red hair. "AND... I''m all for taking a few days break after all of this. Gods..."


    Her golden eyes flick over towards the back passenger''s window, and she grimaces in thought. "Anyway, I think Aristespha will be too busy trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with this place and whose head she''s going to rip off when she finds out."


    Bach exhales in relief. Quickly drawing in a breath, he glances out through his window at Aristespha in the small clearing nearby. "Yeah, I can''t blame her. I''d really like to know what happened here, too. But..."


    He curls his upper lip into a sneer and groans out his frustration. "Preferably not while we''re still here? I mean, I can read about this place from the comfort of the living room couch."


    Sotalia draws air sharply through her nose and exhales long with a slow, exaggerated nod that trails off to a blinking sway of the head. Noticing the small silver e of bacon left, she pops it into her mouth and chews it away. Bach squints suspiciously at Sotalia and quirks his brow inquisitively. "So. I have to ask. Was THAT one of MY pieces of bacon?"


    A wicked, devious grin flashes up on Sotalia''s face, and she nonchalantly slides out of the seat, stepping out the front passenger door. "Hmm. Maybe? You should probably check your plate."


    ----


    An orange glow from the dusk sky radiates dimly through the windows of the inn''s decorated, wooden dining hall. Goff adjusts the television out from the wall upon an articulated mount, aiming it towards the table with the expectant team. "Okay! I think I got the roof antenna right last time I climbed up there."


    Lifting up the remote to the screen, he presses a few buttons and watches the television. He glances over his shoulder with a grin. "Well, we''ll find out soon. I hardly ever turn this thing on unless it''s for a special event... And the weather, when it looks like it might be a maelstrom."


    Sebastian laughs with an ethereal reverb and grins wide, crossing his arms smugly. "It should be quite the SPECIAL event given the week they probably had. I''m actually curious how they are going to try to spin it."


    Snickering with a dark, mischievous tone, Cideeda glances at Dretphi and pokes a claw tip gently into her side. "Oh, I wonder how they''re going to frame that ass beating you gave your..."


    Her emerald green eyes roll to Dretphi with a parting smirk. "Professional peer?"


    A low grumble rumbles out from Dretphi. She averts an unamused, distant stare away from Cideeda''s toothy grin, pouring a ladle full of stew into her bowl. "That term is incorrect."


    A curl of pride creeps out from the corner of her mouth. "Wishful thinking on his part."


    Squirming with anticipation throughout, Sotalia plucks a bread roll from the center of the table and fidgets in the finely crafted wooden chair. "Oooo! Gods, I hope they do a nice segment between me and that Tassilda bitch!"


    Narrowing her gaze, she smiles smugly and settles down in her seat. "Oh... I wonder how much the camera caught afterwards. Hope the mic was hot."


    Bach fends off his apprehension towards the television and the commercials running in the space before the next show. He focuses upon enjoying the food in front of him and occasionally eyes the screen, deciphering what product the latest commercial tries to advertise. Shrugging nonchalantly, Goff walks back to his spot at the table and slides himself and chair back in. "Well, I think that''s the right channel."


    He wrestles down a flit of doubt and smiles hopefully. "Anyway... I hope they show this place in a good light, if anything. Wouldn''t mind a little extra business."


    Aristespha smiles reassuringly at Goff and covers a brief giggle. "Oh. I wouldn''t worry too much. Given how they usually act, this lovely inn will seem absolutely wonderful. Again, I want to thank you for having room for us on such a short notice."


    Tilting her head to the side, she lifts an intrigued eyebrow at Goff and glances around the mostly vacant dining hall. "If I remember correctly, you said that you usually had a few regulars frequent this inn around this time?"


    Goff scratches the graying beard stubble underneath his chin and shakes his head, drawing in a long breath. "Hey, not a problem. I''m glad you all needed a place to sleep."


    Gazing over the empty tables, he furrows his brow and ponders out loud. "And, yeah... For one reason or another, all my regulars either canceled or postponed that week. A little weird, but it happens."


    Sebastian drifts over near the conversation and perks an interested brow at Goff. "Huh. What were the reasons? If it''s not too much to ask?"


    Goff gazes up into his head, mentally sorting through a list. Keeping a count upon his finger, he recites through his memory. "Yeah. No. Uh, let''s see... A trade group from the Appaland area postponed a few days due to bandits deciding to camp out on their main route down. But, last I heard they got some big mercenary group clearing the route ahead of them. Their partner group is on standby until that clears up."


    Hemming to himself, he arrives at the next explanation, flicking up another finger for the count. "Then, these reagent hunters canceled because a Terra Priest group was spotted recently in the place they wanted to explore. But, they mentioned there was another spot they were interested in and would get back to me to make arrangements. Something about having to figure out how to get to the spot safely."


    Shifting his weight upon the back, the chair creaks slightly under Goff, and he sighs. "I''m really sad the old guy from a few weeks ago had to cancel. Really enjoyed having him around. I was hoping to hear a few more of his stories."


    He shrugs his shoulders and twists the corner of his mouth. "BUT, he said he had something really unexpected come up and had to change up all his immediate plans."


    With a frown, he shakes his head slowly and throws his hand up in defeat. "Hell, even offered him a discount. But, it sounded like he needed to take care of some important business first. I can''t fault him there. Life happens."


    Bach glances over to Goff and wrestles a grimace, a bit of interest tinged with concern. "Wow. I mean, all THAT has to be rough on business."


    Goff shrugs and holds his hands out to his sides with a nonchalant smile. "That''s the nature of the business. Some weeks are packed. Some are dead. But, it works out. You all needed a place to stay from what sounds like a rough few days, and I''m happy to be able to provide a place."


    He furrows his brow contemplatively and chuckles. "Anyway, usually for every thing that stops people from getting here, there''s something that brings others here."


    Resting an elbow on the table, he waves off the thought. He spoons some stew and cracks a sly grin. "I don''t aim to profit from disaster, but that last maelstrom sent a lot of people my way."


    He proudly grins and nods to the team. "And, it provided a lot of tree clearing work to my son."


    The television blares out a familiar fanfare, and a series of graphics flash up on the screen, prominently displaying the title "The Next Adventurers of Nexus".


    "Thank you for tuning in to this week''s Next Adventurers of Nexus! We have quite the week to recap! Our adventurers have been quite busy! Tempers flared from confrontation..."


    A brief clip highlights the banter between Sotalia and Tassilda. The feed swipe cuts to a split screen graphic of Sotalia grinning menacingly with a fireball in hand upon a golden yellow background. Tassilda''s closeup smug, sly grin occupies the other side with her green fireball and a contrasting blue backdrop, clashing with animated sparks to Sotalia''s side.


    Sitting up with pride, Sotalia widens a smug grin across her light tan face and points a partially eaten bread roll towards the screen. "Ooo... Backgrounds that match our eye colors. Gods, that''s actually not too bad. Almost looks like something from a fighting arcade game."


    "Emotions exploded from unexpected defeats..."


    On the television, the camera frames Trakenthin sitting unamused in the interview room. His body language borders on irritable, hints of frustration slipping out from his stoic facade. Crossing his arms, he glares harshly into the camera and growls low. A woman off-screen questions. "Trakenthin, what are your feelings towards Dretphi? Given your last match with her..."


    The woman''s tone pries, jabbing a point. "And the question at the panel?"


    Trakenthin remains quiet. The glare intensifies upon the camera focal point, and a persistent twitch forms in his eye. The woman continues her queries and shuffles some paper off-scene near a microphone. "We have the original audio, but we actually have a translation of the exchanges that I''ll read off, too. First, let''s play the question at the panel."


    An audio clip of Dretphi''s voice filters into the airspace of the room. Sotalia snickers, covering her mouth. She winks to Dretphi, a wicked smile escaping the concealment of her hands. Satisfaction fills Dretphi''s grin. Noticing attention from Sotalia and the rest of the group, the expression deflates towards neutral and stoic. Bach discreetly leans close to Sotalia and whispers. "So, uh, what did she say anyway?"


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Sotalia bites her lip mischievously, under the watchful eyes of Dretphi. Rolling her golden eyes, she softly slips an answer back. "Oh. It doesn''t have the same punch translated. All the cultural contexts make it REALLY cutting. It would be too much to explain."


    The woman off-scene draws breath for her next statement. Loud cracks of clenching knuckles echo out into the room, and Trakenthin pulls his hand back. A fist impacts the protective glass of the camera, and the lens shatters. The view abruptly falls backwards, hazily focusing upon the lighting rigs above and spooked camera crew around. Heavy footsteps stomp away from the microphone, and a door slams powerfully with a faint crackle of splintering wood.


    Wagging her long fluffy tail, Cideeda playfully pokes Dretphi with a claw tip and barely contains her laughter. "WOW. I can''t believe how far under his skin you got! He can''t even stand to hear your voice."


    A content smirk sneaks out upon Dretphi''s tan face, and she relaxes her stoic front. The television cuts to another segment and the announcer''s voice calls out.


    "Curious covert conversations were had..."


    In a distant shot across a huge space, Cideeda stands along with Deedri in the dealer room at the convention, talking to each other. Cideeda blinks in shock, her jaw drops, and her eyes widen in sheer bewilderment. "HOW. THE. FUCK?! I checked around the floor before and afterwards!"


    Studying the screen, she squints and angles her head to the side. Her stare studies the dynamics of the camera shot. Pantomiming the physics behind the shot, she alternates glances between the television and her clawed hands. One hand serves as the target and the other as the camera location. Cideeda gawks at the screen, curiosity tempering frustration. "Wait! That''s a downward overhead shot."


    Her tail tip flicks around, and her furry ears flick back. "Someone actually climbed up into the maintenance walkways up in the rafters... Found us... And recorded us?!"


    Her jaw hangs open, and she blinks her emerald green eyes in utter disbelief. "GODS. That''s it! I see support beams around the edges of the shot. Who the hell does THAT?"


    The imagery on screen morphs to another theme, and the music mixes with a pop rhythm. Scene transitions to a camera moving forward down a dark walkway towards a figure on the center stage.


    "But, FIRST... The announcement you''ve all been waiting for!"


    A video flashes up upon the television and overlays on top the stage scene. The clip shows Chad standing up from a large, immediately familiar table in Goff''s dining hall. Hemming loudly to capture the rest of the group''s attention, Chad addresses the assembled team. "I know you all have been curious as to the exact details of the assignment, and who exactly we are escorting back to Amaranth Valley. I believe it is safe to reveal the details, now. After the last show of her tour, we are going to escort back the pop star, Veevi Valiant."


    A mild mixture of reactions stir in between Deedri, Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Modoran. No strong acceptance or rejection manifests, a generally bland reception overall. Chad grins brightly and draws a deep breath. "After which..."


    His brown eyes gaze over the team. "She will join our group as a short term intern to experience the adventuring life herself, first hand."


    Modoran''s eyes flit open, and he barely halts the sharp inhale of water from his glass. Dropping his head forward, he dumps the contents of his mouth back into the glass and yanks in a rough gasp. A wave of unease strains through Deedri, and she fights an involuntary cringe upon her fair face. Trakenthin slowly lifts his head back, away from his meal. Slowly pivoting his head to Chad, he concentrates a glare of brewing rage upon him. Tassilda crosses her arms with a hoist and flips her head up defiantly at Chad, curling her upper lip into a disgusted snarl. Tense moments of silence loom over the Flames of the Phoenix. Stifling peace shatters into tumultuous objections from Trakenthin and Tassilda. The video window shrinks away into the background, and the focus shifts to the stage lighting up. A half-fvalian girl struts across the stage to the walkway in front. Tossing her vibrant pink, long hair around, she sways her long, short-haired tail in sync with each step. Her short, upright fuzzy ears perk, and she lifts a microphone to her mouth, singing to the music playing. Clips of her career flip up onto the screen, showcasing a variety of pop phases and themes along with segments of her scandals and drama. Cutting through the din, the yells of Chad to the team rise out from the background. "It''s ONLY for ONE mission! Just ONE!"


    Aristespha widens her violet eyes in disbelief. Her jaw hangs agape, and she cups her mouth and nose with both hands. Sebastian snorts and fails to contain his ghostly reverberating cackle. An ear to ear grin spring up on Sotalia, and she props her arm upon the table. Resting her head upon her hand, she delightfully watches the chaos upon the television. Cideeda blinks hard a few times and slowly shakes her head. "Okay. I have to admit... THAT is a little cruel and unusual."


    Dretphi quirks her brow and glances at Cideeda quizzically. "She is the same one from the concert... I believe?"


    Nodding slowly, Cideeda furrows her brow at her memory and exhales to a slight whistle. "Yes. YES, it is. I think she''s on a show called The Next Star of Nexus..."


    She snorts and contorts an amused smirk. "Oh. I bet this is some kind of cross promotional ploy."


    Bach grits his teeth and squeezes a sigh through, eyeing the simultaneous progression of drama and derailment of normalcy on the television. "Well... I guess the good news is that they''ll be a little, uh, preoccupied for a while. Hopefully, they''ll leave us alone."


    An awkward tension wafts across the table. Each member of the team individually ponders the implications. Goff shrugs nonchalantly and smiles humored. "Well, looks like tomorrow night is going to be really exciting again!"


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia snap full attention upon Goff, a mix of curiosity and dread playing out upon faces. Working his mouth side to side, Goff hems with an ending chuckle. "Yeah. As much as I''d love more of your business this weekend..."


    He shrugs his shoulders and sighs. "It might serve you all better to head straight home tomorrow morning."


    ----


    From the sliding glass door, late afternoon light illuminates the familiar and comforting living area. Dretphi sits upon the floor, sorting through the first load of dry laundry, and places folded clothes in the baskets with name labels upon them. Cideeda''s claws pick through the exposed components of her laser pistol, scratch at a layer of soot, and pry out a fleck of rock from the end of the focusing barrel. Sitting on the couch, Sotalia counts vials of potions and inspects the parts and pieces of unrolled equipment kits upon the coffee table. Bach hoists up a large metal case onto the kitchen floor from the garage steps. Summoning up the strength, he lugs the box over to another similar container by the dining table. Moments later, Aristespha walks in from the hallway archway and stands straight with a neutral, serious expression. Sebastian hovers through immediately afterwards, moves next to Aristespha, and gazes across the space at Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Putting forth an admirable effort, he maintains a confident smile that roughens around the edges with the prominent thought in his mind. With an ethereal cough, he addresses the group, tone lacking the typical bravado. "Everyone. If I could have your attention... I need to say something pretty serious."


    Sebastian''s off tone carries across the room, yanking everyone''s focus away from their respective chores. The room fills with uneasy tension and eyes fall upon Sebastian. His efforts to keep a smile fades quickly. With a wary smirk, he gazes out at the group and exhales somberly. "I''ve been thinking about it for the last two days. Reviewing the situation... And... How things are looking."


    Lowering his head momentarily, he ethereally sighs and lifts his face up to meet the expectant stares. "We got ridiculously lucky Thursday. There was a damn good chance that we could have all met our ends."


    Sebastian¡¯s face contorts with a flood of emotions, fighting to break the surface. "I know our profession is risky in general. But... I feel that some misjudgment on my part put us in that situation..."


    Furrowing his brow, he shifts his stare inwards. "That was completely avoidable."


    He stiffens his lip, blinks hard, and gazes out to the group. "I know situations can change at any time, any way on a mission, and all of you have been extremely supportive. But, this last encounter with Noxian was too close... Again."


    Visibly swallowing hard, he pauses to collect his thoughts. "And... Way too familiar to THE previous time we encountered him."


    A shaky undertone infiltrates his voice, and he concentrates upon the team, glancing over to Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "I... I... I''m glad no one paid a price this time... Like I had to last time."


    Aristespha winces slightly and fends off a forming grimace. Frowns weigh up faces, and gloom looms into the room. Rolling the faint tension out of his shoulders, Sebastian straightens his posture and addresses the team. "I can accept my fate..."


    He briefly averts his eyes to the side, a hint of frustration rising. "Eventually."


    Returning his attention to the team, he continues. "But... I do not want anyone else to suffer a worse fate because of my failure of judgment."


    He grits his teeth into a grimace and sighs remorsefully. "We had NO BUSINESS confronting Noxian this time, especially THE last time down in Anta. As much shit as we give those guys in Flames of the Phoenix and previous groups on Next Adventurers of Nexus... I can''t rightfully say my judgment was any better than theirs. I''ve been pushing the group too hard, too fast, and without being careful enough."


    His shoulders slump, and he frowns heavily. "I thought we might be able to catch Noxian when he was weak and just solve everything quickly. But... Noxian has changed his tactics. And... I don''t know what he''s up to anymore."


    With distant stare forward, a head held up high, and stiff upper lip, Sebastian carefully speaks in a calm, wavering voice. "That''s why in good faith, I can''t ask any of you to continue on this path against Noxian. If anyone wants to stay away from him, I''ll understand completely. We''ll continue on as a group for as long as we can. We''ll enjoy the time we have before circumstances catch up to Aristespha, and by proxy of the sword... Me. And... If you want to leave the group... I can''t blame you. No shame at all."


    His stoic demeanor cracks, and his words shudder with his trembling frown. "Truth be told... There''s part of me that would be so happy to know you wouldn''t be steered towards Noxian''s direction anymore."


    Wide-eyed gazes search around the room. The heavy atmosphere flattens down and compresses the mood into the floor. Traces of tears form in Aristespha''s eyes, and the silent collective contemplation lingers in the room. A minute later, Sotalia mutters and swears under her breath to herself, lifting off the couch and standing quickly upright. She marches around the coffee table and glares up into Sebastian''s face, with a fury welling behind her golden eyes. "Fuck. You. Sebastian."


    Sebastian''s dour expression flops unceremoniously off his face, and his translucent blue eyes widen with shock towards Sotalia. Focusing her stare upon Sebastian, Sotalia''s eyes pierces through his very being. "Fuck. You. Don''t you DARE kick your own ass in front of us and act like we didn''t have a part in the whole thing!"


    Sotalia firmly places her hands on her hips, perks her brow, and concentrates a hard stare upon Sebastian. "You''ve always involved us in every big important decision. You always considered our safety above anything else. And, you have ALWAYS reviewed any plan with us and asked for our input. We''ve been a part of all this the whole time and made our own decisions about being involved. So, fuck you for dumping this bullshit all on yourself like you''re some kind of martyr."


    Softening her expression quickly, she gazes into Sebastian''s eyes and blinks hard, wetting her eyes. "And, fuck you... For not being solid enough for me to slap some sense into you."


    A small smile graces Sotalia, and she winks to Sebastian and pivots to face Aristespha. "So... I''ll do the next best thing for you."


    Aristespha blinks with glistening tears hanging in her eyes and puzzles at Sotalia''s attention. Smiling, Sotalia opens her arms up, steps forward, and hugs Aristespha with a soothing pat on the back. "There, there, girl. I am going to help you kick Noxian''s ass and get Sebastian back whole again. Don''t think I''m going to leave that easily."


    Tears finally escape and trail down Aristespha''s face. The initial stun wears off, and she wraps her arms around Sotalia with a meek whisper. "Thank you."


    A warm smile grows on Dretphi, and she gazes toward Sebastian with a calm, bright tone. "Important decisions rarely have best options. Right for the time, not best. I believe we have taken the right option with the decisions presented."


    She smirks confidently. "We will continue to make those decisions in the future."


    Exhaling slowly, a tension in her voice. "Noxian''s actions concern me. Do not want to experience what they will become if unhindered."


    Flicking a furry ear, Cideeda stares at Sebastian with an amused, sharp smile, and slowly shakes her head of short-colored hair with a long, exaggerated eye roll. "Please. You can''t get rid of me that easily."


    Gesturing with her hands, she emphasizes and punctuates her points with a toothy grin. "Hey, don''t beat yourself up on my account. I''m smart enough to know damn well enough what I''m getting into. Anyways, I really doubt that letting Noxian mess with a magical rift or continue to charge up with some ancient artifact was going to lead to anything good for anyone. So, don''t work yourself up with the thought I''m going to leave NOW."


    A strong smile forms on Sebastian and relief loosens his stiff posture. He blinks, and the semblance of tears reflect on his ghostly visage. Seconds later, he gazes upon Bach in silent contemplation and humbles himself. "Bro... You put yourself in the line of fire, yet again, and saved everyone. I..."


    Wrestling a surge of guilt, he musters up a hopeful smile. "I''ve already put you into harm''s way enough as it is-"


    Lifting his hand up, Bach halts his brother''s speech and snorts, contorting his mouth into a reserved smile. "Brother, I promised to help you. And, I am going to whether you fucking like it or not at this point. I mean... it''s not like the broke-ass quasi-mage life is calling me back."


    He perks up an eyebrow, strains his marginal smile, and exhales with a slight hiss, his eyes wandering, analyzing the situation. "I''m still pretty clueless to all this adventuring stuff."


    Squirming faintly, he chuckles. "I''m still scared by some of the stuff we do. And, I''m just NOW feeling USEFUL overall."


    A solid grin pushes through the waves of doubt upon Bach, and a moment confidence washes away the uncertainty in his body language. "But, gods dammit, you all are going to need my help to stop that crazy bastard from doing whatever he''s got planned."


    Gazing at everyone else in the room, he draws a deep breath and sighs in an awkward laugh. "And I''m sure we''ve all seen, heard, or read enough stories to know that anyone messing with power like that... Shouldn''t be left alone with it."


    Sebastian closes his eyes for a few moments, sniffs a couple times, and ethereally exhales his remaining tension away. "Thanks, bro. That''s good hearing it from YOU."


    Projecting a renewed aura of bravado, Sebastian smiles confidently to everyone and nods. "Well, I''ll do my best to lead us right in the future towards our goal of stopping Noxian. But..."


    He furrows his brow and shakes his head. "For now... Let''s take the rest of today and tomorrow to relax. We''ll sit down Monday and rethink our plan of attack. The situation has changed again, and I want to make damn sure we change accordingly."


    Biting his lower lip with an eye roll, he shrugs off a wave of embarrassment. "Sorry for any unnecessary drama, but I had to say something and make sure for everyone''s sake. I consider you all family, and I want to do what''s best for everyone..."


    He lifts an eyebrow up and snorts. "Well... The best that''s possible given the likely world ending dark lord we have to somehow triumph against."


    Gazing proudly over the team, he grins. "Thank you, everyone."


    Sotalia releases Aristespha. Eyeing Sebastian with a quirk of her brow, she shakes her head with a smile and walks back to the couch. Dretphi resumes digging through the dry clothes in the laundry basket and figuring out who they belong to. Cideeda turns herself back around in her chair at the dining table and picks up a cleaning cloth, focusing upon her partially disassembled laser pistol. Bach gives a quick thumbs up to his brother, pivots, and then steps back towards the kitchen door to the garage. Aristespha gazes up to Sebastian''s ghostly form and waits for Sebastian to meet her violet eyes. He smiles warmly back to her, and she nods happily.


    ----


    Bright white light shines from the headlamps on black sports utility vehicle and down the narrow residential road. Through the night covered rural landscape, Chad gradually guides the steering wheel, following the winding contours of the dark road. "Almost there."


    Tassilda tips her head back into the headrest and flicks her light blue on blacks out the driver''s side rear window. Groaning, she rubs the bridge of her nose. "I can NOT believe we''re going to try to teach that girl ANYTHING about adventuring. I sincerely hope whatever mission we have to bring her on is VERY easy. It will be trying enough as it is."


    Squirms of nervous energy work their way through Deedri, and she grits her teeth briefly, staring out the rear passenger''s window. "Well, I just hope she doesn''t get hurt. It''s dangerous enough for us, much less someone with no experience."


    Rolling her head on the headrest, Tassilda faces Deedri across from her with an amused curl to her upper lip. "Well, I do, too. As if we need anything more for her to COMPLAIN about. I am just glad she''s staying at that hotel for the night, at least. A little reprieve for now."


    Deedri bites her lower lip and eyes Tassilda warily with a nervous twist. "That... Too. But, if she gets hurt, I''ll have to treat her."


    Furrowing her brow, she wrestles down an uneasy grimace. "And... She gives me strange looks that really make me think she''s more than I want to deal with. Especially, alone."


    Modoran''s dark blue eyes dart between Deedri and Tassilda''s conversation, lowering to whispers. Easing himself forward from rest upon the third row seat, he trains his full attention upon the discussion between Tassilda and Deedri, curiosity tinging the intrigued smirk. From the front passenger''s seat, Trakenthin tends a near sneering glare out the front windshield with arms crossed. He squints abruptly to a section of road in the closing distance. "Something ahead."


    The vehicle slows to a stop, and the lights project forward onto two blockages upon the road. On one side of the road, a gigantic plant stalk arches from the nearby forest, and a large circular flower of seed pod lays crashed on the pavement. Huge leaves springing from the stalk shake, and an animal pushes against it. A large boar with patterns on its back fur sniffs and snorts over the pavement. Opening his mouth, he bites down on a large seed and munches contentedly. Chad tilts his head to the side and mutters to himself. "What the fuck is that?"


    Deedri, Tassilda, and Modoran work their ways forward in the cab and peer out, studying what lies ahead. Deedri points a claw tip towards the gigantic plant, and her auburn eyes widen in astonishment. "That''s a protellow plant. And a huge one! Wow! I didn''t know there were any around here."


    Trakenthin grunts and narrows his stare upon the creature through the windshield. "Resembles a boar... The markings are strange."


    Furrowing his brow, Chad watches the boar delightfully eat seed after seed, happily ignoring the headlights illuminating the area. He presses a thumb on a steering wheel button, and the car''s horn blares out in the surrounding dark roadway. The boar stops and briefly glances to the vehicle. The creature promptly resumes eating another seed, tail wagging without care. Chad blasts the horn out a few more times. The boar pays absolutely no attention. Chad ponders a few moments, and a smirk grows. He stares at Trakenthin, shifting the gearshift to park. "Okay. Well, if you know what it is, then you can deal with it."


    He waves out to the road through the windshield. "Get it out of the road."


    A low growling grumble rises up from Trakenthin, and he releases his seat belt buckle, pulling the handle of his door. Placing his heavy boots firmly upon the pavement, he stands up behind the open car door and glares at the boar. He ponders a moment. Loudly clapping his hands together,he bellows out aggressive phrases in Grath to the boar. In a respite from eating, the boar glances at Trakenthin for a moment and consumes another seed from the huge, round flower. Trakenthin blinks blankly, shakes his head incredulously, and steps cautiously towards the creature. Standing right beside the boar, he studies the creature and scratches the back of his head, shrugging at Chad in the sport utility vehicle. He lifts up his large boot and lowers it firmly onto the backside of the boar. Gradually applying pressure, he guides the boar forward on to the other side of the road. The boar tenses his body and stubbornly leans his mass and muscle against Trakenthin''s foot, in passive defiance. Trakenthin stops pushing, placing his boot back down. Watching the boar settle his footing without interruption, a greatly amused grin appears upon his face. He chuckles to himself with a quip in grath, kneels down, and strokes the boar''s back ridge of hair. Chad''s jaw drops in astonishment, and he throws his hands out to his sides. "Wh- What the fuck, Trakenthin?"


    Deedri spots Trakenthin petting the boar and smiles excitedly with a bright glint in her eyes. "Aww! He''s friendly. I want to pet him!"


    Chad undoes his seatbelt and shoves his door open. Hopping out of the vehicle, he narrows his eyes at Trakenthin. "Get it out of the road already!"


    Trakenthin glares back at Chad and growls, calmly stroking the back fur of the boar. "I am TRYING."


    Frustration overtakes Chad''s tone, and he shakes his head angrily. Walking up to the boar, he glowers down at him, pouring the full ire of his scowl upon the critter. "What''s wrong with this thing? I mean, shouldn''t this pig be scared of us or something? Big truck, big people, good reasons to move out of the way?"


    Contorting the corners of his mouth with his thoughts, Trakenthin shrugs uncertainly, petting the boar. "Maybe. Not familiar with this fur pattern on a boar. Look like a piglet? Strange."


    An amused smile grows on his face, and he chuckles softly. "Friendly. Indifferent. Stubborn. Respectable."


    Chad buries his face in his hand and grumbles loudly. "Well... Just pick him up and drop him off the side of the road. Or, something! Tomorrow is Monday, and I really want to be able to rest SOMETIME this weekend."


    He huffs and groans. "Gods. I just want to get back before anything else happens!"


    A loud cascade of snaps and cracks merge together into a chaotic cacophony, echoing forth in the vicinity. Another gigantic plant stalk slips between the gaps of nearby trees and free falls down, crashing with a resounding metallic, dull thud upon the roof of the black sports utility vehicle. A shriek and squeak intertwine into the background noise under the cascading rainfall of large seeds upon the vehicle and pavement. In the following eerie silence, Chad slowly pivots and gawks astonished at the huge circular, flowery seed pod resting within the fresh dent into the roof. Trying to form words, he manages to only move his mouth with the mere starts of phrases. Trakenthin blinks blankly and surveys the scene carefully. He glances over to the boar, happily grunting and wagging his tail. Feeling the boar shuffle in place and excitedly squeal, Trakenthin lifts his head and freezes in place, his eyes wide. In mere moments, Trakenthin scrambles from the boar, plants himself back in his seat, and slams the door shut. He points out something to the rest of the group inside the cab. Chad regains awareness and witnesses Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin staring in unison into the forest bordering the road. Pivoting slowly, his eyes spring open fully, and he races into his front driver''s seat. "Shit!"


    The door closes. Snapping and crackling noises burst out from the dark forest. A large two meter tall dire boar mother plows effortlessly through the underbrush. Her eyes follow the stalk to the vehicle, and she steps proudly up on the road. An accompaniment of five other dire boar piglets spread out from the flowing magical miasma, radiating from the mother. Clamping her maw onto the stalk, she drags the giant plant and slides the seed pod off the roof of the vehicle with a dull metallic scrape. The flowery seed pod crashes down on the pavement. The piglet swarm descends upon the scattered seeds around the scratched and dented, black sports utility vehicle.


    The initial shock fades. Occupants of the vehicle deal with the situation in their own ways. Trakenthin smiles and watches the piglets challenge each other for choice seeds. Tassilda stares in sheer fascination of the power and aura of the mighty mother dire boar. Modoran deftly picks off seeds from the roof through the open sunroof, giving handfuls to Deedri. Carefully, Deedri feeds the piglets through her window. Lifting his head briefly from the steering wheel, Chad weakly glares at the lone piglet in front of the car and drops his head back down into a frustrated grumble.

 Episode 27

    In the ranch style house, morning sun slips around the vertical blinds concealing the sliding glass back door and flows across the floor. A few specks of dust drift up in the heat from the sun-warmed couch and tumble in the glow from the light. Shining through the glare, the morning news silently plays on the wall-mounted television, the scenes changing between different show anchors. In the middle space between the dining and living areas of the large room, Sebastian''s ethereal form hovers, his translucent blue eyes darting between thoughts. Surrounding the dining table, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia idle in the chairs and quietly tend their own ideas between sips of coffee and tea. Drifting closer to the group, Sebastian twists his mouth into an uneasy frown and crosses his arms. "Okay... SO... Before everyone got started out on all the usual Monday chores, I just wanted to get everyone thinking about how we need to change our tactics with Noxian."


    With a ghostly echo, he sighs against a flit of pride and scratches the back of his neck. "Any suggestions are valid at this point. Anything we''ve dismissed in the past, we can revisit now. I really think we need to explore all other options, since what we''ve been doing..."


    Gritting his teeth, he averts his glance from the team and grumbles out his stale frustration. "Hasn''t been working all that well. Not at all..."


    Withdrawing attention away from Sebastian, the group quietly ponders. Expressions and postures shift with their thoughts, and brief moments of possible revelation wane into dissatisfied grimaces. Glancing over the assembled team, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders and leans forward upon the tabletop, resting her elbow down. "We NEED to go to the other places Noxian has been spotted at. After Orth Ridge, we have to assume he''s gone to those places for a good reason. Every place he''s touched is a possibility now."


    With her chin resting on top of the skin patterns on the back of her hand, Sotalia exaggerates a nod and seconds the idea, turning her approving gaze to Cideeda. "OH, definitely, girl. Definitely."


    She swallows a hint of pride and sighs through a flit of old embarrassment. "Sorry I doubted you on THAT one. GODS. I just didn''t think that much would be out there. It''s the middle of nowhere."


    Cideeda grits her teeth with a tug at the corner of her mouth, and bites her lip with a humbled frown. "Well... To be honest... Me neither. At least not THAT much."


    Waving her hand with the thought, she rolls her emerald green eyes and wrestles down a grimace. "I was just hoping for maybe... A shack? Campsite? Or, just an old building out in the woods. Even just a hidden stash of supplies. BUT..."


    Furrowing her brow, she leans into the back of her chair and drums her claw-tipped fingers on the tabletop, her fluffy tail flicking. "A whole damned town?! Not even the ancient ruins of one, something RECENTLY abandoned."


    Aristespha tightens down an uncomfortable curl at the corner of her mouth and grumbles to herself. Her crossed legs fidget more intensely and match the visible unease flowing inside her. She hisses a sharp breath through her nose and tensions her neck. "I am STILL looking into THAT. I''ve sent my official report to the Grand Library and a copy of the information to Nash."


    Slowly exhaling a small amount of relief through clenched teeth, she uncrosses her legs and rolls her shoulders, attempting to relax the rest of body. She catches Sebastian''s concerned, loving gaze at her and manages a small smile. "I apologize. He''s taking a lot longer than usual to get back to me. Especially with something like this."


    Sebastian focuses upon Aristespha and directs a calm, soothing tone to her. "Could he be in danger or trouble? Anything we need to do to help him, dear?"


    Summoning up a smile, Aristespha fends off the tension in the air and gently shakes her head of silvery blue hair. "Oh no, Sebastian. I''m sure he''s fine. It''s just..."


    She wanders her violet eyes inside her mind and sighs out hints of worry. "If he takes this long, then I think he found something well beyond normal expectations. I do not think it will be the best of news for us."


    A comforting smile appears on Sebastian, and he nods in agreement. "Well... I hope the information he finds will give us some idea of what was going on there. And... What Noxian was doing there..."


    Bach blinks his blue eyes and lifts his head back, prominent thought rising to the front of his mind. He glances around the assembled team and raises a curious eyebrow. "So... Um... Do we know Noxian''s end goal? Like, what he''s actually trying to pull off?"


    A wave of uncertainty sweeps through the group. Collective self-doubt stymies the discussion to a tense quiet. Sebastian breaks the silence through the embarrassment bubbling up into his translucent form. "Uh... That''s the one thing we haven''t been able to really figure out."


    He defensively raises his hands and awkwardly smirks, vainly attempting to reassure. "I mean, we have a few theories we''ve been operating under."


    Gazing over to Bach, Dretphi furrows her brow and twists a frown on her tan face, struggling to collect the right chain of words. "We have been able to... determine what are NOT his goals. That has eliminated the common possibilities."


    Cideeda idly drums clawtips upon the dining table, aimlessly directing her eyes up to the ceiling. Drooping her furry ears down, she gently shakes her head, and her tail waves with occasional twitches. "Well, it''s always been like that with him. He''ll go on a particular route, and you totally think you''ve figured out his plans. The evidence points that way, too.


    Throwing her hands up in the air, she twists on a frown on her light brown face and groans into a grumble. "THEN, he- he just diverges off completely in another direction no one expected."


    Sotalia leans an elbow upon the table and angles her gaze to Bach, wagging her finger in sync with her thoughts. "For example, this one NEVER hit the news. He just walked in through the front door of some secret Greater Azure Alliance missile silo. Went straight to THE ancient second period magic nuke they had somehow..."


    An uneasy frown forms upon Bach, his attention jumping between Sotalia and the uncomfortable ideas in his head. Sotalia narrows her golden eyes upon Bach and points a black nailed finger at him. "You know what he did?"


    The pause into silence grants Bach the freedom to ponder. The hairs on the back of his neck up, and he visibly tenses in his seat. Bach slowly shakes his head, keeping his unnerved stare upon Sotalia. "Uh... No...?"


    Withdrawing from the tabletop, Sotalia eases into her chair, pressing up against the back. She dramatically puts her hands up in the air in defeat and groans out her resignation. "He drained the thing completely of elder energy and disarmed it by ripping the warhead clean from it. Just like THAT."


    The tension drops completely out from Bach. Confusion and intrigue rush into the cognitive vacuum, and he cocks his head to the side in sheer belief. "Wait- What?! But? I mean- Taking the energy is one thing. But, why go through the danger of disarming it? And..."


    Furrowing his brow, he blinks in a bewildered flurry, pondering out. "I mean- How would he know how to do THAT? And, if he knew enough to disarm it, he could have easily ransomed whatever else he wanted by taking it somewhere secret...


    He narrows his stare at the team. "Or, something like that? I mean, if you can be THAT bold, what''s stopping you?"


    Nodding with her frustration, Sotalia agrees and twists a hint of dissatisfaction on her light tan face. She flips some dark red hair back over a swept-back horn and crosses her arms with a sigh. "I KNOW. Same things I thought, too. That''s what he keeps on doing. He does X. We expect Y. He then does C. And, everyone is left COMPLETELY. FUCKING. CONFUSED."


    Reaching underneath her long, silvery-blue hair, Aristespha fans it back over her shoulders and squirms out some nervous energy. "Indeed. Overall, it has been very difficult to predict where he is going and what exactly he is going to do. It has proven absolutely ineffective to use any historical information about past dark lords and other malcontents, who have typically been VERY predictable. He certainly has his own unique goals."


    Donning a tight frown, she breathes in quickly and exhales hints of irritation. "What troubles me the most is the knowledge he has and what he does with that knowledge. I have poured over so many resources trying to find out what the common thread is to all his activities."


    She interlocks fingers, stretches her arms down under the table between her knees, and leans back into her chair. "There is SOMETHING that I am missing. Despite how scattered his activities may be, there has to be purpose behind it. The amount of effort and resources he devotes to everything... That is the only reasonable conclusion we can make."


    Darting her violet eyes off to the side, she narrows her frustration distantly and grumbles. "If he simply wanted to be an absolute pain in the ass and cause chaos, there are easier and less demanding ways to do it."


    Contending with some residual embarrassment, Sebastian gazes at Bach and shrugs with an uncomfortable smirk. "Yeah... Unfortunately, bro, we were really focused on catching up to Noxian to stop him... Rather than figuring out what his end goals were. It was either put effort to figure out his plans, or just stop him before he can enact them. The times we tried to fully do both, we either lost track of him or made a bad prediction."


    Keeping a neutral expression upon her tan face, Dretphi ponders between hints of frustration and glances over towards Bach. "Halting his progress was the priority. His activities were dangerous. Implications seemed dire. Stop him first. Ask questions later?"


    Perking her furry ears, Cideeda smirks wryly and combs her fingers through her short, multi-colored hair. "Well, you know. You go into restricted zones, steal artifacts from both public and protected places, sabotage attempts to track you down, fend off the police, military, and other adventuring groups, and THEN start messing with strange magical elements..."


    She narrows her stare at Bach and frowns despondently. "It usually doesn''t mean anything good, for anyone."


    Weighing on the information, Bach ponders quietly and furrows his brow. Nodding slowly a few times, he hums contemplatively between different points, rocking his head slowly between his shoulders. After a few moments of reflection, Sebastian sighs and shrugs his shoulders. "But... We may need to focus on that, NOW. Because, I think we genuinely threatened him being able to achieve his goal, whatever THAT is."


    Each member of the group individually agrees. Sebastian pauses in thought and frowns, glancing aside. "He''s only ever gotten aggressive when we''ve put him on the defensive..."


    A stifling silence looms over the group. Summoning up determination, Dretphi straightens up her posture and addresses everyone. "We need to train intensely."


    Keeping a stoic exterior, she weathers a swell of unflattering honesty from within. "Our performance was... NOT sufficient."


    Sebastian nods and glances over to Bach. "Yes. I think we all need to step up our training. Sorry, bro. But you might be getting the worst of it."


    A nervous smile creeps up on Bach''s face, and he chuckles half-heartedly. "Oh, yeah, what ever do you mean, brother?"


    An amused grin pulls across Sebastian''s visage, and he perks an foreboding eyebrow at Bach. "Well, I think Dretphi needs to mix in some close quarters combat soon. Aristespha and I will start training you in sword fighting. And..."


    Darting his eyes between Aristespha and Sotalia, he returns his attention back to Bach. "Whatever you are doing with magic gave you the ability to fend off Noxian''s magic. So, Aristespha, Sotalia, and YOU will all probably need to amp up the magic training."


    An eager, sharp smile cracks across Sotalia, and she narrows her golden stare upon Bach with a sly tone. "Yes. We are going to have to do some real combat training. I hope your mage armor barrier is in better shape now."


    A grin parting her smile, she lifts an interested eyebrow. "I would hate to burn a few more holes in your clothes."


    She focuses her confident gaze upon Bach. Sebastian notices his brother''s discomfort. Trading glances between the others, he smirks and addresses Sotalia. "Hey, Sotalia. Thinking about it..."


    Quirking his brow, he smiles slyly and leans slightly forward, settling an examination stare upon Sotalia. "When''s the last time you ever did any close combat training?"


    Sotalia''s eyes spring open, her mouth contorts into an awkward grimace, and she blanks to a dumbfounded stupor. "Oh... Uh, um, ah... Why would I need to know anything like... THAT?"


    Keeping her head facing towards Bach, she feigns ignorance of the other pairs of eyes upon her with foreboding grins.


    ----


    Standing out in the grassy field behind the ranch style house, Bach curiously checks the area, anticipation and wariness mixing through his body. Gentle winds brush over the taller blades of grass, and ripples wash over the green. Adjusting his magical sparring gear, Bach pulls the protective vest taut, checks the straps on the leg covers over his pants, and tugs at the gloves on his hands. Pausing in thought a moment, he summons up some courage and glances over his shoulder. Sotalia taps her foot impatiently, watching Aristespha stroll up from the patio. She slowly swings her head over towards Bach and flashes a confident, playful grin. Aristespha secures her artisan sparring gloves and flexes around in the matching gear, examining Bach and Sotalia. "I think we need to change up the magical training to take advantage of recent discoveries. We will keep the basics the same. But, there is some advanced training I would like to explore."


    A wicked tint colors Sotalia''s grin. Her eyes light up eagerly and focus upon Aristespha. "I think I like the sound of that."


    She straightens her posture and levels her stare at Bach. "Maybe... I can finally get taught THOSE spells..."


    Attention fully upon Bach, a barely audible, dark chuckle slips out from her, and she rests her hands on her hips. Bach smiles halfway at Sotalia and uneasily laughs. Blinking away, he glances awkwardly at Aristespha and searches hopefully for further explanation. "Uh... Yeah... So, we''re just training today?"


    Aristespha shifts her foot inside her boot and nonchalantly perks her brow, nodding succinctly. "Yes. What else did you expect?"


    Bach brushes his fingers through his longer brown hair, ending in a scratch of the back of his head, and curls the corner of his mouth. "Uh, huh... I figured you two would be questioning me about the whole sending Noxian''s elder energy right back at him? I mean, I thought that would be important to you all?"


    The inquisitive gaze from Sotalia intensifies to a stare upon Bach. Sotalia briefly seeks hints for proceeding from Aristespha, granting Bach a reprieve from the attention. Smiling kindly, Aristespha shakes her head calmly. "Oh. That can wait for later. We have other pressing tasks at hand."


    Sotalia''s expression pops to blank faced blinking, making way for bewilderment to overtake. She squints incredulously at Aristespha and straightens her posture. "Um... Excuse me?"


    Presenting a calming smile, Aristespha crosses her arms and shrugs her shoulders. "Oh, I certainly do have questions. But, those need to be answered in a different environment than this, at a more convenient time."


    She lifts an eyebrow at Bach with a quizzical tint upon her face. "Though, I will say... While I am surprised by what you did, after some thought, it makes sense you were able to do such."


    Sotalia tilts her head back and perks up an incredulous eyebrow, keeping a confused stare upon Aristespha. Searching for the explanation, she crosses her arms and waits expectantly, quiet. Aristespha meets Sotalia''s gaze, pauses a moment, and ponders her thoughts out loud. "With the way elder energy disrupts most spells derived from Foundation Constructs, someone who creates advanced spells without their assistance might be able to counter that disruption, possibly entirely avoiding it."


    Moments later, the revelation dawns upon Sotalia, and she relaxes her stature. Her golden eyes briefly spring open, and she glances back towards Bach. "Well... THAT does make a lot of sense. And..."


    An eager grin flashes up on her face. "Noxian did NOT expect that barrier to stop the blast. He was actually surprised."


    Walking forward with an exaggerated sway to each step, she holds her chin contemplatively, her eyes stringing together a theory. "Now, I''m actually really curious as to how good Noxian''s control of that elder energy actually is."


    Nodding in agreement with Sotalia, Aristespha shifts her weight between boots thoughtfully. "That is another theory I have been reviewing."


    With a long sigh, she rolls her shoulders and stretches out her arms. "BUT... To focus on the training at hand, I think one way we can prepare ourselves against Noxian is to... Harden our spells."


    Bach strokes his short beard and pivots curiously towards Aristespha. Sotalia spins quickly in place with an eager smile and a golden glint in her eyes. "Okay! Now THAT actually sounds interesting! How do we do that?"


    With a glow in her violet eyes, Aristespha grins and rolls her hand out at Bach. "Very simple. We craft our spells, and then let Bach attempt to disrupt them."


    Bach''s eyes open wide in a fit of pure surprise. Slowly tilting his head, he stares at Aristespha, a sporadic twitch of the upper cheek manifesting. "Wha- Uh... Excuse me?"


    Waving her hand at the objection, Aristespha attempts to dismiss the hesitation from Bach and perks her brow. "Defensive spells only. I figured our main focus should be strengthening our barriers right now, since they were inadequate."


    A long exhale of relief escapes Bach, and he nods, willingness renewing. "Okay... Yeah. Yeah. THAT, that I can definitely do."


    Disappointment tugs down upon the corners of Sotalia''s waning smirk, and she sighs begrudgingly. Aristespha notices the drop in mood and rolls her eyes with a laugh. "Now, now. I actually want to do some offensive spell training today, too."


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Sotalia places her hands on her hips, straightens her posture confidently, and eyes Aristespha with a playful curiosity behind a forming grin. "OH. Really?"


    Briefly averting her eyes, Aristespha sighs out traces of embarrassment and rests her hands at her sides. "Well... To be completely honest, in watching you and Tassilda face off..."


    She furrows her brow and contorts an awkward smirk on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face. "I realized I haven''t thrown a good fireball in a long while. So, I thought it might be good exercise to do some target practice later."


    A competitive aura radiates from Sotalia. A proud grin manifests fully, and Sotalia postures confidently and eagerly. "Yes. I see. It HAS been a while. Well, let''s get this spell hardening training going then."


    With a single nod, Aristespha signals Sotalia to prepare with a quick wave. Stretching out her body, Sotalia flexes her joints and steps off to a nice flat section of the huge field. "Alright! Give me a minute. Need to warm up and check my spot."


    Biting his lip against a surge of anxiety, Bach draws a long breath and watches Sotalia prepare. Aristespha steps next to him, leaning close to his ear. Wrestling a smirk, she carefully whispers. "I think she will probably need all the target practice after you dismantle her spells a few times. Allow her to maintain some of her pride after you dash it, please."


    Gradually nodding, Bach sighs out softly with a grimace, mustering his resolve. "Yeah... I''m going to have to agree with you on that one. Might need to miss on purpose a few times. Just to keep the peace."


    Glancing over her shoulder, Aristespha nods in agreement and rolls her violet eyes towards Sotalia. "Thank you, Bach."


    ----


    The half-fvalian girl holds her tan, brown striped arms out in front of her, flexing her sharp nailed fingers. She exhales a long, drawn-out sigh and blows long, bright pink hair out of her face. Her pink-pupil eyes wander around the backyard behind the two story house aimlessly. Her disinterested, bored stare hunts for anything of note, any kind of distraction, some spec entertainment to contrast the constant lecturing drone from Tassilda. Idly swaying with the tedium, she squirms within her boldly colored, tight fitting shirt and shorts.


    A sharp finger snap sounds out and echoes off the exterior of the house. The half-fvalian girl''s fuzzy, pointed ears perk, and her short-haired tail flicks up, hairs bristling. With a stern sneer, Tassilda steps forward and narrows her frustration at the half-fvalian girl. Squinting her light blue on black eyes, she nears a growl. "Veevi! Are you even paying attention?!"


    Veevi rolls her eyes dramatically and cocks her head in huff, twisting her building annoyance out on her face. "YES."


    Placing her hands on her hips, Tassilda''s long, black fingernails firmly curl into fabric along her waist, with her irritation. "Then..."


    Her eyes focus a stern stare upon Veevi, and she leans her upper body forward, sneering her upper lip. "What did I just say?"


    A snarl curls upon Veevi''s tan face, and she furrows her brow incredulously. Gritting her teeth, she reveals prominent canines and groans, casually defiant. "Blah, blah, blah, some fucking boring magic theory. Blah, blah, blah, you just like hearing your own voice-"


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She slaps down her arms to her sides and glares outraged at Tassilda, leaning forward. "AND, I''ve been STANDING around for HOURS! Doing NOTHING MAGICAL AT ALL!"


    Tassilda rears back her head, puffing up her chest. She snorts out her indignation and eyes Veevi, disgust bubbling up. "WELL! Whose FAULT is that? Maybe YOU just have NO MAGICAL ABILITY."


    Crossing her arms tightly, Veevi postures boldly and smirks meanly back. "OH! Maybe YOU don''t UNDERSTAND it well enough to teach it!"


    The two stand in staunch opposition, each holding the ground in sheer stubborn defiance. Both bounce prickly commentary off each other, actively denying the other privilege of the last word. Camera crew exchange glances in the brief lull of conflict. The verbal battle escalates in a roar of insults and derision. Samantha blinks mildly surprised and writes down notes on her clipboard, a darkly content smile settling upon her face. Gerald wanders into the area from the neighboring house and steps next to Samantha. "Okay, so what the hell is going on here?"


    Flashing an evil grin to Gerald, Samantha hugs her clipboard close to her chest with glee. "OH, just PRIME material for this week''s episode!"


    Gerald gazes at the deadlock of sneering, anger fueled glares between Veevi and Tassilda. "Gods... Okay, I was wondering since I heard it over in the kitchen at the crew house."


    Lifting a sandwich up to his mouth, he bites into it, slowly chews watching the scene, and clears his mouth with a swallow. "Ungh... Skipped the mustard because I thought I needed to get out here."


    Sniffing the air, Samantha eyes the sandwich and smirks with a pleading gaze to Gerald. "So, is there enough left to make another?"


    Catching the endearing glance from Samantha, Gerald twists mouth side to side and grumbles. "Yes. No mayo, spicy brown mustard?"


    Samantha nods contentedly and stares attentively at the verbal battle between Tassilda and Veevi. A series of distant booms and blasts echo out, contrasting the natural, mid-spring ambience of the surrounding neighborhood. Everyone halts, seeking the source. Veevi''s fuzzy ears perk up and guide her steps. Her anger blinks from existence and excitement driven curiosity immediately replaces it. "What was that?!"


    A far off cacophony of magical energies reverberates distantly into the nearby soundscape. Veevi locks onto the origin and speeds off with childish glee. "I''ve GOT to see this!"


    Tassilda widens her eyes in shock, frowns sharply, and chases after Veevi with a hand out. "YOU! GET. BACK. HERE!"


    Veevi precedes Tassilda in the charge ahead, with the camera crew rushing to catch up. Samantha and Gerald quickly organize the mass of equipment and people tailing behind. Cresting over a small hill at the corner of the property, Veevi peers out into a field behind a ranch style house and spots the flashes of magical energies forming. Delight and excitement growing, she watches a half-emin woman with dark red hair and swept back horns release a potent fireball at a boulder in the middle of the field. The fireball impacts and bursts into a brilliant explosion, engulfing the large rock and wilting the surrounding grass. Veevi''s pupils enlarge, fascination overflows, and she squeals gleefully at the powerful display. With speedy gestures and expedient chants, the half-emin woman follows up with another spell materializing in the condensing energies. A bolt of lightning arcs from her hand to the large rock. The leftover plasma fades into a fine vapor around a faintly glowing scorch mark. The other hand swings forward, and a misty beam jet out towards the stone mass. Frost builds upon a spot on the boulder, pouring out a light fog upon the earth.


    Hearing a low growl next to her, Veevi darts her eyes over and studies Tassilda, intrigued. She follows the ireful glare from Tassilda and connects it to the half-emin woman in the field. A sly grin creeps out upon Veevi, and she draws in a long breath, readying her defiant, smug pose. After a long pause, she hems with dramatic flair and feigns puzzling over a thought out loud. "Well! Maybe if you aren''t willing, or CAPABLE, of teaching me magic..."


    A sinister spark glints in her pink pupils. "I wonder if SHE could teach me? She seems to know some spells."


    Absent wind and air still in the vicinity, the loose and draping features of Tassilda''s draping outfit drift up, and her posture stiffens. Slowly pivoting in place, she faces Veevi, lowers her glare down, and suppresses a dark glower down to a stern stare. "COME. I have magic to TEACH you."


    She spins rigidly back toward the two-story house and marches firmly down the hill, stomping into the dirt with each step. Following behind her, Veevi sneaks one last glance towards the distant group of three and mouths upon a wry smile. "We shall see."


    ----


    Around the dining table idling, the team awaits the connection of the call with Sebastian''s ghostly form hovering nearby. An audible chime sounds out from an aetherphone, and Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange expectant glances. Aristespha places her aetherphone upon the dining table in the middle of the gathering. Leaning over, she settles upon the tabletop on her arms and projects her voice down towards the device. "I have you the speakerphone, Nash. Are you there?"


    Through the phone''s speaker, the squeak of an office chair echoes in from the remote background noise. A long sigh escapes the man at the other end of the call. "Yes. I am. Wow... Uh, yeah, what a day it has been here."


    An eyebrow lifts up on Aristespha''s ivory face, and she curls her upper lip warily. "Okay. Well, did you find out anything using the information I sent you, Nash?"


    A singular, understated laugh leaves Nash, and he pauses to draw an audible hissing breath. "Yes. And... Well... No."


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia pulls at the corner of her mouth, briefly eyeing Aristespha. She rests her attention back upon the phone and furrows her brow, waiting. Sebastian glances over to Aristespha, gauging her reaction, and returns to watching the phone. Cideeda''s furry ears flick forward, and she awaits further explanation. Dretphi cocks her head to the side quizzically. Bach leans back in his chair, examining the group overall during the silence, and freezes stiffly when the wood creaks loudly. Nash lightly whistles and eases into an explanation. "Okay. SO... Um, Good news. I checked all the database addresses you gave me. And, they all resolved to the documents you described."


    The faint sound of a hand scratching the back of head of hair slips out from the other side, and Nash groans, hinting dissatisfaction. "But... I can''t find anything else."


    He fights to subdue a frustrated grumble. "You''re right, though. Dammit, Aristespha, the things you have to be right about..."


    Drawing in a long breath, he sighs sadly. "You definitely found a decatalogging. Those addresses are nowhere in the master catalog."


    A tight frown weighs heavily upon Aristespha, and a mix of emotions play out on her face upon the confirmation of suspicions. "I know... And, I usually like being right."


    She chuckles lightly and, noticing Sebastian''s concern, struggles to a loving smile. From the other side of the call, Nash snorts and laughs. "YEAH. So, I tried my best to find ANYTHING, especially after reading the copy of the report you sent up to higher ups."


    His tone shifts, and he chuckles into a humored aside. "And... just between you all, as much as I like to consider myself a brave and bold man... I''m not going to lie. From what you described of the place, it would have not only been understandable for me to shit my pants in terror, but probably expected of me. I''ve heard the octave I shriek when I think a spider is on me."


    A few scattered snorts, chuckles, and amused smirks show up around the table. Another squeak of the office chair joins the faint sounds of movement from the other end, and Nash snorts, laughing at himself. "And THAT is why they pay you all the big paychecks. Anyway... Let me get to the STRANGE news."


    The gathering around the dining table concentrates upon the aetherphone on the tabletop, ears expectant. Nash pulls in a long breath and exhales slowly. Embarrassment tinges his tone, and he struggles to roll out his thoughts initially. "Uh, yeah, so... While I can access the database node logically through various systems..."


    Pride chokes him up a moment, and he relents his defeat. "I don''t know where the hell it is."


    Pulling back her head, blinking her violet eyes, Aristespha darts her focus between spots in her mind, trying to process the exact meaning possible. Standing next to the table, Sotalia scoffs. "Pfft-"


    She sharply furrows her brow on her light tan face and drops her hands down her sides upon her hips. "Um- Wait- What do you mean?!"


    Cideeda''s emerald green eyes spring open, and she immediately squints at the phone with an incredulous, confused twist of her face. "Okay. I''m pretty certain those database nodes are NOT small things. I AM assuming, but..."


    Tilting her head to the side, her furry ears perk against her short hair, and she lifts a curious eyebrow. "Fairly large. Power hungry. Need ample cooling. Require a physical connection to a network system. Not something that''s easily moved?! Am I guessing correctly?"


    With a humbled cadence, Nash grumbles. "Yep. Correct on all those things. You sound exactly how I felt when I discovered the empty spot down that node bank where it SHOULD HAVE been."


    Dretphi leans forward intrigued and calmly, respectfully inquires towards the aetherphone. "Could the node have been moved? The location information not updated? Clerical error?"


    Another sigh escapes, and a punctuating, implosive click of the mouth sounds out from Nash on the other end of the call. "Yeah. Yeah. I hoped for that, too. But, no move requests, no hardware change orders, and..."


    He grumbles a moment and groans out his frustration. "The network pings show it is still within that particular building. I even got the network folks to check it from other locations."


    Pausing a moment, a dull, wooden thud of a hand landing upon a desk resonates audibly from the background. "It''s in that building. SOMEWHERE. Gods damned if I know where the fuck it is. Every trace puts it in that server room."


    Aristespha rests her elbows upon the table, props her head up between her hands, and slowly shakes her head side to side. "What exactly is going on here?"


    Stroking his short beard thoughtfully, Bach blinks hard and ponders out loud. "Okay. So. There''s A LOT of intent behind all of this. This is just a ridiculous amount of effort. This sounds like it required some real coordination."


    Nash groans, both annoyed and disgusted at the situation. "Gods, tell me about it. I mean, this is the one time I was actually hoping for some sheer incompetence to be the reason behind it all... That would have been an easy problem to solve. NOPE. Actual determination and effort."


    A faint squeak of an office chair filters into the dining area from the aetherphone, and he sighs with a trailing chuckle. "So, that will unfortunately make the next steps far more difficult. I''m going to do a proper physical trace of where this thing is early tomorrow. But, I don''t know how long it''ll take, since any maintenance information needs to be treated as possibly wrong. Either accidentally, or more likely purposefully. Just... Great..."


    A weak smile manages to appear upon Aristespha, and she nods with an appreciative tone. "Regardless, thank you, Nash. Really. As concerning as the information is, it is good to know it. And, thank you for sharing it with us."


    With a chuckle, Nash snorts. "Shit. Be careful with that mentality. Well, I''ll call you again if I find anything else out. You all take care. And, if you all could keep away from any more abandoned towns with questionable histories, that would really help keep me from revisiting my alcoholism research. Also, anything more exciting is liable to kill off the higher ups from panic and fright."


    His voice moves closer to the microphone, and he drops to an amused whisper. "Hey, I''m not exactly a fan of the higher ups, but they''re a pretty predictable bunch, and I finally have most of them figured out. Don''t do anything that''ll make it in a report, okay? Let them process this, first, please?"


    A laugh escapes from Aristespha, and her smile widens. She exchanges amused glances with the rest of the group, and rolls her eyes. "We will certainly try. I don''t know how well we''ll be able to keep it that way. But, we will do our best. Good night, Nash."


    With a quick hum and playful grumble Nash finishes the conversation. "Okay. I''ll believe you. Talk to you all later."


    ----


    Just out of the way of the morning light beaming through the windows, Dretphi sits on her bed. She keeps her arm out and aims the screen of her aetherphone at her face, maintaining a stoic expression. Faintly furrowing her brow, she briefly sighs and speaks long, intricate sentences in a dialect of grath. She awaits with a stare upon the aetherphone screen, fighting subconscious attempts to shamefully avert her steely gray eyes. An older grath man on the video feed gazes through to Dretphi in a calm, cool demeanor. His steely gray eyes, matching Dretphi''s, search his thoughts carefully. Curling the corners of his mouth, he wrinkles his forehead, his tan skin similar to Dretphi''s. Tense, quiet moments pass. He breaks the looming silence in the room, and a firm, strangely soothing voice sounds out from the aetherphone. The grath accent shares many qualities of Dretphi''s.


    With each of his sentences, Dretphi gradually bows her head more and aims her eyes lower, a frown hinting. Noticing the souring mood, the older grath man on the screen pauses. He glances over to the corner of his mind and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. Cracking an amused smile, he speaks endearingly in a far warmer tone. Dretphi lifts her head back up with a full smile. Gazing with pride at the older grath man, she softly states a few admissions. The man on the other side of the call chuckles through the speaker and smiles lovingly, relaying a few more tidbits of humored wisdom. Dretphi verges on a grin. From the other side of the call, a woman''s voice rises up from the background loudly in grath. Dretphi rigidly freezes and her eyes widen in near fright. The older grath man nonchalantly turns his head and calls back. Listening to a response, he returns to face Dretphi through the phone. He inquires with a few sentences, and Dretphi nods vigorously and stiffly. The older man laughs lovingly and sighs with a playful shake of his head. He smiles warmly with a few final words. Loosening up from the sudden tension, she smiles warmly back and returns a similar sentiment.


    The phone call ends. Closing her eyes a few seconds with the happy smile, Dretphi places her phone on top of the bed near the pillows. She leans herself forward and stands up with the momentum. Walking out through the doorway into the hallway, she moves into the living area. Spotting Bach upon the couch, she steps near the furniture and aims her gaze down. "I am ready for our training. I apologize for the delay."


    Bach blinks his attention away from the television and turns his head up towards Dretphi. "Oh! Yeah. Hey. No problem. Um, yeah, let me turn this thing off."


    Stretching his arm forward with remote in hand, he presses the power button and rests the remote upon the coffee table. He lifts himself off the couch, stands up straight, and navigates his way out from behind the coffee table towards the sliding glass door. "So, uh, what was the delay? Anything wrong?"


    Dretphi smiles at Bach and shakes her head, following behind Bach through the sliding door. "No. My birth father contacted me. He wanted to talk to me about my..."


    Pausing a moment, she orbits the subject. "Recent, publicized confrontation."


    Bach awkwardly contorts his face uncertainly and quirks an eyebrow at Dretphi with a tinge of concern. "So, uh, how did he feel about that whole, well... Situation?"


    Concealing a soft bite of her lip, Dretphi sways her head slowly side to side, balancing her mixed emotions. "He reminded me of his wisdom to choose the confrontations I engage in with care."


    The warm smile returns to her face, and she gazes at Bach. "Shared his opinion that he saw no fault in my actions. Relayed that my two house fathers are proud of me.


    A sliver of grin creeps from the corner of her mouth, and her pride slips out. "My opponent had it coming in their opinion. Their perspectives come from experience."


    Bach nods with satisfaction. The two travel to a large oak tree on the side of the ranch style house, and stop in the short grass area near the shade of the fresh, filling canopy. "Well, I still don''t know what that Trakenthin guy said, but I''ll trust your decision was the right one."


    He drops down to a louder whisper. "It really didn''t sound good, like, at all."


    An awareness picks at Dretphi''s attitude, and her amusement struggles against a looming thought. Squinting briefly, Bach lifts an eyebrow and addresses Dretphi. "So, was there something else?"


    Dretphi blinks off guard, notices Bach''s examination, and sighs with a tinge of wariness. "My birth father warned me my mother will call me tonight."


    Bach visibly puzzles for a moment and tilts his head to the side. "Wait. Warned?"


    Her eyes hunting her mind for the correct terminology, Dretphi sighs out her vague frustration. "Warned is not accurate. The original term does not have an exact translation. It is the act of informing someone with contextual foreboding not probable enough to classify as a warning."


    Bach stops walking, blinks hard, and ponders out loud. "Okay... So... There''s a specific word for that type of thing?"


    Dretphi succinctly nods to and plainly gazes upon Bach. "Yes. There are variations dependent upon source, target, situation."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach thoughtfully cocks his head and crosses his arms, bouncing his blue eyes between parts of his mind. "I- um. Huh. Okay, you''re going to have to give me some examples here. Americ has nothing like that. And, I am no expert in that even."


    A warm smile grows on Dretphi''s tan face, and she nods, reaching for roll out mats leaning upon the oak tree. "Indeed. Will explain during our workout."


    ----


    Next to the sliding glass door, Deedri stands, leaning her back against the tan brick wall of the two story house. She stares out into the backyard and watches Veevi wildly swing with a padded training sword at the towering Trakenthin. Within Trakenthin''s single handed grasp, a thick, straight branch effortlessly intercepts each crude swipe from Veevi, halting attack after attack. Clumsily hopping away, Veevi readies herself in a surge of arrogance masquerading as confidence. Believing her stance and form fit the situation, she charges into a sloppy flurry of overly animated, exaggerated swings. Trakenthin fights against boredom and unenthusiastically counters each strike from Veevi, casually deflecting them away with the large stick. Each contact of wooden weaponry breaks Trakenthin briefly from the ongoing tedium.


    The sliding glass door opens, and Modoran peeks his head cautiously out through the gap. Noticing Deedri brushing off the apron of her usual medical mage attire, he smiles smugly with a tinge of sarcasm. "Well, I see that Trakenthin hasn''t killed her yet."


    A furry ear perks over to Modoran''s voice, and Deedri follows through with a glance over. Tightening her lips, she sighs and fails to hold back a roll of her auburn eyes. "No. She''s very lucky he hasn''t put any effort into sparring."


    Modoran gazes over to the match and watches another barrage from Veevi crash into deflection after deflection, nothing phasing Trakenthin. With a frown curling from the corner of his mouth, Modoran shakes his head of short, grayish white hair. "Hope she gets tired enough to realize she should quit.


    He pulls a humored smirk into the corner of his dusky bluish gray face. "Or, angry enough to storm off, soon. At least before Trakenthin decides to finish it for the day."


    Deedri nods uneasily and cringes briefly, contorting vaguely at the thought. She ponders for a moment and gazes over, puzzling at Modoran. "By the way, where were you yesterday? Veevi was looking EVERYWHERE for you. She even checked the garbage cans."


    A snort escapes through the sly grin upon Modoran face, a hint of devious glee slips out. "OH. THAT."


    He smugly quirks an eyebrow and rolls his dark blue eyes. "Well, after seeing how things between her and Tassilda went Monday... I thought I''d figure out a way to keep my distance. So, I convinced her that playing a game of hide and seek, that she couldn''t win, was part of her stealth training."


    Crossing her arms, Deedri momentarily musters a stern glare at Modoran. She swiftly settles to mild, general annoyance, and idly gazes out to the backyard. "That must have been NICE. Where did you end up hiding?"


    Modoran steps out the rest of the way through the doorway and closes the sliding glass door behind him. Resting his back up against the brickwork near Deedri, he smirks amused. "Oh, over into the forest over there. I decided to spy on our neighbors for a while."


    With a quick snap of her head, Deedri focuses her wide eyed curiosity upon Modoran and lowers her voice. "Wh- D-Did you see anything going on?!"


    Modoran shrugs nonchalantly, presenting an unimpressed smile to Deedri. "Not really. The grath woman, Dretphi I think, was running laps around the house with the human... Um... Bach? Yeah, him. It was a pretty intense workout. He could barely keep up for most of it."


    Sorting through recent memory, he blinks to a recollection and perks up, smiling happily. "Oh! I did find some more of those protellow seeds in the forest. They were a bit further in, but still close to the house."


    Deedri''s eyes brighten, and she grins excitedly and pops up on her toes, clasping her hands together. "Wow! OH! There MUST be a patch deeper in the forest. Even as far as they can launch their seeds, that still means they''re pretty close by. We should be able to figure out where they are."


    A shrill growl overflowing with ire bellows out from Veevi, and she steadies her training sword, pointing it at Trakenthin. "OH! Some GREAT swordsman you are! Always blocking, and on the defensive."


    Veevi curls a mean smile and narrows a derisive stare up at Trakenthin. "So... Are you using the same tactics SHE DEFEATED YOU with?!"


    Distractions within Trakenthin''s mind fearfully leap clear from the burst of indignation and contempt jetting to the front of his consciousness. His posture shifts drastically. His stance changes. And, his grip on the wooden branch slides. Awaiting Veevi''s attack, he focuses his cold glower down upon her. Summoning all the dramatic bravado possible, Veevi lunges forth into an assault towards Trakenthin. Her training blade halts early against an immovable object. Confusion erupts on her tan face. The large stick vanishes in a brief blur away from Veevi''s sword, and she stumbles forward. An incredibly hard, overpowering back swing strikes Veevi''s training weapon. Veevi spins around with the momentum of her sword and struggles to find her footing, awkwardly dancing upon the grassy lawn in an uncoordinated mess. She sinks her foot into a section of loose sod and tumbles over herself. Moments after crashing into the dirt, she curls up, both hands grasping around her ankle, and wails in pain.


    Grimacing, Deedri sighs, her eyes glancing up in resignation. She pushes forward from the wall and jogs over to the downed half-fvalian girl. Lowering herself to her knees next to Veevi, she cautiously reaches through Veevi''s frantic flails and panic, securing a safe grasp of the leg. Deedri''s eyes glow light auburn, and she focuses upon Veevi''s ankle. Granting a comforting smile to the worried Veevi and the ever present camera crew, she calmly explains. "You''ll be fine. You only just twisted it a little. Let me address it with a quick spell."


    Veevi seats herself upon the grass and props herself up with arms behind her, allowing Deedri to guide her foot onto a lap. With a series of gestures and incantations, Deedri flows waves of blue and green energies down into her palms and expertly places her hands upon Veevi''s leg. The power leaves Deedri and sinks into ankle, each pulse illuminating less of the foot over time. Minutes later, the energy flow wanes, and Deedri withdraws her hands. "That should soothe the pain, combat the swelling, and speed up the healing."


    She digs through the pockets of her outfit, rummaging for the right item. "But... We''ll still need to provide it some support for now. I should have some compression wraps..."


    Tilting her upper body forward, Veevi examines her foot. She carefully flexes the stiff ankle joint around, managing a series of small circular movements. The prior fright and nerves fade to a happy smile. Her eyes glance up to Deedri, watching Deedri inspect pocket after pocket. The happy smile mutates into a sly, seductive grin, and Veevi gazes down near her foot. Removing a roll from her pocket, Deedri locates the flexible compression bandage and pauses, blinking blankly. Her confusion leads her attention down to an odd pressure moving on top of her apron along her inner thigh. Veevi continues gently brushing her big toe upon Deedri''s apron. Uncomfortable, nervous energy flows down Deedri''s spine into her tail. The unsettling wave bristles the hairs down to the very tip. Slowly lifting up her head, Deedri meets Veevi''s intense stare. With the bandage roll in hand, she awkwardly forces a smile upon her fair face. "I... Found the... Compression wrap."


    With a flirtatious roll of the shoulders, Veevi relaxes her posture and suggestively bites her lower lip, hovering her foot up and flexing her toes. She gazes at Deedri, waiting to catch the return of Deedri''s averting glance, and winks with a quick lick of the lips. Deedri''s professionally stoic demeanor barely contains the internal scream resonating within through her wide-eyed shock.


    ----


    Sitting at the dining table, Cideeda engages the last lock on the upper outer casing of her laser pistol. Angling the pistol to the side, she showcases the device to Bach and circles a claw tip over the mechanism. "And THAT is how you field strip the Arc and Spark Light Lance four fifty."


    In the chair next to Cideeda, Bach nods impressed and strokes his chin in thought. "So, how many times have you done a field stripping... in the actual field?"


    With a few wags of her tail, Cideeda darts her emerald green eyes through memory and pantomimes the math on her fingers. "Maybe twenty... five times? With this pistol at least."


    She carefully raises the barrel of the device up to the ceiling and taps upon the casing. "So long as the laser core is in good shape and you don''t break the case seal, it should work long enough to get you home. They''re tough but not indestructible. A few good drops on hard ground can loosen up the casing enough to let dirt get in."


    Glancing around the dining table crowded with parts containers surrounding both Cideeda and him, Bach lifts a curious eyebrow. "So, why laser pistols?"


    He narrows a quick glance at Cideeda and smirks. "From personal experience, you''re pretty good with a shotgun."


    Cideeda flashes a toothy grin and rests the laser pistol back into its custom cutout within a protective case. "Well... As much as I love my shotgun, the recoil doesn''t help when I need to be moving around and keeping my aim on something."


    Shrugging, she closes the top of the weapon case. "The laser pistols have no recoil, burn lines at targets, and the energy cells weigh A LOT less."


    Sliding the pistol case off the table onto the ground, she shifts her focus to a large rectangular container and securely grasps it with both hands, claw tips eagerly sinking to the cloth exterior. "Also, I usually use the shotgun for the specialty ammunition most of the time. I only use buckshot or slugs when I know I have to punch through something tough."


    Bach nods a moment and cracks a grin. "So, like cyber-zombies?"


    Shuddering briefly, Cideeda twists her face and flicks her furry ears back. "Yeah... Still, I would rather take something like that out from much further way with the specialty ammo I have."


    She hoists the padded fabric box upon the table top, hooks a claw into the zipper handle loop, and flashes a sly grin at Bach. "NOW, along with your training today, I have a special task that''s perfect for your skill set."


    Cocking his head to the side, Bach gradually lifts an intrigued eyebrow, tugging a corner smirk on his mouth. He watches the container and waits expectantly. Cideeda undoes the zipper around the perimeter of the top flap''s edges and deftly slips a hand inside, seeking something within. Her forearm muscles flex briefly, she withdraws her fist out of the fabric covered case and gently rests a cupped hand upon the table between her and Bach. In a dramatic flourish, she opens her grip and reveals a small plastic figurine upon a twenty five millimeter diameter base. The shiny details of the miniature glint from the natural light beaming in from the sliding glass door and artificial sources from the lamp overhead. The figure stands dramatically positioned in an action pose. Dark emerald green plate armor covers the humanoid. Wielding a large revolver pointing forward, it holds a translucent energy shield in the other gauntlet covered hand. Bach studies the intricate paint upon the plastic model and glances up, puzzling at Cideeda. "Huh. Okay. Um... Do you want me to paint them or something-?"


    Shaking her head with a hard blink, Cideeda laughs, a defensive tinge slipping out. "OH! NO. Never. Only I get to paint them. Which I''m going to touch up, but..."


    Her expression softens, and she dons a sweet, endearing smile. Fluttering her eyes, she gazes at Bach and coyly fidgets in her seat. "Could you change their poses for me? I''d really like them to look nice for the Legends of Nexus tournament this Saturday at the game shop."


    Bach aims his scrutiny at the figurine and returns his reserved stare to Cideeda. He squirms in his seat, and she concentrates her pleading, hopeful gaze. Cracking a smile, he sighs amused and turns his head away. "Okay, I''ll help. Just stop using that look on me. Gods, no wonder you get all those discounts."


    The cute act disappears in a flash, and Cideeda widens a prominent, sly toothy grin. She flips over the top flap of the zipper container and proudly displays her rows of miniatures, removing tray after tray. Plucking a few choice ones out, she places them in front of Bach, and instructs him about every single aspect of the real world and in-game details. Bach listens with interest, watching Cideeda act out her desired new poses.

 Episode 28

    In the living room, the ceiling fan spins slowly and gently stirs up waves of air sifting through the sliding screen of the back door. Sitting at the dining table, Bach concentrates upon the weathered old book from the abandoned town. He briefly examines the simple necklace and decorative blue ribbon off to the side, and returns his attention back to the journal. Carefully parting the cover with faint cracks from the spine, he turns through the blank outer pages and stops upon the first handwritten paragraph.


    "This is the journal of Isaac Kurt Huxley. Truth be told, I have been prompted by my wife Sylvia to record my thoughts about our new adventure here at Orth Ridge. I must say, it has been quite the trip to get here and a delightful chaos since we arrived. They are still getting the basics of the village together. The engineers have gotten power and water working just fine, but they seem to be having difficulty getting the aethernet relays online. Some strange interference source in the area from what I have gathered in assisting them. But, they have been able to get radio links functional, enough, and even managed to bounce a signal off one of the ancient satellites the Grand Library has figured out how to reprogram over the years. The fact that something that old still functions absolutely fascinates me to no end."


    "Overall, we are all settling in just fine. Even little Cynthia is warming up to the place. Once she found out she would be getting her own room and a play area in the office, I think all her reservations disappeared. I can''t thank Dr. Dawkins enough for putting us on this assignment. From everything the records we have found so far have implied, there is something very unique here. I can''t wait until the outer area is cleared by the safety teams. I have to say, it is a bit frustrating to see such an amazing site hinted at just outside my bedroom window and know we can''t go there yet. Sylvia at least has been able to put her writing and artistry skills to use in documenting the happenings of the site. If the drafts of her latest book are any indicator, they will be quite the exciting read for the higher ups."


    Bach''s blue eyes follow line upon line of handwritten word upon the weathered pages. Flipping through, he hovers studious gazes over each page and follows the flow of text to the next page. He spots a section of bold and large script contrasting the prior entries and focuses his gaze upon the page, squinting curiously.


    "AMAZING! I cannot relay into words how excited I am! The industrial nature of the outer area was intriguing enough, and the hours of speculation about what happened here have made for truly epic and inspiring late night debates. But after so long, we finally were granted access into the circular chamber. The pictures the safety investigators brought back do not do it proper justice. Unlike the industrial warehouse before it, this chamber is magnificent with the grand circular platform, and the strange construction is baffling upon initial inspections. The safety teams have given the area a green for our exploration and have found nothing immediately dangerous. We will still take full precautions and place a number of flow monitors in the area to detect anything that may be lingering. It is not the first time ruins have sparked to life with new activity."


    "I will admit I am a bit wary of crossing the bridge through that eerily dark warehouse. Thankfully, they have put up a few layers of barriers to create a protective tunnel through, and the rest of the area is a strict red zone. The most I have heard they are doing in that area is send pure electronic drones to place sensors, and they lock down the surrounding area before attempting that much. Still, my travels through there will be at a gingerly pace. They are only allowing our team to go through the space at the moment, but if that area seems dormant enough they will open it up to others. Sylvia is very eager to see the grand chamber for herself and is very keen on drawing it. I am certain a picture will do enough for the higher ups, but she so enjoys capturing such grand things upon paper herself. From the looks of it, she will have plenty of vantage points with the encircling balcony walkway."


    A breath slowly escapes Bach with a trailing shudder. Recent memories rise up into his consciousness, and he vaguely contorts the flit of discomfort out. He follows the writing to the next page and the end of the entry. The handwritten installments grow longer with each chapter, and Bach sifts through the daily logs outlining the mundane. He halts himself from turning further and stares at the current page. The entry starkly contrasts many prior, shaky handwriting, less words, and dated a week late.


    "I have finally gotten the presence of mind to write into this journal. Sylvia writes to help with her thoughts, and I more than ever need any help I can muster. Something happened a week ago. They are still investigating. I don''t know what happened. Sylvia and Cynthia are fighting for their lives. Something exploded in the warehouse. They were bringing me lunch so we could have a picnic in the grand chamber. They were on the bridge when it happened. By the time I got to the archway, I saw them midway on the bridge trying to get their footing to run clear. That black miasma was shredding the layers of barriers. Johnathan. Gods, he tried to keep the barriers up and keep the safety doors overridden. Gods, he blames himself, even after saving me from getting hit by that black jet of energy. Why did this happen? I need to return to their sides."


    Noticing odd markings upon the paper, Bach lowers his head close to the page and examines scattered water droplet stains below the trailing path of ink dried in a faint pen tip path. Rolling the page over to the next entry, his eyes trace the wavering penmanship and irregular spacing between words.


    "Dr. Malkav has a plan. I always thought of him to be on the fringes of madness with his theories. Gods, I never saw eye to eye with him. But. That man cried for my Sylvia and Cynthia. When he thought no one could see, he broke down and cursed the gods like I have every day since what happened. If he is right, then this energy can be countered enough to save them. Artifacts with some ability to emit elder energy are being located and rushed out to the site as soon as possible from the Grand Library. It has to work. It makes so much sense the more I think about it. I wish I had thought of it sooner. I have to go back, I won''t abandon them."


    A frown upon Bach''s face darkens shades grimmer, and he reads the next few shrinking entries. Pauses at a nearly empty page, he stares at the last semblance of writing, a single sentence.


    "They are gone..."


    A water worn trail of ink drifts aimlessly upon the bound piece of paper through a few of the many bubbles of droplet stains. The binding of the book remembers. The journal easily remains open on the moisture warped page. Bach slowly parts the stiff pages, finding many attempts to start new entries. Dates upon the header devolve into mere aimless pen marks. On top of the remaining pages, an explosion of ink and a small indentation piercing through records the final effort put into the old journal.


    Releases a sigh, Bach withdraws away from the book and searches his mind, idly staring into a distance inside his head. The wooden and ceramic meeting of a mug upon the table top brings him back to awareness, and he turns his head towards Aristespha. "Oh. Hey."


    He glances down at the cup next to him and watches Aristespha sit on a chair next to him with her own mug. "Thanks. I think I need the tea right now."


    With a smirk, Aristespha lifts an eyebrow and shakes her head, eyeing the book in front of Bach. "If it was not midday on a Thursday, I would have put a lot more than tea in there to help you get through that journal."


    Bach lifts the mug up and takes a long sip of the brew. Aristespha nods at the uneasy expression upon Bach and wrestles a flit of unease. "About the same look I had after reading it over."


    Briefly eyeing the material, Bach uses a free hand to close the book up and calmly slides it away. "Yeah... It started out so nice, too. I can see why you are a little on edge lately. I just... Wow. I don''t know what to think about... THAT."


    Aristespha rests her head against the chair back, guides some of her silvery blue hair over her long pointed ears, and sighs with a hard blink. "Honestly, I just don''t quite know, either."


    The two share seconds of reflective silence. A thought surfaces in Bach''s mind, and he stares at the book, squinting through a wave of intrigue tempered by fear. He gradually cocks his head to the side and slides his wary gaze to Aristespha. "You... think... that''s..."


    Aristespha follows the insinuation from Bach, eyes the old journal, and uncomfortably bites her lip with widened violet eyes. "I have entertained that thought, too. And..."


    Briefly tensing her shoulders, she hisses out a breath through gritted teeth. "I REALLY would NOT know how to feel about THAT."


    Blinking a few times, Bach pulls in a lung full of air and exhales slowly, delaying his own conclusions. He slides the book away from him a bit more and glances around for anything else. "SO... You got any more experimental materials you want to try to make today?"


    A flash of interest lights up Aristespha''s mood, and she smiles with an eager tone. "Oh! Yes, I do. That sounds like a great thing to do right now."


    Next to the worn old journal, the plain silver traces in the simple necklace glint in the few beams of sunlight sneaking in, and the blue ribbon gently waves in the flow of air from the fan above.


    ----


    In the dark space, a tall, large bellied man wanders in the walkways between towering rows of metal cases. A constant chorus of fan hum accompanies the low roll of air flowing in overhead ductwork hanging down from the high panel ceiling. Graying wild hairs freely follow the chaotic winds between different currents, and the middle aged man continues down the avenue of technology, orderly congregations of lights upon equipment bordering him. In the dimly lit region of the cavernous chamber, he stops, consults an old paper blueprint, and sharply turns down an intersecting path towards a heavy duty wall. Halting at the intersection, he eyes the map, stares overhead with a flashlight in hand, highlighting his wandering interest. He pivots to face a dead end and squints through the sea of green, amber, and blue status lights reflecting upon his glasses. His eyes trace a series of conduits mounted underneath the ceiling panels. The spotlight halts upon a collection of junction boxes, and he furrows his brow at the slightly newer sheen upon conduits, contrasting the piping nearby. Stepping forward in thought, he focuses upon a run of tubing leading straight into the concrete and brick wall. "Okay... That''s not exactly what I''m here for..."


    The flashlight searches along the merging of wall and conduit, and he mumbles to himself. "...but... ...that''s pretty fuckin'' weird..."


    Glancing down at the worn blueprints, he holds them near the vented door of a server rack. The constant cooling fan suction slaps the paperwork securely upon the mesh surface. The man shines the flashlight upon detailed schematics, tracing a yellow highlighted path of wiring diagrams, and taps his finger upon the inconsistent section. Quickly checking the change date in the margin of notes, the man narrows his glare at the mass of junction boxes with annoyed grumble to himself. "The fuck did they put a junction down here for?"


    Wrestling down an irritated frown, he sighs out his frustration. "What do you even go to?"


    Crossing his arms, he studies the wall and darts his eyes to several other unique oddities, each new discovery tugging at the corners of his puzzling expression. He pinches the bridge of his nose and mumbles to himself. Reaching into his pants pocket, he retrieves his aetherphone and taps through a few menus. A call initiates and connects seconds later. Pulling in a deep breath, Nash places the phone on his ear. "Hey! Harvos! Got a question for YOU."


    The proper, male voice at the other end sighs briefly. "Yes, Nash, and whatever would THAT be?"


    Nash cocks his head to the side and lifts an amused eyebrow. "Okay... So, pretend you''re searching for an artifact you KNOW should be in your possession. You go to the spot it should be and find out, it''s gone."


    Harvos''s curious tone rises out from the speaker. "Okay. Following the analogy, I would check to see if it has been misplaced, loaned out, or something is wrong with the paperwork. I assume you have already done similar by now."


    With an exaggerated nod, Nash paces around the dead end of the row. "Correct. Now. The weird thing is that everything shows that it is still in the room it is supposed to be in, and there are no signs that it has left that room. So, you go to manually, physically check everything in that room. Then, while tracking it down, you find the plug for some THING plugged in, but the cord runs into a wall... Where nothing needing power should be."


    A brief pause later, Harvos audibly puzzles with an exhale, his voice teetering between intrigue and wariness. "THAT would certainly be concerning... And, extremely strange."


    Nash places his free hand on his side and dons a tight smile with a grit of the teeth. "YEAH. That''s what I thought, too. I just really wanted to confirm my suspicions with someone else, just to make sure my initial impressions were correct."


    Following his curiosity, Harvos chuckles lightly from the other side of the call. "Well, not that I don''t mind helping you out, BUT... I have to ask, why did you call ME?"


    A sly grin parts Nash''s mouth, and he chuckles, near goading in tone. "WELL, it turns out this database node I''m missing has some of your department''s decataloged data on it."


    A long silence resonates out from the aetherphone and briefly pushes away the ambient fan din. A singular thoughtful hum from the other side of the call breaks the tension. Sounds of movement find their way out of the speaker, and Harvos faintly chuckles in the mix of noise. "I will be right over. This sounds FAR more entertaining than this budget spreadsheet."


    ----


    A breeze floats across the field of grass behind the ranch style house, gently pushing down the tallest blades. Aristespha inspects a practice sword, feels out the balance, and swings precisely in front of her. With a well-worn practice sword in hand, Bach stands a few meters away, bubbling with apprehension between averting glances. "So... Uh... Are we doing basic drills? Practicing footwork? Um-"


    Twirling the training blade into a confident step forward, Aristespha aims the tip ahead and smiles, cracking the hint of a grin. "I thought we would spar a bit."


    Bach''s eyes widen briefly and search around nervously, and an awkward, weak laugh stumbles out. "Ah, heh... What?"


    Sebastian floats into the space between Aristespha and Bach. "Don''t play dumb, bro. I know you know most of mom''s sword fighting techniques. You''re not completely helpless here."


    A cringe starts at Bach''s cheek and creeps to the corner of his mouth. "Knowledge of... Yes. Proper application... Nooo."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he loosely hangs the practice sword in hand and glances over towards Dretphi and Cideeda working through stretching routines upon mats off the patio. "You know, how about we join them. I totally need to work on my flexibility a bit and-"


    Sebastian snaps his gaze to Aristespha, tilts his head towards Bach, and mouths. "Now."


    Aristespha focuses her stare at Bach and lunges forward, her training blade thrusting towards his midsection. Locking onto the sudden movement, Bach''s blue eyes flick to the source and assess the assault. He hops back from Aristespha''s attack, swipes his sword, and deflects, readying himself to a defensive stance instinctively. Slyly grinning, Sebastian crosses his arms and perks a smug eyebrow to Aristespha''s piqued amusement. "SEE. He damn well knows the moves. You''re going to have to force it out of him."


    Bach briefly flashes an annoyed sneer to Sebastian, keeping his wary attention split on Aristespha. "Yeah. I KNOW the moves, but I''ve never been able to DO anything with them..."


    His sentence trails off. Aristespha steps forward with an overhead swing and drops down her sword, clashing upon Bach''s raised blade. Redirecting the opposing weapon to the side, Bach backs away. "Okay, you made your point. Let''s do some drills. I''m really rusty and I could really use the-"


    Aristespha pushes forward in a flurry of careful strikes. Startling into the defensive, he counters each attack in a tense fervor of motion. With the final deflection, Bach distances himself further from Aristespha and points his practice weapon at her. "Good gods! Stop that! Dammit, Sebastian! What the fuck did you tell her?!"


    Sebastian averts his translucent blue eyes away with a humored smile and chuckles to himself. "Oh, nothing really, bro. Just how mom would always teach us sword fighting and let us spar against each other... And..."


    A devilish smirk curls upon Sebastian''s translucent form. "That you are probably the best one to help her practice what I''ve taught her."


    A twitch settles in the corner of Bach''s eye, and he glares, irritation welling. "Gods damn it, man! I''m not THAT good at-"


    He shifts his footing, side steps, and guides his blade, diverting Aristespha''s lunging thrust. Aristespha stands back up straight, glancing towards Sebastian with a sly smile, and gazes at Bach curiously. "You have defensive maneuvers. But, I have yet to see any offensive moves."


    Grinning, she poses confidently, readies her training sword, and signals Bach to attack with her curling hand. Bach sighs, drooping his shoulders. He prepares himself and launches into an attack. Aristespha counters a few well executed moves with difficulty. Performing sloppy side-stepping deflection, Bach manages to create an opening. Failing to capitalize on the opportunity, clumsiness and lack of practice completely hinder his efforts. Aristespha swiftly swings and slaps her practice blade hard. A loud smack sounds from the surface of Bach''s outer thigh. Yelping, he hops awkwardly back and dramatically rubs his pants leg. "OW! Dammit! Did he tell you to hit me that hard, too?! Shit!"


    Aristespha lifts her brow and ponders to herself. Her violet eyes flips through her mind upon events, and she nods with a renewed understanding. "I think I see what you were telling me, Sebastian."


    Sebastian sighs ethereally, shaking the head of his ghostly form. "It''s unfortunately so, dear."


    Bach snaps his dubious glare between Sebastian and Aristespha, a hand still protecting the sore spot on his leg. "Okay... What else has been said about me?"


    A bit of shame bubbles up into Sebastian''s face, and he rubs the back of his neck with a tight smile. "Well... That you are awful at offense because I always kept you on the defensive. And, well, I''d never let you get an attack off all the way, so you don''t know how to follow through properly."


    After a long stare, Bach''s suspicious expression softens into an agreeable series of nods. "Huh. Yeah. That... That''s actually pretty much it. I mean, about the only times I won is when I used some magic-"


    Narrowing his gaze, Sebastian pulls the corner of his mouth into an annoyed smirk and crosses his arms unamused. "Or threw the sword at me."


    Bach closes his mouth, meets Sebastian''s accusatory stare, and averts his eyes in embarrassment. Grumbling, he squints at Sebastian. "OH. Well, what the fuck else was I supposed to do?! No rules against it. We were tied. And, you won the coin flip, so a draw would go to you."


    He points to himself and straightens his posture defiantly. "I HAD no other choice."


    A singular cackle escapes Sebastian''s stoic facade. "Bullshit! You could have fought me, normally! Like you are supposed to!"


    Snorting, Bach shakes his head dismissively. "Oh yeah, and lost horribly. Hey! Mom warned the camp instructor to NOT put us in competition with each other. Everyone was warned.


    A wry smile creeps up on Sebastian''s face, memories fluttering in his mind. His posture loosens with a humored smile on his face. "That was still pretty funny watching him dodge your sword after I smacked it out of the way, bro."


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The brothers share a few snickers and chuckles. Bach snorts and shakes his head. "He SO wanted to yell at us, too. That the-fuck-did-you-expect look from mom was amazing."


    Sebastian resumes a commanding stance and instructs his brother. "Yeah. Okay. Practice some offense with Aristespha today."


    He glances lovingly over to Aristespha. "Be lenient on the timing. But... Don''t be afraid to let him know his mistakes, dear."


    A sly grin widens upon Aristespha, and she slowly aims her violet stare at Bach. "Do not worry. I will only break what I can fix."


    Bach blinks hard and fights off reluctance, readying himself. "Uh, THE HELL is THAT supposed to mean?"


    Clanks and clashes of training weaponry fill the air in the following minutes, with yips, groans, and grumbles of pain, aggravation, and frustration from Bach. Off the end of the back patio, a lattice door opens on the small screened gazebo, and Sotalia struts out. Faint wafts of steam radiate off her two-tone patterned skin and two-piece bathing suit. She pats her face with a towel and drapes it across the back of neck, down over her shoulders. Guiding water slicked, dark red hair over her black swept-back horns, she stops near Cideeda and Dretphi, watching Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian. "So... How long have they been going at it?"


    Cideeda inhales slowly, points her clawed toes, and flexes her legs, maintaining her full side split upon the mat. She places a hand in front and rests one behind her to steady herself, glancing up to Sotalia. "Only the last few minutes. Did you space out in the hot tub again?"


    Sotalia grimaces briefly and rolls her golden eyes from her own embarrassment. "Well. Yes. Gods, I couldn''t help it. It''s a nice calm Friday, and it''s just off the back patio.


    Furrowing her brow, she rolls her eyes and sighs. "You can''t put a nice thing that convenient to me and not expect me to abuse it to the fullest."


    She inspects Cideeda''s position on the mat and cringes with a grit of the teeth, squirming at the hips. "Girl, I do not know how you can just sit there like that. I think I''m starting to hurt just looking."


    Smiling proudly, Cideeda shakes her head and snorts. "Just time and effort to get there, and little to maintain it. I could show you the exercises I did when my mom put me in gymnastics. Nothing too intense, but it''s a start."


    A loud smack grabs Sotalia''s attention, and she watches the sparring between Aristespha and Bach. Shaking the sting out of his hand, Bach circles away from Aristespha and returns to his starting spot. He glares all his irritation at Sebastian. "Dammit! Oh, gods! It''s just like fighting YOU!"


    Sebastian chuckles smugly and shrugs his hands out to the side. "Hey, what can I say, bro? I taught her, and she learned quick."


    Sotalia snickers to herself and shakes her head, glancing down to Cideeda. "Not today, girl. Too nice of a day to be torturing myself."


    Cideeda furrows her brow up at Sotalia and motions her head over to Dretphi. "Oh. It''s what everyone''s doing today. Even Dretphi is doing those exercises."


    Sotalia angles her head up away from Cideeda and observes Dretphi on the next mat over. Dretphi sits with her legs spread out, forming a rough ninety degree angle. Grimacing, she attempts to reach her arms out forward and touch the furthest part of the ground in front of her. A minute of struggling later, she relaxes her arms and straightens her back. Drawing her legs together, the residual cringe of pain fades upon her tan face in a slow exhale. Sotalia pivots around sharply and struts with a determined sway to each step towards the sliding glass back door. Sebastian peeks over his shoulder and quirks his brow. Coasting backwards up to a pace just in front of Sotalia, and he pries curiously. "Hey. How''s your day been?"


    Sotalia stops with a hand on her hip and a nonchalant smile. "Really quite wonderful. Woke up late. Nice hot tub session. And..."


    She peeks around Sebastian towards the sliding glass door and smirks. "I think I''m going to read my novels in the warmth of the sun until we watch our favorite show tonight."


    Adopting a sly grin, Sebastian nods expectantly. "Yeah... Sounds good. BUT, the show''s not on until much later. SO, you can spare an hour, right? Plenty hours left for reading, still."


    A dark red eyebrow rises upon Sotalia''s light tan face, and she squints her golden eyes. "An hour for WHAT?"


    With a quick glance past her, Sebastian motions Sotalia''s attention towards the rest of the group and their different activities. She eyes over her shoulder and returns with a dismissive smirk on her face. "OH. I''m good. Thank you, though."


    Crossing his arms, Sebastian tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes incredulously at Sotalia. "NO. I think you need to put in an hour doing something resembling exercise."


    Both of Sotalia''s hands firmly grasp her hips. She straightens her posture defensively and stares sternly at Sebastian. With his ethereal form returning the gesture, Sebastian calmly speaks. "I''m not asking for a lot. Just an hour or two a week doing some kind of physical training. Just to maintain yourself."


    Sotalia''s expression contorts towards a mild glare, and she tips her head back, her eyes keeping focus on Sebastian. "Maintain myself?"


    Sebastian groans out a long sigh and shakes his head. "Yes. You do keep yourself up with your magical training. But, if your magic doesn''t work, what do you have to fall back on?"


    Thoughts within Sotalia''s head tug at edges of her face, near the dark gray patches. With a reassuring tone, Sebastian continues. "Hey, you are the magical power house of the group. BUT... With me being practically a ghost and Noxian changing up his tactics... I''d really feel better if everyone was at least at a certain physical fitness."


    Sotalia crosses her arms tightly and averts her eyes away from direct contact. Each moment Sotalia settles her gaze away from Sebastian, he shifts over for eye contact. Seconds later, Sotalia concedes when staring up into the sky provides no refuge from the hovering ethereal form of Sebastian. Leveling her head and she stares forward at Sebastian, following her eye line down. Sebastian sighs, closes the distance, and whispers pleadingly. "Come on, Sol. What''s more of a hit on your pride? Being awkward and goofy in front of us with some exercises, or having a vine controlled by some bratty teenager interrupt your spell because you didn''t know what to do about it?"


    A snort escapes Sotalia. She bites a smile against a twist of embarrassment and shakes her head at Sebastian with an amused tone. "Oh, fuck you."


    Rolling her eyes at herself, she snickers to a lighter tone. "Okay. I''ll TRY."


    Hovering a pointed finger in front of Sebastian''s chest, she smiles softly. "But, I get to stop the routine when you are back to normal."


    Sebastian nods with a happy smile. "Fine with me."


    Another loud smack rings out with a yelp from Bach. Sotalia gazes over to the rest of the group. "I do hope you are not expecting me to fight in my bathing suit."


    An ethereal laugh resonates from Sebastian, and he shakes his head. "NO. You''re more than welcome to change clothes and do some sword training. But, I''d figured you could just join Cideeda and Dretphi, today."


    He peeks over his shoulder and blinks somewhat surprised at the sparring match. "Plus... I think Aristespha is having way too much fun at the moment."


    With a playfully evil tint, Sotalia grins and eyes Sebastian. "I noticed. You might need to go over there and make sure she''s keeping it educational. Need to make sure she doesn''t start exorcising some repressed frustrations on your brother."


    Sebastian nods with an eye roll and drifts towards a zealous Aristespha and frantically defensive Bach. "Yeah... I really should have been easier when I taught her."


    Taking a few steps toward the sliding glass door, Sotalia stops and glances down at herself in the bathing suit. She thinks for a moment, spins around, and watches Cideeda stretch herself. Observing Bach, she searches her mind and idly shifts her weight between her feet. A flicker of mischief lights her golden eyes, and she struts out towards Cideeda and Dretphi. A sinister influence infiltrates her smile, and she settles down upon a free mat near Aristespha and Bach sparing. Directing her voice to Cideeda, Sotalia slowly stretches her body out and grins mischievously. "So, what were those exercises, again?"


    ----


    In a dimly lit section of a cavernous structure, Nash stands in the concrete walkway along with an emin man, between monolithic metal racks. The emin combs his short, bright brown hair back with a hand and shakes his head in disbelief, his bright brown on black eyes examining the wall ahead. "Nash, these are the times I wish you were wrong."


    Nash leans his weight upon the handle top of a sledgehammer and blows air sporadically through his mouth, glancing over to the heavy brick barrier nearby. "Fuck... I know. I''ve been wanting to be wrong A LOT lately. Strange times, Harvos, strange times. Like the old curse..."


    Harvos loosens his leather jacket off his body and hangs it on an open server rack door Nash pulls out for him. "I assume you want to take the first few swings at this wall?"


    Hoisting the other end of the handle up into his free hand with a strong yank, Nash judges the weight of the sledgehammer and steps up towards the middle of the suspect wall section. "Oh, yes. Plus, I think I got an idea where to hit the thing given where all the newer concrete and mortar got put up."


    Stretching his muscular arms out, Harvos checks the tips of his tall, upright horns, glancing up to the overhead conduits, and satisfaction hints into his face. "Whoever certainly took an impressive amount of effort to obscure the cut lines and blend in the new concrete. What concerns me the most is that I''ve seen similar from old records of scouts resealing sites to prevent thieves."


    Nash lightly taps a spot upon the wall with the head of the sledge, and slowly rehearses a few swings. "Shit. I was SO hoping you wouldn''t find anything yesterday. Especially, nothing that would require the both of us to be down here doing manual labor on Friday night."


    Glancing behind him at Harvos, he grins sly and mischievous. "Certainly hope I didn''t steal a night from you that Malva wanted."


    A flush of red blends in with the light gray tones of Harvos''s face, and he darts his eyes around, his proper demeanor weakening with embarrassment. "Uh. Um. No. Of course not... She asked me to go to a cultural expo... Tomorrow."


    An amused chuckle leaves Nash and blends into the ambient drone of equipment. Rearing back the sledgehammer, he grins with a smug smile. "Fuckin'' knew it."


    Nash swings forward. A shrill voice projects down the walkway, burrowing through the din down the passage. "Chair Howard! Chair Azerios! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"


    Nash reflexively cringes from the woman''s shout and misses the wall. The sledgehammer drops down onto the paved floor, and Nash stumbles with the momentum. Awkwardly recovering his balance, he steadies himself upon his feet, slowly straightens his posture, and glances over to the surprised Harvos. "Did you?"


    Shaking his head carefully, Harvos pantomimes a strong no. The woman marches up, stops right behind the two, and glares intensely with bright orange eyes. She pulls a sneer up on her patterned face, revealing sharp teeth. "What. Are. You. Doing?!"


    Cringing through into a pained grimace, Nash pivots around slowly, letting the sledgehammer slide through his hands upon the floor. He projects a forced smile and shines up his tone. "Vetra! Funny to see you here, right at this very moment."


    Vetra narrows her eyes, focuses her glare upon Nash, and darts her attention to the sledgehammer. "What are you doing... With that SLEDGEHAMMER?"


    A glint of light from the overhead lamps reflects brightly off a property tag. She focuses her stare, reading the label. "That belongs to MY Engineering department."


    Nash pulls a grin hard across his facade. "Oh! Certainly nothing of interest to you. Really."


    With her glare burning upwards at Nash, Vetra stomps forward. Swiping a dark, sharp nailed hand, she snatches the sledgehammer away and drills her stare into Nash. "Explain why I had to hear from the lab assistant on duty that someone walked into my department''s lab, BORROWED a sledgehammer, and dismissed any questions saying Official Library Business."


    Crossing his arms, Nash grumbles out his annoyance, diverting his eyes away from Vetra. Harvos shakes his head, stepping forward, and sighs with a calming smile to Vetra. "It is a simple exploration that hopefully will not lead to any further complications. We need to get access to a section of the structure that was initially walled up after renovations for security reasons and limiting possible access..."


    Perking his brow, Harvos motions towards the wall and points out the faint outline of a filled in cut into the concrete and brick wall. "But... Strangely... It has since been opened up and sealed without any known records."


    The searing scowl on Vetra towards Nash pops away, and she puzzles at the suspect construction ahead. Her bewilderment grows with each step closer to the wall. Squinting, she traces the faint fill lines with a finger and cocks her head of multi-color hair. "Interesting... It has been cut and sealed."


    She spots the conduit and pipes from the junction box running into the wall and suspicion drives her curiosity. "Okay... Where do those go?!"


    Nash sidesteps with an evil smile and cranes his head into Vetra''s view. "Well... There''s only one way to find out for certain."


    Bouncing an unamused stare between Nash and Harvos nearby, Vetra sighs a tentative resignation. With a growing smirk of determination, she tightens her grip on the handle of sledgehammer, muscles in her arms defining themselves. "Well. It''s a sanctioned operation if I make the first swing."


    Harvos grants an accepting nod, Nash grins wide and eagerly, and Vetra rears the hammer back.


    ----


    Inside Amaranth''s Wrath Game Emporium, people gather around the many tables in the open front space. Scaled down battlefields decorate the tabletops, portraying different types of scenarios from many historical and fanciful eras. A young evuukian cracks a confident grin and slides a clear plastic stand supporting a giant black four winged dragon with a gray-armed rider across the grid map. "Full power auto burst from Blaureiter''s Particle Power Blaster to your Red Gear Master Mech."


    The young evuukian sweeps up a number of dice, pauses in a count, and plucks nearby stragglers of the table, filling his hand with more. The human teenager across the table twists confusion upon his face and cranes his head around the miniature scenery. Squinting incredulously at the number of dice in the young evuukian''s hand, he cocks his head unconvinced. "The fuck are you going to do with all those dice... Shallen?"


    Shallen glances up with a playful, sneering grin towards the teenager across from him and laughs menacingly. "Shredding the armor right off that damned Master Mech of yours... Dace."


    Dace alternates a glare between Shallen and the two prominent figurines on the board. "Bullshit! Fuckin'' bullshit, man. There''s no gods damned way you get to roll THAT many dice. You''ve got to be calculating something wrong. You can''t possibly stack that many bonuses together like that."


    Shallen grasps a packet of paper next to him and presents it over the table to Dace, smug confidence shining. "See for yourself. Third paragraph down."


    Reluctantly grabbing the document, Dace''s eyes follow the rules printout down the fine rows of text. Discomfort and acceptance gradually overwhelms any resistance, and growls down to a defeated sigh. "What the actual fuck? How the hell did they allow this combo?! This should cost A LOT more points to pull off. Or the bonus dice shouldn''t stack with the other bonuses. This is some BULL. SHIT. Right here."


    A triumphant grin beams from Shallen, and he shrugs, dice rolling out his hand into a shallow wooden, felt lined box. "They''ll probably in the next errata. But... For now..."


    Dace drags his hands down his face and watches Shallen count dice out of the box. Glancing over to the side, he taps through a long list of forums on an aethernet site upon his phone. "Gods dammit, there''s gotta be something about this somewhere."


    The shop door opens. A ring sounds from the electric chime above on the frame. And, beams of late morning light break into the store and flood into the space. Cideeda steps through and hoists up her large rectangular carrying case, gleefully scanning the tables for an opening. Bach follows behind. Sotalia and Dretphi stop after clearing the doorway, gawking in astonishment. Cideeda waves to Steve at the counter, and he looks up from studying a collection of new figurines on the counter. Waving back, he picks up a clipboard and shows Cideeda. "Hey! Sign up is right here. Just grab a table for now. Everyone is warming up with a few skirmishes and playing with some of the new units we got in. Nothing serious until later."


    Zipping over to a table with space, Cideeda places her carrying case in a chair and hops off to the counter. Bach gives a quick wave and nod to Steve and wanders through the aisles between the tables, examining the various battles playing out. He pauses a moment next to the table with Shallen and Dace, and glances knowingly at the black dragon and rider figurines. Bach gives an approving nod, and Shallen grants an appreciative one in return. Dace shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "Still bullshit, man."


    Shallen narrows an accusatory glare at Dace and perks an eyebrow. "Do I really need to bring up that whole transport boat landing crime against gaming you pulled?"


    With a snort, Dace waves off the issue and sighs. "Nah, we''re good. Just don''t complain when I do... THIS."


    Sotalia and Dretphi keep behind Bach, and both uncertainly survey the numerous activities and distractions around them. The trio cross over from the table filled section into the aisles of bookshelves and display stands. Bach glances over his shoulder to Sotalia and Dretphi. "Uh, the both of you should take a look around for yourselves. I mean, you''ve both been to a con, so you should be able to figure it out."


    Dretphi nods in agreement and slowly swings her gaze out into the novels and books. Her eyes flit wide open, and a flash of joy brightens her face. She eagerly departs for that particular section of the store. Sotalia lifts a puzzled eyebrow at Dretphi walking away. Checking around, she notices Bach not nearby and pivots around, spotting him moving towards the front counter. Shrugging, her attention drifts around to the plethora of distractions packed in the area. Bach stands up next to the counter. "Hey, Steve. How''s it going?"


    Steve breaks from his studies of figurines and rule material and smiles at Bach. "Really good, man. Looks like you brought almost everyone from your party. Except for the evuukian medical mage, Ari- What''s her name?"


    Bach smirks slyly, hints of satisfaction trickling out. "Oh. Aristespha. Yeah... She didn''t feel all too good this morning."


    He squirms slightly against memories and cringes at stale, confirming aches. "She went all out on some sword sparring yesterday and worked a few muscles too far in the process. Needed to rest up a bit."


    Steve briefly grits his teeth sympathetically and tilts his head to the side. "Man, I know that feeling. Reminds me of after my first self-defense lesson. I was sore for a week. But, can''t she heal herself?"


    Bach bites his lip and rolls his blue eyes. "Well... She was able to do some healing without too much trouble. But, I think it''s a matter of professional pride of being the healer to not have to heal themselves too much. So..."


    Steve nods and excitedly shows Bach the new figures and rule booklets nearby. Over near shelves displaying graphic novels with cover art of couples in dramatic poses upon colorful backgrounds, Dretphi collects another book and places it on the small stack in her arms. Sotalia slinks up next to Dretphi, peeks at the collection, and slides one off the top. Flipping through it, a devilish grin crosses her face. "Oh, girl. Another batch of romance books I see. Let''s see what you picked out..."


    Her eyes slowly shift between the cells of the graphic novel, and her grin fades to genuine interest. Dretphi leans and gazes over Sotalia''s shoulder at the material. Sotalia flips to the next page and stares in surprise with wide golden eyes. She exaggeratedly lifts an eyebrow at Dretphi. A slight blush of pink colors Dretphi''s cheeks. Sotalia nods slowly, understandingly. Closing the book, she places it back on the top of the stack in Drepthi''s arms and leans close. "I want to read that one after you are done."


    Dretphi straightens up her posture, stifles a smirk with a bite of a lip, and quietly responds. "It is an excellent series."


    Sotalia winks at Dretphi and scans the display racks nearby. "Oh, I''m sure it is. Speaking of series, I wonder if-"


    Kneeling down, she pulls a comic book off the shelf and stares intensely at the issue number on the cover. "Twenty eight?! But, the latest I''ve got is twenty five..."


    She furrows her brow and glances at other issues nearby. "Cideeda said she bought the latest when she gave me the last batch."


    Dretphi ponders the situation and glances down at Sotalia. "Her purchase of the latest issues. You receiving issues. They can be separate actions."


    A soft growl follows Sotalia standing up. She glowers across the shop distance between her Cideeda. Tilting her head forward, her horns show prominently, and her dark red hair falls ahead to frame her narrowing golden eyes. Cideeda idly chats with Bach and Steve. Grimacing momentarily, she glances back to meet Sotalia''s glare. Her furry ears flick back, confusion floods her face, and she mouths quietly. "What?!"


    Sotalia lifts up the issue twenty eight off to her side, points at it stiffly, and projects a demanding stare back. Cideeda briefly squints and dismissively rolls her emerald green eyes back to the conversation with Bach and Steve. Bach squirms with a strange feeling graces his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he blinks blankly spooked and returns his head forward, directing his voice towards Cideeda. "Gods, what was THAT look for?!"


    With a trailing grumble, Cideeda sighs out mild disgust. "Oh. She just found out I''ve been keeping her a few issues behind."


    Steve scratches his head and puzzles at Cideeda. "None of my business, but, why would you do that to her?"


    A sneer twitches Cideeda''s upper lip, and she glances between Steve and Bach. "Okay. So... The one time she got ahead of me in Tinkering Tina..."


    She strains a breath through her nose, wrestling the words in her mouth. "She spoiled... you-know-what."


    Bach searches his mind for the reference. Steve gasps and covers his mouth in astonishment. "No... She didn''t..."


    With an agitated flick of her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda singularly nods, a canine revealing grimace twisting her mouth. "Yes."


    Steve sighs solemnly and offers a sympathetic, acknowledging bow. "TOTALLY understand now. Spoiler breakers can''t be trusted. Justified in my book."


    He checks the clock on the wall and taps the screen on his aetherphone. "Well. Need to check the sign up sheet and get all the brackets put together. You sure you don''t want to do a historic scenario? You totally got a great Perimeter Defense Force unit that¡¯d be a tough match for half the armies here."


    Shaking her head of short, multi-colored hair, Cideeda smiles and walks to her army case nearby. "No. I deal with enough history as it is. THIS is my FUN TIME."


    Within the next half hour, people shuffle around tables, move packs of miniatures around, and set up scenery. A few patrol around, answering questions and settling debates between players. Bach watches from the sidelines and idly wander his mind between different clashes of wargamers. Wandering next to Bach, Sotalia taps his shoulder and gazes over to a side table. She points out two people playing a card game. "Hey, have you ever played Conclave of Mages before? It seems like... You play mages with spell cards drawing mana from lands? I saw there were A LOT of cards you could get to build a deck."


    Furrowing her brow, she gazes curiously at Bach, seeking a further explanation. "And... There''s a chance you could find rares that are magically enchanted in the booster packs?"


    Bach''s eye spring wide open in fright, recognition feeding a terrifying conclusion, and his blue eyes sort through the flurry of possibilities in his mind. Calming himself down with a swift exhale, he leads Sotalia down an aisle away from the players at that table. "I... Uh... Played it a long time ago. It''s not bad, but there''s a number of other games like it that are a lot better to try out."


    Sotalia follows along behind, quizzing Bach suspiciously. "Better, how so?"


    With an awkward smile, Bach moves down the aisle, searching the rows upon rows of gaming products stuffed in every crevice. "Um, A LOT less financial investment, habit forming, and lifestyle destroying. And, I''d be FAR more willing to play them with you."


    A competitive, evil grin forms on Sotalia''s face, and the two travel further into the aisles of games. At the counter, Steve idly taps upon the countertop, bewildered, focusing upon a sheet of rules next to a collection of new figurines. Glancing over to a rotund man hanging out nearby, he shakes his head in frustration. "What the hell? Commander Reti''s squad seems so counterintuitive to play."


    Walking up to the register, Dretphi places down her large stack of books and notices familiar logos and markings on both figurine and rules material. She studies them closely, and her steely gray eyes ignite in recognition. The tactical puzzle distracts Steve. "How do you make an assault with this squad?"


    A full, proud smile graces Dretphi. "You do not."


    With a curious expression, Steve glances up to Dretphi and tilts his head inquiring. "Huh. Really? Then, how do you play them? It just doesn''t seem to match the usual Grath military tactics."


    Nodding understandingly, Dretphi answers plainly. "Skirmish. Retreat. Draw their forces out. Ambush."


    Squinting down at the page of rules in front of him, Steve nods more readily, matching up tactics and rules in his mind. "Yeah... Yeah. That might just work. The bonuses and moves seem like they would support that play style. Huh. Have you played them before?"


    With a slight shrug, Dretphi shakes her head. "No."


    Confusion grows on Steve, and he eyes Dretphi curiously. "Okay. Then, how do you know their tactics?"


    Dretphi blinks nonchalantly and smirks confidently. "I know my birth father''s tactics."


    Steve reflexively nods. Seconds later, he freezes in surprise, comprehension dawning upon him, and searches for an answer up at Dretphi.

 Episode 29

    Late morning sun creeps through the blinds into the bedroom. Upon a neatly arranged desk, aged tomes lay open, dense text upon the weathered and yellowed pages, and sticky tags of hand written notes adorn the margins. Notepads and journals intermix with tablets and encircle a neatly kept laptop. On a collapsible table against the wall, an arrangement of medical equipment and magic devices sprawl out upon the smooth surface, arranged in an methodical order. In its ornate scabbard, the Sword of the Spirit Realm rests against the corner of the bed between the nightstand. Sebastian''s ethereal forms crouches next to a figure underneath the layers of covers. "Morning, dear."


    A slight stir accompanies a halfhearted grumble, and the mass of sheets tightens defiantly around someone within. A playful smile emerges on Sebastian, and he leans closer to the covers. "Come on. Time to get up, dear. You know if you just lay in there, sore and in pain, for much longer..."


    He softly warns with a direct whisper. "I''m just going to have to get Sotalia to come in here with a potion or two for you."


    The blankets retreat and reveal a disorganized mess of silvery blue hair and a pair of violet eyes peering through it. "No..."


    Sebastian grins slyly and perks an eyebrow, chuckling softly. "No, what?"


    An ivory hand grasps the edge of the covers tightly and pries the sheets away from Aristespha''s face. "No, I am getting up, Sebastian."


    A warm smile spreads on Sebastian''s face, and he hovers to a seat on the bed next to the stirring Aristespha. "Well, you are moving a lot better today. No curses in Evuukian I couldn''t understand..."


    He slides a translucent blue glance over to Aristespha. "So far."


    Aristespha gradually rises with the bundle of sheets and rights herself on top of the bed carefully, fighting a grimace. "I still can NOT believe I am this sore, STILL."


    Sebastian averts his eyes away briefly with a sympathetic grit of the teeth and laughs into a sigh. "Well... You did go all out on Bach with sword fighting. And... You were really conservative with the magical healing yesterday on yourself."


    With a hint of concern, he stares lovingly at Aristespha. Releasing a long embarrassed sigh, Aristespha rolls her eyes at herself. "A proper medical mage should not be their own patient. You are supposed to reserve healing magics for your party unless you are in dire circumstances-"


    A hard, eye wincing cringe seizes her, and the covers slip off down of her. Feeling along the back of her nightgown, she reaches for a particular spot in the middle of her back between the shoulder blades. "Gods, of all the spots for a muscle ache... Argh..."


    Placing his elbow on his knee, Sebastian props his head up on his hand, and covers a knowing smirk. "Can I at least have her get you a fresh cold pack?"


    Determined defiance bolsters Aristespha''s self-reliant desires, and she carefully stretches her body out from under the covers. "I can get it MYSELF. I just need to stretch out, take some regular aspirin, and tough it out for another day. It is just a few spots that are still painful. I can manage just FINE."


    Working herself to a seat upon the bed, she rests her feet upon the floor and gently flexes a number of sore and stiff spots across her body between blends of grimaces, cringes, and winces. Sebastian''s ghostly figure slides next to her and smiles warm, lovingly. "Okay, dear. You know I''ll do what I can for you. Even when you completely overexert yourself by beating up my brother."


    Aristespha playfully rolls her violet eyes and fights off a wave of embarrassment with a self-aware smirk. "Well... I could not help myself. I actually got an attack through and hit your brother, repeatedly. Unlike someone who would only let attacks go through when he felt like placating my ego..."


    With a sultry smile, she eyes Sebastian and perks an amused eyebrow. "For absolutely ulterior motives."


    With a dismissive sigh, Sebastian jokingly crosses his arms and shakes his head. "I would NEVER let you win for such a thing as ulterior motives."


    He gazes into Aristespha''s eyes with a charming smile and a soft tone. "That was just your natural talent shining through."


    The two stare at each other for seconds. Aristespha laughs softly, biting her lip. "Gods, how that still works on me I will never know."


    Sebastian perks a sly brow and smugly smirks at Aristespha. "How WHAT works on you?"


    Aristespha snorts dismissively and rolls her eyes away from the question. A melodic digital chime rings out into the room and softly bounces off the walls. Both Sebastian and Aristespha spot the aetherphone on the desk, vibrating and flashing its screen. Sebastian''s ghostly form zips over to the other side of the room and examines the phone. Aristespha leans forward and prepares to stand up, stretching a stiff back muscle. "Who is it, Sebastian?"


    Sebastian snaps his head up in surprise. "OH. It''s Nash, dear!"


    Launching from the bed, Aristespha steps forward normally, initially. Her motions quickly stiffen and grow more awkward the further she travels across the room. The lingering sore spots stagger her progress, and she stubbornly powers through the stiffness, gritting her teeth. Grasping hold of the desk chair, she pulls it out and flops upon it. With a quick snatch of the phone, she presses the answer button and places it to her very long, pointed ear. "Nash! Grant me one moment. Please."


    Aristespha taps the hold button on the phone screen and searches around the area for Sebastian. She locates him at the door, gazing at her expectantly. A pain tinged sigh escapes Aristespha, and she pushes aside her pride for a meek smile upon her ivory face. "Tell Sotalia to mix up a mild analgesic and anti-inflammatory with the weakest alchemical muscle relaxant potion. Use the topical delivery salve. Bring the adhesive gauze pads. Please?"


    Sebastian nods slowly and winks at Aristespha. "Will do, dear."


    He floats through the door and slips out of sight. Aristespha settles to some comfort in the desk chair and takes a calming breath, pressing the hold button off on the screen. "Sorry about that. So, how has your morning been, Nash?"


    ----


    Thin beams of bright light weave through the thick forest canopy and surround the outlines upon the sparsely littered forest floor. Clouds pass overhead and mask out the sun from the scattered silhouettes upon the leaf and brush covered ground. Slipping between the underbrush, Deedri walks expeditiously from one large trunk to another large trunk and occasionally stops, picking up another large seed upon the ground cover. Holding her position, she surveys the area suspiciously, her furry ears flicking towards an unseen source, and waits expectantly. Modoran steps out from behind a tree and waves with a nonchalant smile to Deedri. "Do not worry. We are not being followed."


    A long sigh of relief escapes Deedri. Relaxing her tense muscles, she manages a small, contented smile. "Oh, good. Thank you so much for helping me. I just need a break from..."


    Furrowing her brow, her tone roughens and her furry ears droop towards her shoulders. "Well... ALL of it."


    Modoran glances back down Deedri''s path and nods slowly with a sympathetic eye roll. "OH. I know. Gods, I know. I have to take breaks all the time for my own sanity."


    Strolling up past Deedri, he squints his dark blue eyes ahead and idly wanders his gaze through the forest. "I will admit I felt a bit bad dodging the camera crews before. But, now... Not so much. Not. At. All."


    Deedri contorts the flit of irritation upon her fair face and catches up to Modoran. "Well, stealth is your profession and all, so I understand keeping out of sight. And, gods, I really can''t blame you."


    Narrowing a brief glare back down the path, she snarls her upper lip faintly. "Especially lately."


    A thought twitches upon the dusky bluish gray skin of Modoran''s face, and he turns towards Deedri with a perplexed lift of an eyebrow. "Do you mind if I ask a personal question?"


    With a quick fluttering blink, Deedri perks up and carefully watches Modoran. "You may ask, but I can''t say if I''ll answer."


    Modoran nods with a short smile and tilts his head inquisitively to the side. "Why did you ever sign up for something like this? I have to be honest, you really do not fit in with the rest of the team."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes briefly open wide, the statement startling her. Her expression saddens, her ears droop down, and her posture sags. Modoran swiftly summons up a comforting smile and gazes at Deedri reassuringly. "Hey! That is a GOOD thing, Deedri. The rest of the team are belligerent ASSHOLES! AND, I''ve worked with plenty. These are some of the most brazen ones I have encountered yet."


    An uplifting spark lightens Deedri''s mood, and she struggles expressing her satisfaction against cautious humility. "Well, I wouldn''t go so far as to say that..."


    She averts her eyes away from the scrutinizing stare of Modoran. Evading for a few moments, she smiles tightly and carefully allows modest thoughts out into her reserved words. "But, they have proven... Needlessly difficult. VERY. OFTEN."


    With the hint of a grin, Modoran rocks his head from shoulder to shoulder, accepting the response. "Oh, I will agree with you there. So, again, why did you sign up for this show of all things? YOU are a medical mage. Surely, there are better places for you to work than this disaster in the making?"


    Deedri sighs sadly and slowly shakes her head of braided back, multicolor hair. She manages to keep a smile upon her face and summons her resolve. "I''m a medical mage, from a very low end school. The program is accredited and still very good, but..."


    She wrestles against a frown and tenses her posture, her tail drooping. "The school isn''t really prestigious or well known."


    Lowering her head, she walks next to Modoran and clasps her hands down on her apron. "After SO MANY applications and interviews... I just couldn''t manage to get hired on by any group or company after graduation."


    Modoran gazes over to Deedri and furrows his brow, pondering out loud. "No one? No one wanted a medical mage? Every adventuring group I''ve ever heard of worth talking about has one. Wouldn''t the public sector have positions, too?"


    Deedri''s shoulders sag low, and she shrinks her posture slightly with her thoughts. "Well... All the nice paying positions either wanted more years of experience than I could provide or a license from a top ranking school. I mean, I could always get a job via placement by the school and, EVENTUALLY, pay off my loans..."


    Wrestling down the discomforting bubbling up on her fair face, she glances off to the side. "But, I..."


    She swallows hard and grits her teeth momentarily. "I didn''t want to think I worked so hard to not progress that much at all. Just to still be struggling to get ahead the same as I was before going to school."


    Drawing in a long breath through her nose, she straightens up and puts forth a smile, glancing up to Modoran. "So... Watched the last season''s finale of the show, saw the announcement for applications, and applied. I got accepted. And... Here I am. If nothing else, I''ll at least pay down my loans a good deal, and my mother won''t have to worry about me not having a job."


    Modoran stares forward at a distant break of the treeline and chuckles to himself. "Wow. Well... I applied for very similar reasons, too. So, don''t feel bad. I know how it feels when plans don''t go your way."


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perk up, and she angles her head to face Modoran with a genuine inquisitiveness. "Really? I don''t want to be rude and pry too much, but would you tell me your reasons?"


    With a brief grin to Deedri, Modoran scratches the back of his head, tinges of embarrassment slipping out into his demeanor. "Sure. It''s only fair. Um... Uh... Well, I am pretty unemployable in my homeland."


    Treading cautiously, Deedri furrows her brow, blatant confusion contrasting against the sympathetic desires in her tone. "Oh... Um... Because, the demand for your skills and abilities changed and people got really superficially picky?"


    Modoran laughs, shakes head of white hair, and grins slyly, crossing his arms. "Surprisingly, no. There is ALWAYS someone that wants someone to keep an eye on someone else, or acquire... Misplaced items. It''s actually for more political reasons that I could not get any more work..."


    Twisting away a frown, he slips a sigh under a strained breath. "... after a particular incident."


    A wave of discomfort creeps across Modoran''s body, and he keeps his head forward with a weakening grin. Flicking her furry ears around, Deedri studies Modoran and dons a cheerful smile, facing ahead. "Well, it''s good to know that I''m not the only one that was out of work and had no great prospects. Honestly, it''s actually very comforting and nice to know."


    Unease fades, and Modoran smiles with an appreciative nod. "Same here. Well, the show is crazy, but..."


    Lifting an eyebrow, he widens an entrepreneurial smirk. "They pay."


    Leaning his head over, he inquires out of the corner of his mouth. "So, I have to ask, too. Do you really like that bell you wear around your neck?"


    Deedri contorts her face, contemplating an answer. She sighs and grimaces briefly, revealing her pronounced canines. "Initially... I thought it was really cute. But, I''m a bit OVER it at this point."


    Narrowing a distance glare forward, she grumbles in defeat. "Unfortunately, Samantha keeps on making me put it on when we do anything official... With the rest of the outfit."


    A sinister grin creeps onto Modoran''s dusky, bluish gray face, and he stares forward with a sly laugh. "Want me to relocate it for you?"


    Deedri''s long, fluffy tail perks up into a wag. With an intrigued gasp, she stiffens her posture and bites her lip in eager thought. "Um... I don''t want to cause you any trouble..."


    Narrowing an annoyed glare ahead, she flicks her furry, tufted ears back. "Unfortunately, I think the crew may have a few spares around, and I don''t know where they all are."


    Modoran chuckles darkly and gazes forward, furrowing his curiosity upon his brow. "I am actually curious how many spares they got. Might see how many I could displace before they start asking questions."


    Squinting ahead, he scans the treeline perimeter ahead. "Huh. Looks like a clearing of sorts ahead. I am guessing, but the lighting looks off though."


    Deedri focuses her auburn eyes in the direction that Modoran faces and excitedly rushes ahead. "No way! This is amazing!"


    Modoran blinks in surprise and speeds up, keeping pace just behind Deedri. The two reach the forest edge and stop to survey the scene. Within a massive clearing, in the middle of a moat of tall grasses, a colony of protellow plants tower high in the air. Thick, tree trunk wide vine stalks sway with the passing breeze tugging the huge broad leaves. Atop each plant, massive circular flowers rock in the sun with their tightly packed seeds, petals full of yellow, red, blue, purple, or white shades. The protellows shift with the winds and, upon the imposing outline of the botanical monstrosities, colorful pods reveal themselves within fluffy tufts. One protellow in the middle towers above the rest surrounding. The meter thick base stays perfectly rigid against the passing gusts, and the stalk barely trembles from the force of its dozens of sun blotting leaves tugging against it. Stepping towards the sight, Deedri gazes up in joyful awe, her auburn eyes shining in delight. "I can''t believe it! I knew it had to be large from a distance. But... OH, this is absolutely astounding!"


    Modoran cocks his head to the side and eyes Deedri in sheer bewilderment. "Uh, what am I looking at here?"


    With a near skip in each step, Deedri walks towards the huge cluster of plants through the surrounding tall grass. "It''s a protellow patch! Or, technically, a colony."


    Double-taking, Modoran raises a finger point toward the largest protellow and traces the up to its full height, his jaw hanging agape. "THAT is a protellow?! That thing is at least... Three... No- FOUR times the size of the thing that hit Chad''s SUV!"


    Carefully approaching, Deedri reaches a hand out to a much smaller protellow just over her height and examines a leaf within her claw-tipped fingers. "IT has to be very old. I wonder what variety these are? Protellow genetics are just fascinating. There is SO much variety in one ancient genetically engineered plant."


    Modoran wanders forward, staring up in amazement, and trips over an exposed root. Instinctively, he balances himself upright and deftly recovers. "Whu- GODS. Look at the ROOTS on this thing! These are bigger than anything in the forest."


    He blinks in surprise and leans down, squinting at the ground. "Wait... Are those... potatoes?"


    Deedri snaps her wide-eyed gaze down onto the dirt and rushes over. She kneels close to the spot and digs into the dirt with her hands. Easing down to his knees, Modoran assists, clearing the dirt away, following Deedri''s lead. A minute later, the two expose a large network of tubers within a patch of loose soil between pipeline roots. Examining her find, Deedri grins ear to ear, her tail wagging excitedly. She plucks a smaller tuber right out of the ground, eagerly eyes it, and halves it with a swift bite. Blinking blankly, Modoran stares in confusion and surprise. Deedri happily chews on the tuber and smiles in pure delight, swaying in giddy joy. Noticing Modoran''s bewilderment, she fights the surge of embarrassment upon her fair face, a shade of faint red forming on her cheeks. Modoran glances down at the nest of tubers, pulls one from the bundle off the smaller roots, and inspects it closely. With a nonchalant shrug, he bites a chunk off and chews. Moments later, pleasure fills his face, and he nods in agreement towards Deedri. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Really surprised they have that much flavor."


    Deedri renews her happy smile, reaches down, and plucks more off the clusters. "I KNOW! My mother has recipes for protellow tubers, fruits, seed pods, stalks, leaves, flower petals, and well... Just everything using the plant."


    Modoran twists a few tubers out of the soil and presents them to Deedri. "How does your mother know so much about cooking these plants? I never heard of them being cooked that many ways."


    Deedri briefly averts her eyes with a bite of the lip and sighs uneasily. "Well... We were pretty poor and lived really far out in the outskirts of town. So, you had to make due with what you had. Thankfully, there were a bunch of protellows in the area, and I''d always go foraging with my mother to gather up all we could."


    With a gentle smile, Modoran nods and studies the growing pile of tubers resting upon Deedri''s apron. "That sounds like it was fun. So, what are you going to do with all of these?"


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Quickly checking one of the nearby larger plants, Deedri points a claw tip out to the colorful tufts around a collection of pods. "If we could get a few of those and one of the big leaves, I think we might have the rest of the ingredients for tuber wraps at the house."


    A gleeful grin brightens up Deedri''s face. Halting in thought a moment, she eyes the area and sighs with a little disappointment. "But, we really NEED to gather some of the more alchemical and medicinal components before we go back."


    She stares up at a tall, nearby protellow, and squints to the highest point. Slipping off her apron with the tubers onto the ground, she stands up and walks over to the base of the plant. Flexing her clawed fingers, she digs her toe claws into the dirt through her new toed boots and aims her determination at the plant. "What we need is near the top of the vine where the leaves sprout from the stalk. There''s usually a few fluid sacs that contain some useful reagents. It''s been a while, but I think I can scale this one."


    Modoran snaps his head to Deedri, up to the distant top of the protellow, and glances back towards Deedri. "If you need to get something from up there I can-"


    Finding the spot Deedri was, he traces the length of the wide protellow stalk up and watches Deedri powering up the stretch of massive vine. With an impressed smirk, he steps up to the base and incants with a few gestures. Magical energy flowing to his hands and feet, he scales the plant slowly and trailing behind Deedri.


    ----


    A faint drone of technology echoes in the large office. Upon shelves and desktops, bits and pieces of computing electronics liter the area and intertwine with paperwork and books. Across from a wall-mounted row of large flat panel monitors, Nash and Harvos sit opposite each other at the old, wooden desk. Nash rocks back slowly into his chair and groans in sync with the creak of his chair, idly shaking his head. Harvos props his head up with his arm, his elbow resting upon the desk. His bright brown on black eyes briefly entertain a peek at the bursts of information on the displays, and he turns his head away with a long sigh. Turning his rolling chair, he rests both elbows on the desk and grabs hold of his tall horns, defeated, frustrated. "I need a break from reading this incident report."


    Wandering his focus to a computer screen on his desk, Nash taps a few buttons on a keyboard and slouches back into the squeaking office chair. "Oh gods, yes. This is just beyond fucked. And... And, we haven''t even cracked open the rest of the bullshit they were trying to hide in those servers. I mean... Fuck. Tip of the iceberg shit here."


    Document windows close out on the large displays and reveal a plain computer desktop upon the array. With a distant stare, Harvos shakes his head, furrowing his confused brow. "I still can NOT believe they had a server rack hidden in the old walled off stairwell. Still running, and connected to the system."


    He flutters his eyes in sheer surprise and holds his hand up in disbelief. "And... it''s full of decatalogged data."


    Nash tilts his head forward, quirking an eyebrow. "You''re amazed about a server rack and not the boxes of paperwork they had stashed in there?"


    Harvos sits upright and shrugs his broad shoulders underneath his jacket. "Oh. Well. To be perfectly honest, my department is fairly desensitized when it comes to breaking into old buildings and finding dusty paperwork. THAT is almost expected. It would actually be strange if we didn''t find anything. On the other hand, we typically don''t find working computing equipment that contains fully detailed records of an absolute travesty. Especially, not with accounts of the following coverup operation."


    Nash searches his mind in thought and nods in an unfortunate agreement. "Huh. Yeah... Point. Taken. Make sense, actually."


    With a squeal of his chair, he leans forward from reclining, draws in a long breath, and grumbles. "Fuck. It''s only Monday, and my week is already shot. This is going to take all my spare time to comb through these systems. There''s just so much there."


    Twisting his mouth, Harvos releases his horns and squints bewildered at Nash. "The sheer amount of effort they went to... They preserved the data. They took the effort to sneak it someplace they could quietly seal away. And, still kept it active enough so the database integrity checks wouldn''t fire off alerts. Premeditated does not do it justice."


    Shaking his head slowly, Nash blinks a few times in a daze of thought and groans. "I KNOW. The nodes were connected, so the system watchdogs could still generate all the checksums. That made sure no system degradation alerts would clue anyone into what was going on. All this hidden for over a decade. What the fuck..."


    With the gradual slide of his chair, Harvos plants his feet firmly and stands up tall in a body stretch. "Have you updated Aristespha?"


    Nash rolls out from under his deck, spins the chair, and throws himself forward. "Yesterday. Gave her the quick summary of what was happening. Wish I could give her more, but between this discovery and the hornets nest of higher ups her report stirred... I have to figure more of this out before I even know if I have anything that I haven''t told her yet."


    Finishing the last of his stretches, Harvos pauses sharply when an idea jumps to the front of his mind. He glances at Nash with an epiphany contorting his light gray face. "Ten years ago... Ten years ago... My predecessor''s predecessor retired from the department abruptly a few months after a major accident. Somewhere near that area but not this site... Officially."


    The two exchange long, distant stares. Nash breaks the silence and firmly palms his face, his frustration venting out. "Oh, gods DAMMIT! I bet you anything they used that to shade out this whole place. I- I- Fuck! That makes too much sense. Why does it have to make sense?!"


    He rolls his eyes and mumbles to himself. "Is this how my uncle feels when he''s going on with his latest conspiracy theory?"


    With a grumbling groan, Harvos nods and wrestles a frown down. "And... How many have kept their silence for all these years? I believe we may need to have a nice long conversation with one particular Dr. Dawkins."


    Nash blinks hard and radiates reluctant, conflicted comprehension. "Oh, shit. Well... Before we plot any more upsets in the house of The Grand Library, can we at least get some lunch, my friend?"


    A few steps and quick grasp of the door handle later, Harvos opens the office door and dramatically gestures outwards to Nash. "After you, good sir."


    The two exit the office, and Nash locks up behind them. Walking through the large hallways of activity, they weave between groups of students and academics migrating between classes and around the gatherings of last minute study sessions. Traveling down the main stairwell, they exit out into one of the large walkways of campus. Once Nash chooses a direction, Harvos eyes him with a knowing smirk. "Ah, yes. The good old Wall Street today?"


    Glancing over, Nash shrugs nonchalantly and continues his pace. "Well, I''m buying two half liters. I was hoping you could keep me from drinking one of them."


    Harvos grins with a flash of mischief in his eyes. "Oh. Just one?"


    Nash returns a similar grin and laughs slyly. "Now, THAT''S the spirit."


    ----


    Within the prep area of the kitchen, Sotalia rummages inside the refrigerator, sliding items around, and clears the path for sport drink from the very back. She quickly twists the cap off and tilts the beverage into her mouth. Releasing the handle, the refrigerator door drifts back closed. Sotalia steps out from the area next to the dining table and wipes the sweat off her forehead with the towel around her neck. "I''m STILL waiting for you to teach me THOSE spells. Bach."


    Bach lifts his head off the couch seat cushion and peers over his sprawled out self, glancing at Sotalia. He settles his head back along with the rest of his body. "In time. You still haven''t got that fireball optimized as much as you need to before taking on something like THOSE spells."


    A brief glare narrows upon Bach, and Sotalia rolls her golden eyes with a dismissive huff. "GODS. How optimized does it have to be?! There''s only so much you can do with ONE spell."


    Reaching for a pillow on the back of the couch, Bach stuffs it under his head and grimaces. "Well, it''s not so much optimizing the spell as it is practice for you to handle magic flow better..."


    Noticing Sotalia''s lift of an unamused eyebrow, Bach avert his eyes away towards the television and tenses briefly. "Listen. Before I teach anyone a spell that has the potential of slicing matter to near microscopic pieces, I just want to make sure that person is prepared. Okay?"


    With a frustrated groan, Bach pulls himself up to face Sotalia, stopping abruptly the moment he meets her eyes far sooner than expected. Crossing her arms assertively, Sotalia stands defiantly next to the couch and glares down. Bach sighs into a wince with a pinch of the bridge of his nose and gazes right at Sotalia. "You have to UNDERSTAND. The regular disintegration beam is dangerous enough, and that spell keeps the destruction AWAY from you. It has protections to keep the dangers effects ahead of you. The D-Ball contains that destructive force in a carefully crafted ball that DOES NOT want to stay a ball."


    A wave of honest concern fills Bach, and he stares up at Sotalia. "I don''t want to haphazardly hand that knowledge off, and you get hurt because I forgot to go into some detail or didn''t factor in a variable. This whole spell is something I came up with on a whim and got REALLY lucky with figuring out..."


    Glancing off to the side, he contorts his face uncomfortably with a squirm down his body. "And somehow, I didn''t render myself a pile of... disorientated atomic matter."


    The glare fades from Sotalia, and she tugs uneasily at the corners of her mouth. Her light tan face warms up with an agreeable smile, and she uncrosses her arms slowly. Placing her hands on her hips, she sighs in a begrudging acceptance. "Fine. I understand. But, can we try optimizing some other spell?"


    She glances off to the side and cocks her head. "I can''t believe I''m saying this. But, I''m getting bored of fireballs."


    Bach lowers his head back on the pillow and nods with a smirk. "Oh, yeah. There''s a few other spells that would be good practice to optimize."


    Sotalia grins slyly and struts away. "Good. I''m thinking the freeze beam next time."


    A nervous chuckle manages to free itself from Bach, and he briefly arches his back. Moments later, a series of alert chimes ring out simultaneously into a rough chorus around the house. Bach and Sotalia retrieve their aetherphone and search through notifications. From the hallway, soft taps of claws and footsteps upon hardwood sound out. With aetherphone in hand, Cideeda wanders into the living area, flicking her furry ears between Sotalia and Bach. "Looks like a bounty alert for the area from the local guild."


    Sotalia slowly drags her finger up her phone screen and scrolls through the alert text. "Huh, strange. That''s a healthy bounty for someone not considered armed and without any kind of special precautions."


    Sebastian floats into the room from the hall archway with Aristespha and Dretphi following behind. "Check out the arrest record, and you''ll see why."


    Everyone skips through the lists of information and arrives at the arrest section in near unison. Bach''s eyes flit wide open in surprise, and he reads the charges off the list. "Holy. Shit. HOW MUCH money did this guy run off with?!"


    Dretphi''s stoic demeanor waivers into shock, her mind totaling the fiscal amounts her steely gray eyes perceive. Slowly shaking her head, she covers her mouth lightly. "Bounty is MINUSCULE to the funds stolen. Amazing."


    With Sebastian hovering near, Aristespha stiffly walks over to the couch chair and eases herself into the seat. Reclining back with phone in constant view, she studies the text, her violet eyes narrowing. "It says he may be heading to the Amaranth Valley area or further. I guess he may be trying to run for the Perimeter Weird Zone."


    Perking an eyebrow, Sotalia chuckles to herself in a snide cadence and settles herself into the stabilized magical energy chair at the end of the couch. "Ha! An illusionist! Well, THAT explains a lot. That''s the only type of person I figured would be stupid enough to think they could pull this crap off."


    She mutters under her breath. "And stupid enough to think going to the PWZ would be an escape plan."


    Scratching her light brown chin, Cideeda nods a few times and narrows her emerald green eyes, contemplating the details on her aetherphone. "That would make SOME sense. I know a few cons and scams you could do to manage some of what he''s done. But... You have to have some kind of ability or serious help to pull off anything as big as THESE."


    Bach pushes himself up to a seat on the couch, tucking the pillow behind his back, and furrows a curious gaze at Sotalia. "So... Don''t care much for illusionists, Sotalia?"


    With a dismissive eye roll, Sotalia waves off the notion and laughs wryly. "There''s nothing wrong with illusion magic. I''m sure those that focus in it and practice it exclusively find rewarding jobs in the marketplace-"


    She bites down a reflexive chortle and stifles a snort. Bach slowly turns his head back towards Aristespha and Sebastian with an inquisitive eyebrow lift. Sebastian shakes his head and quietly sighs. Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and mouths to Bach. "I will tell you more later."


    Placing her phone back in her shorts, Cideeda shrugs with a toothy grin. "Hey, if nothing else, it might be a good payday if we find him. We''ve had to hunt down worse to get far less."


    Aristespha nods to that sentiment and twists the blue and gray hint on her ivory face apprehensively. "If he is an illusionist, I highly doubt he will be walking around looking like his picture in public. But..."


    Furrowing her brow, she cocks her head of long, silvery blue hair. "If he goes too overboard hiding his face, he may be easily detectable with mage sight. Regardless... This is something to keep in mind."


    With a spark of curiosity, Bach shifts his attention around and glances over at Cideeda. "So, you all have had to hunt down worse?"


    Each tail flick ushers an old memory rising up into Cideeda''s mind, and she leans against the hallway archway, ambivalent. "Oh. We''ve dealt with a wide range of bounties. The typical scum of the earth that makes you question why there was an Alive option. The hard luck cases. And, all in between."


    Sliding her phone into her pocket, Dretphi rests her hands on her hips and smiles at Bach. "We prefer Alive only bounties. Others tend to be dangerous, morally uncomfortable. Alive bounties tend to be negotiable. Workable. Often will surrender before fighting."


    Sebastian ethereally laughs and snorts with a faint echo, drifting next to Bach. "You NEVER know what you''ll run into, bro. There was one that was happy to be caught. Oddly happy."


    An awkward silence hangs in the room. A wave of embarrassment radiates through, highlighting uncomfortable sore spots upon egos and wounded prides. Sebastian eyes the unease playfully with a sly smirk. "Oh. Don''t play dumb! None of us will ever forget Leen."


    Groans of old frustrations and reflective sighs fill the living room. Blinking his confusion, Bach observes the reactions, searching for an explanation. Failing to suppress an amused smirk, Cideeda waves her hand out. "Gods. I thought it was so weird he kept mentioning how loose the restraints were and only stopped when I tightened them."


    Bach''s interest piques, and he wanders a gaze around the room, settling his confusion upon Sebastian. "Okay... I''m obviously missing something."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form shrugs his arms out to the sides with an ill-humored grin. "Well... Leen was a SPECIAL case. He was an alchemical psychedelics abuser that fried his mind a long time ago. He''s a bit wild but ultimately harmless. Unfortunately, he figured out how to escape the facility that cared for him. And, well, he learned he really had fun escaping, evading, and getting captured. So, he kept on doing it and getting REALLY GOOD at it."


    With a twist in the corner of her mouth, Sotalia glances over and waves her hand out. "The facility guards and the local police couldn''t catch him anymore. And he refused to go back until someone caught him."


    She rolls her eyes and sighs, brushing dark red hair over a horn. "So, the guild has been called multiple times over the years to send a party out to get him. We were in the area at the time he escaped a few years ago and bid on the job."


    A snicker escapes Cideeda, she covers her mouth and eyes Dretphi. "I will never forget the grin on his face when you carried him over your shoulder back to the campsite after he got loose."


    Crossing her muscular arms, Dretphi warps her tan face between abject bewilderment and genuine annoyance. "He kept asking... Again."


    From the recliner, Aristespha leans towards Bach on the couch, smirking. "Sebastian was his favorite of our group. He liked how Sebastian wanted to talk about what he wanted to talk about."


    Sebastian strains out a long groan and grumbles. "Gods forbid I decide to put those psychology classes to use and quite literally talk him down... From a tree."


    Blinking a few times, Bach''s brain processes the situation, imagining the antics, and bounces his surprise between the team. "WOW. That must have been something else. Whatever happened to him?"


    Cideeda presents a toothy grin to Bach and chuckles. "Oh. The facility got smart. Started charging bounty hunter groups to capture Leen as a training exercise."


    ----


    Off to a side of the backyard behind the two-story house, Veevi idly fidgets and impatiently waits, flicking her short hair tail around with her boredom. Chad walks up to her with a box behind his back. Strutting up next to her with his trademark white smile, he glances around briefly, noting where all the cameras are. "Veevi. For whatever our next mission will be, we need to have you at the ready. You are showing promise as an adventurer, and you will come into your own in time. But, I think I can provide something that will help you out more immediately."


    He presents the case to Veevi, placing a hand dramatically on the latch, and opens it at a slow, purposeful pace. Off to the side, near the back sliding glass door, Modoran, Deedri, Tassilda, and Trakenthin observe from a distance. The gathering watch with a mix of neutral, unamused expressions and direct their suspicions upon the box in Chad''s hand. Squinting and narrowing eyes hunt for a glimpse of what''s in the box. Excitement fills Veevi, and she completely fails to contain her giddiness, grinning brightly. Chad gently motions the box to Veevi, and she reaches a sharp nailed hand inside. Moments later, she lifts up her hand, gripping a shiny new laser pistol. "YES! I''ve always wanted to fire one of these!"


    An immediate silence flushes out the ambiance. Shock, abject terror, and absolute bewilderment compete for realty on all other faces in the area. Trakenthin''s expression blanks, an eyebrow hikes up, and one eye winces into a narrowing squint. Tassilda covers the gasp from her mouth in wide-eyed horror, blinking her light blue on black eyes in sheer bewilderment. Deedri visibly pales, her fair face lightening further, and fright stiffens her posture. Modoran reflexively swears in a dialect of evuukian and frantically searches around him, struggling to form other words. "... ... Oh, fuck this..."


    Swiftly reaching a hand out to the handle of the sliding glass door, he silently glides it open and slips his thin frame in partially, staring back to the rest of the group. Feeling the fast, repetitive tapping from Modoran''s finger on her shoulder, Deedri snaps out of her stupor and glances over. She watches Modoran signal her and the others to follow and hesitantly motions over towards Chad and Veevi. "But... They might need me in case of-"


    Two gray skinned, long nailed hands grip Deedri''s shoulders firmly and rotate her abruptly towards the two-story house''s back entrance. Leaning close to Deedri''s furry, tufted ear, Tassilda enthusiastically propels Deedri forward. "Oh, don''t worry. If they need you, we will probably just as easily hear the screams of help from inside."


    Trakenthin slowly shakes his head and grumbles to himself, following Tassilda. Deedri, Tassilda, and Trakenthin file into the house, and Modoran gently slides the glass door back shut, the group retreating further inside. Samantha blinks to an astonished grin, hugs her clipboard in anticipation, and glances over to Gerald. "Are you getting this?!"


    Examining the empty spot next to her, she searches the area around the perimeter of the yard. She spots Gerald taking refuge behind a large charcoal grill. Detaching the monitor display from his camera, Gerald balances the camera on top of the grill top and adjusts the aim using the viewfinder from behind cover. Samantha glances towards Chad and Veevi and revelation hits. She stares wide-eyed back at Gerald and scurries into a crawl on the ground behind a concrete planter near the grill. The rest of the camera crew swiftly adopt similar tactics and frantically duck into cover wherever it resides. Veevi nearly hops in place with the pistol in her hands. "I can''t wait to shoot it!"


    Chad grins boldly, nods, and points out across to the fence row on the outer edge of the yard. "I set up some cans and bottles for you to use as targets. I figured you would want to get some practice in the second you got it."


    Veevi''s pink pupil eyes widen in delight, and she pulls a sharp grin across her tan face. "OH, I definitely DO. What do I need to do?!"


    Placing the box on the grass nearby, Chad pulls a power pack out and holds it toward Veevi. "Well, first, you''ll want to load it."


    Veevi removes a hand from the pistol, grasps onto the power pack, and studies it and the pistol. She cutely, coyly squirms and pleadingly eyes Chad. "Could you show me how to load it properly? It''s my first time with something like this, and I don''t know what to do."


    Bravado emboldens Chad, and he holds his hands out with a bright smile. "Oh, not a problem. Just watch carefully, I''ll demonstrate-"


    An alluring gaze from Veevi meets Chad, and she softly speaks. "Well... I was hoping to do it but with a little... hands on guidance from someone... far more experienced."


    A sly grin creeps across Chad''s face, and he nods confidently. "Oh, I completely understand. I wouldn''t want to take away from your first experience."


    Wrapping his arms around either side of Veevi, he gently supports her hands and guides her through the motions. "Now, you turn the pistol this way. Line up the pack up to the bottom of the grip. And, just push it in until it clicks."


    With Chad''s assistance, Veevi slides the power pack in with a click, and the pistol''s status lights flicker to life. Chad takes Veevi through the arming steps and lines up her first shot upon a tin can on a fence post. Removing his hands from hers around the pistol, he steps back with a grin. "Now, that should be lined up. Just gently squeeze the trigger when you are ready."


    The wind dies down. Tension wafts within the stale air. Veevi holds the pistol shakily. She jerks the trigger, and a wayward green beam cuts through the air, centimeters above the tin can into the grassy hill behind. Veevi squeaks in surprise, her short-haired tail fluffing up. "OH! WOW!"


    The initial flush of excitement washes over her. Glancing timidly back with a flutter of her eyes, she strokes back her pink hair. "I''m so sorry. I just got nervous and a little too excited. Could you help line up the shot again? And, show me what you meant by squeezing the trigger."


    The sly grin upon Chad grows bolder, and he reaches his hands out behind Veevi''s. "Of course. What leader would I be without taking time to help my team members?"


    Moving behind Veevi, he lowers his head above her shoulder and eyes the sights of the laser pistol. His hands over hers, he directs the aim of the barrel and lines up a shot. "Now, look through the sights. Both the forward and the rear sights should line up and be over the tin can."


    Veevi closes one eye, stares down the sights, and gradually nods. "They are."


    Chad''s hand grips over Veevi''s hand, and he rests a finger over her trigger finger''s knuckle. "Now, I''m going to help you squeeze the trigger. Just feel the pressure, and learn from how much it takes."


    The trigger slowly actuates, pivoting closer to the handle. The mechanism engages with a click. A beam projects out, squarely onto a tin can. With a bright green flash, it jumps off the fence post, leaving a faint trail of smoke behind it, and drops onto the ground. Chad flashes his trademark smile and confidently speaks. "And, THAT is how it''s done. I think you might have some natural talent."


    A sly, sinister smile peeks out from the corner of Veevi''s mouth. Slowly gazing upon Chad''s muscular arms around her, she glances over a shoulder to his confident grin. With a flexing motion, she lifts her head up and back into Chad''s shoulder. She rolls her shoulders onto his chest, pressing her back firmly onto his torso. With a few slow, purposeful shifts of her weight, she seductively catches his gaze. Smirking sultry, she perks her fuzzy ears and resumes her stance forward. Her tail flicks up and brushes up between Chad''s legs. Donning her coy exterior, she aims the pistol at a new target. "If it''s not too much trouble... Could you help me shoot a few more cans just to make sure I got the hang of it?"


    Her tone softens with an eager edge, alluding to her prior demeanor. "Also, I really want to pull my weight for the next mission. So, if it''s possible..."


    She bites her lower lip with a subtle squirm down her body. "Could you give me lessons in tactics and other useful adventuring knowledge... later tonight?"


    Blinking hard out of his stupor, Chad ponders very briefly and dons bold, ear to ear grin. "Oh! Of course, Veevi! We can practice all day with the laser pistol. And, I wouldn''t be a proper leader if I didn''t take time to relay vital knowledge to such a beautiful and promising adventurer like you."


    Keeping her attentive stare upon Chad and Veevi, Samantha lifts herself off the ground from behind cover. She directs a loud whisper off to the side towards Gerald. "How good is the night-vision on the bedroom cameras?"


    Pausing a moment in thought, Gerald''s eyes mentally flip through an inventory. "High resolution with IR booster."


    Eager anticipation plasters a wild grin on Samantha. "GOOD. After THIS, run a test recording and verify it works... Before tonight."


    Observing through the glass of the back sliding door, Trakenthin quietly turns away. Tassilda sorts through the refrigerator and perks her brow at Trakenthin. "Anything going on?"


    Trakenthin glances back and shakes his head. "No."


    He halts a moment pondering. "I hope."

 Episode 30

    A pair of golden eyes scrutinizes the spectrum of colorful liquids across numerous glass vials across many tube holders on a shelf. Sotalia slowly turns her head towards the next display, pausing to examine the contents listed within upon container labels. Halting suddenly, she squints at the target ahead closely and briefly springs her eyes open with a corner grin. She carefully plucks a few vials from the shelf and rests them between other reagents in the plastic shopping basket hanging from her arm. Stepping back, she scans the front area of the shop. Jars full of dry plant specimens, bins of powders, flasks of viscous fluids, and sealed plastic bags of fresh compounds bolster the reagent stocks of the magic boutique. Sotalia hums in thought, fishes her aetherphone from her pocket, and taps through a few screens. She tugs the corner of her mouth and reads the calendar underneath a colorful "Miradia''s Magic Materials" banner on her phone screen. A thick, black nail taps the Wednesday square, and the animation expands out the text.


    "Wednesday: Premium Protellow Parts! Fresh from the finest forests delivered to our store by expert reagent hunters."


    Sotalia glances at the tall emin woman tending the antique wooden counter with a very modern point of sale system upon it. Walking up to the counter, she places the basket of items upon the surface and waits for attention. The tall emin perks up with a smile and blinks her purple on black eyes back to awareness. "Oh! Yes! Hello, I''m Lilacia."


    She furrows her brow and curiously approaches a topic. "Um... Did you find everything you were looking for?"


    Sotalia lifts up her aetherphone, taps the screen, and rotates it towards Lilacia. "Almost. I was looking for some protellow anti-microbial fluid sacs. Or, at least the fluid extract. Your aethernet site said you should have had a delivery of some today, but I could not find any out on the store floor. Are they in the back, or?"


    Sighing, Lilacia sags her shoulders and bows her head momentarily forward, swinging a few long, dark purple hair braids forward. "I am so sorry, ma''am. My mother was really hopeful about our delivery for today. But, it looks like it''ll be next week. Our normal reagent hunters are having a very hard time getting to their normal hunting grounds..."


    She wrestles a concerned hint on her purple hinted, dark gray face. "And, they haven''t stopped by our town, yet."


    Perking up, she smiles reassuringly at Sotalia. "Which is extremely unusual, and I assure you doesn''t happen, like at all, usually..."


    Spinning aetherphone back around, Sotalia eyes the device contemplatively and sorts through alternatives. "Okay... Hmm... Well, I can make do, for now. It''ll be a bit more prep in the process, though."


    Lilacia nods sympathetically with a gentle frown. "Oh, I understand completely. That compound works so well to cleanse reagents. Just to avoid risking potency loss from boiling alone is SO useful. I wish there were more economical alternatives, but... That fluid is the best."


    Placing her phone back into her shorts pocket, Sotalia curls a tight smile in the corner of her light tan face. "Gods, you got that right. It''ll be an hour or two more, at least, with each batch. I just don''t know what I''m going to do until next week."


    Lilacia guides a small stray braid over a small side facing, upwards curled horn. Nearly closing one eye, she scours her memory, twisting the internal debate upon her face. "Now... This is only a RUMOR... But..."


    She darts a wary glance around and returns her attention to Sotalia. "I remember hearing from a friend who works at the police department about a call they answered. Turns out someone''s SUV got hit by a huge protellow falling down. So, there may be plants that are old enough to have large, harvestable fluid sacs in the area!"


    Sotalia''s expression lights up, and she dons a presentable grin with a perk of an eyebrow. "OH. That is interesting. Any word on where THIS incident happened? For someone who might be driving around today?"


    A careful bite of the lip and brief wince later, Lilacia frowns with hints of frustration slipping into her tone. "I don''t know exactly. All she would tell me is that it was on the road to where certain reality show adventurers live. Gods, I don''t know what street that would be. It has to be in a part of Amaranth Valley I don''t go to, if, like, ever. Because I don''t recognize the house or scenery on the show."


    A hard eye twitch yanks Sotalia''s cheek, and her intrigue deflates into a slow, quiet groan. Lilacia cocks her head to the side, focusing a long, examining gaze upon Sotalia. Recognition erupts on her face, and she reflexively covers her mouth with both hands. "Oh. My. Gods! I recognize YOU now!"


    She energetically squirms and fidgets, flush with excitement. "At the Amaranth Adventure Con! You got into THAT competition with that other emin mage! OH! I was in the crowd! That was SO amazing to watch!"


    Smugly grinning with poise, Sotalia inflates back up with her pride and nonchalantly checks her fingernails on a hand. "Well. Admittedly, we MAY have gotten a little carried away, but think it was an excellent demonstration of true ability by the end of it all."


    Purple on black eyes check side to side and quickly glance over the shoulder towards a back room behind the counter. Lilacia leans out close to Sotalia with a hushed voice. "And... I believe she called you a... Well... THAT foul term..."


    An amused chuckle sneaks out from Sotalia, and she dramatically rolls her golden eyes with a humored smile and dismissively waves. "Well, I''ll have to admit, I haven''t heard THAT one in a LONG time."


    Covering a side of her mouth with a long nailed hand, Lilacia eyes Sotalia in a mix of surprise and intrigue. "Did you pick up on that accent she said THAT with? That almost sounded-"


    Sotalia directs an amused smirk and lifts an eyebrow. "Laskian?"


    Lilacia covers her mouth and nose with both hands in shock and retracts her hand away to speak softly. "YES. GODS, I''m not the only one that heard it."


    A long sigh resonates from Sotalia, and she shakes her head of dark red hair. "I will tell you, I got closer to that area than I EVER wanted to. I didn''t know I was in a sunset town until it was well past sunset."


    Crossing her arms with a cringe, Lilacia nods her head down and unconsciously hooks a few fingers around a horn. "I don''t think I''ll ever be brave enough to go anywhere near that county. Gods, I don''t think I''d be welcome there at all."


    Puzzling a moment at Lilacia, Sotalia studies her form, confusion remaining after a swift check. "Really? Am I missing something? I think you''d pass just fine."


    Lowering her arms to her sides, Lilacia sighs. "Well, it''s because of my tail."


    She lifts up her hand holding her long, thick short-haired tail and hugs onto it with a happy smile. "I''ve heard a few horrible names, too..."


    Fighting down a frown, she grumbles. "That I''m not going to repeat with my mother nearby. But..."


    She smirks sympathetically and sighs out her stale frustrations. "I know what it''s like to be on the receiving end, too."


    With an understanding nod, Sotalia smiles back and places a hand on her hip. "No need to repeat the small, insignificant words of smaller, more insignificant people."


    Her tail sliding out of hands, Lilacia grins and moves her hands over the computer checkout system. "Amen to that. Now, let me total this up for you before I forget and get caught up in something else."


    The shop door opens with a chime, and an average height man calmly walks in. His plain brown eyes scan over the store area, his face maintaining a neutral expression. Stepping forward towards a display, his typical length, brown hair gently shifts upon his tan face. Lilacia and Sotalia gossip at the counter, and the man passes nearby in route towards a shelf. With a subtle squirm, Sotalia momentarily breaks from listening to Lilacia and gradually angles her head to eye over at the passing man. She briefly glances over, nothing catching her immediate attention, and resumes her conversation with Lilacia.


    ----


    Near a large central parking lot off the main road through suburbia, Bach and Cideeda stroll down the sidewalk in front of the strip mall. Opening up a paper bag with both hands, he shakes his head in disbelief and furrows his stare towards the contents. "It feels kind of strange to buy this many power packs and rounds, all at once. A few I could understand, but... Wow."


    Quirking her brow, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, toting a metal ammo box at her side. "You get used to it. After a while, it feels like business as usual."


    Bach closes the brown sack back up and carries it at his side with an accepting nod. "I guess. Yeah, I can see that happening. Also, they were really nice and really willing to work a deal with you."


    A faint sneer parting her mouth, Cideeda''s light brown face settles to an unamused frown, and she grumbles. "Not as good as I''ve gotten before. But... In dealing with a town shop like that one..."


    She rolls her eyes with a mildly defeated sigh. "It''ll have to do. A certain premium you have to pay for specialist goods."


    Quickly eyeing the bag in hand, Bach chuckles with a smile. "Yeah, that''s true. I doubt there''s too many hunters around here hunting small game with energy weapons."


    A snort escapes Cideeda, and her fluffy tail flicks. Presenting a toothy grin to Bach, she shakes her head and perks up her furry ears. "ACTUALLY, those power packs aren''t that uncommon..."


    She searches her shorts pocket with a free hand and grits her teeth, briefly glancing at the munition container in tow. "If you want rare, it''s this damn caseless ammunition for Dretphi''s submachine gun! Gods."


    Furrowing her brow, she grumbles into a sigh and leans opposite to the heft of the ammo case. "Outside a few vendors, no one has it in bulk. And, they want a fucking king''s ransom for whatever they have. Never mind if it has been taking up inventory space for years, they jack up the price the second anyone shows legit interest in it."


    She retrieves her keys with the humvee fob from her pocket and aims the device at the humvee nearby. "Then, they have the nerve to bitch and complain about how they never can sell the stuff."


    Glancing up to Bach, she smirks dryly and dismissively rolls her eyes. "Oh, I wonder why..."


    Pressing a button, a series of chirps emit from the humvee along with a few light blinks. Cideeda steps up, unlocks the back hatch door, and swings it up. "Anyway, one of the nice things about being registered with the guild is that you can purchase near-military grade equipment from anyone without too much trouble. Most people figure, if you are registered with guild, you probably have a good reason to buy it."


    Smirking with a sarcastic tone, Bach places the paper bag within the cargo space of the humvee. "Huh. So, what about military grade equipment?"


    Cideeda hoists up the ammo box securely inside the humvee and rests a hand upon the container. Rapping claw tips on metal, she gazes at Bach with a sly, toothy smile. "Oh... A little paperwork and a few days... Maybe..."


    Reaching on her tiptoes and stretching her small frame out, she firmly grips a hanging pull handle and lowers the hatch, pushing it shut with a securing click. She props herself against the back hatch door, grins, and winks at Bach. "IF we go through the official routes."


    Blinking thoughtfully, Bach furrows his brow, connotations emerging in his mind. Cideeda shakes her head of short multicolored hair and idly scans the shopping mall area, crossing her arms. "I''m just saying, borderlands markets are INTERESTING places."


    She perks an eyebrow and darts her stare around. "Anyway, you see any sign of Sotalia?"


    Bach surveys the vicinity over the parked rows of cars and spots Sotalia exiting Miradia''s Magical Materials. "Oh, yeah. Looks like she just got done."


    Cideeda turns her head towards the same direction Bach faces, popping up on her toed shoes. "Good. Should be able to get back in time for lunch. I wonder what Dretphi settled on cooking today."


    Glancing up into his mind, Bach hums in thought. "She said we had enough deli meat and other stuff for sub sandwiches."


    Cideeda sways momentarily in delight. "Oh, nice."


    A minute later, Sotalia strolls up with a smile and waves to Bach and Cideeda. "Mission accomplished. Enough. Looks like protellow sacs are hard to come by as of late. But..."


    Grinning proudly, she places a hand on the hip and lifts an intrigued eyebrow, tossing her shoulder length, dark red hair back. "Heard a rumor as to where to look for some."


    Cideeda crosses her arms and narrows her stare upon Sotalia. "Really?"


    Sotalia recounts her recent experience in the reagents shop, and Bach idly gazes out into the distance of the surrounding strip mall. People travel between the rows of store colorful fronts, gatherings stopping and admiring products of choice behind glass display windows. Potential customers sift in and wander out towards new destinations, a few heading towards the main street sidewalk and some filtering in between the numerous cars. Passing his stare back over the entrance of Miradia''s Magical Materials, Bach witnesses an average height man calmly exit the door with a branded plastic bag in hand. With Bach''s attention starting to drift away, the man glances down at the sidewalk and tenses up. Momentarily focusing upon the man, Bach follows the man''s gaze to the sidewalk, finds nothing on the concrete, and shifts his curiosity back up. The details of the man''s face waver to a blurry haze and quickly revert back to clarity. Blinking hard, Bach leans his head towards the Cideeda and Sotalia, a suspicious eye peeking out the corner at the man. "Hey, Sotalia? Was there a man in that store with you?"


    Sotalia tilts her head in thought and glances at Bach. "Um. Yes? There was this guy that came in. Nothing out of the ordinary from what I could tell. All I remember is that he asked for a reagent I''ve never used before."


    Retrieving her aetherphone from her pocket, she quirks her intrigued brow at Bach, scrolling through on screen menus. "I was a little curious, so I messaged Aristespha to see if she knew what it was used for. I mean, I''ve learned most of the ones for medicinal purposes. So, I was wondering what types of potions it was used for."


    Bach slowly turns his head nonchalantly and swiftly studies Sotalia''s phone screen and sent message. "I know I''ve heard of that before. But... Dammit. It''s been so long since I''ve done any serious potion making."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes at Bach, Cideeda flicks her furry ears with a tinge of concern. "What''s going on?"


    Smoothly sliding around to the obscuring side of the vehicle, Bach motions the others to follow along. "Okay, I swear I just saw that man''s face phase out for a moment. Almost like an illusion resetting. It was really strange."


    Adopting a more serious tone, Sotalia taps a few buttons on her phone and holds it up to her pointed ear. "You know, I thought I felt something magic wise when he walked near me."


    She twists her mouth and rolls her golden eyes. "But given it''s a magical material shop and all... I didn''t think much of it, at the time. Shit."


    The call connects with Aristespha''s faint voice from the speaker, and Sotalia responds back. "Hey, girl! Did you get that message I sent you?"


    Sotalia focuses upon the phone, and Bach and Cideeda split their attention between the conversation and the man walking through an aisle of cars in the parking lot. Surprise leaping up onto her face, Sotalia''s eyes widen. "A component for illusion spells? So, like a potion to help change how your face looks?"


    The eerie silence between Bach, Cideeda, Sotalia, and Aristsespha on the other side of the phone call looms heavily. Aristespha quietens her voice and speaks quicker. Sotalia nods and glances around. "Understood. We''ll keep a watch on him and-"


    Cideeda''s ears perk up and lock onto the slam of a car door. Leaning out from the cover of the humvee, she spots the average man in the driver''s seat of a small gray sedan. " OH. SHIT. He''s leaving in a car."


    Snapping her head towards the vehicle with the man inside, Sotalia grits her teeth, growling. "He''s on the move. Gods damn it!"


    Rushing to the driver''s door, Cideeda presses a button on the key fob and slips into the driver seat. "Get in! Let''s see if we can tail him."


    Bach swiftly walks to the rear passenger door, opens it, and hops into his seat in one fast motion. Sotalia zips to the front passenger door, cracks the door wide enough, and slips into her seat, placing her shopping bag behind Cideeda''s seat. The humvee''s power plant spins up to life, and everyone inside readies themselves. Cideeda glances into the rear view mirror at Bach. "Bach, check near the back and look for a box labeled Trackers."


    Nodding quickly, Bach moves through the aisle towards the back, bracing upon the nearby seats. "So, I guess a crash course in tracking devices today?"


    A sinister grin flashes upon Cideeda, and she checks for clearance, backing out of the parking spot. "Exactly! I''m going to keep an eye on this guy and try to maintain a good distance behind him. But, we''re going to need to plant a tracking beacon on him. Because if he wanders off too far from city traffic or we keep tailing him for too long in general, he''s going to get real suspicious, fast."


    Sotalia wedges her aetherphone in a cup holder and taps a speakerphone button on the screen. "Hey girl! We''re in the humvee. I''ve got you on speakerphone."


    Aristespha''s voice blasts out of the phone. "Okay! So, he bought reagents for an illusion spell. What else happened?"


    The vehicle rolls clear of the parking space, and Bach supports himself against the roof of the humvee with a box under arm. "As he was walking out of the shop, he dropped his head forward and his face..."


    Leaning against the momentum of motion, he furrows his brow and frowns. "Um, it went out of focus separate from the rest of his body. Thinking about it more, man, it HAD to be an illusion spell refreshing."


    Humming in thought, Aristespha calls out through the phone. "Bach, have you mage sighted it yet?"


    The humvee turns sharply. Bach follows the inertia and flops right into his seat. "Not yet. I''ll confirm here in a moment. I really didn''t want to do anything too obviously magical, well, near a possible mage."


    Sotalia directs her voice down, maintaining a casual gaze forward towards the gray sedan in the distance. "I felt something magical when he walked past me in the store. So, he''s was using some kind of magic in there, and it must have been running weak."


    Through the phone, background footstep echoes change inflections, and Aristespha moves around on the other end. She sighs affirmatively and processes out loud. "Okay. You all keep tracking him. I am going to update Dretphi and Sebastian. Tag a tracker, if you can safely. It is very likely, if he has gotten reagents, he may need to brew up another batch of whatever he is using to change his appearance. I would guess some kind of flow conductive medium to either target or assist the illusion spell."


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Placing his hand on the back of Sotalia''s seat, Bach gradually leans out with glowing blue eyes. He squints out ahead, searches between other cars on the road, and settles upon the gray sedan. Moments later, he nods confirming and eases back behind the headrest of the front seat. "Yeah. He''s definitely got magic flow all around his head. I can see pretty clearly even from here."


    Aristespha affirms through the aetherphone connection. "Good. That is confirmation enough, for now. Sotalia, message me all the info about his vehicle. If I correctly remember illusion magic and materials, it is going to take a while to process the reagents and mix them. He has to have somewhere to set up to perform everything he will need to do."


    Cideeda eases through traffic and inconspicuously navigates around other vehicles, staring at the gray sedan a few cars ahead. "Just a guess, this doesn''t sound like something you can brew out of your trunk in an abandoned parking lot."


    Opening the metal "Trackers" box in his lap, Bach examines the collection of electronic devices inside. "Unless you''re my cousin Eddie, NO. He''s probably staying at some cheap motel that takes cash and asks no questions."


    Pointing a finger back briefly, Cideeda nods in agreement. Aristespha sounds out from the phone. "I concur. I will start getting a map together, in case he runs off, so we can narrow down possible locations. I will call back soon, after I check some other information."


    The display blinks out to a called ended screen, and Sotalia plucks out the device from the cup holder, keeping a nonchalant stare ahead and thumbs at the ready to message. Bach focuses upon the box of electronic devices and glances ahead to Cideeda peering in the rearview mirror. "Okay. So, where do I start?"


    ----


    Vehicles burst through the busy city intersection. Stoplights alternate through methodical control programs and facilitate the passage of cars, trucks, and other means of transportation. A gray sedan slows to a stop in front of a red light. The driver searches ahead in the distance and compares the suburban scenery against a map on his phone. A few cars behind, the humvee gradually brakes to a halt, both Cideeda and Sotalia projecting a disinterested facade ahead. Bach clicks a final button on a small metal cube with a coiled wire protruding from it. Raising an uncertain eyebrow, he eyes Cideeda through the rear view mirror, reservation on his face. "Umm... Okay... Frequency set. Protocol selected. Calibrated to the local nav beacons. And... My phone is picking it up. So, uh, anything else?"


    Maintaining a vigilant watch over and around the vehicles ahead, Cideeda shakes her head slightly. "No. That should be it. Write down the frequency and protocol."


    She furrows her brow and twists her mouth, revealing an anxious flash of a canine. "Now... We just need an opportunity."


    Squinting her golden eyes through her relaxed, carefree facade, Sotalia observes the behavior of the man in the gray sedan. "He''s looking for something and checking his phone... What is he-"


    The stoplight turns green, and vehicles accelerate forward through the intersection. After crossing through, the gray sedan creeps ahead of the pack, and a blinking right turn signal flashes. Sotalia''s stare snaps to the blinker, and a corner grin forms on her face. Noticing the rows of fast food advertisement signs along the four lane roadway, she softly chuckles. "Oh. He''s hungry. Probably going to turn into one of these places ahead, if I had to guess."


    Glancing up from the device in hand, Bach scans the situation ahead with a nod. "That makes sense. Probably grabbing everything in one trip before heading back to wherever he''s hiding out."


    Cideeda snarls her upper lip in anticipation and flexes her claw tips into the steering wheel. "That could work for us. BUT. I bet he''s going through the drive thru..."


    Her voice trails off. She drifts momentarily in thought, a sly, eager smile overtaking. "OH. I got an idea. Sotalia, take the wheel and get into the driver''s seat when I tell you."


    A spark of surprise hitting Sotalia, she quickly nods, sneakily undoes her seatbelt, and prepares. The gray sedan slows. The front tires pivot. The vehicle coasts a right turn into the parking lot of a fantasy themed fast food restaurant, rolling past a prominent "Draco-Burger" wood and stone sign. Keeping her left hand on the steering wheel, Cideeda reaches down with her free hand, pulls the seat''s adjustment bar, and slides the seat back. "NOW."


    Cideeda slips out of the driver''s seat into the back aisle. Sotalia grabs hold of the steering wheel, hops over into the driver seat, and assumes control of the vehicle. Adjusting the seat back up, she clicks the turn signal lever and follows the gray sedan into the entry. Cideeda gestures Bach down and out of sight. "Keep low. He shouldn''t be too suspicious if it looks like only one person is in here. And, I need your help."


    Bach carefully slides out of his seat and joins Cideeda in the aisle, presenting the tracking beacon to her. "Okay. Here it is. What''s the plan?"


    Peeking just over the dash with her furry ears low to her shoulders, Cideeda watches the gray sedan move into the drive thru lane and softly commands. "Sotalia, keep behind him, and just use the drive thru to order something. I''m going to hide under the humvee and sneak up to plant the tracker when I get the chance."


    Bach blinks hard in disbelief with a brief shudder of his head. "Wait, what?! While it''s moving?!"


    A confident toothy grin overtakes Cideeda''s light brown face, and she chuckles eagerly, wagging her hair. "Not the first time I''ve done it. Don''t worry, the humvee is direct electric drive at the wheels. There''s not that many moving parts underneath it and plenty to grab onto from all the retrofits."


    Cars wrap around the castle mocked-up building within the marked off drive thru lane and periodically idle forward into the forming gaps. The gray sedan follows along the curve of the path and behind a large menu screen partially obscuring the view. Cideeda nods to herself and pats Sotalia quickly on the shoulder. She plucks the tracker from Bach''s hand, summoning his attention. "Okay. I need you to open and close the door for me. Then, I need you to tap on the floorboards to warn me when you all are going to move and listen for my taps when I''m secure underneath."


    Pulling the seat release bar under the rear passenger''s seat, she slides it back, giving herself room. Bach scoots up to the seat, leans over the cushion, and grips onto the door handle at the ready. The humvee slows to a stop. Keeping her seemingly distant gaze forward, she calls out from the corner of her mouth with a hand casually covering. "Okay. He''s still behind the menu sign. Go for it."


    Cideeda nods to Bach, her long, fluffy tail reflexively coiling around her waist. Pushing the humvee door open, he steadies the gap. Cideeda gracefully zips through, gingerly swinging herself underneath the vehicle. The door closes. She latches herself to the underside, the faint clacks of claw tips hooking onto the metal chassis mixing with the idle whine of the machine''s powerplant. Sliding tracker down the front of her shirt, she firmly taps the floorboard above. Reacting to the noise, Bach lowers his head down close and directs his voice to Sotalia. "Okay. She''s secure underneath."


    Keeping her seemingly indifferent stare ahead, Sotalia nods gradually. "Good. We''re moving."


    Bach firmly drops his hand on the floorboard a few times. The humvee rolls up in line, stopping just behind the gray sedan at the order kiosk. Cideeda waits, and her furry ears sift out a man''s voice ahead calling out an order. Clawing and climbing underneath, she scrambles closer towards the front of the humvee. Navigating forward, she keeps herself near the center and grips onto solid supports and the edges of protective underside plating. The man stops speaking, and a voice through the intercom repeats the order in confirmation. Hanging just under the front bumper of the humvee, Cideeda judges the distance to the rear bumper of the sedan. She checks her footing and grip, extends an arm out, and barely touches the underside of the rear bumper. Narrowing her emerald green eyes along with a determined smirk, she pulls her arm back and retrieves the tracker from the front of her shirt. She readies herself, and her tail coils tightly, protectively around her midsection. Her furry ears flick to the intercom stating a price, the brakes of the sedan releasing, and a series of taps upon the floorboards. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she sighs. "Dammit."


    Securing herself back into her position under the vehicle, away from the gray sedan, she lightly kicks the floorboard. The humvee creeps forward up to the ordering kiosk. A bored, completely unamused young woman''s voice drones out from the speaker. "Welcome to Draco-Burger, how may I serve, your highness?"


    Sotalia casually turns her head and calls out at the station. "I''ll take a Lord''s Meal with large fries, no onions, double pickles, and Lady''s Tea to drink."


    Groaning with an emerald green eye roll, Cideeda focuses upon the gray sedan ahead. The car line ahead barely shifts, affording little room for the sedan to creep forward. Cideeda grins, judges the distance, and prepares herself. The sedan starts to roll forward, securing the very little space ahead. A stubborn surge drives Cideeda, and she grins toothily. "Oh, not this time."


    With both arms stretching out, she swings forward, springing herself out from underneath the humvee. She latches her clawed grip around a metal support brace under the gray sedan. Nearly flopping onto the pavement, she arches her back and tenses her legs, keeping the harsh grit of pavement upon the rubber heels of her toed-shoes. Bach lifts his ear away from the floorboard and furrows a confused brow at Sotalia. "THAT was a weird sound..."


    The voice over the intercom finishes, confirming the order and stating a price. Settling her gaze forward, Sotalia''s golden eyes spring wide open in surprise. She watches Cideeda cling to the underside of the gray sedan and leave faint rubber marks from her shoes onto the parking lot. Pulling herself forward, Cideeda reaches out underneath the vehicle with the tracker in hand and magnetically nestles it securely within the corner of the frame. She eases herself back out from underneath, following the movement of the ground. Releasing her grip of the sedan, she quickly signals Sotalia forward. Sotalia eases the brake off, and Bach glances over concerned. "Hey, wait! I haven''t signaled Cideeda-"


    With a corner smirk to Bach, Sotalia interrupts reassuringly. "OH, I know where she is. She just signaled us to move up."


    Confusion seizes Bach, and he carefully sneaks a peek over the driver''s seat shoulder and catches a glimpse of Cideeda upon the drive lot ahead. "OH. OKAY."


    Shuffling upon the pavement, Cideeda lines herself between the wheels of the humvee and waits with open hands and readied claws. The humvee gradually creeps over and shades the bright noon sun. The middle of the vehicle coasts over Cideeda, and she latches onto familiar spots. A few dull, metallic thuds resonate from the floorboards, and Bach smiles in relief. "Okay. She''s secure."


    He exhales long and rests his ear on the floor of the cab. From the drive thru window ahead, the man in the sedan receives his food. Inspecting it quickly, he turns his attention ahead and drives off. Sotalia eases the humvee up to the window. A younger teenage man adjusts the shirt of his uniform, glancing unamused at the feudal servant theme print. Drained of enthusiasm, he opens the castle turret decorated window and drones the price. Handing over a company card, Sotalia waits a few seconds and receives her card back, a bag of food, and a drink. She places the food into the passenger''s seat and prepares to drive off. Bach taps the floorboard and listens to the similar response from below. The humvee rolls ahead and turns into a parking spot nearby. The powerplant spins down, and Cideeda swings out from underneath the vehicle with a confident, toothy grin. She opens the front passenger''s door, and Sotalia picks the bag up out of the way, inspecting the order. Plopping herself in the seat, Cideeda exhales with relief, stretching her arms and legs out, uncoiling her tail. "Wow! THAT was close! Let''s head back to the house and get everyone else ready for when he settles in one place for a while."


    Checking his aetherphone, Bach nods and chuckles out some residual nervousness. "Yeah, that sounds good. I''m picking up the tracker and the map app is plotting the coordinates. So, we got him for now."


    Examining the bag, Sotalia starts to nod. She growls and abruptly closes the bag up in frustration, grumbling. "Gods dammit. I''ll be right back, they gave me a medium fry and forgot the straw."


    ----


    Night surrounds the rural area around a small, rundown motel. Just off a worn two lane highway, a deteriorated, patchy paved lot moats in the nearly derelict building. Outshining the dim, dingy exterior lights next to the doors, a solitary large neon sign occasionally flickers to life and casts a blue hue upon the sparse collection of cars. Off beyond the wooded perimeter of the property, Dretphi scans through binoculars towards the end motel unit, a gray sedan in the parking space nearby. "Nothing. Still."


    In the middle of the group, Sebastian''s ghostly visage reforms next to Aristespha with cool, focused expression. "Phased in there just enough to see him when he was busy. He still definitely matches what was in the file picture. And, it looks like he''s busy brewing up some potions and some kind of cream."


    Nodding, Aristespha checks through the messages on her aetherphone. "That does make sense. Refreshing myself on illusion magic, there are numerous alchemical components that help the details, functionality, and longevity of illusion spells. But, it still takes significant time to prepare."


    A smug grin cracks across Sotalia''s face, and she stares menacingly towards the motel. "Good. Then, he''s not going anywhere soon."


    Cideeda stretches her arms out, pats down her bodysuit, and eyes an electronic device in an open case. "Any word from the guild yet?"


    Aristespha shakes her head at her phone, squinting violet eyes hint at the building irritation. "NO. I sent our report and request an hour ago. And still..."


    She clamps down upon a simmering frown. "NOTHING."


    Wandering his eyes between everyone in the group, Bach scratches the back of his head. "Umm... Question. What''s the proper process here? I''ve been trying to figure it out in all the hurry."


    Sebastian drifts down next to Bach with an explanatory tone. "Well, any time you get information about a bounty, it''s usually proper to report the findings. This way the guild gets more information to help everyone out, even if you aren''t interested in the bounty."


    Narrowing a stare at the motel, he contorts his face in frustration. "If you think you have located the bounty, you are supposed to send in a Request for Pursuit to the guild."


    With a long sigh, Aristespha gazes up from her phone and brushes some of her silvery blue hair back over her long ears. "Yes. Then, the guild checks with the local authorities for any limitations and allowances. After reasonable attempts to confirm the identity of the target, they will also confirm if requested methods of capture are acceptable."


    Rolling her violet eyes, a smirk forms from the corner of her ivory face. "The process helps sort out confusion between multiple groups going after the same bounty and acts as a precautionary measure against most errors."


    She glances back down at her aetherphone''s screen and deepens a frown into the blue and gray hints on her face, squinting in confusion. "Typically, it does NOT take this long in an area like this. Especially after an alert."


    Tapping her claw-tipped fingers upon the small electronic equipment in front of her, Cideeda groans. "AND, they usually don''t have any problems authorizing trackers and covertly installing remote vehicle cutoffs."


    Bach quirks an eyebrow in surprise and apprehensively eyes Cideeda. "Um... Didn''t we already put a tracker on there?"


    A sly, toothy grin appears on Cideeda, and she playfully shrugs with a coy tinge. "Well... Yes. Sometimes you got to take the initiative and ask for forgiveness later. Anyway, most places prefer you use a tracker rather than risk provoking a high speed car chase or standoff situation. So, the lesser of the evils."


    Lying prone next to Dretphi, Sotalia glances over her shoulder and draws a dry smirk. "Turns out not many places want an epic mage showdown right on main street or in downtown."


    She lifts a pair of binoculars up to her eyes and stares out through them towards the motel. Carefully adjusting focus and her aim, she mumbles condescendingly, sarcasm dribbling out. "Not that an illusionist is going to put up any kind of worthwhile fight. Ooo... I make pretty pictures of stuff I can''t cast..."


    Dretphi rests her eyes away from the binoculars and sighs back to the subject. "For reports, we attempt to obtain photographic evidence. Helps grant us authority to approach the situation as needed."


    Bach nods and briefly flickers his eyes blue towards the motel. "Yeah. That would be nice. But, I doubt he''s going to show his real face out in public. He really rushed back here from what the tracker showed. I guess he was about to run out of reagents or something."


    Smirking eagerly, Sotalia scans the parking lot and the single row of motel room entry doors. "Oh... He''ll mess up eventually. Maybe he forgot something in the car or wants a candy bar from the snack machine."


    A small, awkward smile graces Dretphi, and she lightly taps Sotalia''s shoulder with a hushed tone. "THEY are back."


    Both Sotalia and Dretphi aim binoculars upon an evuukian man and emin woman wandering toward the building from separate cars. They cling upon each other mid route the motel and embrace upon the wall off to the side of a room door. Sotalia snickers, fidgeting in anticipation. "I hope they got a bed without a headboard, because she might get those horns stuck if they''re not careful."


    In between their excitement, the frisky couple manage to fumble the door lock open and roll in together, the door securely shutting afterward. Down the nearby highway, a convoy of vehicles approach the parking lot entry. Sotalia and Dretphi perk up from the binoculars and dart their focus over to the activity through the lenses. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sebastian peek out from the cover of the forest brush and hunt for more clues. Seconds later, with headlights off, vans roll up through the poorly marked, faded lot aisles, stop, and unload equipment carrying crews. Taking positions throughout the area, the teams hide behind cars, overgrown landscaping, and battered vending machines. Cideeda''s eyes fully open in shock, her jaw hanging open. "NO."


    Squinting, she scrutinizes the side of a van, recognizing the painfully familiar logo. "Why the hell are THEY HERE?!"


    A wave of astonishment and disbelief shakes the group to full attention. Through the parking lot entry, a lone black sports utility vehicle with partly reformed, large dents along the roof, creeps up behind the gray sedan, blocking it in. All the doors open, and Chad, Trakenthin, Tassilda, Deedri, Modoran, and Veevi exit. Chad and Trakenthin rush up to either side of the end unit''s door with Veevi trailing behind Chad. Tassilda takes cover behind the doors of the SUV with Deedri, and Modoran disappears. Minutes later of hushed discussion later, Trakenthin steps in front of the door, rears back, and slams an armored boot into it. The door breaks free of its hinges and lands meters inside.


    A strong eye twitch forming, Aristespha cringes with a reddening face. Bach blinks absolutely dumbfounded. Cideeda''s remains agape, and her hands out, motioning to the scene in pure bewilderment. Dretphi growls and clenches tightly onto her binoculars, her arm shaking with muscles flexing. Sebastian blinks in synchronous with Bach, and the brothers struggle in vain, attempting to figure out the situation. Sotalia''s wide-eye rage barely subsides with the firmly clasped hand of Dretphi keeping her prone.


    ----


    A repetitious electronic chime blares out into the bedroom. From under the covers, a gray hand with long, thick black nails presses upon a prompt on the aetherphone screen. The alarm silences. Tassilda slowly rises from bed. Blinking the haze of slumber from her light blue on black eyes, she guides the strands of her long raven black hair off her swirling horns down upon her pajama top. Pulling a small chain, the lamp upon the nightstand illuminates the room, and she briefly shields her eyes. Minutes of idly sitting in a morning haze later, she slides on a pair of slippers and plods across the room to a satchel of toiletries and beauty supplies. Rummaging lethargically through the bag, she retrieves toothpaste and a toothbrush and wanders groggily off towards the bedroom door.


    Tassilda steps slowly through the doorway into the upstairs hallway. Glancing down one path towards two doors, she listens for a few moments. In the silence, she faces ahead and stares towards the stairwell at the faint glow of morning light from downstairs. She sets off towards the open bathroom door down the opposite stretch of hall, passing a door with a brightly decorated sign stuck upon it. With a long glare, annoyance carves into each letter of the name on the sign. "Veevi Valiant."


    Rolling her eyes hard with a long grumble, Tassilda shakes her head dismissively and drags her sleepy self closer to the bathroom. At the very end of the hall, the door opens. Tassilda blinks away the initial surprise and mumbles to herself. "What is he doing up?"


    Her eyes widen in astonishment. Veevi slides out between the ajar door into the hallway. Stumbling around in a drowsy daze, she unconsciously slides down a Flames of the Phoenix T-shirt, too large for her. Her short hair tail wags freely in vain to maintain balance. Stretching her arms up absentmindedly, the shirt rises and reveals no other clothing beneath. A few meters later, Veevi blinks to awareness and glances over, catching the glare from Tassilda. A sly smirk creeps up on Veevi''s face, and she eyes Tassilda smugly. "Well... Good morning."


    Tassilda levels an accusatory stare upon Veevi and slowly crosses her arms, contempt radiating. "Morning. If I''m NOT mistaken, YOUR room is on the OTHER side of the hallway."


    Straightening her posture, Veevi struts forward towards Tassilda with a defiant smile on her tan face. "OH. I''m NOT mistaken. Chad invited me over to..."


    A wicked hint infiltrates Veevi stare, and she softly chuckles. "Discuss... some things. We had the most wonderful... conversation."


    Placing her hands on her sides, Tassilda postures herself proudly and marches slowly forward. "Oh. I''m certain much was..."


    She rolls her light blue on black eyes and dismissively shakes her head. "Talked about. Did you... secure... a reference for the next group you go off to after this SHORT TERM internship?"


    A sharp toothed grin parts Veevi''s mouth, and she tilts her head of pink hair slightly forward, eyeing Tassilda. "Oh, much was secured. I believe we came to an agreement about the new terms of my internship."


    An eyebrow sharply hikes up on Tassilda''s face, and she focuses a condescending glare upon Veevi. "Interesting. I''m sure you made use of your..."


    She stifles a derisive snort. "Unique... talents. Speaking of, would any of THOSE help explain the lack of any of your own attire at the moment?"


    Veevi giggles and suggestively slides her hands down the oversized Flames of the Phoenix T-shirt, pulling it down by the sides. "Oh, THIS? No. Of course not. Our discussion got a little too energetic and excited, and something got spilled. Chad was ever the gentleman and let me borrow one of his shirts for the night."


    She sighs playfully, rolls her pink pupil eyes at Tassilda, and struts in front of one side of the bathroom door frame. "We were just ever so relaxed that I fell asleep and just woke up now."


    Arriving at the other side of the door frame, Tassilda assertively glowers at Veevi. "Well. I hoped you enjoyed your... discussion. But, I think your focus should be upon other things. For example, what other professions you''ll explore in the very NEAR FUTURE."


    Veevi perks a brow, grins sharply with a glint in her eye, and flicks her tail up with a dismissive lift. "Not as near as YOU think. So, you better learn to teach better in the NEAR FUTURE."


    Sidestepping swiftly through the bathroom door past Tassilda, she shuts the bathroom door tightly, a click of a lock following. A wave rage flashes upon Tassilda''s gray face, and a spark of blue ignites her eyes. Grasping hold of the door knob, she attempts to torque it open from sheer aggravation. An echoing snicker from inside the bathroom audibly leaks out into the hallway. Tassilda sneers and grits her teeth, growling with boiling rage. A piece of fabric softly thumps against the wooden interior door, and faucet values squeak, ushering the flow of rushing water from a shower head inside. Moments later, the sounds of Veevi singing one of her songs drifts out from the background din. Tassilda releases the door knob and slowly exhales, wavering with spite. Stepping back, she draws in a long breath and closes her eyes with the exhale. A tentative calm grounds her demeanor. Pivoting swiftly, she walks tensely away towards the stairwell. Deedri cracks open her bedroom door. Peeking out from the other far end of the hallway, she spots Tassilda and meekly waves. "Morning."


    Tassilda pauses and her frustration softens to a pleasant, neutral smile, nodding to Deedri. "Morning."


    Deedri glances with concern down the hallway and leans further out her door. "Is everything okay?"


    Contorting her mouth momentarily, Tassilda sighs into resignation. "Yes. It is just fine. Only a brief conversation with Veevi."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes widen momentarily, and she bites her lip apprehensively. "Oh. Okay. I just heard a lot going on and wanted check to make sure everything was okay."


    With a nod, Tassilda turns towards the stairs, pausing a moment. She gazes at Deedri and whispers loudly. "If you need to use the bathroom soon, I would use the one downstairs for now. This floor''s bathroom is presently..."


    She flashes an ireful glare at the bathroom door. "UNCLEAN."


    Veevi''s singing peaks loudly in the song''s dramatic chorus, over the watery drone of the shower. Drooping her furry ears down, Deedri frowns against the discomfort. She nods, fully understanding, to Tassilda and quietly retreats behind the bedroom door. Tassilda returns her attention ahead and marches down the stairs, muttering insults in a uniquely accented emin dialect.

 Episode 31

    With an aetherphone firmly pressing against her long, pointy ear, Aristespha paces around her bedroom, orbiting the open wooden floor from bed to desk to tables. A faint tune of a light instrumental wafts from the speaker of her phone, and she grits her teeth, curling her upper lip into an annoyed sneer. The hold music grates upon her, patience wearing thin with the seconds of loud, crisply distorted notes. The music stops abruptly, and a softer voice calls out. Blinking back to attention, Aristespha summons up the meager traces of pleasantness in his tone. "Yes. I am STILL here."


    Her violet eyes wander around the room, and she idly shifts her weight between her feet, posture rigid and muscles tensing. Moments of listening to a drawn out verbiage later, she suddenly pauses and pivots slowly, wincing around her eye. Lowering her tone, she glares distantly towards the other side of the call by proxy of the wall in front of her. "What do you mean by a... Processing ERROR?"


    The voice from the phone speaker maintains a polite, explanatory tone against the bubbling irritation. Boiling ire articulates Aristespha''s face. Twisting her stance, she stretches out her frustration across her body. Sebastian''s ghostly face phases through the bedroom door, and he presents a comforting smile towards Aristespha. Watching Aristespha''s body language, he halts phasing all the way through the door and waits, cautiously observing. With angered pops of knuckles on her free hand, Aristespha''s frustration slides deeper into furious. She manages a relatively neutral tone for her next statement. "I understand THAT. We SENT the information. Got a confirmation of receipt by the system. And, we were waiting for an approval RESPONSE."


    Irritation condenses, and she forces out words through gritting teeth. "We were NOT denied. We received NOTHING. We STILL have NOT received ANYTHING."


    With the same polite, explanatory tone, the person on the other side of the conversation drones on through the well rehearsed script, tinges of saccharine sympathy sprinkling over intention. Aristespha draws a long, slow breath in through her nose with a contorting flex of her shoulders. Sebastian''s translucent blue eyes widen in dreadful anticipation, and he glances around the area, questioning the few reasons to remain as witness. Straining a painful sigh from an exhale, Aristespha rubs her forehead tightly and closes her eyes. "I think I am having difficulty expressing the situation in Americ. You wouldn''t happen to have anyone fluent in any of the Evuukian dialects?"


    A positive, affirmative reply chimes out from the speaker. A dark grin manifests from Aristespha''s mouth and creeps along her face. A flash of violet flickers in her eyes, and an odd hint of cheer colors her voice. "Why, that is EXCELLENT to hear. I will certainly be able to express myself perfectly that way... Oh, could I request this be recorded and forwarded to the issue review department?"


    With the confirmation from the representative on the other side of the call, Aristespha tilts her head forward, casting a darkening shadow upon her eyes. The evil grin spans both corners of her mouth. "Thank you."


    A roll of eloquent, proper Evuukian streams from Aristespha. The tone remains polite, initially. Twists in inflection and stretches of pronunciation deviate from the surface presentation. She continues with odd spikes emphasizing parts of words and flexes in pace hinting towards contrary semantics. Sebastian stares in awkward fright, his mind piecing together excerpts he understands well between uncomfortable winces. A few very familiar terms urge his withdrawal, and he gradually pulls himself back out of the room through the door. His ghostly visage retreats from the audible barrage of uncomfortable terms, aghast.


    Drifting back, he spins mid-flight and coasts down the hallway towards the living room archway. Exiting into the living room, he gazes around the large space. Bach slouches out in his stabilized magical energy chair and rests his head in the middle of the seat back. Dretphi twists her mouth and glares forward, vaguely the wall mounted television''s direction. Propping her feet on the coffee table, she settles back into the cushions on her side of the couch. Cideeda''s tail coils up in front of her, and she adjusts her head upon a pillow against the couch arm. From the couch recliner, Sotalia turns her head, resting upon her hand, and eyes Sebastian with a bored sigh. "So... How''s it going in there?"


    Sebastian tugs at the corner of his mouth and briefly grits his teeth, trying to present a positive facade. "Given what I could roughly make out..."


    The front weakens, and he awkwardly chuckles, avoiding averting his eyes away. "About as good as you''d expect."


    With an understanding nod, Sotalia grumbles to herself and glances over at the television. Bach tilts his head up and gazes at his brother, curiously quirking his brow. "So, I''m still new to all this. But, what the hell could have happened? I mean we were there a LONG time waiting to hear something back. I mean, we were really lucky to spot him and actually confirm who he was. I don''t understand how anyone else would have been able to track him down that quickly."


    Sebastian ethereally sighs with a nod and gazes ahead in thought. "Yeah, I know, bro. I really don''t know how THEY of all people would have been remotely able to find him. Maybe they had some prior information? I wouldn''t be surprised if a show like that had a few connections to pull for information."


    Bach perks a suspicious brow and ponders out loud. "Um, maybe a mole inside the guild office?"


    Sebastian''s face entertains a slow grimace of intrigue, and he idly scratches his chin. "Maybe? That''s not a rare thing, bro. But..."


    His ethereal form crosses his arms, and he hovers contemplatively, drifting to the side. "Even if they do have someone on the inside, it''s one thing to provide insider information... It''s another thing entirely to interfere with guild operations. That''s risking A LOT, and it''d have to be done really carefully. No one likes it when you fuck up guild processes."


    Grumbling to herself, Cideeda claws out towards the remote on the coffee table in front of her. "Whatever. At least I was able to sneak over and get the tracker back. Those things are not cheap to replace. Sneaking into impound lots isn''t fun either."


    She grasps hold of the remote, aims it at the television, and twists her head upon the pillow between the team surrounding the couch. "Anyone against me finding a movie or something? I NEED a good distraction right now."


    Reaching inside her house robe pocket, Sotalia pulls out her aetherphone and taps through a series of screens. "Sounds good, girl. Let me check the listings... Something has to be on..."


    Seconds of hunting later, a devious smirk cracks her mouth, and she squirms eagerly in anticipation of the discovery. "Channel one nine dash eight two."


    Flicking a furry ear away from Sotalia, Cideeda presses the sequence on the remote. She briefly eyes over towards Sotalia and notices the video on the screen. Biting her lip, she squelches a snicker. Upon the large display, a tall, muscle-bound grath man sneers defiantly into the camera. He simply grunts, hoisting up twin machine guns. The camera rockets back, blazes of muzzle fire spray lead towards countless foes leaping back from impacts upon a backdrop of explosions. Bach sits up in his chair with a spark of interest and watches the screen. "Oh, wow! Damn. I haven''t seen this movie in forever. I think it was back in first year? Or second?"


    Sebastian hovers down next to Bach and stares at the screen in fascination. "Yeah! It may have been during the summer break when we didn''t have anything else going on. I remember one movie night where everyone brought the most ridiculous movies they could find over."


    He snorts with a faint ethereal echo and shakes his head in amusement. "Damn, bro. If I remember right we watched this thing a dozen times."


    Bach smiles, chuckling, and snorts with memory. "Oh yeah. There''s no way you can experience all the ridiculousness in one viewing..."


    His voice trails off, and he notices an odd silence next to him, slowly turning his head towards the couch. Dretphi crosses her arms defensively, focusing a highly unamused glare upon the screen. Sotalia and Cideeda snicker between themselves and barely contain snorts and giggles. Slowly drawing a long breath, Dretphi sighs equally long, her tone tinged with rippling irritation. "Change it. PLEASE."


    Dismissively waving off, Sotalia finally unleashes a laugh. "Oh, come on, girl! You don''t want to see a big, gruff grath mow down waves of bad guys with nothing but grunts, growls, and scowls? I wonder how many women will throw themselves at him?"


    Narrowing her steely gray eyes, Dretphi rolls them away from the screen with a few phases in grath under her breath. She reaches a hand out toward the remote in Cideeda''s hand. With a toothy grin at Dretphi, Cideeda snaps the device just out of reach and waggles the controller. "Aww, but I like this next part where he headbutts the head off the bad guy and attaches it to his belt as a trophy. Such a classic move."


    Without any effort from her, Cideeda abruptly slides down her pillow and across the crouch, feeling Dretphi''s tight, secure grip around her ankle. The remote gets within Dretphi''s grasp. Cideeda tosses it over to Sotalia. "Catch!"


    Sotalia fumbles around to a recovery and presses the volume up button. "Oh wait! Here''s a REALLY IMPORTANT bit of dialog!"


    The television showcases the aftermath of inane destruction. Bodies lay on the ground in tall heaps, and piles of rubble crumble out from the partially leveled buildings, thin trails of smoking wisping off. The grath hero stands triumphantly, shirtless, with a perfectly timed breeze blowing the smoke from his spent machine guns up and intertwining in his long hair. He pans a scowl out to the devastated landscape, and... Grunts... with the faintest hint of a lip curl. Sotalia grins mischievously, dripping with sarcasm. "Quote. Of. The. Movie."


    Dretphi glares at Sotalia and huffs, settling back into her side of the couch. Releasing her hold on Cideeda''s ankle, she rumbles out her agitation. "PLEASE. CHANGE."


    Waving her hand in a calming motion toward Dretphi, Sotalia lowers the volume and flips through the other channels. "I know, I know. Don''t worry, girl. There''s a comedy just coming on."


    Blinking in thought a few times, Bach glances over to Dretphi and awkwardly shrugs his shoulders. "Umm... I didn''t think it was that bad of a movie. But... I''m missing something, I guess?"


    Embarrassment tints Dretphi''s tan face, and she settles down to her typically calm demeanor. She sighs, managing a small smile to Bach. "It is not the movie itself. It is the trend the movie inadvertently started."


    She momentarily averts her eyes and shakes her head at herself. "The movie is SATIRE. Parody of glory hunting grath of the past. Many grath did not perceive the satire. They saw it as... ENCOURAGEMENT. I was in..."


    Moments of mental searching later, Dretphi nods to the answer found, her mind settling on an acceptable term. "High school, when this film released. Made dealing with certain classmates..."


    Furrowing her brow, she tosses a stray platinum blonde braid off to the side. "Aggravating."


    Pondering the situation himself, Bach slowly nods and gradually frowns with a tug at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah... I guess I can understand that frustration. I remember a few of those trends and fads hit our hometown. Thankfully, most of those died out in a few years. Some lingered for WAY too long."


    With an eye roll, Sebastian ethereally groans and glances over to Bach and Dretphi. "Gods.... I got so tired of people adopting bullshit titles for their ranks in all their cliquish clubs and expecting you to use them. It was so lame when the movie did it. So much worse when people actually did it."


    Noticing the comedy start up on the television, Dretphi musters a smile and gazes at Bach. "I tolerated it. Thought I was done when I went to college. My younger brothers entered high school. They imitated that behavior."


    An evil smirk emerges upon Dretphi''s face. She punctuates her statement with flexing fingers and cracks of knuckles. "Behavior that ceased promptly after I returned home for summer. I will NOT suffer such anymore."


    A few quick blinks, Bach grants a single tilt of the head in wide-eye agreement. "Fair. Enough."


    Fading back to faint, self-reflective embarrassment, Dretphi sneaks a bite of the lip. "My response is... to a fault... in those affairs. Appropriately proportional, of course."


    Aristespha steps through the archway to the hallway. Carefully rubbing the soreness out of her very long, pointed ear, she slouches her shoulders with a long, defeated sigh. "Would you all believe it was a communication systems error that coincided with a clerical mishap during a law mandated break?"


    Everyone aims their confusion at Aristespha. Sebastian darts his eyes around, deciphering Aristespha''s last statement. Cocking his head to the side, he stares blankly at her. "Um... The hell does that mean, dear?"


    Aristespha twists her mouth and grumbles, frustration painting the pain upon her face. "It means some idiot night shift clerk highlighted the message right before he dashed off to the bathroom, which flagged it as read, and no one else noticed it."


    Silence hangs over the room. The group collectively gawks, dumbfounded in utter disbelief. The movie on the television peaks in volume, and Aristespha perks up with a spark of delight. "Oh! I LOVE this movie. This is just what I need right now."


    Dretphi slides the coffee table out. Cideeda scoots up into one seat. Aristespha slides through and into the middle seat on the couch. Sebastian phases behind the couch and floats near Aristespha. Both Dretphi and Cideeda pat Aristespha on the back, and Sotalia and Bach give her sympathetic gazes.


    ----


    Crossing her legs, Samantha settles upon her bed in the modestly furnished room and hoists a laptop upon her lap. Her hazel eyes scan through different applications, menus, and messages layered and tiled upon the screen. Pivoting on the bed, she angles the display away from the fresh afternoon sun glare and leans over to the aetherphone resting upon one of her bed''s fluffy pillows. "Okay, Howie, I just got confirmation from the editing team. They got a rough cut put together and are getting the effects crew to get it polished. They should be sending you the rough cut in a bit."


    Resonating an air of satisfaction, Howard''s voice sounds out from the speakerphone. "Good! I trust that our adventurers enjoyed the successful capture?"


    Smirking vaguely dismissive, Samantha nods and rolls her eyes. "Oh... Yes. Chad was quite apt to boast all about his actions and even recognized the contributions of others for the successful capture. He also..."


    A snort slips out, and she grins sinisterly. "Celebrated... with Veevi."


    Delight oozes through the phone, intertwining a dark chuckle, and Howard takes a long breath in. "Excellent. I hoped those two would latch onto each other and... Share common goals."


    Pausing a moment, his satisfaction wanes momentarily. "I was a little worried when she came on strong to Deedri. That was NOT my intention. Keep the crews'' focus away from her for a few more days and give her a bit of reprieve. I feel like I need to make it up to her. Really don''t need the medical mage to be on the edge too much."


    Fingers tap upon the laptop keyboard, and Samantha flips up a few sheets of paper off her clipboard. "Will do. We got some nice footage from the house cameras of Tassilda having a tense conversation in the morning with Veevi..."


    An evil smirk appears, and she chuckles, tinges of menace slipping out. "Right before Veevi stole the upstairs shower away from Tassilda."


    Laughter echoes around the room on the other side of the call and filters through the aetherphone speaker. "Yes! Send me that video when you get a chance. I want to see it. See if I can get any new ideas about how to ramp that up. I wonder what else Tassilda will surprise us with... Given the proper motivation."


    A sly smile graces Samantha''s light face, and she flips through windows on the laptop eagerly. "I''ll get it sent over to you in the next few minutes."


    A progress bar springs up on the laptop display and slowly creeps across its background width. Samantha gazes outside through the window next to her bed and idly absorbs the bright late spring scenery of the world outside. She sighs, contorts her mouth, and furrows her brow in thought. "I still can''t believe you found that illusionist guy and got him to set himself up."


    From the other side of the call, Howard snorts and snickers to an amused chuckle. "Oh, Mack? I''m amazed he got the message I left with his sister. Totally did NOT expect him to actually respond back. That fraud has been on the run for YEARS. Ever since that one governor got caught trying to pull another Sundial Tower Scheme and exposed the money he was trying to launder through to the shell companies supposedly doing all the work and certifications."


    He briefly hisses out a dismissive tone, resuming his explanation. "He sounded REALLY worn down on the phone. Guess he finally learned all that money is worthless if you can''t stick around anywhere long enough to use it."


    Samantha rests her laptop off her lap onto the bed top away from her and unfurls her legs into a stretch. Sliding herself down across the bed, she lets her brown, shoulder-length hair drape out, and tucks her arms between her head and a pillow. Seconds of idle silence pass, and she stares out the window into the spotted clouds in the sky. Rolling her head over, she furrows a mix of curiosity and concern at the phone. "So... What''s going to happen to him now? Are you really going to pay your lawyer to represent him?"


    Howard sighs out in defeat and groans. "YES. He''s a short-sighted, greedy fool. But... Gods dammit... He''s still a close enough cousin."


    Hints of frustration color his acceptance of the situation, and he grumbles. "And... I promised my great grandmother I would do what I could to help him."


    Drawing a long breath, faint sounds of an appliance door closing rise from the remote background. A few electronic beeps peak through from the side of the call, and he nonchalantly continues. "With my lawyer, returning most of the money he''s hidden, and good behavior, I should have him working that illusion magic as a children''s show host in a few years as part of his early release plan."


    Samantha''s hazel eyes widen, she covers her mouth, laughter escaping through snorts. Shifting her hand up to her forehead, she cackles loudly. A few quick breaths later, she calms herself down and sits up, directing her voice towards her aetherphone. "WOW. I was wondering how you were going to twist that one to your favor. A children''s show host?"


    A thought pings off the front of her mind, and she pauses, eyes widening with revelation. "Oh. Gods. You don''t mean... THAT show?"


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    A dark, foreboding chuckle oozes out from the speakerphone, and Howard''s voice fills with humored pride. "The favor to my great grandmother is granting him the opportunity to use my resources... At his expense. He WILL pay me back. With THAT show. Wearing THAT costume."


    Shaking her head side to side slowly, Samantha whistles lightly in astonishment. "Wow. THAT is pretty cruel AND unusual."


    Howard dismissively pops an exhale from his lips and slathers on the sarcasm. "Yeah. Wow. So terrible of me. Steer a group of relatively harmless rookies capture him when he''s willing, provide legal defense resources, and secure him a job after he gets out. I''m such a cruel person. Yep, totally me."


    Samantha rolls her eyes slowly, exaggerating each degree of rotation with a goofy smirk and sticks her tongue out briefly, punctuating her feelings. "Dammit, Howie. You''re still pretty much taking advantage of his situation."


    An unamused groan vents through the phone, and Howard sighs. "Well, you know where he was going to go if things didn''t work out?"


    An eyebrow perks upon Samantha''s light face, and she curiously eyes her aetherphone, aiming an ear. "Hmm... We all noticed he was preparing for a longer trip and using alchemy to make a huge batch of components. So... Where was he going to go if this didn''t work out?"


    Howard plainly states with deadpan cadence. "The Perimeter Weird Zone."


    Samantha''s eyes spring open, and surprise washes over her blank face. "Okay. Wow. Never mind. You saved that idiot from himself. That idiot is very lucky to have you as a benefactor."


    An appliance chime rings out from the phone, the sound of a small door resounds from the background on the other side of the conversation, and Howard sniffs the air loudly. "Ah. That he is. Which reminds me, we also got lucky, too. One of my favorite informants within the guild let me know that Sebastian''s group was waiting for permission to pursue Mack."


    Absolute shock overtakes Samantha, and she snatches her phone off the pillow, holding the device close to her whispering voice. "What?! How!? If it wasn''t for the fake fan-submitted tip you came up with, Chad and crew would have never been able to spot him earlier without his disguise that day and file with the guild."


    Maintaining an droning, explanatory tone, Howard''s inflection reveals a forming scheme. "Yes. The report said they spotted a suspicious person with a high possibility of being Mack and followed him. They were waiting for permission to tag the car Mack had with a tracker and remote cutoff. Thankfully, Mack didn''t show his real face to them. SO, they couldn''t get photo confirmation to jump straight to capturing him."


    Samantha flops back down onto the bed and groans out her frustration. "I guess I should be glad they are thorough. THAT was too close!"


    A plotting cadence sneaks over from Howard''s end of the call. "Or... Close enough."


    Lifting up an intrigued eyebrow on her face, Samantha shifts her expectant gaze to her aetherphone. "How so?"


    Wallowing in a dark satisfaction, Howard recounts his thoughts. "They would have probably been denied pursuit because our team filed first for a capture. But, a clerical error, of sorts, left them hanging... To witness those young, upstarts take what they thought was rightfully theirs... Right in front of them."


    Samantha dons a plotting smile and focuses upon her phone. "OH, I think I see what you are getting at. But, whatever are YOU scheming, Howie?"


    Howard chuckles and expresses a hopeful, anticipating tone. "I think we need to present an opportunity for the two parties to work nearby each other. I''ll have my associate at the guild keep an eye on what missions our other team bids on and see if that... encounter can be arranged..."


    Faint footsteps echo within the room at the other end of the call, and he drifts off. With a soft thud and furniture sliding across a floor, he ponders out loud. "We''ll see if that happens, but for now... I''ve got a more immediate plan to enact upon our lovely group of fledgling adventurers."


    Samantha blinks away from watching the progress bar on her laptop, returning her attention to Howard. "And, what would that be?"


    The soft, barely audible sounds of Howard pulling to an ear to ear grin cross the threshold of the microphone. "Oh... Just extending a certain intern trial period to see what more can develop."


    ----


    Inside a well decorated living room, Nash and Harvos take seats upon a finely crafted leather couch upon the direction of an elderly well-dressed man. Nash scans over the area, pausing upon the many artifacts, awards, and photographs on the walls and shelves. The elderly well-dressed man calmly walks over to his aged, leather recliner and eases his thin frame down. Harvos nods towards the man respectfully, seeking eye contact. "First of all, I want to thank you, Dr. Dawkins. I wish the situation surrounding this meeting could have been better, but I''m delighted you could meet with us."


    Dr. Dawkins settles into his chair, pulling a lever on the side, and reclines back slightly. Eying over at a small table, he hovers a hand over a bottle of brown liquor and carefully grasps it. He pulls the cork out, pours the dark amber fluid into a glass, and extends his arm out with the bottle to Harvos. "You young ones help yourself and keep it away from me. I don''t need temptation that close to me right now."


    Taking hold of the bottle, Harvos spots two glasses upon an antique coffee table. He glances over to Nash, and eyes the glasses with a tipping gesture of the bottle. Nash squints to the read label, flits his eyes wide open, and slides his glass over under the bottle''s mouth. "Well! We thank you for the hospitality, and we will do our best to keep this temptation right over here."


    With a dry chuckle, Dr. Dawkins cracks a short grin and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "It is good to see they kept with tradition in picking a replacement for the computer science department chair."


    Lifting his glass to his lips, he enjoys a long sip of the liquor and releases a long sigh. He sways his head and gazes at Harvos, his short white, combed hair brushing audibly against the recliner''s headrest. "Despite my absence, I have kept up with my old department''s progress through the years. I''m most pleased that my successor chose a proper one himself. You have handled the Archaeology department nicely so far."


    Harvos bows slightly forward, keeping very aware of his tall horns and avoiding any obstacles. He pours some of the liquor bottle''s contents into his glass. "I try my best. I still am trying to figure out the dark, dreadful mystery known as the annual department budget."


    Dr. Dawkins smiles humored and playfully rolls his green eyes. "Oh, I wouldn''t get too hung up on that one. Some mysteries are better left alone, and only subdued temporarily for another time."


    Pausing a moment, he eases out a long, thoughtful exhale. With another sip from his glass, he stares forward contemplatively. "Well, on to business... I have read your message and the reports provided."


    The fluid in his glass swirls around with the motions of his hand, and he gazes into the amber liquor with a mournful sigh. "I had greatly hoped I would never have to relay this information, again. But... Upon years of reflection, I have doubted much of what I did to handle the Orth Ridge disaster."


    He slowly turns his age weathered face and regretfully stares upon Nash and Harvos. "I''m going to tell you everything I know and pass on the records you DON''T have... And..."


    Drawing in a long breath, he wrestles with a frown and winces briefly into a tilt of his head. "I will let a generation far more current than I decide what to do with it. I don''t believe we knew what to do then... Because... I still don''t rightfully know today."


    Harvos and Nash exchange glances, both returning their attention to the subject at hand. With a wave, Dr. Dawkins gestures towards Harvos''s and Nash''s glasses. "Drink up, young ones. It''ll help to make this all easier to stomach."


    Harvos and Nash each lift their glasses up and tip back the dark amber liquor into their mouths. Nash licks his lips and grants a very satisfied nod to Dr. Dawkins. Harvos gently blows out some relief through his mouth and briefly winces with the burn of the drink. "So... Um... Dr. Dawkins, where do you want to start?"


    Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Dr. Dawkins hems and swirls his glass around. "Let us start with the information that is the most immediately useful to you right now. There''s so much we can discuss after, but I don''t want to overburden with irrelevant details."


    Harvos and Nash indicate their agreement and wait expectantly. Dr. Dawkins draws a long breath, his eyes reading through the information in his mind. "There were some points in your report that stuck out to me. First, the Elder Energy Condenser Chamber..."


    He slides his stare over to Harvos and concentrates his stern tone. "We NEVER got it working."


    Harvos blinks and cocks his head to the side slightly, donning inquisitive surprise on his light gray face. "Interesting. Was it non-functional before? Incomplete?"


    Dr. Dawkins perks a brow towards Harvos and strokes his trimmed, white beard. "Not that I know of. It seemed as if all the pieces were in place. We just couldn''t figure out the damned thing. So, the fact that this Dark Lord Noxian was operating it is VERY worrisome."


    With a long blink of bright brown on black eyes, Harvos furrows his brow and puzzles out loud. "So... Who would have had enough knowledge to even start to decipher how to use it?"


    After a grimacing stare, Dr. Dawkins narrows his thoughtful gaze, tensing his shoulders. "It was a team effort to examine that artifact. I would attribute Dr. Malkav to being the most knowledgeable on the subject overall. But, his team were very skilled in their own specializations."


    He lifts a finger up on his free hand and points to a framed photograph upon the wall. "On that wall is a picture of the team... when they first got there."


    Dr. Dawkins pours a healthy sum of the liquor back and wrestles down a frown. Harvos motions towards the picture on the wall. "May I?"


    Nodding slowly, Dr. Dawkins directs Harvos''s attention towards the picture. "Yes. Dr. Malkav is the third one from the right in the bottom row."


    Harvos lifts himself off the couch, walks over to the framed photograph, and examines it closely. Carefully inspecting the line up of many people, he focuses upon the man third from the right in the bottom row. The man stands proudly with a confident smile and graying hair in a professional, slightly stained lab coat. Harvos wanders his attention and notices a man and woman holding each other with a small child held between them. The man grins happily with specs of gray in his brown hair, and the woman smiles forward, long red hair flowing in a breeze at the time. Captured in the moment, with similar red hair fraying out from a blue ribbon, the little girl holds onto a bright blue scarf around her neck against the wind. Pulling his head back, Harvos turns back towards Dr. Dawkins. "Who is the couple with the girl?"


    A sharp wince of long withstanding pain grips Dr. Dawkins''s face. Moments later, he finally manages to allow sigh free. "That would be Isaac, Sylvia, and Cynthia Huxley. That''s a tragic tale that I don''t have it in me to recount, at the moment. I will say I still feel responsible for sending them on that assignment."


    The old man swallows hard against a surge of regret. "Such a wonderful family..."


    Harvos nods understandingly, steps back towards the couch, and seats himself back down. "That''s okay. There''s plenty more to cover."


    Dr. Dawkins finishes another sip of his drink and eyes Harvos. "Yes. Another strange point in the report was that the description of the Formation Factory is drastically different from what I remember."


    Nash furrows his brow and cocks his head. Harvos''s interest piques, and he leans attentively forward. "How so?"


    Experienced green eyes level a stare at Harvos, and Dr. Dawkins recounts in a calm, confused tone. "The entire floor below the walkway was filled with Nightmare Miasma. It took our best barrier teams to..."


    Straining a breath through his teeth, he musters up the words. "Extract... whoever we could..."


    With a wide-eyed expression, Harvos drifts back into his seat, quietly pondering in a haze of concern and worry. Nash glances over to Harvos and shifts his attention to Dr. Dawkins with a quizzical stare. "Okay. I have to say something and interrupt. You are using a lot of proper sounding terms that I''ve never heard of before, but you are speaking as if they were the proper names. So... I''ve got to ask..."


    Narrowing his stare, he searches for an answer from Dr. Dawkins. "What the hell was this place for?"


    Dr. Dawkins empties the last of his liquor down his throat, sighs, and levels a serious gaze at Harvos and Nash. "THAT is the most frightening thing of all of this. A fact we discovered FAR TOO LATE. Understand, we came to this site thinking the best. We initially thought the site was a magical factory of some kind. We just didn''t know WHAT it was a factory FOR, at first."


    Resting his empty glass upon the nearby table, he places his hands upon the arms of the recliner and tightens grips upon the worn sections. "Our first investigations showed an amazing possibility. We thought this was a fabled manufacturing lab for Elder Geists."


    Shock splashes upon both Harvos''s and Nash''s faces, and both simultaneously reach for their drinks. After both enjoy a sip from them, Dr. Dawkins continues. "Promising signs all around. The size of the plant access, the elder energy collection and storage, and the magical structure forms seemed to fit the bill. Matched known descriptions we had compiled. It''s just... Just..."


    Deep sadness from the past flows over frustrations and colors every aspect of Dr. Dawkins. Manages to maintain his composure, he fights against a torrent of regret. "But... GODS. DAMN. IT. It was the exact OPPOSITE! It was a small scale factory for creation of those gods forsaken Nightmare Geists."


    A long silence looms, flooding the ornate living room. Shock grips Nash and Harvos, and loss drains Dr. Dawkins. Minutes later and a generous refilling of drink glasses by Nash, Dr. Dawkins shakes his head slowly with a distant stare. "It was never our intention to dig something like that up. But... Too much was explored by the time we discovered the damning evidence. We didn''t want to draw attention or cause a panic. So, we just designated the area that stored the Nightmare Miasma as a high level hazard and redirected all focus on other areas of the facility."


    Pausing to collect his thoughts, Dr. Dawkins summons up further explanation, a growing frown twisting his mouth. "Gods. We should have handled it so much better. But... None of us knew how to handle it best, in the first place. We figured a little ignorance couldn''t hurt. And, we took advantage of the safety protocols we already had in place and thought it should keep it relatively safe. When dealing with sites of this nature, nothing is fully safe, but you do all you can to minimize risk using the best techniques you know."


    He sighs and shakes his head in puzzlement and ponders out loud. "The strange part is that it was working so well. The area seemed stable from hourly readings, and layers of protection were there. We even had our structural engineers working on an alternative entrance to the facility. It seemed like a well managed risk."


    Sinking into his recliner, he tilts his head to the side with a hard frown. "But... Something happened... Something happened to the storage container and..."


    He pauses, halting the sad tone slipping out, and musters up his resolve. "We lost precious lives that day. We handled it the best way we could think of. We tried to hide that place away as quietly as possible and took advantage of another incident to obscure what loose ends we could. It was not our proudest moment, but..."


    Narrowing a determined stare at Harvous and Nash, he sternly states. "I couldn''t in good conscience, at the time, let that place be explored any further. It NEEDED to disappear... Back into the cursed history it came from."


    Struggling, Harvos searches his mind for the parts to a response. Nash blinks blankly, and his stare drifts around the room, his thoughts overtaking him. Dr. Dawkins only manages to shake his head side to side slowly, lost to the moments of the past. Lifting his head up, he gazes towards the photograph at three members of the Huxley family and mouths to himself. "Gods forgive us."


    ----


    Cideeda, Bach, and Dretphi sit next to each other on the couch in the living space, all focusing on a hovering object upon the coffee table. With a tiny cube camera on top, the dim, blue magical orb teeters side to side and drifts around on the tabletop. Squinting his glowing blue eyes, Bach grimaces in concentration and contorts his face in thought. "Wow. This is a lot more difficult than I thought it''d be. But... I think a few adjustments should get it to work right."


    The fingers on his hands twitch with slight motions, and the camera carrier orb slowly stabilizes and balances out. A magical thread faintly shimmers against the natural light from the sliding glass door, and the orb''s shape warps gradually. Bach nods satisfied, smirking confidently. "Yeah, I got it now."


    Pulling a toothy grin across her light brown face, Cideeda aims the remote at the television, pressing down a button with a claw tip, and watches the screen expectantly. "Good. Now, I got the receiver''s video output connected to the TV, so it should be able to get a feed from the camera."


    The display flickers a few moments, and a view of the screen door segment of the partly open sliding glass door blinks up onto the screen. Picking up a small control console, Cideeda examines the wiring on the connection panel. "Not bad at all. Hardly any interference."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes at the wall mounted television, she flicks her furry ears in thought and adjusts a few dials on the controller. "Still need to tweak the focus and white balance a bit."


    Bach watches the screen, nods, and gestures carefully with his fingers. The camera orb hovers slowly forward, swaying and balancing sloppily. A few cautious twists and turns later, the magical creation glides with significantly more precision. Smiling with interest, Dretphi places her hand near the camera orb, providing obstacles for it to maneuver around. "This could be useful."


    Aristespha steps in through the hallway archway, surveys the area, and blinks at the television screen with new interest. She locks her intrigued gaze upon the hovering, camera-laden magical orb. Stepping near the couch, she watches the energy ball cautiously move on the coffee table top. Bach perks his eyebrow, sways his head side to side, and shrugs indecisively. "Uh, I guess? I don''t know. Most of the time, if you want to sneak something by a mage, you want to use a pure tech solution that they can''t sense anything magical off of. Otherwise, I mean, there are remote sensing spells that do a good job already."


    Bracing herself on the couch arm, Aristespha leans over above Cideeda and pays careful attention with brightly glowing violet eyes. "Yes. True. But... The magical signature is very small with this."


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick away from Aristespha towards the magical camera orb and track it. She grins eagerly, wagging her fluffy tail. "There''s very little noise."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts into the room from the hallway, pauses upon sighting the gathering, and hovers above to watch. Bach squints his glowing blue eyes contemplatively and tugs his mouth to a corner. "Well, I don''t know how you''d test it properly. It''s one thing to know it''s around when to try to test to see if it''s detectable. You really need a blind test to really know."


    A sly smirk appears on Sebastian, and he laughs to the group. "Hey, bro. Send it over to the hot tub gazebo."


    Aristespha smiles evilly and touches a finger to her lip, pondering. "OH. That is not a bad idea, Sebastian."


    Standing up from the couch, Dretphi walks over to the sliding glass door and slides the screen segment wide enough for the orb. Cideeda contains a mischievous giggle and fidgets a little excitement out. "YES. Oh, I haven''t seen her since breakfast. She''s probably zoned out or snoozing, AGAIN."


    Lifting a scheming eyebrow, Bach gestures his hands in purposeful, deft motions. The camera orb hovers off the coffee table, floats quickly down to a few centimeters above the floor, and glides out the back door, swaying with the momentum. Dretphi excitedly returns to the couch and watches the television eagerly with the rest of the team. The screen shows the outside world from a very low to the ground perspective and displays the route ahead of the camera orb. It flies just over the brick patio towards the tall lattice doors of the gazebo, coasting through taller blades on either side. Bach stares intensely at the television, hands directing flight path adjustments with finger twitches. The view gradually centers itself to a bottom opening between the wooden lattice slats, passing through into a dark room. Cideeda taps a button on her controller and precisely twists a dial, brightening up the picture. "That should get it. Let''s see if the audio works."


    The television speakers sound out an ambient bubbling from the remote space. The camera view pitches up and shows the profile of the hot tub and a hand with long black nails resting off the edge of the tub rim. Bach focuses his glowing blue eyes and exhales long, focusing himself. Moments later, the view from the camera rises up, slowly climbing close to the speckled patterned side panel of the hot tub. The bubbling grows louder. The group watches tensely. The camera''s view crests the top of the hot tub. A loud snore cuts through the background din of the gazebo. Sotalia''s head rests upon a water-proof air cushion, her dark red hair spread out damp and faintly wavy. Her arms anchor her partially submerged body and legs to the edge. Snickers and snorts fill the living room, mixing Sotalia''s cutting snores from the television. Aristespha lowers herself down upon the couch arm and aims her voice down towards Cideeda. "Question. Can that camera make any..."


    A mischievous grin cracks upon her ivory face. "Sudden, LOUD noises?"


    Donning a wicked smirk, Cideeda glances up to Aristespha. "There IS a retrieval beeper that can get pretty loud."


    The gathering exchange glances, and a silent agreement forms between all parties present. Cideeda gazes forward expectantly, her claw tip flipping up a covered button on the control box. Waiting a few moments for a quiet, nodding countdown, she presses it hard. A loud, shrill ring blasts out and bounces inside the gazebo, reverberating out from the television speakers. Sotalia''s golden eyes spring open in utter shock. Her arms reflexively draw away from the edges of the hot tub. Her upper body slips unceremoniously into the bubbling water. Her legs and feet briefly pitch up into the air, splashing back down. She sits up in a state of utter bewilderment, her dark red hair drenched over her face. Her hands fumble around the outer edge of the hot tub. She blankly glances through the gaps between her soaked bangs around the area, the rest of her mind finding awareness between surprised pants. Dretphi suppresses a giggle and taps Bach on the shoulder. "Recommend escape NOW."


    The camera''s view back away, drifts down the side of the hot tube, and leaps through the hole in the lattice work, back towards the brightly sunlit, brick patio. Seconds later, the magical camera orb zips through the gap in the sliding glass door. Pulling herself off the couch, Dretphi closes the glass door the rest of the way and swiftly returns back to her seat. The camera orb slowly floats up from the floor and lands upon the coffee table. Sebastian works the excess humor out of his face and settles to a proud smile at Bach. "I think that was a successful first test right there, bro."


    With uncertainty, Bach bites his lip and sighs, rolling his eyes. "Well, she was asleep. So, it really didn''t test whether or not a mage could easily sense it part."


    Sebastian shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly with his arms to the side and reassures with a nod to his brother. "Sotalia can feel out some really small amounts of magic. She''s usually very sensitive to any magical activity. So, it''s a good sign she didn''t immediately wake up when it got that close to her, bro."


    The back glass door slides open, and Sotalia steps through with a towel wrapped around her hair and another larger towel wrapped around her chest. Stretching out a yawn, she turns to the gathering at the coffee table. Blinking in surprise, she spots the television image and turns her full attention to the magical camera orb idly hovering on the coffee table top. Her golden eyes spring open wide along with her pupils, and she excitedly plops down to her knees next to the coffee table. Lowers her head to closely study the magical orb, she grins in delight. "OH! This is so cool! Have you tested it yet?!"


    Bach tightens his lips and maintains a neutral smile. "Uh. Yes. Sort of. Tested the waters... So to speak."


    The magical construct distracting Sotalia, the rest of the group fight for their outer composure. Narrowing her golden eyes, Sotalia flashes an evil grin and lifts an urging eyebrow. "So... When are we sneaking this thing over to spy on our neighbors?"


    A wave of inspiration spreads through the group. Attention shifts to the magical device, and stares occasionally drift out the back window towards the two story house, just past the corner of the property.

 Episode 32

    In the large back yard behind the two-story house, a swift evuukian man, wielding dual wooden training short swords, repeatedly attacks a stoic grath man holding a large practice blade. Between quick, precise incoming strikes, Trakenthin promptly blocks each motion deftly. Modoran hops away from Trakenthin and rolls his shoulders into an exaggerated stretch. Shaking his head of short, white hair, he draws a smirk across his dusky, bluish gray skin and briefly chuckles. "Damn. You are deceptively fast."


    Trakenthin cracks a confident smile and readies his wooden practice sword, a faint muffled laugh slipping out. "You are an acceptable challenge."


    Rolling his dark blue eyes, Modoran brushes the hair off his long, pointed ears. "I will take that as a compliment, from you."


    He changes his stance and carefully analyzes Trakenthin''s body language, waiting, seeking. The two combatants maintain cautious watch of the other, searching for the opportunity. Both launch into flurries of movement. Loud, dull thunks sound out from training equipment clashing into each other. Keeping low, Modoran dashes around Trakenthin in circular motions, broken by lunges at a perceived opening. Holding his ground, Trakenthin swiftly intercepts Modoran''s assaults with his practice blade and furrows his calculating brow. He tenses up, directs all his focus upon Modoran''s approach, and swings out. With cunning deftness, Modoran shifts his momentum and forces his body into an evasive dodge, diving out of the way of the incoming blade. He instinctively rolls away on the ground from Trakenthin''s reach and springs up back onto his feet. Brushing flecks of grass blades and leaves off his tight fitting training gear, Modoran wrestles a smirk and sighs. "Too close. I almost gave you that one."


    Repeatedly drawing in long breaths of air, Trakenthin briefly removes a hand from his sword handle and wipes sweat off his dark bronze brow. "Have been training for an hour. Advisable to break. We may grow careless. Should not burden our medical mage with needless injuries."


    He glances over towards the back sliding glass door of the two-story house and gives a respectful nod to Deedri. Spooking at the sudden attention, Deedri gathers her composure and awkwardly waves towards both Trakenthin and Modoran. "S-sorry. I didn''t want to interrupt. I admit it was exciting to watch."


    Modoran turns his head in surprise and blinks, pondering Deedri''s existence near the door. "How long have you been out here watching us?"


    A flash of embarrassment fills Deedri''s light face, and she averts her gaze with a shy smirk. "Um... Just the last ten minutes... Maybe? I lost track watching you two."


    Trakenthin grins, puffs out his chest proudly, and nonchalantly props himself up with his sword. "Fan of martial combat?"


    Stepping away from the brick wall of the house, Deedri walks out towards Trakenthin and Modoran and furrows her brow contemplatively. "Well... Somewhat? I don''t mind good, non-lethal competition."


    Arriving near both Modoran and Trakenthin, she searches inside one of the large pockets of her apron and retrieves two plastic, flip-top containers with liquid inside. With one in each hand, she holds them out to Trakenthin and Modoran and smiles happily. "I was working on potions and medical supplies in the kitchen when I saw you two start sparring. So, while the main batch is slow cooking, I mixed up some simple stamina boosters from the leftovers."


    She eyes the two vials with a tinge of uncertainty and gazes at both Trakenthin and Modoran a bit more confidently. "The orange one has a citrus flavor, and the yellow one is closer to banana. Unfortunately, protellow flower petals aren''t that consistent when it comes to flavoring. What you taste might... vary? It can be really unpredictable once you mix it up."


    Glancing towards Trakenthin, Modoran gestures at him and waves nonchalantly towards the vials. "I''ll let you choose. Both sound good to me."


    Trakenthin drifts back to a stoic presence, and his eyes momentarily scan around the area. He grasps hold of the yellow liquid filled container and nods appreciatively. "Thank you... I prefer banana."


    Deedri presents a bright smile. Flicking her furry ears with the tickling of the wind, she gives the remaining container to Modoran. "Drink up! The mixture is only potent in this form for a few hours. After that, it''s just flavored water made from kinda expensive ingredients."


    Trakenthin and Modoran each flip the tops of the small containers and pour them back into their mouths. Trakenthin carefully closes the lid and returns the vial to Deedri. Nodding a few times, Modoran smacks his lips, ponders to himself a moment, and gives the other vial back. "That was really good. Thank you."


    He slyly smirks and aims an intrigued lift of an eyebrow at Deedri. "So... Have you done any fight training before? I am sure we could show you the basics, if you want to join in."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes widen, her furry, tufted ears perk up, and she bites her lower lip, fighting between interest and hesitation. "Well... Any training I''ve ever done has been strictly for defensive purposes. Medical mages aren''t exactly supposed to lead the charge into a fight. So, we are trained to avoid and evade."


    Wrestling a faint frown, she sighs uneasily. "If THAT fails, we are supposed to use magic from as far as possible to disable or impede long enough to allow for our escape."


    She clasps her hands in front of her upon her apron and shrugs with an innocent smile. "It''s very frowned upon for a medical mage to have to heal themselves due to their own fault of endangering themselves. We''re not supposed to become a patient."


    Her eyes wander from the gazes of Trakenthin and Modoran, and she rocks ever so slightly to her bashful admission. "But... We do receive some very discipline specific training for strictly defensive close quarters combat."


    Modoran sheaths his practice swords into the scabbards attached to his belt. Crossing his arms, he entertains a curious, interested smile upon his dusky bluish gray face. "Well, THAT is interesting. What did they teach you that''s so specific?"


    Her fluffy tail wagging below her skirt, a delighted smile appears on Deedri. With a chipper perk of her posture and her tufted, furry ears, she eagerly recounts, tracking bullet points on her fingers. "Oh! A lot of grappling and escaping different holds. We drilled on being grabbed and shaken, and how to react properly. So many hours of concentration training to teach us how to focus magical flow when surprised or under duress. And also, some common throws and pressure points."


    Trakenthin nods plainly, stretching his back. "Sensible. Useful collection."


    Cocking his head to the side, Modoran places his hands on his hips, tugging the corner of his mouth in thought. "Okay. Any examples you can show us?"


    With a reserved nod, Deedri takes a step back, plants her feet, and takes a long breath. "Yes. If you could grab my shoulder, Modoran, I will demonstrate."


    A few blinks processing Deedri''s change in demeanor later, Modoran glances to Trakenthin, shrugs his arms out to the side, and reaches a hand out for Deedri''s shoulder. "Like this-?"


    His hand grabs onto Deedri''s shoulder. Clamping tightly with both hands onto Modoran''s forearm, Deedri swiftly spins inwards into his space. She tugs Modoran''s arm forward, full force, and sharply ducks with all her might. The rest of Modoran follows his arm across Deedri''s back and over her shoulder. With a loud thump, Modoran flattens the grass beneath his back. Moments of quiet pass. Modoran stares blankly at the blue sky above and the clouds conveniently obscuring the noon sun overhead. Deedri''s concerned face graces Modoran''s view of the world. Kneeling down next to him, Deedri quickly checks him over. "Are you okay?! I''m so sorry!"


    She wrestles a surge of guilt and strains an embarrassed breath in. "Gods! We always trained pretty rough to make sure we''d do it properly when we had to. And... Being classes full of medical mages, we were prepared to handle most injuries on the mats."


    Wandering his focus from the skies above, Modoran gazes into Deedri''s auburn eyes. Staring up at her in the lost seconds, he eventually regains his composure and gallantly grins. "I am just fine. THAT was an impressive throw that I just wasn''t expecting from you. So, allow me to truly apologize for underestimating you."


    A blush of color highlights Deedri''s cheeks, and she quickly breaks eye contact, standing back up. Modoran sits up, brushing more grass off his sparring gear, and notices an extended hand from Deedri. He graciously accepts the assistance, and she helps pull him up. Scratching his chin, Trakenthin quirks an eyebrow with an analytical narrowing of his hazel eyes. "Good form. Good results. Needs practice."


    He straightens his posture and grins smugly. Pushing his practice sword upright into the dirt, he rests his hands on his sides. "I, respectfully, doubt you could throw me. Did you receive instruction in confronting opponents of my stature?"


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perk up, and she pulls a slight grin across her face, tints of apprehension slipping out. "Well... With great size differences, we were taught to use a DIFFERENT approach. I can show you, if you want. But, it won''t be as dramatic as a throw, since I don''t want to harm you by accident."


    Cocking his head to the side curiously, Trakenthin stares down at Deedri, his visibly puzzling out implications. "I am interested. What do you need me to do?"


    Extending an arm out, Deedri demonstrates to Trakenthin. "Just hold your arm out like this."


    An incredulous air obscures the honest wariness, and Trakenthin reaches his muscular, defined arm out. Holding it in place, he cautiously watches Deedri. Carefully, Deedri places the palm of her hand underneath Trakenthin''s forearm, near the elbow. Moments later, a flicker of auburn lights up her eyes. Trakenthin''s wrist sharply rotates inwards, his forearm muscles tense, and his lower arm seizes into shaking definition. Witnessing the spasm in wide-eyed bewilderment, he moves his arm slowly and observes the phenomena from different angles. Seconds later, the muscles relax back to normal, and he flexes his released wrist and hand. "WHAT. HAPPENED?"


    Clasping her hands back together, Deedri rests them in front upon her apron and proudly smiles. "It''s a use of medical magic that locks the muscles up by causing them to contract. I used a VERY LOW strength variant on you. That way it was short and painless, but hopefully demonstrated the point."


    Shaking his head side to side, Modoran breaks from his gawk at Trakenthin''s arm and glances to Deedri. "I have to admit... That''s a bit scary. And..."


    A sliver of a frown forms on Deedri. Modoran cracks a small smile and nods encouragingly. "Impressive."


    Deedri perks up with a faint smile. Trakenthin finishes stretching his arm and wrist out and gazes at Deedri, with a renewed interest. "What else can be done?"


    Wagging her fluffy tail with her thoughts, Deedri searches her mind and ponders out loud. "Well... The simplest measures take the least amount of energy and concentration, which is normally what you want to do. Conserve your effort for more important things, like treatments. So, targeted muscle locks and nerve signal disruptions are the first things you''d attempt. If needed, with the more advanced techniques, you can completely disable limbs, cause coordination issues, and... "


    She bites her lower lip and averts her auburn gaze, wrestling a bit of embarrassment. "Invoke... Violent evacuations."


    Exchanging uneasy glances, Modoran and Trakenthin return their wary gazes at Deedri, a hint of curiosity shared. With the faintest trace of an evil smirk, she sighs at the silent question. "Either AND both ends."


    Modoran and Trakenthin blink long and gaze wide-eyed, silently and visibly contemplating with imaginations painting the scenes. Grimacing uncomfortably, Deedri settles to a modest frown and steadies her tone against the subject. "In very dire situations, medical mages can be extremely destructive, despite it going well against our principles. We can sever tendons, rip muscles, shatter bones, and rupture organs. Death is horrifically easy in comparison."


    Trakenthin tenses his posture back straight and contorts his face gradually. "You have my sincere respect for your capabilities."


    With a series of quick nods, Modoran attempts a confident smile upon the strained facade, the betrayal of his thoughts leaking through. "Please, let me know if I do anything to make you angry. I WILL absolutely apologize and dutifully correct it."


    Her furry, tufted ears drooping down to her shoulders, Deedri deflates sadly. "PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I really don''t want to ever use my training that way. It''s not at all why I chose this career. I want people to be happy and healthy."


    Perking up slightly, she eyes Trakenthin and Modoran with a shy smile. "If I''m ever going to be aggressive, I only ever want a sparring weapon in my hands."


    A sly grin appears on Modoran, and he winks to Deedri. Drawing out a training short sword from a sheath on his belt, he hands the wooden practice blade handle first to Deedri and nods to Trakenthin. "I think we can help you there."


    Deedri grasps hold of the training weapon and smiles bright and appreciatively to both Modoran and Trakenthin, her tail tip wagging with her perking furry ears.


    ----


    Sitting around the dining table, Aristespha, Sebastian, Bach, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Cideeda intensely listen to Nash''s voice through Aristespha''s aetherphone in the middle of the tabletop. Nash echoes out into the living room and the eerie silence of the gathering. Nervous glances aimlessly seek around the area. Nash drags out a long groan. "So... That''s all I got right now. Not exactly the news I really wanted to give you all on a Saturday evening. But, I figured you all needed to know what exactly was there... Despite how grim it fucking is. I''ll honest, I''m still trying to comprehend it all. Just, damn."


    Rubbing the temples of her head with both hands, Aristespha releases a long, dumbfounded sigh and flutters her violet eyes. "THAT was not exactly what I thought it would be. Though, I can not say it was not out of the realm of possibility."


    Nash remains silent for a few moments and sounds out a similar sigh over the phone. "Yeah. I''ll send you the rest of the information and documents we got as Harvos and his team puts them into the system. Unfortunately, I don''t know how much more I''ll be able to get you, since higher ups are getting involved."


    He grumbles in defeat. "Which is never a great thing."


    Sliding into a sly tone, he playfully whispers loud. "But... I''ll be sure to relay what I can when they aren''t paying too much attention. They''re still administrators and get distracted easily enough. HOPEFULLY, something else will pop up to keep their attention."


    A smile cracks on Aristespha''s face, and she rolls her violet eyes with a momentary lift of the brow. "As always, thank you. I will let you go now. We all will need some time to process all of this ourselves tonight."


    Nash laughs with a confirming cadence. "YEAH. Can''t blame you there. I''m going to go back to researching alcoholism and archaic video games. You all take care."


    Reaching her hand above the phone, Aristespha hovers a finger over the on-screen button. "You too."


    With a light tap on the display, the phone ends the call to a plain icon layout. The group exchanges mixtures of uneasy, tense, and uncertain postures between themselves, a looming, silent pressure weighing down upon all. Sebastian''s ghostly form drifts back from the table, through his chair, in thought, and he takes a few moments to gaze around the living room. His attention rotates around the room, settling between Bach and Cideeda. With his blue eyes sorting through his mind, Bach stares down distantly at the tabletop, his face blank. An occasional twitch of his cheek precedes a blink. Cideeda squirms in her seat with arms crossed. Her hands cover her elbows tightly, her tail subconsciously coils up defensively around her waist, and her stature shrinks, drawing her inwards. Sotalia gently rests a hand upon Cideeda''s shoulder and rubs her back comfortingly, whispering. "You okay?"


    Returning her awareness back to the group around the table, she nods slowly with a weak smile. "Yes. Just old, not so great memories coming back."


    A wince appears upon Sebastian, and he uneasily contorts his mouth with a long ghostly sigh. He gazes upon both Cideeda and Bach with concern and dutiful resignation. "I know it''s a really uncomfortable subject for the both of you... Especially, since it''s come up recently. But... Is there anything you two are willing to tell us about Nightmare Geists, from experience? You are the only two people I know of that have had first hand encounters. So..."


    Watching the growing discomfort on both Bach and Cideeda, he backpedals along with his hesitation. "If it''s too much, I understand-"


    A small, stronger smile solidifies on Cideeda, and she gazes up to Sebastian. Stretching some tension out of her body, she unfolds her arms, guides her tail onto her lap, and combs the fur with her clawed fingers. "It''s FINE. I just don''t know what I can really add. My encounter was over twenty years ago, and I was just six years old when it happened. So, I only remember bits and pieces, at best."


    Her shoulders stiffen. Rolling them out with an uneasy exhale, she briefly, distantly stares into herself. "I remember what it looked like when it tore out part of my mother''s old house and... grabbed hold of me."


    She pauses for a long time. Supportive concern appears upon the rest of the group. With a considerable amount of visible effort, she navigates her emotions, pushing them out of the way, and furrows her brow. "I remember the black flaming aura it had. Its grip was cold. The dark fire felt like it sunk into your very being..."


    She closes her emerald green eyes, leans into the chair back, and breathes out a shudder. "And... it tried to... negate your very essence? Existence? Gods, it''s really hard to describe. It felt like something was trying to cancel out a part of your very being. So weird..."


    Gripping her tail tightly, she summons up a strong, smiling exterior. "After that, all I remember is my father firing his imbued Perimeter rifle, falling into my mother''s arms, and a group of adventurers firing all kinds of spells at it. Then, I must have passed out. Because, I didn''t wake up until a month later."


    A grimace overtakes her light brown face, and she sighs out her frustration, shaking her head. "I try to remember more each time I think about it. But... That''s all I have right now. I wish it could be more useful."


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    Sebastian nods graciously and presents a thankful smile. "Hey, it''s fine. Any details you can give will help us all."


    Glancing to Bach, he waits a few seconds, watching Bach''s silence. He tilts his head to the side. "No pressure, bro. If you don''t feel comfortable now, we can-"


    Staring distantly into his mind, Bach interrupts into a serious, explanatory tone. "Four to five meters tall. Black... Almost light absorbing, magical miasma that radiates out like fire. Two legs. Two arms. And, a mass at the top that served as a head, of sorts. It was completely featureless..."


    His eyes lock forward, oblivious of the stunned stare from Cideeda across the table. "But... Something like eyes... LOOKED at me."


    A few tense, strained breaths enter and leave. Bach blinks back to the current reality, noticing the attention upon him, and sighs. "It was late afternoon. Near dusk, on the fourth day of the assignment out at some old ruin that once served as a magical power collector. Condenser, maybe? Either way, nothing was supposed to be out there. I mean, it was a gift shop away from being a tourist trap at that point. It was supposed to be a local safe place to look at old ruins."


    Lifting his head up, he frowns sharply, recounting the events to the rest of the group between old pains. "An hour after we set camp up, it walked right into the area. Immediately, saw us. And... ROARED."


    He shudders, tension building in his body. "It sounded like bellowing, enraged, distorted static. It just charged at us. Absolutely no other warning. We scattered out in a near panic, just hoping we could keep rotating distraction spells so we all could get far from it. But..."


    Furrowing his brow, he sighs sadly, a darkness coloring his words. "It didn''t care."


    Bach sits up straight in his dining chair, crosses his arms tightly, and shrugs up his shoulders with a cringe. "Most of our spells did absolutely nothing to it. Well... Some temporarily knocked out chunks of it. But, those reappeared back in seconds. Raw energy blasts did the most to it, but nothing really damaged it. Unless it was missing a lot of itself, it did NOT slow down for anything."


    Closing his blue eyes, he solemnly draws in air, a grim cadence tinging his voice. "It knocked down my instructor and was lining up to run down the three other students. Two, who could barely walk, were trying to get another unconscious student out of the area. So..."


    With a hard swallow, he tightens up his shoulders and grimaces. "I decided to give IT something else to worry about and hit it with a D-Ball."


    Interest piquing, Sotalia''s attention latches on. Bach opens his eyes wide and shakes his head. "THAT... was one of the dumbest things I have ever done, even with everything I''ve done recently. It turned out the D-Ball hurt it, deeply. It wailed out in utter, I guess, anguish? After that, it paid attention ONLY TO ME. That''s also when I noticed it was missing a bigger chunk than normal."


    Aristespha attentively watches Bach, and Sotalia leans slightly over the table in anticipation. Groaning from the past defeat, Bach''s frustration colors his tone. "But, gods dammit. It still reformed. I literally saw the shredded magical essence that comprised it recondense back onto its body."


    Hope flattens within Sotalia, and Aristespha nods solemnly, her mind processing the new information. Bach blinks, stares distantly at the scene playing back out in his mind, and harshens his grimace. "Fortunately, the other students escaped. Unfortunately, it was coming right for ME."


    He furrows his brow, stiffens his posture, and tightly flexes his fingers. "I threw... D-Ball AFTER D-Ball at it... Gods, I don''t even remember how many. A dozen or so? Man, I was totally freaking out. Not thinking clearly at all. I had NEVER thrown that MANY before. I don''t know how it was possible even today."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes widen and sort through mental calculations. His distant gaze drifting towards the tabletop, Bach tensely exhales. "I got cornered eventually. And, I was completely tapped out. I''d hoped to slow it down enough to get away from it. But, very little phased it. When it stood over me, I had never been more scared in my life. It reached down for me..."


    A long silence follows. Bach''s blue eyes dart around the scene in his mind, and his face contorts to the internal replay. Tension shrinks his posture, and he sinks into his seat. A firm hand grasps Bach''s shoulder, and Dretphi speaks calmly with concern on her tan face. "Do not stress yourself. We understand if it is difficult. Painful to recount."


    Bach''s reality returns to the warmth of the living room and the supportive attention around him. Attempting a smile in spite of overwhelming emotions, he shakes his head with a sigh. "It... It''s okay. It''s just a really hard part to remember. Because... I''m not entirely sure what exactly happened. It feels so disjointed, and I don''t know how to piece it together to have it make any kind of sense."


    His body language loosens up, and he vents out the tension in a long exhale. "All I''m sure of is that there was a bright flash that came from... SOMEWHERE. Next thing I can remember clearly is waking up the next early morning to the sounds of rescue teams searching the area."


    Attempting levity, Bach shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly against the residual stress and unfolds his arms out with a smirk. "So, I really don''t know how useful of information that all is. Well, except don''t piss off a five meter tower of black fire burning magical destruction. And well... RUN AWAY, if possible."


    Craning his head around, Sebastian leans forward and meets his brother''s gaze, smiling. "Hey, it''s good information. Thanks for telling us, bro. Really. Every bit helps."


    Holding her chin by an ivory hand in thought, Aristespha glances over to Bach with a curious perk of her brow. "I remember reading reports stating that narrow spectrum, specialized energy spells do very little to a Nightmare Geist."


    Turning his head towards Aristespha, Bach slowly nods to confirm. "YES. I don''t think it even felt those kinds of spells that hit it. The disintegration spells and raw, broad spectrum energy attacks did the most harm. Still, kind of relatively little. And, it seemed to recover eventually."


    Cideeda shakes her head in disbelief and grins in astonishment, her tail tip flicking. "I can''t believe you PICKED A FIGHT with one."


    Rolling his eyes at himself, Bach groans, wavering into embarrassment. "Yeah, THAT was really NOT my plan. BUT... To be honest, I really didn''t have a plan at all. I mean, I just felt I had to do something and threw the most dangerous thing I could think of at it."


    An amused, proud grin appears on Sebastian. With a quizzical hoist of an eyebrow, Sotalia narrows her golden eyes at Bach and raps her long, black fingernails on the table. "A dozen of those disintegration ball spells?"


    Bach shrugs awkwardly and briefly grits his teeth into an uncertain grin. "Well, I guess? Maybe a little less? I was REALLY DISTRACTED while flinging one after another to keep an exact count..."


    Pausing a moment, Bach''s words replay internally, and he winces his resignation to the possible interpretations. A devious grin reveals itself upon Sotalia, and she sits back into an air of renewed interest. "OH. That''s REALLY intriguing to hear."


    Aristespha nods in thought and focuses. "From the research I have read, that makes sense. The currently held theory is that elder energy can permanently harm a Nightmare Geist, since they were designed and mass produced to neutralize Elder Geists. Accomplished by, quite literally, charging into contact with them."


    Dretphi perks an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side. "They are suicide tacklers? Sacrifice themselves to destroy the target by contact?"


    Resting her arms on the table, Aristespha nods slowly and idly plays with her aetherphone. "Yes. Exactly. They were an unfortunately effective solution to what was thought to be an invincible defense."


    In the moments of idle thoughts, she picks up her phone from the table. Angling the screen into her view, she taps through a few menus. "So... On to other business... I know we have some food we could eat here. But, in light of recent news, I would really like to order in from that multicultural buffet place, again. A little comfort food sounds delightful, right now."


    The rest of the group shelves previous topics and shifts immediate concerns towards dinner. Debates form on what to add to the quickly growing order.


    ----


    Deedri wanders between sections of the U-shaped kitchen space. Rows of neutral toned cabinets encircle the main area. Stretches of patterned countertops line the plane beneath, breaking for appliances and the dual basin sink. Deedri''s furry, tufted point ears flick behind her, tracking a sound source somewhere upstairs. Resting a pot in the larger basin, she pauses near the kitchen sink and waits. Her furry ears minutely adjust and twitch, picking out faint voices leaking into the room through the walls and sifting in from the entry. She releases a long, disappointed sigh, lifts the handle on the faucet, and guides the spout over the pot. Her toe claws pressing upon the tile floor, she quietly murmurs to herself. "...they argue so much..."


    With a clawed finger hovering over a paragraph in a nearby book, she reaches out to the oven and turns the temperature dial down. The pot in the basin fills up halfway. She cuts the water off, lifts the pot, and places it on the electric stove top burner. Navigating around the surroundings of the kitchen, she sweeps up herbs into a bowl from a cutting board on an adjacent counter top and plucks a few roots from plastic bags resting on the bar joining the kitchen to the dining area. Swinging open the refrigerator door, she pulls out two glass flasks, dimly glowing blue. She slides over to the stove top, clicks the knob to the appropriate electric burner, and glances behind her, squinting at the book. With a confirming nod, she mumbles with her thoughts. "Hmm... ...might need a little more protellow fluid extract..."


    Peering over the countertop bar from the other side of the dining table, Trakenthin watches attentively. With building interest, he observes, his idle hand keeping his place within a thick novel. Over the minutes, Deedri darts around the many stations of the encircling kitchen. Respectfully waiting for a lull in activity, Trakenthin inquires in genuine curiosity. "Did you not finish potion brewing yesterday?"


    Standing back up with a pot lid from a shelf under the oven, Deedri places it on top of its mate. She spins around, blinks her auburn eyes in thought, and smiles with a nod. "Yes. I finished brewing potions yesterday. I''m finishing up reagents and other materials today."


    Trakenthin slowly acknowledges, blinks his hazel eyes, and scratches his head of short dirty blonde hair, returning his attention to his book. "Oh. Understood."


    A prominent series of muffled stomps upon the carpet covered stairs resonate through the house framework into the area. With a long, rising growl, Tassilda rounds the corner of the archway leading to the kitchen. Grimacing in a simmering, light blue on black eye twitching rage, she stands stiffly and flexes her long, black nailed hands. She exhales a shaky groan of boiling irritation. "The NERVE... of THAT... CREATURE."


    Trakenthin offers a simple blank stare with a slight lift of the eyebrow toward Tassilda. Pivoting in place, Deedri glances over at Tassilda, stirring a spoon in the contents of the pot. "What''s happened now?"


    Slowly stepping forward, Tassilda summons up her composure and rolls the tension free from her shoulders. She readjusts her tight fitting workout pants and top with an exaggerated sigh. "SHE has Chad convinced that somehow I will be able to teach HER anything about the magical arts anytime soon. The only thing that wretched little snake is good at is finding the right beds to keep warm in at night."


    Deedri frowns, shakes her head side to side, and weakly pleads, uncertainty betraying the original intent of her words. "We should, at least, try to give her a chance?"


    Both Trakenthin and Tassilda stare at Deedri incredulously. Deedri''s furry, tufted ears droop towards her shoulders, and she bites her lip, her eyes averting from the attention. "I''m TRYING. I like to give everyone a chance, but..."


    The faintest hint of ire surfaces on Deedri''s fair face. "She''s really making it DIFFICULT to do."


    Shaking his head respectfully, Trakenthin slightly frowns. "Noble intent. Wasted. Noble still."


    Graceful, proper confidence returns to Tassilda, and she sighs out a mix of sympathy and frustration towards Deedri. "Your efforts are commendable, but I question how long you will be able to keep THAT attitude. Especially given that I suspect she is going to overstay her welcome."


    Deedri blinks and winces vaguely, twisting the corner of her mouth. "OH... What do you mean?"


    Turning her head, Tassilda tilts her blue on black eyes down, and lifts an eyebrow on her gray face. "Given recent... nocturnal activities... I think her internship is going to last far longer than any of us would like."


    With a cringe and long grumble, Trakenthin relays his irritation. "I must concur. I have HEARD Chad''s approval."


    Narrowing his eyes, he snorts derisively, flips over to the next page in his book, and stares idly at it for a few moments. His upper lip curls into a sneer of disgust, and he sternly states. "I have yet to NOT hear both in recent nights."


    Tassilda rests a hand upon her chest and closes her eyes, twisting her head with a visible cringe. "Oh, you have my most sincere sympathies. I can''t even begin to imagine trying to sleep with THAT going on."


    Contorting her face with concern, Deedri sighs and glances over to Trakenthin. "I have plenty of medical grade cotton that works well in the ears for dampening sounds. I know from personal experience..."


    Glancing between Trakenthin and Tassilda, she nods into a softer tone. "You can have as much as you need."


    A sly smile graces Tassilda, and she shifts her weight with sway of the hips, eyeing Deedri. "Speaking of things medical... I was curious to what the procedure would be if a member of the team was to experience discomforts of a... Social variety?"


    Blanking her expression, Deedri browses her mind, briefly quiet, and recounts the protocols. "After an initial questionnaire, a visual examination. If necessary, a manual inspection. Possibly a few tests to determine more details as to the nature of the ailment. Magical remedies may be needed in extreme cases, or to alleviate severe discomfort. But, typically, a prescription antibiotic or curative compound will handle it."


    She rests a curled finger upon her mouth and ponders out loud a moment. "Thankfully, there are many potions and creams that the patient can effectively self administer after initial treatment."


    An evil grin overtakes Tassilda''s gray face. Perking her brow at Deedri, she rests her hand upon a hip, guides her raven black hair over a swirling horn, and ices her words in heavy sarcasm. "Oh! I am so glad you are so well versed in such procedures. I feel given the interactions between our illustrious leader and our... spirited... intern... Your knowledge may be put to the test, in the near future."


    Deedri pauses stirring the contents of the pot upon the stove top. Realization washes over her into a wave of discomfort down her body. Her stare grows distant, and her tufted, furry ears pull back low, pointed tips nearly touching her tensing shoulders. Fighting a chill down her figure, she visibly shudders. Moments later, she recovers and resumes mixing the boiling concoction in the pot. "Understand... It is my DUTY to the team to satisfy all medical needs to the best of my ability."


    Eyeing Tassilda and Trakenthin, she sighs out her disgust. "But... I sincerely hope that certain functions of my position in the team are not put to THAT particular test. Especially when it is readily preventable..."


    Deedri''s furry ears flick towards the kitchen wall, and she expectantly eyes the archway, puzzling at the space between. A faint, nearly transparent, shimmering figure darts around Tassilda, swiftly moves around the side of the table opposite to Trakenthin, and reaches the sliding glass door. The door opens slightly, and the figure blurs with activity. An invisible force rolls out onto the backyard and disturbs the grass, leaving a long flattened trail. The mass of visual distortion lowers down onto the floor, lifts up the white tablecloth, and slips underneath the dining table. Deedri''s furry ears twitch towards another source from the stairwell. Her auburn eyes widen, and she devotes her full apparent attention to mixing the contents of the pot.


    Light, rapid steps cascade down, and Veevi rushes out into the kitchen and dining area. She glances at Trakenthin studiously reading a book, Tassilda watching over the kitchen, and Deedri preparing a mixture. Brushing her pink hair out of her pink pupil eyes, she scans the rest of the area, spotting the open sliding glass door. She puffs up her chest boldly underneath her midriff length shirt, placing her hands upon her short shorts. Swaying her hips, she proudly struts to the door with a sly, smug smirk. "If I had my guess..."


    Veevi slides the door open the rest of the way, peering out into the backyard. Excitedly snickering, her eyes trace the trail in the grass. She steps outside, closes the door behind her, and eagerly follows the path of parted grass. Trakenthin slowly raises his head from his book, rests it pages down upon the tabletop, and stands up slowly. Stepping over to the sliding glass door, he inspects it, engages the lock, and conceals it, pulling the vertical blinds over. He sits down and picks his book back up, cracking a dry smirk. Tassilda grins sinisterly, pivots in place, and strides towards the front door. "Well. I''ll get the other door."


    With a flip of the tablecloth, the transparent visage rises out from underneath the table and grows more opaque, revealing Modoran''s worried face. "GODS. I will so be glad when this internship is over. She is a persistent little pain in the ass. I can not even hang out in my own room with her pestering me to teach her how to sneak around."


    Trakenthin rolls his eyes, and Deedri frowns. Returning through the archway, Tassilda furrows her brow. "OH. About THAT. We have an interesting to tell you."


    ----


    Pulling her upper lip up into sneer, Sotalia flicks a finger across the surface of the tablet. The imagery on the display flickers light onto her light tan face, and she sprawls out in the extended recliner. She swipes through various screens of official text, the absence of satisfaction growing obvious. Let the tablet flop onto her stomach, she stretches her arms out to her sides with a defeated groan. "Gods! All these jobs are either boring, annoying, or BOTH, so far!"


    She rolls her head to the side and gazes over to Cideeda and Dretphi on the living area couch. "You two find anything good?"


    Pulling herself up from a slouch on her pillow upon one couch arm, Cideeda sits upright and glances over her shoulder toward Sotalia. "Meh. Found a few ruin survey and inspection jobs near that other place we had suspicions of being a Noxian hang out. Might be able to take care of a few jobs there and check out that one location at the same time."


    Sotalia angles her tablet up into view and taps the on-screen map. With a vaguely interested lift of an eyebrow, she brings up a new listing upon the screen. "Okay... THESE look a bit better."


    Rolling her golden eyes, she twists the corner of her mouth. "Well... Comparatively."


    Sitting opposite to Cideeda on the couch with her arm propped upon her knee, Dretphi supports her head with a hand. She squints at a tablet upon the coffee table and cocks her head to the side. Puzzling at the description on the device, she furrows her brow intrigued. "There is a local whelp removal job."


    Cideeda twists her mouth and briefly sticks her tongue out in disgust. "PASS. YES, I understand that they may be pests. But, I REALLY don''t like killing the little guys."


    Sotalia''s head rocks against the cushion of the plush recliner in a rough nod of agreement. "Too cute for me to annihilate with my spells. Now give me some really nasty vermin or SLIMES, THEN we can talk."


    Lifting her head up, Dretphi gazes towards Cideeda and Sotalia, honest surprise manifesting on her face. "They want them captured alive. Unharmed."


    Cideeda and Sotalia exchange curious glances with Dretphi. Touching a search button on the display, Sotalia eyes over to Dretphi, her interest piquing. "Huh. Girl, what''s the job number?"


    Cideeda presses a few spots on her tablet and waits. Dretphi drags the document down to a large header and reads off the encoded number. "Three six one six dash eight six seven eight."


    Seconds later, golden and emerald pairs of eyes scan the literature upon respective tablets. With a childish delight, Sotalia excitedly squirms in the couch chair. "OH. MY. GODS! These are fancy whelps! Oh, I SO wanted one of these when I was a teenager. I just could NEVER afford to get the one breed I wanted."


    Slowly examining the documented list, Cideeda''s brow furrows, and she stares at the inventory, surprise building with the individual descriptions. "Wow! I can see why whoever wants them captured unharmed. If I remember right, these are some EXPENSIVE breeds. AND, the job pays decently, too."


    An amused smile seizes Dretphi, and she glances over to Cideeda and Sotalia within an air of satisfaction. "Should I bookmark the job?"


    Both Sotalia and Cideeda nod in unison, and continue reading the details of the job. Across the room at the dining table, next to the kitchen bar, Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian survey a collection of documents, maps, pictures, and other articles upon the tabletop. Aristespha hovers a pencil over a spot on the map, taps idly, and ponders, staring at a page of paperwork. "It all checks out. Though, I still can NOT believe it."


    Sebastian slowly shakes his head and floats above the dining table, carefully inspecting the spread of data. "Yeah... It was a HUGE operation to create the place and almost as huge to conceal it afterwards. I don''t think we would have ever found it unless we got those coordinates from that bunker computer system. I mean... There would be no reason to even stumble near the area for any other reason."


    Lifting his head away from the organized chaos upon the table, Bach blinks hard, long, and rubs his eyelids free of the strain. "Man, we printed this much off, and there STILL is more coming in. I mean, it was nice they included an office printer as part of the house rental. But... I hope they don''t charge per page afterwards."


    Aristespha pulls back her silvery blue hair over a long, pointed ear, and sighs, playfully smiling with an eye roll to Bach. "No. Thankfully, they charge a flat rate per month."


    Furrowing her brow, her violet eyes survey the layers of paper coating the dining table. "BUT. They may, justifiably, reconsider that after we are done."


    The tablet near Aristespha vibrates upon the wooden table top, amplifying the rumble. Aristespha taps the screen, reads the notifications, and slides it over to Bach. Leaning back into her chair, she groans in vague defeat. "Oh gods... Another batch. Could you look through them? I need to focus on what is out here presently, for a bit."


    Nodding, Bach guides the tablet over. He slides the old, necklace and blue ribbon wrapped journal off to the side, and maneuvers through a series of menus on the tablet. "Yeah. Sure. I''ll see if it''s anything relevant."


    He sorts through the lists of document files, peeking at the contents through previews, and stops upon one large image file. He taps the preview on the screen, and it expands the image out to the borders of the screen. Bach closely examines the scanned photograph of a team of people lined up in the rows. Motioning on the display to zoom in, he scans from the top, across the rows of faces. Reaching the bottom row, he ends his search at the right corner. "Hmm. Here''s a picture of one of the teams..."


    His finger drifts near the close button. Recognition boils in his mind and freezes him in place. Familiarity seizes Bach''s full attention, and his eyes lock onto the people in the bottom, right corner. Enlarging the section more, he stares closely, unconsciousness guiding his conscious search. His head lowers closer to the picture. He scrutinizes a man, a woman, and a child. Minutes of pondering and staring later, he slowly rotates his head and gazes upon the old, necklace and blue ribbon wrapped journal. His eyes widen. Reaching over, he lifts the blue ribbon in hand and snaps back to the blue ribbon in the little girl''s hair. He squints at the woman and notices faint lines draping from her neck. Blinking hard, he feels the necklace and exhales with a stammer. His focus falls upon the child''s bright blue scarf. His eyes open fully. His pupils shrink. He withdraws his head far away from the tablet. Aristespha and Sebastian observe Bach curiously, concern building between them. Sebastian sinks down lower to Bach''s level and inquires. "Hey... Uh, what''s wrong, bro?"


    Raising the tablet display towards Aristespha and Sebastian, Bach points at the bright blue scarf. Second later, Aristespha covers her mouth in shock, and Sebastian''s visage visibly pales.

 Episode 33

    The drone of light city traffic settles into the background around the tall business towers. Well marked and lighted intersections cycle through their different patterns, allowing vehicle and pedestrian traffic through. Wide sidewalks surround blocks of tightly packed structures between the streams of traffic. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk along a long row of decorative trees within huge planters next to a very tall brick building rising above the sparse urban center. The group searches around the area, bouncing between unique landmarks and the dense signage posted. Cideeda''s furry ears flick towards a point in the distance and lead the rest of her along. "I think the park is over there. Sounds like a lot of activity is happening."


    Aristespha nods quickly to Cideeda and shields the sunlight off her aetherphone with her hand, squinting her violet eyes. "You are most likely right. We are in front of the city hall. So, that should mean that is the right direction. Lord and Lady Valentropen said on the phone they would meet us there near the community market."


    The team moves ahead down the path between other groups of people going about their days. Sotalia nearly skips with each step, excitedly fidgets, swaying, and smiles eagerly. "I can''t believe this is a mission! I never thought anyone would contact the guild to find fancy whelps! Oh! Their pictures in the mission brief were so CUTE."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice resonates out from the sword at Aristespha''s side, reservations tempering. "REMEMBER, we have to return them to their owners."


    With a grinning roll of the eyes, Sotalia sighs in mock defeat and waves a playfully dismissive hand, averting her gaze elsewhere. "I know. I know. We EVENTUALLY have to return them... But I''m certain a half hour or so with one won''t be too much trouble."


    A slight smile cracks upon Dretphi, and she leans over to Sotalia, pointing to a picture on her phone screen. "The Golden Gale is impressive."


    Turning a picture on her aetherphone towards Dretphi, Sotalia smiles wide with a bite of the lip. "I know. BUT... I still LOVE this Nocturne Nightmare. Just look at those little horns and yellow eyes!"


    Bach rolls his shoulders in a stretch and rocks his head slowly shoulder to shoulder with a nonchalant smirk. "Well, I hope I''m not too rusty at baby dragon wrangling."


    With a ghostly laugh, Sebastian speaks out from the sword. "Bah, after all the times we had to catch Lagi when he got loose, I think you''ll be fine, bro. Though, I remember it being a lot easier when he got bigger."


    After a flash of memory crosses Bach''s mind, he blinks back to awareness with a slow shake of the head. "Well, yeah... Right before his wings grew out to match his body. Then, he started maintaining level flight, and EVERYTHING got a lot more difficult."


    A series of pained chuckles sound out from the sword, and Sebastian emits a distorted sigh. "Yeah... Gods... How we didn''t get into any more trouble than we did, I will never know, bro. I always wondered if it was easier for the campus to pretend they didn''t notice anything going on and let us clean it up out of fear of getting caught."


    Bach tilts his head to the sigh, furrows his brow, and darts his blue eyes between memories. "You know... You might be right. There''s no fuckin'' way they didn''t know about half the stuff we did... Huh."


    The group approaches a street intersection, check both ways, and quickly cross to another stretch of sidewalk bordering ancient, decorative fencing. The long ironwork row twists and turns in intricate patterns, for artistic intentions and from eras of neglect. Over on the other side of the fence, tall green grass unrolls underneath the canopy of gigantic, ancient trees and supports a carpet of bright flowers and landscaping. Next to a large stonework "Centenn Park" sign, a flagstone path branches out into the natural flow of the land, partitioning large sections of stonework and alcoves of benches along the way. People travel along the walkway to and from sections the park with friends, family, and leashed pets. The group strolls along the trail and navigate closer towards the source of the growing background buzz of activity. Winds rustle untold numbers of leaves above and sway waves of sun speckled grass below. In a large open, paved area, colorful booths and tents contrast the plain civilian architecture and simple natural surroundings. Small gatherings wander through the crowds to visit the booths of artists, craftspeople, and performers. Off towards the perimeter of the fanfare, an elder evuukian couple sit on a park bench in the shade. Spotting the couple, Aristespha moves up to lead the group and glances back. "That is likely Lord and Lady Valentropen. I will lead ahead and do the formal greetings. From what I remember, they are the heads of a minor house. We will figure it out from there."


    A silent acceptance spreads through the rest of the group, and they hang back. Aristespha inspects her attire and checks appearance over. Assuming a proper posture, she gracefully approaches the elder evuukian couple. She grants a small bow, pleasantly recites an elegant series of phrases in a very proper Evuukian dialect, and stands up straight awaiting a response. The elder evuukian man rises from the park bench, his commanding posture contrasting his business casual attire. Examining Aristespha carefully with a proud stature, he nods his head with a slight smile. He holds his hand out for the elder evuukian woman, and she promptly pulls herself up. She brushes her elegant sundress off, grants a slight bow to Aristespha, and smiles appreciatively. Grasping hold of Aristespha''s hands, she converses quickly with a genuinely appreciative color in her voice. The elder evuukian man notices Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia nearby and lowers his head down next to the older woman. He speaks softly and eyes towards the group, motioning his head. The woman blinks to awareness, briefly covers her mouth, and waves in the rest of the group. "Oh my! Where are my manners? Please come over. I just haven''t been myself lately. Forgetting my basic courtesies of all things."


    Aristespha waits for the rest of the team, directing the couple''s attention to each member. "Lord and Lady Valentropen, this is the rest of my team. Sotalia Feratosia, Dretphi Veranattin, Cideeda Garadra-Deeseeni, and Back Warwick."


    Lord Valentropen surveys the team quietly with cool, yellow eyes and nods calm, firmly. "I would like to say that I am quite pleased that an accomplished adventuring group as yourselves bid. What was supposed to be a long weekend outing has turned into a troublesome ordeal. My wife and I were here for a local fancy whelp show. Then, some rogue group decided to release the whelps outside when we were away."


    Lady Valentropen gazes excitedly across the group and enthusiastically pleads through worry and concern upon her purple tinted ivory face. "We just did not know what to do! Oh, gods! We do not know this area, and the only thing that came to mind was filing a quest with the guild... And, THAT was quite the experience in and of itself. I had to explain that I wanted my fancy whelps captured safely... not... Eliminated!"


    An eye roll accompanies a muted sigh from Lord Valentropen, and he keeps his lips pressed shut, stilling his golden tinted tan face. Aristespha presents a calm smile and pats Lady Valentropen''s hands in hers reassuringly. "It is not a typical request. But, we excel with such atypical quests. We will be happy to find your fancy whelps and bring them back to you safely."


    Lady Valentropen smiles brightly, letting go of Aristespha''s hands. She pivots towards the park bench and searches inside a large purse. "Thank you so much. Let me get my tablet. I must show you pictures of my precious little dragons."


    Sotalia and Dretphi gather near, and Lady Valentropen enthusiastically showcases choice photos, taking time to happily recount traits, mannerisms, and descriptive features. Lord Valentropen sternly sighs and focuses upon Aristespha. "While my wife goes into great detail about her pets, I have taken precautions for such a situation. I paid for magical markers and electronic tracking collars. I have the relevant information for you and your group to use in finding them."


    With a confident, professional smile, Aristespha nods affirmatively and gestures towards Cideeda. "I and the other mages in our group can handle the magical tracking. Cideeda is our technical specialist and should be able to use the tracker information with her equipment."


    Cideeda steps up next to Aristespha and both discuss details with Lord Valentropen. With the two groups conversing about different parts of the quest, Bach drifts his gaze out into the vicinity of the park. His attention wanders over to a gathering of children sitting on the brickwork underneath the shade of a gigantic tree. He notices the elaborate booth, resembling a small stage, in front of the children. Bach reads a fancifully lettered title upon the booth top banner.


    "Brento and Kayleedi''s Puppets Present Our Past"


    The stage curtains split apart with the sound of clacking wooden rings and a pull strings rubbing. Foreboding music fills the air, and a dark mist billows out from the backdrop, rolling over the stage, fading away. Two glowing, blood red eyes pierce through the foggy veil and a sharp, jagged edged mask slowly pushes forward past the stage. A black sleeved arm directs the menacing glare of the mask upon the audience, who react in playful fight, some failing to hide their honest flits of fear. A woman''s voice dramatically announces, sinister undertones shadowing her words. "Brento and Kayleedi''s Puppets Present, The Scourge of Dark Lords!"


    The mask retreats back into the dispersing mist, and the curtains close. The woman''s voice rises up over faint noises of activity behind the scenes. "We start back in time... To just after the Abstract Prism was created!"


    With a spacey, air ambient music, the curtains part to reveal a mystical, colorful swirling background and a slowly spinning prism crystal hovering in the space. An orb of bright light glows behind the prism, and rainbows project out from the refracted light into the area to the delight of the audience. A detailed wooden puppet stands triumphantly near the base of the prism. His arms moving smoothly, he adjusts his wizardly hat and brushes off his finely tailored robes. A man''s voice proudly speaks with the puppet¡¯s motions. "It took the combined efforts of thousands of mages, an untold amount of Elder magic power, tremendous sacrifice of magical potential..."


    The small mage turns aside to the audience with an exaggerated eye-rolling head gesture. "AND... A LOT of bickering about how the whole Foundation Construct thing should work. Yeesh. You would think I was trying to get them to agree upon what flavor of ice cream to get."


    Children not hypnotized by the sparkling prism snicker and giggle. The puppet returns to the story proper and admires the prism, his arm unfurling out to the grand scene. "Surely, with this triumphant device we shall bring forth a new age of magic energy to everyone and no longer have to fear the terrible abuses of Elder magic that so plagued us to this point."


    Another puppet hops in from the side of the stage and moves close to the other. She taps her hand to her chin in thought towards the audience. "Well, about THAT..."


    Pivoting to face the mage with a flare of her elaborate sorceress dress, she leans closer. "What are we going to do about the Elder magical energy already imbued in the world, power focuses, creatures, artifacts, and well a whole lot of other things?"


    The mage pauses stiffly and slowly spins in place with an arm out, gesturing to a point that never comes from his mouth. He moves his hand to roughly scratch the back of his neck, and his previous confidence wanes quickly. "Uh... We''ll... Uh... Oh... Um..."


    Cocking his head to the side, he plainly states. "We REALLY need to do something about that!"


    The sorceress repetitively nods dramatically in return with the audience laughter. The curtains draw back together, and the female voice rises up above the sound of shuffling in the back, again. "Over the years since, many have sought out the tremendous power of Elder magic for their own reasons..."


    The stage opens back up to a plain backdrop of an empty room, and a fanciful, regal puppet rises up at center focus. A small spotlight shines on him and highlights his gaudy crown and flowing robes, a kingly chorus playing. The out of sight woman narrates. "The first was a former mage king! Deposed and driven mad by what ruling power he had lost from his Elder energy being sealed away, he was the first to don the title DARK LORD! He became known as Dark Lord Hellstrom."


    Dark Lord Hellstrom boldly puffs out his puppet chest, waves an arm out to the audience with a dominant, bold man''s voice. "I will use my former wealth of enchanted artifacts to not only regain my kingdom... BUT... I will make THE WORLD my subjects and lead them as I feel they should!"


    The behind the scenes woman speaks up in a tongue in cheek tone. "His timing wasn''t the best."


    Two groups of mages descend down from above, hovering from nearly invisible strings, and aim dour, stern glares upon Hellstrom. After boastfully preening himself to the audience, Hellstrom notices the gathering above and meekly admits. "Oh. Right... I totally forgot all the mages that created the Abstract Prism are still alive and... Still are REALLY POWERFUL... Uh oh."


    He comically dashes around the stage in a panic, the mages flying after him, and escapes off stage. After the laughter from the children, another figure moves from off stage to the center and stands proudly. The woman behind the scenes narrates. "Seeing the failures of Dark Lord Hellstrom, Dark Lord Strad worked in the shadows... Quietly converting people to his cause. He used strange Elder magics stored in his ancestral castle in attempts to extend the lives and powers of himself and his followers... At the cost of the lives of others."


    A pale skinned evuukian puppet rises to a dreary music, unfurls his cape draped arms out, and pans a hard stare out into the audience. "I and my coven will continue on FOREVER and guide this world from the shadows."


    In the backdrop, pairs of small glowing eyes glimmer into existence. A few average citizenry puppets move near and dramatically fall out of view when Dark Lord Strad directs his hand to them. A faint trail of light streams from each fallen puppet and collects within Dark Lord Strad. "A few peasant lives is a small price to pay for our great future."


    The narrator chimes in, her tone unamused and certainly not pleased. "The supposed peasants didn''t agree on that. Neither did the many bands of adventurers hired by those peasants."


    The eyes retreat away. Cardboard cutout mobs of peasants with pitchforks and torches march towards Strad and adventurer figures descend from above weapons and magic at the ready. Strad acts out a slow dramatic death, crawling for the last moments of existence slipping away, and falls out of sight with everyone else. Sounds of shuffling and scurrying sound out behind the puppet show booth. Two puppets appear in the shadows to either stage side, and the woman''s voice calls out. "Many more Dark Lords would try to rise to power. BUT... Not all Dark Lords started out with evil intentions."


    A small spot light shines down upon a fvalian woman puppet and the narrator elaborates. "Dark Lord Reevani wanted to help the ruined environment of her home land..."


    In the surrounding, calm natural music, Dark Lord Reevani cheerfully addresses the children. "I just want to make my home pleasant and green again..."


    The spotlight darkens to a dark red shade with a key change, and Dark Lord Reevani claws out her fingers with a menacing grin. "BUT! It seems I HAVE to make EVERYONE STOP DESTROYING IT..."


    A manic, sharp grin forms on the figurine''s face. "By destroying THEM."


    Dark Lord Reevani falling out of view, the spotlight flicks back to normal hue and slides over to the other puppet. The newly lit emin woman puppet tosses her long hair back over her fanciful horns and elegantly waves a hand out to the crowd, triggering the rhythmic background beat. "I, Dark Lord Decimatala, just want to be the best mage in the world and further our understanding of magic overall."


    Her eyes flash red and the puppet smiles darkly, oozing evil intent. "It is just a shame that NO ONE seems to understand that they SHOULD NOT get in MY WAY."


    The spotlight dimming, the Dark Lord Decimatala puppet drops out of view. A new puppet rises up in the center, standing in the misty shade. The woman''s voice puzzles out loud to the audience. "Then, there are those whose motives remain unknown to us, and they continue their work, a mystery to us all..."


    A spotlight from above focuses upon the center puppet. The head lifts up to show an iconic mask bordered by a hood. The audience gasps and stir, recognition taking hold in the older children and parents. Bach freezes and his eyes widen to the full attention upon the mask. Chorused whispers emerge from the audience and declare the Dark Lord''s name, Noxian. The masked puppet remains on stage, and the prism rises up into the background briefly with the bright white light behind it. The prism lowers back down out of reach for the masked figurine, and the woman narrates questions out loud. "What drives these people to seek Elder magics?"


    The behind the scenes man''s voice presents another query. "Did they start with evil intent?"


    The woman bounces off to another query. "Does having so much power just lead people down such malicious, dark paths?"


    An uneasy wave creeps through Bach, and he squirms unconsciously. Without missing a beat, the man''s voice presents another theory. "OR, does Elder magic now corrupt those who wield it, so thoroughly that you eventually become a Dark Lord?"


    Sifting a tense breath through gritting teeth, Bach winces and remains very quiet, his eyes staring down into himself in search for something. Adventurer puppets spring forth from all corners of the stage and charge the Dark Lord Noxian puppet. The scene pauses the moment the heroes surround Noxian, and the woman proclaims loudly, triumphantly. "Whatever may be the case, there will ALWAYS be heroic adventurers that will answer the call and defend all of us from The Scourge of the Dark Lords!"


    The curtains close up. The air fills with the cheers of the children, applause of the parents nearby, and the quiet commentary of passersby joining the audience. From the sides of the booth, a man and woman fvalians hop out. Both step happily in colorful jester outfits and grin with showmanship flair. The woman perks orange-red furred, pointed ears, sways her orange, white-tipped bushy tail, and tilts her head to the side, settling her long ginger hair. "I''m Kayleedi!"


    With faux dignified air about him, the man stands mockingly proper. He bows forward, letting his short, dark gray hair shift forward, wags his silvery fluffy tail, and waves his gray furred pointed ears. "I''m Brento!"


    The two ready themselves, glance over at each other with a nod, and start gesturing speedy incantations. Both release magical energies simultaneously, the stage curtains swing open to the various puppets used in show taking bows, waving at the audience, and making their final presence for the show. The stage closes back up and Brento and Kayleedi take a final bow, waving to the crowd. The majority of the audience disperses. The two performers meet and greet, enthusiastically interacting with everyone. Parents and children, guided by parents, donate money into a tip box, Brento and Kayleedi excitedly demonstrating their appreciation with magic tricks and puppetry. Bach blinks back to awareness to a familiar set of claw points on his arm. Cideeda lifts an intrigued brow and releases Bach''s arm. "Hey, let me see your phone for a minute. I need to get the tracker information into it."


    Shaking his head back to the current reality, Bach fumbles in his pocket, retrieves his phone, and hands it to Cideeda. "Oh! Yeah. Sorry. Just spaced out there."


    A sly smile graces Cideeda''s light brown face, and she snorts with a shake of her head of short multicolored hair. "Don''t hide it. You were watching the puppet show."


    Bach shrugs with an awkward smirk and sighs in playful defeat. "Well, you got me. I was."


    With a wink to Bach, Cideeda grins and taps through various menus on Bach''s phone. "Hey, it was a really cute show. I caught bits of it after I got the tracker info from Lord Valentropen. It''s pretty cool and amazing what they can do with magic and those puppets. I wonder what they could do with wargame figures."


    Bach chuckles, glancing over to the small stage, and smirks to Cideeda. "I bet it''d save you a lot of time of having to reach over the tables to move everything into place during your turn."


    Nodding with a smile, Cideeda pushes a hand on Bach''s back and rotates him around towards Aristespha and Sotalia. "Yeah... Oh, you''ll probably need to go over THERE. They''re discussing the magic marks on the whelps. Probably something you need to be part of."


    Bach nods in agreement and walks over toward Aristespha and Sotalia. Cideeda pauses from tapping settings into Bach''s phone, and peeks over to the antics of Brento and Kayleedi''s puppets.


    ----


    A row of small, tall brick townhouses stretch down the wide side next to a quieter access street, opposite of a small community park. Sotalia strolls down the walkway under the shade of trimmed trees and passes planters of flowers, the wind rustling the leaves of the greenery overtaking the area. Brushing stray dark red hairs out of her face, she holds up her aetherphone and squints at a fluctuating bar display, lifting an intrigued brow. Slowing to a stop, she glances around the vicinity, eyeing the seclusive spots in the nooks of the building architecture and crannies within the trees and between the bushes. She places the phone into a pants pocket, rolls her shoulders in a stretch, and closes her eyes. Slowly, she lifts her arm up and sweeps her open palm around, scanning the area around her. Her hand aims towards an alley, and she pauses. She cocks her head to the side and cracks a confident smirk on her light tan face. Moments later, a loud metallic crash rings out, and the sounds of something scratching and digging in debris prompt Sotalia''s golden eyes to open. She cautiously rushes towards the corner of a wall framing the alley and peeks down the shady corridor. In the midst of scattered piles of junk and strewn trash, a black scaled whelp perches itself upon the rim of a large dumpster and digs through the garbage. Fluttering open his meter wide wingspan, he briefly scratches at his collar and resumes his inspection of the bin. Sotalia smiles slyly, perks her brow, and mutters under her breath and the din of cans and bottles crashing upon the pavement. "Hello, Nocturne Nightmare."


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The Nocturne Nightmare leans forward into the dumpster, carefully searching among the refuse. It sniffs and snorts with a narrow muzzle, occasionally grasping something within its front paws. Yellow eyes dart around and inspect a piece of garbage. A dismissive snort later, the Nocturne Nightmare flings the trash out of its way on the pavement, grumbling unsatisfied. Back claws grip the edge of the large metal dumpster tightly, and its pair of black, scaly wings stir, keeping balance between dips into the bin. Sotalia quietly slides out into the gap between the walls of the alley, raises her arms, and focuses her full attention upon the catty whelp. With graceful, purposeful gestures, she slowly mouths out incantations under her breath, flows of magical energy stirring around her body. An almost imperceptible warping of energy gradually stretches out from her hands and closes the distance between her and the whelp. The Nocturne Nightmare lifts his head up briefly, munching on a chunk of extremely stale and unusually crunchy, sponge cake. Picking off the sticky remnants of the plastic wrapper, it licks the cream filling off its lips with a long black tongue. A squeak of a belch later, it spots another target within the pile and resumes its dumpster dive. The barely visible field enveloping the black scaled, horned whelp, Sotalia grins triumphantly and narrows her eyes with a confident lift of an eyebrow. "Gotcha."


    The Nocturne Nightmare''s body drifts upwards, surprising the whelp. It scrambles around vainly to latch onto the dumpster rim with both pairs of paws, only managing to scrape off chips of layered paint from the smooth, rolled edges. The whelp flaps its meter wide wingspan, seeking escape. Despite valiant, feverish efforts, all propulsion efforts fail within the translucent magical mass, and it drifts down the shady alley towards the bright opening. The forces upon it rotate and right it towards facing Sotalia. She maintains concentration and gestures, motions guiding the energies and reeling the critter closer. The creature drifts towards Sotalia and stops within a meter, floating helplessly in front of her. Sotalia smiles happily at it and raises the pitch of her voice, heavily layering the sweetness. "Oh, hello, Ur-i-ven-no-trop-a-lin! That''s such a really pretty name your daddy gave you. How about you be a nice little dragon and come with me back to your mommy and daddy. They are so worried about their little scaly son."


    She glances around, fighting a guilty smirk, and giggles in sheer delight. "If you are REALLY GOOD, we''ll stop by the market and get a bunch of treats!"


    Narrowing her stare behind the whelp, she twists her mouth in disgust at the dumpster. "Truth me, it''ll be FAR better than all that garbage you were eating."


    Nocturne Nightmare whelp, Urivennotropalin, narrows his yellow eyes indignantly, flares up his nostrils, and snarls his upper lip. Righting his head back defiantly, he flares his wings out and reveals the intricate patterns upon the webbing. He bares the sharp teeth inside his small maw and grumbles an octave higher than intent. Tilting his head, he prominently displays his elaborate main pair of horns, and holds up his front clawed hands towards Sotalia. With a puff of the chest, he draws in lungfuls of air. He breathes out a loud growling roar, dramatically shaking his head dominantly. The higher pitch matches the small size of the whelp and completely disarms the terrifying display of tiny draconic power. Sotalia''s gawks in absolute joy, cupping her hands over her mouth and nose, and gasps in pure adoration. Admiration guides her delighted gazes upon the whelp, and she squirms excitedly, eagerly reaching both hands out for the whelp. "OH. MY. GODS. You are the most adorable thing EVER! That was SO CUTE! I don''t know if I''ll be able to give you back!"


    Lost in sheer utter confusion, Urivennotropalin blinks blankly and cocks his head to the side, failing to understand the opposite of his expectations. His awareness of the situation returns when Sotalia''s long, black fingernails scratch upon the undersides of his chin. He attempts to summon a defiant growl. The effort falters away into a sputtering, bubbling purr, each delightful scratch lulling him close his eyes in simple comfort. With a slight bite of lip, Sotalia grins ear to ear, Urivennotropalin falling into her hands. "OH! Your mommy was so right. You are such a big baby when you get your scratches."


    Sotalia guides Urivennotropalin onto her chest and shoulders, hugging the whelp happily. The critter melts onto her under the constant attention, laying his head next to her neck and wrapping a long fan tail around her waist. Sotalia pets and scratches the whelp to his delight, carrying him clear of alleyway back down the street of brick townhouses. "OH, I am SO spoiling you with some treats from that market."


    ----


    In an empty, abandoned field, Bach puzzles at the readings upon his phone and slowly pivots in place, scanning around the area and bouncing his stare between the common features. He finds nothing out of place in the wide open, grassy space, shadowed by passing clouds. An overgrown treeline weaves through an ancient chain link fence on the perimeter, and a solitary, rusted metal shed stands, the tallest structure around. Bach settles his gaze upon the shed, closes his eyes, and reopens them to a blue light. Stashing his phone away, he nods his head in self agreement, eyes dimming back to normal. He walks towards the shed, avoiding the many noisy pitfalls littering the worn path along the way. Noticing the crude, old lock upon the shed door, he stops. A child''s voice calls out unseen. "W-w-who are you, and why are you here?!"


    Bach pauses and darts his glance around, searching for the source. Seconds later, three middle school aged children leave the concealment of the treeline underbrush and position themselves in front of Bach, guarding the door of the old shed. Bach wanders his gaze between the school children. An emin girl with small horns and short, brilliant green hair addresses Bach. "Who are you? And, why are you here?"


    The tall grath boy and tall human girl summon up their resolve and stand quietly to either side of the emin girl. Bach perks a confused and puzzled eyebrow at the group, shrugs with an awkward tug to the corner of his mouth, and sighs. "I''m an adventurer hired to find some lost fancy whelps. Have you seen any colorful whelps that match these pictures?"


    Bach retrieves his phone, tapping on the screen, and presents a series of whelp pictures to the children. The images of the fanciful creatures capture their attention. Upon a particular picture of green and brown scaled whelp, blatant recognition hardens their resolve, and they muster wavering, stern stares. A slight smirk cracks from the corner of Bach''s face, and he peeks at the picture to confirm. "Huh... I see. I don''t suppose you''ve seen the Viridian Forest Racer anywhere?"


    The emin girl''s green on black eyes glance between her two friends on either side of her, and she cautiously answers, reservation heavy in her tone. "We have... seen it... in the area."


    With a growing smile, Bach nods simply and swipes through the phone gallery to show a picture of Lord and Lady Valentropen with the Viridian Forest Racer. "Well, that''s great news! If you could tell me where he is I''ll be able to get him back to his owners. They''re really worried about him, since he''s so far from home and not used to being around here."


    The children each examine the picture upon the phone, and a wave of guilt washes over them, wearing through their tough exteriors. The emin girl puffs up, glares at Bach, and holds out a hand, demanding. "I want to see your guild ID! If you are a real adventurer, you should have one!"


    Tilting his head to the side at the defiant outburst, Bach reaches into his pocket, pulls out his wallet, and plucks his guild ID card out. Placing it into the awaiting hand of the emin girl, he stands tall and waits expectantly. The three children draw in close, squinting and inspecting the official identification. The human girl eyes the emin girl with reluctant acceptance. "Uh... It looks legit."


    The grath boy perks a brow and eyes Bach inquisitively. "Intern?"


    Bach sighs with a vaguely annoyed shrug. "It''s a LONG story."


    The emin girl returns the ID to Bach and bites her lower lip, a mix of frustration and moral conflict manifesting. Bach shakes his head with a knowing smile. "He''s in the shed, isn''t he?"


    Her mouth opens to contest, and she agrees with the statement in defeat. "Yes. But... How did you know?"


    Bach presents his phone again and flips to a screen with a signal strength indicator. "He''s got a radio collar on him."


    Blinking his blue eyes bright, Bach glances over the children. "And, there''s a magical mark on him, too. I saw traces of it from inside the shed."


    With a heavy sigh in sync with the disappointment of the others, the emin girl pulls out a key from her shirt pocket and sadly unlocks the lock upon the door. "I guess he should go back to his home. We found him wandering around hungry and thirsty. We''ve been giving him water and feeding him..."


    The door swings open and casts a brighter light inside the dim, rust ventilated shed. The scene before the group shocks all. Upon a bed of pellet animal feed, scattered all over the shed floor with scraps of packaging littering the area, a green and brown scaled whelp lays belly up, wings out, motionless. Fright grips the children, and guilt seizes the emin girl. "OH NO! We just got the feed because we heard that''s what whelps eat, and I-I-..."


    Tears well up in the distraught children''s eyes. Bach steps forward, kneels down next to the whelp, and narrows a curious stare at the bloated critter. Noticing slow rhythmic motions of breathing, he perks an eyebrow and pokes the full belly of the whelp. A shrill belch escapes the little creatures, echoing between the metal walls of the shed. The whelp squirms upon the bed of feed, and nuzzles his shorter snout into the pile. His tongue lazily wanders out and drags a few more pellets into his small maw, the sounds of slow crunching following. With a shake of head, Bach rolls his blue eyes and grins over his shoulder at the bewildered children. "Don''t worry. He''s fine. He just over ate and fell asleep."


    He lightly pats the bloated belly of the tiny beast. "Reminds me of my friend''s dragon when he was little. He''s just built up a bunch of gas and worn himself out eating."


    The grath boy watches the whelp squirm uncomfortably upon the pellet pile and furrows the concern on his dark tan face towards Bach. "He is uncomfortable. Can we help him?"


    Glancing back at the whelp, Bach nods with a reassuring smile and scoops underneath the critter. "Sure. He probably has A LOT gas trapped in his stomach. We can help him with that much."


    He gently rolls the whelp over, carefully folding back his wings and guiding his idly waving legs. "So... Who wants to learn how to belch a baby dragon?"


    The children gather around excitedly. Bach carefully lifts the lazy whelp up, resting his head on his shoulder, and lightly pats the lethargic whelp''s tight belly. "Don''t worry..."


    He eyes the critter idly squirming and helplessly swimming in the air. "Everyone will get a turn. There''s PLENTY of gas to get out of him."


    ----


    Leaves upon the top most branches of dense trees rustle with the light breeze coasting over the top of the newer canopy. Hidden in the bushes along a disused, patchy gravel access road, Cideeda and Dretphi peer out and alternate stares between a partially open candy bar and a pair of whelps, intently observing the candy bar from the high safety of tree perch. A crimson scaled little dragonoid squirms in place and flexes small claws tips into the bark, long tail wagging in anticipation and wings stretching out. Cideeda leans close to Dretphi''s ear and whispers cautiously. "Get ready. I think the red one is going to try for it."


    Dretphi nods a confirmation, glances down at her hands, and sorts through the mesh of a throwing net, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Understood. Still curious as to why they are this cooperative. Typical whelps are competitive. Independent."


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick and sift through the series of sounds emanating from the tree top. "It is strange they aren''t nipping at each other to figure out who gets first pick at the food."


    She furrows her and squints her emerald green eyes along the whelps'' perch. "And... It''s really weird they haven''t left that tree after we spotted them. Would have made sense to at least go to another tree."


    A flash of red peeks through the gaps of the foliage, and the crimson whelp launches off the branch, diving down towards the candy bar. It flaps a meter wide wingspan hard into an air cushioned stop, landing short of the candy bar. Sweeping the area with its shiny red eyed stare, it slinks cautiously closer to the treat with each pass, the claws of each of its four paws tensing into the dirt. Seconds of approach later, it lowers its head down and contentedly sniffs the chocolate covered bar deeply. A series purring barks sound out from the woods, and the crimson whelp responds in kind with a few extra chirps. With the net draping in hand, Dretphi curls her arm around her side and focuses upon the candy bar consuming, little dragon. Cideeda vigilantly watches and waits expectantly, holding her hand up. The moment the crimson whelp turns its head away, Cideeda''s hand drops. "Now."


    Dretphi flings forth the net with a masterful spin at the last moment of release. The net spreads out wide, lofting upwards above the target. The crimson whelp lifts his head up, chocolate smears upon lips. Searching around horizontally at the surroundings, it fails to check directly above. The net splashes down on top of the whelp. Immediately sensing the weight of the net, it flutters around in a panicked flurry of shrieks and flops upon the dirt. Cideeda grins confidently and glances over to one of two cages. "Nice! I''ll get the cage ready. You hoist and drop, I''ll release and lock."


    A loud shrill, angry screech bounces between the trunks of the trees and rattles through the canopy above. Glints of gold sparkle through gaps between greens of the tree top leaves. Fast rhythmic rushes of air swiftly sound out, and a four winged golden whelp jets down next to the crimson whelp, skating into position upon the gravel. Dretphi and Cideeda exchange glances, and both stare out, studying the situation in confusion. The two whelps trade chirps and purrs, investigating the net entrapping the red one. Dretphi tilts her head to the side, and her steely gray eyes watch, processing thought in her mind. "The Golden Gale came to rescue the Crimson Raider?"


    Blinking in short-lived astonishment, Cideeda flashes over to irritation. "Shit! They''re trying to bite through the net!"


    Dretphi and Cideeda each quickly grab a cage and rush out to the two whelps. The Golden Gale hisses loudly, fans open both pairs of wings, and digs claws on four feet into the dirt, strafing to block off access to the Crimson Raider. Cideeda and Dretphi keep a reserved distance and maintain the tense standoff with the Golden Gale, the Crimson Raider gnawing on the tough fibers of the net. Flicking her fluffy tail swiftly, Cideeda eyes Dretphi and gestures with her claw tipped fingers. "I''ll distract, you secure."


    With a quick nod, Dretphi circles gradually away from Cideeda, orbiting the duo of whelps. The Golden Gale bounces its fierce glare between the two, snapping wings forward and pulsing gusts upon the gravel. Deftly dodging the small bits of debris from the air currents, Cideeda snatches the border of the net and tugs at it sharply. The Golden Gale bears its full attention down upon Cideeda and snaps a maw of small, sharp teeth at her swiftly dodging hands. In an unyielding barrage of attempts, Cideeda quickly reaches out to the net, avoiding the fast, furious nips of the gold-scaled whelp and gusts of dirt and gravel. During the tense seconds, the Golden Gale feverishly defends against each assault upon the net. It stops in surprise upon a firm, gentle hand preventing its mouth from opening. A strong arm wraps around, tightly pressing its wings against the torso of a tall, muscular grath woman. Dretphi hoists up the golden creature and away from the fray. It helplessly flails its paws out into the air, a great deal of shock in its golden eyes. Balancing herself, Cideeda sweeps up the ends of the net and props a cage door side up with a foot. Opening the door, she swiftly lowers the netted Crimson Raider inside and closes the cage door. She carries another cage over to Dretphi, and the two lead the uncooperative Golden Gale inside. Securing the cage door, the two breath out loud in relief and vent their tensions with laughing sighs. Cideeda double-checks the locks on the cages, avoiding the nips of small maws and scrambling of tiny, deft clawed hands, and chuckles to herself. "Well... Not exactly what I had planned. But, I''ll take it!"


    With a few deep, calming breaths, Dretphi glances around, concern directing her narrowing gaze to the unhappily barking whelps. "There is something wrong. I do not believe they are acting normal."


    Cideeda kneels down between the two cages and observes the whelps scurrying around. Both peer out through the gaps in the carriers and scratch their cages towards their original tree. "Huh... Yeah... I have to agree. THIS isn''t right."


    Standing up straight, Dretphi walks over towards the base of the tree, watches the critters bark and growl louder, and squints curiously upwards. "Something is there. Could you climb up?"


    With a confirming nod and a confident smile, Cideeda skips over to the awaiting Dretphi. Placing a toed boot in Dretphi''s interlocked hands, Cideeda rides the boost up along the trunk of the tree and digs her claws into the bark. She climbs up the tree with both hands and feet, searching around each level of branches on her way up, and spots a collection of leaves and sticks high up upon a dense cluster of branches. After a few more pulls upwards, her head crests above the rough nest. Peeking inside, she smiles in delight and laughs down towards Dretphi. "HEY! We''re going to need a rope and soft bags. We''ve got eggs."


    ----


    Tall brick commercial buildings stand and border a wide walkway, the sun gleaming off the grids of tinted glass panes between decorative ledges. Aristespha strolls down past small boutique store fronts and surveys the goods arranged behind the display windows. Rounding the corner, she searches down the open avenue and focuses upon a fancifully fenced section in front of a business. Walking a few steps forward, she stops and places a hand on a hip with a smirk, narrowing her stare ahead. "Hmm. I think we found one, Sebastian."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice resonates from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "Really, dear? I didn''t hear the phone beep. Did you sense the magical marker?"


    Aristespha sways her hip to the side, glances around the empty area briefly, and taps the sword at her side. "It is clear. Pop out and see for yourself."


    The ghostly visage of Sebastian forms next to Aristespha, and he traces her sight line ahead. Squinting his eyes, he reads a sign taped to a low, metal railing door, and snorts out into a chuckle. "Heh. I guess so."


    A gentle gust of wind flutters the cardboard sign taped upon the fanciful fencing.


    "Cafe Clarks is still OPEN! Come inside! Outside closed due to a miserable little flying beast! - Frustrated Management"


    Exchanging a humored glance with Aristespha, Sebastian shakes his head, and his visage fades, drifting back into the sword. Aristespha casually steps forward and retrieves her aetherphone. Tapping up a signal indicator, she searches near the rooftops, a faint violet glow in her eyes. Reaching the entrance into Cafe Clarks, she inspects the daily specials upon a decorative chalkboard, and a mischievous grin graces her ivory face. "Ooo... They have quite the selection of teas. I wonder..."


    A bell rings out from above the entry door, and an apron wearing evuukian woman server holds the door open. "Hello! Welcome to Cafe Clarks. I am afraid the patio area is closed, right now. That little sky terror is still loose."


    Aristespha lifts a curious brow at the woman, navigating through a few menus on her aetherphone, and reveals a picture of sky blue scaled, white plated, whelp with a prominently pointed nose cone and peach wing membranes. "Does it look like this?"


    The server''s aqua eyes widen sharply, and she briefly snarls her upper lip in frustrated disgust. "YES. THAT is the little shit..."


    Blinking back to awareness, she wrestles down a flush of embarrassment and gasps apologetically. "Oh! Pardon my manners. He''s been terrorizing our customers relentlessly when they are trying to enjoy our wonderful pastries and fine drinks."


    A man''s voice from inside calls out. "And that bastard has been stealing anything magical that isn''t nailed down!"


    The serving woman sighs and points up to the rooftop of a nearby building. "He is up there, RIGHT NOW. Watching. Waiting. We are hoping he will move on soon..."


    She pauses in thought and smiles eagerly. "Wait! Are you here to get rid of him?"


    Aristespha nods, her bright violet eyes focusing upon the blue scaled whelp perched up on the decorative architecture. "Yes. There were a few that escaped, recently. This one is a Sky Lancer variety of fancy whelp. I need to capture him."


    Thinking for a moment, she glances around the server and calls inside. "He has been stealing magical objects?"


    A chorus of people confirm, listing many trinkets and larger items in irritated tones. Aristespha nods, motions to the server, and lifts the latch on the fence gate. "Follow me, and act like you are seating me."


    With an understanding nod, the evuukian woman plays along, going through all the motions, and Aristespha responds appropriately. Aristespha sits down, and the server leaves after placing down a menu. After a moment, Aristespha calls out to the server. "Excuse me, where is your bathroom?"


    The serving evuukian woman blinks in confusion and points inside. "This way."


    Standing back up, Aristespha removes the sword and scabbard from her belt. She lays it down upon the table top, pulling out the blade enough to glint the sun bright up towards the attentive whelp, and concentrates her purple glowing eyes upon the creature. A devious smile draws across her face, and a low ethereal chuckle resonates from the sword. Joining the evuukian woman inside, Aristespha waits with her back against the wall near the door. "Let us see if he is... Interested."


    Seconds later, wind cutting wings align and dart upon the tabletop. The whelp fully fans out his single pair of wings to their over a meter wingspan, keeping them at the ready. Stepping cautiously around on his only pair of legs, it hops gingerly around, bouncing between paranoia and plundering. Its silvery, greedy eyes focus upon the blade, and long claws clamp down upon the scabbard. Slamming down fast, powerful flaps, it barely lifts the scabbard off the table and strains to gain altitude. The Sky Lancer momentarily glances down at the lack of ascent and gazes up. Sebastian''s ghostly, flaming form grins menacingly at him. "OOGITY BOOGITY!"


    The whelp shrieks in terror, drops the sword in panic, and flurries its wings opposite of Sebastian, fluttering right into the path of an awaiting Aristespha. A wave of energy launches from Aristespha''s hand and envelopes the critter in a thick, immobilizing field. The Sky Lancer floats nearly motionless, breathing freely with eyes darting around in sheer bewilderment. Calmly stepping up to the hovering creature, Aristespha finishes a series of incantations into a simple tap upon its bony nose cone. Long, high pitched snores rattle out from the whelp, remaining stuck in the air. Aristespha walks to her table, slides the sword fully back into the scabbard, and taps out a quick message upon her phone. Seating herself down, she opens up and nonchalantly reads the menu. Sebastian drifts down upon a seat next to her. The server cautiously steps around the sleeping, suspended whelp and bows slightly towards Aristespha and Sebastian. "So, um, Yes. I have been informed by my manager that anything you... Two want is on the house today."


    In the tentative silence and customers wandering back out to the patio, Aristespha happily points out something on the menu. "Thank you, so much. While I wait for the rest of my group to secure the whelp, I would very much love to sample your Briley Black tea."


    ----


    Dusk dims the sun''s orange-red light upon closing marketplace booths and people wander out of the park. Nearby in an open grass space, an emin girl, grath boy, and human girl run happily through the maintained fields, drawing colorful trails of magical energy from their wooden wands. The team stands around park benches at the perimeter of the marketplace. Sotalia scratches under Urivennotropalin''s chin one last time. "Oh, I''ll miss you."


    The black scaled, horned whelp settles into the cradling arms of Lord Valentropen, head upon his shoulder. A small burp slips out, and Lord Valentropen gently pats the critter''s back. Lady Valentropen shakes her head at a bloated, less gassy Viridian Forest Racer squirming in disgust of itself inside his cage. She sighs in disappointment and mutters a phrase in a dialect of evuukian. Stepping up, she glares down at the Sky Lancer shamefully lowering his head. She smiles warmly at the Golden Gale and Crimson Raider together in a larger cage, both defensive over a cloth nest of eggs. Lady Valentropen graciously bows to Cideeda and Dretphi. "Oh, thank you so much for being so thorough! I knew those two have been very sweet to each other, but I did not know their relationship was that far along."


    Aristespha presents a few pieces of paperwork to Lord and Lady Valentropen. "I know this is your first time using the guild system, so I will be happy to guide you through the process to close out a quest upon completion."


    Bach''s attention drifts away, and he spots Brento and Kayleedi closing up their stage for the night. Casually wandering over, he spots the donation box and places some money inside. Brento and Kayleedi notice the gesture. Brento bows gentlemanly. "Thank you, kind sir."


    Kayleedi happily bounces and smiles brightly. "Thank you. Since you''re here, we are always looking to improve our shows. Do you have any suggestions?"


    Bach thinks for a moment and smiles at both Brento and Kayleedi. "Ah, not really. I mean, it was really well done. But... there''s one detail you might want to update..."


    Brento and Kayleedi together lean in with furry ears perking intrigued. Bach keeps his smile and lifts his eyebrow in thought. "Noxian doesn''t wear the mask anymore. It''s a blue scarf now."

 Episode 34

    Within the side yard of the single story ranch style house, a faint breeze barely swings a steel plate target in the makeshift training field. Standing out in a clear, grassy area under the shade of a tree, Dretphi carefully lifts a long, broad, two-handed sword up. She readies herself, and performs a series of swings, cuts, and lunges. The drills play out slow, purposeful and allowing her body to experience the entire motion of the weapon. She mentally reviews every movement between the sword and herself, occasionally pausing thoughtfully with a misstep or adjustment. Many minutes pass, and she slows her training regime to a stop, lowering the blade down to rest down on the ground. Freeing a tense, stiff hand from the handle, she wipes the beading sweat off her tan forehead and leads blonde braids back past her ears and over her shoulders. She rolls her shoulders in a stretch, and leans her upper body out forward, back, and side to side, flexing herself free of workout tension. Gazing back down at the old two-handed sword, she rolls the blade. A beam of sunlight through the tree''s shading canopy highlights the many nicks, scratches, chips, and dents across the old, inscribed metal. Underneath the scars of many battles, flashes of sun reflect out from the faint series of orderly, tiny grooves layered upon the blade.


    A mixture of frustration and determination flushes Dretphi''s face, and she tightens her grip upon the two-handed sword''s handle with both hands. Hoisting it up, she points it out in front of her, angling upwards. Straightening her posture, she closes her steely gray eyes. With flits of contortions twisting her focused grimace, she stands still and silent, attention solely somewhere within herself. Seconds of body straining concentration later, a faint trickle of red glow flows within the many small channels upon the blade. The crimson energy travels from the handle up the blade, branching light up from the central pathways and pouring out on the dull edge of the battle-worn weapon. Dretphi breathes carefully, slowly, fully lifting and lowering her chest. The red magical energy graces the middle region of the sword, and progress wanes drastically. Years of untold damage upon the physical blade hinders the flows, often halting it completely at marred junctions. Dretphi strains her grimace, gritting her teeth, and curls her upper lip in sneering fits. Frustration pushes out in grumbles, and she winces sharply against new trickles of sweat. The magical flow stymies and deadlocks against the unyielding obstacles from age and battle. Her grip fluctuates between tensing and relaxing, the strain of effort clashing with the need for calm and focus. Bach''s voice sounds out behind Dretphi, apologetically. "Hey! Um, Sorry for taking so long to get out here. Sotalia had a question-"


    Cocking his head to the side, his tone down shifts to curiosity. "Uh... What are you doing?"


    Springing her steely gray eyes wide open in surprise, Dretphi shudders away from her prior thoughts. Crashing back to awareness of her surroundings, her posture snaps rigidly straight, and the red flow upon the blade retreats back to the hilt. Wisps of stray energy vent from the edges of the sword, dissipating into a thin haze in the air. Within the awkward silence, Bach approaches cautiously, scrutinizing the blade carefully, and meets Dretphi''s glance of fading surprise. "Is that a flow blade?"


    Blinking off the hints of embarrassment lingering to her normal calm facade, Dretphi smiles slightly. "Oh. Yes. An old flow blade."


    Bach steps closer to the side of the blade Dretphi holds up. Examining the weapon, a grin grows with his interest. "Wow! I didn''t know you had one of these. Oh, man... It''s been a while since I''ve seen one. I mean, the last time I remember seeing one, it was way back in school."


    With excitement bolstering his smirk, he glances up to Dretphi. "And, the collection they had on display was locked, sealed, and guarded by some really humorless people. I''ve actually never been this close to one before."


    Pride widens Dretphi''s smile, and she loosens her grip on the handle, moving a hand to support the end of the blade. She presents it at level and shows off the sword. Bach inspects it with respectful restraint tempering eager intrigue, and Dretphi warms her smile. She rolls, rotates, and angles the sword following cues from Bach''s attention. Seconds of investigation later, Bach nods and stands back with an impressed grin. "Now THAT is a pretty amazing thing to have. Just the way they are constructed and the materials used are so fascinating. THE example of a non-magical magical weapon."


    Dretphi delightfully nods and gazes upon the battle scarred, two-handed sword. "It was my mother''s first flow blade. Flow weapons are her favorites. Gifted this to me to practice with."


    With a mischievous smirk, Bach lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at Dretphi. "Despite the wear and tear... I bet it still could do some serious damage when charged up."


    He shifts his blue eyes over towards the thick steel metal targets off to the side, hanging and chained to supporting posts. "So... I mean... could you...?"


    Eyeing the sword briefly, he glances expectantly to Dretphi with an encouraging grin. "If it''s not too much to ask?"


    Dretphi bites her lower lip, rests an embarrassed grimace upon the sword in her hand, and sighs sadly, pride faltering. "It... Is..."


    Bach blinks blankly and awkwardly stumbles upon his thoughts into a sincerely apologetic tone. "Oh! Ah- Uh- Um... I''m sorry. I didn''t know, and I apologize for bringing it up and-"


    Dretphi secures her grip onto the sword, lowers it out of the way, and waves a hand at Bach, pausing his rambling. "NO. It is nothing bad. It is..."


    With a self-reflective roll of her steely gray eyes, she groans out her frustration and wrestles with the words. "A personal... Deficiency... of Ability."


    Spotting the cautious confusion upon Bach''s face, she sighs into a weak smile facade, her tall stature shrinking slightly. "I have troubles flowing the blade."


    Concern giving way, Bach nods and dons a supportive smile towards Dretphi. "OH! Okay. Huh. Yeah, hey, I actually might be able to help you there. I mean... If I''m not overstepping any boundaries or anything."


    Dretphi perks up, eager, and reassuringly shakes her head. "You would not! I have not explored outside help before..."


    A smirk cracks from the corner of Bach''s mouth, and he lifts an examining brow. "Ah, proving something to yourself?"


    Grumbling against her pride, Dretphi nods slowly, acknowledging the truth. Bach rocks his head sympathetically, shrugs his shoulders, and tugs at the corner of his mouth, glancing down at ground. "Yeah... I understand THAT. I may be able to help, but..."


    Furrowing his brow, he grimaces awkwardly. "I, first, need to get an idea of how you actually use a flow blade."


    He lifts his head back up and notices Dretphi presenting the sword handle first to him. with both hands, Bach carefully grabs hold of the two-handed sword and hoists up the mass of the blade. His body slightly teeters, sloppily finding some kind of balance, and Dretphi readies to catch him with a guarding hand. Bach tightly smiles, chuckles at himself, and steadies himself. Standing off to Bach''s side, Dretphi demonstrates a proper stance for large sword wielding. Bach roughly mimics the posture and positioning of the arms. Dretphi quickly averts her gaze, forces a humored grin off her tan face, and observes Bach with a supportive, calm smile. Drawing in a long deep breath, Bach exhales slowly and closes his eyes. Moments pass in silence. A flow of red rises up the blade. Crimson energy branches throughout the tiny channels and ducts, and wicks out towards the edges of the blade. The magical energy reaches a quarter way up, the pace drags. The flow encounters different nicks, scratches, dents, and chips, each barrier visibly impeding. Bach furrows his brow, cocks his head to the side, and contorts his light tan face. Watching wide eyed, Dretphi sways between excitement and intrigue, and squints at the struggling threads of crimson light. The red flow retracts from the edges of the sword and retreats back down the finer pathways. After a minute, the flow returns back to the hilt, and Bach relaxes with a surprised flutter of his eyes. "Okay! Wow! That was NOT easy."


    Pulling her head of platinum blonde braids back slightly, Dretphi blinks in honest shock. "YOU had DIFFICULTY?"


    Bach nods, collecting his thoughts, and glances up toward Dretphi, eyeing the sword briefly. "OH GODS, yes! The wear and tear makes it tricky, but..."


    He shakes his head and rolls the tension out of his shoulder. "DAMN. The channel material it has is NOT the easiest to get through. I mean, the resistance isn''t the worst. BUT, the capacitance you have to overcome is SIGNIFICANT. It takes a lot of raw power to fill it up."


    Loosening his grip of the sword, he shifts his hands, supports it by the flat of the blade, and offers it back to Dretphi. "Your mother certainly gave you a real challenge right there. I''m certain you can do it. But... Gods... That''s like teaching someone to climb with a sheer a cliff face to start with."


    A strong hand grips onto the handle of the sword, and Dretphi hoists the tip upwards and narrows her eyes at the upright blade briefly with a slight sneering frown. "That is a..."


    Her steely gray eyes search her mind, she settles upon the specific term. "VERY... appropriate description of her teaching style."


    Studying Dretphi''s expression, Bach pivots slowly towards the open backyard field, surveys the forest line bordering, and cracks a smile. "Well, there''s a few things that can be done."


    He turns his head towards his shoulder at Dretphi and smirks genuinely impressed. "You''ve done a REALLY good on your own, especially with what you have been working with."


    Dretphi blinks a moment, a hint of color in her cheeks. Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach ponders out loud. "But... I think the first thing to do is to get you something that''s actually approachable to train on."


    Furrowing her brow, Dretphi gazes over at Bach and rests the blade flat on her shoulder. "What would that be?"


    Bach glances back with an eager grin. "Oh, just a larger version of the small magical training focuses. A staff of sorts. They''re sort of like magic flow puzzles and training tools that a lot of mages have to keep in practice."


    A spark of excitement lights up Dretphi''s eyes, and genuine interest fills her voice. "Can you create a staff?"


    Pointing over to the forest, Bach rocks his head side to side, deliberating. "Well, I figured while we are doing laps, we could swing by the forest and look around for large tree branches. Those usually work pretty good."


    Dretphi tilts her head to the side, puzzling, and lifts an eyebrow with a thought. "Does it need to be a branch?"


    Bach shrugs his shoulders with his arms out to the side. "Well, no. Not really. So long as you can lay down some basic magically conductive material in the object and embed a few little magical augmentations, it''ll work the same. But... I thought it''d feel a bit more personal using something unique. I mean I could use the broom in the hall closet, for all practical purposes."


    Seconds later, a suspiciously sly smirk creeps up on Dretphi, and she grows a small grin, biting her lower lip. "Curious. Would Sotalia USE the broom to clean up after herself then?"


    Opening his mouth, Bach lifts a finger up in response. His thoughts stall out the words. Closing his lips tightly, he gradually wags his finger up and down with his thoughts and entertains a reserved smile. "That... Hmm... Now, I''m tempted to actually do that."


    His blue eyes meet Dretphi steely gray eyes, and he lifts an eyebrow with a mischievous grin. "So... I''ll test the process out on the broom first. It has been awhile since I''ve made one after all. I mean, I wouldn''t want to accidentally waste any choice materials we find."


    Dretphi dons a tight, guilty smile, nodding in agreement. She steps over to the trunk of the shade tree, sheaths her two-handed flow sword, and leans it securely against the trunk. She signals Bach, and the two start jogging laps around the large backyard field, moving closer to the forest tree line.


    ----


    From the high ceiling roof, bright sunlight glows through the frosted skylights and mixes with the illumination from rows of light fixtures, spanning the lengths of the support framework above. Between large, open areas littered with stalls packed full of merchandise beneath distracting advertisements, wide aisles of products and goods upon shelves link the spaces. Near the front of huge windows of the structure, long row points of sale stations flicker with idle status lights and too few employees. Customers of all kinds wander through the massive grocery market. A constant ambient music wafts around the background from above and frames the din from shopping activity below. With one hand, Sotalia pushes a wire frame shopping cart in front of her and thumbs through a scrolling list on her aetherphone. "Okay. We are looking for a VERY PARTICULAR brand of ice cream for Aristespha. She has it in bold letters on the list."


    Bach and Dretphi each peek over either side of Sotalia''s shoulders and study the picture on the display, an ice cream carton with fanciful Evuukian writing on it. Bach squints briefly and nods, lacking full confidence. "Okay... I''ll see if I can find something that looks like it. To be honest, I can''t even read Evuukian letters that well."


    Perking her brow, Dretphi studies the image on Sotalia''s phone. "What flavor is it?"


    Bringing the phone close to her golden eyes, Sotalia takes her hand momentarily off the shopping cart handle and brushes her dark red hair out of her view. "Let''s see... Coffee, green and black tea, dark chocolate... Swirled in a rich cream..."


    She tilts her head to the side and cracks a sly smirk. "You know, I might have to get a carton for myself."


    She guides the shopping cart around a corner into a long aisle of glass door freezer units. Down the cool aisle, a variety of frozen treats flood the icy shelves, prominently showcasing their contents to prospective buyers, colorful packaging enticing passersby. Small signs upon boom mounts on top of the freezer units display advertising bullet points in different languages, bright stickers highlighting the many specials. Near the other end of the aisle, a grath family stands around their loaded shopping cart. The two grath women stoically observe the pleads of a young grath boy and girl. The raven haired grath woman shakes her firm stare between the two, uttering a few words in grath, and glances to the other grath woman. With a simple confirming nod, the other woman resolutely agrees, shaking a few strands of chestnut hair forward, and addresses each child with a similar dialect of grath. The young girl with flowing black hair and hazel eyes gazes pitifully up towards both women. The boy with light brown hair and the similar hazel eyes glances over to the girl, ponders quietly a moment, and very nicely asks, blatantly begging in tone. Both women exchange stern glances. The dark haired woman crosses her arms, and the other places her hands on her hips. Both level their maternal stares upon the children, simultaneously shake their heads, and voice clear denial. Sotalia snickers quietly, and Dretphi cracks a humored smirk. Searching for an answer between the two of them, Bach whispers to both. "So, what''s going on over there?"


    Rolling her golden eyes with an amused smile, Sotalia surveys the nearby frozen treats through the freezer windows. "Oh, the kids are trying really hard to get their moms to buy something."


    With a tight smile, Dretphi shakes her head slightly and scans another frosty refrigeration unit. "The dangers of venturing close to this aisle."


    A grath man, carrying arms full of grocery items, rounds the corner, walking up to the two women and two children. The two mothers stare expectantly towards the grath man. The boy and girl spin around and beam up with brilliant hope and anticipation. The man blinks his hazel eyes, carefully places the cooking supplies from his arms into the cart, and awkwardly surveys the situation before him. Wandering his gaze between the mothers and the children, he furrows his brow and quietly assesses. Both children unleash a spree of pleas and latch onto the man''s legs. Dretphi briefly glances over and returns her attention towards searching the frozen shelves, sneaking a bite of the lip under her reserved smile. "Unfortunate timing."


    The grath man gazes down, between the children. Lifting his head up, he checks the stern expressions upon the two grath women. Each perk inquisitive eyebrows in return. The raven haired woman resets her crossed arms, and the hazelnut haired woman sways her hips, placing weight on her other foot. The grath father reluctantly sighs, gradually kneels down, and places a hand on a shoulder of each child. He explains calmly, sharing his attention between both, and presents a simple question. Both children go silent, glance over to their mothers, and return with honest shakes of their heads. The father shrugs, elaborates further, and gives an acknowledging nod to the mothers. Both women agree with a similar gesture. Grimacing faintly, the grath man watches the children lower their heads sadly and ponders to himself, his hazel eyes searching. Holding up a thought with a finger, he winks to the two grath women behind the children. Sotalia perks an intrigued eyebrow with a curious smile and lowers her voice towards Dretphi and Bach. "Oh. I think dad has an idea."


    The father gets the attention of the two children and proposes a solution. The children''s minds ponder the proposal, and both exchange wary, uncertain gazes between not so secretive whispers. Both mothers forcefully flatten amused smirks and present stoic fronts watching the children reservedly pivot around. Each summoning up their young composure, the boy and girl both gaze up to their mothers. The boy warily asks, and the girl waits in anticipation. The two women dramatically mull the question over, dragging out the silent debate, and a sly glint appears in their eyes. The raven-haired woman loosens her arms, leans forward to both children, and aims a judging stare at both. Stating her demand, the children fight to hide their cringes. The chestnut haired woman nods in total agreement, wags a point over to the kids, and states her own request with a firm tone. The children quietly process the terms, deliberating the pact''s worth against the costs during grimaces and sighs. Seconds later, both nod resolutely to each other and determinedly announce their acceptance. The parents gesture the children away, down the aisle. Rushing down in glee past a few freezers, the boy and girl nearly skid to stop and excitedly gawk at the selection of frozen treats. With the children debating their options, the grath mothers and father share stifled snickers and humored chuckles, whispering satisfied. Sotalia grits her teeth briefly in amusement and shuffles down the aisle, checking another freezer unit. "Hmm. I don''t know. Cleaning up the yard would have been a deal breaker for me. Sounds like a lot of work for just one box."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Dretphi opens a windowed door and reaches inside. "Depends on the yard."


    She picks up a box of frozen fruit ice cream cups and shows it quietly to Sotalia, hints of guilty pleasure sneaking out on her tan face. With a glance, Sotalia shakes her head with a sly smile. "Well, I''m certainly not going to object."


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Kneeling down, Bach levels his head towards a row of frozen products and squints at the selection. He gazes up towards Sotalia. "Okay, I think I found the brand over here. What did that box look like again?"


    Sotalia steps over, squats down, and taps a long, black nail on the glass. "There it is."


    Cracking a smile, she narrows her gaze at Bach. "We really need to teach you some basic Evuukian and a few other languages."


    Dretphi eyes Bach with a lift of an eyebrow and neutral expression. "Grath would be useful."


    The children finally cease their discussion, agree upon the one item, and retrieve it from the freezer. Hurrying over, they excitedly present their choice to their awaiting parents. The mothers and father inspect the item. All permit it into the cart and usher the children quickly away from aisle''s cool influence. Bach stands up, stepping clear of the opening door, and Sotalia rummages for a carton inside. Walking back to the shopping cart with a sigh, he ambivalently shrugs. "I know I should learn more languages. BUT, you have to understand. I BARELY passed every language class I took..."


    Averting his face away from Dretphi and Sotalia, he grits his teeth briefly. "And, I REALLY TRIED."


    Bach glances over his shoulder towards the departing grath family clearing out of view and returns his attention back to Sotalia and Dretphi. "I mean, the most I ever retained was bits and pieces of history and culture. Even then, there''s still things I don''t quite know. For example, is there any standard structure with Grath family houses? I never found anything official."


    Dretphi eases a few stray platinum blonde braids over her shoulder and pulls her mouth to a side with a slow shake of the head. "Many tried to implement structure in early practice. No structure was agreed upon. No official structure since."


    Watching Sotalia place the evuukian labeled carton of ice cream into the cart, Bach quizzically gazes over to Dretphi. "So, pretty much whatever the members of that house decide?"


    Dretphi nods with a slight smile. "Houses are for flexibility. My house, Veranattin, formed between my birth mother. My birth father. My two house fathers. They served together in the military. Adventured for years. Never felt good about separating."


    Sotalia grips onto the handle bar of the cart and pushes it forward down the aisle. "I always thought that was a really nice reason to stay together. You share your lives for that long and gone through so much, why stop?"


    A vague twist of Dretphi''s mouth that settles into a small, awkward grin, and she rolls her steely gray eyes and sighs out tinges of sarcasm. "My mother thought my house fathers would starve to death without clean clothes if they did not continue together."


    Noticing Bach''s blinks of thought, she tilts her head to the side and gradually shrugs the shoulders. "They concurred. A doctor. An engineer. Both intelligent, excellent fathers..."


    She furrows her brow and grimaces upon the choice of words. "Unfortunately... Both require domestic guidance?"


    Sotalia snorts with a smirk as she scrolls through a list mixed with pictures on her aetherphone. "Given the stories I''ve heard from you, that''s a really nice way to put it."


    Bach pulls a corner smile and quirks his brow at Dretphi. "Yeah, I remember you telling about how you nearly stabbed your house father with a sword, because he didn''t listen to your birth father''s warning to get back from the training area."


    Dretphi sighs out some stale embarrassment and trails to a grumble. She grimaces, closing her eyes. "Such traits have presented themselves in my two brothers. Occasionally. Thankfully."


    The shopping cart rolls out into one of the wide, main walkways, perpendicular to the aisle, and Sotalia turns to the right. Spotting an item on the phone list, she shows the screen to Dretphi. "I think that might be on the other side of the market."


    Dretphi squints her eyes briefly and pivots around, facing down the long run, and scans the aisle signs ahead. "Believe that is correct. Want to check the vendors in the market. See which ingredients I can get fresh."


    Gazing between Bach and Sotalia, she rests her hands on her hips. "Meet up near the checkout?"


    Sotalia nods and drives the cart forward with a spark of determination. "Sounds good, girl. We''ll try to finish the rest up quick."


    With a brief wave, Dretphi departs, her pace hinting excitement. Watching Dretphi move quickly away, Bach realizes the growing distance between himself and the shopping cart and speeds over to keep up with Sotalia.


    ----


    In the main walkway of the large grocery store, Deedri walks next to Tassilda pushing the shopping cart. She checks over the contents and idly bites a claw tip in thought, nodding slowly. "I think that''s almost everything. I think a few cans of different vegetables is all that''s left on the list."


    Sliding her auburn eyes over towards Tassilda, her furry, tufted ears droop slightly. "And... Well, the things that Veevi wanted."


    Tassilda removes her stare slowly from an advertisement display and indirectly glares towards Deedri, narrowing her light blue on black eyes and furrowing her brow incredulously. Sighing with the hint of a growl, she remains facing forward, pushing the shopping cart along. "If THAT miserable wretch of a creature wanted her pastries and sweets, she could have been dropped off with us. Instead, she''s going with Chad on some errand he failed to tell us about."


    She quirks her brow and flicks her eyes over to Deedri with a snide smirk framing her commentary. "If I had my guess, it would be the great quest to find the trashiest alley to explore themselves in. Her native environment, something that is most comfortable for her."


    Deedri tries in vain to maintain a respectful smile. It quickly crumbles to an awkward smirk. A long sigh escapes her lungs, and she faces forward, averting her eyes away momentarily. "Well, I still think we should get what she requested. Maybe she''ll be more cooperative... with a good faith... gesture?"


    Catching a glimpse of the unmoved expression upon Tassilda, Deedri''s tuft-tipped ears droop to the sides of her shoulders, and she stares ahead in defeat. "Oh well. I guess it''s for the best then. She asked for a lot of really sugary and fat heavy things. Even if they are the light and diet versions, I don''t think it really makes that much of a difference. Especially, when you eat so many of them."


    Flicking up her gray brow in mild surprise, Tassilda''s interest piques sharply, and a devious grin creeps out from the corner of her mouth. "REALLY? Well, in THAT case, I think a bit of goodwill MAY actually be in order. I wonder how the packaging differs between the regular versions and light versions? They may be labeled ambiguously. Mix ups do happen."


    Lifting her head up, she reads an overhead sign and turns the shopping cart down the next aisle. She snaps her full attention upon the nearby shelves of canned goods. "Okay. What exactly did we need down this row, again?"


    Stepping into the mouth of the aisle from the main walkway, Deedri watches Tassilda kneel down, examining an tall array of large, stacked cans. Flicking her fluffy tail, she wanders her idle stare down the aisle, searching all the way towards the other end of the shelving row. "Um, a few cans of carrots, corn, peas, and-"


    Sentence trailing off, her auburn eyes spring wide open, jaw drops, and tail fur frays out. Blinking in surprise, Bach momentarily grits his teeth, locating Deedri at the opposing end of the aisle. He notices a pair of familiar, swirling horns cresting above the top handle of the loaded shopping cart, recognizes the emin woman behind attached to those horns. Bach and Deedri exchange awkward nervous stares. Unaware of her distant surroundings, Sotalia''s attention remains upon a selection of canned vegetables next to her entrance of the aisle. Bach cringes towards Sotalia, and Deedri grimaces towards Tassilda. Both search frantically for a solution, silently exchanging tense, uneasy glances. Eyes dart around, and heads search the area, disaster looming and counting down.


    Blinking when a thought hits the front of his mind, Bach points to Sotalia, swings a finger point out behind him, and nods with a thumbs up. Deedri shortly rocks her head affirmatively. Gesturing towards the cart, she pantomimes moving it with her hands and waves a hand in front of her eyes, tilting her head down to Tassilda. Bach quietly raises two thumbs up and focuses upon Sotalia. Deedri watches Tassilda cautiously, sliding around to the front shopping cart. Gently gripping the front lip of the cart''s large, wire-frame basket, she slowly maneuvers the end and further obscures the crouched Tassilda from view. With a final inspection, Deedri positions herself and blocks line of sight, facing away from the distant end of the aisle. Bach steps out into the wide, perpendicular walkway, desperately searching the area. A hope of relief sparks in his face, and he spots Dretphi a number of aisles away contentedly carrying a few wrapped bundles. He aims his voice at Sotalia with a faint veneer of concern coloring his tone. "Oh, hey! It''s Dretphi. Huh. Oh, I think she''s trying to wave us to come over."


    Lifting her head away from the product filled shelf, Sotalia spins herself around and walks out into the wide pathway. Finding Dretphi walking along, she chuckles to herself. "Well, looks like she found plenty. We better get the cart over to her, arms are looking full."


    Bach weaves around Sotalia, firmly grasps hold of the cart, and motions Sotalia politely in the direction of Dretphi. "Well, after you. I''ll push the cart for bit."


    A sly smile graces Sotalia, and she graciously accepts the gesture with a small bow. Strolling forward out in lead towards Dretphi, she draws her dark red hair over her swept back horns and fans it back past her shoulders, a hip sway in each step. Bach turns his head down the aisle and directs a louder whisper towards Deedri. "Thank you."


    Deedri''s tufted ears flick back forward, and she hoists her hand up over her shoulder, revealing a thumbs up. She watches over Tassilda, blocking line of sight. Sotalia''s playfully mocking voice calls out from the distance to Bach. "Well? Do you need my help to push it along? Hurry up."


    Snapping his head forward, Bach shoves the shopping cart into motion. With the wheels coasting along, he fishes his aetherphone out of his pants pocket and struggles through menus. After a few seconds, he manages to stumble out a message and sends it. Glancing down at her shorts pocket, Dretphi balances her load of packages upon a single arm effortlessly and works her aetherphone out into view. Her steely gray eyes widen briefly, and she swiftly returns her phone to her pocket. With a smile, she locates Sotalia and waves happily at both Bach and Sotalia.


    Deedri glances over her shoulder, gradually guiding the cart back into its original position. Mere moments later, Tassilda stands up with a few cans of vegetables in her hands. Grasping onto the cart handle, she pushes forward and spots mixed vegetables at the other end of the aisle. "Gods. I have never understood the logic behind how they arrange stock in these places. They must scatter everything on purpose to keep you in here for as long as possible."


    Following along the side of Tassilda, Deedri eases out a long, quiet exhale of relief.


    ----


    The garage door on the ranch style house rattles into motion and parts away from the concrete slab. The large, wide sections of the door follow along the tracks on both sides of the frame, hinging at the crest of the track. Outdoor light spreads throughout the garage, shining upon the common household cleaners and domestic tools upon shelves lining the wall. The daylight glow reflects off the dull, worn metal housing of the large plasma particle cannon and the scarred barrels of the minigun resting upon the long workbench. From each weapon, partially disassembled robotic mountings and electronic connections lay out on the wooden tabletop. In the corner of the garage, a golden magical energy barrier with rough edges faintly shimmers.


    Bach kneels down and inspects the engine of his sidecar motorcycle, wiping dust and light dirt off with a rag. With a satisfied nod, he stands back up and admires the machine before him. Brushing off his armored duster, he adjusts his vest and settles his feet in his plated boots. With an eager grin, he eyes the helmet upon the motorcycle seat. Sebastian''s ethereal form phases through the kitchen door, and he searches the area quickly. Snapping his gaze to Bach, he coasts over to his brother''s side. "Hey, bro! What are you getting into?"


    Bach glances over to this brother and shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh. Uh... I thought about riding around the back roads in the area. It seemed like a nice day to do it, and Aristespha didn''t seem to have much for me to do today training wise."


    Rolling his eyes towards the motorcycle with a chuckle, he shakes his head. "And honestly, brother, I''m curious if the thing is riding right. Haven''t had a chance really to check it over in the last two months."


    Sebastian nods in thought and drifts his attention inwards. Craning his head around to Sebastian, Bach reads his brother''s mannerisms and puzzles during the wait. Sebastian''s focus returns, and he meets the expectant gaze from Bach with a hopeful smirk. "You know... That gives me an idea! Bro, I need a favor from you."


    Bach slowly nods his head and narrows his eyes, pulling a corner of his mouth along with the hesitant inflection in his tone. "Okay... What ever would THAT be?"


    A pleading tinge colors Sebastian''s ethereal sigh. "Would you let Aristespha ride along when you go out?"


    Many confused blinks later, Bach cocks his head to the side and nods simply, confusion furrowing his brow. "Uh... Sure? I mean, I''ve got no problems with that. It''s not going to be exciting or anything. Really. I''m just driving by scenery to the fuel station and taking the long way back I mapped out. Whole lot of nothing."


    Sebastian smiles wide and bows his head forward in relief. "PERFECT. That''s what she needs right now. Just something to take her away from her own thoughts for an hour or two would be perfect. Really, bro."


    Squinting at Sebastian, Bach scours his brother''s expression for more information. Sebastian frowns, tugging the corner of his mouth, and sighs to an explanation. "Okay. Listen. She¡¯s been obsessing over the whole Noxian, Orth Ridge, and Grand Library situation the last few days. Normally, she''s really good about pacing herself with heavy stuff, but... THIS... This stuff hit a bit too close to home for her."


    Hints of frustration snarls Bach''s upper lip, and he grumbles with vague sympathy. "Plus our... Neighbors... haven''t exactly made themselves easy to ignore."


    With a long groan, Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes and rubs his ethereal forehead with his hand. "No shit, bro. I''ve gotten pretty good at understanding evuukian, but there were things said on that phone call to the guild office that I don''t think I have the capacity to fully understand."


    Donning an agreeable smile, Bach motions towards the door leading to the kitchen. "Well, you should probably check with her to see if she even wants to go."


    A sly grin parts Sebastian''s mouth, and he floats back towards the exit. "Oh, I can convince her, bro. I have my ways."


    Sebastian phases through the kitchen door into the house, and Bach searches around his mind for the context. Giving up on the venture, he shrugs and pivots towards the sidecar motorcycle. Stepping around the vehicle, he leans over, reaches inside the sidecar, and rummages around. Reaching up to the very front, he grabs hold of an object and pulls his arm out, revealing another helmet. He carefully inspects the riding helm, checks the straps, and quells some embarrassment, brushing off a layer of dust from the outer shell. A few minutes later, the door to the garage opens and an unamused, casually clothed Aristespha exits from the kitchen, moving down the few steps to the garage floor. Sebastian hovers close to her side, and she flashes a sharply narrowed glare at him. Sebastian weathers the visual onslaught firm and stern. The couple stares in deadlock for over a minute. Aristespha closes her violet eyes, sighs deeply, and softens her apparent mood drastically. "Okay... I agree, Sebastian. Maybe a distraction would help."


    Sebastian smiles lovingly to Aristespha and shrugs nonchalantly. "You know Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia will keep the sword safe."


    Leaning close, he squints with a hint of accusation. "And TURN OFF your phone, dear. Otherwise, you''ll just obsess over stuff through it. We''ll call Bach if we need to call you."


    Tensing her shoulders, Aristespha flicks up a brief snarl. Drawing out her phone from her pants pocket, she exhales her irritation, holding down the power button. The device shuts down, and she nods in agreement. "Fine. I promise I will not turn it on before I get back, dear."


    Granting a single proud nod, Sebastian motions towards an awaiting Bach. Aristespha follows the gesture and gazes upon the riding helmet resting upon Bach''s hands. Bach smiles with blatant uncertainty. "Honestly, I got this helmet in hopes that someone else would ride with me someday... A long time ago. I mean, it should still be good."


    He turns the riding helm over and inspects the interior. "And, I think it might have ear adjustments, but I''m not sure. Uh... BUT, I might be able to-"


    A genuine smile graces Aristespha''s ivory face, watching Bach ramble through a feasible process to accommodate her. Glancing over to Sebastian with a humored grin, she returns her attention to Bach. "I am certain it will work fine for me."


    Bach blinks back to awareness, puzzling. Guiding her fingers through her long, silvery blue hair, Aristespha splits the strands into a bundle over each shoulder, lifts up both around the front of each ear, and carefully envelops the long tips in a protective, concealing layer of silvery blue. A quick, loose braid secures the fashion. Aristespha picks up the helmet, adjusts the straps, and slides it on without trouble. She gracefully walks over to the vehicle and hops into the sidecar. "Well? I''m ready."


    ----


    Late afternoon light casts modest shadows from the trees arching over the paved two lane road. The rolling green hills smoothly pen in the vast stretches of farmland upon flatter fields, and the creeks in rocky beds break up the landscape monotony. Bach casually guides the motorcycle along the gentle curves and long inclines. He cruises through the shaded tunnels of spring canopy, rolls carefully over old bridges crossing peaceful rivers, and slows through the sparse, nearly forgotten intersections. Along the winding route, Aristespha''s gaze occasionally fixates upon something of interest. Noticing the shift in weight, Bach gradually slows the pace and eases the vehicle closer to that side of the lane. Through the vacant unmarked roads, both take turns pointing out old architecture, random animals, and other curious sightings along the way. The shadows grow longer, the sun edging closer to the horizon.


    Upon a long, straight stretch of road, Aristespha firmly pats Bach''s side and directs his attention out to a section of the roadway shoulder. Signaling Bach to stop, she points out a location ahead, across from the target. Bach nods, eases off the throttle, and brakes to a halt, parking the motorcycle on the shoulder. The engine shuts off, and Bach peers out into the forest on the other side of the road. "Okay. So, what are we stopping for?"


    Aristespha twists around and hoists herself up in the sidecar, and scans the area. "I thought I saw a protellow over in this-"


    Her violet eyes spring open, and she smirks eagerly. "There it is!"


    She excitedly circles her finger out towards the massive fallen plant stalk laying in the woods. "Sotalia mentioned the girl at the reagent shop had heard about protellows in the area. I think it was something about one falling on a car?"


    Bach briefly squints into the distance, lifts his visor up, and scours through the layers of forest. "Huh. I think there''s a few more in there. But, I can''t quite make them out from here."


    Settling back into her seat, Aristespha glances down over the side, and spots a partially eaten protellow seed in the mix of road grit. Sweeping her arm down, she quickly snatches it off the rock speckled dirt and holds it up for inspection. An eager grin grows across her face, and she pulls out her aetherphone from her pants pocket. She glances at the lifeless screen of the phone, lowers her finger to the power button, and freezes abruptly. With a careful exhale, she reminds herself under her breath, places the phone back in her pocket, and humbly requests. "Could you check where we are? There are probably more protellows in the area that we can look for. I would love to make note of this place."


    Pulling his attention away from the treeline, Bach pulls his aetherphone out. He taps though menus and a map loads up on the screen. "Okay... It''s still narrowing the fix. Let''s see. We took that turn¡­ And have passed that one access road, but haven''t made our next right. Huh, close to the house, actually."


    Aristespha''s interest piques, and she lifts her head up, peeking up at Bach''s phone. "Really? Let me see."


    A flash of horror splashes over Bach''s face, and memory recognizes an important detail of the area. His blue eyes focus upon a particular point on the map, the very existence dictating the next right on the charted route. "U-um- I''ll mark it on the map for you. It''s, uh, going to be dark soon, and we should really get going-"


    Suspicion drives Aristespha, and she hoists herself up from the sidecar. From a better viewing angle of Bach''s phone, her violet eyes immediately notice the route back and the unusual semicircle detour. She gradually lowers herself back into her seat and points ahead with a stern stare to Bach. "YES. It will be dark soon. Hence, we should take the most direct route home. We should skip the right turn."


    Moments of uneasy pondering later, a mix of curiosity and hesitance guides Bach''s nod once, staring blankly ahead. He flips a handlebar mounted switch on, drops his foot hard on the kick starter, and hits the throttle. The engine rumbles to life. Holding a finger up to Aristespha, his eyes glow blue. He lowers both his hands down each side of the motorcycle just above exhaust. Flows of blue energy spill over the exhaust piping and radiate up the muffler and manifold. The constant putter of combustion disappears from the surrounding din, allowing natural ambience to reign once more. Aristespha smiles intrigued and curiously eyes up Bach. Sighing amused with a shake of the head, Bach grasps hold of the handlebars again. "I''ll just say... THAT spell exists because of my brother."


    The motorcycle shifts into gear and rolls up to speed. Minutes later, the vehicle crests over a small hill, and a particular two-story house appears into view, down the street. Aristespha''s eyes flicker violet, and she leans forward, meticulously scanning the yard in front of the house. A devious grin creeps ear to ear, and an evil glint sparkles in her eyes. Turning her head slightly, she directs her voice to Bach. "Stop in front of the driveway behind the black SUV. There is something I have to do."


    Bach grumbles uneasily and drives the stealthy sidecar cycle closer to the two-story house. "Oh, gods dammit..."


    Eyes flashing violet, Aristespha gestures out an incantation swiftly and weaves flows of magic together between her hands. Coasting the motorcycle near silently to target, Bach glances over to Aristespha. "Okay... What''s the next part of the plan-"


    Blinking in surprise, he leans over closer to Aristespha. "The fuck is that?!"


    He gawks bewildered at the four centimeter diameter, swirling rainbow colored orb cradled in Aristespha''s palm. A blue flash fills Bach''s eyes, and he studies the magical ball. Aristespha proceeds with the next few gestures and incantations. Finishing off the last part, Aristespha swiftly scouts the vicinity. Launching out of the sidecar, she rushes up to the back of the black sports utility vehicle and carefully pokes the rainbow orb up a tailpipe. Checking for activity from the house, she bolts away, jumps back into her sidecar seat, and throws her arm forward. "GO!"


    Gritting his teeth, Bach cranks the throttle hard and steers the lurching motorcycle down the street. Some distance later, he calls out. "Okay! What the fuck was that spell?!"


    Along a straight stretch of road, he glances over long enough to narrow his eyes at Aristespha. "And, what the fuck was I just an accessory to?!"


    With a sinister grin, Aristespha eases back into the sidecar seat and relaxes, waving reassuring to Bach. "OH. Don''t worry. It doesn''t damage anything."


    Bach groans loudly and furrows his irritated brow. "Well! That''s a good start. So, what does it do?"


    A sinister chuckle escapes Aristespha, and she shakes her head, smirking. "Oh, you will see. We might get lucky, and see it on tomorrow night''s episode! This is one of my favorites from Nash."


    This fails to dismiss the unease within Bach.

 Episode 35

    Standing under the covered porch of the two story house, Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, and Tassilda idle and half heartedly observe. One small camera crew maintains a distance off to the side, capturing the group waiting on the wooden deck. A young fvalian man steadies a camera on his other shoulder with a shrug, and a young fvalian woman glances over with a smile on her face, adjusting levels on an audio recorder. With an amused eye roll, the older man behind and between the two aims a shotgun mic overhead on boom towards the porch area. Under the attention of the cameras, Deedri presents a cheery exterior, occasionally wavering. With hands in his pockets, Modoran leans upon the house front nonchalantly and eases a bored sigh out. Trakenthin crosses his muscular arms and stoically stares out, traces of irritation twitching his eye. Placing her hands firmly on her hips, Tassilda glares out a beam of contempt to targets in front of her. She mumbles, barely audible to the rest of the nearby team. "I do NOT like the feeling I''m getting about this."


    Out in the front yard, the majority of the swarming recording crews position themselves around Chad and Veevi. Walking confidently towards the black, dented sports utility vehicle, Chad steps around the front on the driver''s side and flashes a bright, signature smile at a camera with a smug flit of the brow. Veevi energetically skips over to the passenger''s side of the vehicle, excitedly bouncing her long, pink hair across her tight fitting shirt. Opening the large door, she sneaks a playful wink at the nearest camera and guides the short haired tail poking out of her skin tight shorts into her hands. Hopping up into the seat, she plops down and lands with a prominent shake of the body. Settling into the driver''s seat, Chad closes his door, places his keys into the ignition, and grants the rest of the awaiting team a simple acknowledging wave. Deedri and Modoran return the gesture, similar effort given. Trakenthin and Tassilda stare unmoved, leveling vague disapproval back at Chad across the yard. Veevi closes her door, and Chad starts the engine. Chad and Veevi strike up a conversation within the confines of the cab, recording crews shifting focus through the windows. Moments later, attention from all outside gradually wander towards the back of the black sports utility vehicle. Flicking her furry, tufted ears away, Deedri blinks her auburn eyes in surprise and squints curiously. "Um, does anyone else see that strange-"


    With sinister amusement, Tassilda light blue on black eyes spring open, and a short, wicked grin cracks on her gray face. "I DO. Is THAT... YOUR handiwork?"


    Snapping her glance over towards Tassilda, Deedri quickly shakes her head of tied back multicolor hair in wide eyed shock. "What?! OH! NO! Of course not!"


    A smirk creeps from the corner of Trakenthin''s mouth, and he scrutinizes Deedri expectantly. "If it is yours... Claim it."


    Defiant embarrassment wells up on Deedri''s fair face, and she grits her sharp teeth defensively. "I would NOT do such a thing!"


    Furrowing her brow, she glances between the assembled team on the covered porch dismissively. "I wouldn''t have had time anyway. I''ve been busy making potions and other supplies."


    Deedri crosses her arms upon her apron and straightens her posture, projecting her resolve. Modoran snorts out a few fits of laughter, and his cool exterior cracks at the sight of Deedri next to him. "It''s okay. I believe you. Truth be told, something like this would actually be my thing."


    Tilting his head in thought, he twists on smirk on his dusky, bluish gray face. "But... I''ve been too busy myself."


    Underneath the sports utility vehicle, a thick, glowing mist billows out from around the wheels and clouds the baseboards, forming a surrounding fluctuating rainbow mass. Just above the natural background noise, a strange, high pitch rattle replaces the anticipated low engine rumble. Chad checks his mirrors, shifts the vehicle into gear, and turns his head towards the back window. The large machine rolls back out of the driveway. The rainbow haze stirs up into the draft and blows up above the hood, swirling in the currents. Tilting her head to the side, Veevi blinks dumbfounded and stares bewildered at the strange colorful vapors coasting the breeze. Briefly shifting her pink pupil eyes Chad, she ponders a moment and remains silent, returning her stare to the fading mists. Tassilda covers her mouth around an escaping ill-humored snicker. "OH. Chad doesn''t realize what''s happening yet. This is TOO good."


    Surrounding camera crews refocus their equipment on the billowing colors flowing out from the vehicle, the prismatic trailing dissipating quickly. Backing up fully onto the street, Chad swings his head around and pauses upon Veevi''s awkward forward facing silence. Glancing over with an eager smile, Veevi flutters her eyes, squirming in her seat. "Well, let''s go! I can''t wait to get it!"


    With a charming smile, Chad nods, returns his attention forward, and accelerates the black sports utility vehicle. Outside the cab, a sharp, shrill squeal replaces the exhaust rumble of the large engine, and a stream of rainbow clouds blast out into the draft of the speeding machine. Seconds later, a van with the "Next Adventurers of Nexus" logo follows behind, the drivers and passengers visibly laughing and pointing. In the moment free of crew attention, Modoran breaks out cackling, steps around gasping for breath, and supports his doubled over, hands on his knees. Trakenthin stifles a series of sharp snorts, his sheer amusement fighting for freedom from the stoic facade. Deedri tightly pins down an ear to ear awkward smile and firmly presses her crossed arms down upon her side, hiding her shaking giggles. Tassilda shines forth a devious grin, holds her long nailed hand in front of her mouth, and dramatically laughs, posing prominently with her other hand on a hip. With jaw agape, Samantha blinks and slowly rotates her face away from the concealment of her clipboard. She eyes the resolute Gerald, lowering his camera down in astonishment, and aims a whisper to him. "I know it''s Friday, and the production teams are getting ready for the live reveal tonight... But..."


    Gazing at Samantha with a wide grin, Gerald nods calmly in agreement. "Yes. I think Howard will approve a rush process of this footage for a choice clip tonight."


    ----


    Inside the confines of the living space of the ranch style house, the wall mounted television plays back clips of a rainbow cloud trailing sports utility vehicle. Leaning forward from her side of the couch, Sotalia snickers and points towards the television. "Oh, it HAS to be Deedri. SHE did it."


    Cideeda bites on a claw tip and flicks a furry ear, pondering with uncertain hums under her breath. "I don''t know... She''s always seemed genuinely nice, in general. To, well, everyone. Even Veevi."


    Sotalia sinks back into the cushions clogging the corner of the couch, levels her confident gaze to Cideeda, and grins. "I''ll agree, she is nice."


    Lifting up an accusing eyebrow, she playfully chuckles. "But, THAT doesn''t mean she can''t get even. In fact, it''d be the perfect cover for her to do ANYTHING. No one would seriously expect her. Girl totally did it."


    Weighing the possibilities between slow tilts of her head between either shoulder, Cideeda eventually shrugs it off with a satisfied smile towards Sotalia. "I still don''t think she''s behind it... But, if she did..."


    With a flicker of evil in her emerald green eyes, she flashes a toothy grin. "I fully support her decision."


    With a slow nod in agreement, Sotalia stretches her legs out, rests her feet on top of the coffee table, and folds her arms behind her head. "Always a rookie mistake to push the nice, quiet ones too far."


    Across the room at the dining table, Bach lifts his head up from the project upon the tabletop, blinks confusedly a few times, and pivots an incredulous stare towards Sotalia. Hoisting a brow sharply up, he glares at her momentarily. Sotalia watches the next bits of show, oblivious of the attention. Rolling his blue eyes away with a twist at the corner of his mouth, he drifts his gaze at Aristespha. Fingertips drums against opposing hands, and Aristespha smugly settles into the recliner chair, deeper underneath a blanket cover, concealing the devious glee on her face behind her hands. Bach draws a deep breath, sighs, and returns his focus to a number of small sticks resting on the tabletop. He glances up and watches Dretphi meticulously carve out grooves into a broom handle, using a small chisel bit from a nearby set of woodworking tools. Guiding the fine blade edge, she follows inked paths in rigid, exacting precision. Inspecting Dretphi''s work, Bach smiles approvingly. "That''s looking really good. Once you finish that pattern, we''ll do some basic flow inking. After that, you can start working on your actual staff."


    Dretphi pulls a slight smile and turns her head to glance at the large, trimmed, debarked branch resting against the wall in the room corner near the dining table. "I want to practice further. Apply my best effort."


    She shrugs her shoulders and focuses back on the task before her. "The branch needs to dry first."


    Bach examines the large piece of wood, nods, and picks up one of the small sticks in front of him. "Understood. That was a nice find. Even the branches you cut off are good enough to make some nice practice focuses from. You can try carving one of these and practice flow inking it, too."


    His eyes dimly glow blue and faint flickers of magical energy swirl around the piece of wood in his hand. Purposeful patterns draw out a few millimeters from the surface and encircle the stick completely, sparing small space at the base. Over the seconds, intricate designs shrink onto the surface, pressing tightly into the material. With a few faint sparkles, the work fades from view, and Bach''s eyes return to normal. Exerting a little effort, he focuses upon the wooden stick, and the previous patterns light up, the very tip glowing out a hazy trail of magical illumination. He doodles out a few shapes and letters in the air, waits for them to fade away, and places the finished practice wand off towards the table corner. Pausing a moment, Bach lifts his head up and catches Sotalia staring over from the couch. "What?"


    Sotalia rests her head upon her propped arm, cracks a sly grin, and averts her golden eyes away, pseudo innocently. "Oh... Nothing... But..."


    Her eager smile widens. "If you are making another batch of those, my nieces and nephews were quite happy with the last set. So, if you got a few other effects, they would love them."


    Bach briefly narrows his eyes upon Sotalia and perks an inquisitive eyebrow. "You do know you can make these yourself, right? I''m not doing anything that special."


    Sotalia lifts her head off her hand, brushes some dark red hair over a horn, and winks playfully with a smile. "Yes. Of course. But, who am I to deprive you of your fun?"


    With a long sigh and shrug, Bach surveys the remaining stock of wooden sticks, tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Right. Of course."


    The television blares out a new jingle of music and displays some flashy graphics. The screen cuts to a shot of the Flames of the Phoenix group sitting around a table.


    "Now, we bring you live inside the dining room to witness a major announcement from Chad Bosch, leader of the Flames of the Phoenix."


    The voice over seizes the attention of Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia, and the team wait in expectant quiet. The scene focuses upon Chad. Standing tall at the head of the table, he overlooks Tassilda, Trakenthin, Modoran, Deedri, and Veevi. "I''m sure you''ve all been wondering what errands I''ve been running with Veevi."


    Tassilda crosses her arms, Trakenthin narrows hazel eyes at Chad with a flit of a snarl, Modoran simply quirks an unamused eyebrow, and Deedri vainly maintains a calm demeanor against the awkward attentions of Veevi. Chad presents his signature, heroically bright, white smile and chuckles out loud. "Well, I won''t keep you in suspense any longer."


    He nods to Veevi with a slight bow. "Veevi, if you''d please."


    Veevi excitedly springs up from her seat, reaches into her short shorts front pocket, and pulls out a rectangular card. With dramatic fanfare and an exaggerated pose, she presents the guild identification card, waving it across the table, and winks to the camera. "Say hello to Veevi Valiant! Official Intern of The Flames of the Phoenix!"


    A fvalian swear sputters out through Deedri''s lips, and she quickly seals them tight under the pressure of her hand. Blinking bewildered at the announcement, Modoran eyes Deedri in guarded amusement. Trying to resume a cordial exterior, Deedri forces the facade of an innocent smile upon her fair face, posture rigid in her seat. Trakenthin grumbles to himself, retrieves his aetherphone, and taps up a paused game, letting it absorb his attention. Glowering up at Chad, Tassilda''s smile fails in disguising her gritting teeth, her ire visibly radiating outwards. Veevi grins brightly against the emotional contrast of the surrounding team and flashes a seductive perk of the brow to Chad. Narrowing her pink pupil eyes, she purposefully reflects the overhead room light off the card''s plastic coating into Tassilda eyes. A low growl vents through Tassilda''s sneer, and she swipes her hand out at the card. "GODS! Let me SEE that fraudulent mockery! There is NO way the guild would authorize you to be a rest stop janitor, much less an intern!"


    Snapping back her hand, Veevi sidesteps swiftly behind Chad with mocking fright. Tassilda tries to slide back her seat, glancing to both her sides when efforts fail. She discovers Trakenthin''s foot hooked behind the front leg of the chair. She glares intensely at Trakenthin and harshly whispers. "Do you mind?"


    Keeping his visible attention upon the game on his phone, Trakenthin directs a quiet, firm response back to Tassilda. "Stay seated. No victory to be had here."


    Tassilda draws a loud breath through her nose and contorts out the frustration on her gray face. Releasing a long, irritated sigh, she awkwardly wrestles her expression back to a reserved, unamused state. Her short haired tail flicking, Veevi slinks back into her chair and leans well over into Deedri''s personal space. One hand firmly grips Deedri''s chair back, and the other shows off the card to a wary Deedri. Chad hems loudly, seeking the team''s attention, and addresses the group. "I think that actually went quite well. Now, another order of business..."


    Narrowing his eyes with a stern frown, he slowly sways an accusatory stare across the group at the dining table. "Who the hell put THAT spell on the SUV?"


    The conversation abruptly noses dives into a furious blame game, the camera shot retracting to a wide angle upon the television screen. In the chaos of the arguments and accusations, the show transitions to other highlights of the week clips. A sinister grin creeps out upon Aristespha ivory face from the blue and gray hints at the edges. She squirms delightfully into the cushions of the recliner, a faint giggle hidden beneath the audio from the television. Hovering near, Sebastian blinks to awareness and glances over to Aristespha. He maintains a long quizzical stare upon Aristespha. Noticing the suspicion upon her, Aristespha presents a neutral front, and the two engage in a quick conversation of eyes and emotes. Aristespha sighs in vague defeat and waves off Sebastian''s scrutiny. "I will tell you later, Sebastian."


    Drifting his gaze back towards the antics on the television screen, Sebastian curls a curious smirk. "Okay, dear."


    ----


    Middle of the night illumination from the moon and stars casts through the sliding glass door into the living room. Hazy reflections of the night sky glimmer in the finish of the coffee table. A dark blue hue radiates out into the room upon the walls and furnishings, contrasting the few specs of light from appliances and electronics. Light, clicking steps sound out from the hallway, and Cideeda wanders through the archway, stretching out a yawn. Rubbing her eyes, she walks around in a hazy consciousness, her long, fluffy tail swaying lazily from underneath her long, large nightshirt. She rounds the dining table, plods forward into part of the kitchen prep area, and stops in front of the refrigerator. Firmly closing her eyes, she averts her head away from the flood of light from the fridge door opening up. Reaching inside, her clawed fingers rummage around and feel out the various items inside fruitlessly. She carefully cracks open her eyelids enough, and her emerald eyes spot the target. Swiftly she removes the branded yogurt fruit cup clear of the bright box, and lets the door seal off the light. Moments later, Cideeda blinks open her eyes, inspects the package, and circles a claw tip around, slicing the foil lid off. Lifting the lid off by her claw tips, her nose sniffs near the underside of the lip. Her hand pauses briefly, her eyes refocus on yogurt speckled foil, and she quickly licks the top clean. Plucking the small plastic spoon off the side, she pushes it out of the wrapper and stirs the contents of the cup. Rolling the foil lid and plastic wrapper together, she underhand tosses the balled up mass into the garbage can across the room, sinking the shoot right in the middle. With spoonfuls of the treat in her mouth, Cideeda sates herself, smiling, and wanders along her return route back around the dining table.


    Pausing for a few more scoops from the cup, her idle stare lands upon a few wooden magical practice focuses on the corner of the tabletop. Her attention diverts from the snack, and her consciousness piques with the new thoughts rising in her mind. Quickly inspecting the vacant, silent vicinity, she gently rests the yogurt treat and spoon nearby on the surface of the dining table. Her hand hovers over the sticks. Fingers wrap around one of the small rods. She lifts it up, securely wrapping her hand over the other, and focuses her gaze upon the wand. Breathing in slowly, she bites her lip uncertainly against a flush of determination and concentrates all her focus inwards. Seconds past, her light brown face twitches, and she exhales steadily, purposefully. Occasional muscle flexes move her arms. Her mouth twists and contorts between different sneers, smirks, and snarls. Her hands and arms tremble from strain, and she sharply yanks air through her nose and vents through her gritting teeth. Closing her emerald green eyes tightly, she mutters in hopeful, encouraging tones to herself over minutes, occasionally slipping out pleas in different dialects of fvalian. A few words clear the audible threshold from her. "Come on... Come on... Just once..."


    Eventually, a final sigh of defeat escapes, and a cascade of tension washes away from her whole body. Old, familiar disappointment fills her face, and she straightens her posture with a simple, accepting shrug. She stares longingly at the wand, holding it above the corner of the tabletop. Her fingers pause right before releasing it. Cideeda''s grip tightens back, and she rolls the training stick in hand, her eyes searching her mind. A subtle smile graces her, and she mouths to herself. "Some day..."


    With a secure grasp around the practice focus, she pivots in place, sweeping up her yogurt cup with a free hand, and walks through the archway into the hallway with clicking, light steps.


    ----


    Within the encircling kitchen of the two-story house, Deedri flips through a few pages in a book upon the counter top. Tracing a claw tip through a long series of instructions, she nods in confirmation after each bullet point and taps at the last line of the remaining step. She pivots to another section of the counter surface, picks up a glass jar, and inspects the contents. Her auburn eyes visually count the small green plant sacs and narrow carefully, performing a cautious recount. Grimacing uncertainly, Deedri swings her attention back over to her book and studies the last instruction carefully. Shifting her focus over to a collection of calculations upon a scratch piece of paper, she groans out frustration and twists her mouth with a realization. She lifts the glass container back into view and deliberates with a long stare. With a frowning shake of the head, she sighs. Deedri rolls her eyes at herself and mumbles under her breath. "No. You know better than that..."


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    She opens the refrigerator door and carefully places the jar inside. Pulling open a drawer, she draws out a sheet of plastic from a cardboard roll and stretches out the film tightly over a nearly full, glass bowl of blue translucent fluid. With a firm two hand heft and a swift toe claw catch of the closing door, Deedri settles the larger container inside the fridge. She seals the door back up, checks her apron, and tucks her notes inside the book on the counter. Scanning the room, she steps forward with a cautious gait around the dining table towards the back sliding glass door. Her tufted, furry ears flick and perk towards the front of the house through the dining archway. Distant voices barely rise out of the background quiet of the two-story house. A cringe flashes upon Deedri''s fair face, her furry ears aiming towards the stairwell. A few moments later, she slinks next to the back door. Flipping up the lock, she gently slides the door wide enough, and squeezes herself through. With a slow, firm pull, the large glass panel seats back to the frame, and Deedri steps gingerly around the perimeter of the backyard, her gaze darting between the visible vantage points of the two-story house. Squinting cautiously to the balcony of the next door house, she swiftly weaves within the shadows of the scenery and creeps progress to the forest line.


    A series of fast footsteps cascade down the stairs, and Veevi swings around the archway into the dining area. She hops energetically into the entry of the kitchen. Her disappointment shows, blinking and searching the encircling area of the kitchen. Veevi crosses her arms unsatisfied, scans the countertops with her pink pupil eyes, and blows a few stray pink hairs out of her pouting face. Wandering around the dining table, she glances out into the backyard through the sliding glass door. Her eyes snap attentively to a point within the distant treeline and narrow, focusing. Leaning closer to the glass panel, a mischievous, sharp grin creeps along her mouth, and she feels the position of the door''s handle and lock lever. With a significant effort, she pulls the sliding door open, stepping through, and seals up the transparent gate behind her, slinking swiftly towards her target.


    ----


    A gentle breeze rustles the leaves in the late spring canopy overhead. The sun projects the clouds upon the tree tops and fragments of the pattern flicker below onto the forest floor. Deedri gazes up above and catches the chorus of the forest in her fury ears, squinting her eyes at the glints of noon sun slipping by layers of leaves. A peaceful smile rests on Deedri, and she stands calmly within the moment, each second stripping away layers of stress off into the passing winds. An unfortunately familiar, dangerously enthusiastic voice shatters the sensory haven. "Hey, Deedri! Wait up!"


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears droop sharply, the fluffy tips touching her shoulders. Her auburn eyes spring open with narrowing pupils, and a strong wince cinches up her upper cheek, snarling her upper lip. Her shoulders abruptly tense, her posture snaps rigid, and the fur on her tail flares out. A few terse fvalian words spit through her clenching teeth, barely muted by her tightening lips. She slowly pivots in place, her feelings fighting against the pleasant facade her face locks into. Veevi skips fast down the forest path and waves to Deedri with a wide grin. "What are YOU doing out here?"


    Deedri presents a calm front, nods to Veevi with her hands held tightly upon her apron, and honestly responds. "I was short of an important reagent for a batch of wound treatment salve. So, I am going to retrieve some from a source nearby, before the batch risks spoiling."


    Hopping to a stop next to Deedri with a cheery smile, Veevi cocks her head to the side with a wink. "I see..."


    After a few blinks, Deedri warily returns the smile, rotates herself around, and glances down the path. "I''m afraid it''s nothing exciting, really. Just need to find the right plant, and I''ll be right back."


    She stretches out the paces of her words. "Just a LONG... BORING... Walk in a plain, average forest..."


    Veevi glints a grin at Deedri and gazes down the path. "That sounds nice and relaxing, actually. Could I come along?"


    An uneasy wave radiates through Deedri, creeping down her spine with a faint squirm, and she grants Veevi a gradual nod. "Sure, I guess..."


    Deedri turns forward completely and walks down the path, quiet. Veevi follows along with an initially faster gait, easing into pace at the side of Deedri. The two start down the center of the path. Deedri maintains most of her focus ahead, occasionally peeking out of the corner of her eye. Veevi stretches her arms and body out, feigning a nonchalant exterior between side eyes. Gazing out into the natural and vibrant scenery with fleeting interest, she gradually adjusts her trajectory along the trail. Within minutes of casual nature watching, the gap between Deedri and Veevi remains. Deedri''s toed boots stir up the debris littering the rough shoulder of the path. Sidestepping around a small bush in the way, she promptly returns to the outer edge of the trail, restoring the buffer zone between. Veevi lifts an intrigued brow with a smirk, sighs out loud, and directs a quizzical tone to Deedri. "So? I have to ask, what do YOU do for fun?"


    Recalling her desires from the distance back to her immediate surroundings, Deedri quirks a furry, tufted ear over to Veevi. "Oh. Uh. I don''t know. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction books. I really enjoy a lot of the Pre-Cataclysm books they find and republish."


    With a calculating furrow of the brow, Veevi draws a sly smile on her lips and concentrates a piercing gaze at Deedri. "Hmm. I kind of figured that. Okay, your turn! Ask me a question, now."


    Deedri blinks a few times against her reservations, and her eyes search her mind for a few seconds. "Um... Where did you grow up?"


    Veevi giggles cheerily and shaves a few centimeters off the divide between her and Deedri with a subtle overstep. "OH, no where special. I''m just a simple southern coast girl from around New Valdo. SO, where are YOU from?"


    Auburn eyes sort through memories, and Deedri crosses her arms, recounting thoughts. "Well... When I was really young, I lived on the south coast, too. Actually, west of New Valdo in Dothan."


    Furrowing her brow, she wrestles a grimace and sighs. "But, some monster tore through part of the town. Killed a few militia and injured a lot of people, including a girl a few years older than me."


    She shrugs simply and keeps her sights forward towards a closing, familiar forest perimeter. "My mother was already thinking about moving. So all THAT made her decision really easy. Then, I grew up in a small town outside of Anta."


    Silence looms above the two, quietly walking down the path with only their footsteps against the forest ambience. Veevi glances around the area, settling an expectant glance upon Deedri. "So... It''s your turn to ask ME a question."


    Tugging at the corner of her mouth, Deedri stumbles over the words through her indecision. "Ah... Um... Uh... Well, why did you become a pop star?"


    With an excited glint in her pink pupil eyes, a proud grin parts wide on Veevi''s face. With dramatic gestures of the arms, she draws an exaggerated breath in and melodically proclaims out. "Why?! Why not! I''ve got the body and the voice of a star. Why not perform for the world, and gift myself to adoring fans near and far..."


    Another subtle slide over shrinks the gap between Veevi and Deedri. Veevi''s short-haired tail wags closer to Deedri''s fluffy tail with each sway. A softer tone taints Veevi''s tone, and she seductively bites her lip. "Speaking of adoring... So, do you have anyone to adore you?"


    Deedri''s eyes spring wide open, and she immediately senses Veevi''s uncomfortable proximity. The short-haired tail swings over the fluffy tail, coiling slowly around in a gradually tightening wrap. Veevi gazes with a sultry undertone to Deedri. "Boyfriend, maybe? Or... A girlfriend-"


    From beyond the transition of forest in the field meters away, Bach''s distant voice calls out. "So... Yeah... The fluid sacs are located near the top, underneath the big flower top?"


    From another point out of immediate sight, Sotalia speaks in a loud, curious tone. "Yes. Why? Did you find some? Show me where they are at!"


    Veevi halts her progress and stares forward, her fuzzy ears puzzling at the sounds ahead. She perks up, feeling a swift brush slipping from her tail''s grasp. Deedri rushes ahead, snapping the fuzzy tail clear of Veevi''s coiling. Hiding behind a large tree trunk, she peeks out to the side, observing the activity. She momentarily glances up to the skies above with a thankful expression and prayer under her breath.


    Out in the many stalks of the massive, sprawling patch, Bach and Sotalia stand underneath the shade of a larger protellow plant. Bach circles out an area with his finger, aiming upwards into the giant flora. "I think I see a few up there."


    Sotalia squints for seconds, contorts her mouth in thought, and blinks her golden eyes. She quietly recites a few incantations, gestures her hands to touch opposing finger tips, and peers through the magical energy framed within up at the protellow. A smile grows on her light tan and dark gray face, and she separates her hands, wisps of fading flow trailing from her fingertips. "OH, that''s them. Matches exactly what Aristespha said. Now, we need to get up there and pick them."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach slowly rotates his head and hoists a curious eyebrow towards Sotalia. "Okay. So... What? Like climb up there and pluck them off?"


    Placing her hands on her hips, Sotalia flashes an unamused expression at Bach and grumbles faintly. "Yes. As much as I''d like to use magic to pull them off..."


    Her eyes rolling, she groans with a trailing sigh and drones out technical from memory. "Aristespha has explicitly said to avoid using any direct magic to acquire reagents to prevent cross-contamination and avoid accidental alchemical misfires during processing."


    Bach scratches the beard hairs on his chin and develops a sly smirk. "So... Indirect magic is okay?"


    Sotalia sways her hips with a thought, shifts her gaze to Bach, and grins amused at the idea. From behind the clearing''s edge, Deedri harshly whispers. "Where are you going?!"


    Veevi boldly strolls out from the brush perimeter of the forest line, a gust of wind flaring her pink hair out. She approaches Bach and Sotalia and energetically waves with a proud tone. "Hello, fellow adventurers!"


    Pulling at a corner of her mouth, Sotalia narrows an intrigued stare at Veevi and frees a hand from the hip to grant a plain wave. Bach blinks in surprise and darts his gaze side to side suspiciously around the area. Spotting nothing of interest, he responds with a simple, meek wave. With spunky energy, Veevi skips over and poses confidently in front of Sotalia. "I don''t think we have officially met. I''m Veevi Valiant, rising star, AND... Newest member of the Flames of the Phoenix."


    Slightly pitching her head up, Sotalia angles an examining stare carefully upon Veevi. An amused smile sliding across her mouth, she guides dark red hair over a black swept back horn, gazes at Veevi with golden eyes, and poses proudly. "So, I have heard. Sotalia Feratosia. Mage."


    Shrugging nonchalantly, Bach notices Deedri cautiously walking up and waves again at her. "Um, Bach Warwick. Intern...?"


    Veevi fully focuses upon Sotalia, tosses her pink hair back, and responds with a charming smile. "I actually got to witness some of your spells when I was training the other day. VERY impressive."


    With a calm smile, Deedri stops in front of Bach and shuffles over, keeping at least a meter gap between her and Veevi. "Hello. I am sorry to interrupt. I was out to gather some reagents from these protellows and..."


    Fighting back a reflexive grit of the teeth, she sighs with a faint droop of her furry, tufted ears. "Veevi... tagged along... for the walk."


    Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach nods understandingly and points a thumb up to the large looming protellow shading the vicinity. "Well, we''re gathering reagents, too. We''re trying to get some of those fluid sacs from up around the top, and we were trying to figure out how to do it without harming the reagents... or ourselves."


    A spark of enthusiasm lights up Deedri''s fair face, and she steps forward with newfound initiative. "Oh! Perfect! That''s the same thing I need. Let me climb up there, and I''ll gather enough for all of us!"


    Glancing up the tall plant, Bach returns a concerned gaze towards Deedri. "Um, yeah, uh, that''s pretty high up there. Do you want any help?"


    He spots the quick, awkward glance Deedri aims towards Veevi, passing by him on her way to the base of the large stalk. Deedri flexes her claw tipped fingers to Bach with a sharp, confident grin. "Don''t worry. I''ve got the climbing part covered. I just need to concentrate on the task. But, if you could keep watch for wind gusts and be ready to catch anything that might fall, that would be very helpful."


    Analyzing the situation between glances around at everyone present, Bach briefly motions to Deedri to wait up and steps next to Sotalia with a grin. "Hey! I have a great idea. Maybe you should share some magical education pointers with Veevi. One fellow experienced mage to another aspiring mage."


    Slowly rotating her head to Bach, she narrows a dubious eye to Bach. She examines his expression, notes the subtle wink, and nurtures a devious, mischievous smile. With a proud shift of her pose, she taps a contemplative finger upon her lips and grins at Veevi. "Why, of course! If I am to assume correctly your present teacher, I do believe her distinctive emin haughtiness may be impairing her ability to properly educate you."


    An intrigued smile parts upon Veevi, and she places her hands on her hips attentively, eagerly awaiting. "Why, yes! I do believe it is. She keeps telling me to go through long, pointless drills and tries my patience with trivial practice exercises."


    Sotalia chuckles darkly, waves out her hand, and sprinkles a dramatic flair to her sigh. "OH. I figured. I do believe it is my duty to share some important hints and tricks to help you along your path in the magical arts. And, I''m certain if you demonstrate these proficiently to an audience, your teacher will ever be so motivated to teach once she recognizes your true potential."


    Veevi''s attention fully affixes on Sotalia''s examples, gestures, and incantations. Sotalia demonstrates a series of small, colorful, and exceptionally flashy spells from the simplest instructions. After each quick performance, Sotalia coaches Veevi, leading her towards basic proficiency of the spells. Off to the side with Bach assisting, Deedri deftly climbs up the stalk of the towering protellow. Her finger and toe claws render the task routine, and she secures herself near the top of the stalk. With expert precision, she extracts the fluid sacs into the safety of her apron pouch. Standing by at the base, Bach keeps a vigilant watch overhead and spots other locations, calling them out to Deedri. Half hour later, Deedri''s toed boots touch stable ground, and she sorts through her apron pockets. "This was a great haul. There was quite a lot on that protellow, and the sacs seem freshly formed. I have more than enough. Here."


    She scoops up a double handful and presents the sacs of Bach. Retrieving a cloth bag from his pocket, Bach opens it up and ushers the contents from Deedri''s hands in. "That''s great! Thanks. Really. The local reagent shop was out, so we''ve been looking for a source and heard something like this was around."


    Glances over his shoulder, he faces Deedri with a grateful smirk and softer, appreciative voice. "Hey. Um, by the way... Thanks again for the other day. Didn''t think we really needed those two to throw down at the grocery store, of all places."


    Deedri rolls her auburn eyes away with a sighing shake of her head. "OH. Don''t worry. I understand completely."


    She briefly peeks around Bach at Veevi and flicks her eyes towards Bach. "And thank you for the latest distraction."


    Bach blinks blankly, quirks a brow at Deedri, and points through himself at Veevi with a light snarl. "Yeah... It really looked like you needed a break from... Uh... HER..."


    Narrowing her eyes to a tired, unamused expression, Deedri sighs, slacking her shoulders. "OH. You have NO idea. It''s a... challenge."


    She retrieves her aetherphone from a side pocket, taps the screen, and reads the time of the clock. "Oh, good. I should actually be back in time to complete my batch of wound salve. This is actually working out nicely."


    After a gracious bow, Deedri navigates the thick surface roots weaving along the ground over near Sotalia and Veevi with Bach following behind. "I really hate to leave so soon, but I must get back."


    She presents a pleasant, encouraging smile. "But Veevi, you are more than welcome to continue your lessons. I wouldn''t want to interrupt your progress."


    Flashing a sly smile to Deedri, Veevi perks her dark pink eyebrows and sighs contentedly, stretching her arms back. "Well, they want to do video journal segments today, and I don''t want to be late for mine. I have A LOT to say."


    She nods to Sotalia with a hint of respect and excitedly squeals with childish glee. "AND, I can''t wait to practice what you''ve shown me! Thank you so much!"


    Sotalia crosses her arms with a smug, contented smirk. "OH, I''m certain you''ll definitely impress your teacher. Don''t be shy about your new spells!"


    Waving to Sotalia and Bach, Veevi quickly steps towards the tree line and the forest path. Veevi swiftly slinks over to the side of Deedri, trying to close distance Deedri refuses to relinquish. Bach slides next to Sotalia and gradually angles his gaze towards her, puzzling. "So... What all did you... TEACH... Veevi?"


    A sinister glint shines off Sotalia''s smile, and she flexes her long, black nailed fingers on a hand in smug delight. "OH, you know... Just a few simple spells and flow techniques."


    Bach''s stare narrows at Sotalia, and he twists his mouth suspiciously. "Okay. AND, what would those be?"


    Sotalia nonchalantly inspects her nails and fails to contain her overflowing self-satisfaction, manifesting into a wide grin on her face. "OH. Yes. Just a few of the most distracting, flashy, trashy, lowest common denominator spells you can find. Only the BEST ones to show a starting student. A few of my favorites from when I was an annoying, disruptive, attention seeking teenager."


    A snort escapes Bach, and he gazes off into the forest with a slow side to side sway of his head. "Wow... Just WOW. You think she''ll actually follow through and use them?"


    An evil laugh slips out from Sotalia, and she reaches out for the cloth bag full of fluid sacs from Bach. "Are you kidding? A young, egotistical girl with something to prove the world? OH, trust me. She will NOT miss the opportunity to try them all."


    Bach hands the fabric sack over to Sotalia, and she happily nods at the contents of the bag. She carefully wraps the end of the bag up and secures a hand around the opening. With a motions to Bach, she steps along towards another part of the forest perimeter. "Well, we better head back. I have potions to make."


    Shaking his head, Bach follows along behind with a dry chuckle to himself. "Next week''s episode is going to be interesting."


    A wicked sparkle dances in Sotalia''s golden eyes. "GODS, I do hope so."


    ----


    With Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sitting around the dining table, Sebastian''s ethereal form hovers overhead. He scrutinizes the collection of documents littering the surface of a large table covering map. Narrowing his eyes in thought, he slowly nods in agreement. "Yeah. That makes the most sense. One of Noxian''s reported old hang outs is nearby, and there''s a few... uh..."


    Pausing moment, he contorts his mouth hesitantly against words at the front of his mind and sighs reluctantly. with a shrug, Aristespha smiles amusedly and gazes lovingly at him. "Go ahead and say it, Sebastian."


    Sebastian floats over and lands down on the floor. He holds his ghostly arms out his to side and plainly states. "A few simple, routine, and easy jobs in the area."


    Rolling his translucent blue eyes, he shakes his head of intangible coiffed hair. "Now that I''ve cursed all of us by saying that, let''s look at our options."


    Cideeda reaches out over the table, arranges the few quest printouts next to each other, and compares coordinate lists to the map. Dretphi peers over another row of papers, guides a finger on one hand along the text, and points out the locations on the map with another finger. Sotalia gestures quickly and taps the spots Dretphi designates, leaving a magical highlight upon the surface. Shifting his focus between the documents near Cideeda and Dretphi, Bach picks out keywords and mulls over his opinion between twists of his face. Aristespha squints over the data and turns her attention to one of her tablets. "I am going to guess that Hattan will be the best place to get rooms for a few days. I will start searching the area for good accommodations."


    Perking up, Sotalia glances over to Aristespha and lifts her dark red eyebrows. "Hey! See if you can book that one place with the day spa next door. Gods, that was REALLY convenient."


    With an incredulous smirk, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and scrutinizes Sotalia. "It is only going to be for a few days. I highly doubt we will really have the time for such activities."


    Sotalia pouts with a sigh and mumbles. "You should still try... Please?"


    Sebastian''s gaze follows a road on the map, and he notices a particular location that pulls a snide grin on his ghostly face. "Hey, bro. You think we should stop by Tullachester? Stop by that old house you were in?"


    Lifting his head away from the work on the desk, Bach incredulously squints at his brother, cracks a lopsided smile with a cringe, and lays down the sarcasm. "Yeah... Sure, man... We can swing by and tell the new renter that the landlady most definitely conned them. I can then regale them about all the plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical... structural... and ethical problems with that place. I''m certain they would also love to know the best places to put the pots and pans when it rains or what creatures make which noises in the attic."


    Dretphi stares over to Bach with an uncertain expression, struggling for the right words. "That residence sounds... Difficult?"


    Bach rubs his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of his nose with an honest smile. "Yeah. That actually sums it up best. I mean, that town has nothing going on for it. There''s one decent bar in the whole area, and that only showed up in the last few years. Doubt it''ll last much longer knowing that place."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach swings a gaze at everyone with a thankful chuckle. "Listen. When being abducted AWAY from the town is the highlight of your time being IN the town, it probably isn''t a good place. Two months out and still NO desire in me to ever go back."


    Sebastian crosses his arms and smiles with an ethereal laugh. "Okay. SO, that''s a strong NO on stopping in Tullachester."


    Tracing the route out on the map, Dretphi pauses at key points and plots the travel path in her mind. "The roads are serviceable from experience. Not sure if we can arrive by nightfall. Just after. Maybe."


    Cideeda idly scratches her jaw line, and her emerald eyes study the map. "Worst case, we camp at a rest stop in the mountains. I remember a few of those along the way coming up from Anta."


    Aristespha smirks, lifts her tablet up off the table, and angles it to Sotalia, quirking her brow slyly. "While I can not book that one place, I should be able to get..."


    Shifting her attention over, Sotalia widens her golden eyes and bites her lip in gleeful anticipation. "Oh, THAT will work, girl."


    Sebastian hovers up and hangs over the table, his eyes sifting through the job notices. "Okay. Let''s bid on jobs, get some work lined up, and book the rooms. We''ll take it easy tomorrow and set off Monday."

 Episode 36

    Sunlight shines in through the small window panes within the double doors leading out to the balcony. Inside the small bedroom, Gerald lays on the modest bed and props up a thin monitor upright on his chest. His dark brown eyes idly watch the video playback. Intermittently, his finger presses a control button, pausing the progress, spins a jog dial, reverting a few seconds prior, and taps another button, resuming. Holding the display with one hand, he brushes his hand through his short, dark blonde hair, and the hidden gray hairs glint in the reflected light. A series of wooden creaks sound out from the stairwell leading up to the bedroom door. Gerald stops the video on his monitor, aims his eyes over toward the noise, and waits expectantly. Seconds later, Samantha climbs the final step of the stairs, swings into the room by the door frame, and beams a wide grin towards Gerald almost through the open bedroom door. "How are YOU on this fine Sunday morning!?"


    Quirking an intrigued brow, Gerald slowly rests the screen on the side of the bed, guiding the slack of the cable leading from a large camera over the side. "Fine...?"


    Samantha walks forward, exaggerating her individual steps along the wooden floor, and hugs on to her clipboard. "Well, Good. Anything interesting on the cameras?"


    With a simple shrug, Gerald tugs at the corner of his mouth and eyes over at his recording equipment upon a nearby table. "Nothing too exciting. Caught Deedri wandering off into the forest again. She was by herself this time..."


    Twisting a frown on his face, he briefly rolls his eyes. "Well, until Veevi followed along after her. But, both came back. Deedri looked pretty annoyed. I noticed she was holding her tail to the side. Haven''t quite figured that one out, yet."


    Dropping herself to a seat upon the modest bed, Samantha turns to face Gerald and holds out her clipboard, revealing a pack of documents. "Guess where we''re going."


    Gerald reaches out his hand, takes hold of the clipboard, and puzzles over the paperwork clipped on the wooden plate. His eyes trace the text upon the pages, and he quickly flips over the sheets, the content surprising him. "Hattan? Really? HUH. Haven''t been THERE in a while."


    He squints his eyes at a long listing. "WOW. There''s a bunch of jobs out there, right now."


    An ear to ear grin graces Samantha''s light toned face, and she chuckles darkly to herself. "Yes, but not so many that a few couldn''t be sniped from a CERTAIN group."


    A few pondering blinks later, Gerald returns the clipboard to Samantha and shakes his head uncertainly. "Okay... Really hope Howard isn''t overusing his contact at the guild. Someone might start getting suspicious."


    Searching through the pages, Samantha inspects them with a confident smile towards Gerald. "Nah. Howie said he''s just getting the info and using it as an advantage when bidding through the proper systems. Oddly, there''s this really simple sounding pest extermination job that''s just been passed over by EVERYONE."


    Gerald lifts an inquisitive eyebrow and glances over up at Samantha with curious smirk. "What''s the pest?"


    A few pages flop over the top of the clipboard, and Samantha tips up the documents closer for her hazel eyes. "Um... Simple, harmless slimes from the looks of it. Even our group should be able to handle THAT."


    A long groan rumbles out from Gerald, and he rolls his eyes over to a collection of protective clothing hanging in the closet. "Gods... Please tell me you''ve at least warned the crew to pack waterproofing gear."


    Samantha sighs and nods dismissively. "Yes, of course! Though..."


    A sinister crook twists her smile. "I did make sure to NOT remind the team. Howie''s orders. He wants to see if they''ll take the proper precautions... Or, learn the hard way."


    A singular laugh escapes Gerald, and he smirks knowingly to Samantha. "Right... Yeah... I''m certain he''s hoping for the hard way. It ALWAYS gets better ratings when they learn the hard way."


    After a sigh and snicker of agreement, Samantha flips to the last packet of paperwork between the clip and excitedly displays it to Gerald. "Did you see where Howie booked us?"


    Leaning his head forward off the pillow, Gerald squints briefly, his eyes darting left and right. His eyes spring wide open, and he settles his head back down. "Wow! Not bad, Howard. Guess he was in a good mood when he made the reservations. Really fancy."


    Tilting over towards Gerald, Samantha amuses herself upon a thought. "Howie found out that the owner will shill himself out to anything... So long as the hotel gets mentioned excessively in the promo materials."


    She leans back to level and laughs with a short grin. "Plus, one of the researchers found out that the owner''s kids LOVE the show."


    Twisting a smirk, Gerald snorts and shakes his head side to side on the pillow. "Now THAT is the angle that Howard used. I''m sure of it. Everything else was just a bonus to negotiations."


    He puts both his hands behind his head, relaxes his arms out, and eyes Samantha curiously. "What was it that he said? If they don''t want to deal with you, see if they have children they want to deal with less?"


    Drawing in lungs full of air, Samantha blinks, twisting lips, and slowly exhales out a begrudging sigh, gazing upwards. "Yes... He''s said that a number of times. But... It works. And does it ever work."


    She throws herself forward off the bed, stands up on her feet, and stretches her arms and back. "Well, I need to go finish up the paperwork and get copies over to the team. I think we''ll be able to head out Tuesday and use tomorrow to prep."


    Gerald nods, pulls his upper body up from rest, and smiles at Samantha. "Sounds good. We can get the standard mission loadout ready in no time."


    Pivoting with a sly grin, Samantha lifts a bundle of paperwork upon the clipboard and reveals a section of interest towards Gerald. "We''ll also need the promo equipment ready! Howie has booked one of the event rooms for a surprise fan meetup."


    Curiously perking his brow, Gerald draws a sinister grin and narrows his eyes at Samantha. "Before... or after the slime stomping?"


    With an evil smile, Samantha winks, entertaining a low chuckle under her breath. "Well, of course, AFTER! If at all possible. We have to try to give fans the genuine adventuring experience."


    ----


    Two wide lanes of roughly paved road stretch out through the ongoing cleared strip between forested edges. The humvee coasts along the smooth asphalt, and the suspension occasionally shakes from the rare dip and rough patch. Along the maintained shoulder, trees pass on by with sporadic gaps between, allowing clear views of farms, open fields, access roads, and rustic houses. Within a few, hints of ancient structures appear in the distance and fade away during travel. Opposite the road border, a large, grassy median serves as a barrier from another pair of similarly wide lanes with an equivalent shoulder. From behind with a high pitched roar, a red, low profile motorcycle zips around the humvee into the opposite roadway lane. The cycle captivates Cideeda, watching it shrink into the distance. Shaking her head with an amused grin, she glances through the rear view mirror at Bach. "These roads are nice..."


    Quickly flicking her emerald green eyes down at the dash, she spots the needle on the speedometer. "And to be fair, we''re going a hundred kilometers per hour smoothly. But, I don''t know if I''d open it up like that."


    Leaning out into the aisle, Bach peers through the front windshield and snorts, settling his head back on his seat''s headrest. "Yeah... That''s why I stuck with my bike. Way too easy to tempt fate on those things. One bad spot of road when you aren''t expecting it, and you''re getting a nasty physics lesson."


    Hovering in the aisle, Sebastian glances over towards Bach, cracking an amused smirk. "Remember that one guy in the dorm, bro? The one that wrecked his bike-"


    Bach''s blue eyes spring wide open, and he coughs out a reflexive laugh. "Up the tree! Oh, gods! I still don''t know how he did it without magic. It''s one of those things I still try to figure out once in a while. It was a flat stretch of road, too. How do you get that much air?"


    Blinking her golden eyes, Sotalia rolls her head over on her headrest and directs her voice back. "WAIT. THAT actually happened? I always thought Sebastian was just exaggerating that part."


    With a chuckle and a side to side sway of the head, Bach grits his teeth in a near smiling grimace. "No. It was UP that tree. I stood out there with everyone else trying to figure out how it happened. You should have seen the looks on the faces of emergency services crews."


    Dretphi briefly gazes up from a finely carved staff in her hands, momentarily pondering the feat of physics between grimaces on her tan face and furrows of her brow. Moments later, the allure of the staff snatches back her attention, and she concentrates upon it. Seconds pass, and a glowing flow gradually creeps up the handle, navigating the grooves in the wood. Energy traveling through the pathways, the routes gradually twist and turn more complicated higher up the staff. The humvee rolls down the road, and Dretphi devotes her full focus, progressing her magical might up the wooden maze. Sebastian notices a metal road sign with a single line of text, and his ethereal form grins smugly. "Tullachester, five kilometers, bro. Still don''t want to swing on by to see how things are?"


    Slowly rotating his head up to his hovering ghostly brother, Bach lifts an indignant brow and slowly shakes his head side to side. "PASS. I''ll just have to enjoy the sight of the off ramp disappearing behind us into the horizon."


    A slight grumble from Aristespha next to him draws Sebastian''s attention, and he expresses concern. Lowering his head just over Aristespha''s shoulder, he peeks at her tablet''s display. "What''s wrong, dear?"


    Aristespha brushes back a few stray, silvery blue hairs, twists her mouth with a fit of mild annoyance, and squints her frustration at the screen. "I was hoping we would win the bids on a few other small side jobs, Sebastian. But... Someone secured the bid for a few of those very quests."


    Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Sebastian puzzles at the list of jobs on the tablet, granting a simple dismissive shrug. "Well... Probably a lower bid from someone else, dear. At least we secured what we really wanted. Can''t fight the lowest bid on those smaller jobs. Probably some local group needing it more than we do."


    His translucent blue eyes gravitate towards a job header, and he points his finger towards the particular listing. "What was this job again? I don''t remember seeing a bid on that one."


    Aristespha gently taps the entry, and the program interface expands the detailed information out upon the screen. An evil smirk grows on her ivory face, and Aristespha aims her narrowed eyes at Sebastian with a lift of an eyebrow. Sebastian''s eyes bounce left to right with each line, and he abruptly averts his head away with an amused snort. "OH! THAT job. Wow..."


    Barely holding back his ill humor, he dampens a few snickers. "Good luck to whoever bidded on THAT one. I figured THAT would stay unbid for at least a few more months."


    Gently lowering the tablet down onto her lap, Aristespha stretches her arms over the back of her chair and arches her back in the seat briefly, relieving her muscles. "I would... Ah... Not be surprised if it comes back up on the guild board in a week."


    With a tight smile, Sebastian nods slowly and gazes at Aristespha. "Oh, I hope they make the work comments public on THAT one."


    Evil tinges the grin that splits Aristespha''s mouth, and she stares into Sebastian''s eyes. In the front passenger''s seat, Sotalia watches the road ahead, scanning out towards the horizon. Squinting at one distant long-haul cargo truck ahead, she yawns and shifts herself around on the seat, searching for a comfortable position. Her golden eyes spring wide, and she cringes slightly, a new discomfort seizing her full attention. Nonchalantly placing her hands on her knees, she pushes her legs close together and searches the upcoming shoulder. Minutes pass. Sotalia squirms slowly and momentarily curls her upper lip, revealing gritting teeth. With an idle fidgeting tap of her finger on her knees, she focuses her attention forward, hunting for something along the far off roadside. The humvee crests the top of a hill. Sotalia''s eyes open wider and lock onto a large metal road sign ahead. It passes by, and she directs her voice back towards the group with a lightly suggesting tone. "Hey, there''s a rest stop ahead... Does ANYONE need to stop and... use the restroom?"


    Cideeda perks an eyebrow, angles her head slightly towards the center console, and notices the empty, extra large cup of fancifully ordered coffee. Returning her head forward, she conceals a wry smirk on the side of her mouth away from Sotalia. Aristespha shakes her head dismissively and stares out her window at the midday scenery below a cloud speckled blue sky. "No. I am just fine. Remember? I only ordered the SMALL coffee and tea."


    Shrugging plainly, Bach watches the forest strewn world speed on by out his window. "Not me."


    Dretphi briefly diverts her attention away from the magically glowing staff, glances ahead, and shrugs, resuming her focus. "No."


    Sotalia twists her mouth, noticing another road sign. Drawing in a careful breath, she exhales long, tinges of stress shuddering out. She peers back over to the shoulder of her seat and dons an uncomfortable smile, pleading hints infiltrate her voice. "Is everyone sure? No one could stand to take a break, stretch out, and enjoy the local scenery...?"


    An eyebrow sharply hoists up on Bach''s face, Aristespha peeks over from the corner of her violet eyes, Dretphi pauses her flow progress, and Sebastian plainly stares right at Sotalia. Grinning mischievously, Cideeda mockingly sighs and watches the exit sign draw close. "Huh. Well, I guess NO ONE needs to stop. We''ll just have to see what''s around in AN HOUR or so..."


    She aims a toothy smile at Sotalia. Grumbling to herself, Sotalia''s body language telegraphs the developing unease, and she eyes the distant exit ramp drawing closer. A long awkward silence looms inside the cab. The rest of the group collectively awaits. Sotalia growls in defeat and calmly, hesitantly pleads. "Cideeda... Could you take this next exit, PLEASE?"


    Easing off the accelerator, Ciddeda gazes ahead and gently turns the steering wheel. "Why?"


    Drawing in a breath through her gritting teeth, Sotalia mumbles loudly. "So... I can use the bathroom."


    A snort escapes Cideeda. "Yes, we can."


    She guides the humvee down the exit ramp and rolls her emerald green eyes. Aristespha rotates her gaze towards Sotalia, presents a smug, triumphant grin, and giggles to herself. "I was wondering how long before that EXTRA LARGE coffee you got... AFTER I warned you... would work its way through you."


    Cideeda grins wide, Dretphi smirks shaking her head, Bach rolls his blue eyes, and Sebastian snorts ethereally. Sotalia stiffly sits in the car seat and stares ahead out the windshield, glaring an unamused grimace forward. "Oh, HUSH, girl!"


    A sly smile cracks upon her mouth, and she aims a teasing tone towards Aristespha. "I especially don''t need a lecture from the Queen of the Hot Wings."


    Dretphi stifles a snort late and averts her gaze away. Cideeda presses her lips tightly together, keeping her view squarely on the road. Examining the expressions of Dretphi and Cideeda, Bach presents a quizzical stare up at Sebastian. "Okay. I''m missing something here."


    Sebastian shrugs awkwardly and works out an ill-humored smirk from his face. "Well, bro, there was this one time-"


    He halts abruptly mid-sentence, wincing his cheek. Beside Sebastian, Aristespha twists a tight grip upon the sword handle and glares bright violet at him, a distinctly reddish hue blending in the light. Sebastian closes his mouth, allowing his mind to process new, immediately pertinent information, and directs a neutral expression towards Bach with a flat tone. "...that will not be discussed at this moment..."


    Moments of quiet hang in the air. The humvee rolls to a halt at a stop sign intersection. Sotalia snaps her head and peers over the shoulder of her seat, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. Her horns prominent with the downwards tilt of her head, she draws in a long breath. "So, after a LONG day of spellcasting-"


    Aristespha''s eyes fly open, and she grits her teeth at Sotalia into a twitching glower with the faintest growl rising up. "HUSH. YOU."


    ----


    The humvee rolls between the nearly faded away markings of a parking spot in the patchy lot. The vehicle''s powerplant spinning down, the doors spring open. Sotalia closes the glove box, tucking a roll of toilet paper under her arm, and gingerly hops out. Swiftly scanning the disused rest area, she stands tense, squirming. "OKAY! Where''s the bathroom in this place?!"


    Cideeda steps onto the pavement, walks to the front of the humvee, and squints her eyes towards a number of out buildings in the vicinity. Wariness and reservation rise up into Cideeda''s light brown face, and she scouts the structures, frowning slightly. "Hmm. We might want to keep on driving for another place. This rest area looks..."


    Flicking her furry ears back, she twists a grimace, straightening her posture with hesitance. "Under serviced?"


    In the overgrown clearing before the team, a collection weathered and battered of picnic tables, stained and storm tattered shade canopies, and cracked and dusty snack machines surround a dilapidated central park building. Long, tall grasses thoroughly obscure where each structure touches the ground and hide any connecting pathways. Aristespha stands next to Cideeda, cocks her head of silvery blue hair to the side, and fights down the surge of disgust on her face. "OH... MY..."


    Panning a gaze across the wildness invaded landscape, Bach simply shrugs without a hint of surprise. "We''re just south of Tullachester. This is about what I expected."


    Furrowing his brow, he squints at the weather grayed, cracked pavement and kicks a loose chunk into the weeds. "Huh, actually surprised they bothered to ever pave this."


    Sotalia grimaces with the stain, surveying each building, and perks up. Her golden eyes settle upon the central building. "I bet they''re at the big building! I''m going to go check!"


    She swiftly power walks down the winding path from the parking lot up towards the large structure. Caution tempers her speed, avoiding encroaching grasses and debris. Spotting a rabbit darting away into the woods, Sebastian floats above and drifts forward uncertainly. "Hey. You want me to check that building out first?"


    Sotalia tosses her voice upwards behind her and presses onward. "NO! I''ll be fine."


    Sighing, Aristespha glances up to Sebastian with a smile and strolls along the same direction towards Sotalia. "Don''t worry, Sebastian. I will accompany her and make sure she does not fall in."


    Dretphi gazes up towards the treetops, cups a hand around her ear, and furrows her brow, puzzling. She pivots around and faces the source of a faint bird song. Bach glances over, traces her line of sight, and searches the higher parts of the forest canopy. "Um. What are you looking for?"


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Seconds later, Dretphi''s steely gray eyes briefly widen, and she points out a large, brilliantly colorful bird preening itself upon a tree branch. "THERE. It is a... Zone Parrot? I think that is the correct term."


    Following the angle of Dretphi''s arm, Bach spots the animal sorting through its brightly patterned plumage. He blinks and gawks in bewilderment at the creature. "Wow... I don''t ever remember seeing anything like that around here of all places. That''s not native bird I know of."


    Dretphi nods, lowers her hand to her hip, and thoughtfully curls the corner of her mouth. She tilts her head to the side, letting a few platinum blonde braids shift upon her shoulder. "You should not. This place is not that creature''s habitat. I do not know why it is here. Strange."


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick around and hunt the soundscape, concentrating on specific noises mixing into the natural ambience. Seconds of sifting later, she turns her head towards Dretphi and Bach across the hood of the humvee, twisting mouth curiously. "There''s at least two other birds that sound like it in the area."


    Astonishment grips Dretphi, and she crosses her arms. Leaning upon the humvee''s side panel, she lowers her head slightly in thought. Bach eyes over curiously at Dretphi with caution coloring his voice. "Uh... Anything we should worry about?"


    Dretphi turns her head to Bach, dons a light smirk, and shakes her head confidently. "No. Zone parrots are not hostile."


    Narrowing her stare off to the side, she snarls her upper lip briefly. "Annoying. Destructively curious. Do not attack people."


    She lifts her head back up, stares at the leaves, the wind rustling through the canopies, and ponders out loud. "It is just... Odd. They do not migrate. Live in weird zones. No where else."


    Shrugging her shoulders, she glances over to the rest of the group. "One this far away could be excused. Maybe lost. Three?"


    Suspicion guides her gaze, and she searches the forest around. "There is another reason."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts over, rises above the group, and gazes out into the area. He catches a glimpse over near the central building, spotting both Sotalia and Aristespha disappear around the corner of the large structure. Hovering back down onto his feet next to Bach, he leans close to his brother''s ear. "Thirty seven."


    Bach blinks hard and swings his head over, facing Sebastian dumbfounded. "Thirty what?"


    Contorting his face, Sebastian fails to contain his ill amusement and sighs with a roll of his eyes. "Thirty seven hot wings. In one setting."


    Cideeda''s furry ear flicks over, and she presses down the smirk. Sebastian sighs through his clenched teeth. "Yeah... We got roughed up hard, bro, on one mission. And, she spent the entire day patching us up in a remote place a ways out and worked up an..."


    He furrows his brow and grimaces momentarily. "Appetite... From casting so much in one day. She DEMANDED we stop at the first food place we drove pass on the way back..."


    His translucent blue eyes open wide, and he hisses out. "It HAD to be a hot wing place."


    Around the corner of the central building, Aristespha and Sotalia stare into the dim entryway next to a women''s bathroom sign. The corridor turns sharply at a right angle into a dark, unseen room. Sotalia cringes and grumbles, peering into the shady hallway. "Okay... I think I see the light switch on the wall there."


    Aristespha incants quietly, gesturing with her hand, and a small orb of light hovers above her outstretched palm. Aristespha nods to Sotalia, and the two walk reservedly through the entry, approaching the forward wall before the right angle turn. Moving next to the light switch, both turn and face down the corridor into the inky darkness filling the echoing room before them. Only the dim glows from narrow, dirty high windows provide any direct illumination into the space, the ambient glow from outside barely reflecting in around the sharp bend. Sotalia places her finger underneath the switch and flicks it up.


    Overhead lights gradually flicker to light and surge a bright shine into the room. The brightness floods the tiled public restroom. Amorphous collections of loose specks retreat chaotically away. The scattered masses crawl into the darker parts under sinks and disappear into the shady nether within the row of toilet stalls. Abject horror overloads Aristespha and Sotalia. Their jaws drop agape, and the pupils of their eyes shrink to pinpoints. Covering her mouth aghast, Aristespha slides her eyes over. Sotalia meets Aristespha attention with a cheek twitching, gritting of the teeth, and slowly shakes her head resolutely. "NO."


    Both take synchronous steps away and carefully retrace their paths back outside. Well in the light of day, Aristespha pivots promptly and searches the nearby treeline. Moments later, she directs Sotalia''s attention towards a large, obscuring shrub and laughs out her nerves. "I-I think that one will do just fine."


    Exaggerating her nod, Sotalia quickly skips over to the target brush. "I''ll make it work!"


    ----


    In the modestly decorated hotel lobby, large, ornate light fixtures hang down from the tall ceiling, illuminating the open space in a gentle glow. The dusk sky casts an orange hue through the tinted windows, mixing with the warm hue of the overhead lamps. The intricate slate floor path from the entry splits the lobby into two distinct sections. Plush cushioned, wooden frame couches form small meeting spaces, groupings scattering through the area. On the other side of the huge space, elaborate chairs surround the long tables encircling a central kitchen, chefs busily working on orders for guests in the dining area. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sit around a table, each with menus in hand.


    Past the front desk off to the side, the elevator chimes out into the lobby, and a tall man with a long black beard and shorter hair steps out. Cradling a wide brimmed hat in his cybernetic arm, he brushes some lint off his jacket and secures his Borderland Ranger badge onto his jacket''s front pocket. Walking nonchalantly out upon the floor in dirt speckled boots, he nods a friendly hello to the desk staff and leads himself towards the exit. He travels the divide between the dining and meeting sections. Glancing over to one side and to the other, his pace slows to a stop. Recognition dawns upon his face, and an amused smirk graces his tanned face. With a sharp pivot, he calmly approaches the table with the sitting team, stops politely nearby, and bows slightly. "Pardon me for interrupting, but I do believe I have made all your acquaintances a few weeks back."


    Aristespha gazes up from the menu, studies the man''s face, and smiles pleasantly. "Yes, we have... Captain Hays, I believe?"


    Captain Hays kindly nods in acknowledgment. He quickly greets and shakes everyone''s hand. Glancing over everyone with a smile, he addresses the gathering. "Well. It''s good to see you all are in good shape. I''ve heard some interesting things through the... Usual Sources."


    Quirking her brow, Aristespha studies Hays carefully with a faintly intrigued grin. "Oh, really? I do hope nothing too terrible. Also, I am ever so sorry we have not gotten around to contacting you. We simply have not had the chance to wander towards the border regions."


    Hearty chuckling, Hays draws in a breath and shakes his head slowly. "Understandable. I''m certain you''ve been quite busy. And, truthfully, for a Borderlands Ranger, I''ve been far away from the borderlands A LOT as of late."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Dretphi angles a quizzical gaze upon Hays. "Why is that?"


    With a brief snarl of the upper lip, Hays quirks his brow and works through a summary. "Well... To put it simply... We''ve been trying to figure out why the weird zone and borderlands critters are everywhere they shouldn''t be."


    Casually stroking his beard, he sighs, tinges of frustration slipping out. "It''s nothing like we''ve seen before. It not unheard of to occasionally have a few odd migrations if a zone''s energies shift around. But... THIS isn''t one of those."


    The group exchanges thoughtful gazes, a new light shining upon very recent memory. Glancing to Dretphi and Cideeda, Bach shifts his attention up towards Hays. "We actually saw some odd creatures today."


    Hays examines the concerned expressions around the table and tilts his head curiously. "Really? So, what did you all see?"


    Dretphi calmly and clearly states. "Zone Parrots."


    Pausing in thought, Hays furrows his brow and meets Dretphi''s steely gray eyes. "Where?"


    Dretphi focuses her gaze with a serious tone. "Northwest. Up the highway."


    Squinting at the memory in the front of his mind, Bach recounts. "Um, yeah... Just south of Tullachester at the old, I guess abandoned, rest stop."


    A long pause later, Hays hums with his thoughts, implications processing between uneasy grimaces. "That''s over a hundred kilometers from where you should even start finding them normally. Hmm."


    Nodding to the team, he sighs heavily. "We should compare notes. I''m here with my two scouts trying to chart the movement of all these critters. There''s been a lot of unusual movement, and we''ve been trying to figure out WHY."


    Aristespha offers an empty seat at the table. "If no one objects, I am certain you could join us, and we would certainly discuss this further."


    The rest of the group indicating their agreement, Captain Hays holds his hand up with an appreciative smile. "Thank you. I would love to oblige you, and greatly appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, I''m currently on a mission to get food for two very tired scouts and two VERY OBNOXIOUS scout whelps."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes light up, and she snaps a pleading stare with a bright smile towards Hays. "WELL, maybe after dinner you all could stop by so we can discuss this further..."


    Suspecting eyes around the table focus upon Sotalia, and the team awaits in amusement for the rest of the statement. Sotalia flutters her eyes at Hays and colors her voice coyly. "And, you are more than welcome to bring the whelps over."


    Captain Hays smiles proudly and grants Sotalia an affirmative nod. "Well, I''ll just have to see what I can do. That would be up to Heccaeh, but I don''t think he''d mind. It''d also give Chana a break from entertaining them, too."


    Aristespha retrieves her aetherphone, tapping through a number of menus, types out a brief message, and presses firmly on the screen. "Here is my contact information and our suite number. I have sent it to your number."


    With a gracious bow, Hays starts to turn away, stops, and grins at the group overall. "Before I forget, I want to thank you all for assisting Captain Hackle and capturing the thudkickers. He was doing a favor for us, since that group had left our jurisdiction without our knowledge. Thankfully, they''ve all been relocated to a calmer weird zone. Hopefully, they''ll stay there."


    His eyes narrow slightly, and he hoists an eyebrow with a hint of amused suspicion. "A few of us are a bit curious how you adjusted the attitude on that alpha male. We''re certainly not complaining. That particular alpha was an absolute asshole, so humbleness didn''t hurt him any."


    Attention from everyone else wanders towards Bach. Chuckling, Hays smirks humored. "We just can''t figure out why he''s now, all of sudden, spooked by men wearing full helmets."


    ----


    Down a fashionably decorated hotel hallway, Deedri and Tassilda both peek out around the frame of their room door and stare cautiously towards the intersection in front of the elevators. Tassilda grumbles, snorts out her irritation, and pouts wrinkling her nose. "This FIGURES. We arrive ahead of schedule to a very nice hotel next to a top rated day spa, with the rest of the day free... And, we have a camera crew stalking us..."


    Paranoia furrows her gray brow. "Just waiting for us to leave."


    Sighing sadly, Deedri''s her furry, tufted ears droop down to her shoulders. "I know. I''ve heard it''s really nice, too. But, I don''t think I could enjoy it, being watched like that."


    Her ears flick back, and her head swings the rest of her around. The next door down the hall opens into the room, and Modoran slips deftly around, carefully easing the door back shut. Scanning the area, he notices Deedri waving at him. Deedri energetically signals Modoran over. Slinking swiftly in behind Deedri and Tassilda, Modoran checks down the hallway with a quizzical perk of the eyebrow. "So, what are you two up to?"


    Tassilda briefly glances back and grumbles, resuming her focus upon the bulky shadows projecting out near the elevator lobby from hallway lighting. "Just trying to determine if we could actually enjoy the next door day spa... while under surveillance."


    Modoran slides out from the door alcove into the middle of the hallway and leans out carefully, peering down the way. Balancing himself back to a standing posture, he stretches his body,and presents a nonchalant, confident smile to Deedri and Tassilda. "Are you ladies ready to go?"


    Tassilda and Deedri exchange glances and nod hopefully towards Modoran. Pulling out his aetherphone, Modoran holds it up briefly and taps upon the screen. "I''ll send a message when it''s clear. Just be ready to get to the elevator when you get it. Hide in your room for now."


    Both Tassilda and Deedri excitedly dart back inside their room, and their door closes automatically behind them. Casually strolling down towards the intersection, Modoron''s lips subtly move, his voice mumbles out extremely quiet incantations, and the fingers on his free hand trace out very minute gestures. His posture stiffens, and suspicious mannerisms infiltrate this body language. Quickly rounds the turn, he awkwardly spots the two cameramen sitting on lobby benches and blatantly averts his facefrom eye contact, rushing right up to the elevator call button. The two cameramen exchange glances between each other and focus fully upon Modoran. Puzzling when Modoran presses the upwards call button, both crew members stand up, ready their equipment, and pantomime an agreement to follow along.


    The seconds pass, and Modoran''s nervous ticks become more and more obvious, intriguing the recording duo greatly. With a chime, one of the two elevators open, and Modoran nervously darts inside, the two camera operators immediately trailing behind. Modoran checks his aetherphone briefly, hides the screen down from view, and presses the button for the next floor up. The doors slide shut, and a gentle acceleration pulls down on an extremely nervous Modoran and two very suspicious cameramen. The digital elevator display changes to the next floor, and the ring brightly fills the space along with a voice announcement. The doors part open to their widest. Modoran bolts clear of the elevator car, slides out along a sharp turn, and tears off in a full sprint down a hotel hallway. Both camera operators nearly crash into a pile out on the elevator lobby floor and scramble after Modoran.


    On the elevator button panel, the previous floor''s button slides in momentarily and lights up. An unseen force pushes the second floor of the basement parking garage to the illuminated selection. A finger fading back into opacity firmly presses the door close switch. The rest of Modoran''s body sheds off the transparent guise, and he smirks smugly, tapping out a message on the phone. The elevator seals back up and faintly hums down a floor. The display changes, a voice announces the floor, and the doors part, revealing an eager Tassilda and antsy Deedri. Both quickly step in at the confident prompting from Modoran, and he smiles nonchalantly. "Next stop. Freedom."


    The elevator car shuts back up, sealing away the ambience of the hotel floor. With a sly grin upon her gray face, Tassilda flicks her light blue on black eyes over towards Modoran. "What ever did you do? Knock them out and stuff them in a broom closet?"


    Rolling his dark blue eyes with an amused sigh, Modoran casually grins. "Nah. Just had them chase my ghost for a bit. I wonder how long it''ll take them to realize it was a spell."


    Spotting the light for the second basement garage level on the panel, Deedri cocks her head of braided auburn hair and puzzles. "The second parking garage level?"


    Modoran simply shrugs and presents a calming smile to Deedri. "Well, I figured at least one other crew is on the ground floor, since the SUV is parked on the first level of the garage. So... They''re probably monitoring that."


    Perking an eyebrow, he smirks confidently to Deedri. "But, we should be safe to wander over to the stairwell leading out to the street on the second level of the garage. Doubt they''re paying that much attention. If not, I''ve got a few other tricks."


    Nodding at the plan, Deedri blinks with thought crossing her mind and gazes up to Modoran. "Um, what are you going to do, now?"


    A long pause holds Modoran''s tongue, and he ponders the situation uncertainly. "Huh. I... I don''t know, actually. I guess, probably, wander around the city until dinner? Didn''t really have any plans. I just wanted to get out of the room."


    Deedri entertains a genuine smile and lifts an eyebrow to Modoran. "Ever been to a day spa?"


    Modoran''s dusky bluish gray skin flushes with reddish undertones around the cheeks. Attempting to avert his face, he runs his fingers through his light gray hair and scratches the back of his head. "Oh. Um. I-I wouldn''t want to intrude. It seems like you two had something planned out."


    With a dismissive shake of the head, Tassilda rolls her eyes and smirks. "Oh, PLEASE. Do NOT play modest now. If you help get us there, you are more than welcome to join us."


    The elevator doors smoothly slide apart, and Modoran leans out into the cavernous level of concrete pillars, asphalt flooring, and cars packed into painted lines. Peeking around the parking garage level, Modoran works the awkward energy out of the smile on his face. "Well... Then, I better get you two there."


    Flashing a nonchalant smirk, he steps out leading Tassilda and Deedri. "Looks clear so far. Follow me."


    ----


    Beams of light shine through ancient gaps in the tall ceiling of the solid stone structure. Faint traces of dust drift aimlessly through the huge, long hallways and barely stir to the whims of the wind outside, slipping through the thin divides between heavy blocks. A flash brightly illuminates an area immediately near Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Inspecting the fresh image on the display of her aetherphone, Aristespha shakes her head and bored sigh vents out. "I cannot discern any differences. Everything seems to be almost completely matching the old pictures."


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick around, and her emerald green eyes keenly inspect the nooks and crannies of the area. Sniffing the air flowing in a calm breeze, she pulls an unamused smirk into the corner of her mouth and shrugs. "Nothing. Dust, earth, some wet stone, and maybe a little mold. Still nothing out of the ordinary. I''m actually feeling a little disappointed, right now."


    Kneeling down to the dirt littered stonework floor, Sotalia picks up a small, unlit magical indicator stick and rolls her eyes at herself. "Gods... I know I should be okay with this, but..."


    Dretphi twists her grimace and grumbles. "This place is tediously mundane."


    Staring up between the columns of light streaming from the weathered holes above, Bach''s eyes wander for anything of interest. "Yeah. I''m really surprised they haven''t just bulldozed this place down. I mean, there''s no sealed off areas or anything hidden left. I don''t think they needed adventurers for this job."


    Furrowing his brow, he glances around at the layers of grime and history staining the crumbling architecture. "They really just need a building inspector to condemn it and tell them to demolish it already."


    Aristespha nods in complete agreement and fights back a frown touching a gray and blue hint at the corner of her ivory face. "I know. Unfortunately, everyone is still paranoid about these old places. So, a job is a job. Also, for what they are asking of us... it is not THAT terrible of a payout. We actually have not spent that much time here, considering."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach holds his arms out to his sides, disbelief creeping upon his face. "Yes. Can''t believe I''m actually wanting there to be something new or signs that something has changed. But, man, I''d even take trashy graffiti at this point. If just to have something to report."


    With a glance over her shoulder, Cideeda nods in agreement at Bach and exhales out her idle frustration. "Some days, you just bring home the paycheck and wonder if they would have even known you were there at all."


    Aristespha aims her aetherphone towards another marked section of wall, firmly presses an on-screen button, and a flicker of brightness erupts out from the flash. Squinting inside a shady archway next to the wall''s markings, she directs everyone''s attention towards it. "Quick check that room, please. It''s listed as clear on the report. Just make sure nothing has changed before we move on and mark it off the list."


    Acknowledging, Dretphi locks down her full face visor, lifts up her sub-machine gun, and approaches the area cautiously. Cideeda trains her laser pistol towards the archway and circles out opposite from Dretphi, gradually closing in on the target from the other side. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia ready themselves, observing Dretphi''s and Cideeda''s progress. With her back against the wall, Dretphi slides up to the entry point and awaits Cideeda on the other side. The two silently exchange hand signals and confirm the plan. Dretphi toggles the flashlight on her weapon. Cideeda crouches down, grabs a flashlight from her vest, and flicks it on. Dretphi sweeps the room from one direction from the archway, and Cideeda pans both her laser pistol and flashlight across the room the other direction. A few counter-balancing passes from each later, and both lower their weaponry and turn off lights. Cideeda shakes her head with an exaggerated eye roll. "We have confirmed it is still an empty room with nothing going on."


    Dretphi walks away towards Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia and smirks lightly. "Additional dust. Maybe."


    Following behind, Cideeda holsters her pistol and tucks away her flashlight. "Oh yeah."


    Aristespha plainly nods her head, types in a few notes, and muses sarcastically. "I will certainly be sure to put THAT in the notes."


    Placing her hands on her hips, Sotalia pivots around slowly in thought, her armor cloak flowing around. "Gods, I wonder what''s taking Sebastian so long. He''s been off scouting ahead for a long time."


    With a firm grip on the sword handle at her side, Aristespha closes her eyes and lowers her head, concentrating. Seconds later, her brow furrows and contorts with the confusion playing out on her face. Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes next to her, and he gazes over to everyone, gritting his teeth. "Uh... Um..."


    He clasps his ethereal hands together. "I found something."


    Tipping her head up, Aristespha stares at Sebastian suspiciously, searching him. "Okay, Sebastian. What would that be?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage spins gradually to face Aristespha, and he manages to muster up a weak smile. "Well, dear... It''s uh... It''d be easier to show."


    He points down the hallway to a nearby side branch off the main trunk. "There''s a SAFE vantage point down there."


    Drifting forward towards the side passage, Sebastian pinches the bridge of nose, fighting the flits of reluctant annoyance. The group follows quickly behind, down the main hallway, turns down the offshoot, and travels along to the ending archway. Cideeda''s nose twitches, an odor in the air bewildering her. "What? What is this smell? It''s familiar... WHY?"


    The passage opens up to a walkway, above a small arena, encircling high upon the back wall. Daylight radiates a column down from a single large opening above in the center of the roof upon a strange collection of gelatinous pools of pastel colored slime. A glistening coating engulfs every surface below in a rainbow of sticky hues. With each slow, oozing pass, slime creatures refresh the layers of glossy sheen. Colorful, amorphous blobs undulate along on the floor and slop over obstacles, splatting their jiggling forms. Occasionally, a mass will stop, spray a stream of viscous liquid at a random target, and slide along. Hundreds of slimy beings navigate the ramps and steps of the arena below, with new ones sporadically congealing out from the translucent pools. Sebastian rests his face firmly in the palm of his hand, witnessing the horrific disgust upon Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Bach gawks in absolute confusion and flounders with forming a response. "Huh? Wha? The fu..."


    Cideeda visibly shrinks back and hugs herself uncomfortably. Dretphi''s eye winces in erratic repetition, and she stares blankly at the scene before her. Sotalia''s fingers flex on each hand, and a golden glow sparks in her eyes with each tightening of her fists. Aristespha surveys the scene, and the gray and blue hints of her ivory skin pale further. A thought crosses her mind. She blinks back to awareness. Lifting up her aetherphone, she navigates through a few menus and carefully reads a section of text on a document. Her violet eyes light up, and a wicked, smug grin reaches long, pointed ear to long, pointed ear on her face. "This is an INSPECTION ONLY job."


    Sebastian shakes out of the stupor and hovers next to Aristespha. Snapping back to reality, the rest of the group congregates around, and pairs of eyes eagerly all examine the same section of text upon Aristespha''s aetherphone. Sebastian snorts loudly with a ghostly reverb. A chorus of laughs, chuckles, and snickers flood the air from the team. Sotalia holds back her laughter briefly, strolling out. "WELL! Consider this place fucking INSPECTED! JOB. DONE."


    Leading the group out through the entry, Sebastian shakes his head. "WELL, I guess that slime extermination job just got a lot bigger."


    Cideeda snorts and grins in ill-humor, leaving with a skip to her step. "Hope whoever gets a bonus for this one."


    Pausing in the rush of relief, Dretphi breathes out a long sigh and rushes ahead of the group. Aristespha finishes taking the last picture of the scene on her phone and clears past the entryway with Bach. Glancing over to Bach, she motions her head back. "OH! Could you please seal that opening off, and put a manual deactivation trigger on it?"


    Bach''s eyes glow blue and nods with a wry smirk. "GLADLY."


    He reaches out a hand within the archway, and a golden hexagonal matrix forms out, weaving towards the ancient stonework doorway. "May the gods have mercy on whoever opens THIS up."

 Episode 37

    Under the simple, inexpensive coffee maker, a faint stream of vapor wafts out the top of the half full pot of coffee. A few torn open packets of creamer and sugar rest near a short stack of foam cups upon a small table. Early morning light beams into the modest hotel room from the sliding glass door leading to the small balcony. The sun''s projection creeps past the regular bed with bags of personal care items and clothes stacked upon it. The radiant glow off the bed sheets illuminates a wide brimmed hat on a nightstand near a futon bed. Farthest from the glass window, the sunlight reaches the other regular bed. With an unconscious grumble, Heccaeh rolls his head away from the imposing radiance. A curled up dark blue whelp shuffles slightly on top of Heccaeh''s chest, and a slumbering brown-striped whelp rises up and down upon his stomach, in sync with slow breaths of sleep. The persistence of dawn overtakes Heccaeh''s fair, tan patterned face. The subconscious perk of a brown furred ear shields his eyes from little against the overwhelming sun. Following a series of mumbles, Heccaeh yawns wide and groggily opens his hazy gaze. Turning his head towards the ceiling, he attempts to lift his upper body off the bed. He pauses at the beginning of his attempt and studies the two weights on his body. Rolling his lavender eyes, he slips his arms free from under the covers and carefully sneaks his clawed fingers underneath the dark blue whelp. Gently he slides the slumbering whelp to one side of the mattress. Exercising similar care, he relocates the brown-striped whelp next to the other. His chaotic, shoulder length, tan hair settles, and he rises to a seat upon the bed. Sliding over to the edge, he places his clawed feet on the ground and stands up, teetering for balance briefly. He narrows his eyes towards the glass sliding door, discerning the two backlit figures on the balcony. Glances over at the coffee, he pauses and longingly eyes the bed. In place of two whelps, two large lumps stir underneath the daylight shielding cover, snuggling into the warmth of Heccaeh''s prior spot. Heccaeh slowly shakes his head with a smile. "Lazy little shits."


    Tugging his ratty, old t-shirt straight, he plods over to the small table with coffee and cups, scratching the backside of his loose gym shorts. His medium length, thin tail limply hangs. The scent of coffee sparks up the semblance of life. With precision and coordination uncanny, Heccaeh pours out a cup of coffee, follows a rehearsed routine of creamer and sweeteners, and lifts the concoction under his nose. With a long sniff of approval, he ambles towards the sliding glass door, breathing deeply of the brew. He reaches the door and slowly slides it open, his vision adjusting to the surge of natural brightness. Captain Hays glances over his shoulder from staring out past the balcony and laughs. "Well, good morning, sunshine."


    Heccaeh cracks open his wincing eyes and peeks out from behind a shielding hand against the morning light. "Morning, Captain."


    A sly grin gracing the young woman nearby, she leans against the brick hotel wall. "Heh. About time you woke up."


    Heccaeh eyes the woman and sighs, opening his eyes slightly more. "Oh, come on, Chana... I''m still recovering from the late watch schedule."


    Chana chuckles to herself, tips back her head of shiny, coppery hair against the wall, and closes her eyes, basking in the dawn warmth. Reopening her copper eyes, she gazes over towards Heccaeh with a kinder smile. "I know. Still... You really need to get to bed sooner."


    Heccaeh shrugs his shoulders, turns to face Captain Hays, and studies the expression of reserved concern before him. "Um... Is there something wrong, Captain?"


    Captain Hays twists his mouth and contemplatively hums in thought. "Don''t know. Not yet."


    Wandering his light blue around the quiet perimeter of the city, he furrows his brow. "Tell me, what do you hear right now?"


    A few groggy blinks later, Heccaeh visibly puzzles and takes a long sip of his coffee. His brown furry ears focus out to the local soundscape, rotating, panning, and twisting around for noises. Furrowing his brow, he twists a vague grimace on his face. "Well... A few of the normal city sounds. But... Nothing else..."


    He halts in thought, steps up to the railing of the balcony, and closes his eyes, sweeping his head around. His furry, pointed ears aiming out into the distance, a foreboding unease bubbles up his being, and he opens his eyes towards the Captain. "Nothing else at all. I don''t hear any of the wildlife sounds we heard yesterday morning."


    Chana frowns sharply with a hiss and bows herself off the wall. "Gods dammit... I was hoping I was just being paranoid."


    Drawing in a long breath of air, Captain Hays grumbles. He nods in commiseration and strokes his beard. "And here I was hoping age may have finally taken some of my hearing away. No such luck, of course."


    Pivoting away from the balcony railing, he steps towards the sliding glass door and pauses at the threshold into the hotel room. "Both of you pack up for a perimeter sweep today, please. I get the not so great feeling we shouldn''t wander too far off away from town today. And..."


    Tilting his head to the side with a smile, he watches the two large lumps in Heccaeh''s bed squirm further from the sun beaming in. "Get the little ones ready to do some aerial recon."


    He briefly snarls his upper lip and grumbles to himself, walking through the hotel room, sights upon the coffee pot. "Gods willing, may we find nothing... Nothing at all..."


    ----


    Down the tall, wide stonework halls of the ancient structure, Chad proudly leads Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran, with Veevi at this side. Oozing bravado from a grin, Veevi keeps a hand on her holstered laser pistol and another hand on her hip. Turning down a branch from the derelict structure''s main hall, the rest of the group follows behind Chad and Veevi, and search along the surrounding dust coated and age stained walls. Delving deeper into the shady passage, an unease looms over Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran. A few members of the camera crews maintain their cautious distance from ideal angles, capturing the progression down the dark corridor. Chad directs his voice over his shoulder with a bright white smile. "Do not fret. This should be the last stop for this mission. From what the report said, it was another colony of slimes that was recently discovered, related to the main infestation. So, it shouldn''t be any worse than what we have faced so far."


    Fingers drumming on the chassis of the laser pistol, Veevi excitedly chimes in with a skip to her step. "YES! More target practice from the sounds of it!"


    Tassilda rolls her light blue on black eyes and groans disdainfully, glaring at the back of Veevi''s pink haired head. "Oh. So that''s what you are calling blindly firing at anything that moves and running around scared when anything gets near you?"


    A snide sneer arches Veevi''s upper lip, and she snaps her head back over shoulder, narrowing a mean stare at Tassilda. "Oh, on that same thought..."


    Curling a damning smirk, she smugly calls back. "What do YOU call it when you panic cast spells at point blank range and shriek like a cheerleader when you get spattered with goo?"


    Veevi and Tassilda lock eyes and silently engage in a staring contest, mutual contempt fueling both. Deedri shifts her gaze away from the competition, draws in a long breath, and sighs out long, letting her shoulders slack. "I just hope it''s a small group we can keep our distance from. I don''t have any more clean changes of outfits with me."


    She lifts a hand up, adjusting the small bell around her neck. Flicking her furry, tufted ears downwards, she notices the silence from it. With an exhale of relief escaping her, she hides the slime residue on the exterior of the bell with a quick wipe from her fingers. "This slime is really tough to clean off."


    Trakenthin spots a patch of congealed muck on his armor plating, grunts out some irritation, and reaches into his pack. Retrieving a spray bottle, he holds it in front of his visor and reads over the label. He pulls the lever trigger and spritzes down the thickened patch of slime. Modoran shrugs his shoulders and casually strolls along at the back of the group, glancing behind the team. "Well, at least these aren''t the corrosive variety. That stuff is nasty."


    Nodding in agreement, Trakenthin tugs out a roll of paper towels from his backpack and carefully wipes the loosened ooze off his armor plating. "Indeed. Would need DAYS to repair armor from exposure."


    Chad slows to a stop, lifting a hand up to motion a halt to the group. Waiting for the team to gather behind him, he squints his brown eyes at the golden barrier in front of them, at the end of the passage. "This type of barrier looks familiar... I just can''t recall how."


    Tassilda and Deedri peer around Chad and Veevi and exchange intrigued glances between each other. Both mirror a silent agreement upon their faces, acknowledging their shared suspicions. Veevi boldly steps up to the barrier, swaying her pink, short-haired tail. Standing in the filtered light glowing through the field, she taps a finger solidly onto the transparent golden surface and pivots around to Chad. "Well? So, how do we get it open?"


    Drawing an aetherphone out of his pants pocket, Chad taps the screen, scrolls through paragraphs of text, and settles upon the last entry in the notes section of a listing. "If you want to do the honors, then..."


    He furrows his brow and cocks his head. "There should be a disc in the middle that you turn clockwise three times."


    Spinning back around into a dramatic pose for a nearby camera, Veevi visibly puzzles and studies the barrier. She hovers a sharp nailed finger near the magical wall, grips onto a raised energy disc in the barrier, and spins the large dial quickly. Three revolutions later, the disc disappears in a cloud of flow. The sealing field disperses into the air, and the magical miasma fades into a thinning vapor. Veevi''s pink pupil eyes widen with a manic spark. Drawing her laser pistol ready, she grins eagerly and lifts an excited eyebrow towards Chad. "Ready?"


    Chad dons his trademark brilliant grin, puffs up his chest under his breastplate, and strides forward. Veevi edges out in front of Chad and leads the team out of the dark passage onto the brightly lit walkway overlooking a huge, open arena. Veevi''s prior eagerness shatters, her senses witnessing the horrific scene in front of her. The slime molds ooze with impunity around the entirety of the architecture, expressing an implied superiority over their small domain. Struggling to maintain a bold, willing expression, Chad settles for a false smirk, hiding the welling reluctance from the plastic wrap armored camera crew around. Recording teams cautiously spread out and hunt for ideal recording angles. Tassilda covers her mouth in shock, her light blue pupils widen, and her gray complexion pales a shade. Deedri grits her sharp teeth and reflexively winces her cheek, constant twitch manifesting. Lowering his eyelids nearly over his hazel eyes, Trakenthin angles down a completely unamused glare upon Chad. Keeping his lips tight, Modoran squelches a laugh into an awkward snort and averts his darkly humored face. Seconds of silence later, the surprise wears off, and he manages to mouth out. "Well... Fuck us..."


    From the high stonework ceiling above, a pastel colored, liter-sized slime free falls. It lands semi-solidly in a wet squishing flop onto the walkway in front of Veevi. A laser pistol muzzle lowers down at the small slime mold. The pinkish, translucent blob remains still in the tense seconds, under many watchful stares. Quirking her eyebrow, Veevi blinks confused at the motionless mass and furrows her brow curiously. "Huh? I guess the fall killed it?"


    The blob contracts itself tightly and ejects a stringy stream of viscous gel at Veevi. The jet of mucus splats squarely between her eyes, wanders down towards her mouth, and trails a gelatinous spew onto her chest, flowing down her tight fitting, light armor. In wide eyed shock, Veevi blinks aghast and slowly pivots around to the group, her arms rising up in sheer disgust. "Buh... Ungh... Wha..."


    Out from the team''s silent surprise, a malicious light ignites Tassilda''s eyes. A devious grin menaces at Veevi, and Tassilda poses smug and superior. Presenting a mocking, waving motion of the hand, she scoffs derisively. "And I thought YOU... Of all people... would be used to something like THAT."


    A rage boils up inside Veevi, and she spits out a wad of muck on the floor in front of Tassilda, drawing back her lips and revealing her sharp, gritting teeth. Cackling out into the echoing arena, Tassilda narrows her light blue on black eyes upon Veevi. "Well! That conveniently answers my other question."


    Narrowing her ire upon Chad, she sneers her upper lip. "Right, Chad?"


    Chad flashes a mean glare towards Tassilda. Veevi growls loudly and points angrily at Tassilda, sputtering out remnants of ooze between furious words. Trakenthin, Modoran, and Deedri attempt to maintain calm, neutral expressions, against the building pressure of sheer amusement.


    ----


    Crawling upon a wood plank floor, Cideeda sweeps a flashlight underneath a simple, dusty wood-framed couch and flicks her eyes around the underside of rusting springs and flowing cobwebs. Sighing in defeat, she slides back out from under the furniture,and springs up into the rustic room, brushing the futz off her body suit. "Okay. So, he didn''t hide anything under the couch."


    Dretphi stands up on the toes of her boots and peers over layers of undisturbed powdery haze on the office shelving against the wall, sneering disgustedly with a twist of her lips. "Nothing found here."


    With her arms crossed, Sotalia wanders around in the middle of the main section of the small office outbuilding and grumbles to herself, a frustrated frown forming. "Gods damn it... Well, it figures the one place I picked would be a bust. Shit."


    Her fingers ruffling through a pile of blank, age yellowed paper, Aristespha glances over to Sotalia and smiles, granting a little reassurance. "Oh, it''s not a waste. Noxian likely was here at some point in the recent months. The fact it is an archaeological site office is very interesting though, given what we have learned lately."


    From the drop ceiling above, Sebastian''s ghostly form phases through and floats down, hovering just above the floor. He shrugs his translucent shoulders and softens his disappointed frown for the team. "Well... Nothing up in the attic of this place. One less squirrel given how quickly it ran out the hole in the roof vent when it saw me pop in."


    With floorboards creaking, heavy armored boots step slowly across the room towards the large front window. Dretphi peers out into the dirt lot, narrowing her steely gray eyes, and concentrates upon faint, water washed tire ruts in the soil. Seconds later, a frown curls upon her tan face, and she releases a long sigh. "May have been recent tracks. Can not tell. Weathered away."


    A muffled flush sounds out from behind a door with a restroom sign. The bathroom door opens, and Bach steps out, furrowing his brow, and shakes his head with his thoughts. "Yeah... Checked the toilet tank, and the plumbing works perfectly fine. So, I doubt that anything was hidden in there. Nothing tucked under the sink, either."


    Contorting his tanning face, he scratches the back of his head and curiously searches between the rest of the team. "Hey, wait, haven''t the police and government investigators picked this place apart already?"


    Uncrossing her arms, Sotalia places her hands on her hips and dismissively rolls her golden eyes with an unsatisfied huff. "Yes. Yes, they did. BUT, you never quite know if they got everything. To be fair, your average law enforcement is looking for evidence of NORMAL crimes."


    She draws a long breath, gently exhales out her simmering frustration, and manages a calm smirk. "They''re not expected to deal with someone like Noxian. It''s a little out of their usual jurisdiction."


    Twisting her mouth on her light tan face, gray bordered face, she scans her stare across the office and grumbles to herself. "I totally thought he''d at least stop by here on his way from Anta."


    Dretphi pivots in place, quirks an eyebrow at Sotalia, and tilts her head of platinum blonde braids. "He may have. Lack of evidence is not lack of possibility."


    Straightening her posture with a thought, she narrows her steely gray eyes upon the abandoned archaeological site, visible through the main window. Her stare searches along the aging fence encircling the area and settles upon the rusty lock on the entry gate. Turning her head slowly towards the rest of the group, she lifts an eyebrow, curiosity curling a intrigued smirk. "Did any report mention exploration of the site?"


    Thoughtful silence floods the room. Everyone exchanges glances, and revelations dawn upon each. Aristespha steps over towards the large, wide office window, cocks her head to the side, and squints towards the aged worn ancient architecture. Her violet eyes flip through memories, and she furrows her brow. "Surprisingly... No."


    Crossing her arms, she straightens her posture, lifts a hand up under her chin, and rests her head on top. Sebastian hovers over next to Aristespha''s side, an intrigued smile forming from the corner of his mouth. "If I remember right, there was a lot about what they found in and around HERE... Where they found obvious signs of him being here. But..."


    He narrows his stare out to the aging metal fence and the untouched lock on the closed gate. "Not a damn thing said about them checking in THAT site."


    Donning a quizzical grimace, Bach ambles up to the front door and peeks through the smaller inset window. "Well, given our latest discoveries, I get the distinct impression that these ancient sites are not just a coincidence."


    A smug grin graces Sotalia, she strolls up to the door, guiding Bach off to the side, and turns the doorknob. "So... Anyone against a little off the record exploration?"


    Cideeda reaches her clawed fingers into a vest pouch, lifts out a soft, thick fabric case, and presents a toothy grin to the rest of the team. "Hey, as long as the lock goes back the way we found it, was it ever really disturbed?"


    Furrowing her brow and tilting her head down, Dretphi eyes Cideeda and mumbles faintly sardonic. "Yes."


    Excitement driving Cideeda''s gait, she nearly skips out the opened door. She unfolds the carrier and gleefully examines an array of lockpicks within. "Details, details. It''s been a while since I got to use my nice set of picks!"


    ----


    Rolling down the Hattan city streets, a stifling, awkward quiet presses down upon the Flames of the Phoenix inside the cab of the black sports utility vehicle. Keeping his brown eyes forward with a persistent unamused scowl, Chad navigates through the busy downtown traffic. His fingers reflexively comb through his ooze slicked hair. Startling to awareness, he shakes the residue off his hand, disgust twisting his face. Behind him, Tassilda futilely towels a stubborn mass of congealed slime, trying to free it from her raven black hair. Grimacing sharply, she strains and tugs upon the glob. Many tries later, she flops the heavy towel on her lap and stares out the window in defeat, sunlight shining upon the glistening layer soaking her form fitting clothing. Sitting on the back bench seat, Trakenthin inspects an empty spray bottle of cleaner and rattles the trace specs of fluid left. Examining the dried splatter upon his armor plating, he unleashes a long, annoyed sigh, and drops the bottle on the floor of the cab, sharp resignation curling his frown. Modoran nonchalantly relaxes on the other, cleaner side of the back seat. Glancing over his shoulder into the cargo space, he eyes his slime coated short swords next to the team''s ooze soaked gear and shrugs indifferently. He casually settles back comfortably within his dry and unscathed light, form fitting armor suit. In the seat ahead, Deedri momentarily loosens her strategically crossed arms, inspects the state of her outfit, and frowns in stale embarrassment. Hooking her clawtips into the fabric, she attempts to pull the damp, clingy cloth off her figure and groans quietly, dismay renewing with each adhering tug. Leering over the shoulder of the front passenger seat, Veevi eagerly gazes at Deedri with a hungry smirk and seductive lift of her eyebrow. Subconsciously sensing the pair of eyes upon her, Deedri cinches her arms back over her chest and conceals the newly revealing section of her garment. She flashes a stern glare ahead. Darkly giggling, Veevi turns herself forward in the seat and arches her back in a stretch, sliding her hands down her slime soaked shirt. "OH. Live a little! Flaunt it if you got it..."


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    Seconds in front of a green light later, Chad snaps back to awareness, spots the traffic signal change, and refocuses upon driving the vehicle, accelerating forward. "WELL... It''s a mission accomplished. Despite the..."


    He swallows hard and grumbles. "Difficulties."


    Rolling her light blue on black eyes dismissively, Tassilda groans loudly with her irritation. "Difficulties?! Is THAT what we are calling THIS?"


    Chad narrows his eyes down the road ahead and shakes his head in frustration, a few globules swinging from the tips of his hair. "We''re almost back to the hotel and proper showers."


    Discomfort radiating, Deedri secures the wrap of her arms around her upper body and shrinks into her seat. "Good. Park down stairs, run to the elevators, and go straight to the hotel room. That''s the plan right?"


    Chad offers only a foreboding silence in response. Leaning forward, Tassilda arches an accusatory eyebrow at Chad, through the rear view mirror. "Well? What ever is the plan, O'' Great Leader?"


    A forced smile shoves itself upon Chad''s face, and he musters a trace of bravado in his tone. "We are to pull up to the hotel drop off and walk in through the front doors. The line for the fan meet up is queued up there."


    Tassilda drills an ireful scowl through the headrest in front of her, into the back of Chad''s glistening head. Drawing in a long breath, Trakenthin weakly growls another fit of resignation, shaking his head in absolute disdain. Modoran relaxes with a yawn and rolls his shoulders indifferently. A mischievous smile graces Veevi. Blinking her auburn eyes in pure shock, Deedri glances down her slime soaked wardrobe, and her fair complexion visibly pales. Tassilda gazes over in concern, picks up the small, clean towel, and offers it to Deedri. "It''s, unfortunately, not much I''m afraid."


    Sighing, Deedri nods appreciatively and carefully grasps onto the tiny cloth offering. "T-Thank you..."


    In the back seat, Modoran''s very long, pointed ears twitch with the wavering tone in Deedri''s voice. His dark blue eyes search his mind, and he brushes his hand on his dry, clean light armor top. Deedri sizes up the towel reluctantly, and her furry, damp ears flick behind her towards a zipping noise. Blinking in confusion, she glances over to motion beside her and spots Modoran''s outfit top. Gently waving the heavy fabric garment around, Modoran offers in a soft tone. "Here."


    Hesitating for a mere moment, Deedri graciously accepts the cover and swiftly drapes the article over herself, peering over her shoulder towards Modoran. "THANK YOU so much..."


    Sentence trailing off, her auburn eyes widen, and a flush of pink fills her cheeks. Modoran nonchalantly stretches out his arms and settles upon the back seat, shirtless. Granting a small wave, he casually gazes out the side window with a genuine smile. "Not a problem."


    With a simple nod and a muted smile, Deedri faces forward, glances down at the jacket top, and slips it on. Tassilda sneaks a tap of the elbow onto Deedri''s side and reveals a sly smirk. Deedri fails to hide her amusement, subtly biting her lip, and latches the zipper tracks of the light armor garment together. Peeking over the front passenger''s seat, a pair of pink pupil eyes narrow unamused.


    ----


    On the hood of an old, weathered jeep off on the shoulder of hillside road, Chana sits with her legs crossed, hands together, and her eyes closed. Breathing calmly and slowly, she occasionally tilts her head with a curious twinge in her face. "I can''t quite put my finger on it... But, something distant feels... ODD."


    Standing a few meters away next to a grass covered guardrail, Captain Hays lifts up a pair of binoculars and searches the sprawling green canopy of treetops from the vantage point of the winding hillside road edge. Heccaeh stares out into the distance, opposite of Hays. Hooding his lavender eyes with a hand, he squints out towards the horizon and sweeps the skyline. "Huh, strange. Looks like Ralli and Orrento are flying back this way."


    He cocks his head to the side and grimaces. "But... It''s way too early for them to return."


    A puzzled eyebrow lifts up on Chana''s sun-tanned face, and she blinks from her trance towards Heccaeh. "They''re moving really fast! Way faster than I normally sense them flying."


    Hays aims his binoculars towards the growing outlines of the whelps and tracks their swift approach in. His eyes widen from behind the lenses, and he shouts out. "Heccaeh! Get ready. They''re not slowing down."


    Heccaeh blinks confused and flicks his furry ears forward towards a cacophony of squawks and screeches echoing out. Bracing himself, he shifts his weight and holds his arms forward, hands open. "What the-"


    The dark blue whelp pitches its wings sharply, fans out into an air brake moments before impact, and latches onto Heccaeh''s shoulder. The brown-striped whelp swoops tightly around the other side of Heccaeh, claws onto his duster, and scrambles up to the top of his back. Both the creatures constantly repeat the same distinctive, crude mimicries of fvalian words, crawling around chaotically in a sheer panic. Dancing around for balance, Heccaeh struggles to secure the frightened whelps and flails about in vain. "The fuck is up with you two! Calm the hell down!"


    Chana swiftly slides off the hood of the jeep, rushes over to Heccaeh, and wraps her arms around the dark blue whelp. Hays tosses the binoculars onto a nearby vehicle seat cushion, sprints over to the other side of Heccaeh, and reaches out for the brown striped whelp. His cybernetic arm clamps down upon the handle of the frightened creature''s harness, and carefully pulls the critter back. Chana hoists up the dark blue whelp, freeing scrambling claws from Heccaeh coat, and rocks the critter gently, soothing some of the frantic fear. Hays secures the brown striped whelp long enough for Heccaeh to get a hold. With a loud bellow, Heccaeh yells out sternly in a dialect of fvalian and the two whelps silence immediately, staring wide eyed. Each of the subdued critters blinks anticipating, spooked gazes towards Heccaeh. Releases a long exhale, Hays furrows a concerned brow at Heccaeh. "OKAY. So, WHAT is going on?"


    Rolling his duster back in place on his shoulders, Heccaeh straightens himself and collects his composure. Catching his breath, he stares down at the bright, brown eyes of the striped whelp and calmly, firmly speaks. "Orrento. What see?"


    Orrento blinks thoughtfully a few moments and very roughly mimics out the same chain of fvalian words from before. Heccaeh nods to Orrento and directs his gaze to the dark blue whelp. "Ralli. What see?"


    Ralli pulls her head out from hiding underneath Chana''s arm and quickly repeats another vague approximation of the same fvalian words, buries her head back. Bewilderment overtakes Heccaeh, and he faces Hays worried, pondering out loud. "Well... They saw SOMETHING. They''re repeating the same thing. Um... Black. Fire. Huge. Walking?"


    With the last word from Heccaeh''s mouth, Hays''s expression crashes into solemn dread, and his posture stiffens against the severity. Slowly pivoting around, he squints into the distance and draws in a slow, wary breath. "Are. You. Sure?"


    Tensing equally in the moment, Chana and Heccaeh watch Hays. Heccaeh nods and glances between the two terrified whelps. "Yes, Captain. Both have said the same thing over and over. They''re too scared to say anything else right now."


    Hays nods firmly and quickly steps over to the jeep, dutiful determination prominent on his weathered face. "OKAY. Load up the little ones, check their harness trackers, and figure out roughly where they encountered..."


    Gritting his teeth, he hisses in a stressed breath through clenched teeth. "Whatever the hell they saw..."


    He retrieves an aetherphone from his jacket pocket and taps out a number. Lifting the phone to his ear, a voice at the other end greets him, and he interrupts. "This is Captain Hays of the Borderland Rangers. I need an emergency aerial recon in the Hattan area. Who do you have in the area RIGHT NOW?"


    ----


    Within a large hotel ballroom, a long, winding line of people splits out into different queues. Between the posts of belt barriers, loose gatherings of people wait expectantly and gradually shift towards the end of their sections, space permitting. Across the cleared carpeted floors, opposite lines taped at the mouths of each path, Chad, Veevi, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin sit at individual promotional booths, piles of The Next Adventurers of Nexus swag littering the tabletops in front of them. Beaming a brilliant, proud grin to an overflowing line, Chad poses full bravado within the flashes of multiple cameras, his trademark prideful voice cutting through the background drone. Veevi exaggeratedly proclaims her appreciation of the admiration of the crowd packing her line and rewards their attention with cute, coy poses, bordering on suggestive. With an elaborate, fanciful signature, she signs both The Next Adventurers of Nexus and her musical career promotional material, granting a little extra decoration upon her favorite products. Capturing the full focus of a fan recording video, she sings out a chorus line from one of her songs along with a few attendees.


    Sitting awkwardly behind the table next to Veevi''s, Deedri''s smile fights to contain and obscure her wide eyed, near panic. She politely field fan after fan for pictures, the bell around her neck ringing with each new pose. She stares out into the mass people before her in line, a mixture of terror and shock competing upon her fair face. In the booth next to hers, Modoran maintains a suave and debonair exterior and entertains the many requests of the people arriving at his table. With a shorter line, he nonchalantly spends the extra time for each person. Exuding a sultry confidence, Tassilda provocatively styles her presentation with a dark, controlling charm, tossing her raven black hair over her swirling horns for cameras. During the lulls of visitors at her table, she scans the overflow waiting in queues for Veevi and Deedri. With a specific focus upon Veevi''s patronage, she winks at potential detractors with an alluring curl of the finger, beckoning them over to her line.


    Trakenthin idly scrolls through paragraphs of text on his aetherphone, purposefully ignoring the few stranglers that wander into his queue. Hearing the hem of a young man in front of him, Trakenthin glances up and acknowledges the existence of a stubborn, determined fan. Moments later, he narrows his hazel eyes and glares harshly at him. A minute passes, and Trakenthin slowly rises from his seat. Towering his two meter height over the young man, he leans forward and emphasizes the sheer difference in stature. He focuses a cold, stoic stare downwards and waits expectantly, darkening his glare by the second. Behind the young man, a group of his friends tap capture buttons on their phones.


    "Holy shit, dude! You got him to stand up and stare you down! I''m posting this picture on the forums!"


    The loose gathering of compatriots depart and leave behind an empty line. Maintaining the glare upon the group, Trakenthin catches their glances back towards the booth. He narrows his hazel eyes, furrows his brow, and coldly concentrates on the group, encouraging their exit from the ballroom. Moments later, he lowers himself back down onto the fold out metal chair, settles upon his seat, and resumes reading the text on his phone. Peacefully dragging his finger through a few more pages of text, he focuses upon the words. A young woman''s voice politely addresses. "Umm... Hey. Sorry to interrupt."


    A grimace forms on Trakenthin''s dark bronze face, and he starts to summon up a dismissive grunt. He lifts his head up from his aetherphone, flicks his eyes upwards, and pauses, his face blanking in genuine surprise. A young, tall woman with piercing hazel eyes smiles hopefully and lifts up a book, showcasing the cover. "This is going to sound REALLY WEIRD, but..."


    She wrestles down an awkward grin. "I saw you reading this book on an episode... And... I started reading it myself."


    Blinking in a sudden surge of confusion, Trakenthin tilts his head to the side. He snaps his stare upon the book, and his eyes spring open with immediate recognition. The young woman subtly squirms in a fit of embarrassment and brushes back her long silvery hair over a shoulder. "Well, I just wanted to thank you for, um... I guess, reading it during the show. I''ve enjoyed it immensely."


    Lifting his head up, Trakenthin gazes at the tall woman''s tan face and smiles genuinely to her, nodding in delight. "You are welcome. I wait for the next book release."


    The woman lights up and bows slightly. She lifts her hand to wave and steps back to leave. With an eagerly curious tone, Trakenthin calls out to her. "Who do you think will be the chosen?"


    Stray hairs swaying with the momentum, the young, tall woman halts and swings her attention back over excitedly. "Oh! I don''t know. I think it''s between Caspan and Mayon. I just can''t see any way that Jonas would be chosen."


    Minutes passing, Trakenthin and the young woman discuss enthusiastically about the book. Between the topics, she flips open her book to particular pages and points out certain passages. Theories driving the debate, he summons up collections of paragraphs on his aetherphone and presents his explanation. Each maneuvers the debate around and presses the other''s points, revealing their honest thoughts. A quarter hour late, a large group of people file into the queue leading toward Trakenthin''s booth. The young, tall woman glances over her shoulder, notices the growing line with surprise, and apologizes all around. "Oh! I''m so sorry. I tend to ramble on."


    Gazing out towards the exit, she waves at a group of people curiously watching both her and Trakenthin. She faces Trakenthin with an embarrassed eye roll at herself. "I''m sorry. I really shouldn''t take up any more of your time. Thank you, I really enjoyed talking to you!"


    Watching her balance shift to walk away, panic grips Trakenthin, and he searches the table. "W-wait! I-I should sign an item for you."


    Fumbling around the tabletop, he frantically flips through the scattered, cheap promo materials. Despair weighs down his frown, and he hunts in vain. The woman thrusts forth a pen and the book opened at the inner cover. Glancing up, Trakenthin watches her smile and wink and bashfully takes the pen. He signs his full name, stops, and gazes up mildly ashamed. "I apologize... What is your name?"


    The young woman chimes bright and happily. "Shayuri."


    Trakenthin nods graciously, finishes a message, and returns the pen. With a wave, Shayuri steps away and rushes over to her group of friends. Smiling well after Shayuri leaves with the group, Trakenthin drifts his gaze around the area. He spots the many stares upon him with each wandering pass. Modoran blinks in complete bewilderment, cocking his head of short grayish white hair, and crosses his arms in disbelief. Covering her mouth with both hands together, Tassilda''s light blue on black eyes open up in sheer amusement, and she giggles quietly. "Oh, my gods... That was ever so precious."


    Leaning back in his chair, Modoran calls out towards Trakenthin around Tassilda, sporting an eager, quizzical grin. "SO. You did write your phone number in her book. Right?!"


    A harsh sneer arches up Trakenthin''s upper lip, his hazel eyes narrow with an unamused glint, and a frown pulls back the corner mouth, revealing teeth.


    "Hey, could you sign this?"


    Trakenthin swings his glare over to a nearby fan thrusting a promotional group photo towards him. A marker hovers close, the odor wafting over and irritating Trakenthin nose. Indignantly sweeping his stare over the items before him, he slowly rises from his seat to his full height. Leveling a soul piercing, stoically cold glare right into the face of the fan, he grunts solidly into a trailing growl. The young man cautiously steps back a meter and stalls his retreat. Trakenthin systematically cracks each knuckle, each pop jarring the teenager further and further away. The guy reconsiders and rushes away into the back of another line.


    From a raised platform in the corner of the room, Gerald smirks, chuckling to himself, and adjusts his shoulder mounted video camera. Drawing a dark grin across her face, Samantha glances over towards Gerald. "Oh, please, tell me you got THAT."


    Gerald simply smiles and sets his sights upon the next shot through the viewfinder. "Every bit of it. Of course."


    ----


    A weathered jeep with spotty, worn green paint speeds down the twisting access road, riding the edges of the banked corners. Locking her copper eyes forward on the road ahead, Chana brakes hard before the sharp turns, maintaining pace through, and opens up on the straightaways. Heccaeh sways with the forces and checks on the two whelps, Ralli and Orrento, each in a secured carrier crate. Captain Hays''s cybernetic arm clamps firmly onto the overhead roll bar, preventing him from sliding with the shifts in acceleration and direction. Keeping his aetherphone to his head, he calls out in a commanding, official tone. "This is Captain Hays, who am I speaking to?"


    Over the phone''s loudspeaker, a man''s voice responds with the hints of background wind on the other side of the call. "Kaleb Hellstrom, sir."


    Hays nods to himself and scans the skies above, squinting between the clouds. "I''ve heard that name before. Are you the dragon rider that''s done a few northern borderlands surveys?"


    Kaleb sounds out promptly, a sprinkling of pride slipping out. "Yes, sir! Just flying back from a weird zone perimeter survey this morning when I got the call from the guild."


    The jeep slows to a stop at an intersection connecting the access road to the main highway. Chana swiftly searches both directions for traffic and guns the vehicle down the highway towards the city, a cloud of pebbles and dust spewing out behind. Hays warily stares out into the distant hills between the trees and draws a long breath of air. "GOOD. You should have the coordinates from the guild office. I need you to do a pass over the area from HIGH UP... For your own safety."


    The microphone on Kaleb''s side of the call rubs against a surface, and he speaks clearly, caution tinting his cadence. "Okay. I am coming up on the coordinates... Uh, what am I exactly looking for, sir?"


    With a growing roar from the engine, the jeep accelerates up to highway speeds. Hays presses his elbow against the window switch on his door armrest and triggers his window to roll up. Adjusting his voice to the lowered noise level, he sighs with traces of an unhappy grumble. "Something BIG and walking around."


    Static crackles sound out from the phone, and a strange distortion adds a warping, faint echo into the background. Kaleb''s voice pushes through the interference. "Okay, sir. I''ll see what''s there. I should be in the rough area now. Waiting for a fix on my navigational computer from the ground beacons to confirm. Wow, I''m having some really strange interference-"


    He pauses mid sentence, allowing the interference to dominate the connection. Crackling seconds later, Kaleb''s confusion colors his voice. "I''m seeing signs that something has happened here.... Definitely to the southwest of Hattan. Strange... I see a few trees down that look really recently cut, um, wait, pushed down?"


    A sharp deep shriek funnels into the microphone from the other end of the conversation and intrigue seizes Kaleb. "Wait. Lagi senses something... Where is it, Lagi!? Okay... He''s flying towards something, and it looks like the fallen trees are all along the same direction. Something big is definitely moving through, and it is big enough to knock down-"


    Along a surge of static, He pauses and momentarily gasps. "Oh, WOW... Actually snapped these huge trees."


    Narrowing his light blue eyes towards the southwest, Hays firmly states a warning. "Keep your altitude high. Stay way up there. While I hope it''s nothing, I don''t want any unnecessary risks. Just need a visual confirmation from you."


    Kaleb reaffirms the mutual understanding. "Understood. Okay... Whatever it is, it''s practically going in a straight path towards town. There''s almost no deviation and..."


    A thunderous shriek bellows out and temporarily overloads the microphone to squelched silence. Hays''s body tenses, he snaps at concern, yelling out to the phone. "Come in?! Kaleb? Are you okay?!"


    A cacophony of distortion, static, movement, and wind blasts out the aetherphone''s speaker. The surge of audio chaos distracts both Chana and Heccaeh. A minute later, the noise calms down. Kaleb''s voice rises up into the call, coherent words sound out between heavy pants. "Yes! Yes! I''m okay. Sorry, sir! Lagi and I had to- Uh- Increase our safe distance... But. We have... Something?!"


    Hays brings the phone closer to his ear and speaks slow, firm. "What does it look like?"


    Puzzling out loud, Kaleb audibly fumbles for the right descriptive words. "Uh, um... A giant man... Covered in... Black fire that-"


    He halts mid sentence, and a horrific realization looms in the tremor of his words. "SIR. Is THIS, uh- What I think it IS?"


    A long exhale escapes Hays, and he grits his teeth, sifting in a tense breath. "Send me the best picture you can."


    The old jeep speeds past a Hattan city information sign off to the side of the road. Maintaining the vehicle''s direction, Chana''s focus drifts to the eerie dead air pouring out from the phone. Heccaeh flicks a furry ear at the phone and tends to the spooked whelps, hiding well within their cages. Captain Hays''s phone chirps a notification. Holding the phone out in front him, he trains his eyes upon the display and presses his thumb on the new message. The screen renders a photograph. The whites of Hays''s eyes grow, a shades of color leaves his face, and his body tenses stiffly. He resolutely calls out to Kaleb. "It, unfortunately, IS. I want you to know, you''ve done your job and can go home, FAR FROM HERE."


    Reluctantly, Hays pushes back hesitation and pleads sincerely. "BUT, if you can, we''re going to need eyes on that thing. I don''t want to ask too much but-"


    Kaleb interrupts with a long sigh and a nervous chuckle. "Lagi and I will do what we can, sir. It doesn''t seem to even be paying any attention to us, right now. So, I think we can track it safely, for now."


    A smirk parts from the corner of Hays''s mouth, and he slowly nods gratefully. "EXCELLENT. Ranger Heccaeh will transmit all the official radio frequencies. Switch over to them and keep us updated. I need to make a few calls."


    Kaleb confirms. "Understood, sir."


    The call ends, and Captain Hays taps through a series of menus, searching through a list of contacts. He swings his glance to Chana and Heccaeh. "Heccaeh, contact Kaleb and see if you can figure out the trajectory and speed of that thing. Chana head straight to city hall. Park it in the lobby if you have to."


    A progress bar appears on Captain Hays''s phone, and he waits with a grimace, a solemn staring out towards the southwest. The bar finishes, and the phone remains silent. For minutes, only the wind whipping outside competes against the quiet dread filling the cab. The phone rings. Captain Hays lifts the aetherphone to his ear, attempts a smile, and settles for only halfway smirk. "Hey, Hackle. Sorry for your heart attack, but we''re short on time. and Hattan is going to need anything it can get as soon as possible."


    Clenching his teeth, and he solemnly grumbles. "Worst part, it doesn''t even know it needs it, yet."


    Nodding with Captain Hackle, Hays keeps the phone pressed against his ear and sighs, faint tracing of relief slipping out. "Thank you. If you can, let them know we are on our way. That will save us time in trying to get through the official bullshit. We''ll do what we can do from there."


    Glancing out to the southwest, he squints into the horizon. "Also, we''ve got a guild contractor in the air keeping an eye on it."


    He grants a final nod and sighs. "Well. I''ll let you get to it. Thanks, again."


    Pulling the phone off his ear, he presses the end call button on screen and sinks back into his seat. Heccaeh blinks in thought, leans up into the space between the front driver''s and passenger''s seats, and uncertainly ponders out loud. "Uh, Captain. What''s the plan, and how are we going to do it?"


    Puffing up his chest lungfuls of air, Hays wells with determination and tilts his head to each shoulder, solid cracks of the neck sounding. "We somehow evacuate one of the largest towns in the area to get as many people clear in what little time we may have."


    He stiffens his neck and hides a hard swallow. "And... Hope there''s a town left to return to."


    A solemn frown weighs down his tone, and Captain Hays''s gaze searches in utter vain. "As for how? That''s a good fucking question. The last time any major city in this part of the world tried to evacuate out of the path of a Nightmare Geist was Dothan.


    He stares coldly through Chana and Heccaeh, his thoughts visibly swirling on his aged face. "May the gods have mercy on us all, if THAT is what we are having to compare to."

 Episode 38

    A small, blue, brightly glowing orb drifts up towards the tallest part of the dusty, old wall, touches the rune inscribed surface, stops in place, sticking to the smooth stone. A circular arc of illumination glows out from the point, and small shadows stretch out from the edges of finely detailed carvings, darkening the depressions. Another ball of light floats towards the engraved stone, halts upon contact, and shines out another source of light in the mix. Aristespha squints her violet eyes at the shapes and glyphs carved and studies the writing further, pointing out another spot of interest. Bach carefully aims his hand at the target and gently launches another small blue, glowing orb out. Sotalia''s golden eyes scan the wall, her head stops along points, and she leans her scrutinizing stare forward, closer. She taps Aristespha''s shoulder and motions towards a section of aged inscriptions. Nearby in the ancient chamber, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian cautiously examine a large, round platform in the middle of the huge space. Dretphi aims a high-powered spotlight out upon the intricate stonework and traces the outlines of the many smaller structures surrounding the platform, glints of light reflecting from the materials embedded. Cideeda deftly examines the strange, familiar console, obvious cabling leading to other equipment near the central system. Hovering around overhead, Sebastian surveys the vast interior from above and fights the building, uncomfortable recognition between grimaces. "This... This is REALLY similar to the Orth Ridge site. I can''t shake that feeling any more."


    Sotalia nods uncomfortably and crosses her arms tightly. Sighing, she cocks her head to the side in thought and idly drums her long nailed fingers on her arm. "Have to agree... This writing is almost the same as the bits and pieces I saw inside that damned chamber Noxian was pulling power from."


    An eyebrow perks on Aristespha''s ivory face, and she places her hands on her hips with a curious gaze upon the litany of engraved script on the wall. "Yes. But... The context seems... Different. I would have to sit down and decipher the proper translations."


    She wanders of gaze around the dimly lit chamber and sighs. "But, I get the distinct impression that this place''s purpose is not exactly the same as the Orth Ridge site. There are certain differences."


    Stepping away and shaking his stare away from the inscribed stone surface, Bach scans his blue eyes across the area and ponders the situation out, twisting the corners of his mouth with his contemplation. "Well, it looks like it has a smaller version of that elder energy collector chamber? Thankfully, it doesn''t have that nightmare factory attached to it. So, maybe... It''s just an energy gathering site? A remote collector? Or maybe, something for a local project?"


    The large spot lamp shines a huge, bright circle of light around the chamber. Dretphi pauses her sweep, gradually backtraces along the path, and focuses the beam upon a crumbling wooden pallet of canisters. partially hidden under a decay tarp. A glint from a small, dark window in the sides of the half meter tall cylindrical containers contrasts the dull sheen of faded warning labels adorning the quarter meter wide exterior. Dretphi''s steely gray eyes narrow. Her attention locks onto a small detail. Approaching cautiously, her eyes spring wide open. In the moment, she confirms her suspicions and directs her voice back to the rest of the group. "Dust has been disturbed on these vessels."


    Standing back from the control console, Cideeda places her hands on her hips and nods to herself, confirming her own theories. She glances over her shoulder and calls out to the team. "Same with the controls over here. Someone stood here, and worked on this system. You can see the contrast between how thick the dust buildup is."


    She takes another step back, lightly scratches a toe claw tip through the layer of age upon the stonework floor, and narrows her emerald green eyes at the differences nearby. "The dirt on the platform has been stirred up, too. Nothing too recent. Still... A lot sooner than I''m happy about."


    Sebastian flies down between Dretphi and Cideeda, glancing between the two. "Okay. So, any guess at how recently it was all mixed up?"


    Turning her head back from Sebastian, Dretphi faces the lightly dusted hand mark in the thicker coating on many of the containers and furrows her brow thoughtfully between examinations. Squinting her emerald green eyes down, Cideeda squats down and studiously compares the different surfaces of the ancient equipment, stone platform, and recent marks. She lifts her head away and glances over to Dretphi. "Um, again, it''s not recent. You don''t get this much build up that quickly unless something is adding or stirring dust to the area."


    Wrestling an uncertain frown, she shrugs her shoulders under her vest towards Dretphi and Sebastian. "I''d guess over a month? I don''t think much more than two?"


    Seconds later, Dretphi nods and sighs out her mild frustration. "Agreed. Not enough information. Hard to tell. Would need to observe the rate that dust collects."


    Aristespha stares at the containers and tips her head back, recognition springing up in her mind. "Those... Those are old magical energy storage containers."


    Snapping a surprised stare towards the containers, Bach steps closer and flicks his eyes to a glowing blue. "Huh. They''re empty now. But, they do seem like they have some significant capacity."


    Sotalia narrows her eyes, a dim golden glow flickering, and struggles to maintain the gaze, grimacing the whole time. Aristespha blinks out her violet illuminated eyes, and gazes over to Sebastian''s ethereal form. "I think Noxian was certainly here, Sebastian."


    An awkward smirk curls Sebastian''s transparent face, and he sighs with a weak smile. "It makes sense. Given the possible time frame, where this is located, and recent information about what Noxian has knowledge of..."


    He glances around the ancient chamber, lingering upon the platform, control panel, and energy vessels. "This was probably a stop for him right after we confronted him in Anta. Wouldn''t be surprised if this was secret stash, or something he got working to charge himself back up a little. Shit."


    A brief smile cracks upon Sotalia''s light tan face and fades, the whole of the situation weighing upon her mind. "Well, he was here. And, maybe he did something similar to what he was doing at Orth Ridge. SO, what''s the plan now?"


    Surveying the various texts, pieces of equipment, and other items in the area closer, Sebastian shrugs his translucent shoulders and releases an ethereal grumble. "WELL... Wish I had more of a plan. But..."


    He rolls his eyes at himself and sighs, motion generally over the area. "Take pictures, regroup back at the hotel, and see if we can find any more clues?"


    A collective agreement passes over the group, and each pauses in the moment, idly staring out to the task at head. Various alert chimes echo out into the cavernous space from different aetherphones. Everyone, except Sebastian hovering next to Aristespha, draws out phones and examines the bright red alerts flashing on screens. Eyes widen in shock. Tremors down her hands shakes Cideeda''s phone, and Bach stares in grave silence at the warning. Sebastian quickly darts towards the exit and signals the rest of the group to follow.


    On the aetherphone screens, the message refreshes under a shrill chime.


    "GUILD ALERT BROADCAST: Nightmare Geist confirmed heading towards Hatten. All able groups are requested to assist in evacuation efforts. DO NOT ENGAGE THE NIGHTMARE GEIST. Respond to get contact information for authorities in the area."


    ----


    In the Hattan city downtown, another long convoy of buses, trucks, and military transports roll down one of the main streets, pushing past the town hall towards a highway onramp going a southeastern direction. Police cars ride ahead, clearing traffic and ordering people out of the way. Other groups of adventurers and emergency personnel usher people into awaiting transports. Above the chaotic din of frightened people and traffic drone, Veevi stands on top of a truck bed and yells out instructions with an animated, cutesy flair, motion onlookers towards one of many forming queues. Searching for stragglers, Chad marches and bellows out orders to half-listening crowds. Deedri assists medical professionals evacuating patients out of the hospital nearby. Trakenthin hoists up equipment and supplies into cargo vans. Off the street in a large park, at an old city perimeter wall, squads of people form on top of the raised walkway and ready mounted weaponry facing the southwest. Captain Hackle and Captain Hays examine a holographic map together and study it carefully, quietly. Hays sighs tensely with a hint of a growl and shakes his head. "Gods. Well, as destructive as that bastard thing is, it''s at least consistent with its direction."


    Nodding solemnly, Hackle narrows his brown eyes at the estimated path projection overlaying the three dimensional city map. "Yes. Given the information we''ve collected, it is on a route to cross near the center of Hattan. If it''s any consolation, it seems to be the sparser northern district. That will be far less people that need to be priority evacuated."


    After a long draw of air in, Hays sneers into gritting teeth and faintly hisses a slow breath out. "IF it just walks through. we may be okay... But, it could honestly go into a full rampage at any time. I''m surprised it hasn''t yet. Though, it could be that the damned thing hasn''t reached the spot it wants to rampage yet."


    Hackle lifts his hand up and traces the route with a finger into the holographic projection. "Hopefully, we''ve been able to evacuate out a majority of those in the direct path. Still trying to move as many people out of the surrounding areas, but it''s, unfortunately, taking longer than I''d hoped."


    Glancing over to Hays with a serious tone, he fights a frown curling at the edges of his graying mustache. "I have sent a few of my scouts with your rangers and that infiltration specialist from the group on that show to double-check and make sure we don''t have any stragglers. Or, gods forbid, people trying to hide out."


    He furrows his aged brow with a sigh. "But, being thorough takes time."


    Hays shakes his head, and his grimaces sours, the pulse of the moving target indicator closing the gap between it and the town. "Dammit. We don''t have enough time to do this right. If we could just slow this thing down..."


    Pulling his aetherphone out, he holds up nearby with his cybernetic arm. He taps an entry on a list and waits for the device to connect. Seconds later, Kaleb''s voice calls out from the speaker. "Hello?"


    Rubbing his forehead, Hays speaks firm and calm. "This is Captain Hays, again, with Captain Hackle. Question. Have you noticed anything that''s slowed that geist down? Even a little?"


    An awkward silence of background wind drones over the phone, and Kaleb recounts uncertainly. "Uh, well, not really. This thing just breaks through buildings like they were wet paper bags. I think about the only thing I''ve seen that slowed it down, even a little, was when it tore through a machine shop."


    In the lull of the conversation, background wind blasts out the speaker, and Kaleb calls out over the din. "Judging from the explosion, I think some of the acetylene tanks went up."


    Thoughtful moments later, Kaleb fights down hints of defeat in his voice. "I mean, if anything, it looked like chunks of it were blown off. Definitely staggered it, but... It... I guess, reformed? It''s hard to say from this high up, but it''s like the black fire mist just collected back on it. Then, it just moved on after that."


    Crossing his arms behind his back, Captain Hackle uneasily smirks with a lift of an eyebrow at Captain Hays. "That''s what I thought. About the only thing I know that significantly slows those things down is raw magical blasts, but even that is limited-"


    With renewed vigor, Kaleb interrupts from the speakerphone. "Raw magic? Um, sirs? I think I might be able to help with that!"


    Hackle snaps his full attention upon the aetherphone and eagerly quizzes. "How so?"


    A confident tone rises in Kaleb''s voice from the other end of the call. "Lagi, my dragon, has been taught a bunch of spells. A lot of raw energy attacks. We could try to see if those do anything?"


    Hackle eyes Hays briefly. Hays nods in agreement. Hackle smiles keenly and calls out to a woman nearby. "Sergeant Violet? Could you please make sure Specialist Thayal has a good view of the geist?"


    Turning to attention stiffly, Sergeant Violet salutes quickly, tightly grips a radio off her belt, and keys up the device. "Specialist Thayal! Do you have eyes on the target!?"


    Seconds later, static fades out to a grumbling man, managing to muster a response. "Yes, Sergeant Violet... It''s the only thing of interest I see from up on this hotel roof. Well, apart from the dragon that keeps flying around it."


    Sergeant Violet nods, and Captain Hackle resolutely commands. "Kaleb. Proceed with caution. This is a risk, but I''d rather try it out there right now than here later."


    A loud draconic roar resonates through Captain Hays''s aetherphone and echoes in from the distance, chorusing together. Kaleb''s voice pushes through the din of background wind. "UNDERSTOOD! We''re going to build up speed for a pass and line up for a shot!"


    In the clear skies above, a blue and black scaled, white plated dragon sharply dives down, the rider tucking close and secure to the saddle. Leveling off at an altitude just above the tallest buildings of the city, Lagi swings a swift, wide turn over the cityscape, wings sweeping back and trimming for speed. Bright sun shining down upon the wingspans, flows of magical energy radiate out from his wings, course up in streams throughout his body, and merge towards his mouth. The pulses speed up and glow brighter in intensity. Opening his large mouth, the flow condenses into a brilliant turquoise-white ball in front of his agape maw, billowing out plumes of stray energy. The hum of power warping with the velocity, Lagi jets high over the old city perimeter wall. A rattling draconic shriek distracts Tassilda and a number of other mages gathered upon the old perimeter wall. Cutting through the crosswind, Lagi rockets over the suburban streets and scattered greenery below and lines up an intercept course with the Nightmare Geist. Staring through goggles, Kaleb concentrates his full attention and points his particle power blaster forward. From an underside module, a bright green laser beam paints a shining mark upon the dark target ahead. Barely a kilometer separating Kaleb and Lagi from the Nightmare Geist and closing fast, Kaleb clicks a bottom trigger of his blaster. A shrill tone chimes out.


    The turquoise-white ball shoots out from Lagi, a thunderous boom of energy release ripples out, and a bright, misty trail streaks behind. Kaleb ducks sharply to Lagi''s right side. Wings flare out, and Lagi breaks hard to the right. The energy projectile rips through the air, arcing towards the five meter tall, humanoid, amorphous mass of black raging fire. The brilliant turquoise orb pitches low and crashes into the leg of the nightmare creation. Magical miasma erupts out in a forceful burst, and a visible shockwave rips through the nearby suburbia. Small bits of debris tumble out onto the grass and street, nearby windows shatter showers of glass, and concussion echoes into the landscape. Within the dirt clouded, magical haze, a low, unnatural growl rumbles, strange hints of strained white noise unraveling the disturbing cacophony.


    The visual chaos clears in the distance, and Sergeant Violet''s radio crackles to life, Special Thayal''s voice rising out of the background noise. "Whatever THAT was did some damage! It stopped moving! I think there''s a big chunk out of its leg missing!"


    The joy from Thayal''s tone sharply drops out. "Unfortunately... it''s healing back up..."


    Moments later, his hope pushes forth. "BUT, it''s taking a LOT longer for it to reform back together, and it is still down on a knee!"


    A eager, bold grin forms on Hays''s face, and he calls to the aetherphone. "Kaleb! How many of those can your dragon do?"


    Over the warping crackles of static, Kaleb''s returns with slight embarrassment. "I don''t know, sir. We''ve never had a chance to find out."


    Hackle smiles, determination sparking his eyes. "Consider this your chance. RAIN. HELL."


    ----


    Dust covered equipment hums out warm breezes of air from back vents, and swirls of particulate stir within the few sprays of light overhead in the dimly lit room. A large flat table display glows out colored outlines of shapes through a haze of age and neglect. Idle indicator and status sounds chirps out from worn, dull speakers and form the ambient repetitive soundscape. A bright flash fights through the obscuring funk on the large table display, and a muffled chime rings through distortion. Sitting in a chair at an old metal desk, a white haired, thin man guides down his searching gray eyes upon an old manual, dense with diagrams and instructions. He flips back the hood of his jacket and loosens his blue scarf. Keeping his focus on the material, his hand wanders off to the side, pats around on a spread of plastic wrap, and finds a sandwich. Subconsciously, the hand brings the sandwich close to the mouth, and the old man calmly takes a large bite. Seconds of chewing later, his graying beard surrounded lips twist with a roll of the eyes, and the man grumbles. "... always so stingy on the olives..."


    Another loud chime crackles up through the background din, and another bright pulse backlights untold years of grime. The man pauses, swallows, and slowly rotates his head towards the large table display. Waiting patiently, he squints curiously at the dusted covered screen and cocks his head. A minute passes. Beginning to turn his head away, the man''s eyes widen in surprise. Yet another glow pulses, another loud chime accompanying. Sliding back, he rises out of the chair and steps quickly over to the system. A disgusted snarl curls his upper lip, and he swiftly wipes his sleeve covered forearm across the width of the display. Through the clearing of dust, he pours his full attention upon the mapping information manifesting upon the screen.


    A brilliant indicator radiates out from a point on the display, prompts of text rendering near diagrams off to the side. The pulse''s wake outlines a starkly contrasting black void. Concern overwhelms the man, his eyes search his mind for an explanation, and he mumbles out nervous thoughts. Placing the sandwich in his mouth, he bites down to secure it. He swings the freed arm out and snatches up the manual on the nearby desk. Flopping the tome down, he speeds through a flutter of pages and backs up to a particular page, leaning in to focus. His free hand taps upon the on-screen interface, and he swiftly navigates through layers of menus. The imagery on the map shifts through different color schemes, diagrams morphing to the new context. Change after change sweeps over the visuals. One final mode darkens the screen. The previous black void glows a pixelated white noise.


    Horror narrows the man''s pupils, drawing in a sharp, reflexive gasp. The table display flickers out a chaotic light, projecting up the man''s worn face. He slowly removes the sandwich from his mouth, lays it down nearby, and shakily presses down on the bright spot. An explosion of diagrams, details, and dialog cascade out onto the entire screen space. Warning indicators flash around red colored numbers, figures chaotically jump around between erroneous limits, and bright yellow messages caution the many unknown and missing details. The man''s jaw drops and hangs agape. Shaking back to awareness from the gawk at the screen, he grits his teeth, determination fighting through the terror on his face. "But how?! When did it?! I- I-..."


    Staring at the pixelated chaotic spot, he stiffens his upper lip. "I... I have to stop it... Before, any more damage is done..."


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The man steps away from the table display, snapping his head towards the exit, and rushes over. He flips his hood up, guides his blue scarf over his mouth and nose, and slams open a metal door, harshly echoing down a dark hallway. The static spot moves along a straight path, the chaotic glow illuminating the surface underneath a stray olive slice.


    ----


    Lagi cuts through the wind in the clear skies above the dense suburbia around Hattan. Leaning against the currents, Kaleb squints through his goggles and stares downwards, off to the side of Lagi, and searches the ground. A fresh kilometer long, straight trail of destruction scars the domestic scenery below. Repeatedly along the path of damaged streets, plowed houses, and fallen trees, a ring of scorched earth darkens an newly blasted area. Debris stirs upon the ground, scattered meters from a fresh impact point, and deep indentations mar the concrete, asphalt, and dirt. Wind whistles through blown out window panes in questionably intact buildings and stirs the waste from many shredded garbage cans.


    A black fire enveloped, humanoid mass rises from the dirt plume and fresh magical residue mists. Standing just above five meters tall, a haze of loose, dark miasma condenses upon its form, manifesting the missing material from its being. The head protrusion upon its shoulders twists upwards. From the eerie, shadowy void within, it watches the dragon fly around the sky. Raising a leg up, it resumes the slow march forward towards the city center. Joining Lagi''s irritated, teeth baring snorts, Kaleb shakes his head and growls in frustration. "GODS! I know! You''re doing good, boy! But..."


    With Lagi banking into a turn, Kaleb glances over and tensely grimaces. "This fucking thing is on a whole different level! Dammit..."


    The nightmare geist stomps ahead and maintains an unyielding glare above. Stretching and warping unnaturally, the creature''s long arm reaches out, and an amorphous hand clamps tightly around a nearby fire hydrant. Against unfathomable forces, the hydrant torques against its base pipe. Metal cracks and squeals. Sheared bolts rocket out, sparking off a car body, splintering through a tree, and embedding into brickwork. A geyser of water erupts out from the open pipe. From the radio system in Kaleb''s headset, Specialist Thayal''s voice blasts out. "LOOK OUT! It''s going to throwing something AT YOU!"


    Planting its feet into the dirt, the geist draws its arm back, black flames blazing out across the length. Lagi''s bright green eyes snap to the hellish mass, the rest of his body tensing, anticipating. A supersonic, red blur streaks up towards Lagi and Kaleb, a thunderous boom exploding out near the ground. In the splinters of second, a protective golden bubble projects out from Lagi, and he instinctively rolls into a right angle evasive dive. The hydrant bullet plows through the prior flight path, and a torrent of air follows. Dropping altitude fast, Lagi unfolds his wings and levels out just above the treeline, powering fast away from the geist. Kaleb blinks around in a stupor and glances behind towards the monstrosity in growing distance. Scanning the sky above, he spots a red dot falling towards the horizon. "HOLY. SHIT. THAT..."


    Straining a breath through his teeth, he grips the handles of the saddle tighter. "Was too close."


    Lagi bellows out a confirming bark and gently gains altitude. Over the warping interference, Captain Hays''s concern sounds out over Kaleb''s headset. "Kaleb?! Are you okay? We saw you dive back there and lost sight of you. Do you hear me?"


    Nervously laughing, Kaleb swiftly collects the pieces of his composure. "Uhh... Yes, um. We''re fine! I guess it finally got tired of us slowing it down. Gods, I hope Shadeesa doesn''t see that on the news before I get home."


    Lagi lets out a rolling, commiserating whine. With a commanding but appreciative tone, Captain Hackle calls out. "Then, it would be best for you to head that way. We''re going to fall back away from the projected path, and focus upon getting people further from the danger. Thank you for buying us all that time."


    Lagi voices a series of barks, growls, and whines, glancing over his shoulder towards Kaleb. A stern and solemn frown weighs upon Kaleb''s sun tanned face, and he watches growing signs of fatigue sneak into Lagi''s eager gaze. Shaking his head, Kaleb pats Lagi''s back and sighs long, adjusting the helmet microphone. "Understood. As much as Lagi and I want to keep going, I have to call it, too. We''ll find a place to rest up nearby and keep in the area, just in case."


    From the old perimeter wall, Captain Hays and Captain Hackle watch the distant outline of a dragon and rider fly away. Tipping his hat, Hays nods with smirk and directs his slight relief towards his aetherphone. "We''ll be moving to the southern region of town. Keep tuned to the radio for updates. Rest up for now. Out."


    Tapping the call end button on the phone''s display, he lowers his cybernetic arm down and stows the phone away in a pocket. He scans the vicinity and observes the remaining evacuation vehicles loading a final few passengers and military trucks waiting to depart. Hays and Hackle quickly pack up the remaining bits of equipment, rush down old stone stairs, and jump into the bed of transport. Sergeant Violet follows suit, secures the tailgate up, and sits down near the front. With a few slaps on the cab exterior, the vehicle rolls forward into formation, joining the last convoy out. Mustache wrestling down a frown, Hackle shakes his head and sighs grimly. "Tell me... Is it bad to honestly hope that all it does is just level a few city blocks and moves on?"


    Removing his wide brimmed hat off his head, Hays lowers it down onto his lap and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He eyes Hackle, shrugs his shoulders, and grimaces uncertainly. "Some would say that''s awfully wishful thinking. Hopefully, clearing out the area of people will keep it focused on whatever destination it''s going to. Best to not tempt the thing with whatever it deems as targets opportunity."


    He rolls a low growl in a surge of frustration. "Gods damned, ancient fucking terror weapons..."


    A distinct ring momentarily puzzles Hays, and he glances at his pocket. Quickly retrieving his aetherphone, he reads the identification. Interest piquing sharply, he taps the answer button on the screen and puts the phone to his ear. "Miss Aristespha. Good to hear from you."


    Hackle lifts a curious eyebrow and turns his head towards Hays attentively. Nodding with the conversation, Hays chuckles in spite of the situation. "No. Thankfully, it hasn''t quite made it to the town center yet. Before anything else, what direction are you approaching Hattan from?"


    He glances over to Hackle and motions to equipment nearby. "Northeast? Okay. Let me get your group up to date with the situation. That area will be dangerous in the near future, but if you could check a few areas we haven''t covered completely yet on your way to safety, we''d really appreciate it."


    ----


    The humvee rolls to a stop before an empty intersection, a breeze carrying light trash across the worn asphalt. The eerie silence looms through the people devoid streets, hastily abandoned cars, and swaying open doors of buildings. Staring out from the cab of the ancient military machine, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia search the vicinity, the silence outside pressing inwards. Cideeda shifts the humvee into park, undoes her seat belt, and directs her wary, nervous voice to Aristespha. "S-so, um, where did they last say it was?"


    Subduing her own anxious energy, Aristespha examines the map on her tablet and references a few lines of text on her phone. "Yes, uh... A few kilometers away from this position."


    Holding a frown still, she sighs. "At least that is what they last reported when they had sighted it... Some time ago. It has drifted off the projected course, and they have not been able to maintain a constant visual of it."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form nods uncomfortably, and presents a reassuring smile to Cideeda. "Hang in there. This is the last area they needed us to check to see if anyone is still around."


    Flicking her golden eyes over with concern, Sotalia rests a hand on Cideeda''s shoulder. Cideeda summons up her drive and puts forth determination behind her smirk. "I know. We really need to make sure no one is left behind."


    Drifting back in the cab, Sebastian aims his gaze at Bach with a calm smile. "Hey. Holding up, bro?"


    Bach gazes up to Sebastian, exhales out some stress, and manages a few rocks of the head forward in some semblance of a nod. "Uh, um, yeah... Just feels WEIRD. I''ll definitely be ready to leave once we''re done here."


    Sebastian checks the back row, and Dretphi holds a thumbs up. Floating up through the open top hatch of the humvee, Sebastian directs a quiet tone down towards the team. "Okay. Everyone. Hop out, quick check for any people in the area, and load back up."


    Wandering a suspecting stare across the tall urban buildings, he pauses upon dark shop fronts, open apartment windows, and a silent parking lot. "Then... We drive far, far away from here."


    With agreement all around, doors open in unison, and everyone exits the humvee. Sebastian flies high up into the air above the intersection, searching for activity through the windows of taller buildings. Cideeda and Dretphi rush to opposing street corners, scanning down the long city streets for signs of life. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia peer out with pairs of glowing eyes out into the area. The team spreads out slowly, cautiously, within the dead quiet. Over the tense minutes, distant sounds of destruction bounce off tall glass front buildings and echo vaguely into the space. The team pauses, waits expectantly, and resumes their work in the new wave of silence. Reaching the furthest they can remain in sight of each other, the team gradually draws back, double-checking along their routes, and gathers at the intersection. Sebastian drops down to pavement nearby the group and nods. "Okay, everyone. I don''t see anything. If there''s anyone still in the area, let''s hope they stay hidden for a little while longer. We''re pushing it close as it is."


    Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia agree, walking back towards the humvee. Squinting her steely gray eyes down the long stretches of street, Dretphi scans to the horizon. She turns away and quickly steps back to the vehicle. Cideeda releases a tense breath into a wave of relief, pivoting swiftly around toward the rest of the team. Her furry ears flick back around and lock on to a distant noise. Her emerald green eyes widen, and she spins herself back around, hunting for the source. Noticing the Cideeda sudden movement, Sebastian zips his ghostly form near her. "Hey. What''s up?"


    Cideeda''s furry ears frantically perk and twist, her eyes searching far down the street. "I heard someone! Down this way!"


    With a series of waves and gestures, Sebastian signals the rest of the group to gather near. Cideeda swiftly walks down the street and carefully listens to the settling quiet. "Well... I thought I heard something..."


    A few blocks down, a little girl scrambles around a building corner and topples onto the sidewalk. Lifting herself up unsteadily, she lunges forward and haphazard sprints down the intersecting street in a blind dash towards the group. Cideeda runs forward at the girl and directs a cautious shout behind. "Over here! This way!"


    The rest of the group following behind, Cideeda out paces the pack and rushes on an intercept course for the child. Kneeling down in the middle of the street, she catches the blonde haired girl in her arms. The child collapses in a panicked, panting slump, exhaustion setting in fast. Sotalia slows her pace to staggering steps. A rush of unease and nervous energy wash over her. Halting, her golden eyes dart around the area, and she pants out. "OH... SHIT... What the hell is THIS feeling?!"


    Repetitious, solid, low thumps emerge from the background, echoing distantly between the tall buildings. With each impact, the volume rises quickly. Wide eyed, hair raising horror paralyzes Cideeda. She stares blankly towards the rest of the group and, wordlessly, fails to hide her trembling body. Staring down the street, Bach stands rigidly and fear radiating throughout his body in fits of tensing and twitching. Riding out the wave of terror rushing through, Sebastian swiftly assesses the situation. "HUMVEE. NOW."


    Dretphi sweeps the little girl up into her arms and charges forth to the humvee. A shoulder each, Sotalia and Aristespha assist Cideeda up and guide her along. Quickly regaining awareness, Cideeda''s sheer, tearful fright drives her forward, subconsciously pulling both Aristespha and Sotalia along with tight grips around their forearms. Passing him, Bach bolts after the rest of the group. Sebastian flies behind and keeps a watch down toward the building corner. Within late afternoon sun from behind a building, a dark, billowing, elongated shadow stretches down the cross street. With a solid, resounding impact, the massive, black fire coated, humanoid form plants its foot. Chunks of pavement slide clean off the road, the tremendous weight sheering into the surface. The nightmare geist snaps its head, aiming down the roadway, and pauses. The shadowy void within its head stares out. Flexes its amorphous fingers out into long, sharply pointed digits, it digs its other foot into the cracking asphalt, squats down, and lunges forward. Sebastian pales and yells out. "IT''S COMING! Break right into the next alley!"


    Bach checks over his shoulder and watches the nightmare geist bound forward. He glances ahead and observes the pace of the group overall. Each step from the geist shrinks the distance between it and the group, far faster than the group''s approach to the alleyway. In the precious moments, Bach''s blank stare barely hides the thoughts racing within. Through the chaos of hopeful possibilities and improbable plans, one option recessed far, far back glares right at him. Cutting through the mental din, it forces all other thoughts to concede and silences the competition. Bach closes his eyes hard, draws a resolute breath in, and opens his eyes to a flaming blue. Sliding to a stop along the pavement, he pivots around and faces the incoming creature, tension surging over his whole body. His right hand shakily opens. Regimented, organized flows swirl around his body into the palm of the hand. His left hand braces the other by the wrist. Passing by Bach, Sebastian abruptly halts, immediately spins around, and screams with ghostly reverberation. "BRO! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YO-"


    Sebastian''s ethereal visage distorts, twists to his shock, and flickers. Aristespha turns her utter confusion towards the sword shaking forcibly in the scabbard at her side.


    "NEW. UNFAMILIAR. FLOW... CLOSE. BY."


    The voice of the sword stuns the group still, and they all turn to stare back. Bach stands in the path of the charging, black fire bellowing, humanoid mass of terror. Every part of his body straining against pulsing energies, he shudders out a fearful chant to himself. "Just... a little... not too much... Keep it together... Focus... You can do this... Control it... Gods... Dammit..."


    Where prior magical energies swirled freely, bright white threads shimmer within layers upon layers of tubular magical constructions. The thin, faint phosphorus flows stream gradually towards the palm of Bach''s trembling right hand. Bright mists steadily radiate out from the ends of the conduits and condense into the ball of pure white light near Bach''s clawing fingers. The orb brilliantly shines and overpowers the presence of the sun upon the pavement, projecting new shadows. The nightmare geist fades its charge and eases into cautious, calculated steps forward. It halts short of its arm''s reach from Bach, focusing the shadowy void in its head protrusion upon the growing, glowing white orb. Bach slowly drags his head up. With sweat dripping all over and his face contorting in constant strained twitches, he glares up with gritting teeth and flaming blue eyes, pinpoints of white shining from in the middle of the pupils.


    Raising his braced right hand up, palm forward, Bach guides the white orb ahead of himself.


    Bach steps forward.


    The Nightmare Geist steps back.


    The two deadlock for minutes, the brilliant light contrasting the billowing shadow. The geist''s flaming form waits, idly flexing its hands. Bach wills the constant flow of energy to the growing orb against blatantly mounting stresses. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, the girl, Sebastian, and Sotalia watch in absolute silent, stunned awe. Bach winces briefly. The nightmare geist''s arm flames out. The creature''s arm unnaturally extends out in a clawing swipe. Reflexively Bach swings his right hand towards the attack, aiming his palm at the monster''s arm, and sharply flexes his fingers out.


    Blinding light flooding into the area, a magical ray impacts the crude elbow of the geist and fractures white energy into the very structure of its being. The energies flood throughout the arm, and the limb fragments into a fading white vapor, disappearing completely. A thunderous, anguished scream bellows out from the geist, rattling nearby windows, and assaults the air with a cacophony of chaos, white noise, and rage. Stumbling back meters across the street, the nightmare geist falls off balance, crushes a parked cargo truck flat, and flails in agony, splintering the ground. Bach staggers back and snaps a glance back to the sheer bewilderment of everyone else. "We... Need... To... Ru-"


    The loud crunching of concrete and pavement interrupts. Bach swings his terrified stare back. With its remaining hand digging deeply into the roadway, the nightmare geist contorts itself back upright. The shadowy void within its head glares right at Bach, clouds of darkness venting out. Jets of black flame erupt into a swirling maelstrom around its body, and its legs twist up. With an earth rattling roar, it flings itself forward at Bach, the massive figure blotting out the afternoon light. Horror darkening upon his face, the pinpoints of white light within Bach''s eyes explode and blast out the blue. The thin threads of flow burst into torrents, shattering the containment vessels, and rush towards Bach''s hand. A palm rises up to the nightmare geist, fingers flex, and a blinding light erupts between Bach and the monster. The ray of pure energy drills into the chest of the black fire terror. Contrasting cracks spider out throughout the hidden surface behind the dark flames, flushing over the warping form. The shadowy void ignites into a geyser of white phosphorous haze. Splintering form steams out billowing clouds of white miasma. The very structure of the monstrosity disintegrates, the light of the warm afternoon sun beaming through the widening divides.


    The last fragments of the nightmare geist fades from existence.


    Silence fills the area. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, the girl, Sotalia, and Sebastian gawk in disbelief, comprehension absent. Drops to his knees harshly upon the asphalt, Bach doubles over into a gurgling groan of pain. He tightly wraps his arms around himself, his body straining agony. Through gritting teeth, his contorting face reveals the torment within. The white light shining within the glowing blue of his eyes pulses chaotically. Chokes and coughs escape Bach, and he sways erratically. Cideeda blinks back to her senses. Searching briefly for the missing nightmare geist, she spots Bach and overwhelming concern grips her. She rushes forward with her hand out. "Bach?! Are you okay-?!"


    Within Bach''s eyes, the blue glow surges in defiance and crushes out the bright white. A spherical pulse of bright energy erupts out from Bach, surges outwards, and expands out into the vicinity. Cideeda freezes in place, agony silencing her and seizing her body. The wave passing through, Sebastian''s ethereal form flickers. He distorts with part of swelling energy diverting abruptly into the sword. Moving through the rest of the team harmlessly, the wall of the bubble thins further with distance.


    Throughout the safe zones surrounding the perimeter of Hattan, many people pause, confused and curious. Radio and aether transmissions distort and waver briefly to the surprise of civilians and military personnel. Far from the city, a car speeds along an empty back road. Behind the wheel, a thin, white haired man stares widened, gray eyes towards the city, his jaw agape under his blue scarf.


    Frozen muscles releasing, Cideeda yelps, her emerald green eyes rolling back, and collapses limply backwards. Aristespha and Sotalia catch her motionless body. Sotalia hunts for a reason, panic exploding in her voice. "CIDEEDA!? What''s wrong?! Speak to me, girl!?"


    Sotalia''s voice cuts through the haze impairing Bach, and he clumsily twists his head around and clearly witnesses Aristespha check Cideeda''s vitals in a frantic hurry. Bach pales immediately, a sickening, horrific guilt overwhelms his consciousness. Through quivering lips, tears flooding his eyes and choking fright, Bach manages to shudder out a weak plea. "N-n-no..."


    He flops upon the warm pavement, his body relaxing despite the shocked ethereal yells from his brother. The world shrinking away from his senses, Bach loses out to unconsciousness.


    ----


    From the outside world, muffled sounds resonate into the cab of the humvee, and the peaks of voices leak into the still quiet of the space. Laying on the back bench seat with pillows propping his head and legs, Bach stirs underneath a thick blanket and mumbles in muted incoherence. His blue eyes flutter groggily open, and he blankly gazes up towards the ceiling. The orange cast of the setting sun beams through the windows and warms the space. Consciousness returning, Bach lightly tanned face twists with a flood of thoughts. In the passing moments, his grimace strains against each fit of guilt, misery, and despair blending together. The heat of the sunlight warming, Bach shivers under the heavy blanket and frowns, wincing with flashes of memories. Tears well up in his eyes, and his breathing shudders audibly. Dretphi''s soft voice sounds out. "You are awake."


    Bach stiffens sharply, startling to immediate awareness of the area, and stares frightened at Dretphi''s steely gray eyes. Dretphi kneels down in the aisle, next to the bench seat, and gazes back in confusion. Brushing her darker tipped, platinum blonde braids back over her shoulder, she puzzles at Bach, concern building. Bach averts his face away and meekly mutters. "C-c-cideeda..."


    Dretphi lifts her arm, gently grasps onto Bach''s shoulder, and calmly states. "She is okay."


    Bach''s eyes widen, his face lightens, and he glances up, meeting the warm smile of Dretphi. She nods a simple confirmation and reassuringly pats Bach''s arm. "She woke ten minutes after you went unconscious. Passed out from tremendous pain. Aristespha found no physical issues. Tired."


    She shrugs her shoulders and tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Today has been tiring for everyone."


    In a wave of relief, Bach firmly closes his eyes, and a stream of tears leak out along with a few wet sniffs. Dretphi reaches her free hand over a pile of supplies and medical equipment in a seat, grabs hold of a wash towel, and gently blots the water off of Bach''s cheeks. Bach draws a shaky breath, exhales a long, relieved sigh, and sinks into the pillows supporting his head. Quiet, still seconds later, he opens his blue eyes, timidly turns his head to Dretphi, and musters his voice. "What happened after I... uh... passed out?"


    Twisting her mouth, Dretphi furrows her brow with her thoughts, summarizing. "Aristespha fully focused on your care after she deemed Cideeda okay. Determined no immediate danger. We put you here. She is monitoring you."


    She points out one of Aristespha''s tablets upon a specialized dock nearby and lightly taps Bach''s hand. "Probably knows you are awake."


    With a sluggish effort, Bach moves his hand around under the blanket, feels out the monitor clips and cuff, and nods, understanding. Venting a frustrated sigh, Dretphi wrestles a frown and rolls her steely gray eyes. "Travel to proper facilities has proven... Difficult. Reversing an evacuation proving a challenge. More than the evacuation."


    Weakly managing an accepting shrug, he blinks in thought and pounders out loud. "Uh... Um... What happened to the little girl?"


    Warmly smiling, she motions her head briefly towards the outside. "Being delivered to her mother. Long story. She was... VERY... lucky Cideeda heard her. We would have left. She would not be..."


    She quells a brief frown. "Here."


    In the peaceful minute, Bach''s calm fades, the full scope of the situation dawning upon him. A nervous chill sends shivers throughout his body, and he stares distantly up at the ceiling of the humvee cab. Dretphi observes her hand upon Bach''s shoulder, sensing the shudder. Glancing over to the vital monitoring tablet, she focuses her genuine concern upon him. "What is wrong?"


    Bach shrinks under the blanket, a frown weighs upon him, and dread taints his tone. "Explaining... Well... All that''s happened..."


    Patting Bach''s shoulder comfortingly, Dretphi calmly reassures. "Do not worry. The truth of today will ONLY be known by US. No outsider has shown any correct knowledge of what happened today."


    She leans close and gently whispers. "They will NOT learn the truth from us. Regardless of what we may tell them."


    Bach nods with a smile, exhales slowly, and winces, shame long hidden, eroding the comfort Dretphi imparts. "That''s... That''s good to hear. But... Uh, um... THAT is, unfortunately, not the hard part..."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow on her tan face, Dretphi awaits a further explanation. Bach wrestles between grimaces, fighting for the words, and remains silent. Dretphi gently pats Bach''s shoulder and grants him an understanding nod.

 Episode 39

    Sitting on the hotel balcony walkway with his back against the warm brick, Bach gazes out into the Hattan cityscape from the upper story lookout. He idly taps his feet against the metal railing, attention drifting between the nearby now and recent memory. With a long sigh, he rests his head against the wall behind him and rubs his longer brown hair against the red brickwork. "Well... THIS has gone... Um, better than I expected? BUT, I really wasn''t all that hopeful it would go anything other than the worst."


    Working down a smirk, he rolls his blues at himself. "So... Probably not the best gauge to go on."


    Hovering just above the concrete balcony floor in a sitting position, Sebastian''s ethereal form shrugs, glancing over to Bach next to him. Hints of uncertainty leaks into his tone. "Well, bro... If what happened yesterday was anything like the first time you encountered a Nightmare Geist..."


    He blinks blankly a few times, and grimaces between different shades of disbelief. "SHIT..."


    A frown weighs upon Bach, and he cringes into introspective disappointment. "Well, the worst part about it is that I, arguably, had more control this time."


    Rocking his head side to side in contemplation, he curls a faint smirk. "Well... I actually woke back up on the same day this time. So... I guess THAT''S an improvement?"


    Sebastian leans forward and turns a frustrated stare at his brother. "Bro, I know you had your reasons and all... But... Seriously..."


    Furrowing his translucent brow, he states harshly. "WHAT. THE. FUCK?"


    A low, trailing grumble escapes Bach, and he hisses out his own irritation, trying to avert his face away. Sebastian keeps a solid, demanding glare upon him. "Why didn''t you ever TELL ME, of all people?! I''m your fuckin'' brother here! All the times you had my back, but you didn''t trust me to do the same for you?! You damn well know I would have and would STILL do anything for YOU."


    Tossing his hand up indignantly, he vents through aged pain. "But... You just ditched, and used that lame excuse that you weren''t cut out for adventuring. The hell, bro?"


    Gritting his teeth, Bach closes his eyes and tilts his head up against the hotel brick, up towards the noon sun overhead. "I-I-I... FUCK. I don''t know, man. At the time, I was just too freaked out... I... I couldn''t think straight for weeks after THAT encounter. I mean, hell, I still don''t even know how I even did it. I was too scared out of my mind to commit those important details to memory. So, what could have been said, if I couldn''t even explain it to myself?"


    Locking eyes with Sebastian,he sharply winces with a painful sigh. "I mean, what would you do if you suddenly started spewing forth Elder energy?! And, not just when you want it. Imagine this energy creeping in when you use even a modest amount of regular, plain, prismatic energy? And, every time it does slip in... It just fucks up all the normal magic you want to do!"


    He draws up his legs closer, rests his elbows on his knees, and holds his head in between hands. "GODS... I guess... It just made more sense at the time to get away from it all. Man, I- I just was so afraid to say anything about it. I mean, FUCK, the only people who use Elder energy these days like that are, like, Dark Lords, right? It just..."


    Drawing in a deep breath, Bach sighs out long, sadness slipping out. "It just... It just made so much sense to not say anything. And, well, go with one of the many reasons people guessed. The theories were already there. Pick one and go with it."


    His head lowers, and his fingers comb through his long brown hair, sweeping up his front white streak. He exhales another regretful breath. "Listen... I SHOULD have told you about it. I''m really sorry, brother... But... Whatever THIS is, it just feels DANGEROUS. That... I shouldn''t use it at all. I mean, it REALLY doesn''t help that anyone that seems to extensively use this elder energy stuff winds up becoming the next deranged Dark Lord that tries to destroy the damned world. Not the path I wanted to follow."


    Seconds of stagnant silence against the Hattan background noise later, Bach rotates his head and faces Sebastian''s concerned frown. "It just felt like anything about it shouldn''t be known by anyone else. As if... It was simply safer for everyone else to never speak of it, again. Never touch it, again... Keep it locked away..."


    Blinking through a flurry of thought, Sebastian turns his stare out towards the Hattan skyline. Breaking away from his own mind, he nods with a smirk and snorts out. "Yeah... I think I get it, bro. Thinking about it, it probably only would have been a matter of time before someone at the school would have gotten suspicious. Then, the higher ups would have gotten involved. An, eventually, the worst people would be looking for you. Gods, it would have been a real mess."


    He swallows hard and furrows his brow. "Then... There''s a whole bunch of other possibilities that I don''t want to think about."


    His smirk parts into a proud grin, and Sebastian faces Bach with a wink. "But, you couldn''t just live out your life as some supposed lame mage, could you?"


    Rolling his eyes away from the vague accusation, Bach groans, embarrassment slipping out. "WELL, what the fuck was I supposed to do?"


    He shrugs his shoulders, stretches his arms out behind his neck, and relaxes his legs out with a weak smile. "Had A LOT of time to think about things. So, I figured out something I could do with what I could safely use. Still, it''s not a lot, but I think it''s worked, so far."


    With a sly smile, Sebastian looses a ghostly laugh and shakes his head. "Well, bro, you''ve done plenty to save our collective asses. So, I''ll say it''s worked pretty fucking good, so far. I have no complaints about that much."


    A brief grin graces Bach''s face, fading with the other thoughts entering his mind. "I just hope I can smooth things out with the rest of the group. This was kind of a really shitty thing to keep from everyone. I mean, I don''t think it could have been super useful, but... Gods, I really hated having to keep up the half-truths and lies."


    A long ethereal sigh sounds off from Sebastian''s transparent form, and he dons a supportive smile. "We''ll have a good group talk tonight. Sort through everything. I think everyone will understand once you lay it out. It''s not like we all don''t have things we don''t want everyone to know."


    Uncertainty twists Bach''s face, and he fights a heavy frown. "I don''t know. At least Dretphi seemed supportive, so that''s good. I don''t know about Aristespha."


    Chuckling, Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes with an amused smirk. "She''ll probably just quiz you endlessly about everything for the next few weeks, and try to figure out what''s going on. Honestly, bro, she''s been trying to understand why you were so dedicated in learning all this low level magic stuff, when people researching that stuff specifically aren''t THAT dedicated to it even.


    Leaning next to Bach''s ear, Sebastian drops his voice into a whisper. "I think she''s happy to get an answer more than anything. She''s had that figuring-it-out look since yesterday."


    Bach nods briefly, slowing to a sad hang of the head. "Sotalia... Well..."


    He furrows his brow and grimaces. "She seems... Um... Angry at me?"


    Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Sebastian rocks his head and echoes a sigh. "Give her time. Her reasonable side will eventually win out. From experience, she can rile herself up something fierce, but she''ll calm down enough to think it out. But..."


    Sliding a side eye at Bach, he briefly grits his teeth. "Don''t bother her until then. I''ve made that mistake a few times."


    A watery glint outlines the bottom of Bach''s eyes, and he sniffs, swallowing back the starts of tears. "And Cideeda... I don''t know what to say. DAMMIT. I can only thank the gods that I didn''t hurt her permanently... Or worse."


    Sebastian and Bach both face out into the city, staring distantly to the urban skyline giving away to a green and blue horizon. Minutes later, Sebastian hovers up to a standing stance upon the balcony surface and glances over his shoulder into the sliding glass door to the hotel room. "Well, I''m going to see what everyone else is up to and figure a good time to get everyone together."


    Nodding slowly, Bach glances up to Sebastian with a pleading frown. "Yeah... I think I''m going to stay out here for a while. See what courage I can muster up."


    Sebastian presents a comforting smile to Bach. "Understand, bro. It''ll be okay. Just... Give it some time."


    ----


    Above a swaying sea of summer green tree canopies, Lagi glides through the skies with Kaleb scanning around the area. Draconic shadow coasting upon the scenery below, Lagi zips near a collection of rocky spires at the top of a hill. Kaleb acknowledges the landmark and peers out ahead, spotting a distant clearing. "Not bad! Not bad at all! We made great time. In fact, it''s almost the exact time I told her we''d be back this morning."


    Lagi snorts and tilts his wings, navigating up his flight path towards an open area ahead. Kaleb surveys the tree bordered field ahead. Within the confines of the forest clearing, wind rustles the leaves on rows of plants growing in a large garden. A windsock flutters on a tall mast extending up from the top ridge of a huge, age rusted hangar. Sun reflects off roof mounted solar panels upon a long brick house. Recognizing the familiar structures, delight lights up Kaleb''s sun tanned face, and he chuckles in relief. Lagi purrs contentedly and lines up his final approach to a worn dirt track in the middle of the field behind the house. Joy wavering, Kaleb spots Shadeesa standing expectantly with arms crossed at the end of the landing. "Uh oh, um... I get the feeling the local news ran THAT video clip. Crap..."


    The stirring breeze blows some of Shadeesa''s dark green hair over her light gray, pointed ears, wrapping a few strands around her upward swept horns. Maintaining crossed arms in a rigid posture, Shadeesa glares her green on black eyes right at Kaleb and Lagi, the clear expression reaching the distance. White freckles decorate the cheeks of her stern face, and a housework stained apron waves in the wind over her pronounced belly. Tracking him during the gentle glide down landing, she affixes her irritated stare solidly upon Kaleb. With a final few flaps of both pairs of wings, Lagi secures footing upon the patchy, packed soil. Waiting quietly, he watches warily. Arms still crossed, Shadeesa calmly, purposefully strolls towards both Lagi and Kaleb. Lagi glances back to Kaleb, quietly whining with worry. Kaleb slides down off the saddle, plants his boots upon the earth, and presents a placating smile to Shadeesa. "Don''t worry, boy. I''ll talk to her."


    Lagi scoots nervously behind Kaleb, peeking over his shoulder when Shadeesa closes in. Attempting a bashful grin, Kaleb weakly laughs. "I take it you saw the-"


    With a slight tip back of her head, Shadeesa flicks up her index finger and holds it in front of Kaleb and his wide-eyed, abrupt silence. Sidestepping around Kaleb, she levels her stern stare upon the worried dragon, hanging his head low and avoiding direct eye contact. Warmth fills Shadeesa light gray face, and she reaches out, scratch underneath the chin of Lagi with her long, thick nails. With a kiss on his muzzle, she smiles at the relieved dragon and pets his head, holding him close. "You did VERY GOOD, Lagi. THANK YOU for keeping him safe and bringing YOU and HIM back home to me. I love you so much."


    Lagi purrs with the affection and assumes a prouder posture, Shadeesa letting him go. A stern glare immediately overtakes Shadeesa''s face, pivoting towards Kaleb. Shadeesa''s green on black eyes stare through Kaleb''s very being. Sheepishly searching for the words that might help for this moment, Kaleb verbally fumbles around. "Uh- I- Um- I just couldn''t leave- I had to- Uh- Help...?"


    He anxiously scratches the back of his head of short, blonde hair. "Yes, I know I shouldn''t be taking risks like that, and I thought we were playing it safe and-"


    Grasping either side of Kaleb''s face, Shadeesa guides his face slightly down to her level and pulls him close. Kaleb remains quiet, and Shadeesa gazes into his eyes. Seconds of silent communication later, Shadeesa''s resolve softens. Closes her eyes, she gently, firmly butts her head against Kaleb''s forehead and smiles lovingly. Her hands drop down, her arms slip underneath Kaleb''s shoulders, and she embraces him tightly, resting her head next to his. Kaleb wraps his arms around her, combing the stray hairs out her face and over her horns in the close moments. "I''m sorry."


    Shadeesa giggles through a sigh of tension and squeezes Kaleb. "It''s okay... I''d, honestly, be very disappointed if you hadn''t helped out somehow."


    Rolling her eyes at herself, she twists a humored smirk. "Can''t rightly fault you for what I''d want to do myself. Can I?"


    Kaleb chuckles and sways gently side to side with Shadeesa. "I love you."


    Shadeesa loosens her hold of Kaleb and smiles back at him. "I love you, too."


    The two share peaceful seconds in the field. Kaleb blinks with a realization, ponders a moment, and quizzically quirks his brow. "Hey, by the way... Have they said anything about what happened to the Nightmare Geist? Lagi and I got clear before it hit the town. And well... I haven''t heard anything useful from any of the news sources. I didn''t even pick up any chatter on the radio that pointed to anything."


    Puzzling over the idea, Shadeesa slowly shakes her head, furrowing her brow. "It''s only just speculation from what I''ve heard. A LOT of wild guesses. A few involving Noxian either releasing the thing or getting rid of it... Or both. No one can make sense of it."


    With a short huff, she grumbles to herself. "But, THAT doesn''t stop them from trying to explain it to everyone."


    Kaleb groans in commiseration, shrugging his shoulders. "And the sky is still blue, too, I guess."


    Craning his head around, Lagi scans the vicinity and spots a distant shrub speckled with bright berries. He wanders away from Kaleb and Shadeesa, the two debating theories.


    ----


    Dretphi pushes open the decoratively frosted glass door and steps from the hotel hallway into the large, tall chamber housing the indoor swimming pool. Sniffing the humid air, she listens to the ambient hum of water filters operating nearby. She searches the length of the pool and finds only a horned head of dark red hair leaning against the edge of the shallow end. Approaching the steps leading into the pool, Dretphi notices Sotalia residing within her own thoughts. Sotalia stares blankly across to the other end of the pool, her arms idly waving across the water''s surface. Dretphi sits down cross-legged nearby on the concrete perimeter walkway and glances over to Sotalia. "Is there something wrong?"


    Sotalia startles back to awareness and reflexively splashes some water. Quickly spinning herself around, she gazes up to Dretphi with an awkward smile, her golden eyes dodging the obvious. "Oh! Uh... No. Just taking a break from swimming around this really nice pool."


    Dretphi studies the mostly dry hair and swept-back horns upon Sotalia''s head, and focuses an incredulous stare right at Sotalia. Sotalia contorts the corners of her mouth, struggling to remain quiet. Grumbling, she sneers with hints of irritation. "Fine. I''m thinking about... Yesterday."


    Pushing easily along the shallow end''s bottom with her feet, she paddles slowly with her arms to a wandering float in the pool. "A lot happened. And, I''m just trying to process it all. That''s all."


    A blatant lift of the eyebrow telegraphing how unconvinced she remains, Dretphi concentrates stare at Sotalia and awaits an answer. Sotalia settles upon another wall of the pool, notices the examining gaze from Dretphi, and grimaces her internal deliberation. A minute later, a low growl swells out loudly from Sotalia, and she pushes forceful waves of water out with both arms. "Okay! Gods damn it!"


    Slipping her feet underneath herself, Sotalia stands up from the water, crosses her arms, and promptly sits on the pool perimeter. She grumbles out a sigh and shakes her head, the water draining off her swimsuit and wicking into the darkening concrete. "I KNOW this is probably short-sighted and childish, BUT I can''t help to be..."


    Furrowing her light tan brow, she wrestles down a lip curling sneer. "Well... Angry."


    Dretphi nods slowly and inquisitively cocks her head to the side. "At?"


    Rolling her golden eyes, she sniffs in a grimacing breath. "Bach. More specifically at the fact that he, oh I don''t know."


    She flicks her eyes over at Dretphi and projects out. "HID A CERTAIN THING FROM US!"


    Gritting her teeth, she hisses her frustration and rolls the tension around her shoulders. "I don''t know! A certain part of me just can''t shake feeling disrespected and betrayed. Even though there was probably no intent to do so..."


    She tightens her grips on her elbows. "It STILL would have been REALLY useful to know about THAT power before this point!"


    Slowly pulling in a long breath, Dretphi brushes back some of her platinum blonde braids and ponders out loud. "Would it have?"


    Sotalia opens her mouth, the words halting at the tip of her tongue. She sighs, past situations play out in her mind, and her face relays how unconvinced she remains. Dretphi speaks a single word in Grath. Blinking in thought, Sotalia quietly processes and slowly nods. "That translates roughly to... Death by remedy... Yeah. That might apply here."


    Loosening her arms from around herself, she rests her hands upon the walkway and contends with a growing unease, gripping the smooth pool edge. "Okay. I''ll admit... It was really spooky seeing him with that little control over his magic. I don''t think he wanted to use that option."


    Dretphi frowns and stares down at the water and the warping reflections of the overhead lights. "He was scared."


    Sotalia perks an eyebrow and smirks uneasily. "I certainly was too with that thing charging at us-"


    Glancing up from the pool, Dretphi levels direct eye contact at Sotalia. "Afterwards. When he woke up in the humvee. Fearful. I believe of... US. He was horrified of what he may have done."


    Seconds of pressuring quiet later, a long sigh escapes Sotalia. She frowns sadly and relaxes her shoulders. "Gods... Well..."


    The prior ire flickers out, and she slowly kicks waves with her feet under the water with a light pout. "I''m NOT going to let him off the hook. Still don''t like the fact he kept quiet about THAT, among other things he has yet to tell me... But..."


    A mischievous air surrounding her, a sly grins graces Sotalia, and she stretches out her figure. "I''ll try to be NICE to him and alleviate his fears. Maybe he''ll open up more now."


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Leaning toward Dretphi, she tips her head back and smiles smugly. "After all THIS, what''s a few other academic details about certain spells in comparison? Right?"


    An annoyed groan echoes out from Dretphi, and she glares unamused at Sotalia with a slow side to side sway of her head. With a tilt of head, Sotalia playfully shrugs it off, shifting the curling ends of her dark red hair. "What?"


    Dretphi dismissively rolls her steely gray eyes, and narrows a condemning stare at Sotalia.


    ----


    Between the taller urban buildings in the heart of Hattan, Captain Hackle and Captain Hays walk down a blockaded section of street. In the mix of civic engineering services cleaning up, members of the Greater Azure Alliance specialists investigate the area. Sergeant Violet orders around personnel in the company and specifically focuses upon Specialist Thayal, trying to avoid harder duties. Chana and Heccaeh trail loosely behind Hays, Chana petting one of the two scout whelps clinging upon each of Heccaeh''s shoulders. Hays and Hackle both stop around the perimeter of a rope barrier and stare at the encircled section of road surface, the enclosed street visually resembling the rest of the roadway. Hays furrows an inquisitive brow and glances over to Hackle. "So, your group figure anything out yet?"


    Hackle draws a long breath in, puffs his thin frame''s chest out, and smirks. "Apart from the obvious that initial investigations have granted us, the fading elder energy residue, notably... Not too terribly much, actually."


    The wry grin pulls across his mouth and folds the lines of age on his face. "I do have my theories. And, given a certain bit of information we both know about parties possibly present in the area, I have one particular theory."


    A solitary laugh escapes Hays, and he crosses his arms, drumming his fingers upon the metal of his cybernetic limb. "Well, I''d like to think we both share that theory."


    Turning his head back, he examines the cordoned off pavement and directs his lowered voice to Hackle. "So... Are you going to investigate THEM further? Because, I, personally, have no professional stake in this now. Charting that nightmare''s path back, with how we figured the animals were moving, it left out that weird zone roughly a week ago and headed straight here."


    Quirking a brow, Hackle mulls over the information with a few twitches of his gray mustache. "Strange. What could have prompted it to travel here, so recently? It''s been my experience that they tend to not move unless... Provoked?"


    With a frown subtly lowering his long beard, Hays ponders and grumbles, frustrating possibilities playing out on his face. "Well, I get the feeling this one was homed in on SOMETHING, maybe not even around here specifically. Hell, this bastard may been zone hopping all the way from the Perimeter Weird Zone. Possibly, starting over a month ago. Got a bunch of vague reports to sort through on that one. Don''t know if they''re even related yet."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he lifts his chin up, pivots around, and scans the remaining bits of destruction, pausing to admire a very flat vehicle. "But, it has ceased to be, so, again, my jurisdiction ends here."


    Hackle shakes his head slowly, sneaks a smile on his face, and releases a long exhale, glancing at the tall city buildings surrounding the area. "The city still stands mostly in one piece. No reported loss of life. And, there''s no longer an immediate threat. So, I believe my jurisdiction is about to end, too."


    The two men idle in silence. Civic engineers and crew continue to inspect and assess the damages, taking both technological and magical measurements. Minutes later, Hackle flashes a humored grin at Hays. "You think THAT sword did it in?"


    Chuckling, Hays reveals a similarly amused smile. "About the only thing I''ve ever known to put down one of these things is some ancient artifact. That sword is about the only one I know in the area right now. Didn''t know it could do THIS..."


    He tilts his head to the side. "BUT, I''m not one to complain about a gift horse."


    Hackle nods in agreement and hums, his attention settling upon a thought with a furrow of his brow. "It is good to have such in capable hands. Still, I have to wonder about what attracted this geist here of all places. Even if not directly."


    Reaching into his pants pocket, Hays retrieves his aetherphone and taps through a series of menus, revealing a map. He holds the device within convenient view of Hackle. "Yeah, I thought about that, too. I wondered if maybe there was something further along the path. But, about the only thing it would have run into was a bunch of random ridges over near the United Appaland States."


    Studying the map, Hackle straightens his posture, crosses his arms behind his back, and dons a satisfied smirk. "Well, I guess that will have to be another mystery left unsolved... Along with what may or may not have destroyed this particular Nightmare Geist. Without proper observations to report, I can only assume it must have self-destructed or suffered a catastrophic malfunction."


    A sly grin cracks on Hays, and he places his aetherphone back into his pocket. "I mean... It was ONLY just a few hundred years old. I can''t imagine they were rated to last that long."


    Hackle leads a healthy fit of laughter with Hays, and the two men walk away from the cordoned section of street towards the barricade exit. Hackle directs a sarcastic tone towards Hays. "I truly wonder what wild theories the local news investigators will fill their reports with. I have been running low on comedies. Might need to humor myself a little."


    Hays squelches a snicker and shakes his head. "Wait a month, there''ll be a movie."


    ----


    Strolling upon patterned carpet matching the neutral tones of the walls, Samantha slowly steps through the elaborately decorated hotel hallway, studying her clipboard, and flips through a number of papers. She stops riffling, throws a bundle over the metal clip, and scribbles out notes upon the page below with a pen. "Okay... I think we can make this work still. The editing team will have a bit of extra work... BUT, a few dramatic cliffhangers between the commercial breaks should make it workable enough."


    Craning his head near Samantha''s shoulder, Gerald skims through the paragraphs of correction speckled literature with a dubious sneer. "Uh, I guess. Most of the shots we got of the monster were from VERY far away. And, some of the videos got slightly corrupted by that weird magical wave. Mostly recoverable, but it''s patchy at parts."


    Tapping the pen to her lip, Samantha lifts an intrigued eyebrow with an idea forming upon her face. "Ah... We can spin it off as footage recorded by the locals of the monster with a bit of special effects work. A short clip montage. Mix in the scenes of the team helping with the evacuation efforts..."


    A satisfied smirk creeps from the corner of her mouth, and a spark of inspiration lightens her mood. "THEN, throw together a dramatic narration over a mosaic of the news broadcasts and fade into scenes of the aftermath... With... With..."


    Gerald dons a sly smile, directing a suggestion into Samantha''s ears. "Interleaved clips of individual video journals talking about the whole event."


    A delighted glint sparkles in Samantha''s eyes, and she grins wide, excitement putting pep in her step. "OH. YES."


    She feverishly jots down detailed notes and sketches out a few diagrams in the empty margins of the pages. "I''ll need to type this up and send it to Howie for final approval, but I like it enough that we should go ahead and get the other clips for it!"


    Gerald nods, pulling out his aetherphone, and navigates through the different screens. "Send the crews out to get footage of where the team members were assisting, along with shots of the destruction?"


    Tapping the pen upon her clipboard, Samantha stalls in thought on the final step of a rough outline. "Yes... Still need a closure scene to finish up on..."


    Seconds of travel down the hall later, Gerald blinks along with drifting thought and glances over to Samantha. "A wide shot of the site the authorities are investigating, voice over about the strange disappearance of the monster, and some dramatic music?"


    Biting her lower lip, Samantha quickly writes down the sequence of events and nearly skips along the next few meters down the carpeted hallway. "OH, I''ll let the editing team go all out on that one! Hide some vague old secret society symbols faintly in the background, too! People eat that up!"


    She gazes up from the clipboard at Gerald. "So, how long before you can get set up for the video journals?"


    Calculating the time upon the top of his mind between flicks of his eyes, Gerald shrugs nonchalantly. "Maybe half an hour or so? We have most of the equipment nearby and ready."


    The two move down the hallway further. Samantha stops outside a hotel room entry, and knocks quickly and loudly upon the door. Seconds later, the inset peephole darkens briefly and the lock unlatches. The door opens and reveals the towering frame of Trakenthin, simply staring down at Samantha and Gerald. Samantha smiles confidently and gazes up at Trakenthin. "Personal Interviews in half an hour."


    Trakenthin nods slowly. The door closing, Modoran''s sardonic tone slips out. "Oh, my favoritest thing to do!"


    Gerald and Samantha venture down to the next door. Rapping upon the dark wooden facade, Samantha waits. The door opens. Tassilda stands at the side of the frame and crosses her arms, hints of defiance in her posture. "YES?"


    Narrows her eyes at Tassilda, Samantha assumes a more assertive stance. "Personal Interviews. Half an hour."


    Noticing Deedri waving in the background, she flashes a nice smile and starts to return the gesture. Tassilda firmly shuts the door. Gerald and Samantha approach the next door and slow their pace down. Tilting his head, Gerald aims his ear at the door, waits a few moments, and snorts. Samantha rolls her eyes dismissively, the unmistakable sounds of carnal gymnastics resonate faintly from inside the hotel room. She sighs, shakes her head, and directs a sarcastic tone to Gerald. "We''ll come back in fifteen minutes or so."


    With an ill-humored smirk, Gerald snickers back. "That long?"


    Samantha blinks, tightly smiling at the situation. "Oh, really?"


    With Samantha following behind, Gerald pivots and steps down the hall, derisively snickering. "Well, let''s just say... I''ve been noting the duration of events when it comes to the time codes on the videos... And, I''ve noticed a CONSISTENT pattern."


    ----


    Afternoon sun beams through the sliding glass door leading out to the balcony of the hotel room. The light shines upon the sheets of the bed nearest and barely reaches over to touch the base of the next. Cideeda steps through the doorway joining another similar hotel room and searches the area, puzzling between glances at different parts of the room. Halting her stare upon the luggage and bags laying out on a pulled out sleeper sofa, she plods over, her hands on her hips. She slides over a bag, unzips the top, and rummages through the contents, mumbling to herself frustrated. Aristespha lifts her head up from a pile of paperwork and tablets upon the room desk and glances over, noticing Cideeda. "Did you misplace something?"


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick back and guide the rest of her head, pausing her hunt momentarily with a grumble of frustration. "YES. I can''t find my headphones. I thought I packed them, but can''t remember which bag they ended up in now."


    Sliding out, Aristespha stands up from her chair and steps over next to Cideeda. She leans over to another suitcase and opens up pocket. "Well, for now, you can borrow mine. The ear pieces won''t be quite the best fit for you, but they might be a close enough fit for a little while."


    An appreciative smile appears on Cideeda, and she nods to Aristespha, resuming her exploration of her bag''s contents. "If I don''t find them in this bag, I''ll definitely take you up on the offer. Thank you."


    Digging underneath layers of clothes and other personal items, Cideeda uncovers a magic flow practice wand. Staring at it, she frowns sadly and slowly grips onto the wooden, magically inscribed stick. Her mood sharply darkens with a depressing, audible sigh. Aristespha glances over from her luggage and observes Cideeda''s longing stare upon the practice wand. A compassionate, sad smile graces her, and she states in a soft, concerned tone. "As a medical professional, I can say you are physically healthy today."


    Sitting down on the bed near the sleeper sofa, she places her hands upon her knees and adopts a patient, comforting demeanor. "But, as a friend, I can tell something has been bothering you since yesterday. I want you to know, I would be happy to listen."


    Cideeda glances over to Aristespha, to the practice wand, and back again. Her furry ears droop close to her shoulders, a long mournful exhale escapes her, and she steps over to a seat on the bed next to Aristespha. Rolling the magical focus in her clawed fingers, she wrestles down the words between pained winces on her light brown face. "I KNOW I shouldn''t be surprised... Or, even really think about it at this point... BUT..."


    She stares at the practice wand, grimaces, and focuses upon her thoughts. "I don''t know. Despite there not being anything... Known... to modern magical medicine that can fix my magic issue..."


    Aristespha angles her head, catching eye contact with Cideeda, and waits calmly. Silent moments later, Cideeda resumes her explanation, a slight waver in her voice. "I... I just never quite gave up on that ridiculously unlikely chance. And well, seeing... Someone..."


    Pausing a moment, she communicates unspoken, and Aristespha acknowledges with a nod. Cideeda draws in a breath and sighs out. "Someone struggle pass supposed limitations on them to do amazing things, I thought that maybe there was a better chance for me than I thought? MAYBE, there was some kind of hope? MAYBE, I''m not the only one? And, SOMETHING could change?"


    Her eyes close, and she sniffs, tempering the emotional welling. A small cough later, she blinks her emerald eyes open and presents a faux grin. "Well, now, it seems like that I''ve just been building up my hopes, AGAIN. So, you know..."


    Drooping her furry ears low, she swallows hard and tenses her body. "It''s just... Just facing the reality of it all, AGAIN. ESPECIALLY, after yesterday, it''s... It''s all the same. The same as before."


    She forces a smirk, pushing for a weak smile. "But, at least, I''m still ME. Still... The same as I was before."


    Her voice trails off, and she drifts a distant stare at the wand. Aristespha breathes in carefully, rests a hand upon Cideeda''s slumping shoulder, and squeezes gently. "I will not tell you to hope blindly. I am not going to tell you to ignore the reality of the situation. But, I will say... You should NEVER exclude the possibility."


    A sadness weighs upon her, and she musters a strong smile on her ivory face against her thoughts. "I can not say it is similar to yours, but I have had to face the reality of my own situation. And, my hopes seem to grow a little less likely with each day. While I''m not making any great future plans based on those hopes..."


    Tipping her head up, she carefully sniffs in a breath. "I still consider the possibility that my hopes CAN happen. That way... I keep searching for ways to make them happen and not miss an opportunity."


    Lifting her head up, Cideeda turns to Aristespha staring ahead and notices the damp glint in the corners of her eyes. She straightens her posture, pulls in a breath of air, and vents out the tension. "Well, if you keep entertaining that possibility, I''ll try to do the same... Despite myself."


    With an honest, toothy grin upon Cideeda, Aristespha smiles genuinely in return. Shifting her focus to the practice wand, Cideeda grips it tight with both her hands, and chuckles with a snort. Cideeda closes her eyes, concentrates, and turns her attention inwards. Moments later, she opens her eyes facing Aristespha and shrugs nonchalantly at Aristespha with a facetious laugh. Furrowing her brow at Aristespha''s surprise, she gazes down at the practice wand.


    From the inscriptions wrapping up the base of the stick, a green illumination pulses up into a wavering glow.


    Cideeda and Aristespha stare at the wand blankly in stunned silence. Aristespha''s face drops to perplexed and gives way to outright shock. Cideeda''s hand trembles in the dim green light, her jaw hangs agape, and her emerald eyes widen. Astonishment barely allows her a single word. "H-H-how...?"


    ----


    The aetherphone screen shows a man and woman sitting behind a wide desk. The woman stiffens her posture and defiantly retorts. "How can you say it ISN''T Dark Lord Noxian?! It makes perfect sense! Release this terror upon the populace, and then triumphantly show up to destroy the beast. That way he fools people into thinking he''s justified! Who wields that much elder energy? A Dark Lord! What Dark Lord is out there? Noxian!"


    The man narrows his eyes, and reinforces his composure. "But WHERE is Noxian? Why hasn''t he revealed himself to take the credit? And Nightmare Geists have been dealt with by other means before. There is another explanation that doesn''t involve the latest magical criminal that hasn''t been seen or heard from in THREE MONTHS!"


    The clouds glide out of the way of the late afternoon sun, and the light shines on Bach''s light tan face. In a moment of shade from a passing cloud, he stares at his faint, sad reflection in the glare upon the phone screen. Firmly pressing the close button on the video stream, he puts the device away in his pocket. The sounds of Hattan fill up the background, and Bach closes his eyes tightly, winces against the internalized frustration. Resting his head back upon the balcony brick, he stares off towards the horizon and mumbles to himself. "...dammit... ...you fuckin'' idiot... What did you expect was going to happen?"


    A loud, swift slide of the glass door to the hotel room snaps Bach into reality from his own head space. Dretphi quickly leans out the doorway and energetically motions Bach over. "Come here."


    Bach blankly stares, blinking in the confusion. Sebastian''s ethereal form zips out behind Dretphi and dramatically motions at Bach. "You have to see this, bro!"


    Uncertainty slows Bach''s standing up, and he apprehensively approaches the sliding glass door. Following Sebastian inside, he feels the firm pressure of Dretphi''s hand on his back, ushering him towards the doors joining the two hotel rooms. He moves along the route and glances over to Sebastian, searching for an answer. "So, uh, what''s going on?"


    Hovering next Bach, Sebastian shrugs. "Not quite sure. It''s only been like, ten minutes. We''re still trying to figure it out."


    The trio arrive in the other hotel room. Bach stares out in utter confusion at the scene. Cideeda sits on the hotel bed with her arm extended out. Seated next to Cideeda, Sotalia holds her hand out and slowly demonstrates a series of magical gestures, clearly voicing the important parts of the incantation. Sliding the room chair up closer opposite of Cideeda, Aristespha places her hands underneath Cideeda''s arm with glowing violet eyes. "Okay. Whenever you are ready."


    Cocking his head to the side, Bach puzzles at the situation. Sotalia subdues her anticipation, and calmly leads with the first gesture and incantation part. Cideeda carefully mimics the motion, pronounces the sound, and visibly concentrates. Part after part, Sotalia shows the process, and Cideeda repeats as accurately as she can. A flash of recognition sparks within Bach, and he furrows his brow uncertainly. Gesturing out the final part and finishing the incantation, Cideeda strains, focusing between grimaces on her light brown face, and flexes her clawed fingers out.


    A small speck of cloudy light flickers into existence above her palm, hovering very shakily for a few seconds. A second later, it dissipates into a puff of magical miasma.


    With both hands, Sotalia covers her mouth and nose in awe. Aristespha moves her hands away, lifts up her head, and blinks the glow down in her eyes with a hopeful smile. "Well, you''ll need many years of practice. But... That looked and felt like normal beginner''s flow."


    Excitement winning out against any restraint, Sotalia wraps her arms quickly around Cideeda and hugs her tightly. "I CAN''T BELIEVE IT! OH, I''m going to show you all the best spells! And, you''ll get to practice with the rest of us!"


    Flexing the claw tipped fingers of her hand, Cideeda stares blankly and watches her hand, swaying along with the enthusiastic embrace of Sotalia. A smile forms, a flow of tears roll down, and Cideeda sniffles. Trying to wipe the water off her face, she laughs awkwardly and playful struggles against Sotalia''s hold. Remaining in stunned silence, Bach props himself against the nearby wall and gazes absolutely bewildered. Dretphi smiles brightly at Cideeda and rests a hand upon Bach''s shoulder. Sebastian proudly grins at Bach. "Heh. Told you it''d be okay, bro."


    Sotalia calms down enough, releases Cideeda, and eagerly plucks her aetherphone out. "OH! We have to take a video of all this! Give me a moment!"


    With a tear soaked smile, Cideeda gazes over to Bach and watches the mix of confusion, embarrassment, and nerves play out upon his face, obviously fumbling for a response. She grins toothily to Bach and snickers. "So... How are you feeling?"


    Bach stops, smiles weakly at Cideeda, and shrugs as nonchalantly as he can manage. "Well... Happy... But, very, very confused right now."


    Nodding slowly, Cideeda giggles happily. "Yeah, about the same here."


    ----


    Layers of conversation from the lunch crowd flood the background inside the sandwich shop. A middle aged woman with blonde hair, rearranges the area around the register. Moving a number of items within easy reach of her left arm, she pauses to survey the workspace and readjusts the shoulder strap of her arm sling. The phone rings, and she winces, fighting against habit to not move her right arm. With a quick pivot, she answers the phone with her left hand and pinches the handset between ear and shoulder. Exercising great care, she taps out the order on her computer screen and relays the cost. Waiting moment, she listens and presses the confirmation button. Hanging up, she smiles over to a small, blonde haired girl sitting on stool and steps over, gazing over the number of crayon drawings on paper on the counter. She kisses the top of the girl''s head and hugs her tightly with her left arm. The little girl pauses from her art and happily returns the affection. "Love you, mommy."


    The door opens, the chime sounds out, and a thin, older man walks into the shop. He calmly steps towards the counter, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Waiting near the register, he loosens the blue scarf around his neck and scratches his gray facial hair. The middle aged woman glances over in delight. "Isaac! Oh, I''m so glad you are okay! Gods, especially after all the chaos over the last two days."


    Isaac shakes his head and laughs. "It has been quite the last few days, Lydia. I came yesterday, but your employees said you were-"


    Glancing down, he notices the sling supporting Lydia''s right arm, and a worried frown emerges on his face. "Oh my! What ever happened?"


    Lydia glances down and sighs with a hint of exhaustion. "Well, long story short, when that monster wrecked a machine shop, some of the debris eventually crash landed through my apartment... And onto me."


    Lifting some of her hair, she reveals a bandage on her head. "Broke my arm, hit the floor, and got knocked out cold."


    With a wide-eyed attention, Isaac''s face blends between worry, concern, and some relief. "Well... Wow... I''m extremely happy to see you standing and in one piece."


    He glances over at the little girl and smiles kindly. "Well, I see that Leigh is okay. Good gods, that must have been awfully frightening for her."


    Lydia draws a tense breath of air, and her posture stiffens. "Oh gods... You have no idea! After I didn''t wake up for an hour, she braved out on her own to try to find some help for me. She wandered right into the path of that... THING..."


    Isaac remains silent and turns his horrified, paling stare to Lydia. Rolling the unease out of her shoulders, Lydia loosely holds her hand near her mouth, looking at Leigh. "I don''t know what all happened. She ran away from it. And, I thank every god out there, a wonderful group of adventurers were around the area right then and there. They swept her up, and got her to safety."


    Exhaling, she rests her hand on her chest. "The poor rescue team had to nearly sedate me when I woke up and couldn''t find her. But, it was less than a few minutes later she was turned in to the authorities and they located me."


    She drifts off in thought watching Leigh. A moment later, She stirs back to awareness. "Oh! I''m so sorry. Let me take your order first, then we can talk our ears off. Your usual?"


    Isaac confirms with a smile and holds up a finger. "Yes, but extra olives today."


    With a quick nod, Lydia focuses her attention on the computerized ordering system and carefully taps the order out with her left hand, the unfamiliarity obvious. Isaac studies the nearby sheets of paper next to a large box of crayons. Happy smirking, he curiously observes Leigh coloring. "So, what are you drawing today?"


    Leigh briefly glances up and taps her hand on a pile of paper. "My new friends. Look!"


    Isaac chuckles to himself, and examines the drawings. Focusing more with each drawing, he studies the pictures of a green eyed fvalian, a tall woman with blonde braids, a woman with blue and gray hair, violet eyes, a horned, red haired woman, and a faintly shaded man. Blinking in thought, he furrows his brow and cocks his head, watching Leigh color in her latest drawing. "Huh... Is that another drawing of a friend?"


    Shaking her head, Leigh concentrates on the picture and energetically scratches out on the page. "No. It''s the monster. It''s okay. The hero stopped it."


    Upon the paper, a giant, solid black figure nearly fills half the page, and a solitary man with white crayon colored over him stands in the way of the dark form.

 Episode 40

    Small, blue orbs glow and cast circles of light upon the inscribed surfaces of the old ceramic tiled walls. Spread throughout the area roughly even, each ball of illumination reveals further details of the ancient chamber to Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia. Adjusting a few small, bright electric torch lamps on tripods, Dretphi aims a beam where Cideeda points a claw tip. After a quick thumbs up, Cideeda kneels down next to a removed access panel in a console of blended tech and magic. "Thanks. Huh. I think there might actually be a proper computer inside here."


    Her emerald green eyes open wider, and an eager, toothy grin sneaks out further from the corner of her mouth, "MAYBE... There''s data to dump."


    Pivots his ethereal form in the middle of the room, Sebastian scans around and nods to Cideeda. "Yeah, that would be nice. Also... Any signs that anyone else has been in there before you?"


    Cideeda cranes her head to peer inside the kiosk''s maintenance cavity and shakes her head of short, multi-colored hair with a confident smirk. "Doesn''t look it, so far! All the dust build up looks even, and no other marks that I didn''t put there myself. And..."


    Plucking a flashlight out of her vest, she clicks it on and furrows her brow studiously towards the technological innards of the system. "Parts seem original. Markings and design look like they match. So, that''s a good sign."


    A flicker of bright light reflects off the walls and briefly tints the rest of the room. Side stepping over carefully, Aristespha holds her tablet in both hands up to the various inscriptions upon the wall. She frames up a shot of the inscribed surface on the screen, taps the button icon, and momentarily squints against the flash. She shifts the tablet over methodically, repeats the previous process, and lowers the device with a sigh. "This will take some time to work through."


    Sotalia steps over next to Aristespha and presents another tablet to her. "I think I got enough pictures of the platform to stitch together a big complete one. But... The battery is almost dead on this thing."


    Glancing down, Aristespha inspects the image on the screen and notices the battery status bar blinking red, with an acknowledging smirk. Sotalia eyes over her shoulder, motions towards an old, dusty energy storage vessel, and cracks a mischievous grin. "So... Do you think ANYONE is going to miss one... or two... of THOSE?"


    Slowly lifting a contemplative eyebrow, Aristespha leans back and gazes upon the collection of stray and stacked magical cells. She works out the indecision upon her ivory face, twisting her grimace between deliberations. "I DOUBT it. BUT..."


    She shifts her attention back to Sotalia. "I DO NOT want to tempt fate too much. And, I certainly do not want to test the good graces we have earned with ruin raiding."


    Debating in her mind, she wanders glances of her violet eyes between reasonable justifications. Seconds later, a tempered, sly smile graces her, and she perks an mischievous brow at Sotalia. "WELL... I suppose the stray ones with recent hand marks, feasibly from Noxian, could be considered evidence worth taking in for... Extended investigation."


    Mirroring a similar expression upon her face, Sotalia pivots slowly around and tosses a stray lock of dark red hair over a swept back horn within an air of satisfaction. "I would have to agree. Certainly, such direct evidence is part of our ongoing mission, and it would be pertinent to seize it for now."


    Bach flicks out a few more glowing blue orbs off, each floating along a path to different spots upon a far wall. Pausing a moment, he gauges the overall brightness, crossing his arms and straightening his posture. Sebastian drifts down next to his brother, crossing his arms, and shrugs. "So, another thirty minutes before you have to touch them up again, bro?"


    Swaying his head slightly from shoulder to shoulder, Bach tugs at the corner of his mouth in contemplation. "Meh. A little longer than that. Tried to put a little extra in these orbs. Maybe it''ll free me up to do something more useful than lighting."


    Sebastian smirks, chuckles to himself, and gazes over to Bach. "Shit. It''s Saturday. A Saturday after a hell of a week, bro. So, don''t worry about it. Take it easy while you can. We''ll be back to the complicated shit soon enough."


    A begrudging groan escapes Bach, and he shrugs his shoulders, relaxing his arms down to his sides. "Yeah..."


    In the lighting from the array of blue orbs dotting the old chamber, the brothers stand in silence. Each drifts a wandering stare across the area, observing the work of others team members. Dretphi prepares a clear plastic, white paper backed sheet from a roll and lays it next to a faint footprint in the thick dust. She cuts it to size, and carefully pulls the paper off the adhesive side of the plastic. With deft precision, she gently floats the plastic onto the dusty, flat concrete. Allowing the sheet to rest evenly, she gently pats the plastic down secure, applies modest pressure, and waits patiently. Seconds later, she lifts the entire sheet back up with even tension, glides in the air over to the side, and rests it back upon its original paper backing. Dretphi smiles proudly and breathes out her relief. Guiding back her platinum braids, she inspects the clear, defined boot print outlined in the dust between the sheets.


    Cideeda''s eyes telegraph her confusion, and her brow furrows with her thoughts, her arm rummaging around inside the console. Reaching far through the access panel, she twists and contorts upper body, searching for the best position. After many awkward attempts to budge something inside, frustration sneaks out upon her light brown face. Pausing a moment, she stretches her arm slightly deeper inside and ponders, the faint clicks of claw tips upon metal sounding out. Tensing her body a moment, a muffled, mechanical pop emits from within the console, and a triumphant grin emerges upon Cideeda. Carefully removing her dust coated arms out of the space, she guides a metal, vented box with a tether of electronic cables onto the floor and eagerly inspects it further.


    Sebastian pivots around, and watches Aristespha and Sotalia sort through pictures upon the two tablets. His ghostly gaze notices Aristespha occasionally rubbing her stomach unconsciously, the rest of her focus pouring upon the images on the tablets. Glancing over to Bach, he points towards his brother''s pocket. "Hey, what time is it, bro?"


    Bach digs a hand into pants pocket, pulls out his aetherphone, and clicks a side button, activating the screen. "Umm, about noon?"


    Nodding in thought, Sebastian turns to the rest of the team and ethereally calls out to everyone. "Okay, it''s noon. As party leader, I think it''s a good time for a lunch break."


    He glances over to Bach and tilts his head towards the exit, wrestling an uncomfortable grimace. "Hey, bro, could you go out and get the cooler from the humvee? Probably best we eat in here and keep our profile low right now."


    Acknowledging with a thumbs up, Bach walks towards the exit with a playfully sarcastic roll of his blue eyes. "Yeah, a big picnic, midday, in the middle of the restricted area for a dig site... Probably NOT the best plan, right?"


    Sebastian sighs in agreement and drifts over towards Aristespha. Cideeda glances down at her grit and grime covered fingers and cringes briefly, her furry ears drooping close to her shoulders. "HEY... Could you bring me cleaning wipes, too?"


    Noticing Bach moving towards the exit, Sotalia wanders over towards that direction, glancing over to Cideeda briefly. "I''ll go get them. I need to hook this tablet up to the charger anyway."


    Squinting his blue eyes, he lifts his hand up towards the light and passes the threshold of the entryway of the chamber in the noon sun. He lets his eyes adjust to the daylight and scans around the vicinity. Seconds of blinks and watching the peaceful, quiet ruins later, he steps out onto the gravel walkway towards the covertly parked humvee between crumbling stonework and overgrown landscaping. With a second set of footfalls upon the dirt, he glances over his shoulder towards Sotalia. "Oh, hey."


    Sotalia moves up in pace next to Bach and tucks the tablet under her shoulder. Trains her golden eyes at Bach, she lifts an inquisitive dark red eyebrow. "So... How are you doing? All things considered, of course."


    Bach awkwardly scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair and manages a weak shrug, poorly attempting a nonchalant pose. "Well... Um... Okay. Yeah, uh. Apart from certain developments, ah..."


    A genuine smile grows on Sotalia, and she apologetically sighs, hints of compassion building. "Listen. I''m sorry for being a bitch the last few days. Old habits die hard no matter what I try.


    Flicking her golden eyes over to Bach, she fights a flit of guilt upon her tan face, dark gray edged face. "BUT... You don''t need any grief from me."


    With a long exhale, tension vents out of Bach, and he relaxes his shoulders. "Hey. It''s okay. Quite the major secret to reveal in the most dramatic fucking way possible. So, uh, I get it."


    Sotalia laughs and smirks with a perk of an eyebrow. "Certainly not how you wanted to tell everyone, I''m sure."


    Biting his lower lip, Bach momentarily averts his gaze from Sotalia, the two walking closer towards the humvee. "Yeah... Since, truth be told, I was really hoping to NEVER need to tell anyone. But..."


    He wrestles down frown into a grumble. "That plan didn''t survive contact with reality."


    Sotalia meets Bach''s returning glance with a gentle smile and rolls her golden eyes at herself. "Well... Truth be told, they RARELY ever do."


    Drawing a tense breath through her nose, she frowns. "I know from personal experience."


    Bach and Sotalia walk down the rough rock encrusted dirt path and arrive at the humvee. A curious grin cracks from the corner of Sotalia''s mouth, and she slyly narrows her gaze at Bach. "So... After telling us such a big secret, maybe you''d be transparent with a little, trivial, in comparison, piece of information."


    Moving towards the back passenger door of the humvee, Bach pulls open the door and squints a wary glance back at Sotalia, perking his brow. "Oh. Like what?"


    Sotalia swings the front passenger door out, places the tablet from under her arm on the front seat, and attaches a charging cable to it. Brightening her tone, she coyly gazes over to Bach with a devious smile. "Oh, a certain important number... One you should have learned when you entered adventuring school... From a certain test."


    Bach pauses, blinking, and grabs hold of a handle for the cooler in the middle aisle. "Uhh..."


    Twisting her mouth near indignant, Sotalia aims a prying glare and awaits a response, her hands firmly on her hips. Drawing a long breath in, Bach groans and acquiesces into a sigh. "Well, I don''t know the exact number.


    A flit of irritation lifts Sotalia''s eyebrow. Bach tips his head back and wiggles the cooler free from the far back row seat space. "BECAUSE, the system was glitching out from my stupid antics in the test chamber. BUT, it was around the mid nine thousands."


    A contented, eager grin creeps onto Sotalia, and she reaches over the front passenger''s seat, grabbing a tub of cleaning wipes. "INTERESTING. NOW... Was that so hard to admit?"


    Shaking his head, Bach slides the insulated plastic container along the cab aisle to the front of his seat and secures his grip around the other handle. "NO. I''m just fearful of what such knowledge may or may not ENCOURAGE in the future."


    Humming to herself in thought, Sotalia closes the front passenger door. After Bach hoists the cooler out of the humvee, she closes the other door and stands in front of Bach. "Okay. Just to be fair, ask me a question about myself."


    Bach ponders the proposition, scrutinizing the expression upon Sotalia. His blue eyes search in his mind, he visibly contemplates and focuses back upon Sotalia. Bach''s stare drifts up to towards the top of Sotalia''s head. A crack forms in her aura of confidence, and she quells a reflexive grimace. A playfully sinister grins flashes upon Bach, and he narrows his eyes upon her. "Are your horns naturally that dark?"


    Sotalia''s mouth hangs open, a response failing to launch. Amusement, relief, and embarrassment swirl together on her tan and dark gray face, and she shrugs off the hesitation with a coy smirk. "Well... NO. I use a tint to darken them down. They''re naturally much lighter. And, the tint helps keep the color even."


    Nodding, Bach hoists up the cooler higher and walks back towards the chamber entryway across the ruins. "Okay. I was curious. I just remember Shadeesa always kept a whole collection of horn care products laid out in the dorm apartment bathroom."


    Stepping along the gravel path back next to Bach, Sotalia rolls her golden eyes. "Oh! You have no idea. As much as I love my horns, there''s some days I totally understand why some people cut them short and keep them filed down. Gods, it''s SO frustrating when you find a nick or gouge."


    With a chuckle in his tone, Bach glances over and curiously furrows his brow. "Kind of like when you find a bruise you don''t remember getting?"


    Sotalia exaggerates a nod and laughs with a smile. "Yes! Except the bruise will go away, eventually. With horns, you better hope you can buff it out with some clear polish or know someone who''s REALLY good with filler putty."


    Cocking his head, Bach pries. "So, ever do the horn carving thing?"


    A sigh rushes out of Sotalia, and she shakes her head. "NO. I lived in a town with hard water. No design looks pretty with hard water stains."


    The two continue along the gravel route, discussing the intricacies of emin horn and nail care, and soon disappear into the entryway to deliver food and cleaning supplies.


    ----


    Late morning sun shines through the windows in the small bedroom of the ranch style house. From the open door to the hallway, heavy, cumbersome footsteps upon hardwood reverberate into the room. Seconds later, Bach crosses through the doorway threshold into the bedroom and flips the light switch next to the door. Plodding across the room, he swings his draw-string duffle bag off his shoulder onto his bed, bouncing it upon the mattress. He pivots toward the doorway and directs his voice down the hallway. "Hey! Is there anything else I need to help haul in?"


    From down the corridor, Dretphi''s voice sounds back. "Not at the moment."


    Slowly glances back over his shoulder, Bach side steps over, aligns himself to a clear part of the bed, and tips backwards. He flops onto the comforter, sending a shockwave of air through the sheets. Gradually working the rest of his body up on top, he loosely sprawls himself over the surface and sloppily props his feet upon the duffel bag. He quickly works off his low cut shoes, exhales a long sigh, and stares blankly up at the overhead ceiling fan. The blades spin up to speed and a gentle current of air blows down. Minutes passing by, Bach stares distantly and idly, present awareness waning. Between blinks and long breaths, the past rises up in the faint winces upon Bach''s face and settles with current thoughts in following grimaces. Focus shifts from moment to moment. Bach closes his blue eyes, and bathes in the breeze of the overhead fan and warmth of the sun, the beams of light sluggishly traveling across the room. Other sounds rise over the background fan hum. Conversations elsewhere in the house bounce around into unintelligible murmurs. With light footsteps barely audible from the hallway, the rest of the world fades from Bach''s awareness. Over the minutes, the conscious mind disconnects from current surroundings and drifts within the haze of past memories.


    A series of clawtips rap upon the wooden door, crisply bouncing into the soundscape. Bach winces his eyes hard and opens them, focusing back upon the present world. Slowly lifting his upper body up off the top of the mattress, he sits up, blinking, and spots Cideeda waving at him from the doorway. Crosses her arms, Cideeda leans against the door frame and smirks, wagging her long, fluffy tail. An unconscious unease seeps out into Bach''s smile, and he waves back. "Oh, hey. Yeah... How are you doing?"


    Cideeda pulls a smile across her light brown, perks up her furry ears, and cocks head to the side. "Good... How are YOU doing?"


    Bach musters an uncertain smirk and nods slowly. "Well, all things considered. I''m doing okay, I guess?"


    Narrowing her stare slightly, Cideeda furrows her brow and parts a toothy grin. "That''s good to hear. By the way..."


    Flicking her emerald green eyes towards the bedroom window, she lifts an eyebrow towards Bach. "What time is it? I don''t have my phone handy."


    Retrieving his aetherphone from his pants pocket, Bach clicks the side button and triggers the display on. With a nonchalant smirk, Bach gazes at the time readout. "Um, yeah. Well, it''s Sunday late morn-"


    He draws the phone closer and blinks in sheer surprise. "Uh... HUH... Um, after noon? Wow."


    Processing the unexpected chronological difference, he slides over to a seat on the side of the bed. His attention darts between his phone and the daylight coming in through the window. Sorting through the confusion, he gazes awkwardly over towards Cideeda. "WELL. Um. Quite a bit later than I thought then."


    Cideeda calmly steps up next to the bed, places her hands on her hips, and focuses upon Bach. "Yeah. You spaced out for an hour. I looked in an hour ago and saw you staring at the ceiling. So, I thought I''d give you a few minutes to decompress from the ride back. But..."


    Furrowing her brow, she tilts her head to the side and narrows her gaze. "There''s more going on, isn''t there?"


    Averting his eyes downwards, he grimaces and slowly nods, his own voice wavering. "Yeah... Just thinking about... Everything..."


    He glances up and meets emerald eyes staring right back at him. Cideeda sighs, shaking her head. "Bach. Let''s review that whole situation."


    Blinking, Bach nods through the wave of tense confusion. "Um. Sure."


    Smirking, Cideeda rolls her eyes at herself and waves her hand with her thoughts. "If there had been time to present the options, I would have chosen the blow it the fuck away option. Especially for THAT thing."


    She chuckles, bites her lower lip, and works through a bit of past embarrassment in her posture, flicking her long tail. "I MEAN... I DID fling a satchel of explosives at a security bot armed with a minigun and plasma particle cannon, recently."


    The brief flicker of a smile tries to emerge on Bach. Cideeda sighs out her nerves and crosses her arms tightly, the past replaying in mind between blinks. "And... We weren''t going to outrun that horrible thing. I think you figured THAT out, and made the choice that you thought gave us the best chances for survival. Despite the risks then, I would have agreed it was the best choice."


    Stolen story; please report.


    Rolling her shoulders, she swallows hard and droops her furry ears. "One I would have made myself."


    A bit of relief eases the tension building within Bach. He feels Cideeda rest a hand upon his shoulders, and she flexes a brief, familiar five claw tip grip. Waiting until Bach gazes back up, Cideeda smiles with a slight watery glint at the corners of her emerald green eyes. "And somehow... I''ve gotten another chance at something I didn''t think I would ever get. SO, I think you did JUST FINE."


    Nodding slowly, Bach draws a long breath in and thinks in silence, wrestling down a grimace. He exhales into an uncertain cadence. "Thank you... Um, really. It''s just that... I mean, I''m really happy with the results. But... I''m not sure how to feel about how I got the results?"


    Cideeda lifts her hand from Bach''s shoulder, holds her chin in thought, and grins toothily. "I think I get what you are talking about. I guess it''s about using that elder energy?"


    With a long groan, Bach quickly acknowledges into a grumble. "Yes."


    Resting her hands behind her on the top lip of the dresser drawers, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders and sways her head side to side, pondering the predicament. "Being an outside observer to magic for a LONG time, I just can''t help but to see it as just another tool. For example, I''ve got lockpicks. I could break into houses like a thief. OR, I can unlock doors for owners without their keys like a locksmith."


    Standing back up straight, she gestures with both hands weighing a balance and bounces her attention between them. "I''ve got a gun. I could hunt food with it. Or, I could mug someone with it. I''ve got a car. I could drive it responsibly for good reasons. OR, I could drive it like a maniac for all the worst reasons."


    Bach blinks with his thoughts and rocks his head side to side in vague agreement. "Yeah... I mean, I can see THAT. But, it''s just there''s a bit more gray area to it than I''ve ever really thought about before? It was actually a lot easier when it was just a simple light or dark side thing. It''s bad, don''t use it. Done. Simple."


    Laughing with an honest, warm smile, Cideeda waves off the subject thoroughly amused. "Oh gods. Remind me to tell you some Fvalian fables my parents would tell me. Every last one of them just rolls around in moral gray area."


    She gazes over at Bach and smirks happily. "ANYWAY... From what I''ve seen, magic is just a tool. I''ve seen it used for both good and bad things. So far..."


    Cideeda winks a Bach and grins toothily. "You''ve been doing good. For good reasons."


    Sheepishly scratching the back of his head, Bach dons an awkward smile and averts his gaze away. "Well... I try."


    Sotalia''s voice echoes down the hallway through the small bedroom doorway. "Cideeda?! Where are you? I got that magic''s shop''s aethersite up and want to show you the starter kits they''ve got in stock."


    Cideeda grits her teeth briefly, crosses her arms tightly, and flicks her ears back. "By the way, could you do me a HUGE favor?"


    Furrowing his brow, Bach nods affirmatively. Bending down close to Bach, Cideeda whispers, side eyeing the doorway. "Tomorrow, could you please come with us when we shop for magic stuff? She''s REALLY EXCITED about teaching me magic, and I DO NOT know anything about it, at all, to stop her from buying everything I don''t need."


    Turning his head towards the bedroom door momentarily, Bach hears Sotalia audibly admiring the inventory of the store and returns an understanding gaze to Cideeda. "YEAH. That''d probably be a good idea, just in general. I need to actually get a few things myself, so I''ll have a good excuse to join you two."


    Cideeda relaxes her shoulders, loosens her arms, and walks towards the bedroom door. "THANK YOU. Also, you mind helping me with a few data cables for that dusty mess of a computer?"


    Tipping forward, Bach rights himself on his feet, stands up, and follows behind Cideeda. "Sounds good to me."


    ----


    In the finely decorated two bed hotel room, the television shows the latest local new developments and flips between clips of the aftermath from the "Hattan Nightmare''''. A billowing cloud of faint steam slipping out, the bathroom door opens up, and Tassilda steps out wrapped in an elegant bathrobe. Guiding her damp black hair back over her gray shoulders, she carefully towels off her swirling horns and walks over to her bed. She narrows her light blue on black eyes towards Deedri upon the other bed with a perplexed expression. "Whatever are you doing?"


    Pausing from sorting through a towering stack of papers, Deedri finishes jotting down a few notes into a journal and rubs the fatigue around her auburn eyes. "Oh... Just logging the medical work I did during the attack and formatting it in all the correct templates to send off to the guild."


    Tassilda gracefully slides on top of her bed, settles up against the pillow stacked headboard, and surveys the collection of documents organized upon Deedri''s bed top. "I am honestly curious. What all do you need to send to the guild?"


    Deedri stiffly uncrosses and stretches her legs out from underneath her. Lowering her upper body down, she rests her head on a fluffy hotel pillow and breathes out a long sigh. "It''s for my public work hours. I try to keep up with my quota so it doesn''t build up too much."


    She briefly grits her teeth and faintly hisses with a grimace. "Because it''s not fun when you get a notice from the auditors..."


    Her tufted ears flick over to the side, and she glances over at the confusion upon Tassilda''s light gray face. Blinking a few times, she recognizes the lack of context and smiles with an apologetic tone. "Oh. Um. It''s a medical mage requirement to keep our licenses when we are part of adventuring groups."


    Tassilda curls her eyebrow, leans over down to the floor between the two beds and rummages a hand around in a large zipper bag. "Well. They certainly seem to keep medical mages on a short leash."


    She rises back up with a small mirror and a clear bottle with a dark, translucent liquid inside. Deedri shrugs her shoulders and rests her hands on her night-shirt covered stomach. "Oh, it''s not that bad. And, it''s for a good reason. The guild has an agreement with most of the medical systems of all the different states in the region. They make sure the adventuring groups don''t hire out the medical mages without keeping up with their license requirements to practice for the public good."


    With a quick twist of the cap, Tassilda sets the bottle upon the middle nightstand between beds and examines her horns through the small mirror. "Ah, I see. Prevent all the talent from getting stolen away for the higher paying adventuring life... Never to be seen again."


    Deedri frowns and begrudgingly agrees with a slow nod. "Well... YES. But, the guild not only handles a lot of the paperwork, they also will find work that counts for your quota. So, if you''ve let your quota get too big, they can help out tremendously. It''s so much better than having to go back through relicensing."


    Tassilda squints her light blue on black eyes through the mirror and adjusts the angle. Reaching over with her free hand, she lifts the cap of the bottle, revealing an integrated brush, and guides the liquid soaked cap brush to a discolored spot on the side of her horn. With a few careful taps of the fine hairs on the brush, the dark fluid settles and blends out the discoloration. Tassilda replaces the cap on the bottle and perks a curious brow towards Deedri. "Interesting. So, whatever happens to a medical mage that does NOT keep up with their quota?"


    Deedri''s auburn eyes widen, and she slowly lifts her upper body off the bed. Gritting her teeth underneath a twisting mouth, she fails to subdue a wary grimace towards Tassilda. "Uh... NOTHING GOOD. Usually a guild warning is enough to get most people to take a break and work on their hours. BUT..."


    Bouncing a side around, she wrestles against a frown and uneasily chuckles. "It ESCALATES from there. QUICK."


    Thinking to herself in the lull of conversation, Deedri''s attention settles upon the scuffed and discolored claw tips on her hands. "If it''s deemed negligence upon the medical mage, they''re put on probation, and eventually will get their license revoked if they don''t take steps to remedy their quota."


    She glances over to Tassilda with a strained smirk. "If the adventuring group is thought to be hindering the medical mage from getting their hours done, the guild sends an operative out to..."


    Furrowing her brow, she hems and briefly stiffens her posture. "FIRMLY and ASSERTIVELY explain the importance of supporting the medical staffs'' needs and how it may extensively delay the release of mission payouts."


    Tassilda blinks into a blank surprised stare and places the mirror down on the nightstand. "OH, MY. Well, you have my abundant appreciation for keeping up with your quota. I certainly could not stand to have to contend with that much regulation."


    Smiling, Deedri nods graciously with a flick of her long, fluffy tail upon the bed. "It''s a small inconvenience, really."


    A thought drifts forward in her mind, and she levels an inquisitive gaze at Tassilda. "You know, I''ve actually been curious... Why did you focus on charm and counter magics?"


    A sly grin graces Tassilda, and she narrows an amused glance to Deedri. "Oh, it''s really very simple. You don''t need great attacks or defensive spells when your opponents have no desire to harm you. And, it doesn''t matter what spells someone has if they are rendered moot before they can affect you."


    Flicking her furry, tufted ears with her thoughts, Deedri eyes follow the reasoning in her mind, and she agrees. She slides her attention upon the clear bottle of dark fluid and glances to her toes. Drawing up her legs closer, she inspects the roughed tips of her toe claws with tinges of annoyance. "Hey... Do you have anything that''ll help with this? Running on all the pavement the last few days really did a number on my claws."


    Leaning over, Tassilda surveys the scuffs, marks, and wear upon the tips of Deedri''s toe claws, and smiles confidently. "Oh! Of course, I do! Do you need anything for you finger claws?"


    Deedri flexes her fingers, inspects the points on each tip, and shakes her head. "Not right now. They''re okay."


    Narrowing a stern stare upon her open hand, she curls her digits slightly inwards and lowers her tone slightly. "But... I have been thinking about sharpening them up."


    ----


    A few shopping bags with a colorful "Miradia''s Magic Materials" logo reside on the coffee table in front of the couch. Containers of reagents, packs of thick paper, and a stack of books cover the table space between the shopping bags. In a copy of "The Illustrated Guide to Magical History", a colorful bookmark splits the pages of the novel. Nearby, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sit around the dining table. With exaggerated gestures and elaborate demonstrations, Sotalia enthusiastically lectures around the magical basics. "Without getting too deep into details, the easiest way to think of your magical flows are On, Near, and Far. On is what magical energies are on you here. Near is magic energy that is relatively near you in the aether. And, Far is pretty much anything towards the Abstract Prism."


    Gradually nodding her head, Cideeda maintains blank expression eye contact with Sotalia, blinking her emerald green eyes occasionally. Dretphi glances briefly down at the notepad in front of her, jots down a few notes, and gazes back up, awaiting further instruction. Continuing her explanation, Sotalia pans her gaze between Dretphi and Cideeda with an eager smile. "Now, most of the magical energy you two will flow is On you. It''s the immediate source you have to will into your spells. It''s limited, but what you use is replaced from Near, the aether, when it flows to On, or you."


    Bach''s attention rests upon a pad of thick paper and his careful, purposeful strokes of a finely haired brush. Sotalia pantomimes out a simplified process of magical flow transition, in slow, broken down steps. Bach calmly dips the tip of the brush into a small bowl of black ink, next to a sliced lime and a salt shaker. Lowering the brush upon the paper, he inks out a series of branching, interconnected lines. With a calligraphic flair, he adorns the page with a network of lines, forming a simple maze of channels. Pausing a moment, he listens to Sotalia list through a number of techniques for practicing flowing magical energy and glances at the attentive, slightly overwhelmed stares that Cideeda and Dretphi present to Sotalia.


    Sotalia stops her lecture and grins excitedly at Cideeda and Dretphi. "So... Any questions?"


    Blinking a few times in the lull, Cideeda cocks her head of short, multi-colored hair to the side, puzzling out loud. "Okay. Well. What practice technique should we use?"


    Pointing over to the collection of practice focuses on the table top, Sotalia glides her gaze over the assortment. "Well, practice focuses help with getting used to moving a lot of magical energy. So, I would start with that right now to build up your power handling."


    Bach places the final touches on another ink maze and slides a piece of paper each to Cideeda and Dretphi with a smirk. "And, it also helps to practice fine flow control."


    Examining the papers, Sotalia perks an eyebrow and recognizes the drawings on the pages, her interest piquing. "Those... Look like flow mazes. Oh! I used to do those all the time as a teenager. I had the fastest times in the mages club back in high school."


    Cideeda curiously inspects the piece of inked paper, and her furry ears flick with her thoughts. Dretphi turns her head to face Bach and eyes the paper in her hand. "How do these function?"


    Leaning over the table, Bach reaches out both hands and directs Cideeda and Dretphi to the large circular spots on the pages, grinning. "It''s simple enough. Place a finger on the starting dots and flow some magical energy into it."


    Cideeda and Dretphi exchange glances, shrug, and place fingers on respective starting spots. Dretphi concentrates her gaze upon the piece of paper. Seconds later, a faint silvery wave traces along all the inked paths and illuminates the entire network. Narrowing her eyes, Cideeda grits her teeth and strains to focus herself. Slowly, a gradual progression of green creeps onto the lines and overtakes the black markings on the page. The last bit of dark path glows green, and Cideeda releases her frustrations with a triumphant exhale, relaxing back into her chair. "Wow... That''s actually really challenging."


    Nodding with a sly smirk, Bach lifts an eyebrow towards both Cideeda and Dretphi. "Yes it is. Especially, when you get to the point of just lighting up the path to the exit with no extra branches."


    Cideeda''s emerald eyes open wide, and she stares down at the flow maze, utterly bewildered. Dropping her head, Dretphi blinks blankly, examines the paper under her finger, and twists her mouth in contemplation. Bach smiles and shrugs with an encouraging laugh. "Ah, don''t worry. Once you get the feel of how the energy reacts to you, it gets a LOT easier. BUT, it may take awhile to figure that initial bit out. Took me a while, too."


    Propping her head up by a hand with an arm on the table, Sotalia happily watches both Cideeda and Dretphi test their magical mettle against their paper puzzles. With a mischievous grin, she glances over to Bach, reaches one hand over for the bowl of ink with the brush in it, and frees the other hand to slide blank pages over. "So... You up for a real challenge?"


    Narrowing his gaze, Bach lifts an amused eyebrow and presents a nonchalant tone. "Maybe? If you can present one."


    Sotalia pauses a moment, focuses a competitive glare upon Bach, and turns her full attention to the page in front of her. Picking up the brush, she deftly details out an elaborate array of pathways and lines. She fills the network of confusion with segments of chaos, splintered forks, and feathered branches. In the minutes Sotalia spends upon the construction of her masterpiece, Cideeda and Dretphi continue their practice, and Bach carefully grants just enough assistance to help them out. Placing the brush down, Sotalia blows a gentle breath, allowing the ink to dry on the page, and confidently presents the advanced maze to Bach. "Here you go."


    Bach''s blue eyes scan the chaotic pathways and follow the routes through a bit of apprehension. Nodding slowly, he smiles slyly at Sotalia and cocks his head. "Okay. Okay... I''ll give it a shot. BUT, I think it''s only fair I make one for you."


    An eager glint sparks in Sotalia''s golden eyes, and she props her head upon both palms with a devilish grin. "OH. But, of course..."


    Bach guides the bowl of ink back over and glides a piece of thick paper in front of him. Lifting up the bowl, he hovers it over just over the page and pours a blob of ink on the page. Sotalia tries in vain to hide her bewilderment and snarls her upper lip with wide eyes staring at the scene. Bach purposefully presses his finger into the blob of ink on the paper, and a blue glow emits from his eyes. A magical flow of blue brightly illuminates the ink, and a series of thin lines grow from the blob. The charged ink spreads out on its own into intricate patterns and fanciful paths, each branching into complex routes and rejoining prior paths. The maze expands upon the page, and Sotalia''s confident grin wanes to an awkward smile, her wavering stare telegraphing her agitation. Cideeda and Dretphi both stop practicing and watch expectantly. Dretphi discreetly hides her smirk behind her hand, and Cideeda awaits quietly with a tight smile.


    ----


    With Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi watching expectantly, Sotalia pours her full focus upon the finely crafted, hectic flow maze on the paper before her. Grimacing and gritting her teeth, she squints at a singular path of golden energy edging closer and closer to the exit point of the maze. Her long nailed finger firmly presses down upon the dried circle of ink. Above the dining room table, Sebastian hovers above, observes the intense progress, and vaguely points at the page with an ill-humored smirk. "Hmm. Looks like it''s starting to leak down that branch over there-"


    Shifting her attention briefly, Sotalia winces and mumbles forcibly through her lips. "I. KNOW. Sebastian."


    The flow of gold approaches the exit, creeps out into the end point, and illuminates the finish place brightly. Sotalia tensely waits a few seconds, darting her eyes around expectantly. Bach and Sebastian exchange glances, and Sebastian calls out. "Clean path! Time?"


    Bach taps the button on the screen of his aetherphone. Lifting her hand from the page, Sotalia flops back into her chair, panting out the stress. "HA! Still got it!"


    Quirking an eyebrow with a sly smile, Bach reads off the number on his phone. "Fifteen minutes and forty three seconds. Not that bad."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes spring wide open, and she reaches out for Bach''s phone with a frustrated growl. "What?! There''s no way it was that long!"


    Cideeda retrieves her phone out of her shorts pocket, glances at it, and nods in confirmation. "Yes, it was. It''s been about fifteen minutes."


    Flexing the fingers on her hand, Sotalia glares at the black ink paths on the thick paper and contorts her light tan face, her frustration revealing itself more. Bach shrugs with a smile and highlights his tone with an honest appreciation. "That''s actually a really good time. I put a lot of nasty tricks in that one, so that''s quite an accomplishment."


    Shifting her full focus, Sotalia aims her inquisitive stare right through Bach with a tinge of a growl. "Let''s see how long it takes YOU."


    Blinking blankly, Bach processes the context clues and slides his chair back, averting his eyes towards the refrigerator. "Okay. Sure. But... You know before that, we should probably think about... Um... Dinner?"


    Sebastian floats his ethereal form back from the table and down upon the floor, nodding in thought. "Probably a good idea, bro. I''ll go check on Aristespha. She''s probably gotten wrapped up in sorting through all those pictures and stopped paying attention to the time, again."


    Drifting through the archway into the hallway, he leaves the team, and Bach warily gets up from the table under the watchful stare of Sotalia and the amusement of Cideeda and Dretphi. Sebastian glides down the hall to the last bedroom door and phases through slowly. The late afternoon sun casts a few rays on the bedroom floor and the document and tablet covered desk. Furrowing his brow, Sebastian tilts his head to the side, noticing the lack of someone at the desk. From the bed, a familiar sigh catches his attention, and he observes a figure under the sheet quietly mumbling a dialect of evuukian to herself. Sebastian floats over next to the head of the bed and waits a few moments. Listening to the annoyed grumbles, he smiles and watches the tips of a pair of long ivory, gray and blue hinted ears poke out from under the comforter. He kneels down and inquires with a gentle tone. "What''s wrong, dear?"


    The bed covers shift, and an opening lifts up, revealing a pair of violet eyes behind a mess of silvery blue hair. Aristespha groans and exhales into an annoyed moan. Stirring underneath the covers, she glances down to the glow of the screen within the fabric cave and extends her hand with aetherphone out to Sebastian. She presents a prominent section of text within a very long message and grumbles. "This... Sebastian."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form examines the paragraphs and slowly nods understandingly with a reassuring smile. "Oh. Well... We have been neglecting your hours, dear. Don''t worry. We can take some time soon so you can work on them. I think a bit of a break from anything too heavy or crazy is in order, and-"


    Aristespha''s hand withdraws back into the comfort of the bed sheets. With the screen illuminating her face, she drags a finger up, scrolling the document, and turns the phone back towards Sebastian. "Look..."


    Following the lines of the new text, concern tints Sebastian''s demeanor, and he musters up the best awkward grin he can. "OH. WELL... I guess we''ll take a break this week then, dear. It''ll be fine. You just need to work down your quota this week. Then, you won''t have to worry about it for a while."


    Aristespha breathes in, pauses, and exhales a mixture of annoyance, sadness, and frustration. "Yes... I know..."


    Reaching her arm out, she rests her phone on the nightstand and pulls the sheets off her head. Attempts to sort through the chaotic mess of her long hair, she wrestles a frown. "It''s just... Right after we find some potentially useful information, Bach revealing his abilities, and..."


    She sits up slowly, crosses her arms, and grumbles with a petulant posture. "I REALLY DO NOT want to spend the rest of this week doing clinical diagnostics. If they could postpone it for a month or SOMETHING..."


    Pausing a moment, she rubs her forehand and sighs. "But... The Hattan attack has redirected staff from other places to help out. I am certain there is no negotiation room for an extension."


    Hovering to a seat on the bed next to Aristespha, Sebastian smiles lovingly to her. "Now, now, dear. You know we are supposed to be trying to be on the heroic side of the adventuring business. And, you should do your part for the public good."


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and works off the grimace on her face, groaning. Sebastian leans over closer to her and chuckles lightly. "Don''t worry, dear. Your research will still be here, all for you to explore. I don''t think anyone is going to solve it before you. And, it''d be a good change of pace for you."


    Aristespha tries to direct a hard glare to Sebastian, it wavers almost immediately, and a lovingly smile forms. Relaxing her shoulders, she extends a hand out to Sebastian, her eyes glowing violet, and pulls him over for a long, tender kiss. Seconds later, she slowly releases Sebastian, her eyes dim, and she narrows a sinister gaze at him. "Okay, Sebastian. BUT... If I have to treat anything disgusting, nasty, and or stupid, YOU are going to have to listen to every single little detail. You try to hide in that sword, and I WILL use telepathic magics to show you the mental imagery."


    Sebastian dons a heroic grin and winks at Aristespha. "But, of course, my dear. I will brave the worst stories for you."


    With a playful roll of the eyes, Aristespha slides the rest of the covers off her, flipping the fabric through Sebastian''s ghostly visage to his brief shudder. She stretches her back, and guides her long silvery blue hair over with an amused groan. "You do know there is going to be at least ONE incident with someone doing something absolutely stupid with their genitals. That is just how MY luck is."


    Gliding up, Sebastian stands in a brave pose and nods to Aristespha. "I look forward to hearing all about it."


    A dark giggle escapes from Aristespha. "Oh, you say that now."


    Sebastian breaks his act and leans down close to Aristespha. "The rest of the group is thinking about dinner. So, you might want to say something soon, especially since Sotalia is in one of her competitive moods against Bach at the moment."


    Contorting his face, he briefly grimaces. "Dinner might be a good distraction."


    Shifting her weight forward, Aristespha stands up on her feet, plucks up her phone, and walks towards the bedroom exit. She opens the door, taps through to a list of saved restaurants on the aetherphone screen, and glances behind at Sebastian. "I think I''ll vote for a place to order pick up, and I''ll take Bach with me to help carry the food."


    Floating behind Aristespha, Sebastian gives a thumbs up and nods.

 Episode 41

    In the back field near the corner of the ranch style house, Dretphi pants at a slowing rate, wipes the sweat off her brow, and drapes her platinum blonde braids back over her shoulders. Standing under the shade of a tree, she stares out patiently and idly stretches in her workout shirt and shorts. A minute later, Bach staggers up the small hill into the shadows from the full green canopy and stops, supporting his upper body with his hands on his knees. He breathes loudly and slowly straightens his back, noticing the obvious sweat spots on his shirt. "Well... At least, I made it to the base of this hill BEFORE almost collapsing... Ungh... I guess that''s progress?"


    With a perk of an eyebrow, Dretphi smiles kind and encouraging, resting her hands on her hips. "No wheezing."


    Pausing in thought, Bach pays careful attention to himself. Breathing in and out several times, he finds no sign of any trailing whine and slowly nods in agreement. "Huh... That''s... Wow. Hadn''t noticed that. I guess that actually is progress..."


    He pulls his shoulders back in a stretch and blinks with his surprise. "And, I feel tired, but nowhere near close to passing out... Like I have felt."


    Stepping over to the base of the tree, Dretphi leans over and picks up a water bottle in each hand. She moves over and offers Bach one. "It takes time. Persistence leads to progress."


    With an inquisitive eye towards Dretphi, Bach quaffs down the water and swallows to a smirk. "Well, I think that sounds like another bit of wisdom from your birth father."


    Rolling her steely gray eyes, Dretphi dons a reserved grin and shrugs her shoulders. "My mother. Her wisdom proves true."


    She briefly furrows her brow and glances off to the side. "In certain situations."


    Bach wipes the overflow of water out of his short beard and chuckles lightly. "Well, don''t think I''ll be beating your speed any time soon."


    Dretphi stops drinking her water, memories leaping to the front of her mind. Narrowing an examining stare upon Bach, she straightens her posture and cools her tone, hints of suspicion slipping out. "You have moved FASTER than me before."


    Bach freezes momentarily, grimaces uncomfortably, and sighs in defeat. Slowly nodding, Bach meets Dretphi expectant gaze, fighting an uneasy squirm, and cautiously approaches the subject. "YES. Mind you... With A LOT of careful magical assistance, for short periods of time."


    With a questioning glance, Dretphi cocks her head to the side, squints at Bach, and idly swings her water bottle at her side. Curiosity guides her towards intrigue, and she studies Bach, meticulously eyeing him over. "I do not believe you have used assistance during training. Why?"


    Blinking blankly, Bach mentally gathers himself, struggling to compose a response. Tense seconds later, he draws in a long breath and summons up his answer. "Um... Well... I guess because I honestly want to get into decent shape? I mean, the magical augmentation helps in a pinch..."


    He furrows his brow and frowns with a sigh. "But... I''ve learned from experience that you really shouldn''t rely just on that. Magic can fail you."


    Shaking his head, he averts his blue eyes away with a tinge of shame. "And, it''d be really nice to lessen certain... contrasts of physique... between my brother and me."


    A slight frown creeps from the corner of Dretphi''s mouth, and concern colors her gaze. Bach cracks a weak smile and glances over to Dretphi with an appreciative tone. "Also, I thought it''d be really disrespectful to you to not take this training seriously. Really, I probably would have given up a bunch of times if weren''t for you helping me along the way."


    Fluttering her eyes in surprise with a perk of her posture, Dretphi smiles warmly towards Bach, faint traces of blushing in her cheeks. "Thank you."


    Moments later, she refocuses herself to the present and inquires further. "I know of people augmenting physical abilities. Great feats possible. Rarely done. Suspect significant risks involved?"


    Bach''s eyes open wide, and he exaggerates a long nod with a trailing exhale. "Oh gods, YES. I am sure that Aristespha could go into far more details. BUT, if you don''t have the body and focus for it..."


    Grimacing with a wince, Bach strains a breath through his teeth and shakes his head. "You can really HURT yourself doing anything more than minor assistance with simple actions."


    He scratches the back of his neck and wrestles with an uneasy grimace. "I actually don''t like doing it, unless I really need to. I mean, as out of shape as I am, I''m surprised I haven''t broken a bone, torn a ligament, or dislocated something."


    Gazing over to Dretphi, he furrows his brow and grits his teeth. "While the magic helps your body move, you actually need to have a body that can handle the strain. I''ve only figured out the basics, AND... It''s spooky enough already."


    Dretphi''s attention drifts away to inside her mind, her eyes bouncing between memories. Returning her focus back to Bach, she nods in agreement and eyes her large flow blade resting against the trunk of the nearby tree. "I will not lie... Those are techniques I have interest in. Risky now..."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, she smirks. "Maybe later?"


    She walks over to the tree, grips onto the flow blade handle, and hoists it up. "Need to understand this blade. Then, learn augmentation."


    Finishing another long pour of water into the mouth, Bach clears his throat and steps over near Dretphi with an encouraging smile. "Well, actually, that''s not a bad plan, at all. The flow control required to empower that blade is similar to what is needed for basic augmentation magic. There''s a bit more, but definitely will help you with the basics."


    Securing her grip on the handle, Dretphi gazes over to Bach and smiles hopeful at him. "THAT is good to hear. Would appreciate your help. I have..."


    She briefly fights a frustrated frown. "Given up... Many times... before."


    Rolling his shoulders into a stretch against tension, Bach stands next to Dretphi with his eyes illuminating blue. He aims his gaze upon the blade and grants an acknowledging nod. "Only fair to return to the favor. Now, just flow some energy and I''ll assess from there."


    ----


    The old humvee turns right down an entrance roadway leading towards an expansive complex of tall, long brick buildings. The ancient military machine passes by the "Amaranth Valley Medical Center" sign and rolls down the road past a number of other guide posts. Surveying the well cared landscape of closely packed medical facilities, Cideeda stares out into the large parking lot ahead and directs her voice behind the driver''s seat. "We''re here! Now, the fun part of figuring out where we are supposed to drop you off."


    Leaning out from the front passenger seat, Sotalia gazes back at Aristespha with a mischievous grin widening on her light tan face. "Is SOMEONE excited for their first day at work?"


    An audibly annoyed groan rumbles out from Aristespha, and she crosses her arms petulantly with an exaggerated sigh, averting her violet eyes to her window. "Really?"


    She twists an unamused grimace on her face, squirms with the wave of nervous energy, and fidgets in her seat. Laughing playfully, Sotalia smiles brightly at Aristespha and rolls her golden eyes. "OH, come on! I''m kind of jealous, actually. Most other magical professions don''t get the special treatment like medical mages do."


    Winking at Aristespha with a sly smirk, she points towards the badge hanging from Aristespha''s pocket. "And, you are DEFINITELY dressed nicely for the part."


    Aristespha carefully inspects her white doctor''s coat, and brushes off her neatly pressed black cotton pants. Tightening the bun of silvery blue hair on the back of her head, she guides clear stray strands off her very long, pointed ears. Some satisfaction arrives upon her ivory face, finishing her checks. With a long exhale, she relaxes her shoulders and wrestles down a frown. "I hope so..."


    Sotalia snorts and rolls her eyes. "Are you kidding, girl? That outfit is SO professional... and CUTE."


    Rotating the steering wheel through another intersection, Cideeda curiously glances into the rear view mirror at Aristespha. "Nervous?"


    Tensing her shoulders, Aristespha draws in a long breath and releases it shakily, hanging her head forward in her hands. "YES. Is it THAT obvious?"


    Sotalia quirks an eyebrow and adopts a quizzical tint into her encouraging voice. "Oh, what do you have to be nervous about?"


    Lifting herself back into the seat, Aristespha sighs and rests a firm hand upon her stomach. "It''s just- I have not been in a clinic environment for close to two years now. It is vastly different in comparison to when you only have to worry about the same small group of people everyday. You never really know what your next patient will be, and what you''ll have to contend with. Often with no prior knowledge."


    Near a main entrance to one of the buildings in the vast complex, Cideeda spots a series of parking spaces with "Short Term" labels. She navigates the humvee through the clearly marked pathways of the massive parking lot and glances into the rear view mirror. Noticing Aristespha''s discomfort, Cideeda projects a confident, reassuring smile. "You have nothing to worry about. I know from personal experience you are an amazing medical mage. This place is lucky to have you for a while."


    A reserved smile graces Aristespha, and she closes her violet eyes with a slowly exhale. The humvee rolls in between the lines of a space along the sidewalk, near the front entry. Another stress venting sigh escapes Aristespha, and she stares hesitantly at the automated sliding glass door of the medical center entrance. Blinking, she leans out into the aisle and inquisitively gazes at Cideeda. "That actually reminds me. Has there been any noticeable scarring on your back and buttocks from the bullet grazes?"


    Shifting the vehicle in park, Cideeda pauses in thought for a few moments, furrowing her brow with a tilt of her head. She flicks her furry ears, arches her back in the seat, and feels the between the back waistline of her shorts. "Not really. The skin feels a little thick there, but nothing that bad. I wouldn''t even call it scarring. I''ve gotten worse from brushing against scrap metal."


    Aristespha nods in thought, her eyes searching her mind, and she settles back into her seat, pondering out loud. "That is good. There are a few simple treatments for that issue. I will check on those later for you."


    Seconds of awkward silence pass in the cab in the lull of conversation. Cideeda and Sotalia waiting, expectant stares eventually fall upon Aristespha. Retrieving her aetherphone, Aristespha strains a breath in and taps through a few menus. "Okay. Just... Let me double check the specific procedures at this place and where I need to be-"


    Rolling her eyes with a dismissive smirk, Sotalia unbuckles her seat belt, climbs over the center console, and reaches a hand out to Aristespha''s seat. She presses the release button Aristespha''s seat belt, covers up the screen of the aetherphone, and faces Aristespha''s surprise. "You will stop STALLING already?"


    Aristespha swallows some of her nerves, chuckles out some anxiety, and puts forth a genuine smile. "Okay. Sorry."


    Sotalia smiles and pats Aristespha on the shoulder, a sly grin spreading across her face. "Don''t worry, girl. If it''ll make you feel better, I''ll hold your hand and walk you to the door. Just like I did with my little sister on her first day of school!"


    Aristespha closes her eyes hard and reopens them, projecting an unamused stare at Sotalia''s ill-humored face with a grumble. Cideeda snorts into laughter and covers her mouth to hide her toothy grin. Shaking her head playfully dismissive, Aristespha groans with levity and fails to hide her smile under a grimace. She opens her door and glances back. "I think I am perfectly capable of walking by myself. But..."


    She gazes at Sotalia and cracks an appreciative smirk. "Thank you, though."


    Stepping out the humvee onto the sidewalk, she closes the humvee door, brushes off her white medical coat, and inspects her hair bun again. She waves to Cideeda and Sotalia in the vehicle. Cideeda gestures two thumb claws up, and Sotalia exaggerates a wave. Walking towards the entrance, Aristespha''s posture straightens, her demeanor calms, and her usual air of confidence resumes, arriving at the automated doors.


    ----


    Loud beeping rings out into the area. Hydraulics strain, and pistons drive a long crane arm from a heavy duty truck. With a winch reeling in the steel cable, the machinery pries loose up a thoroughly flattened wreck of a vehicle from the street surface, chunks of asphalt tumbling off. A few Hattan city workers lift up barricades and carry them off to the sidewalks. Police officers cut plastic caution tape off and ball up the refuse into a nearby garbage can. Nearby from the clean up efforts, Isaac sits patiently on a bus stop bench and peeks over a notebook, spying upon the activity. His gray eyes focus upon the roadway, intrigue growing on his aged face. The wind rustles his graying white hair and blows his blue scarf around. His mind drifting to other thoughts, his stare wanders, and his attention settles upon a young evuukian man.


    Approaching the partially cleared perimeter of the cordoned off area, the young man levels a large, bulky camera and aims his shot through the viewfinder. With an indifferent grimace, Isaac dismisses the activity. The young man presses the button, and a prominent mechanical click sounds out. Blinking through a fit of surprise, Isaac fully focuses upon the young man, watching him crank a winding lever. Putting the notebook away into his backpack, Isaac stands up with the bag over his shoulder and casually approaches the young evuukian man. A minute, Isaac stands near the young man and observes the process of setups, clicks, and windings with the strange device. Scratching his graying beard, he hems politely. "Excuse, sir? Sorry to bother you, but..."


    He points to the bulky device in the evuukian''s hands and perks a curious eyebrow. "What ever is that device you are using? I had originally suspected it was an old film camera. Admittedly, those are quite uncommon these days, so I had to ask."


    Shuddering in surprise, the young evuukian quickly regains his composure and turns around, greeting Isaac. "Oh! Um... Well... Yes, it is TECHNICALLY a film camera... But, not quite, at the same time."


    Isaac smiles intrigued and arches his brow inquisitively. "Well, you have my curiosity, young man. If it''s not too much, I would love to pry at why it isn''t quite a film camera."


    A spark ignites the viridian eyes of the evuukian man, and excitement fills his face. "OH! It''s not a problem at all! Well..."


    He wrestles down an awkward smirk and chuckles. "If you aren''t absolutely bored to death by the finer details of magical theory... and other long explanations... I''d be happy to discuss it."


    Isaac nods affirmatively and motions towards the device. "Oh, don''t worry. I am a bit of a magical scholar myself and have done some work with the Grand Library."


    The young evuukian''s eyes widen in absolute surprise, and he barely contains his joy. "Really! Wow! Um, yes... This is actually a research project I''m hoping to use for my application to the Grand Library. Quite the fortune meeting, I guess."


    With an intrigued smile, Isaac directs the evuukian''s attention toward the camera. "I would say so. Okay. So, let''s try out a short explanation for the paper''s brief. Take your time and summarize the key points for me."


    The man nods excitedly, shaking his wild, light blue hair. Presenting the device to Isaac, he clears his throat into an explanatory tone. "Okay... Magical imaging has been around in many forms over the centuries since the introduction of magic. While spells such as mage sight have become the most prominent method, there have been historical examples of using photographic devices to capture light affected by magical flow. Despite such practices being relegated towards novelty in the past, I theorize that, with the refinement today''s technology allows with many magical aspects, we can augment these methods to allow fidelity and resolution typically restricted to specialized arcane equipment..."


    He nods to the camera and turns out around, showcasing prominent features. "In a portable device."


    With a thoughtful stroke on his beard, Isaac projects a scrutinizing gaze upon the young man and device. Seconds of pondering later, he nods with an honestly interested grin. "That, I believe, is certainly an avenue of research that deserves a project."


    Crossing his arms, he cocks his head to the side. "Do you have any results so far you could possibly share right now?"


    The young man nods enthusiastically, lets the augmented camera hang from a strap around his neck, and opens a satchel at his side, showcasing the contents. "Oh, yes! I''ve been experimenting with different alchemical solutions for every step of the development process, applying enchantments to a variety of lenses, and doping films with a hybridization of techniques-"


    With a delighted grin, Isaac presents a hand to the young evuukian and curiously gazes at him. "Pardon my lack of manners. My name is Isaac. Whatever is your name, young man?"


    The man energetically reaches out his bluish hand and shakes Isaac''s, smiling wide to the blue tints on his face. "Blesk Ziebens."


    Isaac thinks a moment and blinks perplexed. "That actually is an interesting name for an evuukian. Not the common style, I have often run into."


    Blesk shrugs his shoulders and chuckles into a trailing sigh. "Ah... My family is a bunch of houseless black sheep. We pretty much do our own thing away from the usual insanity of... Proper... Evuukian politics."


    Laughing, Isaac releases Blesk''s hand and points down another street. "Well, would you allow this fellow black sheep to treat you to lunch as we discuss this further? I know this sandwich shop that is very nice."


    Scratching the back of his head and sheepishly, Blesk awkwardly grins over his embarrassment. "Well... As broke as I am, I can''t really say no to such a generous offer. And, I can''t turn down an opportunity to discuss my project with someone."


    Isaac gestures Blesk to follow and walks down the sidewalk. "Good. Let''s eat and discuss things. I would like to see samples of your work. And, I''d be very curious as to how the pictures you just took develop. I think we should come back here later, when things have died down a bit."


    ----


    Inside the living room of the two-story house, Chad sits comfortably in a couch chair, showing a bright white smile to Tassilda. "WELL... I think it was my leadership that helped organize the masses and guide them to where they needed to go."


    Rolling her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda defiantly flicks a lock of black hair over a horn with grumble. "OH. So, yelling at people and pointing in random directions is what passes for leadership these days? THAT explains quite a bit."


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Veevi perches herself upon an arm of Chad''s chair and narrows her pink pupil eyes at Tassilda with a wry, sharp grin. "OH. So, wandering around putting up magical barriers that did nothing to slow the Nightmare Geist is what passes for magic these days? THAT explains quite a bit."


    Tassilda crosses her arms, sneers at Veevi, and growls low, barely audible. Chad smirks at Veevi, and his arm wraps around behind her, patting the side of her leg. Veevi slyly smiles at Tassilda, and her short haired tail flicks over on Chad''s shoulder. Laying on the long couch nearby, Trakenthin momentarily breaks from playing a game on his aetherphone and mumbles. "Did not see any of you haul equipment. Set up tents... Be productive."


    A flurry of tense words echo out and bleed into the air space of the dining area and kitchen. Modoran peers over the open refrigerator door, pauses a moment to listen, and shakes his head with rolling dark blue eyes. Examining the two flavors of bottled drinks in his hands, he bites his lip hesitantly and indecisively inspects the other flavors in the fridge. With a sigh, he closes the door and quietly sneaks towards and up the stairs. Another outburst of arguments resonate up the stairwell, and Modoran cringes momentarily. Glancing back down the stairwell, he sways his head in a fit of annoyance and walks calmly down the hall. Stopping next to Deedri''s room, he slowly approaches the door, places his long, pointed ear near the door, and waits in near silence. Moments later, he cautiously knocks on the door. "Hey, Deedri?"


    From the other side of the door, Deedri''s voice calls out over a muffled activity. "Oh, uh, come in."


    Turning the door knob, Modoran opens the doorway and glances into the room. "Hey, hope I''m not interrupting anything."


    Sitting cross legged on her bed, Deedri shakes her head and motions Modoran to come in with a smile. "No. Not at all. Come in..."


    Narrowing her auburn eyes, she wrestles down a sneer of her upper lip. "And, close the door, please? I don''t really want to hear them right now."


    Pulling the door closed, Modoran walks into the modest bedroom. He surveys the various medical texts and neatly laid out equipment on the nearby desk. Stepping towards the bed, he holds out both drinks to Deedri with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, but I didn''t know which one you''d want. Take the one you like the best."


    Deedri blinks back to awareness of her surroundings, glances between the two choices, and leans over, happily grabbing one bottle from Modoran. "OH! Thank you! I''m actually a bit thirsty, so perfect timing."


    Modoran shrugs nonchalantly and opens the other drink container. "Well, you''ve been working on paperwork for quite some time. So, I thought you might want something."


    A shameful sigh escapes Deedri, and she averts her gaze from Modoran, hanging her head. "Actually, I finished all my paperwork back in Hattan. I just..."


    Twisting a grimace on her fair face, she motions towards the direction of the living. "Well... Needed a some time away from-"


    The muffled voices of Chad, Tassilda, Trakenthin, and Veevi resound upon the bedroom door, fainting seeping in along the wall against the stairwell, and fade out with the waning squabble. Modoran nods sympathetically and groans, eyes shifting away from the doorway. "Yeah. I completely understand. Had to sneak away myself."


    Mustering a weak smile, Deedri scoots over on her bed and pats a clear spot for Modoran. "They''ve been really... strong willed... since the geist attack."


    Modoran settles to a seat on the bed and laughs with a hint of derision. "You mean full of shit."


    He watches Deedri roll her shoulders to a slouch and slowly drink her beverage. With a frown, he gazes at her with obvious concern. "Okay, you really need a break badly. You need to get away from this bullshit drama for a bit. I wish I knew where you could go to be free from them..."


    Bouncing his glances around the room, he curls his frown with a bit of paranoia. "AND the crew."


    Deedri releases a long sigh and shakes her head of loosely braided back multicolor hair, blankly staring down at her legs. "Gods... I can''t even go to the forest without a chance of being followed anymore."


    After a long swig of his drink, Modoran hums in thought, and his eyes search his mind. "Well, if there was a place they literally weren''t allowed to go... But, you could..."


    An idea springs to the front of Deedri''s thoughts, and her auburn eyes open wide. Her head lifts up and some of her stray long red, blonde, white, and tan hair tosses back over her shoulders. Reaching over to a nearby nightstand, she grabs her aetherphone and swiftly swipes through recent items. With a press on an entry, a guild notice appears, detailing a request for volunteers at the Amaranth Valley Medical Center. Deedri bites her lip, struggling with a rush of emotions. "MAYBE... There IS a possible place."


    Perking up, Modoran leans over and peeks at Deedri''s aetherphone screen. "So, where would that be?"


    With a wavering smirk, Deedri contemplates out loud, her long, fluffy tail wagging. "I could volunteer at the local clinic. The local guild office put out a request for volunteers to assist, since a lot of staff got brought in to Hattan."


    Her furry, tufted ears droop, and she sighs. "But, it''s only voluntarily. And, my public service requirement quota is very little right now."


    A sly grin creeps across Modoran, and he chuckles with a mischievous tinge. "WELL... Does anyone else know those details?"


    Pausing in thought, she glances over to Modoran and returns her attention to the phone display. A plotting smile creases her mouth, and she drums her claw tips upon the thick rubber case on her phone. "Um, no. But, how do I convince everyone to let me go work there for a few days?"


    With a scheming aura, Modoran lifts an eyebrow at Deedri and cranes his head over, gazing at her face. "Not everyone. Just Chad. I mean, how generous and noble of HIM would it be for HIM to support a fellow party member in their profession? And, for HIM to facilitate the medical mage in providing assistance to the local community in their time of need? I mean, what a wonderful service for HIM and the Flames of the Phoenix to make possible. "


    Deedri slowly turns her head and gazes upon Modoran''s dark bluish gray face and his dark blue eyes. With a toothy grin, she gradually nods, wagging her long tail. "You know, I think I get where you are going... Could you help me practice saying the right thing, the right way to Chad? I want to see if I can convince him later tonight."


    Modoran smiles brightly, winks at Deedri, leaning forward off the bed, and rests his drink bottle on the floor next to the bedpost. "Of course. But, I need to check my tablet in my room. It hung on an update, and I''m trying to see if it finally worked through it."


    Deedri smiles excitedly, slides over to the other side of the bed, and unzips a large fabric case. "Thank you, so much! I''ll start typing up the answer back to the guild, so it''s all ready to go."


    The bedroom door opens inwards and Modoran steps out, pulling the knob quietly behind him. Turning immediately towards his room, he moves quickly, near silently down the hallway. He slips swiftly through his door into his room and out of sight. Around the corner of the wall leading to the stairwell, a pair of pink pupil eyes glare harshly towards Modoran''s room and shift towards Deedri''s. Veevi''s fuzzy ears lower, and she grits her sharp teeth. Tossing back her pink hair, she drags a faint groove into the wall with a sharp fingernail. Her eyes drift back towards Modoran''s room, and a wicked smirk forms. She slinks down the hallway to her room.


    ----


    Samantha stares out through the windshield of the Next Adventurers of Nexus crew van. Gritting her teeth in sheer irritation, she maintains a low, annoyed tone towards the person on the other side of the aetherphone call. "So... What you are telling me... IS... that we aren''t allowed to step foot on even the SIDEWALK with camera equipment?"


    A stern voice resounds through the earpiece¡¯s speaker, and Gerald glances over from the driver''s seat and watches the developing twinge in Samantha''s face. With a long groan, Samantha sighs heavily, shakes her head in defeat, and rolls her hazel eyes. "NO. It''s FINE. Yes, we understand. There''s no need to contact the guild about this. You have a... Nice... Day..."


    Firmly pressing the end call button on the display, she tosses the phone onto the front dash and runs her fingers through her brown hair with an aggravated growl. "GODS DAMMIT. We can''t go in. In fact, if we EXIT our vehicles with camera equipment, they will file a HUGE complaint with the guild."


    She plops her head against the headrest of the seat and glares out ahead. "So, we''ll just have to record what we can from the vehicles."


    Rolling down his window, Gerald nods understandingly, retrieves his camera from behind his driver''s seat, and braces himself upon the door frame. "Okay. We''ll get a few shots, and let the editing guys do their magic. I''m sure they''ll be able to stitch something together with a few good clips."


    Samantha sinks into the passenger''s seat, twists a sneer, and picks up her clipboard. "It''ll have to do. What the hell prompted her to do this? GODS, I can''t stand the fact that we already can''t put a camera in her room."


    Shaking his head, Gerald aims his camera towards Chad and Deedri standing on the sidewalk a few meters ahead. "Again, as per our legal department, no recording devices where personal party medical information may be stored and/or reviewed by a medical professional. Howard has explicitly told me to follow that rule..."


    A flit of memory contorts his face, and he sighs. "Especially after THAT last lawsuit."


    Just to the side of the black sports utility vehicle, Chad stands on the sidewalk, in front of Deedri. Presenting his trademark bright, white smile, he spots the camera coverage nearby and clearly speaks. "Deedri, I hope you have a nice Wednesday at this fine clinic. Thank you again, for trusting your party leader and giving me a chance to support your esteemed profession. I trust your efforts will bring goodwill towards the Flames of the Phoenix."


    Deedri dons a nervous smirk and bows slightly. "I''ll try to do my best, Chad. For you, and the Flames of the Phoenix."


    Chad gazes over Deedri''s white doctor''s coat, neat black scrubs, professional identification badge, and hair tightly braided behind her head. Moments later, he notices a few large, imposing clinic security staff approach the crew vans. Glancing over at the argument between crew and staff brew, he gazes at Deedri with a genuine smile and calm tone. "By the way, I just wanted to say you look amazingly proper and professional. If what you did in Hattan is any measure, this clinic should be delighted to have you. I would be surprised if they didn''t request us to bring you back in the future."


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perk, and her eyes spring wide open with mild surprise. She smiles and graciously nods with her appreciation. "Thank you, Chad. That''s very nice of you to say. I- Thank you."


    Tilting her head towards the entrance, she takes a step away. "Well, I need to check in at the main desk."


    Chad proudly stands tall and grants a nod to Deedri. "Of course."


    Deedri walks a few meters away, turns around briefly, and gives a final wave. With a smirk, Chad returns the gesture and eyes the simmer confrontation between show crew and clinic security. From the confines of the front passenger''s seat in the cab of the sports utility vehicle, Veevi leers through the windshield with hands supporting her head, seductively lifts an eyebrow, and gives a long sultry wink at Deedri. With renewed purpose, Deedri speeds quickly across the sidewalk and through the automated doors of the Amaranth Valley Medical Center. Passing through the entryway, she releases a long, slow sigh of relief, spots the front desk, and quickly approaches it. The man at the desk glances up and nods. "Welcome to the Amaranth Valley Medical Center. How may I help you?"


    Deedri unclips her badge and presents it to the receptionist. "Yes. My name is Deedri Preetta. I''m a medical mage volunteering from the guild."


    The man takes the badge, inspects it briefly, guides an edge of it through a scanner, and returns it to Deedri. "Oh, excellent! I''ll inform the head doctor. Another guild medical mage started yesterday to work on her quota, too. I think she went to the bathroom, but she should be here soon."


    The man picks up a phone and dials a number. Blinking in thought, Deedri contorts her face warily. A particular possibility arrives in her mind... And, presents herself in reality. Aristespha walks up to the front desk, notices the man on the phone, and shifts her attention to the fvalian woman next to her. Deedri and Aristespha turn towards each other. Exchanging awkward gazes, both remain silent in utter surprise for long, tense seconds. Aristespha musters the situational awareness and assembles some kind of greeting towards Deedri. "Oh. Well. I did not expect to see you here. I assume you are working on your quota, too."


    Surprise still keeping her auburn eyes open wide, Deedri nods slowly. "Um... Yes. I thought it would be an appropriate time to assist this clinic."


    Aristespha acknowledges the statement, searching uncertainly for an appropriate response. Pausing in thought, she draws a deep breath and gradually dons a professional, stoic demeanor. "As did I. It is good that we share a common interest. I do hope we both can benefit from each other''s skills and experience during our time working together."


    Witnessing the shift in Aristespha''s demeanor, Deedri briefly cocks her head to the side. Moments later, her posture straightens, her expression calms, and Deedri meets Aristespha''s stare. "I actually look forward to working in the same environment with you and hope we both can be of assistance to the other."


    The man hangs up the phone, and notices both Aristespha and Deedri together. "Oh, good. You both are here. The head doctor is down this hallway in the diagnostics and general practice wing. She should be expecting you."


    Aristespha and Deedri exchange glances, both nod to the receptionist, and move down the directed hallway together, rigid and uncomfortable.


    ----


    Laying on the dark gray blanket on his bed, Modoran props up his tablet upon his chest with one hand and slowly maneuvers a dagger through the fingers of his other hand. An instructional video plays on the display with the audio just rising above the quiet of the bedroom. Modoran nods his head slightly on his pillow, quietly mumbling to himself in a dialect of evuukian. Pressing the on-screen pause button, he glances over to his knife twirling hand and meticulously works through the steps, paying careful attention to each motion. Step by step, he mimics the blade exercises from the video, and reenacts the maneuver cautiously a few times, speeding up each flurry of motion. Modding to himself satisfied, he taps the play button and studies the rest of the video.


    Minutes later, a light knock on the door sounds out into the room. Modoran freezes briefly, blinks in confusion, and ponders a moment. Furrowing his brow, he mouths out his bewilderment in evuukian. He places his tablet on the pillow, rests his dagger on the bed, and slides off the top to his feet. Curiously approaching the bedroom door, he listens close for a moment and turns the knob. The door opens inwards, and the suggestively posed Veevi stands confidently just outside the door frame. She flutters her eyes, tosses back some of her pink hair, and firmly grips both sides of the doorway. "Hello... Modoran."


    Modoran glances down at Veevi, quirks a bewildered eyebrow, and eyes towards either side of the hallway. "Hey... Veevi. Um, if you are looking for Chad, I have not seen him lately. He might be outside with Trakenthin, or maybe doing some personal interview with the crew?"


    Grinning sharply, Veevi hoists a dark pink eyebrow at Modoran with a low giggle. "Oh... I''m not looking for him. I was actually looking for YOU. I wanted to see if we could do some... Training."


    A smug smirk graces Modoran''s face, and he snorts, hinting towards dismissive. "Well, if it is more stealth training. I am certain we could do some hide and seek, today. I will even give you all the head start you need to find a good spot before I find you."


    With mischievous glint sparkling in Veevi''s eyes, she suggestively pushes through Modoran into his room, softly raking her fingers across his tight shirt covered chest and dragging a coiling tail over his upper legs. Sauntering through the room, she surveys the average, modest contents, and locks her attention upon the blade on the bed. With a playful, sultry grace, she wanders over, seats herself near the knife, and glides herself upon the sheets to a revealing pose. She runs her fingers up the handle, slides a sharp nail along the blade, and lightly taps the point. With a devious, hungry gaze towards Modoran, she touches the tip of her finger to her lip, and exaggeratedly licks it. "While hide and seek has been... Fun. I was thinking something more... Personal. Physical, even."


    A strong surge of unease and discomfort floods up through Modoran''s body. Struggling, he suppresses a nervous twitch in his eye. "Uh, sure. I guess you want to learn more about knife fighting? I do have some spare training blades..."


    A reserved smile pulls across Veevi''s mouth, and she stretches herself out on the bed top with a playfully disappointed sigh. "I guess that would suffice... For now."


    Spinning herself around, she slowly places her feet on the floor and gradually lifts herself up, presenting her figure in the most overt fashion. With each step towards the doorway, she sways her hips, hands firmly upon them. With an evil grin, she purposefully brushes against the utterly perplexed Modoran, slows her progress across his body, and drags her tail intrusively behind. In the hallway, she pivots with a suggestive wink to Modoran. "So... See you in an hour out in the backyard?"


    Modoran rigidly nods once with a blank face and empty tone. "Sure... For the knife fighting training."


    Veevi struts away, a plotting, sinister smirk growing upon her face with the distance between Modoran and her. Carefully closing the door securely, Modoran takes a few steps away and reflexively shudders. His body twists and flexes in a mix of disgust and horror, ending with him pressing the fingertips of both hands on his temples. He shakes his head and mumbles a strong expletive in evuukian repeatedly, dropping his hands dramatically. Vainly attempting to blink off the horrified stare, he subconsciously brushes off the intangible filth upon his shirt.


    ----


    Bach plants his feet, steadies his stance, and aims the plasma pistol at a steel plate target in the distance. He waits for the wind blowing across the taller grasses on the side of the ranch style house to still. With a gentle squeeze of the trigger, the contacts within click, and the plasma bolt launches out the barrel. The orb of energized gas flies straight over the field and impacts the lower corner of the metal target, unleashing a concussive cloud. Bach sneers his upper lip, glances at the pistol, and holsters the weapon. Crossing his arms, he hums in thought and pivots in place towards Cideeda. "Okay... I''m lost now."


    Furrowing his brow, he gazes down at Cideeda and frowns with his frustration. "I can''t tell if the sights are off... OR, if I didn''t get one of the accelerator stages aligned right."


    Awaiting a response, he does not receive one. An amused smile grows on Bach, and he watches Cideeda quietly voice an incantation and methodically gesture through a simple spell. Joy fills her light brown face, and she watches a small bright orb remain steady for a number of seconds over the palm of her hand. Moments later, it dissipates gently into streaks of magical miasma upon the breeze. Cideeda gazes in pure delight at the energy drifting off. Her furry ear flicks over towards the idle quiet around Bach, and Cideeda glances over. Wrestling a bit embarrassment, she nonchalantly plays off her prior distracted moment. "Oh, um... Yes. It all, um, depends on how far off from the target you are."


    Her emerald green eyes frantically search for more information, and she sighs with the failing facade. "So, how far off were you, again?"


    Lifting an inquisitive eyebrow, Bach chuckles and shakes his head. "Still figuring it out?"


    Cideeda rolls her eyes at herself, crosses her arms, and shrugs her shoulders. "Well, I... I know I''ll eventually get used to it all, and this will seem like boring, trivial things to do. But... right now..."


    She smiles brightly and nearly hops in place. "I just find it SO AMAZING and COOL."


    Bach catches Cideeda''s contagious grin and laughs. "Don''t worry. It actually never gets old. You just find new aspects to explore and try out. Sort of like Legends of Nexus."


    Pausing in thought, Cideeda curiously eyes Bach with a wary gaze. "So... You mean you find some new army you want to try out of curiosity, take the time to learn the rules, and then spend a ridiculous amount of money to get everything you need to put it together? While you may never even get a chance to test it out on the field?"


    Fighting a hesitant, agreeing nod, Bach sighs and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to his sides. "Uh... Yeah, actually. But, I mean, it''s still fun to explore it."


    A giggle escapes Cideeda''s smile, and she retrieves a practice focus from her shorts pocket. Holding it in her hand, a green glow gradually climbs up the encircling magical inscriptions on the wooden stick, and she narrows her stare. "Still so much more to go..."


    Bach quirks his brow, and a sly smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. Pointing to the practice focus, he summons up a persuasive tone and idly taps upon his holstered plasma pistol. "You know, there''s a number of other effects that can be imbued in those wands and focuses... I could easily alter that focus with one."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk at the change in Bach''s cadence, and her eyebrow arches over her focused emerald green eyes. "Really? Could you give me an example?"


    Bach extends his hand out towards the distant steel plate target. A small few millimeter wide pellet of magical energy condenses at the tip of his pointed finger. With a brief flicker of blue in Bach''s eyes, the tiny orb flies off at the hanging metal, impacts with a soft steely ring, and puffs into a faint magical miasma. Cideeda slides her focus away from the pellet and settles up Bach. Presenting a calculating smile, she briefly glances at the holstered plasma pistol. "I think I MAY be interested in that."


    She flicks her stare up at Bach and narrows her attention. "BUT... At what cost?"


    With an exaggerated sigh, Bach hums in faux contemplation and gestures towards his plasma pistol. "Oh, just a small price, really. Let''s say, just a friendly shortcut to diagnosing the problems I''m having with this."


    Cideeda dramatically acts out her playful deliberation via exaggerated body language, nods carefully, and hands the magical focus to Bach. "I believe I can accept those terms."


    Bach takes hold of the wooden stick and waits, both Bach and Cideeda gripping the magical focus. Wagging her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda perks up her furry ears and grins mischievously. "You''ve been counteracting your adjustments between the sights and the last accelerator stage. You should have gotten a laser bore sight to check the weapon sights..."


    She holds up a claw tipped finger to Bach. "THEN, you should calibrate the accelerator stages."


    Cideeda lets go of the magical focus, places her hands on her hips, and grins toothily at Bach with an amused pose. "I was actually curious how long you''d go back and forth, before you''d ask me for help."


    Shaking his head, Bach grumbles to himself and sighs out his embarrassment. "Gods dammit. Of course, it''d be something that simple. Oh well...


    He nods appreciatively to Cideeda. "Thank you."


    After a loud snort, Cideeda laughs, combs her claws through her short mix of brown, white, tan, orange, and black hair, and flicks her long, fluffy, tufted tail. "Oh, don''t feel too bad. I''m very impressed you got the rest of the stages aligned correctly so quickly."


    Rolling his eyes at himself, Bach directs his gaze at the magical focus in his hands, a blue glow illuminating his face. "Okay. I won''t feel too terrible about it then."


    Cideeda steps closer and attentively watches magical flows twist, turn, and warp around the wooden stick in Bach''s hands. Wonderment captures her completely, and she stands fidgeting in anticipation. Minutes later, the magical flows settle and the wooden focus rests down in Bach''s open palm. He presents the artifact to Cideeda with a proud grin, elaborate wave, and an embellishing voice. "Behold, your first specialty wand. It''s a finely crafted Wand of Really Minor Mage Bolt!"


    Maintaining a tight smile in face of the corny, goofy display, she shakes her head and grasps onto the newly minted wand. "As if it wasn''t obvious that you''ve played quite a few late nights at the tabletop."


    Bach relaxes his shoulders, chuckles at himself, and smirks. "I know. Just couldn''t resist the opportunity."


    Scanning around the area, he squints towards the front of the house. "Hey, do we still have any cans or bottles in the recycling bin? The metal plates aren''t bad targets, but there''s just something about plinking cans and bottles that make this spell A LOT more fun to use."


    Cideeda turns herself towards the front of the building and walks casually in that direction. "We should. It seems like the county collects the bins whenever they feel like it. I swear we need to call the landlord and ask what the deal is with that."


    Bach follows behind Cideeda and surveys the tall grasses, pushing a path through the long blades. "By the way, are we responsible for the lawn care or does the landlord do that?"


    Stopping in place, Cideeda examines the overgrown lawn, scratches the back of her head, and uncertainly grimaces. "I, actually, don''t know."


    With a thoughtful hum, she directs a plotting voice at Bach. "I think I might have to check to see if any of the people at Steve''s shop have a lawn mower and want to make some money."


    A sly smile emerges on Bach, and he eyes Cideeda. "Make sure to ask the Legends of Nexus players."


    Cideeda shines a toothy grin up at Bach and chuckles darkly. "OH, those are THE first ones I''m going to ask. Miniatures, paints, and rule books don''t buy themselves."

 Episode 42

    Long rows of back to back benches stretch across the floor space of a clinic waiting area. Desk staff busily guide people through the forms and advise on the many signature requirements. An older woman in neat, professional attire inspects a couple of clipboards upon a desk, each with a metal clip binding together paperwork. Deedri promptly steps up next to the older woman, presents a proper stance, and dutifully hands over a clipboard. "Dr. Blackwell, it was as you advised. Though, it was a particularly advanced sinus infection. Hence, I felt he would be best served with a magical evacuation of sinus build up."


    Fighting down a reflexive wince pushing towards cringe, she maintains her proper exterior. "It was... Substantial. But, he was VERY relieved. I prescribed some low-grade antibiotics and recommended some over the counter nasal sprays."


    Taking the clipboard from Deedri, Dr. Blackwell flips through the standard forms, scans the detailed notes upon each page, and pauses upon a specific section, her eyes slightly widening. "OH. That IS a substantial amount. I am a little surprised his sinuses could contain that much."


    Deedri awkwardly smiles and shrugs her shoulders. "It was, also, quite colorful, too."


    The stoic head doctor cracks an amused smirk and sighs with a shake of her head. Casting her gaze over the nearby clipboards, she hovers a hand over the collection and rests it down upon one particular stack of paperwork. She lifts up the wooden back of the board and presents it to Deedri with a slight smile. "I believe you''ll enjoy this one, especially after reading up on your medical school publications. I believe it aligns with your expressed interests."


    With a curious tilt of the head, Deedri grasps onto the clipboard, lowers her attention to the paperwork, and her auburn eyes light up. With her furry, tuft ears perking up, she smiles graciously and nods with a slight bow to Dr. Blackwell. "Thank you, Dr. Blackwell."


    Dr. Blackwell returns the nod and points Deedri towards a room door in the distance. Deedri leaves promptly, and Dr. Blackwell focuses upon the files on the desk before her. Under a minute later, Aristespha steps up with a clipboard in hand, attempts to neaten up her appearance with a free hand, and straightens up her posture. "Dr. Blackwell. It turns out the patient had a rash... extensively on and around the perineum. I performed some basic magical treatments to alleviate the more prominent symptoms and discomfort. Then, I prescribed a broad spectrum topical ointment from the pharmacy to address a few likely causes, until lab work is done to confirm a specific source."


    A well-hidden sinister smirk creeps upon Dr. Blackwell face out of view of Aristespha. Promptly picking up a case file, she swiftly pivots, calmly faces Aristespha, and exchanges clipboards with her. "Excellent. Here is your next assignment. It seems to be a common theme today."


    Nodding respectfully against her trepidation, Aristespha scans over the first few pages of paperwork. The corners of her mouth contort slightly towards a grimace, her violet eyes reading the detailed notes of the patient''s prior medical history. Down a long hallway of doors on either side with medical professionals and patients moving along, Deedri stands outside the examination room door, takes a long breath in, and turns the handle. Stepping through the open doorway, she quickly scans the space inside. A tall, strong man with short dirty blonde hair turns in place and faces Deedri respectfully, with a hint of recognition. An evuukian woman with long golden brown hair and golden highlights upon her cheeks stands up from wiping the face of a four year old boy with dirty blonde hair and golden highlights on his cheeks. With a happy tone, Deedri politely greets everyone. "Hello, I''m Mage Preeta."


    The man reaches out a hand and smiles. "Nice to meet you, doctor. I''m Mason Anderson."


    Deedri shakes his hand, expressing a bit of embarrassment with a bright smile. "Oh, I am very flattered, but it''s only mage. Doctor is a few more years of schooling that I need before I can use that title."


    Rolling her auburn eyes at the topic, she sighs lightly and muses humored. "Quite a few doctors get a little particular about that title sometimes."


    Mason laughs, shrugs awkwardly, and snorts. "Ah, sorry. Certainly showed my lack of upbringing there. I''ll keep that in mind. But, is doc okay?"


    Deedri nods quickly with a laugh and turns, facing the evuukian woman. "Of course."


    The evuukian woman perks an amused eyebrow at Mason, giggles to herself, and accepts the handshake offered by Deedri. "It is nice to make your acquaintance, Mage Preeta. My name is Lalyanpha, and..."


    She glances over at the ever distracted child, resting a guiding hand on his shoulder. "This is Mylo."


    Focusing her attention upon Mylo, Deedri waves her hand towards him with a delighted smile. "Hello, Mylo."


    Mylo glances up from playing with the toy wand in his hands, noticing Deedri, and blankly blinks his brown, orange hinted eyes. Sitting upon the examination table, he happily returns the wave. "Hello. My name is Mylo. What''s yours?"


    Deedri flicks her furry, tufted ears forward and grins back at him. "I''m Mage Preeta, but my first name is Deedri."


    Accepting the answer happily, Mylo returns his attention towards the toy wand. Lalyanpha sighs with a shake of her head, and Mason shrugs nonchalantly. With a reassuring smirk, Deedri gazes between Mason and Lalyanpha. "So far, seems like normal four year old behavior."


    She swiftly eyes the clipboard in hand and searches for a confirmation. "You are here for his yearly checkup and immunizations, if I''m correct."


    Lalyanpha nods and points to her eyes with a bit of concern forming up her face. "Yes, but we wanted to check on his eyes, too. He seems to see just fine, but a new orange coloration is showing through."


    Furrowing her brow to ponder, Deedri glances over to Mylo briefly and returns her attention back to the parents. "And, you''ve noticed this recently?"


    Both Mason and Lalyanpha nod in unison. Stepping over to an adjustable stool next to the examination table, Deedri sets the height and takes a seat in front of Mylo. She thinks a moment, smirks thoughtfully, and lifts a finger up. With her eyes flickering to a glowing auburn, a rainbow point of color forms on the claw tip, and she directs a playful tone to the child. "Mylo, look!"


    Lifting his head up, Mylo searches around briefly and locks his full focus upon the tiny rainbow orb of color upon Deedri''s finger tip. He gawks at the colorful display, and Deedri guides the illusion around and leads Mylo''s eyes around. During opportune moments, she leans in quickly and squints at Mylo''s face with a meticulous stare. Carefully backing away, she swings the colorful glow to another position. She finishes up the examination, the rainbow upon Deedri''s finger tip fades, and Mylo excitedly gazes wide eyed at Deedri. "How did you do that!?"


    Smiling with a slight laugh, Deedri pantomimes the gestures for a fake spell. "Oh, it''s just a simple illusion spell."


    She tilts her head to the side and points to Mylo''s hand. "I see you have a wand. Can you do magic?"


    Mylo immediately nods, fumbles briefly with the wand, and energetically waves around randomly. Colorful fading streams trail out behind the toy''s path through the air. Deedri momentarily eyes the wand, familiarity itching her cheek, and glances over to Mason and Lalyanpha. "Well, I would recommend seeing a specialist in genealogy genetics for a proper confirmation, but I believe the coloration is just a different expression of his evuukian traits."


    She quirks a quizzical eyebrow at Lalyanpha. "If I may ask, is there anyone in your family with orange eyes?"


    Lalyanpha blinks in thought and nods, a reserved smile holding back a spark of joy. "Yes. Yes, there is. My father."


    Placing his arm around Lalyanpha, Mason gently pats her shoulder and sighs, playfully rolling his brown eyes. "You do know if you tell him this, he''s just going to find a reason to come down again to see it for himself."


    With a sly grin and nudging lean into Mason, Lalyanpha chuckles to herself. "Oh dear. My father and mother will come down yet again and spend the weekend capturing our child''s complete and utter attention. How ever shall we survive the peaceful moments together we rarely experience these days?"


    Momentarily staring out distantly, Mason''s brow contorts in thought, and he slowly nods to a swift acceptance. "Well... So, whenever you want to tell him, go right ahead. I''m certain we''ll survive another visit."


    Pondering a moment, Lalyanpha furrows her brow and directs a question towards Deedri. "Could this color change have anything to do with magic use? Last visit my father was very excited with getting him started on a lot of my old magic focuses. I did not know if that could have been a trigger."


    Deedri sways her head slightly from shoulder to shoulder indecisively and sighs with a tug to the corner of her mouth. "That would be very hard to determine at this point. Now, it could be a possibility if there was a family history of a similar magically reactive biological trait. But, he''s a bit young to be able to flow enough magical energy to trigger most known traits that react to magic use."


    Drawing in the air with his toy wand, Mylo plays with the color vapor trails. Moving around a few times, Deedri glances at Mylo during the brief convenient moments, furthering her study. Mylo stops waving the wand around, and his stare settles upon Deedri''s furry, tufted ears. "Why are your ears furry?"


    Smiles at Mylo, Deedri guides her fingers along her long, furry ear to the end tuft, and pulls the ear lower. "Oh, it''s because I''m a fvalian. We have furry ears, claws, and a tail."


    Blatantly furrowing his brow, the little boy thinks and curiously gazes at Deedri. "Will I have a tail when I''m big?"


    Slowly shaking her head amused, Deedri chuckles lightly with a smile. "No. Probably not. You will probably have long ears and skin colors like your mother. And, you will probably be as tall as your father. Maybe even taller."


    Mylo cocks his head to the side, his eyes piecing together his next sentence, and a bit of excitement hops up onto his face. "Will I grow horns like Nass?"


    Blinking in confusion, Deedri furrows her brow briefly, searching for more information, and glances over to both Mason and Lalyanpha. "Who is... Nass?"


    With Mason trying to match the name, Lalyanpha perks up and answers readily. "Oh, that''s Mylo''s friend from the park we visit. She is a little emin girl."


    Shaking her head politely, Deedri presents a small smile to Mylo. "No. Probably no horns. Those usually show up early, and I don''t see any signs."


    Mylo frowns downward with the revelation and pouts within his disappointment. With a faint giggle, Deedri grins and cranes her gaze at Mylo. "Well, Mylo, horns aren''t always good. My friend, Tass, has them. As much as she really likes them, she has trouble with them sometimes."


    The little boy gazes up curiously at Deedri and blinks puzzled. "Really?"


    Deedri softly chuckles, sets up the table nearby with basic medical diagnostic instruments. "Oh, yes! One time she didn''t get much sleep one night, and she walked around most of the morning with part of a pillow stuck on her horn."


    Mylo''s brown, orange speckled eyes widen in amazement. "She didn''t know?"


    Shaking her head, Deedri rolls her eyes and prepares her stethoscope. "No. I had to tell her."


    Continuing the examination, she amuses both child and parents with her stories of getting tails caught in doors, absentmindedly clawing up furniture, and insects flying into ears.


    ----


    Standing with his arms crossed, Bach levels a very unsure and uneasy grimace at Sotalia. Under the shade of the large tree near the side of the ranch style house, Sotalia lifts a prominent eyebrow with an eager grin and rests her hands on her hips. "Well, today, I think it''s time for another session of flight training."


    Apprehension pulses through Bach, and he forces the sarcasm through an awkward smirk. "Right... Does this training involve a harness, a floating disc, and swinging me into treetops?"


    He tenses the wrap of his arms around himself and winces with memory. "Because, I''m not exactly convinced THAT taught me anything... Well... Apart from experiencing which trees had the nicest leaves to crash through... And how many firs and cedars are around."


    Gritting her teeth into an awkward wince, Sotalia averts her golden eyes momentarily, a wave of embarrassment passing through her posture. She recovers her confidence, carefully eyes Bach with a prying smile, and cocks her head inquisitively to the side. "OKAY. Yes, THAT was a bit over ambitious. But... Your attitude towards flying has changed from what I heard from your brother. Are you afraid of flying now? Because, it didn''t sound like you used to be."


    Bach twists his mouth, cringes out his unease, and releases a long sigh, slumping his shoulders. "I mean, it''s not the whole flying thing... It''s, well, the whole falling from great heights that''s become the bigger issue."


    With a sway of the hips, Sotalia shifts her weight from one leg to another, and blinks at Bach in honest thought, visibly puzzling. "Okay?"


    Releasing his arms to his sides, Bach shrugs and sneers his upper lip lightly . "Well... Before, if the main flight spell failed for whatever reason, I HAD, at least, three other spells I could direct cast in moments to keep me from falling to my death. Now..."


    With sharp exhales, he sags his posture and shakes his head in defeat. "I don''t have any."


    He draws in a long breath, rolls his blue eyes at himself, and fidgets his nerves out through his idle hands. "Now, it takes A LOT of concentration and care to even get liftoff. And, just a split second interruption is enough to get me falling too quickly to stop... nicely, at least."


    Sotalia''s analyzing stare upon Bach softens to a genuinely concerned gaze. Piecing together the options in her mind between side to side rocks of her head, an empathetic frown appears on her light tan, gray edged face. Nodding her head of dark red hair, she steps forward and stands directly in front of Bach, presenting an honest smile towards him. "Okay. Well, first, I truly apologize for the previous approach. Second, I''ve gotten so used to having the same options for not falling, that I kind of forgot what it''s like not to have them."


    Chuckling, Bach rolls his eyes at himself. "Hey, it''s cool. I mean, I kind of forgot, too, until I couldn''t use all my old spells. So... Puts it all into perspective."


    A warm grin graces Sotalia, and she clears the stray dark red hairs in her eyes over her horns. "So, I think we need to try a different approach. Don''t worry, it''s FAR less intense and more controlled."


    She speedily speaks incantations and quickly motions a stream of gestures with her hands. Bach watches carefully and suspiciously eyes her. "Standard hover spell?"


    Extending both her dual toned forearms out at waist level, Sotalia flips up her palms with a graceful flair and lifts her eyebrow at Bach with a smile. "Yes. Hover is much more tolerant to additional weight and has all the extra stabilization measures."


    Glancing down at Sotalia''s arms, he returns his uncertain gaze back to her. Sotalia flexes her fingers and reaches forward towards Bach''s arms. "Oh, come on! Hold onto my arms, and I''ll support underneath yours. It''s what my sisters and I used to do all the time when practicing."


    Bach nods slowly and moves his arms up. Grasping lightly around Sotalia''s elbows, he rests his arms onto her awaiting palms. "Okay, I''ll give it a try. Something slow and easy. Yeah, I think I can get behind that."


    Moments of Bach standing later, Sotalia''s hands playfully squeeze Bach''s forearms, and she patiently awaits with a grin. "Whenever you''re ready, flyboy. Whatever height and speed you feel like."


    Bach stares at his feet, and a blue glow shines in his eyes. Seconds later, the grass surrounding gently waves along with a silent breeze, radiating outwards from Bach. Stray hairs upon Bach''s head lift up into an invisible upwards current. Sotalia watches attentively, carefully examines the phenomena around her, fidgets within the magical flows stirring. Her focus returns to Bach, feeling the weight upon her arms briefly lessen. Bach''s head and shoulders gradually shift up along with his upper body. The heels of his boots part from the surface of the ground. And, his whole body floats slowly up, hovering centimeters clear over the dirt. Sotalia pushes off the grass and immediately matches Bach''s height, her hands firmly supporting his shaky balance. Seconds of sustained flight later, she glances down below at the ground and hoists a puzzled brow towards Bach. "You know you can go higher if you want. I still have plenty of flight time left, and you aren''t shaking around too badly."


    Flashing a grimace, Bach focuses his full attention purely upon the distance between his feet and the ground. "Uh... Yeah... I''m okay. This is a pretty good height... for now... I can keep this right here."


    Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia shakes her head and pierces an incredulous stare into Bach. She furrows her brow in thought, cracks a hint of a smirk, and nods with a genuine smile. "Okay. Here''s an idea to try. Have you tried closing your eyes, and not focusing so much on what''s exactly below you?"


    The blatant hesitation spills over into Bach''s tone, and he barely lifts his head in response. "Uh... Well, maybe I tried in the past. I don''t know. After the first few flops... upon the hard ground... I never really tried much else. Stuck with what worked, you know?"


    Squeezing her long black nails into the thick of Bach''s forearms, Sotalia meets his perplexed gaze with a firm stare. "Let''s try it."


    Bach eyes drift downwards, mulling over the concept. Sotalia pops an assertive hiss. "Stop. Looking. Down."


    Bach snaps his head up and notices Sotalia''s reassuring smile. "Yeah... Okay."


    Tilting her head to the side, she gazes humoring at Bach. "It''ll be fine. You close your eyes and focus. I''ll keep you from drifting or tilting."


    A mischievous grin parts her mouth, and her hands tightly grip onto Bach''s arms. "And, don''t worry, I won''t let anything happen to you."


    She winks with a sly smile. "You still know too many spells that I don''t."


    Narrowing his partly amused gaze at Sotalia, Bach chuckles lightly and closes his eyes with an accepting sigh. He straightens his posture, resettles his balance with Sotalia''s support, and calms himself. Seconds pass, and Bach steadies himself gradually, relying less upon Sotalia buffering his corrections. Sotalia flexes her fingers out, opening her hands, and briefly drops her palms slightly away from the underside of Bach''s forearms, observing his stability. She replaces her hands underneath Bach''s arms and waits. "SEE. You''re doing really good. Now, try going up."


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Drawing a slow breath in, Bach nods reserved and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Alright. But, not too high."


    Sotalia bites her lip and contorts a guilty grin. "Of course."


    With a careful, gradual pace, the distance between the toes of Bach''s shoes and the ground increases. Keeping a steady hold of Bach''s arms, Sotalia rises up in sync and provides a stable platform to buffer the occasional corrections of balance. She glances around at the nearing branches overhead and the opening between the leaves that both her and Bach float into. Over two meters up with the green canopy surrounding them, Bach''s progress fades to a halt, and Sotalia levels off in sync. Bach breathes in slowly and exhales carefully with an awkward smile. "So... I can''t really judge right now with focusing on everything, but... We''re not too high, right? Maybe a meter?"


    Amusement fills Sotalia''s grin, and she glances down and stifles a giggle. "Oh. At least."


    Bach''s head cocks to the side, his mouth twists, and he opens his glowing blue eyes. Studying Sotalia''s brightly smiling face, he recognizes the branches and leaves surrounding him, much closer than before. His illuminated blue eyes widen, and he begins to tilt his head down. Sotalia pops a firm, assertive hiss and commands. "Do not. Look. Down. You are doing just fine."


    Sotalia''s arms shudder from the shakes in Bach''s balance, and she glances down at Bach''s grip around her elbows tightening. With a calming and confident tone, she firmly grips Bach''s arms. "Hey, look at me. I''ve still got you. Don''t worry."


    After a few unsteady moments, Bach regains stability, keeping his tense gaze upon Sotalia. "O-O-okay. Y-Yeah, I''m trying to not think about it. But..."


    He struggles with the reflexive downwards trend of his glances, and winces back his concentration. "It''s, uh, a bit hard to not think about the situation and how high I- Uh... Ah... You mentioned your sisters?"


    With a reassuring smile Sotalia nods, and she humors Bach with a comforting tone. "Yes, I''ve got two of them. One younger, and one older. I''m the middle child. The younger is Talelia, and the older one is Maelvia. Two years difference either way."


    Bach nods, swallows down some of his nerves, and thinks for a moment. "Are they mages like you?"


    Laughing, Sotalia shakes her head of dark red, shoulder length hair, and sighs softly. "Not exactly. Both picked up magic, but didn''t do the whole adventuring thing. Maelvia is a research mage at a magical materials company. Talelia did the medical route and became an alchemical pharmacist."


    Bach thinks for a moment and smirks impressed. "Wow. Not a bad choice there."


    Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and chuckles to herself. "Yeah, I know. You should see her and her husband''s house and their massive pool."


    With a tense exhale, Bach searches his mind further, avoiding the urge to focus downwards. "So, um, your nieces and nephews?"


    Sotalia''s attention turns inwards and a genuine, warm smile graces her face. "Dellena, Taetala, and Merrick are Maelvia''s. Then, there''s Kalant and Sontaila, and a boy on the way for Talelia."


    Pausing in thought, she gazes right at Bach''s face and grins appreciatively. "By the way, they all LOVED the wands. Including my sisters. So, thank you very much for making them."


    Bach''s averts face away momentarily to work out the humble shyness and nervously laughs. "Ah, not a problem. I''m glad they liked them."


    Sotalia''s muscles tense with the more weight briefly resting upon her arms. Bach straightens his posture and continues uneasily surveying the tree tops. Sotalia quirks a brow. "Speaking of which, Kalant was curious if you could make a wand that shot projectiles."


    Hoisting a suspicious eyebrow up, Bach aims a reserved stare at Sotalia. "Yes... But, well, how old is he?"


    Sighing with a tinge of frustration, Sotalia shakes her head dismissively. "Seven. Gods, I keep telling him he''s just too young for anything powerful."


    Bach twists his mouth in contemplation and grumbles uncertainly. "Yeah, I have to agree. But, there might be something I could make. I''d need to test it..."


    He furrows his brow and grimaces briefly. "Really don''t want to be the one responsible for him shooting his eye out."


    Sotalia nods in complete agreement, rolls her golden eyes, and grumbles. "Gods, I''d never hear the end of it from my sisters if it did happen. I have to screen everything I send them so much as it is."


    Observing Bach''s wavering balance, Sotalia buffers shaky weight upon her arms and grins slyly, watching him fail at playing off the fit. With a light chuckle, she pats the underside of Bach''s arm with her hand. "You ready to land?"


    Bach pauses a moment, his mid-air stance shuddering, grits his teeth sheepishly, and nods in resignation. "YES. I''m about at my limit."


    Smiling honestly, Sotalia gradually floats down and steadies Bach''s descent. Bach''s full weight presses into the soil below, and he stands rigidly with a slight wobble. Glancing down at the ground, he lets go of Sotalia and eases himself down to a seat upon the grass. Sitting down nearby, Sotalia reaches over into a belt of pouches in a nearby equipment bag and plucks out two small vials. She offers one to Bach and rolls her eyes at herself. "AND, before you ask, I made sure the cherry flavoring was CORRECT this time."


    ----


    Veevi lifts up the training dagger in hand at the wooden post. Nearby in the backyard of the two-story house, Modoran stands off to the side, staring idly down at his aetherphone. He flips through a few evuukian news articles and flashy ads between summary texts, and briefly watches Veevi clumsily strike at the training target. With sloppy form and awkward style, Veevi slams the blunted dagger upon the post, her hand bouncing back from the force reflecting back. She growls, grumbles, and feels her wrist. Seconds later, she guides the loose pink hairs back over her fuzzy, upright ears and trains mischievous her stare upon Modoran. With a sway in her step, she approaches Modoran, a devious grin shining. "I''m sure that this is important training and all... That was... FUN... Yesterday."


    Slowly lifting her finger close to her mouth, she bites playfully upon the sharp nail and arches a suggestive eyebrow with a flirty squirm down her posture. "I think I might learn much, MUCH more if our exercises were more..."


    She tips her head down slightly. "One ON one."


    Blinking in the momentary bewilderment, Modoran lifts his head up from his phone, glances over towards Veevi, and observes the sultry pace of Veevi. Hooking the tip of her training dagger upon the collar of her tight-fitting shirt, Veevi stretches the opening and reveals the plentiful surface area of her tan, brown striped chest. Modoran''s dark blue eyes widen in surprise, and he quickly scans the vicinity, worried thought wrestling against his confident pose. Moments with Veevi in immediate proximity later, he flashes a sly grin, slowly nods, and puts away his phone. "Ah. I think I may have an idea of what you want."


    A spark of interest flickers up into Veevi''s pink pupil eyes, and she places her hands upon her hips with a sway and wag of her tail. "OH. Really?"


    Taking a step back, Modoran rolls his shoulders into a long stretch and smirks cunningly, drawing his training blade. "A simple exercise. Try to touch the blade upon my body. If you are successful, you choose how we do... training."


    A sinister grin pulls across Veevi''s tan face, and she narrows a determined stare upon Modoran. "DEAL."


    She sloppily lunges out of the gate with the blunted dagger first and stumbles off to the side on the ground, Modoran parrying the attack. Deftly hopping away, Modoran maintains a relaxed, flexible stance and meticulously examines every motion from Veevi. He stands a few meters away, smiles nonchalantly, and taunts for her next attack. "Well, good effort."


    Picking herself off the ground, Veevi snaps her head towards Modoran and grits her teeth, snarling her upper lip. Her eyes widen in a mix of shock and ire, witnessing Modoran casually check his phone. She swiftly scrambles back up to her feet, places her training blade forward, and charges. Spotting the last second feint from Veevi attack, Modoran deflects her dagger and forces her momentum into a tumbling spin upon the backyard grass. He mumbles to himself, flexes his fingers, and steps away from Veevi, closer to the two-story house. Furiously blowing the stray pink bangs out of her eyes, Veevi digs her sharp nailed fingers into the dirt and watches Modoran calmly wandering towards the corner of the back lot. Whistling loudly, he plays with the phone and keeps his dagger loosely in fingers at his side. Veevi slowly stands back up, baring her teeth, and slowly approaches Modoran. She walks patiently towards Modoran and locks her full attention upon him. Off to the side of the confrontation, fresh footprints form in the grass, leading towards the house''s sliding glass door. Veevi closes the distance, and her pink eyes spring wide open the moment Modoran turns his back completely towards her. Her boots dig into the earth, and she sprints off. The few meter gap shrinks in seconds, and she swipes out her blade to his exposed back. "GOT YOU-"


    The blunted dagger contacts Modoran''s back. A triumphant grin ignites upon Veevi''s face. It quickly dissipates along with the visage of Modoran. Passing right through cloudy imagery, Veevi blinks in shock, the magical miasma puffing out into the passing wind. She flops upon the grass, blinking in utter bewilderment, and flicks her fuzzy ears towards the sound of the sliding glass door closing. Springing up off the ground, she sprints over to the door and tugs the handle with all her weight. It remains closed. Well within the confines of the house, Modoran hums a smug tune to himself, climbs up the stairs, and listens to the shrill screams of a very angry half-fvalian.


    ----


    In a small medical diagnosis room, Aristespha stands back up straight. Carefully pulling off thin polymer gloves, she presses her foot upon a pedal on the medical waste bin lid and deposits the gloves. "You may redress yourself and take a seat. That is all the examination I need to perform."


    A young man dressed in the latest fashionable fads and brands pulls up his pants, zips back up, and sits down upon the examination table with an expectant stare upon Aristespha. "So, uh, doc, is there something you can do? I mean, he''s, uh, been down and out all week. And, THAT has NEVER happened to me... EVER..."


    Picking up a clipboard thick with medical paperwork, Aristespha retrieves a pen from her coat''s front pocket and clicks the tip out with a stoic gaze towards the forms. She carefully writes upon the page, glances over to the young man, and maintains a stern, professional stare. "Mr. Henderson, I have good news and bad news for you. Which would you like to hear first?"


    Henderson blinks blankly and gradually opens his mouth with a slow, uncertain twist of his head. "Uhh... Sure, how about the good news?"


    With a perk of a scrutinizing eyebrow, Aristespha calmly lays out the situation with proper, explanatory cadence. "Despite your gross misuse of a medical alchemical compound which is typically used to stimulate localized blood flow, that you acquired through less than official means, that can have SEVERE and DANGEROUS side effects... You are only suffering the minor, temporary issues of said misuse. Thankfully for you, since there''s no signs of discoloration, swelling, redness, loss of sensation, nor necrosis..."


    She presents a smug smirk and faintly amused face to Henderson. With a quiet sigh, she brightens her tone slightly. "The good news is you get to keep it. Sexual function of your penis should return in another week as your body stops overreacting to the residual effects of that specific drug."


    A wave of relief radiates through Henderson, and he unleashes the tension in a long exhale, relaxing his shoulders. A moment later, his eyes open wide, and he jerks his head up with a thought smacking into the front of his mind. "Oh shit... A week?!"


    He gazes pleadingly towards, furrowing his brow with a fresh wave of desperation and worry. "Uh, um, Doc? Is there anything you can give me to help me out until next week? I got a date in two days..."


    Tilting his head to the side, he telegraphs with a shrug. "And well... I want to be READY and ABLE."


    Aristespha narrows an unamused glare through Henderson and chills her tone. "SO, you are asking me to prescribe a drug to potentially misuse... to remedy a situation you put yourself into by misusing a drug?"


    The young man''s eyes search his mind, and he pieces together the logic into his embarrassed conclusion. "Oh... Yeah... Sorry..."


    Twisting her mouth with an incredulous hint, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes with a shake of her head. She smiles calmly at Henderson with a supportive tint in her voice. "Admittedly, this is not medical advice but a mere dating suggestion. Why not just have a night out doing the things your partner wants to do? Nice and relaxing. And, will certainly earn you some favor."


    Henderson nods at the thought and idly scratches the hair of his goatee. "Yeah. Huh. Well, Robin did mention wanting to go downtown and the park marketplace."


    Mulling over the forming plan, he agrees with himself. A spark of memory reminds him, and he glances up to Aristespha. "Yeah, uh, wait, you mentioned some bad news. So... What''s the bad news?"


    Donning an amused grin, Aristespha shrugs, a tint of smugness sneaking out. "Oh. The bad news is whoever sold you that alchemical compound ripped you off COMPLETELY. If it was as pure as he advertised to you, you would be in the hospital operating wing deciding between prosthetic or regenerative replacement options."


    Henderson''s jaw drops in bewildered terror tempered by gracious acceptance of the strange luck.


    ----


    Sitting at the table in the dining area next to the kitchen, Tassilda drones on technical about the detailed basics of magic energies and flow. She averts a lecturing gaze away from her single student, Veevi, and turns in her seat, searching a bag for another tome for the menacing pile in the middle of the table. Narrowing her eyes with a sinister smirk, Veevi quietly mouths out a simple stream of incantations and slowly gestures out a series of rough motions with her hands. She winces in concentration, points her finger at Tassilda, and cracks a mean smile. A plume of pink mist smokes out from her finger, gathers into a tiny cloud, and drifts in near Tassilda''s head. The vapor looms and holds its position, within the blind spot. Tassilda finds the desired book and resettles herself into the seat, her head swinging right into the awaiting trap. The magical miasma deposits a bright pink hue onto her gray, patterned skin and black hair, brilliantly contrasting the motif. Veevi grins brightly and stiffens her posture pseudo studiously against the slips of amusement. Dropping the new tome in front of Veevi, Tassilda collects herself and dryly lectures. "This particular book with go over the proper, proven methods of refining your control of magical flow and practical practice spells to aid your understanding of casting."


    She pauses her explanation and notices the lack of overwhelming boredom radiating from Veevi. Continuing to examine the strangely attentive gaze from Veevi, her cheek twitches, and her face contorts against a growing itch. The seconds pass, Tassilda cocks her head to the side and glares suspiciously. Veevi keeps her strained attempt at innocence upon her face. With heavy footsteps, Trakenthin enters into the room through the archway and starts towards the refrigerator. Glancing up from a book in his hands, he spots Veevi and nods towards Tassilda. With a brief slide of his hazel eyes, he abruptly halts his momentum and squints confused. Tassilda traces Trakenthin''s stare upon her and contorts a wary, confused gaze back at him. "What ever are you looking at?"


    Blinking dumbfounded, Trakenthin lifts his hand up and motions towards the side of his face. "Pink?"


    Pausing in thought, her light blue on black eyes widen in surprise, and her hand yanks out her aetherphone, tapping through many screens in one motion. She holds the device up, squints at the screen, and grits her teeth in a surge of anger, the front camera mirroring her face on the display. Spouting out a series of ireful phrases in a very aggravated emin dialect, she slams her hands on the table and stands up with a furious glare at Veevi. "Where the fuck did you learn of THAT spell!? There''s NO WAY you would have the knowledge to have found it on your own!"


    Veevi cackles out ill-humored laughter and lounges back in her chair at the table, admiring the result before her. Tassilda quickly gestures and growls out incantations. Aiming the palm of her hand at the pink covered side of her head, she flexes her long nailed fingers out and releases a transparent wave of magical energy. The flow washes over her head and neutralizes the magical pigmentation into faint wisps of miasma, fading away in the surrounding air. Shining forth a contemptuous smile, Veevi narrows her pink eyes at Tassilda. "Well, OF COURSE, I couldn''t have found them on my own. I had to seek the help of a proper, proficient mage. One with demonstrable ability. One that DOESN''T need material components to do a fireball."


    With a furious light in light blue on black eyes, Tassilda glares down at Veevi, sneers incredulously, and glances out the back sliding glass window towards a distant ranch-style house. She tenses her hands repeatedly, popping a knuckle with each flex, and grits her teeth.


    ----


    The doorknob of the bedroom door turns, and the door slowly opens, revealing a very exhausted Aristespha. Dretphi''s voice bounces down the hallway. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."


    Aristespha glances over her shoulder and calls back. "Thank you."


    She closes the door and approaches the bed, each step weighing heavier. Her shoulders slouch, head sways in long rolling stretches, and she yawns loudly. Standing at the side of her bed, she flops forward into the welcoming sheets with a muffled whump, and a rush of air waves out from underneath the bed covers. Fumbling with her grasp, she pulls out her silvery blue hair from the tight bun. Crawling along the top of the bed to the pillows, she buries her ivory face into the fluffy cushions. A long muffled groan resonates softly from Aristespha, and she drags another pillow over her head. Sebastian''s ethereal visage forms next to the bed and gazes down upon the weary Aristespha. "So... How was work today, dear?"


    Aristespha slowly rotates her head underneath the pillows and pulls back the top pillow enough to peer a violet eye out towards Sebastian, straining out an exhausted sigh. "What do you think, Sebastian?"


    Sebastian kneels down next to the bed to Aristespha''s eye level and smiles lovingly at her. "Any more rashes around people''s junk today?"


    Sliding the cushion on her head further back, Aristespha smiles slightly and chuckles softly. "Funny you should ask that..."


    A chime rings out from Aristespha''s pants pocket. Rolling over onto her back, she tosses a pillow off to the side and reaches for her aetherphone. Tapping through menus and sliding to the right screen, the body of an aethermail message appears on the screen. Aristespha quickly reads through the lines of text and furrows her brow at the new information. Sebastian cranes his head over for a peek, and Aristespha tilts the phone for him to read. Aristespha sighs out in a mixture of relief and frustration, settling her head down on the pillow. "It is from Nash. Looks like the Grand Library higher ups are trying to figure out how to deal with the Orth Ridge coverup and the likelihood that Isaac Huxley is Noxian."


    Grimacing awkwardly, Sebastian drifts his ghostly form down and lays upon the bed next to Aristespha. "Well, they probably didn''t expect one of their own to become a Dark Lord and go around trying to do... whatever he''s trying to do..."


    Aristespha''s eyes briefly open wide, and she brings the phone down and focuses upon the display in surprise. "What the-? Isaac has had access to the library database systems- Wait, STILL!? Gods! He still has access?!"


    Gritting her teeth in the surge of frustration, she narrows her disbelief at Nash''s words on the screen. Sebastian searches through the lines of text and traces Aristespha progress. Puzzling momentarily, Aristespha draws a sly grin on her ivory face. "EXCELLENT. Nash is compiling usage logs for Isaac''s accounts, and he is going to send us copies of all the data he has pulled!"


    Sebastian grins proudly and nods assured. "That''s good! Maybe, we''ll figure out exactly what he''s plotting finally, dear. Maybe, he''ll be able to track where Noxian is by tracing the connections?"


    With a grumble, Aristespha frowns briefly. "He does mention that. Unfortunately, no recent accesses so all the tracking logs are probably too old to be of great use. But, Nash is sorting through it to create a timeline for us."


    A sense of calm washes over Aristespha''s face, and she smiles with a long exhale. "And, from what he has heard... They ARE going to keep our group hired on our retainer agreement to pursue Noxian."


    Sebastian smiles lovingly at Aristespha. "It''s going to be okay. After you get your hours together, you''ll have all kinds of research to do. We''ll start figuring out his plans and where he''s going next."


    Closing her violet eyes, Aristespha breathes contentedly and absorbs the surrounding silence in peace. Minutes later, she cracks a devious gaze towards Sebastian with an ill-humored smirk. "So, I am curious... What part of smearing a dangerous alchemical cream on your penis sounds like a good idea?"


    Blinking blankly, Sebastian eyes Aristespha incredulously in surprise. "Uh... Like... None of it?"


    Rolling her eyes, Aristespha groans into a chuckle. "Yes. You would think so."


    ----


    Lifting her flow blade up, Dretphi concentrates and focuses her full attention upon the sword in her hands. A red glow gradually creeps through the worn passages embedded in the blade. The wind blows through the shady tree above and rustles a chorus of leaves. Dretphi maintains her calm demeanor and struggles to keep herself relaxed. Cideeda''s voice carries around the corner of the ranch style house along with another unfamiliar voice. Snapping out her trance, Dretphi rests her sword down and brushes platinum blonde braids out of the way, glancing over her shoulder. Cideeda steps out from around the corner of the house with a young, tall muscular teenager following behind her, scanning around the area. She waves towards the grassy area on the side of the house with the steel plate targets and shrugs. "I wouldn''t worry too much about this area. Also, I''d avoid mowing anything near the targets. You''re likely to hit something that''ll foul your mower blades up."


    The young teenager nods understandingly and notices the dents in the heavy plates. "Cool. WOW. Looks like you guys are shooting some serious firepower out here."


    Chuckling, Cideeda shakes her head of short, multi-colored hair. "Nothing too crazy. If you find any spent brass or lead, it''s all yours."


    Stepping forward towards the shady tree, she waves towards Dretphi. "Hey, Dretphi! This is Dace. He''s checking out the place out to see what it''d take to get the lawn together."


    Dretphi greets Dace with a nod and gazes out to the backyard of tall grass waving in the gentle breezes. "Significant labor awaits you."


    Standing in line with Cideeda and Dretphi, Dace crosses his arms and surveys the vast area. Over the seconds, he deliberates internally, nodding in acceptance. "Aww, this isn''t that bad. My tractor with side cutters can take care of this. It looks pretty smooth, and I can finish it up with the zero turn mower."


    He searches the area, squints his eyes at nearby forest, and turns to Cideeda. "Hey, you need that forest cleaned up? Could bring out my family''s forestry mech and make short work of it."


    Waving off the idea, Cideeda shakes her head politely. "Oh, that? Not our problem. Just the lawn work for now."


    Scanning the scene one more time, Dace glances down over to Cideeda and nods in anticipation. "I think I can do it."


    Donning a reserved stare, Cideeda crosses her arms and casually mentions. "One hundred and fifty."


    With Cideeda watching carefully, Dace furrows his brow and smirks. "Two hundred. It''s not hard, but there''s A LOT of it."


    Pausing in her thoughts, Cideeda grins slyly and retrieves a plastic wrapped object from her shorts pocket. Between two claw tipped fingers, she holds up a large, blue black dragon scale within a plastic bag, glints of color reflecting in the bright sun. Dace''s attention snaps to the artifact. Cideeda smiles smugly and calmly explains. "How about this fine specimen of dragon scale to make up the difference?"


    Presenting the dragon scale, she places it into Dace''s awaiting hands. Quickly scrutinizing the item, Dace smiles excitedly and reaches a hand out to Cideeda. "Oh hell yeah! I got a friend in college right now who''ll freak out when I send him a picture of this. It''ll be worth it just to see the look on his face alone."


    With a toothy grin, Cideeda firmly shakes Dace''s hand. Stretching her arms behind her back, she gazes over the green sea of the back yard and narrows an entrepreneurial stare. "Excellent! Now, since you are here... Are you in the market for artifacts and other items from ruins?"


    Smirking, Dace calmly shakes his head and nonchalantly shrugs. "Ah, nah. I''m more interested in making new stuff that''s like the old stuff."


    His focus shifts towards Dretphi''s sword, and he puzzles at blade. "Speaking which, where did you get that sword? That''s like the best looking replica flow blade I''ve ever seen."


    Dretphi blinks, hoists the tip of the blade up to the sky, examining the blade, and angles a confused stare towards Dace. "Replica?"


    Halting his thoughts, Dace squints at the blade and hangs his jaw open, discovering the error of his assumption.

 Episode 43

    In the clinic''s staff break room, a television shows scenes from a daytime soap opera. A few medical staff lounge upon the weathered, comfortable couch, and many others occupy the chairs scattered around the surrounding space. Standing in a gathering, Deedri idly chats about subjects ranging from cases to a few behind the scenes tidbits from the Next Adventurers of Nexus episode. Aristespha gazes out into the nearby mix of city and green space surrounding the clinic complex through the large windows along a wall, flipping through her aetherphone. Deedri presents a delighted smile and answers a question from one of the doctors. "Oh, most interesting case so far? I think it would have to be the checkup I did for a little half evuukian boy named Mylo."


    Across the room, Aristespha''s long pointy ears twitch, and her violet eyes spring wide open, her attention snapping onto Deedri''s conversation. Deedri discusses vague basics about Mylo, focusing on typical child antics with a few medical aspects. The wall clock ticks over to noon. Most of the crowd in the break room double-check their various time keeping devices and politely disperse back out into the clinic proper. Aristespha glances over towards Deedri and slowly approaches. Deedri finishes the last bit of coffee from a thick paper cup, and Aristespha clears her throat. "Mage Preeta."


    Blinking her auburn eyes, Deedri swiftly pivots and faces Aristespha directly with a blank stare and neutral tone. "Yes, Mage Orienden?"


    Aristespha projects a professional demeanor with barely noticeable cracks in the facade against her personal curiosity. "I overheard you performed a checkup upon a half evuukian boy, by the name of Mylo?"


    With a slow nod, Deedri flatly responds. "Yes. Check up and routine immunization."


    Narrowing her eyes upon Deedri, Aristespha settles into an examining stare. "I have some questions to ask, if I may?"


    Deedri nods calmly and presents a stoic exterior against the hints of hesitation. "You may."


    Aristespha launches into a systematic series of questions, growing gradually more probing into the case. With each inquiry, Deedri responds properly and carefully in return, her stare scouring Aristespha''s demeanor. Continuing her inquisition, Aristespha''s tone subconsciously develops a sharper, overbearing edge, each new inquiry inciting a reflexive, minute cringe upon Deedri''s fair face. A few minutes later, Deedri grimaces briefly and breathes in deeply, her furry, tufted ears pulling back. Interjecting into the litany of inquiry, Deedri lays out an elaborate, elegant explanation behind her logic and reasoning. Citing into her own papers upon ancient genetic bio-modifications and ancestral genetics, she systematically explains in exacting detail and drives the conversation hard into Aristespha''s stunned silence. Maintaining a firm stare upon Aristespha, Deedri perks an expectant eyebrow. "Any further information you require, Mage Orienden?"


    Embarrassment rushes up to coat Aristespha''s ivory face, and she twists her mouth to an uneasy frown. She shakes her head with a sigh and bows slightly towards Deedri. "No. None at all..."


    With a hard swallow, she straightens her posture with a respectful nod. "In fact, I should apologize."


    Narrowing her gaze, Deedri''s stare softens. Aristespha lifts her head up calmly. "I have obviously made some dreadfully and woefully inaccurate assumptions off of erroneous first impressions. I see that you are quite knowledgeable and were the best professional for that particular case. I apologize for acting so harshly upon such assumptions."


    A slight smirk curls the corners of Deedri''s mouth, and she nods towards Aristespha. "Apology accepted."


    Breathing easier, Aristespha gazes at Deedri with a slight smile. "I believe I have actually read one of your papers before in the past. If I remember correctly, I found it very insightful."


    Smiling fully, Deedri rolls her auburn eyes at herself and sighs. "Thank you. I hope it was one of my later papers. The earlier papers weren''t my best work in formatting and presentation,"


    With a gentle chuckle, Aristespha shakes her head with a shrug. "Oh, do not worry. They never are. I still cringe when I even see the opening paragraph of some of my earliest work. So many times I have asked myself, what was I thinking?"


    Deedri narrows her gaze thoughtfully and examines Aristespha demeanor, hunting for the motive. "I have to ask, you seem really interested in Mylo''s care. Any particular reason why?"


    Blinking in sudden silence, Aristespha furrows her brow contemplatively. "I ran into Mylokia at the convention and wanted to make sure he was doing okay. Talking to his parents, they were doing well. But..."


    She fights down a frown and shakes her head slightly. "I could certainly tell it had been difficult for them in the past with... the politics surrounding them."


    Nodding understandingly, Deedri perks up with newfound satisfaction. "Yeah, I see. Well, little Mylo is a healthy boy. And from what I overheard, I think things are going a lot better for his parents. I believe the grandparents on his mother''s side actually visited."


    Surprise fills Aristespha and fades to delight. In relief, she relaxes her shoulders and smiles hopefully. "That is absolutely wonderful to hear."


    Thinking for a moment, she widens her violet eyes and averts her gaze briefly from Deedri within a fit of embarrassment. "Oh, before I forget... I would like to also apologize about one comment I made towards you very early on..."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Deedri awaits expectantly. Aristespha pulls in a tense, awkward breath. "About your bell?"


    Deedri pauses in thought, groans out in annoyed disgust, and shakes her head, waving off the issue. "OH. It''s okay. To be honest, I''m not that thrilled about it either. I''m really glad I don''t have to wear the thing for a while."


    Aristespha quirks a curious brow and leans slightly closer. "Have you tried... misplacing it?"


    With a long frustrated sigh, Deedri shrugs her shoulders with her hands on her hips. She grumbles in defeat and glances over at Aristespha. "SO many times. They either have a crew member dedicated to keeping track of it... OR, they just ordered the things in bulk."


    Narrowing her distant glare, she grits her sharp teeth. "I just haven''t figured out which yet."


    ----


    Holding firmly onto the wand with both her hands, Cideeda focuses upon a distant stabilized magical energy pedestal with an empty glass bottle upon it. With slow breaths and a concentrating grimace on her face, she aims the tip of the stick at the target. The inscriptions upon the wooden surface glow green. The flow pulsates along the channels and condenses upon the tip. A tiny sphere of magical energy materializes at the end, vibrating in a holding position. Cideeda slightly relaxes her hand muscles. With a twitch of a cheek under an emerald green eye, the small magical bolt launches off towards the glass bottle. In the second, it flies many meters across the tall grasses of the backyard and bounces off the side of the bottle, a crisp ping sounding out. The container wobbles off balance, rolling upon its bottom, and tumbles off the edge of the platform. Falling towards the ground, the bottle halts halfway down the pedestal, jerks back up, and dangles, swinging from a thin filament of magical energy. Sotalia cheers happily and excitedly hops near Cideeda. "You did it! Amazing shot!"


    Struggling to keep a humble attitude in face of the claps from Bach and Dretphi and the energetic thumbs up from Sebastian hovering nearby in his ethereal form, Cideeda smirks satisfied. She rolls her eyes at herself and groans playfully. "Yes, it should be a good shot."


    Flicking her emerald green eyes towards the target, she grumbles to herself. "It only took me over twenty times to hit the damn thing."


    She glances at the target, closes one eye, and aims a wand point at the platform, her furry ears fluttering in response to the breeze. "So... I think I''ll stick to the laser pistols for a little while longer. Don''t think this is going to replace them any time soon."


    With a glint of blue in his eyes, Bach shrugs and curls the end of a finger at his side. "Hey, you''ll get there. I mean, the hardest part is the launch with any unguided projectile. Even a little flux in the flow will send the thing off at the wrong angle."


    The thin filament of magical energy draws the glass bottle back up to the platform. The container flips over upon the top, righting itself under the tension of the flow wire, and slides back into its prior position. Bach motions towards the target and glances over to Cideeda. "Ready?"


    Exhaling out a bit of tension, Cideeda rolls her shoulders into a stretch and relaxes her arms to the sides, flexing her clawed fingers a little. She shakes her head and steps slowly towards the wooden plank picnic table bench. "Someone else can go for it."


    Furrowing her brow, she rubs her stomach and glances around in a moment of confusion. "I''m actually feeling hungry... And a little tired."


    With a sly, knowing smirk, Sotalia nods towards Cideeda and steps up to the firing line. "Welcome to the best calorie burning exercises a girl could ever want. A few fireballs does wonders to counter a big dessert."


    Walking towards the bench, Cideeda eyes Dretphi and lifts a questioning eyebrow. Sotalia pivots around to set up for a spell. Dretphi glances over to Cideeda, and both roll their eyes in unison. Cideeda Takes a seat upon the bench next to Dretphi, and the two exchange wry smirks. Thinking visibly for a moment, Sebastian glances over to Bach. "Hey, bro, anything you can do to make it a bit more challenging?"


    Narrowing an internal stare, Bach ponders and hums out his thoughts. "Maybe..."


    Brushing back her dark red hair over her black, swept-back horns, Sotalia steadies her posture and lifts a finger towards the target with a dramatic flair. A small bolt of energy condenses in front of her long nailed fingertip, and she guides the orb in line with the glass bottle on the magical pedestal. Moments later, the magical projectile zips forward right for the center mass of the container. A flicker of blue in Bach''s eyes and a finger twitch later, the bottle suddenly shifts upon the pedestal, just out of the way of the energy bolt. Narrowing her eyes golden, Sotalia slides an unamused stare towards Bach, placing her free hand indignantly upon her hip. "Cute."


    Resuming her attention forward, she prepares another similar bolt and conceals a sly grin away from Bach. Squinting his glowing gaze at the energy orb in front of Sotalia''s finger, Bach lifts a curious eyebrow and cracks a smile from the corner of his mouth. Sotalia releases the bolt, and it streaks swiftly across the grassy backyard. The bottle shifts to the side, Sotalia''s fingers reflexively flick, and the projectile tweaks its path. Bach flexes his fingers, and a signal pulses down the shimmering threads, following a track upon the ground towards the pedestal. A rectangular barrier unfolds from underneath the pedestal and flips up into a small wall at the front face of the top platform. Sotalia''s golden eyes widen with a faint flicker. Her upper lip snarling, she drives the bolt clear at the last moment. It darts out wide, looping back into another approach. Momentarily glaring at Bach, Sotalia presents a competitive grin and refocuses upon steering the magical orb. With each approach the bolt attempts, the barrier flips around quickly, blocking passage, and the projectile swings clear, readying another attack from a different angle. Feverish minutes pass in the ongoing contest. Cideeda and Dretphi attentively watch upon the edges of their bench seats, and Sebastian''s ghostly visage hovers around, full focus upon the orb''s fight. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Sotalia pants and shakes her head, flinging a few beads of sweat off her brow. The warm sun above glints off her dark red hair. With each failed attempt, she growls with her rising agitation. Bach maintains a constant blue glow in eyes, and his fingers flick and flex, pulses of magical energy flashing down the thin magical control lines.


    The bolt swings wide and flies out for another attempt. Noticing the faint shimmers of the magical control lines, Sotalia pulls sinister a grin across her light tan face and gestures with her free hand low at her hip, mouthing out an incantation. With a quick snap of the wrist, a directed pulse of magical energy warps out from her downwards aimed palm towards the energy threads in the grass. Contacting the lines, the wave disrupts the flow of energy and dispels large gaps into the lines. Bach blinks confused, snaps his stare down at the broken lines, and mumbles a few curses. With a smug grin, Sotalia curls a finger and sends the energy bolt right into the bottle, bouncing it clear off the pedestal. Spinning around both hands on her hips, she bows to the amusement of Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian and slyly smiles at Bach. "Again, cute."


    She stands back up and sneaks a wink. "But... Fun."


    Rolling his faintly glowing blue eyes, Bach shrugs his shoulders. Sotalia pants, wipes the sweat off her brow, and gazes over to the hot tub gazebo. "Well, between that and the sun, I think I need a nice long Saturday afternoon soak."


    Lifting herself up from the plank bench, Dretphi glances back over to the house, picks up her practice wand, and steps towards the ranch style house. "Need to prepare dinner."


    Cideeda hops up on her feet, stretches out her back, and grins toothily. "Sounds good to me."


    Pausing a moment, she flicks her furry ears towards the far corner of the property lot, in the direction of the two-story house. She furrows her brow, puzzling a moment, and starts to walk away. "Quiet over there today. Don''t hear Tassilda or Veevi in a yelling match. Must be taking the day off from that."


    The group walks towards the ranch style house, and Sotalia snickers to herself. From the thick, obscuring cover of the bushes along the perimeter of the forest, Tassilda squints her glare and carefully observes. She focuses her full attention upon one person, Sotalia. Her light blue on black eyes track Sotalia breaking away from the group over towards the hot tub gazebo and entering. Out of view, a dark grin forms upon Tassilda, and she narrows a sinister stare upon the gazebo. Tapping a long, black nailed finger upon her lips, she visibly ponders. A spark of inspiration lights up her eyes, a low chuckle escapes her, and she slinks off back towards the two-story house.


    ----


    Behind the general diagnostics main desk of the clinic, Dr. Blackwell sorts through the plentiful, neatly arranged stacks of paperwork. Examining documents and occasionally signing off on a form, she stares over the quiet, nearly empty waiting room, her idling desk staff, and a number of medical mages and doctors double-checking case files. The moment of peace settles upon the scene, and a wave of suspicion tenses up the veteran staff. From a red phone upon the wall a shrill chime erupts and an amber light brilliantly flashes. Dr. Blackwell steps quickly over, snatches the phone handset off the unit, and answers the call with a stern expression. "Dr. Blackwell."


    Her eyes follow the statements coming from the speaker, and her stoic exterior shifts gravely. Quickly scanning the area, she spots both Deedri and Aristespha, meeting their alert, attentive gazes. "Mage Orienden. Mage Preeta. Rush to the ER IMMEDIATELY. You two have both training and experience with magical trauma. Alchemical accident in a home lab. Multiple people injured, the worst is coming via ambulance in the next few minutes."


    She narrows her stare upon them. "MOVE."


    Aristespha and Deedri exchange quick glances, pause briefly, and speed off in a fast walk out of the area, down the hall. Watching the two rush off, Dr. Blackwell returns her attention to the call. "Two adventurer medical mages are on their way."


    Speeding down the main hallway of the clinic, both Deedri and Aristespha prepare. Both quickly speak fast incantations and gesture out the same set of protective spells. An auburn glow shines from Deedri''s eyes, and Aristespha''s eyes ignite violet. Entering the emergency bays, they quickly wash hands, cast disinfectant spells, and don both gloves and masks. They present themselves to the emergency room head doctor, and listen attentively to the latest details about the situation. Moments later, automated doors swiftly retract clear of the passage. A swarm of emergency medical techs and paramedics around a gurney pour into the area and spill out in the space. Upon the medical stretcher, a young man lays unconscious. Slow streaks of crimson ooze out upon his red stained skin from numerous glass-shard filled wounds across his chest and abdomen. The crowd closes in, and Deedri winces, sniffing the air. A powerful residual stench of some indeterminable alchemical cocktail floods the area, with complaints sounding out from other observant staff. Focusing her stare, Aristespha promptly studies the physical state of the man arriving into one of the bays.


    The group of emergency medical techs and paramedics carefully transfer the patient onto an awaiting medical table, and Aristespha and Deedri enter the fray. Vitals, statuses, figures, stats, and more fly around in a maelstrom of activity. Both Deedri and Aristespha assert themselves into the process, taking command of the orderly chaos. Aristespha projects her voice towards a paramedic maintaining his hands above the chest and abdomen of the patient. "How long have you been magically stabilizing?"


    The paramedic maintains his stare upon the injured man, breathes audibly, and only grants a few seconds of attention to the outside world, relaying the needed information. "Tw-Tw-Twenty... Minutes."


    Urgency fills Aristespha''s tone, and she observes the paramedic''s body trembling. Quickly starting a series of incantations and gestures, she holds her hands above the paramedics and calmly, sternly commands. "On three. Transfer stabilization."


    She snaps her head, facing an emergency tech, and orders. "Catch him the second he releases."


    With the emergency tech nodding in confirmation, Aristespha''s eyes shine brightly violet, and she calls out. "One. Two. Three!"


    In one fluid motion, the paramedic with his last bits of consciousness backs away clear of the chaos and falls into the arms of the awaiting emergency tech, carrying him away. Visible flows of magical energy swirl around Aristespha''s arms and radiate down upon the body of the patient. Deedri quickly and systematically inspects the shards of glass embedded in the body of the man, squints towards many strange discolorations, and inspects the burns upon the body. "Improper glassware. Shards are too large. Chemical burns, and excessive magical energy residue. Secondary reaction explosion."


    Nodding with the assessment, Aristespha focuses her stabilization spell upon the man with careful breaths. "Too many wounds to maintain this stabilization field effectively for more than half an hour. I can see other issues, but we need to make sure he does NOT bleed to death first once this field releases."


    Glancing up to Aristespha, Deedri resolutely proposes the plan. "I''ll perform magical encapsulated extraction of the foreign material. Trauma foam the cavities. We focus on the most threatening and work from there?"


    With a firm nod, Aristespha confirms and confidently agrees. "I will adjust the stabilization field as you fill. It will extend the time I am able to maintain it. Please, watch for active alchemical residue. The smell is too strong for there not to be something still active."


    Deedri''s hand reaches out to a wound near the side of the chest and hovers near an embedded glass shard sparkling just under skin level. With a long breath in, she carefully lowers a stable finger down and places her glove encased claw tip gently upon the hard, shiny fragment. With a brighter auburn flare in her eyes, a flow of magical energy slowly wraps around her finger, crosses onto the glass shard top via claw tip, and infiltrates into the wound. Seconds later, the flow slows, and the field of magical energy condenses to a thin barrier. Carefully and gradually, Deedri lifts her finger away, pulling with a firm, measured tension. A few centimeter long, jagged sliver of glass slides out of the wound, the field encasing the razor sharp edges and containing tiny fragments within a matrix of energy. Glancing around quickly, Deedri spots a nearby nurse at the ready, presenting a metal tray. She swiftly deposits the exorcized foreign material, dispersing the energies at her claw tip. "Thank you."


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    With a series of hand motions, Deedri instructs the nurse towards the cleared cavity. "Wound foam, please."


    Snatching up a canister nearby, the nurse sprays a foaming compound down into the wound and observes the sealing action to surrounding satisfaction. Aristespha gives Deedri a nod and slowly exhales. "Excellent. Let us hope the rest are that simple."


    She scans the sheer number of similar wounds upon the man and gathers her composure, presenting a reassuring, confident exterior. Deedri glances at Aristespha with resolve, flexes her fingers, and hunts for the next target. With other emergency patients arriving, emergency medical techs and paramedics filter out from the area, making room for nurses, support staff, medical mages, and doctors. Focusing upon their patient, Aristespha and Deedri work methodically and coordinate their efforts with care and precision. Deedri extracts glass shards into trays. Aristespha augments her stabilization fields, isolating harmful alchemical residues. And, both communicate with support staff swiftly flowing around them.


    An hour later, the last glass shard hits a tray, and a final tube of trauma foam expands into the cavity of a wound. Releasing the stabilization field spell, Aristespha carefully steps back from the table and props herself up against a nearby wall. Deedri closely scans over the man, double-checks his current vitals, and clears away towards the same wall. Another team of medical staff fill in Aristespha and Deedri''s spots, thank the two for their work, and prep the patient for the next stage of treatment.


    Aristespha and Deedri glance over to the attending head doctor. Acknowledging the two of them, he surveys the area full of medical staff working and points them to a few chairs off to the side. Aristespha rocks herself forward off the wall, and walks to the cleaning station with Deedri. After cleanup, the two sit down and receive potions from nursing staff. Passing by between checking different bays, the head doctor pauses a moment. "Rest up a moment. We''ll need to swap out a few keeping the stabilization fields up in a few minutes."


    The two nod, toss back their potions, and seize the precious moments to recover.


    ----


    Laying upon the living area couch, Cideeda swipes through screens full of text and idly taps a claw tip upon her aetherphone display. "Wow... I can''t believe all the pest extermination jobs out there in this area."


    Dretphi stretches her legs out onto the coffee table in front of the couch, settles back opposite to Cideeda, and nods. "Seasonal problem. Pests become active. Mating. Breeding. Migration periods."


    Relaxing in the extended recliner, Sotalia thumbs through lists of jobs on her aetherphone and twists her mouth more with each title description. "Bandit patrol, bandit patrol, whelp extermination..."


    She squints at the listing and flutters her golden eyes in surprise. "Oh, gods. Pig rat extermination..."


    Shuddering in her seat, she quickly flicks up a blur of jobs, putting virtual distance between her eyes and the prior posting. With a quizzical lift of an eyebrow, Bach glances over at Sotalia and gazes up at Sebastian floating over his shoulder. "So, there''s a story there, I guess?"


    Sebastian grits his teeth briefly and groans in slight ghostly reverb, momentarily averting his eyes away from Bach''s aetherphone screen. "Yeah. Yeah. You could say THAT, bro."


    He shrugs with his hands out to his sides and scratches the back of his head. "Pig rats are some weird mutated creatures that look like the large, hairless blend of a pig and rat. They''re fucking mean, have claws, and are nearly blind. But, they have a good sense of smell, and just swarm anything they sense has magic. I don''t know if they just like magic, or if it just pisses them off."


    Sotalia cringes and squirms in the recliner further, and shakes her head side to side, tensing her shoulders. "Oh gods! Stop talking about them! I HATE those things!"


    A wry smirk cracks from the corner of Cideeda''s mouth, revealing a toothy grin. "Aww. But, they seemed to like YOU a lot. Never seen anything that fat wobble so fast."


    Dretphi squelches an ill-humored smile and brushes a few platinum blonde braids back, keeping her steely gray eyes upon her aetherphone. "Did not know that pig rats could climb trees. Chew through boot leather."


    Sotalia sours into a frown and grumbles to herself. "...I really liked those enchanted boots..."


    Glancing over his shoulder to his ethereal brother, he furrows his brow curiously. Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes and mouths quietly. "I''ll tell you later."


    Scrutinizing the list of jobs upon his aetherphone, Bach sighs thoughtfully and tilts his head to the side. "Damn. I mean, it just seems like pest control or bandit patrol on the guild job board right now. I''m trying to find anything else."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage nods, and he shrugs his shoulders. "Well, Sunday is usually the leftovers from the week. Most governments and businesses only post during the work week."


    Crossing his arms, he wrestles down a frown and groans. "While I''m not AGAINST a pest extermination job, it''s usually really dirty work depending on the pest. And, we''re not large enough of a team to handle any significant group of bandits nicely. Those are best handled by large companies that are geared for that."


    Dretphi gazes over at Bach with a thoughtful tone. "It is a... undesirable situation overall. Prefer unique exploratory jobs."


    Nodding her head of short, multicolored hair upon the couch pillow, Cideeda switches up her crossed legs with a stretch in between. "Far better loot, too. Usually a lot less trouble most of the time."


    Sebastian lowers his head and peers over Bach''s shoulder at the aetherphone. "Also, most bandit groups tend to leave adventuring groups alone. Too much trouble for not enough reward. Unless..."


    He furrows his brow and smirks. "You have a known history with hunting bandits down. That kind of makes it more of a personal mission for them."


    A series of different chimes ring out in a chorus from aetherphones in the room, and a distant series of alerts echo down the hallway from Aristespha''s room. Sebastian points a transparent finger at the indicator on Bach''s phone. Bach presses the visual notification, and a job listing draws up on the screen. Everyone investigates the prompt on their devices, and reads the new information. Cocking his head to the side, Sebastian puzzles at the text, blinking in thought. "Interesting. A direct bid posting... A search and rescue assignment..."


    He squints in a fit confusion. "For a young evuukian teenager?"


    Standing up straight, he searches his mind with a distant stare and ponders out loud to the rest of the group. "Okay. So, when Aristespha is done with the clinic, we''ll definitely discuss this job."


    ----


    Upon the clinic break room couch, Deedri limply lifts her arms up, rubs the fatigue around her eyes, and eases out a long sigh. "I STILL can''t believe those people were that stupid to carelessly mix all those reagents that they got off a random aethernet site."


    Lounging in a couch chair, Aristespha pulls a warm compress off her head, gazes over towards Deedri, and groans. "Fortunately, only two other people were nearby when the explosion happened. And, thankfully, they weren''t as bad as the first man. I don''t think I could have done another stabilization field that involved after that first one."


    The two sit in the calming silence of the room, the evening sun weakly radiating the dusk glow through the windows. Aristespha removes the compress completely, places it on the chair arm, and carefully rotates her head towards Deedri. "So... Where did you study?"


    Blinking open her auburn eyes, Deedri sighs weakly and shrugs off some embarrassment. "OH. Uh, just a small no name school. No where in comparison to where you probably went."


    Briefly laughing, Aristespha snorts and shakes her head. "You would be very surprised. I am the fifth child in the family. I went to a budget adventuring school... That I STILL got loans out for."


    Genuine surprise appears on Deedri''s fair face, and she focuses her gaze upon Aristespha with honest curiosity. "Really? Wow, I... Um..."


    A sly grin graces Aristespha, and she presents her amusement with a chuckle. "Oh, you thought that evuukian ruling houses were all ridiculously wealthy and all the children got the best of everything?"


    Pausing a moment, Deedri thinks out her next statement, deliberation plain upon her face, and resigns to quiet embarrassment. Aristespha briefly laughs loudly, stares up at the ceiling, and slowly shakes her head, stray strands of silver blue locks escaping the tight hair bun. "Gods, I wish that was the case. But... it is NOT. Especially, when you are not the first two children. You might get lucky if you are the third. Otherwise, you never much hear about a house''s children past the fourth. The resources tend to dry up at that point, and the granted opportunities are REALLY slim."


    She frowns slightly and grumbles. "Honestly, I stumbled upon a big find that got me into the Grand Library."


    Rolling her violet eyes, she arches her back momentarily and winces. "It was pure luck."


    Deedri aims a comforting smile towards Aristespha. "Well even with luck, you still have to know how to make use of it. It seems like you did."


    With an accepting smirk, Aristespha nods and lifts an eyebrow at Deedri. "Well, I certainly hope so. I have to ask, what do you plan to do after the show?"


    Deedri''s eyes spring wide open, and she furrows her brow in thought into an unsure grimace. "I... I don''t really know. I certainly want to do more adventuring..."


    Flexing her clawed fingers, she wrestles down a frown. "With a more... COHESIVE group."


    She glances around her mind and swallows hard. "But, I don''t know if I''ll have any more applicable experience than what I started the show with. I really don''t think I''ve demonstrated and expanded my skills enough to be better than any other medical mage."


    A serious, calm tone overtakes Aristespha, and she stares at Deedri. "You have today, to me. You have the skills. The experience... THAT will come later, in time. But, you DO have what it takes. I doubt you will have any problems getting hired into a good group in the future. If you do not..."


    Tugging at the corner of her mouth, she stretches out an honest smile on her ivory face. "I am sure I can convince the rest of my group to let you intern with us until you find your own team."


    Deedri''s eyes widen in utter surprise. Trying to blink away the shock, she only manages to wet her eyes a bit with each attempt. Turning her head to face up towards the ceiling, she wipes the forming tears out of her eyes and sniffs quickly to clear her voice. "Thank you. Really. I appreciate knowing that."


    A relaxing silence wafts into the room. Over the minutes, the last traces of sunlight no longer compete with the break room''s overhead lights. Aristespha and Deedri rest, collecting their thoughts in the idle time. The entry door opens, and Dr. Blackwell walks through. Both Aristespha and Deedri begin to sit up to attention, and Dr. Blackwell motions them back to rest. Presenting a mild smile, Dr. Blackwell pans her gaze between the two. "Excellent work, mages. I wanted to come down and personally update you. All the patients are stable, and the most severe are being treated by regenerative doctors."


    Aristespha perks her brow and asks. "By the way, how is that paramedic fairing?"


    With a professional, proper demeanor, Dr. Blackwell nods towards Aristespha. "He''ll be just fine. He''s on mandatory sick leave tomorrow to recuperate."


    Pausing a moment, she gradually softens her facade. "I also wanted to state that you two have performed admirably in your duties here. I''ll be certain to grant a few hour bonus to your quotas. I''ll need you to come in tomorrow for some paperwork, but you''ll be able to rejoin your adventuring teams for now."


    Presenting a proud smile, she gazes out the windows towards the orange red glow of the horizon. "If you two ever need to work on your quotas again, feel free to contact me, personally."


    Both Aristespha and Deedri fight against fatigue and nod appreciatively. Dr. Blackwell steps closer to the windows and narrows her stare with a growing grin. Turning her head slightly back towards Aristespha and Deedri with a sly tint slipping into her tone. "Now... I''m not one to encourage anyone''s activities off the clock, but..."


    She lifts a sly eyebrow. "There''s a particular bar hidden across the way in the nearby commercial district that I''ve heard is quite popular with many of the staff here."


    She pivots around and walks to the door. Opening the door, she stops short of crossing the threshold into the hall and glances over her shoulder with a smirk. "I wouldn''t be surprised if a few deserving volunteers wander that way in the very near future to settle their nerves before going home for the night."


    The door closes behind Dr. Blackwell. Flicking her furry, tufted ears, Deedri slowly rolls her head over towards Aristespha, a tip of the tail wagging out from under a coat. "So... Um... Do you want to go find that bar?"


    A moment of deliberation later, Aristespha tilts herself forward onto her feet, cracks her neck, and stretches her back out. "Oh, gods, yes."


    ----


    Down one of the medical center streets, Chad slowly turns the steering wheel of the black sport utility vehicle. He guides the machine into another lane and glances between the light beaming into night from scattered windows. Alone in the cab, he speaks out loud, maintaining an uncertain, contemplative stare out the windshield. "I don''t know, dad. Ratings are good. We have a cooperative contract setup for this week with a larger merc company. So, I guess things are doing good."


    With an uplifting hint, an older voice sounds out from Chad''s aetherphone upon a dash mount. "Hey, that''s great to hear. What group is it? I might have done business with them."


    Rolling his brown eyes, Chad shakes his head and grumbles with a smirk. "Of course you probably have done business with them."


    An unapologetic chuckle rises from the speakerphone. "Hey! That''s kind of my business, son. So, come on... Who is it?"


    With a slight begrudging groan giving way to a genuine appreciation, Chad swiftly sighs out. "The Chrome Crusaders."


    The bright tone of Chad''s father shines through into the cab of the vehicle. "Oh! Awesome! They''re a really good organization. I''ve sold a number of armor suits and rented a few of the big mechs to them."


    After a long pause, Chad darts an anticipating glance to his phone and groans. "If I need you to check in on the particular division I''m working with, I''ll let you know."


    Hints of embarrassment slip into Chad''s father''s voice. "Ah... Well... Dammit, son. You know I just want to help you out where I can."


    A slight smile forms on Chad''s tan face, and he slowly nods, rotating the steering wheel. "I know, dad. Things are going... Okay. Not great. But, I think I can make it work."


    With a careful, supportive tone, Chad''s father approaches the subject. "Hey, don''t worry about it. Even your grandfather had a rough start to his adventuring career... And, a lot of slumps... that I was around for."


    In the awkward silence, Chad grimaces and waits expectantly. His father continues. "As much as you don''t want to hear it... You always can work at MERC with your old man for a while. You network with a few people, and you''ll be off in your own group in no time."


    Seconds of quiet later, he sighs from the other side of the call. "Just know, the offer is always there, son."


    The passing streetlights pulse light upon the dash and illuminate the front seats. Chad releases a long exhale, nodding, and appreciatively smirks towards the aetherphone. "Thanks, dad. Really. Speaking of... Have you heard from granddad lately?"


    A long groan echoes through the speakerphone, and Chad''s father grumbles, mild annoyance simmering. "Not much since he stopped by a month ago and..."


    He hems into a pause. "Borrowed... one the humvees off the lot for whatever quest he''s on now. If I''m guessing right, I think he was hunting down another mystical magic artifact."


    Chad''s interest piques, and his excitement slips into his tone. "Really?! Did he say anything to you about it?!"


    Chad''s father drones, unamused through the speaker of the aetherphone. "NO. Of course not. But... From what other equipment he... BORROWED... I don''t think he''s going too far outside aether tower and radio range. So, he should receive anything you message to him. Might even answer his phone, for once."


    A mix of emotions fight for space on Chad''s face, and he cautiously states. "Well... I''ll try to contact him and relay what he''s doing to you."


    A long sigh resonates from the other side of the connection, and Chad''s father chuckles appreciatively. "Ah, it''s okay. He''s your grandfather. And, he''s always happy to hear from you, and you should talk to him. Just..."


    Grumbling a moment, he lovingly pleads. "Just... Just don''t fall into his... Um, nice way to put it... Life philosophy? It works for HIM. But, I think he''s the only one it works for."


    Rolling his eyes, Chad flips on the turn signal and slows the vehicle to a stop at an empty, lighted intersection. He ponders to himself a moment, contorting his grimace. "I''ll be careful, dad. I''m going to make it work."


    A long pause later, Chad''s father responds pleasantly. "I know you will. Speaking of making things work, how are things between you and Veevi?"


    Pondering the question, Chad blinks back to awareness and notices the lights changing to green. Driving the black sport utility vehicle into a long left turn, he uncertainly contemplates and snarls an unsure upper lip with a vague shoulder shrug. "It''s... A thing?"


    A hearty laugh echoes from the aetherphone on the dash mount. "Ah! No need to explain. I totally understand, son. Despite what you may think, your old man has had a few of those in his early years, too. You gotta have a few flings."


    Chad shakes his head quickly and narrows his eyes incredulously ahead, puzzling with a snort. "What?! You? No way!"


    A sly chuckle resonates from the phone. "Hey! I''ve had my own exploits behind the scenes of the mercenary equipment trade. Just because the trade isn''t on the front stage, doesn''t mean it doesn''t get wild. Even have a few flings that I still keep in contact with today. You know Lady Aaveradean? The nice woman who gave you your first training sword?"


    Chad''s eyes widen in shock and flutter bewildered. "You and her? Wha? I... OKAY, you HAVE to be bullshitting me now, dad."


    Another laugh crackles out from the phone. "Hey, I wasn''t too bad looking back in the day."


    Pressing the brakes, Chad guides the vehicle into a parallel parking spot along the street dividing the clinic complex and a nearby commercial row. He reaches for his phone, lifting it clear of the mount, and rolls his eyes in amusement. "OKAY, dad. I''ll talk to you later. I need to figure out where to pick Deedri up at. Coordinates seem right, but... I''m not too sure if I''m where I need to be."


    Chuckling lightly, Chad''s father brightly answers. "Okay. Good luck finding your medical mage. I love you, son."


    Chad smiles at the phone and nods. "Love you, too. Bye."


    Pressing the call end button on the screen of his phone, he turns his attention to the evening activity around the area. He focuses towards the clinic complex, squinting between the staff and patients cycling out of different buildings. Claw tips tap upon the front passenger side window. Snapping his head around, Chad watches Deedri wave with a relaxed smile. A quick click of a button later, the vehicle''s door locks disengage. Deedri quickly opens the car door, hops into the front passenger seat, and faces Chad with a smirk. "Hey. Sorry about the late pick up. It''s... Been a day."


    Blinking utterly confused, Chad slowly nods. Deedri hiccups, covering her mouth. Chad furrows his brow, and Deedri loosely puts her seat belt on, swaying slightly in the seat.


    ----


    Stepping carefully along the carpeted hallway of the upper floor, Veevi slinks around past bedroom doors. She slowly approaches the two doors at the end of the hallway belonging to Deedri and Modoran. Her pink pupil eyes focus upon Modoran''s bedroom door, and a sinister smile creeps across face. Closing in on the doorway, she adjusts her posture and shifts her nightshirt into a more provocative position upon her body. With her hand hovering above the door knob to Modoran''s room, wooden creaks from the stairwell echo down the hall. A series of slow steps sound out and grow louder. Veevi searches around the area, straightens her posture, and projects an innocent demeanor, sliding a meter away from the door. Deedri arrives at the top of the stairs, yawns with a loose sway, and walks slowly towards her end of the hallway. Squinting her pink pupil eyes at Deedri, Veevi studies her posture, mannerisms, and body language. She processes the information, and a mischievous, evil smirk cracks from the corner of her mouth. Her full attention locking onto Deedri, Veevi slowly steps towards Deedri and greets her with a wave. "Hey. You''re home really late."


    Glancing over to Veevi, Deedri awkwardly returns the wave and continues towards her bedroom. "Yes... It''s been a day."


    Veevi closes the distance between and casually sniffs the air. A spark of sinister inspiration lights her eyes, and she presents a concerned gaze to Deedri with a sweetened tinge. "Really? Anything you want to talk about? I can be a great... Listener."


    Shifting her course away from Veevi, Deedri slides close to the wall leading to her bedroom door. "It''s okay. Just a stressful day. I''ll be fine. Just need to get to bed."


    Veevi places her tan, brown-striped arm upon the wall, in front of Deedri, and gazes at her with a sly smile. "Hey... It''s okay. I''d like to hear about your day. It might help relieve some of your stress by sharing."


    Deedri squirms and searches for an alternative route, between glances at Veevi''s most convincing smirk. Easing closer, Veevi rests a gentle hand upon Deedri''s shoulder and lowers her voice to a soft whisper. "Listen. I''ve had a lot of crazy, stressful experiences, too. And, I''ve learned a thing or two about dealing with stress. And, I''ve learned that best ways are sharing with others..."


    Veevi''s long, short-hair tail snakes closer to Deedri''s leg, and her free hand slips in the space between Deedri''s arm and waist, under her medical duster, resting upon the back of her pants. Donning a sultry grin, Veevi winks to Deedri and punctuates with a firm squeeze. "And... I''ve learned the best ways involve a bed..."


    Deedri''s body stiffens, her face blanks, and she closes her eyes. Veevi expectantly awaits a response. Releasing a long, irritation-strained exhale, Deedri opens her eyes, igniting with auburn. In a fraction of a second, Veevi''s confidence vaporizes. Shock overtaking her completely, she unleashes a loud, reflexive yip. She instinctively lifts up on the balls of feet and drops her panicked, wide eyed stare down. Claws curl through Veevi''s nightshirt and press sharply onto her soft skinned belly. Deedri swiftly marches towards the opposing wall of the hallway, ushering Veevi along under near-piercing pain and threat of puncture. With a solid thud upon the painted drywall, Veevi lifts her hands away from Deedri and raises them up, trembling in fright. From behind the nearby door, Modoran''s voice sounds out a confused quip in evuukian.


    Adjusting her spread finger grip on Veevi''s belly, Deedri glares darkly right up into Veevi''s eyes, the auburn glow illuminating her face. "You. Just. Had. To. Push. It."


    She squeezes her hold lightly, watching Veevi cringe and tense. "Let me make this CLEAR. I''ve had a stressful day and want to go to bed. ALONE. In fact, I really don''t want anything to do with YOU in THAT particular way... EVER. And, before you start thinking..."


    Lifting an eyebrow, she curls her upper lip into a sneer. "I''ve entertained a variety of relationships. SO... When I say I don''t want anything to do with you..."


    She straightens her back, pulls Veevi down, and glares right through. "I. MEAN. YOU. Do you understand?"


    Rapidly nodding her head a few times, Veevi remains silent in sheer terror. Deedri maintains her stare and examines the very details of Veevi''s face, narrowing the auburn projection. Modoran''s door opens, and he cautiously leans out. Halting in utter bewilderment at the scene before him, he quietly observes in awe. Drawing in a long, deep breath, Deedri growls low and bares her pronounced canines. "GOOD. Because... If you pester me with your pitiful attempts to bed me again... I will..."


    Claws latched upon Veevi''s belly press harder into her soft tan skin, reach the near piercing point of her flesh, and halt precisely short of it. Deedri grits her sharp teeth and focuses her brightly shining auburn eyes upon Veevi''s horrified face. "MANUALLY. SPAY. YOU... Understand?"


    Veevi nods her head quickly with a pleading tone. "Y-y-y-yes. U-u-u-u-nder-s-s-stood."


    In a swift motion, Deedri releases her grip, steps away, and pivots in place. She stops her rotation, noticing Modoran gawking, and relaxes her fury with a few long breaths to a much calmer, slightly embarrassed smile. "I''m sorry. It''s- It''s been a day."


    Blinking his dark blue eyes back to awareness, Modoran musters a comforting smirk and nods in agreement. "Uh. Looks like it. Um, it''s okay. I''ve had... Similar days?"


    Deedri returns the nod, turns the rest of the way, and quickly slips through the door into her room. Modoran slowly swings his blank stare over. Standing with her knees touching and supporting most of her weight against the wall, Veevi inspects her abdomen and pats around, finding no blood or broken skin. She slowly lifts her head up, pants unconsciously, and feels her flushed face. Resting a hand upon her chest, she stares forward confused and contemplative, her mind vainly trying to evaluate the situation. Rolling herself away from Modoran along the wall, she steadies herself on her feet and sheepishly walks weak-kneed back towards her room. Modoran bounces his gaze between Veevi''s retreat and Deedri''s bedroom door, only managing to mouth out evuukian phrases, absolutely perplexed.

 Episode 44

    Rays of morning sun slip through the blinds into the bedroom, and a glow scatters out upon the area. Sebastian''s ethereal form kneels next to the bed, and he eases his voice into Aristespha''s long ear. "Dear... Time to wake up. You turned off your alarm last night. Dear?"


    A grumbling mumble sounds out from under the covers, and Aristespha rolls her head purposefully away from Sebastian into a mass of blankets. Smirking with a lift of an eyebrow, Sebastian shakes his head and drifts over Aristespha to the other side of the bed, his visage floating downwards to just above the mattress. He grins wide at the ivory face peeking out from bed sheets. "Well... It looks like SOMEONE had a little too much last-"


    A pair violet eyes open to a dim glow and stare unamused through Sebastian. Growling weakly, Aristespha averts her narrowing gaze away briefly and hides a wince. "I am fine. Sebastian."


    Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes playfully and slowly nods with an exaggerated flair. "Of course you are, my dear."


    Returning her tired gaze towards Sebastian, Aristespha sighs and gradually removes the covers off herself. She stares up to the ceiling, rubs the temples of her head, and rolls herself to the edge of the bed. Silvery blue hair drapes over her face, and her hand reaches out and pats around the floor underneath the bed. Sebastian sinks through the mattress, searches briefly around, and gently calls out to Aristespha. "It''s up against the wall near the bedpost, dear."


    Aristespha''s hand slides sideways along the hardwood floor, bumps into a metal box, and instinctively latches onto the top. Guiding the container over just under her view, she undoes the worn locking clasp and flips the aged hinged lid open. With a few pokes into the assorted contents, she lifts up a single vial towards her half-open, darkened eyes. With bite, she pries the cork off, spits out the stopper, and tilts her head back, dumping the clear fluid back into her mouth. Sebastian slips up from underneath the bed, stands up next to the side, and watches Aristespha cringe and cough. "Fine, are you?"


    Slowly sitting up, Aristespha places the glass tube upon the nearby nightstand and narrows her violet eyes at Sebastian. "I''m fine... Now..."


    Pausing a moment, she buffers a belch and swallows hard. "Soon..."


    She works the disgust from her face between winces and cringes, shaking her head. Sebastian mutes his amusement and dons a plain smile. "It never tastes any better, does it?"


    Aristespha sighs smirking, and shrugs her shoulders, stretching her neck. "No. Generations of medical mages have yet to figure out how to counter that awful taste. That, or none ever wanted to ruin the effectiveness in exchange."


    Lowering himself down to a seat upon the bed, Sebastian sideeyes Aristespha. "So... Do you remember anything I told you last night? Or, do I need to-"


    A violet eyed glare strikes Sebastian briefly. A moment later, Aristespha softens her gaze with a slow nod. "Yes. I wasn''t..."


    She furrows her brow in thought and rocks her head between confidence and indecisiveness. "THAT far gone."


    Drawing in a slow, deep breath, she recounts calmly. "There is a job about a missing evuukian teenager that was directly sent to our group from a guild ID we''ve never seen..."


    Consciousness returning in full, Aristespha''s hand reflexively reaches out to her aetherphone on the nightstand. She quickly taps a side button, and the current date and time flashes up. An exhale of relief escapes her, and she relaxes some of her tension. "Good. Did NOT sleep in too much."


    Her eyes squint down at the notification list, and she quickly taps in her security code upon the display. Sorting through on screen menus, she pours her full attention towards a series of messages. Sebastian notices the quick change of focus and slides around, peering above her shoulder. "What''s the matter, dear?"


    Aristespha curiously scrolls through the messages and glances over to Sebastian quizzically. "Valavera sent me a few messages last night."


    Sebastian blinks and scans the evuukian text upon Aristespha''s aetherphone screen. "Is she okay? Please tell me she''s not the missing teenager."


    Quickly shaking her head, Aristespha drags a finger tip up the aetherphone display and hovers over a section of text. "No. She''s just fine, Sebastian. Beckerin took her along on a few side jobs on their way back, and she has been at home for a few weeks."


    Narrowing her stare upon the text, she cocks her head to the side, stray locks of long hair falling upon her shoulder. "Says she knows the missing teenager and told her parents to hire us specifically to find her."


    She slowly turns her head and gazes at Sebastian, a mix of intrigue and concern upon her face. "Valavera says she has information about where the teenager might be and wants to talk to all of us over the phone because of how sensitive it is."


    Tilting his head to the side, Sebastian relaxes his ethereal form in thought and twists his mouth. "Did she mention anything else?"


    Aristespha returns her stare upon the aetherphone screen and searches the lines of evuukian text with a gradual shake of the head. "No. She''s being vague about what she wants to tell us. I guess Beckerin probably advised her on how to phrase it all via a message. He has always been careful about anything written or recorded."


    After a moment of pause, Sebastian''s eyes widen, memories springing back to the front of his mind, and he sternly watches the display scroll. "It might be something about the Terra Priests."


    ----


    Tassilda stands in the middle of the wrap around kitchen, inspecting a number of glass tubes in wooden rack holders. Grasping onto one with a gloved hand, she slides it up out of the frame and holds it up against the light coming through the window over the sink. A faintly milky liquid swirls within the confines of the glass container. Examining the contents, Tassilda squints her light blue on black eyes and pulls a plotting smirk to the corner of her gray face. Lowering the tube over the larger basin of the kitchen sink, she places her other hand around the glass and her hand, closing her eyes. With slow breaths, she concentrates, straightens her posture, and calmly mouths out careful incantations. Moments later, gradual flows of magical energy glide along her arms and consolidate into a single trail, condensing into the open mouth of the glass tube. The cloudy fluid glows brightly, the magical power collects, and small bubbles form upon the interior sides. With the concoction foaming at the top, Tassilda opens her eyes, waves off the excess magical flow with a hand, and carefully inserts the glass container into another wooden holder at the bottom of the sink. Quickly checking her hands for overflow and spillage, she gazes over to a series of black rubber stoppers and one white wax cork. A sinister spark lights her eyes, and she sharpens her smile, focusing her attention upon the wax top.


    An irregular series of wooden creaks echo out from the stairs. Seconds later, a groggy Deedri plods through the archway into the dining area, combing the mess of multi-colored hair out of her view. She brushes the loose fabric of her pajamas against a wall corner, her tail lazily swaying with the momentum. Walking closer towards the kitchen, she rubs her forehead with one hand and feels her grip on a small vial of clear liquid in the other. Blinking in surprise, Tassilda breaks from her task and curiously watches Deedri sloppily navigate to the front of the refrigerator. Deedri slides the hand off her head, roughly opens the fridge door, and side steps with a slight stumble out of the swing path. Grasping onto a carton of orange juice inside, she yanks it out swiftly, keeping it at the ready. Tassilda cocks her head, lifts a very confused eyebrow, and places her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"


    Blinking to a moment of awareness, Deedri draws a long breath in and sighs reluctantly towards a groan. "Ungh. Self medicating."


    In a quick series of motions, she claws off the stopper in the vial, dumps the contents down her throat, folds the carton open, and quaffs a long pour of orange juice. Tassilda opens her eyes wide, watching Deedri wince, squirm, and tense all over her body. Dropping the carton back down upon the nearby countertop, she breathes deeply and slumps her shoulders into full awareness. Glances into the mouth of the nearly empty carton, Deedri bites her lip in embarrassment. "I''m sorry. It takes a lot of orange juice to counteract THAT bad taste."


    Tassilda slowly nods, brushes her raven hair over her swirling horns, and widens a very amused grin. "I SEE. I was wondering what you were up to last night."


    Deedri closes the fridge door, places the stopper back in the vial, and stands back, supporting herself against a nearby counter. "It was a... rough day. So, I stopped by..."


    Fighting her embarrassment down to a grimace, she glances her auburn eyes around in feigned innocence, her furry, tufted ears flicking. "A place that many other clinic staff visit after their... Rough days."


    She glances over to Tassilda and notices the intrigue and curiosity swelling up on her face. "Uh, so um... What are you doing right now? Making potions? Um..."


    Tassilda chuckles lightly and pivots her gaze upon her project, shrugging casually. "Oh. Nothing too complicated. Just making a batch of dispelling charges."


    Deedri focuses her semi-groggy stare upon the tubes of milky fluid, and nods. "I see. That''s actually a good idea."


    A smile pulls across Tassilda, and she turns back around to face Deedri. "Yes, I figured it would be nice to have something to dispel those annoying little bits of magic without requiring our energies at the time."


    Frowning momentarily, she grumbles under her breath. "... and counteract any other cute tricks that Veevi happens to figure out without wasting valuable effort..."


    Hearing Veevi''s name, Deedri tenses her posture and scans around the area quickly. "By the way, have you seen Veevi today?"


    Tassilda''s focus locks on to Deedri, and she quirks an intrigued eyebrow. "No. I believe she''s still in HER room. For once."


    Narrowing her stare upon Deedri, Tassilda leans forward slightly. "Why?"


    Reluctantly, Deedri sighs and shakes her head. "I, uh, had a run in with her last night before getting to my room and..."


    She averts her face briefly away from Tassilda. "Well... I, um... Made sure she knew my claws weren''t for show."


    A proud smile springs up upon Tassilda, she steps forward in front of Deedri. Lifting her hands off her hips, she places them on Deedri''s shoulders and stares Deedri in the eyes. "As you SHOULD. Someone of your talent should NEVER have to suffer grief from someone like that."


    Blinking to attention, Deedri presents a humble smile. "Thank you. I appreciate hearing that."


    Tassilda releases Deedri, walks over to the kitchen sink, and directs her voice over her shoulder. "You should NEVER be afraid to stand up for yourself."


    A bit of hesitation infiltrates Deedri''s voice, and she grits her teeth briefly. "I know that. BUT... I''m a bit worried what might happen because of... HOW I stood up for myself..."


    Seconds of tense quiet later, Tassilda eases her head over, leading the rest of her body, and faces Deedri with a delightfully curious grin upon her gray face. "OH. Really? How ever did you stand up for yourself?"


    Deedri snatches up the carton of orange juice and drinks slowly, stalling for time under the patient stare Tassilda.


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sit at the dining room table, Sebastian hovering overhead, all focus upon the aetherphone upon the tabletop. Valavera''s voice sounds out from the speakerphone. "Okay, so Uncle Becker told me to tell you all this over the phone and make sure there''s no written record of it, because... Well..."


    The unamused tone of Aristespha cuts through the idle air, and she aims her glare at the aetherphone. "It is incriminating of you. We understand, and it is okay. Just relay what you know, so we can help."


    A nervous gasp escapes Valavera''s side of the conversation, and she sighs long with uneasy acceptance. "Okay. Sorry. When I went out into the woods, I was not the only one that was put on the same type of assignment. My friend Faelatelia and I went out to a meet up with the main guy from the group. We split up after we got our missions, and I was in contact with her until..."


    She groans into a stale, frustrated grumble. "My phone broke."


    Tension building in her voice, her concern slips out into her cadence. "I... Well... When I got back home, I tried to contact her and find out what happened. Gods, I was hoping she was abandoned like me and had gone back home eventually. But..."


    She works through an uneasy breath. "No one has seen her since we both left. And, I have checked with everyone I know and she knew outside the... group."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form lowers slightly, and he directs his question at the aetherphone. "Do you know where she was supposed to go for her assignment?"


    Valavera perks up and promptly responds. "Yes! I told Uncle Becker and he even called in a favor from his friend, Mavian. He scouted the area and found signs that someone had been there a while ago. But... Left..."


    Rapping a hand of claw tips upon the table top, Cideeda twists her face into a thoughtful grimace and narrows her emerald green eyes. "The guild mission brief has a huge, vague area that her aetherphone was last detected from a few distant radio towers. Were they able to get anything else from the phone that wasn''t on the mission brief?"


    Focusing back upon the present, Valavera snaps back out of her idle worry. "Oh, uh, yes? Sort of? Uncle Becker contacted some people he knows from a few of the aether network companies. A lot of messages didn''t get delivered to my phone, but they had records of them. There were a few from her..."


    Aristespha speaks clearly, firmly at her phone, and interlocks her fingers together, pondering out loud. "What did they say?"


    With a drift in her tone and hints of resignation, Valavera answers with a long sigh. "She got accepted into the group. She was given a location to go to, and was told to go there to get taken to the Terra Priest commune. That location sounds like it is within the area they tracked her phone to."


    Dretphi nods slowly, processing the information, and sorts through her mind between flicks of her steely gray eyes. "It is a meeting point. For safety. Likely far from the final destination. Heavy forest does not allow useful vehicle transit. The commune could be within walking range. Unfortunately, could be hours, days of travel to reach."


    Grumbling within frustration, Sotalia slides the highlighted region around on a tablet on the dining table in front of her. "Gods... So, even if we go to that spot, the real place could be ANYWHERE around here. Probably kilometers away. And, I bet they are keeping an eye on the whole area. Probably just for people like us."


    Groaning in agreement, Dretphi shakes her head against the options and wrestles a frown upon her tan face. "Dangerous territory. Likely would be found if we perform a wide search. Ambushed if we get close. Could be left to wander for weeks uselessly. They may leave during. Be gone before we get close."


    Tapping a long finger nail upon the tablet display, Sotalia squints her golden eyes at the map, tosses back her dark red hair, and curls the corner of her mouth with a lift of an eyebrow. "It''d be real nice if we had a good overhead view with a good camera."


    Bach blinks to attention and furrows his brow, searching his mind. Glancing around the table, he shrugs his shoulders and proposes. "Huh, we might see if Kaleb and Lagi could do a fly over of the area?"


    Sebastian hovers over, staring at the tablet display, and tilts his head to the side. "Not a bad idea, bro. But... That''s A LOT of area to cover, especially if we want useful photography."


    Tugging at the corner of his translucent mouth, he sighs ethereally. "Also... I''m pretty sure if there''s anyone there, they''ll get REAL suspicious of a dragon flying overhead for so long."


    Aristespha narrows her violet eyes, taps her fingertips against each other in thought, and ponders out loud. "So... We need more information to limit the search area..."


    Dretphi opens her eyes wide and smirks with a hint of hope in her voice. "We should contact Captain Hackle. He may have information. May be able to get information."


    Nodding slowly with a spark in his ghostly gaze, Sebastian smiles at Aristespha. "AND, Hays could be a good one to call up, too. With all the scouting and wandering the woods they''ve done in the area, they may have seen something that could help. Something out of the ordinary, or check their records for such."


    Aristespha gauges the growing agreement between Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia, and grants a reserved smile towards the gathering. "That sounds like the best course of action, at the moment. If we can narrow the area enough, Kaleb and Lagi might be able to get us the information we need without attracting too much attention and generating too much suspicion."


    Sebastian crosses his arms and nods with a growing grin. "He could do a single fly over if the target area is small enough. Make it look like he was just passing through rather than sweeping the area itself."


    Sighing in thought, Aristespha aims her voice at her aetherphone. "Regardless, that is the best we can do, at the moment. I wish we had more, but give us time, Valavera."


    Over the speakerphone, a happy tone shines out from Valavera. "Thank you! Just knowing someone is working on it is good to know. I just hope Faelatelia is okay... It''s just... The more I read up about the Terra Priests..."


    With the heavy weight of worry in her voice, she continues. "The more... I do NOT think she would want to be part of them."


    ----


    At the head of the dining table in the two story house, Chad stands tall and smiles proud. Camera crew members wedge themselves into ideal positions and aim recording equipment at the gathering. Around the table Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, Modoran, and Veevi sit and watch Chad, waiting expectantly. Veevi briefly glances away from Chad across the table and catches a glimpse of Deedri. She quickly snaps her head away when Deedri''s gaze moves slightly away from Chad. Darting his dark blue eyes briefly between Veevi and Deedri, Modoran subdues a suspicious grimace. Trakenthin stares ahead at Modoran until their eyes meet and tilts his head quizzically to either side of him. Modoran shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head slightly, furrowing his brow. Chad hems and addresses the group with a bold tone. "While we may have had some trouble in Hattan, we persevered and aided the town in its time of need. And, with a bit of time to recover and allowing Deedri to assist the Amaranth Valley clinic with her services, I believe we are ready for our next big mission."


    Lifting up a tablet from the tabletop, he taps a few on screen buttons and spins it around into view, showing the display to everyone at the table. "We will be providing assistance in patrolling a section of highway with..."


    A bright, white grin shines forth from his smiling mouth, and he taps a finger up the display. "The Chrome Crusaders."


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Trakenthin blinks hard, places his phone quickly down upon the table, and rotates his head, gawking at the tablet. Genuine surprise fills Modoran''s dusky bluish gray face, and he squints at the text upon the screen, cocking his head slightly. Tassilda covers her mouth with a hand and stares at Chad in honest interest. Tensing up in anticipation, Deedri contains her excitement, flit slipping out into the wag of her long, fluffy tail below the table. Veevi slides close to Chad, into the shot, and smirks slyly to the cameras. Flipping the tablet back around, Chad presses a few buttons and finishes with a swift swipe. "I''ve sent the guild mission details to everyone. We''ll be heading out soon. So, take tomorrow to prepare. We''ll be traveling for a week with a Chrome Crusader unit."


    Staring around to all the members of the team, he narrows his brown eyes, seriousness coloring his tone. "While we should be fairly safe with such a renowned group, we don''t want to disappoint."


    He pauses a moment and stresses his point. "SO. Be ready."


    Various aetherphone alerts chime out. Watching the reactions around the table, Chad sweeps a curious gaze over the team. "So, any questions?"


    Slowly raising a hand, Modoran nonchalantly awaits for acknowledgement from Chad and cracks a partial grin. "So... Any chance we get to drive one of their mechs around? Just for a little while?"


    With a tinge of humor slipping out, Chad groans and shakes his head into a sigh. "Unfortunately, NO. This particular division uses small personnel mech suits that are customized to the pilot. Only powered armor suits and your average transport trucks."


    Trakenthin lowers his hand back down to the table after the answer from Chad and shrugs at Modoran''s curious glance. "Same question."


    Crossing her arms, Tassilda scrutinizes Chad''s posture, narrowing her light blue on black eyes, and curls her upper lip, forming sneer. "If I may ask, what ever are they patrolling the highways for?"


    With a tilt of his head of short brown, coiffed hair, Chad grins humored at Tassilda. "Regular bandits that have been hassling commerce. Normal humanoids that are most likely to be affected by a whole host of charm and enchantment spells."


    A sinister smile graces Tassilda, and she uncrosses her arms out onto the table, rapping her long black nails upon the tabletop. "Oh. I see. This certainly seems like a fitting mission for our team then."


    Deedri gradually raises her hand, watching Chad grant a respectful nod towards her. "Will I need to focus on our medical needs strictly, or are we pooling resources with their medical staff for the length of the mission?"


    Blinking in thought, Chad twists his mouth in thought. "Well, I..."


    A few moments later, he draws a calming breath and smiles. "I, actually, don''t know at the moment. The Chrome Crusader unit will have their own medical staff, but I think we''ll assist each other, regardless. So, I would say focus on our group''s medical needs, if only to keep us from being a drain on their resources. And, prepare to assist them, if needed."


    Accepting the answers, Deedri nods and glances around the table at everyone else. Her eyes passing over towards Veevi, she notices the pink haired, half-fvalian momentarily freeze, the two making eye contact. Awkward, tense moments later, Veevi averts her gaze away shyly and focuses upon her aetherphone, settling back fully into her seat. Blinking in disbelief, Deedri squints briefly at Veevi and shifts her attention elsewhere, puzzling to herself.


    ----


    The bright moonlight from the night sky projects itself through the gaps between the slats of the window blinds. Groggily stirring from his slumber, Modoran summons forth his limited consciousness towards muffled noises slipping in from the hall. He tilts his head, aims his long, pointed ear at the bedroom door, and waits. Footsteps creak upon the hallway floor and faintly resonate. Modoran cracks open an alert, dark blue eye, focusing upon the entryway. Shadows play underneath the doorway gap and fade away. Seconds later, a series of soft wooden steps softly sound out, fading into silence. Gathering enough awareness, Modoran slips out of bed and cautiously slinks towards the door. He kneels down, lowers his head to the floor, and inspects the floor of the hallway for activity.


    The careful search reveals no signs of anyone around. He begins to lift his head up, and his ears twitch in recognition of a familiar mechanical noise. Quickly cracking the door open, he aims a long, pointed ear out, and catches the unmistakable sound of the back sliding glass door closing downstairs. He pauses in thought, withdraws his head from the hallway, and seals his door. Gradually, he lifts himself up to his feet, wiping the sleep out of his eyes, and shifts his stare towards the moonlit window blinds. He steps over quietly, leans forward towards the window, and lifts an inconspicuous slat up. Squinting against the shine of the moonlight, he scans downwards to the backyard plot below.


    Movement captures his full attention, and his stare locks onto a figure moving across the lawn. In the moments, other parts of his mind awaken, and greater consciousness guides his stare. Bewilderment fills his face, and recognition furrows his brow. In the backyard, Tassilda searches the area around her and secures her tight black pants and long sleeve shirt. Darting along the perimeter along the fence line, she arrives at the corner of the back plot and slips over the low barrier. With a final inspection of the dark, moonlit vicinity, she runs off towards the distant ranch style house beyond the large field. Modoran blinks within his confusion, opens his mouth with the start of a mutter, and stops.


    Releasing the window blind slat, his dark blue eyes search his mind for a reason, and his hands clench. With a long sigh, Modoran holds his hands up in resignation. Shaking his head slowly side to side, he closes his contorting mouth. He waves off the whole affair with both hands, rocking his head in defiance, and mutters a series of phrases in grumbling evuukian. At the edge of his bed, he whips up the covers, slips underneath the falling bed sheets, and secures his head firmly on a pillow. Pulling a long breath in, he sighs with a quiet trailing groan and rolls up into his sheets.


    ----


    Afternoon sun glows upon the grass around an old log, propped up vertically. Small shadows fill in the cracks of the decaying wood and darken large gouges into the core. A small hatchet sinks partially into the soft lumber and wedges itself by a corner of the blade''s edge. The thick, aged trunk rocks slightly, pressing against the smaller timbers supporting it, and settles back squarely onto the ground. Sebastian crosses his arms, hums with an ethereal reverb, and twists his mouth in thought. "Not bad, bro. Getting the spin right for this distance is pretty tricky at times."


    Rolling his shoulders, a faint pops and cracks out from Bach''s joints, and he swings out the tension within his arms around at his side. "Yeah... To be fair, I think I released it a bit early on that throw."


    He pauses a moment, glances over to Sebastian, and smirks curiously. "No offense, man, but I STILL don''t know what use ax throwing is going to be for me."


    Sebastian shrugs his transparent shoulders, puts his hands out to his sides, and grins nonchalantly. "You never know, bro. I''ve been meaning to teach you, anyway. Plus, can you think of anything else to do at the moment that beats throwing axes?"


    Blinking in thought a moment, Bach stares back at the log target and walks forward with a satisfied, humored smile. "You know... I really can''t beat that logic right now."


    Reaching the timber stand, he grips hold of the ax handle, yanks it clear, and feels out the balance of the tool. A solid thud sounds out further down the side lawn from a heavy sac landing hard within the outer limits of a painted ring on the grass. A brief fit of frustration sneers Dretphi''s upper lip, and she places her hands on her hips. Studying the missed target with a contemplative stare, a faint grumble slips out from her stoic exterior. Cideeda reaches up, pats Dretphi on the shoulder, and laughs encouragingly. "Don''t worry, you''re still beating me in weight and distance."


    Dretphi sighs and shakes her head of platinum blonde braids with a groan. "Release felt wrong. Do not know what specifically."


    Lifting up a smaller sac from the ground by a rope around the top, Cideeda idly swings it and plants her feet wide upon the grass. "Timing may have been off. Getting the release just right is always important."


    She focuses forward upon the circular target on the trimmed ground and narrows her emerald green eyes. With a few forceful revolutions, her arm circles the weighted bag up to speed. Seconds of concentration later, her hand opens up, the small sac sails up into the air along a calculated arc. Reaching the apex of its flight, the bag plummets down and solidly hits the earth near the exact center of the target. Dretphi glances down at the toothy grin of Cideeda and nods in agreement.


    The hot tub gazebo door opens slowly, faint clouds of steam slipping out in the current. Sotalia steps out with a towel wrapped around her head and another towel covering the bottom of her two piece bathing suit. Slowly strutting around to the side yard of the house, she stands with a slight squirm next to Sebastian. "So, how goes the practice?"


    With a simple smile, Sebastian shrugs and glances over to Sotalia. "Well... It''s practice. Throwing various things and seeing if we can get near the targets."


    Bach arrives in front of Sebastian and Sotalia, with ax at the side, and puzzles at Sotalia with a furrowed brow. "Huh, you''re out of the water early today. Is the hot tub not working or something?"


    Sotalia twists her mouth into a grimace, rolls her shoulders uneasily, and pounders out loud. "No. It was working fine. It''s just..."


    Squinting her golden eyes over to the gazebo, she straightens her back and sighs. "Just felt a bit weird being in it today. Couldn''t quite figure out what was different, so I decided to get out for a bit."


    Lifting a mock accusatory eyebrow at Sotalia, Bach dons a wry smile. "Maybe you''ve been abusing it a bit too much lately?"


    Opening her mouth in a retort, she pauses and averts her eyes away in thought. She grumbles at herself and trails out a begrudging sigh. "You... Might be right. I''ve never had a hot tub this accessible to me. And... I''ve never really used one this much."


    She bites her lower lip and waves her hand to the side. "Oh, what can I say? I am a bit of a glutton for relaxing in water. Got that habit from my family."


    Rolling her shoulders, she rocks her towel wrapped head side to side, stretching out her neck. "We ALWAYS had either a pool, sauna, lake, or tub somewhere around our vacation spots."


    Bach glances over to Sebastian and smirks with amusement. "That must have been nice. About the only vacation spot our family took with a lake was one that no one wanted to go in. Well..."


    Narrowing his blue stare, he cracks an smug grin. "Except Sebastian."


    With an awkward sneer, Sebastian groans ethereally and closes his eyes. "Once. Just ONCE. GODS, I still shiver thinking about it."


    The sliding glass door glides along its track, and Aristespha excitedly steps out with a smile and tablet in hand. She quickly walks over to Bach, Sebastian, and Sotalia, and waves towards Cideeda and Dretphi. "Everyone! I heard back from both Captain Hackle and Captain Hays."


    A hopeful grin appears upon Sebastian''s face, and he motions towards Aristespha, Cideeda and Dretphi arriving nearby. "Good! What did they have to say?"


    Taking a deep breath in, Aristespha mentally organizes her thoughts and summarizes. "Okay. Captain Hackle checked with his sources, and they have recent evidence of a Terra Priest group in that area. It is quite a long hike from the meeting point Valavera told us, but it IS a far smaller area they could be in."


    She adjusts the brightness of the tablet''s display against the plentiful ambient light and presents it out of the sun''s glare to the group. Dretphi points out the digital map scale measurement in the corner of the screen, nodding with a slight smile. "YES. THAT is a significant difference. Workable area. Feasible for us to work."


    Nodding in agreement, Bach hovers his finger over the screen, tracing a few paths over the area. "Yeah, no kidding. I think Kaleb and Lagi could easily do a few passes over the area without drawing that much attention."


    Sebastian leans his head close and glances over to Bach. "Especially if he spaces the fly-overs with a few hours between each. And, maybe do them at early dawn or late dusk?"


    Pondering the plans out loud, Cideeda grins and relays the thoughts in her mind. "Definitely should go around dawn AND dusk. That way, it''ll just seem like a dragon traveling to and from another location. Any lookouts they have will probably be different people at those times, too. Assuming they''ve got proper patrols and shifts, they''ll probably note it but not be too suspicious."


    Sotalia adjusts the towel on her head, lifts a scrutinizing eyebrow at the information, and puzzles with hints of irritation in her voice. "Wait... They KNOW about this group and where it possibly is..."


    Twisting the corner of her mouth, she frowns and huffs. "AND, they haven''t dealt with it?!"


    Aristespha groans and shakes her head with similar sentiment. "I know. The only way I even got this information from Captain Hackle is letting him know about Faelatelia and the possibility of the Terra Priests being involved. It seems this specific group has kept to themselves rather than engaging in the usual activities the Terra Priests are infamous for."


    She tugs her mouth towards the side of her ivory face with a brief grit of the teeth and sighs out her own frustrations. "Since this group is also near the border between the GAA and Appaland perimeter territories, everyone has taken a wait and see approach. That might change depending on what we may or may not find."


    Sebastian lifts a curious brow towards Aristespha, standing back up straight. "What did Captain Hays have to say?"


    Aristespha briefly searches her mind and nods with her thoughts. "Unfortunately, not as much as Captain Hackle. They have been focused on other things since Hattan. BUT, Captain Hays mentioned some strange activity when they were following a group of weird zone animals away from Hattan that led them far south of that area. Faint magical disturbances, odd spirit activity, and strange behavior from the normal wildlife."


    Shrugging her shoulders vaguely, she lowers the display, resting her arms. "They thought it may have been caused by the zone creatures, since that is not an uncommon occurrence with having any new creatures in the area. They did note the amount did not exactly match up with expectations."


    Crossing his arms, Sebastian gradually tilts his head side to side, and nods with a growing grin. "Okay. I''m thinking this is workable enough and should be worth pursuing now."


    Bach gives a thumbs up to his brother in agreement. "I mean, if we can hang out roughly nearby, Kaleb and Lagi should be able to narrow it down for us. Then, we move fast, scout it out, and fall back. Then, we figure out what we need to do further?"


    Sebastian gazes over to Bach with a proud smile. "That sounds like a good plan for now, bro. I really don''t want to risk too much, but have to get our own eyes on the area. Otherwise, we''re just making wild guesses and speculation blindly."


    A sly toothy smile graces Cideeda, and she places her hands on her hips with sway, flicking the tip of her long, fluffy tail. "If they''re really keeping to themselves, they might leave us alone so long we just look like lost adventurers chasing some bogus ruin to pilfer. We just need to keep a look out for any activity and just play dumb."


    With a plotting glint in her emerald green eye, she grins, perking her furry ears, and scratches her chin. "We might be able to triangulate where their base is by noting when they have some scout watching us."


    The group tosses around ideas and mulls over possible tactics between themselves. A few minutes later, Aristespha spots something out of the corner of her eye and snaps her attention to a trail of dark red fluid running down the side of Sotalia''s head. Narrowing her violet eyes momentarily, she widens her stare in surprise. "Sotalia? Did you injure your head?!"


    Sotalia blinks back to awareness and notices the finger point from Aristespha, patting her fingers upon the dark red trail. Squinting at the color upon her hand, Sotalia quickly removes the towel from her head. Locks of fiery orange, wavy hair fall from unraveling the towel wrap and rest down upon Sotalia''s shoulders. Unfolding the dark red soaked fabric before her in utter bewilderment, Sotalia spots two blotches of black in the mess. The rest of the group gawks in sheer confusion at the dark brown and tan, swept back horns upon Sotalia''s fiery orange hair covered head. Bouncing her stare between the stained towel and the stunned silence of the rest of the group, shock floods Sotalia''s being. Her face pales, her posture stiffens, and her hands tremble. Without a further word, she snaps a pivot away from the group and speeds off into the house.


    ----


    A pair of golden, nervous eyes stare into the bathroom mirror reflection of a half-emin woman. Sotalia slowly raises her hand to her shoulder, and lifts a wavy lock of fiery orange hair up. Twirling the strands between her fingers, she lets the hair slip out and rubs the trace amount of dark red residue. Her hands touch the dark brown and tan horns on her head, and follow their swept back path. With a long, shaky exhale, Sotalia lowers her arms, places her palms firmly upon the bathroom counter, and aims her head down, staring at the few dark red spatters in the sink. Drawing a long, slow breath in, she raises her light tan and dark gray edged face up and stares at the person in the mirror. "It''s... Been a while..."


    A series of knocks sound out from the bathroom door. Sotalia grimaces defiantly and yells firmly. "I''m FINE!"


    Her confidence drains, and the strength of her voice fades to a listless mumble. "Just give a few more minutes... Or... MORE..."


    A few familiar voices drone outside. Sebastian''s ethereal tone rises up from the debate and resonates through the doorway. "It''s okay. Just give her some time."


    From the other side, he projects directly at the door. "HEY. I''m coming in."


    Sotalia blinks hard, snaps her head towards the door, and swats at the ghostly visage of Sebastian. "Gods! Oh, will you fuck off!"


    Cringing from the swipes of Sotalia''s long nailed fingers through his form, Sebastian floats around to Sotalia''s other side, keeping a concerned gaze upon her. "Sorry, Sol. Have to make sure you are okay."


    Sotalia draws a long calming breathing in, relaxes her curling fingers, and places her hands back upon the edge of the bathroom counter. "I''m... Okay..."


    Sebastian rosses his arms, lifts an inquisitive eyebrow, and stares blatantly unconvinced. Sotalia sighs out her frown and averts her eyes to the sink basin below. "For the most part. It''s just... Gods..."


    Drifting over closer to Sotalia, Sebastian cranes his head to meet her distant stare. "It''s okay, Sol. I''m here. Everyone is just worried, and we just want to make sure you''re okay. You darted off on us and didn''t seem well."


    Nodding her head understandingly, she turns to Sebastian with a weak smile. "I... I know. It''s just. Gods... A bunch of old memories of my stupid past self coming back all of the sudden. Ones I was happy to never think about. Never thought seeing myself like this would bring them back so STRONG."


    Sebastian nods calmly with a supportive smirk. "Is this the same stupid past self that you always changed the subject away from, back when we first started out?"


    A soft chuckle escapes Sotalia, and she rolls her eyes golden at herself with a dragging sigh. "YES... The very same. A really embarrassing stretch of my past that just gets harder to look at the older I get."


    With a supportive smile and shrug of the shoulders, Sebastian shakes his head. "Yeah... Well, it always seemed like a touchy subject. I just figured if it became relevant, we''d explore it, then."


    Sotalia pulls a long breath of air through her nose and exhales out her nerves, faint trembles in her tone. "And, here we are."


    Nodding briefly with a grimace, Sebastian unfolds his arms out to the sides. "Yes. BUT, we don''t need to go into full details, right now. As long as you are okay and know that we are all here for you, Sol."


    A genuine smile graces Sotalia, and she wipes a build up of tears out of her eyes, traces of tension fading from her. "I know. I know. I''ll be fine. Just processing a bunch of old baggage that I''ve been putting off."


    She grits her teeth, focuses her stare into the mirror, and shakes her head slowly. "Behold the face of a vain... Arrogant... Stupid... Over-achieving... Glory hungry... Self-important... BITCH."


    Hovering behind Sotalia, Sebastian eases his face into the reflection of the mirror and presents a reassuring smile. He stares at the mirror and glances over to Sotalia, with a reassuring tone. "I just see you, Sol. And, that''s all anyone else here will see."


    The overhead vanity light glints off the tears welling in Sotalia''s golden eyes, and she bites her lower lip with a sniffle. Sebastian furrows his brow, chuckles ethereally, and rolls his eyes at himself. "Anyway, you have nothing on the transparent, arrogant idiot that heroically got his dumb ass at the mercy of a lame magical sword, and almost dragged everyone else to destruction."


    Sotalia fights to hold back a giggle. Sebastian simply shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to the sides. "Well, it''s the TRUTH. EVERYONE saw it."


    Seconds of silence hang in the room. Lifting a hand from the counter, Sotalia brushes her fingers through her fiery orange, wavy hair and laughs. "GODS. To think my hair used to be much longer than Aristespha''s.


    She glances off to the side and smirks. "I have always missed that."


    Sebastian floats nearby and examines the bright locks upon Sotalia''s head. "Admittedly, I always wondered if that dark red was your natural hair color or not. I just never found any clues otherwise to what else it would be."


    Pressing her finger tip upon her eyebrow, Sotalia drags out a dark red fluid from the orange follicles. She drops the residue into the sink and flashes a sly grin to Sebastian via the mirror. "What can I say? I was always very thorough in those regards."


    Straightening up her posture, she rolls her shoulders into long stretches and breathes out some tension. "OKAY. I''m going to wash off in the shower. Then..."


    Furrowing her brow, she glances around her mind and hums, tinges of suspicion rising up. "I''m going to take a VERY CLOSE look at that hot tub."


    ----


    Sitting in a booth seat in a small diner, Isaac sorts through a stack of paperwork, taps it into order upon the restaurant table, and neatly lays it in front of Blesk. "It looks like a fine application to me. You most certainly will get some attention from quite a number of people at the Grand Library with your magical photography experiments."


    Blesk scratches the back of his head, combs through his wild, light blue hair, and smiles graciously. "Thank you so much. I would have never known about Dr. Malkav or even thought about sending some of my results to him."


    A sly grin cracks across Isaac''s face, and he chuckles lightly. "Oh, not a problem. Dr. Malkav is a good man. He would most certainly be interested in your research and has a little pull on the application side of things. You will most certainly still need to present a strong portfolio of your research. But, from experience, every little bit helps."


    Slowly grasping the application in his hands, Blesk carefully inserts the paperwork into a folder and packs it securely away in his satchel. "Of course. But, still..."


    He wrestles down an uneasy frown and sighs. "I feel a bit bad for not mentioning you in all of this. I mean, I wouldn''t even be remotely as far along as I am without you helping me along."


    Isaac holds up a hand and shakes his head with a reassuring smile. "Do not worry. I have unfortunately had some academic disagreements with a few on the admission board in the past. So, it is best that my name doesn''t taint your chances. Anyway, you have more than rewarded me with sharing your knowledge with me."


    Glancing over to a camera on the table top, he pats his hand on the device. "I would never have dreamed of being able to take this antique store find and breathe new life into it as a fine magical detection tool."


    An honest grin spreads across Isaac, and he bows slightly, respectfully to Blesk. "I actually cannot wait to see what pictures I''ll take with this. I just hope I''ll be able to capture something astounding enough to repay you."


    A humbling surge of emotion fills Blesk, and he shrugs with a bit of embarrassment. "Aw... It''s nothing really. Just whatever copies of the pictures you take with a bit of documentation will help so much. Any data and results I can catalog will help my research immensely."


    He glances over towards Isaac and hints of sadness sneak into his tone. "I really wish you could stay a little longer. We''ve done so much in a week, I can''t even fathom the possibilities if we had a solid month of time to research together. So much progress. It''s so... Thrilling!"


    With an encouraging smirk, Isaac points to Blesk. "THAT drive there is why you need to get into the Grand Library. There are so many others that will support your efforts and help you bring your research to fruition. There are people there who have been waiting for something like this to come around. You NEED to bring that to them."


    Blesk nods slowly, reluctance slipping out and coloring his expression. Isaac chuckles to himself with a nonchalant smile. "Don''t worry. Once you get in, I''ll be certain to contact you. But... For now, I need to resume my quest of sorts and see what progress I can make with my own research."


    The hesitation disappears from Blesk, and he nods sympathetically to Isaac with a faint chuckle. "I, totally, understand. It wouldn''t be fair to keep you from your own projects. But, still...


    With a genuine smile, he gazes over to Isaac. "Thank you."


    Lydia steps up to the side of the table and places down a sandwich and fries basket in front Blesk with her free hand. "Here you go."


    Another basket rises into view from below the tabletop and slides up onto the surface in front of Isaac with a push of a small hand. Isaac glances down at the sandwich and sides, and swings his delighted face over to meet the happy smile of the little girl next to Lydia. "Thank you very much, Leigh."


    With a reserved smile, Lydia pats Leigh''s head and nods to Isaac. "I really hate to see my favorite customer leave. But... I can''t keep you from making your living."


    She rolls her eyes and smirks humored. "Otherwise, you won''t be able to be a customer. Just promise me you won''t disappear for two months straight again will you?"


    Isaac gazes warmly at Lydia and sighs with a chuckle. "I''ll try... Really, I will."

 Episode 45

    Inside the garage of the ranch style house, the door to the kitchen swings open, and Cideeda swiftly descends the few wooden stairs to the concrete floor. Curling her fingers tighter she secures her grip on two metal boxes by their handles and carries them at her sides. Standing next to the humvee, Dretphi inspects the contents currently in the open rear cargo area and checks off items on a paper list. Cideeda stops next to Dretphi, hoists up the painted steel containers briefly into view, and quizzically furrows her brow. "Ammo and batteries. In the back, or the cab?"


    Dretphi examines the dimensions of the boxes, glances over to the cargo area, and motions towards the front of the vehicle. "Cab. Keep it easy to access."


    With an agreeable smile, Cideeda nods and swings her momentum forward around the back of the vehicle. "Sounds good to me."


    She skillfully balances herself along with the mass of the metal boxes, lifts them up through the open back passenger''s door, and lands them upon the cab floor. Turning his upper body around to the noise, Bach scoots over from the aisle and meets Cideeda''s gaze. "So, where do you want them?"


    Cideeda points a claw tip towards the aisle area behind the front center console and swings her attention over to the front of the far back bench seat, circling out another area with a finger. "One in the front, and one in the back. I packed equal amounts of shells, bullets, and batteries in both. That way there''s something we can use in either."


    Slowly stepping down the garage steps, Sotalia shrugs both her shoulders and slides the straps of satchels at her sides. She steps over to the back of the humvee and rests the bags upon the lip of the hatchway. "Here''s the magical detection and test equipment."


    Dretphi glances over, nods, and marks down another note on the notepad in her hands. "Good. Should be room in the corner."


    With Sebastian floating behind, Aristespha walks down the stairs and quickly covers the distance between the kitchen door and garage opening, narrowing her eyes towards the back of the humvee. She moves to the other side of Sotalia under the humvee''s heavy hatch, removes an emergency medical box off the inside side wall, and opens it up for inspection. "Let us see what is still good..."


    Sifting through the contents, she counts the number of items in the sections and studies the quality of the supplies. "Okay. Not that terrible. But..."


    Furrowing her brow, she squints her violet eyes at a vial of a faded blue solution. "These potions are looking quite old. Sotalia?"


    She shifts her gaze over and perks an eyebrow. "Do you remember when we made this last batch?"


    Waiting a few seconds for an answer, Aristespha turns her head towards Sotalia and cocks her head to the side, confused. In the noon sun, Sotalia brushes her hands through her fiery orange, wavy hair and twirls the ends between her long nailed fingers with an indecisive sigh. Aristespha stands up, smirks at the distracted Sotalia, and chuckles lightly. "So, are you going to dye it back?"


    Blinking back to awareness, Sotalia pivots and meets the curious gazes of Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sebastian. She visibly mulls the idea over between grimaces. "Oh. I don''t know. I''m so used to it being dark red..."


    She rolls her golden eyes and grumbles. "But, now that the secret is out... The allure feels all gone. I think I''ll keep it, but that means I''ll need to get my guild ID updated here soon."


    Aristespha slowly nods understandingly and sighs. "Yet another thing I need to update, BEFORE they send me a sternly worded warning notice."


    Stepping around from the side of the humvee, Cideeda joins the gathering with Bach trailing behind. She reaches into her shorts pocket, retrieves her wallet, and parts it open, gazing at her ID picture. "Yeah... I''m not far behind you. Gods. I''ve been meaning to get THIS picture redone."


    Bach glances down to the image in Cideeda''s wallet, stifles a snort, and attempts to play it off nonchalantly. "Hey, that''s not THAT bad of a picture."


    A pair of emerald green eyes stare up at Bach, and Cideeda lifts an eyebrow with a toothy grin. "OH, just YOU wait. They were really nice to you with your intern ID.


    Curling the corner of her mouth, she chuckles faintly. "But, I want to see what picture they take for your full guild ID. Is it going to be a bad angle, washed out colors, bad lighting, or all of the above?"


    Bach smiles awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders. "I mean... They can''t ALL be THAT bad."


    Shaking her head fighting a frown, Dretphi retrieves her guild ID from her pocket and presents it to Bach. "Beg to differ."


    Aristespha smirks in amusement, pulling out a lanyard of various official cards and badges, and flips to her guild ID card. Sotalia rolls her golden eyes, bites her lip, and playfully resigns to the ambient social pressure. Retrieving her aetherphone from her yoga pants pocket, she flips it over to the backside of the case and slides out her guild ID, joining the group presentation. Bach surveys the different pictures on the cards and slowly drops his jaw at the bad poses, terrible timing, and poor photography overall. "Wow... Uh... Yeah, um... I just... Gods..."


    Tilting his head to the side, he blinks dumbfounded and wanders his glances between the team. "Do they contract the same people who do the driver''s licenses in High Alton? This all looks painfully similar to their work."


    Sebastian remains quiet and idly floats nearby Aristespha, feigning interest elsewhere. An amused smile graces Aristespha, and she winks at Sebastian and aims her voice over to Bach. "Of course, if you want to see a real masterpiece of photography, I think I might be able to bring up the digital copy of Sebastian''s guild ID photo..."


    Starting to shift his interest away, Bach notices a particular number on Sotalia''s guild card. Below a finger conveniently hiding the birth date field on the ID, he snaps his focus fully upon a measurement. "One hundred eighty three centimeters tall?"


    Narrowing his incredulous stare upon Sotalia, his blue eyes shift between the top of her head and points of comparison from others in the surrounding group. Sotalia grins slyly with the attention, raises a hand well over her head, and slowly lowers a level palm downwards, just barely off to the side of her head. Gradually resting her fingers upon the tallest crest of one of her horns, she smiles proudly with her other hand on her hip. "Guild rules state that horns count for the purposes of your profile height as they are inflexible structures that are typically affixed to your person."


    Bach blinks, puzzling, and processes the stipulation, furrows of his brow. Aristespha rolls her violet eyes dramatically, steps away towards the kitchen door, and shakes her head with a twisting smirk. "Still such a shameless abuse of the definition of profile height."


    Sotalia scoffs jokingly at Aristespha and winks at Bach with a humored tone. "OH, is someone still sore they started disqualifying ear tips above the head for height purposes?"


    ----


    In the main kitchen galley, Bach and Aristespha stand on either side of the large double basin sink. Aristespha carefully arranges a number of vials, tubes, and containers into particular groups and sorts through reagents and materials upon piles of paper. Flipping through a well worn book, she stops at a particular page and hands the tome over to Bach, a finger resting upon a particular section of text. "After checking through our supplies, we need more stamina potions. If you could start prepping this one part, I will work on the other part of the first stage. Consider it a refresher course in alchemy."


    Grasping hold of the book, Bach scans over the text and nods slowly, resting the aged leather binding upon the counter top nearby. "Okay. Sounds good to me."


    Minutes passing by, the two meticulously go through the intricate processes, cutting, slicing, and dicing the ingredients. Each takes turns getting vials and tubes and using the basins of the sink to fill and wash. Occasionally, Bach tilts the page of the book into view of Aristespha and points to a few lines, Aristespha calmly instructing clarifications. With assistance from Bach, Aristespha lifts up a large copper, green speckled cauldron from the ground, and the two rest it upon a large electric hotplate on a floor stand. Eying the large pot, Bach glances over to Aristespha with a humored smirk. "Nothing like the classics, eh?"


    Rolling her violet eyes, Aristespha twists the corner of her mouth and sighs humored with a shake of her head. "It was my great grandmother''s before she gave it to me as an excuse to upgrade her home lab. As clich¨¦ as it is, it works wonderfully for cooking large volumes. For consistency, it is surprisingly hard to beat."


    She kneels down, adjusts the knobs on the hotplate controls, and stands back up, smiling smugly at Bach. "Though, the electric hotplate is my addition."


    Nodding at the configuration, Bach turns his attention over to Aristespha with a quizzical lift of an eyebrow. "Induction or radiant?"


    A confident grin graces Aristespha, and she briefly assumes a proud stance. "Oh. Both."


    With a momentarily impressed smirk, Bach tilts his head to the side, watching indicator lights illuminate the surface of the hotplate and information text updates upon a control display. Under guidance from Aristespha, Bach repeats filling a large measuring cup from the sink faucet and emptying out into the cauldron. Between additions of water, Aristespha introduces scoops of reagents, constantly stirring the heating mixture. With the last pour of water and sprinkling of ingredients, Aristespha and Bach stand back, idly observing the slow bubbling and gradual changes in the concoction. A quiet minute later, Aristespha''s posture shifts slightly, and she flexes the fingers at her sides. She slides her gaze over at Bach with an astute tone. "I have been thinking... We should start investigating your abilities regarding your use of Elder energy and-"


    A stern, sharp voice resonates out from Bach, matching his resolute stare at Aristespha. "NO."


    Blinking blankly, Aristespha gawks bewildered and stumbles over her sentence. "Oh- Um... I know you have been... hesitant to use it before, but there could be great potential. I am certain with time and careful practice we might be able to-"


    A stronger tone rises up from Bach, and he narrows down a determined glare at Aristespha. "NO."


    Processing the refusal between twitches of her ivory face, Aristespha suppresses the flits of emotion playing out on her face, struggling with maintaining her composure. Stiffening her posture, she crosses her arms tightly. Her violet eyes focus into a cold stare. Her mouth twists and face contorts, containing flares of frustration and irritation. Bach briefly holds up a hand, getting Aristespha''s attention, lowers it down, exhaling calmly, and adopts a careful, purposeful voice. "LISTEN... It''s been a real crazy ride so far. And, despite how imposed upon me A LOT of this has been..."


    Furrowing his brow, he draws in a long breath and fights down a grimace. "I''ve actually found quite a bit to have been extremely helpful. And, a lot of it, I''ve needed to do anyway but always found excuses to avoid doing it."


    His stare meets Aristespha''s demanding glare, motion towards himself. "BUT... For THIS, I''ve thought about it A LOT longer than you''ve even had a chance to consider doing."


    Narrowing his blue eyes right at Aristespha''s violet eyes, he sighs firmly, with an apologetic tinge rising over the frustrated grumble. "THIS is nothing I''m going to explore. I had really hoped to have never used it ever again. UNDERSTAND, I was prepared to live my life as a lame mage just to never risk tapping into THIS again.


    With a slow tilt of the head to a shoulder, he focuses his cooling stare upon Aristespha''s waning stern demeanor. "Given what I''ve learned recently and what I''ve learned before... I think we''re both thinking about the same possibilities. The same things that THIS could be used for."


    Leaning in close, his tone darkens, and Bach solemnly punctuates. "BUT, given what you''ve seen... How DANGEROUS it was... How UNCONTROLLABLE it was... How UNPREDICTABLE it was..."


    He hisses in a long breath. "Do you honestly think that THIS is anything we should RISK, right now?"


    Cracks of terror slip out onto Bach''s light tan face, and trembles of fear infiltrate his tone. "Let''s be honest with ourselves... Whatever control I TRIED, BARELY WORKED. And quickly fell apart!"


    Searching Aristespha''s gaze, he shakily sighs out, briefly averting his gaze. "It took EVERYTHING I had to push it back. It was a STUPID risk to use it. But... I just didn''t want to find out what would happen if I didn''t use it right then."


    Aristespha blankly stares back at Bach, revealing a torrent of emotions upon her face. A minute of tense silence stifles both. Dropping her head down in a wince of pain, Aristespha relaxes her arms, exhales her unease, and wipes the damp corners of her eyes. "You... You are right. Oh gods..."


    She lifts her head back up and guides her silvery blue hair back over her shoulders and her long, pointed ears. Drawing a long, remorseful breath in through her nose, she softens her gaze with a frown. "I... I sincerely apologize, Bach. I am truly sorry. I just..."


    Furrowing her brow, she wrestles down a saddened grimace and sighs. "I have been in this mindset... This, worst case of tunnel vision. Gods. I have been so oblivious. Just so single minded in..."


    A genuine smile forms from the corner of Bach''s mouth, and he chuckles lightly. "Been trying to find any other answer than the one you got?"


    Rolls her eyes at herself, Aristespha nods and smirks weakly. "Yes. I keep trying to figure out the quickest, most efficient, easiest solution and... I keep on finding out that there just are not... any. I keep on hitting the same brick wall and trying everything against it."


    She pinches the bridge of her nose, resting her free hand upon her hip. "BUT, this whole situation has changed so much. I am not remotely certain about what to do anymore."


    She glances at Bach, a hint of unease coloring her face. "I am obviously well outside the familiar at this point."


    Standing back up straight, Bach grins nonchalantly and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to the side. "Well, welcome to the club. Sometimes life scares you silly, drags you out of your comfort zone, and pushes you into a whole new situation."


    Briefly opening her eyes wide, Aristespha bites her lower lip uncomfortably and averts her gaze briefly away from Bach, struggling with the sharp surge of embarrassment and shame. "YES... THAT is another thing I have been thinking about, too. If it is of any value from me, I do truly appreciate how cooperative and helpful you have been to everyone. Despite how insistent and demanding we..."


    She pauses a moment and sighs. "I... especially have been. I am sorry beyond my words for our initial meeting and how we handled it. We were not right, in general."


    Nodding with an amused smile, Bach laughs. "Well, it does have value to me. I mean, I''m mostly over it by now. But, I still think I''m allowed a few more snide remarks about it all."


    He rocks his head from shoulder to shoulder and grumbles slightly. "Not that it excuses anything, but I''m better off now than I was expecting to be."


    With a brief squint, he twists out a grimace. "BUT... I would REALLY appreciate future efforts for my betterment to NOT involve kidnapping. I''m actually pretty open to entertaining most suggestions otherwise."


    Pondering quietly upon a few thoughts, Aristespha quirks an inquiring eyebrow and rests her hands on her sides, stretching her back slightly. "On a related note, I am kind of curious now. If we decided to not bring you along, what would you have done? It did not seem like you were in a good situation."


    With a long trailing sigh, Bach grits his teeth and thinks aloud. "Gods, I don''t quite know. I guess... Sell off the furniture for another month''s rent? Pawn off magic trinkets at that bar for food? But, that would have only gotten so far..."


    Cringing, he grumbles sadly and slacks his shoulders. "Eventually, probably move back in with my parents?"


    Aristespha briefly twists her mouth into a frown and sighs understandingly. "That is never the option you want to undertake, especially after being on your own for so long. I have sacrificed much to avoid that myself. So many minimum wage jobs."


    Turning his attention to the rolling boil of the cauldron, Bach awkwardly grins. "Yeah. So, oddly, being abducted was kind of a rough step in the right direction. I mean, even if I had gotten away, I had NO IDEA what I was going to do next. Running only works so long as you have a place to run to."


    With a slow nod, Aristespha stirs a glass rod in the bubbling mixture and genuine smiles. "Well, I do hope things are still taking steps in the right direction, despite the rough appearances."


    She squints at the darkening color of the brew and points over towards the countertop, keeping a constant stir. "Okay. I think we are getting close. Could you help handle everything on the countertop, please? It really helps having someone else sort through and pass things along."


    Stepping over at the ready, Bach hovers his hands over the collection of alchemical instruments and glances over expectantly. "Okay. What do I do?"


    ----


    A glint of morning light reflects off the Flames of the Phoenix logo upon the black sports utility vehicle rolling into a large clearing off the highway. In the open area of short grass and old packed gravel, light military vehicles parked around large support vehicles warm in the rising sunlight. Inside the encampment, uniformed personnel wander about, tending to their duties. Chad steers the vehicle closer to the core of the camp and searches the vicinity, bouncing his stare between prominent pieces of machinery, tents, and gatherings of people. Veevi, Tassilda, Deedri, Trakenthin, and Modoran peer out the windows at the mercenary forces, noticing the common themes of iconography. A logo of a medieval helm upon a gear background and crossed swords with the words "Chrome Crusaders" shines upon vehicles, uniforms, and the powered armor suits. Slowing the sports utility vehicle down, Chad navigates into an area that an officer designates with waving motions. Seconds later, other vans for the Next Adventurers of Nexus crew pull into other spots under the direction of the uniformed man. Chad glances over at everyone in the cab and grins proudly. "Well, I think it''s time we make our presence."


    The group exits the vehicle and forms roughly behind Chad, walking forward towards the main part of the encampment. Veevi quickly assumes a spot right next to Chad, briefly sneaking a shy glance behind at Deedri. Moments later, she resumes her normal outgoing attitude towards Chad. Deedri and Tassilda amble behind, surveying the busy areas surrounding. Trakenthin and Modoran trail long behind and gawk at the impressive equipment and vehicles. The Next Adventurers of Nexus crews attempt to disperse out, seeking the most ideal filming positions. Most retreat back to less desirable positions under the unamused eyes of a few uniformed personnel and the cold stare of the helmet visor worn by power armored troopers. The groups funnel into a central core of the camp. The aroma of breakfast food fills the air, and the peaceful drone of casual conversation radiates over the small mess area. Searching around, Chad squints towards a number of armored mech troopers. "Okay. So, where is the CO?"


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Deedri''s furry tufted ears twitch, flick towards a direction, and guide her head towards a noise. "Those are some really heavy footsteps."


    From behind a long, tall utility truck, an imposing metal figure leans around the corner with the momentum. With each step forward, thickly layered, plated boots sink firmly under the weight into the mix of gravel and dirt below. The heavy form moves with purposeful motion. Different sections of the technological suit work in unison and follow the will of the wearer within. In stark contrast to the well-maintained sheen and superficial blemishes of the knightly metal body, a boldly grinning man''s head sticks out of the top of the breastplate. A breeze glides along the campgrounds and blows the tips of graying, short black hair, and the man narrows a brown eyed, curious gaze at Chad, stopping in front of the team. "Chad Bosch, I assume?"


    Tilting his head slightly up, Chad meets the eyes of the power armored man and puts forth his hand to shake. "Senior Paladin Maxon, I assume?"


    With an amused smile, Senior Paladin Maxon nods. "Unfortunately for some."


    He glances down at Chad''s outstretched hand, smirks, and grasps it, a powered gauntlet hydraulically sounding out. "Interesting. Most hesitate shaking our hands when we¡¯re suited up."


    Chad smiles with a confident, bright white smile, and shakes Maxon''s hand firmly. "Well, I just know your particular model of suit has a limiter in the gauntlet to prevent accidental crushing of equipment... and personnel."


    Maxon tightly grips Chad''s hand, and Chad responds in kind with a determined stare at Maxon. Seconds later, both release their hands, and a loud fit of laughter escapes Maxon. Shaking his head with a brilliant smile, Maxon snorts. "HA! I wondered if you were THAT Bosch''s son. Know your father all too well. Could never get that man to ever join us on a mission, though. But, to his credit he always loved hearing about it afterwards."


    A frown sneaks out from the corners of Chad''s mouth, and he maintains a neutral expression against growing dissatisfaction. Lifting an eyebrow at Chad, Maxon grins slyly and chuckles lightly. "But... Since YOU are out adventuring, I think I''m going to assume you take more after that grandfather of yours."


    Chad''s brown eyes spring wide, and his mood brightens back into a confident smile. "I''d like to think so, sir."


    Maxon swings his armored arm out towards the tables, chairs, and huge tents in the core of the camp. "If you haven''t had breakfast yet, please enjoy. We''ll discuss our current mission and the most important details to you and your group. Everyone, make yourself at home."


    Chad and Maxon walk towards a very prominent, decorated table under the largest, most elaborate tent in the middle of a modest mess area. Veevi attempts to keep up with Chad and grace his side and falls back, trailing behind him in the narrow aisles between tables and chairs. Modoran, Deedri, and Trakenthin follow the wafting aromas of food towards a line of people and the looming mist of cooking food. Pausing in thought, Tassilda observes the activities of nearby mages applying enchantments upon equipment and armor.


    From behind, an eloquent, pleasantly flowing pronunciation of a particular dialect of Emin emerges from a calm male voice. In genuine surprise, Tassilda flutters her light blue on black eyes, momentarily blushing. With a slow pivot towards the source and a flattered smile growing on her gray face, she faces a light power armored form standing at attention. Her eyes quickly scan the suited figure, slowing her study upon the excellent points of physique peeking through the softer, flexible parts of the outfit. Gradually shifting her attention upwards towards the helm, Tassilda gawks at the prominent, black horns on the fully helmed head of the man. Moments pass, the man pauses in thought with a slight cock of the head, nods down at Tassilda, and gently asks. "My most sincere apologies, dear lady. I may have guessed the wrong Emin dialect and did not properly relay my intentions correctly. Do you require any assistance?"


    Tassilda flutters her eyes and grins with an enamored hint. "Oh, you certainly guessed wrong. But, I pleasantly understood. It is very surprising to hear that lovely dialect all the way out here. As for assistance..."


    A sly curl appears in the corner of her mouth, her pose slides towards enticing, and she motions towards the group lead by Chad and Maxon. "I would not mind if someone knowledgeable could explain the layout of the camp as they escorted me towards my group."


    Lifting a quizzical eyebrow, she points a curious hand towards the light power armored man. "Would you be able to assist me...?"


    The light armored man gradually straightens his posture and nods respectfully. "My apologies again, my lady. I am Junior Paladin Daedrican. At your service."


    Tassilda smiles contentedly and awaits expectantly. Junior Paladin Daedrican bows slightly, swinging his arm out slowly towards the nearby aisle. "Your lead, my lady. I will be happy to answer all your questions that I am able."


    Nodding graciously, Tassilda turns away, stepping forward past Junior Paladin Daedrican. Suppresses a flash of giddiness on her face, she mutes a spring in her step and hides a near reflexive bite of her lower lip.


    ----


    The thick, forest canopy shields the overhead sun from fully reaching the mossy, vegetation covered floor. Underneath the perimeter of old, tall trees, evuukians walk upon worn paths between ancient stonework structures. Buildings barely reveal themselves between breaks in the thick plant cover cultivated over time from persistent nature. In front of key entry points throughout the area, guards adorned in fanciful, nature inspired attire stand at attention. Evuukians dutifully travel towards destinations out beyond the clearing into the underbrush, foliage intricately woven into their clothing. With bows hanging from their shoulders, they inspect their quivers of arrows and depart stealthily from view. An evuukian woman purposefully steps across the open passages between the overgrown structures, approaching an isolated building far from the center of the encampment. Keeping a covered tray level in front of her, she studies the pair of guards outside the only entry leading in the lone structure. She stops and stares between both the stoic guardians with stern, turquoise eyes. Furrowing the brow of her dark tan face, she throws her head back, shifting her dark green braids. She squints into the darkness past the doorway and questions the two guards in evuukian with a curious, concerned tone.


    The two sentries glance to each other and shake their heads at the woman. One inspects around the corner into the space inside, and the other shrugs with a long sigh. Shaking his head, he relays a few answers back in evuukian, hints of concern rising out of the stoic front that wanes in the moments. The woman nods and steps through the doorway. Past the contrast of outside light, dimly glowing crystals illuminate the interior of the ancient stonework hallway. The woman slowly moves to the end of the passage, stopping at a solitary metal door. Balancing the covered tray on one hand, she slides over the small steel cover of a rectangular window. Her eyes search the dark void inside, and she gently calls out into the area. "Faelatelia?"


    From one side of the small cell, a thin figure stirs, and a pair of vibrant sky blue eyes reflect back the traces of light slipping into the room. A weak, meek voice barely peeps. "C-c-chelind-d-dia?"


    Chelindia''s eyes widen, a frown forming around her gritting teeth. Glancing over her shoulder, she checks the path behind her, nothing residing in the hallway. Past the doorway into the bright outside, Chelindia spots only the outlines of guard shoulders and arms on either side of the exit. Returning her attention back ahead, she quietly undoes the large lock and carefully opens the heavy metal door. The ambient hallway light reveals the stonework details of the small windowless enclosure, the crude bathroom facilities, and a thin evuukian teenager shielding her eyes from the sudden change of brightness. Chelindia kneels down next to the rough cot with a shaky Faelatelia. Gazing upon Faelatelia''s unkempt chestnut hair and blue hinted face, Chelindia softly speaks with encouraging evuukian phrases against tints of concern and straightens up the teenager''s worn clothing.


    Faelatelia gradually draws in a long breath, releases a shaky sigh, and musters her strength. Searching around the area, Chelindia finds an uncovered tray of barely eaten food. She gently places her hands upon the young evuukian''s shoulders and cranes her head, gazing into Faelatelia''s eyes. In between sentences of comforting evuukian, Chelindia directs Faelatelia''s attention to the old tray of food and uncovers the fresh food brought in on the new tray. Faelatelia lowers her head down, averting her eyes from Chelindia, and defiantly spits out a series of evuukian curses. Waiting patiently, Chelindia meets the teary face of Faelatelia''s and lifts her head back up. A fit of sniffles and sobs prompts Chelindia, and she embraces the scared teenager. Faelatelia hugs as tightly as she can manage in return. Chelindia whispers her concern and passes along hopeful words. Minutes of encouragement later, the two release each other. Faelatelia slowly breathes in, exhales out her nerves, and stares at Chelindia with reservation mixing in renewed faith. Presenting a warm smile, Chelindia hoists the new tray of food and water upon Faelatelia''s lap and gently pats her shoulder.


    She grasps onto the old tray, stands up straight, and walks out the doorway. Quickly searching the area just outside the cell, she spots an illumination crystal in a nearby sconce, plucks it off the platform, and resettles it into a similar holder within the confines of the cell. With a smile and nod to an appreciative, hungry Faelatelia, she slowly closes the metal cell door, engages the locking, leaves the small window open.


    With a nod to both guards, Chelindia exits the prison building, strides out across the area along a path, and travels towards the largest structure in the vicinity. Nearing the structure, her posture straightens, her demeanor stiffens, and her stare develops a cold calculated exterior. A young evuukian man crosses in front of her, notices Chelindia''s direction, and promptly stands clear out of the way. He greets Chelindia with a salute and waits patiently, rigidly. Chelindia stops in front of the man, examines him briefly, and holds the old food tray to him. The young man promptly grabs hold of the tray. Chelindia points out another overgrown building, barks out a stern order, and departs without another word. The evuukian man swiftly rushes off without a further question.


    Stepping through the main entryway of the largest ancient structure, Chelindia passes a small squad in nature themed outfits reviewing written instructions and exchanging other relevant information. She navigates down the tall, wide hallways of activity and catches glimpses into the many rooms that branch off. Her turquoise eyes squint at the small makeshift armory of swords, bows, arrows, and light armor. Pausing briefly, she watches a few mages apply their craft to wands, staffs, and other magical implements. She walks past the improvised barracks of bunk beds and a few idling evuukians. Entertaining a number of similar diversions along the way, she arrives at the end of the hallway and steps through a towering, open double door. Entering into the cavernous room, she surveys a gathering of evuukians reading materials, sorting through paperwork, studying maps, and writing notes, approaching a raised platform at the center of the room.


    An evuukian woman with long, flowing, gray hair, and ivory skin struts proudly along the perimeter of the central platform. Slowing her gait, she pauses occasionally and observes the progress of the diligent evuukians, resuming her plotting pace to the next part of patrol. Chelindia stops at the steps leading to the rostrum, and the woman pivots, facing Chelindia with dark crimson eyes. "Chelindia."


    Chelindia bows, stands back up straight, and greets the woman respectfully. "Meredosia."


    Meredosia smiles confidently and inquires in evuukian, lifting a curious eyebrow. Chelindia nods and carefully follows up with a simple, quick explanation, shifting gradually into a pleading tone. She calmly elaborates a series of points with hand motions, mentioning Faelatelia by name in the proposal. Finishing her statement, she waits patiently, expectantly. Meredosia narrows her stare at Chelindia, ponders dramatically in thought between rocks of her head, and swiftly spins away. She ambles along the platform, loudly retorts with a stern tone, and glances over her shoulder at Chelindia with a sly grin. Planting her feet exactly upon the central point of the platform, she grips a finely gloved hand around an ornate amulet and proudly smiles. She pivots and stares at Chelindia. With a bold tone, she adopts an explanatory cadence, articulates her thoughts out with a free hand, and quirks her smug brow. Chelindia sighs respectfully, bows her head down, and submits a tenuous agreement. Meredosia nods respectfully to Chelindia, softens her focused gaze, and speaks calmly, sincerity in her evuukian words.


    Standing back up straight, Chelindia presents a smile and recites a few requests. Meredosia thinks for a moment, relays her acceptance, and presents a genuine smile. Chelindia respectfully turns away and walks towards the exit. Gripping her amulet tightly, Meredosia aims her focus towards the center of the platform and eyes the faint outlines of ancient script forming a faded circle below her. At the precipice to the hall, Chelindia glances briefly over her shoulder and watches Meredosia. A few fine, barely visible threads of white magical energy drift lightly around the elegant attire and ivory skin of the evuukian woman above the central point of the platform. The strands of magic converge into the crystalline center of the amulet. Returning her attention toward the hallway ahead, a frown creeps from the corners of Chelindia''s mouth, and her eyes search inside her mind. Uncertainty taints her grimace despite and wins against her attempts for a stoic exterior.


    Behind her, Meredosia pridefully grins, the white light inside the amulet increasing in brightness ever so faintly.


    ----


    Cideeda wraps her claw tipped fingers around the steering wheel of the humvee, twisting her grip, and grits her sharp teeth. "What the fuck is the hold up?! How long does it take to mobilize a convoy?! It''s not THAT big of one."


    Flipping through the holographic menus of the holoplayer, Sotalia sifts through the different musical track listings and curls an intrigued eyebrow at a particular band name. She peeks over her seat and narrows her golden eyes at Bach with a sly smirk, giggling amused. "Oh. My. Gods. You have THEIR entire discography?"


    Bach leans over into the aisle, squints ahead at the mid-air projections, and rolls his blue eyes dismissively away from embarrassment. "Well... You know... They had a few good hits. And their album stuff isn''t all THAT bad. I mean, there''s a few songs I like to listen to when the right mood hits."


    He shrugs and averts his gaze from the scrutiny. "What else can I say? Some days, it just fits. You know?"


    Studying Bach''s honest review, Sotalia twists a smile on her light tan face and sighs out her genuine agreement. "Oh, don''t get me wrong. I like them, too."


    She furrows her brow and slides a smirk over. "I just never run into anyone else who has anything beyond their hits."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers in the middle of the aisle of the cab, exuding boredom through from his far off stare out the windshield. Aristespha flips through menus on the tablet upon her lap and taps the sword at her side. "Sebastian, you should probably return to the sword, for now. Avoid any unwanted attention."


    With an ethereal sigh, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and continues floating in the aisle nonchalantly. "I don''t think it really matters right now, dear. The guy they have watching the rear hasn''t looked over towards us for the past fifteen minutes or so."


    Dretphi squints her steely gray eyes, searches through a side window, and scans the surfaces of the vehicles ahead. A minute later, she spots a small logo on the side of a vehicle a few spots in the convoy ahead. "See a Chrome Crusader emblem. On the side of that truck ahead."


    Blinking back the awareness, Sebastian traces the path Dretphi''s arm points out and notices the same marking. "Huh. I wonder what they are doing around here. I thought they usually stuck to larger jobs."


    An alert chime rings out from Aristespha''s pocket. She retrieves her aetherphone, enters a security code, and swipes through the on-screen interface. Tapping on a new entry in the message list, her interest piques, and an intrigued smile grows on her face. "Kaleb and Lagi just got into aether tower range. They are transmitting the high resolution pictures of their early morning fly over."


    Lifting her tablet up, she rests her phone on her lap and presses a few prompts upon the large screen of the device. An overhead view of a heavily forested area appears on the display. Sebastian, Bach, and Dretphi position themselves in the cab, getting the best view. Dretphi''s eyes spring wide open, and she traces out curious areas with her finger. "Strange. Old trees in a circular perimeter. Canopy gaps in the center of the grouping. Right angle shape?"


    She leans closer and narrows her studious stare. "THAT is not natural. Something is there."


    Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian investigate the details closer and arrive at similar suspicions about the imagery. Sebastian grins proudly to Dretphi and nods. "Oh yeah. I definitely agree. Think that''s a spot Kaleb and Lagi should fly over a little closer later on tonight."


    Returning her gaze forward from the discussion, Cideeda flexes her grip on the humvee''s steering wheel and grumbles, meanly furrowing her light brown brow. "OKAY. I''m about ready to drive through the median. I''m sure we can get really close to where we need to be before nightfall..."


    Straightening her back in the driver''s seat, she flexes her clawed fingers, wrestles down a snarl, and flicks her tufted tail tip. "BUT... I''m not so sure we will, IF we have to wait for these IDIOTS to MOVE."


    Her emerald green eyes shift to the rear view mirror. "SO... Any objections?"


    Aristespha perks her brow, twists a sly smirk, and shrugs her shoulders. "They are not highway police or military authority. It is not like they can legally stop us. And, I will be happy to file a few complaints to the guild."


    Sotalia''s head snaps and focuses upon the closest uniformed convoy guard, finally turning around to face the humvee behind the stalled convoy. "Give me a second. I''m going to get this guy''s attention and see what the hell the holdup is."


    Quickly opening her door, she stands up on the humvee cab floor and waves energetically to the lone rear guard. "HEY! You!"


    The man blinks to attention, and Sotalia shouts out. "YES, YOU! Come over here!"


    Quickly walks over towards the humvee, the man furrows his brow and cocks his head curiously. Sebastian''s ethereal visage fades back into the sword at Aristespha''s side. "Finally. See if we can get a hold of whoever is organizing this circus."


    With a mix of hand motions and verbal encouragement, Sotalia gets the man to speed up the pace and arrive next to her door. Sitting on the side of her seat, she addresses the man through the open door with a charming lift in her tone. "Thank you so much for coming over here. I just have to ask, what exactly is the hold up?"


    In an official enough tone, the man attempts to stoically stand at attention. "We are preparing a sweep down the southern route past the upcoming intersection. There''s been some unfortunate delays-"


    Cideeda quickly glances back over to Dretphi. After a silent conversation of expressions, Dretphi perks up and recounts an important piece of information. "We take the eastern route at this intersection."


    Nodding in agreement, Cideeda flashes a determined toothy grin to the man with an assertive stare right through him. "Well! That just works out. We''re not going your way after the intersection, so we can just go around you, then."


    The man awkwardly pauses his explanation, his mouth hanging open, and glances over to the convoy. "Uh. Um, I don''t know about THAT. I''d have to check with my superior first..."


    Flashing a sly grin, Sotalia guides her fiery orange, wavy hair back, adjusts her posture towards alluring, and aims her eager golden eyes upon the man. "Oh? May I ask who your superior is?"


    With a brief fit of hesitation, the rear guard regathers enough of his wits. "Uh... Yes... It''s Sergeant Matterhorn."


    Sotalia blinks in thought, furrowing her brow, and curiously quizzes, searching her mind. "Quincy Matterhorn?"


    The man nods slowly in recognition and slight confusion. "Uh. Yes, ma''am."


    Sebastian''s ghostly voice sounds out from the sword. "Oh. No way..."


    Widening a grin on her light tan and dark gray edged face, Sotalia concentrates her golden eyes upon the man in front of her with playfully evil amusement. "REALLY. Could you ask him if he knows anything about a... Duck in Knox?"


    The guard cocks his head uncertainly to the side and glances to either side of himself. Reaching for the radio attached to his shirt pocket, he steps away apprehensively. "Yeah.. I''ll... See about that..."


    The man walks a few meters away and keys up into a conversation on his radio. After a hushed exchange with the person on the other side, he pauses a moment, briefly eyes Sotalia, and clearly states. "Something about a... Duck in Knox?"


    The radio falls silent for seconds. The rear guard furrows his brow and stares at the quiet device. A new voice sounds out and surprises the man. Between over the shoulder glances, the rear guard studies the awaiting Sotalia and nods to barely audible prompts. Pivoting around fully, the man approaches Sotalia''s side of the humvee and gazes at her, visibly puzzling. "Um... Your group is cleared to travel along the left shoulder past the convoy. And... I''ve been informed to give you Sergeant Matterhorn''s direct contact information."


    Settling back into her seat, Sotalia slowly closes the door and smiles graciously with a flattering tinge in her tone. "OH! Thank you, so much. We won''t keep you any longer from your work and will be on our way."


    Furrowing his brow, the man nods and suspiciously eyes his radio. Cideeda promptly puts the humvee into gear, and the ancient military machine rolls off towards the left shoulder of the road. Idly scanning the area, the read guard turns his attention towards his thoughts. Seconds later, he walks back to his post at the rear of the convoy, keying up the radio. "Uh, sir? Is there something I should know about... Uh... that Duck in Kno-"


    The voice on the other end of the radio surges over the static. "Not if you ever want to do anything besides rear guarding the scrap trucks in the foreseeable future."


    With a wide-eyed, distant stare, the rear guard nods slowly and promptly drops the mystery. "Understood, sir."


    ----


    People idle around the front of the convoy between the camera crews vans, Chrome Crusader vehicles, and the Flames of the Phoenix black sports utility vehicle. Senior Paladin Maxon stands with Chad and enthusiastically explains the plan with exaggerated arm motions. Chad responds and demonstrates his own understanding with elaborate hand gestures. Veevi attempts to gain the attention of Chad, maintaining a spot at his side, and occasionally glances over to Deedri. Modoran nonchalantly suns himself upon the rear seat of the Flames of the Phoenix ride via the sun roof. Leaning upon the side of the vehicle, Trakenthin awaits outside and keeps a watch over the area. Deedri converses with a few Chrome Crusader medical mages. Tassilda stands near Junior Paladin Daedrican, and the two talk, sections of the conversation switching into different emin dialects.


    Along the left shoulder of the highway, a humvee quickly rolls by the standing convoy. The Next Adventurers of Nexus crew aim recording equipment over to the activity. Chrome Crusaders personnel briefly inspect the vehicle. A few glance towards one specific officer in the area. After a signal from him, they allow it through and promptly return to their duties. Spotting the humvee, Deedri happily waves towards the familiar faces of the group and keeps mindful of who else may be watching. With a competitive bright white smile obscuring his lack of amusement, Chad eyes the team. Maxon boldly greets the passing vehicle. Pulling any attention possible, Veevi energetically waves at the group and calls out to them. Squinting through windows of the moving humvee, Trakenthin meets a steely gray glare at him and narrows his sneering stare right back. Modoran lifts himself up from the way back seat, notices the humvee, and returns back to sunbathing.


    Pausing her conversation with Daedrican, Tassilda casually pivots around and immediately spots the fiery orange, wavy hair of Sotalia. Her light blue on black eyes widen in surprise, and she parts a sly smile of sheer satisfaction. Sotalia focuses her full attention upon Tassilda and studies her every motion. At the closest to each other in passing, Tassilda flashes a sinister grin, slides her long nailed fingers under her long, raven hair, and fluffs it back dramatically over her shoulders. She reaches into her pocket, lifts up a small vial with a milky fluid inside, and waves towards Sotalia between her thumb and index finger with a smug wink. A hard cringe of recognition nearly closes Sotalia''s eye. She frowns into a harsh grimace, individually pops her knuckles on a hand, and mouths silent swears.


    The humvee passes the convoy and rides off back on the main part of the road. Observing the exchange, Daedrican tilts his helmet-covered head at Tassilda, a hint of squint slipping out from underneath his obscuring visor. Inside a Next Adventurers of Nexus van, Samantha grins nearly manic, leans out the passenger''s window, and calls out to Gerald. "Gods almighty, please tell me you got shots of that!"


    Gerald lifts his arm up and gives a solid thumbs up, still recording.

 Episode 46

    The thin, reddish glow from the setting sun fades across the sky into the spreading dark blue night. Thick rows of trees border the sides of the gravel road. Off to the side in a packed dirt alcove surrounded by thick underbrush, Cideeda lifts the hood of the humvee and casually inspects the engine compartment. Leaning down to a toolbox on the grass next to her, she opens the lid and picks a few choice tools out from inside. With a contemplative gaze, she stands back up and ponders to herself, rapping her free hand''s claw tips upon the front of the vehicle. She purposefully places tools upon a quarter panel, the powerplant turbine cover, and an access panel. Walking around from the passenger''s side, Bach studies the scene, lifts a curious brow to Cideeda, and cocks his head to the side. "So... I get lifting the hood up to make it look like we''re adventurers with a broken down ride. But... What''s with all the tools spread everywhere?"


    Cideeda places her hands on her hips and reveals a sly grin on her light brown face to Bach. "Oh! THAT is just to sell the situation better. It''s one thing to see a hood up and think MAYBE the vehicle is broken down. But if it looks like someone really frustrated tried to fix it..."


    She points to Bach and smirks smugly. "THAT sells the deception."


    Sweeping her hands out towards the ploy around her, she perks her furry ears and wags her fluffy tail. "Appraising the evidence here, you could easily assume rather than not."


    Bach steps a few meters back towards the road, carefully looks over the presentation, and nods in agreement. "Oh yeah. All that DOES make it more convincing."


    Squinting his eyes in thought, she pulls a smirk over from the corner of his mouth. "Maybe a roughed up service manual... Face down off to the side?"


    With a glance over to the front of the vehicle, Cideeda nods slowly, a scheming smile forming. "OH. Definitely. I''ll see if I can position it... Angry."


    Bach chuckles amused and pivots around, scanning the vicinity. Midway through his slow spin, he spots Sotalia off to the side holding her aetherphone up in the air. Sotalia carefully sweeps the device side to side, judging the signal indicator on the screen between shifts. Watching the frustration upon Sotalia''s light tan face, Bach watches the fluctuating bar graph on her phone display. "So... Any luck getting a good signal?"


    Sotalia frowns with a slight snarl of the upper lip and sighs, resting her arm back down at her side. "NO. Gods. It seems to be about the same no matter where I aim."


    Rolling her golden eyes, she shakes her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "AND, it''s no faster at downloading the new images from Kaleb than what Aristespha is getting in the humvee."


    She turns to Bach, shrugs her shoulders, and smirks wryly. "Well, if nothing else, it''s making us look like hapless adventurers to anyone watching."


    Bach nods in agreement and warily eyes the dense forest beyond the clearing, flicking his blue stare between flits of paranoia. "Yeah... Hope so. I mean, Dretphi and my brother think we should be far enough away from any possible big patrols. And being close enough to the main roads, they''ll probably just keep an eye on us and nothing more..."


    He squints to a far off point in the shadowy mix of canopy and nightfall. "To avoid drawing attention to themselves... In theory."


    Narrowing her stare out into the wilderness, Sotalia crosses her arms and rolls her shoulders with a faint frown. "That''ll only buy us so much. I don''t think they''ll be very agreeable once we get closer."


    Bach fights an uneasy grimace off his face and sighs, tensing his shoulders. "Yeah..."


    A comforting smile appears on Sotalia, and she gazes over at Bach. "Nervous?"


    Bach plainly meets Sotalia''s attention, blinks, and twists his mouth. "Kinda scared. Actually."


    Sotalia nods, biting her lip, and averts her eyes away briefly. "Well... Let''s just say you aren''t the only one dealing with some nerves. But..."


    She flashes a genuine smile over her shoulder. "I think we''ll handle it just fine."


    Some comfort relaxes Bach''s posture, and he gradually releases a long exhale. Silent seconds later, he glances over to Sotalia and lifts a curious eyebrow. "Question."


    Sotalia gazes back over to Bach, furrows her brow, and guides her fiery orange, wavy hair behind shoulders. "Yes?"


    Bach quizzically eyes Sotalia and carefully forms his inquiry with a respectful tone. "I was wondering what... Um... Irritated you when we drove past the convoy?"


    Sotalia draws in a lungful of air through her nose, contorts her mouth, and rolls her shoulders, squirming momentarily. Staring at Bach, she softens her defensive exterior towards a smile and grumbles out her embarrassment. "Oh. You know. Just being fucking angry at that Tassilda. She pretty much confirmed my suspicions about the whole hot tub thing."


    Cocking his head to the side, Bach springs his blue eyes open wide in surprise. "Wha- Huh... OH. How the hell did she do that?"


    Tensing her arms, Sotalia puffs up her chest, wrestles down a reflexive snarl, and sighs out her frustrations. "She waggled a vial at me that''s the same shape and size as the vial that I found in the hot tub filter with that melted wax blob."


    She narrows her golden eyes into an annoyed stare and grumbles. "ALSO, that smug look of hers left no room for doubt with me."


    Bach grits his teeth briefly and nods, summoning up sympathy with memories. "Yeah... THAT would probably irk me, too. I mean, Sebastian has pulled some pranks on me that I''m STILL not quite over."


    Sotalia debates the options visibly upon her face, glances over to Bach, and relaxes her arms. "Well... To be honest... I can deal with the whole hair dye dispelling thing. It''s-"


    Pausing with a confused gaze at Bach, Sotalia motions with a rolling hand in front of her, piecing together her sentence. "Oh, gods. As silly as it sounds, it''s really the whole... Experience of... Um... Well. Being reminded of the past again?"


    She squints at her thoughts and sighs. "Gods, there''s a Grath word for it. Does that make sense?"


    Bach stares into Sotalia''s eyes and slowly nods in agreement. "YES. I completely understand."


    Drawing in a long breath, Sotalia smiles appreciatively and exhales out her nerves. "Yeah. I guess you would."


    She slowly pivots away and stares up to the starry night sky solidifying above. A dull frown creeps from the corners of her mouth and regret tinges her voice. "Well, to save you the terrible details, I was quite the royal fucking know-it-all, arrogant bitch when I started adventuring. Fucked up my membership in a really nice group because of it and practically got my old guild stage name blacklisted. Hence, why I was taking small time escort missions to dangerous towns... ALONE."


    Rolling her eyes at herself, she shakes her head and closes her eyes into a cringe. "Dyed, straightened, and cut the hair to try to keep from being reminded of that past self."


    Bach nods understandingly and glances over towards the humvee, putting his hands in his pockets with an awkward smile. "Well, I know that''s a hard thing to deal with. But, if nothing else..."


    Stepping closer to the vehicle, Bach aims his voice nonchalantly over the shoulder towards Sotalia. "I''d keep the hair. It looks really nice."


    Sotalia steadies her stare up to stars, keeping her face away from Bach. Her cheeks blush, her golden eyes flutter, and she stumbles back to a semblance of her usual confidence. "Uh... Well, of course. Thank you..."


    ----


    Morning light finds the sparse gaps in the thick overhead canopy and beams down upon the forest floor. Dretphi and Cideeda cautiously lead the group along a narrow, hard dirt game trail. Cideeda''s furry ears flick around and meticulously scan the soundscape. Her emerald green eyes search distantly, and she maintains a constant watch of the horizon. Examining the trail ahead, Dretphi inspects the condition of the underbrush bordering the path, squinting at the faintest details, and focuses upon the trunks of nearby trees. She glances over shoulder, and aims a quiet voice back. "No signs of recent activity. The path is used regularly. We should be careful."


    Behind Cideeda, Aristespha flexes her fingers, wander her violet gaze around the vicinity, and grimaces uncertainly. "Should I cast the camouflage bubble, again? I should be able to manage a quarter hour without too much strain on myself."


    Cideeda briefly turns her head back with a comforting smile towards Aristespha. "Don''t think so, right now. I don''t hear anything unusual right now."


    Sniffing the air with her eyes closed, she visibly deliberates over the odors, contorts her light brown face, and shakes her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Normal forest scents. And, everyone here."


    Bach blinks blankly, and a thought lodges itself into the front of his mind. Lifting up the visor of his helmet, he lowers his nose close to the collar of his duster and vents some air from inside the garment. He satisfies his curiosity and pats his clothing back down. Smirking amused, Cideeda flicks an furry ear away from Bach and rolls her emerald green eyes. Sebastian''s ethereal voice gently sounds out from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "We should pace ourselves still. They''ve been here a while and probably have some surprises somewhere."


    Flicking her golden eyes between the scenery of the dense woods, Sotalia twists her mouth in contemplation and sighs uneasily. "It would also be nice to make sure we don''t trigger any magical detectors... Needlessly."


    Aristespha nods, reaches to the side of her pack, and grips a fluid filled vial. Halting with an idea, she leaves the container alone in the pocket and holds her hand back to Sotalia. "Grab hold of my hand, Sotalia."


    Sotalia furrows her brow, cracks a small grin, and eyes Aristespha''s hand. "Aw, getting a little scared and need me to hold your hand?"


    With a dismissive snort, Aristespha grumbles playfully and flexes hand in a gripping motion. "Why, yes. And, someone''s big reserve of magical energy would really make me feel better right now."


    Sotalia takes hold of Aristespha''s hand firmly and leans close with an inquiry. "Okay. So, flow a little or a lot?"


    Aristespha glances over her shoulder and smiles calmly. "A little. I figured I would save the potions..."


    Rolling her eyes, she smirks. "And, tap nearby resources."


    With an amused nod, Sotalia matches pace behind Aristespha and faint wisps of magical flow gently glide across the held hands. Slowly between paranoid stalls, the group continues along the path. In the surrounding forest, the air remains still in the dense buffer of trees. The only signs of wind rustle the leaves in the canopy far overhead.


    A sharp, distant, wooden snap echoes out.


    The team abruptly stops with the signal from Dretphi. Cideeda''s ears hunt through the noises rising up from the natural background. Leaning to the side around Dretphi, she squints her eyes ahead into the distance. Both her furry ears fix onto point. Her eyes narrowing, she angles her head to a target. She hand signals to her ears, directs everyone''s attention ahead, and holds up two fingers to the team. Searching behind the group, Dretphi motions towards a thick patch of undergrowth meters back and crouches down, swiftly comparing the woodland covers upon her armor plating to the scenery. The team lowers their collective profile and backtrack next to the abundant ferns and brush. Bach searches for an easy entry, side steps wide off the path, and hides behind a flora coated log. Sotalia and Aristespha follow Cideeda''s lead, and all crowd tightly within a thick, obscuring patch of forest cover. Checking in front of her, Dretphi grips her gauntlet around a small bush and muscles it promptly out of the ground. She brushes the dirt trail lightly with the small plant and stirs up the forest floor off the path, leading away from the group. She forcefully replants the shrubbery and tilts in purposefully along with her ruse. Carefully, she creeps backwards down the path, keeping watch ahead, and settles in with the team in hiding.


    Two young evuukian men amble along the game trail and point towards their nature themed outfits. During the casual conversation, both maintain grips on the strings of their bows. They approach closer. One points distantly down the path, slowly traces the route up to recently disturbed dirt, and settles his finger point at the tilted bush. The other nods in agreement. Both ready their bows, retrieve arrows from their quivers, and nock them. The two step quietly forward and scan the woods. One inspects the stirred dirt leading off the path and surveys the underbrush leading away.


    The other evuukian man cautiously walks up the trail, closing the distance to the thick undergrowth patch. Dretphi secures a tight grip on the combat knife at her side. Cideeda silently raises a laser pistol barrel up and lines up a rough aim at the man. Sotalia and Aristespha ready their hands, preparing for casting. Remaining nearly still, Bach presses his palm firmly upon the ground, his eyes faintly glowing. A hair thin magical wire extends swiftly out from his hand, races underneath the forest floor debris, and flows towards the underbrush opposite from the team.


    The evuukian man uncomfortably close to the hidden group stops, turning his head towards the thick patch of undergrowth, abundant ferns, and flora coated log. He squints his eyes into the dense obscuring forest cover.


    An unseen force loudly zips along the ground meters from the tilted over bush, rustling the brush and kicking up a flurry of leafy debris. Both men snap their attention upon the chaos. Locking full focus on the motion, both take aim and draw bowstrings. Flows of magical energy rush out from their arms, enter into the bow, and wrap around the arrow. The two let loose their arrows. Misty streaks tracing behind, the arrows rocket towards the same target. Both missiles impact the ground with loud, powerful thuds. Moments later, small bursts of magical energy vent out from the arrow dirt embedded heads. The rustling of forest debris sprints off into a thick grove of ferns, leaves parting along the way. The evuukian men exchange eager, hungry grins, voice one word in unison, and nock new arrows, rushing off to the chase.


    Seconds later in the settling silence surrounding, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia release muted sighs of relief. Relaxing his body, Bach glances over between Aristespha and Sotalia and whispers out a question. "What did they say?"


    Aristespha lifts an eyebrow and curiously narrows her violet eyes towards the distant evuukian men. "Lunch."


    Bach smirks smugly and chuckles to himself. "Well... Hope they packed one."


    ----


    Chelindia settles into the wide pocket in the middle of a four-way trunk split of a tree. Seating herself onto the soft mossy covering, she rests her back against one of the main branches and plants her boots against the opposing branches. She tilts her head up and stares at the noon sun peeking through the heavy leaf cover above. Her dark tan fingers idly twirl her dark green braids, and the shifting light through the canopy glints off her wincing turquoise eyes. A strong wind gently rocks the upper limbs of the tall, old oak along with Chelindia. Closing her eyes, Chelindia rubs her forehead and grimaces against the thoughts manifesting visibly. Over the minutes, her face contorts between shades of conflicting emotions, and she sways her head side to side at each indecisive moment. She grits her teeth, releases a long sigh, and opens her eyes, furrowing her brow with a surge of regret. With a distant stare, she feels the string of the bow hanging from a small branch nearby. A gust calmly sways the tree. Chelindia watches the finely crafted bow swing with the motion and squints at the elegant inscriptions shining in the light. Staring at the writing, her frown sharpens and somber breath slips out. Deep thought pulling her inwards, the world outside fades from her awareness. Her turquoise eyes focus upon the phrases and settles upon the simple signature at the end. Sadness bubbles up onto her face, and she drops her head firmly upon the bark behind her. She gazes into the blue sky above, covers her face with her hands, and sighs deeply.


    Different faint voices below snap her harshly back into the world around her, and she blinks back to sharp awareness. She swiftly, quietly grasps her bow, lifts it free, and leans her head cautiously out from her hiding place. Peering down through the obscuring leaf and limb mass of the tree to the ground over thirty meters below, her eyes observe a group of people traversing a game trail. She studies the armor of the large figure in the lead, furry ear flicks of the fvalian, and the silvery blue hair of the evuukian woman. Cocking her head to the side in confusion at the odd, fiery orange, wavy hair and brown horns of another woman, she lifts an unamused brow at the tall, heavier man at the back. Chelindia snarls her upper lip, snorts softly, and pulls out a bulbous headed arrow from the quiver hanging off another small branch. She readies the bow, nocks the arrow, and aims high up through the leafy canopy. Drawing the string back, flows of magical energy spiral around the arrow and sink into the glowing ball tip. She adjusts her posture and the elegant inscription shines, flashing its meaning into Chelindia''s eyes. She freezes in place, and uncertainty locks her grip tight on the bowstring. Summoning her will, she grits her teeth, regains her aim, and-


    Sotalia''s voice wanders up through the foliage and lands squarely upon Chelindia''s long, pointed evuukian ears. "...I hope Faelatelia..."


    Chelindia''s eyes spring wide open, and she instinctively relaxes the bowstring forward. She unnocks the arrow, ceases the magical flow, and holds it tightly, the magical energy gently venting out from the head. Kneeling down, she peers out from hiding and aims her long, pointed ears down below. With a faint sigh, Aristespha softly agrees and glances over her shoulder at Sotalia. "I do hope she is okay. Even if she is part of the group, she may still be approachable. I do hope we can talk some sense into her."


    Rocking his head side to side in thought, Bach ponders out a possibility with a shrug. "I mean at this point, she might be looking for a way out. A lot of these groups don''t make it easy to leave once you get in, especially after you learn what they''re all about. She could just be playing the part because there''s no other good options available to her, right now."


    Flicking her furry ears around in the drone of the rustling leaves surrounding, Cideeda furrows her brow a thoughtful moment between searching flicks of her emerald green eyes. She relaxes her posture and comments. "Understand that. Really hope that''s the case, because that''s an easy job right there. Sneak close under the cover of darkness, get her, run back to the humvee, and just drive as fast as possible from here. Be too far away for them to do anything when they figure it out."


    Inspecting the trail ahead, Dretphi nods in agreement. "Simple. Effective. Minimal contact with hostiles."


    Sebastian''s ethereal tone resonates out from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "Gods, let''s hope it''s that simple. But... Probably won''t be. I''m really not too sure what we should do if she''s really into this whole Terra Priest thing."


    Placing her hands on her hips, Sotalia twists her mouth derisively and groans dismissively. "GODS, I really hope that girl isn''t buying everything these people are selling."


    Chelindia watches the team walking away. The conversation fades into the background forest din, and she blinks blankly, recovering into full awareness of the world. She stands up upon the pocket within the trunk split, guides the quiver over her shoulder, and places the bulbous tipped arrow back in. Tilting the bow into a beam of sunlight from above, she slowly read the inscription. She closes her eyes tightly, bows her head down, and firmly grips the bow. In a moment of silence between waves of wind, she whispers out a gracious, appreciative evuukian phrase and gazes upon the writing on the bow with tears forming. Wiping her eyes, she secures the bow on herself, gestures along with a series of incantations, and silently runs along the long length of a thick branch leading towards the group. With faint flows of energy pulsing across her body, she leaps off, glides through the air, and lands silently onto the next large tree. Running without a sound through the tree, she launches onto the next, trailing the team from above.


    ----


    Bach surveys the mossy carpet surrounding the base of the ancient, gigantic tree and lowers himself to a seat upon the dark green ground. Laying against the trunk of the tree, he flips up the visor of helmet, breathes out his fatigue, and blinks his blues tightly. "Man... That was a tense hike to get here."


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Aristespha sits down on a massive, risen tree root, slides her pack off, and flips up the canvas top. Rummaging around the contents, she retrieves a number of colorful, fluid filled bottles, presenting them to the group. "Then it is a good thing I have stamina potions for everyone."


    She pulls a satisfied smirk from the corner of her mouth and waggles a glass container. "A few of each flavor."


    Cideeda sweeps up a bottle with a light purple liquid, checks the handwritten label, and uncorks it. With a smile, she drinks it back and sighs out satisfied. "Tarot root. Nice."


    Settling down prone upon the ground, she crawls up to the edge of the obscuring undergrowth, retrieves a pair of binoculars from her small pack, and dials in adjustments. "Now, I think we should still have an angle to spy into that huge clearing even from here."


    With a bottle in hand, Dretphi eases up next to Cideeda, retrieves another set of binoculars out of her backpack, and lifts the full face visor up on her helmet. "I hope. This area seems undisturbed. Far enough away. Plenty of cover."


    Bouncing her steely gray eyes between other lesser secluded spots, she frowns. "Few options remain otherwise."


    Sebastian''s ethereal visage materializes sitting next to Aristespha, and he sweeps his gaze over the entire group. "Okay. So good, so far. Now, let''s see what we can find out from here. And, most importantly, if Faelatelia is walking around the place. We need to try to confirm she''s even here, first. Then, we''ll figure out what we should do."


    Cideeda carefully twists a knob on the binoculars, slides herself over a bit, and aims the lenses through the heavy foliage. "Well... It''s not much, but I got a decent view of some of the open space between everything. See some people moving around between all those old buildings."


    Contorting his face, Sebastian hums in thought and sighs unsatisfied. "It''s a start. At least we can get an idea of how big this group is. And, maybe, figure out a schedule for their patrols."


    Holding his chin contemplatively, he grumbles, pondering out loud. "Dammit. It''d be nice to get a clear, full view of that area."


    He narrows his stare out into the forest towards the huge clearing and sways his head slightly in deliberation. "BUT... We''ve had one close call already today. I think it''ll be best to hang back for now. Take a moment to scout all this better."


    Nodding towards Sebastian, Bach stops momentarily, furrows his brow, and glances between the team. "Hey, um... Just an idea... We could try that magical camera drone trick, again. I still don''t know how close I can get it, but it won''t be any of us getting close."


    Cideeda lowers the binoculars, pats a small bag hanging off the back of her vest, and grins toothily to Bach. "OH, I''m up for trying that. I haven''t seen any Terra Priests using anything remotely technological."


    Lifting an eyebrow, she smirks with an eager spark in her emerald green eyes. "So, I REALLY DOUBT they''d notice a wireless video feed signal, even right inside their camp."


    With a smile, Sebastian nods his approval and tilts his head to side, visibly pondering the option. "Not a bad idea, bro. That''ll be a good one to try first. Even if they do find it or get suspicious, we''ll clear out before they know to start looking."


    He glances over to Sotalia sitting upon a partially buried rock and notices her constantly searching the trees above. "Something up, Sotalia?"


    Sotalia crosses her arms, tugs at the corner of her mouth, and drums her fingers anxiously. "I don''t know. Keep thinking I''m feeling some really faint magic nearby. But..."


    She narrows her suspicious stare and wrestles with a grimace. "This forest already has a weird vibe to it. So, it''s REALLY hard to tell."


    Nodding with a faint, uncomfortable frown, Aristespha closes her eyes. She reopens a pair of glowing violet eyes and scans the immediate area slowly. "I HAVE noticed a lot of leftover, ambient traces from stale magical activity."


    Her head lifts up towards the treetop. "Between the Terra Priests, certain types of plants, animals, and possible spirit activity-"


    Her swiftly eyes dart around to many points above. "Above us!"


    A firm, collected female voice fills the air around the group. "I would like to speak to you all. I believe we have similar goals. But first... How do you know of Faelatelia?"


    Cideeda''s furry ears search frantically for a source. Dretphi cautiously surveys locations far up in the trees. Aristespha watches the surroundings with glowing violet eyes. Sotalia frowns with a sneering upper lip and softly growls her discomfort. Bach''s eyes flicker to blue, he searches above along with Aristespha. Crossing his arms, Sebastian hums with a ghostly reverb and sighs thoughtfully. A few seconds of silence later, he speaks with an explanatory tone. "We are here because of a guild quest directly sent to us. We are to find Faelatelia and exercise our discretion as to what to do once she is found. We think the mission came from her parents."


    The woman''s tone shifts sharply inquisitive and a direct question echoes down. "How do you know that?"


    Checking the canopy above, Sebastian turns slowly and scans the woods around him and the team. "We helped Faelatelia''s friend from a similar situation. She recommended us to Faelatelia''s parents to perform a similar task."


    He narrows his stare up at the dense leaves above. "Her name is Valavera."


    The voice above starts to respond and halts abruptly into a lengthy silence. Moments later, the woman respectfully inquires with a softer cadence. "Will you agree to a peaceful meeting?"


    Sebastian observes the team, seeking input. With hints of reservation, Aristespha nods slowly. Bach agrees, slightly shrugging his shoulders. Cideeda twists her mouth and sighs out a reluctant acceptance. Dretphi nods respectfully. "If she meant us harm, conversation would be counterproductive."


    Glancing over to meet Sebastian''s quizzical gaze, Sotalia grumbles and pantomimes out her hesitant agreement with a hand motion. Sebastian unfolds his arms and presents a professional smile. "We all agree. Let''s see what we can do."


    A minute later, the figure of Chelindia slips into sight from behind a large tree. Carefully approaching the small clearing, she greets Sebastian with a slight bow. "My name is Chelindia. I am the assistant to the leader of this Terra Priest commune, Meredosia. I know where Faelatelia is. And..."


    The sliver of a frown sneaks out from her stoic facade, and she stiffens her upper lip with a faint sigh. "I want to get her away from here."


    Sebastian relays his understanding with a nod. Chelindia wanders her turquoise eyes over the group and lifts an inquiring eyebrow. "May I see the guild posting?"


    Retrieving her aetherphone from a pocket slowly, Aristespha taps through a few menus and presents the display of the device. Chelindia steps closer, leans her head forward, and squints her eyes, reading the text. "Do you all have guild IDs?"


    Everyone slides out cards, flips out wallets, and lifts lanyards, revealing guild identification. Sebastian smiles awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders. "I would but my current condition doesn''t allow it."


    Chelindia nods awkwardly, draws in a long breath, and sighs graciously. "Thank you. I needed some confirmation for your intentions."


    Furrowing her brow slightly, she straightens her posture and cautiously watches the team. "To keep things short, Faelatelia tried to leave the group after going with Meredosia on a secret assignment that... I do not know all the details yet. Faelatelia ran away but was captured at Meredosia''s request. She is in a prison inside the building on the outskirts of the commune. I WILL assist you in your mission. I only ask we do so as CAREFULLY and QUIETLY, as possible."


    Aristespha quirks a brow and narrows a curious stare at Chelindia. "If you will excuse me prying, why do you want to help us to get her away from here?"


    Pauses in thought, Chelindia briefly reveals the internal conflict upon her face and assumes a more wary demeanor. "I have known Meredosia since childhood. We joined the Terra Priests together a long time ago, and I traveled here with her to form this new commune under the best of intentions."


    A frown manifests upon her dark tan face, and she slowly shakes her head of dark green, braided hair. "Unfortunately, SOMETHING has changed. Things are not what they should be. I know there is much to be done about... THIS situation."


    Furrowing her brow, she tightens down a determined grimace. "BUT... The first thing that needs to happen is to get an innocent girl far from the danger she is in."


    She lowers her head down, exhales out her nerves, and lifts up, gazing at the group pleadingly. "You are the best opportunity I have to do so. And, I fear you the best I will have before the situation gets any worse."


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange a mix of concern, reservation, and uncertainty. Sebastian mulls over the situation, gauges the feelings of the group, and dons a small grin towards Chelindia. "Okay. Let''s talk more about this. I think we should explore this more."


    Chelindia bows appreciatively and pulls a slight smile on her face. "Thank you, so much. How about we discuss the patrol routes... And, most importantly, where they are often NOT at night."


    ----


    Dim lamps cast out circles of illumination upon the ground between the ancient, stonework structures encircling the huge clearing. Faint spots of moonlight slip through the thick canopy of old trees and around with the wind and scattered lightning bugs. Ambient sounds of the forest night fill the air and wash the space in a background drone of life. Two evuukian sentries stand outside the entryway of the stonework building isolated from the rest of the main encampment. They idly stare out into the night at the empty pathways in the vicinity. The light haired man groans out a long sigh, and the dark haired guard commiserates with a slow series of grumbling nods.


    From behind the cover of perimeter overgrowth, Chelindia points out the two evuukian men to Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia and keeps her voice low. "Those are the only two guards active right now. Night patrols go much further out than during the day."


    Shaking her head gradually, she vents out her ambivalence with a vague snarl of the upper lip. "It is so strange that I am now thankful that Meredosia never listens to my security recommendations."


    Sebastian''s ghostly voice whispers out from the sword at Aristespha''s side. "Do you think those two guards would cooperate with you and let us get Faelatelia out of here?"


    Chelindia lowers her head, sorts through a flurry of thoughts with her eyes, and bites her lower lip uncertainly. "I do not know, for sure. They were part of the founding group with me. While not as vocal as I am, I do not think they like what is going on either. They are outstanding scouts and hunters. But..."


    She furrows her brow and twists a grimace. "Have been relegated to... THIS."


    She glances over to the weapons upon Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi and eyes magical items on Aristespha and Sotalia. Lowering her head down, she pleads with an uneasy grimace. "They are good people. But... I can not risk them performing their duties. I DO NOT want them hurt."


    From the sword, Sebastian chuckles lightly and explains reassuringly. "Don''t worry. We prefer keeping things alive whenever possible. We have plenty of options to do that."


    Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Sotalia turns her head slightly towards Chelindia and poses a question. "So, would anyone, or anything, detect a directed, localized spell in the area?"


    Chelindia blinks in thought for a few seconds, shakes her head, and twists her frown. "No. Anyone with significant magical ability is part of Meredosia''s inner circle and lives with her in the main building."


    Narrowing her stare off to the side, she sighs faintly. "Or... You are the three other founding mages that are probably too tired from enchanting arrows all day to notice anything right now. As for detection devices..."


    She wrestles down a grimace. "Another ignored security suggestion of mine."


    Aristespha and Sotalia exchange sly grins and signal the rest of the team into a huddle.


    The dark haired evuukian sentry lifts his gaze upwards and watches the leaves gently sway, catching glimpses of the moon in the late night sky. His mouth forms an elegant, thoughtful, and insightful series of sentences in evuukian, no sound escaping his lips. He halts in sheer surprise and calls out to the other evuukian, nothing audible leaving his mouth. Turning to face the other guard, he watches the light haired man vigorously rub the bases of his long, pointed ears in bewilderment. Both meet the other''s confused stares, attempt to converse, and simultaneously arrive at the same frightening revelation. They reach for their swords. Both suddenly freeze, startled still. The two men slowly lift their hands up away from their weapons, straighten their postures, and awkwardly wait.


    An armored gauntlet slides over the shoulder of the light haired guard and firmly grips over his mouth. Shame, unease, and irritation mix upon the man''s face. He gawks down towards the other sentry, and all other emotions clear away for sympathetic terror. The dark haired guard''s hands nervously curl slightly, and he attentively stares down. Sharp claw tips flex uncomfortably close, threatening a VERY sensitive lower region. The fvalian hand moves away enough and points, directing the man backwards. The dark haired man nods, following instruction with fresh cooperative enthusiasm.


    Cideeda and Dretphi guide their captives around the sides of the isolated building and out of sight. With combat knife and laser pistol against prisoner backs, the duo head the evuukian sentries to the back of the structure. Holding out an arm to each captured guard, Aristespha watches the two backpedal their heads into her awaiting hands. With violet glowing eyes, she secures her grip on the back of their heads and releases an enveloping flow of energy. The two evuukians yawn reflexively, flutter their eyes closed, and drop their heads in slumber. Dretphi, Cideeda, and Bach ease the men down to the ground and prop them gently up against the back side of the prison structure. Aristespha breathes out her strain and rolls her shoulders to stretch. "That should keep them sedated for a while. It will be a nice nap for them."


    Lifting up a pocket flap on her vest, Cideeda pulls out large plastic cable ties and hands out sets to Bach and Dretphi. Out from the thicker undergrowth, Chelindia and Sotalia walk up to the rest of the group. Grinning triumphantly with a smug air, Sotalia interlocks her fingers and stretches her arms out. "Gods... It''s been a while since I used that silence spell. Still works."


    Chelindia steps up, kneels down in front of the two guards, and smiles satisfied at their soft snores. "I must say, I am impressed."


    Standing back up, she glances over to the group and quietly walks to the corner of the building. "Okay. We should be quick. We have a few hour window before the first night patrol comes back."


    Inside the dark cell, Faelatelia stirs in her sleep. Her very long, pointed ears twitch at faint, muffled noises trickling into her room. A loud metallic scrape grinds out into the air from the door, startling her wide awake. The heavy metal door opens, and Faelatelia squints her sky blue eyes against the sudden rush of light into the room. Chelindia steps through, smiles warmly to Faelatelia, and grins, noticing a picked-clean plate. "I am glad you ate. You are going to need your strength tonight."


    Blinking bewildered, Faelatelia narrows her confusion at Chelindia¡¯s Americ words and shields the light from her face tan, blue hinted face. Her eyes adjusting, she notices Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and the ethereal Sebastian behind Chelindia and gawks bewildered, hope growing.


    ----


    Pulses of light scatter out into the forest. Fireflies drift upon the gentle breezes, sifting through the densely packed woods. Faint shimmers of magical illumination swirl along branches high up in the canopy. Tiny transparent forms flit into existence and disappear without trace. An ethereal fox slowly turns its head towards the top of a small hill, stares off distantly, and nonchalantly fades away. Chelindia reaches the crest of the mound, surveys the vicinity, and relaxes her shoulders. "It should be clear from here. This land is home to many small spirits. We usually avoid sending patrols through and keep to the perimeter out of respect."


    Dretphi nods, sweeps her gaze ahead, and surveys the grove, focusing upon the vibrant plants covering the ground. "Is it safe to cross?"


    Sitting upon the ground, Faelatelia finishes off a stamina potion, fights through weight of fatigue, and meekly explains. "Yes... The spirits here are peaceful... Most just ignore people."


    Deep, full breaths later, she stands up straight with help from Aristespha and Sotalia and nods appreciatively. "I''m ready again. I''m sorry."


    Sotalia smiles reassuringly at the evuukian teenager and gently pats her shoulder. "It''s okay. You''ve only just been stuck in a prison cell for weeks."


    The group slowly traverses down the hill and crosses a wide, rocky creek at the base. In the still spaces of the area, colorful flickers of life leave misty trails and disappear into the grasses. Shadowy outlines fade into existence, affix their attention briefly upon the group, and blend into the night. Faelatelia smiles brightly and releases a happy sigh, observing all the activity around. Others watch in awe at the brief sightings of spirits that momentarily pay attention, resuming their normal routines moments later. The party walks along a worn dirt path through the active, busy forest grove. Cideeda''s furry ears flick, and her emerald eyes open wide. Snapping her head towards a spot along the horizon, she points a claw tip out. The team halts, drops low to the ground, and waits. Dretphi squints through her helmet visor and confirms Cideeda''s suspicions with a nod.


    A dozen evuukians in dark, nature themed outfits crouch in wait behind an outcropping of rocks, bows at the ready and arrows nocked. Chelindia narrows her stare, cocks her head in confusion, and mumbles a question to herself in evuukian. Aristespha''s eyes flick to glowing violet, and Bach''s illuminate blue. Dretphi directs the group''s attention into the distance at two people sitting near a luminescent rainbow flower upon a brightly leafy plant. Glints of moonlight reflect off of tools, vials, and carrying cases near the two people. Sotalia quickly casts a spell quietly between her hands, holds her finger points together, and squints through the opening at the duo in the distance. "I think those are reagent hunters. Looks like they are collecting samples from a chromatic chrysanthemum?"


    Furry ears twitching, Cideeda tilts her head, furrows her brow, and repeats a few phrases in evuukian. "What does THAT mean exactly? Because... I don''t like the tone he used."


    Aristespha, Chelindia, Faelatelia, and Sotalia glance at each other in shock. Sotalia grits her teeth, clenches her fists, and growls. "Gods, we need to warn them."


    Chelindia frowns darkly, grips her bow tightly, and mutters angrily in evuukian, shaking her head. With a firm grip upon the sword at her side, Aristespha glances over to Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi. "They are planning on shooting them."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage forms prone underneath the fern coated forest floor off the path, and he immediately stares out at the situation. "What?"


    Shaking her head, Chelindia contorts her face with the surges of emotion. "This is NOT right. Not right at all. I do NOT know what is going on here."


    She sneers and hisses out. "THESE are people Meredosia recruited."


    Stiffening her upper lip, she glares ahead resolutely, reaches into her quiver, and retrieves the bulbous headed arrow. "I cannot allow this to happen. I can make a distraction, BUT you all need to get away from me before I use it-"


    Sebastian interrupts with a scheming grin and glances over to the group. "Wait, what does that do?"


    Glancing behind her, she lifts an eyebrow at Sebastian. "Um, it is a magical signal flare. It will erupt in a bright light with a plume of smoke, a few seconds after firing."


    She narrows her stare at the evuukians preparing for an attack. "Unfortunately, at this distance, if I shoot at them, they will have enough time to clear away from it and guess what it came from before it triggers."


    Bach trains his glowing blue eyes upon the ball headed arrow, grinning mischievously, and holds his hand out. "Let me see that."


    A sly smile appears on Sebastian, and he winks to Chelindia. "Let me get their attention for a bit, then."


    Gliding low along the forest floor away from the group, he circles around in a wide path and silently flies towards the dozen evuukians in hiding. The leader starts whispering commands, signaling out orders, and readies his bow. He grins menacingly, nocking an arrow. Standing up with the group, he takes aim, and-


    Sebastian''s booming ghostly voice echoes out into the woods. "WHAT INTERLOPERS HAVE ENTERED MY SACRED GROVE?!"


    The evuukians clumsily spin around, awkwardly point bows at the floating, brilliant visage of Sebastian above, and reflexively let loose arrows. The missiles zip and tumble through Sebastian''s form, disappearing into the forest far from anyone. In the distance, the reagent hunter duo frantically search the area and notice the bright ghost.


    A man''s voice spits out. "Holy shit! The fuck is that?!"


    The other distant figure, scrambles to hastily pack up the equipment, and snaps back with a feminine cadence. "Let''s not stick around and find out!"


    The evuukian leader curses, spotting the two reagent hunters sweeping up their belongings and escaping into the brush. He tries to call out orders in evuukian, splitting his attention with boisterous banter from Sebastian. Off in the middle of the team, Bach''s eyes dim back to normal, and he passes the bulbous arrow carefully to Chelindia. "Okay. It''s triggered upon impact now."


    Chelindia warily eyes the arrow, nocking it. With extra care, she readies her bow, draws the string back, and takes aim, flows of energy spiraling into the arrow. Aristespha pulls a short grin, grasps hold of the sword, and closes her eyes thoughtfully. Sebastian pauses his random ramblings of forest spirit superiority and annoying, distracting flights around the evuukian crew. Laughing proudly, he spreads his arms wide and grins manically. "Maybe you need a taste of my POWER! ... BEHOLD!"


    Chelindia lets loose the arrow. From the center of the evuukian squad, a ten meter radius bubble of thick white smoke engulfs the area in a second. Coughs, gags, and sneezes echo into the forest along with furious evuukian curses. Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha. The group rushes into their escape. Glancing over to his brother, Sebastian smirks, furrowing his brow confused. "Nicely done, bro. But, I thought there¡¯s supposed to be a bright flash?"


    Running with the team, he holds his finger up and snickers. "Wait for it."


    A bright, blinding flash lights up the dome of dense mist and floods the nearby woods with a white light, beaming out through the gaps between trees. Furious screams of aggravated evuukian swears shatter the peace.


    ----


    The humvee powerplant spins up to life, and Cideeda checks the gauges instinctively through her startup routine. Chelindia stands with Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, Faelatelia, Sebastian, and Sotalia. Stepping up, Faelatelia wraps her arms around Chelindia and softly whispers thankful evuukian words between sobs. With a warm smile, Chelindia embraces the teenager, pats her on the back, and releases her. The two exchange heartfelt goodbyes. Chelindia wipes a tear from her eye and gently commands the young one into the humvee. Faelatelia nods and follows Dretphi''s guidance, laying down on the far back seat. Turning to the rest of the team, Chelindia bows graciously and exhales her relief. "I can never thank you enough. I could not have managed this myself and feared I would have caused more harm than good overall in any such attempt."


    Sebastian nods with an appreciative smile. "Well, we should thank you, too. As much as I trust ourselves to get the job done, you saved us from a lot of trouble and unnecessary risk. I just hope we haven''t stirred up the hornet''s nest too much. I don''t think that one group is going to report anything good back when they get back."


    Chelindia chuckles and quirks her brow amused. "Actually... That may help my plans."


    Sotalia crosses her arms and examines Chelindia''s expression with hints of apprehension. "How so?"


    Drawing a long breath in, Chelindia ponders out loud between contemplatively twitches on her face. "Well... I am certain Meredosia will want Faelatelia captured, again. And... Seeing how all the outer patrols somehow missed spotting her..."


    Lifting her eyebrow, she smirks slightly. "I might be able to convince her to allow me to take charge of a search party... Of MY choosing."


    A sly smile graces Chelindia''s face, and she places her hands on her hips. "Of course, I will pick a team made up of founding members of the commune. It will be a good chance to break the rust off our skills, and..."


    She sighs calmly and lowers her head slightly. "An opportunity to talk about things, freely. Honestly."


    Nodding in agreement, Bach scratches the back of his head and furrows his brow curiously. "Huh. Yeah. Seems like things aren''t going the way you think they should."


    Chelindia crosses her arms, hisses in a tense breath, and bites her lip. "A lot has happened to give me many moments of pause. I don''t think I am alone in that regard. Most of us are older and wiser now. Seeing how Meredosia has taken to twisted interpretations of the principles of the Terra Priests, and who she has surrounded herself with... I think many of us will take our leave."


    Aristespha lifts a quizzical eyebrow at Chelindia and inquires respectfully. "What do you think will happen if you and your group leave?"


    A frown weighs heavily upon Chelindia, and she shakes her head slowly, uncertainly. "I do not know. I once considered Meredosia very close. As much as I hoped my constant presence by her side would keep her reasonable and my suggestions would guide her back to the right path... I feel that the situation is beyond anything more I can do. And, I just can''t follow her anymore on whatever path this is."


    Aristespha nods understandingly, steps over to the open door of the humvee, and rummages around for a pencil and paper. Pulling out her aetherphone, she taps through the contact list and writes out some information on a piece of paper. She holds note out,returning in front of Chelindia. "Here. I do not know what you plan to do after this, but this is the contact info for Captain Hackle of the GAA and Captain Hays of the Borderland Rangers. I do not know what assistance either could provide you, but one of them might be able to work something out for you and your group. They have proven reasonable in their judgment of a few interesting situations."


    Apprehensively grasping onto the paper, Chelindia examines the information hesitantly and respectfully stows the document in a pocket. "I will consider it. A few members of the founding group are not welcomed by the law in a few regions. But..."


    A faint trace of hope appears on Chelindia''s dark tan face. "Maybe, something can be worked out. It might prove better than other alternatives."


    Glancing up to the late night sky, she bows to the group and presents a sly smirk. "I need to get back. There is a search party I need to organize. I think we are going to avoid checking the roadways and search other remote passages to old, secluded outlooks that are nice and private."


    The team shares a humored moment, and Chelindia departs with a final wave to Faelatelia. Chanting out a few incantations with gestures, Chelindia flows energy down her body and gracefully launches up into the tree tops, leaping off another branch into the obscuring night.

 Episode 47

    A very early morning, ambient glow seeps in through the sliding glass door. The dim illumination barely lights up the outlines of the coffee table, recliner, and couch in the living area of the ranch style house. A gentle, quiet flow of air slips through vents of an air conditioning unit upon the upper part of the wall. The soft drone coats an acoustic backdrop over the soundscape, faint flits of idle appliances rising up. Seconds later, the muffled sounds of a mechanical winch rattle from behind the kitchen door leading into the garage. Minutes pass with moments of conversation and movement slipping out into the kitchen. Sounds of equipment landing upon a solid floor resonate out, quickly spiking into the calm air. Sotalia opens the kitchen door and steps slowly across the tile floor. Yawning, she drapes a heavy, armored cloak upon a dining chair back in passing. "Oh... Gods... That bed is going to feel so good."


    She pulls the seat out, slumps down upon the seat down, and groans. Placing her foot upon her opposite thigh, she wrestles the boot off. Aristespha walks into the kitchen, waits near the door, and guides Faelatelia''s drowsy self up. Leading the young evuukian teenager to the living room couch, she helps her to a spot upon the soft fabric. "Have a seat for now. We will figure out a nice place for you to sleep."


    With a tired, appreciative smile, Faelatelia nods, yawns against surging fatigue, and settles into the comfortable cushions. "Thank you. I really don''t need much... As I have found out lately."


    The motor unit of the garage door opener hums to life and slowly lowers the large, sectioned door down upon the concrete floor. Cideeda steps out from the garage, rubs her emerald green eyes, and places the humvee key fob upon the bar. Slipping out from her open vest, she hangs the garment upon another chair back and reaches behind her back. "It''s getting a lot warmer at night around here. Almost had to turn on the air conditioner on the way back."


    Lumbering into the dining area, Bach pulls his helmet off, slides his duster off onto the tabletop, and sits down in a chair. He loosens straps holding his kevlar vest and starts prying his feet out of the armored boots. "Well, I mean, it is May. Around these parts, it''s usually the last nice month before it just turns plain, nasty hot."


    Cideeda pulls down the back zipper on her body suit, breathes out her relief, and lightly fans the collar, circulating air through the chest portion of the outfit. "Then again, we DID run through the woods for most the night. Anyway, I''m getting out of this. The humvee is locked up. We''ll unload tomorrow-"


    Fluttering her eyes, she pauses in thought a moment and sighs, shaking her head. "Well... Later TODAY, I mean. GODS... I''m tired."


    She plods groggily through the archway into the hallway and disappears through the doorway into her room. Moments later, a body suit flops into a pile upon the wooden floor outside her door, and pairs of toed boots and fingerless gloves land on top. Dretphi closes the kitchen door behind her, brushes off her damp, skin-tight tank top and shorts. "It will be laundry day... Today... Later."


    Glancing over to Faelatelia fighting off another tempting moment to fall into the slumber, Bach smiles with a exhausted chuckle. "Faelatelia? If you want you can use my bed for the night and sleep on something proper. Honestly, I don''t think I''ll make it there at this rate... The couch is A LOT closer."


    With a reserved smirk, Dretphi eyes Bach and lifts an inquisitive eyebrow. "Have you made it recently?"


    Seconds of idly staring ahead, Bach blinks back to awareness, his eyes searching his mind. "Uh... Um... Well... Uh..."


    Faelatelia smiles weakly to both Bach and Dretphi and laughs softly. "It is okay. After what I have been sleeping on for the past weeks... The back seat of the humvee was so nice."


    Her attention shifting to the furniture underneath, she glides a hand over the cushions of the couch with a contended gaze. Twisting her foot inside her boot, Aristespha moves over next to the dining table, slides out a chair, and takes a seat. She loosens the laces on her long, finely crafted boots, grumbles to herself, and shakes her head, annoyance building upon her ivory face. "I checked these boots before leaving and tightened the laces correctly..."


    Tensing her arm muscles, she wrenches off her damp sock covered foot clear. She shakes the leather boot a few times and twitches her very long, pointed ears when a pebble bounces upon the wooden floor. "Yet there is ANOTHER damned rock in them."


    Bach loses the fight against a long yawn and grimaces, sleep trying to take hold. He glances over to Aristespha and points to the sword at her side. "Is he asleep?"


    Aristespha pauses, grips the handle of the sword, and closes her eyes momentarily. Snorting amused, she smirks wryly and rolls her violet eyes. "Oh. Yes. I think Sebastian fell asleep halfway through the ride back."


    With a shrug, Bach pulls off his last boot and shakes his head with a chuckle under his breath. "Long car rides always do that to him... Even now, I guess."


    Dretphi taps Bach''s shoulder and gently speaks. "I will get sheets for your bed. We will change them. Grant Faelatelia a-"


    A snore sharply peaks from the background. Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia gaze Faelatelia, completely asleep upon the couch. She stirs momentarily and unconsciously grips the cushion underneath her head, nestling up against the couch back. Bach smirks and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah... Can''t blame her there."


    Dretphi smiles, sighs, and quietly steps along the floor into the hallway. "Blankets instead."


    Retrieving her aetherphone, Aristespha sluggishly taps through the long security code and navigates the menus to a message list. She stands up, softly walks up in front of the television, and holds her phone with both hands, aiming the camera at the peacefully slumbering Faelatelia. With a light tap on the device''s screen, a faint click sounds out, and Aristespha rights the phone into her hand. Sotalia stretches out her arms, slides next to Aristespha, and curls a curious eyebrow. "Sending an update to the clients?"


    Nodding, Aristespha taps out a message. "Yes. I believe the parents and Valavera would be happy to know she is safe and back in civilization once again."


    Dretphi arrives from the hallway with folded blankets in her arms. Sotalia grins and winks at Aristespha. "Take a picture after we tuck her in and send that one. It''ll look a lot better than her just passed out on our couch."


    With examining gaze at Sotalia, Aristespha tilts her head, nods slowly, and sighs. "Yes. It would definitely look more like a successful rescue..."


    Sotalia smirks, crossing her arms. "Rather than the aftermath of a party?"


    Aristespha glances back over at Sotalia and twists her humored smile slightly. "Yes."


    ----


    The warmth of the morning glides over the thick forest canopy, slipping in through the shifting gaps between the leaves. A slight gust of wind trickles down from the overhead cover and drops down into the passage through the wide highway divide between rows of trees. In a small clearing off to the side of the paved road, Senior Paladin Maxon stands in front of a crowd of Chrome Crusader personnel, with Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, Trakenthin, and Veevi near the front. Straightening his posture inside his powered armor, he grins brightly to the awaiting masses and orates clearly. "OKAY. All present and accounted for, I believe. Today, we are going to search this stretch of road for any bandits. We''ve had many reports of bandits halting travelers and robbing them. From the latest reports, our forward scouts have found signs of people camping out near the roads, very recently."


    With a proud smile, he glances over at Chad and nods to the general attendance. "It will be a standard search and capture, if possible. From the other reports, this suspected group seems to be small-time criminals that are just interested in easy profit and survival needs out here. So, I strongly recommend capture protocols be exercised first."


    Wander his stare over the crowd, he grins encouragingly. "Chances are a few of these suspects are wanted alive by some law enforcement agency. AND, it would be nice to collect those for a mission bonus to everyone."


    He motions towards the team with his armored gauntlet covered hand. "To reiterate, the Flames of Phoenix team will be joining us today, and I have discussed with them appropriate assignments."


    The different groupings of Chrome Crusaders exchange glances, mixes of reluctance, reservation, and even anticipation rising out of the crowd. Maxon gazes over all, clears his throat, and lifts a eyebrow with a smile. "Medical Mage Preeta will again join the medical squad and assist where needed. I''ll leave it to our head doctor to decide any further decisions."


    Deedri smiles with relief and waves back to a welcoming medical division. Maxon eyes Tassilda with a humored smirk. "Tassilda will accompany Junior Paladin Daedrican''s search and capture group. They will hunt out the hiding spots that the scouts find and subdue any bandits."


    Parting a sly, small grin, Tassilda lifts an alluring eyebrow at Junior Paladin Daedrican, and he slightly bows to her. Turning his attention to Modoran, Maxon furrows his brow. "Modoran, you''ll join the scouting teams. I think your skills will be best utilized there. Primary objective is to relay information. I''ll leave it to the Captain to decide if you are allowed to engage targets of opportunity."


    Modoran tilts his head to the side slightly and nods nonchalantly in agreement. "I am not going to argue with that logic, sir."


    With a quick slide of his gaze, Maxon grins at the armored Trakenthin and chuckles. "Trakenthin, you''ll be joining our heavy hitters today as the special... Cargo... of the bait truck."


    An eager smirk draws across Trakenthin, and he nods respectfully, glancing over to a small squad of power armored soldiers and confident mages in light, protective suits. Focusing his attention to Chad and Veevi, Maxon laughs with a smile and winks to the two. "Chad. Veevi. You''ll be the center of attention, so to speak, today. Both of you will be driving the bait truck and playing the part of simple traders just trying to get by in this hard economy. We''ll make sure to equip you with our stealth..."


    Rocking his head side to side in brief deliberation, Maxon snorts. "Safety equipment."


    Chad shines a bright white grin and poses proudly. Placing her hands on her hips, Veevi sways to the side and smiles with a sly, cunning twist. Maxon straightens his posture and examines the large gathering once more. "I''ve already briefed the team leaders with further instructions. You are all dismissed into your individual squads. Be ready to move out by zero eight hundred."


    ----


    A closing door sounds out and stirs Faelatelia. Groggily fluttering her sky blue eyes, she stares out blankly, half-asleep, and darts her sluggish gaze around her environment. She freezes in tense thought and gradually relaxes, recent memory playing out upon her tan, blue-hinted face. Her hand feels the pillow underneath her head, grasps onto the blanket tucked around her, and slides upon the seat cushion. She tips her head towards the sliding glass door, leading out into the backyard, and smiles happily at the bright sun overhead warming the green, grassy field. Combing her chestnut hair out of her vision, she allows a sigh of relief to escape and closes her eyes in a moment of peace. Her long, blue hinted ears twitch, and Aristespha firmly places a glass filled with a thick, orange blend upon the coffee table. Faelatelia springs her eyes wide open and pushes herself up to a seat upon the couch. "Um- Uh... Morning."


    Chuckling to herself, Aristespha shakes her head with a humored smirk. "Afternoon, actually."


    Faelatelia blinks to awareness and pieces together the timeline quietly between hints of embarrassment upon her face. "Oh. I guess I haven''t slept that good in a while."


    With an understanding nod, Aristespha directs Faelatelia''s attention to the filled glass. "I mixed some nutrition supplements into a fruit smoothie. Purely precautionary. I do not believe you have had the best meals to eat for some time."


    Nodding quickly, Faelatelia reaches out for the beverage, her hungry gaze upon it, and enjoys long slips from the glass. She pauses a moment and glances back up to Aristespha. "Thank you."


    Sotalia smiles towards Aristespha from her seat, lifts her own glass of the same orange blend off the dining table, and laughs. "Told you she''d like it."


    Rolling her violet eyes, Aristespha shakes her head in mild amusement. Faelatelia nods in agreement to Sotalia and drinks more of the beverage. Sotalia returns her attention to the bottom edges of her cloak, pinches her long, black fingernails onto a bur, and plucks the seed clear from the garment. Shaking her head, she deposits the spiky ball into a nearby garbage can. "Gods. I''ve lost count on how many of these I''ve pulled off this thing. It must have been when we hid from that one patrol."


    Flipping between both sides of the cloth, she groans into a sigh. "Gods. There''s another one!"


    The kitchen door to the garage opens. One after another, Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi step through carrying individual laundry baskets. Sebastian floats inside with them. The group arrives around the dining table, resting their baskets upon the dining table top, and notices Faelatelia awake upon the couch. Dretphi presents a friendly smile towards the awkward, evuukian teenager. "Did you sleep well?"


    Faelatelia stares wide-eyed up at the tall, grath woman, thinks a moment with the smoothie in her hands, and nods appreciatively. "Yes. The best I''ve had in a long time."


    Cideeda snickers, lifts an accusatory eyebrow at Bach, and grins toothily. "Oh, good. We were afraid that SOMEONE may have woken you up earlier."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders, holds his hands up, and sighs slightly ashamed. "Hey. I was OBVIOUSLY not awake yet. I completely forgot someone was sleeping out here."


    Scratching the back of his head, he pivots towards Faelatelia and briefly averts his eyes with a bit of embarrassment. "So, yeah, if you got woken up by someone pouring a bowl of cereal loudly and complaining about not having enough milk... I apologize."


    Faelatelia shakes her head and smiles appreciatively. "No. I only woke up just a few minutes ago. So, no harm done."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form hovers over next to Aristespha and gazes at Faelatelia. "Well, that''s good to hear. Last night was really crazy. I''m just glad we all got clear of that mess before it got too bad."


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia agree unanimously in their own ways, tending to laundry related chores. Moments later, Sebastian crosses his arms and lifts an inquiring brow at Faelatelia. "After you wake up fully and get enough to eat, do you think you can answer a few questions for us? We heard from Chelindia why you were imprisoned, but we''d really like to hear your side of the story."


    Relaxing his translucent shoulders, he smiles reassuringly. "If that''s okay with you and you are comfortable with that?"


    Faelatelia finishes a long swig of the fruit smoothie, and emphatically nods in agreement. "OH. Yes! Of course. To be honest..."


    She fights an uneasy grimace and draws in a long breath. "There''s something I have thought about on the ride back here, and I believe I should tell you all."


    Aristespha lifts a curious eyebrow, awaiting a response. "Well, what would that be?"


    Resting her smoothie glass back down upon the coffee table, Faelatelia lowers her head, frowns reflecting, and ponders out loud. "I... I do not know where to exactly start. But..."


    She exhales out a surge of nerves and straightens her posture upon the couch cushion. "Okay. Meredosia has been experimenting with some weird magical power. I do NOT quite understand what it is... Exactly. But, I know she''s using an odd amulet to store what she''s been collecting from a strange circular platform. It''s really old and has strange runes all over it."


    Aristespha''s full attention locks onto the evuukian''s words. Sebastian waits in anticipation. Bach halts midway through taking his duster out from the laundry basket and listens motionlessly with wide open eyes. Dretphi and Cideeda exchange glances, silent recognition emerging. Sotalia trains her golden eyes upon the evuukian teenager, reading her every move. Faelatelia draws a long breath and furrows her brow at her explanation. "I do not know what the amulet is really capable of. But... I know where she got it from."


    Narrowing her concerned stare upon Faelatelia, Aristespha calmly inquires with a supportive tone. "Chelindia told us you went on a secret assignment with Meredosia. Did she take you to the place she found the amulet then?"


    With a growing frown, Faelatelia nods and sighs nervously. "I never told Chelindia all the details of what happened. I was SO afraid of what she might do if she knew. There is something not right about THAT place. I could FEEL it. Meredosia wanted me to draw spirits in to bind them to animate constructs..."


    Gritting her teeth, she hisses in a gasp. "That she wanted to imbue with that WEIRD power of hers."


    Hugging her arms, she draws the blanket over her shoulders tighter around her, grimaces, and shudders. "I told her I would... Think about it. But..."


    Swaying her head of long chestnut hair, she fights a reflexive wince. "I was NEVER going to help her with that. Then, I got caught after I tried to escape. Thankfully, Chelindia and many of the older members were as nice as they could get away with to me, and always helped where they could."


    She bites her lip and sighs sadly. "I hope they all get away. But..."


    Aristespha kneels down in front of Faelatelia, places a supportive hand upon her shoulder, and presents a comforting smile to the nervous teenager. "But, what?"


    Faelatelia shakes her head, draws in a long breath, and struggles with the uncertainty on her tan face. "I do not know what will happen if they leave. They have kept Meredosia... In check? Balanced? They were the few that did not blindly follow her and would question her when she got too extreme. Even if it meant they got practically demoted when they did so."


    Searching mind between nervous flicks of her sky blue eyes, she tilts her head slowly. "As much as the newer members thought they were not proper Terra Priests because they questioned Meredosia so much... I always thought they followed principles better than anyone else. It''s so weird and strange."


    Sebastian nods thoughtfully and smiles proudly at Faelatelia. "We really appreciate you sharing that with us. I''m sure Chelindia and the others will be fine, especially if Chelindia is any example of what they are capable of."


    Hovering down to a sitting position upon the coffee table, Sebastian rests his arms in his lap and explains genuinely. "As much as you have to do what you think is right, they have to, too. Sometimes... You just have to get yourself out of a bad situation before you can do anything else. No matter what, you''re not responsible for other people''s own decisions."


    Faelatelia gazes over to Sebastian, nods understandingly, and sighs regretfully. "I know. I just feel uneasy about what might happen."


    With a brief grit of his teeth, Sebastian ethereally exhales thoughtfully and nods sympathetically. "That''s a normal thing to feel. But, we''ll get together later on tonight and get all the details written down. Do you remember how to get to that place?"


    With a weak smile, Faelatelia reaches out for the glass, gulps down the remainder of the orange smoothie, and nods. "Yes. It''s actually far south from the commune. I will try to remember the exact route we took."


    She furrows her brow and squints distantly into her thoughts. "We went up to the top of one of the mountains in the area into an ancient building. Inside felt... Large? It seemed like there was space somewhere further inside with how the air felt. It was always moving. Unfortunately, I don''t know much more as we didn''t go that far inside."


    Gently patting Faelatelia on the back, Aristespha retrieves her aetherphone, sorts through a contact list, and taps an entry. "Do not worry. We know a lot of people and have access to many resources. Anything you tell us will help out, and we can let the right people know from there."


    Eying the progress of the call on the phone, she passes the device into Faelatelia''s hands, taking the empty glass in return, and smiles warmly. "I have informed your parents that you are here. You should talk to them, and see how we should get you back to them."


    A grim reluctance forms upon Faelatelia, and she grits her teeth, the phone call connecting to a video mode. With a final squeeze on Faelatelia''s shoulder, Aristespha stands up. "But, I think you will want to talk to someone else, first."


    The aetherphone screen switches to a full video feed of Valavera''s confused face and a background of teenager''s bedroom. Faelatelia''s sky blue eyes brighten, and Valavera gasps in joyous shock. Smiling with welling tears, Faelatelia blurts out heartfelt evuukian. Valavera excitedly chimes back in the same dialect. The two teenagers chat away and catch up. The rest of the team exchange uncomfortable glances with each other and process the new information, fighting moments of foreboding emotion.


    ----


    Within the tall underbrush, Junior Paladin Daedrican, Tassilda, and three light power armored Chrome Crusader troopers step silently up to clearing''s edge. Tassilda stares ahead with her light blue on black eyes and maintains a watch within the middle of the team. She keeps her hands open at her sides, directed downwards. Armored boots impact the forest debris, and no sound emerges. In the undergrowth of the forest around, the squad stops meters away, behind three rough attired men. Two scraggly people stand, idly observing the nearby roadway. One in a slightly better outfit leans against the trunk of a large tree. Red bandannas flutter gently around their necks in the slight breeze along with the frayed and tattered parts of their clothing.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The Chrome Crusader squad kneels down behind a tall thicket, each member scanning vicinity through their visored helms. Tassilda methodically gestures and softly incants just under her breath. Swinging a hand ahead of her and the other above, she glances over to Daedrican and softly speaks. "The sound buffer is around us, for now."


    Nodding his full helmet towards Tassilda, Daedrican turns his visor obscured gaze over the others. "Understood. We should be able to take them down without too much trouble."


    He motions towards a part of the forest in the distance. "Unfortunately, the forward scouts have reported that another group is close. They may be alerted if these bandits yell out for any kind of help."


    Returning his attention towards Tassilda, he tilts his horned helm inquiringly. "Would it be possible to cast silence upon the area, my lady?"


    Tassilda briefly smiles with a flutter of her light blue on black eyes. Furrowing her gray brow in thought, she twists her mouth into an apprehensive grimace. "Yes. I could... But, I believe sudden silence from the sounds of nature will give us away. "


    One of the standing bandits yawns, shudders against fatigue, and steadies his stance. Tassilda lifts an intrigued eyebrow, draws a mischievous grin, and slyly eyes Daedrican. "I think I may have an alternative, if you would allow me to try it?"


    Daedrican glances back to the three troopers and queries respectfully. "Any objections to some tactical experimentation?"


    The three light armor soldiers exchange indifferent shrugs. One shakes his head. "No objections with us. If all else fails, we''ll just fall back to rushing and tackling them."


    Another nods in agreement. "Yeah. If it gives us an advantage, I''d like to try it."


    Daedrican waves towards the clearing with the three bandits and bows his head. Tassilda nods appreciatively to the group and focuses her attention ahead. "Thank you. I''ll need to drop the sound buffer, so I can free myself up. So, when I drop it, please keep quiet for a little while longer so I cast a few spells."


    Daedrican removes a baton off his belt and presses a button. The end extends out upon telescoping segments, and the prongs at the end arc spark between. Inspecting the three other Chrome Crusaders, he readies his polymer shield off his back. "Everyone. Ready your stun batons and shields."


    He inquisitively cocks his fully covered head, glances to the three bandits, and returns his gaze towards Tassilda. "So... What are these spells going to do?"


    Tassilda smiles suggestively at Daedrican and winks with a faint chuckle. "Well... The results are simple enough."


    The older bandit leaning upon the tree rubs his back against the trunk and rolls his head side to side, pops and cracks sounding out. Lifting a bored eyebrow at the two observing the highway through rows of trees and underbrush, he groans into a sigh. "Anything yet?"


    The young bandit staring out crosses his arms, shakes his head, and grumbles. "No. Nothing. Gods, I hope it''s not ANOTHER slow day. This shit is getting old."


    Leaning himself against a small tree, the other watching bandit checks the battered rifle in his hands. "Dammit. I don''t know why we''re still out here. Still think we should have gone somewhere else. Why the hell does Red Hat want us to hunt here?"


    Stretching his shoulders with a back arch, the older bandit sighs and rolls his eyes. "Shit... I think he''s just trying make up for what was stolen last week."


    The rifle bandit leans away from the small tree and aims his voice back. "Yeah! That whole situation is pretty fucked up, man. Robbers getting robbed? What the fuck..."


    The bandit trio settle back into staring out into the distance and watch the gusts of wind blowing through the forest divide cut by the roadway. Almost invisible waves of energy radiate over the area, fading away to complete transparency. The older bandit blinks a few times, eyes over to edges of his vision, and nonchalantly shrugs back into idle boredom.


    Behind the protective barrier of Daedrican and three troopers, Tassilda keeps one hand extended out, grins confidently, and slowly, exactly gestures with her free hand. With a faint light blue glow in her eyes, she ushers energy flow out from her outstretched hand. The wisps of magical power blend into the slow, transparent wave emanating from her open palm. Concentrating, Tassilda narrows her stare and smiles eagerly.


    The older bandit yawns loudly, rubs his eyes, and flexes neck. The rifle wielding bandit snorts and laughs. "Aw, grandpa needs his afternoon nap?"


    Sounding out a long irritated grumble, the older bandits lifts his head up against the trunk of the large tree behind him and blinks. "Meh. Fuck you. I didn''t get any damned sleep last night."


    Fighting the reflexive contortions of face, the young bandit draws a lethargic breath in. "Huh. Well, to be honest... I didn''t get any sleep, either. All that weird fucking noise last night kept me awake."


    The rifle bandit vainly tries to keep his mouth closed against a stubborn yawn and grits his teeth, submitting to the urge. "Gods dammit, you two. Got me yawning now."


    The older bandit slowly narrows his distant, spacey stare, and his head tilts down upon his chest. The rifle bandit leans heavily upon the tree next to him. His eyelids droop shut, and the rifle hangs loose by the strap over his shoulder. The young bandit''s head teeters lethargically from one shoulder to the other, the rest of his body drifting with the motion. Moments later, a silent wave of magical energy visibly warps over the clearing. The older bandit slides down the large tree trunk into a seat upon the roots. The rifle bandit oozes down against the small tree and sloppily slumps upon the ground. The young bandit stands motionless for a few seconds and drops down to his knees, arms still crossed. His balance surrenders to gravity, and his upper body falls forward unceremoniously onto the forest floor. Puffs of air through his nostrils stir the dirt into the breeze, and soft snores barely peak out from the drone of rustling leaves.


    Daedrican and the three Chrome Crusaders step forth, cautiously surveying the area. Arriving behind Daedrican, Tassilda grins smugly and confidently chimes. "Oh, don''t worry. They are in a DEEP sleep. You can talk and move them around. It will be quite a while before they wake up naturally."


    The tall, armored junior paladin shakes his head, astonishment tinting his tone. "My lady... THAT was quite impressive. What was the process, again?"


    The thoroughly amused light armor troops secure the slumbering bandits. Tassilda smiles happily and counts out the first step of the process upon her gray hand. "The first spell helped the flow of energy to establish a route to the targets."


    Flicking up another black nailed finger, she curls a satisfied smirk from the corner of her mouth. "Then, you have to gently trickle in a spell to put them in the right mindset and convince them that sleep is allowable, acceptable. The mind can easily will up a very powerful defense against magical strong suggestion and mental effects if the person is alert, especially if there''s any perceived threat. At that point, only concentrated, direct application could possibly get through that barrier."


    With a smug grin, her light blue on black eyes search into the reflective visor of Daedrican''s helmet. "Finally..."


    Perking an amused eyebrow, she rests her hand upon her hip and tilts her head of raven black hair. "You spring the trap and release the full effects of the spell. And..."


    She sweeps her open hand out to the bound and slumbering bandit. "You can see the results."


    Noting the progress with the bandit by his squadmates, Daedrican nods in agreement and relaxes his shield and baton at his sides. "Well. I must admit, my lady, I feel a little bit extraneous at the moment."


    With a pleasant smile up towards Daedrican, Tassilda chimes out her appreciation. "OH. Do NOT feel that way. Such magic is a delicate process that can be prone to folly. YOU and your team provided me with the protection I needed to fully dedicate myself to the task to ensure success."


    Daedrican cocks his helmeted head, chuckles, and nods to the other troopers. "Well, I believe we all appreciate your ability to make this significantly easier. I think further demonstration of your talents is in order."


    Tossing back her long hair over her shoulder, Tassilda poses approvingly and glances over Daedrican.


    ----


    Four men stand in the middle of the long stretch of highway between two forest walls. Three of the red bandanna wearing bandits aim barely serviceable rifles at the windshield of a large cargo truck, slowing to a complete stop. The fourth dons a conniving smile and waves a pointed finger at the two occupants of the vehicle, maintaining a firm grip upon a finely made sword at his side. He draws in a long breath and projects his voice forth in a commanding tone, pointing to a spot ahead of the vehicle. "Okay! If you would please DISEMBARK your truck and STAND over here..."


    A sinister grin creeps from the corner of his mouth, and he chuckles darkly. "We can make this quick, efficient, and mostly... Painless."


    Both cab doors of the box truck open. In common, drab outfits, Chad and Veevi climb down to the faded asphalt roadway, lift their gloved hands up in the air, and walk in the front of the vehicle. Two bandits on the sides of formation keep their rifle trained upon Chad and Veevi. The commanding criminal taps the handle of his sword, brushes the brim of the red fedora on his head, and lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at the two prior occupants of the vehicle. "Now... Are you two going to tell me what you are hauling today?"


    Keeping a neutral stare ahead, Chad calmly recounts, a faint tremor in his voice. "Oh. Nothing. Really. Just dry goods, furniture, and some supplies."


    Veevi stares resolutely at the hat wearing man and sneers her upper lip, revealing her sharp teeth. At the side of the red fedora bandit, a scrawny man glances over and glares at Veevi with a lecherous grin. "Hey! Red Hat! You want me to, uh, search them?"


    Red Hat glances over briefly, nods in agreement, and crosses his arms in anticipation. "Most certainly, Rat. I''m actually curious what they may be carrying."


    With an eager smile, Rat shoulders his rifle by the strap, walks around behind Chad, and pats him down. He quickly feels around Chad''s sleeves, checks the pockets of his hoodie and pants, and finds a bundle of paper money. Flipping deftly through the wad, he swiftly shows Red Hat and stows it away. He runs his hands down Chad''s pant legs, stands up, and steps around in front of Chad. Glancing down at Chad''s big belt buckle, he smirks greedily. "Hmm. Nice belt. Might take that later."


    Narrowing his glare at Rat, Chad grumbles dismissively. "Uh, thanks?"


    Growing an ear to ear grin, Rat steps around behind Veevi, flexing his fingers expectantly, and performs a similar search of her person. Inspection times slow down drastically with extra attention paid to choice areas of Veevi''s hoodie and shorts. After the long holds and pauses during the lengthy pat down, Red Hat impatiently hems loudly and sighs impatiently. With each passing second, ire boils furiously upon Veevi''s tan face. Her short-hair tail fur puffs out further with each moment. Rat leers up and chuckles to himself. Veevi instinctively twitches and spits in Rat''s face. "You''ll feel your broken off hands in your ass if you keep that up!"


    Wiping the thick phlegm off his face, Rat stumbles away cursing and scrambles for his rifle. "Argh! Ah, fuck you, damned pink bitch!"


    The two bandits at the sides of the blockade snort and laugh. The lecherous cretin stumbles back to his feet and scurries next to Red Hat. After a long, annoyed groan, Red Hat shakes his head. "I take you didn''t find anything... Rat?"


    Retrieving the money from his pocket, Rat hands it to his boss. "No. Just this money."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Red Hat glances over to each side at the other two bandits, and points to the truck. "Okay. Briggs. Mort. Open up the back doors, and check the cargo. If it''s any good, let the rest know and get it hauled off."


    Briggs and Mort nod to Red Hat, and each approach a side of the truck. The two slowly step along the length of vehicle and pause in the middle of. Both kneel and survey the underside of the machine. Examining the mechanical aspects, each pats choice places underneath and taps suspect parts. After seconds of inspection, both exchange glances and nod in satisfaction. Standing up, they resume walking and reach the back double doors to the cargo compartment. Briggs undoes the locking mechanism and grabs the handle for one door. Mort takes hold of the other. In unison, the two lift the latches and swing the doors open. Turning to face the inside of the cargo hold, Briggs and Mort freeze in place and gawk in abject shock.


    A few dumbfounded blinks later, power armor gauntlets swiftly reach out and clamp firm, threatening grips on their faces. Readied hydraulics straining dangerously close to their ears ensures their silence. Trakenthin stands stoically, points a finger at Briggs and Mort, motions to awaiting, eager Chrome Crusader personnel with restraints, and signals for silence with a finger to his lips. Briggs and Mort eye each other through the gaps between the robotically enhanced hands and stare in horror at the two power armored paladins gripping. Within tight tolerances, both nod pleadingly to Trakenthin. Briggs and Mort swiftly disappear inside the cargo hold of the truck, and the doors quietly close back up.


    Tapping his foot, Red Hat sighs loudly. "Hmm. It''s taking them some time."


    Furrowing his brow, he slides a playfully suspicious stare over to Chad and Veevi. "So... Simple dry goods, furniture, and supplies? I wonder. Maybe we got ourselves some enterprising smugglers? Maybe BAD smugglers with some lucrative contraband?"


    Shrugging his shoulders dismissively, Chad concentrates his stare upon the lead bandit. Attentions briefly shifting towards an unseen source, he thinks a moment, pulls a white toothed grin along his face, and aims an examining gaze upon Red Hat. "Question. How well do you know how to use that sword?"


    Lifting the brim of his red fedora up slightly, Red Hat quirks an intrigued brow at Chad and cocks his head to the side, intrigued. "Fairly well, I''d like to think... And have been told by the many I''ve bested."


    Gripping one hand onto the other, Chad frees his fist from the glove along with his Stalwart Sword, readies the blade at the boss, and sneaks a firm press upon his belt buckle. "Mind if I test your claims?"


    Rat leaps back in surprise, aims his rifle at Chad, and nervously blurts out. "D-d-drop it! Or, I''ll s-s-shoot!"


    Excitement igniting his eyes, Red Hat waves off his underling, draws his finely made blade, and grins brightly. "It''s okay! Oh, I do think THIS will be FUN!"


    Chad and Red Hat assume combat stances, Veevi side steps carefully away, and Rat maintains an uneasy watch. Chad narrows his analyzing stare at Red Hat. In return, Red Hat eyes Chad up and down, assessing every little detail. He smiles in sheer amusement and chuckles. "Oh my, whoever are you really? You actually know how to use that sword."


    A triumphantly bright white, trademark smile beams upon Chad''s face, and he laughs out proudly. "Chad Bosch, leader of the Flames of the Phoenix."


    Red Hat nods, bows slightly, and brushes the brim of his red fedora. "Pleased to meet you. I''m THE Red Hat. Shall we?"


    The two stare intensely at each other, eyes reading every slight flit of body language motion. Blades gradually reposition, responding to hints from the other. Postures shift, and footings slide along the road surface, counteracting the changes of the opponent. Long, tense moments tick slowly by. Both suddenly tense their muscles. Chad and Red Hat lunge at each other, clash blades, and leap back, reevaluating their tactics. The two circle each other, pause tensely, and swiftly approach. In a fast flurry of motion, both combatants unleash multiple strikes, expertly parry, solidly block, and continuously seek the openings to exploit. Minutes of deadlocks, equal exchanges, and dodges later, Chad and Red Hat keep up the duel, awaiting the next assault from the other. Panting, Red Hat manically smiles and stares eagerly at Chad. "OH! This has been quite exhilarating! It''s been too long, actually You have my respect."


    Chad grins confidently and laughs, adjusting the angle of his blade. "The same. But... I think it will be decided soon."


    Red Hat nods, tightens the grip upon his finely crafted sword, and tenses his muscles. A brief moment of still silence flits by. Both approach. Chad swings his sword slightly off. Red Hat dodges and expertly guides his blade towards an unguarded opening. A smile splits Chad''s mouth. Releasing his blade, he shifts his footing along with his body and swings his arms, firmly grasping upon Red Hat''s sword arm. With a strong pull and the momentum, Chad forcefully drags the rest of the Red Hat''s body along a powerful, disarming throw onto the roughly paved road. Both swords clatter along the surface and slide out of reach of both fighters. Laying upon the pavement, Red Hat cackles loudly, gazing up into the blue sky above. With a dark grin, he sits up. "Now, THAT was a proper gods damned fight! OH, you have no idea how long I''ve yearned for such a battle. Brilliant fake out."


    He bows his head to Chad and smirks with a sinister tinge. "Pity... I''ll only get to experience it ONCE from you."


    Rat levels his rifle at Chad, aims, and freezes immediately. A swarm of red and green dots wander upon Rat''s body, gravitating to vital areas. Realizing the surrounding sources, Rat moves his finger carefully away from the trigger of his rifle and raises his hand.


    In a sharp spike of panic, Veevi screams out angrily. "H-Hey! Pervert!"


    With one hand up in the air, Rat pivots in place and faces Veevi. A bright green beam flashes out from the laser pistol in Veevi''s gloveless hand, pulsing into the crotch of Rat''s pants. A chaotic, fiery burst of vaporized cloth, smoke, and reflected green light erupts out, the impact rippling out from the epicenter. Rat flops over onto the ground motionless. Seconds later, a panicked wail of pain echoes into the highway corridor between the forests. Rat scrambles frantically around, ripping his pants open. He tears out an object, and flings a glowing, red-hot, dented metal athletic cup, sending it scraping across the roadway. Rolling around with both hands securely cupping his groin, Rat concentrates on breathing against the overwhelming odds.


    Chad and Red Hat gawk in terrified horror, unconsciously guarding their respective bits. A chorus of surprise sounds out from the woods, and Modoran''s voice briefly becomes audible. "Holy shit!"


    Starting out into the surrounding vicinity, Red Hat spots the abundance of Chrome Crusaders stepping out from hiding and catches a glimpse of the laser pistol in Veevi''s hand. He quickly raises his hands up into the air and yells out. "I. YIELD. Everyone! Dear gods... I surrender!"


    ----


    In a wide walkway connecting tall, shelving lined rows of the massive warehouse store, Bach and Cideeda stare up at the overhead Merc-Mart signs, reading the outlines of contents down the packed aisles. Scouting the merchandise upon the heavy-duty racks, Bach furrows his brow and directs his voice over a shoulder towards Cideeda. "Well, I''m glad that Faelatelia is on her way back to her parents."


    Stepping along the main path, Cideeda weaves between advertising placards and demo stands. "OH. YES. Just hope the parents cut her some slack. From what she said last night, she''s been through enough. To her credit, she at least tried to get out there."


    Bach nods, rummages around his pocket, and retrieves his aetherphone. "I mean, I count that for something. At least she figured out things weren''t right and didn''t want to be part of them anymore."


    He enters the security code, and the phone screen pops midway through a news aggregator. Sifting through the random articles on the aethernet browser, Bach drags through the continuous feed on his phone display. "Huh. There was an eclipse this morning."


    Perking her furry ears up, Cideeda steps up close to Bach''s side and narrows her gaze at his aetherphone. "What? Really? When and where? I hadn''t heard or seen anything about one."


    Bach holds the device lower and chuckles. "Yeah, some time this morning for us... Oh. Up in the Arctic Circle."


    Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes away and snorts with a dismissive wave. "Oh, no wonder. I think I remember reading about that one a few months back. Three thousand seventeen is going to be dud when it comes to eclipses."


    Nodding, Bach taps the screen and narrows his blue eyes at the full text. "Yeah... Looks like... Something in November... And..."


    He dismissively grimaces and sighs. "It''s in the Antarctic Circle.


    Shaking her head of short, multi-colored hair, Cideeda laughs softly and flicks her fluffy tail. "That''s about what I remember when I last checked. Nothing worth remembering. Just a bunch of confused fish and maybe a boat crew seeing it."


    She glances up to Bach and grins toothily. "Not like the last one in three thousand twelve. Dretphi told me that some cult out west stirred up all kinds of trouble because of that one."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders and peeks down the next aisle along the main walkway. "Always seems to be the thing. I will always remember the one in o'' six. We weren''t on the path, but it was close to High Alton. Sebastian and I froze our asses off trying to get a good look at it."


    A genuine smile grows on Cideeda''s light brown face, and she chuckles softly, perking her furry ears. "I BARELY remember anything about it, but the one in ninety two was the best one for me. It passed right over where I was living at the time."


    Squinting into his thoughts, Bach cocks his head and slowly nods. "Yeah... I kind of remember that one."


    He blinks a few times, gazes down at Cideeda, and furrows his brow. "Wait, how much do you remember of that? I mean, I don''t think you''re older than me..."


    Resting her hands on her hips, she flashes a toothy grin and snorts. "Oh, I''m not. Honestly, all I really remember was it getting REALLY dark, seeing those shadow snakes on the yard, and..."


    She rolls her eyes at herself with a tight smile. "My mom and dad struggling to keep their little girl from taking the welding goggles they fitted on me, so their little girl didn''t stare right into the sun."


    Bach snorts and chuckles, shaking his head. Signaling Bach to follow down an aisle, Cideeda glances over her shoulder. "Okay, SO on a different subject, we ARE here to get you some new clothes. BUT..."


    Lifting an eyebrow, she slyly smirks. "There''s another reason."


    Bach furrows his brow and suspiciously eyes Cideeda. "Which is?"


    Pausing, Cideeda spins around and faces Bach, presenting a toothy grin. "It''s Sotalia''s birthday tomorrow."


    She resumes walking, surveys contents of a nearby counter, and turns at a pathway intersection. Bach thinks a moment and catches up. "Oh! Okay. So, what do we need to do?"


    With a laugh, Cideeda shakes her head and nonchalantly stretches her arms out. "Nothing too crazy. We usually gift something practical and useful that you''d never get around buying for yourself. Or..."


    A scheming grin graces her, and she winks a Bach mischievously, tapping her finger tips together. "We get a FITTING gag gift."


    Narrows his stare ahead, Bach sighs and grumbles to himself. "Oh. Great. I can just imagine the possibilities for me at this point."


    Cideeda snickers, rolls her eyes, and smiles comfortingly to Bach. "Ah, it''s all in good fun. And, you get whatever you want baked for you as long as we can put candles in it."


    Nodding in reserved acceptance, Bach scans the merchandise with renewed interest and examines a display of different types of socks. "Okay. Yeah. I guess that''s a pretty nice deal. So, what does Sotalia get usually?"


    Cideeda flips through a few pairs of toed socks, glances over to Bach, and smirks with a hint of excitement. "A big pan of chocolate brownies. Dretphi is taking care of it this year."


    Bach inspects a few t-shirts upon a table, places them back, and hums with interest. "That sounds pretty good. Especially if Dretphi is making them."


    Releasing a long sigh, Cideeda crosses her arms and plots out loud. "So. We''re cutting it a bit close with everything else that''s been going on. Hopefully, if we can find a good gift today and you can keep her occupied enough during your Monday magical training sessions..."


    She wags her tail and tips her head back. "We might be able to sneak this one in."


    A scheming smile appears on Bach, and he winks slyly to Cideeda. "OH. I can keep her occupied. I''ll just randomly hint at some other spell I know."


    Cideeda bows her head understandingly, reads the overhead aisle signs, and grimaces in frustration. "Gods, I''m just not seeing anything that sticks out for her."


    Pivoting in place, Bach pans his stare around the area. In the large, open space between massive racked aisles, rows of tables stand with assortments of merchandise. Bright yellow tags cover the normal price tags with the phrase "Clearance" boldly printed. A spark of inspiration arcs in Bach''s mind. He closes his eyes, reopens them to a glowing blue upon the sea of clearance items, and smirks smugly. "How about a box of random, cheap magic crap?"


    Cideeda pauses in thought, tilts her head to the side, and perks her furry ears in agreement with a toothy grin. "Gods. Yes. I''ll enable her habit this one time."


    ----


    Aristespha brushes off the dining table and hoists up a large gift wrapped box onto the middle. Cideeda stands next to the open sliding glass door and glances out into the late afternoon lit backyard, keeping a furry ear aimed outside. Dretphi precisely guides a kitchen knife into the pan of brownies and divides the whole into an equal grid of squares. Sebastian awaits next to Cideeda and whispers over to her. "Anything yet?"


    Cideeda shakes her head and smirks satisfied. "Nope. She''s still in the gazebo, and the hot tub is still bubbling."


    Sebastian''s translucent form quirks his brow. "Huh. You think she fell asleep in there? Bach did drag out the training session today."


    Stepping up next to Dretphi, Bach examines the tray of chocolate baked goods, sorts through the candles in his hand, and gazes out to the group overall. "So, um... How many candles do I put on this?"


    Dretphi glances over, smiles slightly, and places drink glasses down from the overhead cabinets onto the counter. "Twenty six."


    Starting to accept the amount, Bach pauses, contorts his face with revelation, and grimaces into a mildly confused stare. "Wha- Huh- Ah... Really? I mean, I, uh... Not one to judge, but..."


    Aristespha snorts into snickering laughter, finishes arranging some place mats upon the tabletop, and rolls her violet eyes in humor. "WELL, we have this accidental tradition that Sebastian started when he put in the wrong number candles. Therefore, we all decided if we are going to put any number, it will be the number of the youngest in the group."


    Nodding at the concept, Bach swiftly pokes more wax sticks into the brownie squares and cautiously inquires. "So... Who''s the youngest?"


    Dretphi smiles amused, pivots towards Bach, and raps her fingers upon the counter. "ME. Could you not tell?"


    Bach''s eyes widen, and he slowly gazes over at Dretphi. Wrestling an awkward smirk, he stumbles over a response. "Uh... Yea- Um- Well..."


    Watching Bach fumble about his words, Dretphi shakes her head with a happy chuckle. "Do not worry. I was joking."


    Cideeda''s furry ear flicks, and she cranes her head out the opening in the sliding glass door. Snapping her head back inside, she whispers loudly to the rest of the team. "She''s coming out."


    Bach places the last candle. Dretphi sweeps up the pan immediately, swiftly carries the tray over, and lands it upon the tabletop. Cideeda quietly slides the glass door shut. Quickly gesturing out a swift incantation, Aristespha flicks a flow of magic across the candles, and colored flames spring up upon each of the wicks. The group settles and waits around the table.


    A minute passes, and the glass door slides open. Sotalia steps through, drying her fiery orange, wavy hair with a towel. Lowering the towel and draping it upon her shoulders, she guides her hair over her horns and gawks at the team. Excitement rushes over her, and she skips over to join them around the table. Everyone cheers out a happy birthday in their favored languages. Sotalia smiles brightly, draws in a deep breath, and blows out the candles. A few re-ignitions later, a stubborn flame gets a dispelling tap of magical energy from a long nailed finger. Bach smiles inquisitively and crosses his arms. "So, how old are you today?"


    Sotalia parts an evil grin. Weaving her fingers together, she props her elbows upon the table, rests her head on her hands, and concentrates a piercing stare through Bach. "WELL. How old do YOU think I am?"


    Hints of hesitation trickling out, Bach averts his gaze away from the unrelenting attention from Sotalia and awkwardly laughs. "Uh, well, I''m not really good at judging ages..."


    Golden eyes focus intensely. Catching a glimpse, Bach swallows hard. "But... Maybe... Late-"


    Sotalia narrows her stare and abruptly mutes her smile. A brief wince staggers Bach''s voice. "... Twenties?"


    A flattered grin emerges upon Sotalia''s light tan, dark gray edged face, and she sighs longingly. "Oh gods, I wish. Still, VERY nice of you to say though."


    With an appreciative tone, she rolls her golden eyes at herself and shrugs her shoulders. "I was born today, May nineteenth, twenty nine eighty one. Thirty six... years ago. Hence, the oldest of the group."


    Sebastian motions for the gifted wrapped box. "Hey, it''s just a number. You are most certainly young at heart. Anyway... Gift time!"


    The gathering at the table slides the large gift in front of Sotalia. With a thankful smile to Sebastian, Sotalia places her hands on the side of the box. Her focus locks onto the package, and she eagerly inspects the container. "What did you guys get me? I feel magic in here!"

 Episode 48

    Scattered piles of data cartridges litter the front dash of the van, only pages of notes separating the collections. Samantha eases the front passenger seat back and props her feet up on the edge of the open door window. Balancing the laptop on her stomach, she types into different chat windows on her screen and leans her head over towards the aetherphone on the center console. "So... Howie... Have you seen the video of our little, psycho starlet roasting that bandit''s nuts over a laser beam?"


    Howard''s voice crackles through the aetherphone with a slight reverb. "OH. YES. I sent that segment immediately to the editing team. With priority. They''re trying a few different takes on it and seeing what they can come up with. Hopefully, I''ll get the results from marketing to figure out which one to use in our next series of commercials. Personally, I''m leaning towards the slow motion with dramatic music breaks. Though, the meme take is growing on me. Might use that end for younger markets."


    Ejecting a cartridge from a small computer, Gerald plucks it out, tossing it into a large sack on the cab floor. He slides into another data cartridge, taps an on-screen button, and sighs, idly watching the progress bar creep along. "My vote is still on the freeze frame and color wash out effect."


    He squints at the screen and furrows his brow at the single pixel travel of the status bar. "Holy. Hell. Even with the booster, the radio reception signal is CRAP out here."


    Groaning in commiseration, Samantha shifts her eyes between all the conversations scrolling on her laptop. "Tell me about it. But, thanks to Deedri, we had a good main focus for this last episode."


    Shaking his head, Gerald snorts and stares amused at the trickling upload meter. "Well, Veevi had it coming. Just wish I had grabbed that footage myself with my camera. That hall camera isn''t the best in the world. Still serviceable."


    A sly smirk graces Samantha, and she darkly chuckles. "OH, along with all the other clips of the two, it worked out just fine. Right, Howie?"


    A long silence looms in the van, both Samantha and Gerald awaiting a response. Second later, Samantha grabs the aetherphone, inspects the call status on the screen, and lifts a curious eyebrow. "Howie? Are you still there?"


    The distant voice of Howard sounds out from the aetherphone''s speaker, and he ponders out loud with an audible hum. "Yeah... I''m still here. Just thinking about SOMETHING. There''s something about these new clips that I can''t put my finger on, exactly. There''s something different."


    Samantha exchanges a curious glance with Gerald, aiming her voice at her phone. "Uh, what clips are you talking about?"


    Mumbling through idle thoughts, Howard attempts at a sentence a few times and summons up an inquisitive tone. "The recent clips with Veevi. When she looks over to Deedri... I don''t think I''ve ever seen THAT expression on her before. What IS that? I don''t remember seeing that look from her on anything from the other show."


    Settling back into the driver''s seat, Gerald blinks in confusion and presses a button on his nearby camera. "Wait, I think I know what you are talking about. Let me check something real quick."


    Under the command of Gerald, the monitor attached to the camera hops between different segments. A minute of hunting later, a shot of Veevi next to Chad appears on the screen. The clip slowly plays out. Veevi glances over towards Deedri, stares apprehensively, and briefly shows a frown. Moments later, she musters her normal front back. Gerald and Samantha cock their heads inquisitively and closely study the video segment on repeat. Resting her hand thoughtfully over her mouth, Samantha blinks in surprise. "That IS strange. Is she... NO... Not her. There''s no way she would... But..."


    Furrowing his confused brow, Gerald alternates between examining the camera display and the forming intrigue on Samantha. "Okay... I''m missing something here. What is going on?"


    A rolling, dark laugh emanates from the aetherphone, and Howard slides into a near devious giggle. "OH. That''s PERFECT. I had NOT considered that a possibility. Her usual manipulative tactics, yes. But... Genuine? THAT is just going to lead to whole new angles."


    Samantha grins with a blatantly evil curl. "Howie. Don''t you mean... Triangles?"


    Howard and Samantha share synchronous cackles of devilish delight, and Gerald slowly processes the information to a shocked realization.


    ----


    The morning sun warns the asphalt of the two lane road in front of the ranch style house. With each passing second, distant rumbling grows louder, and a motorcycle rounds the curve into view. Upon the cruiser cycle, a tall, imposing figure leans into the turn and levels out the bike upon the straight away. Artificial muscles flex underneath a polymer outer skin in both of his technologically advanced cybernetic arms. The muscular man navigates the motorcycle closer to the shoulder of the road and slows the vehicle to a stop next to the mailbox at the mouth of the driveway. The helmeted head glances down at a mounted aetherphone and nods confirming at the mailbox''s number. Lifting his military boots off the pavement, the man eases the accelerator and rolls the vehicle down the driveway, parking next to the humvee. With a flick of the switch, the rumbling engine cuts off. Removing his helmet, he reveals an aged, hard-edged face wearing a calm smile. He rests his helmet down upon the bike and brushes off his lovingly worn, sleeveless jacket. Casually walking up to the door, he grants an admiring nod towards the humvee and stops solidly upon the front doormat. Quickly brushing his synthetic hand through his swept-back silvery gray hair, he shakes out some minor nerves and presses the door bell button.


    From inside the house, a muffled tone rings. Signs of life stir inside, and the faint echoes resonate outside to the imposing figure. Patiently waiting, the imposing man leans slightly off the top of the landing and tries a peek into a window. Almost a minute later, the rattle of door locks cues him to stand back up straight. The front door swings quickly open. In a form fitting workout outfit, Sotalia glances back over her shoulder, holding a fanciful cup of coffee. "Yes. I''ll warn him about the rocks, too."


    She snaps her head forward and finally examines the person in front of her. "Hey, I guess you''re-"


    Her sentence trails to a sharp pause. Tilting her head to the side in surprise, her recognition of the man erupts within her mind and overflows upon her light tan face. She fights a losing battle to maintain her composure. The grip upon her coffee cup unconsciously loosens, her golden eyes gawk starstruck ahead. "C-c-commander Blaureiter?!"


    The cup slips from her fingers. Commander Blaureiter''s blue eyes lock onto the falling container. His cybernetic arm flexes forward with the rest of his body. In mere fractions of a second, he gracefully seizes the coffee from its descent. Sotalia reflexively shudders at the silent swiftness, and long dormant youthful admiration wins the battle over composure. Covering her mouth with both hands, she fidgets energetically and struggles to keep her pitch from climbing. "OH MY GODS! You''re Commander Blaureiter! I- Uh- Um- Oh- Ah- Wow..."


    Blaureiter bashfully chuckles, presents the recaptured coffee cup to Sotalia, and smiles graciously. "Yes. Well, I was once. Now, it''s just Professor Blaureiter, officially."


    He humbly rolls his eyes at himself. "And well... It''s mostly just Thomas these days."


    Regaining some situational awareness, Sotalia grabs hold of her coffee cup. Thomas lifts an examining eyebrow. "If I''m correct, I believe you are Sotalia?"


    Gazing up from the cup in her hands, a flush of pink floods Sotalia''s face, and she shyly stares at Thomas. "Uh... Yes. You are correct. Um, how did you know?"


    With a gentle smile, Thomas shrugs his shoulders and chuckles lightly. "Well, you are the only one who meets the vibrant personality that Sebastian described in his aethermails to me."


    He glances inside the house around Sotalia and notices the gathering group staring towards the entry. "I hope I didn''t come at a bad time."


    Sotalia snaps her head back, remembers where she stands, and excitedly steps to the side. "OH! No! Of course not! Come in, sit down! Please!"


    Thomas nods, taps any debris off his boots before entering, and eases heavy footsteps upon the hardwood floors. "Hello. Hope I''m not barging in."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form zips over towards Thomas, both blinking in surprise. "Professor Blaureiter! Holy shit! What are you doing here?! It''s great to see you!"


    Inspecting Sebastian''s ghostly visage, Thomas cocks his head curiously to the side. "It''s good to see you, too, Sebastian. Despite the information I''ve heard, I think there''s a lot more you can tell me about what has happened as of late."


    Gritting his teeth, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and sighs, drifting in place. "YEAH. It''s a story or two."


    From the dining table, Bach snaps a delighted gaze up from his bowl of cereal towards Thomas and hops up from his chair. "Hey, Professor Blaureiter!"


    Bach holds a hand out to shake, and Thomas steps closer. Thomas shakes Bach''s hand, wraps his arms around Bach in a brief hug, and holds him at the shoulders. "I''ve been worried about you, Bach. I had promised myself to hunt you down after the semester was over if I didn''t hear anything from you."


    A sly smirk curls across Bach''s face, and he motions over towards Sebastian with a grumbling, ill-humored tone. "WELL, someone already beat you to it. In some fashion."


    Narrowing his stare upon Sebastian, Thomas slowly crosses his powerful, cybernetic arms with an unamused glare. "Oh. Did he drag you into trouble again?"


    Bach joins Thomas in the stare down of Sebastian. "Oh, both figuratively... And, LITERALLY."


    Sighing, Aristespha slumps her shoulders and rolls her violet eyes at herself. "In his defense, Professor Blaureiter, we weren''t in the best of mindsets at that time. But, I''d like to think we''re making progress in conducting ourselves better."


    Thomas points to a chair and gazes around for a confirmation. With a few nods of acceptance, he smiles and lowers himself into a chair around the table. "Well, I''d really love to hear all about it. If it''s not too much trouble for you all."


    At the entry doorway, Sotalia settles her excitement down and gradually calms herself. Closing the front door, she exhales quietly. With a long sip of coffee, she stills herself and mumbles. "Okay. Keep it together. Don''t fangirl out here."


    She glances down the entryway towards the living area and cranes her head around the pantry, catching a glimpse of Professor Thomas Blaureiter sitting and chatting with everyone else at the dining table. She closes her golden eyes, bites her lower lip, and excitedly fidgets with teen-aged glee.


    ----


    Scratching the top of his blonde haired head, Kaleb slides through another guild mission listing on the tablet. He lifts the device up from top of the unfinished table and squints at the next quest description. The sound of water rushing from a faucet abruptly halts, and Shadeesa lifts a greasy frying pan out of the kitchen sink. She dumps a few plates of leftovers on the pan and hovers it over the sill of an open window nearby. Moments later, big green eyes rise up into view. Lagi''s maw opens, and a long, large tongue lavishly licks the cooking surface clean. Shadeesa waits for the last confirming sniff from Lagi, inspects the empty frying pan, and sinks it completely into the water. "Thank you, Lagi."


    Drying her light gray hands upon a nearby towel, she tosses her head of dark green hair back and narrows her gaze upon the large dragon. "Now, you can help yourself to FIVE apples off the tree in the back."


    Lagi nods his large head, turning away eagerly. Shadeesa lifts a suspicious brow, focuses a stern stare at Lagi, and snaps her long nailed fingers. Lagi halts to attention. Holding her hand out, Shadeesa flexes all her fingers on a hand. "FIVE apples. I counted twenty eight yesterday on that particular tree. SO, there better be twenty three left."


    Tipping her back, she keeps her motherly stare upon Lagi. "Understood?"


    Nodding his large head slowly, Lagi waits patiently. Shadeesa warms her smile, leans carefully out the window, and scratches Lagi''s chin. "If you need to fill up, there''s a new drum of fryer grease from Draco-Burger under the carport."


    A low, growling purr rumbles from Lagi, and he quickly departs. Hungrily rushing along, his huge four winged frame bounds around the long brick house. Shadeesa giggles to herself and undoes the apron around her prominent belly. Slowly walking towards the table, she guides her hair over her horns and sits down next to Kaleb. She rests her head on his shoulder and sighs. "Anything good in the guild listings?"


    Kaleb leans his head snugly against Shadeesa''s and hums in thought. "Well, just the usual batch of flyovers and survey jobs. Nothing that pays that great, but if I can get a few more..."


    He lifts an entrepreneurial eyebrow and visibly ponders. "Might be able to work a nice two day run to take care of a bunch in a row."


    Tapping his finger upon the map on the tabletop, he traces out a penciled path in between a number of dots. Shadeesa nods and wraps an arm around his. "That doesn''t look so bad. Looks like a busy few days, though."


    Opening his eyes wide in reluctant acceptance, Kaleb draws a long breath in and sighs hopefully. "Yeah. But, it''ll mean just two long days to get what we need for the week."


    Shadeesa grumbles and rests a hand upon her belly. "Gods, I really need to pick up the pace on getting the veterinary clinic plan together. I don''t want you and Lagi having to fly around all the time. Especially when the baby arrives."


    Kaleb slips his arm free from Shadeesa and wraps it around her. Turning his head, he kisses her on the cheek, carefully avoiding a horn. "Don''t worry about it. We''re on track with the payments here. We''ve saved up quite a bit. And, you''ve got a few local, regular clients."


    A long eye roll crosses Shadeesa''s face, and she lowers her head in disappointment, snuggling close to Kaleb. "Livestock. I''m treating cows, pigs, and a few stubborn donkeys."


    Wrestling a grimace, she huffs and playfully whines. "OH, what I wouldn''t give to get on the preferred list for one of the weird zone reserves or a dragon rider company."


    Kaleb rubs Shadeesa''s arm and rests a free hand on her baby bump. "Hey. We have to start somewhere. You did get to treat a dire boar piglet and people keep asking me about Lagi''s dedicated vet. You may get those calls soon enough."


    Shadeesa sighs and relaxes a bit. "I guess... It''d still help if I had a dedicated place to practice and all the proper equipment set up. Having to haul everything around gets a little tiring."


    The two share a quiet moment, each taking turns sliding through job postings on the tablet. Minutes later, an aetherphone chime rings out from between the two. Shadeesa blinks to awareness, retrieves her aetherphone, and reads the caller info. "It''s Aristespha."


    Cocking his head to the side, Kaleb lifts a curious eyebrow. "Might be Sebastian, too, since he can''t use phones at the moment."


    Shadeesa taps a button on the screen and holds the device up to her ear. "Hello?"


    A mixture of dialog between a number of voices spill out from the speaker, and Shadeesa''s eyes light up. "REALLY?! He''s there?"


    Listening to another chorus of conversation, she smiles brightly. "Why, of course, I think we can!"


    She turns and gazes at Kaleb with a happy smile. "Professor Blaureiter is over there with Sebastian and Bach for a surprise visit. Do you think we can go over there?"


    Kaleb blinks with a happy grin. "Sure! I don''t believe we have anything planned today."


    Shadeesa squirms happily and focuses back on the call. "We''ll fly over there soon enough, it shouldn''t be too long-"


    A flash of concern washes over Kaleb. Craning his head around, Kaleb stares resolutely into Shadeesa''s bright green on black eyes and shakes his head. Shadeesa quirks an incredulous brow and turns the aetherphone away from them. "What?"


    Kaleb sighs and lightly pats on Shadeesa''s stomach. "You can''t fly right now. We''ll drive over, and Lagi can follow us."


    Shadeesa sneers her upper lip with an indignant tone. "I''ll be fine. It''ll take an extra half hour or so driving-"


    Moving his head close to hers, Kaleb watches the minute shifts of mood upon Shadeesa''s gray, white freckled face and calmly speaks. "Remember what you said last time."


    Blinking, Shadeesa pauses in thought. She eases to a calm, appreciative smile and places the phone back on her ear with a tinge of embarrassment. "Oh. No. Everything is fine. We''ll just be driving over instead. I shouldn''t be flying at the moment."


    She listens to a few voices in response and smiles. "Don''t worry. Lagi is really good about following the car. We''ll see you all soon."


    After the call ends, Shadeesa gazes over to Kaleb, wraps her arms around him, and hugs him tightly. "Thank you for keeping me grounded. Sorry for being-"


    A sly smirk pulls across Kaleb. "Yourself?"


    Shadeesa squints at Kaleb momentarily and rolls her eyes at herself with a grumbling groan. Kaleb sways with Shadeesa in his arms and laughs. In the distant background through a large window facing the back yard, Lagi sits next to a large tree and carefully counts apples.


    ----


    At and around the dining table, the large gathering of Thomas Blaureiter, Shadeesa and Kaleb, and the rest of the team converse. Recent and historical events rise up to the latest, ever-changing topic, all retelling their perspectives. In a lull of the exchanges, Thomas glances over to Sotalia with a quizzical hint to his voice. "I apologize, but I have to ask, Sotalia. How do you know about me?"


    Furrowing his brow, he smirks curiously and tilts his head. "You recognized me... But, not immediately. And, I haven''t gone by Commander in over fifteen years."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes open wide, and she briefly grits her teeth. A tense moment later, she sighs with an embarrassed smile. "Well, I think you KNOW how. I was a teenager back, then."


    Thomas lowers his head forward and chuckles out a wave of bashfulness. "Oh. I''m actually a bit surprised. Okay. Now, I have to ask..."


    He lifts an inquisitive eyebrow and smiles amused. "Which poster did you have?"


    Sotalia blinks, averts her eyes momentarily, and bites her lower lip with a coy tone. "All three."


    Shuddering his head, Thomas gawks at Sotalia in genuine surprise. Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and crosses her arms. "Hey, I have two sisters close to my age. So, when I took an interest in dragons... We all took an..."


    She rolls her eyes at herself and fights a guilty grin. "Internet... In the man riding the biggest, baddest one out there."


    She fidgets with a girlish glee and tries to contain her amusement. "When my sisters moved on to other things, I kept all the posters."


    Narrowing her stare, Aristespha puzzles between Thomas and Sotalia. "I am missing something here. Posters?"


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The last word radiates out to the ears of everyone else, triggering different reactions. Bach and Sebastian reflexively snort and squelch any further response. Shadeesa covers her mouth with a hand. And, Kaleb grins wide. "YEAH. You''ll have to ask Commander Blaureiter himself about that."


    Dretphi and Cideeda exchange intrigued glances, joining their attention with everyone else upon Thomas. Seconds of gauging the crowd later, Thomas wrestles an embarrassed grimace and groans with begrudging amusement. "FIRST, let me say this..."


    Furrowing his brow, he swings an humored stare around the gathering. "When your job description on a contract says other duties as assigned... Make sure there''s LIMITS upon THAT."


    He gazes up towards the ceiling with a distant, reminiscent smirk. "After the Southern Crux collapsed from all their MANY internal problems... And, the GAA and Appaland States absorbed the fracturing territories, the mercenary group I was part of lost its major government backer."


    Lowering his head down, he meets the anticipating gazes around the table and shrugs his cybernetic shoulders. "To be fair, they actually had a decent plan given the situation."


    Aristespha crosses her arms and tilts her head of silvery blue hair curiously to the side. "Which was?"


    Motioning his hands outwards dramatically, Thomas laughs with a mocking grin. "Marketing, of course!"


    He rests his cybernetic hands upon the table and pantomimes with his thoughts. "They put it to us SIMPLY. If you ever wanted to receive your big end of career contract retirement payout, you pretty much had to sign away your likeness rights and go along with their big scheme."


    Gritting his teeth, he hisses out a stalely annoyed breath. "And being five years away from the end of my long service contract, I decided to humor them."


    He settles back in his chair and sighs. "So, pretty soon my old mercenary company worked out merchandising deals, sold rights to every entertainment medium along with some of us as actors, and the few they deemed photogenic..."


    Thomas straightens his postures and flashes a bold grin. "Were marketed as the latest craze for teenagers."


    Drumming her claw tips upon the tabletop visibly pondering, Cideeda springs her emerald eyes open in revelation and snaps her gazes over. "WAIT. Is THAT why all the different named heroes got released in Battles of Nexus?!"


    Thomas nods in confirmation and chuckles lightly. "YES. Once the idea got out, every group and government that could get away with it wanted a piece of that market."


    Dretphi pauses thought. "I believe my mother had-"


    Arriving at a surprising realization, she blinks. "HAS a poster of you."


    Sotalia sneaks a grin across her face and winks mischievously to Command Blaureiter. "My favorite was the swimsuit edition."


    A strong blush of red washes over Thomas, and he works it off his face. Mustering up his composure, he laughs quietly with a gentle smile and faces shyly down at the table. "That''s Albert''s favorite, too."


    Shadeesa smiles, reaches out, and pats her hand on Thomas''s. "How have you and Albert been? It''s been a few months since we went up to High Alton with Lagi for your class."


    Thomas chuckles lightly and shakes his head in good humor. "Oh, he''s still wily as ever. I always have to make sure he keeps on the light side of his profession."


    Noticing the curiosity, he swings gaze over to Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "He''s a law professor that specializes in patent law."


    The four nod in understanding. Thomas crosses his synthetic arms and shrugs his shoulders. "He''s currently out in Cali for a few weeks for a big conference. BUT, he specifically demanded I do something other than lounge around the house, since I''m not teaching summer courses. So, I decided to fire up the old motorcycle and travel down here from High Alton to see who I could see."


    Getting up from his seat, Bach glances towards the kitchen door leading to the garage. "I thought I recognized that rumble. Yeah, I need to show you my ride, since you are here."


    Nodding with interest, Thomas slides his chair back and stands up tall. "Sure. Need to get up and move around a bit anyway. The bits that haven''t been replaced get stiff a lot easier these days."


    Sotalia quickly springs from her seat, pulls her aetherphone out, and gingerly taps Thomas''s shoulder. "Um, Excuse Commander Blau- Um... Thomas. While I''m thinking about it, would you humor an old fan with a teen-aged wish to get a picture with you?"


    A happy smile graces Thomas''s sun tanned face, and he nods. "Of course."


    With a mischievous grin, he steps clear of the table. "Stand over here."


    Sotalia slides over next to Thomas and taps her aetherphone into the camera function. In a swift motion, Thomas kneels down, sweeps up Sotalia into his arms, and hoists her up. A startled squeak escapes Sotalia, and she blushes with a wide smile on her face. Anxiously giggling at the attention, she quickly addresses her appearance, aims the camera at her and Thomas, and presses an on-screen button. Sotalia wraps an arm around Thomas''s neck, and he assumes a fashionably tough exterior. A bright flash later, the picture appears on the aetherphone display. Thomas gently lowers Sotalia down and back on her feet. Drawing in a long breath, Sotalia exhales out her nerves and fidgets with excitement. "Oh my gods! Thank you SO much! Sorry for being such a fangirl and all. I just never really expected to meet you in person."


    Rubbing the back of his neck nonchalantly, Thomas chuckles humbly. Hey. You''re just fine. Admittedly, it has all reminded me of my more youthful days. So, this old man thanks you."


    The mischievous grin reappears upon Thomas''s face, and he inquisitively peeks over Sotalia''s shoulder. "So, uh, who are you sending that picture to?"


    Sotalia bites her lower lip and smirks with a sinister tinge. "Both my sisters. Gods, I can''t wait to see how they react."


    Shakes his head in amusement, Thomas watches Sotalia quickly tap out a message. The doorbell chimes out. Cideeda hops up from her seat and walks swiftly to the front door. She opens up the entrance, revealing the tall, strong body of a red-headed teenager. "Hey, Dace. I''m guessing your schedule freed up enough to get to our yard."


    Blinking back to awareness, Dace focuses back from the side of the house and gazes down at Cideeda. "Oh- OH, yeah! Sorry, it took so long to get out here. Man, everyone seemed to have something special that needed to be done with their yards... And..."


    Leaning back, he cautiously angles his gaze towards the corner of the building. "Yeah, um, speaking of special things with lawns... Um..."


    He points to the side of the ranch style house, flexes his hand in different motions with his confusion, and apprehensively broaches the subject. "OKAY. I just looked in the back yard and... Well... Uh..."


    Scrutinizing the nervous uncertainty blatant upon the teenager''s face, Cideeda thinks a moment and reflexively snorts in amusement. "OH! The dragon!"


    A brief wave of relief washes over Dace, and he breathes out his tension. "Okay! Cool! You know about the... Dragon-"


    He snaps his head down and furrows his brow. "An actual dragon?"


    With a slow nod, Cideeda grins toothily. "Yes, we do."


    Dace combs his fingers through his short, red hair failing a calm, collected exterior. "So, um. Yeah, ah... Do you want me to mow around the dragon? Uh, is he bothered by loud machinery? Do I need to feed him first?"


    Cideeda snickers, shakes her head, and signals Dace to follow her inside. "It''ll be fine. Just come inside real quick, and we''ll figure it out. Also, have you ever heard of Commander Blaureiter?"


    Dace furrows an unamused brow and grumbles out past frustration. "Yeah, actually. Shallen keeps on using his Blaureiter and Night Terror combo unit to cheese out wins against my Red Gear mechs."


    A dark chuckle escapes Cideeda, and she leads Dace inside.


    ----


    Squatting upon a branch high up in an older oak tree, Modoran surveys the forested vicinity with a pair of binoculars. Sweeps later, he wanders his aim down long clear corridors between the trees. In the breeze, Rustling leaves from the canopy above drone out and accompany the minutes of inactivity. Modoran lowers his hands, uncertainly twists his mouth, and swings his gaze down upon a trail below, shaking his head with a grimace. An unseen source grabs his attention, and he presses a finger upon a device in his long, dusky, bluish gray ears. "Modoran reporting. Nothing here. Saw some signs of foot traffic along a trail. But... Whoever is probably long gone by now. Over."


    He lifts his finger from the ear piece. Seconds later, he nods understandingly and taps it quickly. "Understood. I will start moving towards the next sector in a few minutes. Just want to double-check the area before I clear out. Over."


    Staring out into the forest, he focuses his dark blue eyes at the occasional flit of activity from the local wildlife. In the passing minute, he slumps his shoulders, rolls his head around into stretches, and sighs, hinting boredom. Slowly he unfolds his legs out, balancing upon the large branch high up. He plods over to the trunk and leans his back against the tree. Closing his dark blue eyes, he releases a relaxing breath and eases the tension out of his body.


    A distant snap echoes out, and his very long, pointed ear twitches. Springing his eyes wide open, he presses himself into the contours of the trunk. His wary stare hunts around the area, searching.


    Along the trail next to the large tree, fourteen evuukians hike in a tight group. All carry packs of equipment, supplies, and other belongings, navigating the rougher forest floor with ease. Their attire shares a similar uniform, natural theme, lacking any obvious markings. Torn threads faintly outline unfaded spots upon clothing, and fresh scrapes obscure original markings upon items. Chelindia glances over her shoulder and bows her head to two evuukian guards, light haired and dark haired. With an apologetic cadence, she addresses the two in respectful evuukian. Gradually adopting an appreciative smile, she gazes up to them. The two guards share a laugh. Both nonchalantly shrug back and mention Faelatelia''s name in an inquiring tone. Nodding, Chelindia turns her head forward and gazes down the trail. She relays over her shoulder a comforting, informing sentence of evuukian. Relief washes over the guards, and they nod in agreement. Chelindia brushes back her dark green braids, draws a long breath in, and sighs to an uneasy grimace upon her dark tan face. Pondering out loud, she glances around the group, seeking reactions. The discussion grows between the large group, each member commenting in turn. With in the calm debate, Captain Hays, Captain Hackle, GAA, Borderland Rangers, and Perimeter Weird Zone stand out in contrast against the shared dialect of evuukian.


    Minutes later, the large team walks out of view over the crest of a small hill. Modoran releases himself from the tree trunk and slides down to a seat upon the branch. Blinking out of a tense stupor, he furrows his brow and darts his eyes between his thoughts, mulling the situation over. Deliberation blatant, he contorts his dusky, bluish gray face to an uncertain conclusion and presses his ear piece. "Captain... This is Modoran. Reporting... Strange activity. Over."


    Pausing the transmission for a confirmation, he squints into the distance. Moments later, he keys up the radio. "Large group of evuukians just passed by me a few minutes ago. I counted fourteen. If I had NOT overheard their conversation, I would identify them as Terra Priests. But..."


    Modoran furrows his brow, confusion creeping out onto his face. "They were all talking as if they all... Well... Just quit and walked off the commune. They were debating what they were going to do next and brought up some names and organizations. Over."


    He side eyes to the response over the radio and reflexively shrugs his shoulders. "OH. Yeah. My sentiments exactly. I do NOT know what to make of it, really. I believe they are harmless and were heading south west from my current position. So at the pace they were going, they''ll be outside the operational zone in an hour or so."


    Gritting his teeth, Modoran grumbles and shakes his head. "But... If they are leaving the Terra Priests, that means there has to be a commune somewhere around here. Over."


    He pauses for the reply and apprehensively shakes his head of short, white, grayish hair. "Uh. They didn''t say anything to indicate where. I know we are out here for bandits, BUT we might catch something else by accident. Over."


    Standing back up, Modoran stretches his arms out, rocks his head with the radio response, and quickly taps his ear piece. "That sounds like a plan to me. I''m going to continue on to the next area. THAT group will probably scare off any straggler bandits from coming this way. I will report in, if I see anything else. Over and out."


    He crosses arms, stares out into the forest, and gradually sways his head. Tossing his hands up in the air, he mumbles out a few evuukian curses and gestures out an incantation. He steps off the branch, glides down onto the ground, and lands in a darkly obscuring mist, enveloping him from sight.


    ----


    Wandering her stare around the back yard, Sotalia stands with her arms crossed and shakes her head in disbelief. Lagi flexes a slight strength down his body, resettles his head upon Thomas''s lap, and happily purrs a low rumble. Relaxing his two pairs of massive wings out onto the freshly mowed field, he fans out his long tail and huffs dramatically. Next to the plank picnic table, Thomas pets Lagi softly and stretches his legs out, sitting upon the end of the wooden bench. Glancing over at the lounging dragon, Sotalia sighs in playful resignation, reaches out, and scratches underneath Lagi''s chin. "Gods... I still can''t believe THIS is The Night Terror''s son."


    Thomas laughs and smiles at the attention soaking dragon. "Oh. I think he''s turning out just fine. While I''m certain Nachta would have raised him FAR differently, I actually like this life for him better."


    Stiffening her upper lip, Sotalia places her hand on her hip and fights against a smirk, watching Lagi''s begging gaze. "I- I mean... This IS the child of the Night Terror. The biggest, most powerful dragon to have ever flown in combat in recent memory. The dragon that bit off both your arms-"


    Thomas averts his eyes, grits his teeth, and sheepishly remarks. "ACTUALLY, she only bit one off. And THAT was because I was a stupid twenty something that didn''t know what the hell I was doing."


    Blinking in surprise, Sotalia stares down and furrows her puzzled brow at Thomas. "Huh?! I always heard she took both of your arms?"


    Scratching the back of head, Thomas sighs, wrestling embarrassment. "WELL, you can blame marketing on that embellishment."


    Sotalia crosses her arms and pivots to Thomas. "Okay. SO... Um... How did you lose the other-"


    Grimacing a moment, she glances off to the side uneasily. "If I may ask?"


    With a nonchalant smile, Thomas shrugs and scratches around Lagi''s bony plates. "It was a farming accident. Trying to get my dad''s heap of a tractor working again. I was out test driving it and hit a hidden sink hole on the road. Dumped me out, first. Followed by the tractor flopping onto my arm with all the moving, hot bits."


    Rolling his blue eyes, he sighs to a chuckle. "They MAY have been able to save some of it. But, I just opted to pair up the cybernetics with cross skeletal reinforcement. Worked out out for me, at least."


    Sotalia blinks aghast and verbally stumbles to a response. "Uh... Wow... That sounds worse than Nachta biting it off."


    Tipping his head back, Thomas breaks out into laughter and smiles brightly. "Gods! I would have chosen her to chomp it off over that tractor in a heartbeat. I didn''t even realize she had bitten my arm off until after I tried to punch her with the missing arm."


    Noticing Sotalia''s utter bewilderment and shock, Thomas draws in a deep breath and exhales slowly with a reminiscing grin. "You have to understand... Nachta had a whole different mentality than any other creature. She was proud, smart, and strong. She ONLY respected those she felt were equals, and that happened to be no one. Well..."


    He tilts his head to the side and cracks a smirk. "No one until I showed back up and slugged her dizzy with the new arm. After THAT... We had an amazing partnership."


    Sotalia closes her agape mouth and covers her astonishment with an admiring smile. "That''s actually a far more amazing and cooler than the story they wrote for your bio."


    Thomas massages the blue black scales between the white bony plates on Lagi''s head and smiles with a light chuckle. "Nachta was a strange girl. VERY jealous, too. When she saw I lost my other arm to the tractor, she left her den, went to my father''s farm, and melted the tractor to a puddle of slag. I STILL don''t know how she knew where to find the thing. She''d never been out there before."


    Across the wooden plank picnic table, Kaleb nervously smiles and shudders with memories rising up in his mind. "I still remember the few times you took me NEAR her enclosure. Gods... That red eyed glare."


    A humored chuckle escapes Thomas, and he abruptly halts when a chime rings out from his inner jacket pocket. Retrieving his aetherphone, he taps to the messages and groans with a shake of his head. "Oh gods, Albert."


    Shadeesa leans close to Thomas and inquires with a hint of concern. "Is everything okay?"


    Thomas presents a smile over his frustration and nods reassuringly. "YES. Albert is just being his picky, over analyzing self again. We''ve talked about repainting the sun room. I''d just like A warm color. Albert... is trying to divine the exact shade and is conferring with me to the point I think my brain refuses to differentiate colors anymore."


    He rotates the phone display out towards the gathering nearby. Sotalia, Shadeesa, and Kaleb squint and study the number of pictures highlighting extremely similar colors. The group deliberates and contort their faces in different shades of indecision. Glancing around, Sotalia grabs hold of Aristespha walking by and directs her attention to the swatches. "Which color do you like better?"


    Blinking to awareness, Aristespha focuses her violet eyes upon the aetherphone screen, furrows her brow in thought, and incredulously stares at everyone. "Okay... Is this some kind of trick? They look almost the same to me."


    Thomas sighs and shakes his head, continuing to pet Lagi.


    ----


    Inside the large, tall tent, Veevi stretches out upon the sleeping bag, flexing her sharp nailed fingers. She combs through her pink hair and twitches her short haired tail in idle thought. The tent flap unzips, and Chad slips on through. He glances down, and Veevi smiles slyly at him. Chad smirks with a snort. "Don''t get too comfortable. We still have individual interviews to record and a daily recap."


    The half-fvalian girl sighs petulantly and narrows her pink pupil eyes. "I KNOW. Gods. I don''t know what there''s to talk about. NOTHING happened Tuesday, and NOTHING happened today. Not like Saturday."


    Pointing her finger towards the top of the tent, she curls her thumb and audibly mouths out. "ZAP!"


    Chad narrows his glare and tugs uncomfortably at the corner of his mouth, groaning. "Hey. I gave you that laser pistol to defend yourself. NOT to shoot surrendering people in the junk."


    He briefly cringes and shudders reflexively. "Gods dammit, that hurt to WATCH. So... Can you AVOID giving the medical staff any more work in the future?"


    Rolling her eyes indignantly, Veevi sticks her tongue out at Chad. "Fucking fine, then! It''s not like the asshole didn''t DESERVE it."


    She wraps her arms around herself and presents a pitiful, endearing gaze to Chad with a meek cadence. "But... I am so sorry. I guess I just got a little carried away."


    Fluttering her eyes, a sly grin creeps out. "After that AMAZING sword fight, I was just SO worked up and saw him point that gun at you."


    With a slight squirm, she gazes up. "I just wanted to help out."


    Chad crosses his arms, sighing with a smirk. "Yeah... I agree he deserved it. BUT, fucking hell. Try not to shoot anyone who has surrendered. I REALLY don''t want the Flames of the Phoenix to get that type of reputation."


    A seductive grin graces Veevi, and she rolls over onto her side. Gliding her fingertips along the length of the sleeping bag next to hers, she flicks her tail over her legs. "Keeping up appearances, hmm? Is that why there''s two sleeping bags in here?"


    A chuckle accompanies the smile upon Chad''s face, and he kneels down upon the sleeping bag. "Well... Not entirely. These two sleeping bags CAN be zipped up together."


    Veevi bites her lip, giggles with a squirm, and stretches herself out, emphasizing her figure. "OH. Something we''ll try out... Tonight?"


    Chad shrugs his shoulders, sitting down. "Maybe. It might be a bit difficult, since you''re not exactly... Quiet."


    A sharp nailed hand walks over and rests upon Chad''s knee. Veevi smiles with a seducing lick of her lips. "Ooo. THAT sounds like a challenge. I''d like to attempt... NOW."


    Outside the tent with the Flames of the Phoenix logo, across the other side of the camp site, Trakenthin flips to the next page of his book. Relaxing against a tree, he calmly reads the paragraphs and props his feet upon a small equipment locker. Pouring over the pages, his hazel eyes quickly scan over the text and traces of excitement rise upon face. Eagerly reaching out to turn to the next page, he freezes. His head lifts up, and he aims his ears towards faint noises rising up from the background drone of nature. Hunting around the campsite, he settles upon the tent with the Flames of the Phoenix logo. Bewilderment flashes over to disgust, and Trakenthin recognizes the sounds. He cringes, grips onto a heavy armored boot nearby, and readies for a throw. Moments pass, and Trakenthin grits his teeth in defeat, dropping the boot. Grumbling grath curses under his breath, he surges up from his spot and stomps away from the developing din of carnal gymnastics.


    ----


    Cideeda and Dace stand at the crest of a slope leading down from the picnic table into the open field. Dace traces out the forest border with a hand. "When I do a finishing pass around the edges, I can angle the cutter and trim up the bushes along the way if you want."


    Scratching a claw tip thoughtfully on her light brown chin, Cideeda nods and pinches out a small height. "Can you cut it short along the bushes, like you did the target field on the side of the house?"


    Grinning confidently, Dace proudly places his hands on his sides. "Oh, yeah, of course. I can cut the grass to the centimeter on that mower."


    He points towards the lone, worn, scorched, and chipped boulder in the middle of the field. The wind blows the trimmed grass surrounding the pile of rock chunks encircling the massive stone. Glances down to Cideeda, he furrows his brow to an inquiry. "You sure you don''t want me to take care of that huge rock? I won''t charge that much to remove it."


    Cideeda grins toothily at the teenager. "Won''t be needed. Kind of like it there. It''s perfect for target practice. So, it might not be a problem given time."


    Blinking at the mention of target practice, Thomas notices the Particle Power Blaster secured in the equipment satchel on the sunbathing Lagi. With a hint of playful guilt, he sidesteps over, flips the cover of the bag, and places his hand on the huge pistol. Wistfully smiling, he glances over his shoulder towards Kaleb at the table. "Kaleb. Do you mind if this old man catches up with an old friend?"


    Kaleb gazes over, spots Thomas''s hand on the blaster, and nods enthusiastically. "Hell yes, you can. I told you when you gave it to me that you could always use it."


    Thomas grins wide and eager and deftly draws the weapon clear of its holster. Feeling out the blaster in hand, he walks to the crest of the slope with Dace and Cideeda. He examines the control panel on the device and chuckles. "Up to thirty five percent power! Nicely done, Kaleb."


    Kaleb puffs out his chest proudly and beams out with his accomplishment. "Oh yeah! I''ve gotten up to fifty percent... for single shots. But, keep it there most of the time for convenience."


    Shadeesa briefly glares over to Kaleb, reinforcing her sentiment with a stern tone. "ALSO because someone nearly dislocated their shoulders when they accidentally burst fired it on that setting."


    Shrugging off the embarrassment, Kaleb weathers the stare from Shadeesa. Dace studies the device in Thomas''s hand and blinks in astounded recognition. "Holy shit... That''s YOUR Particle Power Blaster!"


    He gestures towards the large pistol and smirks at Thomas. "Okay! I GOT to ask how powerful that thing really is. Because, my friend Shallen and I got into an argument about it and the stats in the game-"


    A sinister grin parts Thomas''s mouth, and he powers on the weapon with a quick twirl of the pistol grip. He expertly flips the blaster around in his hand and presents it to Dace with a sly smile. "Try it out. Brace yourself. Take aim. Squeeze your pinky around the lower grip safety and hold your thumb on the upper safety when you are ready to pull the trigger."


    Taking hold of the pistol with both hands, Dace searches around for a spot, plants his feet, and raises the pistol up in line with the boulder. Thomas side steps behind Dace, keeps a steadying hand at the ready, and flashes his greatly amused smile to everyone else. Dace secures his grip, takes aim, and pulls the trigger. A bright orange bolt of charged matter loudly blasts out the muzzle of the pistol, streaks down to the boulder, and erupts into a fiery cloud. The surprise force jerks Dace''s muscled arms up and tips him backwards onto the awaiting hand of Thomas. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Kaleb, Lagi, Sebastian, Shadeesa, and Sotalia react in a mix of amusement, surprise, and encouragement. Blinking in utter shock, Dace gradually lowers his arms and stares in awe at the particle pistol. "HOLY. SHIT. That''s at thirty-five percent?!"


    Thomas chuckles confidently and holds his hand out. "YES. Want to see what it can do at ONE HUNDRED?"


    Dace returns the pistol to Thomas, steps back a meter away, and awaits with renewed respect. Thomas flips the power level to full, and an audible hum of power emanates from the blaster. Training his stare upon the distant boulder, Thomas plants his feet, braces his stance, and keeps a free arm out to balance himself. He raises the muzzle of the blaster up to the target.


    A flurry of blue-white particle bolts stream out of the weapon, single shots following triplet bursts. Each shot belches out flashes of ionized gas and billows out faint pressure waves upon the cut grass ahead. Thomas''s cybernetics buffer the recoil masterfully, and he makes minute adjustments in aim between shots and during bursts. Taking a few seconds to squint at the distant, smoldering boulder, he squeezes one last blast and dons a happy grin on face. "Yeah... I think I still got it."


    Plume of dust, smoke, and ionized air lifts away from the boulder into the breeze. Upon the large rock, a collection of purposefully placed holes glow a fading orange-red and resemble a dotted smiley face. The assembled group stare at the display, between uncovering their ears and granting a healthy applause to the spectacle. Cideeda glances over with a scheming grin to Bach. "I think we need to set up the target range today. We have a new challenger."


    Gawking in absolute awe, Dace blinks back to awareness and scratches the back of his head reflectively. "Damn. I think I owe Shallen an apology."


    Thomas pats the shoulder of the teenager. "Eh, don''t worry. They''ve been debating how many dice my attacks should get for YEARS now. They''ll try to fix it in an errata. Then, unfix again in the next errata. Then... unfix the unfix? I TRY to stay out of those fights these days."


    Dace nods in agreement. Cideeda rolls her eyes and sighs. "Gods, tell me about it."

 Episode 49

    Tassilda draws back her raven black hair over swirling horns and places her hands upon her hips. Narrowing a stare at the cluttered cargo area of the black sports utility vehicle, she scans the packed space and spots a familiar bag. She grips tightly on the draw string, braces herself with a boot upon the bumper, and yanks it clear out of the mass. Stumbling back from the momentum, she flings the sack over her shoulder and steps confidently towards the camp site. Deedri sits upon a foldout stool, sorts through boxes of medical supplies, and taps out an inventory into a tablet. Tassilda stops next to Deedri, cranes her head around, and watches with a smile. "That is quite the daily routine you have."


    Deedri glances up, nods, and returns her attention to a kit of medical tools. "Yes. Just making sure it''s where I remembered it... If nothing else. Yesterday was quiet, thankfully"


    Tassilda sways her hips, narrows her light blue on black glare over towards the tent with a bolded Flames of the Phoenix logo upon it, and sneers her upper lip. "Well, for the most part... Save for certain individuals'' nightly activities."


    Briefly wincing, Deedri sighs and droops her furry, tufted ears. She pinches her fingertips upon a paper bag in a supply box and lifts it up into view. "Do you want any cotton balls? They worked for me and kept the noise... Bearable."


    With a long drawn out groan, Tassilda shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "No. While I do greatly appreciate the offer, I just wish they would take their nocturnal antics out into the woods and leave us alone."


    She slides a side-eye over to the logo bearing tent and furrows her gray brow. "They could grant us THAT much of a kindness."


    Briefly surveying the forest vicinity, she notices the tall, strong, lightly armored figure of Junior Paladin Daedrican patrolling nearby. Tassilda makes eye contact with the reflective visor of Daedrican''s full helmet, and Daedrican drops his head into a bow. A greatly amused grin grows on Tassilda''s gray face, and she struts enticingly out towards him with a sly smile. Meters away from the campsite, she steps right in front of Daedrician''s path, perks a curious brow, and focuses her light blue on black eyes upon him. "Now, whatever brings you here, Paladin?"


    A light chuckle escapes the slight muffle of the helmet, and Daedrican stands proudly. "Nothing terribly exciting, my lady. A very banal patrol around the inner perimeter, before I do a final outer perimeter sweep. Quite mundane."


    Tassilda dons an inquisitive smirk, and her gaze wanders around Daedrican''s light power armored figure. "They most certainly keep you very busy with all your different duties."


    Nodding with a muted shrug of the shoulders, Daedrican tracks Tassilda''s interests. "It is something excepted of all junior paladins. With the rank comes responsibilities and duties. I am also expected to put forth the extra work to justify the armor."


    With brief eye to visor contact, Tassilda suppresses a brief flit of embarrassment, controls her composure, and projects her confidence. "Yes. While on that very subject, I don''t believe I have gotten a chance to see your face fully. It is very obscuring."


    Daedrican tilts his helmeted head to the side, ponders a moment, and sighs respectfully. "I do apologize, my lady. It''s a bit of a policy for those on active duty to keep their helmet on, especially the head and visor components. There is allowance with the lower face mask. But, unfortunate prior incidents by those of my rank have reinforced that policy."


    Tassilda''s suspicion twists her mouth to an unconvinced, slight frown. "Interesting. It seems that particular policy certainly doesn''t stop Senior Paladin Maxon."


    Daedrican gently bows apologetically and straightens his posture with a faint chuckle. "Well. He is THE Senior Paladin. And by his own admission, his hard head serves the task enough that it is rumored the helmet is completely redundant."


    A smile grows Tassilda, and she covers a giggle with a free hand. Daedrican relaxes his shoulders and nods his head down with tinges of embarrassment. "But truthfully, my lady... I am still getting used to the suit, and it''s recommended to keep the helmet on as much as possible during the initial training phase."


    Grinning slyly, Tassilda lifts an inquisitive brow and glides her long, black nailed fingers upon her swirling horns. "And... I am assuming you don''t want to be seen without horns on your head?"


    Daedrican laughs and shakes his head gently. "OH. There''s a little story behind THAT."


    Intrigue ignites Tassilda''s curiosity, and she gradually lifts her hand up, pointing towards the prominent black horns on Daedrican''s helmeted head. "Well, I certainly hope THOSE don''t belong to the previous owner of the armor."


    Lowering his upper body forward, Daedrican puts his horns within reach of Tassilda''s hand. "Oh no, my lady. They are most certainly MINE."


    Tassilda attempts to hide the eager bite of her lower lip and firmly feels a solid, long, smooth, keratinous protrusion from the helm. Seconds later, she releases her grip and fidgets out her excitement to a calmer demeanor. Daedrican lifts his visor obscured eyes back up. Focusing her stare up, Tassilda grins slightly, curious. "SO, how did your horns ever end up there?"


    With a long sigh hinting pass annoyance, Daedrican places his hands on his sides and straightens his posture. "Well, to use the power armor suit properly, I need to use the helmet that it was calibrated to. So, I decided to have my horns carefully sliced by one of our mages. I kept them in my footlocker, in hopes that maybe the engineers could eventually modify a helmet that might work with my horns after I had them reattached."


    Raising his hand, he grips a horn, turns it a quarter way, and slides it free of a precision mechanical mount. Slightly grumbling in a mix of amusement and begrudging respect, he inserts the horn back into the socket with a twist. "Engineering... Surprised me... With a more immediate solution. Which I''ve come to appreciate, in a way."


    Tassilda firmly covers her mouth and vainly contains the reflexive snickers leaking out. Attempting to work the ill-humor free from her face, she dons an apologetic smile and gazes into Daedrican''s visor. "I am terribly sorry. I really don''t mean to be rude. That seems endearing, in a strange way."


    Daedrican slowly nods and sighs with a brighter tint. "I''m pleased you see it that way. I will admit... It took me a little longer to accept it myself."


    Bowing to Tassilda, he glances down a path into the surrounding dense forest. "I hate to be rude myself, my lady, but I need to resume my patrol."


    He pauses a moment and gazes down at Tassilda. "You are more than welcome to join me on the inner patrol."


    Tassilda grins nonchalantly and nods in calm acceptance. "If you''ll have me, Paladin. Just one moment."


    She calmly pivots, strides over quickly to Deedri, and sets down her bag with a whisper. "Hey, could I leave this with you to-"


    Deedri glances up from her chore, flashes a winking grin, and guides the sack next to her. "Go for it."


    Backing away from Deedri towards Daedrican, Tassilda recovers her composure and mouths out. "Thank you!"


    Daedrican gazes over to Tassilda at his side, and they walk together. Moments later, Daedrican cocks his head and politely inquires. "By the way, would it be too much trouble for you to indulge me in a few particular dialects of Emin, my lady? There''s a few I don''t encounter a lot that I believe you seem elegantly fluent in."


    Tassilda blinks in brief surprise and presents a delightful smile with a wink to Daedrican. "Only if you indulge me."


    A quiet laugh later, Daedrican voices a gentle, smooth sentence of an emin dialect, leaving Tassilda fighting traces of blush on her cheeks.


    ----


    In the mowed field behind the ranch style house, Sotalia hovers a meter above the ground, holding onto Bach''s arms. Drifting around, she slides the floating Bach around at her same level. "I think you''re finally getting the hang of this."


    Swaying into a tentative balance, Bach keeps his attention to his shadow directly below, darkening against the noon sun peeking out from the clouds. He grimaces briefly and steadies himself with the support of Sotalia''s arms. "Yeah... I guess? It''s not so bad at this height. I mean, we''re close enough to the ground that I''m able to keep myself up in the air a little differently."


    Sotalia glances down, watching the grass wave against an unseen force. Her attention wanders around the circular area of pressed down blades directly beneath Bach, and she inquires inquisitively. "Really? How is it different?"


    With his focus upon the ground, Bach leans his weight, countering the force of Sotalia pulling him along. "Well, uh, it''s sort of how the hover disc spell works to keep the disc up. It creates a virtual ball of force that acts against the ground and disc. I''ve got something similar worked up for this height, and it''s a lot less draining."


    Gradually steering Bach along, Sotalia searches around the top of her mind and hums in thought. "So... There''s a limit to how high you can go due to the dynamics of maintaining the virtual force between you and the ground."


    Bach gazes over to Sotalia and nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. For the most part. It starts to get really hard to maintain after a few meters. I''m still having to propel myself to keep balanced on top, but it''s a bit easier than normal flight."


    He briefly peeks down below and grimaces uncertainly. "And... I''m at the mercy of the ground, since I''m practically rolling along it."


    Sotalia blinks, eyes the wooden plank picnic table, and surveys the downwards slope leading into the rest of the field. Examining the terrain, she cracks a smirk out of the corner of her mouth, out of sight of Bach. She stops mid-air, releases Bach, and gradually pivots in place. "WELL, since you seem to have a good hang of this... Let''s make it a bit more..."


    Leaning forward to Bach, she lifts an eyebrow and narrows golden eyes. "Challenging."


    She turns away from Bach and quickly gestures with her hands, quietly mouthing out a series of incantations. Bach cocks his head curiously to the side, narrows his glowing blue eyes, and scans up and down Sotalia''s figure suspiciously. Sotalia momentarily bobs down and rises back up, a faint flow of energy swirling the air around her. Bach blinks in surprise and slowly floats away. "Uh, hey. Why did you just change up to a different flight spell?"


    Resting her hands upon her hips, she tosses her wavy, fiery orange hair back over black, swept back horns and grins slyly with a glint in her golden eyes. "OH. THIS spell offers a bit more mobility than the hover spell."


    With Sotalia gliding closer, Bach warily drifts further away and nervously, weakly chuckles. "Huh. Why would you need more mobility right now?"


    He barely catches the mischievous smile, and Sotalia flies past him in a blur, traces of a trail shaking of grass blades leading behind him. A pair of black nailed hands clamp securely down on his shoulders and twist him towards the picnic table. With a strong push from behind, Bach coasts above the ground, holding his hands out for balance. He snaps his head over his shoulder and grits his teeth. "OKAY! What the HELL are you planning on doing NOW?!"


    Sotalia giggles with an impish hint and steers Bach''s body along through the air. "OH, nothing BAD. I just figured that if you can maintain this comfortably, I could ramp up the difficulty a LITTLE bit."


    Bach glances ahead and returns his uneasy stare back to Sotalia. "DEFINE a LITTLE bit."


    Sotalia winks with a grin, cranes her head to the side, and nods ahead towards the upcoming slope down into the field. "Well, just a gentle decline to start with."


    Snapping his head forward, Bach concentrates his full attention upon the terrain. He reflexively extends his arms out a bit more, adjusts his stance midair, and prepares. With a hint of a smile sneaking out behind a nervous grimace, Bach swiftly rides down the incline, maintains a steady height from the ground, and easily buffers the return to flat earth. Laughing excitedly, Sotalia flies behind and propels Bach forward. "OH, you''ve done this before! What are you so scared about?!"


    With Bach leaning into the turn, Sotalia directs him around the large boulder in the field. Bach aims his voice back with hints of hesitation slipping out. "Well, uh, um, I used to do similar WITH an actual hover disc below me! It handled the vertical, and I did the horizontal. So, this is kind of different!"


    a


    The wind blows through Sotalia''s fiery orange hair, and she loudly sighs with an understanding tone. "Fair enough. Still, I think it''d be good practice to get used to horizontal movement. So, if you still want, I''ll gently push you around the field a bit..."


    Her golden eyes shift over and stare longingly at the grassy slope upwards. Bach glances back and turns his gaze towards the incline. An adventurous grin forms on his sunned face, and he flexes his fingers in anticipation. "Fuck it. I got it figured out enough for a few more minutes. Give me some speed. Gods, it''s been too long since I banked a good turn off a ramp."


    Sotalia shakes her head in surprise, brightly grins, and squeezes Bach''s shoulders, increasing the velocity. "Fuck yeah! That''s more like it! Maybe even some launches up the slope afterwards?"


    Bach laughs and snorts. "Ah, one thing at a time."


    He examines the slope and traces a path up over the wooden outdoor furniture. "But... Maybe sooner than later?"


    A curious smile graces Sotalia, and she follows Bach''s stare. "Hmm, so there IS some truth to those stories Sebastian''s has told about you two abusing hover discs."


    ----


    In the dining area of the ranch style house, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia sit around the dining table with sprawling collections of maps, printouts, paperwork, notes, and tablets upon the tabletop. Each member slowly analyzes their section of the physical mass of information. Hovering overhead, Sebastian sighs contemplatively. "Gods. Plenty of places Noxian COULD go. But..."


    He furrows his ethereal brow and groans. "Nothing that actually points to where he WOULD go next."


    Bach settles into the back of his chair and rubs the strain from his blue eyes. "Yeah... It always seems like we find where he HAS been. And, admittedly, we STILL don''t know what exactly he''s trying to accomplish."


    Glancing around the table, he shrugs with a grimace. "I mean, it''s definitely not anything good. It''d just be nice to know some specifics."


    Resting a tablet down, Aristespha crosses her arms and plays with her silvery blue hair in thought. "I have gone over the list of things in the database access history Nash provided. He is obviously looking into elder energy and information about its use. But... Nothing blatant about what he wants to actually use it for."


    Sotalia twists her mouth and props her head up with her hand, staring her frustration into loose leaf notes. Tapping her finger idly, she wrestles a grimace and grumbles. "And for a supposed Dark Lord, he''s been really quiet about his ultimate goal. Really bold about getting what he needs for it... I guess..."


    Gazing up at a holographically projected display, Cideeda drags a claw tip through the menu scroll bar and watches the list of data files roll on by. She pauses in thought and glances over to Dretphi. "Did you find anything that matches what Faelatelia described?"


    Dretphi slides over a topographical map between her and Cideeda. Tracing a finger along one of a few penciled routes, she circles out a peak in the mountains. "Here. Seems the candidate. Route matches her travel description."


    Cideeda squints her emerald green eyes, leans closer to the map, and follows the latitude and longitude lines to the outer guides. "Wait. These coordinates. I... Remember seeing something really close to these numbers... Somewhere..."


    Standing up from her seat, Aristespha balances herself over the table and spots the point''s coordinates on the map between Cideeda and Dretphi. "Let me see if the Grand Library system has anything in that area."


    She pauses a moment and blinks her violet eyes, cocking her head. "Now that I''m thinking about it..."


    The tablet pops up an entry form, and Aristespha quickly types out the numbers. She sits back down and enters a series of search parameters, focusing fully upon the results streaming out from the query permutations. Bach searches his mind, his intrigue piquing, and he turns to Cideeda. "Wait. We have a printout of all the strange coordinates from that research base Nash translated for us."


    Leaning away from the map, Cideeda''s eyes open wide in revelation and her furry ears perk up. "That''s right..."


    She swiftly pulls her knees underneath her in the chair and reaches far over the table top to a heavily annotated printout. "I BET it''s on there somewhere! That''s probably where I remember it from."


    Cideeda flips through a page and drags a claw tip down rows of numeric data. Her hunt pulls in the attention from the rest of the team. A few more pages later, her finger halts under a line right underneath a set of nearly matching coordinates. "OH. That''s WAY too close to be coincidental."


    A chime rings out from Aristespha''s tablet, and she lays it down next to the topographical map, showing the group. She slides through snippets of relevant referenced material for the results on screen and presents the connection to the team. "There are no exact matches. But, I increased the tolerances and extended the search to the historical archives. THAT pulled up quite a number of articles that mention significant activity around the general area regarding a number of old facilities."


    Sighing, she rolls her violet eyes with an annoyed tone. "Which, of course, conveniently have no official records that ever documented exactly what went on there."


    She hisses faintly with a frown. "Unfortunately, anything the Grand Library has on file is flagged as matching the common pattern for forged cover records. So, nothing official is likely to be correct."


    With a commiserating sneer, Sotalia groans and shakes her head. "Well... So nice of them to keep it a surprise for us."


    She pauses, backtracks the penciled route on the map, and points to the starting point. "I''m guessing this is where the Terra Priest commune is?"


    Dretphi nods in confirmation. Floating above, Sebastian snaps his head downwards and squints below. He gradually drifts down and hovers roughly eye level to the rest of the team, moving an ethereal hand between the map and printout list. Sudden surprise fading into curiosity, he furrows his ghostly brow. "The commune location is on that list from the research base."


    The rest of the team slides their attention in unison towards the particular row of numbers. Cideeda sways her head between the map and list and contorts her face between surprise and intrigue. "Holy shit. It is. Okay... What the fuck IS this a list of?"


    Stolen story; please report.


    Gliding back upright, Sebastian lands next to the table on the hardwood floor. He holds his ethereal chin in his hand and searches his mind with a distant stare. "Okay... THIS is something. I think we really NEED to check out the place Faelatelia told us about. There''s a lot more to that list from the research base. The Orth Ridge site being on it seemed plausible, since it was a big place with a lot going on. And, it was actually the only big thing we knew of on there."


    Crossing his arms, he hums and further contemplates out loud. "But... A recent Terra Priest commune and some possible old ruins that have barely gotten anyone''s attention over the many years that they have probably been there? That doesn''t quite fit."


    Dretphi lifts an eyebrow, tilts her head, and narrows her steely gray stares. "The commune was recent. The structures they use are old."


    Bach angles up the list into view and scrutinizes the data. Sebastian steps next to Bach and cranes over, watching the analysis. "So. You got any thoughts on it, bro?"


    With a defeated sigh, Bach shakes his head uncertainly. "There''s something we''re missing. Unfortunately, I think Noxian knows exactly what is it."


    Aristespha fights a frown on her ivory face and projects an apologetic tone. "I wish I had more information. But, when Nash translated the coordinates from the data Cideeda uploaded, he checked the locations for anything. Even with the Library database for cross-referencing, it seemed to be fairly random, and he couldn''t pick out a pattern that made any kind of sense."


    Tensing her posture, she grimaces and grumbles. "Admittedly, there are a few areas in the Perimeter Weird Zone that would be assumed suspect. But... There are far more in completely normal farmland and in populated cities that have never reported anything out of the ordinary."


    Cideeda growls slightly, her frustration slipping out. "It''s GOT to be the extra info in the data sets. But, WHAT, exactly?"


    Aristespha nods and swipes through a few menus on a tablet in front of her with a hopeful smile. "I will send Nash an aethermail with what we have found out. MAYBE, they have made some progress on determining out what that system was specific recording at the research base."


    Sebastian grins and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to the side. "Well, I think we have enough justification to pay this place out in the woods a visit. And until we check it out for ourselves, I don''t think we''re going to make any headway on deciphering that data."


    He gazes over the team gathered around. "So... Enjoy the weekend, and head out Monday?"


    The group indicates their agreement. Nodding, Sebastian smiles proudly and sighs ethereally. "Okay. Well, I think we''ll ponder this some more tomorrow with our travel plans. Until then, I think we need to see what our..."


    He hoists up an intrigued eyebrow and smirks slyly. "FAVORITE show has in store for us."


    Sotalia slides her chair out, stretches her arms over her head, and smirks wryly. "OH, that''s right. We didn''t get to see last week''s episode. Well, I need to watch the replay before the new one. I''m ever so curious to see how much Veevi pushed her luck."


    Others depart from the table, and Dretphi notices Bach staring at a spot between the map and list. She walks over, cranes her head around, and inquires. "Theories?"


    Blinking back to awareness, Bach glances up to Dretphi and shrugs plainly. "Sure. Plenty."


    A frown pulls down the corners of his mouth. "None that I''m really happy about."


    Dretphi pats Bach''s shoulder and nods. She walks towards the popcorn air popper in the kitchen. "Understandable. Thoughts for another time. Let us enjoy popcorn now."


    ----


    Inside the Amaranth''s Wrath Game Emporium, customers wander between aisles of comic books, navigate tables of games, and hang out at glass displays, gawking at the latest merchandise. Three people stand around between the tabletops. A tall, muscular red-head teenager shrugs his shoulders and rolls his eyes. "So, yeah. Um, Shallen, you were fuckin'' right. That blaster really is that powerful."


    Blinking his green eyes, Shallen scratches one of his long evuukian ears and smiles with a hint of smugness. "I told you so. But, still, Dace. Damn... Wish you had called me or something. I would have helped you cut grass to see all THAT."


    Furry ears drooping, a fvalian man firmly combs fingers of thick black claws through his wild white hair. With red on black eyes, he stares in disbelief at Dace, holding his hands out. "REALLY! Come on! You KNEW I was back in town from High Alton. Seriously! My FAVORITE professor, SOMEHOW, drops in, AND is hanging out with one of THE dragons half of the whole dragon fandom has been trying to get more information about!"


    Narrowing his eyes at Dace, he leans closer and frowns disappointingly. "And you don''t even give me a call!?"


    Dace shrugs nonchalantly and assumes a moderately apologetic tone. "I''m sorry, Tellerran. It''s just I was really busy trying to get the job done. I was already running late and had to put off Cideeda''s yard for a few days already."


    Fighting down a smirk, he chuckles. "Then... I totally got caught up in the whole situation."


    Tellerran slumps his shoulders, straightens his back with a long breath, and sighs with a perk of his ears. "Gods dammit. I mean... I can''t really blame you on that one. I don''t think I would have kept my cool long enough to get any work done. I mean, I barely kept it together when Professor Blaureiter got Lagi to visit towards the end of this last semester."


    Reaching into his pants pocket, Dace pulls out two large blue black dragon scales and fans them out in front of Shallen and Tellerran. He grins smugly with a laugh. "Would freshly plucked dragon scales make up for it? Or should I just keep these for myself?"


    Shallen and Tellerran each pluck a scale from Dace. Shallen nods and barely fits the shiny draconic covering into his shirt''s front pocket. "Paid in full, man. But..."


    He grits his teeth briefly into a grimace. "I just read up on the leaked copy of the latest errata''s table of contents..."


    Dace smirks and lifts a knowing brow. "Let me guess... They''re trying to rebalance the blaster combo."


    Groaning, Shallen shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "Gods, you know it. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. I''ll just have to find a new combo to cheese."


    Dace watches the awe upon Tellerran''s face. "Man. Totally worth it just to see your face. That one they let me pull off Lagi, since it was about fall off."


    Tellerran carefully carries the dragon scale over to a table next to the group, flips open a binder, and meticulously slides it inside a protective plastic page. "Dude... Thanks... Wow..."


    Rocking his head between his shoulders, he narrows his gaze into the glints from the lights overhead and the few beams of sun slipping in around the advertisement collage on the shop windows. "THIS... This looks so much better than any I''ve ever gotten from a convention."


    He carefully presses down the transparent layer down, pauses a moment, and cocks his head curiously towards Dace. "Hey, did anyone say anything about Lagi''s parents?"


    Furrowing his brow, Dace thinks a moment, scratches the back of his neck, and twists his mouth uncertainly. "Ah... No. Well, nothing I overheard. But, Lagi would NOT leave Blaureiter alone. Almost tackled him, curled up around him, and was purring all time. Also... That dragon ate A LOT of the grass I mowed."


    Tellerran''s interest piques, and he quickly snatches a nearby mechanical pencil. Scribbling a few quick notes upon another paper page in the binder, he smirks eagerly. "Interesting. Professor Blaureiter would never say anything about Lagi''s lineage... I wonder..."


    Shallen snorts and shakes his head of dark gray, slicked back hair dismissively. "Ah shit. Do I sense another heated online debate in the future?"


    Crossing his arms, Tellerran stands resolutely, flicks back his furry ears, and narrows his eyes facetiously at the other two. "Well, I can''t fucking help it when someone wants to be wrong and post it everywhere they shouldn''t."


    The front door to Amaranth''s Wrath opens and a tall, imposing figure steps past the threshold. Thomas surveys the shop proper and slowly steps towards the front desk. Steve sits with his full attention focused upon a small miniature in front of him. With a calm, precise hand, Steve lifts a fine, few hair brush and gently guides a tiny speck of paint along the minuscule detail of the plastic figure. Standing in front of Steve across the front counter, Thomas nonchalantly asks. "Sorry to bother you when you are in the middle of something, but have you gotten in the latest issue of Red Gear Rising?"


    Steve reflexively lifts his free hand and motions Thomas to hold, finishing up the fine task. "Sorry. One second. Just need to get the hair highlights in there..."


    With a final trace, he carefully retreats the brush. "And... There."


    Thomas squints down at the miniature. Moments later, recognition emerges on his face, and he musters up an embarrassed smile. "Nicely painted there. But, I''ll admit... There''s A LOT more gray these days."


    Lifting his head up, Steven smiles up at Thomas and chuckles. "Yeah, I know. But I''m going for the classic, first issue look. Okay, yeah, the latest issue of Red Gear Rising-"


    Recognition dawns upon Steve, and he compares the Commander Blaureiter figure to Thomas in front of him. "No way- Holy. Hell. C-Commander Blaureiter..."


    Shuddering out of the stupor, he blinks back to awareness. "Um, yeah! Totally! We have a copy of the new Red Gear Rising. So, I''m okay with taking your money... But..."


    With a guilty smile, Steve chuckles and sheepishly scratches the back of his head. "I''d really rather take a few pictures and get some signatures. If... That''s okay with you."


    Grinning with amusement, Thomas nods. "Sounds like a deal to me."


    Pausing from the latest rules debate between Shallen and Tellerran, Dace waves towards Thomas. "Oh! Hey, Thomas!"


    Thomas glances over and waves back. "Dace! Good to see you. Nice shop you all have in town."


    Shallen halts his next sentence, pivots in place, and gawks at Thomas. Tellerran''s red on black eyes widen, and he eagerly questions Thomas. "P-Professor Blaureiter?! W-What are you doing here?"


    Thomas scratches the back of his head of gray hair with a cybernetic arm and nonchalantly shrugs. "Well, since I''m down here to visit friends for a few weeks, I figured I''d find a place to make sure I don''t fall behind on the Red Gear Rising series."


    Blinking in stunned silence, Tellerran visibly ponders a response. Thomas sighs with a smirk and points to Tellerran. "By the way, I really liked your final paper for class. Really demonstrated a good handling of dragon biology and genetics. Though... I''d really avoid citing certain forums as resources in the future."


    Tellerran nods blankly, and Shallen recovers some of his composure. Dace nudges Shallen with a sly grin. "Hey, ask HIM about THE blaster."


    ----


    A chorus of heavy footsteps from large, heavily armored soldiers stops at the perimeter of an elaborate camp. The team leader turns his helmeted head and nods to the team of other similarly suited Chrome Crusaders behind him. "That was a nice quiet outer patrol. I''m certain anyone in the area will think twice before getting too close to the base camp. You are all relieved of duty for the rest of the Sunday afternoon."


    The squad of heavy armor troopers divides up and disperses out towards different parts of the grounds. Watching the unit slowly scatter, Trakenthin straightens his stance in his suit of polymer plate and nods respectfully towards the leader. "Captain. Thank you for allowing me to accompany."


    The captain returns the sentiment and bows slightly to Trakenthin. "Thank you for offering to join us for another day. Not many would willingly tolerate us powered armored ruffians for these long patrols."


    Trakenthin smirks under his clear face shield and proudly stands. "It was enjoyable."


    Tilting his head to the side, the captain crackles a laugh through his helmet''s voice box. "Damn. You''re definitely a brave one. Hey. After the final stretch of the operation tomorrow and Tuesday, feel free to ride with us on the return trip. Now, go get that armor off. I''m sure you''re soaked from the heat without a suit cooling system."


    Trakenthin nods and calmly walks off into the Chrome Crusaders camp site. Searching the area, he glances out the corner of his hazel eyes and watches a small Next Adventurers of Nexus recording crew tag along. A young male and female fvalian concentrate on getting video and audio, and an older man instructs the duo around. Trakenthin draws in a long breath and quietly grumbles out his rising frustrations. He surveys the vicinity further and locks his attention upon familiar voices bickering nearby. Sharply turning around the corner of a cargo truck, he spots the Flames of the Phoenix''s black sports utility vehicle. He snaps his gaze towards the source of the argumentative yelling and spots Veevi and Tassilda mid squabble. Veevi places her hands on her hips, leans forward at Tassilda, and petulantly mocks. "OH? Do YOU not know the spells yourself?! Because it certainly takes you FOREVER to get to the fucking point!"


    Tassilda sneers indignantly and growls out her irritation. "I take my time because I am TRYING to teach you REAL MAGIC. Not some absolutely trite, discount store, toy tricks that you picked up from that GODS DAMNED OLD WITCH!"


    Veevi''s fuzzy ears lay back and her short-haired tail puffs out. Crosses her tan, stripped arms, she tosses back her pink hair and glares with her pink pupil eyes towards Tassilda. "At the rate you do everything, I''ll be an old witch before I learn anything from you!"


    A mean smile pulls across her face, and she averts her stare briefly and slides a mocking glare back. "Speaking of toy tricks, did you remember to bring enough copper powder for your fireballs?"


    Despite her vain attempts of suppression, Tassilda cringes visibly and winces up a sneer. Her light blue on black eye twitches, her cheek muscles tense, and she grits her teeth. Trakenthin stands patiently flush against the SUV, peeks out from cover, and watches the camera crew trio dart off for the ideal angle of the tense stand off between Tassilda and Veevi. Cautiously, Trakenthin eases over into the small campsite off to the side of the main base and slips quietly into the large tent, distant, opposite of the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent. Resting his sword and shield to the side, he tugs off his helmet, unstraps free of his under armor, and slides off the equipment into a pile. With a long sigh of relief, he shakes some air underneath his sweat soaked underclothes and rests down upon a nicely made, custom bedroll. Staring blankly at the leaf shadows dancing on the tent top, Trakenthin zones out, the ambient sounds of Veevi and Tassilda verbally clashing filtering into the background noise.


    Minutes later, he blinks back to awareness with the prompt of an electronic chime. His hand rummages around the mass of equipment nearby, and he retrieves his aetherphone. Holding the device above his head in view, he taps through the security prompt and navigates through a few menus. On the display, bit by bit, an aethernet site slowly trickles into existence. Trakenthin smiles at the title "Shayuri''s Study" and scrolls down the page to the latest entry. He stops upon the picture heading the latest entry in the blog. The image shows a young, tall woman with piercing hazel eyes and long silvery hair, excitedly presenting a brand new book with a brilliant grin on her tan face. Trakenthin smiles warmly and reads the paragraphs, delight blatant on his dark bronze face.


    At the bottom of the essay, Trakenthin stares at the comment button. His expression wanes into uncertain apprehension. Tapping the aethersite''s menu, his hazel eyes rest upon the contact info button. The fingers on his free hand flex nervously, and his face wrestles with a frown. Seconds of visible deliberation later, he clicks a button on the side of the phone. The screen turns off. He releases a long, doubt filled sigh. Resting his aetherphone off to the side, runs his fingers through his dirty blonde hair and shakes his head slowly.


    ----


    Along the rough dirt path, the humvee shakes and bobs, barely squeezing through the narrow openings between the trees in the thick forest. Cideeda leans out the driver''s side window and stares far ahead, down the route, grimacing. "Damn. I think this is as far as we can go driving. This path seems to end up ahead, and the trees are just too thick to even try threading this thing through."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form glides up between the front seats and surveys the scene ahead. Nodding in confirmation, he smiles understandingly and sighs. "Well... Don''t worry. You did great to get us this far down this route."


    Scouting out the windshield, he tips his head back, and his gaze follows the trail to the far off end. Staring distantly up the steady incline in the horizon, he squints out into the background mass of brush, trees, and canopy. Dretphi inspects a map, checks the readouts from a positioning application on her aetherphone, and examines the features of the area around the humvee. "We are at the mountain base. Good time. We have hours of daylight left."


    Sebastian glances back with a proud smile and addresses the group. "So... Stop ahead, get the humvee turned around, and do a little exploring nearby?"


    Everyone else shows their agreement, and the vehicle rocks again over another dip in the dirt road. Cideeda grumbles, shifting her focus towards a clearing ahead. "Sorry about that. Gods. It feels flat enough for a few meters, then there''s another drop or bump. At least the clearing ahead looks large enough that we can get turned around easily."


    Dretphi stares suspiciously and traces the strangely rectangular perimeter of the treeless, grassy opening. The humvee rolls into the flat area. With hard cuts of the steering wheel and a series of direction shifts, Cideeda navigates the large, old military vehicle gracefully and aims the humvee facing towards their path of origin. "That should do it. We''ll be ready if we have to leave in a hurry."


    Glancing over at the central control console, she presses side buttons and studies the readouts flashing on screen. "Capacitors are charged. I''m going to give the powerplant a break for now."


    A muffled, downwards pitching whine resonates faintly into the cab. Sebastian glances over the group. "Okay. Let''s check out this clearing first. And, then, we''ll judge how we want to proceed."


    Peeking out the windshield, he furrows his brow at the dense forest starkly surrounding the rectangular clearing. "Ideally, I''d like to at least locate the entrance Faelatelia told us. But... If there''s anything too crazy, we''ll return here and figure it out from there."


    Sebastian zips up through the roof and floats overhead. Humvee doors open, and the group disembarks. In the minutes, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia fan out a few meters from the vehicle into the clearing. Dretphi stomps the ground with her heavy armored boot, visibly ponders the sensations, and kneels down. Inspecting the soil, she digs into the earth with a gauntlet covered hand and lifts up centimeters of rich, dark dirt. She attempts to go deeper. The plating on her gauntlet scrapes against a hard, rough layer of ancient asphalt. Puzzling briefly, she lowers her head close to the ground and studies the topology of the clearing. She stands up quickly and calls out to the rest of the team. "This is an old parking lot."


    Cideeda cocks her head, scratches her chin with a claw tip, and slowly lifts an inquisitive brow. "THAT explains why the path leading here was so odd. It''s probably a paved road that''s fallen apart and been covered up with layers of dirt from runoff. Oh, I bet the drops are where chunks of asphalt are missing and the bumps are tree roots growing underneath."


    Nodding in agreement, Dretphi points to either side of the path leading into the clearing. "No old trees near the edges. Only younger trees."


    Approaching the top of the tree canopy, Sebastian hovers high above and calls down. "It certainly looks the part up here. I don''t know if this is THE exact place, but it''s certainly something."


    Walking along the edge opposite to the entrance, Bach notices a strange pile of rough rocks. Leaning closer, he spots a scattering trail leading into the underbrush. Pulling aside a thin patch of long grasses, he reveals a heavily deteriorated pavement stairway. The top of the stairs meets remnants of a decorative stone path, leading distantly upwards into the woods. Bach pivots around and faces the rest of the group. "Hey. I think I found a path up the mountain."


    Sebastian floats down next to Bach, scrutinizes the discovery, and nods. "Nice find, bro. That matches the type of path Faelatelia told us about."


    Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia join Bach and Sebastian. Sotalia''s golden eyes trace the sparse rock route, and she rests her hands on her hips. "Well. That''s definitely going to be a hike up."


    Dretphi shrugs and tilts her head towards Sotalia. "An inconvenience. We have traveled worse."


    An uneasy frown curls the corners of Aristespha''s mouth, and she studies the area. Stepping away from the group, she draws in a deep breath and blinks her eyes to a glowing violet. She sweeps her stare around into the dense forest surrounding the clearing. The unease remains upon her ivory blue and gray hinted face. She carefully gestures, clearly voices a series of incantations, and finishes by throwing her hands out to the sides. Shimmering energy expands out into a bubbling wave and swells into the vicinity. With the distance, the pulse of magic fades and disperses. Nothing more happens. The surprise on Aristespha''s face sharpens, and she furrows her brow, narrowing her stare into plain woods. "There is absolutely no spirit activity nearby..."


    Sotalia crosses her arms, firmly grips her elbows, and twists out the faint anxiety upon her light tan face. "Oh gods dammit. Here I was hoping that tiny, weird feeling I was getting from the ambient magic flows was BECAUSE the spirits were messing with it. Great..."


    Bouncing her golden eyes between the perimeters of the clearing, she wrestles down a grimace. "Now, I''m just uncomfortable with this place."


    With an uncertain smile, Bach glances over to Aristespha. "Well, we are still far from that one part of the forest that had a concentration of spirits. Maybe they, uh, just don''t wander this way often?"


    Gritting her teeth briefly, Aristespha sighs with a shake of head. "I thought about that, too. There are no signs they have been here recently. That is typically a bad indicator when there is a huge hive in the area. Often a sign the area is purposefully avoided."


    The unease rising up in Bach guides his stare up the scattered stone path into the heavy woods of the mountain. Cideeda''s furry ears droop, and she groans, anxiously picking her claws. "I guess it''s my turn to add to the creepiness factor... But..."


    Flicking her furry ears between different angles, she frowns. "This place SOUNDS different. Even from when we first got on the dirt road. I can hear wildlife, but... It seems really far away. Nothing close by."


    With an apprehensive curl to her upper lip, she grips her vest, flexes fingers, and scans the vicinity. "The air has an OFF smell, too. I don''t know WHAT exactly. But, it is different."


    Dretphi bites her lower lip and sighs loudly. The rest of the team''s attention shifts her. Reluctantly, she frowns suspiciously, her steely gray eyes searching the forest, and explains with a regretful hint. "Have not seen animal nests. This area has been undisturbed for a long time. There SHOULD be nests. There are NO animal nests. No old ones. No remnants. No animals to make the nests. This area IS avoided."


    Directing her gaze towards the entry path, she wrestles down her anxious expression gradually. "Stopped seeing game trails during transit. Few I saw did NOT lead this way."


    Bach grumbles, rolling out the tension in his shoulders. "Fucking hell. No wonder Faelatelia wanted nothing to do with ANYTHING involving this place. We haven''t even gotten to the front fucking door, and this place is weirding me out."


    Shaking his head, Sebastian crosses his ghostly arms and grimaces. "No shit, bro. Gods. What the hell happened here?"


    He pauses in thought a moment and furrows his brow. "I think even the damned sword is on some kind of alert mode. Still trying to feel that one out."


    Sotalia smirks at Bach and playfully rolls her eyes. "You know... The perimeter fence outside the Orth Ridge site with all the warnings felt more welcoming than THIS."


    Bach snorts out some of his anxiety and adopts a commiserating, humored smile. "I know, right? I mean, I guess it makes it less nerve wracking when you know people tried to dress the place up before they left."


    Cideeda grins wryly and stretches out her body suit covered arms. "Yeah. At least you know there were actual survivors, and they were well off enough to post warning signs."


    Moments of silence loom over the team. Dretphi shrugs her shoulders and summons up a hopeful smile. "I have not seen any dead animals. Believe that is positive."


    A wave of tentative agreement spreads through the team. In the eerie, awkward quiet, from the strange clearing in the middle of the dense forest, the team stares up at the path ahead and the obscured destination, hesitation looming over. A minute later, Aristespha coughs and twists her grimace into grim acceptance. "Okay... I do NOT think we are going to find any more good things about the situation while standing here."


    Sebastian nods, assumes a bold stance, and presents an adventurous grin to the party. "You''re right, dear. Let''s gear up for the hike, see where this path leads, and, at least, find the entrance. Depending on how much daylight we have left, we''ll see about exploring further than that."


    Gritting his teeth, he contorts a reserved smile. "And... I''m not against just coming back down for the night and saving most the exploration for tomorrow. So, let''s take our time getting up there. No need to rush into this creepy mess."


    Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk towards the humvee and start readying equipment. Standing at the crumbling ruins of the concrete stairs, Bach slowly exhales out his tension and stares at the stone strewn path. Sebastian slides next to Bach and quietly inquires in a comforting tone. "Hey. You okay, bro?"


    Bach nods slowly and sighs. "Yeah. Well. As best as I can be. I don''t know. I get the feeling this is going to be a strange one."


    With a smirk, Sebastian tilts his head to the side and drops his arms to his sides "And, that''s different than anything we''ve done before? But... I know. Gods, I hate to go into this blind, but I don''t think we have much choice."


    Shaking his head, Bach glances over to Sebastian with a smile. "No. We really don''t. I mean... We could just ignore it. But... That doesn''t really help us out."


    He straightens his posture and grits his teeth. "We NEED the information."


    The brothers idly survey the scene ahead of them and return to the humvee to prepare.

 Episode 50

    Silent beams of afternoon light squeeze through the thick canopy above and wander upon the rough incline. Crumbling chunks of ancient pavement collapse beneath Dretphi''s heavy armored boots. Pausing to pat the ground under the thick soles, Dretphi rubs through the mix of materials in the loose layer of forest cover. "There used to be a walkway... Very... long ago."


    Cideeda nods, points a claw tip towards worn, rocky blocks framing a fractured ramp, and motions towards the rusty ring indentations. "This place must have been pretty significant and established. Those look like the anchor points for metal handrails in the concrete."


    Drifting back down, Sebastian floats alongside the group and crosses his arms in thought. "That makes sense. From what I''ve seen above, the width of the path is really consistent. Even with the twists and turns, you can see they regraded some parts of the run."


    Bach glances over to Sebastian and curiously lifts an eyebrow. "Hey. Did you see the entrance yet?"


    With a squint, Sebastian shakes his head and stares forward. "Not yet, bro. Between all the small valleys, outcroppings, and leaves on these trees, I haven''t gotten a clear view up there from here."


    Reviewing paragraphs of notes upon a tablet, Aristespha ponders, idly tapping the screen bezel. She lifts her stare from the screen and surveys the area. "I believe we are fairly close. From what Faelatelia described..."


    Twitching her very long, pointed ear with a faint breeze, she tilts her head and narrows her gaze into the surrounding forest. "We have passed the last significant landmark she remembered seeing."


    She slowly scans the trees and focuses her glowing violet eyes at different features in the surrounding scenery. "There are still no recent signs of spirits in the area. And, the ambient magic feels..."


    With hands on her belt of pouches, Sotalia picks at the cover flap for a container and grimaces uneasily. "Weird. It''s just off. Gods, I can''t say why..."


    Tossing her fiery orange, wavy hair back, she combs the stray strands over her swept back horns and sighs into a grumble. "Damn. It just feels odd. Just enough in the background I can''t quite pick it out."


    She glances over her shoulder at the downwards path behind the team and stares in surprise at the distant difference in altitude. Gritting her teeth, she hisses out her breath. "Anyway... I hope the entrance isn''t too far away. Because, it''s already not going to be a fun hike back, in the dark, from this high up."


    Dretphi briefly turns her helmeted head back, twists her mouth in deliberation, and nods uneasily to Sotalia. "In this situation. Yes. This forest is strange. Will be trying to travel at night."


    The team climbs up the ruins of another set of ancient concrete stairs and follows the scattered remnants of a trail around an obscuring curve between two ridges. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia navigate a collapsed brick walled gorge and exit out into a large, cracked pavement covered clearing. Opposite from the group, across the ruined courtyard, a pair of partially opened, massive security doors stand, slips of light highlighting the ages of rust. Throughout the purposely engineered field, piles of debris reside in disarray. Within the years of overgrowth, glimmers of shattered crystal bound by broken stone reflect the swaying sunlight. A breeze blows old leaves around the many incomplete, articulate, mechanical limbs with faded magical inscriptions. The wind shifts the vegetation, revealing broken stone and metal masses resembling midsections, upper bodies, heads, and hips. Aristespha gawks in awe at the scene and blinks back to awareness from her shock. "Oh. My. Gods..."


    Pausing with the surge of recognition, she furrows her brow. "These are all golem parts. Extremely old golem parts."


    Bach slowly scans the area, releases an uneasy breath, and grits his teeth. "Yeah. Uh, yeah. I mean, there''s no doubt. It''s a practical junkyard here."


    Squatting down, Cideeda focuses her investigative, emerald gaze upon a nearby fractured golem hand. "While I can''t comment on the magic side of things..."


    Perking an eyebrow briefly, she curls a faint smirk. "Yet..."


    She squints at the mechanical pieces and wrestles an unimpressed frown. "None of these parts look like they''re... In that great of shape? These look worse than half the stuff my dad would turn away from his scrapyard."


    Standing back up, she flicks a claw point over to a bulky, rusted out golem torso. "That. The thing looks like it''d fall apart if you gave it a dirty look."


    An uncomfortable grimace rises upon Bach, and he narrows his suspecting stare out into the vicinity. "Yeah... But... Still have to be careful. There could be some residual magic despite appearances. And, at this point, it''d probably be completely unpredictable."


    Aristespha slowly closes her eyes and opens them to a glowing violet. Bach blinks to a blue illumination. Glancing at Bach and Aristespha, Sotalia contorts her face in concentration and squints out a golden light from her eyes. The three mages cautiously step forth into a line and cautiously scan the scattered piles in the courtyard. Tense minutes later, Bach relaxes his posture with a relieved sigh. "Well. Good news. I''m at least not seeing anything obviously active."


    Nodding in agreement, Aristespha draws in a long breath and rolls the tension out of her shoulders. "I can confirm. I do not see any leftover magical traces. Well, at the very least, in anything out here."


    Sotalia blinks her eyes a number of times, the golden glow flickering out. She flexes the facial muscles around her eyes and rubs her temples. "Oh good. I was worried I wasn''t doing it right. Anyway, I haven''t felt anything new. Just the same weird, eerie ambient feeling as before."


    Leaning towards the line up, Dretphi cranes her helmeted head around towards the mage trio in front and furrows a curious brow under her full face visor. "Safe for exploration?"


    Bach glances over, rocks his head with the internal deliberation, and nods slowly. "Yeah. It should be. I mean, I wouldn''t recommend poking anything too intact without checking it over first."


    Sebastian drifts out in front of the team and glances at Aristespha with a reserved grin. "So, nothing I might accidentally set off, dear? Just want to be sure since this all looks like it used to be A LOT of magically reactive stuff."


    With a calming tone, Aristespha presents an assuring smile to Sebastian. "I do not believe there is anything out here that would react to you, Sebastian."


    Mustering back his confidence, Sebastian floats out towards the middle of the decayed plaza. "Okay. So, let''s keep to this area for now and see if we can find anything that can tell us what the actual hell went on here."


    The group carefully spreads out across the area. Cideeda''s intrigue leads her to a half assembled humanoid golem laid out upon the paved ground. Cautiously kneeling down next to it, she cranes her gaze over into an opened compartment door and angles her stare inside. Moments later, she straightens her posture in thought and waves Bach over. "Hey, Bach! Could you magically double-check this for me?"


    Bach quickly steps over, aims his glowing stare at the partial golem, and shakes his head, his eyes dimming back to normal. "Nothing active, and nothing residual. So, no magic to worry about right now."


    Cideeda flips up a pocket cover on her vest. "Thank you."


    She pulls out a flashlight with a click and shines it inside the construct. "Okay... So, this is really weird here."


    Exploring the space within, she points a claw tip to a disturbed section within. "There it looks like parts scraped against each other. Definitely seems like the work of someone who was having a hard time prying pieces out with a.. Screwdriver. Definitely a screwdriver."


    Swaying with the view and light, she grimaces and furrows her light brown brow. "And there''s NOT a lot of weathering inside here. Far less than the outside."


    Rapping her claws upon the mechanical hull of the golem, she turns her head up towards Bach with a wary smirk. "I think someone parted this thing out in the last few months."


    With Cideeda highlighting via flashlight, Bach angles his head around the opening. "Holy shit. You''re right. Yeah, that seems like what happened. I don''t know that much about golems... But... I don''t think it should be this empty inside."


    Cideeda sits down on the old, cracked pavement, stretching her legs out. Flicking her ears in thought, she uses her clawed fingers and combs through her short, multicolored hair. "Okay... So, I''ve been meaning to ask this."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, she glances up to Bach and motions at the magical, mechanical husk. "What''s the exact purpose of binding a spirit to a golem? Because, these things look mechanically similar to some robots I''ve seen. Really. It looks like they could work on their own without anything that magical."


    Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach twists his mouth unsure and ponders out loud. "Well... By default, most golems operate very simply and follow REALLY simple instructions. They need a lot of adjustments and tweaks to keep in working order. And... Are actually really limited in what they can do magically."


    He glances around the area, spots Aristespha, and waves her over. "You know, let''s ask Aristespha. She''d know more about this."


    Aristespha walks quickly over and curiously gazes at Bach and Cideeda. "Yes?"


    Shrugging, Bach glances over to the golems parts. "You''d know this better than me. What are the reasons you''d bind a spirit to a golem? I know they do a lot, but I''ve just forgotten all the details from that one class I took a long time ago."


    Crossing her arms, Aristespha searches the top of her head and counts off with her fingers. "Certainly... First, you get an intelligence of some kind controlling the major functions of the golem. That replaces the very simplistic control spells and other devices people use. Second, the spirit typically learns to maintain the structure of the golem with some capable of enacting repairs upon the physical components and magical constructs."


    She pauses a moment and furrows her ivory brow. "Third, an advanced spirit can vastly improve what the golem is capable of in general, especially magically. Unoccupied golems have very limited magical effects that are simple enchanted modules with limited power. Without a will or mind, no new magical flows can be manipulated. A spirit can address that."


    Resting her hands on her hips, she smiles at Cideeda. "Those are the major reasons. There are a few other minor factors, but those depend on the specific purpose of the golem."


    With interest sated for the moment, Cideeda nods and stretches her arms out behind her. "Okay. I see. So, without a spirit, the golem is just a dumb, one trick drone that''s prone to falling apart."


    Aristespha grins amusedly and snickers with a humored roll of her eyes. "THAT has often been my experience. Hence, why golems see limited use today when you have access to robotics and artificial intelligence."


    Cideeda carefully examines the craftsmanship of the parted-out golem''s humanoid arm, and her emerald green eyes spark with fascination. "That makes sense. But... Still, there''s a certain quality to this..."


    Bach glances over to Aristespha with a smile, and both watch Cideeda inspect the golem thoroughly.


    Across the way, Dretphi steps slowly towards the tall, massive security doors, and carefully examines the opposing door edges. Staring through the doorway into the darkness, her attention shifts down to the concrete floor around the door tracks. Her steely gray eyes trace many long scratches and deep gouges into the surface. She follows the trails through a path of cleared debris and disturbed forest refuse, walking towards a thinned section of overgrowth. With a firm grip upon draping ivy, she draws back the tattered, natural curtain, and reveals a worn path leading north. She pivots in place, waves with her free hand, and calls out. "I have found recent activity!"


    The rest of the team gather around Dretphi''s discovery and collectively investigate it. Dretphi ponders a moment. "This is recent. Purposeful."


    Visually tracing back the drag marks, she wanders her stare through the cleared path. "Many people have used it. Transporting significant cargo."


    Sebastian bites his lip contemplatively, crosses his arms, and ethereally sighs. "That''s not a good sign. I just know it."


    Bach briefly grits his teeth and regretfully informs Sebastian. "Yeah... That''s not the only thing. Cideeda found a golem that looks like it''s been parted-out."


    Nodding, Cideeda rests her hands on her hips and frowns. "Pretty thoroughly, too. From all the tool marks I saw, they took their time and struggled to get every little thing they could out of it."


    Aristespha sidesteps, gazing upon the fresher trail, and visually plots the route. She cocks her head to the side, memory prompting, and retrieves a tablet from her backpack. "Interesting... Where does this lead..."


    Seconds of locating their position on the map later, she orientates herself and notices the rough direction the path goes with an unamused sigh. "Oh... Gods dammit... It looks like it is going right towards the commune."


    Flexing her fingers, Sotalia stares annoyed into the dark void between the entry doors and groans. "Great... Looks like they found an easier route for hauling off whatever they were looting. Oh, I bet that Meredosia bitch decided to change up plans once Faelatelia tried to escape."


    Aristespha shakes her head slowly and agrees in tone. "If she could not convince someone to bring spirits here, she brought what is here to the spirits."


    Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighs into a vague grimace. "I am NOT really happy about the possibilities. Gods. I just hope they are incompetent enough to only be unsuccessful at anything they are trying. I loathe to think what they could accidentally manage."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage assumes a stern stance and serious tone slips into his address of the team. "Okay... As much as I''d hoped we would find the place and save the rest for tomorrow, I really think we NEED to delve a little deeper on this one today. We HAVE to at least find out what was taken, so we know what to be on the lookout for."


    Dretphi firmly nods. "Agreed. We will need to inform authorities."


    Bach sighs to an uneasy grin. "Yeah. I''d kind of would like to know what a splinter group of a bunch of crazy extremists got from here."


    Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia shakes her head with a grumble. "Oh, I''m certain it''s nothing they should have their hands on. Nothing worse than crazy with crazy things."


    Aristespha and Cideeda indicate similar sentiments with uncomfortable frowns. Sebastian floats over towards the large security doors, stands confidently, and glances over a shoulder to the team with a grin. "Okay. Let''s form up and explore this place a bit more. I''m sure we''ll find some answers..."


    Deflating to an awkward smile, he shrugs his shoulders. "Whether we like it or not."


    The group shares sardonically tinged chuckles and snickers, forming up and entering into the dark void between the massive sliding doors.


    ----


    Walking along an old, mossy cobblestone road, Daedrican aims his fully helmeted head to his left and waves at a pair of lightly armored Chrome Crusader troopers along another parallel walkway. He resumes facing ahead, and Tassilda slinks up in pace next to him. She smiles confidently and perks a sly brow. "It is certainly a nice change of pace to clear out this rest area. Nice, pleasant walks through lovely scenery."


    A calm chuckle leaves Daedrican, and he glances over to Tassilda. "I agree, my lady. But, I would still recommend being careful. The main areas of the rest stop receive some maintenance, but the outer park leaves... Quite a bit to be desired."


    With a slow shrug of her shoulders, Tassilda grins and gazes out into the tall grasses of the nearby fields. "Yes. I suppose so. But, I am certain there''s not much out here that would cause a problem for..."


    She flashes a suggestive smirk at Daedrican and punctuates it with a sway. "You."


    A long, amused sigh escapes Daedrican, and he shakes his helmeted head. "Oh, you might be surprised. I''ve had a few troubling moments with the most unlikely enemies."


    Intrigue piques Tassilda''s attention, and she focuses an inquisitive, light blue on black gaze upon Daedrican. "Oh! Really? Do tell me one."


    With a laugh, Daedrican rocks his head momentarily back, a bit of embarrassment slipping out. "Zone Parrots."


    Nearly missing a step, Tassilda blinks in confusion and narrows her surprise at Daedrican. She guides a raven lock of hair over her swirling horns and bites her lower lip. Hooking a finger, she tugs uncertainly upon a horn. "Zone Parrots? Those wonderfully colorful birds that have beautiful songs?"


    Briefly bowing his head forward, Daedrican sighs and shakes his head. "Yes. I''m afraid so. It turns out, they have an annoying habit of sneaking into tents and vehicles when it is cold at night. Once comfortable, they get VERY territorial. Which leads to rude awakenings by claws and bites. I''ve had the misfortune of being forced out of my tent to escape the wrath of one."


    Tilting his head, his obscuring visor faces Tassilda, and a competitive hint tints his voice. "So... What has been the most troublesome combatant for you so far, my lady?"


    Blinking blankly, Tassilda averts her gaze away momentarily, and a flush reddens her gray cheeks. She bites her lower lip and mumbles out a coy response. "Slimes."


    She holds a finger up to Daedrican and dons a more assertive tone. "Because... They are absolutely frustrating things. They are resilient to anything short of the right amount of force. After which, they are annoyingly..."


    Twisting her grimace, she grits her teeth. "Splatter prone."


    Tassilda pauses in thought a moment and aims another query at Daedrican with a happy smile. "I am a bit curious. Why did you ever join up with the Chrome Crusaders?"


    Daedrican ponders a few moments, gently rocking his head side to side contemplatively. "After school, I decided I wanted to travel and experience the world for a bit. While I don''t come from a small town, I had never left the area I was raised in. The Chrome Crusaders seemed to be a well established group with principles I could agree with. And..."


    He chuckles faintly. "They happened to be in the area when I was running out of money."


    Craning his head towards Tassilda, genuine curiosity colors his tone. "So, my lady, why did you sign up with the Next Adventurers of Nexus?"


    A wide eyed stare overtakes Tassilda, and she struggles for her composure. She regains her confidence and approaches an answer. "Well... Similar reasons to yours. I would like to make a name for myself. Either join a good organization, or maybe form my own group. But, THAT requires you to have a great deal of experience and recognition. And..."


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Embarrassed pink tints her gray face to the outer edge patterns, and she briefly grits her teeth. "One of the audition events just happened to be nearby when my finances were not the best. To be completely honest, I was facing the possibility of having to move back in with my mother."


    Daedrican warmly chuckles with an understanding nod. A sly smirk graces Tassilda, and she narrows an inquiring stare at Daedrican. "Another question. You''re not some kind of heroic orphan, are you?"


    Laughing, Daedrican shakes his head. "Oh! No. I have a lovely mother and proud father still together after many renewals of their marriage contract. And, I have a younger brother and sister."


    He tilts his head to the side and watches Tassilda, the two walking along the cobblestone path. "So, what family do you have, my lady?"


    A faint wave of unease radiates through Tassilda, and she suppresses an overall cringe. Seconds later, she sighs with a staid tone. "I have a wonderful mother and father. They did not choose to renew their marriage contract when I was six. I lived with my mother, while my father remarried. As for siblings, I have a younger... half... sister."


    Slightly shifting his stance, Daedrican tilts his head with a bright tone. "Well, I''m certain she''s quite the lady, if she''s of any relation to you."


    Tassilda stares ahead distantly, and her attention drifts elsewhere. Gradually, a warm smile lightens her expression, and she states happily. "That she is."


    Daedrican nods and cocks his helmeted head curiously. "Pardon for jumping order, but who got you interested in the study of magic?"


    Tassilda blinks back to awareness, reassuming her confident exterior. "Oh! My mother. She is an amazing mage, and she certainly wasn''t about to have a daughter who strayed from that path. Thankfully, I thoroughly enjoyed the practice after she pushed me to learn the basics. Admittedly, I hate to think what would have become of me if I hadn''t."


    A commiserating sigh escapes Daedrican, and he nods. "I know how THAT can be. It took my own mother a few attempts to get me on a good path. Well, at least one that''d result in a career that paid well."


    He eloquently recites an emin colloquialism in his dialect. Tassilda relays nearly the same exact phrase in her dialect. Daedrican laughs into a snort. "Of course, THAT saying ALWAYS stays the same."


    Smiles contentedly at Daedrican, Tassilda nods with a giggle.


    ----


    Wind blows small flecks of debris across the rough path through the passage of trees, gradually smoothing the loose layer of dirt. Walking by himself, a figure nonchalantly travels down the trail and secures his backpack. Isaac grabs hold of his blue scarf waving wildly in the wind and loops the slack around his neck. With the breeze settling, he gazes up into the green canopy and guides wisps of white hair out of his gray eyes. An intrigued smile appears on his face, and he lifts up the old camera hanging by a strap around his neck towards the treetops. He presses a button to a mechanical click and ratchets a small crank to a stopping point.


    With the task distracting, his heavy leather boot steps into a deep depression in the road, and Isaac stumbles awkwardly. Recovering his balance, he glances down at the ground. Pausing in thought, he cocks his head to the side and squints in surprise. Inside the worn pot hole, a clear, fresh impression of a large, tire track contrasts the weathered soil bordering. Isaac kneels down, carefully feels out the impression with his leather gloved fingers, and slowly raises his direly inquisitive stare ahead. His eyes dart between other signs of recent activity, and he gradually stands back up. He sidesteps swiftly off the road and out of sight.


    Stepping forward, he moves slowly through the thicker undergrowth and quickly through open patches. Simmering unease tenses his body and sharpens his cautious scans. Minutes later, Isaac arrives at the perimeter of the rectangular clearing and stealthily peers through the vegetation. His suspicion piques, and his stare locks onto the parked humvee. A surge of shock washes over Isaac. His gray eyes darting between a flurry of thoughts, Isaac firmly slides his blue scarf over his face and wraps another loop of slack around.


    Noxian stands up, steps out into the strange clearing, and postures sternly. With an assertive demeanor, he walks close to the humvee and glares upon the area. Searching the ground around, he finds two sets of heavy tracks, two sets of lighter boot prints, and the faintest outline of feet with toe claw marks. Noxian traces the tracks and settles his suspecting stare upon an ancient set of stairs through the disturbed vegetation. Walking over slowly, he visually follows the rough trail up the tall incline leading up the mountain. He stands in the quiet surrounding. Noxian crosses his arms and lowers his head in thought.


    The eerie silence of the forest looms over. Blinking to attention, his attention wanders, and he searches the woods around. He lifts his head back up and examines the surrounding scenery. A dim glow emits from his gray eyes, and he squints out into the distance around him. Pausing upon sections of the woods, Noxian''s discomfort grows more visible across his body, tension building. A few more passes later, the illumination dims from his eyes, and he stares resolutely up the incline. He cinches up the strap of his camera, tightens the harness of his backpack, and steps upon the stairs. Thoughtfully gazing ahead, Noxian draws in a long, determined breath, and sighs with hints of irritation and regret. The blue scarf waves in the wind during the hike up the mountain.


    ----


    A bright, illuminating orb glides up towards the high, rocky ceiling above stone and metal walkways. Spots from flashlights dart around the dome of the cavernous area. Natural and carved sections blend together, and reinforcement structures divide the grand space. Down upon the mix of natural and artificial floor, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia search out into the dark chamber. Sotalia holds up a brightly glowing orb above her head and flexes her fingers, threads of magical flow condensing upwards from her palm. The light beams out further into the surrounding darkness, and the visible perimeter swells out. Cideeda and Dretphi bounce flashlights between curious, shady outlines and cautiously watch still objects emerging from the shadows. Bach flicks out blue orbs of light, tagging distant objects and walls in the murky shade. Sebastian drifts up above the group and squints out into the dim details. Aristespha rests the beam of a flashlight upon a nearby control console surrounded by a protective metal tube cage. "What would THAT go to?"


    Glancing over, Cideeda furrows her brow, flicks her furry ears in thought, and slides her attention up. Moments of searching later, she spots a large hook hanging from a massive crane assembly. "It probably controls that overhead crane system. That seems really heavy duty."


    The collection of light sources highlight the outlines of partially constructed golems and scattered parts. Each new shape seizes the attention of the group until the next freshly illuminated artifact. Cideeda''s trepidation gives way to awe, and she studies a nearby bay of support structures, tools, and parts. "They must have made golems here. Well... They at least assembled them. You have parts, tools, and assembly bays. I would guess this is a full service shop here."


    Nodding in full agreement, Aristespha focuses her curiosity upon a small building in the middle of the large, open area. "You are absolutely correct. This had to have been a secret assembly plant. Though..."


    Her violet eyes swiftly dart around into the murky perimeter. "I still have many serious questions about the location and construction."


    Glancing over to Aristespha, Dretphi directs a light upon the rocky ceiling above and motions with an armored gauntlet towards the ceiling. "Natural cavern. Signs of excavation. Some reinforcement. Some construction. Likely convenient to build upon."


    Behind her face visor, her mouth twists with faint dissatisfaction. "Still a strange choice for such a purpose. Space, yes. Hidden, indeed."


    Cideeda gradually nods and gazes wide eyed at a large arm of hybridized mechanics and magic secured upon a stout platform. "Yeah. Thinking about that..."


    She furrows her brow and narrows her emerald eyes. "How the hell do you even get something this large up the path we took? Especially without someone figuring out what you are doing up here? There must have been another entrance, or something."


    Sotalia smirks and sighs with a trailing grumble. "You would think something like THIS would have gotten a bit more attention than a few off hand mentions. To be fair, with a little bit of magic, you could hide moving a few big things."


    She slowly pivots and incredulously waves her hands out at the surrounding masses of parts and constructs. "But, all THIS?"


    Glancing over in agreement, Bach sends another light orb towards another dark spot at the edge of view. "Yeah... But, I mean, working golems move on their own. So, you could just use visual transparency spells and the cover of night to move one out of here."


    Pausing in thought, he shrugs with the distant memory rising up in mind. "And honestly... You don''t even need nightfall. A good fog, some heavy rain, or even a good snow might be enough to make it really hard to spot anything clearly from a distance with even a little obfuscation magic."


    A sly grin graces Sebastian''s ghostly visage, and he floats down next to Bach. He lightly chuckles and softly directs his voice to Bach. "Funny the useful things we learned from our... past exploits..."


    Bach suppresses a smirk, rolls his eyes at himself, and whispers. "Yeah..."


    The two brothers reminisce momentarily, stopping when inquisitive and scrutinizing attention focuses upon them. Sebastian coughs with an ethereal echo and musters up his composure. Bach rotates his glance through the stares, stiffens his posture, and resumes his previous thought. "Uh... But... Yeah. Hauling ALL these parts up here, that''d still be really rough, even with magic."


    Donning a more serious expression, Sebastian surveys the illuminated area. "That is a good point. Also... This is a nightmare of logistics."


    Cideeda nods, crosses her arms, and taps her toe claws on a foot, thinking out loud. "There''s not just truck loads of materials up here. We''re talking multiple convoys. You might be able to pull something like that off NOW if you are really, really careful. But not if you had any civilization paying attention to this place when it was active."


    Aristespha rests a hand on her hip and draws a long breath in, puzzling. "Yes. That is the confusing part of all this. This is a large-scale operation in a logistically problematic place. That... That does NOT make sense."


    With a comforting smile to Aristespha, Sebastian quirks an eyebrow. "Probably something more to this place, dear?"


    With a bit of comfort, Aristespha smirks in amusement and sighs. "Yes, Sebastian."


    She focuses ahead to a small building in the middle of the large open area and narrows her stare upon it. "Sebastian. Could you scout that building out? I think we need to investigate it."


    Sotalia gestures her hand to the light orb above and focuses a portion of the light ahead. "Now that you mention it... That is weird. Why would you have an enclosed building in an already enclosed space like this? I haven''t seen any other buildings around."


    Dretphi furrows her brow with a slight frown. "Containment."


    A silent, wary acceptance of the possibilities spreads throughout the group. Moments later, Sebastian sighs, dons a brave stance, and grins back to the group. "Well, can''t leave it alone now. I''ll go ahead and see if I find anything... Or, something tries to find me."


    He flies ahead and coasts his ghostly visage near the small building. Circling around the exterior, he glides close to the occasional window and peers in. He flies around the structure to the side opposite of the group and spots a scattered mess of debris and broken containers piled around a compromised, sliding metal door. Peeking in through the doorway, he cautiously assesses the entry. In the very dim ambient light, the flickers of gouges and reflections of bent metal around the lock highlight the door''s demise. Sebastian hums ethereally, jets off into view of the team, and waves them on over. The group moves up. Dretphi''s eyes catch the glint from deep scratches upon the floor, and she points out the developing trail. "Something was moved."


    Illuminating the ground with her flashlight, she tracks the disruptions of the dust upon the floor, impressions of shoes, and hand prints. "These are recent. Similar to outside."


    The team gathers around Sebastian and surveys the chaotic piles of refuse. Cideeda snarls her upper lip and rolls her eyes at the defeated metal door. "Fucking amateurs. Gods. They were so lucky no one bothered to trap that thing or there wasn''t anything inside there they needed to seal back in."


    Bach and Aristespha''s eyes glow blue and violet, respectively, and examine the mounds of broken equipment. Sotalia leans closer for a better view of an item in a pile and cocks her head in surprise. "Wait. Those are alchemical containers and... Magical isolation chambers?"


    Tapping Aristespha''s shoulder, she points a long-nailed finger to the end of an elaborate device sticking out of a haphazard stack. "Is THAT a recrystallizer? It looks like one."


    Aristespha glowing violet eyes widen, and she slowly nods in bewilderment. "Yes. It is... That is interesting. Why would they have such a thing here? It would make sense if you were creating magical energy cells, but that would require raw materials..."


    Shifting her attention, Cideeda shines a light onto a nearby collection of shadowy outlines. Her furry ears perk up in surprise. The fresh illumination reveals rows of industrial lathes, presses, mills, hammers, and other equipment. She blinks in astonishment and twists a grimace with her thoughts. "Oh. They weren''t just assembling golems. They MADE the parts here."


    Bach crosses his arms, blinks his eyes to normal, and ponders out loud. "But... If I remember correctly, most golems require specific materials with certain magical conductivity and capacitance properties that aren''t easy to find. Unless..."


    Dretphi stoically peers down the main walkway towards a massive tunnel archway and into the dark void obscuring the full depth of the passage. "THAT is why they choose THIS place."


    Exchanging a confirming glance with Dretphi, Bach forms a glowing blue orb in his hand. He stares ahead and releases the glowing ball down the tunnel. Gliding down the hall, the spell casts light upon the floor and reveals sets of light boot prints in the dust. The team attentively watches the trail continue forth towards the tunnel archway. At the mouth of the entry, sets of huge, exact paw prints litter the tunnel floor and mix with the other prints. Cideeda stares warily at the distant floor details beneath the floating, glowing orb. The orb sticks to a distant doorway, and Cideeda tenses with her nervous energy. "O-o-okay... Something REALLY big has been here."


    Drifting ahead of the group, Sebastian spots a branch of foot prints from the thick of activity. Dretphi steps carefully next to Sebastian, kneels down, and inspects the tracks. "Not as recent. One person. A set going ahead. Returning."


    Aristespha draws a sharp breath in and growls out. "Meredosia. It was probably her when she first found this place."


    With a bit of fear, Sotalia grimaces and contorts her face warily. "Okay. So, what the fuck do those other tracks belong to?"


    Uncertainty and worry grip Aristespha, and she sighs out her nerves, regaining some of her usual composure. "I... Don''t know, exactly. Faelatelia never got this far in. I would not be surprised if it was a golem given everything we have seen. But..."


    She fights against a frown. "I do NOT know for sure."


    Sebastian stares off at the distant blue orb upon the doors at the end of the tunnel and ethereally breathes out his worry. "Okay. I think we''ve explored enough today. We don''t need to take any unneeded risks at this point. It looks like the big whatever hasn''t gone past the archway, and Meredosia''s tracks are old. And, we''ve got a decent idea of what the Terra Priests have taken."


    Glides away, he coasts back towards the distant, dimming glow of sunlight leaking through the gap between the heavy entry doors. "Let''s call it a day. We''ll hike down, secure the camp, and rest for the night. And... Try to figure out how to proceed tomorrow."


    He pauses and pivots with his arms out towards the group. "Any questions? Objections?"


    The team shows no contest, agrees, and follows up behind Sebastian. With the team heading out, a powerful force presses against the heavy double doors at the end of the tunnel. Air jets out through every crack, and the pressure pushes open a gap between the join of the two huge doors. An eerie, faint light seeps out into the tunnel. The wave of air rushes out and blows around the team. Immediately freezing in place, Sotalia''s entire body tenses sharply. "OH. What. The. Fuck..."


    Cideeda shudders reflexively, and Dretphi visibly feels a chill down her spine. Aristespha stiffens her posture, and Sebastian spooks, his visage warping briefly. Halting in place, Bach slowly turns around. The group exchanges awkwardness and turns their attention to the new strange light. Sebastian sighs, bows his head down, and grumbles. "Well... Change of plans everyone..."


    ----


    Sebastian''s ghostly form phases through one of the two large doors. Pausing, he gawks in awe. Moments later, he regains his senses and directs his astonishment through the wide gap between the doors. "You HAVE to see THIS."


    Dretphi and Cideeda slip in first and instinctively take cover positions behind nearby debris coated crates and rock formations. Searching the immediate area for threats, the scenery captures their full amazement. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia slink through and stop, beholding the area with glowing eyes. Bach''s jaw hangs open, and he blinks in bewilderment. "What... is THIS place?"


    In front of the team, a deep, dark hole drops down to unnatural depths under a massive, natural cavern dome. An ambient light paints the space in a dim blend of many hued sources from the starry field of crystalline formations above. Surrounding the over hundred meter wide mouth of the pit, aged flood lamps flicker light upon the huge, carved outer perimeter of rock floor. Enormous girders of synthetic materials jutting from anchor points support a twenty meter wide, circular platform structure above the center of the hole. A single arching bridge connects the structure to the outer rim. Disappearing into the dark, deep depths, a series of thick, metallic cables sway almost imperceptibly with the breezes rising up the pit. The air pressure escapes through the gap between the doors. Sotalia shudders and briefly cringes. "Okay. So, I think we''ve found the source of that weird feeling I''ve been having. Now... What the actual hell is it?"


    Aristespha wanders her gaze upwards and shakes her head in disbelief. "I... I do not know. It could be many things at this point..."


    Focuses her analytical, violet glowing stare at the hole and center structure, she furrows her brow and tilts her head of silvery blue hair. Sotalia aims her golden, illuminated squint down, spots a small blue tinted crystal, and kneels down. Carefully craning her head close, she examines it, thinks a moment, and reaches a cautious hand out. With a bit of concentration, a gentle flow of magical energy swirls around her forearm and eases to the crystal. The mineral specimen lights up softly and shifts under the direction of Sotalia''s finger movements. Recognition dawns upon Sotalia''s face, and she glances up to the rest of the team. "Gods... They DID get their raw materials here. This feels like it has the right properties."


    Bach peeks over Sotalia''s shoulder and nods, his blue lighted gaze gleaning information. "Yeah..."


    He swings his stare towards the ancient, heavy machinery parked around the perimeter and the industrial safety railing encircling the hole. "I''m guessing this whole place was some kind of mining, refinement, and production operation for golems."


    Stepping out from behind a rusty container box, Cideeda cautiously approaches the lip of the pit. She stops at the guard rail, reaches into a vest pocket, and retrieves a small rectangular device. With a click of a button, a red dot appears faintly upon the distant, opposite side of the hole with faint shimmers of red outlining a laser beam path. Cideeda guides the dot downwards, aiming well into the black void below. After another click, she steps cautiously away from the pit''s edge and inspects the reading on the laser range finder. Pivoting around, she returns to the group with wide emerald green eyes. "So... That pit is OVER three hundred meters deep. I actually can''t get an exact number as the rangefinder only goes TO three hundred."


    Dretphi blinks in surprise and surveys the route around the perimeter. "There must have been valuable deposits. It is not trivial to go that deep."


    Sebastian hovers in place, strokes his hand over his chin, and ponders out loud. "This actually makes sense when you put all this together. Having a mine out here is useless if you want to keep a low profile. Having a refinement plant is pointless if you don''t want to be found out. And, having a golem assembly plant out here would attract a lot of attention. But..."


    Slowly spinning around to the team, he waves his arms out to the space with a facetious smirk. "If you have the entire production chain in one spot, then... The whole system is FAR easier to conceal."


    Sotalia picks up the crystal chunk, places it in a pouch, and stands back up with a wry grin. "Also, if anyone did figure out what you were doing, I doubt they''d really want to cause you too much trouble."


    Resting her hands on her hips, Aristespha tosses back her silvery blue hair and groans. "A golem army tends to have that effect."


    Rising concern colors Sebastian, and he glances at Dretphi. "Before we do anything more here... Dretphi, is there any sign of those big tracks here?"


    Dretphi searches the area, steps out to signs of wear on the perimeter pathway, and drops to a knee. Thoroughly investigating the spot, she visually traces routes clockwise and counterclockwise around the pit and twists her face in frustration. Seconds of deliberation later, she glances back to the group. "Something large has been here. I can not tell when. The air flow. The environment. Traces disturbed recently. Repeatedly in the past. Hard to discern."


    Sebastian nods understandingly with an appreciative smile to Dretphi. "Thank you. I was afraid of that."


    Floating towards the edge of the pit, he glances over to Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "Okay. Gods... I think we''re pushing our luck enough as it is."


    Bach perks his brow, points towards the center structure, and shrugs his shoulders. "You know, I think that platform is about the only thing worth checking out here. Maybe you can do a quick flyover to see if it''s worth all the fuss?"


    Cideeda nods in agreement, frowning uneasily. "That sounds good to me. I don''t see anything that really sticks out on the perimeter. It just seems like typical mining equipment. So, if there''s nothing up on the platform, I''m good with going home."


    Dretphi motions towards numerous shady tunnels splintering off from points along the perimeter. "Days could be spent here. Many possible routes to explore. Significant chances for danger. May not be worth it."


    Sotalia crosses her arms with a humored grin. "Well... If I was a self-righteous bitch looking for the most important thing in this place, I''d cross the bridge and see what''s over there."


    Aristespha smiles at Sebastian and dons a lighter tone. "That works for me. If there is anything, we will literally and figuratively cross that bridge. I will be content with compiling this report from the comfort of the living room couch otherwise."


    Gliding away from the group, Sebastian shines a happy grin and gives a thumbs up. He spins himself around and jets across the deep, dark pit. Seconds later, his ethereal form flies above the central platform and drops swiftly out of sight from the low perspective. The rest of the team waits patiently. A minute later, Sebastian''s visage reforms next to Aristespha. Sighs reluctantly to the team, he slowly nods his head and grits his teeth. "Yeah. We need to check it out. There''s a circular, rune covered dais that looks just like the others we''ve been finding. And, there''s other strange artifacts and documents."


    A silent, determined agreement passes through the team. Sebastian musters an appreciative smile and leads the way. Walking around the perimeter to the entry point, the team gingerly crosses the bridge to the platform structure. They reach the central point and gather around a circular dais of hybrid materials with uniquely familiar rune carvings. Nearby, a divided wooden box of decayed, broken amulets catches the attention of Sotalia, and she notices an empty spot in the packaging. "Huh. I bet this is where Meredosia got her amulet that Faelatelia mentioned."


    Aristespha irritably taps her foot and balls her fists with her frustration. "Gods damn that woman! This certainly explains a lot about Faelatelia''s and Chelindia''s stories about Meredosia. She has gotten something she has no idea about the danger of."


    Hovering nearby, Sebastian slowly shakes his head. "Well, that''s DEFINITELY not a good sign. I hate to think what she''s planning. Oh well. We''ll have to contend with that another time. Okay. Let''s grab up what we can and get out of here soon."


    The team splits up quickly. Dretphi packs up documents and items. Aristespha and Bach quickly scan the area with their mage sights. Sotalia walks around, taking photos with her aetherphone. Sebastian hovers around the structure and investigates the heavy equipment below. Cideeda starts to examine a control console, and her furry ears perk up towards a single source. Freezing, she slowly turns her head and faces the direction of a low, thumping noise. "HOLD. UP. I HEAR something."


    The team halts mid task and watches the rising din. A mechanical beast of stone, metal, and magic stomps out from a branch tunnel onto the perimeter main path. Walking on all fours, a dire wolf shaped golem slowly travels the outer rim walkway. The green glow from the enchanted machine''s magical energies illuminate its immediate vicinity. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia settle into hiding behind equipment, structures, and containers. The dire wolf golem stops, lifts its head up, and stares towards the center platform. A bright white light erupts in its eyes, and thin streams of white energy scatter across surface channels in its body, condensing into particular parts. Bach shivers in wide eyed fear, witnessing the magical activity with his mage sight. The sword at Aristespha''s side vibrates, and Sebastian''s visage warps.


    "ACTIVE. ENERGY. DETECTED."

 Episode 51

    Spines of metal mesh inlaid upon crystal speckled stone rattle along the back of the dire wolf golem, and it stomps heavily upon the deep pit''s perimeter. The thunderous noise reverberates around the cavernous chamber, and a stale echo reflects up, distantly from the dark chasm. A green glow radiates out from the lupine construct, and a bright white pulse highlights the surface maze of intricate channels. The two meter tall and wide, nearly five meter long, quadrupedal form of stone, metal, and crystal marches upon the outer walkway surface, solidly impacting the floor with each step. From the central platform over the dark abyss, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia watch the approaching golem, peering out from impromptu hiding spots, dread blatant upon their faces. Ducking down behind a storage crate, Aristespha calms her breathing, focuses, and carefully gestures out an incantation. A faint layer of magical flow just above her skin ripples briefly to opacity and fades away. Sotalia glances over, drops down, and performs similar motions with worry looming. "Ih, yeah... Good idea. Whew... Check the mage barrier."


    With each loud footstep Cideeda''s furry ears flick down, and she watches Aristespha and Sotalia enviously. "Whenever I''m able, one of you NEEDS to teach me THAT."


    Bach kneels down behind another old steel container, rests the forehead of his helmet covered head on the rusted metal, and sighs anxiously. Readjusting the strap underneath his chin, he smirks weakly at Cideeda. "Yeah. Will definitely do so. But..."


    Clenching a shaking hand into a fist, he grimaces and peeks just above the top of the storage box with a wary stare at the golem. "Even THAT probably won''t help much against this thing. It''s got an Elder Energy core in it somewhere. I can sense it."


    Aristespha nods solemnly and grits her teeth. "If nothing else, the damned sword is always accurate in that regard."


    Sebastian raises his head high enough, viewing the creature, and frowns sternly. "Okay. First thing. Let''s see if we can get clear of this thing. This is not something we want to fight, especially here."


    Scanning the bridge connecting the platform to the perimeter walkway, Dretphi grumbles out her frustration, shakes her head, and directs her low voice towards the rest of the team. "Do NOT advise crossing the bridge. Presently."


    Her steely gray eyes visibly traces the possible paths, and she shakes her head. "Golem approaching opposing side. Exposed on the bridge. In direct danger on the perimeter."


    Sotalia stares right at the entry doors to the chamber and cracks a grin. "Maybe we could fly over? We''d have to ferry over Cideeda and Dretphi, and assist Bach, but it''s not that far."


    Bach hesitates briefly and musters his resolve. That- That''s actually not a bad idea, if we are careful."


    Visibly puzzling under her face visor, Dretphi mulls over the concept to a reserved acceptance. "Possible solution. Time our transit. Allow the golem upon the bridge. Lengthen its route back to us after we fly over."


    A devious smile graces Cideeda, and she perks her furry ears, furrowing her brow. "Especially, if we leave behind a wad of breaching charges to shake it up when we all get on the outer perimeter."


    Aristespha reluctantly sighs and twists her grimace in thought. "Yes. Unfortunately, the problem is that this golem is certainly a machine of war. I would not be surprised at all if it had countermeasures or ranged capabilities."


    Sebastian smiles reassuringly to Aristespha and nods in agreement. "That is something we need to make sure of, dear."


    Searching the area, he analyzes the architecture with a hint of unease. "Especially, since I can''t find a good route that wouldn''t put us in line of sight of that thing."


    He puffs up chest and rolls his ethereal shoulders. "Okay. Let me test it to see if and how it reacts to me. Might be able to keep it distracted for you all."


    Hovering to the edge of the platform, Sebastian zooms out above the deep hole below and flies straight towards the exit. The dire wolf golem halts its progress and waits. Head stiffly sweeping towards the platform, it spots Sebastian moments later and locks on. With Sebastian coasting up higher, the golem''s back spines flip forward and crackle with arcs of magical energy flowing into them. Inscriptions glow green, and white energy condenses upon the very sharp tips. Seconds later, a barrage of energy bolts project out from the spines. The projectiles zip straight out and sharply turn, rocketing ahead of Sebastian''s flight path. A swarm of white-tipped, green bolts saturates airspace around Sebastian. A few direct hits later, Sebastian''s visage dissipates. The assault promptly halts. Sebastian reforms next to Aristespha in wide-eyed surprise and sighs ethereally to the rest of the group. "Well... THAT proved a point I didn''t want to be true."


    His ghostly form shudders, and he furrows his brow with an uneasy grimace. "Also, those bolts... felt... weird when they hit me."


    The team glance between each other, trading uncertain grimaces. Low thumps sound out and bounce around the cavern, growing louder over the seconds. The dire wolf slowly, mechanically marches towards the mouth of the central structure''s connecting bridge. Slinking over to thicker cover near the outer ring of the platform , Cideeda draws out both her laser pistols. With the golem stepping onto the bridge deck, she narrows her emerald eyes and carefully studies the construct''s simplistic motions forward. Dretphi lays her armored shoulder into large crates and containers and slides them together into a protective barrier, kneeling behind it. Readying her sub machine gun, she aims her attention upon the golem. Over the tense seconds, the magical beast rigidly stomps upon the bridge, the vibrations rattling nearby debris. Dretphi snaps a glance over to Cideeda with a quizzical tone. "It operates simplistically. Does it have high cognitive function?"


    Blinking with her thoughts, Cideeda narrows a scrutinizing stare at the golem and flicks her furry ears. "Huh. Now that you mention it... It really doesn''t act like it has much going on in the thinking department. It knows something is here, but hasn''t done anything apart from shooting at Sebastian when it got line of sight on him."


    Carefully keeping a low profile, Aristespha steps up behind a line of crates, peeks out with glowing violet eyes, and cautiously gestures out incantations. With a swift flick of her hand, a small wave of energy radiates out down the length of bridge, pulsing through the golem, and dissipates into the distant cavern wall. Aristespha blinks her eyes to normal and glances over to the rest of the team with a hopeful smirk. "There is no spirit bound to it. So, it must have a control system operating it. Unfortunately, I can not tell if it is a spell or some other device from here..."


    She smiles with a hint of confidence. "But I do not believe it could be very advanced."


    A sly smirk cracks upon Cideeda, and her furry ears perk with her scheming tone. "Well, if it''s a simple program, then maybe we can work within the logic to give us the advantage. Maybe..."


    Perking an eyebrow, she grins toothily. "Get it locked up in a routine, and keep it right there."


    Dretphi nods in agreement and sighs reservedly. "We need to know the program. Worth the risk to determine."


    The dire wolf''s heavy steps resonate through the midsection of the bridge, vibrating the entire central platform structure. Debris and junk rattles off the edge of the platform and disappears into the dark abyss below. The team instinctively brace themselves upon surrounding solid infrastructure. Tension visibly surges through the group with each platform shaking stomp. Tightly gripping a steel tube guardrail, Bach peers briefly over the edge, staring into the blackness of the pit, and nervously smiles with a tinge of resolve. "Gods. If we could only knock that thing off the bridge..."


    Sebastian snaps his attention over to Bach with a widening grin. "Hey! That''s... That''s actually an idea worth trying."


    Pondering a few moments, Bach slowly nods and furrows his intrigued brow. "Yeah... I mean, you know, as heavy as that thing is to shake this place, I don''t think they build it to fly."


    Briefly flicking his blue eyes down towards the black void below, he curls a smirk. "And even if it SOMEHOW survives the landing, we''ll be long out of here before it has a chance to get to us."


    A bold smile appears on Sebastian, and he addresses the rest of the team. "I think it''s worth giving it a shot. Any suggestions?"


    Cideeda searches through her vest pockets, retrieves a collection of small explosive packs, and a remote detonator kit. She presents them with an eager, toothy grin. "I don''t think this will launch it off the bridge, BUT it''ll definitely throw it off balance, for sure. And yes, these shouldn''t harm the bridge too much being out in the open."


    Intertwining her fingers, Sotalia stretches her arms out and smiles with a sinister hint. "Oh, I think I can lighten the load with a strong telekinesis spell. Just need it to stay still for a moment."


    Aristespha chuckles confidently and lifts an amused eyebrow. "THAT, I can provide. It might not last long with something this powerful. But... You have worked within those constraints before."


    Glancing over to Dretphi, Sebastian points a thumb over his shoulder towards the lumbering magical construction. "You up for helping me distract the thing, Dretphi? Hopefully, it''ll stay focused on me, but it might be good to have someone else split its attention."


    With a determined smirk Dretphi nods eagerly and inspects her sub machine gun. "I am curious how resilient it is."


    Sweeping his gaze between everyone else, Bach ponders a moment and nods with an offer. "I might have something that should help keep it immobilized and maybe help get it over the edge."


    Sebastian grins proudly at the team and stirs up his ethereal form. "Okay. You all wait until it is shooting at me. Dretphi, shoot at it. Aristespha and Bach, lock it down. Sotalia, lighten and lift it into the air as much as possible. Cideeda, toss the explosives under it. After that, everyone shields themselves, and we blow the charges."


    With confirmations all around from the group, Sebastian jets off into the air, his form flaming brighter. The golem halts its march and snaps its spines into firing positions, tracking Sebastian''s ascent. Sebastian flies erratically through the air, and the construct unleashes barrage after barrage of green, white-tipped bolts at his flight path. Stray projectiles drill into the cavern ceiling above, and magical miasma explodes out from the powerful impacts. The energies swell out, and the crystalline specks in the stone briefly flash brighter. Dretphi pops up from cover, steadies her sub machine gun upon a sturdy metal container top, and pulses out bursts of gunfire. Bullets bouncing off, sparks spray out from the surface of the metal and stone creature''s body. Solid impacts fracture tiny stone bits off, and lightly dent the metal framing. With a direct hit, a gout of white magical flow jets out from an inscribed channel. The golem shudders momentarily and ceases firing magical bolts. Aristespha stands up from behind a crate, throws her arms forward, and releases a transparent wall of energy forward. The wave glides down the bridge and envelopes the war machine in an immobilizing wrap of magical flow. Standing firmly, she grimaces in a tense pose.


    Lifting up his hands, Bach flings out a magical cable from each palm. The woven lines of blue and green strands arc through the air and coast down upon the lupine golem. A visible pulse of energy zips down the lines to the ends, and webs of energy threads rapidly form, wrapping around the limbs and body of the mechanical beast. The golem flexes individual joints against the tension of the magical mesh, and Bach twists his wincing grimace against the struggle.


    Standing up confidently, Sotalia quickly chants out an incantation and finishes her gestures with a dramatic throw of her hand forward. A nearly invisible column extends out, contacts the golem, and engulfs it in energy. Gritting her teeth, Sotalia plants her boots upon the platform deck, and her body strains within the magical flows spiraling around her. The torso of the dire wolf shifts upwards, the lift cascading through joints down through its legs.


    Balling the explosive material up, Cideeda hops up to her feet, gauges the distance with her emerald eyes, and swings her arm back. With powerful underarm toss, she sends the pliable mass sailing over the bridge deck. With a solid thud upon the metal walkway plating, it lands underneath the chest of the golem. A red blinking glow radiates through the deformed explosive clay next to a prominent, protruding antenna. Cideeda drops down into hiding and flips off the cover on the remote control. Dretphi ducks down, keeping her weapon trained. Aristespha releases her spell, quickly gestures, and wraps her hands around the flow streaming from Sotalia to the golem, injecting a boost of energy into the mix. Bach releases his ends of the magical cables, slides down in front of Aristespha and Sotalia, and throws up a golden barrier, anchoring it into the platform deck. Sebastian gazes down and shouts. "NOW!"


    Cideeda swiftly clicks the detonator three times. A powerful, concussive blast erupts under the golem, kicking the construct up into the air. Grinning wildly with a manic, golden glow in her eyes, Sotalia''s arms tense with the shifts of the magical flow. The dire wolf drifts towards the side edge of the bridge.


    "ENERGY. SURGE. DETECTED."


    Brilliant white energy surges through the magical machine, arcing across the surface of the golem. The blue and green magical mesh binding the body violently snaps to shreds. The transparent energy surrounding sparks and crackles, rippling into opacity. The enveloping magic explodes, and the chaotic miasma vents away from the golem. Sotalia loses hold of the fizzling spell, tips backwards, and stumbles for balance, Aristespha catching her. Partially over the edge, the dire wolf drops down, crashes on the bridge frame supports, and crushes thick guard railings. Green glowing front claws of the metal and stone beast sink firmly into the deck. It swiftly tears up onto the bridge surface, ripping metal plating effortlessly, and stands back up. Pausing a moment, it stares ahead with a white haze emanating from the eyes and digs claws into the deck.


    Flows of magic across the golem flare brightly, and the construct launches itself forward. Each bound of the thunderous charge shakes the platform violently. Aristespha and Sotalia pull each other out of the way and dive off towards one side of the platform. Scrambling out from behind his golden, transparent barrier, Bach rushes over towards Cideeda and Dretphi falling back from the rampage path. The golem drops its shoulder low and slams into the makeshift barricade. The golden shield shatters into fragments, wooden crates splinter apart, and dented, metal storage containers roll through the air. Hovering above, Sebastian wrestles down his terror and watches the falling debris. He releases a relieved, ethereal sigh, spotting Aristespha and Sotalia hiding on one side of the platform, and Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi keeping low profiles behind cover on the opposite. The magical monstrosity plants its feet securely onto the reinforced metal flooring and slowly sweeps a hunting glare side to side. Seconds later, it shifts its head low and fully opens its razor toothed maw. A rising hum accompanies the condensing energy flowing into its mouth and the green glow pulsating brighter by the second. Sebastian blinks in surprise, points at the golem, and alerts everyone below. "Look out! It''s charging up an attack of some kind!"


    Five pairs of eyes peek out from behind cover. Aristespha''s glowing violet eyes widen in fright. "That''s some kind of directed thermal projection spell! Take cover!"


    Narrowing his blue illuminated eyes, Bach''s tone slides through the spectrum of fear, annoyance, and disgust. "Oh, gods fucking dammit! Of course! It breathes fire! Why would it do anything else?!"


    Aristespha ducks down, quickly gestures out a spell, and holds her hands out in front of her, a transparent bubble of energy spreading around her and Sotalia. A few fast incantations later, Sotalia places her hands upon the barrier near Aristespha''s and shouts out towards Bach with a dry grin. "Like what?! Frost breath?!"


    Bach kneels down, holds his arms out, and rolls his blue eyes with a wry smirk. "Gods forbid people who took time to build a walking weapon to look like a giant wolf stick to some kind of theme!"


    Concentrating, he closes his eyes and steadies himself. A fast growing hexagonal grid expands out into an intricate dome, enveloping Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi. In the few moments, new layers laminate upon the current shell, individual cells fill in with finer meshes, and the fibers of flow anchor into the flooring beneath. Bach glances over his shoulder towards Cideeda and Dretphi. "Keep towards the front, I''ll focus protection there."


    Sudden silence stills the team. A roar of bright orange and green streaked flames blasts forth from the jaws of the dire wolf, flooding the vicinity. The torrent of fire jet outs continuously, all encompassing. Seconds pass slowly within the magical barriers splitting the raging river of unyielding, supreme heat. Wooden crates disintegrate into fiery specks that drift off the central platform and drift into the void below, the distant darkness snuffing out the faint embers. Metal containers warp under bright orange white glows, and molten globs spatter upon protective bubbles, cooled droplets rattling across the platform floor. Aristespha cringes, and Sotalia strains against the onslaught, both flowing more energy to their protective, multi-layered field. Flames washing over the protective dome, Bach keeps his hands in place and releases slow, calculated breaths, sweat dripping down his visor-covered face. Cideeda stays behind Bach and slides her feet closer to the center of the enclosed circle of floor within. She winces silently, the heat from the bluing floor softening her thinly soled shoes. Easing down onto her polymer and barrier protected knee plating, Dretphi sweeps Cideeda securely up into her lap. Cideeda pulls her shoes clear of the floor, leaving a trace layer of rubber upon the plating, and sighs with gracious smile to Dretphi. "Thank you!"


    The flames stop. The green magical light dims down to a dark flicker inside the mouth of the dire wolf golem, and it snaps its maw shut. Straightening its posture, it secures its footing and cautiously sweeps its watchful stare across the area. Waves of heat radiate off the scorched, reinforced platform floor. Scraps of freshly charred wood and other flammable materials smolder, spouts of fire igniting from the gasses. Dull, red orange glows fade to tempered shades on many of the metallic surfaces. A chorus of pops and snaps fill the background din. Sebastian''s visage reforms next to Aristespha and Sotalia. His worry and concern blatant, he examines them. Aristespha summons a calming smile and nods to Sebastian. Sotalia wipes the sweat off her brow and gives a smirking thumbs up. Sebastian snaps his attention over towards Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi. Bach nods back to Sebastian, and Cideeda and Dretphi wave from inside a fading dome.


    Bach''s voice echoes softly over Aristespha''s aetherphone from inside her pocket. "So... Uh.... What''s the plan now?"


    Pulling her aetherphone out, she holds it close to the midpoint between herself, Sebastian, and Sotalia. "Good question."


    Sotalia sneaks a brief peek around the edge of a partially melted container and slinks back to Aristespha and Sebastian. "Well. It doesn''t look like it''s going anywhere. I guess it''s... Like... It''s waiting for something?"


    Cideeda ponders out loud over the radio. "If it is running on a rough program... I''d guess it''s waiting for any signs of activity. If I was to program something like this, I''d have it wait first, and THEN go in to confirm that the targets have been eliminated."


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    Twisting his mouth in indecision, Sebastian grumbles in thought. "So more than likely, even if we try to wait this thing out... It''ll probably eventually search for us."


    Opposite across the platform, Dretphi nods her helmeted head solemnly. "I concur..."


    Furrowing her brow, she blinks and cocks her helmeted head, an intrigued tone brightening her voice. "During the attack... I hit an inscription directly. Energy erupted out. The golem faltered."


    Bach glances over his shoulder, ponders a moment, and confirms. "Yeah. I saw that energy burst, too. It must have damaged a flow channel on it or something like that."


    Across the radio channel, Aristespha''s interest piques, and she thoughtfully replies. "That is an ancient golem without a spirit bound to it. I would assume it has not received proper maintenance in many, many years. It could very well be far more degraded than it appears."


    An amused smirk curls on Bach''s face. "So... Just throwing this out here... We should shoot it a lot."


    He glances over towards Sebastian and shrugs with his hands out to the sides. "At the same time?"


    Sebastian darts his translucent blue eyes around his mind and returns a similar gesture. Aristespha hums in thought and squints around the corner of cover briefly. "If we target flow channels, we might disable many of the more dangerous aspects. If we are lucky, we may be able to temporarily disable it enough to get around it and make a run for it."


    Sebastian nods in agreement. "Okay. Sounds like the best plan we''ve got at the moment, dear."


    Across the way, Dretphi sighs and shakes her head. "Unfortunately, my weapon did not do significant damage."


    An irritated frown overtakes her, and she quietly growls. "Again... The appropriate weapon is not with me."


    Pivoting in place, Bach gazes at Dretphi and Cideeda with a hopeful smirk. "Hey, I might be able to fix THAT."


    Cideeda and Dretphi stare expectantly at Bach. Holding his hands out, Bach starts an explanation. "Okay. I''ve thought about the whole weapon enchantment idea, and I might have something simple and quick for your weapons."


    Gritting his teeth, he hisses out a surge of uncertainty. "Fair warning... Uh, they probably won''t last long and may not work that well-"


    Hearing the safety engage, he feels the full weight of Dretphi''s sub machine in his hands. Blinking in surprise, he glances up to the eager smile of Dretphi and studies the weapon in his hands. With a slow exhale, he closes his eyes. Faint multi-colored magical flows creep along the exterior of the gun. Coils of magical energy condense upon the length of the barrel and form intricate patterns upon the forward and rear grips. A minute later, Bach reopens his blue glowing eyes and presents the device back to Dretphi. "Okay. Yeah. Simple projectile accelerator in the barrel. You''ll have to direct your flow into it to keep it going."


    Dretphi graciously lifts her submachine gun up from Bach''s hand with a thankful, warm smile and readies it. Bach faces Cideeda, and a pair of clawed hands deposit a laser pistol in each of Bach''s open palms. Nodding, he focuses. Meshing patterns encapsulate the hand grips of the pistols and threads of magic sink inside the devices. Only faint glows from the vents hint at the processes happening within the weapons. Bach gives the laser pistols back to Cideeda and sighs unsure. "Um, for you, photon amplifiers help energize the beams. Flow what you can into them to help keep the magic going. Again... I don''t know how well it will work in this short of time and-"


    Feeling a familiar, soft five claw tip squeeze on his upper arm, Bach gazes ahead. Cideeda grins toothily and winks to Bach. "Perfect time to test."


    An appreciative smile appears Bach and widens into a bold grin. He draws his transforming plasma pistol out. Sebastian nods across the way to the magically armed Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi. He smirks proudly to Aristespha and Sotalia. "Okay. I think that side is covered."


    Fluttering her golden, darkened sclera eyes, Sotalia chuckles, flexes her long nailed fingers, and rolls her shoulders in a stretch. "If it''s made of metal and stone, I think I''ll see how it likes the cold. So, if anyone sees frost, shoot. Let''s see how brittle it can get."


    Aristespha nods with a determined smile to Sebastian and readies herself. "I will see if I can disrupt enough around the jaw. We certainly do NOT need another fire attack like that."


    Sebastian directs his ghostly voice to Aristespha''s aetherphone. "Okay. Everyone get ready. I''ll get its initial attention, then... Light it up."


    In the lull of eerie quiet in the echoing cavernous space above and below, the dire wolf scans its head side to side. In the sweep, it slows at two points on either side of the platform. Immediately in front of the construct, Sebastian rises up through the platform floor and jets upwards into the air. The golem backs up, lifts up its head, and flips spines towards him. Dretphi pops up from cover, crimson flows filling the channels leading to the barrel of her submachine gun, and unleashes volleys of accelerated, high velocity rounds. The recoil surprises her and leaves a delighted, enthusiastic grin upon her tan face. Cideeda takes her aim and fires blue laser beams at the golem. In a moment, she concentrates and focuses faint flows down her arms. With each rush of energy, the beams color shift towards violet. Leaning out from cover, Bach unleashes charged bolts of plasma. Sotalia quickly gestures, points a finger at the golem, and hoses concentrated, cold streams upon choice sections of the golem. Potent, precise beams of energy from Aristespha powerfully drill into the maw of the war machine. The furious flurry of beams, bolts, projectiles, frost, and energy rattle the armored golem. Molten flecks of metal splatter upon the platform floor, the cooled specks rattling away. Fragments of stone clatter on the metallic surface. Arcs of disrupted magical energy spark out into plumes of miasma spewing forth from breaks in flow channels. Frosted parts shatter violently under well placed shots, and the metal and stone beast stumbles around.


    Weathering the unyielding onslaught, the mechanical dire wolf slams down its front claws. Bracing itself, its jaws fling wide open and expose a bright green cloud venting out. A precise beam of magical energy lands right inside, stunning the construct. Volleys of frost, plasma, photons, and high-velocity mass race into the mouth of the golem, and a loud crashing from within slams the maw catastrophically shut. Wandering aimlessly backwards, it drags trails of smoke, and magical energy sizzles out from the dented gaps in its jaws. The dire wolf exposes its side. Sotalia steadies her stance, raises both hands forward, and concentrates a potent frost ray right upon the belly of the beast. The column of cold squarely impacts and freezes over the midsection armor, billowing forth clouds of vapor. Dretphi braces her submachine gun against herself tightly, unleashes a brilliant wave of magical energy into the barrel, and flips the mode switch to full auto. A torrent of automatic fire tears into the frozen middle plate, shattering the armor into a rain of fragments under the deck. Rounds fly through the new opening and ricochet loudly inside. An explosion blows out the belly of the mechanical beast. The golem flings its fractured glare towards Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi''s position and charges recklessly forward.


    Bach scrambles clear of the oncoming golem. Cideeda scrapes her claws upon the floor and launches herself away. Dretphi spins into a dodge, and the construct crashes through mostly melted containers. In the chaos, the beast claws wildly and thrashes about. A tail swipe catches the sub machine gun and strips it out of Dretphi''s hands. Diving away, Dretphi repeatedly rolls from the golem, rights herself upon her heavy boots, and stands up fully. Swiftly drawing her machete from her back magnetic mount, she readies herself. The dire wolf searches around and levels its flickering glare upon Aristespha and Sotalia. Miasma steams through the cracks, and sparks drop out through the holes in its body. Claws sink into the platform deck, and its lines itself towards Aristespha and Sotalia. Loud heavy boots clang upon the floor, and a machete solidly scrapes the side of the construct''s head. Sprinting off to the opposite edge of the platform, Dretphi stomps loudly and yells challenges in venomous Grath. The golem''s attention shifts fully to Dretphi, and Aristespha and Sotalia scramble off. Spotting Bach and Cideeda waving them over, they slide behind cover. Sebastian jets over next to Dretphi. The dire wolf stands firm, cautiously lining up a charge at Dretphi, often diverting suspicious attention to Sebastian. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia watch the showdown. Shuddering briefly, Sotalia snaps her confusion upon the golem and points a finger to a white glow within the creation''s blown out frame. "Good fucking gods! The armor around the belly came completely off- Is that a power cell?!"


    A determined grin parts her mouth, and she holds up a palm, magical flow condensing into a tight ball of fire. "OH... If I''m feeling this right, that''s GOT to be holding that Elder energy. Take this!"


    She lobs a bright orb of blue flame at the golem. The fireball zips right to the cylindrical, white light radiating cell... and dissipates to a fading cloud. Blinking in utter bewilderment, Sotalia cocks her head. Cideeda lines up her laser pistol and gently squeezes the trigger. A blue-violet laser streaks to the target and refracts into a harmless scatter within centimeters of the energy cell. Squinting with glowing blue eyes at the golem, Bach grimaces with a grit of his teeth. "Shit. Yeah. It''s definitely charged with elder energy. It''s radiating a tiny amount around it."


    Aristespha twists her mouth and growls in frustration. "Just enough to keep a disruptive barrier around it against magics and energy weaponry."


    Bach nods, stares at the cell inside golem''s chest cavity, and cocks his head to the side. "Well, it may not be protected from physical attacks, especially at that main connection. The field doesn''t seem that strong there."


    Listening to the radio across the way, Dretphi focuses her glare at the white glowing module within the golem''s broken midsection. Stern determination washes over her face, and she calmly calls out. "I think I can hit it. Should I try?"


    Bach blanks to the echo of Dretphi''s voice over the air and radio, and blinks to Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia. Mustering his resolve, he nods. "Yes. Aim for the junction between the cell and cables. Get clear and over to us regardless!"


    Cracking a small grin, Dretphi tightens the grip on her machete and eyes Sebastian''s visage. "Keep its attention. I am attacking."


    Sebastian nods, flares up his form to a flaming brilliance, and charges at the golem. "HEY! WATCH ME! YOU STONE COLD BITCH!"


    The head of the construct snaps and processes Sebastian, losing track of Dretphi. Charging forth, Dretphi swiftly sprints to the construct, swings her large blade, and guides the powerful thrust of the tip right at the join between power cell and cable. A shower of sparks erupts, the machete''s edge grinding firmly into the junction. Magical miasma sprays out, the blade scraping against connection. Dretphi pulls out of the golem and escapes. The creature shudders momentarily and continues to lumber around shakily. Dretphi dashes across the platform and slides behind cover near the rest of the group. Pressing her back against a pile of debris, she shakes her head in anger and disappointment. "Sorry. Could not impart the required force."


    The golem stomps heavily, slowly towards the far edge of the platform. Each thunderous step shakes the entire structure. Clouds of smoke billow out, parts rattle loudly, internals spark brightly, and the war machine closes in on Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Sebastian''s form reappears next to Aristespha, and he poorly masks his worry with a smirk. "Okay! It''s no longer really paying attention to me, and I think it''s had enough of our shit at this point."


    Peeking out, Sotalia barely contains her fear. "Uh... Um... So... Maybe we can fly to the perimeter. I can carry Dretphi. Aristespha you get Cideeda. Bach, try your best and keep near Aristespha?"


    Aristespha swallows hard, attempting to calm her flurry of thoughts. "Magic attacks dissipate. And energy gets deflected... What to do... What to do..."


    Observing the fright and panic seeping out of everyone, Bach searches the area and catches the glint of a familiar gun barrel. The weapon rests meters away, past the mechanical beast and near the platform edge. He lifts his hand up, aims his palm at the precariously positioned weapon, and focuses his blue glowing eyes. A woven magical energy cable launches from the condensed energy in Bach''s hand, glides to its target, and latches on. With a hard yank, Dretphi''s submachine gun hops clear of rubble, bounces swiftly along the floor, and slides right next to Dretphi. Silence halts the team. Sebastian cranes his head around and puzzles at Bach. "What are you thinking, bro?"


    Bach blinks in thought, draws a long breath in, and explains. "Really, really high speed projectiles. I overcharge the holy hell out of what I put on there, and Dretphi takes the shot. We just need an opening."


    A proud grin emerges upon Sebastian, and he nods in complete agreement. "Okay. Quick plan. Cideeda and I draw its attention. Aristespha and Sotalia, hold it for the shot. Bach and Dretphi... Make the shot."


    The golem halts meters away from the last blockade of rubble and debris. Lowering its head, it digs in its claws, and-


    Sebastian flies up from the floor at it, waving his arms menacingly. The construct ignores the nuisance and-


    Twin beams of blue-purple light carves across its side. The dire wolf swings its head over and watches Cideeda sprinting between cover and pulsing laser blasts. The fracture metal and stone machine attempts to return focus ahead and struggles against a wave of energy enveloping it. An unseen force wrestles, slides, and grinds it gradually against the platform floor. The massive body pivots and exposes a clear view to the power cell within the midsection. The power cell brightens.


    "ENERGY. SURGE. DETECTED."


    Dretphi lays her weight against the submachine gun upon a metal container and lines up the shot. Closing his eyes, Bach carefully places his hands under the weapon. A flood of bright magical energy flows into the gun''s barrel. The golem rotates a few more degrees. A wave of white energy erupts from the power cell and coats the surface of the war machine. Spells upon it visibly fizzle, and it regains freedom.


    Dretphi squeezes the trigger of the radiating weapon.


    A visible streak instantly traces from the barrel of Dretphi''s gun right through the obliterated junction between power cell and cable. Faint shock rings form around the vapor trail, Dretphi rides the gun''s recoil backwards onto the floor, and Bach reflexively drops to the deck. The construct steadies from the impact and freezes. It stands motionless. The white energy dissipates into the air, and the green flows throughout its body stop. Dire wolf golem collapses into a heap of stone and metal pieces upon the middle of the central platform.


    Dretphi stares upwards in pure astonishment and slowly sits up. Rolls her shoulder, she glances down at the red heat radiating off her gun''s barrel and secures the holding strap onto her armor. Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts cautiously up to the quiet remains of the golem. Hovering around the still pile, he releases a long, relieved sigh. "OKAY. I think it''s fucking down for the count!"


    Aristespha seats herself down, resting her back against a container fused to the platform floor, and tries to breath easy. Cideeda plops herself on a pile of debris and recollects her thoughts. Bach tilts his helmeted head against a metal panel and slowly calms himself. Sotalia stands triumphantly, grins proudly, and tosses her fiery orange, wavy hair back over her shoulders. "WOO! Now THAT was a fight... But..."


    Motioning towards the cavern exit, she awkwardly smiles with a tilt of the head and sheepishly raises a hand up. "Gods... I think I''m just done for the day. Anyone else?"


    Hands rise up from the rest of the team in complete, humored agreement. Sotalia exhales, steps out from behind a partially melted container, and nonchalantly walks over to Bach and Dretphi. She freezes mid step, snaps her head in wide-eyed terror at the golem pile, and screams out. "I-I FEEL S-SOMETHING! LOOK OUT-"


    A sharp shrill screech pierces the cavern air, and a massive shock wave of green energy explodes out from underneath the former construct. The powerful tide bubbles out swiftly and launches parts in all directions. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi reflexively dive down behind nearby cover. In the mere moments available, Sotalia braces herself and her close magical barrier flashes visibly around her. The expanding field of force kicks her up into the air. Attempting to balance herself mid flight, a stone armor plate crashes into the thick barrier around her head and deflects off. The protective shell holds. Sotalia''s dizzy expression fades to unconsciousness, and she limply tumbles high in the air... past the edge of the platform.


    Tilting his head up, Bach watches Sotalia fall from the apex of her arc. Widening his panicked eyes, a brilliant blue glow flashes out. He throws his hands forward, and a maelstrom of magical flow swirls along his arms. Woven strands of blue and green launch out from each palm, jet through the air, and latch onto Sotalia''s shoulders. A weave of supportive fibers wrap a mesh harness around Sotalia''s body. Sotalia falls out of view, and the magical cables drape over the platform edge. Bach clenches onto each cable and plants his feet.


    The slack snaps tight, and the full force yanks Bach forward off his feet. Bach''s helmeted head slams violently, visor first, against the reinforced metal plating of the floor. The lines drag him harshly across the rough rubble. His armor scrapes against the platform surface, and he bounces off piles of debris. Bach grinds to a halt, his upper body between the melted remains of two guardrail support posts and his arms hanging over the platform edge. Painfully grimacing, he focuses through the daze and gazes down through the crackled, golden barrier on his visor into the dark void below him. In his locked grip, two taut, several meter long cables support an unconscious, gently swinging Sotalia in a magically woven blue and green harness above the black abyss. Tension spikes in the quiet and Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian snap to full awareness. Sebastian yells out in a panic. "BACH!? SOTALIA?! ARE YOU TWO OKAY?!"


    Jetting over to his brother''s side, fearfully gawking below. Joy erupts on Sebastian''s face, and he hovers to peer into Bach''s helmet. "Bro, you okay?!"


    Bach stifles a cough and groans. "Yeah. I got her. The lines are stable. Just need a moment and to clear my head... And, I''ll get her up."


    Sebastian energetically waves everyone else over and nods to Bach. "Hang in there, bro. EVERYONE, GET OVER HERE-"


    A cacophony of metal stress resonates throughout the entire platform and the structure beneath. A second of abrupt silence shatters into rumbling cracks of rocks around an anchor point and twisting whines of support structure collapsing. The entire central platform sharply pitches. Cideeda briefly slides and reflexively sinks her claws into floor plating gaps. Aristespha scrambles for a grip, dodging flaming remnants of wood crates. Dretphi bounds over, snatches up Aristespha, and clamps onto a section of intact guardrail. Bach drops over the edge to Sebastian''s absolute horror.


    The wind rushes around Bach. The pit walls blend into the darkness below and contrast only with the blue and green cables leading to Sotalia. Terror rattles thoughts and panicked chaos freezes Bach in the moment. The edges of the pit rise higher, and Bach stares distantly stunned. Cutting through the fearful deadlock, a familiar spark ignites a torrent in the back of mind and impulses. A wave of determination overwhelms Bach. Gritting his teeth, his eyes flash bright blue, and he clamps onto the magical cables in his hands. The lines snap taut, and a flurry of retracting magical flow reels Sotalia swiftly into Bach''s arms. Securing Sotalia with his arms under her shoulders in a tight hug, Bach focuses within. Moments later, Bach and Sotalia''s descent slows to a standstill. Lifting his head up, Bach opens his bright blue eyes and flashes a brave grin. The two ascend upwards and swiftly gain altitude. Sebastian spots his brother''s eyes distantly below and cheers down. "YES! HOLY SHIT! THAT''S IT, BRO! KEEP IT UP! Aristespha will be there as soon as we get Dretphi and Cideeda on the bridge off this thing!"


    Blasting his way up with Sotalia in his arms, Bach continues to gain altitude. The rate of ascent... slows. Bach pants and the speed sharply decreases. Progress stops, and Bach strains painfully to maintain flight. The glow in his eyes dims gradually, and he sinks slightly down every second. Glancing at the unconscious Sotalia, he shakes her around. "WAKE UP! Gods dammit, Sotalia! WAKE THE FUCK UP! I can''t maintain enough lift for both of us! Come on..."


    He gazes pleadingly. "Wake up, cast a spell... Please wake up..."


    Sebastian stares with grave concern, realizing the grim situation forming below him. "BACH! HOLD ON!"


    The air rises up around Bach, the illumination in his eyes dims further, and the descent into the black pit speeds up. Desperation overtakes Bach. He stares into Sotalia''s face... And winces with tears in his eyes. "Gods... Dammit..."


    Bach frowns, cringes, and cries out. "No..."


    Drawing a deep breath in, he renews his embrace of Sotalia and closes his eyes firmly. Gritting his teeth, pain radiates through the entirety of his body, and he reopens his blue eyes resolutely. Within the dimming blue glows in his eyes, pinpoints of white flash out. A wave of white magical energy spirals into jets of downwards flow over him. The embedded crystals in the cavernous ceiling flicker brightly with flashes of light deep down in the unending pit, faint sparkles of mineral light emerging from the darkness. Distant repetitious, mechanical clicks echo out into the chamber. Electrical lighting dims out along the perimeter. Sebastian''s visage warps and distorts.


    "PREVIOUS. FLOW. DETECTED."


    Bach stops mid air and firmly holds position. Faint swirling white flows shape beneath him, and he ascends up with Sotalia in his arms. Seconds later, Sotalia stirs, blinking and groggily searching around. Her golden eyes spring wide open, her awareness returning. The dark abyss below spooks her, and she reflexively wraps her arms tightly around Bach. Shivering uncomfortably, she glances at the energy flows near her, and realizes Bach''s hold of her. Turning her head around, she peers into Bach''s helmet, and notices the distant, strained determination on his face. Bach breathes cautiously, shakily, and trickles of fear crack his resolve. Sotalia summons a calming tone in contrast to the overwhelming concern on her light tan face. "Hey... How are you doing, Bach?"


    Barely managing an audible response through strained breaths, Bach visibly twinges. Sotalia stretches her arms out, gestures out a spell, and carefully speaks an incantation. Flows of magic support her body in flight, and she gently eases out from Bach''s grasp. "It''s okay. I''m okay. Don''t worry."


    Bach manages an unsteady nod and sways, the flows of energy thinning. Swiftly slipping her arms under Bach''s shoulders, Sotalia tightly squeezes him close. She gently speaks into the ear vent of his helmet. "It''s okay. I got you."


    With a loose arm wrap around Sotalia, Bach''s eyes dim back to normal. He nearly collapses in her arms, keeping consciousness against obvious exhaustion. Sotalia hoists Bach up towards the safety of the connecting bridge. Flying up, Sotalia nestles her head upon Bach''s shoulder against his helmeted head, tightens her embrace, and sniffs. "Thank you."


    Bach weakly chuckles with a tired, happy tone. "You''re welcome... Thank you, too..."


    Sebastian zips next to Sotalia and directs her towards the bridge exit onto the perimeter. Aristespha flies over and supports Bach opposite of Sotalia, the two ferrying him to an awaiting Dretphi and Cideeda. The team reunites upon the perimeter walkway, Sotalia and Aristespha landing with Bach. Aristespha guides Bach down and steps over, removing her small backpack of medical supplies. Sotalia follows down to a seat next to Bach, wrapping an arm firmly around Bach''s waist and her other hand tightly holding his upper arm. Sebastian keeps watch and stares suspiciously at the cavern exit and inspects other areas. Cideeda kneels down, gently claws Bach''s arm for his attention, and undoes the straps to his helmet. "Hey, you okay under there?"


    Cideeda pulls the helmet off, and Bach cracks a weak smile and lifts his head up. "Yeah... Just a bit... tired... right now..."


    Dretphi drops to her knees, removes her helmet, and directs her nervous worry at both Sotalia and Bach. "O-Okay?"


    Sotalia gazes with her golden pupil and almost black sclera eyes at Dretphi, nods uncertainly, and contorts her face, hiding forming tears. Dretphi''s stare softens, and she wraps her arms around both Sotalia and Bach. Tearful sniffs sound out from Sotalia, and Dretphi gently rubs her on the back comfortingly. Bach softly snores.

 Episode 52

    The humvee rolls into a spot upon the worn pavement of an old service station parking lot. The noon sun above heats up the rooftop solar panels of the main building in the middle of encircling fuel pump awnings. A faint breeze hardly moves even a few blades of grass in the empty fields near the lone stop along the long highway. The vehicle stops, the powerplant inside the humvee spins down, and a door opens. Hopping out, Sotalia dashes in a rigid jog around the side of the main structure and swiftly pushes through the front glass storefront doors. Cideeda calmly exits the cab, shaking her head of short, multicolored hair with a roll of the emerald green eyes, and shrugs, casually walking to the entrance. Aristespha steps out of the vehicle, slides her seat up, and clears the way for Dretphi to climb out. Nodding appreciatively, Dretphi catches up to Cideeda at the store doors. Aristespha slides her seat back and curiously observes Bach.


    Silently staring out the window to the scenic fields and trees around, Bach sighs softly, maintaining an inner distance from the world around him. Aristespha steps up into the humvee, sits down in her seat, and stares inquisitively at Bach. "So... What is on your mind, Bach?"


    Bach blinks a few times out of the stupor, turns his head slightly towards Aristespha, and awkwardly stumbles upon his words. "Uh... Well... I mean... Nothing really. Just enjoying the scenery, I guess?"


    Aristespha lifts an unconvinced eyebrow, seeking further explanation with her focused stare. Sebastian''s ghostly form appears in the aisle between Aristespha and Bach and levels a questioning glance towards Bach. "Oh, bullshit, bro. You''ve been spacing out the whole ride back since this morning. Something heavy is sitting on your brain."


    He furrows his brow and tilts his head to the side. "What is it?"


    Briefly squirming in his seat, Bach hesitantly gazes over towards Sebastian and Aristespha. "I... I don''t know. It''s well... I... I''ve just been thinking about yesterday. And, really thinking about... Well..."


    He draws in a long breath, pauses in thought, and exhales slowly. "What am I?"


    Sebastian cocks his head puzzled and blinks out his confusion. "Okay? Um. In what context are we asking THAT question?"


    Bach crosses his arms uncomfortably, rolling his shoulders, and hisses in a nervous breath in. "Well, in the context of me using elder energy from whatever source it comes from for me. Yeah, so, uh, last I checked, people who tend to use that type of magic haven''t been viewed favorably for a really long time. Vilified, even."


    Glancing away briefly, he mutters to himself. "Especially if the puppet shows are to be believed."


    Sebastian smiles proudly with a comforting voice. "Listen. You saved the life of our friend. I SAW you struggle and try your fucking damnedest to do everything else possible. You HAD no other option and did what you felt was the right thing to do. I don''t think anyone will fault you for that."


    He glances over to Aristespha and back to Bach. "I''m pretty sure anyone in that same situation would have done the same thing, bro."


    Bach grimaces uneasily and averts his eyes away, examining his thoughts between flicks. "Yeah. I mean... I know I made the right choice and all."


    Unfolding his arms, he grits his teeth, and sways his head, raking both hands through his head of longer, brown hair. "But... Gods... I still worry what thinking THAT WAY could eventually lead to. I mean, think about, how many Dark Lords before were honestly justified in what they did initially? And... How many still felt fully justified when they went off the deep end? And totally never knew how far they had gone?"


    Sebastian ethereal blue eyes widen in concerned shock. Sliding around to face Bach from the center console, he cranes his head around and makes eye contact with his brother. "You are NOT a Dark Lord. DO NOT put THAT on yourself."


    Reaching her arm out, Aristespha firmly grips onto Bach''s shoulder and stares sternly compassionate into his worried blue eyes. "You have to understand that term is not some kind of official classification. It is a term that was born out of fear and the desires for manipulation of the masses. Ultimately, it is nothing more than convenient branding that ignorant masses use and the media and governments encourage."


    Bach lowers his head and contorts his grimace, mumbling loudly. "Even so... It seems to have been really appropriate a bunch of times in the past."


    Sighing long, Aristespha''s violet gaze softens, a gentle tone coloring her voice. "Bach. Just because you have access to Elder energy does not make you some kind of Dark Lord. Or even destined to become one."


    With a sincere smile, Sebastian nods in agreement and angles his head to meet his brother''s eyes. "Yeah. And, if I have the score right, you''ve annihilated two Nightmare Geists and saved Sotalia''s life with that power. I think you are far from any infamous Dark Lords at this point, bro."


    Lifting his head up, Bach musters a halfhearted smile and sighs out his reserved acceptance. "Yeah... I''d like to think that, too."


    He stares poignantly at the sword at Aristespha''s side, fighting back the hints of dread bubbling out onto his face. "I don''t know. In a weird way... Gods... It seemed a lot easier and safer for everyone to just live my life as some kind of lame mage. If I don''t use that energy... I can''t become something that would require..."


    Wincing, he stammers with his inhale. "A special sword to take down."


    Aristespha and Sebastian trace the path of Bach''s stare upon the sword. Sebastian briefly frowns, and Aristespha pats her hand on Bach''s shoulder, calmly explaining. "There has been no properly done research that has shown that Elder Energy has any effect on the minds of its users. In fact many at the Grand Library believe most of the infamous Dark Lords had serious prior issues well before they came into their power."


    Sebastian grins reassuringly at Bach and nods with Aristespha''s statement. "Exactly! You have the power, and you avoid using it as much as possible. That sets you apart from a lot of people."


    Bach summons up a full smile towards his brother and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess. But, as much as I''d like to not use it at all..."


    Rocking his head between his shoulders, he twists a grimace. "It might be best to get some idea of what exactly I have. I mean, if only just to not accidentally fuck things up. "


    Aristespha leans an analyzing gaze towards Bach and confidently smirks. "I most certainly can help you with that. If you want. The Grand Library has done plenty of research in related fields of study, and I may be able to contact an expert or two, discreetly. I promise we will take it slow and careful."


    Drawing in a long breath, Bach exhales out his nerves, relaxes into his seat, and nods appreciatively at Aristespha. "Yeah. That sounds pretty good. Maybe in a few weeks? Gods. Still a little shaken up right now to focus on something like that."


    With a final few pats, Aristespha smiles kindly and glances over to the store corner. "Of course. I do think we all need a rest before anything else."


    She watches Sotalia round the corner of the building with a large coffee cup in one hand and collection of sweeteners, creamer cups, and seasoning packets in the other. Sliding down off her seat onto the pavement near the humvee, Aristespha places her hands on her hips. "Well. I think I might need something to drink anyway. Do you want anything, Bach?"


    Bach thinks for a moment, visibly searching his desires. "Um. Yeah. I guess a milk tea-"


    Patting his stomach, he winces consciously of his figure. "Uh, the unsweetened kind."


    Sebastian glances over, perks his brow, and rolls his eyes. "Oh, live a little, bro. You''ve been doing damn good about getting in shape anyway."


    Sebastian fades back towards the sword, and Bach sighs playfully with a tinge of sarcasm. "Okay, the regular kind. Live a little dangerously today."


    Laughing, Aristespha nods and walks towards the storefront entrance. She pauses after an off step, wiggles her leather booted foot around on the pavement, and mutters Evuukian curses under breath, adjusting her pace. Bach leans his head side to side, stretches his body out in the seat, and works the stiffness in his neck. The front passenger door opens, and Sotalia places her large cup of coffee in a center console drink holder. Dumping an assortment of extras in the beverage, she glances over to Bach flexing the tension out of his shoulders and smirks. "Maybe you should walk around and move, instead of sitting motionless staring out the window for hours?"


    Rolling his eyes at himself, Bach reaches for his door handle. "Yeah... Probably not a bad idea."


    He carefully steps down from the humvee, walks out, and places his hands on his lower back. With a slow, careful motion, he leans backwards and stretches his spine, brief grimaces appearing on his face. Bach stares out into the tree filled perimeter around a grassy field. Sotalia steps up to his side and gazes over. "So. How are you doing?"


    Bach blinks back to awareness, meets Sotalia''s golden eyes and darkened sclera, and attempts to nonchalantly shrug. "Well, I''m still pretty sore and got bruises all over. But, I''m okay enough at the moment."


    With an amused smirk, Sotalia gradually nods and lifts a curious eyebrow. "Hey, question. How much do you remember after I woke up?"


    Furrowing his brow, Bach sorts through his thoughts and twists his mouth. "Ah, well, I guess, most of it. I think? Why?"


    A genuine, gentle smile graces Sotalia, and her gaze softens, brushing back her fiery orange, wavy hair over her black swept-back horns. "I just wanted to make sure you heard me on our way back up. I know you risked a lot to save me. From what I saw and... felt."


    Shyly averting his eyes from her attention, Bach chuckles awkwardly and scratches the back of his head. "Ah, well, it was nothing, really."


    He cringes briefly and groans at himself. "Oh gods. I can''t believe I just said that."


    With a giggle escaping, Sotalia shakes her head slowly. "Oh. Don''t worry. You''ll say plenty worse ones, soon enough."


    She sidesteps in front of Bach and concentrates her gaze upon him. "I can only imagine what a monumental pain in the ass it was to save me, from everything Sebastian told me..."


    Moments of silence fill the air between the two. Sotalia reaches her arms out, slips them underneath Bach''s, and leads him into a hug. Leaning down, Bach wraps his arms around Sotalia in return. Sotalia nestles her head upon Bach''s shoulder, presses her horned head close to his, and squeezes him. Bach smiles with a happy sigh. Sotalia angles her head and directs a gentle, grateful whisper into Bach''s ear. "Thank you again..."


    She tightens her embrace. "For being my hero."


    In stunned silence, Bach blue eyes widen and fight vainly against the welling of tears. Sotalia feels Bach''s attempts to stifle his sniffles, quietly closes her watery eyes, and softly rubs his back comfortingly.


    ----


    Ambient dusk light illuminates the clearing under a reddening evening sky. Within the confines of a large encampment, Chrome Crusader personnel and Next Adventurers of Nexus crew mingle between tables of festive, rustic cuisine. Samantha directs Gerald''s camera aim in between bites of a sandwich. Deedri converses with a gathering of medical team members. A bravado filled Chad and energetic Maxon exchange tales to the enjoyment of those around. Veevi attempts to garner some attention with her additions to diminishing returns. Between her antics, she sneaks peeks towards Deedri. Sitting quietly at the corner of a table, Trakenthin slowly scrolls through a familiar aethersite on his aetherphone and occasionally glances up, watching some change of surrounding activity. Modoran nonchalantly strolls through the area, casually spots a card game, and smoothly slips into an open spot at the table.


    Next to a roughly fashioned entry point into the area, Tassilda casually sits upon a wooden perimeter fence with her legs crossed. She idly picks at the aged lumber with her long fingernails and sighs with a tinge of boredom, observing the festivities from a distance. Tossing back her raven black her over swirling horns, she settles her balance upon the timber beam and stretches her body slowly in her form accenting blouse and dress. A tall emin man steps up to her side behind the fence and speaks with a clear, calm voice. "My lady. Whatever are you doing all the way out here?"


    Tilting her an ear towards Daedrican''s voice, Tassilda''s interest piques, and she smiles in delight. "Well. After all the excitement this week, I quite fancied a little peace and quiet."


    Daedrican rests his dark gray hands upon the wooden fence rail and taps the lumber with his naturally long, thick black fingernails. "Oh. That I can certainly understand. It has been an interesting patrol, so far."


    Sneaking a glance, Tassilda''s light blue on black eyes follow Daedrican''s strong arms to the rest of his physique. Quickly noticing the lack of armor, she distracts herself with his tight fitting shirt and athletic shorts. "Um. Yes. It certainly has been. I do hope our group hasn''t proven too burdensome in your team''s efforts."


    She musters some semblance of composure and calmly aims her head towards the center of the encampment, her eyes attempting to study Daedrican out from the corners. Daedrican chuckles lightly and slowly shakes his head. "Not at all, my lady. You all seem quite capable, each in your own ways. But I must say, I am especially impressed with the skill you have demonstrated."


    Blushing slightly, Tassilda attempts to discreetly work the color in her face back to normal. "Oh. You are ever so kind, Paladin."


    Daedrican cracks a grin upon his face and scratches his masculine jawline. "Only Junior Paladin... Well, for now."


    Resuming her stealthy analysis, Tassilda ponders and swaps the crossing of her legs. "I have to ask, do the Chrome Crusaders usually have end of mission parties like this?"


    Distantly surveying the plates of food, gaming, and mingling, Daedrican shrugs his square shoulders. "Our division does at least. I can''t rightly speak for any other division. Maxon implemented such events to keep morale up during long quests. It helps to relieve some stress before the return trek back."


    Stretching his back out, Daedrican gazes down towards Tassilda with a pleasant smile. "While we certainly cleared out the path here, we still need to be on guard on the way back. We have had far rougher trips back before. So, a little break to release some tension is appreciated by everyone and allows everyone to focus afterwards. Give everyone a chance to breathe."


    With a slight twist of her body, Tassilda slowly turns her head and faces Daedrican. She watches the distant lights reflect off his long, straight silver hair. A few locks slip over the cleanly cut bases of Daedrican''s thick, black horns and drape down upon his pointed dark gray ears. A suggestive smile widens upon Tassilda, and her eyes trace the shape of his high cheekbones and square jaw. Below silver eyebrows upon a dark gray, evenly toned skin, she focuses her gaze into Daedrican''s eyes.


    His golden pupil and white sclera eyes.


    Tassilda blanks abruptly into a distant stare. She blinks between moments of visible twitches, hinting the mental shock against the deviation of expectation. Daedrican curiously perks his eyebrow and tilts his head slightly to the side, allowing a few silver strands to slide upon his muscular chest. "Anything wrong, my lady?"


    Tassilda''s posture stiffens, and she directs her empty stare forward at the encampment rigidly. Seconds later, she startles back to awareness and response to Daedrican with a deadpan cadence. "Um. No. Nothing is wrong. I just realized that I am quite famished."


    Nodding, Daedrican points over to a specific table with large pans of sliced meat and cooked vegetables. "Oh. Yes. If I might suggest, the venison the scouting team hunted a few days ago is delicious."


    Nodding slowly, Tassilda coasts through a mix of emotions. Fighting brief twitches and a trend to grimace, she maintains her neutral composure. "That sounds lovely right now."


    She slides awkwardly down off the wooden fence rail and walks uncomfortably to the festivities. "If you will pardon me. I would like to partake in the food... and... see what the rest of my party is doing. Um... Goodnight."


    Tassilda continues to meander towards the center of the encampment. Daedrican crosses his arms and cocks his head, puzzling to himself. "Completely understand. Good night, my lady."


    Pausing a moment at Daedrican''s response, Tassilda awkwardly resumes her exit. Daedrican smirks with amusement and mutters to himself intrigued. "Interesting."


    ----


    Heavy mats cover the entirety of the dining table surface. Carefully probing her claw tips through boxes of spare electronic parts, Cideeda inspects the splayed out components of her laser pistols upon a blue rubber pad. She grumbles in frustrated fvalian and plucks tiny pieces off a controller board into a nearby garbage can. Dretphi removes the barrel out of her submachine gun and shines a flashlight down the bore, inspecting its condition. Her steely gray eyes narrow in annoyance, and she groans a few choice words in grath. Placing the separated barrel down on a heavy cloth pad, she reaches a hand into a metal case filled with mechanical parts. With a wince, she pauses a moment, adjusts the cold pack wrapped around her shoulder, and gently flexes the joint.


    Bach steps through the hallway archway into the median between the dining and living areas of the large room. Pausing for a long yawn, he shifts his focus over to the dining table with Cideeda and Dretphi sitting opposite to each other. He notices familiar weapons in pieces upon the table, approaches curiously, and presents a confident tone. "Well, so how did everything hold out?"


    Cideeda lifts her head up, meets Dretphi''s glance across the table, and smirks out of view of Bach. She sneaks a wink, and Dretphi lifts an amused brow. Both Cideeda and Dretphi slowly turn their heads in unison, sternly stare at Bach, and remain silent. A shallow wave of nervous anxiety washes over Bach. Examining the attention upon him carefully, Bach verbally stumbles with an uneasy tone. "Uh... Okay... So, I guess there were problems... Correct?"


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Maintaining a serious tone, Cideeda picks up an electronically encased crystalline tube and holds it over to Bach. "You could say that."


    Sitting down at the end of the table next to Dretphi and Cideeda, Bach takes the component from Cideeda and carefully inspects the device. He rolls the tube in his hands, studying a number of blackened spots in the crystal, melted power contacts, and discolorations on the electronic board. He grits his teeth, hints of embarrassment trickling into his voice. "Oh... Yeah... That doesn''t look good, heh, at all."


    Dretphi offers the barrel section from her submachine gun. Bach gives Cideeda back the crystalline part, grabs the metal part from Dretphi, and examines it. Seconds of searching the exterior for issues later, he eyes down the bore and puzzles at the interior. Thinking a moment, he furrows his brow confused and searches his mind, approaching his suspicions cautiously. "This looks... Too smooth. Shouldn''t there be-"


    Dretphi stares coldly. "Rifling."


    Nodding slowly, Bach stiffly returns the piece to Dretphi. He bites his lip, sighs, and lowers his head, a bit ashamed. "Ah, shit. Sorry about that. It was an emergency situation and-"


    He feels a familiar five claw points gently squeeze on his arm, and Cideeda meets his gaze with a toothy grin. "Oh, don''t worry! We''re just fucking with you. You got nothing to apologize for."


    Dretphi lightly pats Bach''s shoulder and warmly smiles at him. "No complaints."


    With a hint of color in her cheeks, she momentarily averts her eyes. "It was exhilarating to fire."


    Bach relaxes and snorts out laugh, shaking his head. "Damn. You had me going. But...


    He glances around at the array of parts upon the tabletop. "It still looks like those parts are done for."


    Flicking her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda nods quickly with a shrug of the shoulders. "Oh, gods, yeah. That laser tube is no better than a damned laser pointer at this rate. But, it''s not the first time I''ve changed out a laser tube."


    She rolls her emerald green eyes at herself, grumbling. "And, well, it won''t be the last. But..."


    Flashing a sly grin, she perks her furry ears. "This was the BEST use of a tube I''ve ever had."


    Dretphi flips open the lid to a wooden, rectangular box and removes a fresh barrel in a cloth wrap. She unrolls the fabric, examines the replacement part, and smiles at Bach. "Ammunition for this gun is potent. Not gentle to barrels. They need to be changed. Periodically."


    She eyes down at the old barrel, quirks her brow and twists the corner of her mouth. "Happened early on this barrel."


    Shrugging her acceptance, she glances over to Bach and smiles. "A worthy sacrifice. Thank you for your help."


    Bach drums his fingers on the table top in thought and puzzles over the non-functional parts. "Well. Back to the drawing board on those enchantments. I''ll try to figure out something a little less destructive on the equipment they''re put on."


    Nodding in agreement, Cideeda locks replacement components into her laser pistols. Her emerald green eyes gaze prospectively to Bach, and a scheming smirk graces her light brown face. "Definitely work on those enchantments... But... I actually have something I''d like to look into more with your help, if you can."


    Lifting his head up from closely watching Cideeda and Dretphi''s projects on the table, he glances inquisitively at Cideeda. "Um, yeah, sure. I mean, what would that be?"


    Cideeda grins toothily and her long tail brushes purposely along the top edges of a box filled with old tools, raw materials, and crystal infused metal and stone mechanical parts.


    ----


    Sotalia searches through the laundry hamper on her bed with one hand, keeping the aetherphone on her ear with the another. She picks up a shirt, inspects it briefly, and tosses it into a pile of others. Pausing a moment, her focus shifts to the person on the other side of the conversation. She smiles and sighs out her relief. "The trip went... Okay. We got some really good information that we''re sorting through right now. And, Aristespha is going to call up her contacts at the Grand Library and see what they can provide."


    She waits a moment, listens to the response, and squirms uncomfortably a bit. "Well, yeah, it got a... little... hectic. And crazy. But, nothing we couldn''t handle, of course."


    Sorting through the contents of the clothes basket, she flips out a few undergarments into respective piles upon the bed and puzzles a moment, furrowing her brow. "Huh? Oh. Yes."


    A gentle smile warms upon her light tan face, and she nods slowly, staring inside herself for a moment. "Yeah. He really came through for everyone... And, me."


    Seconds of silence later, Sotalia''s golden eyes spring wide open and surprise reddens her face. "Mother!? Really?! Gods! You know how I don''t like to have conversations about THAT part of my life with you!"


    Twinges of irritation distort Sotalia''s demeanor, and she grits her teeth, rolling frustration across her shoulders. "THAT was different! It was just the two of us years ago. And, it was just a really nice fling that ended with us still being great friends today..."


    She shifts the aetherphone against her pointed ear, straightening her posture. "Mother. Can we NOT have this conversation right now?"


    Exhaling apologetically, she settles down to a smile with a calm tone. "Gods, I''m sorry. You know I love you. It has just been quite the week."


    She flutters her golden eyes with a faint shudder. "And, gods, it''s only Wednesday!"


    A laugh escapes her, and she rolls her eyes in amusement. "OH! You''ve got to send me pictures and videos of that. That reminds me. If you talk to Maelvia and Talelia before I do, let them know I''m about to send another care package for the little ones."


    Sotalia grins and stands up proudly with a chuckle. "Oh, you know Aunt Sotalia is not going to let them go without."


    With a few nods, she shrugs nonchalantly and snorts with a smirk. "Don''t worry. If father is in the shop, he can call me later. Otherwise, he''ll just be absolutely distracted the five to ten minutes he manages to stay on the call. There''s no use expecting a meaningful conversation from him when he''s got a project waiting for him in the shop."


    She hoists up the laundry hamper, dumps out a few pairs of yoga pants on to bed, and dons a happy smile, glancing at the aetherphone upon her ear. "I love you, too."


    With a faint sigh, she nods slowly. "I''ll take care. I promise... Bye."


    The phone displays the end of call screen and flicks back to the home screen. Sotalia slides the device into the side pocket of her shorts and surveys the assortment of clothing upon her bedspread. Her gaze wanders, and she mulls over a starting point. Side stepping, she picks up her belt of pouches near the head of the bed. She flips open each pouch after another, inspecting the contents, and snaps the flap back shut. She halts, and her eyes narrow to the dim illumination radiating out of a particular pouch. Pinching onto an object inside, she removes a small, blue tinted crystal with a faint glow. She puzzles the artifact, her eyes flicks through recent memory, and a spark of recognition lights up her face. Her attention falls upon the small crystal, and she places her belt of pouches back down. Glancing around her room suspiciously and cautiously eyeing the doorway, she kneels down next to her bed and reaches a hand underneath.


    With a bit of effort, she slides out a finely crafted wooden box, gestures a quick incantation, and lifts the lid open, a faint wave of magical miasma dissipating from the exterior. Inside the normal container, trinkets, baubles, and knickknacks of questionable magic potency fill the interior. A golden disc, a jar of golden fragments, a translucent green plate, a coil of magical cable, a stabilized energy spoon, a practice wand, and a neatly folded mesh of blue and green magical fibers contrast the other contents of the chest. Sotalia opens a pouch on her belt, retrieves a cleaning cloth, and wraps the dimly glowing crystal inside. She places the bundle inside the box and admires the collection.


    Curiosity guides her attention towards the magical cable, and she inspects the length in her hands. Losing herself in the examination, she pulls it as hard as she can and observes the fluctuations in the stabilized flows. She ponders, furrowing her brow, and quietly contemplates. Her investigations subside and interest wanders over to the folded mesh.


    She lifts up and unfolds out the blue and green weave of fibers, a rough garment matching her figure closely. Comparing the diameters of the pair of cut magical cables at the shoulders, she rotates the magical mesh and holds it next to and over her body. A sensually amused smirk creeps from the corner of her mouth. Awareness of her surrounding sparks with a hard blink, and she quickly glances around her room, a hint of pink in her cheeks. Folding the magical mesh neatly back into the chest, she closes the lid, casts a quick spell, and slides the container back under the bed. Fighting an awkward smile, she stands back up and resumes sorting her laundry.


    ----


    Trakenthin''s tall, muscular frame walks past the border of the forest clearing and into the middle of a small circle of tents. Kneeling down, he unloads the bundle of firewood out of his arms and starts arranging the small logs within a makeshift fire pit. Towards the edge of the site, Samantha stands next to Gerald and waves her hand across the area. "Okay. I want you to get a good shot of the camp setup, and, then, see if you can get a few bits of what everyone else is doing."


    Gerald resettles the camera on his shoulder and nods, adjusting the lenses. "Sounds good to me. It''s been pretty uneventful after that last bandit encounter. Don''t know if there will be anything worthwhile."


    Examining the ongoing call status on her phone, Samantha shrugs her shoulders and snorts, mildly disappointed. "I KNOW. Still, we could use some filler footage between the main segments. But... I really do hope good things are coming..."


    With a flick of activity on her aetherphone screen, she glances down. "Any good news, Howie?"


    A voice sounds out from the phone speaker, and Howie ponders out loud with plotting cadence. "Yes. Actually. I have a few options for interesting missions for our adventurers to go on. I''ll send over the quest descriptions. I''d also like to get some input from the crews on those."


    A sly smile widens on Samantha, and a happy tinge lightens her tone. "Oh, I can''t wait. I think the crews wouldn''t mind a little bit of action. Or... At least, something entertaining to film."


    With a long roll of his dark brown eyes, Gerald groans and shakes his head of short, dark blonde hair. "Well, let''s not get too crazy here. I think there''s some beauty to the simple and boring. Also, I''d prefer anything I can record from a distance. I do have telephoto lenses, for a reason."


    Howard chuckles, dripping with dry amusement. "Oh, why Gerald! I''ve always thought your best work came from some of your most daring moments."


    Gritting his teeth with an upper lip sneer, Gerald loudly grumbles and aims his camera towards Tassilda and Veevi. "Just because it DOES, doesn''t mean it SHOULD."


    A sigh of faux disappointment resonates from Samantha''s aetherphone, and Howard relays his understanding. "True. Very true. That''s why I want everyone to review the possible missions and figure out what you all are up for recording. Regardless, I think we can spin anything from those for an episode or two. I''m certain all of you will find those PERFECT moments for me."


    Samantha''s hazel eyes flash with a sinister glint, a dark giggle slipping out from her. "Oh, you know us too well, Howie."


    Howard hums to himself, the sounds of paperwork and keyboard clacks echoing out from the other side of the teleconference. "Oh, I DO. One more thing before I go... I might have a surprise for Trakenthin. Well, once my inside sources confirm all the difficult little details. It''s proven a bit hard due to certain complexities of grath houses."


    Both Samantha and Gerald gaze at the aetherphone, exchanging curious glances between each other.


    In an open area next to the campsite, Tassilda groans loudly while crossing her arms, berating Veevi in a harsh lecture. "You CAN''T cast that spell yet! How do you expect to summon up destructive energies without knowing the basics of proper insulation and protective spell elements?!"


    Tossing back her pink hair defiantly, Veevi grips her hips into an obstinate pose and petulantly pouts. "Oh. My. Gods! You keep making this whole magic thing hard! Practice THIS. Practice THAT! And, there''s NOTHING that''s related to the FUN spells!"


    Tassilda narrows her light blue on black eyes at Veevi, sneers her upper lip, and commands. "Once you can DEMONSTRATE a basic flow barrier, you will be taught a safe practice spell befitting of your ability. Until then, you practice strictly what I have shown you!"


    Veevi grits her teeth, revealing her pointy canines, holds hands out close together, and curls her sharp nailed fingers around a center point. "Once I demonstrate MY ability, HUH?! Let me show YOU what I can DO!"


    Tassilda hoists up a dismissive eyebrow and scrutinizes the faint thread thin flows of energy streaming down Veevi''s arms and condensing in between her hands. Her eyes open wide, and she raises a finger at Veevi with an assertive, demanding tone. "STOP. RIGHT. NOW! You are going to hurt yourself trying to cast something like that!"


    A rebellious grin spreads on Veevi, and she strains, flowing more into the red-orange centimeter wide sphere of energy in between her palms. Tassilda steps forward, reaching her hands out. The miniature ball shakes and quivers. A brilliant flash of orange illuminates the area, and a bubble of fire billows out from the space between Veevi''s hands, dissipating quickly into the air. Stopping in place, Tassilda awaits Veevi''s reaction with obvious concern. Trakenthin snaps his head up from building the campfire, searching around confused with a furrowed brow. Stirring in his Flames of the Phoenix branded tent, Chad mutters loudly. "The fuck was THAT?!"


    Veevi remains still, only managing to blink her pink pupil eyes. Slowly lowering her stare at her hands, she carefully rotates her palms fully into view. Noticing the reddening skin, her awareness of the fresh pain piques. "... ... Ow ow owowow!!"


    Vigorously animated, she cringes, squirms, and whines, tearing up. Her puffed out tail flails in a clueless panic. Attempting to seize Veevi in place, Tassilda barely directs Veevi towards Chad, emerging from his tent. Chad snaps a glance to the frantic Veevi and levels an accusatory glare at Tassilda. "What the hell happened?!"


    Turning her nose up, Tassilda firmly places her hands at her hips and growls back. "OH? You should ask HER what she did to HERSELF!"


    Groaning in frustration, Chad pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs out his irritation. "Gods dammit. Not now. First things first..."


    He searches the immediate vicinity, quickly pulls his aetherphone out, and taps in a few commands, keying up the radio. "Deedri?"


    Veevi freezes mid panic, and her posture stiffens. Deedri''s voice crackles over the phone. "Yes! What happened? I think I heard Veevi crying?"


    Chad rolls his eyes and nods. "Yes. That was her. Something happened when she was practicing magic. Could you come over, please? I think she burned her hands."


    Deedri replies immediately. "I''m on my way! I''m not far!"


    Worry infiltrates Veevi, and she dons a teeth gritting grin. "U-u-u-uh, I''ll be okay. Yeah, um. I just need to wrap them up for a little while. I''ll be fine... Really!"


    Puzzling at the sudden attitude change, Chad places a hand upon Veevi''s shoulder and leads her towards an empty camping chair nearby. "Deedri will be the judge of that. Just sit for now, and calm down."


    Rushing out from forest brush, Deedri scans the area. Trakenthin catches her glance and immediately points out Veevi in the chair. In a single fluid motion, Deedri tosses off her apron filled with freshly picked herbs, snatches up the large first aid kit next to her tent, and dashes over to Chad, Tassilda, and Veevi. With a calm, neutral demeanor, Deedri stares directly at Veevi, systematically analyzing her condition. Her full attention locks onto Veevi''s hands, and her auburn eyes illuminate. "Mild first degree burns from a magical source. From between the hands, I guess. Okay."


    Deedri kneels down in front of Veevi and opens up the first aid kit, beginning treatment. Chad pats Veevi''s shoulder and glances down to Deedri appreciatively. "Thank you, Deedri."


    Granting a quick nod, Deedri resumes her task. Chad motions Tassilda over and away, towards the black sports utility vehicle nearby. Midway through the walk, he glances over with an annoyed sigh. "Okay. What exactly happened?"


    Veevi remains still, cooperative, and quiet through the treatment. Averting her eyes away, she suppresses her reflexive flinches. Deedri cleans the burns, applies an ointment, and casts a spell. On both of Veevi''s hands, she places hers around, and flows of magical energy radiate into the wounds. Veevi''s discomfort gradually subsides, no longer wincing with every motion of her fingers. Minutes later, Deedri finishes wrapping up Veevi''s hands with a thin protective bandage. "Well, good news. You were lucky. The application should keep the swelling down, help heal any damaged tissue, and keep the pain dulled. I''ll need to do another treatment to help facilitate healing, but that will be before you go to bed tonight."


    Veevi respectfully nods and meekly replies. "Yes, I understand. Um, thank you. And... Uh..."


    Pausing a moment, Deedri inquisitively stares at Veevi. A few failed attempts to start the sentence later, Veevi glances swiftly around and quietly apologizes with an authentic, sincere tone. "I just wanted to say... I''m really sorry for how I... treated you before."


    Deedri blinks blankly, bewildered. Regaining her composure, she gathers up enough of her thoughts into a response. "Well. Yes. I will accept your apology. But... I''d suggest you treat people with a bit more respect in the future, too."


    Veevi''s pink pupil eyes wander into her thoughts. Moments of introspection play blatantly out upon her face, and she nods with a genuine smile to Deedri. Deedri stands back up. Veevi hops back up, bows respectfully to Deedri, and walks over to Chad and Tassilda. Stepping closer to the discussion between the two, Veevi dons a smug smirk, summoning up her typical prideful demeanor, and assumes an assertive posture. She quickly slips next to Chad, sparking the debate into a bigger argument.


    Staring in utter confusion, Deedri slowly scans around the area. She halts her gaze upon Modoran leaning against a tree close by. Cocking her head to the side, she droops her furry ears and contorts her perplexed stare at him. "Did you... Um, see that?"


    Modoran nods slowly, shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to the side, and grimaces uncertainly. "Yes. And, gods, I wish I knew what to make of it."


    Deedri sighs, shaking her head, and kneels down, reassembling her kit. Modoran steps on over, squats down next to her, and offers to assist. Trakenthin rolls his hazel eyes away from the fresh squabble and focuses upon lighting a campfire.


    ----


    Dim evening light sneaks through the closed window horizontal blinds of a nicely decorated inn room. Finely crafted wooden details encompass the lodging with a well made bed, table, chairs, and other furniture. Isaac sorts through a number of drying pictures on folded towels upon the bed. Examining one photograph of himself, he closely inspects the prismatic aura with intermixed streaks of white threading through. Scanning over another collection of images, he pauses and focuses upon each photograph. He studies weathered golem parts in a courtyard, heavy manufacturing equipment in a large dark area, debris surrounding a ransacked building, the massive central platform structure over a deep pit, and colorful speckles of twilight covering a tall cavern ceiling. Faint, hazy hues of color cloud surround objects in the pictures, barely standing out from the rest of the scenery.


    Isaac lifts up his picture and holds it next to another row of photographs, analyzing them attentively. Examining individual, distantly magnified pictures of Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia, he pauses thoughtfully and focuses upon Cideeda''s image. Moving Cideeda''s photo above Sotalia''s, he closely inspects the similar prismatic auras evident along with Aristespha and Dretphi. "Fascinating... That makes sense now... But, before she never..."


    Glancing to an image of Sebastian and his muted aura, he stares at the picture of Bach with a prismatic aura indiscernible from the others. He tilts his head to the side, puzzling out his dissatisfaction, and grumbles quietly. Tapping upon a photograph of the dire wolf golem, he traces his finger along the green aura with specks white. A series of electronic chirps chime out from a wristwatch on the table, and he turns around to turn off the alarm. Upon the table top, a dark red, translucent field boxes in a series of trays, alchemical containers, magically enhanced photography equipment, and rolls of film. Isaac reaches his hand into the magical area, grasps a pair of tongs, and fishes out a blank piece of slick paper from the first tray of fluid. With great care, he lowers the sheet into a middle tub, settling the material into an alchemical bath. He carefully watches the sheet soak in the solution. A knock sounds out from the door, and a man''s voice amicably calls from the other side. "Hope I''m not bothering you Mr. Huxley, but dinner is about ready. The wife cooked something special for all of us tonight. She''s definitely bribing you for more of your stories."


    Startling momentarily, Isaac regains a happy demeanor and raises his delighted tone. "Oh. I will most certainly be down in a few more minutes, Goff. I just need to finish up with the last part of a research task."


    From the other side of the door, Goff chuckles. "Understand. The wife was curious if there''s any photos you could show us. I told her I''d ask you, Mr. Huxley. But, I know academic research is serious business, so I understand if you can''t."


    Thinking a moment, Isaac surveys the photographs out on the bed, sets aside the images of scenery, and glances over to an unsealed, addressed envelope. He smiles kindly and directs his voice back towards the door. "I most certainly have a number I can share. And, I would love to take a few photographs while I''m here, too."


    An appreciative laugh sounds out from Goff. "Not a problem. A little advertising wouldn''t hurt, even if it''s just academic. Thank you, Mr. Huxley."


    Isaac rolls his gray eyes with an amused smirk and shakes his head. "You may call me Isaac, Goff. Do not let the white hair fool you, I''m not THAT old."


    Goff''s humored tone grows audibly distant. "Sounds good, Isaac. Come on down when you are ready."


    Goff''s footsteps disappear into the background din of the inn. Isaac smiles and chuckles quietly to himself. Turning his attention towards the middle tray, his gray eyes spring wide open. He squints through the dark red magical field and futilely searches out the details of the developing picture. Impatience manifests into eager fidgets. He grasps the tongs, hovers the tool in wait above the alchemical bath, and eyes the digits of the countdown running on the wristwatch. After muttering a tense count, he lifts up the image covered sheet and transfers it over to the final tray, settling it into the mix. Quickly gesturing out an incantation, Isaac holds his hand over the solution and releases flows of energy into the bath. The paper briefly glows, the fluid bubbles faintly, and the picture stops changing.


    Isaac resets the wristwatch and focuses his full attention to the new image of Bach flying upwards with an unconscious Sotalia in his arms. His eyes search through the discoloring haze of the dark red magical field, and he grits his teeth in anxious anticipation. The minutes creep slowly by, and Isaac tightly grips the tabletop in between impatient taps of his feet and glances to the counting down digits of the wristwatch. A chime rings out, the tongs gently lift up the picture, and Isaac quickly summons a flow of magic. With a quick motion, he swipes his energized hand over the paper, repelling the solution back into the tray, and removes the excess liquid off the sheet. Without sparing another moment, Isaac retrieves his picture from the bed, removes the fresh photograph from the dark red containment field, and grins expectantly, comparing the two.


    His face blanks. His eyes widen. His jaw drops. Blinking in sheer bewilderment, he tilts his head in astonishment. Putting both pictures into the grip of one hand, he traces a finger along Bach''s aura. The image of Isaac showcases a prismatic aura with threads of white weaving into the flows. The photograph of Bach and Sotalia shows a typical prismatic aura around Sotalia. The picture reveals the faint prismatic outer shell of Bach''s aura and the bright pure white the inner aura radiating out from him. Isaac remains speechless, wandering over to a seat on a nearby chair. Squinting, his mind scrambles to some kind of understanding. He recollects his composure, draws a deep breath in, and sighs out his expectations.


    Staring at the photo of Bach, he calms down and musters up a mood swirling with wonder, confusion, and eagerness. "HOW?"

 Episode 53

    Thin threads of magical energy weave together, forming a fabric sheet between Bach''s hands. Concentrating upon the material, his eyes glow bright blue and swirls of flow condense into new, elongating fibers blending into the growing mesh. The magical matrix slides down with each new manifesting row. The energy cloth touches the top of the dining table. Bach blinks his eyes back to normal and shakes his head of longer brown hair back to awareness. Glancing over to Aristespha, he passes the magical fabric over to her. "Okay. So, I think I got the pattern you wanted, but might need to tweak the strand properties a bit. Don''t know. I kind of went on autopilot midway through."


    Aristespha focuses her violet glowing eyes upon the material in her ivory hands and feels the fine mesh between her fingers and thumbs. "This is very close. I believe I saw how you were doing it. Truthfully, it might take me a few attempts..."


    Continuing to inspect the cloth, she brings it closer to her face. Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers behind her, and he lowers his head to just above her shoulder, curiously watching the process. "So, what prototype material is it today, dear?"


    With a playful smirk, Aristespha lightly shoos Sebastian back from her shoulder with a toss of her long, silvery blue hair and rests the magical sheet upon the table top. "A magical replacement for medical gauze. While I have always preferred using properly treated and manufactured gauze, I cannot help but want something that can be fabricated in the field."


    Furrowing his brow, Sebastian scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Huh. But... Um... You have spells that do similar already."


    Nodding in agreement, Aristespha smiles lovingly at Sebastian and shrugs. "Yes, I do, Sebastian. The idea is to have something that could be made when supplies are low, but there is no immediate need. As they taught us, a spell saved now is a spell that saves later."


    She starts to deposit the energy weave aside into a small tray, and a clawed fvalian hand reaches out eagerly. Cideeda grins toothily and flicks her furry ears. "Can I see it?"


    Aristespha nods and places the magical fabric in Cideeda''s awaiting hand. With initial caution and care, Cideeda inspects the material. Tugging upon it, she tests it physically with a content smile on her light brown face. "I NEED to learn how to do this."


    Aristespha neatly readies her workspace of books, tablets, and instruments in preparation. Holding out her spaced hands, she exhales calmly and concentrates, narrowing her stare. Thin threads of magical energy grow out from her palms and weave together. A similar material manifests between and gradually extends down to the tabletop. Bach glances over at the attentive Cideeda and shrugs nonchalantly. "It''s not that hard to start doing actually. The theory is simple, but it''s just a lot of practice and experimentation after that."


    A sly smirk appears on Cideeda, and she tilts her head to the side, perking up an eyebrow. "Says the man who can throw lines out like some kind of comic book hero."


    Rolling his eyes at himself, Bach modestly shrugs in acceptance. "Yeah. But, I had A LOT of practice when I had... Well... NOTHING else going on."


    With a small grin, he thinks a moment and cocks his head at Cideeda. "Actually... You might pick it up better since you have an amazing understanding of electronics and mechanics. This type of stuff really isn''t casting spells, it''s just willing flows to form in particular ways. There''s a lot of dynamics that are similar. Capacitance, conductance, pressure, force, and so on."


    Cideeda''s emerald green eyes widen in anticipation, and she dons an awaiting smile. "Well. What are the basics, then?"


    Aristespha progresses with her fabric. Flexing his hands, Bach summons up magical energies, manifesting examples for Cideeda. "Now, the thing to do is to will the magical energy to condense..."


    In the lull of conversation, the din of the living room television rises up from the background. The material in between Aristespha''s hands stops forming, and she grasps onto it. With close, careful inspection, she frowns slightly and sighs with hints of defeat. "Not quite there."


    Sebastian glances between the material and Aristespha. "It looks the part, dear."


    Smiling, Aristespha slowly shakes her head. "Yes, it does. But... It does not feel right. I do not think it could handle any significant stress."


    A loud commercial plays out from the television, and she angles her head to watch. Aiming the remote, Dretphi flips between channels from the couch, staring off bored. Aristespha stands up and navigates around the table and chairs towards Dretphi. "Before I try to replicate that again, let''s see how that shoulder is doing."


    Noticing Aristespha approaching, Dretphi sits herself up from laying on the couch and rolls her wrapped shoulder around freely. "I think it is healed. No discomfort today."


    Aristespha takes a seat next to Dretphi, gestures out an incantation, and methodically inspects Dretphi''s upper arm and shoulder joint. "That is very good. Let me double-check to make sure. At this point, we can get this wrap off. It has served its purpose."


    Aristespha gently guides Dretphi''s arm through diagnostic motions and positions, and Dretphi flips through the wasteland of channels, pausing upon a talk show.


    "A Grath family house is nothing more than a cover for unmitigated amoral debauchery and polygamous perversion!"


    Dretphi''s narrows her steely gray glare at the screen, directing her full attention upon the show. An older human man sits in chair on the television talk show set and postures himself smugly against other guests. "I can''t even qualify it as any proper family unit as it lacks even the most basic structures. It''s so flimsy and sparse in definition, that I''m surprised they don''t yet induct furniture as members."


    Mumbles of grath curses bubble up into clarity between the man''s continued rants, and they slowly drip through Dretphi''s irritation. Aristespha lowers Dretphi''s tensing arm down, squints incredulously at the television, and rolls her violet eyes in disgust. "Oh gods! How does that man keep getting on these shows?"


    Bach twists in his chair, tilts his head to the side, and grimaces, watching the old man''s rambling. "Wait... Oh yeah. I''ve seen THIS guy before, but I always changed the channel after hearing him for a minute. What''s his fucking deal anyway?"


    Aristespha sighs and slowly shakes her head with a sneering upper lip. "He''s another zealot wanting to bring back those supposed traditional values to the world."


    Cideeda flicks a furry ear over, glances briefly at the screen, and focuses back on her magic practice. "I lean more towards self-loathing hypocrite. He always changes his tune after each scandal he gets caught up in. Just another serial grifter."


    Glancing over to Bach and Cideeda, Aristespha twists the corner of her mouth and groans out her frustrations. "Personally, I believe his real motive this time is garnering favor from a few Evuukian house leaders that like his... sanctity minded ideals. Likely leading to some business deals he wants to work."


    Dretphi crosses her arms, fidgets out her irritation, and spits out an angry grath phrase. Footsteps sound out from the hallway, and Sotalia steps into the room. Scanning around the room, she places her hands on her hips, studies the scene, and lifts an eyebrow at Dretphi. "Good gods, girl. What''s got you speaking those words?"


    Following a hand signal from Dretphi, Sotalia examines the content on the screen and snorts loudly. "Oh, THIS asshole. Pfft... He''s a REAL piece of work."


    The host of the show regains control of the dialog with a forceful tone, quieting the old man. "THANK YOU... Mr. Spelh. I''m certain we''ll hear more from you sooner than later."


    Redirecting the camera''s attention over to the other side, the host hems. "But, I''d like to give a chance for the members of two grath houses to talk and elaborate on their families."


    The grath on the show explain their perspectives, and Dretphi relaxes enough, rolling out the tension in her shoulders. She glances around, frowns slightly, and fights a bit of embarrassment on her face. "I apologize. Those were not words to speak around friends. This topic is... personal to me."


    Sebastian casually chuckles and shakes his head. "Hey. It''s okay. I''m starting to remember this guy more. He''s kinda been a real prick for years. I''m just surprised he''s on a show during these hours."


    Scratching his beard covered chin, Bach nods, narrowing his stare with his memory. "Yeah. I mean, the only time I''ve ever seen that guy is in the crappy, early morning time shows. You know, the three in morning variety. Didn''t think he was important enough."


    Smirking, Cideeda rolls her emerald eyes with a mocking tone. "Don''t forget all his televised court appearances. He''s important enough then."


    Bach nods in agreement and gazes over to Dretphi with a reassuring smile. "Also, I didn''t understand what you said. So, no harm done to me."


    A warm smile briefly graces Dretphi. Tinges of embarrassment color her face, and she sighs at herself. "Regardless. I should abstain from excessive use of... those terms."


    Sotalia flashes a wicked grin and giggles with a hint of evil, tapping out a name on her aetherphone. "Aww, but those words are the FUN ones. I found them very accurate and descriptive of the subject."


    An article appears on the phone''s screen, and Sotalia''s golden eyes search through the paragraph of text. "Gods. That Spelh guy is such a hypocrite anyway. I think he''s on his third marriage-?"


    Pausing, she reads a line carefully and laughs with a derisive color. "Oh... My mistake. His FOURTH marriage."


    Sarcasm completely infiltrates her voice, and she tosses her fiery orange, wavy hair back. "WELL. I guess THAT must make him an expert, then. BUT, I would argue he really could have saved himself a lot of trouble with a traditional emin termed marriage contract."


    Sticking her tongue out momentarily in annoyed disgust, Cideeda rolls her eyes and sneers her upper lip. "Maybe he shouldn''t keep on getting caught with his pants down. Figuratively AND literally."


    Sotalia sighs and lifts an ill-humored eyebrow. "Yeah. But, what''s the fun in that? Gods, how else is he going to get something new to dump hate on and get attention for it?"


    Cideeda snorts into a chuckle and shakes her head of short multicolored hair. "I STILL remember his rants about fvalians. Calling us... What were the exact words? Oh..."


    Her furry ears lay down and her long, fluffy tail wags in short swipes. "Hedonistic, feral beasts with the sexual habits of primitive animals."


    Squinting her glance off to the side, she curls her upper lip and reveals a pronounced canine. "Always throwing out that beast term.


    Sotalia twists her mouth and scrolls through the article on her aetherphone. "Did he say that after his first or second marriage?"


    A mean smile appears on Cideeda, and she gazes over to Sotalia, perking her furry ears. "Second. After he got caught on video in a bed with a few fvalians at quite the party."


    The old man''s jarring cadence draws in the attention of everyone in earshot. "You MUST think of the CHILDREN in these dreadfully confusing environments. These poor children are left just to wonder who their mothers and fathers are and-"


    Tolerance visibly wearing thin, the show''s host abruptly cuts off the old man. "WELL! Funny you should mention THAT. How about we ask one of the children?"


    A young grath boy walks into the scene from off stage, joins his family, and takes a seat in an open chair. The host greets the boy with a smile and calmly talks to him. "It''s good to have you here today, Cettinnin. Could you tell me about your house?"


    Cettinnin nods respectfully and carefully speaks up. "Yes. I have two mothers. And... two fathers. I have two brothers. And... two sisters."


    The host nods and inquires further. "What do your mothers and fathers do in your house?"


    Pondering visibly with the question, Cettinnin cuts off Mr Spelh opening his mouth. "My birth mother works for a school. My birth father manages the local guild office. My house mother takes care of us when everyone is busy."


    The grath woman next to Cettinnin smiles and musses up his hair playfully. Cettinnin laughs and glances over to the graying grath man on his other side. "My house father fixes everything we break at home."


    With a smirk, the graying grath man sighs and crosses his arms, nodding slowly. The grath man concentrates a cutting, stoic stare upon the old man across from him. Cettinnin crosses his arms and mimics the expression. The host returns his attention to Mr. Spelh and smugly grins. "It seems the young boy has a perfect understanding of his family."


    Mr. Spelh spouts dismissively and sneers visibly. "The poor child is deluded and obviously has been warped by these deviants! It''s just a form of indoctrination. The child has no proper concept of family and is just left to cling to the paltry aberration that''s been forced upon him."


    Cettinnin blinks incredulously at Mr. Spelh and quips a short phrase in Grath. The grath woman snaps a surprised glare at him. The graying grath man snorts out a stifled laugh and fails to hide his approval. Dretphi covers her mouth and stifles a reflexive giggle. Shaking her head, she comments in grath. Sotalia snickers with a bright grin. "Again, those are the fun words to use. Really accurate, too."


    Dretphi nods in agreement with a smile. The host blinks at the child''s response and resumes running the show. "WELL, we are running out of time. So, let me ask you, Mr. Spelh. What would be your ideal house structure of sorts?"


    A scheming smile parts the man''s mouth, and he draws a long breath. "Well, I would think a prime example of proper family hierarchy would be the Evuukian family house."


    Aristespha narrows her glare at the television screen, snarls her upper lip, and grumbles out sarcasm drenched words. "Why, yes! Of course! It''s SO obvious..."


    She crosses her arms and levels an irritated stare at the screen. "If you absolutely adore family values that involve competitive backstabbing, favoritism, and power struggles... THEN, look no further!"


    The show plays out its ending segment, and an information prompt pops up with the title of the next show.


    "Scandal Watch 3017: Evuukian Political Meltdown!"


    Exchanging wary looks with Sebastian, Bach aims his voice over to the gathering around the television. "Hey, you know... There''s other channels with other shows we all might enjoy..."


    Sebastian drifts around the room and hovers in front of the big wall mounted display, donning a politely authoritative tone. "Yeah. Let''s change it to something less... Irritating?"


    Aristespha sighs loudly with an apologetic tone. "Yes. You are correct, Sebastian. Let us put something else on. I can not weave flow when I am angry anyway."


    Nodding in agreement, Dretphi pats Aristespha''s shoulder in commiseration. She aims the remote at the television, flips through a few more channels, and the intro of movie plays. Sotalia grins happily, and moves into the closest open chair at the dining table. "Oh, Blazing Dragons! I haven''t seen this comedy in forever!"


    She surveys her immediate surroundings and notices the variety of magic upon the dining table. Her golden eyes open wide, and she gazes curiously at the items. "SO, that''s what you''ve all been doing. I kept on feeling something going on nearby."


    Aristespha snaps her head over to Sotalia, notices her occupied seat, and hops off the couch. Twisting her mouth, she casually shoos Sotalia out of the seat into the next one over. Inspecting the contents of the table, she spots Cideeda''s claw tip finger pointing towards Sotalia''s hands. Noticing Sotalia studying Bach''s incarnation of the magical material, Aristespha commands, hinting accusation. "Do NOT go running off with that, YET."


    Sotalia blinks, furrows her brow, and defiantly sneers in a defensive pout. "I wasn''t going to!"


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and sits back down in the chair. Bach and Cideeda share similarly knowing expressions with Aristespha. Sotalia divides her attention between the magical item and the movie.


    ----


    Hiking forth through the dense trees, Daedrican''s lightly armored boots sink into the forest floor. Two other Chrome Crusader troopers maintain formation out at his sides, and a coldly stoic Tassilda keeps her distance towards the back. Daedrican glances over his shoulder back at Tassilda with a pleasant tone. "Not much longer, my lady."


    A brief sneer twitches Tassilda''s upper lip, and Daedrican amends his statement. "Thankfully, it doesn''t seem like anyone has been through these wood since we came through initially."


    Tassilda minimally and briefly acknowledges Daedrican''s words, avoiding direct eye contact with him. The team trudges forward and, minutes later, arrives at a game trail. Daedrican raises his arm, signaling a stop to the rest of the group. He kneels down, inspects the path, and studies unnatural, purposed markings on a nearby tree. The two troopers gather on either side and perform their own investigations of the area. Daedrican glances at both the troopers and stands up. "Okay. Nothing seems to have changed outside normal expectations. Garret, check north to that one clearing and see if anyone has returned. Yuttin, see if anyone has tried to settle back into that one spot along the access road."


    Pivoting to face Tassilda, a few meters behind him, he inquires politely. "If it''s not too much trouble, we''ll go towards the stream and check it for recent activity from anyone that might be hiding out around here."


    Tassilda presents a proper, emotionless exterior, and crosses her arms with a slight nod. Daedrican turns back around to his team and motions them out towards their destinations. "Okay. Radio if you find anything. Otherwise, we''ll meet up here and head back to camp for the day."


    The two lightly armored troopers nod in confirmation and walk away from Daedrican and Tassilda. Moments later, Daedrican glances over his shoulder and motions towards a direction down the game trail. "This way, my lady."


    A brief wince sneaks out from Tassilda''s rigid demeanor, and she follows behind Daedrican through the woods. Gazing through the bright sunlight slipping between the forest canopy, Daedrican muses in a pleasant tone back towards Tassilda. "I think it''ll be a slow, uneventful day. There has not been any indication that our prior bandits had any stragglers that returned here."


    A grimace twitches upon Tassilda''s gray face, fading into the cold, neutral expression, and a colorless voice leaves Tassilda. "It seems."


    Relaxing his armored shoulders, Daedrican tilts his helmeted head in thought. Along their hike, his attempts at small talk with Tassilda falter against her short, terminal responses. Many failed starts later, Daedrican sighs to silence and remains quiet. The minutes of looming silence breaks upon the soft babbling of water flowing down a small stream. Daedrican arrives at the narrow banks of the brook, and fits of splashing catch his attention. Gazing curiously down the stream at a large pooling of water, he watches the colorful plumage of a bird fluttering. The creature pauses, cocks its brightly feathered head to either side, and dives underneath the water quickly in a flurry of flapping.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Tassilda slowly approaches next Daedrican and traces the direction of his visor to the wider section of the stream. The chromatic parrot hops up onto the dry part of a rock, stands still for a moment, and releases a faint burst of magical flow. The short lived wave of force repels excess water off into a fine spray. Tassilda''s light blue on black eyes lock onto the creature, and curiosity cracks through her cold exterior. The zone parrot blinks around at the silence of the area and chimes out a long series of complex notes. From initial chaos, it weaves sounds into an elegant stream of rhythmic song that fills the air of the nearby forest. A small smile graces Tassilda, and her full attention latches onto the music. Turning his head, Daedrican watches Tassilda''s delight and slowly steps towards the bird.


    He closes the distance, and Tassilda snaps her head over, flashing a mean glare at him. With gritting teeth, she halts a reflexive comment and maintains her ireful silence. Daedrican reaches into his belt pouch, searches around, and removes a snack bar. He opens the wrapper, and the crisp crackle of the packaging halts the bird''s song. The zone parrot snaps an inquisitive stare at Daedrican, and its rainbow eyes spot the treat. Daedrican slows his approach to a halt. He gradually kneels down and holds the protein bar out. With an eager glint in its eye, the zone parrot hops off the rock and waddles at full speed along the bank. Reaching out with an open beak ahead, it hungrily closes in on the food. Daedrican slowly draws the snack bar back and carefully leads the bird up his arm. With secure footing and treat nearby, the zone parrot pulls off bits of the bar and casually enjoys the meal, perching shamelessly. It shows blissful indifference to anything else. Daedrican stands back up with the bird on his arm and walks back to Tassilda.


    In absolute, speechless awe, Tassilda gawks in a mix of bewilderment and joy, the zone parrot arriving in front of her on Daedrican''s arm. In the moments of sheer wonder, she notices Daedrican lifting her hand up to eye level with the bird. Daedrican puts the snack bar into her hand. Tassilda blinks in confusion, and Daedrican guides her other arm up to his with the bird. Finishing the current morsel in its grip, the zone parrot reacquires the food target. Stepping over onto Tassilda''s gray skinned arm, it resumes the meal, reaching for bites of the protein bar in Tassilda''s hand.


    Smiling brightly, Tassilda watches the creature eat from her hand and wander along her arm. She manages to pet the bird''s colorful feathers, and it weaves a few songs between breaking off new chunks of the protein bar, holding the bits in its claws. During the parrot''s feast, contradictory emotions mix briefly upon Tassilda''s face, and swirls of shame infiltrate her expression. Consuming half the bar, the zone parrot gazes up at Tassilda and chimes out a pleasant, happy series of tones. With a flicker of glow in its eyes, it unfurls its brightly hued wings. Tassilda holds her arm out, and the zone parrot flaps up into the air. It disappears into the dense forest, songs echoing and blending into the surrounding natural din. Slowly Tassilda allows her prior cold demeanor to resume. She stops and blinks blankly. Bites her lower lip, she gazes down at the ground, visibly fighting the torrents of thought in her head. Drawing in a long breath, she smiles with a genuine, gracious tone. "Thank you."


    Daedrican simply nods and continues down the banks of the small stream. Following behind, Tassilda maintains a closer distance to him.


    ----


    Outside the ranch style house in the side yard, Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers next to Dretphi, eyeing Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia. "Okay. So. Since it''s been a while... I figured it would be a good time to do a refresher on close quarters moves and how to defend against them."


    Turning his head up to the blue, cloud speckled sky above, he shrugs his shoulders with a nonchalant smirk. "And it''s actually nice outside, and I figured it would be something different."


    Sotalia places her hands on her hips, dons a sly grin, and glances over to Bach. Moments later, Bach meets Sotalia''s gaze, puzzling at the attention, and returns his attention to Sebastian. Leading everyone''s attention to Dretphi, Sebastian floats away and gives her the stage. "And since I can''t exactly participate right now, due to my transparent state... I''ll leave it up to Dretphi to run the lessons."


    Dretphi surveys the group, notices the mischievous intent blatant on Sotalia''s light tan face, and gazes to Bach. "Would you help me demonstrate?"


    Bach shrugs nonchalantly and steps up next to Dretphi. Guiding Bach into position in front of her, Dretphi switches her stance and holds her arms up. "I will go over each step. Raise your arms up."


    Settling into a faux aggressive posture, Bach stands at the ready. Dretphi motions to Bach, instructing. "Grab my arm."


    With a flit of hesitation, Bach reaches out and firmly grabs hold of Dretphi''s forearm. With a swift nod of approval, Dretphi moves in precise, slow motions and systematically demonstrates each stage of a maneuver. Throughout each segment, she carefully explains the process and reasons behind each action. Bach follows Dretphi''s guidance, and she leads him with care. With a few twists and turns, Dretphi reverses Bach''s mock attack and works his limb into a standing arm lock. Rotating just enough to put pressure upon the extent of Bach''s flexibility, she cautiously halts short of any painful strain. "This is an arm lock. Twisting past this point will inflict pain. Can cause injury. Most reconsider fighting before that."


    She releases Bach gently, allowing him to stretch his arm back to comfort. With a quick nod, she leads Bach into another demonstrative scenario. With precision and care, she guides Bach through another series of motions, explaining the maneuver fully. Pausing for a quick stretch and rest, Dretphi guides Bach through another example situation, instructing everyone in ways to react to it. Aristespha and Cideeda watch carefully, occasionally rehearsing pieces individually, and refresh stagnant memories of old training. Sotalia crosses her arms, watches attentively, and presents an amused smile throughout the proceedings. Finishing the last in a series of different holds, Dretphi points out a large, thick mat nearby, and motions her request to Bach. "Would you move that near us?"


    Bach nods, casually walks over, and drags the pad along the grass. "So, uh, what is THIS for?"


    With a calm tone, Dretphi plainly states. "To cushion your falls."


    Freezing momentarily, Bach slowly meets Dretphi''s gaze and cocks his head to the side with an awkward smile. "Uh... Okay... I mean... Yeah, why would I be falling?"


    Tilting her head to the side, Dretphi straightens her posture and studies Bach''s confusion with a humored smirk. "It happens when you get thrown."


    Blinking blankly, Bach musters up his courage and stands up straight at the ready. "Okay..."


    Dretphi smiles calmly, reassuring Bach. "Not hard. Not fast. I will lower you onto the mat."


    Bach ponders a moment, relaxes a bit, and nods. "Okay. Cool. What do I need to do?"


    Pointing to a spot, Dretphi directs Bach to a place on the grass near the mat. Bach side steps over and waits. Swiftly closing the gap between her and Bach, Dretphi pauses mid motion, emphasizes her grapple, and hoists Bach free from the ground. In stunned silence, Bach remains instinctive pliable to Dretphi''s will, moving his docile mass around with modest effort. Halting at the final step, she waits for everyone''s attention and confirms their understanding, easily holding Bach up. With a solid but cushioned impact, Dretphi plops Bach down upon the mat. Bach''s blue eyes dart around the area, and he glances over to Dretphi. "Huh. Hey. That wasn''t too bad, actually."


    He pats the thick pad beneath him. "Yeah, this mat really helps out. But, you really controlled it the whole way."


    A warm smile graces Dretphi, and she politely inquires. "Do you want to continue? Help me demonstrate?"


    Sotalia snickers to herself and furrows an intrigued brow, mumbling under her breath. Flicking a furry ear back from Sotalia, Cideeda briefly glances over and twists the corner of her mouth. Dretphi resumes her careful, cautiously performed demonstrations with Bach. With deft precision, she ends the final parts of throws, locks, and holds and places Bach on the target pad. Many maneuvers later, Dretphi holds her hand out to Bach on the mat. "You deserve a break. Thank you."


    Grasping hold Dretphi''s arm, Bach gets up with her assistance. "Yeah. Whew. I wouldn''t mind one right now."


    Sotalia smirks mischievously, places her hands on her hips, and laughs playfully. "Oh. What? You aren''t giving us the chance to practice, Dretphi?"


    Stepping off the to side, Bach brushes off some stray glass blades. A tinge of evil taints Dretphi''s grin, and she focuses her steely gray eyes upon Sotalia. With a challenging hand gesture, she invites Sotalia up. "YOU CAN. You may take Bach''s place in my demonstrations."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes spring wide open, and a nervous wave radiates down through her body. Tossing her fiery orange, wavy hair back over her shoulders, she analyzes Dretphi''s imposing form. She fights an uneasy grit of her teeth and recovers to an awkward grin. "Well... Um... You need a break, too. Also, it might be more appropriate for me to..."


    She glances over to Aristespha and immediately cringes at Aristespha''s eager, violet stare. "Oh..."


    Aristespha stretches her neck to either side, rolls her shoulders, and flexes the definition in body. Fighting to keep her confident exterior, she draws in a long breath and trails off. "Practice what you''ve shown us with someone of similar size..."


    Subconscious trepidation blinks Sotalia''s eyes for her, and she fumbles for a self counterpoint under Aristespha''s sinister grin. "WELL. Understandably, it wouldn''t be wise to put our medic into needless danger."


    Resting her gaze down upon Cideeda, Sotalia musters up an emboldened smile. "I''m a bit taller and larger than you, Cideeda. But, do you think you could help me practice these moves? Please?"


    Cideeda presents a toothy grin, perks her furry ears, and happily chimes. "Of course! I might be a bit rusty, since we last practiced. So, we''ll just take it a bit slow."


    A flash of evil sparks in Cideeda''s emerald eyes, and she narrows her undivided attention upon Sotalia. "So, YES. I believe I can help you through ALL the moves."


    ----


    Blades of grass flutter under the frustrated snorts from Sotalia, resting her chin upon the ground. Moments later, she strains to lift her upper torso off the ground and curl herself off the dirt. Squirming and struggling, she settles her chest back onto the grass with a slight, cushioning bounce and grumbles out. "Okay! You''ve proved your point now!"


    Grinning triumphantly, Cideeda adjusts her weight and sits on the small of Sotalia''s back. Her long, fluffy tail wags smugly, and she squeezes up her grip on Sotalia''s hands, pinning them firmly behind her back. Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian stand around Sotalia in a circle and observe the maneuver attentively. Cideeda smiles sharply and cheerfully explains. "Now! Most mages will attempt to cast a spell. You can fold their wrists to limit finger motion and push down on the head to make it hard for them to speak."


    Exhaling out her irritation, Sotalia puffs away a few stray orange hairs out her face and groans. "Gods! I''m really trying here! You just keep winning out somehow..."


    She furrows her brow and huffs. "I even have the height advantage!"


    A sly smirk cracks from the corner of Cideeda''s mouth, and she secures both of Sotalia''s arms with one hand. A flash of impish intent flickers in her emerald eyes, and she lightly grabs Sotalia''s side between her claw tips. "Don''t forget weight advantage, too."


    Kicking her lower legs and squirming, Sotalia fights a reflexive giggle and yelps out. "AaHhHh! S-S-Stop that!"


    Cideeda chuckles darkly and glances over to the rest of the team. "By the way, it''s always good to have a few tricks to break someone''s concentration."


    Watching Sotalia squirm and laugh between irritated growls, Cideeda rolls her eyes and releases her clawed hold of Sotalia''s midriff. "Okay."


    Sotalia grumbles and pouts. "Good gods! You''re just too flexible or something! I don''t know! Last time we did this type of practice, I was able to get you a number of times, girl."


    With a long sigh, Cideeda shakes her head dismissively. "Last time? That''s because I had a bad headache and let you get the holds so you''d get SOME experience with them."


    Dretphi searches the top of her mind and nods in agreement. "I remember that. You were moving slow. Seemed distracted."


    Sotalia sighs out her defeat and idly taps the toes of her shoes onto the ground. "And I thought I did really good."


    Her voice trails off, and she mumbles under her breath, narrowing her side glare. "If I had KNOWN you let me win last time, I wouldn''t have asked you to give it your all this time."


    Patting the top of Sotalia''s head between her swept back, black horns, Cideeda grins toothily with a patronizing tone. "OH. Don''t feel bad. You did just fine last time. And, you did really good, today!"


    Annoyance swells on Sotalia''s face, and she grumbles lowly. Cideeda snorts and leans to the side, meeting Sotalia''s side glance. "To be fair, I had to TRY a few times. You need a lot more practice, but you are getting better."


    Sotalia sighs irritably and mutters a few frustrated comments in a variety of languages, hints of sarcasm mingling into a mocking tone. Cideeda narrows a brief glare at Sotalia and lifts an amused eyebrow with a sly cadence. "Now, there''s one last thing I want to show."


    She winks to Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian. "So, you can only do this if you have claws-"


    Sotalia golden eyes widen and dart around warily. Cideeda shifts herself back, slides a claw tip lightly down Sotalia''s shirt-covered back, and stops abruptly near her side. "You find this particular spot and clamp down HARD-"


    Cideeda leans forward, curls her fingers, keeping her claws safely away, and harmlessly exaggerates her movements. Sotalia screams out, kicks her legs frantically, and tries to buck Cideeda off her back valiantly. "AHHHH! HELP! STOP HER! SHE''S OUT TO GET ME!"


    Holding her hand away, she watches the ongoing, frantic spectacle, and rolls her eyes. Sotalia''s fervor fades against the humored reactions of everyone else around her. With an annoyed glare on her face, she plops her upper half down upon the grass with a slight bounce and growls out through gritted teeth. "I think I''m DONE with this."


    Chuckling, Cideeda releases her grip on Sotalia''s hands and pats her shoulder. "Okay. I''m sorry. I just couldn''t resist TEASING you."


    Sotalia sweeps her arms back in front and underneath her. Cideeda leans back and gets her footing under her. "Just remember, your supposed advantages can just as easily weigh you down without the right skill behind them."


    Glancing over her shoulder at Cideeda with a playful, Sotalia mischievous smirks and quips out a sentence in Fvalian. Cideeda perks her furry ears, lifts her eyebrow with an amused grin, and retorts in fvalian. Chuckling darkly, she reaches both hands of flexing fingers out towards Sotalia''s arms. "OH! WAIT! We really SHOULD go over the basics of tying up captives!"


    Immediate motivation surges strength into Sotalia''s arms, and she pushes herself up off the ground. Cideeda deftly tumbles back, springs herself away, and stands up. She places her hands on her hips, strikes a proud pose, and smiles brightly. Aristespha and Dretphi help Sotalia up. Brushing the stray blades of grass off her clothing, Sotalia assumes her confident exterior and smirks back at Cideeda. Sebastian rolls his eyes and sighs ethereally. "Okay. I think that''s enough today. Let''s get cleaned up."


    Flicking his translucent blue gaze over to the ranch style house, he cracks a humored smirk. "Our FAVORITE show is coming on soon."


    Aristespha walks towards the back of the ranch style house along with Dretphi, Sebastian tagging along behind. Cideeda leaves the area, and Bach follows behind, inquiring. "You know, I am actually curious where you learned all that."


    Cideeda crosses her arms and flicks her ears furry with her memories. "Honestly, I just took a bunch of physical education electives in college. I did learn all about tying ropes from my dad when securing scrap pieces in the junkyard. Lots of odd shapes and sizes that normal knots and wraps don''t work for. Kinda helps, since you can''t assume a standard shape with people."


    Catching up to Bach and Cideeda, Sotalia curiously pries further. "Aww. So, no childhood self-defense class for fvalians that you got black belt in?"


    A devious chuckle leaves Cideeda, and she flexes her hand of claw tipped fingers in front of her. "Oh, my parents put me in self-defense courses. But, most fvalian specific classes taught us how to use our claws."


    Sotalia thinks back in her mind and ponders out loud. "Huh. That''s interesting. Anything emin specific I learned was all about using my horns and thick nails."


    Bach walks along without comment. Noticing casually inquisitive glances upon him, Bach shrugs his shoulders and grins awkwardly. "Uh. Yeah... All I ever was taught was to throw a spell and run as fast as I can."


    Sotalia nods in agreement and rolls her eyes at herself. "To be fair... That''s usually what I''ve ended up doing anyway."


    Cideeda twists the corner of her mouth and snorts. "Yeah, most people tend to not chase you after a laser blast or two."


    ----


    A long, low, metallic creak groans out, and Nash rocks back in his rolling office chair. Sighing out his boredom, he levels his ambivalent stare at the computer monitors in front of him. A calm pattern of imagery plays out on the displays, and smooth scrolls of status messages rise up in output windows. Nash eyes the wall clock, watching the constant, slow tick of the second hand. He tilts his head back and breathes out. "Fffffuck..."


    Leaning himself forward, he glances disdainfully at the stack of paperwork occupying a significant portion of his desk. He averts his gaze away and idly stares at the placid information graphics on the monitors. He eyes over the pile of papers, narrows a glare at the clock, and slumps in his chair. "Gods dammit..."


    Mustering the willpower, he guides his hand up, grasps hold of the top packet of paper on the stack, and halfheartedly holds it in front of his field of vision. A frown weighs on his face, and he snorts contemptuously at the task before him.


    A chime rings out from the displays. Green statuses flip quickly to yellow, and lines of highlighted log data shine forth against the rest of the digital, streaming noise. Nash immediately tosses the paperwork back onto the pile and snaps his full attention to the new activity. Swiftly typing, he enters a series of commands into the system and adjusts the context of multiple onscreen windows to the new relevant data. Nash studies the information and cocks his head to the side, puzzling at the digital disturbance. Analyzing the changes, he leans closer to the emerging patterns with growing intrigue.


    A jarring alarm echoes into the room and spots of yellow indicators immediately flip red. New windows appear, captured data streams forth onto monitors, and status icons transition in sequence from green to yellow to red. Nash''s pale blue eyes grow wide, and he grins eagerly. "OH! Finally decided to check in, you SON OF A BITCH!"


    An account information prompt appears and prominently shows the name "Isaac Kurt Huxley". Nash enters instruction after instruction into the system via his keyboard. Different system functions launch status windows, indicating their progress. Database activity monitors on the office wall switch to current queries. A feverish spree of command entry later, Nash hits the speakerphone mode button on his office phone and excitedly taps out a number. The phone rings a few times, and a voice sounds out. "Hello-"


    Nash immediately responds over the greeting. "Guess who decided to log in on this fine, quiet Friday!?"


    Background din from another room resonates through the speakerphone, and Harvos stumbles towards astonishment. "Wha- Good gods! Isaac Huxley?!"


    Nodding, Nash grins with a snarl. "HELL YES, it is. I was wondering if that bastard was ever going to check in again, but here he is. Guess he had nothing else going on tonight!"


    Sounds of Harvos fumbling with the phone slip out along with his words. "You ARE recording everything he''s doing right?!"


    A smirk briefly appears on Nash''s face, and he laughs amused. "Oh, of fucking course! I got everything he''s doing logged and any data he''s pulling is being copied on the fly. And, if there''s anyone paying attention at our network egress, I should have someone trying to track down where he''s connecting from."


    Chat windows open up on a side display, and Nash types in responses. "There they are. Good, it looks like they got the alerts, too. They''re going to try to trace out the aethernet route."


    Exhaling his nerves over the line, Harvos calms down his tone. "Okay. Gods. I hope we get something useful. I just want this whole mess to be over with."


    Bouncing his attention between different screens, Nash nods in agreement, grumbling. "Tell me about it. I''m getting REAL tired with learning about our predecessors dirty little secrets and having to be the fucking ones to deliver the bad news to the higher ups."


    Harvos groans with disgust and frustration. "I could use A LOT less of these mysteries in my life right now."


    Pausing a moment, his curiosity slips into his tone. "What is Isaac doing right now, anyway?"


    Nash flips through the numerous interface windows on the many displays in the office and hunts down a particular output. Studying the lines of text scrolling upwards, he tilts his head to the side. "If I''m reading the database queries correctly... He is hammering the shit out of the system for research done by a... Dr. Malkav?"


    Harvos hums in thought over the speakerphone. "I have heard of him. But, I haven''t delved too much into his work, exactly. Do you have any examples of his work?"


    With a humored snort, Nash commands his computer and opens up a document. "Plenty. Isaac is mass downloading EVERYTHING from this guy. Let''s take a look at... Uh... THIS one."


    He grimaces, puzzling at the title, and scratches his head of long, graying hair. "Post Abstract Prism Elder Energy Acquisition and Applications? Okay..."


    With a dawning realization, Harvos''s cadence shifts out of confusion. "It''s coming back to me. Dr. Malkav did a lot of... Well... Out on the fringes research on elder energy magic and theoretical possibilities of access to it. But... If I remember correctly, he proposed a lot of theories, but none of them ever really worked out."


    Nash contorts his face and ponders out loud. "SO, what the hell is Isaac doing now? I mean he is wholesale dumping everything Dr. Malkav we have. Does this guy still even work for the Grand Library anymore?"


    A long sigh escapes Harvos and handset noises telegraph the shake of his head. "Oh. No. I think he left the Grand Library officially a long time ago. But, I think he was involved in some... Unofficial capacity? I don''t know exactly. Honestly, after the whole Orth Ridge ordeal, I''ve been combing through this damn department''s project records for any other strange circumstance. So, I will prioritize THAT mystery. GODS. I do NOT want to be blindsided by something like Orth Ridge again."


    Nodding empathetically, Nash rolls his eyes, sighing out his disgust. "I know the feeling. Got sets of the original blueprints for a few buildings, and I''ve been double-checking to see if they match up with the buildings now. If I don''t find revision notes or any other updates to the plans, I still got the sledgehammer from engineering."


    Harvos chuckles with a humored tone. "How the hell do you still have that? Didn''t Vetra take that back?"


    Laughing, Nash smugly smiles, squinting at the data streaming on screen. "Yes. It was LAST SEEN in engineering. Don''t know if they''ve bothered checking to see if they could still see it where it was last seen."


    A status monitor icon flickers from red to black. Streams of data slow to a halt, and capture systems close out. Nash searches the information before him and grits his teeth. "Well... He disconnected. Damn. Let''s see what the crew up the pipe got."


    Glancing over to a side monitor, he reads the information dumps in the chat windows. He shakes his head and directs his disappointed tone towards the speakerphone on his desk. "They traced him decently. But... Unfortunately... It seems like he was connecting via an aethernet tower along some highway in the middle of fucking nowhere. Roughly somewhere between GAA and Appaland territories."


    He rolls his eyes and frowns. "So, not too helpful."


    Harvos hopefully comments. "Still, it means he was around there at this time. He can only move so far so fast. It will be useful in the right hands."


    Nash slowly nods in agreement and settles back into his office chair with a long, groaning creak. "Yeah. Yeah. I definitely know some people who''ll want THIS. Well, I''m going to dig into this more. I''ll get you a copy and send one to Aristespha."


    Harvos replies appreciatively over the speakerphone. "Thank you. Don''t fret. We''ll figure it out yet."


    Pausing a moment, he inquires curiously. "Quick question, Nash."


    Nash quirks his brow and eyes the desk phone. "Yes?"


    Harvos sighs from the other side of the connection. "When the hell are you going to get a new office chair? I keep hearing that damned thing, and it sounds like it''s going to fall apart at any moment."


    A defiant laugh bellows out from Nash. "Never! We got history, this chair and I... And... Well... All the new chairs feel weird to me. Strange back support and all."


    Harvos grumbles in commiseration. "Yes... Very true. Please, let me know if you find any of the old ones in storage somewhere."


    Nodding, Nash hovers his finger over the call end button on the desk phone. "Will do. Catch ya later."


    With Harvos''s goodbye, Nash terminates the call and stares at the screens in front of him. He glances over to wall clock, eyes the paperwork, and settles upon the task before him. "Ffffuuucckkk..."

 Episode 54

    Deedri sorts through a pack of medical supplies, inspecting the contents thoroughly. Her furry ears flick along with her investigation, and she resettles her seat upon a blanket near the campfire. Trakenthin flips to the next page of his book and rubs his back against the trunk of a tree. The dimming dusk sky illuminates the area, and the glow of the fire light gains dominance over the seconds. The lightly armored form of Daedrican walks up calmly to the campsite and waves to Deedri. "Good evening, Mage Preeta. I hope your day went well."


    A smile appears on Deedri''s fair face, and she nods happily to Daedrican. "Oh. Yes! It did. Nothing too exciting today. Overall... Very quiet."


    With a sigh of pleasant agreement, Daedrican tilts his helmeted head down briefly. "As it was for me, too. I get the feeling that whatever bandits we didn''t capture, we have mostly certainly scared off this road for quite a while. We have yet to even find any signs of them trying to set up another camp nearby."


    Glancing over from his book, Trakenthin bows his head slightly and acknowledges Daedrican, calmly adding. "I concur. Heavy team has not found anything new. They have made their presence known. Doubt observant bandits will stay in the area."


    With a light chuckle, Daedrican shakes his head in good humor. "Well, that''s what they do. And, that''s why we have them. If you ever want to make the enemy reconsider their plans, you release some of the heavy armor team out for a... Walk."


    Keeping modest attention upon the conversation, he gazes through his visor and scans the general vicinity. "Well. It seems like you all have found yet another good spot to make camp for the night. Hopefully, there are a few more good places left along the way for the next few days."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow at Daedrican, Trakenthin quickly surveys the secluded alcove under a lush tree canopy. "Smaller layout. Better choice of sites. We should have options."


    Daedrican nods slightly in agreement and turns his head slowly in a final visual sweep of the camp, stepping away with a wave. "Indeed. I shouldn''t keep you all on your off time. I wanted to say it has been a pleasure having your group along with us during this patrol. I hope these last few days end the patrol nicely. A good night to you all."


    Deedri bows slightly to Daedrican. Trakenthin nods respectfully and resumes reading his book. Daedrican pivots precisely and continues his patrol away from the camp, sneaking one last check of the area. Minutes of idle activity later, Deedri bites her lip in thought and aims her voice towards Trakenthin. "So... I''m not the only one who thinks he was looking for Tassilda, right?"


    Resting his book down on his muscular chest, Trakenthin slowly turns his head and meets Deedri''s gaze, nodding. "He was looking. Hid it well. Still was looking. Do you know what happened?"


    Cocking her head to the side, Deedri''s furry ears perk up contemplatively, and she shakes her head inconclusively. "No. She hasn''t said anything to me..."


    She furrows her brow and darts her auburn eyes with her thoughts. "Which is kind of weird, since she has been coming up with all kinds of reasons to talk about him."


    Gritting her teeth briefly, she twists an uneasy grimace. "She''s been acting odd, lately. I guess there''s something on her mind."


    Trakenthin nods in agreement and hums, pondering. "I have noticed. There is a grath word for it..."


    He recites a single word of grath in his native dialect and searches his mind contemplatively. "It means... Thoughts which hinder progress of thoughts."


    Blinking her auburn eyes, Deedri brushes back her multi-colored hair over her shoulders and idly picks at her claws, pondering out loud. "That... Actually describes it nicely. She''s thinking about something, and she can''t get past it for some reason."


    Trakenthin shrugs his shoulders and lifts up his book, tugging the corner of his mouth. "Those thoughts are not easy to resolve. You can avoid them. Temporarily. Easy at first."


    Rolling her eyes at her memories, Deedri releases a long sigh and shakes her head. "Gods. I know THAT feeling."


    She closes up the medical pack, taps out a few notes on the aetherphone on her lap, and eyes Trakenthin thoughtfully. "So... Do you think we should ask her about it? I mean, we are a team. And, we should try to help each other out."


    Trakenthin''s hazel eyes widen, and he winces briefly. Recovering to an uncomfortable grimace, he gazes warily at Deedri and sighs uncertainly. "I do not know. Those are affairs we should not needlessly pry into."


    Searching the more obscuring spots around the campsite''s perimeter, Trakenthin spots empty patches of the forest and sates his paranoia. With a mildly frustrated grumble, he frowns at Deedri. "We are not in ideal... circumstances... to discuss those topics. Privacy is a luxury, currently."


    Deedri darts her eyes around, irritably squirms, and groans in defeat. "Gods, I know. I''m SO tired of checking for a damn camera crew out here. At least at the house, I''m afforded some peace."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Trakenthin smirks nonchalantly. "They have not followed me on patrol. I think the crew are afraid to get squashed by the heavy team."


    A dry grin cracks from the corner of his mouth. "I can confirm... It is a valid fear."


    A brief, dark giggle slips out from Deedri. She blinks back to awareness, musters up prior demeanor, and exhales longingly. "I''ll just be glad to get back to the house for a bit. I really hope we get a few days to rest for a bit before the next mission."


    Pausing in thought, she glances over to Trakenthin and perks up her furry ears. "By the way, have you heard anything about our next mission?"


    Furrowing his brow, Trakenthin ponders quietly a moment, blinks blankly, and shakes his head. "No. Chad mentioned he did not know. Said the crew was going to choose?"


    Deedri sneers her upper lip, droops her furry ears, and rolls her eyes with an irritated flick of her long, fluffy tail. "OH. GREAT. That fills me with confidence."


    Appearing out from a shady region behind a tree, Modoran casually strolls up to the low campfire and sits down on a nearby log. "Good evening. Anything new or exciting?"


    Deedri presents a happy smile to Modoran and rests her head on her hand. "Not really. Just talking about things we can''t get the answers for, easily."


    Shifting his gaze between Deedri and Trakenthin, Modoran grimaces awkwardly, wrestling down an uneasy smile. "Does this discussion involve politics or religion?"


    Smirking dryly, Trakenthin snorts. "No."


    With an exhale of relief, Modoran relaxes and signals Deedri to proceed. "OH. Good. Thank you. I avoid those debates. So, what are these things you can''t get answers for?"


    Crossing her arms, Deedri rolls her shoulders and twists her mouth thoughtfully with a slightly squirm. "WELL. We''ve been trying to figure out what''s happened between Tassilda and Daedrican."


    She pauses a moment and sighs. "And... What''s our next mission going to be?"


    Modoran tenses a bit, scratches the back of his light gray and white haired head, and grits his teeth. Telegraphing the obvious discomfort, he notices the eager gazes of Deedri and Trakenthin upon him. Following a few idle fidgets and false starts, he slumps slightly with sigh and shakes his head. "Oh, gods. I have theories for both of those based on what I have found while... doing my usual... um..."


    Bouncing his dark blue eye around the area, he lifts up an eyebrow at Deedri and Trakenthin. "Information gathering...?"


    Deedri and Trakenthin exchange glances and focus fully upon Modoran, leaning slightly back from the sudden attention. With an awkward grimace, Modoran bites his lip and shrugs his shoulders, mumbling loudly. "So... Uh... What theories do you want to hear about, first?"


    ----


    A few large white clouds overhead cast massive shadows across the land near the ranch style house. A gentle wind blows both grass blades and tree leaves equally, and a faint drone fills the vicinity. Sebastian''s ghostly form stands in front of Bach. Crossing his arms, he grins eagerly and nods towards his brother. "Okay, bro. I think it''s about time to show you how to activate THE SWORD and some of the main features of it."


    Aristespha walks up to Bach with the Sword of the Spirit realm in its scabbard. Placing the weapon in Bach''s awaiting hands, she summons up a calm smile. "Originally, I would have said there is not too terribly much to the sword. As Sebastian found out along with the rest of us... It seems to have some... undocumented features."


    Bach carefully examines the magical item, alternates his gaze between Aristespha and Sebastian. "Okay. Yeah. Um. Have you found out any more info about the now not-so-hidden functions?"


    With a long sigh, Aristespha grimaces dissatisfied and grumbles, resting her hands upon her hips. "Not as much as I would like. Good or bad, it seems this sword was unique. Even for magical swords of its time."


    She cocks her head to the side, tosses back her silvery blue hair, and dons a smirk upon her ivory face. "One interesting thing I managed to discover during my research was how many of the magical activation locks worked during the era this sword was made."


    Lifting a curious brow, Bach follows Sebastian''s instructive pantomimes and slowly slides the sword out from its sheath. He smirks in amusement, sarcastic coloring his voice. "Neat. So, what was it? Some special sequence of words? Secret magical arts unique to the device? A dark, morally questionable blood bonding ritual? Gods know what else people came up with back then."


    Aristespha lightly chuckles, steps forward, and places her finger firmly upon the top of Bach''s forehand. She curls her finger around the obscured white streak contrasting his brown hair and guides it down into Bach''s vision. Rolls her violet eyes with her amusement, she releases the lock and smirks dismissively. "Nope. Simple detection of Pre-Cataclysm genetic modifications."


    Incredulously frowning, Bach eyes his white streak of hair and combs it back with his fingers. "Really? Huh. Wow... I''m not going to lie, I was kind of hoping for something a bit more significant than that. Feels a little cheap."


    Sebastian snorts ethereally and shrugs his shoulders, hands out to his sides. "Same here, bro. At first, the sword was really vocal about the whole chosen one thing, and we thought there was something more going on with its decision process."


    Scratching the back of his head, he averts his eyes away in a fit of shame. "We really didn''t dig too deep. Since we were busy chasing Noxian around, just didn''t think to dedicate too much time to that."


    He tugs at the corner of his mouth and sighs. "It was only AFTER Noxian blasted me, we really tried to figure things out. And, well..."


    Aristespha frowns slightly, shifts her weight to the other foot, and groans out her frustration. "The sword has always been awkward and brief with its messages. When it..."


    Pausing a moment, she glances to the top of her mind and rocks her side to side in deliberation. "Captured... Sebastian, it got even more brief."


    She narrows a brief glare at the sword in Bach''s hand. "And, significantly less helpful in some regards."


    Bach examines the blade, squints against the sun glinting off a sharp edge, and puzzles at Sebastian. "Huh. I mean, maybe it''s redirected its power to holding or supporting you?"


    Sebastian nods slowly in agreement, furrowing his brow. "That''s my best guess, too, bro. I think its elder energy detection range is a lot less than it was... Or, at least it''s not as sensitive? Also, it seems to be trying to inform me of things by... feel?"


    Meeting his brother''s curious glance, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders. "I don''t know. I''m still sorting through all of it myself, and it''s REALLY ABSTRACT about it. But, the sword definitely keeps informing me about you."


    Narrowing a suspicious stare at Sebastian, Bach sneers and briefly grits his teeth uneasily. "Uh..."


    Blinking in confusion, Sebastian shakes his head and laughs with ghostly reverb. "Oh! NO. Not at that, well exactly. When we got close to your house in Tullachester, it was pinging you as a new wielder. Hence, why we were a bit overzealous... Heh..."


    Returning his attention to the partially unsheathed sword, Bach lifts an expectant eyebrow, warily studying the blade. "Okay. So. Supposedly because I''ve got this white streak in my hair, it''ll just work for me?"


    Aristespha nods slowly and smiles with a snort. "Well. Yes. I believe. The sword is often cryptic in how it explains itself."


    She hoists up a mildly annoyed eyebrow at the sword, side eyeing Bach. "That MUST have been some style choice by the creator. But, given what Sebastian has felt and the obtuse explanation from the sword, we think that is probably the case."


    With a sigh, she relaxes her posture and rolls her hand in thought. "It is not so much the white streak itself, as much as the genetic traces the biological modification left behind. The white hair streak is just a visual indicator. Using cosmetic genetic mods was a popular thing for First Period mage royalty to perform to prevent their powerful magical artifacts from getting used against them."


    Searching her mind briefly, she draws in a long breath and recites clinically. "Biological and genetic modifications post-Cataclysm were extremely rare as the resources and systems to manufacture new stocks ceased to either function or exist, in many cases. The mage royalty had the ruling power during that era, and extensively used it to acquire the remaining mods that were viable. They soon developed methods to augment their magic to detect these mods."


    Blinking away from the explanation, Bach furrows his brow to an emerging realization and returns to the conversation with a smug grin towards Aristespha. "Wait. Hold up. So... What you are saying is... Sebastian and I are descendants of ancient royalty?"


    Sebastian smiles proudly, postures pridefully, chuckles with his brother. "I know, right?!"


    He gazes at Aristespha eagerly curious. "Oh, yeah! Dear? Did you ever find a possible royal line that may have created the sword?"


    A dark, playful grin graces Aristespha ivory blue and gray hinted face, and she flashes an evil gaze between Back and Sebastian. "Well. It has proven quite a bit difficult to track down any records. Especially since that after the Second Cataclysm, most mage royalty lineages were systematically hunted down and slaughtered by the new commoner mages."


    Her expression morphs to an ill-humored smile, and she presents a facetious tone towards the brothers, tapping her finger tips together. "Interestingly, they proved even more thorough and zealous than most school history books would have you believe. A few rebel organizations went so far as second and third cousins in their exterminations. They were EXCEPTIONALLY motivated."


    Shrugging her shoulders with dramatic motions of her hands, she winks to the two uneasy brothers. "In conclusion... Either you are descendants of unknown, illegitimate royal bastards. OR, your family line just happens to have the same genetic modification present in it."


    Staring wide-eyed, Bach and Sebastian remain in the awkward quiet. Exchanges of disappointed, uncertain glances later, the two arrive to some acceptance. Bach shrugs his shoulders with a weak smirk. "Hey, I''m perfectly cool with just somehow having that same mod."


    With a tight smile, Sebastian nods and cracks a halfhearted grin. "Yeah, bro. Let''s just say we just got really lucky by circumstance."


    Rolling her violet eyes with an amused snicker, Aristespha rests her hands on her back and focuses her attention upon the sword. "Anyway... The sword activation is simple enough. Draw the blade, grip the handle firmly, and flow some magical energy into it."


    Bach perks his eyebrow, grips the handle of the sword, and draws it out. With the scabbard in one hand and the blade in the other, Bach calmly exhales and readies himself. Quickly sliding into Bach''s view, Sebastian waves his hands for his attention. "Bro! Just a fair warning. It''ll feel a little weird when it activates. Nothing bad. Just strange."


    Confirming with Sebastian, Bach bites his lower lip, rolls his shoulders against building tension, and concentrates. A faint trace of magical flow glides along the surface of Bach''s arm and sinks into the handle of the sword. Moments later, Bach''s face contorts uncomfortably, and his hand tenses up. The Sword of the Spirit Realm pulsates to a steady, faint blue glow. Sebastian''s visage warps slightly, stabilizing quickly. Squirming in a wave of discomfort, Bach shakes off a shiver down his back. He grits his teeth briefly, grimacing. "Gods. That feels fucking WEIRD."


    Sebastian turns his head to Aristespha with an accusing stare and points to the sword in Bach''s hand. "SEE! It feels weird for him, too. It''s not just MY wild imagination or some psychosomatic thing!"


    Narrowing a glare back at Sebastian, Aristespha crosses her arms and briefly snarls her upper lip, groaning. "YES, Sebastian. I SEE that now."


    Seconds later, Sebastian softens his gaze and summons up an apologetic tone. "Sorry, dear. It''s just nice to have someone confirm it. A little vindication, you know?"


    A smile graces Aristespha, and she nods understandingly. "I know, Sebastian. I only find it strange that would be an aspect of its function."


    Swinging his attention to Bach, Sebastian inquisitively gazes over. "So, how did it feel when it activated?"


    Bach blinks in thought, idly flexes his arms with the sword, and furrows his brow, mulling it over. "Well... Huh. Like-I mean.. Like something reached into my arm and... grabbed hold of it?"


    A satisfied smile widens on Sebastian''s translucent face, and he nods eagerly in complete agreement. "Exactly what I fuckin'' felt, too. But, apart from that?"


    Methodically moving the sword through a number of practice maneuvers, Bach gauges the weight and balance of the weapon in his hand, and finishes the motions with a final fanciful flair. "Not bad at all. Balanced. Really light, too. And, I''m sure that blade could easily slice through some things. It looks sharp."


    His eyes flicker to a blue glow, and he studies the edges of the blade closely in growing astonishment. "Oh yeah. There is some SERIOUS enchantment magic on that edge. Gods, that can do some REAL damage."


    Sebastian grins eagerly, chuckling. "That sword is pretty capable. Sharpest edge I''ve ever swung on a blade. And, if you lose grip of it, you can will it back into your hand."


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    A mischievous, sly smile emerges upon Bach''s face. "So... Does that mean that if I throw it-"


    The ethereal glare of Sebastian zips up to Bach, and Sebastian burrows his stare through. "You throw this sword with me in it, and I''ll make sure it returns the WORST WAY to you."


    Blinking blankly, Bach darts his eyes to either side and nods slowly. "Just... Checking... Yeah."


    An amused smirk forms on Sebastian, and he drifts away with a playful sigh. "Ah. Just fucking with you, bro. But, seriously... Don''t throw around the ancient artifact we need. We ALMOST lost it once."


    Bach snaps a perplexed glance over at Sebastian. "Wait- What?!"


    Awkwardly grinning, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders. "Uh. Long story. I''ll tell you later."


    He gazes lovingly at Aristespha, smiling. "Just know that despite how things went, really good things came of it."


    With a happy smile, Aristespha meets Sebastian''s attention and blushes slightly. She gazes at Bach with an instructive tone. "Back on topic. The sword ultimately, from research I have done and what has been witnessed, is an Elder energy sink. The primary function of it seems to be to absorb Elder energy and send it somewhere."


    Bach narrows a questioning stare at Aristespha and cocks his head to the side. "Somewhere?"


    Mild embarrassment mixes with frustration upon Aristespha''s ivory face. She rolls her shoulders and pantomimes out her thoughts. "That last part has been difficult to determine. There is NOT a lot of documentation about that aspect of the sword. Any information I have found is prone to terrible translation errors. Or, it is just simply too cryptic to make any sense of."


    An unamused expression bubbles up upon Bach with a sarcastic color. "And, I''m certain the sword has been the most helpful in filling these gaps of information?"


    Aristespha''s cadence matches Bach''s with a wry smile. "OH. Yes. Most certainly. It has been an absolute fount of knowledge."


    Crossing his arms, Sebastian groans with a slight reverb, rolling his translucent blue eyes dismissively. "It certainly showers its wisdom the same on the inside as it does on the outside."


    With a shake of her head, Aristespha tosses back her long hair, stretches her arms, and sighs. "Regardless, it does have its purpose. And, hopefully, absorbing the Elder energy stored within Noxian will not only defeat him but return Sebastian back."


    Bach''s attention drifts away briefly, and he narrows his stare upon the sword. "Thinking along those same lines..."


    He gazes at Sebastian''s ethereal form. "Has it absorbed any ambient Elder energy recently?"


    Sebastian nods calmly and frowns slightly. "Yeah. From what I''ve felt, it''s... Kind of a... Drop in the bucket?"


    Slumping his shoulders, Bach tugs at the corner of his mouth, mumbling disheartened. "Well, there goes THAT idea for now."


    Shrugging, Sebastian floats next to Bach with an appreciative smirk. "Hey, bro. It''s not gone to waste or anything. But, I feel like there''s A LOT more energy needed for me to get back in one physical piece."


    Aristespha rests her hand upon Back''s shoulder and presents a hopeful smile. "There is definite merit to your idea in trying for sites of power and ancient ruins for leftover traces of Elder energy. A strong enough residual source should get us closer to our goal, so we should certainly keep an eye out. Also..."


    Perking her intrigued brow, she focuses her violet gaze upon Bach. "When we examine the nature of your access to elder energy further in the future, I believe the sword would serve as a convenient safety measure. Any excess energy will probably help out Sebastian."


    Bach nods thoughtfully, quietly contemplating. Examining the sword, he hoists the scabbard up in his other hand. With a smooth motion, he slides the sword securely back into the sheath and shudders, letting his hand release the handle. He eyes Sebastian with an awkward grimace. Sebastian shakes his head and grumbles. "I know, bro. It just feels weird no matter what you do."


    Twisting his mouth, Bach tilts his head to either side. "Did you get used to it after a certain point?"


    Sebastian grits his teeth briefly and uncertainly ponders out loud. "Not really? You just start to, uh, expect it, and take comfort in anticipating it?"


    Aristespha rolls her eyes at the exchange between the brothers, taking the scabbard and sword from Bach. "You two..."


    ----


    Thomas Blaureiter stands near the back steps of a long brick house, idly surveying the worn dirt track in the middle of a field. Glancing up to the expanding orange glow of the morning sky, he winces briefly, the beams of sunlight flickering over the tree lined horizon. He lifts one of his cybernetic arms up and shields his eyes, adjusting to the brightness. With a propping push from Kaleb''s hand, the back storm door opens. Shadeesa slips past Kaleb and walks down the few stair steps with a mug of coffee in each hand. Kaleb follows a step behind her, guarding her descent. Shadeesa glances behind her with green on black eyes, tosses her dark green hair, and reveals a loving smile on her light gray, white freckled face. "I do appreciate you being so watchful, but I can still manage these stairs... Even with balancing coffee cups in each hand."


    Kaleb awkwardly grins and momentarily averts his eyes in embarrassment. "I- Uh... I know."


    Gazing down Shadeesa''s pronounced belly beneath her apron, he smiles at her and rests a hand on her back, moving to her side. "Just trying to be protective and all that fatherly stuff. Yeah... Think it''s all starting to hit me as of late. I really hope I''m not going overboard or anything."


    The couple walks to Thomas, and Shadeesa giggles, smiling happily. "You''re doing just fine."


    She presents a cup of coffee to Thomas and nods to him. "Good morning. I didn''t know how you liked your coffee, so I kept it as it was brewed."


    Thomas grabs hold of the mug and graciously bows to Shadeesa, smirking contentedly. "That''s perfect for me. I learned to drink it plain and fresh a long time ago."


    Sipping from the mug in his other hand, Kaleb''s face sours slightly. "Yeah... I''m trying to do the same. Keeps it simple when I''m out somewhere remote."


    A lighthearted chuckle escapes Thomas, and he shakes his head of short, gray hair. "It only takes a few desperate times to break your taste buds to it. Don''t worry."


    Drifting in a moment of reflection, he peacefully enjoys the scenic morning landscape. The sun casts its light upon the dew sparkling grasses and leaves. The trio soak up the quiet moments with coffee for minutes. Thomas sighs appreciatively and smiles. "By the way, thank you for having me for a few days. Gods. Times like this I miss being out on the family farm."


    A sly smirk creeps out from the corner of Shadeesa''s mouth, and she lifts an intrigued eyebrow at Thomas. "Hmm. So, any farm related retirement plans when you get your years at the university?"


    Thomas shrugs his cybernetic shoulders and slowly sways his head side to side, mulling the idea over. "It''s come up between Albert and I. BUT, that''s still a number of years off. I''m going to need quite a few more years of service before I get most of my retirement benefits from the university."


    Laughing, Kaleb grins towards Thomas. "Man, I could totally see you and Albert growing food to feed a few dragon lines."


    Thomas blinks blankly, twists a grimace, and mumbles barely coherent. "Don''t know about that..."


    Shadeesa furrows her brow and stares with incredulous hints at Thomas. "OH? Why not? You cannot tell me you wouldn''t want to raise your own swarm of dragons. I''d imagine there would be people fighting for one raised under your care."


    Visibly struggling with the weight on his mind between flits of a frown, Thomas indulges in a long swig from his coffee cup. He grits his teeth momentarily with an indecisive sigh. "I just... Don''t know. Nachta was UNIQUE, in just every aspect. If I''m going to have another dragon in my life, it''ll have to be something SPECIAL..."


    A loud, rumbling snore reverberates through the open doors of the huge hangar at the corner of the field. Lagi twists and rotates his large blue and black scaled form around the confines of the massive metal building. His gaping maw opens up into a dramatic, exaggerated yawn, abruptly ending with an echoing belch. Following the gaseous flow, an oily mass of plant matter flies out and plops down meters away into the field. Kaleb snorts, lifts his hand off of Shadeesa''s back, and holds a finger up. "Wait for it..."


    Lagi''s face contorts, a wave tension radiates down his spine, and his tail momentarily stiffens. A long, rumbling expulsion of gas sounds out against the acoustically reflective walls of the hangar. With blatant satisfaction, Lagi lethargically rests his head upon a large, canvas pillow, a snore droning and his long tongue hanging out. With a hand, Shadeesa covers her snicker, trying against the odds to maintain her composure. "So... Yes. Something SPECIAL?"


    Shadeesa shakes her head and guides her stray locks of hair over her horns. Thomas smiles warmly and laughs, his blue eyes distantly watching fond memories. "Oh, Nachta had similar habits. Gods, I hope Lagi doesn''t inherit her more infamous ones."


    Lifting a curious brow, Shadeesa settles her inquiring gaze upon Thomas. "Like what? I''m actually genuinely curious for my own research."


    Thomas glances over and snorts out with an ill-humored smirk. "Well... She was more... Um. Well, attuned?"


    Searching his mind for a second, he nods slowly. "Yes. Attuned... to her biological functions."


    He grits his teeth and hisses out a sigh. "ESPECIALLY, when ANGRY. Which she was OFTEN."


    Kaleb swallows down more of his coffee with a grimace and chuckles. "Oh, Lagi''s perfectly capable of feats like that. But, he''s just usually so goofy and laid back, that I don''t think it even crosses his mind to be mean or vindictive."


    Relief grows upon Thomas, and he nods in agreement, curious tilting his head. "I''m glad he''s kept that attitude. It HAS to be something from his father, because it DID NOT come from his mother."


    Pausing in thought a moment, Shadeesa furrows her brow, inquisitive hints bubbling into her gaze upon Thomas. "That actually reminds me. Any new information about Lagi''s lineage?"


    Kaleb lifts his eyebrow intrigued and glances over to the new topic. "YEAH. Did that one dragon fan club that Tellerran guy is part of have anything useful?"


    Thomas scratches his chin contemplatively, and contorts his face in thought. "Well... Nothing too new. But, I was really surprised how thorough they were, and how much information they had on a number of dragons. They MUST have some inside sources, because I distinctly remember A LOT that information being restricted in some shape or form by most government organizations. Even working with the university and my history, I can''t even touch that data now, even if I asked really nicely."


    He pours back the last remainder of the coffee in his mug, pauses in thought, and nods. "They did have Nachta''s family tree theorized, decently. They still haven''t fit Lagi anywhere yet. Last I checked, they were still bickering page after page about that. So, I don''t think anyone has made that connection yet."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he smiles nonchalantly and rolls his eyes. "If anything useful comes from all of it, I''ll be sure to let you two know. Honestly... Still trying to keep my official distance and all."


    Kaleb furrows his brow at Thomas, cocks his head to the side. "Gods, man. Are THEY still keeping tabs on you?"


    With a dismissive smirk, Thomas snorts and shakes his head. "Nah. I don''t think so. I think they gave up trying to find out any secrets from me a few years after I gave them-"


    A sly smile graces his face, he chuckles smugly. "ALL the eggs Nachta''s nest... That I wanted them to know about. Plus, not having a dragon for this long and working at the school, they probably think I''ve distanced myself from my past so much, that I''m not worth the effort."


    Wrestling a frown, Shadeesa grumbles unamused. "I still find that clause of that treaty so ridiculous."


    Thomas nonchalantly rests a cybernetic hand on his side. "Yeah. BUT, it saved a bunch of lives and kept me from spending time in some nation''s military prison. So, I''m not one to complain about it."


    He pauses a moment and narrows a distant, internal stare. "Still kind of wonder which nation it would have been. Nachta and I melted down a lot of expensive military hardware."


    In the quiet surrounding nature, the three casually watch the sleeping Lagi. Thomas narrows an analytical stare at the slumbering dragon and tilts his head to the side. "One interesting thing I found while browsing that club''s aethersite is that many of Lagi''s traits we''ve assumed were his father''s... They''ve seen, individually, in other dragon lines. BUT, not all together in one dragon."


    From the distance, Kaleb, Shadeesa, and Thomas study Lagi with developing serious interest. Lagi stirs groggily towards partial consciousness, lazily winks one eye after another at the group, and slowly wags his tail. Kaleb shrugs his shoulders, Shadeesa smiles happily, and Thomas grins at the goofy display.


    ----


    Steam rises out from a large pot on the glass stove top and swirls into the overhead vent fan. Red rings of light pulse steadily around the large pot and two other pans. The digital display on the appliance''s console indicates the temperature of the different items of cookware. Dretphi presses a knife down repeatedly upon a cutting board, slicing up a variety of vegetables. Glancing over at one of the pans, she cuts off a modest slab of butter from an unwrapped stick, and flicks it onto the heated surface. Swiftly, she clicks a button on the oven door and leans to study the tray with cooking slices of meat inside under the internal lamp. Standing back up, she surveys the progress of the meal and wipes her brow with her arm. She pauses a moment and flexes hands, revealing muscular definition under the faint, grayish stripes upon her forearms. Sniffing the air, she glances over at a plate of precisely cut, caramel topped, brownies covered in draping sheets of wax paper, smiling with pride. Her attention swings back over to the buttered pan, and she sweeps the vegetables from the cutting board onto the hot, sizzling surface.


    The steam carries the odors of frying vegetables, cooking meat, and sweet treats, flooding the air in the kitchen. The scents wafts out and infiltrate the rest of the ranch style house. Bach plods casually through the archway leading to the hallway and gradually halts in the middle of the combined living room and dining area. He sniffs the air, guides his searching stare, following the hisses and pops. Stepping inquiringly towards the kitchen entry, he stops at the entrance point and admires the meal in progress, nods approvingly. "Wow. It smells amazing in here. And, it''s looking really good."


    Dretphi glances over with a warm smile and idly stirs the vegetables in the pan with a wooden spatula. "Thank you. It will be ready soon."


    Remaining clear of the main kitchen walkway, Bach watches Dretphi switch between tasks at different fashioned stations. In a lull of activity, he wanders in thought and directs an inquiry towards Dretphi. "Hey, um. Just thought about this. It always seems like you''re the one cooking for the group. I mean, any particular reason why?"


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes search the top of her mind. She ponders to herself a moment more and nonchalantly states. "I like cooking. I am proficient at preparing meals for groups. Why do you ask?"


    Nodding with the answer, Bach approaches the subject carefully. "Oh, well, I just wondered if there was any special reason. It''s obvious you seem to know what you are doing. Didn''t know if there was any other history behind it."


    Perking an intrigued eyebrow, Dretphi reaches over, dials down a temperature on the stove top controls, and gazes thoughtfully at Bach. "My mother taught me. She took the responsibility to feed the house. When I was old enough, she shared the responsibility with me. Helped cook for the house until I went to college."


    Bach nods and leans against the entryway, puzzling out loud. "Your mother took the responsibility?"


    Lifting the lid of the pot carefully, Dretphi releases a wave of steam up into the air, inspects the fluffy rice inside a holder, and tilts her head to the side. "Yes. Prefers to eat good food. Makes sure of THAT."


    Replacing the lid, she rolls her shoulders into a stretch and sighs. "Many house duties she defers to my fathers. Brothers for some. Cooking has been hers since house formation."


    Her stare into memory widens. "By her unchallenged claim to it. My fathers were astounded when she let me help in the kitchen. She takes pride in HER contribution. Her teaching me was significant."


    Gradually acknowledging the weight in Dretphi''s tone, Bach observes her efforts in preparing the meal. "Wow. Huh. Sounds like house duties are pretty serious business."


    Dretphi twists the corner of her mouth and crosses her arms, grumbling. "Depends on the house. My mother is... VERY... exacting with her standards."


    A smile graces her, and she sighs into a relaxed demeanor. "She means well. Sought to prepare me. Taught me cooking for my benefit. Instructed me it was the right skill to keep a house together."


    Bach nods understandingly with a contented smile. "Oh, well, that makes sense. It does sound like she has good intentions there. Good survival skill, too."


    Glancing over with an uncertain grimace, Dretphi lifts a thoughtful eyebrow. "She said similar about sword fighting, grappling. I would consider her sentiments carefully."


    Cideeda peeks quietly through the entryway into the kitchen next to Bach, surveying the feast in the making. Her emerald eyes lock onto the caramel topped brownies, and she unconsciously licks her lips. The growing toothy grin halts, and she spots the wax paper covering the dessert treats. Her furry ears drooping slightly, she furrows her brow and softly raps her clawtips upon the archway frame, contemplating. With a hint of resignation in her tone, she chimes out quizzically to Dretphi. "So, how much longer? Should I set the plates out?"


    Dretphi stands back and analyzes the progress of each part of the meal, processing the internal calculus. "No longer than ten minutes. Set the table. Thank you."


    With a swift nod, Cideeda slips away quickly and steps along the floor with light pats of her feet and soft clicks of her claws. Gawking at Cideeda''s prior location, Bach cocks his head to the side and shakes in disbelief. "Good gods... I didn''t hear her walk up..."


    A sly grin parts Dretphi''s mouth, and she tosses her thick, long braids of platinum blonde hair over her shoulders. With a quiet voice, she points towards the covered treats. "She smelled the dessert. Always tries to sneak one away when I do not notice."


    Furrowing his gaze at the plate of brownies, Bach glances over to Dretphi, puzzling. "Well... I mean... She probably could have gotten one. Gods, I certainly didn''t know she was there."


    Dretphi presents a proud smile and chuckles to herself. "I use countermeasures designed for my brothers. They discourage the wise."


    Squinting at the plate of brownies, Bach ponders a moment and crosses his arms with a humored smile. "So, you were the one that helped keep your brothers in line?"


    Grasping hold of a tray of cooked meat from the open oven with mitten covered hands, Dretphi hoists the cookware upon a clear section of kitchen counter and groans out old frustrations. "Yes. Crettaken is five years younger. Arvenerrin is six years younger. I helped my mother raise both. Kept them out of trouble."


    A proud smile appears on her tan face, and she chuckles to herself. "It took effort. They are better now. Both are searching for adventuring schools, currently."


    She grumbles and slowly shakes her head. "THAT has been an ongoing debate between my mother. House fathers. Brothers."


    Blinking blankly, Bach contorts his face with memories of the past. "Yeah. My mother and father went to rival adventuring schools. But, they eventually settled on High Alton college since it was conveniently closer. And, mom agreed that it was a lot cheaper."


    Dretphi quickly nods in agreement, balancing out the contents between frying pans. "Good reasons."


    Heavier footsteps sound out from beyond the kitchen, and Sotalia slides into view around the entry next to Bach. She smiles slyly and visually searches the forming feast. "It''s looking really good."


    She brushes past Bach through the gap between him and the entryway frame and lightly steps into the kitchen, maintaining a watch of the busy, distracted Dretphi. "So, how much longer? Cideeda almost has the table together..."


    Approaching her target, she ponders out loud. "Oh, I could get the drinks going... and-"


    The crisp crinkle of wax paper sharply contrasts the low, soft background din of the kitchen. Another fit of sheets crackling fills the air with the sounds of the clumsy struggle. Posture stiffening, Dretphi pivots in place and focuses a stoic glare down upon Sotalia. Bach follows the line of ire. Sotalia remains frozen, slowly turns her head and greets Dretphi''s stare with innocent, pleading golden eyes. Attempting to nonchalantly release her grip on a caramel covered brownie, she awkwardly wipes the gooey topping upon a nearby wash rag and slinks closer towards Bach in the doorway. "So... Yeah... I''m going to get those drinks... Ready... Yes..."


    Narrowing her hard stare, Dretphi crosses her strong arms, definition forming, and firmly nods towards the weak statement. Sotalia grins uneasily and maintains eye contact with Dretphi. Slipping behind Bach, she shifts him over slightly by his shoulders into the middle of the entry. Sotalia disappears, and Bach blinks blankly, shuddering. "Whoa. That''s a death glare if I ever saw one."


    Working the expression off her face, Dretphi bites her lip with a hint of embarrassment. "I learned that from my mother. It has proven useful."


    ----


    Chad examines the edge of his Stalwart sword, squinting at a few spots, and slides the weapon back into its scabbard. Placing it to the side, he resettles himself upon the floor mat in the large tent and slides over his Flames of the Phoenix branded breastplate. The tent flap unzips quickly, shaking the overhead electric lamp, and reveals the dark night sky contrasting the campsite glow. Veevi ducks inside, zips the front opening back up, and lowers herself into a seductive crawl. She suggestively slinks upon the large bedroll and lays herself out with a smug grin. Fluffs her long, bright pink hair to drape upon her chest, she arcs her tightly clothed body into a stretch and flicks her short-haired tail. "Gods! What a night!"


    With a mildly interested perk of his eyebrow, Chad smirks and narrows his brown eyes at Veevi. "How so?"


    Veevi twists her mouth, flicks her fuzzy, upright ears, and reaches her tan, brown striped arms out to her sides. "Ungh. Tassilda."


    Chad grumbles with a sigh and tilts his head, shaking his short brown, coiffed hair. "Okay. So, what happened THIS time?"


    Pausing in thought, Veevi dons an uncertain grimace and squints her pink pupil eyes. "So... THAT is the weird thing. Nothing. It was so... Weird."


    She dismissively sighs, faintly frowning. "She''s been riding my ass to teach me all the proper ways to do anything and everything, then complains about how I''m taking too long to do everything-"


    Sneering her upper lip, she scrunches up her nose in disgust. "And, now, she''s just spacing out between every exercise she runs me through. I had to get her attention like, totally, six different times."


    Chad glances up from his inspection of his armor, quizzically staring at Veevi. "Huh. That doesn''t sound like her, at all. Especially when dealing with YOU."


    Veevi groans, her frustration coloring her tone. "GODS. Every time I asked what the hell was wrong with her, she''d fucking snap back to her usually bitchy self for a few minutes, then just lose interest in teaching me anything."


    Searching his mind, Chad frowns gradually and concern infiltrates his demeanor. "THAT is really not normal for her. Huh. I wonder what''s happened."


    He pauses in thought a moment and sighs. "Yeah... I probably should talk to her and see what''s going on."


    Sticking her tongue out petulantly, Veevi rolls her eyes and snorts. "Oh. I bet it''s something to do with her and that Chrome Crusader paladin she''s been chasing around."


    She gazes at Chad with a smug, sharp grin and slides open the bedroll beneath her. "Holy shit. She was going after him so HARD. Now, she''s not chasing him around anymore."


    Crossing his arms, Chad draws a long breath in and hums in thought. "That is still weird. Well. Huh. We''ll see if they sort it out themselves, I guess? Any ideas what it might be?"


    Veevi covers herself with the blankets of the bedroll, pauses her motions under the sheets, and shrugs her shoulders. "Fuck, I don''t know. Must be some serious hang up with one of them to stop her so quickly. But, I don''t fucking know."


    Setting the branded breastplate to the side, Chad closes his eyes and frowns, grumbling. "Well. I don''t think I should intrude, just yet. Especially, if it''s of a... personal... nature. Yeah..."


    Drifting off into a long thought, Chad searches for an answer inwards. A minute later, a small shirt flops upon his lap. With returning to awareness, he studies the garment briefly and notices a pair of shorts landing on his shoulder. Lifting his gaze up, he watches the devilish, seducing grin of Veevi, and she tosses a sports bra his direction. He smirks smugly and catches it, waiting patiently. Veevi lifts a dark pink eyebrow at him and giggles suggestively. "Well... If you are waiting for THAT to come off, you''ll be waiting all night."


    Chad cocks his head to the side and chuckles. "Why''s that?"


    Veevi smiles impishly with a bite of her lip. "I wasn''t wearing anything after the bra."


    Sliding out a bare arm from under the covers, she grips the bedroll blanket tightly and flaps up the sheets. Fully revealing her tan, brown-stripped, lean, and shapely form, she guides the covers back down over herself, winking with a sharp, eager grin. Chad blinks blankly, his mind recovering from the brief scenery. He smiles confidently and approaches.


    Outside the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent, other tents around the campsite reflect the faint glow of the campfire. The sounds of the forest settle into the area. With lights inside darkening, other members of the group ready themselves for slumber. Soon, only the soft crackles of the low fire fill the quiet air. Over the many minutes, a long peace looms over the area. Interrupting the campsite ambience, the racket of carnal gymnastics from the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent pollute the soundscape. Faint grumbles of annoyance, frustration, and disgust punctuate the area, other members recognizing the familiar noise. Deedri''s voice rises out from the background, directing a louder whisper. "Anyone else want cotton balls for their ears?"

 Episode 55

    Daedrican peers out from a row of underbrush, surveying the clearing near the wide roadway. Stepping forward, he cautiously scans over the immediate area and searches up towards the highway. "It does not seem like there has been any new activity here, my lady."


    Tassilda rigidly moves into the thin grass underneath a large tree and stiffly scans the vicinity, putting blatant effort in avoiding eye contact with Daedrican. Granting a simple, quiet nod, she crosses her arms and straightens her posture. Daedrican gives a final slow sweep, turns back towards the treeline, and proceeds to push away brush in his path. "I must say, your magic is and was exceptionally impressive with those three bandits."


    Chuckling lightheartedly, he motions Tassilda ahead, holding back a bundle of obstructive flora. "I still think that was one of the easiest captures of multiple bandits I''ve ever had. Admittedly, there have been a few easier single target captures. But... Your magical prowess still makes the top of my list, my lady."


    A wandering cringe flowing over her face, Tassilda passes by Daedrican, continuing up a hill between the sparse trees. Daedrican follows and hikes up beside her. Pausing in thought for a moment, he turns his helmeted head towards her briefly, studies her a moment, and resumes facing forward. "It will be a light day on patrol. There are only a few other locations to inspect for new activity. Given what we''ve seen so far, I believe we will be confirming obvious conclusions."


    He waits for an audible response from Tassilda. Moments later, Tassilda only grants Daedrican another emotionless, existence confirming nod. Silent seconds pass, and Daedrican sneaks a quiet sigh under his breath, stepping forward into the lead down a narrow passage. The two travel along a winding path through the older growth trees and around scattered clumps of underbrush. The sun leaks through the thick overhead canopy and lights up the forest floor between swaying, leafy outlines. Reaching the top of the hill, Daedrican glances back to the trailing, stoic Tassilda. "The meeting point is nearby. Garret and Yuttin are still a bit of the way out. Both are double-checking the area around another location."


    Lifting his lightly armored arm towards a direction, he summons up a smile with a happy tone. "Since, it will take them some time to arrive at the meeting spot... I was curious if you want to take a long route and explore a nearby stream?"


    With a chuckle, he shrugs his plated shoulders nonchalantly. "If we are lucky, we might run into your feathered friend from the other day or maybe one of his friends. I don''t know how far they travel, but there still might be a chance."


    An obvious stirring out emotions sneaks out through Tassilda''s stoic facade, and she vainly attempts to firm up her resolve. Her rigid exterior wavers, and contemplation spreads across her gray face. Wrestling down an uneasy grimace into a smirk, Daedrican gently bows a respectful demeanor. "I only thought with the time at hand, it might be a nice diversion to enjoy before we have to trudge back. The choice is yours to make, my lady."


    Crossing her arms tightly, Tassilda tries to roll out the tension in her shoulders underneath her light draping top. Curling the corners of her mouth into a frown, her body language loosens and calms down. Her light blue on black eyes search within, darting through the thoughts in her mind. A pleasant smile starts to form, and the stress visibly wanes across her body. The transition halts. Her eyes lock onto something within. Her posture grows rigid. A cold exterior overtakes, and she swiftly reshapes her composure towards chilling. Narrowing her eyes at Daedrican with an icy stare, she radiates a superior aura. Daedrican tilts his head at the sudden shift. With a proper, deadpan tone, Tassilda drones. "No. I am NOT interested. We should go to the meeting point."


    Slowly nodding, Daedrican''s voice shakes slightly, and he straightens his back in mild surprise. "O-Oh. As you wish, my lady."


    Daedrican pivots forward and faces another direction. Tassilda''s firm, hard cadence weighs down and compresses the air surrounding them. "AND... I would prefer YOU stop calling me my lady..."


    Pausing mid step, Daedrican nods slowly and apologetically extends his genuine concern. "My most sincere apologies. I only meant it as an honorific. If you find it disrespectful, I will immediately cease. Thank you for informing me of my error. I will try to avoid any future mistakes in that regard."


    Walking orderly, he points out the direction ahead of him, and a quieter, meeker tone leaves him. "This way leads to the meeting point."


    Tassilda observes Daedrican march away in front of her. Lagging behind, she purposefully maintains a distance from him. Beneath fluttering locks of raven black hair, a flit of smugness flashes upon her face, quickly fading into the cold, gray toned background. Following behind the junior paladin, she projects an air of superiority and proper stance. Daedrican glances back, and Tassilda flashes a mean glare in return. Her rigid expression presents an invulnerable, frozen, and defensive resolve. Her light blue on black eyes dart around in moments of uncertainty, telegraphing a will within torrents of doubt, confusion, and worry. Her pace occasionally slows, her thoughts trying to overtake her. Daedrican patiently waits quietly for her to close the distance and respectfully resumes his march .


    ----


    Sitting around the dining table, Cideeda, Bach, Dretphi, and Aristespha watch Sotalia flow magical energies around a small foam ball, suspending it above her palm. Sebastian hovers above the table and idly listens. With an excited smile, Sotalia guides the sphere through the air using a dramatic wave of her hand. "THIS was one of my favorite magical toys when I was little."


    The flow wanes, and she catches the ball in her hand, presenting it to Cideeda and Dretphi. "The foam is treated with an alchemical compound that is repelled by magic sources. So, when you flow your energy towards it..."


    Waves of colorful flow wrap around Sotalia''s forearm and swirl up from her palm beneath the foam ball. The lightweight sphere hops up and steadies itself above Sotalia''s hand. Manipulating the rotation with slight flexes of her fingers, Sotalia grins eagerly. "It rides your energy up into the air."


    Lifting a confident eyebrow, she twists her hand, the magic spiraling around, and spins the foam orb. Moments later, the flows of power wane, and the ball floats down back into Sotalia''s palm. Blinking back to full awareness, Cideeda and Dretphi lower their gazes upon the similar foam balls in front of them and take them in hand. With Sotalia excitedly observing both, Cideeda and Dretphi attempt to will magic flow upon the toy spheres. Cideeda rolls her shoulders, deftly balances the ball in her open palm, and narrows her emerald green eyes upon the object. Grimacing with twitches of frustration upon her light brown face, her furry ears level off to the sides of her head, and she grits her sharp teeth. Seconds later, she grumbles out an irritated growl. "Come on..."


    Aristespha''s violet eyes light up, and she slips a hand underneath Cideeda''s forearm. Patiently analyzing, she furrows her brow and smiles calmly at Cideeda. "Take it easy. You are actually flexing your arm muscles more so than you are willing your energy."


    Twisting her mouth, Cideeda snorts out her frustration and sighs. "Gods... It''s hard to not think about moving my arm."


    Bach blinks out his glowing blue eyes and nods in agreement. "Yeah... I remember having that problem. Bad habit from watching too many cartoons. You might try closing your eyes and relaxing your arm on the table."


    He places his forearm upon the tabletop in front of him and opens his hand up palm up. "Just imagine like... water flowing around your arm and a fountain in your palm."


    Mulling the idea over between flicks of her furry ears, Cideeda draws a deep breath in, relaxes arm upon the table, and closes her eyes, exhaling slowly. With everyone else watching, faint threads of green magical flow flicker into existence. The thin trails slowly glide over Cideeda''s forearm and collect into a haze beneath the foam ball. More flow condenses in Cideeda''s palm, and wisps swirl unevenly upwards around the sphere. The foam ball''s balance drifts around aimlessly. A stronger pulse of flow bubbles up, and rolls the orb out of Cideeda''s hand onto the tabletop. Cideeda''s ears perk immediately, tracking the faint noise. She opens her emerald green eyes wide in surprise and smiles eagerly, swiftly snatching the ball into her clawed fingers. "WAIT! I didn''t move it! Well... I did. BUT, not physically..."


    With a wide-eyed stare, she grins toothily, her long fluffy wagging below her. "Oh... THAT''S. SO. COOL!"


    Cideeda quickly resets for another attempt, Sotalia proudly amused. Dretphi aims her attention to the foam orb in her hand. She readies her arm, narrows her steely gray eyes upon the target, and concentrates with faint traces of a wince. Glancing over, Bach perks his brow and blinks his eyes to a glowing blue. He tilts his head and raises a pointing hand instructively. "Uh, you might want to ease it-"


    Flows of red stream into Dretphi''s palm and collect into a growing bubble under the foam ball. With a sudden surge of power, the swell bursts upwards. The orb jumps into the air, zips through Sebastian''s ghostly form, and bounces off the ceiling. The ball drops back through Sebastian''s ethereal visage. Shuddering visibly, Sebastian glances uncomfortably downwards at the group. "aAhungh... Gods. THAT never stops feeling weird."


    Dretphi catches the ball securely in her hand and darts her embarrassed gaze around at the rest of the onlooking group. "My... Apologies."


    Bach subdues a humored smirk and sighs understandingly. "It''s fine. Really. I mean, given that flow sword you''ve been practicing with, you''re just used to leading with A LOT more force."


    Presenting a genuine smile with awkward tinges, he pinches his thumb and forefinger together. "Just start with the tiniest amount, and ramp it up from there."


    Cideeda cocks her head to the side, watches the thin threads of green flow dissipate from her arm, and searches between the mages around the table. "Okay. I''ve always wondered about this... Why does magical energy seem to be different colors? For example, why is my energy green and Dretphi''s red?"


    Gazing at Cideeda, Bach pauses in thought, furrows his brow, and shrugs his shoulders. "Because you willed it that way."


    Cideeda tilts an incredulous stare at Bach and lifts her eyebrow expectantly. Blinking, Bach struggles with the words and stumbles towards an explanation, falling short of coherence. Aristespha sighs in commiseration and nods with her own dissatisfaction, her long, pointed ears slightly drooping. "That is an unfortunately, very complicated topic. For what you are doing right now... The best explanation is that it is what you are willing the color to be."


    With a curious curl from the corner of her mouth, Cideeda slides her attention to her hand and concentrates with her eyes closed. Thin threads of green flicker and swirl into her palm. Seconds later, the flows transition into a reddish color. Cideeda peeks through one eye and immediately opens both, watching the energy colors waver back towards green hues. "I''m not going to lie... I''m pretty sure I''m going to spend WAY too much time trying for different colors."


    Aristespha giggles with a roll of her eyes at herself. "Do not worry. Every mage does it. It is just part of the experience."


    Holding out her hand, Sotalia showcases a shifting spectrum of flow in her palm, piquing the intrigue of Cideeda and Dretphi. "GODS. It''s SO true. A long time ago, I fashioned a whole routine of different color effects to put on some of my spells during my more..."


    With a flexing of her long nailed fingers around the prismatic flows, she rolls her golden eye at herself, tossing back a lock of fiery orange, wavy hair. "DRAMATIC era."


    Sebastian chuckles into an ethereal snort and eyes Bach, grinning slyly. "Oh, the HOURS some spend on the COLOR of a spell. Right, bro?"


    Bach shrugs his shoulders and laughs. "Yeah... I mean, when you are flowing just general magical energy, it tends to react to light and emit light to your... expectations?"


    He pauses a moment and ponders out loud. "I think that''s the best way to put it? Well, at least, the best way I know since I never got around to taking those really high level theory courses."


    Easing into a long groan of past frustration, Aristespha tilts her head of silvery blue hair side to side and nods in acceptance. "Expectation is a good way to explain it. Especially, if you want to avoid getting into long drawn out theories that involve psychology, sociology, and significant amounts of history."


    She bites her lower lip briefly and idly taps her ivory fingers upon the tabletop, sorting through her knowledge. "When you are flowing unshaped magical energy from the collective spectrum you receive from the abstract prism, you can relatively will it to be a specific color."


    Searching her mind, she carefully constructs a further explanation, contemplation blatant on her face. "When you cast spells or will specific magical energies, the properties of the specific energies can influence any visual phenomena."


    Dretphi pauses from manipulating the hue of her magical flow and glances over to Bach curiously. "Is that why your barriers are golden?"


    Bach nods back to Dretphi. "Yes. That particular kind of energy tends to just, well, have a gold color with normal light."


    Narrowing a contemplative stare at flows in her hand, Dretphi tilts her head. "Similar to mineral compositions affecting colors."


    A spark of comprehension lights up Cideeda''s eyes, and she grins eagerly. "SO, that''s why those magical materials you all were working on were different colors..."


    Wandering her gaze between the mages around, she perks up her furry ears. "Okay... So, depending on what energies and properties you are using, it changes how light is affected?"


    Sotalia nods in confirmation, holds her palm up with a foam ball in the center, and wills magical energy, floating the orb upwards. "Pretty much, girl. Honestly, it seems more like a side effect than anything. It''s not as fantastical and clear as all those old magic color charts would lead you to believe. Not that those weren''t fun reads."


    Aristespha rolls her eyes in playful disgust and snorts mock derisively. "OH GODS... One of these days I will HAVE to take you all to see the History department''s magic categorization chart collection at the Grand Library. ALL of our ancestors tried SO hard to fit everything into a color chart. The arguments they must have had."


    Pondering a moment, Dretphi gazes at Bach curiously. "Can you make a red barrier?"


    Bach scratches his chin, sways his head gradually side to side, and nods, evaluating the concept. "Yeah. I think I should be able to. I mean... Might take a bit of trial and error to get to just right so the barrier isn''t compromised. That''s why I don''t bother trying for anything special color wise when I''m in a hurry."


    Smiling warmly at Bach, Dretphi nods contentedly and resumes her attention upon her foam ball. "I may have a project. In the future."


    ----


    Within the large, wide campsite between rows of parked Chrome Crusader utility vehicles and cargo trucks, personnel flow through food lines and settle at tables underneath lighted tent canopies. At the largest, most prominent table in the center of the base, the heavily armored Senior Paladin Maxon laughs heartily out, grasping hold of a heavy duty cup on the table. "Now, THAT is another story for another time. And... Well..."


    He eyes the Next Adventurers of Nexus recording crews slinking around the edges of the assembled mess hall. "One to tell when the cameras AREN''T on."


    With a clipboard in hand, Samantha glances up from overseeing the organized chaos and smiles slyly towards the Senior Paladin. Chad dons his trademark white smile and nods in agreement. "I''ll gladly take you up on that offer anytime. I am always wanting to hear more about my grandfather''s exploits."


    Maxon grins amused and perks his graying brow at Chad. "Oh, I know quite a few. But, more importantly, I hope to add more of your great adventures to the list of stories I like to keep around."


    With a heavy, gentle nudge of his power suit gauntlet covered hand, Maxon playfully pushes on Chad''s shoulder. "I''m still quite impressed with how you challenged that bandit leader, Red Hat. Nice display of swordsmanship. Seems like you never needed that shield belt we lent you."


    A smug, bright grin spreads upon Chad''s tan face, and he puffs out his chest, swelling with pride. "Oh, yes. Someone of his skill would have never been able to touch me with a blade."


    With a light chuckle, he tilts his head to the side, towards Veevi sitting next to him. "Admittedly, I may have needed to block his lackey''s bullets. BUT, Veevi here took care of that."


    Veevi''s pointy, upright ears perk, and she snaps her attention at Chad, smiling appreciatively. Leaning against his arm, she grins with a flutter of her pink pupil eyes in view of the cameras. "Well, I just saw that gun pointed at you and I had to do something."


    Trakenthin twists his mouth in between bites of food and mutes a grumble, witnessing the attention-absorbing display from Veevi. Searching around the table of the higher ranking Chrome Crusader officers, Maxon squints at the number of empty seats. He glances over to Chad, puzzling. "Chad? Where is the rest of your group?"


    Chad blinks back to awareness from the half-fvalian upon his arm and quirks his brow in thought. "Oh. Deedri was assisting with the medical team. Modoran had something to discuss with your scout captain. And, Tassilda went to change her clothes before dinner."


    Maxon nods slowly, accepting the answer, and slides a spoon into a bowl of stew. "You have a good team, Chad. The Flames of the Phoenix have proven themselves quite capable. I am happy to report that all my captains and officers report only good things about them during this mission."


    Leaning herself out on the tabletop, Veevi turns towards and faces Maxon with a cute smile, fluttering her eyes. "Even me?"


    Maxon meets Veevi''s gaze, pauses in thought a moment, and chuckles heartily with a wide smile. "Especially you! Why, we haven''t seen such... Entertaining marksmanship in a LONG time. That story is going to be told for years to come."


    Veevi grins happily, poses for the cameras, and resumes eating the food in front of her. Chad glances at Maxon, and rolls his eyes with a smirk. Maxon nonchalantly shrugs and smiles in good humor.


    A distant, loud wooden crash echoes into the area. Observant personnel, Maxon, Chad, and Trakenthin search around the mess camp. Veevi''s fuzzy ears flick towards a spot in the past the treeline. Following the noise, her head turns and faces the source. Another distant chaotic, wooden cacophony bounces throughout the surrounding forest. Everyone, including the camera crew, seek the origin of the latest noises. From different, far away locations surrounding the campsite, multiple flares launch up and burst brightly against the night sky. Radios chime out, and alarms upon support vehicles blare out. Standing up quickly from the table, Maxon snaps his concern to a nearby officer. "Status?"


    Listening to the fast paced radio traffic from his ear piece, the officer nods and reports. "Inner patrols spotted multiple quadrupedal, armored magical entities closing in fast on the camp from different approach vectors. A heavy patrol is moving to-"


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    A bright flash of light erupts out from deep in the obscuring forest, and a thunderous boom radiates through the trees, rattling the leaves. A chorus of fast, sequential gunfire echoes into a long rumbling roar. Loud metallic crashes merge into hard thuds and heavy wooden snaps. Quickly confirming the situation between each other, Chrome Crusader personnel rush clear of the tables into awaiting vehicles and stations. Chad, Veevi, and Trakenthin leap up from their seats. The camera crews nervously congregate, seeking an escape. The officer blinks to Maxon, processing the stream of voices over the radio. "Heavy patrol is engaging! There are other targets closing fast!"


    A nearby armored personnel carrier violently rocks to the side, teetering close to the very limits of its tipping point. Loud, angry crackling swears blare out from the other side of the vehicle and harsh metal slams against stone in slow, solid rhythm. Scrapes rattle through the structure of the carrier, swaying away from powerful forces. Heavy footsteps rumble out. Opposing giants struggle towards the front of the vehicle. Sparks erupting, a huge golem rams a heavily armored soldier through the narrow gap between the front and back ends of vehicles. The loud groans of straining hydraulics and stressing servos flood the air around the fight, the Chrome Crusader Heavy Squad captain grappling with the magical construct. Trakenthin''s hazel eyes spring wide open, and he yells, baring teeth. "Captain!"


    Trakenthin sweeps up his nearby helmet onto his head, snatches up his sword and shield into his hands, and charges forward. Narrowing his stern stare upon the golem, Maxon lunges forth into the fray, plowing through furniture effortlessly. Chad watches in momentary shock. Blinking back to awareness, jr secures his equipment nearby and rushes forth. Freezing up in near panic, Veevi stares in wide-eyed horror at the monstrosity muscling around the huge, heavy powered suited man. The camera crews frantically splinter up into teams, sharing anything roughly resembling cover, and train their recording equipment at the melee. In the scrambling moments, Veevi shudders back to the current situation, frantically pats around for her laser pistol, and quivers in place with a shaky grip upon the weapon.


    Rushing up to a safe perimeter around the captain''s struggle, Trakenthin cautiously observes the magical creation. A mishmash of worn, ancient stone and metal parts clatter around in rough function. The over a meter tall and two meter long golem defies its own construction and brute forces the heavy powered armored man around. Flows of green, red, and other energies pulse brightly within the structure and upon the surface of the construct. Yelling out, Maxon''s powerful, armored form bounds towards the magical machination. "It''s a golem! Look for an opening inside! There''s a power source somewhere in there!"


    He runs past Trakenthin, slides around the back of the creation, and dives into a grapple of the back half. The partially intact head of the magical monstrosity roars out, distortion warping and twisting. Chad reaches Trakenthin''s side, and the two exchange glances. Both raise their shields and ready their swords. Maxon calls out to the captain. "Lift and drop! On three! One! Two! THREE!"


    The two powered armored men throw their upper bodies up and hoist the golem into the air, freeing its feet of the ground. A chaotic chorus of servos and hydraulic pumps scream out, and the duo powerfully, violently drop to their knees. With an earth shattering thud, the magical construct crashes the soil. Flecks of stone and old metal fracture off the golem and pepper the shields of Chad and Trakenthin. Searching the construct, Chad and Trakenthin maintain their distance. A glint of glow through loose armor plating seizes Trakenthin''s attention, and he points it out. Chad nods in the agreement and readies his blade. "Let''s see what''s in there!"


    The golem sluggishly flails about. With each second, it regains vigor. Trakenthin lunges forward, sends his blade firmly between the outer plates, and pries loose one with all his strength. Inside the chaotic nest of glowing cables, a crude chunk of crystal pulses out energy flows outwards through a rough connector. Focusing his stare upon the junction, Chad charges forth, lines up his attack, and stabs precisely. A plume of smoke swirling with magical miasma vents out, and the golem shakes and spasms. Chad grabs hold of Trakenthin''s shoulder and signals him away with a pull. "I hit it! GET CLEAR!"


    Maxon and the captain release their grapples, leap up to their feet, and rush away. From safety the team of four watch a final blowout of magical energy, jets of flow billowing into fading clouds and arcs of power crackling to silence. A brief moment of silence looms over. Soon the noises of distant and nearby battles rise out of the background din. Maxon snaps his stern stare upon the captain. "Where the fuck did you find that thing?!"


    The heavy armor captain responds through his helmet''s voice box. "Found me, sir! I was on my way to gather the rest of the squad to backup the patrol, and that fucking thing jumped me."


    Growling in frustration, Maxon nods and scans the surrounding area. "Okay. Summon your squad. And, get your patrol back to camp for defense."


    His attention shifts briefly away, and a holographic overlay appears in front of his weathered face. Drawing in a deep breath, he commands, the built-in radio unit keying up. "This is Senior Paladin Maxon! We are under attack! All personnel to defensive positions! Arm up and form up!"


    He glances over to Chad with a grim nod. "They should be establishing a defensive perimeter near the center of the camp."


    Panting out his nerves, Chad slowly regains his composure and opens his eyes wide with the realization. "OH SHIT! We need to find Deedri, Modoran, and Tassilda!"


    Trakenthin nods his concern and readies himself at Chad''s side. Chad takes a deep breath, exhales out his nerves, and surveys surrounding forest at the perimeter of the camp. Spotting Veevi still shaking in place, he points to her with a commanding tone. "Veevi!"


    Veevi startles back to awareness and stares blankly at Chad. "Y-y-yes?!"


    Donning a brave, heroic gaze, Chad motions Veevi''s attention to the camera crews. "Escort the camera crews to safety. They''re setting up a defensive perimeter at the center of camp."


    Blinking out of her stupor, Veevi shakily musters up her composure and nods at the task. She calls out for everyone and signals everyone to follow her. Chad glances over to Maxon. Smirking understandingly, Maxon nods and departs quickly. Chad points out a direction to Trakenthin and the two take off. Samantha watches Chad and Trakenthin run into the forest and glances at Gerald. "Okay! So we need to-"


    Firmly gripping Samantha''s arm, Gerald ushers her along with the rest of the crew toward the interior of the camp. "NOPE!"


    ----


    Deedri''s auburn eyes dart around the forested vicinity tensely, and she keeps her aetherphone pressed against her furry, tufted ear. "Chad?! What''s happening? It sounds like explosions, gunfire, and large things breaking from all the way over here..."


    Balancing her attention between the dark surroundings and the conversation, she cautiously steps over near a large tree, nervously watching the underbrush at the perimeter of the small clearing. "What?! I didn''t hear that last part, the signal is breaking up..."


    She narrows her stare and reflexively straightens her posture. "Golems?!"


    Pausing a moment, she glances down at herself and sighs out her nerves. "No. I''m fine. I was on my way back from our camp to join you all for dinner. I went there after assisting the medics."


    Her exterior grows stern, a serious demeanor overtaking her fair face. She glances around the area, instincts driving her paranoia, and pushes up against the tree. "Yes. I saw her there."


    Darting her unease between darker parts of the forest perimeter, she exhales slowly. "I have not seen Modoran."


    She tightens her grip upon the aetherphone against her ear. "I agree. I''ll see if I find Tassilda along the way, and we''ll meet up with you there."


    She sighs out her frustration and nods. "I''ll see if I can radio call them from where I''m at."


    With a quick confirmation, she ends the connection on her phone, closes her auburn eyes, and exhales out the surge nerves. Slowly drawing a deep breath, she halts midway. Her furry, tufted ears flick frantically and quickly settle towards one direction. Pivoting pressed against the trunk of the tree, she carefully leans out, peeking around. Quietly, she observes through the contrasting darkness of the forest, past the clearing perimeter, and spots a pair of yellow, triangular glows swaying rhythmically. The angular eyes grow larger, and the motion syncs to low, thumps vibrating the forest floor.


    Deedri grits her teeth and widens her eyes in terror. The faint light from the overhead night sky casts down upon an emerging, mechanically skeletal head. Jagged metal and rough stone cling to an ancient, damaged skull frame. The quadrupedal magical construct stomps through the thick underbrush without a single sign of hindrance, marching across the clearing. Watching in momentary terror, Deedri''s mind traces out the meter tall, two meter long, sharp tooth and clawed golem. Her body tenses, and she realizes its trajectory passes next to her. Slipping behind the tree, she frantically scours the area around her and snaps her head upwards. Determination floods her face, and she sinks her clawed fingers deep into the bark of the tree. With quick and careful motions, she pulls herself swiftly and quietly up, claws from her toed boots boosting up. High above, she stares fearfully down around the trunk and witnesses the incomplete outer shell of the magical monstrosity shift with the locomotion of the exposed interior framework. Streams of magical flow pulse from within and animate the golem forward, closing in.


    Deedri clamps the claws on her fingers and toes tightly into the tree. Hugging the tree, she presses her form flush against the trunk and freezes in place, only allowing the slightest shift of her chest for each slow, silently, shaky breath. The golem continues along its course, arriving next to the base of the tree. It stops. The head swings side to side in a methodical scan of the area ahead. Deedri pales, the magical machination narrowing its search to her prior trail in the grasses. The construct strafes itself around the tree, and its head slowly follows the fresh, small disturbances in the scenery towards the roots below. Deedri gawks in wide-eyed horror. In a brief pause from panic, she releases a hand grip of the trunk and reaches out and around. Securing a new hold, she eases herself into an opposite, obscuring position from the golem below. Seconds later, the golem lifts its head up and aims its triangular, yellow eyes into the tree above. Holding her breath still. Deedri gazes pleadingly upwards.


    Through a gap in the canopy, she spots the fast motion of a tumbling object, arcing low over into the distant forest. The mass drops out of sight. Crashing noises, wooden snaps, and a solid thud upon the ground echoes out. The golem snaps its partially armored, metal animal skull, tracking the new sounds. Pulsing a brighter yellow glow in its eyes, the magical construct darts off in the direction of the noises and flattens the large bushes effortlessly, leaving the area. Deedri keeps her mouth firmly shut and remains absolutely motionless for tense, long, agonizing seconds.


    A faint hiss triggers the perk of her furry ears, the hair of the tufts shuddering. The noise occurs again, slightly louder. A hushed voice directs a whisper from below. "Deedri!"


    Gradually angling her head downwards, Deedri''s eyes lock onto the creeping form of Modoran at the base of the tree. An explosion of relief passes through Deedri, and she quickly pulls air into her lungs. Scouting the area, Modoran gazes back up to Deedri and signals her down. With expeditious maneuvers, she scurries down to the bottom of the tree and braces herself against the trunk. "Oh... Thank the gods... That was too close."


    Modoran checks over Deedri with concern, readying to assist. "Are you okay?"


    Deedri gazes into Modoran''s dark blue eyes and smiles with a sigh. "Yes. I''m fine. We need to get back to the camp. Chad and Trakenthin are heading there. And, I last saw Tassilda there."


    Modoran blinks in thought and briefly shakes his head back to awareness. "Uh, yeah! I have been trying to contact anyone, but... I think that damned thing has a radio jammer or something. I had to stay back from tracking it, so I could get a working signal to alert the Chrome Crusaders about it."


    With worry and relief swirling upon his face, he grins to Deedri. "When I finally caught back up to the thing, I saw you getting around the trunk."


    Searching recent memory, Deedri tilts her head. "You caused that noise in the woods?"


    A sly smile graces Modoran''s dusky bluish gray face, and he nods with tinges of pride. "Yeah. Never underestimate a well thrown rock."


    He peers uneasily around the tree and points out a direction to Deedri. "Speaking of which... I do not think these things are THAT intelligent. But, I think it WILL figure out it was rock soon enough. We need to move."


    Deedri rolls her shoulders, shakes off the tension, and gets ready to move behind Modoran. "Lead the way."


    ----


    Hissing in a strained breath, Tassilda grits her teeth, narrowing her light blue on black eyes at her aetherphone. Watching the erratically fluctuating signal bars, she spews forth a series of frustrated curses in a dialect of Emin. With each call attempt, another dialog appears on the screen and chimes out, informing of yet another failed radio call. Growling out her irritation, she tightens her grip on the device and throws her hands down to sides of her outfit with huff. Slowly pivoting in place, she searches the edges of the campsite and stares out into the obscuring darkness deeper in the forest. She rolls her shoulders and summons her composure, easing out a calming breath. Her attention gravitates towards the black sports utility vehicle at the perimeter of camp, and Tassilda cocks her head in thought. Glancing around at the contrasting border of the low light the campfire gives against the dark, she gradually nods to herself and walks quickly to the vehicle. Maintaining a stern facade, her nervous stare darts around, paranoia swelling with each moment. Reaching the sports utility vehicle, she stows away her phone, grips hold of the rear passenger''s door handle, and lifts up. The door does not open. Tassilda leans her face close to the window, searching inside. She attempts to open the door a few more times and grits her teeth with another angered Emin phrase.


    Tassilda halts her frustrated struggle. A shiver freezes her spine rigid. Her eyes widen at the growing, glowing reflections in the windows. Spinning around, she watches a massive, red-eyed form charge through the campfire, aiming long, sharp horns at her. With a rhythmic, thunderous cacophony of heavy feet upon ground, the red miasma billowing bull rockets towards Tassilda. Absolute shock and fright plain on her face, Tassilda claws along the side of the vehicle towards the back. The haphazardly assembled golem bull adjusts its trajectory. A loud crash upon a chorus of armored footsteps and servo assisted movement interrupts Tassilda''s wide-eyed horror.


    A large polymer shield slams powerfully into the side of the bull''s head with the full weight of the light power armored Daedrican behind it. Fragments of ancient metal and stone rain upon the dirt. The construct stumbles off course and embeds one horn solidly into the heavy rear bumper of the black sports utility vehicle. The over a meter tall form violently twists and turns its roughly constructed head, shaking the large truck frame. Daedrican hops back, raises his fully extended, constantly arcing stun baton, and squats down. With a power armor assisted jump, he drops forward and drives the baton into a plating gap on the back of the magical beast, implanting the baton inside. Releasing his grip, he leaps back and draws a heavy energy pistol from his holster, keeping the shield and himself between the rampaging golem and Tassilda. He glances his helmeted head to Tassilda with a composed, collected tone. "Are you okay?"


    Blinking to awareness from her fright, Tassilda quickly nods and backs away from the stuck magical machination. "Y-Y-yes!"


    In between the momentary spasms, the bull thrashes about, dragging the heavy vehicle''s tires along the dirt. Daedrican backpedals deftly, leveling his pistol upon the golem, and fights the worry in his voice. "We need to move. There''s a number of these things around. We need to regroup with your team and get to the defensive line."


    Remembering to breathe, Tassilda swiftly draws in air and musters her composure. "Agreed. I''m ready."


    Tassilda and Daedrican rush meters away from the black sports utility vehicle. A loud metal groan abruptly snaps and loud stone crackles out. Constantly shuddering in sync to the shocking stun baton, the golem tears the last magically imbued fibers free from the embedded horn, the loose threads dangling from its mechanical skull. It trains billowing red eyes upon Daedrican and Tassilda. It digs its feet into the ground and launches in a full speed charge. Bracing himself, Daedrican watches the golem''s approach and calls out. "Keep behind me! Turn with me when I say so!"


    Tassilda readies herself into position, quickly bouncing her attention between the charging construct and Daedrican''s body language. The bull gets close. Daedrican''s body tenses, and he yells out. "GO LEFT!"


    Tassilda hops to the left. Daedrican side steps, pivots, and shield bashes the golem towards the right. The bull tumbles off course, sliding into a thick patch of brambles. Daedrican aims his heavy energy pistol, and bolts of blue-white plasma repetitiously erupt out. The projectiles slam and explode in powerful bursts of bright energy. The illumination reflects off the fresh cracks in Daedrican''s transparent, polymer shield. His head glances down, noticing the damage, and he sighs. "Our options are running out. I may be able to shield you a few more times. But..."


    Mustering up a brave smile, he glances over. "If there''s anything your magical prowess can do for us... We need it NOW."


    Tassilda stares blankly, her mind racing through options. Second pass on by, and the golem struggles to right itself. Blinking in thought, she feels her shirt, finds the strap of a satchel, and quickly slips her long, black nailed fingers inside the bag. She grips onto something inside and removes three vials filled with a faintly milky substance. With an uncertain grin, she presents the containers. "These are dispelling charges. They''re not going to bring it down, but it might hinder it enough."


    Daedrican glances back from watching the bull golem and cocks his helmeted head, puzzling. "Okay. How do we use them?"


    Tassilda holds one vial forward towards Daedrican''s pistol wielding hand. "Throw them hard enough to break upon that thing."


    With a swift motion, Daedrican holsters his heavy energy pistol, grasps the small tube, and nods. "Understood-"


    The golem flings itself back up, aims its head and single horn towards Daedrican and Tassilda, and powers ahead. The moment the magical beast charges close, Daedrican yells out. "GO RIGHT!"


    Tassilda leaps clear. Daedrican steps out of the way and grinds his shield against the assault, sending the golem off course. Pulling his arm back, he flings the vial with all his strength at the construct. The glass shatters upon the side of the magical machine. A wave of transparent energy pulses out, and the red flows of energy along the armored surface of the golem waver and dim. Daedrican quickdraws his pistol and fires three round bursts of plasma. The bolts drill into the dark plates and explode out energized clouds of superheated gas and fragments of ancient armor. A few projectiles slip into the beast, and sounds of malfunction and internal damage cascade out. Barely maintaining balance, the bull golem sloppily stumbles, pivoting the breached section away. Daedrican holsters his pistol swiftly and holds his open hand behind expectantly. "OH. THAT did NOT agree with it."


    Tassilda places another vial into Daedrican''s hand, collecting her confidence into a forming, eager smile. "If these don''t hurt it enough, I can charge up a dispelling blast that might do it."


    Daedrican nods, facing the construct. "Excellent! Let''s see if I can hit from here..."


    He bows his visor briefly at the numerous new cracks in his shield. "Since close range is not working out for us."


    The red flows pulse with new vigor, and a wave of energy reestablishes the previous routes along the surface of the stone and metal beast. Taking aim, it launches into a full sprint. Daedrican tightens his grip on the vial, pulls his arm back, and pitches the container. The vial spirals perfectly and splashes milky fluid and glass upon the front leg on the construct. A transparent wave of energy erupts out, and the leg fails, the flows of red halting. The golem crashes down upon the dirt and slides to stop. Reaching back, Daedrican feels the last vial pressing into the palm of his gauntlet. He searches for a target and tosses the container upon the side of the beast. Another wave of transparent energy disrupts the crimson flow. A barrage of plasma bolts from a heavy energy pistol blow out the ancient armor plating. Daedrican fires repeatedly upon the downed magical creation. The assault stops with a warning alarm screaming out from his pistol. Inspecting his weapon, Daedrican holsters it. The golem stirs, and Daedrican braces himself. "Get your magic ready."


    Nodding, Tassilda concentrates on a series of incantations and gestures. The grinds and groans of struggle surge louder from the magical construct. After the initial sequence, she bites her lower lip and sighs out her nerves. "I will charge it up as much as I can. I will NEED a clear shot."


    Daedrican nods and motions for Tassilda to move back. "Understood. Let us back away as much as we can."


    The two backpedal away cautiously. Daedrican maintains his watch of the recovering golem, and Tassilda condenses her magical flows to a growing ball of fluctuating energy. A loud thump forces a plume of red miasma out from the core of the bull golem. Metal and stone scrape powerfully in the obscuring mist, and two bright orbs of red light cut through the haze. The magical mechanical beast erupts from the smokey mass and rockets forth towards Daedrican and Tassilda. Erratic crimson flows jet out from every seam and stream out in raging gouts. Daedrican''s body telegraphs his utter shock at the flaming monstrosity. Tassilda peeks around Daedrican, blinks at the situation, and glances at the significant sphere of energy.


    Summoning all her courage, resolve, and will, she side steps out from behind Daedrican, hoists up the large orb of transparent, disruptive magical energy, and aims. With the golem ten meters out, she releases the sphere. It jets forth towards the construct. The golem angles it charge at Tassilda and subsequently crashes into the massive ball of energy. A wave of transparent energy bursts out, engulfing the golem. The red flows flicker, dim, and halt. The mass of ancient stone and metal coasts lifelessly forward from momentum alone.


    A shrill, high pitched whine screams out from within. An explosion rips apart the back half of the construct. The fiery upper half zooms towards Tassilda. Stumbling from the spell, Tassilda barely manages to lift her arms. Swiftly planting his feet in the way, Daedrican raises his shield and sweeps his free arm behind, guiding Tassilda into his shadow. A wall of fiery debris violently crashes and splashes around, the destructive chorus of scraping metal, grinding stone, and shattering plastic engulfing the area.


    Silence flattens the area. Within the ambient darkness and faint illumination of the starry night sky, Daedrican and Tassilda remain standing. Tassilda slowly opens her eyes, searching both debris ridden sides of her in utter astonishment. She gradually pivots, and inspects her surroundings. Dropping the shattered remains of his shield, Daedrican stands and slowly removes a cylindrical device from a waist belt. He points the tube upwards and clicks a button on the side. A flare launches out into the night sky, bursts red, and slowly drifts down, flashing red and white.


    Tassilda watches the flare, and a faint breeze blows. In the brighter white illumination, she notices a splash of red upon her shirt, matching the cool, wet sensations. In sheer panic, she pats and searches herself. Realization dawns in her horrified eyes. Following Daedrican''s limp right arm, she traces up and spots the tip of a red coated, metal horn poking out of Daedrican''s upper right back. Dropping unceremoniously to his knees, Daedrican coughs and sways, his remaining horn on his helmet falls off. "I will not... be able to assist you any further..."


    Daedrican tilts back, and Tassilda slides down behind him, propping him up. She eases his transition and lays his upper body across her folded legs, keeping the golem horn point from touching the ground. Guiding his helmeted head onto her lap, she gazes through the visor in absolute, silent shock. In the eerie quiet, her eyes trace the length of bull golem''s horn into the pierced right chest and shoulder armor. She pales at the slow ooze of bubbling blood. Modulated labored breathing sound out from Daedrican''s helmet. Daedrican fumbles to release the locks on his helm with his left hand. Tassilda feels around and disengages the mechanisms with his guidance. Carefully sliding off the helmet, Daedrican''s calm, tired face gazes up and meets Tassilda''s frightened face. Staring into Daedrican''s golden pupil and white sclera eyes, Tassilda holds his face with her trembling hands. She struggles with words and breaks the silence. "S-s-stay with me... Please..."


    Daedrican smiles calmly and gazes up into Tassilda''s light blue on black eyes. "As you wish..."


    Holding his tone, he watches tears well up in Tassilda''s expectant eyes. "My lady."


    Tassilda firmly closes her eyes, tears freeing themselves, and sobs, cradling Daedrican''s head. Maintaining a calm smile, Daedrican concentrates on each labored breath. His helmet chimes out medical beacon and radio transponder alerts. An aetherphone chimes out, and Tassilda fumbles through her pants pocket and answers it in between surges of tears.

 Episode 56

    Isaac adjusts the blue scarf around his neck and relaxes his white haired head onto the driver''s seat headrest. Maintaining the wheel near the center, he watches the long road ahead and taps buttons through a number of radio channels. Minutes of surfing the few stations coming through in the remote section of forest highway, his gray eyes squint towards a number of stopped vehicles ahead in the distance. Driving his sedan closer, the Chrome Crusader logos grow large enough to view upon the many cargo and military vehicles. A uniformed man holds up a stop sign and signals Isaac''s car to a halt. Isaac slowly brakes the sedan, cocking his head curiously at the parked convoy. Idling a minute pondering the situation, he rolls down his window, leans out, and waves for the man''s attention. The uniformed Chrome Crusader walks up to Isaac''s window and politely bows. "Hello, sir. Apologies for the delay. Once another truck passes through, we''ll hold it clear for you."


    Isaac nods understandingly and aims his query towards the activity ahead, squinting. "Oh. That''s perfectly fine. Thankfully, I''m not in that much of a hurry today. But... I must admit I am quite curious as to what is going on..."


    Lifting an inquisitive brow, he politely glances up from his car window. "If I might inquire?"


    Acknowledging the request, the man thinks for a moment and visibly sorts through the information in his head. He stands up straight and points out both forested sides of the highway to Isaac. "Yeah... Last night the convoy was attacked from the forest. Fortunately, the threat has been dealt with by our forces. So, you are not in any immediate danger."


    He bows forward towards Isaac''s window, a bit of concern slipping out in his tone. "Though, I would highly recommend NOT stopping in these woods, until we''ve fully completed our investigation of the area. The quicker you can get to your destination the better."


    Isaac''s eyes widen in surprise, and he frowns slightly. "Oh my! Well, I do hope your group fared well against such an attack."


    The uniformed man nods appreciatively with a bit of sadness sneaking out into his professional facade. "There were some injuries, but thankfully no one was killed. Our medical staff and nearby clinics made sure of that."


    Pondering the new information in a moment of silence, Isaac focuses an inquisitive gaze upon the rear guard. "Good. Very good. That''s excellent news to hear. I do hope everyone recovers fully as soon as possible. Admittedly, that must have been a quite significant threat to have done anything to your sizable, well-armed group."


    Narrowing his stare, he glances out into the depths of the woods between the tight spacing of trees, telegraphing hints of paranoia. "Is there anything I should be on the lookout for?"


    The man searches his mind for a moment and sighs with tinges of uncertainty. "I''m sorry. I am not authorized to release much information, sir. BUT, the attack involved magical beings. So, if you notice strange magical phenomena..."


    Pausing a moment, he summons up an official, well-recited cadence. "First. Evacuate to safety, as quickly as possible. Then, please contact local authorities with as much detailed information as you can provide. Apart from that, I can''t say much more, at the moment. Hopefully, an official release will be made public with more details soon enough."


    Isaac nods in agreement, presenting an appreciative smile to the man. "Very interesting. If I am ever so unfortunate enough to see anything strange, I''ll be certain to report it as soon as I get to safety. But, let us both hope fortune is on both our sides today."


    The rear guardsman acknowledges and turns his attention to the large truck rolling through the last stretch of the roadway near the convoy. The huge cargo truck passes on by. Glancing out a large window, a wiry man with short white hair nods to the uniformed Chrome Crusader, and a head bandanna wearing fvalian woman waves energetically. The cargo truck clears out. The rear guard confirms the clearance on his radio and motions for Isaac''s attention. "The way is cleared for you, sir. Try to keep it on the slow side, there''s still a number of personnel about. You have a nice, safe rest of the day."


    Isaac nods, rolls up his window, and accelerates his sedan into the open lane. The vehicle rolls through the corridor on the highway at a modest, cautious speed. Taking moments away from the clear passage ahead, Isaac glances at the various Chrome Crusader vehicles around. His attention settles upon a black sports utility vehicle in the middle of a group of "Next Adventurers of Nexus" vans. Next to the black vehicle, a brown haired man in a "Flames of the Phoenix" breastplate stares in a mix of frustration and resignation at the massive hole in the rear bumper of the sports utility vehicle. Noticing the number of camera crews in the area, Isaac gently accelerates his sedan and moves through the rest of the route quickly, keeping his face angled away.


    Near the exit point, he spots a large flatbed truck and strange debris upon it. Unconsciously slowing his car down, he watches another heavy utility truck''s crane hoists up the mostly intact remains of golem over the flatbed. A few power armored Chrome Crusaders stand at the ready to assist, maintaining a protective perimeter. Isaac gawks in disbelief, recognition over taking him. His eyes search and wander between the familiar construct components. Situational awareness calls him back to present surroundings, and Isaac remembers to drive his sedan. Clearing the exit checkpoint, Isaac stares out his windshield distantly, eye searching his mind. A mix of thoughts telegraph their struggle upon his face. Minutes later, determination overtakes his face. Isaac reaches a hand out and rummages through his backpack. Balancing his attention between driving and searching, he finds a collection of maps, flops the mass of papers upon the passenger''s seat, and focuses his gaze at the road ahead. Spotting a few road signs indicating an upcoming intersection, a frown grows upon his face. Along a clear straight section of road, he snaps his stare to the map and rests a finger upon the spot. Tapping upon a highlighted spot in the middle of a dense forest north of an access road, he scans the remote intersection signage and slows for a turn.


    ----


    Through the windows of the two-story house, traces of late evening moonlight fills the front living room with a faint ambient glow. Dim outlines of unloaded adventuring equipment contrast against the shadowy shapes of furniture in the room. A faint, constant drone of water drifts down the stairwell from upstairs. The waterfall rhythm occasionally fluctuates behind the upstairs bathroom door with the sounds of movement. Behind a frosted sliding glass shower door, Tassilda stands under the constant spray from the shower head. Her hands propping herself against the tiled wall, she releases a long, despondent sigh, staring distantly ahead. Her light blue on black eyes blink once and shift downwards. Shower spray raining upon her, the flow of water streams through her long, straight, raven black hair, drips down off her swirling horns, and runs off her gray, patterned skin into the drain.


    Over the stagnant minutes, Tassilda darts her eyes through a maelstrom of thoughts and blinks hard into pained winces. Long moments later, she grits her teeth, curls her long, black nailed fingers up into her balling fists, and lifts her face into the shower stream. Water immediately obscures tears and washes away the forming paths upon her cheeks. Drawing in a long, shaky breath, Tassilda reaches down with both hands and quickly shuts the water off. The drone of water fades into a scattered chorus of wet patters upon the shower floor. Blinking out of her still stupor, Tassilda glances up at the late evening sky through a small skylight and slowly slides the shower glass door open. She plods sluggishly and sways spiritless towards the bathroom vanity. Her hands feel around aimlessly, barely securing a grip to either side of the sink counter. She gradually angles her face up and levels her head at the mirror. Moments pass in silence. She refocuses her sight ahead, away from some distant point in her mind. Tassilda makes full, unbreaking eye contact with the person in the mirror.


    Painful confusion infiltrates her gray face fully, and she stares harshly into the light blue on black eyes of the other. Her lips twist into agonizing frowns. Her reluctance gives way to the reality, forcing her to acknowledge. With each passing minute, she tightens her grip upon the counter, grimacing, and painfully recognizes herself. A swell of shame washes up regrets to the front of her mind. Closing her eyes hard, she averts her stare away from the mirror, dropping her head down. She squeezes heavy drops of tears into the sink between a curtain of raven black hair. Despite her best efforts, the sounds of sobbing trickle faintly through the bathroom door out into the dark upstairs hallway.


    ----


    The humvee rolls to a stop within the lines of a side parking spot outside the main entrance of the Amaranth Valley clinic. Glancing over her shoulder from the driver''s seat, Cideeda perks her furry ears at Aristespha. "You sure you don''t want us to wait? It might take us a while to get back here."


    From his rear passenger''s side seat, Bach smirks and rolls his blue eyes amused. "I mean, we are going to the game shop after we get supplies. There is a very high chance we are going to get purposely distracted in there."


    Cideeda smiles in guilty acceptance and shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah... There''s new releases... We''ll probably take forever to gawk at everything new they have."


    Upon the back bench seat, Dretphi sighs in agreement and bites her lower lip. "Series with new installments... I need to buy."


    With a calm smile, Aristespha nods and opens her rear driver''s side door. "It will be fine. This chore might take some time, anyway. Along with the regular supplies the clinic can sell, there are a few materials that require authorization..."


    Wrestling down a frustrated tinge in her frown, she sighs. "Which can take a LONG while."


    She glances over to Sotalia, smirking. "Also, I will be showing someone else the process."


    Sotalia smiles proudly and pulls her handle, opening the front passenger side door. Glancing over to Cideeda mid exit, she directs a whisper. "Remember to get me ALL the latest issues of Tinkering Tina."


    A toothy, mischievous grin widens on Cideeda, and she playfully winks back to Sotalia, hinting sarcasm. "Oh... But of course."


    Pausing a moment, Sotalia narrows her golden gaze at Cideeda''s sly smile, twisting her mouth to a pout. "You better..."


    Cideeda presents an aura of innocence, waiting for Sotalia to leave the vehicle. Aristespha steps out of the humvee onto the sidewalk leading to the entrance, pats her side, and momentarily startled. Snapping a glance back into the cab of the vehicle, she calms down with her embarrassment, spotting the sword at Bach''s side. Aristespha shakes her head at herself with a sigh. Bach nods reassuringly to Aristespha. "Don''t worry, I got it for the moment."


    Aristespha smiles appreciatively to Bach and rolls her violet eyes at herself. "Do not mind me. I am just so used to checking for it."


    Sebastian''s ethereal voice resonates from the sheathed blade next to Bach. "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure he doesn''t lose me."


    Sotalia closes her door, skips quickly around the front of the humvee, and waits next to Aristespha. With slight hints of unease, Aristespha nods thankfully and pushes the vehicle door closed. The humvee shifts into gear, and Cideeda accelerates with a wave out the window. The vehicle rolls off through the mazes of lanes and parking spaces towards the main road. Sotalia visually follows the team and winces against a flash of late morning sunlight. Stretching her shoulders with a roll, Sotalia follows behind Aristespha''s lead and adjusts the shoulder strap of the carrier at her side. "S... Anything in particular we''re shopping for?"


    Aristespha pulls out a tablet from her backpack and flips through a few menus thoughtfully. "Mostly general medical supplies. But there are a few controlled substances that I need to get to refresh my stock."


    Nodding, Sotalia wanders her gaze along the main clinic architecture. "For all the potions and compounds that I''m not allowed to make?"


    Aristespha sighs, brushing stray locks of her silvery blue over her long, pointed ear. "Indeed. I really wish you could assist me. BUT, they have gotten ridiculously strict these days about who can handle what substances. It seems a few backwood alchemists have caused a lot of trouble with whatever questionable concoctions they keep making."


    With a nonchalant wave of her hand, Sotalia smiles contentedly, laughing. "Oh, don''t worry, girl. Anything with THAT much paperwork surrounding it..."


    Resting a hand on her chest, she smirks contentedly. "I''m perfectly happy letting YOU handle. Gods know, you went to school to get THAT privilege."


    Aristespha snorts sarcastically, rolling her violet eyes. "Yes... Quite THE privilege. Nothing like your license being on the line whenever you purchase certain compounds, and there is that surprise audit always lurking around the corner."


    The automatic doors of the clinic entrance open. Sotalia shakes her head slowly and gazes at Aristespha respectfully. "You handle all that FAR better than I could ever attempt to. If they tried to put that regulation crap on my higher power spells... GODS, I''d lose any license in the first month out of spite alone."


    An amused smile graces Aristespha ivory face, and she chuckles. "No offense, but I doubt you''d last a week."


    Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and sighs. "Well, can''t take offense to what I damn well know would be the truth."


    Aristespha leads Sotalia through the public hallways of the clinic, and the duo reach a large counter space in front of a huge storage area. A uniformed woman greets Aristespha and Sotalia. "Hello, I''m Dr. Ricketts. How can I help you, today?"


    Showing the display of her tablet to Dr. Ricketts, Aristespha directs the woman''s attention to a number of items on a neatly arranged, bulleted list. "I am refreshing and restocking medical supplies for my adventuring group. I was curious if you had anything on the list available for sale at the moment."


    Carefully examining the list, Dr. Ricketts sways her head side to side and mulls over the options. "I could have probably helped out more Monday. But, we had to pull back quite a bit due to recent events."


    She narrows her eyes upon a few things and nods her head confidently. "But, I can definitely help you with a few things. I should be able to discount the overstock a little bit. And, I should have plenty of the controlled substances in stock."


    Aristespha retrieves her medical professional identification cards and presents them to Dr. Ricketts. With a quick nod, Dr. Ricketts scans the information at a nearby computer station and begins typing. "This will take some time depending on how long the release authorization process is today. So, have a seat and make yourself comfortable."


    Glancing around the area, Sotalia spots a few chairs and pauses in thought. She feels her stomach, frowns with a twist of her mouth, and gazes at Aristespha. "Hey, do you know if there''s a snack machine or something around here? I''m going to need something to keep me until lunch. That plain coffee didn''t do it for me this morning."


    Aristespha thinks a moment, checking her surroundings, and points down the hallway. "If I remember right, it is most of the way down the hallway on the second left from here."


    Dr. Ricketts overhears the conversation and nods in agreement. "Correct. You have to try out that new fancy coffee machine. It makes damn near anything. And, it is all good."


    Sotalia perks up, rests the carrier off her shoulder into a seat, and departs with a hint of excited anticipation in her step. She disappears down the second left branch.


    Pacing with long stretching steps, Aristespha hides the occasional yawn over the next few minutes. Deedri rounds the corner of a corridor down the opposite end the main hallway and slowly walks down the path, gradually collecting her thoughts. Aristespha pivots around, gazes down the hall, and notices Deedri. "Deedri?! Why are you-"


    She snaps briefly to another thought. "Is everyone okay?"


    Blinking to attention, Deedri''s mood lightens swiftly. She picks up her pace and steps closer with relief. "Yes. Everyone is, relatively, okay in my group. I''m here to check up on a few patients I assisted in stabilizing, before they were medevacked here."


    Aristespha''s eyes widen ,and she concentrates her concern upon Deedri. "Medevacked? Oh, gods. Whatever happened?"


    Deedri sighs uncertainly and grimaces, trying to gather the words to explain. "It''s quite the story, really. All has happened in a very short amount of time. I''ll TRY to sum it up the best I can, but I don''t want to take up too much of your time."


    Aristespha smiles comfortingly at Deedri, rests a hand on her shoulder, and directs her attention to a row of chairs with the other hand. "I am waiting for a controlled substance release authorization on a few compounds."


    With an understanding smirk, a chuckle escapes Deedri . "OH... You have PLENTY of time, then."


    Dr. Ricketts nods with a confirming hum and carries a list into the labyrinth of medical shelves.


    ----


    Sotalia steps into a small lounge area littered with chairs, tables, and vending machines. Surveying the vicinity. she locks her golden gaze upon the prominent, new, fancy coffee dispenser. Her attention immediately wanders across the gamut of colorful options, gradually scrolling across the large touch on the front. Sotalia stands in awe before the advanced coffee machine and studies the seemingly endless options with great interest, analysis paralysis reaching for her.


    Her mind slowly assembling an appropriate caffeine concoction for manufacture, a sad, soft sigh tickles her pointed ear. Blinking away from her task, Sotalia notices the long skirt covered, gray, patterned legs of someone sitting in the chair row, immediately next to the machine. Sotalia leans to the side. Her eyes open wide in complete recognition, and she narrows her stare upon Tassilda. Sitting silent and unaware of anything else in the area, Tassilda stares down at the cold, black cup of coffee resting in her hands. Sliding in front of Tassilda, Sotalia crosses her patterned arms, aims a glare down, and hems. "Hi."


    Stirring sluggishly from a stupor, Tassilda slowly inspects the floor before her and notices someone standing. She gradually lifts her head up and reveals her gray face to Sotalia. With a distant, disconnected stare, the overhead lighting showcases the regret and shame evident. Sotalia''s gaze softens, stark familiarity surfacing old memories, and her empathy forces recognition. A surge of ire swells up within Tassilda, twisting her grimace. Trying to summon up spite, she falters, focusing upon Sotalia''s golden eyes. With painful wince, Tassilda drops her head down and bows her distant stare towards her rippling reflection in the cold, black coffee.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Two remain in silence. Their reserved, awkward body language telegraphs the lack of any clue in addressing the situation. Uneasy seconds later, a slight frown curls the corner of Sotalia''s mouth, and she sighs. "Started hating the person you see in the mirror?"


    Tassilda''s light blue on black eyes open wide in sheer surprise, and she cautiously lifts an inquisitive gaze to Sotalia, peeking through stray strands of raven black hair. Seconds of studying Sotalia''s intent later, Tassilda bites her lower lip and nods with a hard close of her eyes. "Yes... I- I mean..."


    She pulls back her hair over a swirling horn and unconsciously hooks it with a finger. "H-How do you know?"


    Sotalia dons a sad smile with a genuine tone. "I''ve seen that same look before in my own mirror... Gods... More than once."


    Averting her uncertainty around the small lounge, Sotalia settles her focus back upon the awaiting Tassilda. "Okay... This might sound odd, but..."


    She draws in a long breath. "Would you like to talk to someone who has been... Well... THERE, before?"


    With a nervous squirm in her posture, she twists her mouth, her awkward sincerity baring itself. "Listen. I know I''m probably the last person you want to talk to about anything... But, as someone who has been through some serious self-reflection... I just..."


    A frown softens her gaze, and she sighs. "I just remember always wanting someone to talk to each time."


    Tassilda blinks her stare away and fidgets with the cold coffee in her hands, pondering quietly. Seconds later, she nods her head appreciatively with a hint of hope. "Y-yes. That... That would be really nice right now."


    Sotalia relaxes her tensed shoulders, smiles sympathetically, and leads Tassilda''s attention. "Okay. Well, first thing, let''s get you some fresh coffee. My treat. Then, let''s find somewhere nice to talk. I think they have a garden or courtyard around here."


    ----


    Tassilda rests her back against the courtyard bench and tilts her head reflectively, her eyes searching through her a flurry of memories. "And... After that... Well, I have been mentally tracing it all back since Monday night and spent most of Tuesday in a haze."


    She exhales and slightly shakes her head. "Without it becoming a LONG, SAD tale, I think it all grew from when my father didn''t renew the marriage contract with my mother."


    Slowly sitting up straight, she glances over to Sotalia on the other side of the bench and sighs. "At first my mother was devastated as to why he would ever leave her. Then, a few months later, she found out he was dating a human woman. That''s when her devastation turned into... Gods... Absolutely irrational hatred."


    Taking a long sip of her extravagant cup of coffee, Sotalia nods understandingly with a slight smirk. "Yeah. No offense. But, I don''t think anyone born and raised in Laski, of all places, would take THAT news nicely."


    Tassilda rolls her light blue on black eyes and groans with begrudging agreement. "OH, most certainly NOT. I was only six years old, but that didn''t stop her from ranting about her feelings whenever she felt like it. I guess if you hear it so much, that young, it just STICKS in your head."


    Shaking her head slowly, she grimaces and sighs. "When my half-sister was born... That is when she shifted her targets from mixed couples to half breeds. Well, more accurately anyone who wasn''t pure Emin, in her eyes."


    Lifting a puzzled eyebrow, Tassilda sips her warm, black coffee, blinking thoughtfully. "To her credit, she never said anything directly about my half-sister. Unfortunately, that didn''t stop her from offhand comments in general."


    Tassilda remains silent for a few seconds and sighs regretfully. "Gods, I should have asked for equal time with both my mother and father. Maybe then I wouldn''t have fallen completely in line with whatever she wanted for me."


    She grits her teeth, tosses her raven black hair back over her shoulders, and mulls out loud with a conflicted tone. "The sad part is that my step-mother seems really nice, and I truly miss being around my little sister. And, my father seems so happy being away from my mother. But... I don''t know... I just wanted to make my mother happy... Despite how miserable it was at times."


    Biting her lower lip, Tassilda twists her mouth into a grimace and exhales deeply. "Gods. I hate to admit it... But, I mostly took the contract with the Next Adventurers of Nexus to avoid having to live with my mother again after graduating."


    Sotalia chuckles lightly and shakes her head with a smirk. "Well, don''t feel too bad about that one. No one really wants to head back to their parents after being on their own."


    Curling a quick smile, Tassilda nods. Rifling of emotions plays out on her gray face, and she stumbles around for an appropriate expression in vain. "It just feels so weird to... finally examine it all... And, realizing what''s happened... Fully, I guess?"


    She winces and furrows her brow. "I had been going along with it for so long, I guess I forgot to check to see where I was going?"


    Sotalia nods slowly and adopts a commiserating smile. "Yeah... Admittedly, you got to this point a much different way than I did, but it''s the same situation. You''ve come to a point in your life where you look around and realize... You really don''t want to be on THAT path anymore."


    Turning her head, she meets the gaze of Tassilda and sighs. "It''s a really strange place to be when you sit down and figure out why you are what you are..."


    She struggles briefly with a swallow, sips some of her elaborate coffee, and frowns slightly. "So, you can stop being what you are."


    Tassilda nods in dramatic, absolute agreement and tightly grips one of her horns, sorting through her thoughts. "I KNOW. I mean... You know you need to do something else that''s NOT what you are doing right now. But... How? And, what?"


    Sliding her hand off her horn, she holds her coffee with both hands and gazes over inquiringly, appreciatively at Sotalia. "Do you have any advice to share?"


    Sotalia pours a bit of her fanciful coffee into her mouth. Swallowing, she ponders the question and shrugs her shoulders uneasily. "Not really. Truthfully, you just have to take it a day at a time and remember what you are trying to accomplish. Well, or at least what you are trying to NOT accomplish. And, then, try to do what you can for those you''ve wronged."


    Tassilda searches her thoughts in between sips of coffee. She furrows her brow inquisitively. "Did you ever make things right with that old group you were a part of? The one you mentioned?"


    Grumbling in frustration at herself, Sotalia snarls her upper lip unsatisfied. "Well... I don''t really know. I mean, they basically left me behind with note explaining and paperwork to fill out."


    With a long, head tipping back sigh, Sotalia squirms uncomfortably and grimaces, stumbling around relating her feelings. "As much as you should try to make things right... Sometimes that''s not really possible. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give them the distance they want and deserve."


    Rolling her shoulders and working out the anxiety, she tilts her head to the side thoughtfully. "I made an honest attempt, at least. I sent a message to them to let them know they were right about me. I apologized, and wished them the best. Then, I left that whole area. I occasionally look them up, and they all seem to be doing just fine. And..."


    Summoning up a weak smile, Sotalia glances over. "I''m okay with that."


    Tassilda blinks a bit surprised and shifts her focus to her current thoughts. Sotalia smiles, lifts an eyebrow, and narrows a gaze at Tassilda. "You have to understand, my situation was different. I think you have a good chance to make amends with someone here..."


    Focusing her stare upon Tassilda, she leans slightly close. "The one you came here for anyway."


    Anxious energy floods Tassilda, and she squirms in her seat, a wave of unease passing through her. Weathering her nerves, she nods in agreement with a hint of a smile. "Yes. The least I could do is apologize in person to him. And, at least, leave it on a decent note."


    Pouring back the last half of her coffee in preparation, Tassilda turns her head and faces Sotalia. Noticing the fiery orange, wavy hair, another recent memory rises up to the front of Tassilda''s mind. She bows her head ashamed and sighs. "Um, before that... Thank you for talking to me despite my past behavior. And... Also..."


    She grits her teeth briefly and sighs. "I''m very sorry for putting that dispelling charge in the hot tub."


    Sotalia sneers briefly, draws a breath in, and exhales out the animosity with an accepting groan. She summons up a surface smile and nods. "Apology accepted. Admittedly, that wasn''t the worst prank ever played on me, but it was quite the clever one."


    Hints of pride slip into Tassilda''s smirk. Sotalia dons a genuine smile and lightly chuckles into a sigh. "And, I guess since we are trying to clear the air... I''m sorry for mocking you at the convention... AND... Teaching Veevi all those annoying tricks."


    Grumbling to a similar acceptance, Tassilda rolls her eyes away from the ire. "Well... It''s not like she wasn''t going to learn them at some point. I truly wish she would stick to those instead of trying whatever half-formed versions she''s learning off of random aethersites."


    Sotalia shakes her head and gazes at Tassilda with a tinge of pity. "Still, it''s already a bit cruel to have to teach such a fucking brat anyway. Gods, no one deserves having that job made any worse."


    The two spend minutes silently watching the courtyard and the wildlife wandering among the landscaping. Tassilda draws in a deep breath and exhales reluctantly. "Well, I guess I need to start on my path of self improvement and redemption."


    Nodding, Sotalia stands up from the bench. "One thing at a time. One day at a time. Just remember why you want to be better, and go from there. If nothing else, just tolerate the change enough so you can complain when no one else is looking."


    Tassilda rights herself up from the seat and quirks her brow at Sotalia. "Yes. Speaking of which, would you be against keeping up some appearances with the camera crews that often stalk me at the moment? It''d be one less thing to contend with, for right now."


    A sly grin emerges on Sotalia''s light tan, dark gray edged face, and she chuckles with an eager tint. "OF COURSE. I''m not against a little professional competition. I quite enjoyed our match up at the convention."


    A smug smile graces Tassilda, and she giggles confidently with a bit of excitement in her tone. "I would not mind another such event. Might be fun to drum up the theatrics for the cameras."


    The two walk down a concrete path through the clinic architecture encircled courtyard. Approaching an entry door, Sotalia furrows her brow and inquires. "So, a bunch of small magical constructs attacked everyone?"


    Tassilda eyes Sotalia with a twist of her mouth. "Well, I certainly would NOT call them small. They were quite substantial from my experience."


    Sotalia grits her teeth and grumbles. "Well, we''ve run into a far bigger one lately."


    Blinking in surprise, Tassilda snaps her attention to Sotalia. "Really?!"


    ----


    Aristespha blinks her violet eyes in utter astonishment and shakes her head slowly in disbelief. "Gods. That is unbelievable. I am ever so glad no one was killed in such an attack."


    Deedri releases a long sigh, relaxes her shoulders, and droops her furry, tufted ears. "It was pretty scary overall. I''m just glad Modoran helped me evade that one, and I got to Paladin Daedrican to stabilize him long enough for the medical team to ready him for transport."


    Sorting through a surge of thoughts, Aristespha lifts a curious eyebrow towards Deedri. "I think we really need to compare notes. We recently encountered a massive, well-made war golem during the exploration of an ancient site. Judging from how you described the ones your team encountered, they are very likely to be related, somehow."


    Leaning close to Deedri, she whispers cautiously. "The site seemed to have been a manufacturing facility, and we found signs that parts had been looted."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes open wide, and her furry ears flick up, glancing at Aristespha. "Wow... I actually... Oh."


    Furrowing her fair brow, she straightens her posture and tenses. "I actually wouldn''t be surprised if THIS was some kind of crude test run. Despite how badly put together they seemed, they were still very hard to fight. Incredibly dangerous."


    She gazes down the hallway, shifting her attention. "Oh! I should really check on Tassilda. I totally forgot about her. She really should hear all this, too."


    Sudden worry widens Aristespha''s eyes, and she hops up out of her seat, searching the area. "Tassilda is here?!"


    Deedri cocks her head confused. "Yes. Why? What''s wrong?"


    Staring uneasily at Deedri, Aristespha grits her teeth and softly hisses. "Sotalia is here, too!"


    Covering her mouth and opening her auburn eyes in surprise, Deedri meets Aristespha''s stare. "Tassilda went to the lounge down the hall and-"


    With realization plain upon each other''s faces, both stare down the hallway at the branch from the second left. They ready themselves to move out. Sotalia and Tassilda round the corner, casually conversing. Sotalia postures confidently, recounting a story, and Tassilda grins, delightfully amused. The two continue their exchange of tales and prideful boasts. Aristespha and Deedri gawk in complete bewilderment. Remaining wordlessly flabbergasted, both watch the peaceful interchange between Sotalia and Tassilda. Seconds later, Deedri shrugs her shoulders with clawed hands out to the sides. "Okay... I have no fucking clue how this has happened. No, really, I got NOTHING that could explain THIS."


    Contorting her ivory face between variations of confusion, Aristespha settles upon a clueless stare. "Gods. I am glad I am not the only one. To be quite honest, I would have expected a LOT more blood."


    Glancing over, Deedri nods quickly. "Yeah. Me too. And, FIRE. Quite a lot of fire."


    Dr. Ricketts lifts an intrigued brow, studies the two groups momentarily, and shrugs. She hoists up an assortment of medical supplies in bottles, packages, and bags. Arranging them neatly upon the counter, she directs her voice towards Aristespha. "Not to interrupt, but I have your order ready."


    ----


    Afternoon light filters in through the blinds of a large window and onto the clean, tile floor of the clinic room. Medical equipment lines the wall upon rolling stands and screens display vital information quietly. A few bundles of thin cables and tubing slip underneath the covers of the single hospital bed in the room. An over-dramatic gasp of an actor on the current television show sounds out and wakes Daedrican from slumber. Fluttering his eyes to consciousness, he surveys his surroundings. Recognition reminding him of recent events, he apprehensively eyes the show on the television mounted on the wall across from him. A long grumble escapes him, and he searches the area immediately around him.


    Spotting the remote on a nearby table, he pulls his left arm out from under the covers and reaches his hand out, shifting himself on the bed. Stretching forth until his right side moves, he winces against the sharp reminder of his recovering state. With the device of his entertainment freedom out of grasp, he carefully resettles into his bed, sighs, and checks himself. Cringing from the flits of pain, he curls his right forearm up and flexes the fingers of his hand. He gradually lowers his arm back down and lifts the blankets upon him, casually examining the series of bandages and dressings wrapping up his chest and right shoulder. He hums unamused and replaces the bed sheets over him. Glancing around the room, he eyes his horns upon the nearby nightstand and frowns slightly.


    The door cracks open, and a male evuukian nurse peeks in. "Oh, good. You are awake."


    Smiling Daedrican chuckles lightly and fights down a yawn. "Well... Just awake enough, really."


    The nurse nods, glances behind him briefly, and returns his gaze to Daedrican. "Awake enough to have a visitor?"


    Cocking his head of long silver hair to the side, Daedrican''s interest piques. "Certainly. Honestly, a visitor would be very welcomed right now."


    The evuukian nurse bows slightly and pulls back into the hallway. "You may go in. There are a few chairs along the wall you may pull out and unfold."


    Daedrican watches the entry door curiously and waits, furrowing his dark gray brow. The door opens wider, and Tassilda steps in slowly. She vainly attempts to keep her shame and embarrassment from influencing her posture. Tilting his head to a side, Daedrican lifts an intrigued eyebrow, puzzling. "Hello."


    Tassilda musters the courage and meets Daedrican''s gaze meekly. "Hello."


    She awkwardly walks forward and stops close to Daedrican''s bed. "Um... I don''t want to take up too much of your time... But..."


    Drawing in a shaky breath, she concentrates upon her words and gazes into Daedrican''s golden eyes, with a genuine, deeply apologetic tone. "I am... So terribly sorry for how I treated you in the last few days. You did not deserve such treatment, especially from a superficial, bigoted idiot like myself."


    Closing her light blue on black eyes for a moment, she contorts her gray face and sighs sadly. "I also wanted to let you know... That my experiences with you have made me question a lot of things and review many aspects of myself. Quite a deal that I should have dealt with long before this point."


    She grits her teeth and grimaces against the self-reflective pain. "To say the least... I have a lot of personal issues to work out, in time. But..."


    She swallows hard and summons up her courage. "I wanted to make sure that... Well... Um... Thank you for allowing me to accompany your team and assist you in your assignments."


    An appreciative, happy expression swells upon Tassilda''s face. "Thank you for the many fun, fascinating distractions during those assignments. I truly enjoyed them all."


    A regretful mood weighs heavy upon Tassilda, and she frowns ashamed at herself. "And... Thank you... For coming to my aid when I needed you the most... Even after how disrespectful and mean I was to you."


    Daedrican blinks, only partially hiding his pure astonishment. The stun wears off, and he slowly nods. "I greatly appreciate your words..."


    Pausing a moment, he watches Tassilda. "... My lady."


    A smile sneaks out of the corner of Tassilda''s mouth. Daedrican smirks and draws a long breath in. "And, while the circumstances leading to it were quite dramatic, I must say I am very hopeful about you reexamining things in your life. Despite what I experienced, I do believe you have many wonderful, redeemable qualities that I have enjoyed experiencing myself."


    Sniffing a bit, Tassilda wipes a tear from her eye and nods graciously. "That''s very kind of you. Thank you."


    She fights off nervous energy and glances back towards the entry door. "Well. I don''t want to bother you any more than I have to. You need to recover and all. So... I''ll take my leave."


    Tassilda turns to walk away, and Daedrican coyly pleads to her, smirking. "If you must... BUT, surely a fine, young lady as yourself seeking to turn over a new leaf would not leave an injured man to suffer the horrors of daytime television?"


    Stopping in place, Tassilda pivots around and blinks in confusion. Daedrican points his finger at the remote control just out of reach upon a nearby nightstand, next to his horns. A humored smile graces Tassilda, and she walks next to Daedrican''s bed. She picks up the remote, hands it over to Daedrican''s awaiting hand, and glances over to the television. "I do hope this isn''t the only thing they receive here. Then, again, it might be their ploy to encourage patients to go home sooner."


    Grinning, Daedrican aims the remote, hovering a finger over the button to change the channel. "I believe it was the attending nurse that changed it when I was sleeping. I recognize the show. The other evuukians in my group seem to be absolutely hooked on this one."


    Scrutinizing the dramatic interaction of the characters and elaborate set design in the scene, Tassilda rests her hands on her hips and cocks her head to the side. "It looks familiar... But admittedly, a lot of evuukian shows as of late seem centered around that re-imagined late First Period or early Second Period."


    Nodding in agreement, Daedrican rolls his head over and faces Tassilda. "They have a name for the genre. If I remember correctly, it literally translates to... Knifeblock backs contest."


    Tassilda meets Daedrican''s golden eyes and blinks with a humored twist at the corner of her mouth. "OH. I must admit THAT seems strangely descriptive, and probably very accurate."


    Her gaze wanders over to the nightstand, and she notices Daedrican''s horns. Examining their condition, she frowns and spots a number of nicks, scratches, and marks all over. With a disheartened sigh, she leans over to study them closer. "Oh my. It looks like your horns have seen far better days."


    Daedrican flicks his eyes over to the table and chuckles carefully. "Yes, they have, my lady. Thankfully, they found both relatively intact. Unfortunately, I think they had to pull one out of a tree. I haven''t decided if they used channel locks or a pry bar to get it free. It surprisingly picked up quite a bit of velocity when it sheared from my helmet."


    Stepping away from the bedside, Tassilda picks up a folding chair along the wall and sets it up next to the bed and nightstand. She sits down and rummages through her side satchel, retrieving a small glass bottle. Grumbling dissatisfied, she stares determined at the container. "This won''t take care of everything, but it''ll at least treat the unsightly blemishes. I''ll have to bring the rest of my..."


    She pauses herself, a wave of embarrassment filling her face. "Um... If you don''t mind me mending your horns..."


    Daedrican smiles happily, nods, and focuses upon Tassilda''s swirling horns. "I am not going to turn down such a gracious offer. Especially, not from someone who seems to be quite the expert in horn care. Then again..."


    He perks an eyebrow. "You may not need to do much at all."


    Tassilda blinks momentarily, traces Daedrican''s gaze to her own horns, and blushes. She coyly brushes back some of her raven hair over her horns and presents a flattered smile. "I''ll claim the latter, but demonstrate the former."


    A dialect of Evuukian plays out loud, heated exchange happening on the television show. Daedrican watches the scene transpire, smirks, and speaks a phrase in a form of Emin. Tassilda snickers, slips out a snort, and shakes her head. With a bit of embarrassment, Daedrican glances over to Tassilda and rolls his eyes at himself. "What did I mispronounce?"


    Tassilda smiles with a giggle and recites a similar phrase of Emin with a slight difference. "Still actually appropriate, but it might get you strange looks in proper company."


    Daedrican nods into a sigh. "My apologies, I''ve never gotten a chance to practice the Laskian dialect."


    A slight frown forms on Tassilda, and she picks up one of Daedrican''s horns. "Well... That''s certainly no fault of your own. As someone from that region, I can assure you that many would very likely not bother to talk at length to you due to their own misconceptions and biases."


    He gazes over to Tassilda and smiles pleasantly. "Would you mind helping me practice? It''s actually a very lovely form of Emin. If it''s not too much to ask of you, my lady."


    Biting her lower lip, Tassilda smiles and shakes her head slowly. "Of course not. It''s the very least I could do for such a brave, noble Paladin."


    Daedrican smirks and chuckles softly. "Still very much Junior Paladin, technically."


    A grin grows upon Tassilda, and she flutters her eyes towards Daedrican. "Oh, I most certainly would hope a promotion would be in order after such demonstration of bravery and strength in face of such danger. If Senior Paladin Maxon is any example of what the Chrome Crusaders desire in their Paladins, I doubt Paladin is that far away for you."


    Smiling with a snort, Daedrican lifts an amused brow towards Tassilda. "Well, I can''t rightfully claim to have taken on such danger alone. I''ll have to split that honor with you."


    Tassilda chuckles, tosses her hair back, and postures with a bit of pride. She articulates a few graceful sentences in the Laski dialect of Emin and smiles alluringly. Daedrican grins smugly, and replies back in an elaborate sentence of similar Emin. Vainly hiding her blushing cheeks, Tassilda continues the conversation, applying the bottle of horn fixer.


    Tassilda works on mending the surface blemishes on Daedrican''s horns, and both converse in Emin, often pausing to laugh and comment about the drama on the television.

 Episode 57

    Bach alternates his gaze between Aristespha and Sotalia. A few sweeps later, he blinks his blue eyes with a grimace and shakes his head in disbelief, leaning his back against his chair. "Wow... Just... Wow..."


    Aristespha nods thoughtfully, agreeing in a similar bewildered fashion, and sighs. She runs her hands through her long, silvery blue hair, tossing the locks over her shoulders. "From what Deedri described, these golems were NOT as well constructed as the one we fought. But..."


    With a stiff frown, she draws in a long breath through her nose. "Fighting multiple constructs of that variety, at once> THAT is an absolutely frightening thought."


    Sotalia settles her elbows upon the dining table and props her head up with her hands. "From what I heard, they were nothing as large as the ONE we fought, thankfully. Even then... I think five was the final number. At least, that''s how many piles of leftover parts they saw."


    In the moment of quiet processing, Bach furrows his brow at the thought and glances over to Aristespha, twisting his mouth uncomfortably. "Well... If we haven''t sent over anything official about that ancient golem factory to the authorities, now might be a good time."


    With a few taps upon a tablet in front of her, Aristespha softly groans with an uneasy smirk and gazes down upon paragraphs of text on the screen. "That is exactly what I have been working on, today. I thought sending copies over to both Captain Hackle and Captain Hays would be good, too. Maybe bypass a few of the usual hurdles in these drawn out processes."


    Bach and Sotalia nod with Aristespha''s proposal. Grumbling out her irritation, Sotalia sneers her upper lip on her light tan face and narrows her golden eyes down at the table. "It''s GOT to be that Terra Priest group around there. What the fuck are those nature nutjobs thinking?"


    Cocking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side, she slides her narrowing stare between Bach and Aristespha. "And... How the hell did they even get them working? Don''t you need some actual skill and knowledge to pull that off?!"


    Searching his mind for the possibilities, Bach shrugs his shoulders indecisively and gazes over towards Sotalia. "I mean... They probably got enough working parts and just slapped them together to see if, well, anything would happen. That''s what it sounds like from what you all told me."


    Dropping a hand down on the table, Sotalia drums her long, black nails upon the tabletop. "But... I thought they needed Faelatelia for their plans? Wasn''t she some critical part?"


    Aristespha shakes her head slowly and sighs, the situation visibly dawning upon her. "I believe they needed Faelatelia to bind spirits to the golems. But..."


    She squints her violet eyes, examining her theory audibly. "It is very likely that Meredosia has enough working knowledge to get the constructs together from the parts. She did spend some significant time in that hidden factory. Not the ideal solution she probably wanted, but still viable enough as demonstrated."


    Gritting her teeth, Sotalia''s ire briefly flares and she growls. "Gods, it was probably her that got that big one working and put it on patrol. That fucking BITCH."


    Bach ponders a moment and tilts his head to a side, searching his mind with his eyes. "Yeah... I could totally see that. She probably either found it inactive, or missing just a few parts, and then reprogrammed it to attack anything that wasn''t her, or with her."


    He furrows his brow and angles his gaze towards Sotalia. "Because... I really doubt she would have stayed long enough to get anything useful if that thing was stomping around like it was for us. And, from what Chelindia and Faelatelia said about her... I REALLY doubt she''d leave that facility unguarded after finding it."


    Nodding slowly, Sotalia taps her fingers upon the table in sync with her frustration. She lifts her head up from her propping hand, settles back into her chair, and slowly shakes her head of wavy, fiery orange hair. "Still... WHY are they doing anything like this, now? It seemed like they were perfectly content to sit around in the woods and feel superior to everyone else. They''re going to attract A LOT of attention now."


    Crossing her patterned arms, she flutters her eyes with grimace. "You don''t attack the Chrome Crusaders and NOT expect a lot of powerful people to take notice."


    With a hint of worry, Bach curls the corner of his mouth down. "Yeah... I really hope Chelindia''s group got out. Sounds like things have gone from crazy to completely INSANE."


    Drawing a deep breath, Aristespha rubs her ivory, blue and gray hinted temples and frowns sharply. "Unfortunately, that is probably why the attack happened."


    Bach and Sotalia shift their attention towards Aristespha. Moments of collecting her thoughts later, Aristespha contends with a saddened tone and wrestles her grimace. "Chelindia and the old members were very likely THE major regulating element in that organization. If they have left, you have a leader that no longer has someone to legitimately question her."


    Rolling his eyes at the situation, Bach groans uneasily. "Ah. Shit. And, there''s no longer enough people in that group to keep the rest from going too far off the deep end."


    Sotalia cringes and tightens her crossed arms with an uncomfortable squirm. "OH. That''s never a good recipe for anything. I know THAT from personal experience."


    Aristespha aims her gaze upon the tablet in front of her and slowly shakes off the dour mood. "Regardless, I will be getting the report together to send off. I do not know what the official response to all this will be, given the location and situation. But... At this point, we NEED to report it, NOW."


    Nodding her head, tinges of concern leak out upon Sotalia''s face. "Yeah. Gods. Still, so strange to have seen how distraught Tassilda was. I mean, I understand completely. I don''t think I would have been much better. But, just to see her in that state..."


    Bach smiles at Sotalia with an encouraging tone. "That was pretty nice of you to talk to her and help her out."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Sotalia smirks and presses down a bit of embarrassment. "Well... As much as I wanted to be the superior queen bitch of the land and get back at her... It was..."


    She swallows down a fit of guilt and sighs. "It... It hit close to home. I don''t know. Didn''t feel right to be an ass to her then."


    Shrugging her shoulders, she holds her hands up in the air and smiles genuinely. "Something in me just wanted to maybe help her along like I wished someone had done for me."


    Bach nods and chuckles lightly. "Yeah... Well, you did good in my opinion."


    Sotalia grins appreciatively at Bach. Seconds later, she blinks back to awareness and scans around the living area. "Well, are we going to do magic drills today or what?"


    Bach glances around the room and turns his attention towards the archway leading into the hallway. "I''ve seen Cideeda today. She borrowed the latest issues of Tales of the Orion from me to read. But, I haven''t seen Dretphi leave her room yet. The door was open though."


    Sotalia laughs and snorts with a sly smirk. "Oh! She''s catching up on all her stories. It seems like all the series she''s following had new issues. Might be a little hard to pull her away from them."


    A flash of frustration rises upon her face, and she crosses her arms tightly. With a pout, she grumbles petulantly. "It''s still not fair that Cideeda keeps me away from the issues of Tinkering Tina until AFTER she gets done reading them."


    Bach narrows his blue eyes at Sotalia and cocks his head of longer brown hair to the side. "You did spoil that one major reveal for her."


    Sotalia groans and dramatically rolls her eyes. "Once! I did that ONCE. How long is she going to hold THAT over my head?"


    With a shrug, Bach glances around again and lifts a curious brow at Aristespha. "Hey, do you know where my brother is? I actually haven''t seen him today either, now that I think about it."


    Aristespha blinks and lifts her head up from the tablet, thinking for a moment. She smiles and laughs. "OH. Sebastian is probably hovering nearby Cideeda reading along. He can''t very well turn the pages himself, right now."


    Sotalia grumbles to herself quietly with an occasional clear mention of unfairness and special treatment.


    ----


    In a brightly sunlit room, Dretphi fidgets with anticipation, slowly turning to the next page of the graphic novel. Biting her lower lip lightly, she adjusts the pillows propping her back up on the bed and settles back in quickly. Her steely gray eyes scan the pages of dramatic, character focused scenes and elaborate dialog in fanciful fonts, and she smiles eagerly. Expectation gradually sways her body side to side, the literary tension builds.


    Bach glances through the open bedroom door into the room and watches Dretphi pore over the book. Scanning around the room, he settles his wandering gaze upon the significant stacks of reading material next to Dretphi on her bed. He squints at the collection of paperback books and notices various bookmarks in one stack and none in others, one stack of older volumes sliding slowly into a splay. Dretphi blinks her eyes wide and reflexively mutters loudly a few choice phrases of grath, swirling with incredulous and astonished sentiments. She puzzles out loud to herself in mumbles of grath and swiftly flips back through a number of pages, frustration searching for an explanation.


    Bach gently knocks on the door frame and smirks with a friendly laugh. "Ah. One of THOSE plot twists?"


    Dretphi snaps her attention towards the doorway, subduing a flit of embarrassment, and smiles warmly to Bach. "Yes. You can say that. Trying to find justification for this recent decision."


    She cocks her head of platinum blonde braids to the side and curiously gazes at Bach. "Is there something you need?"


    Pointing a thumb over his shoulder down the hallway, Bach shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh, uh, Aristespha and Sotalia want to do some magic practice drills outside, since it''s a nice enough day. We just wanted to know if you''ll be joining us?"


    Dretphi nods happily, glances at the book currently in her hand, and plucks up a bookmark off to the side. Placing the bookmark in the volume, she grumbles with an unamused smirk. "I am at a stopping point. I will..."


    Furrowing an incredulous brow at the novel, she twists a faint grimace. "Process it later."


    Lifting up an intrigued eyebrow, Bach focuses his gaze upon the book in question. Dretphi rests it on top of one of the stacks, and Bach inquires. "So... What''s that particular one about?"


    Dretphi slides off the bed carefully around the stacks of graphic novels, resting her feet on the floor, and stands up. She stares at the offending book and musters up a calm, thoughtful tone. "It is multifaceted. Political intrigue in the background. Primary plot about a young lady caught between choosing the interests of two men."


    Blinking for a moment, Bach tilts his head to the side, crossing his arms, and puzzles at the statement. "Interesting..."


    Dretphi braces herself against her bed, working on her shoes, and smirks curiously. "You seem surprised."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach smiles awkwardly, stumbling about the point. "Oh, um, I''m trying to figure out the draw of such a book. I mean..."


    He pauses a moment and carefully states. "I guess that sort of situation is a bit of a rarity in Grath society?"


    Straightening up and tapping her shoes upon the floor, Dretphi smiles with blatant amusement and shakes her head. "Similar happens. Joining a house is significant. Choosing one between multiple can be stressful."


    Bach nods slowly, understanding developing, and leans against the door frame, stretching his back. "Yeah... I can imagine having to choose something on that scale of importance can be daunting. Especially if you have significant relationships with two houses."


    Dretphi gazes at Bach, thinks a moment, and smiles with a slight chuckle. "Oh. You do not have to forgo those relationships when you join another house. Houses handle everyday aspects of family. Legal liability. Finances. Child raising. Housing. Food. Support."


    She exhales long and wrestles a smirk. "Still a significant choice."


    Pausing, she searches her mind with her steely gray eyes and carefully pieces together an explanation. "A house does not bind you exclusively to that house for personal relationships. Most have preference. Aligns that way over time. Not a requirement."


    Bach tilts his head to the side and cracks a humored smirk. "Oh, okay. So... Keep business and pleasure separate?"


    Dretphi rolls her eyes with a tight smile on her tan face and shrugs her muscular shoulders, walking up to the doorway. "Yes. It works for grath. Acceptable. Helpful in properly managed houses."


    The walk down the wooden floors of the main hallway. Dretphi glances over to Bach, hunting for the right terms. "Most grath are not... Possessive? Encouraged to be mutual? Honest? Open? It is hard to translate to Americ. Does not have equivalent words."


    Bach gradually nods, the concept solidifying more in his mind between shifts of his expression. With hints of understanding in tone, he furrows his brow. "Yeah. I think I get the idea. It seems to work really well for most of the grath I''ve run into. Though..."


    He eyes Dretphi with a vague frown. "I''ve heard of a few bad stories."


    Dretphi sighs in begrudging agreement, shaking her head. "Those serve as lessons to heed. There are no strict rules. There ARE best practices."


    She frowns gently and glances over to Bach. "That cultural aspect gets scrutinized in an unfortunate way. Houses function like family units. My house shared vacations with other houses. We would gather for sport events. Different members from houses would get together to experience new restaurants. Normal parallels to other families."


    Sliding open the glass back door for Dretphi, Bach shrugs nonchalantly and motions her through. "No, I get it. That sounds actually pretty typical. Honestly, a bit more than some families I''ve known do on any regular basis."


    Dretphi smiles warmly at Bach and brushes back her platinum blonde braids. "My mother always encouraged everyone to go out of the house. Figuratively. LITERALLY."


    Bach furrows his brow, noticing Dretphi''s tone shift. With a shake of her head, Dretphi averts her eyes briefly and grumbles amused. "My mother''s encouragement hid an ulterior motive."


    Sliding the door shut and wincing at the drastic change from interior light to exterior sun, Bach carefully approaches the topic. "Which was?"


    Dretphi sighs in good humor and rolls her eyes. "Read romance novels without distraction."


    Bach blinks in surprise and narrows an inquisitive stare at Dretphi. "Wait... Is that where you...?"


    Nodding quickly, Dretphi snorts and cracks a smirk, remembering with hints of old irritation. "YES. Happened when I was a teenager. I grew tired of the... frustrating... antics of a boy I was dating for the night. Left. Arrived home early."


    She grits her teeth briefly, tempering her past emotions with an aged acceptance. "I was upset. Sought out my mother. Found her in the living room. In my birth father''s favorite chair. Wrapped up in a blanket. Reading a romance novel."


    Twisting his mouth closer towards amusement, Bach raises a curious eyebrow, prying. "You mean the ones with the ridiculous covers?"


    Dretphi sighs and nods her head with curl in her smirk. "Yes. Got over the surprise. Told her about my dating issues. She sat me down. Handed me the first volume of a series. Told me to read. I read it."


    A happy smile appears on her face, and she softly laughs. "I got hooked. It is a hobby we still share. My preferences changed to graphic novels out of convenience with adventuring. We still trade titles. Seek out new books to inform the other of."


    Shaking his head, Bach brushes his longer brown hair back, sweeping the white streak off to the side, and scratches his bearded chin speculatively. "You know, I can''t help but to think there''s some aspect of taboo with the differences of cultures going on that must be the big draw for those books."


    Blinking blankly for a few moments, Dretphi quietly ponders the notion, crossing her arms, She sways her head in thought and mulls over out loud. "To a degree. We have never been interested in harem themed graphic novels. Possibly an exotic allure to the strict fashions of romantic relationships in the novels?"


    She snorts and glances over to Bach with a slight, humored grin. "Any appeal fades after five chapters of torturous drama."


    Bach chuckles and shakes his head, walking up to the rest of the group with Dretphi.


    ----


    Meredosia struts confidently across the shaded clearing in the middle of encircling, gigantic trees and ancient buildings. Beaming out a smug grin to the world, she leads an accompaniment of evuukians in rustic, naturalist uniform. The gathering follows along, and many demonstrate their excited praise of Meredosia. A number prompt for answers to many questions in evuukian. Most of the decorated members seem eager. A few show their concern upon their faces, vocal tones mirroring the sentiment.


    Meredosia smiles brightly, responding boldly and dramatically to the queries before her. Determination floods her demeanor, and she elaborately dictates her motives with extravagant motions to her followers. Finishing her impromptu speech with a slow grasp of her outstretched hand into a balled fist, she grins with a dark, distant stare ahead. The group enters the largest of the ancient structures in wide, expansive clearing and moves down the long, tall hallway towards a set of massive double doors.


    Closing in on the entrance, Meredosia grimaces, a shiver zipping up her spine. The amulet on her chest shakes on its own, and she reflexively grips it tightly with her hand. Speeding up to doors in a near panic, she forcefully shoves them wide open.


    Inside, she quickly scans the area in front of her and spots many elaborately robed evuukians on the floor, unconscious. Sounds of struggle alert the followers gathering around Meredosia to a few evuukian mages subdued in immobilizing weaves of white magical energy. Meredosia snaps glances to their faces and traces their eyes ahead to the central platform. Upon the middle of the rostrum, a thin man with wispy white hair stands calmly, thin threads of white energy swirling into him from the platform. A blue scarf floats slowly with the ethereal flows around him. The man tilts his head momentarily, gradually pivots in place, and aims his white glowing eyes at Meredosia. He curiously perks an eyebrow at the gathering.


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    Anger erupts out from Meredosia , and she energetically points towards the man, yelling out an order. Guards escorting her don their bows, knock arrows, and take aim. From the archers, energy flows stream into the bows and arrows heads. They let loose a volley. The missiles streak trails of magical miasma across the length of the cavernous room and halt abruptly in front of the man. Hints of amusement leak through the blue scarf wrapping the man''s face, and he addresses Meredosia and her followers. "Pardon my manners... I am Noxian. I must say, you have quite an impressive setup here. It seems you''ve been very busy researching so many subjects, and have even organized a team of mages."


    Narrowing his stare towards Meredosia, he projects. "Who am I speaking to?"


    With a blatant disgust for the words and boiling ire against Noxian''s mere presence, Meredosia snarls her upper lip and growls out her demanding proclamation. "YOU speak to the Meredosia, leader of this revolutionary chapter of the Terra Priests. Now, why are YOU here in MY chambers?!"


    A faint flash of red lightens Meredosia''s crimson eyes. "ANSWER. ME. NOW!"


    Lifting an annoyed eyebrow at Meredosia, Noxian grumbles under his breath and narrows a harsh, accusatory glare upon her. "Well, with THAT attitude... Allow me to cut straight to the point. I was eventually going to investigate this location in the future, but decided to make it quite a bit sooner. So, tell me..."


    Noxian''s tone darkens and lowers. "Do YOU have any involvement with the recent golem attacks upon the Chrome Crusaders?"


    With near manic pride, Meredosia grins and levels a dark, spiteful glare upon Noxian. She crosses arms, puffing up her posture, and turns her nose up at Noxian disdainfully. "Why? Would you like to experience a demonstration... personally?"


    Sighing out his frustration, Noxian wags a finger at Meredosia and chides her with a scolding tone. "SO, I am to understand that a capable, young individual like you... Finds a source of ancient power. Educates herself on how to manipulate magical machinery. Learns how to use that power on magical machinery. And then..."


    A spark of ire rises up in his voice. "Decides to build a number of golems for some inane attempt to demonstrate some supposed superiority over others to bolster a poorly formed ego?! While, mind you, harming those that are trying to better the world for everyone else!"


    He narrows a glare upon Meredosia, lifts his head up, and aims his eyes down upon Meredosia. "Such disappointing, childish, and utterly stupid use of such ability and power. What makes you think this is the right way to use such!?"


    Meredosia''s ivory skin reddens, locks of her gray hair float up, and she grits her teeth furiously. Spitting forth a volley of outraged evuukian, she hurls spiteful phrases upon Noxian. "I WILL NOT BE LECTURED BY A LOWLY HUMAN! A wretched defiler of nature. An undeserving being! I wield the power that I have gained myself. And, I will be the one to decide how I use it!"


    Noxian laughs loudly and shakes his head in disbelief with a mocking tone. "Aha! So, the whole might makes right argument? Okay. Well, if you have such might..."


    He straightens his posture, extends his arm out, and flexes the fingers upon his hand in a challenging gesture. "THEN... Let us see how right you are."


    Meredosia''s dark crimson eyes light up manically. Stretching a wide grin across her face, she commands her followers. Guards at Meredosia''s sides ready more arrows and magic users within her followers ready spells. Waves of magical energy from the mages'' spells splash uselessly upon the barrier surrounding Noxian. With a few quick gestures and white light gazes of concentration from Noxian, threads of elder energy stream out along the faint back trails and latch onto the originating casters, swiftly tying up the mages. Archer guards unleash their arrows and watch their projectiles halt abruptly upon the surface of the barrier surrounding Noxian. Glancing between all the suspended missiles, Noxian smiles underneath his blue scarf, and his eyes emit a flash of white. The arrows spin around and rocket back at blinding speed, targeting their owners. The missiles render bows broken and release concussive eruptions before impact, knocking out the guards.


    In a fit of absolute rage, Meredosia musters enough focus, draws out a ball of elder energy from the amulet on her chest, and launches a massive bolt at Noxian. The magical projectile impacts Noxian''s barrier and visually distorts the outer layers. Noxian directs his full, undivided attention upon Meredosia and calmly walks off the platform towards her. Trails of elder energy continue to flow into him from the rostrum, stretching out into long, swirling tubes. Meredosia fights rage, shock, and disgust, and manages enough concentration to fling powerful bolts of elder energy. Noxian cautiously moves closer and studies each impact upon his barrier with analytical, clinical inspection. A few meters away from Meredosia, Noxian throws his hand out, unleashing fibers of magical energy forth. The threads weave effortlessly through a bolt mid-flight, absorbing the projectile''s power, and explode upon Meredosia into an immobilizing web, wrapping her up.


    Slowly stepping forward, Noxian moves close and levels his glare centimeters away from Meredosia''s ivory face. Infuriated, he stares through her with glowing white eyes, grips Meredosia''s amulet, and yanks off her chest, snapping the cord around Meredosia''s neck. With a cold, purposeful cadence, Noxian explains. "You may think yourself the prettiest flower in the field... But, you do not know that you are just simply another flower in the playground of elder giants."


    He stands up straight, glowers down at Meredosia, and tightens his grip on the amulet in his hand. A loud crackle echoes out into the room, and a torrent of white energy erupts out from his hand. The flows rush forth, quickly settling into Noxian and disappearing entirely. He slowly opens his hand, letting the crumbling remains of the amulet trickle down into a powdery coating upon the floor. He glances over his shoulder, holds a hand out towards the platform, and a pulse of energy streams through the swirling streams into Noxian. Mere seconds later, the flows fade away. The rostrum glows brightly for a moment. With a few flickers of power, it shatters into a pile of rune decorated rock. Meredosia gawks utterly horrified, unable to form words in her mouth. Turning his head back around, Noxian stares into Meredosia''s shocked, dark crimson eyes, and leans in close. "I truly do not know who should ultimately wield this power..."


    He pauses a moment and darkens his tone. "BUT, I am DAMN certain..."


    Drilling his stare into Meredosia''s eyes, he growls. "IT. IS. NOT... YOU."


    He steps back and away from Meredosia. Walking over the incapacitated guards, he calmly strolls to the doors leading into the main, large hallway. He nears the double door archway, his form fading into transparency. Quickly disappearing from sight, he steps out into the hallway. Seconds later, the white energy dissipates in the room, and the immobilizing spells fade away into fading clouds of miasma. Meredosia stumbles upon the ground in sheer shock and stops herself short of face planting into the remains of her amulet. She stares down at the dusty fragments upon the floor, drops of water landing and wetting the mess. Lifting her head up slowly, she grits her teeth and forces seething breaths through. She squeezes tears down her reddening face, intense, furious rage boiling from within. She focuses upon the fractured central platform and manages to only breathe in an infuriated stupor.


    ----


    Bright noon sunlight slips through the double doors leading to the third story wooden balcony. Gerald eases his back upon a stack of pillows on his bed and winces briefly, his weight settling upon the mattress. "Okay... Request from me. Oh, gods..."


    Straining, he arches his back briefly and squirms in the wave of discomfort. "Can we avoid any more long hauls, through the woods, in the middle of nowhere for at least THIS season? Holy hell, my back is still not on speaking terms with me."


    Samantha pulls a can of beer from a package, cracks it open, and places it into Gerald''s hand with a smirk. "Sorry to say, Howie, but I''m with Gerald on this one. The last part of that run was a bit much."


    Howard''s voice sounds out from the aetherphone upon a nearby desk, and an audible worried sigh resonates. "Yeah. I was not expecting ANYTHING like that. Especially on the very last night of the patrol. Seriously, I mean... A full out attack with multiple fucking golems?! And, just the idea of taking on the Chrome Crusaders of all people. Just..."


    Pausing a moment, he releases a groan of pure disbelief. "Shit... That just blows my damned mind. You literally have guys in walking tank suits. Why the hell would you start something with them?"


    A lull of silence lets the background noise from the other side of the call to echo into the room with Samantha and Gerald. An eager tone colors Howard''s cadence, and his excitement seeps through the phone speaker. "But... It will be an... AMAZING... episode tonight. We''ve needed some good action for the season. Despite running for your lives, you all did really good to record what you could."


    Standing proudly with a sly smile, Samantha chimes in with a sinister giggle. "Happy to deliver as always, Howie."


    She crosses her arms, pouts with a grumble, and glances over to Gerald. "Gods. I SO wish I could have caught just a few seconds of the fight between Daedrican and Tassilda and that bull golem! But, SOMEONE decided to drag me to the safe zone, out of the action."


    Pouring a long swig of his beer down his throat, Gerald eyes Samantha incredulously. Samantha sighs and groans annoyed. "We had to settle with Veevi going around trying to be heroic while running away with the rest of us."


    Rolling his eyes, Gerald directs his voice towards the aetherphone and mockingly pleads his case with growing sarcasm tainting his words. "Yes. I did drag her away. Away from being near the fight where a POWERED ARMED, TRAINED PALADIN got IMPALED by a MASSIVE, MAGICAL STONE BEAST..."


    Swirling the beer in the can in hand, he huffs. "I felt my actions were properly justified."


    Howard sighs, and speaks through the speakerphone with a firm, thankful tone. "Gerald. Thank you. Really. Sorry, Samantha, but I''m with Gerald on this one. You damn well know my policy about camera crews getting hurt. We already got way too close at the beginning of this season with risking the crew. If the stars get themselves hurt by their own stupidity, that''s one thing. They signed those release forms. Crew safety comes first."


    Samantha snorts petulantly and groans out in defeat, accepting her boss''s words. "FINE... I just hate missing all those opportunities."


    She gazes at Gerald, smiles appreciatively, and rolls her hazel eyes at herself. "Still, thank you again, Gerald."


    Lifting his beer up in acknowledgment, Gerald nods briefly and sips back the beverage. "No problem. We got plenty of shots, anyway. Should be able to milk these for probably another episode or two."


    Samantha places her hands upon her hips, swaying her stance. "Still frustrates me that we can''t record at the clinic. SOMETHING is going on with Tassilda, and damned if I have anything concrete to show for it."


    Howard''s humored chuckle sounds out from the aetherphone. "We''ll see what we can get of THAT. And, it might serve us better if we didn''t show anything. Let the fans speculate on that. The community team has shown me some choice debates on Tassilda''s and Daedrican''s relationship. I think we''ll just let that continue. Fan theories are always so much fun, and make for great polls the advertisers love to see. Have to get that engagement."


    Blinking to attention, Samantha memory throws something to the front of her mind. "OH. Howie. The crew have voted, and pretty much all of us want to do the resort springs mission."


    Howard hums briefly and mumbles in thought for a few moments, projecting his curious tone into the room. "That works just perfectly fine for me. I get the feeling that three certain members of the crew may have pushed the vote that direction?"


    With a smirk, Gerald snorts and shakes his head. "Yeah. But, really, after that golem attack, it didn''t take much convincing. Urdi barely got through half of her description of the place before she had most of the team ready to vote with her."


    A scheming tinge fills Howard''s tone, and he resonates through the speakerphone. "This will actually fit quite well with my plans. It''ll be very interesting to see what happens on that particular mission. I definitely hope to capture more of the evuukian market with the... Interactions... I''m hoping will occur."


    His laugh echoes from the other side of the connection. "Also, we''ve been needing to get the Flames of the Phoenix close to..."


    He pauses and mumbles a moment. "Oh, how to put it..."


    Chuckling briefly, he states proudly. "Recreational water of some kind. We got to keep the ratings up with some gratuitous fanservice."


    Gerald sighs, rests an empty can upon a nightstand nearby, and adjusts a pillow underneath him. "Well, hope my back is up for it by then. Otherwise, I might get some of the younger crew to sneak around for those shots, even if they''ll probably be distracted the whole time."


    Rolling her eyes, Samantha shakes her head of shoulder-length brown hair with a chuckle and grins impishly to Gerald. "Oh, it''s not for a few weeks. They''ll have some down time and maybe a small job to break up the monotony. You should be ready to peep with the best of them soon enough."


    Reaching carefully out with his arm, Gerald slides a laptop across the bed up onto his chest and stares incredulously at the screen. "Yeah. Hopefully, a few nights on a real bed rather than a van seat will put me back on speaking terms with my back."


    Howard laughs, projecting a reassuring tone. "You''ll be fine. If you don''t get better in a few days, hit the clinic. My orders. Can''t have one of my best camera guys down when the best shots are going to happen. And anyway, I want some tastefully done shots from you specifically. It''s a lot more work to censor and creatively edit when the rookies try. Nothing can replace experience and tasteful framing."


    A brief moment of silence later, typing sounds out from Howard''s side of the call, and he groans unamused. "Well, I must leave you two, for now. Production needs me to decide some things for tonight''s episode. Before I go... Though..."


    He lowers his voice. "One thing I want to share with you two..."


    Gerald turns his attention away from the laptop and focuses upon the aetherphone with an intrigued quirk of his brow. Samantha steps over to the aetherphone upon the desk, leans close, and speaks curiously. "And what would THAT be, Howie?"


    Howard''s dark chuckle fills the room through the speaker. "I''ve confirmed what is in store for Trakenthin."


    ----


    A reddish orange cast colors the darkening evening sky outside the second story bedroom window. Tassilda glances around the corners of the room with long pauses of paranoid suspicion. Seating herself on the floor next to her bed, she rests her head against the mattress and pulls her aetherphone off the nearby nightstand. She unlocks the security code, opens her contact list, and scrolls to a name in emin, pausing. She holds her phone in front of her, draws a few long, deep breaths, and presses the call button on the display. The phone initiates the connection, displaying status graphics. A few seconds later, the display flickers and the video stream shows a teenage girl, brushing her dark hair over her swirling horns. She briefly contorts her patterned, light gray and tan face in confusion and narrows her light blue on white eyes. A flash of recognition blatantly surprises her, and she stiffens to a careful, reserved expression. "Tassilda?! Hey! Um, how are you doing? I didn''t expect... a call from you."


    Tassilda sighs with a warm smile and calm tone. "Oh. I know... It is a spur of the moment thing. I just... really wanted to call you and..."


    Swallowing down a wave of guilt, she exhales shakily. "I hope I''m not interrupting anything... Uh..."


    The half-emin girl blinks uncertainly, glances around herself and the quiet bedroom in the background. "Um... No. I was about to lay down and maybe read. Maybe, write a bit? I really hadn''t decided. I, uh, I picked up this book on magic and wanted to start on it."


    A slight frown curls the corner of Tassilda''s mouth, and she maintains her happy tone. "Well, I do hope you didn''t pick up that book I suggested a while back. THAT was a paid endorsement deal."


    With an awkward, nervous laugh, the teenager shrugs her shoulders and bites her lip. "Oh. No. Not this one. I exchanged THAT one and bought this one instead."


    The video feed moves off from the young, half-emin''s face and focuses upon a book titled "The Illustrated Guide to Magical History." The teenager''s voice sounds out through the aetherphone speaker. "It''s really cool and fun to read. They tell all the stuff about magic history with a really cute romance story. To be honest, I don''t know what I''m reading it more for..."


    Tassilda''s smile fights against the emotional swell within, and she wipes the tears waiting in her light blue on black eyes. The video feed settles back onto the teenager''s face, and she furrows a concerned stare through the phone. "Are you okay, Tassilda?"


    Sniffing her remaining composure, Tassilda gazes into her aetherphone screen with quivering lips and releases a stream of tears with a hard blink. "Tessalla... I- I..."


    Fighting through a wince, Tassilda gasps for air through a sob and wipes her eyes, smearing tears across her gray face. "I called to apologize to you. For... Well... EVERYTHING."


    Tessalla blinks in sheer bewilderment, focusing her confusion upon Tassilda. "I, uh... um..."


    Sighing deeply, Tassilda summons up her resolve and gazes into Tessalla''s eyes on the aetherphone screen. "Oh gods... I want to apologize for being an absolutely awful big sister to you the last few years. The time you have probably needed me the most, I just was too wrapped up in hate that''s not even my own. And, I kept myself away from you for stupid reasons-"


    Her voice cracks. She closes her eyes hard and wetly sobs. Tessalla gawks in sheer astonishment. Forcing a breath into her lungs, Tassilda focuses upon her words. "I am so sorry. You NEVER deserved any of that terrible treatment. You deserve a proper big sister that I haven''t been for quite some time. I just hope that..."


    Wincing with a surge of pain, she sighs. "It''s not too late to be one for you, eventually."


    Tears well up in Tessalla''s eyes. Mustering a smile upon her face against the flood of emotion, she speaks in between sniffs. "It''s okay... It''s okay... Really... It''s NOT too late. I''m just- I''m just- I''m just happy to talk to YOU right now."


    Tassilda breaks down in a mess of sobbing along with Tessalla. Surges of hidden emotions rise up and find their way out between each other. Both make eye contact through their phones in the lulls between outbursts. Minutes later, both slowly regain their composure and sigh out to some stability. Fluttering her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda sniffs her nose clear and awkwardly laughs. "Oh gods. I doubt that''ll be the last of that. But, oh wow, I guess we both needed that."


    Smiling, Tessalla cleans her face with a few tissues from off screen. "Yeah. I-I uh... Have to agree. Yeah... Oh... That was a pretty big thing to just drop right there."


    Rolling her eyes at herself, Tassilda smirks with a vaguely guilty shrug of her shoulders. "Well, I''m not terribly good at this. So, you''ll have to forgive me. And, also you''ll have to forgive me for this next bit..."


    She closes her eyes, slowly exhales, and gradually draws in a breath. With a meek, ashamed tone, she cautiously approaches the subject. "I know this is sudden and out of nowhere. But, I thought I needed to check with you first before I do anything else..."


    Biting her lip, Tassilda musters up the courage. "I''ve been reviewing a lot in my life lately. And, I think... After my contract with the show is over... Um... Would you be okay if I stayed with you, father, and your mother for a while?"


    She braces herself for the response. Tessalla stares blankly at the screen, completely dumbfounded. A surge of excited glee floods her face, and she joyfully sounds out through Tassilda''s aetherphone. "Y-y-yYES! OF COURSE! I''d love to have my big sister here! Father would be so happy to hear that! And, I don''t think my mother would have any major problems with it."


    A wave of relief washes over Tassilda, peace tempering her tone, and she calms the teenager. "Okay, Tessalla. There''s nothing official, yet. I thought I should check with you first before I asked father. There might be a few bridges I need to fix first before anything happens."


    Tessalla smiles brightly and energetically nods in understanding. "I know, I know. I''ve just always wanted you around, and I just hope you can stay."


    Furrowing her brow, she leans close to the phone on her side of the call. "You just have to promise me ONE THING."


    Tassilda cocks her head to the side and hoists up a curious eyebrow. "And, what would that be, dear sister?"


    Biting her lip, Tessalla grins excitedly and gazes eagerly. "You have to teach me some magic."


    With a proud smile, Tassilda chuckles lightly and nods in agreement. "But, of course! I am no longer going to deprive you of proper magical knowledge. We''ll certainly have to go over the basics and see where that takes us."


    Tessalla pauses in thought, guides a stay lock of dark hair over a horn, and runs her fingers along the keratinous swirl. "Um, also... I REALLY need someone to show me proper horn care. Father does OKAY... But, he really doesn''t know how to do it nice. And, my mother tries, but you know..."


    With a slow nod, Tassilda sighs sympathetically. "It takes someone with the horns to know how to deal with the horns."


    Tessalla recites a few phrases of a dialect of emin in agreement. Furrowing her brow, Tassilda twists her lips and gradually shakes her head. "We will need to work on your emin, too."


    She cracks an encouraging smile. "That was very close, though."


    The two share a giggling moment and calm silence. Tessalla tilts her head to the side and inquires, carefully. "Okay, um, not that I have a problem with everything that''s happened tonight- It''s been awesome so far. But..."


    Narrowing her inquisitive stare, she wrestles a grimace. "I''m just really curious as to... what... prompted... all of this?"


    Tassilda glances around momentarily, trying to hide her embarrassment, in vain, behind a bit of sarcasm. "Well. Of course, it''s all over a boy."


    Tessalla''s light blue on white eyes spring wide open and a grin of teenage glee appears on her face. "GO ON."


    Brushing back her raven black hair over a horn, Tassilda combats a surge of shyness. "Well, his name is Daedrican. He''s presently a junior paladin of the Chrome Crusaders."


    Sheer interest and intrigue draws in all of Tessalla''s attention. Tassilda pulls in a long breath and smiles. "He''s tall. Young, but not too young. Fit and quite muscular. A lovely shade of dark gray skin. Thick, black horns. Beautiful, flowing long silver hair."


    Soaking in the descriptive terms, Tessalla giggles. Tassilda surveys the mental image in her head. "Of course, high cheekbones and a square jaw. And, his eyes... A wonderful shade of gold... upon white."


    Caught up in the visualization, Tessalla smirks at the description and abruptly blinks. "Wait- What?"


    Tassilda grins slyly, attentively watching the video feed. "He''s quite the wonderful half-emin man."


    The view of Tessalla tumbles through her hands and around surroundings. With sounds of frantic handling, Tessalla fumbles her phone in shock. Muttering a few swears under her breath, Tessalla secures her aetherphone, the display centering on her face once again. "Okay. I''m laying on my bed, and I''ve got the phone against my pillow. SAY THAT AGAIN?!"


    Hiding her laughs of amusement behind her hand, Tassilda rolls her eyes at herself. "OH. You heard me. I''ll be happy to explain it all to you soon enough. To say the least, he''s gone well beyond any measure I had ever known to prove himself to me."


    Tessalla stares through the video feed and gradually nods. "Okay. You do have a picture of him, right?"


    Tassilda smiles smugly, nodding. "But, of course. Well, I''ll need to explain what all happened first before I send it to you. There''s quite the story behind it all."


    Twisting her mouth, Tessalla grumbles and sighs expectantly. "Okay. You have to tell me soon."


    She ponders in thought for a moment, gradually frowns, and gazes with concern towards Tassilda through the video feed. "Hey. I know this is probably none of my business, but... Um... Have you told your mother any of this yet?"


    Tassilda blinks blankly. Frowning slowly, she averts her eyes away from the screen of her aetherphone around the room. Working through a wince on her face, she uncertainly gazes at Tessalla''s face on the aetherphone display. "No."


    Tessalla nods slowly, expressing her growing worry. "Oh. I''m sorry. I probably shouldn''t have asked and-"


    Smiling warmly, Tassilda shakes her head with a foreboding sigh. "Oh. It''s fine. I just really haven''t gotten that far yet. And, I honestly don''t know what to do about her. That is going to be a far bigger problem in the future."


    She furrows her brow and wrestles a grimace. "BUT, well, I''ve got enough to concern myself with right now, at the moment."


    Tessalla smiles in commiseration and weakly shrugs her shoulders. "I wish I could help you there, big sister. That doesn''t sound like it''ll be easy."


    Exhaling out her anxiety, Tassilda shakes her head slowly. "It''s okay. I should be able to get a better idea on how to handle that soon enough. But, for now..."


    She smiles warmly to Tessalla on the aetherphone screen. "One thing at time, one day at a time."


    The sisters agree on the sentiment. Quickly, they move onto the subject of Daedrican and exchange knowledge in many sisterly topics as the minutes pass through the evening.

 Episode 58

    Dretphi lowers her head from gazing up at the white, fluffy clouds above in the blue sky, and smiles at Bach with a persuading hint in her voice. "I thought we could practice close quarters maneuvers. Weather is supposed to be bad Tuesday."


    Shifting her platinum blonde braids, she shrugs her shoulders slightly. "Take advantage now. Practice magic flow when we do not want to be outside."


    With blinks of thought, Bach glances around the immediate vicinity and scratches his head of longer, brown hair, guiding the lone white streak to a side. "Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess. The ground mat isn''t out here."


    He motions with a thumb towards the ranch style house. "Do you want me to go get it? I think I remember seeing it in your room against the wall."


    Shaking her head, Dretphi kneels down, picks up a well padded practice shield, and stands up with both hands holding it, a grin growing on her tan face. "No grappling. Punches. Kicks. With this shield. We will take turns."


    His stare widening, uncertainty leaks out, and Bach averts his eyes away, searching for a diversion in vain. Nervously chuckling, he struggles to present and maintain a nonchalant exterior. "Well... Uh... Maybe? I''m not that good at the whole close quarters thing... I''m sure you know..."


    The smile on Dretphi''s face wavers, and she gazes down towards the ground, lowering the shield down. "Yes. I know. We can start slow. Simple. Easy."


    Bach notices the shift in Dretphi''s body language and grimaces. "I guess. I, uh... I just don''t think I''d be the best one for this stuff."


    Smiling hopefully, Dretphi bites her lower lip with a shrug. "You are the best I have."


    Bach cocks his head to the side and puzzles at her statement. Dretphi sighs, fights back embarrassment, and briefly twists her mouth. "We have similar weight. Height. Strength potential. Sebastian helped before."


    Fighting against a frown, she exhales her disappointment. "He can not now. Cideeda tries. Too light. Aristespha helps. Have to be careful to not wear out our medic. Sotalia..."


    Both Bach and Dretphi make eye contact, ponder similar thoughts, and roll their eyes. With an understanding groan, Bach nods and snorts. "Yeah... I can just imagine how that would get a bit old after a while."


    Dretphi smirks and hides an impish flit of satisfaction. "When I tire of her... Hit the shield hard a few times. She stumbles. Wants to do other things."


    Chuckling, Bach shakes his head with an understanding sigh. "Yeah... You do have a point. Well, I''ll do what I can. But..."


    He musters up a smirk. "Just don''t expect that much."


    A bright smile appears on Dretphi''s face, and she lifts up the padded practice shield along with her spirits. "Thank you. I think I am the best to help you practice. You know how... resilient I am."


    Standing in front of Bach, she holds the shield up at the ready, waiting expectantly. "Go first. Punch. Try it out. Take it slow. Work on form."


    Bach glances over at the practice pad securely positioned by Dretphi, pausing in thought. He slowly changes his stance and readies himself. Carefully balling up his fists, Bach rolls his shoulders and breathes in preparation. Pulling back arm, he aims his posture and glances towards Dretphi for confirmation. Dretphi quickly releases one hand from the shield, demonstrates the proper form with her free arm, and motions towards Bach''s deficiencies. Studying a moment, Bach adjusts his raised fist and waits for Dretphi to return her hand to the shield. He tenses his muscles, drives his punch forward, and lands in the ample padding of the practice pad. Dretphi barely rocks from the meek force. Pulling back his hand, Bach readies himself again and glances over again for confirmation. Dretphi lifts a curious brow and nods quickly. "Punch. Hard."


    Bach narrows a stare at the middle of the practice shield, stretches his muscles, and flings another punch into the cushioned surface. He repeats the process many times and switches to his other hand. Dretphi studies each impact, watching the form of Bach''s punches. A number of punches later, her stare towards Bach spawns hints of annoyance. She examines the motion of each attack. With another few impacts, she steps back, stands up straight, and focuses her scrutinizing gaze upon Bach. "You are NOT punching hard. Why?"


    Gradually lowering his fist, Bach blinks blankly at the examination from Dretphi and fumbles for an answer. "Uh... Um... I... Well, I don''t want to hurt you?"


    Dretphi cracks a confident smirk, glances at the thick, ample cushioning of the practice shield, and places her hands on hips with subtle flexing of her muscular frame. "Appreciate the sentiment. I SHOULD be able to manage."


    Studying Dretphi''s imposing figure for seconds, Bach blinks back to awareness, sighs uneasily, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well... I''m just a bit hesitant to go full strength in attacking anyone really. Probably sounds really silly given our current line of work, but..."


    A warm smile appears on Dretphi, and she relaxes her posture. Holding the practice shield low in front of her with both hands, she nods understanding and calmly explains. "It is not. Restraint is admirable. A good quality."


    She steps forward, turns the shield around, and presents it to Bach. A eager grin sneaks out from the corner of her mouth, and she lifts her eyebrow, observing Bach. "You should not sacrifice potential from over restraint. This is practice. This shield will soften powerful impacts to a small force. Here."


    Bach takes hold of the shield. Dretphi gestures with both arms and demonstrates. "Hold it like this. Brace one foot back. Stand firm. Not stiff. Flex with the force."


    Nodding slowly, Bach grips hold of the practice pad by thick, well made straps, shifts his stance, and readies his upper body. Dretphi waits patiently. Bach presents the shield in front himself, cringing uneasily in anticipation. Quickly assuming a proper posture and maintaining her form, Dretphi targets the shield with her steely gray eyes, pulls back her tensed tan, faint gray striped arm, and launches a fast fist solidly into the cushioning of the practice shield. The force radiates through the outer fabric covering, and sends a shock wave of air rippling outwards from the center to outer vent holes. The whole shield pushes upon Bach and rocks him back smoothly. Following the force through, Bach bends back and returns forward with little effort. He blinks a few times in surprise, examines the padded shield closer, and smiles amazed. "Well shit... That wasn''t that bad at all. Just a general push backward, but nothing sharp or hard."


    Grinning eagerly, Dretphi excitedly pantomimes her fists at the ready. "Want to continue?"


    With a snort, Bach shrugs his shoulders and holds the practice shield to Dretphi, planting his feet back in preparation. "Well, yeah, sure. Hell, if that''s all I''ve got to worry about, I''ll be just fine."


    Dretphi unleashes series after flurries of punches into the cushioned pad, waiting for Bach to return to the ready with each volley. She motions for Bach to move the shield to another position, explains her intentions, and patiently waits, with a hint of an energetic squirm. Bach resets to a new direction and she performs a new series of physical attacks upon the practice pad. In between breaks, she showcases the maneuvers in careful and specific detail, and slows the process down to highlight motions to Bach. Minutes later, Dretphi wipes her forehead of sweat, rolls her muscular shoulders, and stands straight, holding her hand out. "Your turn. I will hold the shield."


    The two switch jobs. Bach cautiously attempts a series of punches, each repetition growing more forceful. Dretphi smiles encouragingly and utilizes the lulls in Bach''s flurries to point out areas of improvement. Rotating through a similar routine, Dretphi leads Bach through the set, changing the shield position for another type of attack. Bach keeps his pace with plenty of panting from the intensity of the work out. Minutes later, Bach flings forth a series of sloppy maneuvers under the influence of tired, heavy breathing. Dretphi steps back with a hand out. "Switch. That was good. This time, move the shield to a position away from the center. I will hit it. You choose a new spot when you feel like it. Repeat."


    Nodding, Bach takes the practice shield from Dretphi. He draws in a few deep breaths, trying to stem his panting, and rolls his shoulders. "Okay. Sounds good. I''ll see what I can do."


    With excitement springing, Dretphi flexes her built form, assumes a readied posture, and waits. Bach grips the padded shield with both hands and keeps it in the center. Watching Dretphi''s eager gaze upon the target, he quietly ponders a few moments, a smirk growing. He slides the practice shield in one direction and feels the impact. Quickly shifts back to the center, he chooses another spot and slides the shield over. Leading with a series of slow transitions, Bach speeds up the pace and varies where the next spot will be, breaking up patterns. Dretphi''s attention latches upon the developing game between her and Bach, and she smiles happily, the challenge continuing.


    From across the field behind the ranch style house, from the corner of the lot, a distant, still audible groan from Tassilda rises out of the natural background. "... Again... You must FIRST perform protective incantations BEFORE you do the other parts of the spell..."


    Veevi''s distinctively irritated whines peaks up into the airspace, very little traveling the distance remains coherent. Bach and Dretphi both pause and glance over in confusion. Listening a moment, both simultaneously roll their eyes. Bach shakes his head and smirks with a grumble. "Okay. A few more rounds, and let''s go inside for a bit."


    Nodding in agreement, Dretphi twists her mouth into a grimace, fighting tinges of frustration. "Yes. I like peace when I practice."


    The two resuming, Bach shifts the practice shield to a new position, and Dretphi tags it with a swift jab. Tassilda''s voice breaks out from the natural ambience into a shrill shout. "... What are- OH GODS! FIRE IT UP IN THE AIR! NOW!"


    A small bolt zips up into the sky, past the corner of the backyard. Bach lifts the practice pad up in front of him. Dretphi pushes forth her fist towards her target. A sharp, jarring crack suddenly concusses out. Bach startles, reflexively tensing his upper body, and snaps his eyes towards the source behind him. Dretphi briefly snaps her attention to the origin of the sound. Returning his gaze forward, Bach catches a glimpse of Dretphi''s fist approaching, the protective barrier lowered with his tensed arms. Dretphi flicks her gaze ahead and widens her steely gray eyes in fright. She loosens her tight fist, vainly wills her arm another direction, and curls her hand inwards, turning her body away. Against best efforts, momentum indiscriminately carries her forward. The back of her wrist plants solidly into Bach''s upper cheek, dragging rigidly across his nose. A wet, muffled snap sounds out. Bach''s head turns away from the impact, leading the rest of his body in a stumbling twirl. Dretphi lands on her side upon the ground. Reflexively, she puts her hands down and pushes herself, wincing sharply when her wrist bends. Back upon her feet, she rushes over to Bach. Still on his feet, Bach steadies himself in place between wobbles. Dretphi reaches out her hands to either side of his shoulders. "Are you okay?!"


    He pivots slowly in place and faces Dretphi, his blue eyes watering and red streaming out of a sharply bent nose. Snorting out a crimson spray from his nostrils, he blinks through his hazy vision with a pained, unsure tone. "Uh... Maybe? OW..."


    Paling in horror, Dretphi covers mouth in shock with her other hand and blurts direly apologetic phrases of Grath. She quickly places her free hand upon Bach''s back and gently guides him inside the house.


    ----


    Aristespha lifts an investigative eyebrow and narrows her glowing violet eyes towards Bach''s warped nose. Her medically gloved hands carefully guides Bach''s head around, both sitting in facing dining table chairs. A few more sways of Aristespha''s head later, she trains her attention upon the crooked ridge of Bach''s nose. Nodding with a neutral smirk, she hums thoughtfully and perks her ivory brow. "Certainly broken. But, it is nothing too serious. It seems to have fractured cleanly in a few locations."


    Narrowing her medically analytical stare, she smiles reassuringly. "Nothing that can not be fixed quickly."


    Cideeda passes another clean bundle of paper towels to Bach and plucks the red spotted mass of old sheets from him. Sotalia leans close and curiously stares at the swollen section of cheek and bent nose. Blinking in honest surprise, she glances over to Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. "Good gods, GIRL. What did he do to get THIS from you?"


    Dretphi snaps an unamused glare right back at Sotalia and gently rubs her wrist, standing away from the gathering. "NOTHING! It was... An accident..."


    Bach gradually nods, sniffs shallowly with a wince, and glances over to Sotalia. "Yeah. Some loud noise startled both of us at the worst time. I think it, um, came from the other team? At least the yelling from that direction sounded familiar."


    Frowning, Dretphi watches Bach explain and rolls her shoulders uncomfortably, keeping her gaze low. "Yes. Tassilda. Veevi."


    Cideeda twists her mouth in thought and rests her hands at her hips. Flicking her furry ears, she squints her emerald eyes through the glass of the back sliding door. "THAT explains where that noise I heard came from. Still don''t know what it was."


    Sotalia crosses her arms, rolls her golden eyes with a groan, and shakes her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "Gods. Probably yet another magical mishap from that annoying little shit not following instructions. Tassilda really needs to find a way to get out of teaching that pink bitch anything else."


    She pauses a moment and sighs. "As nice as it would be for her to blow herself up..."


    Swinging her gaze over the gathering, she groans. "She''d probably take all of us out doing so."


    Sebastian hovers next to Bach and cranes his head over with a smirk. "Damn, bro. Looks like quite the hit you took. Should be able to get you fixed up."


    His ethereal face winces. "But... GODS. THAT has to hurt."


    Bach manages a smile through discomfort and breathes out a laugh. "Yeah. But... I was at least still standing afterwards. Even if I stumbled around a few times. To be fair though, Dretphi pulled it as much as she could at the last second. Probably would have knocked me out cold otherwise."


    Dretphi''s shoulders tense, and she bites her lower lip. Averting her gaze, she tries to hide the growing embarrassment and shame building upon her tan face, guilt obviously seeping out into her body language. Aristespha sighs, adjusts her chair opposite of Bach, and stares with a professional demeanor at him. "Okay. Since it is very recent and clean, I can perform a very powerful series of spells to realign it all back into place. Then, I will fuse the bones and bind the softer tissues enough that it will secure everything. After that, a few alchemical treatments to aid the natural healing process."


    Bach nods in understanding, pads up a slow trickle of blood from under his nose, and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds pretty good."


    Aristespha draws in a long breath and sighs, gritting her teeth. "Unfortunately, due to the nature of the spells involved and how much focus and care they require..."


    She exhales into an uneasy grimace. "I can not afford any magical pain management during the process."


    Bach''s stare towards Aristespha slides quickly towards uneasiness, and he awkwardly smiles. "Well, uh, um... Any other options?"


    With a calm, proper demeanor, Aristespha explains the situation. "I can not use anything alchemical before the procedure, as it could cause interference. I can give you some mild pain relievers, but those will provide very limited relief and take time for your body to process. Ideally, we need to do this as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the longer it will take to properly align and fuse tissues together, as I will have to counteract more of the body''s natural reaction to this injury over time."


    She presents a reassuring smile and patient, calm exterior. "There are other options, but they will take significantly more time and effort to perform over the course of two weeks or so. It is fully up to you on how I proceed."


    Bach ponders quietly, his eyes searching his mind. Seconds of thought later, he sighs with a resigned grumble and rolls his blue eyes at himself. "Let''s just get it done now. And QUICK. We all got bigger things to deal with."


    Furrowing his brow, he smirks. "Shit, even I have better things to worry about."


    Aristespha nods with a slight, confirming bow. "Understood."


    Glancing over her shoulder, she signals Dretphi over. "Dretphi? Could you come over and hold the sides of Bach''s head."


    Dretphi blinks to attention, nods, and steps over behind Bach''s chair. Aristespha gazes with her glowing violet eyes at Bach and precisely gestures out an incantation. Readying her hands near Bach, she draws in a long breath and calmly explains. "I will be as gentle as I can when moving bones in place. Stay as relaxed as possible. Stay as still as possible. You will have some help there."


    She gazes up to Dretphi and motions to the sides of Bach''s head. "Just keep his head from reflexively turning away. It sometimes happens even when people are trying their best."


    Nodding slowly, Dretphi places both hands firmly, gently on either side of Bach''s head. Her wrist bends, and she subdues a wince. Bach eyes over to the side, feeling the subtle quiver of Dretphi''s hand. With hints of amusement, Aristespha smiles comfortingly and rests her gloved finger lightly upon Bach''s nose. "Well. Here is the glamorous part of my job they do not tell anyone."


    Each of her pinkie fingers slips into respective nostrils of Bach''s nose, and flows of magical energy stream through her hands into a radiant coating upon the nasal structures. Staring at Bach, she signals with a nod. Bach closes his eyes tightly. Aristespha concentrates her full focus and prepares. Seconds of study later, her fingers move swiftly and precisely. A wet series of muffled crunches spike into the air. Sotalia quickly covers her pointed ears, shuddering in full body wince, and wretches briefly, stepping away. Cideeda''s furry ears droop back, and she grits her sharp teeth, tensing her shoulders. Dretphi presents a stoic facade, barely hiding her discomfort, and gazes upon Bach concerned. Sebastian twists his mouth, uncomfortable familiarity washing over his ethereal visage. Bach staggers a gasp through his teeth. "G-g-gods... Fuck..."


    Aristespha keeps her attention upon the task and pauses briefly, updating Bach. "The bones and cartilage are back in place. Now to secure them to each other."


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    She smiles encouragingly. "Hang in there, Bach. You are doing really well."


    The energies surrounding and within Bach''s nose flash up to a bright prismatic glow. Bach opens his blue eyes wide in shock and painfully grimaces. His fists clench, forearm muscles tense, and he gasps in a breath of air. With a cringe, Dretphi secures Bach head in place against instinctive, reflexive motions to turn. The minutes pass by slowly for Bach and the group. Magical flows fade out quickly, and Aristespha gingerly removes her hands from Bach with a relieved smile. "It is done."


    Dretphi gently releases Bach from her hold. Swaying his head side to side in a momentary daze, Bach blinks back to clarity. Dretphi rests her hand upon Bach''s shoulder, steadying him in the chair. Bach sniffs up a long draw of air through his nose and flutters his blue eyes. "Wow! Just... Wow... Oh, holy shit..."


    With a weak smile, he glances at Aristespha briefly and laughs lightly. "So... Can I get something to help the natural healing process..."


    Gasping in a bit of air, he grimaces into a wince. "And, my sanity?"


    Aristespha grins in commiseration with a single nod, removes the thin, transparent medical gloves off her hands, and tosses them into a nearby trash can. "YES. Most certainly."


    She glances over to Sotalia with a smile. "Could you get me a vial from the latest batch of analgesics we made?"


    Sotalia confirms and departs quickly, occasionally shuddering and shaking it off mid stride. Bach pauses in a thought briefly and curiously glances up to Dretphi concerned. "Oh yeah... Um, how is your wrist? Now that I think about it... That''s what actually hit me. Not your fist."


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes widen, and she glances around in a thinly veiled facade of calm. "OH. It will be fine."


    Bach hoists an unconvinced eyebrow up on his light tan face and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "How is it, currently?"


    Embarrassment leaks out into Dretphi''s uneasy smirk with hints of guilt, and she sighs uncomfortably. Cideeda pulls out a chair from the nearby dining table, slides it over next to Bach''s, and motions Dretphi into it. Aristespha turns her chair to face the new seat. Sebastian smiles understandingly and shakes his head slowly. "It''s okay. Bach is fine. You''re next. Sit down, and let''s get it taken care of."


    Dretphi sides steps around, sitting down in the empty chair, and presents her aching wrist. Aristespha examines her injury. Dretphi turns her head towards Bach with a soft tone. "I am... VERY... sorry. I wanted the training to be fun. Not end like this."


    She frowns and exhales sadly. "I will understand if you are hesitant to participate in the future."


    Bach slowly angles his head and faces Dretphi. Shrugging his shoulders, he grins nonchalantly. "Ah. You don''t have to worry. As if I''m letting something like this stop me, especially at THIS point. It''s not like it''s the first injury I''ve gotten by accident from friends or family."


    A wave of relief washes over Dretphi, and she smiles warmly towards Bach. "Thank you."


    With a twist in his smirk, Bach groans. "Also... It''s not like I haven''t been in your position before."


    Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes and grumbles ethereally, crossing his arms. "No shit there, bro."


    Narrowing his glance briefly at Sebastian, Bach grins mischievously towards Dretphi and points generally to his front teeth. "For example, the points on two of Sebastian''s canines are... or were reforms."


    Snapping his glare upon Bach, Sebastian''s ethereal form tightens his arms, and he sneers. "WELL... MAYBE if SOMEONE had remembered to look for the pieces after he ACCIDENTALLY led me into that metal post... I wouldn''t have had to sit in that dentist chair for HOURS as they formed new ones!"


    Concentrating an accusatory glare at Sebastian, Bach mumbles loudly, flexing his wrist, and holds it with his other hand. "OH. Only fair after convincing me to jump THAT creek with my bike. Again, that cast up to my elbow was SO MUCH fun."


    Sebastian''s expression blanks, and his eyes search around the area, avoiding Bach''s glare. "Uh... Well... In all fairness, bro, I kind of thought you''d make it."


    Pausing in thought, he awkwardly smirks. "And, you did... But... I just didn''t know that rock would catch your front wheel like that on the other side."


    The brothers continue to dig up old sibling battle wounds. Aristespha rolls her glowing violet eyes and smirks towards Dretphi, inspecting her wrist further. Dretphi leans close to Aristespha and smiles, whispering. "Reminds me of my two brothers."


    Quirking her brow, Aristespha responds in a similarly quiet manner, directing her quiet voice at Dretphi. "Including the accidents?"


    With a slight grumble, Dretphi curls her upper lip slightly and nods slowly. "Unfortunately."


    ----


    A bright orb of light hovers above Meredosia''s palm, and she swings it slowly around. The light casts a few meters upon the floor of the massive, cavernous, and dark space. Walking carefully ahead, she shines the illumination upon large industrial machinery and golem parts at many stages of construction. Speckles reflect from surrounding stone, glints flicker from scattered metal, and light diffuses through embedded crystals in the area. Meredosia narrows her dark crimson eyes and peers out into the shadowy space at the perimeter of her light and snaps her stare down upon the floor. Kneeling down, she pulls her gray hair out of the way and over a long, pointed ear. She cocks her head in a mix of curiosity and worry, her ivory fingers tracing out unfamiliar, recent footprints in the dirt and dust on the ground. She lifts her head up, stares ahead determined, and stands up with a growing sneer.


    Meredosia maintains a cautious pace, keeping her attention forward towards the tunnel archway past the small building within the gigantic, dark cave. Her gaze shifts briefly towards the wrecked interior of the structure and strewn debris sprawled out in front of its entryway. Squinting through the dim outer edge of her light, she speeds up her pace towards the huge tunnel archway. Stopping momentarily, she studies the disturbances in the dust upon the smooth stone floor. Her hard stare follows five distinct, recent trails upon older tracks matching the outlines of her boots. She closes her eyes, remaining silent. Only the faint sounds of air flowing contrast the eerie silence, her very long, pointed ears twitching. Her eyes open up with a dark crimson glow radiating out.


    Each of Meredosia''s steps propel her forward at an increasing pace down the tunnel leading to the barely ajar, massive double doors at the end. She grits her teeth and grimaces, concern, dread, and anger mixing upon her ivory face. Quickly slipping through the gap between the doors, she stands upon the dimly lit stone path surrounding a deep, dark pit. She snaps her head to either side and searches the immediate routes down the walkways, focusing her attention to the crystal embedded cave ceiling overhead. Puzzlement overwhelms her, and she mutters a series of confused Evuukian phrases, her expectations remaining unsatisfied. Blinking her glowing crimson eyes, she returns her gaze forward towards the platform. Her jaw drops open. Her eyes widen in absolute horror. She silently gawks blankly at the partially collapsed central platform. A few squeaks of disbelief escape her lungs, and she recognizes the few scattered and strewn parts of the dire wolf golem, draped precariously upon the ruined structure.


    Stepping slowly and staggering, she yells out a single word in a dialect of evuukian, and the light orb in her palm dissipates in sudden puff of miasma. Her astonished gawk searches vainly between the devastated mechanical corpse of the dire wolf construct and the torched, tipped central platform. Her attempts at speaking start and stumble to abrupt halts, comprehension evading Meredosia entirely. Horror filling her face, she curls her fingers in her gray hair. Seconds later, her ivory face reddens deeply, and she throws out her arms down in a pained scream of rage. She gasps for air, panting unsteadily, and tenses her whole body. Enraged words shriek from her mouth, each new phrase leaving her with surging levels of spite and hate. She stomps down the walkway towards a twisted central access ramp, diverts from her course, and stops to scream out a single name. "NOXIAN!!!"


    Meredosia''s bright crimson gaze locks onto an old crate, and she sends a clenched fist into the ancient wood. Pulling out her hand, she kicks another box with all her might and sends dry rotted splinters into the air. Her fury wanes with each outburst, and she drops to her knees. Tears stream from Meredosia''s eyes with each wet, angry sob and spatter upon the dusty, carved rock walkway. Doubling over at the mercy of her emotions, she slams her fists upon the hard path, punctuating each charged evuukian word leaving her lungs. Her vigor leaves, and she collapses fully onto the floor into a panting, shaky pile. Minutes pass, and her exhaustion leads her to silence in the massive crystal cave. Over time, her breathing returns to normal, and she gathers some semblance of composure. She gets her arms underneath her and gradually rights herself up into a seat upon the cold stone walkway. Meredosia releases a long sigh and stares distantly, her attention well within her own mind. Her blank gaze wanders aimlessly around her vicinity, and a gradual flow of air flutters a pile of debris nearby. Meredosia''s long ears twitch, and she slowly pivots her stare upon a few recent, medical supply wrappers. Reaching out, she plucks the paper off the ground and puzzles over the writing. In a confused daze, she reads the ink stamped writing next to the printed text out loud. "... Sold at Amaranth Valley General Pharmacy..."


    She tilts her head to the side and ponders the torn wrapper in her hands, idle silence returning to the crystal speckled cave. Narrowing her stare upon the printed font, her ivory fingers feel the torn paper wrapper. Her gaze drifts off into her mind, and the faint flow of air from the massive pit drifts around her, fluttering the stray strands of her long, gray hair around her very long, pointed ears. Shaking out of her stupor, she carefully sweeps up other bits of fresh trash and examines them closely. Sparks of determination filling her face, she carefully stows away the evidence into a pouch. Furrowing her brow, Meredosia manages to get footing beneath her and stands up, brushing off the dust and dirt from her nature themed outfit.


    She draws in long deep breaths, wrestles the swirling emotions off her face, and surveys the massive crystal cavern. Tightening her fists, she summons up her resolve into a scowling sneer and hisses out through gritting teeth.


    ----


    Veevi dons a determined grimace, hoists up her wooden practice sword with both hands, and side steps in a circle around Trakenthin. After a few meters, she stops, the wind blowing locks of her pink hair in her face. Keeping her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin and hands on the sword, she tosses her hair back, tenses her muscles, and grits her sharp teeth. A moment of silence falls upon the back lot of the two story house, with only the bored, annoyed sigh from Trakenthin contrasting the quiet. Veevi digs her feet into the grass, charges forth towards Trakenthin, and swings for an open spot upon the tall, large grath. Trakenthin watches halfheartedly, waiting for Veevi to get within a meter, and swiftly swings the mop handle. With a slight shift in his stance, Trakenthin parries Veevi''s attack, redirects her momentum, and lightly presses the pole in the exact spot, throwing her off balance. Veevi yips in surprise, her shoulders tipping past her center of gravity, and flops awkwardly onto the ground. Her fuzzy ears flick around, and her short-haired tail wags with her agitation. Lifting up her head from ground, she draws back her hair from her face and spits out a few blades of grass.


    Trakenthin glances down at the half-fvalian annoyed and maintains his stoic front. Veevi hops up to her feet, brushes off her tight fitting shirt and shorts, and readies her practice sword again. She ponders a few moments, changes up her pose, and switches up her grip upon the sword. Circling around the stationary grath a number of times, she sprints suddenly at Trakenthin. Her attack swings to another perceived opening. Trakenthin deftly handles the sloppy attempt upon him and guides Veevi back onto the ground with minimal effort with the mop handle. The cycle repeats, Veevi rotates through variations of attacks, approaches, and methods. Each meets a similar minimal effort counter from Trakenthin. Veevi flops on the ground and remains upon the grass, panting.


    She grumbles to herself, lowering her fuzzy, pointed ears, and pulls up a handful of grass, frustration flaring up on her tan face. Working the grimace off, she narrows her eyes in thought, glances over to Trakenthin, and smirks slightly. Switching to a lighter expression, she sits herself up on the ground and catches her breath. Trakenthin quirks a curious brow with a hint of hope coloring his tone. "Finished?"


    With a flutter of her eyes, Veevi presents a cute smile. "Oh. No. Just taking a break. Having to spar with such a big, tall, powerful warrior is a bit tiring."


    Trakenthin twitches his upper lip and rolls his hazel eyes with a long, tired sigh. "Whenever you are ready."


    Veevi smiles slyly, props herself up with her arms behind her, and arches her back in long, figure revealing stretch. She extends her legs out, gradually flexing her form, and works herself into a near side split upon the ground. Donning a seductive, sharp grin, she gazes towards Trakenthin. Her facade falters, and she notices Trakenthin''s attention poring through paragraphs of text on his aetherphone. With a sneering frown, Veevi sits up, folds her legs, and crosses her arms, petulantly pouting. Her glare examines Trakenthin and settles upon the many faded spots and scars upon his dark bronze arms and legs. Veevi smiles sharply and lifts an intrigued dark pink eyebrow. "You seem like such an amazing fighter. You''ve certainly shown me your... impressive skill. But, I have to ask, where did you get all those scars?"


    Hazel eyes springing wide open briefly, Trakenthin maintains a calm, stoic exterior. Veevi stares blatantly at Trakenthin, rests her head upon her hands, and grins with a seductive tone. "Hmm. I can barely imagine the amazing battles you must have been through."


    Trakenthin''s cheek twitches, and a frown lightly weighs down the corners of his mouth. With a soft, alluring tone, Veevi sways with her tail and bites her lip. "After all you''ve shown me, I find it amazing that ANYONE got even a chance to put a scratch on you."


    Fighting a curl of his upper lip, Trakenthin lifts his gaze up from his phone and stares ahead with a distinctly unamused tint. "My scars came from no battles."


    Veevi blinks surprised and presents an impressed smile. She slides gradually along the grass towards Trakenthin, keeping her gaze upon him. "WELL. That''s interesting. Would you tell me how you got them? I''m sure each has a story...


    Furrowing her brow, she wanders her stare. "I''m especially interested in the ones that..."


    She sharpens a smirk. "I can''t see right now."


    A wave of discomfort washes over Trakenthin, cracking his stoic demeanor, and he stares distantly ahead. Moments into his mind, he shudders, shakes his head briefly, and plainly states. "No good stories. Came from training. Long time ago."


    Cocking her head to the side, Veevi genuinely blinks surprised. She halts her stealthy approach towards Trakenthin, mustering up her seductive demeanor, and dons a sly grin. Reaching out, she moves her hand near Trakenthin''s leg and hovers a finger over a faded scar on Trakenthin''s thigh. "Wow. That had to be some serious... INTENSE... training. It certainly made you quite the tough, strong man."


    Tension surges up in Trakenthin''s shoulders, and he grimaces. Shaking his head with a cringe, he quickly regains awareness. His cold, irritated stare aims down at Veevi, and he snarls his upper lip. With loud snort, he raises the mop handle above Veevi and growls lowly. "DODGE."


    Before touching Trakenthin, Veevi glances up bewildered. "Wha-"


    Her pink pupils shrink, her eyes widen in terror, and she witnesses the tensing muscular arms of Trakenthin, mop handle at the ready. Reflexively cowering backwards onto the ground, she crosses her arms in front of her face, shielding herself. Watching her squirm awkwardly away, Trakenthin narrows his glare upon her and rolls his hazel eyes. He relaxes his arm, sighs out his anxiety, and regains his stoic facade. "Pay attention. Keep your weapon with you."


    Veevi peeks out through uncrossing arms, nods her head, and turns, grabbing her practice sword. Facing away from Trakenthin, a satisfied, sinister smile creeps upon her lips. She quickly hops up on her feet and pivots towards Trakenthin with her sword ready and a confident grin upon her face.


    ----


    On the floor in the middle of the garage, Aristespha and Bach sit cross legged upon folded towels. Sotalia touches up the complicated magical markings encircling Aristespha and Bach, draws a few paths near her with a fine tipped piece of chalk, and glances over, reading from an open tome. Sebastian hovers overhead, floats down, and lands next to Dretphi. Patiently waiting and observantly watching, Dretphi stands at the ready with the sword in its scabbard just outside the circle. Cideeda adjusts an electronic camera on a tripod a few meters away and leads a cable up to the holoplayer resting on a workbench near the corner of the garage. Bach surveys the activity around the room, slowly squirming in discomfort, and grumbles lightly. "I know a lot of this is precautionary and for information purposes..."


    Wrestling a frown down, he softly huffs. "But, I really can''t shake the feeling I''m some kind of dangerous science experiment about to go wrong."


    Aristespha presents a comforting smile to Bach and nods calmly. "I know. You are not the only one. I think we have all seen those movies. Still, if you do not feel comfortable with doing this, we should be able to try it another time."


    Shrugging her shoulders with her clawed hands upwards at her side, Cideeda smirks nonchalantly. "Yeah, it''s not like we park anything big in this garage. We can keep the monitoring equipment set up for a while."


    Sotalia glances up from the thick, large book, and smiles with a kind tone. "Don''t worry. We''ll work with whatever is comfortable for you."


    Resuming her examination of the detailed information in the tome, she slowly turns to the page with great interest. Bach twists his mouth, deliberating, and shakes his head with a smile. "No, it''s okay. I NEED to do this. Well, at least start figuring out what..."


    He furrows his brow. "I can actually do..."


    Sighing, he rocks his head gradually side to side in a stretch and straightens his posture. "With everything going on... The golem attack... Whatever crazy shit Meredosia is trying to do..."


    He squints at a memory. "Finding all those Elder energy collection platforms, especially at that hidden factory. And, well, Noxian in general. I..."


    Drawing in a long breath, he exhales with a faint slouch. "I really just need to stop putting off exploring this more."


    Sebastian nods at Bach with a proud grin on his ethereal face and appreciative tone. "Hey, bro. We''ll do what we can at whatever pace you choose. Don''t think I don''t understand the fact you''re putting yourself at risk here."


    Bach smiles, eases in a lungful of air, and vents out his nerves. "Thanks. Yeah... Okay... I guess I''ll try to draw out a small orb of it. A very little one."


    Aristespha nods, blinks her eyes to a glowing violet, and prepares herself. "That would be a good place to start. After I prepare a few protective measures and Sotalia charges the circle, you can begin."


    She carefully recites a long chain of incantations, precisely gestures out a series of complicated motions with her hands, and concentrates upon Bach. Sotalia places her hands upon the intricate lines leading to the encircling runes around Bach and Aristespha. Magical flows swirl gently around her forearms and sink into the paths upon the concrete floor. A faint glow radiates throughout the protective circle, gradually pulsating idly. Bach glances around at all the activity and notices Cideeda pressing a record button and Dretphi gripping the sword tightly. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, and reopens them to a bright blue. Magical energy from all parts of his body flows out and condenses into complicated structures around his arms and upper body. Layers upon layers materialize from the magical miasma venting forth from Bach. Minutes later, Bach carefully pulls in a nervous, wary breath, and slowly exhales, mustering his focus. Lifting his hands close in front of him, he directs his full concentration towards a space between his palms. Remaining silent, everyone''s attention settles upon the point. The growing tension causes minor shakes, twitches, and shudders across Bach''s body. Gritting his teeth with a pained grimace, tiny pinpoints of white shine in the middle of Bach''s brightly blue, illuminated eyes. The sword vibrates in Dretphi''s secure grip, and Sebastian''s ethereal form wavers and flickers.


    "NEW FLOW DETECTED. FROM FAMILIAR SOURCE."


    Hands trembling constantly, Bach''s face wears a constant wince, and his breathing staggers. He brings his hands closer, struggles to will something out from within. Punishing moments later, faint threads of white drift out from Bach and travel within the encapsulating confines of the magical constructs around his arms. The flows dissipate into a mist near Bach''s hands and condense gradually into a bright white point between his palms. Swirling miasma gathers slowly onto the tiny, hovering orb. With each minute, the ball of Elder energy solidifies larger from the cloud of magic vapor around it.


    The threads of flow fade off completely. The final traces of energy haze collapses upon the brilliant white orb. Bach''s tense muscles relax slightly, visible pain lessens from his form, and relief sounds out in each of his breaths. The dimmer blue glow in his eyes seals away the bright white. Bracing his arms upon his knees by his elbows, he shifts his hands underneath and cradles the tiny ball of Elder energy. Aristespha studies the orb in absolute, pure fascination. Sotalia gawks in utter, sheer awe. Cideeda stares in astonishment, occasionally switching her attention to the holoplayer''s unsteady holographic display. Dretphi gazes upon Bach with concern, noticing a shift in his body language.


    Aristespha blinks back to awareness, glances ahead to the exhaustion quickly overtaking Bach, and motions towards the sword. Dretphi promptly drops down next the containment circle and brings the sword close to the small white orb across the perimeter. Aristespha carefully steadies Bach by his shoulders and watches wisps of energy peel clear from the ball into the sword. Sebastian''s visage warps, and he furrows his brow, searching his own sensations. The sword vacuums up the last of Elder energy in seconds. Inspecting the vicinity with her glowing violet eyes, Aristespha calls out. "All clear. The sword absorbed it all."


    Bach''s head sways back, and the rest of his upper body rocks with the motion. Sotalia and Dretphi move in, and each steady one of Bach''s shoulders. Aristespha lifts her hand up and signals. Cideeda steps over swiftly with a medical kit at the ready. Consciousness surges up in Bach. He shudders back awake and balances himself. Rubbing his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of his nose, he winces briefly and removes his hand from a tender spot. Glancing around, he blinks off his daze and sighs in relief. "I''m okay. I think? Gods... It''s so weird. The second I stop flowing..."


    He shudders briefly and flutters his blue eyes. "It just hits FULL FORCE."


    With Aristespha performing a routine inspection, Bach wanders his attention around the rest of the group and inquires. "Um... Have to ask. Uh, but, what did you all see and feel? Kind of curious, since I haven''t had anyone else around in such a controlled environment."


    Aristespha twists her mouth and sighs uncertainly, slowly shaking her head. "It is hard to describe. I will need some time to think through it all."


    Sotalia gently rubs Bach''s back and presents a comforting smile. "Well, it felt oddly similar... BUT, noticeably different from Noxian''s use."


    Bach nods in between deep, long breaths. Sebastian hovers close to Bach and deliberates. "Well, from what I''ve felt so far while in this sword, THAT was a very small amount that got sucked in."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda sighs with an unsatisfied smirk, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "Wish I had something to add. But, the readings were EVERYWHERE. Still, the video looks like it recorded something. We''ll just see how good it was later."


    Aristespha frowns and slowly shakes her head. "I apologize I cannot be any clearer at the moment. I just... can''t... think of the right words, at the moment."


    Bach snorts and chuckles weakly. "Ah, it''s okay. I''ve been dealing with this for far longer, and I have less information to say about it."


    Standing up from her seat on the garage floor, Aristespha nods in agreement, donning a hopeful tone. "It was just a first attempt. And, I, of all people, should know better than to expect all the answers from the first trial. When you want to try again, let us know. I think this process worked well."


    Bach sighs out his relief and lifts himself up with help from Dretphi and Sotalia. "Yeah. Uh, thanks for the assistance, everyone. I''m up for another go..."


    Pausing in thought, he wobbles between the support from Dretphi and Sotalia. "In the near future, probably."


    Gently patting Bach''s back, Dretphi surveys the team. "Dinner?"


    The group agrees and departs through the door leading inside to the kitchen.

 Episode 59

    Slipping between the drawn curtains of the front windows, the warm glow of morning light radiates into the open joined living and dining room and softly spreads upon the worn wooden floors. With his sleek cybernetic hand, Thomas grasps his mug of black coffee and slowly enjoys a long sip, easing the morning stiffness out of his back with a gentle arc. Gazing down at the small dining table, Kaleb calmly grabs hold of his cup of equally dark brew and pours it back into his mouth. His confident smirk curls downwards into a straining grimace upon sun-tanned face, and his nonchalant facade cracks at the edges. Lifting an amused gray eyebrow, Thomas snorts with a humored chuckle. "Hey. You should really stop trying to force yourself to drink the coffee black, if you don''t like it that way."


    He casually browses through the assortment of collected sweetener packets and array of gathered creamer pods in the bowl on the center of the tabletop. "I mean... You have nice things to put in coffee here. I often just didn''t when I was out."


    Shadeesa brushes her dark green hair over one of her upward swept horns and narrows her green on black eyes at Kaleb. Sighing in resignation, she rolls her eyes towards Thomas with a dismissive shake of her head. "Gods. I keep telling him THAT. And, it''s not like I don''t put plenty in his travel pack."


    Reaching out, she spins out a glass mason around and showcases the hand made label towards Thomas, tapping the loose metal lid with a long, black nail. "We even have a wonderful jar of honey we got from one of the farmers at the market. Absolutely amazing in just about everything."


    Thomas''s interest piques, and he curiously tilts his head to the side. "OH. I might try some, then. What type of honey is it?"


    Gazing down into her mug of milky tan coffee, Shadeesa smiles and idly wraps her hands around the warm brew. "Protellow. Mostly. If I remember right, she mentioned keeping a field of protellows going in a field in the middle of a large area of forest her family owns. I think it was somewhere on the outskirts of Amaranth Valley?"


    A chuckle escapes Thomas, and he slowly shakes his head, his blue eyes sifting through memories. "AH. Which usually means they found an established patch and decided to not throw their money away in trying to remove it. Good gods. All the ways my dad and I have tried to clear out stray protellow plants. Ridiculously stubborn and resilient things."


    Grinning brightly, Kaleb laughs and bows his head briefly with a memory popping up to the front of mind. "Oh, YEAH! Hey. Have you ever told Shadeesa about that one time you and your dad tried to use dynamite on one?"


    Thomas sighs out old embarrassment and grits his teeth, rolling his cybernetic shoulders. He glances over towards Shadeesa, lifting a curious eyebrow. "I don''t actually know. Have I told you this story?"


    Puzzling, he studies Shadeesa''s flexing grip upon her cup of half-empty coffee. Watching the nervous tension in Shadeesa body language, Kaleb notices her distant downwards stare. He wraps his arm around her and gently rubs her shoulder with a calm, concerned tone. "Hey, you okay?"


    Shadeesa blinks back to awareness, glances around with hints of embarrassment upon her light gray, white freckled face, and settles her loving gaze upon Kaleb. "OH. Yes. I''m just a little nervous about seeing a patient here today."


    Thomas nods understandingly and smiles kindly with a reassuring tone. "You''ll do fine. From what you''ve said, it just sounds like someone needs a professional to do a check up and provide a proper opinion. Both you can provide, and then some. You got this."


    With a long sigh, Shadeesa gradually nods in agreement and twists her mouth, hints of dissatisfaction apparent. "I know. It''s just... I really wanted to have all the right things in a nice, professional looking place before people brought their pets here. Going on house calls to farms is one thing..."


    Wrestling a flit of unease, she groans, straightening her back against the chair. "But... Coming here..."


    Kaleb turns his head of short, blonde hair towards Shadeesa and gives her a quick peck on her cheek. "All in a good time. You need to start somewhere. And, while it could be better. THIS isn''t a bad start."


    Shadeesa grumbles lightly and smiles with affection at Kaleb. "I know... I know..."


    Taking a long gulp of his black coffee, Thomas shrugs his artificial shoulders and smirks humored. "I learned to ride pseudo-dragons in packed mud arenas. If your day doesn''t involve getting repeatedly bucked off into a fresh pile, I think you''re doing just fine."


    A strong breeze blows through the back door screen and drives a draft of air through the living space to the cracked open front windows with a faint whistle. Watching the indoor potted plants sway gently with the wind, Kaleb angles his stare towards the horizon through both outside views, leaning slightly in his chair. He squints towards the dimmer light from the back door and darkening horizon. "Damn. Well, I see that storm they''ve been talking about is getting pretty close."


    Thomas nods slowly and sighs with a trailing grumble, tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah... Been keeping an eye on that one. Gods. I just hope it doesn''t cause too much chaos on the roadways. I really need to head back to High Alton, since Albert should be back in a few days."


    Brushing stray strands of her dark green hair back, Shadeesa smiles happily at Thomas. "Well. It''s been wonderful to have you here. Lagi will certainly miss having his grandfather around."


    With a smirk, Kaleb laughs, nodding. "Yeah, really hate to see you go. BUT... I guess you need to get up there and get the place back together for Albert."


    A humored snort later, Thomas rolls his blue eyes at himself and holds his hands out to the sides with a shrug of his cybernetic shoulders. "Well... Back together might be asking..."


    He casually grits his teeth briefly and sighs. "A bit much. I''m just hoping for cleaning up enough before we start the next PROJECT."


    Grinning slyly to the couple across the table, he slightly leans his muscular frame forward and winks with a chuckle. "BUT... If you two are still willing to host, I''m certain after we tear up half the house..."


    He draws in a long breath. "We might NEED a break from the chaos. Just to remind ourselves what a nice home is supposed to look like."


    With a bright smile, Shadeesa nods, relaxing her posture, and settles to a calmer grip on her coffee mug. "Oh, thank you. Whenever you and Albert want to visit, just let us know. You are always welcome here."


    Kaleb thinks for a moment and turns to face Shadeesa. "I''m all for it. And, we could invite Bach, Sebastian, and everyone else down here for the day, too. Get everyone together again."


    Craning his black and blue scaled, white plate armored head close to the back screen door, Lagi searches inside with his bright green eyes and spots the three at the table. With a purposeful pattern, he weaves together a series of whirs, clicks, purrs, and whines, pantomiming his front claws towards the other side of the house. Kaleb peeks out a large front window, watching an old pickup truck roll up the long, gravel driveway. "You are right, Lagi. Thank you."


    Lagi nods in confirmation and disappears from view of the back door. Thomas perks his brow and curiously gazes between Kaleb and Shadeesa. "By the way, has Lagi been able to vocalize any words? I''ve been curious if he''s picked up anything, since Nachta had a decent vocabulary... Well..."


    Narrowing his gaze off to the side, he pauses a moment and lifts an eyebrow with a smirk. "When she felt like using it."


    Kaleb thinks for a moment and nods slowly, twisting his mouth in contemplation. "He''s getting a lot better with practice. But, he''s still not comfortable with words still. We''ve been trying to push him to speaking, but we don''t want to force him."


    The truck gets closer to the house, and Kaleb squeezes Shadeesa gently with his arm wrapped around her, smiling lovingly. "Time to be professional."


    Blinking to attention, Shadeesa swiftly pours her coffee down her mouth, swallows hard, and scoots her chair back. She stands up with the cautionary assistance of Kaleb, brushes her apron off, and adjusts her clothing as best as she can manage around her pregnant figure. "Gods. I''m glad these scrub pants have a forgiving elastic waistband."


    She walks towards the side door of the house, picking up standard diagnostic equipment along the way, and adorns herself to professional veterinarian expectation. Kaleb and Thomas walk from the table, and Kaleb glances over to Thomas. "But, Lagi seems to understand Americ just fine, and he''s actually been picking up a lot of Emin dialects from Shadeesa. He just prefers to respond in that dragon language you taught him when he was young."


    Scratching his chin of stubble, Thomas ponders for a few seconds and ponders out loud. "Well, that does make sense. The language was designed to use easy sounds that most large dragons can, and it''s based on a lot of sounds they''ve been known to make when communicating out in the wild."


    He twists his mouth in contemplation and crosses his sleek cybernetic arms. "BUT, if you can... You should really get him speaking Americ regularly. His voice box should be capable enough with some practice."


    Kaleb slowly nods in agreement and glances out a nearby window, humming in thought. "Yeah... Definitely on the agenda for him."


    Sighing, Shadeesa rolls the tension out of her shoulders and glances behind her. "I''ve been thinking of a way to magically help Lagi vocalize words... But, it''s still a theory. Still, he should start practicing more."


    The darkening sky catches Kaleb''s attention through a window, and he sneers his upper lip apprehensively. "MAN, that storm must be closing in QUICK. You want to get your bike covered up and under the carport?"


    Squinting towards the horizon out the same window, Thomas grits his teeth with a tinge of concern and grimaces. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. It takes FOREVER for the seat to dry out when any water soaks into it."


    He glances over to Kaleb and smirks. "Really makes for some awkward looks from people when you make a pit stop at a station."


    Snorting, Kaleb furrows his brow and cocks his head at Thomas'' imposing frame. "Has anyone ever said anything to YOU?"


    Blinking in thought, Thomas slowly nods and twists his grimace. "Yeah... Little old ladies, mostly. Absolutely fearless, I swear."


    Standing at the side door to the house, Shadeesa listens to truck doors opening and closing and draws a long, calming breath in. She opens the door in, gently swings out the storm door, and presents a welcoming smile to her clients and patient. "Hello. I''m Veterinarian Serania. I assume you are Mr. Frenzacia?"


    The middle aged emin man nods his head and laughs. "I would hope so, else I''ve been paying some other guy''s bills for way too long."


    A bit of tension fades away from Shadeesa''s posture, she turns her attention to the young teen-aged girl next to Mr. Frenzacia. Pausing a moment to decipher the girl''s appearance, she presents a happy smile. "You must be Fawna."


    Fawna''s long, pointy ear tips behind her head sway in the gust of wind, and her very long, silvery, red tinted hair blows around. She contorts her face in frustration, attempting to toss her head around, and slings stray locks off her horns. She settles to gazing up through a few strands towards Shadeesa with one blue on white eye and one blue on black eye. "Um, yes. Sorry. Uh, the wind."


    Mr. Frenzacia rolls his red on black eyes and swiftly assists guiding hair tinted similar as his own off of curled horns familiar to his. Briefly turning to let the wind blow her hair past her horns, Shadeesa sighs understandingly and slides her gaze down to the creature supported in both of Fawna''s arms. "Oh, don''t worry. We''ll be inside soon enough. I just need to check a few things out here first with your whelp, Varan..."


    Blinking surprised, she puzzles at the large whelp hanging calmly in Fawna''s arms. The huge, pot bellied creature sits upright against Fawna''s torso, lower feet upon on an arm, and upper clawed paws idly flexing gently on Fawna''s other higher up arm. Varan aims his calm, attentive gaze up to Shadeesa, tilting his head to the side curiously. Seconds later, Varan glances his aqua eyes up to Fawna and softly chirps out a few purposeful tones. Fawna kisses the top of Varan''s amber head and smiles warmly at him. "It''s okay. She''s going to see why you''ve grown so big and your wings haven''t yet."


    Varan blinks to a long, thoughtful pause, purrs out a confirmation, and studies Shadeesa with the same calm, attentive aqua eyes. Shadeesa''s stare widens in a mix of fascination and bewilderment, and she tilts her head back in thought. Kaleb exits the side door and holds it open for Thomas. Kaleb and Thomas give a friendly wave to the father and daughter, granting Shadeesa distance to perform her work. They both approach the motorcycle off to the side of the carport. Near the bike, Kaleb glances over to the gathering and halts mid way through moving a nearby tarp. Fully noticing the huge whelp in the teenager''s arms, he tilts his head side to side. He shakes off his surprise and chuckles with an awkward smile to Thomas. "WOW. That has to be the biggest whelp I''ve ever seen. Gods, I know a few breeds got BIG, but..."


    Furrowing his sun-tanned brow, he narrows his stare, contending with a surge of familiarity on his face. "I mean... He looks just like how Lagi did... When he was really young..."


    Thomas stops in place, hearing Kaleb''s voice trail off. Glancing over, he watches faint recognition dawn upon Kaleb, pivots around, and gazes over at the whelp. Sensing the new attention from others, Varan cranes his head over and faces Thomas and watches him, glints of curiosity sparking in his eyes. Thomas cocks his head of short, silvery gray back, visually scrutinizing the creature. Varan blinks, tilts his head side to side, and thoughtfully pauses a moment. Focusing upon Thomas, he chirps out a purposeful series of tones and waits patiently, anticipating a response.


    Thomas eyes widen in genuine surprise, nods with fascinated grin, and whispers to Kaleb. "THAT is NOT a whelp."


    ----


    Narrowing her golden eyes, Sotalia stares out into the darkening gray horizon through the sliding glass door in the living room. Frustration growing, she taps her foot, swaying her hips with the unease, and crosses her arms. Sparse, occasional drops of rain splatter on the glass. An irritated groan slips out, and she retrieves her aetherphone out of her yoga pants pocket, flipping through the menus. "Gods, it''s just getting worse out there by the minute."


    Shrugging her shoulders under her plain shirt, she pivots around on the ball of foot and walks with a dissatisfied hum. "Oh well. I was hoping for even a small window to do some magic practice. But, I guess that''s just not going to happen today."


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes, glancing away from the gathering at the dining table, and smirks amused at Sotalia. "You can still practice quite a variety of magic indoors."


    Sotalia cracks a humored grin and lifts an amused brow. "Oh? Well..."


    Flashing an impish smile, she softly giggles to herself. "Not the type I wanted to practice."


    She pauses a moment and lifts an instigating eyebrow at Aristespha. "UNLESS, you think we can get away with throwing bolts and streams out the back window from inside this house?"


    Shaking her head firmly, Aristespha groans her gaze away from Sotalia and back to the tablet on the table in front of her. "NO. I distinctly remember a SIGNIFICANT section of the lease paperwork from the landlord detailing extensive restrictions about magic use. To be frank and honest, we are already pushing it to the very limits of the wording."


    She narrows a violet glare at Sotalia and vaguely snarls her upper lip. "If at all possible, I would very much like to recover some of our sizable security deposit in the future."


    Leaning forward on the table, Dretphi studies the dark gray cast upon the outside world past the back glass door, frowning slightly. "It was predicted the storm would be bad tomorrow, Tuesday. It is Monday. This much is already here."


    With emerald green eyes analyzing the frames of a radar animation, Cideeda slides a clawed finger on the screen and watches the historical progression of the storm on her aetherphone. "Yeah... This one could be really BAD. It looks like it brushed against the northern edge of the Perimeter Weird Zone and is cutting through one of the local weird zones, too."


    Bach shifts his attention to Cideeda and lifts a vaguely worried brow. "Uh, have they said if it''s going to go full maelstrom or anything? I mean, if it''s passed over that much..."


    Narrowing her gaze, Cideeda furrows her light brown brow and reads through the list of update reports, shaking her head. "Well... Nothing headed towards us, at least. There''s sections they think are going to go that way, but those are headed above and below us."


    Aristespha pauses in thought, taps out of a strategy game on her tablet, and opens up another application with a guild logo splash screen. "With that in mind... We all should keep an eye on the guild job postings for the next few days. There could be emergency response jobs we might be able to do."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form nods, and he floats nearby, peeking over Aristespha''s shoulder. "Thanks for reminding me, dear. Yeah, if anyone spots anything of interest, let everyone know. If nothing else, there will probably be a bunch of small magical clean up jobs."


    Blinking a moment, Bach cocks his head and glances over to Sebastian curiously. "Magical cleanup jobs? I mean, what are those exactly? Does the guild get that many requests?"


    Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly towards Bach. "Oh yeah, bro. If it''s a bit too strange, scary, and weird for the local emergency response crews, they''ll often drop jobs to the local guild office for groups to handle them instead. Can''t really blame them. Since what they usually request the guild for is not what they''re trained to handle."


    Crossing his ghostly form''s arms, he twists a contemplative grimace. "Most of the time... It''s just some weird magical anomaly left over from a maelstrom that needs to be dispelled carefully."


    He furrows his translucent brow and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Sometimes though..."


    Gritting his teeth, Sebastian uneasily twists his mouth, past experiences forming his transparent apprehension. "Sometimes... The maelstroms disturb old ruins. OR, drop something that REALLY should NOT be outside a weird zone."


    Bach frowns briefly, shuddering away the wave of discomfort, and sighs hopefully. "Well, let''s just hope for nice clean up jobs this week. I mean, I''m not against doing a little magical janitorial work."


    With an intrigued lift of her eyebrow, Aristespha nods in agreement and smiles. "I am not either. As a team, we are actually very well suited to do such work. We have three mages of different specializations, and now we have a magically familiar technical expert and wilderness expert."


    Curling an loving smirk on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face, she tosses back her silvery blue hair and gazes up at Sebastian. "AND, Sebastian, from everything we know, can safely approach anything too suspicious, first. Providing us a good deal of information before we have to risk ourselves."


    A toothy grin graces Cideeda, and her furry ears perk up eagerly along with the wags of her long, fluffy tail. "We could EASILY take on a bunch of small jobs, optimize them geographically, and efficiently get decent payouts in a few days."


    A smile grows on Dretphi, and her interest piques, processing the plan more in her mind between flicks of her steely gray eyes. "We will need to sort by difficulty. Easy work in the morning. One difficult job after lunch. Easy work in the evening."


    Mulling over the suggestion with a lean against the back of her chair, Cideeda gradually nods in agreement. "Yeah. Definitely need to pace ourselves, and schedule possible flex time in case of unexpected problems. We could still get a lot done in even a day at that rate."


    Aristespha tilts her head to the side, staring at a thought at the front of her mind, and chimes in. "Also, we need to plan for containment and transport to authorities if there turns out to be something that cannot easily be dispelled or is too dangerous to do so on site."


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Following the proposal, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian exchange ideas and commentary about how to approach possible mission arrangements. Outside of the conversation, Sotalia blinks back to awareness from inside her head and springs up with an excited grin on her face. "Yes! That''ll work just fine..."


    Rushing off through the archway into the hallway, she points over towards everyone at the table with a happy smile. "Stay here. I''ve got something we can do for magical training today."


    The conversation stalls to a halt at the dining table, and confusion appears on everyone''s faces. A minute later, Sotalia arrives back from the hallway with a game box in her hands. A guilty grin graces her light tan face, and she shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored embarrassment. "I originally bought this at the game store for my nieces and nephews..."


    Rolling her golden eyes at herself, she cocks her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "BUT. I think we could TOTALLY test it out for them. You know. Just to make sure it works right."


    She sits down in a chair at the dining table, slides open the box, and starts taking out long, rectangular wooden blocks. Everyone watches Sotalia stack up a tower out of the pieces, three per layer, alternating alignment with each subsequent layer. Tilting her head with recognition, Cideeda cracks a sly smirk. "OH! I remember THIS game."


    With a confident, toothy grin, she eyes the surrounding team and flexes her hand of clawed fingers. "I have to warn all of you... I was always pretty good at it. Manual dexterity and all."


    Sotalia flashes a devilish smile towards Cideeda and hoists an amused eyebrow at her. "Well, that MIGHT help you. But, THIS version is the magical variant. All the pieces have been treated to be magically reactive. You have to carefully flow your energy into the piece, and then remove it."


    Resting her finger against a wooden block, she wills a fine flow, and the game piece glows a faint green. She lifts her hand up with the block sticking firmly to her finger tip. "There''s a few different types of blocks. These stick to your finger and allow you to pull them away. There are others that move away from you, lightly cling to other blocks, and some that get really slick."


    Fascination dawns upon Cideeda and Dretphi, and both attentively watch the demonstration by Sotalia. Bach chuckles to himself, confidence sneaking out from him. "Oh, man. THIS is going to be fun."


    With an unamused frown, Sebastian side eyes Bach and smirks with a mocking evil tinge. "Oh, REALLY?"


    Gazing over the rest of the group, he hems loudly. "By the way, my bro CHEATS in these games. Watch him, CAREFULLY."


    Bach narrows a playfully insulted glare at Sebastian and raises his hands up, mockingly defensive. "Man. Fuck you. I never cheated. YOU were just really terrible at these games."


    Aristespha fights to quell an ill-humored smile on her face and nods gradually to Bach. Glancing between Bach and Aristespha, Sebastian crosses his transparent arms and snorts ethereally. "OH... I don''t know if I can do anything to those blocks, but I AM going to try for YOU TWO."


    Sotalia finishes stacking up the last long, rectangular piece, and happily drops into an explanation. "Okay! I''ll go first. Now, you can feel the blocks first without moving them too much. You must flow until the block glows before you try to move it."


    Furrowing her brow, she wanders her gaze around at the team members at the table. "AND... Once you flow a block, you are committed to pulling that block."


    Guiding stray hairs over her swept back black horns, she breathes out in preparation and flexes the tension out of her arms. She studies the wooden stack tower and reaches out carefully towards the small structure. "When you get a block free, try to stack it on top. If the tower falls because of you, you take a point and stack the tower for the next round. Lowest score wins after how many rounds we want to play."


    With a slight, tense shake, her thick, black fingernail taps gently against a piece. A flow of magical energy sinks into the wooden block, and Sotalia grits her teeth in anticipation. The block glows green, and she releases a sigh of relief. She carefully pulls the piece free from the tower and gingerly places it up on top.


    The turns rotate around the table between the team, and the tower climbs higher. Flowing energy challenges Cideeda, her steady dexterity and quick reflexes letting her handle trickier pieces. Dretphi''s precise focus and strength restrain a glowing blue, slick piece long enough to balance on top. Aristespha''s studious observations guide her, and she finds the most forgiving blocks. Sotalia''s experience leads her through difficult spots, quite a bit of luck splitting the difference. With subtle manipulations of flow, Bach carefully maneuvers his pieces, adapting to the type of block with apt counters to effects. Sebastian provides encouragement for Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia, and switches over to playfully antagonistic interference for Aristespha and Bach.


    The teetering tower sways more and more with each new wooden piece on top, and tension rises with the expectation for failure. Bach attempts to calm himself and exhales out his nerves. He lowers a new glowing blue block towards the top of the unsteady stack, the rest of the group watching. The piece taps the top of the tower, and Bach lets it go. In the moment, the block remains still, the blue illumination fading. The pillar sways slightly, the piece slides with the gradual tilt, and the balance shifts towards the outer edge. The top of the stack tips further, and the rest of the tower tumbles upon the tabletop, everyone cheering with the crash. Sotalia grins at Bach, giggling smugly. "WELL, you get the first point. Start stacking."


    Glancing over to Sotalia, Bach cracks a mischievous smile. His eyes faintly glow blue, and he holds his hands out towards the pile of fallen blocks. Chuckles lightly, he focuses his attention at the table and smirks. "Sure..."


    Flows of magical energy radiate out from Bach and coast upon the tabletop. Lifting up into the air without glowing, the horde of blocks rise and assemble into a new tower in front of the group. Sotalia squints suspiciously at Bach during the process and scrutinizes him carefully. Noticing the attention, Bach glances back, perking his eyebrow in confusion. "What?"


    With blatant, dramatic contemplation, Sotalia hums in thought and leans over towards Sebastian. "Oh. You might be right..."


    Narrowing a stoic stare upon Bach, Sebastian nods in agreement. "Yeah. He''s just trying to throw us off the scent."


    Bach rolls his blue eyes back to the task with an amused snort.


    ----


    Sheets of rain splatter heavy upon the sliding glass door of the two story house. Water flows from the narrow brick patio into the growing pools in the low points of the back yard. Turning her head, Tassilda watches another wave splash upon the glass and blinks her light blue on black eyes in surprise, the crisp cascade sounding out. "Good gods. They were not wrong about this storm."


    Deedri pauses from mixing reagents in a large pot near the kitchen sink, flicks her tufted ears, and listens to the outside din, nodding slowly. "Yeah. I thought it got dark yesterday, but..."


    She carefully taps a claw tip upon her aetherphone''s screen nearby on the counter and reads off the time. "It''s already noon, and it''s almost like night out there."


    Slowly shaking her head of raven black hair, Tassilda turns her face towards the chime from her aetherphone on the dining table. She reads the new message, a warm smile growing on her gray face. Tapping a few options on the screen, she aims the phone at the dreary, chaotic scene on the other side of the sliding glass door, a strong gust flattening the grass and swaying the trees in the distance. With a quick tap and an indicator beep later, she rights the aetherphone back in her hands and swiftly types up a response. Deedri squints her auburn eyes over towards Tassilda and cranes her head around the kitchen cabinetry, peeking from the side of the room. Growing a sly grin, she directs a whisper towards Tassilda. "So... What''s Daedrican saying?"


    Briefly startled at the attention, a brief flush of color fills Tassilda''s gray cheeks. A moment later, Tassilda collects herself, and a smile graces her face, whispering back to Deedri. Under the cover of the stormy din, the two converse. Through the connecting archway into the living room, Chad resettles himself on the couch and idly watches the television, surfing through a dull midday entertainment landscape. With a bored sigh, he checks his phone, staring at it longingly for new alerts, and rests it back down on the couch arm next to him. Modoran slouches deeper into the cushions and tilts his head back in resignation. Rolling his head side to side, he stretches out his neck and slowly lifts his stare back forward towards the latest programming on the screen. Breaking through a moment of confusion, recognition springs up on his dusky, bluish gray face and realizes the show that''s playing. He grumbles heavy with apathy and tilts his head towards Chad. "Is there ANYTHING worth watching on? I am not usually picky, but this is a little sad."


    Blinking to attention, Chad gazes blankly at the screen and shrugs his shoulders with a sigh. "Normally. Yes. But, it seems like every damn station we get right now is too busy covering the storm rather than running shows."


    He reaches over to a side table next to the couch, plucks up the remote back up, and aims at the screen. "But... Let''s see if they''ve finally gotten around to unfucking some of the other channels."


    With a brief glance out the dark, water coated front windows, he taps on the buttons. "Damn. Storm must be disrupting some downlinks, or something. Half the channels have been acting up."


    Veevi quickly descends down the stairs and sticks the landing into the living room with a bit of a dramatic flair and physique shaking spring. She fluffs back her long pink hair, wags her long, short-hair tail, and struts towards the couch. Hopping onto the middle seat between Chad and Modoran, she gradually leans upon Chad. With a smile, Chad puts his arm around Veevi, and she quickly snuggles up to him. Modoran glances over, rolls his dark blue eyes, and slides his attention ahead towards the television. A bright light flashes into the space through nearby windows. A low, booming rumble of thunder vibrates the structure of the house. The fur on Veevi''s tail reflexively poofs out, and she squeezes her arms gently around Chad. Glancing at the half-fvalian, Chad cracks a humored smirk and comfortingly squeezes Veevi''s shoulder. The tension in Veevi''s body dissipates. She gazes ahead to the television and cocks her head to the side. "What ARE you guys watching?"


    Chad''s brown eyes blink to attention, focusing upon the screen, and he shrugs his shoulders. "Uh... Huh, I don''t know. I was just flipping through channels to see if we could get anything worth watching. This is one of the channels that''s still coming through."


    Modoran sighs with hints of annoyance leaking out despite his best efforts in maintaining a nonchalant facade. "It''s another one of those Evuukian dramas. They seem to be REALLY popular as of late..."


    Sneering his upper lip, he grumbles to himself. "Have not the slightest clue as to why, though..."


    Veevi smirks and muses out loud about the subject, her interest blatant with her tone. "Oh, you just don''t get it! All the plots, schemes, manipulation, and political power plays... All, so wonderfully done. You just never know what''s going to happen next! Just so satisfying to see a devious power move during all the struggles."


    Modoran briefly narrows his dismissive stare at Veevi, studies her reaction, and rolls his eyes away with a snort. "Yeah... You say THAT. It''s not that great when you are near and in the midst of it all, from my experience."


    Pausing in thought a moment, Veevi glances over to Modoran with a genuinely curious tilt of her head and honestly inquires. "Really? Wait... Are you part of a house?"


    Chad furrows his brow and slides a side eye towards Modoran, keeping his head pointed towards the television. Modoran springs his eyes wide in surprise, suppresses a tense surge of anxiety within his calm, nonchalant exterior, and plainly states. "OH. NO... I have just been close enough to all that insanity to know to stay away from it. It is really hard to avoid depending on where you live."


    Settling back down, he calmly explains. "Anyway, it just boils down to a bunch of Evuukians with too much power and too little to do."


    Narrowing a scrutinizing stare upon Modoran briefly, Veevi huffs and resumes watching the show. "Whatever. I still love these shows."


    Trakenthin steps into the room from another entry hall on the side of the stairwell, carrying a large hamper of towels. Walking next to the couch in front of an armchair, he places the laundry tub on the floor. Modoran glances down at the container of towels next to him and perks a curious brow at Trakenthin. "That''s... That''s a lot of towels there."


    With a twist in his mouth, Trakenthin sighs and slowly shakes his head. "Backlog of laundry. I decided to clean towels first. We may need them soon."


    Nodding in agreement, Modoran glances at the evuukian drama on the television and faces Trakenthin with an amicable smile. "Well, I will help you fold them. Actually got pretty good at folding towels at one of my old jobs."


    Trakenthin quirks his brow and smirks amused, gazing over at Modoran. "Can you fold animals?"


    A sly grin parts Modoran''s mouth, and he chuckles with a proud hint. "Of course. You had to know a few depending on what theme you were working with."


    Brilliant light floods into the room from nearby windows, starkly contrasting the previous darkness. A powerful explosion of thunder rattles the window panes and rumbles the very structure of the house, vibrating shelving and items upon. From somewhere in the house, muffled, distant thunks echo into the space, and power completely cuts out in the two story house. In the darkness, startled gaps and confused mutters fill the acoustic void. Chad and Trakenthin quickly pull out their aetherphones and tap on the flashlight function. Deedri and Tassilda both swiftly gesture out simple incantations and present small light orbs in their palms. Sliding out of Veevi''s grasp, Chad stands up from the couch and surveys the area. "Okay. Everyone. First thing. Is power out for the neighborhood? Or, is it just us?"


    Tassilda walks over to the back sliding glass window and squints outside through the dark, water chaos with an uncertain twist to her frown. "Don''t see lights from anyone across the way, but it''s hard to see right now with all this rain and haze."


    Stepping over to a window on the front face of the house, Trakenthin opens the blinds and scouts the view of the street and neighboring houses that are visible. "Neighbors have power. Street lights are still on."


    Deedri leans out past the archway from the dining area and makes eye contact with Chad. "I heard something mechanical and solid switch off hard, somewhere in the house. Maybe a few at once?"


    Chad nods appreciatively, breathes in, and projects a commanding color to his voice. "Well. Let''s check out the circuit breakers..."


    The group pauses, and all ponder a sudden, shared thought. Trakenthin tilts his head to the side, puzzling with a furrowed brow. "Where are the circuit breakers?"


    Chad gazes over to Trakenthin, twists his mouth, and contemplatively hums. "Uh. Huh. I don''t know. We''ve never needed to use them before, so no one has told us."


    Sighing with a smirk, he shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I guess we need to find them. Okay. Trakenthin. You and I will check the front half of the house."


    Directing his voice towards the dining area with Deedri and Tassilda, Chad instructs. "Deedri. Tassilda. If you two could check the back half of the house, that''d help. The breaker box should be on the first floor somewhere."


    Modoran ponders out loud a moment. "Yeah. Probably near the laundry room. The main run from the power poles is on that side of the house, and the breaker box shouldn''t be too far from there. Probably covered up by something knowing all the random furniture they have here."


    Chad nods in agreement to Modoran and leads the way. The two teams of two head out, illuminating small sections of the house during their explorations. A minute later, Veevi searches around the darkened room and stares over at Modoran. "Aren''t you going to go help them?"


    Modoran nonchalantly shrugs and stretches. "No. They''ve got it. Four people is enough to hunt down a breaker box. If flipping the breakers doesn''t fix it, I''ll go outside to scout things out..."


    The cacophony of water upon the side of the house rises up in a brief drowning drone, and Modoran wrestles down a grimace. "IF it comes to that. Hopefully NOT."


    A smile slowly creeps out upon Veevi, and her body language loosens up. Slinking gradually along the couch closer to Modoran in the dark room, she seductively colors her tone. "You know... I''ve been really wanting to train more..."


    Her smirk sharpens, and she flutters her eyes with a toss of her pink hair. "With YOU..."


    Pausing a moment in the near complete darkness, she listens carefully and observes Modoran still seated at the end of the couch. She eases her hands closer and allows her fingers to lead the rest of her body along. "In other aspects of stealth. Especially certain night time activities..."


    Within the obscuring shadow of the room and overwhelming din from the storm outside, her body lightly brushes Modoran''s form on the other end of the couch. Her arm glides along the back of the couch, and lightly caresses the back of his neck. "Hidden from anyone else."


    Flexing her figure, she licks her lips and rests her other hand upon Modoran''s leg near the knee. With gentle brushing of her fingers, Veevi rubs sensually up the length. Grinning with accomplished, sinister satisfaction, Veevi slips her hand down between his legs. Perking her fuzzy ears, she turns her head to the side, leaning in for the kiss. From somewhere else in the house, Chad''s muffled voice calls out. "...the hell... ...well, here they are... Found them!"


    A moment later, the lights flick on brightly, and ambient sounds of power flood the house again. Veevi winces, her pink pupil eyes readjusting. She regains awareness of her surroundings and glances over, witnessing a mass of dissipating magical miasma venting off from a static visage of Modoran. Seconds later, Modoran''s illusion vaporizes into transparency, leaving behind a collection of towels arranged in the rough approximation of his volume. Veevi leans away from the rough towel dummy occupying where Modoran was and releases her grip on towels comprising the crotch section. Searching the area completely bewildered, she blinks in a stupor of confusion. A surge of frustration and petulant anger ceases her puzzling, and she topples over the towel collection into a heap off the couch. Standing up, she shudders, the indignant irritation swelling within her, and struts away with frustrated twitches of her tail.


    ----


    A flash of light bursts forth into the massive, dark cavern, spraying the shadowy structures in brief illumination. The rolling thunder rumbles through the partially opened, heavy exterior doors, echoing into the huge airspace. Meredosia stares out into the ongoing chaotic storm, pondering deeply and quietly. The wind sprays waves of water through the wide gap between doors onto the concrete floor surrounding the entryway, layering upon the growing shallow pool. The patter of raindrops reverberates upon all the hard surfaces throughout the massive space of golem parts, manufacturing machinery, and assembly equipment. Meredosia blinks back from her distant thoughts, searches around her modest campsite away from the entry, and scoots her salvaged metal chair over to another stack of aged paperwork. Sorting through the pile of old loose notes, she stops at one section and draws out a collection of sheets. With a long, sad sigh, she settles her dark crimson eyes upon the material and slowly reads the old, handwritten paragraphs. Under her breath, she mumbles to herself in evuukian with her study of the pages, occasionally squinting to carefully reexamine puzzling sections.


    Realization sparks in her eyes, and an intrigued smirk appears on her ivory face. Quickly hunting around her immediate vicinity, she swiftly digs through nearby piles of books and grabs hold of one particular volume. Flopping the old tome on her lap, she flips through the pages and reads many samples of the content. A number of minutes later, a proud smile grows on her face, and she nods in agreement with her thoughts. Sliding the loose notes between the pages of the tome, she pulls out a worn notebook from her backpack and opens it to a bookmark. With graceful handwriting, she adds a new entry to the dense, comprehensive journal.


    After a brilliant burst of light through the entryway, another concussive acoustic blast bounces around the huge cave. Startled briefly, Meredosia tenses her body overall, dropping back into the awareness of surroundings. Moments later, she finally relaxes with a long exhale and finishes the latest paragraph into her journal. She rests back in the chair, stretches her arms out, and gazes around her campsite at the small orbs hovering midair and radiating illuminating flames. With a content smile, she shifts her stare at the other piles of notes, books, and electronic media nearby, and resumes her research.


    Minutes later, a massive gust funnels through the heavy, exterior doors, and disperses into the area. The breeze coasts into the cavern and rolls over the campsite, the flaming spheres flicking and waving. Meredosia slowly lifts her head from her studies, watching the orbs dim briefly and gradually return to normal. She grimaces with worry and concern swelling up and quietly stares out into the storm. A long sigh escapes her, and she gazes out distantly into the chaotic storm, uneasily biting her lower lip. Brushing back her gray hair over her very long, pointed ears, she returns her attention to her chore, focusing herself back on task. Occasionally, she glances out to the storm, her concern obvious on her face.


    ----


    Fighting against the tremendous gusts of wind, two evuukian men in nature themed uniforms trudge through the harsh storm battering the dense forest. With each blast of wind, they brace themselves and maintain their footing upon a waterlogged, mucky trail. The nearby underbrush struggles against the weight of the downpour of rain and submits to the force of the powerful winds jetting through. Slipping in the slick mud, one of the men drops to a knee in the thick mud and spits out a series of angered curses in evuukian. He glances over to the other man, irritably pantomiming out a question incredulously. The other man shakes his head under his flapping poncho and throws his hands up dismissively with a commiserating reply. The muddied man growls and gets back up on his feet with the help of the other.


    The two pause their travels and stand against the torrent, witnessing the fury of the storm around them. Tall, ancient trees flex and audibly creak and groan, stretching to their physical limits. The rustle of leaves blends into the back against an overwhelming chorus of wind driven rain. A bright eruption of distant light ignites the darkened sky briefly, and the illumination scatters down to the misty haze filling the thick forest below the canopy. The two evuukian men absorb the sheer chaos around them in pure awe, the cacophony of thunder pulses past them. With a massive burst of air high above, a loud snap explodes out. A tremendous, wooden crackle echoes harshly against the background drone, and a few meter long branch crashes down into a powerful, earth shaking impact. Both men tense up, grit their teeth reflexively, and freeze, motionless. Seconds later, both study the large, fallen limb, and exchange nervous glances. The muddied evuukian man shakes his head and spouts a single explicit phrase. The other nods in total agreement and yells out similar sentiments. Both turn around and quickly rush down another path, towards a distant clearing encircled by giant, ancient trees, barely visible through the haze of rain and mist.


    Out into the forest, hidden in the underbrush, a few camouflaged military scouts wait motionlessly against the brutal weather and stealthily watch the two evuukian men depart. Rain rolls along their slick, form fitting polymer suits, beading off effortlessly. The exterior patterns of the suits gradually blend with the environment immediately around them and create an intricate mesh of outline obscuring patterns, weaving them into their surroundings. One operative at the lead finally tilts his visor-covered face and silently glances to both of his sides to the two members in the three person team. Synchronously, the squad precisely gestures out the same incantation. Slowly rising up, their forms fade into the ambient forest haze, and they carefully, methodically slink forward, closing in on the perimeter of the distant clearing.


    Seconds later, a dozen lightly armored special ops soldiers in actively camouflaging, hooded cloaks settle into the overgrown underbrush. Readying their compact rifles, the squad observes the area, searching the horizon through advanced technology upon their helmets. A few slide down advanced visors with different optics, and thoroughly scan the vicinity. Minutes pass, and they remain silent and hidden in the churning chaos of the overwhelming storm. The commanding officer rises up from prone on the forest floor and kneels in the center of the team. Visually confirming with his subordinates, he gazes ahead and nods in confirmation. Resting his hand on the side of his helmet, he taps upon a control panel of a radio module and turns his head to stare behind his team.


    In the hazy, stormy backdrop of the forest, faint disruptions in the mist swirl around a massive, tall, imposing volumes of empty space. Peaking out from the background din, heavy, muffled, slow, and repetitive noises vibrate out into the thick forest. Muted snaps from the water soaked ground struggle for definition against the noise of the constant, overwhelming drone of rainfall. A blinding eruption of light above ignites the dark sky above to a brief moment of full daylight. In the brightness, half a dozen four meter tall, angular outlines barely contrast against the mist and ambient haze. The massive, mechanical forms lumber closer with slow, methodical steps. Hints of their existence manifest with the warping, refracting view of the forest through them. Sheets of rain blast through the trees above and splash midair upon a huge, transparent volume. The droplets stream along the angular crevices, merge together in hard corners, and flow down upon translucent, mechanical feet sinking heavy indentations into the soaked forest floor.


    The giant forms step cautiously and weave between large trees, showing no mercy to underbrush and debris beneath them. Arriving together many meters behind the dozen special operatives, and they wait motionless. The commanding officer at the center of the team studies the area ahead through his helmet mounted visor, remaining thoughtfully still. Quietly prompting his soldiers, he trains long stares in different directions and analyzes distant points of interest. Minutes of still existence pass on by.


    With a simple nod, he raises his fist high. Meters behind, the nearly transparent mechanical forms stir. Pairs of weaponized mech arms visually flicker, rising into position, and aim their arsenals, fading transparent back into the background. Soldiers on the ground inspect their weaponry and ready their stances for action, awaiting further orders. Another arc of lightning streaks through the sky above, and brightly lights up the area. The brilliant, brief illumination, reveals hidden details upon the large, mechanical forms. The flat painted, composite shells of mechs reflect back the sudden, intense light, and upon each a symbol of mountains on a flag outline contrasts the dull, dark exterior shoulder sections. Under the flag logo, one word remains clear on all the fading forms.


    "Appaland"

 Episode 60

    Aristespha narrows her gaze out into the large city park of rolling green lawns and collections of outdoor furniture and searches the immediate vicinity. Sidestepping the bright orange and white barricades, she closes her eyes momentarily and reopens them to a glowing violet. She stares out towards the gentle hills, meandering sidewalks, extensive, vacant playground, and shady gatherings of older trees. Furrowing her brow, she glances down to the aetherphone in her ivory hand. "We certainly do have our work cut out for us here."


    Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia filter in through the gaps between bold warning signs and underneath a web of plastic strip barriers. Blinking his eyes to a bright blue illumination, Bach searches out into the distance and blinks in a surge of surprise. "Oh... Yeah... Huh... Man. Looks like this place caught a lot of the weird stuff from that one maelstrom cell."


    Cideeda glances over to Aristespha and Bach briefly and focuses emerald green eyes towards the scenery, surveying a few strange phenomena. Sorting through sporadic glimmers of light in the shade, flits of motion in the brush, and faint noises contrasting the natural soundscape, she lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at the leafy debris gently hovering above the ground many meters away and nods in agreement. "THAT is an understatement. I''m going to need to do some scouting with a thermal camera and a radio sweep. Also..."


    She reaches into a large pouch at her side, retrieves a big rusty nut with a small rag tied through it, and grins confidently, rolling the metal idly in her hand. "There''s nothing like a standard physical check."


    Deftly sliding her grip to the cloth tail, she casually twirls the weight and releases it into an arc towards the hovering leaves and sticks. In its natural descent, the nut sharply rises. For a few seconds, it coasts level above the debris. It sharply plummets hard upon the ground, pressing into the earth. The rest of the team approach cautiously, focusing fully upon the significant dent into the dirt. Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda smirks, rests her hands upon her hips, and sways her stance with a wag of her long fluffy tail. "Not the worst I''ve seen... But, THAT got pulled down far quicker than normal gravity for sure."


    Dretphi stares distantly out into the park, puzzling at the deviations from the normal in the scenery, and closes her eyes. Carefully angling her head around, she scans the soundscape and hums intrigued, reopening her steely gray eyes. "It is quiet. Wildlife have retreated. Not unexpected. Worrying still."


    Sotalia crosses her arms, postures confidently, and grins with shrug. "Meh. I''m not feeling anything too terrible from here. Probably just a bunch of small annoying things we have to dispel."


    The wind blows across the area, and waves of air roll over the grasses in the large park. A tree in the distance sways hard with the current. With a loud crack, a small branch tumbles out and lands upon a very dry spot in the middle of damp pavement. Within the air above the arid circle, the branch''s leaves quickly dry out, and the bark cracks open. Seconds later, smoke wisps out from the wood, and the crispy leaves ignite to flame. Blinking at the burning branch, Sotalia contends with a mix of surprise and interest upon her light tan face and smiles eagerly, unfolding her arms. "WELL... Now, that''s a neat one."


    Glancing down at her aetherphone, Aristespha taps out a few lines of notes and returns her attention ahead, tossing back strand silvery blue locks over her shoulder. "Good. That is one the list under the high priority category."


    She scrolls through the document on the screen and nods slowly to herself. "So far, it seems that whoever checked the area made excellent notes for the mission brief."


    Bach watches the distant branch burn within the dry circle surrounded by damp concrete, wisps of steam hissing out from each ember escaping. Warily smirking towards the rest of the group, he fights a grimace and motions towards the anomaly. "Yeah... Let''s see if we can dispel that one from a good distance."


    With nod and a reassuring smile, Aristespha gazes over to Bach and sighs with an understanding tone. "Oh, most certainly. I will guide you through the standard processes for handling many known anomalies. But, I think you should be able to figure out means more suited to your abilities."


    She retrieves a tablet from her small backpack, clicks it out of sleep, and places it into Bach''s hands. "Most should be sufficiently disarmed by manipulation of flow dynamics. But, if not..."


    Sotalia flashes a prideful grin towards Bach and Aristespha, interlocks her fingers, and stretches her arms out. "I''ll provide the raw dispelling power."


    Nodding slowly, Bach returns his stare out towards the abandoned park scenery. Strange sparks of light flicker out from different locations, high and low. Odd, unusual disruptions in the landscape sharply deviant from typical, natural expectations surrounding them. Warping of light fills a few zones above constantly waving blades of grass. The rag tied to the test weight lifts up, fluttering, and gradually rises up, towing the rest of the rusty hardware. Cideeda points a claw tip over to the phenomena, watching with pure fascination. "Huh. It reverses after some time."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes in front of the group, checks around for anyone else, and relaxes to a nonchalant pose. "Good. No one else is around."


    Addressing the team, he straightens his posture and furrows his brow in thought. "Okay... So, overall we''ll do the usual scout, mark, and remove plan. Nothing on the mission description indicated anything out of the ordinary for this type of job. So, I believe standard operating procedure should do it?"


    The group nods in a collective agreement. Stretching his ghostly visage, Sebastian grins and surveys the surrounding scenery. "Well, I think I''ll best serve everyone by going around and making use of my intangible self. Get a good close look at any possibly dangerous anomalies."


    Bach slowly shakes his head in astonishment, spotting more strange phenomena appearing in the previously serene park. "Gods. It always amazes me how these things can ride out storms and continue to function after landing."


    Nodding in agreement, Aristespha stiffens a frown and sighs uncertainly. "I know. Quite a number of people at the Grand Library are still trying to figure out exactly what creates these anomalies."


    She furrows her ivory brow with a faint twitch of her very long ears. "Most important, how some are so portable, too. So many theories..."


    Widening her emerald green eyes with intrigue, Cideeda glances over up at Aristespha and curls the corner of her mouth, perking an eyebrow. "Any favorite theories? I always thought these things always seemed like seeds or spores to the bigger and weirder stuff in the big zones."


    Furrowing her tan brow, Dretphi pauses in thought, ponders quietly, and shrugs her lightly armored shoulders. "Similar behavior. Do not grow into anything more outside the zone."


    Aristespha rocks her head side to side with her thoughts. "That is true to a certain extent. There are theories that these anomalies are limited by their environment."


    Combing her claw tips through her short mutli-colored hair, Cideeda flicks her furry ears with a twist of her mouth. "I guess. But you sometimes get those short-lived weird zones that spring up."


    Holding up a gauntlet covered finger, Dretphi smirks with a theory. "Maybe in a high enough concentration they change the environment to suit another purpose? There are plants that do such."


    Stepping forward into the conversation, Sotalia strokes her chin thoughtfully and sways her hips side to side in contemplation. "I don''t know. Gods, most of the anomalies just seem really erratic and plain crazy. I seriously don''t see how they''d help anyone or anything. Or do anything with a purpose."


    She tosses her head of fiery orange, wavy hair and hoists up an eyebrow. "I''ve always just figured they''re leftover zone garbage that got carried away."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach sighs indecisively and furrows his brow. "Well, you got me. I mean, maybe they''re scattered pieces to something bigger? Individually, they really don''t make sense. But, maybe, if you got them together in the right way, it does something useful? I don''t know. The stories I''ve always heard from weird zones never explain the reasons to why it all happens."


    Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers, rocks her head side to side, and thinks for a moment. "Yeah. They''re still cool stories. Oh well..."


    Rolling her shoulders, she inspects her gear vest and checks over her outfit. "Let''s start cleaning up. I''d really like to hit the Pancake Shed at a decent lunch time and get a punch on my new card."


    Sebastian nods in agreement and hovers up slightly into the air. "Yeah. We got a busy morning with this and a few small jobs. After lunch, we got a tougher job to contend with."


    Gazes over the team, he individually addresses them. "Okay... Summary of the plan. Dear. Give my bro a quick refresher, and keep us informed on what we are tackling. Bro. You should figure this out in no time, just do what you do where you can. Sotalia. Feel around the area, and let us know where things seem off. Cideeda. Run the scanning equipment around the area. And, help us out with your eyes, ears, and nose. Dretphi. Check the area and let us know if the natural is being unnatural."


    Glancing over his shoulder, he motions out to the landscape behind him. "AND... I''ll do the overall sweep for anything that immediately sticks out, and see how much I can scout out. Sound good?"


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia relay their agreement with the plan. Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up and drifts off into the park proper. Aristespha points out key information on the tablet in Bach''s hand, Sotalia peering over shoulders curiously. Cideeda and Dretphi walk over to the humvee, past the safety barriers, and sort through equipment.


    ----


    Tassilda''s glowing light blue on black eyes focus upon the swirling streams of magical flow, wrapping around a warping, transparent mass. Deedri cautiously gestures out an incantation and gently wills out thread thin strands of magical energy along the existing flows. Tassilda nods calmly, rigidly to Deedri. The two synchronously gesture out another series of complicated incantations, both keeping in pace. From the translucent containment field forming around the transparent entity, magical miasma vents out slowly into the area, dissipating harmlessly out into the passing breeze. The warping mass shrinks swiftly. Soon collapsing onto the hot, dry dirt, it quickly fades from existence, the last wisps drifting with the wind. Lowering her arms, Tassilda blinks her eyes hard to normal and releases a long sigh of relief. "OH... Thank you so much for the assistance. I got the distinct impression that one could have been troubling without someone else helping."


    Deedri perks up her tufted, furry ears and smiles contentedly. "Oh. It was not a problem. I definitely could feel it getting unstable towards the end, so it was a good call for the both of us to handle it."


    Pausing a moment, she glances around the vicinity and cocks her head to the side curiously, furrowing her brow. "Not that I really want to tempt Fate..."


    She bounces her auburn eye to the sides of her vision and suspiciously scans the area. "But... Where is Veevi? I thought she wandered off with you."


    An evil smirk cracks out from the corner of Tassilda''s mouth, and she flutters her eyes with an amused chuckle. "OH. Yes. I put to her work on a task befitting her abilities."


    Narrowing an incredulous gaze at Tassilda, Deedri twists her fair toned face uncertainly. "Oh... Uh... What would THAT be? Given her..."


    She averts her gaze and stiffens a derisive smirk. "Abilities?"


    Tassilda tilts her head towards the shade of a distant tree and smiles impishly. "Oh. Trying to dispel those light anomalies over there."


    Shifting her weight to one side, Deedri leans over and spots Veevi. Knelt down and holding her hands out in front of disembodied flickering lights, Veevi strains herself, forcing sputters of magic energy out. Deedri blinks a few times, eases closer to Tassilda, and whispers confused. "Uh. If I remember correctly, those require a significant amount of energy to dispel."


    Grinning wide with satisfaction, Tassilda winks to Deedri and comments quietly. "I know. But... She doesn''t."


    Deedri bites her lower lip, trying in vain to hide her amusement, and rolls her eyes. "Well, I guess THAT is the best use of her time, for now."


    Across from Deedri and Tassilda, Modoran approaches Chad and Trakenthin, whistling a tune, and stops next to them with a nonchalant bow. "Gentlemen. I have scouted around this place, and do not think there''s anything else that looks out of the ordinary."


    He points a thumb over his shoulder. "Past that last row of trees, it just goes into farm plots. And, I did not see anything."


    Chad nods his head, scrolling through lines of text on his aetherphone, and studies a small list on the display. "That''s good to hear. So it looks like nothing outside this reported area has anything to worry about."


    He hums in thought for a few moments and glances up to Trakenthin, pointing over towards the forested section near Veevi. "Trakenthin, could you check in the woods over there? There''s a mention of something weird going on in the forest near the flickering lights on the quest report."


    Trakenthin nods stoically and pivots around to set off. Modoran lightly taps Trakenthin on shoulder and leans close, directing his voice upward. "Hey. Be careful in those woods. I think they have a bullymunk infestation around here. I kept to the treetops, but looking down, I saw a bunch of holes that looked like their burrows."


    Cocking his head, TRakenthin furrows his dark bronze brow at Modoran curiously. "You have dealt with bullymunks?"


    Modoran shrugs his shoulders and snorts with a nonchalant smirk. "Not personally. I just worked at a resort before where they were rampant. Softer soil and all."


    Trakenthin thinks for a moment, nodding appreciatively, and pats Modoran back on his shoulder. "Thank you for the warning."


    He walks slowly towards the trees near Veevi and sighs midway, hints of annoyance slipping out into his tone. Veevi huffs in frustration, rolls her shoulders, gritting her teeth, and throws her arms forward, grumbling to herself. Faint flows of magical energy swirl around her arms, condense in her hands, and pulse out towards a swarm of floating, flickering lights. Halting his travel into the woods, Trakenthin turns his gaze down towards Veevi and studies her inept attempts. The hovering orbs of light continue their erratic patterns in defiance against Veevi''s weak emissions of magical energy. Trakenthin slowly shakes his head, turns his attention to the forest perimeter near Veevi, and steps forward. A tiring attempt later, Veevi plops down upon the grass and pants, propping herself up with her arms behind her. She regains awareness of her surroundings and notices Trakenthin nearby parting some underbrush. A sly smile graces Veevi, and she narrows her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin. "Hey, Trakenthin. What''s a big, strong warrior doing over here?"


    Trakenthin snarls his upper lip out of sight of Veevi and grumbles out. "Chad instructed me to investigate this area."


    Blinking with interest, Veevi glances around and hops up to her feet with a smile, flexing her posture. "Oh! Can I join you?"


    With a faint grimace leaking out upon his stoic expression, Trakenthin slowly shakes his head of short, styled dirty blonde hair and keeps his attention forward. "Not necessary."


    Veevi frowns, lifts her nose at him, and crosses her arms petulantly. Completely ignoring the behavior, Trakenthin scans the forest ahead and slowly searches. He surveys the vicinity and spots a small hole in the dirt at the base of a tree leading down into a narrow tunnel. Sun shines down from above and highlights the rough meter perimeter cleared of debris surrounding the burrow entrance. Trakenthin studies the area carefully, recognition coloring his stoic exterior with growing caution. Stepping back away from the forest, he starts to walk off, following the forest edge. Veevi glares at Trakenthin and growls out indignantly. "Well?! I thought you were going to explore the forest there. What''s wrong? Too scared?!"


    With a long roll of his hazel eyes, Trakenthin sighs and slowly pivots around, facing Veevi. "NO."


    Puffing up her chest, Veevi sneers with an indignant stare at Trakenthin and meanly quips. "OH. I guess none of that childhood training you got taught you how to brave the wilderness, then."


    Narrowing his cold stare upon Veevi, Trakenthin draws in a long breath, twists his grimace with a brief curl in his upper lip, and grumbles. "No. I know how to travel through the forest."


    A sinister smirk creeps out upon Veevi, and she straightens her posture defiantly, checking her sharp nails. "Whatever! Gods, here I was so hoping to see a brave, strong warrior in action. But..."


    Dramatically rolling her eyes, she tosses her long pink hair over a shoulder and huffs. "I guess THAT''S just not going to happen. Oh well..."


    Trakenthin aims an annoyed glare down upon Veevi and examines her silently. With a dismissive glower, Veevi meets Trakenthin''s attention and crosses her brown striped tan arms expectantly. Trakenthin briefly clenches his fist, searching his mind. Cracking a slight smile, he tilts his head. He blatantly sighs, relaxes his posture, and slowly shakes his head. "I apologize. I sought an easy route for you. So you can join me."


    Veevi blinks in surprise, concentrating her intrigue upon Trakenthin, and shifts into a seductive smile upon her tan face. "OH? Really? Well, I may have been a bit too quick to judge."


    Trakenthin dons a calm gaze and gazes down at the coy posturing of Veevi. "I misjudged, too. You have shown you should take lead down this path."


    A sly smirk parts Veevi''s mouth, and she steps forth towards the underbrush near Trakenthin. Biting her lower lip, she studies Trakenthin up and down and peeks into the forest. "Doesn''t look bad at all. This could be really fun..."


    She sneaks a wink. "For the both of us."


    Grabbing hold of the tall plants, Trakenthin parts a path through and motions with his free hand ahead. "You first. Consider it part of your training."


    Veevi perks up her dark pink eyebrows at Trakenthin, struts seductively through the brush, and steps towards the cleared area near the base of a tree. Quietly waiting, Trakenthin watches Veevi travel past the perimeter into the debris free zone around the small hole at the base of the tree. Veevi pauses a moment, her fuzzy ears twitching towards a sound below her, and gazes down curiously. Moments later, a small brown and tan rodent with black and white stripes and a short tail waddles out of the small burrow. It quickly pans its head around side to side and swiftly snaps its stare up at the figure shading out the sun. Kneeling down slowly in front of the small creature with a smile, Veevi smiles at the critter with enthralled delight. "Hello. Aren''t you the cutest little thing? Is this your home?"


    Trakenthin''s hazel eyes open wide with familiarity, and he quietly releases the parted underbrush. He slowly steps back from the forest edge and waits, barely containing a sly smirk. Tilting her head side to side, Veevi watches, amused by the small critter staring at her, and wags her short-haired tail excitedly. "I''ve never seen anything like you. Would you like something to eat?"


    A high pitched growl bellows out, seizing the attention of Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and the nearby camera crews. An ear piercing shriek splits the air, and Veevi erupts out from the forest edge in wild eyed fright. She sprints off in an erratic panic, and the rodent pursues her relentlessly in a constant fit of furious, angry barks. Barely containing his ill-humored snorts, Trakenthin covers his face. Everyone else watching in pure bewilderment, the small creature chases the frantically flailing Veevi. Keeping pace with Veevi, the little creature occasionally hops and nips at Veevi''s puffed out tail waving close. Chad blinks in absolute astonishment for a second, spitting and snorting into uncontrollable laughter immediately after. Tassilda covers her mouth in sheer shock and amusement. Deedri gawks briefly and turns her stunned gaze towards the comparatively calm Modoran. Shrugging his shoulders and maintaining his nonchalant demeanor, Modoran tugs at the corner of his mouth and grits his teeth briefly. "THAT is why you don''t bother bullymunks."


    Veevi musters her coordination and concentrates on running, putting distance between her and the angry bullymunk. Stepping closer, Modoran shakes his head and sighs towards Deedri and Tassilda. "They are REALLY. FUCKING. Territorial."


    In a frantic flurry, Veevi leaps onto the trunk of a large tree, scratches her sharp nails on her hands onto the bark, and scrambles up awkwardly up into the branches. Smirking with a devilish satisfaction, Modoran calls out towards Veevi. "They easily climb trees, too!"


    Veevi''s horrified, shrill yell bounces around the area, guiding the camera crew recording equipment. "THEY WHAT?!"


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The bullymunk sprints up the trunk of the tree without missing a single step.


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk down a long, winding gravel path through aisles of bamboo patches, rock encircled flower gardens, and arranged shrubbery. Pausing a moment at a bend in the walkway, Bach slowly scans the area, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "Huh... Man, I didn''t expect all this to be here, especially given the really run down fencing and parking lot."


    The wind tickles Cideeda''s furry ears into a few flicks, and she gazes forward down the route ahead, furrowing her light brown brow. "Well, most of these shrine gardens are only funded from donations these days."


    Tugging at the corner of her mouth, her furry ears droop slightly, and she sighs faintly. "So, sacrifices have to be made."


    A gentle breeze passes through Dretphi''s platinum blonde braids, and she smiles calmly, nodding. "Reminds me of the ancestor gardens from home. Peaceful. Perfect for reflection."


    Sotalia kneels down to a small patch near the path and curiously cocks her head to the side, studying the prolific plants growing. "Gods... I should know what this plant is. It looks so familiar..."


    Dretphi stands next to Sotalia, stares down at the distinctive leaves, and studies the flora''s attributes. "Oh. A type of mint. What variety..."


    She contends with a brief grimace. "That is difficult. Hard to narrow down without a full examination. The flowers have not bloomed."


    From behind a row of neatly trimmed bushes, a young fvalian woman steps out on the path. She tosses down a handful of weeds and debris, wipes the sweat from her brow, and pants out her fatigue, brushing off her apron. Seconds in her own thoughts later, she turns her gaze towards the group and blinks in surprise, happily greeting the team. "Oh! Hello! Welcome to the Freesbo Shrine Garden. Um..."


    Narrowing an examining gaze upon the team, she points to them and smiles hopefully. "Are you here for the guild job?"


    Aristespha steps forward, bows slightly, and presents a professional tone. "Yes, we are. You must be?"


    The fvalian woman''s furry ears perk up through her long black, patterned hair, and a sense of relief washes over her. Removing a pair of gardening gloves from her claw tipped hands, she sighs with a slow wag of her short haired, tuft tipped tail. "Rekeeka Tarodeena. The current and..."


    Pausing a moment, she shrugs with a spark of embarrassment. "Well... ONLY shrine maiden here."


    An exchange of names and greetings between the team later, Rekeeka bows respectfully to the group and manages to maintain a cheerful tone despite concern visibly weighing upon her. "Oh, thank you so much for responding. I apologize for the job not paying that much despite the significant task. I''m actually a bit surprised anyone took the job so quickly when I posted early this morning."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly. "Well, I mean, it wasn''t too much out of the way from all the other jobs we had to do in the area. And, we had lunch at the Pancake Shed down the road."


    Rekeeka''s furry ears flick up, and she presents a toothy grin, her tail swaying. "Oh! Do you have any customer cards with you?"


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Cideeda opens a pocket on her vest. She sweeps up her past the opening and deftly flips up a fresh card with a single punch between two fingers. "I do. Why?"


    A sly smile grows on Rekeeka, and she swiftly plucks out a pen from her shorts pocket, clicking it. "Well, I work there on the night shifts. So..."


    Holding out her hand, she perks her tan brow. "While I can''t offer that much monetary compensation for the job ahead, I can certainly comp a free punch."


    Grinning toothily, Cideeda presents the Pancake Shed card over to Rekeeka and nods appreciatively. "No complaints here."


    Rekeeka quickly presses a thumb claw through a punch spot on the card, initials next to the spot, and returns the card. Clicking the pen again, she stows in her pocket and motion down the path. "Good! I really shouldn''t take too much of your time, since you probably have other jobs after this one. So, follow me, and I''ll give you a little tour on the way."


    The team follows Rekeeka down the winding path. Following along a few twists and turns, Rekeeka glances back over her shoulder with an explanatory tone. "This particular shrine garden is one of the oldest in the area. We... Well, I maintain close to twenty five different locations on the property, part time. And, while I''m still learning traditional magics..."


    She flashes an entrepreneurial grin and playful wink. "I pride myself on providing both herbal and alchemical plant reagents... For a fair donation."


    Waving her arm out, she points out a number of paths leading to different areas in the distance of the property. "We house a variety of worship sites to many gods, goddesses, spirits, and other entities today. But, historically, we used to only house shrines for-"


    She recites out a complicated phrase in a fluently paced dialect of Fvalian, piquing Cideeda''s interest. Sotalia nods understandingly, and the rest of the group remains in polite confusion between moments of recognition. Senses the loss of comprehension, Rekeeka giggles with a bit embarrassment and sighs apologetically. "Oh, I''m sorry. The name doesn''t have an easy translation to Americ. Um, it roughly means the religion of experience? There''s a lot of context lost in that translation unfortunately."


    Cideeda nods to Rekeeka, smiling happily, and gazes over to the rest of the team. "The simple version is you take all the forces you experience in life, give them easy names, and assign personifications that describe them. Then, by proxy, seek guidance from or to guide those very forces."


    Perking up, Rekeeka grins appreciatively. "That''s a wonderful explanation. I''ll have to borrow that in the future. Anyway, you seem quite versed."


    Shrugging her shoulders with a nonchalant smirk, Cideeda chuckles and rolls her emerald green eyes at herself. "Versed enough. I mostly tend to pay tribute to Fate and Karma."


    She quirks her light brown brow, thought reminding her of something. Twisting her mouth, she sighs with a tinge of embarrassment. "Which reminds me, do you have shrines to those two? I''ve been meaning to give a proper thanks for recent things. And, well, just haven''t found time or place to do so..."


    Continuing to lead the team down the route, Rekeeka points down a neatly tiled stone path and chimes in. "Of course! They''re down there in an alcove. After you''re done with your job, I''ll be happy to take you there. Honestly, after last night, I need to be thankful, too."


    Bach glances down the route briefly, ponders a few seconds, and returns his attention ahead, puzzling. "Huh. That''s actually a neat concept and practice, thinking about it. A bit different approach than Gnost''s, but he''s mostly about seeking knowledge. His book of fables that my mom would read to Sebastian and me were always really good."


    Aristespha lifts her head up from studying her tablet and glances over to Bach. "I have read that book. One of the better religious texts out there for its age."


    With a dropping twitch of her very long, pointed ears, she wrestles down a frown and groans. "SO MUCH better than any of the Evuukian Light Gods tomes I had to TOLERATE growing up."


    Sotalia chuckles lightly, grins impishly towards Aristespha, and leans close. "Oh, but that group does have one hell of a party god."


    Stifling an amused snort, Aristespha slowly shakes her head of silvery blue hair with a roll of her violet eyes. "Wherever red cups fall, honor him braced upon an altar of porcelain... GODS. And THAT is being KIND with the translation."


    Snickering briefly, Sotalia sighs and smiles playfully, resting her hands upon her hips. "At least your gods occasionally loosen up. I could never get into any of the emin deities. They''re all so self absorbed most of the time."


    She pauses a moment and smirks guiltily. "BUT, I just CAN''T resist the holiday celebrations. Oh, especially throughout winter solstice."


    Resting a hand on her chest, she sighs and grins slyly. "I may not know who to believe, but I''m not turning down an excuse to enjoy all those treats."


    Dretphi nods with her thoughts and shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored guilt. "They are good. My family has adopted fun traditions. We believe our ancestors grow bored of stale methods to honor them. Their spirits appreciate the variety."


    Progressing down the path, the discussion continues between all. Minutes later, Rekeeka leads the party to an open field near the corner of the property, stopping when the path fades into the taller grasses. Her body tenses, and she slowly pivots to the group with a wary gaze. "This is THE SPOT. It''s called Avis Mark. And well... It has always been considered a cursed spot. So, we try to discourage people from going near it."


    She sighs, rolls some tension out of her shoulders, and grimaces. "It just seems to attract strange things from maelstroms, and usually of the dangerous variety."


    Pointing out a clawed finger out into the tall grass clearing, she frowns uneasily and directs the team''s attention towards a strange swirling of air stirring a large swath of grass blades. "Right there. I''ve never seen this kind of anomaly before."


    She grits her teeth briefly and winces with concern. "Unfortunately, I believe it has trapped a small animal within it. It''s really hard to make out, as it seems to warp light, too."


    Aristespha blinks her eyes to a glowing violet and focuses fully upon the shimmering mass. Blue illumination growing, Bach squints and studies the visual fluctuations revealing a small opaque outline briefly. Cideeda pulls out a small camera, holds her aetherphone out, and taps through the menus. A thermal visualization of the constant vortex appears on the phone display. Cideeda alternates between examining the screen and watching the swirling air with her furry ears trained upon it. Dretphi carefully approaches the edge of the tall grass field and cautiously investigates the perimeter. Staring at the anomaly, Sotalia shudders briefly and twists her mouth, slightly gritting her teeth. "OKAY. That''s definitely not a nice one. I''m starting to feel it now."


    Rekeeka bows respectfully and steps out of the way with an appreciative smile. "Thank you so much for taking on this task. I''ll excuse myself, for now. I don''t want to accidentally get in the way. But, if you need anything, please let me know. I''ll be at the temple area in the middle of the property."


    With an acknowledgement from the team, she departs. A minute later, Sebastian''s ghostly form manifests next to Aristespha, and he peeks over her shoulder at the tablet. "So, dear, what are we dealing with?"


    Aristespha grumbles to herself, brushing back a lock of her silvery blue hair over a very long pointed ear, and sighs out her frustration. "It is one of a few things, Sebastian. None of them good."


    Glancing over towards Bach, she inquires. "Do you see the flow radiating from the ground, too, Bach?"


    Bach aims his stare down through the tall grasses at the base of the sluggish vortex, springs his eyes wide open, and gradually nods. "OH... YES... I think this is one of those anomalies with a source object."


    Cideeda contorts her face, furrowing her brow, and cocks her head to the side. "I''m not getting anything too unusual on the thermal camera. It''s definitely moving air around, but it''s not heating or cooling it. But..."


    Her furry ears flick and perk towards a point in the shimmering mass. "I hear some kind of small animal in there. Maybe squirrel or rat? I can''t tell, the sound is all distorted."


    Dretphi walks up to the group and shakes her head with a frown. "Nothing unusual in the surrounding area. It seems localized. I do not know any more."


    Aristespha nods appreciatively to Dretphi, drags through paragraphs of text, and focuses her gaze upon a few lines. "Thank you, everyone. That actually significantly narrows it down. Sebastian?"


    Sebastian turns his ethereal form towards Aristespha. "Yes, dear?"


    Aristespha''s violet eyes quickly read through the mass of information on the screen, and she points up to the top of the swirling air at flecks of debris drifting in the currents. "I will need you to go up there and keep an eye on this. This is a tricky one to disrupt and disarm, but it can be done."


    Bach glances over quizzically. "So, uh, what''s the process?"


    Biting her lower lip, Aristespha sighs, collecting her thoughts. "Okay. This is called a Vacuum Snare. It uses sudden vacuum to draw anything within proximity into a folded space pocket in the middle."


    Sotalia blinks in surprise, stares awkwardly at the anomaly, crossing her arms, and uneasily picks at one of her horns. "Good fucking gods... It''s got a folded space pocket?"


    Wrestling an uncomfortable frown, she ponders out loud. "That is NOT trivial magic there. I admit, it feels strange, like it was warping something... But... WOW..."


    Aristespha nods in commiseration at Sotalia''s observations, reading the literature. "Unlike the folded space frames, this is not properly stabilized. Back to the task, there are two key things. One, we must cut the current effect off from its source in the ground. Second, we must keep powering the effect from our own energy sources and gradually allow the effect to fade, unfolding the space."


    Blinking and tilting her head up from the tablet to the team around her, she grimaces against a wave of unease. "Otherwise, the space unfolds IMMEDIATELY and releases a massive burst of all the air it has drawn inside it... Along with anything else."


    Nervous tension looms weighs down around the team. Bach draws a long breath in and faintly hisses it out through gritting teeth. "So... Who''s got what?"


    Aristespha perks a directed eyebrow at Bach, twisting her mouth, and hands over the tablet. "You should be able to handle cutting and isolating the source. I believe you have a few tricks for remotely manipulating the flows and sealing up the source."


    Nodding in agreement, Bach glances over the information on the tablet and smiles, thinking out loud. "Yeah. You''re right. Probably could flow some cables, and then construct a barrier around it. Hold off the last part for when you all are ready."


    A smirk graces Aristespha, and she gazes over to Sotalia with a composed posture. "And, with a little redirection from me, our raw power house will be able to easily keep the effect powered long enough to let it wind down gently."


    Sotalia grins slyly with a confident pose and brushes her fiery orange, wavy hair back. "OH. WELL. Of course."


    Sebastian smiles proudly, ponders in thought, and glances over to the transparent warping of spiraling air in the middle of the plot of land. "That sounds like a good plan, so far. I guess I''m keeping an eye on things from above the anomaly."


    He motions towards Cideeda. "Cideeda, you keep an eye out for anything going strange on the ground level. If it starts to look weird or sound bad, let us know."


    Cideeda nods in agreement, flexes her arms, and stretches out her back. "Yeah. Sounds good to me."


    With an appreciative tone, Sebastian points to Dretphi casually with both hands. "And Dretphi, you are on overwatch. If it looks like things are going bad, be ready to pull us out of harm''s way. With the amount of focus required, we all may not be that observant when needed."


    Dretphi grants a simple, confirming nod. Sebastian gazes over the team and hovers upwards. "Okay. I''m getting into position."


    Floating above the high top of the anomaly, he observes the tiny flecks of debris trapped in the flows of air. Aristespha quickly recites the details to Bach and Sotalia and points out positions for Cideeda and Dretphi. Minutes of reviewing the steps later, the team readies themselves. Bach kneels down, blinks his eyes a glowing blue, and guides elongating cables of magical energy through the grasses towards the base of the transparent vortex. Sotalia stretches her arms out, flexes her legs and hips, and poses her hands forward, at the ready. Cideeda maintains her attention split between the anomaly and the thermal display on her phone. Dretphi kneels down behind Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia, and inspects the path behind the group for a clear escape. Placing her tablet in her backpack, Aristespha expels her nerves in a long exhale and prepares herself. "Okay. Bach. Start isolating the source."


    Bach nods, his eyes flashing a brighter blue, and pulses of magical flow radiate down the cables from his hands. Aristespha quickly gestures a series of incantations and projects out faint corridors of energy towards the bottom of the vortex. Cideeda''s furry ears flick with the whistles of wind streaming out from the top of the anomaly, and flecks of debris fly through Sebastian''s ethereal form. A surging gust of wind billows out from the bottom of the swirling mass and pushes down the surrounding grasses. Sunken into the ground, a crystal speckled rock flickers brightly, the vortex above swaying more erratically. A golden sphere of hexagonal pieces slowly builds up from the dirt and gradually conceals the stone orb. Flows of energy erupt out between the tightening gaps through the barrier field, and Bach directs his concerned tone to Aristespha. "Ready?! I''m about to cut it off!"


    Nodding quickly, Aristespha pushes her arms outwards and directs a powerful flow of magical energy through the swirling, ethereal conduits. "Yes! Get ready, Sotalia!"


    The golden geodesic dome completes around the crystal speckled rock against strong flow resistance. The vortex shimmers, and blasts of air erupt out into the area. Aristespha grimaces and grits her teeth. With the anomaly relentlessly drawing upon the flow conduits, she maintains the massive amount of energy through the magical pathways. Turning her palms upwards, she pivots carefully towards Sotalia and winces, a powerful gale blasting upon her. "NOW!"


    Sotalia grabs hold of Aristespha''s hands tightly and tenses herself, a wave of magical flow spiraling out from her body and concentrating into the energy conduits. The vortex shimmers opaque, spins quicker, and sways wildly. Sotalia grits her teeth, dons a determined stare, and growls out. "Holy shit! It''s pulling some serious power."


    Nodding, Aristespha turns her head, shielding herself away from the growing gale, and calls out. "Yes! Keep feeding smaller amounts over time."


    Sebastian yells out from above and energetically points. "Watch out! It''s really starting to swing wild."


    Dretphi reaches out and taps on Bach''s shoulder. Bach glances over and watches Dretphi signal him backwards. Nodding, he carefully moves back under Dretphi''s guidance, gradually lengthening the cables in his hands. Aristespha and Sotalia lean sharply back from the wind bursting forth, and Dretphi and Cideeda brace the pair from behind. The air grows loud. The torrent blasts out and magical miasma vents out. With a final poof, the wind suddenly stills, and faint traces of the shimmering magical mass disappear. Aristespha breathes out a long sigh of relief. Sotalia releases her grip, steadying herself, and places her hands at her sides with a prideful, satisfied grin. Cideeda and Dretphi relax, and Bach rests prone on the ground. Searching the air above briefly, Sebastian squints down towards the ground and scans around in utter bewilderment. "What the- The hell was that?"


    Aristespha combs her hair back out of her face and chuckles lightly. "Nicely done, everyone. Amazing. That had a LOT more air in it than I expected."


    Sotalia lifts her eyebrow at Aristespha, crosses her arms, and smiles proudly. "Oh, yeah. Quite the challenge... But... Not too terrible."


    Cideeda''s furry ears twitch, and she searches around the tall grass. "What''s that noise?"


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes spring open wide, and she focuses upon the trail of shaking plant blades towards Bach. She reaches out to grasp Bach''s shoulder. Bach lifts his head up from rest, pushes himself up, and glances ahead. "Hey, what''s going-"


    A small, furry creature leaps out from the grass and latches onto Bach''s face. It scurries in a panic upon Bach''s head, and he tilts backward. Flailing wildly, he shrieks out. "OH, GODS! AH! WHAT THE FUCK!?"


    ----


    The team walks along the path through the shrine garden. Dretphi bites her lower lip in a mix of glee and embarrassment, reaching her hand out above Bach, and gently pets the flying squirrel securely nestled upon Bach''s head of longer brown hair. The critter enjoys the affection, leaning into the attention. Seconds later, Dretphi slides her fingers underneath the creature and gradually applies a gentle upwards pull. The squirrel hunkers down and tightens its grip onto Bach''s hair and scalp, stubbornly resisting. Grimacing, Bach grits his teeth briefly with wince. "Ow. Stop. Please. He''s still not letting go."


    Sotalia snorts and shakes her head, covering her mouth. Sighing with a warm smile, Dretphi pets the soft furry, loose coat of the flying squirrel and pats Bach on the shoulder. "Sorry. I believe it is a ruin squirrel. I have read about them. They do not have many predators. They are friendly. Not easily scared."


    Furrowing her tan brow, she cocks her head. "Do not understand why he is attached to you."


    Bach grumbles to himself and rolls his blue eyes, blatantly annoyed. Sotalia grins wide, reaches up, and gently strokes her long nails along the cheeks of the ruin squirrel. "OH, he''s SO CUTE! We might have to keep him."


    From the sword at Aristespha''s side, a Sebastian toned snickers sounds out with a faint reverb. Bach glares downwards irritably and snarls his upper lip. "Are you- Are you laughing? Seriously..."


    Sebastian''s echoing tone sputters out a few laughs and settles down. "I''m sorry, bro. Just watching you stumble around screaming when it was crawling all over you was too much."


    With a dry smirk, Bach glances over to Aristespha. "Hey, Aristespha, could I hold on to the sword for a bit?"


    Aristespha lifts a suspicious eyebrow at Bach, meeting his gaze unamused. A devious grin cracks across Bach''s face, and he darkly chuckles. "OH. Don''t worry, I''ll return it... Eventually. Just wanted to see how far I could pitch into that pond we passed on the way here."


    With a sharp growl, Sebastian''s voice emanates from the sword. "Don''t. YOU. Fucking. DARE..."


    A spark of sinister glee lights up Bach''s eyes, and he curls the corners of his mouth. "Oh, I mean, I just wanted to see if I lost my touch with throwing swords around. "


    Groaning annoyed, Aristespha gazes upwards and places a firm grip on the handle of the sword, her eyes glow faintly violet. "Sebastian. Stop provoking your brother and apologize."


    Sebastian''s tone quietens down, and he mumbles out. "Sorry..."


    With a short sigh, Aristespha glances over to Bach with a firm, understanding stare. "I''ll contact Captain Hays. I''m certain the Borderland Rangers will be able to help somehow. Just stay calm."


    Reaching over Bach''s head, she pets the affectionate ruin squirrel a few times with a guilty smirk. "And... Keep the little one content for now."


    Bach slides his eyes up and wrestles an uneasy frown. "Feeling a little uncomfortable having a strange critter climbing around my head."


    With a reassuring smile, Aristespha gently pats Bach''s shoulder and calmly states. "It is okay. All my medical spells showed nothing harmful. While I am not a vet, he seems perfectly healthy."


    Furrowing her brow, she smirks curiously. "My guess is that he finds some comfort atop your head. After what he probably experienced in the Vacuum Trap, I cannot exactly fault him for finding something."


    Bach sighs and stares ahead unamused. "I guess. I mean, fair enough..."


    Seconds later, he feels a familiar five claw points of slight pressure on his forearm and glances down to Cideeda. "Yes?"


    Cideeda signals Bach down closer. Bach leans down close to Cideeda''s eye level, puzzling, and cocks his head to the side, whispering. "What?"


    With a toothy grin, Cideeda pops up on the balls of her feet, raises her hand to the top of Bach''s head, and playfully pets the ruin squirrel, to its enjoyment. She fights a bit of guilt and shrugs her shoulders. She flutters her emerald green eyes with an awkward smile at Bach''s narrowing stare. "Sorry. I didn''t want to be left out. And... I couldn''t reach that high."


    ----


    Heccaeh carefully slips his clawed fingers underneath the sleeping ruin squirrel, gently lifts him up from Bach''s head, and swiftly carries him off into an awaiting cage. His hands clear the enclosure, and Chana quickly closes the door shut. She locks it securely and covers the carrier with a dark blanket. Bach brushes his fingers through his long brown hair with a white patch and shakes off a few seed shells. "Oh man... Thank you! Every time we tried to get him off, the little guy would just claw onto my skin more."


    Chuckling lightly, Heccaeh grins and flicks his furry ears. "Not a problem. I''ve had to do similar when Ralli and Orrento got too riled up. Those seeds are tasty... And nice, mild sedatives."


    He pauses a moment in thought and gazes over to the covered cage, shaking his head. "That''s still strange how he latched on to you. The only time I''ve ever seen them that stubborn is when they are in their nests."


    Searching his mind, Bach stands up from his seat upon the ground and curiously inquires. "Really? Huh. So, where do they make their nests, usually?"


    Heccaeh thinks a moment and plainly explains. "Well, they''re ruin squirrels. They live around old ruins in the zones, hence the name. They like to be high up and glide from spot to spot. But..."


    Furrowing his brow, he ponders out loud. "They REALLY like to make their nests in places where old magical power once was. Don''t really understand it, myself. But, if there''s an old magic circle, they nest all around it at the highest points around and often on it if they think they can get away with it."


    Bach eyes briefly widen and dart around uneasily. He brushes himself off with an awkward hint in his tone. "Oh... Um... Huh... Interesting..."


    Aristespha bows slightly and politely to Captain Hays. "Thank you so much for meeting us so quickly."


    Captain Hays smiles with a chuckle and tips his wide brimmed hat respectfully with his cybernetic arm. "Ah. Not a problem at all. Actually, you saved us some time."


    He motions over to the cage and small magical containment tank holding a golden barrier enclosed, crystal speckled stone. "Even if you turned that anomaly source to the guild, we would have had to pick it up from them anyway. This just saved us the trip."


    Shaking his head, he sighs. "We''ve been running around a lot lately, so one less drive to make, helps us."


    His smile fades to a grimace, and his tone shifts into a serious cadence. "Also... I''ve been meaning to relay some information to you all. It''s a bit of a mix. So, I''ll start with the good news."


    He draws a long breath in. "Both Captain Hackle and I have been contacted by all those ex-Terra Priest folks. Some didn''t have criminal records with anyone that mattered, so many are going back to regular lives. The rest have records with a few places, but Hackle and I are brokering some deals to get them to work it off... With appropriate service and trades of information."


    Hearing the news, relief and satisfaction emerge on Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. With a grim expression overtaking his face, Hays sighs sadly. "And... That information has gotten more valuable. Since it seems like that group is the only resource we have anymore."


    A wave of concern and confusion washes over the team. Captain Hays grits his teeth, rests his hands at his sides, and slowly shakes head, tipping his head down. "Simply put. After that golem attack on the Chrome Crusaders, Appaland army sent a clean up team. I''m not sure if Captain Hackle can''t say or doesn''t exactly know... But..."


    He eases out a long exhale. "If I know Appaland... It probably wasn''t good."


    An uneasy, dour mood looms above the gathering, hints of somber frowns slip out. Seconds later, Captain Hays draws in a long breath and presents a resolute smirk. "My apologies for being the bearer of bad news. But, don''t let that discount the good you all did."


    Nodding appreciatively, Bach glances around his mind for a moment. "Ah. It''s okay. Just feels a little weird."


    Similar sentiment appears on the rest of the team. Captain Hays smiles understandingly, adjusting his hat, and crosses his arms. "Yeah. It''s a strange one."


    Studying the dark blue night sky overtaking the reddish glow of dusk on the horizon, he furrows his brow and hums thoughtfully. "Well... It''s about dinner time for my team. You all want to join us over at the local Pancake Shed? End the night on a nicer note?"


    A toothy grin grows on Cideeda, and an eager spark lights her eyes, studying Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "No objections from me."

 Episode 61

    Upon the couch, Cideeda slowly drags a finger tip along her aetherphone, watching the text scroll on the display. Her furry ear flicks towards the television, and she rolls her head of short, multi-colored hair over towards the screen. She lazily reaches a hand out on the coffee table, grasps hold of the remote, and presses a claw tip upon a few of the rubber buttons. Satisfied with a different program on screen, she settles back into the couch, stretching her body out along the cushions, and wags her tail with a yawn. Her attention drifts back to her aetherphone, and she releases a long, relaxed sigh. "Well... I think all the easy jobs got snatched up yesterday. There''s NOTHING I really want to do left on the lists."


    Sunken in the couch chair, Aristespha pivots her gaze away from her tablet, glancing over to Cideeda. "Yes. It certainly seems to be the case. I even tried looking last night, and I am not seeing anything new today."


    Adjusting the pillow under her head, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, smirking, and drapes a blanket over her from the back of the couch. "Yeah... Wouldn''t have minded doing another day of small clean up jobs. But..."


    She flicks up her clawtips upon her phone screen, frowning at the same stagnant list. "What remains is just too scattered to even bother with."


    Grinning comfortably, she rests her phone down on her chest and turns her attention to the television. "And... Anyway... I''m already settled in for this marathon."


    With a chuckle to herself, Aristespha smiles understandingly and rests her focus upon her tablet, studying the information prompts on the screen of her game. Sebastian''s ethereal form reaches out a hand, and he points out an area of the game map. "I think you need to build fortifications here, dear."


    Waving her ivory hand, Aristespha playfully shoos Sebastian off his perch near her shoulder. She twists her mouth with a hint of frustration and grumbles, narrowing her violet eyes upon the task. "I KNOW, Sebastian. But, not yet. I want to get the refinery going now."


    Sebastian drifts back slightly, rolls his translucent blue eyes with a smirk, and mumbles. "The computer is going to start poking your defenses soon..."


    Aristespha angles the tablet screen gradually away from Sebastian''s prying eyes, and he floats above to get a new view. Aristespha''s long pointy ear twitches at Sotalia''s frustrated groans, and she glances over towards the dining table. Sotalia narrows her competitive, golden glare at Bach and points accusingly at the last block on the wooden tower. "Oh, come on! You KNOW that should have fallen off."


    Grinning widely, Bach weaves his fingers together upon the table top and waits patiently, expectantly. "Maybe. But... It didn''t. So..."


    With a trace of superiority, he furrows his brow. "Now, it''s your turn to pull."


    Sotalia flexes her fingers and straightens her posture, focusing upon the smug smile of Bach. Curling an annoyed smirk, she sighs through her gritting teeth. "FINE. There''s just no good choices, NOW."


    Rolling his blue eyes off to the side, Bach slowly shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, you probably shouldn''t have been trying to stack it so badly to trip me up."


    Staring seconds at Bach unamused, Sotalia groans in partial acceptance and gradually nods to a begrudging smile. "I know... I know... GODS... There''s just nothing obviously good to work with."


    A tinge of evil satisfaction creeps out upon Bach''s light tan face, and he watches Sotalia''s hand hover indecisively around the barely stable wooden block structure. Summoning a flow of magical energy to her finger, she presses a long nailed tip to a loose piece in the tower. The block flickers to a purple color, surprising Sotalia, and pushes away from her finger. The tower sways back and forth, Sotalia struggling to stabilize the purple glowing block. With a final tip too far, the structure''s high center of gravity pulls it down, splashing out upon the tabletop. Sotalia crosses her arms upon the table, lowers her head down, and quietly curses to herself. Maintaining a muted grin, Bach watches Sotalia slowly scoop her arm out to gather all the pieces near her. Heavy, energetic footsteps sound out from the archway leading to the hallway, and Dretphi nearly hops out with a bright grin on her face and brushes a few stray braids off to her shoulders. "Have good news!"


    Springing back to awareness, the other team members turn to Dretphi. Taking a few moments to temper her excitement, Dretphi collects her thoughts, focusing on her words. "My house traveled to investigate a school for my brother. Storm delayed original flight back a week."


    Dretphi breathes out and averts her steely gray eyes with a humored smile, shrugging. "Mother... negotiated... with the travel company. They will arrive in an Amaranth Valley hotel tomorrow night. Free Saturday. Fly out Sunday."


    A bit of anxiety slips out upon her tan face, and she gazes out to the group, fighting a bit of tension. "Would it be okay to invite them here Saturday? For the day?"


    With a delighted smile, Sebastian nods quickly and motions his arms out. "Well, of course! I don''t believe we have anything going on Saturday? Any objections?"


    Aristespha shakes her head and pleasantly smiles at Dretphi. "None from me. I would be honored to meet your house."


    Giving a thumbs to Dretphi, Cideeda grins toothily. "Fine with me. I mean, they''re all the way out here. They may as well stop on by."


    Sotalia smiles at Dretphi, chuckling to herself. "I''ve only seen pictures of them. So, it''ll be interesting to see the family resemblance in person."


    Bach nods to Dretphi, tilting his head curiously. "I mean, sounds good. By the way, where are they flying to Sunday?"


    Dretphi gazes at Bach, thinking a moment, and plainly states. "Verdan. In Radotahin. My home town."


    Blinking in thought for a few seconds, Bach gradually turns his head, processing the information. A moment later, he quirks his puzzled brow. "Oh. Okay. Where is that exactly?"


    Dretphi glances around the large living and dining space, ponders briefly, and points westwards, adjusting her aim a few degrees to the north. "Approximately one thousand seven hundred kilometers that direction."


    Bach''s blue eyes widen, and he blinks astonished. "Wow."


    Sebastian chuckles, flying across the room, and lands next to the dining table. "Yeah. That''s a story right there."


    Grumbling slightly, Dretphi sighs briefly and dons a happy smile on her face. "Another time. Now... I want to make a nice lunch to celebrate."


    She quickly walks around the dining table into the kitchen area, opens the refrigerator door, and inspects the contents. Seconds later, she frowns and sighs with disappointment. "Missing certain ingredients..."


    Stirring from her rest upon the couch, Cideeda squirms from comfort under her blanket. "I guess we could make a run to the store..."


    Bach blinks back to awareness, glances over towards Cideeda, and gazes through the sliding glass window to the pleasant glow of the sunny, calm morning. Sliding back his chair from the dining table, he stands up and gazes around at the group. "You know. It''s a nice day. I''ll run out on my bike. The sidecar can hold the groceries easily."


    Halting her rise from the comfortable spot on the couch, Cideeda slowly sinks herself back down into the cushion and grins approvingly. "Well, I''m not going to argue."


    With an economical minded perk of her light brown brow, she smiles, her tail tip wagging from under the blanket. "Saves us the synth diesel, anyway."


    Bach smirks to Sotalia, lifting a competitive eyebrow. "Rematch after I get back?"


    Sotalia presents a scheming grin and interlocks her fingers together. "Of course. I''ll stack it nicely for YOU."


    Rolling his eyes in amusement, he walks around the table into the kitchen, retrieves his aetherphone, and stands next to Dretphi. "So, what do I need to get?"


    Dretphi lists off a few items, waits for Bach to record them in his phone, and peeks over his shoulder to double-check. Bach reads off the list to Dretphi''s approval and steps over towards the kitchen door leading to the garage. "Cool. I''ll get the bike warmed up, throw my gear on, and I''ll be off."


    Dretphi smiles warmly at Bach, and the door closes. Sotalia eyes over towards Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. Moments later, Dretphi rolls her shoulders uncomfortably and notices Sotalia''s gaze, puzzling. "What?"


    With a snort, Sotalia waves off the attention and rolls her golden eyes away from Dretphi''s confusion. "Oh... Nothing."


    ----


    Isaac flexes his grip upon the steering wheel of the sedan and glances over to a large sign. The sun warms the green plastic covered metal and glints faintly off the white, reflective lettering showing locations and distances. Brushing a few stray white hairs out of his face, Isaac narrows his gaze upon the single digit number next to Amaranth Valley at the top and wanders down the list, studying a few of the other locations. He stares out ahead at the highway and modest amount of traffic, humming to himself in thought. Flicking his gray eyes over, he checks over his supplies and sneers uncomfortably, realizing the abundance of open, empty containers to sealed, full ones. Returning his attention forward, his eyes drop down briefly, and he furrows his brow at the fuel gauge indicator creeping ever closer to empty. He grumbles to himself, mumbling uneasily. Staring off into the distance, he surveys the scattered stores filling the sides of the highway in the section ahead. He squinting towards a fuel station along the opposite side of the road and wanders his search down the highway. A sidecar motorcycle approaching down the other lane catches his attention. Issac''s eyes open wide in sheer surprise. Recognition homes in on the familiar helmet, duster, and face of the rider, all zipping past the gas station. Visually following the motorcycle, Isaac watches the vehicle and rider turn into a grocery store parking down the road.


    Isaac snaps his attention forward, maintaining control of the sedan against a surge of tension. His face plays out a mix of apprehension and intrigue, furrowing his brow with the flurry of thoughts. From the cracked window, the wind flutters the edges of pictures in his open backpack upon the passenger floorboard. Spotting the photographs, Isaac ponders a moment, determination swelling within. He cracks a smirk and tightens the grip on his steering wheel. Slowing down into the middle lane, he steers the vehicle around in a tight U-turn and powers the car down the road towards the grocery store. Hunting around the area, he spots a secluded section of alley road behind the gas station and turns into an entry. He checks the vicinity and locates an obscured section of access road. Parking the vehicle out of the way, he stares down the long stretch of connecting passageway, leading towards the large market parking lot. He slowly eases out a few calming breaths and vents out his nerves. Isaac searches his mind and blatantly contemplates his options upon his tan, faintly sunned face. Blinking through his thoughts, he straightens his posture and pulls up his blue scarf over his nose.


    Noxian opens the door, steps out, and quietly pushes the door shut. He calmly, confidently walks towards the grocery store parking lot.


    ----


    Bach exits the market section of the large grocery store hoisting up two stuffed paper bags by the handles. Dodging around traffic and other customers, he weaves through the chaos and arrives at his motorcycle parked between two large, tall vehicles. Glancing to either side of the spot, he furrows his brow at the encroachment beyond the painted lines and groans. "Really people?"


    With a roll of his eyes, he shrugs off the annoyance and slips through the remaining space. Lowering each bag into the sidecar, he carefully arranges the contents and secures the cargo. He stands up, brushes off his duster, and fans out some heat. From behind, a familiar voice stuns Bach motionless. "It is a nice day for a ride, Mr. Warwick."


    Bach''s blue eyes open fully. His expression blanks. And, he stiffly stands up straight. Gradually pivots in place, he turns towards the source of the voice. Noxian smiles wide underneath his blue scarf, crosses his arms, and sheds a magical veil, now fully visible. "I apologize for interrupting your shopping, but I believe we need to have a little discussion."


    Every muscle in Bach''s body tenses, his eyes dart around the area frantically, and he remains still, flits of confusion and fear twisting his face. Focusing his gray gaze upon Bach, Noxian gently motions his hands for Bach to calm down. "Put yourself at ease, Bach. I certainly did NOT come here to a populated area to pick a fight with you."


    The din of surrounding shoppers rises up from the background, waves of noisy people shifting around the pocket of space between the two large trucks. Bach cringes briefly, gritting his teeth, and grumbles uneasily. "OKAY... That''s good to know. Wasn''t really looking forward to a fight. Much less one here... Much less with you..."


    With the outline of a grin visible under his blue scarf, Noxian nods and unfolds his arms, placing his hands upon his sides. "GOOD. I expected as such. Anyway..."


    He furrows his brow and sighs. "I distinctly believe that fighting would not serve to benefit either of us."


    Noxian chuckles slightly and tilts his head, intrigued. "While I have grown to be quite the expert in manipulation of elder energies... I certainly don''t have access to the RAW POWER like..."


    With Bach visibly perplexed at the attention, he narrows his stare through Bach. "YOU do."


    Bach pales, abject horror overwhelming him, and trembling fits sneak around his body. "Uh... Um... W-what are you t-talking about? I don''t have-"


    Hoisting his eyebrow incredulously, Noxian rolls his gray eyes, loudly sighs with a shake of his head, and glares right at Bach. "OH. Let us NOT do this act. I KNOW you have tapped into SOMETHING. Proper evidence shows such even."


    Softening his expression, Noxian gazes at Bach with genuine curiosity, his tone lightening to a polite cadence. "All that I ask is you to just tell me..."


    He furrows his brow and focuses fully upon Bach. "HOW did you do IT?"


    With his mind floundering for a response, Bach stares right at Noxian, completely uncertain. Noxian patiently waits, the sounds of grocery store customers filling the air around. Bravery swells up into Bach, and he narrows his glare. "Well... Huh. I mean, I''m not going to lie to you..."


    He grits his teeth, sneers his upper lip, and defiantly states. "I. DON''T. KNOW."


    Noxian scrutinizes Bach thoroughly, a flicker of white sparking in his eyes, and contorts his face. Bach sighs uneasily, and nerves shove out a further explanation. "It''s the truth. I was in a bad situation. I panicked... Reached out? Well, ah, that''s the best way I can explain it. And..."


    Mustering up his resolve, he steels himself. "Something happened I did not expect, and it completely caught me off guard. After that, I don''t know. So, even if I WANTED to help you, I honestly CAN''T."


    Tense seconds pass. Noxian slowly nods, relaxing his gaze, and twists his mouth unsatisfied, shrugging his shoulders. "I see. That is very unfortunate. But, I cannot rightly fault you for not remembering specific information in a dire situation. Oh well. No easy answers today, I guess."


    Donning an apologetic tone, he softens his gaze towards Bach and bows slightly. "Since we are here and conversing, I do think I need to make some amends for my past behavior towards you. Let me say, I am very sorry for how I acted before and my hostilities towards you."


    He sighs and grimaces uncomfortably. "My ambitions got the better of me, at the time, and led me into actions I should not have even remotely considered."


    Apprehension overtakes Bach, and he wrestles down a wave of bewilderment, glancing around. He collects himself and focuses back upon Noxian. "Um... I... Well... Appreciate your apology?"


    Noxian smiles under his scarf, nods respectfully, and stands tall with a calm voice. "Good. And, as a gesture of goodwill, I want to offer you assistance with learning how to control your elder energy and train you how to use it more effectively."


    Freezing solidly for seconds in outright terror, Bach forces a step back and lifts his hands up. "NO."


    Carefully watching every motion of fear plain upon Bach, Noxian perks his brow intrigued and concern colors his voice. "Interesting. Why are you so hesitant?"


    Anxiety spins lose into a wave of rage and radiates through the whole of Bach. Breathing shakily, he pushes another step back away from Noxian. "Whatever I have... I-it doesn''t n-need your help. Not YOUR ways."


    Noxian ponders a few moments, searching Bach''s fearful demeanor, and sighs with genuine worry. "Please, calm down. This is not some kind of scheme. I honestly do want to help you. You shouldn''t fear this power you have access to." Pausing in thought, he meets Bach''s stare and calmly assures. "It''s not some kind of evil thing. It is still dangerous and should be well respected, but there is nothing bad about it."


    He slowly steps forward, maintaining his watch of Bach, and presents a cool, collected exterior. "To summarize a very long discussion quickly... You''ve been lied to. The whole Elder Energy and Dark Lords subject? It''s a bunch of fear mongering crafted by ghosts of the past to keep people from exploring what they eventually should."


    With a long pause, Noxian searches his mind, constructing the next parts of his explanation. "There may have been good reasons for what many wise mages did at the time, all so long ago. But, NOW? We NEED to MOVE ON. Those of us who can show the restraint and dedication..."


    He narrows his stare at Bach. "Like YOU have... Need to not be afraid to utilize this power-"


    A mental shock jolts Bach''s body free. Bach winces briefly, and a pressure surge of panic launches out a defiant rant from deep within. "FUCK. THAT. Just FUCK that! GODS! You don''t know what should and shouldn''t be utilized. The only gods damned reason I''ll explore any of this power is to figure out how to one day... CUT MYSELF OFF FROM IT! Because of this bullshit, I spent YEARS of my life as a washed out, useless, lame mage. A fucking disgrace! A worthless disappointment! And, the worst joke around! I''m NOT about to turn this miserable, shitty curse into anything more than a means to its own end! I want it long gone! And, I want to just cast spells like I used to be able to! Like EVERYONE else does!"


    He jabs a pointed finger out towards Noxian. "FUCK. YOUR. INANE. BULLSHIT!"


    Noxian rears his head back momentarily in absolute surprise and frowns, witnessing Bach''s trembling stance and anxiety-stressed breathing. With a soothing, paternal cadence, Noxian meets Bach''s eyes and sighs. "Bach. Listen. You have been given a unique opportunity for some reason. Yes, it was granted to you in a terribly awkward and obviously devastating manner. But..."


    Drawing in a long breath, Noxian smiles hopefully under his scarf and encouragement colors his tone. "What you have... THIS is something I DID NOT think was even POSSIBLE in this day and age. You should take this chance and do great, wonderful things!"


    Uncertainty powers Bach''s defiance, and he dismissively rejects with a wave of his hand. "Nothing GOOD is going to come from using this energy. They put the Abstract Prism in place for a good gods damned reason. And, I''m not about to push my shitty luck and find out WHY in the worst fucking way possible."


    A surge of irritation mixes with frustration upon Noxian''s face, and he quickly closes the distance between him and Bach. He concentrates his narrowing glare through Bach and slowly, purposefully pronounces each word. "It CAN be for good. It COULD have done good..."


    His attention shifts to a distant place in his mind, and he reflects upon old memories, Bach noticing the change. Seconds later, Noxian drills his stare right into Bach''s soul. "AND. It HAS done good."


    In utter confusion, Bach searches around in his mind between flicks of his eyes. Stepping back, Noxian draws in a long calming breath and sighs into a deeply appreciative cadence. "The Nightmare Geist in Hattan. Thousands of people spared from untold destruction... And one little girl that draws you as her hero of light against the darkness that almost took her."


    Jarring memories rise up to the front of Bach''s mind, and he abruptly yanks his attention to within. Noxian focuses upon Bach and directs his voice carefully. "Also... Care to explain to me how Cideeda is flowing magical energy now? Something I''ve never seen or heard of her being able to do... Until you joined the group?"


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Bach sifts through another collection of thoughts and mumbles an argument to himself. "But, I, uh, um... That was an accident and... Gods, it could have seriously hurt her... It just shows that power should- I mean, shouldn''t be used... Just sealed away..."


    Training his full attention upon Bach, Noxian waits for the moment Bach meets his determined stare. "Bach. You should NOT be afraid of this power. Don''t act like you haven''t made willing, purposeful choices to use it. You could have easily not used it, stuck to those hollow principles, and tried to live with the results. But..."


    Examining the turmoil slipping out through Bach, he reassures. "You made a choice. The RIGHT choice..."


    He drills his stare into Bach and states clearly. "I''m certain Sotalia would say so."


    An uncomfortable revelation washes over Bach, paralyzing him, and he wanders through his own head. Noxian observes the perplexed Bach patiently, stepping back. An awkward eerie silence looms between the two, pushing away the rest of the world. Tense seconds later, the quiet fades, and another wave of grocery store parking lot activity rises out of the background. Shaking his head of wispy, white hair, Noxian sighs and gazes at Bach with a hopeful tone. "I understand. You still need time to accept all this. I can see and feel that it''s been a serious burden upon you. And truly, I wish I had known sooner. I could have... AND still will help you, if you want."


    He straightens his posture and calmly states. "THAT is my standing offer to you. Keep it in mind."


    Pondering a moment, Noxian crosses his arms and nods slightly. "And maybe, when you learn more, you''ll hear me out about other things."


    He searches around the area, the market getting busier, and smiles under his scarf. "But... For now, I do terribly need to take my leave. As much as you have errands to run, I do so, too. Elsewhere... Briefly..."


    Pausing moment, he smirks. "Take care of yourself, Bach. I believe Fate will have us running into each other soon enough."


    Noxian begins to fade into transparency and turns to walk away. Bach snaps back to awareness and stares out to the disappearing Noxian. "Isaac?"


    Isaac freezes in shock, slowly turns around, and slips backs into visibility, gawking at Bach. Meeting Isaac''s gray eyes, Bach plainly states to Isaac''s confusion. "Your journal."


    Distant memories flood into Isaac''s consciousness, and he winces with past, still sharp, pain. Bach sighs earnestly and frowns slightly. "You have my most sincere condolences. I don''t know what I would have done. Hopefully for the best, that place is no longer forgotten."


    A long, somber silence hangs between the two. Seconds later, Isaac clears his throat and turns away to depart, fading into invisibility. He pauses momentarily short of disappearing and glances over his shoulder to Bach. "Thank you..."


    Thinking for a moment, he sighs sadly. "Understand... There''s a good reason for what I do. I think you''ll understand, eventually."


    Isaac''s visage blends into the air, and his presence fades from sight. Bach remains upon his feet for another minute in a tense watch of the area. His vigor wanes, and he plops upon the seat of his motorcycle. Panting in shuddering breaths, he shakily retrieves his aetherphone from his pocket.


    ----


    With his arms upon the dining tabletop, Bach props his head up, combing his fingers through his hair, and releases the swell of stress from within into a long sigh. Slowly shaking his head, he meekly relents in a wavering, uneasy tone. "Gods... Dammit... Oh, man... I should have followed after him, or SOMETHING... But... FUCK. I just wasn''t thinking. I am so sorry."


    Sebastian cranes his head down in front of Bach, awaits eye contact, and dons a comforting smile, hints of worry fading. "Hey. It''s okay, bro. Really. There''s NOTHING to apologize for. You did the SMART thing. No need to get into a showdown with Noxian, and in a crowded place."


    He curls a humoring grin and motions towards his ghostly visage. "I''m certainly not going to criticize you for NOT going one on one with Noxian. We all know how THAT ended. I''m just glad you''re here and safe."


    Gently patting Bach on the back, Sotalia leans over and smiles calmly with a soothing tone. "There was no point in running off by yourself to chase after him."


    She rolls her golden eyes at herself, smirking. "Gods, I mean, you only followed the same advice YOU gave ME."


    A slight smile lifts up the frown upon Bach, and he glances over appreciatively to Sotalia. Cideeda raps her claw tipped fingers on the wooden tabletop and gazes over to Bach curiously, pondering out loud. "Did you catch how he was getting around?"


    Bach lifts his head up, blinks in thought for a moment, and regretfully shakes his head. "No... I was too upset and out of it to check when I should have. But..."


    Furrowing his brow, he wrestles around a grimace. "I don''t think it was anything in the parking lot I was in. Before I came back here after calling, I mage sighted an odd trace of elder energy around the bushes at the edge of the lot. I followed a little of it, but it just led to an access road in an alley behind a few stores and fuel stations."


    Cideeda''s emerald green eyes dart around her thoughts, and she nods with a plotting grin, her furry ears perking up. "OH, I bet there HAS to be at least one camera along that route. If nothing else, there''s probably one angled to catch anything at an exit or entry point."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form scratches his chin, and he hums with a ghostly reverb, piecing together a theory. "Yeah. Definitely. We have the rough time frame and know the general area. If we check footage from the point from the call, we can see if anything left soon afterwards. Because I doubt Noxian hung around. THEN, we can check to see if any of the same vehicles arrived beforehand."


    Halting her pacing next to the sliding glass door, Aristespha furrows her ivory brow, fully focused upon the conversation with her aetherphone, and sighs. "No- No... I completely understand. But-"


    She briefly winces and relaxes slightly. "Fine. Yes, please do not hesitate to call his number or the guild if you get any further information. Thank you."


    Removing the phone from her long pointy ear, she sneers her upper lip and groans out in frustrated resignation. With a slow pivot, she steps towards the gathering around the dining table, dissatisfaction looming heavily over her. Pulling a chair out, she tries to gracefully slide in and finishes with a slump. "WELL, the local police force has been notified, now. I highly doubt they are going to do much of anything to actively stop Noxian."


    Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes, grumbling, and summons up a hopeful smirk. "Yeah, dear. Well... Honestly, I can''t fault them for not wanting to chase after a dark lord. But, maybe they might be able to get some camera data in the area from all the store owners."


    With a reserved smile, Aristespha nods in agreement and gazes up towards Sebastian lovingly. "That is true, Sebastian. I was certainly hoping for a bit more cooperation than what I got."


    Narrowing her wandering stare, she frowns vaguely. "And, I have NOT heard that much from Nash lately. So, I have not a clue as to what is exactly happening at the Grand Library."


    She chuckles lightly to herself and shakes her head. "But, I have a good feeling after he listens to the voicemail I left him... He WILL be contacting me soon enough."


    Sotalia stands up straight, resting her hands at her hips, and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair, gritting her teeth. "STILL... How the hell DID Noxian know about everything that went on in that golem factory?!"


    Curling her upper lip into a mean scowl, she squints her anger off to the side. "GODS! The only thing that makes any sense is that he was actually THERE with us!"


    She grumbles out a string of emin swears to herself, slowly shaking her head with aggravation plain on her light tan, gray edged face. Cideeda squirms in her seat uncomfortably, searching her own thoughts, and idly flexes her fingers. "He had to have been there for a while watching us to notice ME flowing magical energy."


    Crossing his arms with an irritated frown, Sebastian groans out his frustration and rolls his eyes dismissively. "Yeah... THANKS A LOT for the non-assist, Noxian. Still..."


    He lowers his head in thought. "That list of coordinates we''ve got..."


    Furrowing his brow at the pieces of facts and evidence congregating in his mind, he cocks his head intrigued. "It''s definitely THE LIST he''s using. I can''t think of any other reason he''d show up there. We only knew the exact coordinates from the list and confirmed it was something worth checking out after what Faelatelia told us."


    Bach sighs, resting against the chair back, and closes his eyes with worn cadence. "Well, somehow that site we got the data from must be able, or have been able, to detect elder energy or some kind of signature of it. Man, wish we knew what all the other numbers meant."


    Reopening his eyes, he slumps his shoulders and stares within his own head, puzzling at memory. "Something I did not think was even possible in this day and age... Elsewhere... Briefly... Gods dammit. I can''t shake this feeling he''s changing his focus to something else."


    He furrows his brow and grimaces. "FUCK. I feel like I just let him know about something he shouldn''t."


    Aristespha smiles comfortingly and shakes her head slowly. "It is NOT your fault, Bach. Just because he knows something exists, does not mean he will be able to remotely replicate it."


    A scheming smirk graces her, and she tilts her head to the side, a plotting smile emerging. "In fact... It may serve to our benefit if he is distracted. Isaac worked at the Grand Library, and if he has any of the bad habits that such entitles..."


    Perking an eyebrow, she curls the corner of her mouth, hopefully. "He will probably be researching this new development. Which will take him off his previous path."


    Cideeda''s emerald green eyes widen, her furry ears perk up, and she grins toothily with a chuckle. "AND, while he''s busy chasing something that might not turn up anything, we can go through the list and beat him to other sites."


    Hope growing within, Bach nods in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, it really felt like he was changing his focus to something else. If only for a little while."


    Sotalia crosses her arms, shifts her weight, and grins with a competitive spark. "Oh, it''d be NICE to get ahead of his plans for once."


    Glancing down at Bach with a wry smirk, she lifts an examining eyebrow at him and leans closer with an amused tone. "So, how about that offer from Noxian to help you?"


    Bach blinks back to full awareness, narrows a stare up at Sotalia, twisting his mouth in ill-humor. "Oh yeah. That sounded like a GREAT offer. I''m certain taking magic tips from a dark lord will REALLY help me out in the long run... And, TOTALLY, not set me up for an inevitable betrayal after he learns what he wants from me."


    Sotalia snickers, rolling her golden eyes, and shakes her head. "Gods, I''m just kidding."


    Pausing a moment, she wrestles with a grimace. "That was still REALLY STRANGE of him."


    Bach nods, staring out across the table bewildered, and furrows his brow, reprocessing recent events. "I know. I mean, he seemed genuine when he offered. I just don''t know..."


    Dretphi walks in from the kitchen carrying a large tray full of different, delectable lunch items in each hand, lays out the huge platters of sandwiches and sides on the tabletop, and glances over the group. "Lunch is ready. Please enjoy."


    Gazing at Bach with a warm smile, she asks hopefully. "Are you hungry now? I can set aside a share for later. Give your appetite time to recover."


    Bach sniffs the air, surveys the variety of delicious food in front of him, and shakes his head. "No, I can certainly eat. My stomach acid has been working on me for the last hour, so this amazing food is perfect right now."


    Dretphi nods appreciatively, waiting as the rest of the group sits down around the table, and slips into a chair to join in the feast.


    ----


    Dretphi stands under the morning shade of a tree with her hands securely gripped around her flow blade. With slow, careful breaths, she concentrates her gaze at the large sword, affixing her full attention upon it. Moments later, flows of prismatic energy seep out from her arms, glide over her hands, and sink into the handle of the weapon. With his glowing blue eyes studying the magic at play, Bach keeps close by, hands firmly at his sides. "You''re doing just fine. Keep it steady and gradually press the flow harder."


    Gritting her teeth slightly, Dretphi closes her steely gray eyes, tossing her platinum blonde braids back, and flexes her tan, gray striped arms. The flows brighten around her arms. The energy channels within the blade, illuminating a radiant red. The color gradually climbs up from the hilt, creeping towards the tip. Visibly straining, Dretphi maintains her focus upon her strenuous task, twisting her grimace. Bach nods slowly, leaning his head closer for examination, and encourages Dretphi with a soft tone. "Okay. Keep it right THERE, for now. Just focus on how it feels rather than the amount of power you are forcing out. Find the paths of least resistance."


    The red patterns fill up the surface of the sword, pulsating slightly with occasional flits of brightness. Subtle tremors from Dretphi''s arms shake the flow blade, very noticeably at the sharp tip. Eagerness and excitement slips out onto Dretphi''s tan face, and she fights against her sheer determination, the progression of red gracing the end point. Grinning, Bach calls out, signaling with a hand motion. "Now! Full power!"


    An expectant smirk sneaks out from the corner of Dretphi''s mouth. Tensing her body, a rush of flow swirls across Dretphi and plunges into the flow blade. Briefly bursting ethereal red fire, the sword ignites, and a solid glow of crimson lights up the long blade''s edge. A brilliant grin explodes upon Dretphi, and she watches the magical aura of the blade, recognition and familiarity overwhelming her with awe. Seconds later, the energy drifts from the blade. The glow fades from the sword. Dretphi gently lowers the flow blade back down toward the ground, relaxing the muscles in her arms and body, and releases a long sigh of relief and accomplishment. "Thank... You..."


    Standing nearby, Bach applauds and laughs. "You''re welcome. Wow! Is THAT how you remember it looking like when your mother used it?"


    Dretphi rests the blade down, propping it upon the nearby tree trunk, and vents air through her sweat-dampened T-shirt, smiling at Bach. "Similar. There are differences. Does not matter. This was ME. THAT is what matters."


    Nodding in agreement, Bach blinks briefly, pulls his shorts up by the waistband, and tugs his shirt down to cover. "Definitely was you all the way powering it. So, did it feel a bit easier?"


    Wiping sweat off her brow, Dretphi crosses her arms, sorting through the recent experience, and mulls the question over. "In ways. It felt easy to... Reach? Hard to... Fill?"


    Furrowing his brow, Bach scratches his beard-covered chin and ponders out loud. "Yeah. That... That actually makes sense. You can guide the flow well enough to go through all those channels, now. Throughput is always rough, though. Especially with the worn out channels in that sword, but..."


    He smirks with a shrug of his shoulders. "A little brute force can make it cooperate for a little while."


    Averting her gaze away momentarily, Dretphi bites her lower lip and glances uncertainly at Bach. "Does this demonstrate enough mastery for you to teach me magical augmentation?"


    Bach''s eyes spring wide open briefly, and he grits his teeth into an uneasy grimace with an unsure groan. "Uhh... Well..."


    A frown curls the corner of Dretphi''s mouth, and her distant stare saddens swiftly, hints of self disappointment and defeat slipping out. Drawing in a long breath, Bach sighs and crosses his arms firmly. He aims a serious stare upon Dretphi and twists his frown, hesitation tensing his body. "Listen... Can you tell me WHY you want to learn THAT? You mentioned before that someone you know uses this type of magic. Who is it?"


    Dretphi blinks to attention and awkwardly glances around a bit. Presenting a small smile to Bach, she relaxes her posture. "My mother. I have heard tales of her power in battle. The flow blade. Magical augmentation of her body. If the stories are true, my mother has defeated tanks."


    Tilting his head to the side, Bach gazes at Dretphi in astonishment. "Uh. Tanks? The armored battle machine type of tank? Not the big metal container type of thing?"


    Furrowing her tan brow, Dretphi brushes her platinum blonde braids back over her shoulders, rests her hands on her hips, and shifts her weight idly around. "Yes. The vehicle."


    She lifts an eyebrow and twists her mouth in thought. "Probably containers, too. If she had to prove a point near one."


    Bach scratches his head of brown hair, guiding his white streak out of the way of his face, and blinks in disbelief a few times, searching Dretphi''s face for a further explanation. "Okay. So, how did she defeat a... Tank?"


    Dretphi shrugs her shoulders plainly and states simply. "Close in. Cut the treads. Jam the turret. Slice the cannon barrel."


    Bach''s stare drifts off into the vicinity, his mind visualizing the scene. Seconds later, he lands his attention back upon Dretphi''s flow blade propped upon the tree truck. He points at it and cocks his head. "THAT blade, has taken down... Tanks."


    Glancing over, Dretphi meets Bach''s gaze and nods nonchalantly. "Yes. I have heard the stories from my fathers. Soldiers who fought with her. Historical documentation. All recounts were similar."


    She pauses a moment and sighs heavy with shame, lowering her head. "I have wanted to learn that ability from her."


    Narrowing her steely gray eyes, she fights against a frown. "She refuses to teach me. I do not know why. That is why I want you to teach me. Basic proficiency should demonstrate that..."


    Sniffing in a short breath, she swallows hard with a trailing tone. "I... Am worthy to learn from her..."


    Bach stiffen his upper lip and turns his head away, contemplation furrowing his brow. He returns his gaze upon Dretphi with a reserved smile. "Okay... Wow... Alright."


    Pulling in a long breath, he straightens his posture and sternly addresses. "I want you to understand that magical augmentation of your physical body can lead to disastrous things, if you are not careful or prepared. UNDERSTAND?"


    Dretphi snaps to full attention and nods firmly. "YES."


    With a growing grin, Bach chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay. I''ll show you the very basics. It''s going to take a LONG time to get going. And, you still need to keep practicing your ability to flow magical energy."


    Glancing over Dretphi, Bach smiles reassuringly. "Thankfully, you certainly have the physique to handle some very simple stuff safely... I believe."


    A delighted smile springs wide on Dretphi, and her excitement radiates out into her posture. Holding up his hands in a calming motion, Bach sighs with a smirk. "Just PROMISE ME you''ll stick to just simple running and free movement for now. This isn''t like the cartoons where you can charge up and start punching through walls."


    Flexing his fingers, he eyes his knuckles and shakes off a memory. Dretphi nods happily, tempering her joy. "I know. Promise to use for regular movement... ONLY. THANK YOU."


    Bach nods and drifts his attention towards a more immediate issue, pulling his shorts back up. Dretphi glances down, quirks her brow, and points curiously. "What is wrong?"


    Fighting off embarrassment, Bach rolls his blue eyes at himself and grumbles. "I don''t know. I, uh, think the waist must have stretched out in these or something in the last wash. I mean, I''ve had them for a while anyway, so it''s not surprising they''re falling apart. But... They''ve just not been fitting right lately."


    Dretphi slowly shakes her head amused, giggling to herself, and cocks her head to the side. "You may need a belt. I could take in the waist, if you want."


    Bach blinks in surprise, lifts his head up, and gazes at Dretphi, balancing confusion and disbelief . "Really?! You actually think I''m... Slimming down? I mean, I haven''t lost that much weight and all..."


    Continuing to study the looser fit of his clothes, he notices other details. Dretphi watches and hides a warm, humored smile with hand.


    ----


    From a small opening in the underbrush, Meredosia stares out and slowly scans the huge clearing in front of her. Wind gently rustles the leaves of the giant trees encircling the vast area beneath the starry evening sky. Uneasy tension freezes Meredosia''s body still, and her dark crimson eyes search the surrounding darkness carefully. Her ivory face alternates between unsettling recognition and unnerving discovery, scanning the scenery to the limits of her vision. At a distant part of the clearing, a number of uniformed military personnel stand guard outside a scorch mark spattered ancient structures. Other teams of troops methodically investigate both old and recently forged ruins. Surges of terrified bewilderment rise up in Meredosia, her horrified stare drifting between small blast craters, long ruts of laser burns, freshly baked deposits of black soot, bullet holes in and through structures, and dark red blood stains spattered throughout. She freezes her terror upon a faint humanoid outline intertwined into the chaotic destruction upon an ancient stone wall, recording the moments of an existence.


    Blinking out of her stupor, Meredosia remembers to allow air into her lungs and shudders her head away from her view of the ancient clearing. She closes her eyes, carefully draws in silent breaths, and strokes her long gray hair, mustering back her composure. From within, determination swells out, and she levels her concentration upon the largest building in the huge field. Sliding out from her hiding spot in the underbrush, she slinks out low upon a nearby game trail, and swiftly sneaks along the path. Over the quiet minutes, she proceeds quickly from obscuring spots to concealing patches in the overgrowth. In the silence of a still moment, she rushes out from the perimeter of the clearing and arrives in a darkened alley along the side of the large main structure. She creeps up to the front corner, cautiously leans out, and surveys the immediate vicinity. A few lightly armored soldiers walk slowly in a long patrol up to the front entry and stop. Moments later, the conservations between the team and a number of other military guards crest over the soft nature background.


    Gritting her teeth in frustration, Meredosia backs away from the corner and mumbles under her breath a series of evuukian swears. She finds a secluded section of the architecture, draws back into safety, and sits down, softly venting out her unease. She brushes her ivory hands through her gray hair, grasps hold her very long, pointed ears, and closes her eyes, summoning a moment of calm against the anxiety tremors slipping out. Collecting herself, she shudders back to awareness and searches around. Investigating the structural features above, her crimson eyes lock onto an open window. She cocks her head to the side, memory driving her recognition. Quickly checking down either end of the passage and the thick underbrush wall behind, she quietly mutters out an incantation and expertly gestures out a spell. She positions herself below the high up, open window and presses her hand onto the ancient stone building. Streams of energy swirl down her arm to her hand, and Meredosia pulls herself up upon the wall. In a methodical, repetitious sequence, she places hand or foot up and flows energy, securing herself to the climbing face. She crawls higher up towards the awaiting window.


    Arriving below the open window sill, she waits expectantly, her eyes closed and ears hunting. She opens her eyes, raises her gaze above the bottom of the window frame, and peers into the room. In the dark space, an eerie silence looms, pushing out the outside world. With a final pull, Meredosia hoists herself over the sill and slides herself through the opening onto a cold tile floor, next to a ceramic toilet. She quickly gestures out another incantation, and a small orb of light forms within the palm of her hand. Inspecting the dimly illuminated bathroom around her, she slowly stands up, visually traces the muddied footprints upon the floor, and feels the dried dirt leftover upon the sill. Trickles of hope manifest into a smile upon her face, and she stares out into the dark night forest scene outside.


    Quietly, Meredosia slowly steps up to the closed bathroom door, noticing the dim illumination upon the destroyed jam. She presses her long, pointed ear against the wood and waits. Withdrawing, she gently pulls the door back. Her light casts out into the room, revealing a scene of sheer chaos and complete upheaval. Meredosia stares blankly out into the large bed room of dumped over bookshelves, hastily emptied drawers, upturned, broken furniture, ripped open cushions, pried apart chests, and shattered entry door fragments. Frozen in place with the shock, she crosses her arms tightly around herself and shrinks back a bit, her mind fumbling for an expression for her ivory face. Steeling herself, she steps forward through the room, stepping over debris, and pauses momentarily, spotting the dark stains of combat below the surface of destruction. Slowly, she navigates to a spot on the floor beside the upturned bed and kneels down. Feeling around the floor stonework, she guides her fingertips along the grooves and locates a slightly different section than the rest. She breathes out a soft incantation, working her fingers underneath. Lifting a section of floor, she uncovers a hidden compartment containing a modest backpack.


    Meredosia stares silently at the backpack. Reaching out to the top, she curls a finger through a rope loop around a zipper pull and gradually unzips it. The flap drops away and reveals the contents. Meredosia pauses, studying the collection, and winces against the surge of the past. She rummage through and picks up a booklet, flipping it open. A sad sigh leaves her, her light orb illuminating a past picture of herself upon an evuukian identification document. Closing the paperwork, she tucks it securely back inside and zips the backpack back up. She lowers her head, nerves straining each of her breaths.


    A sharp crack echoes distantly down the hallway leading to the bedroom entry. Meredosia''s ears twitch, leading her head, and she gawks in wide eyed fright. A muffled conversation bounces dully down the hall, growing louder with each passing second. Meredosia takes hold of the backpack, slips it on, and deftly sprints to the bathroom, gesturing out an incantation. Maneuvering through the window, she leaps out of the building, glides gently onto the ground, and rushes off into the forest. Cautiously slinking between patches of underbrush, she proceeds further out and away.


    The distance from the clearing grows. Her sprints between hiding spots lengthen. Caution gives way to speed. Far from the start of her escape, terror overwhelms her mind. Across the forest floor, she runs in full out panic. Fear blatant on her ivory face, Meredosia flees in blind terror. Ducking through passages, her lone, long gray hairs snag upon and snap away with branches and brambles. She pants harder with the growing distance. The thin sliver of moon barely adds to the dim starlight slipping in from the canopy above. Meredosia blindly scrambles through passages emerging from the inky darkness. Stealth crumbles with her fragmenting composure. Gasping for breath breath, she stumbles over a shrub. In the moment of pause, a spark of situational awareness graces her. From the ground, her dark crimson eyes refocus, recognizing the surrounding forest. Meredosia scrambles up, glancing around between pants. She snaps her stare towards a secluded patch of closely grown old trees. Darting into hiding, she collapses, out of breath, into a curled up ball, trembling and sobbing. She closes her eyes to world and withdraws into within, tears flowing and wincing with horror.


    The hours pass. Her crying wanes. Her tears dry. She stills and remains quiet. Through the small opening of her hiding spot, she settles a distant stare out into the dark, shadow filled forest. In the idle moments between tensing anxiety, her mind wanders. Furrowing her brow, she narrows her glare out into the world. She searches her outfit''s pockets. With a firm grip, she retrieves a medical supply wrapper and slips it out slowly. Studying the text stamped on, she focuses her dark crimson stare upon two words.


    "Amaranth Valley"

 Episode 62

    In the front yard of the ranch style house, Dretphi paces near the steps leading up to the front door. She occasionally glances out towards the road and slides her expectant gaze along the routes down each direction. Staring out to the horizon, she searches the farthest point of her vision and waits. Moments later, she slowly walks around idly, investigating the opposite way. The wind picks up into a gentle breeze, blowing the grass, rustling the leaves, and swaying Dretphi''s platinum blonde hair braids. The front door opens, and Sotalia leans her head out, peeking around the yard. Tracking Dretphi''s repeating path in the walkway, she smirks with a reassuring sigh . "You know you can wait inside. It''s not like there''s that many other houses out here. I''m sure they''ll find this place and knock on the door soon enough."


    Dretphi perks up, pivoting in place, and smiles appreciatively with a tinge of embarrassment. "I know. Just can not wait. It has been... a while."


    Sliding out from behind the door, Sotalia steps down the stairs and stands next to Dretphi, turning to face the breeze. "Oh, I totally understand. Back when I had a more permanent address, I''d always run around the place making sure everything was perfect for my little nieces and nephews when my sisters would visit."


    She rolls her golden eyes at herself and grumbles playfully with a grin on her light tan, gray edged face. "NOW, there''s more and they''re older, too. So, it''s harder to keep them all entertained anymore."


    Dretphi nods in agreement and sighs with a twist at the corner of her mouth. "Similar to my brothers. Hard to keep their attention now."


    Lifting an eyebrow, Sotalia glances over towards Dretphi with an inquisitive hint. "How old are they now?"


    With a slight groan, Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes and slowly shakes her head. "Twenty. Nineteen. STILL frustratingly immature."


    Sotalia snorts in a chuckle and twists her mouth into a commiserating grimace. "Interesting. And, they''re just NOW looking for schools to go to?"


    Grumbling out her dissatisfaction, Dretphi crosses her faintly gray striped arms and tenses her shoulders against a wave of disapproval. "Decided to take... A BREAK... from schooling. Work part-time at menial jobs. Party the money away."


    Cracking an evil grin, Sotalia puts her hands on her hips and laughs impishly. "AH. So, the fun times are over, because patience has run out?"


    A satisfied smirk grows on Dretphi''s tan face, and she straightens her posture. Chuckling to herself, she nods slowly. "YES. Tekennin is first. Arrenten is next."


    She glances over to Sotalia, furrowing her brow. "Their options... Go to school funded... Work proper jobs to fund the house... Their choice."


    Rolling her eyes with a sly smile, she curls her smirk sharper. "OH. I bet I know the answer to the question."


    With a humored smile, Dretphi glances over and nods. "You do."


    In the distance, a large passenger van drives down the two lane rural highway. Slowing down, it approaches the mailbox in front of the property and turns into the driveway. The vehicle rolls to a stop right behind the humvee, and the engine cuts off. Dretphi waves excitedly to the people inside the van. "That is the rental my mother negotiated."


    Sotalia cocks her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side. "Damn."


    Dretphi rushes over with a skip to her step, the van doors opening and sliding. Sotalia swiftly steps up the stairs, pushes the front door ajar, and calls out inside. "They''re here!"


    From the driver''s seat doorway, a tall, fit grath man steps out of the van, brushes a leaf from a nearby tree off his graying, short brown hair and gazes towards Dretphi happily with steely gray eyes. Dretphi rushes over into his open, gray striped arms. Both hug, exchanging loving greetings in the same dialects of grath. From the sliding door, two other older grath men work their ways out, one similar height to Dretphi and heavier, and the other shorter and wiry. Following behind from the very back seats, two young grath men awkwardly crawl out, one wiry and the other larger. Both stand for a few moments, stretching out their tall frames, and mutter complaints to each other.


    Dretphi hugs and greets the older men. Walking over with a hidden smirk, she approaches the two young men and concentrates a questioning gaze upon both. The heavier young grath notices the attention and pats the other young, thinner grath quickly, motioning towards Dretphi. Both swiftly straighten their postures and wait patiently. Silently, Dretphi adopts a stoic posture and stares at the two, visually scrutinizing them. The examination continues, and Dretphi''s expression softens into a delighted smile. She pulls both of them close with smile. During the group embrace, Dretphi sneaks her hands to the top of their platinum blonde heads and musses up both their hair styles. The thinner man grumbles out annoyed, and he vainly tries to brush his hair back to his desires. The other young man laughs, mocking the vanity of the other, and a quips a joke in grath with Dretphi.


    Walking calmly and confidently around the front of the van, an older grath woman with long braids of platinum fading to dirty blonde passes the older men, and stands behind Dretphi with a collected smile upon her tan face. "Dretphi."


    Reflexively tensing a moment, Dretphi slowly pivots around and meets the woman''s piercing blue eyes at the same level as her own steely gray eyes. She presents a stoic exterior against the strong presence in front of her. The two stare at each other. Seconds later, the older grath woman smiles warmly and embraces Dretphi. Holding each other tightly, both share a laugh. In a shared dialect of grath, the woman poses a question to Dretphi. With a roll of her steely gray eyes, Dretphi shrugs her shoulders and sighs out her response. Nodding in agreement, the older grath woman comments, sharing a similar sentiment.


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Sebastian, and Sotalia stand in a loose grouping near the steps leading to the front door and wait curiously around the tall, large congregation of grath. Dretphi''s situational awareness returns, and she wrestles down a spark of embarrassment, leading the grath group over. "I am sorry. Got carried away. This is my house. House Veranattin."


    Straightening up her posture, Dretphi smiles proudly and motions towards the older grath woman. "This is my birth mother. Meranni Karrenna Prakkenten Veranattin."


    Meranni gazes over the team before her, stands with pride, and bows slightly. "Please. Call me Meranni."


    With a happy tone, Dretphi stands next to the older graying grath man with excitement sneaking out. "My birth father. Commander Ralthetanen Heri Reti Veranattin."


    Sighing with a smirk, Ralthetanen chuckles to himself and bows respectfully to the group with ease and calm. "Ralth is enough. My parents gifted me syllables. I will not burden you with them."


    Dretphi stands between the two older grath men, nodding to the larger of the two. "My house father. Doctor Kettan Arrentit Crettaken Veranattin."


    Kettan grins jovially and chuckles, putting his hands in his pants pockets with a hint of shyness. "Kettan, please. Gods. Have not felt this official for a while."


    Dretphi turns to introduce the other older, shorter, wiry grath man. "My house father. Matakinen Prezzanit Arvenerrin Veranattin."


    Matakinen smirks nonchalantly and raises a hand, waving to the group. "Just Mata."


    Dretphi glances over to the two young grath men behind the front lineup, both whispering between each other. The thin one gestures towards the ground at stray gravel rocks, hides a thumb flicking motion from others, and asks the heavy young man a question, eyeing Sebastian''s transparent form. The other young man pauses in thought, deliberates the idea in his head, and shrugs with a curious glance over to Sebastian. With a plotting grin, the thin young man begins to kneel down. Both young men freeze in place, Dretphi''s hands firmly gripping their shoulders from behind. Directing the two up to the front with everyone else, Dretphi smirks smugly. "These are my brothers."


    Narrowing a suspicious stare to the heavier young man, she recites with a stern tone. "Tekennin Prakkenten Crettaken Veranattin."


    Tekennin stands up straight, bows properly, and innocently replies. "Hello. Nice to meet all of you."


    Dretphi''s attention slides over and concentrates upon the mildly defiant expression of the thin, young man, and she plainly speaks. "Arrenten Prakkenten Arvenerrin Veranattin."


    Grumbling quietly to himself, the young man musters up the posturing and briefly complies with a bow. "Hey."


    The team exchanges greetings with House Veranattin in full, and sparks of small talk lead into the starts of larger discussions. Minutes later, Sebastian glances above to the overhead sun and addresses the group. "Hey, everyone. While the heat doesn''t bother me as much in this form, we do have air conditioning inside."


    The collective pauses, briefly ponders under the near noon sun, and organizes their escape, filtering through the front door. Dretphi waits with her mother, both discussing a topic in grath with importance stressing their tones. Her mother informing, Dretphi squints towards the van and notices two large, full, canvas sacks in the back. Pointing to the bags, she motions to herself, asking a question, and signals towards the house. Meranni grins, patting her daughter''s shoulder, and shakes her head confidently. Narrowing a stare right at Tekennin and Arrenten climbing up the steps, she recites their names in a motherly, commanding cadence. Both brothers halt, pivot towards their mother, and wait for further instructions. Meranni glances over to the van, instructs them with a snap of her fingers, and walks to the front door. With a hint of a sly smile, Dretphi follows behind her mother. Tekennin and Arrenten maintain their silent compliance. Meranni and Dretphi go inside. Out of earshot, the two siblings commiserate in mocking tones, gathering the plentiful cooking supplies from the vehicle.


    ----


    Within the living space of the ranch style house, a large gathering converses around the dining table. Sitting on a mix of regular dining chairs and extra seating provisioned from other places, Dretphi''s house members and the team converse in an array of changing individual exchanges. Between the main kitchen and pantry, Meranni and Dretphi dutifully rotate through a variety of tasks. Demonstrating experience-earned expertise, mother and daughter talk and comment in grath seamlessly between topics, carrying out their chores instinctively. Occasionally, in between flurries of activity, both pause for a quick break and coordinate the next steps, listening in on the current discussions going on in the living room. Arrenten and Tekennin competitively play a fighting game on the old gaming console attached to the television, playfully antagonistic bouts of banter rising up between the matches.


    Ralthetanen chuckles lightly, glancing over Sebastian, and slowly shakes his head. "Quite the story. THAT must have been an adjustment to make with that form."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Sebastian hovers nearby and sighs ethereally, twisting an awkward smirk. "Tell me about it. It still is an ongoing adjustment. I wouldn''t say it''s great, but..."


    He furrows his translucent brow and rocks his head side to side in deliberation. "It could be worse. So far, being kind of intangible has been useful. Though... Still don''t think it''s worth it in the long run."


    Nodding in agreement, Ralthetanen smiles calmly towards Sebastian with a compassionate tone. "Sentiment I can understand. Never let unique benefits sway your judgment over undesirable situations. It is why I resigned from my position in the Radotahin military."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Sebastian smirks intrigued, respectfully prying for more information. "So... If it''s okay to ask... What''s the story behind all the drama around that?"


    Cideeda narrows an inquisitive emerald gaze at Ralthetanen and crosses her arms. "Yeah... I''m curious about that, too. I''ve read so many different accounts and waded through SO many aethernet arguments. I wouldn''t mind hearing it from the source for once."


    Rolling his steely gray eyes at himself, Ralthetanen sighs, hints of embarrassment slipping out, and shrugs his shoulders. "Never understood the drama. Thought they wanted me gone before that point. Seems strange they had an issue with it publicly."


    He chuckles lightly and furrows his brow incredulously. "Believe I granted them a generous favor. I left. They did not have to do anything. No bad press... I thought..."


    Twisting her frown along with her internal deliberation, Aristespha tilts her head of silvery blue hair curiously. "Indeed. From what I have read, your company had the lowest attrition and never permanently lost any territory they were defending during the Red Gear Uprising. I believe that should be an admirable achievement."


    A snort spurts out from Matakinen, shaking his wiry frame. Chuckling, he dons a sly grin and sarcastically dips his tone. "OH. He was admirable... NOT VICTORIOUS. Did not lead the troops to great GLORY."


    Narrowing his green eyes, he slides his stare off to the side. "Whatever THAT may be."


    Ralthetanen shakes his head and groans, tinges of past annoyance slipping out. "TRUE. I valued defense over offense. Trickery over... GLORIOUS battles. I believe it worked best overall."


    Kettan laughs loudly and nudges Ralthetanen with his elbow, grinning out to the rest of the gathering around. "Never will forget high command''s faces when we delivered the Red Gear general. ALIVE."


    Donning a satisfied smirk, Ralthetanen shrugs his shoulders humbly and chuckles lightly, holding down a corner grin. "THAT was our redemption. High command could NOT ignore THAT. They kept our many, small accomplishments out of public view. Hard to hide an enemy general delivered during a conference."


    He lifts up an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Think THAT is why command let us all leave without official protest."


    Smiling smugly, Matakinen crosses his olive toned arms and sits up in his seat proudly, tossing back his longer auburn hair. "They did not want our influence to spread."


    He pauses for a moment, relaxes back against his chair, and grimaces. "Requesting honorable discharges worked out for us. Red Gear leadership destroyed. No interest in chasing stragglers."


    Slowly shaking his head, he sighs with hints of disappointment. "Those Red Gears crumbled quick. Would have died of boredom wandering the wastes."


    Bach scratches his chin, glancing over to Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen, and ponders out loud. "Huh. Okay. So, you all served together. I''m kind of curious. I mean, what exact positions? And, how did that lead to what you do now?"


    Ralthetanen nods thoughtfully and calmly comments. "Served as a Commander for the Radotahin Defense Force. Truth be told..."


    He wrestles down an awkward grimace and briefly grits his teeth. "Promotions via attrition. Assumed command when circumstances demanded it."


    Smiling happily, Kettan stretches his heavier frame in his chair and scratches the back of his head of shorter, wild dark gray hair. "Field medical mage. Worked up to field surgeon. Significant experience helped fast track me into medical doctor later."


    Aristespha perks her brow in genuine interest, cocking her head to the side, and studies Kettan eagerly. "Really? That is fascinating. I have to ask, how was the transition from military to civilian medicine?"


    Kettan ponders, searching his memories between flicks of his hazel eyes. Seconds later, Kettan draws in a deep breath, weighing out his judgment, and taps his finger tips together with a humored smirk on his light toned face. "Pleasant. Only got shot at once during my tenure as an emergency room doctor."


    The team around the table pauses in surprise. Noticing the attention, Kettan snorts and grins amused. "His aim was awful. Coming down from an alchemical psychoactive. My punch hit the mark."


    He smirks slyly and chuckles to himself. "Think he dodged the wrong me of three he saw."


    Blinking her wide violet eyes a few times, Aristespha stares blankly in stunned admiration. Matakinen furrows his olive toned brow amused, resettling into his chair, and relaxes his posture with a swift brush of his longer auburn hair. "Scout. Infiltration specialist. Sabotaged equipment. Wandered in the woods. Explored mountain ranges. Captured enemies."


    Cideeda''s furry ear perks up, her tail wags with interest, and she toothily grins to Matakinen. "Did you blow up anything?"


    Drawing out a wide sly smile, Matakinen nods slowly with a greatly humored, thoroughly satisfied cadence. "Gods... YES. COUNTLESS times."


    Old memories of the past blatantly amuse Matakinen, and he nods in the moments of reminiscence. Gazing over to Meranni, Ralthetanen waits patiently until she pauses from preparing food and addresses her with a pleasant tone. "Meranni was known as the Crimson Sword Maiden. Terror of the Red Gears. The Bloody Nightmare."


    Meranni glances over, lifts an intrigued eyebrow, and grins proudly, pride empowering her voice. "Was? I AM."


    She gazes over to the distracted and busy Dretphi, smiling hopefully, and mouths a simple grath phrase to herself. Ralthetanen turns his attention back to the gathering at the dining table and resumes the topic at hand. "We left the military. We adventured for years. Settled. Formed a house."


    Curling a humored smirk, he furrows his brow. "Now... I am a consultant for the Radotahin Defense Force. Baffles me. Significant pay. I cannot complain."


    Sparks of excitement flash in Kettan''s eyes, and he explains with expressive pantomimes. "Went to finish my residency. Spent time in the capital at a big research hospital. Great experience. DEMANDING. Still..."


    He sighs and nods with his recount. "Quite fun overall. After I received my specialization in regenerative medicine, rejoined the house in Verdan. Found my niche with sports medicine. Always interesting... Very rewarding work."


    The attention shifts, Matakinen pauses for a moment with the expectant gazes. Glancing around at the gathering, he sighs with a roll of his green eyes and grumbles. "Surveying. I wander around the mountains to settle arguments about who owns what. Map the area. Place markers. Report the results. They pay me. Repeat when they argue again."


    He eyes over towards Arrenten and Tekennin, snorts with a shake of his head, and smirks to the gathering at the table. "Between assignments... I try to keep those two out of trouble. It has been difficult without Dretphi."


    Taking a moment of rest from her culinary tasks, Dretphi stares at the dining table crowd and places her hands on her hips with a humored smile. "How much trouble could they have gotten in?"


    Arrenten and Tekennin wander their attention away from the screen and begin to play the game sloppily, their focus drifting over to the conversation nearby. Matakinen leans his wiry frame back against his chair, eyes the thin Arrenten, and cracks an ill-humored smirk. "Arrenten. How is your back feeling today?"


    Tekennin stifles his snorts and averts his light toned face away. Trying to maintain his composure, a red undertone fills Arrenten''s dark tan face, and he struggles with the embarrassment. "F-fine. Feels normal."


    Glancing over to Matakinen, Kettan elbows him lightly with a tight smile and leans close, whispering in grath. Matakinen shrugs his shoulders and slowly lets his chair''s front legs lower back on the floor. Dretphi furrows her brow curiously at her mother. Meranni whispers a few sentences of grath in Dretphi''s ear. Widening her eyes, Dretphi glances at her mother, stares at her brother, and returns to her mother.


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    Sensing the lull in conversation, Sotalia slinks away from the table and walks over near the bar area, examining the lineup of food near Dretphi and Meranni. "So... You two need any help back here?"


    Meranni narrows a subtly defensive glare at Sotalia. Dretphi blinks back to awareness, studies Sotalia for a moment, and checks around the kitchen areas. "No. We are done with prep. Meat needs to marinade more."


    She thinks moment and perks up with an idea. "Oh! You can get the grill ready. It is in the garage. I think you can light it the fastest."


    A confident grin parts Sotalia''s mouth, and she rests a hand on her hip and gestures a simple incantation into a small flit of fire with her other hand. "Well... Of course."


    Sotalia walks through the kitchen, examining the prepared food hungrily, and opens the door leading to the garage, stepping out. Dretphi cleans her hands, lifts her apron off, and turns to her mother. Biting her lower lip, she draws in a long breath and carefully poses an inquiry to her mother, pointing to the back sliding glass door. Meranni removes her apron, furrows her brow briefly, and nods, puzzling. She walks past the dining table gathering, exits outside through the glass door, and turns to walk to the side of the house.


    Quickly moving around the living room, Dretphi zips right through the hallway archway, her focus elsewhere. Conversations at the table slow, curiosity drifting between the open sliding glass door and the hallway archway. Mutters of intrigue bounce between the group. A minute later, Dretphi walks out with stoic determination upon her face and a firm grip upon her mother''s flow blade. Matakinen, Kettan, and Ralthetanen immediately silence themselves, and watch Dretphi crossing across the front of the television. Arrenten and Tekennin halt playing the game and witness Dretphi exit out the back sliding glass window, both dumbstruck. The two brothers stand up partially and crane their heads around, angling for a better view of the outside through the glass door.


    Ralthetanen slowly returns his gaze to the team of Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sebastian. Scanning their expressions thoughtfully, he calmly inquires, fighting confusion. "I must ask. Has she been practicing with that blade?"


    Bach glances around, scratching the back of his head, and nonchalantly explains. "Well... I mean, I''ve been helping her learn how to flow her magical energies better. She''s been doing a lot of the practice exercises I''ve showed her."


    Kettan and Matakinen turn their heads towards Bach, and Bach smiles happily. "And, yesterday, she got the sword charged up all the way. Still, it took a bit out of her, but she''s figured out the basics and..."


    Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen focus expectantly upon Bach. Arrenten and Tekennin both snap their heads around and face Bach in pure astonishment. Growing very nervous at the attention upon him, Bach shrinks a little in his chair and awkwardly smiles. Ralthetanen weaves his fingers together, presents a delighted smile, and nods slowly. "Interesting... VERY... Interesting."


    Shaking his heavier frame, Kettan laughs loudly, nodding his head. "OH. She is NOT going to expect THAT."


    Matakinen slides out from the table, rolls his shoulders in a few stretches, and slinks away towards the back door, beginning the gestures of a spell. "This I MUST see."


    ----


    In the side yard next to the ranch style house, Dretphi stands, firmly gripping the old flow blade in her hands. Determination tenses her whole body, she affixes her full concentration upon the sword. Off to the side, Meranni watches nearby with a cool, stoic stare. Grimacing, Dretphi flexes her tan, faintly gray striped arms, muscular definition forming with the strain. Magical flows of energy radiate out from her, swirling down to her hands, and condense into the handle of the flow blade. A radiant red glow pulsates along the energy channels embossed into the metal of the sword. The crimson light slowly flows up, flooding the worn passages. Seconds later, the very tip of the weapon flickers with dull red, the edges sparking. Meranni''s piercing blue eyes widen, and she observes the progress in stunned silence, waiting expectantly for her daughter''s next move. Releasing a long exhale, Dretphi summons all her focus and grits her teeth, a faint gray illumination in her eyes. With a sudden surge of flow, the blade bursts out a plume of magical miasma and promptly ignites a brilliant crimson, ethereal flame around itself. Meranni gawks in sheer, absolute astonishment, covering her mouth with both hands. Blinking in silence, joyful tears well up in her eyes. From around the corner of the house''s brickwork, a figure of warped light disappears around the corner, making an excited escape.


    Maintains a resolute exterior, Dretphi exudes the stoic grath composure and swings the sword, demonstrating her handling mastery. With a long pause, she finishes, holding the blade out, and watches her mother approach. Burning a bright crimson, the flow blade challenges the natural light of the afternoon sun and casts a reddish hue upon the surrounding grass in the shade of a large tree. Meranni gazes on with pride swelling out upon her tan face and towards her daughter. Meeting Dretphi''s stare, she nods approvingly. Seconds later, the flow blade edges flicker out, the glow retreats back to the handle, and the energies vent off into a passing breeze. Dretphi lowers the blade to the ground, steadying her brief loss of balance, and quickly reasserts her resolute stance. Biting her lip slightly, she lowers her head in slight disappointment and sighs. Meranni swiftly embraces her daughter in a strong, loving hug with a stream of excited, uplifting grath praises. Dretphi''s stern exterior melts away into a joyful smile, and she wraps her arms around her mother tightly.


    Pulling away slightly, Meranni gazes proudly into her daughter''s steely gray eyes with a simple smile upon her tan face. Dretphi briefly shies away from the attention. A moment later, she returns a similar smile on her similar tan face. Quiet thoughts later, her mouth twists into a strained grimace. Drawing in a long breath, she lifts up the blade in both her hands and levels an inquisitive, pleading stare at her mother. With a gentle lead up, Dretphi cautiously asks a firm question to her mother in eloquent grath, nodding her head down at the flow blade. Meranni blinks thoughtfully a few times and sighs sadly, gazing down upon the old, familiar sword in her daughter''s hands. Taking a hold of it, she steps off to the side. With a calm explanation, she works through a series of practice moves with the blade, grinning in bright remembrance. She masterfully performs maneuvers and points her free hand points at herself and towards her motions, gazing at her daughter confidently. A frown creeps upon her face and weighs upon her. Brushing back her long, platinum blonde braids, she lowers her head at the flow of red rising in the blades. She directs Dretphi''s attention to the magical energies building up, taps the side of her head with her free hand, and grips her daughter''s shoulder firmly. Slowly shaking her head, she exhales into a quiet moment of pondering. With a sad tone, absent of previous confidence, and apologizes regretfully to Dretphi, painfully piecing together her words.


    In a mix of emotion, Dretphi contorts her face and furrows her brow, studying her mother''s genuine expression. Calming to an understanding gaze, she inquires further, glancing at her mother''s energy flowing into the blade, and witnesses Meranni''s demeanor grow uncomfortable and vulnerable. Meranni sighs deeply and fails to start a sentence a number of times, slowly shaking her head. With a hard swallow, she grimaces uncomfortably at her lack of knowledge, staring distantly into an old divide. Mustering up a smile, Dretphi steps beside her mother and wraps her arm around her, leaning her head of platinum blonde against Meranni''s similar longer ones. In the silent moment, Dretphi whispers comforting, beautiful grath in a forgiving cadence to her mother. Meranni closes her piercing blue eyes, shedding a few tears, and pats her daughter''s face with her free hand.


    Seconds later, Dretphi sniffs her nose clear, clears her throat, and exhales lightly. Nodding in thought, she inquires further with an expectant smirk, demonstrating her flexing her arm and flowing magical energy down. Meranni grits her teeth briefly, frowns pained, and shakes her head, calmly answering. Dretphi blinks dumbfounded and stares in sudden confusion. Moments later, her mood sharply drops and worry and doubt flood forth through her body. Averting her steely gray eyes away from her mother, fear and shame overwhelms her voice, and meekly questions herself out loud to her mother. Meranni''s eyes spring wide open, and she snaps her shock upon her daughter. Planting the sword into the ground, she grips onto Dretphi by both forearms and stares directly into her eyes. Meranni smiles lovingly, proudly, and confidently at her daughter. Extolling every virtue of Dretphi with her motherly and assuring voice, she avidly dashes away the fears and doubts. With trickles of relief washing over, Dretphi puzzles and presses for more information. Meranni smirks knowingly and explains with a protective tone. A spark of defiance ignites a bit of rebellion within Dretphi, and she emphatically retorts with prying a question in an incredulous tone, motioning to her mother''s impressive physique. Meranni grins in thorough amusement, reflecting upon herself, and rolls her eyes at herself, shaking her head free of the illusions of grandeur.


    Releasing her daughter''s arms, she points towards Dretphi''s hand and to her shoulder. Dretphi awkwardly places her hand on her mother''s shoulder with Meranni''s guidance, her confusion blatant. Meranni moves her arm through a series of sword handling exercises, the maneuvers visibly smooth and expertly performed. At far extensions of her range of motion, Meranni subtly winces and grumbles with painful annoyance. Dretphi''s eyes widen in shock, and she gawks in disbelief, blinking at her hand upon her mother''s shoulder. Shaking her arm out, Meranni guides Dretphi''s hand around her elbow joint and the tendons. She slowly flexes with faint tremors radiating through her limb. Dretphi pales, feeling the motions of her mother''s arm. With a long, frustrated sigh, Meranni nonchalantly explains, pointing out a few other joints and places on her body to Dretphi. Laying out her weaknesses before her daughter, she musters a tough smile and chuckles softly. She regains her confidence into a grin, mentioning Kettan in her discussion, and gazes to her daughter with a hopeful smile, finishing the explanation.


    Dretphi stares blankly at her mother. Revelation ushers forth a torrent of fear, sadness, and reflection in her. Thoughts never entertained prior rise up prominently in her mind, and she blinks against the welling dread. She reaches out, wraps her arms around her mother, and rests her head close to hers on her shoulder, hugging tightly. Meranni flutters her eyes in surprise. Hearing the sounds of soft sobbing from Dretphi, she smiles, embracing her daughter. Patting Dretphi''s back, Meranni whispers softly, comfortingly to Dretphi with motherly assurances and quips of wisdom. In between gentle surges of emotion, Dretphi acknowledges her understanding. In the calming minutes later, Meranni grins with small jokes, prompting Dretphi''s light chuckles. Dretphi releases her hold, stands back up straight, and recomposes herself apologetically. Her mother shakes her head and reassures against any guilt or shame. Placing her hand on her chest, Meranni recounts past feelings, nodding understandingly. Dretphi smiles appreciatively and rolls her eyes at herself with a comment.


    Glancing over to the flow blade stuck in the ground, Meranni curiously furrows her brow at Dretphi and lifts up an eyebrow with a prying query. Dretphi starts into an explanation and smirks guiltily, mentioning Bach. Narrowing her examining stare, Meranni observes meticulously. Recounting the many and various magical flow exercises, Dretphi pantomimes holding a staff during one explanation and excitedly talks about the number of practice sessions. Meranni ponders quietly to herself, watching her daughter ramble on, and notices Dretphi''s warming smile. Summoning a sly, evil grin, she giggles to herself, lifting a thoughtful eyebrow, and gazes at her daughter amused. She pats Dretphi on the shoulder with a quick comment to her ear and waits expectantly. Rambling a few moments more, Dretphi processes her mother''s words, halting mid sentence. Her tan face blushes bright red, her steely gray eyes widen in surprise, and she stumbles upon the rest of her sentence. Dretphi covers her face with her hands and searches for her mother. Meranni walks off towards the corner of the ranch style house laughing, and Dretphi awkwardly tries to debate, unconvincingly.


    ----


    The large congregation of the team and grath family converse outside around the plank wood picnic table, snacking on plates of food in the middle of the large tabletop. Dretphi arranges the serving line on a fold out table and readies the main course, shooing off those who wander too close with hungry gazes. Meranni surveys the progress of large cuts of meat on the grill, grinning with satisfaction at the progress. Stepping up, Sotalia watches the flares of sizzling fire rise up from the coals and smiles politely to Meranni. "Oh, that reminds me. Could I get my steak well done?"


    Dretphi pauses briefly from her task, stifling a snort, and resumes her chore, biting her lower lip greatly humored. Meranni slowly lifts her head up, angles it down towards Sotalia, and concentrates an examining glare upon her. Silently staring through a puzzled, defiant Sotalia, she ponders briefly. She grabs hold of the tongs nearby, digs into the open bag of charcoal briquettes with the tool, and plucks out a single piece of black, dusty fuel. With a swift motion, Meranni plucks up a transparent green plate, drops the charcoal on top of it, and presents it to Sotalia with a stoic glare. "Here. Same taste. No meat wasted."


    Sotalia lowers her stare at the solitary chunk of grill fodder upon the surface of the plate. Furrowing her brow, she contorts her cool composure and narrows her golden eyes at Meranni irritably. "Okay... Fine... Medium Well?"


    Cracking an amicable smirk, Meranni nods slightly in agreement and waits. Moments of silence later, Sotalia walks away, body language spelling out the mild defeat. Meranni rolls her piercing blue eyes and directs a dismissive, annoyed quip back towards Dretphi. Halting in place, Sotalia snaps her head back and glares at Meranni, crossing her arms visibly perturbed. Dretphi sighs, rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. "Mother. She understands most grath dialects."


    With a greatly amused grin towards Sotalia, Meranni chuckles. "Oh. There is hope for you."


    Around the picnic table, conversations shift around the pockets of debate in the midst of the large gathering. Sebastian gazes curiously at Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen, puzzling. "I''m actually surprised you all are looking for a school all the way out here. Any particular reason why?"


    With a calm smirk, Ralthetanen nods and glances around. "To get experience elsewhere. They have not lived outside their home town. Tekennin. Arrenten. Both need to see some other part of the world. See what it is like."


    Chuckling in agreement, Kettan snorts with a smile and shrugs his broad shoulders. "I just want them to get an education. ANY education will do. Prefer it come from somewhere they are NOT familiar with. That way they can learn about life. Otherwise, they will just keep on relying on coming home when anything happens."


    Matakinen grumbles with a roll of his green eyes and settles into a nonchalant grin. "Taste of the real world. I have done what I can to get them ready. Now... Time for THEM to see what Nexus has in store."


    Narrowing his stare off to the side, he sighs. "Even it requires significant force."


    Bach chuckles to himself with a humored grin and glances over to Sebastian. "I mean, we could always suggest they go to High Alton. It''s a decent enough school for most things."


    Snorting ethereally, Sebastian twists his mouth and narrows his eyes at Bach mockingly dismissive. "Come on, bro. They don''t need to be digging the bottom of that barrel so soon. Let''s be honest, man..."


    He crosses his arms and sighs. "We only went there because it was local AND cheap."


    With a tight smile, Bach draws a breath through his gritting teeth and nods in begrudging agreement. "Yeah... I- Yeah. High Alton University isn''t terrible. But, I mean, it''s not exactly setting any great standards in comparison to other places."


    Pausing with a thought, he glances over to Aristespha. "Hey, what about the Grand Library?"


    Aristespha blinks to attention, thinking a moment, and slowly rocks her head contemplatively with an awkward smile. "Um... Well, it IS a great organization IF you can get in. Unfortunately, they are very particular about who they take in, but they do make offers to those who distinguish themselves in other schools."


    Wrestling an awkward smirk, she grits her teeth briefly. "It is still quite costly to attend without a scholarship. Thankfully, they do have programs that forgive loans if you work for the Grand Library for so many years."


    Ralthetanen quietly ponders upon the suggestions and thoughtfully hums with an appreciative tone. "Both worth considering in the future. Our main goal is to get them out of the nest..."


    Glancing over to the group, Meranni sighs out her frustration and slowly shakes her head, turning grilling meat over on the fire. "Love them both. Would like those rooms back."


    Noticing something missing, Matakinen quickly searches the vicinity of the backyard around the picnic table, scouting out the further perimeter of the forest edge, and grumbles a phrase in grath. Dretphi directs her voice to Matakinen, motioning towards the ranch style house. "They went inside... To play the game."


    With a long sigh, Matakinen turns around on the bench seat on one side of the table, stretches his back out, and shakes his head. "I should fetch them."


    A grin creeps out on Dretphi''s tan face, and she waves off Matakinen''s progress. "No. I will send them here. I need to go inside."


    Bowing his head appreciatively to Dretphi, Matakinen smiles with a thankful phrase of grath, and Dretphi quickly departs. Pivoting back to the group, Matakinen picks up his place in the discussion of schools. Dretphi crosses the stretch of lawn to the back patio and opens the sliding glass door, entering. Moments later, her stern and commanding tone leaks out the open doorway with a loud snap of the fingers. Arrenten and Tekennin stumble out on the back patio, glancing back at the sliding glass door shutting. Both grumbling, they plod slowly towards the picnic tables, complaining quietly to each other in grath. They watch the gathering ahead. Arrenten sneaks a point over to Bach and smirks slyly, asking Tekennin a question. Tekennin blinks in thought, distantly studies Bach and shrugs his shoulders. Arrenten pantomimes out a belly from his thin frame and snickers. Tekennin snorts, lifts his hand up, and holds it centimeters short of his height with a chuckle. Scratching his chin in thought, Arrenten mulls the discussion over. Tekennin elbows his brother with a revelatory grin. Getting his brother''s attention, he mockingly gestures out fake spell motions and mumbles out gibberish words. Arrenten cackles briefly, nodding in total agreement. Along their trek across the lawn, the two brothers continue their commentary.


    Arrenten and Tekennin fail to notice Dretphi right behind them. Blushing with hints of anger, Dretphi slowly speaks their names in a maternal, disciplinary tone. Arrenten and Tekennin stop in place and wait. Dretphi firmly grips a shoulder on each, draws in a long breath through her nose, and sighs out her annoyance. Regaining her stern, commanding composure, she squeezes her grasp upon each brother''s shoulder. With a calm, foreboding voice, she articulates an explanation in firm grath. Releasing her grip, she lightly grasps an ear each with her fingers and recites a warning, very familiar to them. With a long sigh, she pats them gently on the back and firmly pushes them onward to the picnic table. The siblings rejoin the main group and prepare to enjoy the meal all together and join in the conversations, in time.


    ----


    Late afternoon sun shines down upon the green sea of forest canopy. Shadows from the clouds above project large, fluffy sections of shade and drift slowly along the leaves. A fast moving, four-winged dragon outline zips along the treetops. Lagi flaps his back pair of blue and black scaled wings, deftly adjusting his large front wingspan, and maintains a level cruise in the skies above. Shifting his attention to Kaleb upon his back, he weaves together a series of chirps, clicks, growls, and hisses, and sighs loudly. Kaleb glances to the side of the holographic display in front of the saddle and nods his fully helmeted head slowly, patting Lagi on his back. "Yeah. I know. I know. Just one more location, and then you can fly as fast as you want home. Okay?"


    Lagi''s green eyes widen happily, his tail wags slightly against the wind current, and he releases an excited rolling chirp. Chuckling to himself, Kaleb focuses his gaze towards the back of Lagi''s head and taps the side of his helmet. "Well, it looks like you can still hear me okay with the new radio. Is it still comfortable on you?"


    Thinking momentarily, Lagi rolls his head side to side, feeling out the tiny device tucked away between white, bony armor plates. He clicks affirmatively and dedicates himself back to flying. Kaleb returns his attention to the holographic display, controlling the system through a series of handle mounted modules, and studies an interactive map. "Good. Now, hopefully, this will keep me from wrecking my voice trying to yell over the wind at you."


    Kaleb manipulates the buttons and switches, and a high resolution photograph of a huge outer security doorway into a very old ruin appears. Nodding in his mind, he scrutinizes the image. Retrieving a camera with a large lens from a side bag, Kaleb readies the device and steadies himself upon the saddle. He points out a distant clearing, getting Lagi''s attention. "Over there. To your left. That clearing. We should be able to get this one quick, and then we head home."


    Lagi calls out eagerly, flaps his massive front wings, and pitches down into an approach vector. The dragon balances Kaleb upon his back, lines up his flight path, and holds it near perfectly stable. Hoisting the camera up, Kaleb takes aim, adjusting the zoom and focus. He presses down the shutter button. Holding down the trigger, the wind obscures the camera''s mechanical noises, and Kaleb quickly handles it into different shots. The duo pass over the clearing with a large doorway into the hillside. Gradually gaining altitude, Lagi wags his tail in anticipation, glancing towards familiar heading with muscles tensing for a sharp turn. Kaleb laughs, holsters the camera into the saddle bag, and operates the holographic display''s control system. "Hang in there, Lagi. I need to double-check to make sure I got good pictures and nothing has changed about that site. Don''t need to make another trip out here."


    Grumbling, Lagi waits and keeps eyeing a particular direction. Kaleb brings up the older file photo of the location and chooses a recent one to load from the camera. Carefully studying the images, he leans his head close to the bright ethereal projection and narrows his scrutinizing stare. Rocking his head to the side, he reaches back into the saddle bag for the camera and brings the back interface screen close to his visor, switching around to a preview of the same new picture. With an uncertain hum, he adjusts the zoom on both images up on the holographic display and analyzes one major difference about the opening. Gritting his teeth, Kaleb sighs, pats Lagi on the back, and signals back towards the site. "Damn. Something''s not right. We gotta go back. Swing around low and wide, and bank me towards that opening. I need to get some better pictures of the entrance. Something''s changed."


    A frustrated whine bellows out from Lagi, and he adjusts his wings. In between the irritated hisses, clicks, and grumbles from Lagi, Kaleb nods understandingly, rubbing Lagi''s back, and commiserates with him. "I know! Never fails that it ALWAYS is the last one of the day that has something off with it. Hopefully, it''s just some strange magical interference messing with the camera''s optics or its sensor."


    Kaleb readies the camera in his arms, tweaking the complicated mechanisms of the lens, and fires off a few test shots, Lagi ferrying him closer to the target. The two close in on the site. Lagi air brakes down to a very slow speed, dives low just above the tree canopy, and banks hard in a wide semicircle along the side of the clearing opposing the ruined, man-made entrance. Balancing himself in sync with the centrifugal force, Kaleb steadies his camera above his shoulders and focuses the aim right at the metal security archway, far into the dark space beyond. Shutter clicks faintly echo into the area, and Lagi expertly navigates his run along the perimeter. With a smooth roll back to level, Lagi pitches upwards to a safer altitude and levels off. Kaleb swiftly operates the camera and holographic system and brings up imagery on the display. Shaking his head, Kaleb mumbles out his surprise, furrowing his brow. "Well, shit... It''s showing up here the same as I saw it. Looks like whatever barrier, I guess, is long gone now. Must have gotten hit by something from one of those maelstroms."


    Pausing to think a moment, Kaleb leans over to the side and glances towards Lagi''s armored face. "Did you feel, smell, or see anything weird when we went by it?"


    Lagi blinks, puzzling in his own mind for seconds, and grunts completely unsure. Sighing understandingly, Kaleb glances back at the clearing, growing smaller with the increasing distance. He returns his stare forward, smirks ambivalently, and places his camera securely in the saddle bag. Settling down low in the saddle, Kaleb tightens up his safety harness and firmly grips the handles. The hologram fades away, and Kaleb calls out to Lagi. "Ah, fuck it. It''s getting dark. Let''s go home! The GAA will get their pictures with my write ups. It''s up to them to figure out how to handle that place."


    A loud excited shriek bellows out in the vicinity, reverberating against the green sea of leaves below, and Lagi turns sharply to a familiar heading. His huge front wings power through the air, sweep back with the increasing velocity, and flicker with flows of magical energy. The waves of magical power synchronize into ripples of propulsion around the dragon, and Lagi tightens up his aerodynamic profile towards expediency and minimal drag. Both Kaleb and Lagi jet off towards the horizon, leaving a fading, faint trial of prismatic miasma adrift in the air behind.


    From the silent clearing, obscuring overgrowth rustles against the breeze, and the wind sweeps layers of old dust from the concrete floor beyond the steel reinforced archway. Past the perimeter between daylight and dark shadow, a distant bright spark flits. A row of overhead, rotating red lights illuminate for a fraction of a second. They spin momentarily to a halt, quickly dimming back into the shadows. The dark corridor falls completely silent, blending back into the obscuring darkness, dusk sweeping over the area.

 Episode 63

    Intensely focused upon the television, Bach narrows his stare, contorting his face, and quickly presses buttons on the game console controller. He leans forward from his seat on the couch, fidgeting in response to the brutal battle playing out on the screen. With the digital characters on the television fighting it out, Cideeda presents a toothy smirk and unconsciously twitches her long, fluffy tail along with the fast clicking of her claws on her gamepad. Sotalia stands off to the side, swaying in place, her attention fully on the tense match of organized chaos upon the screen. Near the dining table, Aristespha sorts through a stack of paperwork and tablets. Occasionally, she pauses a moment and glances over at the ongoing duel between Bach and Cideeda, resuming filing through documents seconds later. Sebastian hovers next to Aristespha''s seat at the table. Aristespha lifts up a partially filled-out form, and Sebastian checks over her shoulder. A bit of discussion later, Aristespha taps out an entry into a tablet, and Sebastian distracts himself with game battle, idly mimicking the button presses for certain character moves. Watching from the kitchen area, Dretphi studies the maneuvers and methods upon the screen, lifting an intrigued eyebrow at chains of combos.


    The life bars dwindle down to the near ends at equal rates. The power meters fluctuate wildly. The opponents attack and defend in sync with each other. Only minute gaps of proficiency allow for any opportunity to gain ground. A smug smirk emerges upon Bach''s light tan face, and he chuckles to himself darkly. Cideeda''s furry ear perks over, and her stare tightens with anticipation. On the screen under the "Ionis" name label, the man clad in form fitting blue, electric armor slams his fist into the ground, sending a shockwave of electricity along the floor. Under the "Tataelee" side of the battle, the fvalian woman in a fanciful ninja attire leaps over the front of the arcing burst. Quickly tapping out a fast series of buttons, Bach grins eagerly. Ionis pounds his fist down again, and another flow of power coasts lightning fast across the wake of the previous wave. The second shockwave overtakes Tataelee and knocks her to the ground in a spark swarmed slump. Sebastian grins proudly and nods to his brother. Bach laughs with a confident air and commands Ionis on the screen. "Stunned and low on power... What can you do?"


    Widening his stance, Ionis brings his hands close together and pulls back his arms. Ambient electricity from the area arcs out in chaotic flows, collecting towards him, and travels to a growing, bright blue white orb of power. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes search the battlefield, pulling in all the information possible, and settle upon her character''s gradually increasing power meter. Pondering briefly, she cracks a sly, hopeful smile and furrows her light brown brow. "I don''t know... What can YOU do?"


    Lifting a puzzled eyebrow, Bach laughs amused. "Oh... This."


    Ionis flings his arms forward, hands open and wrists touching. A brilliant blue white beam streaks across towards Tataelee. In the splinters of time, the energy column blazing imminently upon Tataelee, she disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a cheap dummy of herself. The decoy quickly disintegrates in an explosion of flame, and Bach''s blue eyes widen in sharp, abject realization. In the narrow moment, his gaze shifts from the destroyed mock-up towards Tataelee''s status bars. Spotting a freshly zeroed energy meter and an unchanged life gauge, Bach''s stare tenses and revelation weighs heavy upon him. Cideeda presents a wide, toothy grin and feverishly taps out a series of clacking buttons on her game controller. Tataelee fades in from the shadows of the game background right behind Ionis, stuck performing his super move animation. Bach''s jaw drops, and he gawks in astonishment, barely able to utter a word. "Oh."


    Tataelee grapples Ionis from behind, shifts her weight around, and power kicks Ionis high up into the air, the background scrolling to keep up. She launches up, immediately passing above Ionis midair, and releases a mighty spinning kick down. She plants him into the dirt with a dramatic, colorful descent and ground cratering impact. The game animations slow down. The music changes to a matching victory tune. And, the announcer blares out. "K! O! Winner, Tataelee!"


    Suppressing a near reflexive snort, Sebastian breaks out into half-hearted, commiserating laughter at Bach. "Holy shit! Aww, that''s ROUGH, bro. But, I warned you she was pretty awesome with Tataelee."


    Bach blinks blankly, the rest of his brain catching up with the sudden shift in situation. "Uh... Yeah. Damn. You got just enough for a decoy swap right then. Wow..."


    Wagging her long, fluffy tail in contended victory, Cideeda smiles brightly with a bit of relief, the tension fading from the match. "YEP. I saw the rate it was increasing, and got ready to trigger it when I could. Preloaded it in the combo system and hit the last button before the move buffer timeout happened."


    She reaches out her hand to Bach and waits. Nodding in agreement, Bach shakes with Cideeda and sighs in genuine astonishment. "Wow. Nice game."


    Pausing in thought, he lifts a curious brow at Cideeda. "By the way, did you ever go to any competitions?"


    Cideeda stretches her arms out, curling her back in a stretch, and shrugs her shoulders indifferently. "A few local ones. But... Nothing too serious. I mean, I probably had enough skill to MAYBE make it mid way through, but those pro players get a bit scary for me."


    She grins toothily and chuckles to herself with a nonchalant sigh. "It didn''t seem like a good return on my investment to go to THAT level."


    With a greedy glint in her emerald eyes, Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers and rolls her shoulders, smiling at past satisfaction. "Anyway... I made PLENTY of easy money from stomping all the wannabe pro players in the neighborhood when they wandered in the comic book shop I worked at."


    Gazing to Bach with a sly, devious smile, she giggles, working the controller through the game menus. "Always got a real kick out of the ones that looked like they wanted to cry afterwards. Never could get those to go double or nothing afterwards."


    Dretphi smirks in amusement and slowly shakes her head. "My poor brothers. Did not anticipate you."


    An evil grin slips out onto Cideeda''s light brown face, and she rolls her emerald green eyes at herself. Flicking her furry ears against her head of short, multi-color hair, she calls over towards Dretphi in the kitchen area. "Hey. They challenged ME. I delivered. What can I say? They said they could play the game. So, I played it, too."


    Nodding in complete agreement with a smug smile, Dretphi resumes cleaning up another section of countertop with a rag. "Nothing to say. We all saw the challenge. They received what they deserved. Thank you for educating them."


    Cideeda smiles toothily and nods victorious. "Anytime."


    Twisting his mouth in ill humor, Bach shakes his head with a roll of his blue eyes and scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. "So... Wait... Your boss was okay with you running a betting operation out of his store?"


    With a laugh, Cideeda snorts and nods with a grit of her teeth. "Oh. Yeah. It brought in customers. I wouldn''t call it a betting operation... Officially, we billed them as free tournaments with prizes."


    She slides a side eye over to Bach and smiles impishly. "BUT... We had a secret system in place for getting in on the real action happening."


    She winks to Bach with a smirk. "And, my boss got a percentage of all action. So, he was PERFECTLY fine with it all. Always made sure he got his cut first."


    Tapping Bach''s shoulder, she holds her hand out and hems with an anticipating grin. "My turn?"


    Bach passes the game controller over to Sotalia, slides over to the middle seat on the couch, and glances ahead at the television. Sotalia excitedly sits down, settles into the cushions, and mulls over the character selection screen. "So, Bach..."


    Lifting an inquisitive eyebrow, she leans close to Bach, idly flicking the controller. "Who should I use against her?"


    Twisting his face in thought, Bach indecisively ponders the options on the display and glances over to Sotalia with a shrug. "I don''t know. Really. I thought Ionis would be a good one to keep Tataelee from working too many of her ninja arts. But..."


    Cideeda arches her brow curiously and smugly at Sotalia. "Choose whoever you like... I''ll beat them all the same."


    Sotalia furrows her gaze briefly over to Cideeda, smirks, and playfully mutters a quick string of phrases in a dialect of fvalian. Cideeda''s long, fluffy tail twitches, and she eyes Sotalia with a chuckle. Clicking a button on her controller, she replies in kind to Sotalia with a similar dialect of fvalian. Bach''s blank stare bounces to either side, between Cideeda and Sotalia, and he sinks back into the couch cushions, positioning himself out of the line of fire.


    Sebastian slowly shakes his head, glances over to the tabletop of tablets and paperwork, and notices an alert on notification on a screen. "Hey, dear, looks like you got a message or something."


    Aristespha snaps out of her concentration daze, blinking around, and surveys the table, picking up the tablet in question. "Oh. Thank you, Sebastian."


    She unlocks the tablet with a code, navigates through the user interface, and opens up the prompt into an aethermail application. Quickly reading the short message, she cocks her head curiously to the side and glances over to Sebastian. "Interesting... The guild sent us an alert about a job nearby."


    Sebastian furrows his brow briefly, pondering quietly to himself for a moment, and cranes his head over for a glimpse of the screen. "Okay... It must be similar to stuff we''ve done lately if they are pinging us about it. Kind of strange. Not really used to them alerting us first."


    Nodding in agreement, Aristespha tugs at the corner of her mouth and taps through interface screens to a guild app. "Yes. I have heard that the guild will try to alert certain groups in an area if they think they can get a particular job done better, upon request of the client. And... We have been in this area for some time now. And, we have done quite a few jobs successfully."


    Pondering for a moment, Sebastian settles his suspicions between contemplative rocks of his head and analyzes the mission post on the tablet. "Yeah... That''s true. We''ve never really been in one area that long in the past. And, we were kind of focused on one specific thing So... What do we have?"


    Aristespha''s violet eyes trace the words on the screen, and she visibly mulls over the potential assignment. "It seems like an initial exploration quest. A small, old ruin site with a single entry archway that has been sealed off with a barrier until recently. No other obvious signs of activity. Verified from aerial photography."


    Aristespha props screen up for Sebastian to read. Leaning his transparent form close to the screen, Sebastian nods slowly, pondering out loud. "Yeah. Everything says it''s just been left alone for at least a hundred years and left that way. I bet it was too well hidden. Yeah... By the time it was found the Doctrine of Dormancy was in full effect, so it''s just been left there."


    Aristespha slowly nods, scrolling up the guild brief on the tablet, and rocks her head side to side in deliberation. "Plausible. It is still quite strange that it just now opened up."


    Shrugging his ethereal shoulders and holding his hands out to the sides, Sebastian nonchalantly smiles and laughs lightly. "Something that old? If anything, the power probably finally went out on it. I don''t think field generators are that power efficient."


    With a long sigh, Aristespha leans back into her seat at the dining table, stretches her neck out, and gazes lovingly at Sebastian. "So, Sebastian... Should we bid on it before everyone else does?"


    Glancing over the area, Sebastian calls out to the rest of the team. "Any of you against doing a little ruin exploration tomorrow? We just got notification of a job to check out a site. Some old ruin had a barrier preventing entry, and it''s gone now."


    Dretphi walks over from the kitchen and studies the guild job post, Aristespha angling the tablet towards her. She twists her mouth and debates the points. "Nearby. Acceptable pay. No past reported problems. No other recent activity. Cursory inspection only."


    Gradually mustering up a nod, she turns to Sebastian. "I have no problems with the task."


    Bach gazes over from the couch, fighting a mix of past experiences upon his face, and sighs in acceptance. "Maybe? I mean... Just haven''t had the best of luck at exploring ruins lately. But, you know..."


    Tapping in a few quick combos onto the game controller, Cideeda watches Tataelee on screen piledriving Ionis into the dirt and glances away from the victory screen towards Sebastian. "Yeah. I kind of have to agree there."


    With a sly smile, she gazes over to Bach . "BUT, if it''s only an initial check of the area, we probably won''t get that far in there before running into another sealed door. Then, we take pictures, confirm the state it''s now in, and go home early with a full day''s pay."


    Sotalia grumbles out of her frustration at the game, rolls her shoulders out, and turns her head towards the discussion. "So... No signs of anyone trying to crack it open?"


    Sebastian glances back to the tablet and shakes his head. "Nothing on the report."


    Rocking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair, Sotalia hums, deliberating. "Strange. It could be the barrier probably just ran out of power."


    Sebastian nods towards Sotalia. "Yeah. That''s what I was thinking."


    Bach''s attention turns inwards, and he searches his mind for a few seconds. Gradually nodding, he voices his opinion. "You know, I bet it''s probably something to do with the maelstroms that were in the area. BUT, it might be good to check it out. Given a certain someone''s habit of stirring up old ruins in the area..."


    Blinking in sudden thought, Aristespha twists in her chair and stares at Bach, mulling over the idea. "Previously undisturbed ruin of no known importance being opened up randomly... THAT, indeed, does sound awfully familiar."


    Everyone exchanges dutiful glances, leading to a group acceptance. Sebastian musters up a proud smile to the team. "Well, if there''s no major objections, we''ll put the bid in and spend the afternoon getting ready."


    ----


    Samantha slowly paces across the floor in the small bedroom towards the windowed doors. Pausing at the doorway leading to the balcony, she crosses her arms and grumbles to herself, a bit of frustration mixing with petulant hints. "Damn it. We need something else to carry us to the next big job. But... There''s NO small jobs right now."


    From his chair at the desk, Gerald glances over his shoulder and switches out data cartridges in a camera, twisting his mouth in thought. "Yeah. I know. That storm with all the maelstrom cells really helped us out get some good material for the episode."


    Rolling his dark brown eyes, he wrestles down a smirk. "But... I don''t think a clip episode will keep the ratings going. Those run out of steam quick."


    Groaning out the welling annoyance within, Samantha pivots, tossing back her brown hair, and sighs with a grit of her teeth. "We need some kind of DRAMA... Some kind of upset..."


    She tightens her fingers in fists and huffs. "Gods dammit, Veevi! You need to get your manipulative bitch ass self into high gear."


    Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Gerald snorts and settles his attention back upon the equipment on his desk, frowning. "Well, it''s NOT from her lack of trying. That''s for certain. I thought Trakenthin was going to cane her for a second there. And, Modoran keeps on giving her the slip..."


    He curls a humored smirk. "Which makes for GREAT comedy clips."


    Samantha sneers her upper lip briefly, searching her mind, and shrugs her shoulders in a modest acceptance. "Yeah, that clip of her grabbing the crotch of the towel dummy has made its way around the fan forums pretty quickly. Lucky that living room camera caught it even in the dark."


    Gerald grins proudly and chuckles to himself. "Howard might hate the budget costs, but battery backup and night vision features pay for themselves in moments like THAT."


    Pulling out her aetherphone, Samantha slowly slides through her contact list on the screen and glances over to Gerald. "Speaking of Howie... I think we need to contact him and see what he thinks."


    Gerald rocks his head side to side indecisively, eyes over to Samantha, and sighs in a mutual agreement. "Yeah... We need to figure out a plan now, so the crews can be ready and where they need to be."


    Samantha taps an entry in her contact list, and the phone flips between prompts as it dials out. Seconds later, the call connects, and Samantha rests the phone on the desk. From the aetherphone, Howard''s plotting voice sounds out into the room. "Hello?"


    With a happy chime in her voice, Samantha perks up towards the device. "Hi, Howie! I hope we didn''t wake you up. I know Sunday is your recovery day and all."


    A humored chuckles echoes out from the other side of the conversation, and Howard dons an amused tone. "Actually, you didn''t. I actually woke up at a decent hour. Even had breakfast at the proper time."


    With a sly smile, Samantha furrows a playfully astonished brow and giggles. "Good gods... What was the occasion?"


    A long sigh sounds out from the speakerphone, and Howard mumbles out with a bit of embarrassment. "It''s mother''s birthday, and I took her out to her favorite breakfast place. After I get a few things taken care of, I''ll be taking her and the family out to dinner tonight."


    Gerald glances over to the phone and tilts his head curiously. "Oh. Where to? Somewhere fancy?"


    Remaining silent for a moment, Howard laughs loudly. "No. Not really. As per her request... And maintaining family tradition, we will be dining at the illustrious... Draco-Burger."


    Samantha blinks blankly in shock, slowly aims her bewildered stare upon her aetherphone, taking a few steps closer with an incredulous retort. "Really, Howie? Draco-Burger?"


    With a mildly annoyed tone, Howard''s voice addresses the issue firmly. "YES. It''s a long running family tradition for big birthdays. This particular Draco-Burger will actually reserve a huge section for the entire family. Her, my grandmother, and my relatives love the casual gathering..."


    He squelches a reflexive snort. "It also distracts all the kids for long enough... And, it''s the cheapest I''ll be able to feed them all for."


    Clearing his throat, he draws a long breath in and seizes control of the conversation. "Anyway... I''m glad you called me, because there is something I need to discuss with you two."


    Samantha lifts an intrigued brow and shifts her weight onto another foot. "Would it happen to be about something to do before the next job?"


    A dark chuckle sounds out from the phone into the room, and Howard''s tone brightens. "Yes! I see you two saw the same issue I saw, too. And, I''ve got a solution!"


    Gerald glances up to Samantha''s curious face and stares apprehensive at the aetherphone on the desk. "And... THAT would be?"


    Howard''s satisfaction resonates out from the speakerphone, his plotting cadence hinting at potential. "Trakenthin''s surprise will be arriving in town... Tomorrow."


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    Samantha''s eyes open wide in surprise, and she leans over closer to the phone. "Really?! You think it''ll give us what we need for the next episode?"


    Howard''s sly amusement seeps out into the room with Samantha and Gerald. "OH. Yes. I plan on making it the main focus."


    Twisting his mouth, Gerald crosses his arms and flicks a dubious gaze between the aetherphone and Samantha. "So... When the hell are you going to reveal this surprise? I mean, I''m going to need to know at least the WHEN, much less the WHAT."


    With a calculated tone, Howard simply replies. "He will be arriving at their doorstep, Tuesday."


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia push through overgrowth along an old, barely visible path between old trees. The trail empties out into a small area in front of a large stone and steel meshed archway, opposite of the team. Gazing up from her tablet, Aristespha flicks her violet eyes down at the image on the screen and compares it to the huge entrance across the clearing. "It looks very much like the pictures."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts back onto the ground, and he slowly pivots, scanning over the area. "Okay. Here''s the plan. They''ve only asked for an initial inspection of the place. So, we don''t need to check in depth for anything."


    Glancing over his shoulder, he addresses the team. "SO... Go in as far as we can without breaking into any sealed off area and take a bunch of pictures."


    He pans his examining stare across the perimeter of the forest surrounding the grassy area and twists his mouth apprehensively. "And... Before we barge on in there, let''s check the outside for signs of anything going in or out, first."


    The group fans out into the clearing, carefully progressing in methodical searches of the area. Dretphi steps out a few meters, narrows her gaze around the vicinity, and aims her attention downwards. She taps her heavy boots onto the flat dirt, judging what she feels, and kneels down. Her gauntlet covered hands dig into the loose, rocky soil, and she sifts through the material in her hands. Underneath the grassy top covering, a mixture of dirt, gravel, and asphalt leftover rains down from Dretphi''s fingers back onto the ground near the fresh, shallow hole. Drifting down from above, Sebastian lands next to Dretphi. "Find something?"


    Dretphi brushes her hands upon the soft under armor between the hard plates, flicking off some grit from the faded bluish fabric plate covers. Standing back up, she nods in thought. "Yes. Curious why there was a clearing here. Asphalt underneath the dirt kept trees from taking deep root."


    Sebastian ponders the information and glances over to Dretphi curiously. "Okay. Any idea how long this thing has been sitting here?"


    With a slight frown, Dretphi lifts up the full visor on her helmet, crosses her arms, and sighs uncertainly. "At least as long as the report says. Would not be surprised if older. This build up took time."


    Floating back up in the air, Sebastian nods appreciatively and glances over towards Cideeda walking the perimeter. "Okay. I''m going to check to see if Cideeda''s found anything on that side."


    Dretphi points over to the side opposite of Cideeda, waiting for Sebastian''s attention. "I will inspect that side."


    Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up to Dretphi and floats slowly over in the direction of Cideeda, surveying the area from above. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia stand in the middle of the clearing and stare at the archway. Aristespha blinks her glowing violet eyes, cocks her head to the side, and glances down at her tablet. "This is quite an interesting design. I have seen similar... though. I think this would date it at least right after the Second Period? Maybe at the very end?"


    Sotalia squints her dimly lit, golden eyes for a second and closes them hard. The illumination fades, and she focuses upon the rusted out and weather-worn sign on a bent up post. Quirking her eyebrow, she rests her hands on her hips and snorts in mild frustration. "Yeah. The few remaining letters on that sign would put it roughly in that time period. But..."


    Furrowing her brow, she tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair and frowns slightly. "It''s really strange to see that language HERE."


    Bach narrows his gaze upon the sign and eyes over to Sotalia, inquiring. "So, what does it say, exactly?"


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia sighs with a twist to her mouth and slowly shakes her head. "All that I can make out is Storage Bunker. There was probably more on the missing parts of the sign."


    With a gradual nod, Bach grumbles, gritting his teeth briefly. "Yeah... Anyway, um, what''s so strange about that language being here?"


    Aristespha shifts her focus upon the sign, narrows a growing glare, and growls to herself. "It''s an earlier variant of the language the Dark Evuukians adopted as their own."


    Bach and Sotalia aim their inquisitive gazes at Aristespha and wait. A long irritated sigh later, Aristespha rolls the anxiety out of her shoulders and presents an unamused smirk towards Bach and Sotalia. "Officially, they never left that doomed city of theirs. But... It seems before their whole cursed society imploded, they had plans to expand."


    Lifting an apprehensive brow, Sotalia leans her stance back in surprise and motions towards the archway. "You don''t think there''s anything left over from THEM in there?"


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and shakes her head with a long exhale. "OH. Gods no. In all likelihood, they built the structure, and it was left abandoned long enough for someone else to use it instead."


    Staring off into the deep dark past the archway, Bach glances over uncomfortably at Aristespha with an awkward smile fighting for space on his face. "Yeah. Huh. I mean... That doesn''t really make me feel that much better about it."


    Aristespha presents a confident smile and points up to the mix of stone, modern materials, and magical markings on the entrance way. "The Dark Evuukians stuck to strict magical mechanisms. So, I believe someone added this modern solution after they were long gone."


    Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and contorts her light tan face in thought, tilting her head to the side. "And, who would do THAT and why would they not get rid of the sign?"


    Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach aims his gaze at very prominent landmarks in the area and points out a few notable features. "Well... If you were looking at this from a distance, you would think it was just some abandoned hole in the side of a hill. Maybe some old survival bunker? I mean, unless you were really bored or knew this place was here, you weren''t going to just stumble upon it. So, why do anything to make it stick out more?"


    The trio of mages stand for a minute and slowly inspect the archway from a distance. Bach sneers his upper lip uneasily and sighs. "Yeah... Thinking about it... THAT doesn''t make me feel any better about this place. Now there''s intent behind it all."


    Drifting down, Sebastian lands behind the mages, walks around to Aristespha''s side, and eyes the darkness beyond the gateway. "So? Any more info about what we''re dealing with, dear?"


    Aristespha smiles at Sebastian and indecisively mulls the situation over, tapping through a few menus on her tablet. "Not particularly, Sebastian. Apart from the fact the archway seems relatively undisturbed, with the known exception being that scorching on the top, it matches the recent pictures."


    Sebastian peeks over Aristespha''s shoulder, and Cideeda and Dretphi rejoin the group. Adjusting her tactical vest, Cideeda stretches out her arms out over her head and flicks her furry ears. "No signs of anything moving in or out from my side."


    Dretphi nods in agreement and motions towards one side of the clearing''s perimeter. "Nothing on my side. No disturbances in the underbrush. No oddly broken branches. No fresh paths through the overgrowth."


    Sebastian hums ethereally to himself, staring ahead towards the entrance, and floats a few meters closer to the archway, in front of the group. He stops, pivots around, and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to his sides. "Well, I guess there''s only one way to find out. Let''s head inside. I''ll scout ahead. Cideeda and Dretphi will be on point. Aristespha and Sotalia will maintain the middle. And, Bach, keep an eye behind us."


    With shared unease and foreboding, the team assembles into their marching order, turn on their lights, and slowly cross the threshold into the dark hallway leading deeper inside.


    ----


    Down a long, dim corridor, open sliding doors line the old, worn walls. With the team searching around, flashlights shine out along the hallway, magical glows illuminate the immediate area, and small orbs of light drift off towards distant surfaces. Aristespha peers around a metal door frame and stares into a dark room. Casting the light from her magical orb inside, she slowly inspects the scattered contents from the threshold into the space. "This one seems like an office of some kind. In relatively good condition given how long it has likely been sitting."


    She holds up her tablet in front of her, aiming the back camera inside, and taps the screen. A brief flash floods the room with light, fading immediately. Guiding her flashlight''s spot along the corridor, Dretphi twists her mouth into a puzzling grimace. "Simple design for this place. One main corridor."


    Narrowing her stare, she darts her steely gray eyes around the stone and metal infrastructure. "Have yet to run into another large branch. Just opened doors to rooms."


    Cideeda sniffs the air, swaying her head in the stale air currents. Tracking a smell, she halts the hunt and frowns slightly. "There''s that smell, again. Gods. I can''t quite pick it out of the mix here. It just seems to be... Everywhere."


    Bach glances up and points up to a charred spot upon support structures underneath cabling above in the ceiling, furrowing his brow curiously. "Hey, um, you think it might be the leftover funk from these spots?"


    Aiming her bright flashlight up, Cideeda maneuvers the light spot around, following along a few paths, and indecisively rocks her head side to side. "Oh, there''s definitely a smell from those. But, THIS..."


    She wrestles down an uncomfortable curl at the corner of her mouth and droops her furry ears slightly. "This smell feels... Familiar."


    Bach''s eyes illuminate blue, and he narrows his stare at the thick conduits running through the support framework above. "Huh. There''s still some residual magical energy on these lines. I guess whatever happened was pretty recent."


    Outside another room, Sotalia adjusts the aim of her aetherphone''s camera and taps the on screen button. The flash reflects off of various research implements, and the light glints off of several magical apparatuses. Sotalia rests her hands on her hips, twists her mouth in thought, and tosses her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side. "Well, this room had to have been a magical research lab. It has all the usual tools. Surprising how they haven''t changed that much over the years."


    Sebastian drifts down the dark hallway, pauses, and peeks into another opposing pair of open sliding doors, thoughtfully scratching his chin. "Okay... What''s everyone''s guess as to what this place actually was? I''m leaning towards a survival bunker of some kind. One of those that has everything to rebuild society. Those always seemed popular with any elitist group."


    Slowing to a stop, Aristespha pivots in place and ponders out loud. "Well. This might be my personal bias, but I think it was a research facility, Sebastian. You have a mix of administrative offices and support services, along with labs."


    Sotalia lifts a brow inquisitively towards Aristespha and smirks slightly. "Magical research lab, maybe?"


    Inspecting the frame of one of the sliding doors, Dretphi carefully analyzes the support wall and hums in contemplation. "Military depot. The doors for the storage rooms are reinforced. We have found guard posts. Empty armories. Barracks."


    Slowly nodding agreement, Bach furrows his brow at the conjecture and crosses his arms with an uneasy, awkward smile. "Military... SOMETHING. I mean, it''s like they only had one kind of door for everything in this place, and it was heavy and armored. Even the janitor''s closet had a door that looked like it could take a direct hit from a rocket launcher."


    Cideeda points a claw tip up towards the many cameras and other monitoring devices, sitting dark and inactive. "Well, they were doing something worth the security coverage. They didn''t hold back on that."


    Stepping by another open door, she halts immediately and sniffs the air carefully. She wafts over the stale air from the door and smells it cautiously, pondering the aroma. Her emerald green eyes widen in recognition, and she slowly pivots around, facing the rest of the team with a very uncertain stare. "Okay... I KNOW I''ve smelled THIS before. It''s faint, but..."


    She frowns vaguely and sighs. "This odor reminds me of the ruin with the cybernetic zombies."


    The rest of the group exchange uneasy glances, cautiously search the immediate vicinity, and share a very similar sentiment. Minutes of apprehension later, they group back up and venture further down the dark corridor, deeper into the facility.


    Minutes of following the huge overhead bundle of conduits within the heavy ceiling supports later, the team reaches a T-intersection and the main junction point of the thick power lines. Reaching the center point, the group shifts their attention down one path. At the end of the hallway, the faint glow of an emergency light escapes through an open heavy, sliding door. Surveying the open doorway briefly, the team slides their focus over down the other passage. Searching stares turn towards the curious, apprehensive, and cautious, seeing the massive, heavily reinforced, and securely sealed double doors. Dretphi cocks her head back warily, spotting the unique traits of the huge entry, and glances over the rest of the team. "THAT is strange. This is the only closed door. Every other door has been opened."


    Cideeda flicks her furry ears around, twisting her grimace apprehensively, and narrows a stare at the huge double security doors. "Yeah. THAT is really strange. Especially given that these doors are of a completely different design from everything else here. The style is even different. I don''t think these were original construction."


    Hovering out in front of the group, Sebastian contorts his face uncertainly and sighs ethereally, peeking over his shoulder towards the team. "Well, as much as I don''t want to get too close to something like that. We need to at least check to make sure the doors are securely locked..."


    He tightens his tense smile. "And there''s no immediate threat to us or anyone else in the area."


    Understanding, reserved expressions emerge upon the team, and they ready themselves for the approach. Slowly and methodically, the group closes in on the tall, massive double doors and carefully fan out, inspecting the gateway in their own ways. Aristespha and Bach both illuminate their eyes in magical radiance and study the doorway. Aristespha tilts her head to the side curiously, lifting an inquisitive eyebrow. "I am not seeing anything blatant, but there seems to be significant, old traces of some variety of enchantment on the join between the two doors."


    Gritting his teeth, Bach contorts an uneasy frown. "Yeah. I mean, I''m seeing that, too. I''d put my money that it was some kind of sealing or locking enchantment. Which..."


    He swallows hard and slides a side eye towards the team. "Doesn''t really make this whole situation feel any better..."


    Stepping forward upon the concrete and metal floor, Cideeda kneels down in front of a large vented panel and shines her flashlight through the grates. "So, what do we have going on here-"


    She blinks in surprise, her furry ears perking up against her headgear. "Oh..."


    Through the vent gaps, Cideeda cranes her head around for the best viewing angle into the cavity beyond and narrows her emerald green eyes. "That''s really strange... Okay... OH, now THAT is really strange."


    The team congregates closer around Cideeda, searching glimpses of her discoveries. Noticing the team looming nearby, Cideeda motions towards key points of interest, explaining with a puzzled tone. "So... The hydraulics for this big thing are on THIS side of the wall. Even the control lines. Which isn''t something you do if you want to keep from going IN."


    Sebastian blinks to attention, stares at the huge metal double doors, and carefully drifts closer. Glancing at the group, he puts forth a brave smile. "Well... Let''s see if I can get a peek at what''s on the other side?"


    The team agrees, and Sebastian phases through one door, disappearing inside. A minute later, he slowly emerges from the doorway, paler than his typical ethereal self. Gathering his thoughts with the prompting stares from the group, he releases a nervous, ghostly exhale, and points a thumb over his shoulder at the gateway. "OKAY... It was really dark in there... BUT..."


    Pausing a moment, he grits his teeth. "I did make out a HUGE fluid-filled tank that could fit our humvee in it... And, SOMETHING floating in there."


    He releases another long ethereal breath, visibly mulling over his feelings about the situation, and gazes over the group. "I couldn''t make out exactly what it was... And... I REALLY didn''t want to get close to it... Just in case."


    Silence looms over the team. Seconds later, an unspoken agreement occurs, and they collectively, slowly move far away from the heavy, reinforced doors. Past the intersection point of the T-junction, Aristespha lifts her tablet up and takes a picture without a flash. The team reorientates itself in the opposite direction and travels down the hallway to the open room with dim emergency light. Peering inside through the doorway, the team gazes upon all the partially working control consoles and barely functional generators. A few beeps and chimes sound out, and the group spots a bank of operational computer equipment giving constant updates, warnings, and alerts. Cideeda aims her voice towards Sebastian, inquiring in an affirmative tone. "I think it would be best if we investigated this room a bit more?"


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia nods in complete agreement and eyes Sebastian. "Yeah. It''d be really nice to at least see what was going on here and maybe figure out what else we need to be on the lookout for."


    With a smirk, Sebastian slowly nods and hovers into the control room. "After what I saw, I can''t argue with that sentiment. We should probably figure out if we need to call in the army or something... Or if everything is going to stay roughly this way."


    The team files in, fans out, and starts searching the room for more clues.


    ----


    Hovering in the middle of the dark hallway down from the intersection, Sebastian stares out at the opposing corridor, sneering uncomfortably at the darkness leading towards the heavy, suspicious double doors. He crosses his arms and watches the spotlight from Dretphi''s submachine gun accessory methodically travel from one edge of the thick, reinforced frame to another. Squinting her steely gray eyes behind her full visor, Dretphi twists a faint grimace, hints of anxiety leaking through her stoic facade. Sebastian''s ethereal form rolls his shoulders against nervous energy, and he releases a long sigh, glancing over to Dretphi. "You doing okay? Need to rotate out for a bit?"


    Dretphi blinks back to attention, making eye contact with Sebastian, and shows an appreciative smile. "I am okay. I can continue to stand watch. Just wish we could get the information we need SOON."


    Nodding, Sebastian returns his stare down the shadow blackened hallway, grumbling. "Yup. I''m with you on that one. I know we''re probably going well beyond what we need to do. But, I think we need to give the guild the info they need to send the right forces out to deal with this potential mess."


    Dretphi draws in a deep breath and sighs out the tension. "Indeed..."


    Sebastian briefly grits his teeth, crossing his arms, and glances over to Dretphi with a sarcastic tone. "You know... Let them know how many tanks they need to bring to take out whatever that thing is."


    Searching the top of her mind for a second, Dretphi shifts her weight to the other foot, mulling a thought out loud. "Tanks would work. My house father would recommend detonating explosives to collapse the entire front of the entry corridor. No need for an encounter."


    Sebastian thinks to himself for a moment, slowly agrees, and resumes his watch of the dark corridor across the intersection. "Yeah... Honestly, at this point, I would do the same, and just have our report say we found it that way."


    Twisting her mouth in deliberation, Dretphi settles to a slow nod. "Simple solution. Pity we do not have enough explosives."


    A dry smirk appears on Sebastian''s face, and he chuckles lightly. "Don''t let Cideeda hear THAT. She''ll think of it as a challenge to what she can do."


    Pivoting partially, Dretphi gazes into the nearby room at the end of the dimly lit hallway and smiles, checking on the activity in the emergency light illuminated area. "A challenge I wish we could attempt."


    Inside the control room, Cideeda checks on her shotgun propped up against the computer console bank and returns her focus to the constantly scrolling alerts and messages on a screen. Biting her lower lip, she tries to decipher the stream of information. Bach sits in a chair next to Cideeda and stares at an informational graphic of the power system with flashing sections and prompts. Scratching his bearded chin, he hums in thought and side eyes over to Cideeda. "I don''t know exactly... But, man... It seems to be prioritizing power to something at the expense of everything else in this place."


    Cideeda grits her teeth, taps her finger tips together on both hands, and grimaces, lowering her furry ears. "It''s GOT to be that damned area beyond those ridiculous double doors. From what I can figure out, SO FAR, this system is redirecting power from EVERYTHING else to keep that area SATURATED in power."


    Pointing a claw tip at a long log list on the screen, she taps through the entries, shaking her head. "It looks like this thing was frantically trying to balance power around to all these other systems, and then... Just gave up, and stuck to just this one."


    An uneasy cringe washes over her, and Cideeda leads Bach''s attention over to another screen showing a slowly descending graph line against a constant line of another color. "THIS... This worries me. If what we''ve translated is correct, then this line is the power output from some generator. At this rate of decline, we''ve got maybe a day before it drops below the demand."


    Bach winces, shuddering briefly, and glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia. "Yeah... That''s not a good margin to work with. Any more luck with those manuals and documents?"


    Carefully flipping through another set of pages in an old, dusty binder, Aristespha slowly shakes her head of long, silvery blue hair with a frown. "Unfortunately, nothing that would seem useful for the power system. Still finding daily memos and written orders."


    Sotalia stacks up another old book upon a pile nearby. She brushes her hands off on her cloak, cleans off the cobweb on her horn, and sighs with a shift of her stance. Retrieving her aetherphone, she navigates through a few menus and sorts through a series of photos taken of the facility. With an uneasy frown, her golden eyes recognize elements in the pictures in a new light, and she tenses her shoulders. "I get the distinct feeling we were ALL correct, in some way. This place seems like some kind of strange cybernetic, biological, and magical research base for military applications."


    Glancing over at the pile of paperwork and books nearby, she hoists up an unamused eyebrow. "At least... That''s what half these documents keep hinting at."


    With a long uncomfortable sigh, Aristespha nods in agreement, puts another binder in her backpack, and closes it up. "Yes. I have to agree. And, given recent events, I am NOT too terribly keen on sticking around here for much longer."


    Standing up from her chair, Cideeda brushes off the dust from the backside of her tight bodysuit and back of her tactical vest. She throws the carrying strap of her shotgun over her shoulder and straightens her posture. "YEAH. I think we have all the information we need. Let''s get the hell out of here, and call someone with some serious firepower to handle whatever might be here."


    Sotalia releases a sigh of relief, stuffs a few choice books into large pockets inside her cloak, and walks towards the door of the room. "OH, girl, don''t have to tell me twice."


    Bach and Aristespha head out the exit with Cideeda and Sotalia. The four meet up quickly with Dretphi and Sebastian. Studying their expressions, Sebastian quirks his curious brow at the group. "So... What''s the consensus?"


    Grinning awkwardly, Bach shrugs his shoulders with a facetious tone. "Well... This place is creepy as fuck, and we want to go home now."


    Sebastian snorts and nods quickly. "Sounds good to me, bro. I think we''ve done all we can..."


    Flicking his stare around the dark passage, he wrestles down a frown. "And, all we probably should."


    The team starts to face towards the center of the intersection-


    A sharp, mechanical thunk resonates from some place beyond the power control room nearby. The emergency lights flicker. From the dark corridor and behind the secure double doors, faint arcing and sparking vibrates through the structure of the building. The corridors ignite in full emergency lighting, and klaxons blare out. Frantically surveying their immediate situation, the team searches for answers. Cideeda leans over and catches a glimpse inside the control room, watching the screens chaotically spew forth new alerts. An electronic voice sounds out over the intercom system, echoing out through the facility. Listening carefully, Sotalia gazes at Aristespha and translates, growing more worried with each word. "Lockdown failure?... Lab... stasis field... generators... Malfunction?! OH. GODS... Am I understanding THAT correctly?"


    Aristespha''s light ivory complexion pales further, her understanding coinciding with Sotalia. "Y-Yes. Unfortunately, so."


    Gazing over the team wide-eyed, Sebastian slings his point down the hallway and yells out in a surge of determination. "Form up, and let''s GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"


    A powerful, thunderous slam rattles the structure of the complex. From overhead, dust breaks free, and old rust flakes off support structures. Bach reflexively spouts out in fright. "THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"


    Another earth shaking thud shakes the area from something large impacting a solid surface, the resonate groans of metal straining within. Sebastian gives the signal and flies out, leading the team towards the intersection. A massive object rams into a structural piece of the bunker, and the overhead lights flicker. At the intersection, Dretphi''s steely gray eyes widen in utter shock, and she points out down to massive, double doors. "THEY MOVED!"


    Hydraulic strain gives way, and a cacophony of loud spraying fills the air, thick fluid gushing out from the vented access panel. The heavy doors crack open... From behind in the dark space, something moves around in front of a backdrop of chaotic light.


    IT peers out.

 Episode 64

    Within their aged glass enclosures, alarm lights spin, and red casts flood into the main intersection of the facility. Klaxons blare a jarring drone, sharply echoing against the long concrete lined halls. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia gawk in sheer, utter horror, and SOMETHING watches on from behind the heavy, double security doors. Peering out the small gap between the failing doors, a chaotic display backlights the amorphous silhouette. Crimson cybernetic eyes upon magically inscribed platforms glide across the featureless surface of its huge, undulating form. With mechanical precision contrasting its warping mass, the creature''s glares affix onto the team and study them within the brief lull of the surrounding chaos. Shifting closer to the gap, it pauses at the opening and waits. Slim, black appendages slick out, slipping through the divide, and lap the exterior face of the reinforced doors, flattening securely onto the metallic surface. Tentacles writhe in between the door gap, unnaturally coil up with purpose to bridge the divide, and brace against the edges. Slowly, the flexible limbs pulsate thicker with each second and press against the weakening door, overwhelming with sheer mass. With each surge of growth, hydraulic fluid blasts out in a torrent, flooding into a reflective pool on the floor, and the gap between the doors widens.


    Pure fear suppresses Sotalia''s urge to wretch. Aristespha''s intellectual calm falls to pieces, gawking in frightful terror. Cideeda grits in teeth, drops her furry ears, and reflexively leans back, instinctually disturbed. Blinking in blank horror, Bach''s jaw hangs open. Sebastian remains frozen in stunned fear. Dretphi''s stoic exterior gives away to utter fright, gripping tight hold of her submachine gun. Snapping out of his stupor, Sebastian glances over to the group and shouts. "RUN FOR IT!"


    Situational awareness slams the team back into the immediate, terrible reality. The group sprints off down the long main hallway. The sprays of hydraulic oil mixes with the din of alarms, and grinding shrieks of strained steel resonate loudly through the structure. The team flees down the lengthy corridor deep in the structure and frantically scramble around debris and other obstacles. A frightening, strange chorus of beast and machine roars out from the main intersection behind them, vibrating the light junk lying around. Powerful thuds shake the facility, rattling dust and rust off overhead supports.


    The electronic announcement system crackles out a new series of phrases, barely cresting over the ambient noise. Sotalia briefly closes her golden eyes, sorting through the words in her mind between winces, and glances over to Aristespha, puzzling out loud. "Something about emergency containment measures? Being armed?!"


    Nodding quickly, Aristespha navigates through a narrow passage between old storage containers, searching around fruitlessly for some kind of surrounding hint in the structure. "Yes? That''s what it sounded like to me. I don''t know what it could mean!"


    Cideeda grits her teeth, keeping up pace with the group, and grimaces with worry. "I hope it doesn''t mean that force field at the entry. Because that might not work anymore!"


    Staring down the long corridor to the distant daylight, she yells out. "OR, it can! And we''re on the wrong side of it!"


    Fighting off the growing panic in his tone, Sebastian maintains a hover above the team, keeping an overwatch behind them. "OKAY! Once we''re out of here, we head straight to the humvee AND run for it! I have no fucking clue what that thing is. AND, I don''t want to find out right now. Especially not in this gods damned tunnel!"


    The loud crashes against the overall structure halt and fade into the background of the klaxon drone. Paranoia driving him, Sebastian focuses his stare upon the distant intersection. squinting through the turbulent sea of red lights. From the far off side corridor, thick, black tentacles slap and stick upon the floors, walls, and ceiling. A huge bulbous, spherical mass slides out into the middle of the junction. Gliding upon its dark exterior skin, platforms of cybernetic eyes glare down the long main corridor, watching the team running further away. With pulses of brightness, red dots shine, and the mass undulates its warping form forward. From the featureless surface, slick tubes emerge, stretch forth, and thicken, reaching out into new tentacles. The contorting limbs spring out, splat upon the floors, deform upon the walls, and coil around the ceiling supports. Pulsating with frightening strength, the creature pulls its dark, fluctuating mass forward and quickly coasts towards the team. Tentacles from behind release their strangely dry, powerful adhesion, shrink to thin tendrils, and merge back into the shapeless, amorphous whole. New limbs grow out and continue the beast''s smooth locomotion. The platforms of red, cybernetic eyes steadily concentrate their full focus upon the team, isolating themselves from all other motion.


    Sebastian''s ethereal form pales, abject horror overwhelming, and his fear sparks new motivation within him. "KEEP THE PACE UP EVERYONE! MOVE AS FAST YOU CAN!"


    Glancing over his shoulder, Bach catches a glimpse of the fast moving entity and snaps his head forward. Blue eyes wide, he stares ahead with survival driven determination plainly visible. Drawing out his plasma pistol from the holster, he turns it on, and a high pitched, charging whine peaks over the alarm din echoing the hallway. Cideeda''s furry ears flicks back and guide her quick gaze over at Bach, peeking behind her. Her emerald eyes snap ahead, and she deftly moves her hands to her sides, activating both her laser pistols without breaking stride.


    The synthetic voice blares out over the announcement system again, and Sotalia darts her golden eyes around, searching for some point nearby and ahead. "Containment locks... Engaging?!"


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick forward, and she cringes with a muffled explosion ahead and the dull rush of water sounds out. On both sides of the hallway, two side panels fall open into a dwindling flow of orange brown, stagnant water, and the edges of a pair of rust coated, sliding doors grind out of their resting place. The massive, water soaked steel plates creep slowly together under a whining mechanical strain, flakes of rust and sparks springing out from the friction. Cideeda cringes and covers her nose, coughing. "Fucking great! The containment doors are junk!"


    Glancing back, Sebastian spots the incoming beast and motions the team''s attention ahead. "Doesn''t matter! Maybe they''ll slow that fucking thing down! Focus on getting through the gap before it closes!"


    He gazes ahead, judges the speed of the closure, and commands out to the team. "Single file, everyone! Sprint through!"


    The team lines up into one column, aligning to the closing gap between the massive, rusted doors, and rush on through, clearing the divide. Seconds later, the edges of the rusty steel doors meet solidly. Within the surrounding archway, mechanisms strain to come to life. Interlock systems resonate metallic groans, and a muffled snap abruptly halts them into silence. The team slows their pace briefly, attempting to catch their breaths, and stare behind, hopeful, wary. With a rattling crash, a powerful mass impacts the doors. Large sheets of rust pop off the surface of the heavy metal and shatter upon the hard ground. The team slows to a brisk walk, watching expectantly. Another series of massive slams pound unrelentingly upon the doors, punctuating the shrill unnatural roar of the... Thing... on the other side. Each crash flakes off rust and frees corroded metal on the team''s side of the barrier. A slight warping of the steel grows into a visible bulge. The assault stops. No noise emerges from the other side. A brief spark of hope ignites in the eyes of the group, vanishing quickly when thin oily tendrils seep through the irregular, rust chiseled gaps between doors. They pulsate into larger tentacles and begin prying the containment shutters slowly open. Dretphi leads the team''s curses of frustration with a grath phrase, and the group launches into another sprint down the long corridor.


    Hurrying through the concrete tunnel, Sebastian, Aristespha, Sotalia, Cideeda, Bach, and Dretphi keep up the strenuous pace, heading towards the distant daylight at the end of the long corridor. Each occasionally glances back, checking behind them, mechanical strain erupting out over the constant drone of klaxons and alarm chimes. The automated base announcement system blurts out a partially garbled, barely comprehensible phrase, leaving Sotalia perplexed. Aristespha searches her mind, pieces the parts together between flicks of her violet eyes, and widens her gaze forward. "Layer two containment engaging?! Another set of containment doors!?"


    Loud explosions boom out from the section of hallway ahead. Covering their ears and shielding themselves from bright flashes of light, the team staggers and slows their process forward. A pair of armored side panels from the walls violently crash clear of closing tracked doors and land meters away from the team, leaving deep gouges in the reinforced floor. Wincing through the sudden confusion, Sotalia shakes her mind out of the stunned haze and refocuses ahead. From the newly opened compartments, two massive, steel doors launch out, quickly sliding towards the middle of the corridor. Sotalia grits her teeth, tears off in a sprint, gesturing out an incantation, and shouts out. "NOT FUCKING TODAY!"


    A surge of magical flow erupts from her body and swirls into an energetic spiral towards her hands. Throwing her arms forward, she unleashes a blast towards the closing gap between the door. A translucent, billowing mass of magical energy expands out onto the edges of the heavy steel and stiffly envelops them. Mechanical strain groans out from either side of the hallway, and the massive, reinforced doors slow down to crawl. The magical energies blockading the containment barrier fluctuates. Staggering to slow plod, Sotalia summons another surge of energy and deadlocks the doors, seizing a narrow gap between the imposing steel edges. Bach and Dretphi support Sotalia at her sides and escort her towards the gateway divide. Stopping at the doors, Sebastian hovers above and stares down the red alarm strobe illuminated hallway, fright hunting through the shadows swirling between the rotating lights. Aristespha slips through the space between the doors. Turning around, Aristespha swiftly gestures out a similar incantation to Sotalia''s and flings out a similar wave of energy upon the powerful doors. "I can stabilize it for a while..."


    She gasps in a breath and strains. "But... HURRY! Please!"


    Summoning her strength, Sotalia maintains her contribution to the prying effort and speeds up to a fast walk towards the gap between shuddering containment doors. Cideeda deftly maneuvers to the other side and frantically searches the compartments near the door housings. Digging her claws into the gaps of a vented panel, she yanks it open with a few full body pulls. "Gods dammit! Where the hell are the controls for these things?! There''s GOT to be an override, or SOMETHING!"


    Her emerald green eyes scour the mess of ancient wiring and maze of piping, and she growls out. "Who the fuck designed this GARBAGE?!"


    Bach and Dretphi remain at Sotalia''s sides, and she moves towards the opening. Bach stares watchfully down the red and dark swirling corridor with plasma pistol, and Dretphi glares through the reflections on her full face visor with sub machine gun drawn. A chorus of destructive noises burst out from deeper within the compound. A rolling series of forceful, heavy splats peak over the background drone of alarms, increasing in ferocity and volume with each passing second. From the fluctuating crimson illuminated hallway, a black spherical mass appears distantly into view from around the corridor''s gentle curve. It flies down the tunnel upon a chaotic swarm of adhesive tentacles. Multiple red, pinpoint cybernetic eyes lock onto the team, coasting independently of all other movement. Overhead support beams break loose under the short, thick coils torquing them free. Wall coverings flex against the hard pulls of thin appendages. And, chunks of old floor loosen under the twisting, undulating tentacles. Bach and Dretphi exchange glances, nod in silent agreement, and pivot in step. Slipping an arm underneath Sotalia''s shoulders, they hoist her up and jog her over to the narrowing doorway, surprising her. The trio reach the closing gap. Bach and Dretphi usher the tiring Sotalia through and turn around, aiming their weapons at the approaching beast. Cideeda reaches through the divide and helps guide Sotalia along.


    The entity arrives meters away from Bach and Dretphi, multiple eyes affixing upon them. Bach and Dretphi simultaneously flip the safeties off. Supporting itself in the middle of the air, front protrusions emerge from the featureless, slick skin of the creature and lash out towards their targets. Bach and Dretphi open fire. A rapid volley of plasma bolts pelt the black mass, impacts rippling out across the oily surface of the monster. Dretphi unleashes burst after burst submachine gun fire, sending rounds into the bulbous body of the amorphous entity. Upon the support of its tentacles attached high and low, the monster swings its form around and warps its shape, avoiding many of the attacks. A few plasma bolts and submachine rounds bounce off briefly opaque energy fields protecting its many shifting eyes. Emitting an omnipresent, unnatural roar into the area, the monstrosity flings out its tentacles in wide swipes towards Bach and Dretphi. Dretphi maneuvers her tall, imposing self around, expertly avoiding strike after strike. Bach frantically avoids each attack, moving unusually fast and wildly shifting his balance into dodge rolls upon the floor. Getting Sotalia to the other side of the narrow door gap, Cideeda spins around, drawing her laser pistols, and reaches through the divide. Two beams of bright blue light up against swirling red ambient casts and drag across the slick surface of the monstrous thing ineffectively. A beam crosses a red cybernetic eye, and the red pinpoint blinks out, the eye platform sparking violently. The eye jets frantically away from the beam along the exterior of the beast.


    A pained bellow rattles the vicinity, and the creature momentarily loses its focus. Snapping back to their senses, Bach and Dretphi quickly retreat towards the gap between shaking containment doors. Sebastian zips out in a chaotic flight path around and in front of the monster. Many eyes track Sebastian. One red eye creeps out from hiding behind the massive, dark orb, spots Dretphi lining up her approach through the narrow gap. Three thin, quick tentacles eject out from the black, undulating mass. One wraps around Dretphi''s helmet, one slaps firmly attached upon her chest plate, and another splats upon a shin guard. Each sticks firmly upon glinting golden surfaces millimeters away from the armor plating.


    Terror overwhelming, Bach spots the limb around Dretphi''s helm pulsating thick, the coil tightening with each moment. Surrounding Dretphi''s helmet, a golden barrier pulses into visibility and buffers the crushing forces upon it. Bach notices the familiar golden barrier, shakes out of the stupor with determined grit of his teeth, and pivots towards the monster. Putting his hands together, Bach surges a flow of energy, manifesting an orb forms between. Layers upon layers of chaotically spinning rings build up in mere fractions of second to a ten centimeter ball of disintegrating power. Charging forth, Bach thrusts his hand containing the destructive ball right into the pulsating tentacle gripping Dretphi. Orb impacting, a fine black mist erupts, and the slick surface disrupts into a thick spray of ichor. The spherical blob vibrates out in some kind of pain response and shudders, frantically reeling back from the attack. In the flurry of survival instinct, Dretphi frees her head from her helmet. The tentacle yanks back and drags the helm off. Balancing herself against the pull of the adhered tendrils, Dretphi deftly slides her hands underneath her chest plate and tears through the hook and loop fasteners in a loud fabric release. With a final lift of her leg, she rips off the fastening straps holding the shin guard and kicks it away with the tentacle.


    Grabbing hold of Dretphi''s shoulder, Bach shoves her through the gradually narrowing door gap, firing his plasma pistol wildly towards the monster. Cideeda snags hold of Dretphi''s arm and yanks her through with all her might. Dretphi clears through the space and reflexively grips onto Bach''s arm, bracing herself upon the other side of the door. Tensing her imposing form, she pulls Bach through with her raw strength, dragging Bach through the snug gap. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi clear away from the opening, and a flurry of tentacles whip out through the gap, lashing out wildly. Witnessing the horror reaching from the other side, Sotalia immediately releases her spell.


    The containment door slams shut hard upon the writhing mass. The flailing appendages quickly slack, hanging limply from the join between the doors. Unnatural moans of pain and misery reverberate through the thick containment door. The team swiftly distances themselves from the doorway, warily watching, expectant. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi and Sotalia muster their strength and catch their breaths in the lull of activity, the constant drone of klaxons still filling the air. Sebastian quickly phases through the door and lands next to the team. "IS EVERYONE OKAY?!"


    Dretphi combs her gauntlet-covered hand through her platinum blonde braids, slows her panting to calmer, longer breaths, and nods to Sebastian. "Yes. Missing plating. Fine otherwise."


    Bracing himself up with his hands on his knees, Bach glances up briefly and makes eye contact with his brother, giving a shaky thumbs up. "OH... Yeah... Whew... Wow... That mini D-ball took a little out of me... But I should be fine in a minute or two. Still can move. So, we''re good."


    Aristespha wipes a bit of sweat off her brow, supporting Sotalia up, and sighs. "I am... Fine, Sebastian. A bit taxing, but I should be fine."


    Sotalia pops open a pouch on her belt, pulls out a large vial, and quaffs the potion down in one swift motion. Exhales a mix of relief and exhaustion, she blinks her golden, graying sclera eyes and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "I''ll be fine. This potion should kick in soon and keep me moving."


    Shaking her head, Cideeda drags her clawed fingers through her short multicolored hair and calms her breathing for speech. "Oh gods... THAT was too fucking close. I''m okay..."


    Sotalia passes Aristespha and Bach similar potions from her belt of pouches. Sebastian smiles his relief and gazes in a mix of paranoia and unease towards the closed containment barrier. "Good. VERY good. Okay..."


    He swallows hard and draws in a long ethereal breath. "NOW... The next question is... Will THAT hold... IT... Back?"


    The team''s attention settles upon the limp tentacles hanging out from between the doors. A minute passes. They watch. Faint pulses of life pump into the slack limbs, and thin tendrils ooze out through the joint between the pair of steel barriers. Dread looms over the group, visible anger and fear erupting. Bach winces away and groans out. "FUCK."


    Baring her teeth, Cideeda growls, walking away. "OH! To hell with this... THING!"


    Sotalia clenches her fists, shakes her head, and turns away, stomping her boots. "GODS FUCKING DAMMIT! Who the fuck thought THIS was a good thing to make?! Well..."


    She narrows her golden and gray glare towards the daylight end of the passage. "Let''s not hang out here any longer."


    With a contemptuous sneer of her upper lip, Dretphi grimaces and glares. Her ire boils up to her tan face, and she scowls, concentrating her anger upon the limbs of the entity. With a swift breath in, she spits on the ground in front of the doors, checks her submachine gun, and joins Sotalia in the march towards the exit. Aristespha gathers her composure, checks her equipment, and catches up to the group. Sebastian and Bach follow along behind the recovering team. Both glance back at the growing black, slick vines gradually prying the doors apart. Moments of inner thoughts later, Bach gazes over at Sebastian. "Damn. Man... That door isn''t going to hold it for long. It''s making a lot of progress on getting it open."


    Drifting alongside, Sebastian slowly nods in agreement and peers distantly into his mind, seeking some solution. "I know, bro. But... I don''t know what the hell we are supposed to do against something like... THAT."


    Glancing ahead at the portal of daylight at the end of tunnel, he shakes his head uncertainly. "I mean... Once we catch our breaths... The only thing I can think of to do is to head to the humvee, get as far away from this place as possible, and send an alert to the guild to send a military emergency containment force."If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Bach picks up the pace with the team, regaining their strength. Moments later, a terrifying thought crosses Bach''s mind, and he stares at his brother. "Brother... It''ll probably get out before they can do anything about it."


    Sebastian turns to face Bach, blinking. Visibly processing the situation, he releases a long, ethereal sigh of dread. "Ah... Shit... I know..."


    He glances ahead towards Cideeda and calls out to her. "Cideeda? Do you see anything ahead that looks like another set of containment doors?"


    Checking over her shoulder briefly, Cideeda thinks a moment and squints her emerald green eyes down the corridor leading outside. Seconds later, her eyes widen in surprise, and she directs her concerned tone back over her shoulder. "Actually... No. I don''t see another set of those panels anywhere..."


    Dretphi''s awareness returns to her surroundings. Bouncing her steely gray eyes around the structures ahead, the anger fades from Dretphi''s face, worry replacing it. "Those doors may be the last means to seal it."


    Grumbling, Sotalia rolls the frustration out of her shoulders and grits her teeth. "A lot of good those gods damned things did! It''s going to use the same fucking trick to get through those, soon enough."


    Horror washes over Aristespha, and she stares ahead into the daylight, her ivory face paling slightly. "And... It will escape... Outside."


    The group shares a pseudo moment of silence within the drone of alarms long filtered out unconsciously. They quietly deliberate their options, traveling closer to the exit. Hovering along with everyone else, Sebastian speaks up. "Anyone have any ideas?"


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, and she musters up a reserved grin. "We could try to collapse the entrance. It might not be enough to stop it from digging itself out... BUT, I bet it''d slow it down a lot. I''ve got a powerful concussive round for my shotgun that might rattle enough of these old supports to drop them down."


    Aristespha, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia judge Cideeda''s option between themselves. Furrowing his brow, Bach gazes to the team determined. "A barrier."


    The rest of the group shift their attention upon Bach and await an explanation. Bach draws in a long breath and ponders out loud. "Okay... Listen, I can craft a barrier to try to seal the damned thing in. I mean, so far, the only way it has been getting through is if it can pry open the doors and force them apart. Maybe..."


    Wrestling an uncertain frown, he grimaces. "Just maybe... If I make a really slick matrix and seal off the gaps, it won''t be able to use that trick, and it''ll be trapped behind it."


    He pauses, gauging reactions, and pleads in a worried tone. "It''s risky... But... I mean..."


    Staring back towards the dark corridor behind them, he stiffens his upper lip and straightens his posture. "Something NEEDS to be done. It''s going to crack those doors open soon enough. As much as I would like to run to the humvee and get away, it''ll get loose and probably go on a killing spree. OR WORSE, disappear into the woods and terrorize the whole area for who knows how long?!"


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia jog closer to the archway exit, and the team individually ponder quietly. Seconds later, Sotalia nods in agreement and glances over to Bach with an encouraging grin. "I''m willing to give it a shot, if you are."


    Firmly gripping Bach''s shoulder, Dretphi smiles warmly with determination in her voice. "IT can NOT leave here."


    Giving a clawed thumbs up, Cideeda winks back to Bach with a toothy grin. "Sounds good to me. And, it might work to our advantage! If you can get it sealed away, that''ll give me plenty of time to set up some real explosives, and we''ll see if we can collapse this whole entrance."


    Aristespha nods to Bach simply with an appreciative tone. "I think we all will sleep far better if it never leaves here. And..."


    Narrowing her violet gaze, she frowns slightly. "This place is too close to a town to just leave it alone."


    Sebastian grins proudly toward his brother and nods. "Okay. So, where do you want to set this thing up, bro?"


    Blinking slightly surprised, Bach motions roughly ahead. "Um, maybe ten or fifteen meters away from the mouth of the entrance? Far away from those doors, but down from the entrance enough to have a good section of tunnel to collapse?"


    With a single nod, Sebastian smirks in agreement and points out a spot ahead. "Let''s do it there, then."


    Gathering his determination, Bach glances briefly over to Sebastian and studies the floor section before them. "Okay. I''ll try to put up the best damn barrier I can, then..."


    He blows out a tense exhale and rolls out his shoulders. "I just hope this is the better option..."


    Laughing against a surge of nervous energy, Sebastian slowly shakes his head, flying next to Bach, and grits his teeth. "Don''t worry about that, bro. I think we''d all rather risk containing it, than risk have to face that fucking thing out in the open woods while we rush back to our ride. And, then, hope it doesn''t chase us down while we''re trying to drive away."


    He gazes into his brother''s blue eyes resolutely. "Do what you can, and we''ll do the same. This is the best plan we''ve got at the moment. Thanks for giving it to us."


    Drawing a slow breath in, Bach cracks a hopeful smile and nods. With Sebastian hovering nearby, Bach positions himself in the middle of the long corridor, fifteen meters short of the exit archway, and raises his hands up in front of him. "Okay... Looks like this spot will work. Seems structural, and there''s no obvious panels."


    Rolling his shoulders, he flexes his fingers. "Gods... Here we go."


    Closing his eyes slowly, Bach exhales long, relaxing his upper body briefly. His eyes reopen to a bright glowing blue. Fine streams of magical flow swirl around his body, condensing into a billowing haze in front of his hands. Thin wisps of energy travel rigidly along straight paths to the floor, walls, and ceiling of the hallway, collecting upon growing magical structures. Seconds later, a translucent golden lattice of large hexagons form and solidify with the constant output of magic. The stabilized energy support beams layer out in growing diameters, anchor points root deep into the very structure of the facility, and smaller hexagon lattice work emerges within the larger cells. The demanding process continues. Sebastian maintains a careful watch down the tunnel into the red, cyclically illuminated void and catches glimpses of the emergency lighting glinting off the distant, gradually opening containment doors.


    Cideeda perks her furry ears and trains her emerald eyes upon the architecture of the facility''s entrance. Pointing to various locations near structural intersections and support girders, she mentally calculates, narrowing a destructive glare upon the targets. Dretphi walks over near Bach, stretching her body out, and readies her sub machine gun. Raising the barrel, she tosses her platinum blonde braided hair back and levels her aim down the corridor. Sotalia stands near the other side of Bach, rolling the tension out of her shoulders into a casting stance, and stares fiercely down the chaotically lit tunnel. Standing at the mouth of the entrance, Aristespha holds her aetherphone out and slowly moves it around, searching for a signal.


    With each surge of magical flow radiating across, the golden barrier shimmers brighter. Hexagonal patterns within hexagonal patterns shrink the largest openings gradually. Bach fully focuses upon the sealing structure in front of him, fighting off the emerging traces of fatigue. Sotalia studies the wall of golden energy in front of her, grinning eagerly. "There''s NO WAY it''ll get through this!"


    Bach smiles briefly and breathes carefully, continuing the intense work. "Yeah... I hope so... But... These gaps are taking FOREVER to close up properly..."


    A loud metallic pop echoes out from the distant containment door. Cideeda''s furry ears flick over, and her eyes widen in fear. "Something blew loose in the door''s hydraulics! I hear fluid spraying!"


    Glancing into the facility tunnel, she yells out. "Nothing is stopping it now!"


    Squinting down the fluctuating crimson lighted hallway, Sebastian watches the huge, reinforced containment doors open faster, a misty spray of hydraulic oil obscuring the view. He shouts down below to Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "Bach, keep doing what you can! But, EVERYONE! Get ready to RUN FOR IT!"


    Bach grits his teeth angrily, determination surging up within him. "FffffUCK! NO-No-No... You ARE NOT GETTING THROUGH! NOT... TODAY!"


    A wave of prismatic energy pulses out from the surface of Bach''s body, gravitating towards his hands, and weaves into the flows merging with the golden hexagonal barrier. Core structural components ignite into a bright glow and radiate out towards the rest of the magical mesh work. Wincing his eyes closed, Bach strains further, power rushing into the sealing structure, and mutters. "Come on... close the gaps... close the gaps..."


    A structure shaking snap reverberates through the facility. A loud, bright explosion of fire erupts, the hydraulic fluid igniting into a plume of flame. The distant containment doors slam wide open, crashing into their frames, and a black orb mass launches out the gate in a shadowy blur through the roaring inferno. A chaotic cacophony of tentacles smashing onto floor plates, ripping off wall panels, and yanking apart ceiling supports bursts forth. With unnatural speed, the spherical black, amorphous form ripples through the corridor, keeping all of its brilliantly bright, red eyes focused on the group. Sebastian pales in wide eyed terror and shouts. "INCOMING! RUN!"


    Bach remains upon his task, his awareness lost within his work. Readying herself, Sotalia glances expectantly over to Bach. Dretphi sharply and firmly grasps hold of Bach''s shoulder and shakes him back to the immediate. Blinking out of his haze, Bach snaps his gaze over. With a commanding tone, Dretphi speaks firmly . "WE GO NOW."


    With Bach regaining his awareness of the present, Sotalia snatches hold of his arm and rushes off towards the entrance. Dretphi pushes Bach forward along. They all escape towards the outside beyond the archway. Senses returning, Bach soon drives the pace forward with a rush of fright. The creature jets down the hallway and slams its full weight into the golden barrier. Its form deforms upon the barrier from the thunderous impact, and the shock ripples across its featureless, black exterior, eye platforms drifting aimlessly in the confusion. The golden structure glints with strain, gradually flexing with the crash force, and quickly settles back to unmoved stability. Glancing back, Bach watches the monstrosity frantically feeling around the partially constructed barrier and grins triumphantly with a fitting hand gesture. "HA HA! Try that out you wretched shit! Have fun in there FOREVER!"


    A synthetic voice blares out a message over the facility''s speaker system. Sotalia searches her mind, puzzling in the moment, and yells out. "The hell is it saying now?!"


    Passing the threshold of the entrance to the outside air with a sigh of relief, she slows her sprint down. Bach follows shortly behind, exhaustion creeping into his gait. Dretphi maintains her rear guard over Bach, checking on him. Second later, she pants out, relaxing her body, and slowly shakes her head. The late afternoon sun casts a calming light upon the moment of peace near the entrance.


    Three thin, long black tendrils shatter the tranquility and swiftly wrap around Dretphi''s waist and legs. The dark flexing limbs yank her to the ground and pull her across the entryway threshold. Hearing Dretphi fall onto the ground, Bach watches her slide inside and reflexively dives after her outstretched arm. Both secure a grip onto each other''s forearms, and Bach tugs back against the thinly stretched tentacles. Sliding along the dirt, Bach manages to wrap his free arm around the archway structure, maintaining his hold. Dretphi tightens her grip and grimaces under the strain, the competing forces lifting her off the ground.


    Starting deep within the facility, a cascade of electrical junctions loudly switch on, and a loud hum resonates nearby. Cideeda quickly grabs hold of Dretphi''s free hand, digging her claws into the ground, and pulls with all her small frame can manage. Sotalia rushes over, immediately takes aim, and unleashes a power bolt of energy towards the tentacles. The bolt solidly impacts and sends ripples along the limb''s slim form, shaking it violently. Dretphi''s plated boot loosens itself free. The tentacle snaps harshly back along with the armor, slicking back through a small gap in the golden magical barrier. Aristespha quickly gestures out an incantation, pointing towards the remaining two tentacles, and unleashes a bright beam. The ray drags across the general path of the slick, black lines searing the beast''s limbs. The stretched appendages thrash about against Dretphi, tearing a thigh plate free. The limb snaps back, and one tentacle remains around Dretphi. It pulsates thicker, tightening its grasp around her waist.


    Sparks of life flicker within the archway. The ambient hum grows louder, and an energy haze begins to fill the plane encapsulated by the ancient force field generator. Gritting her teeth, Cideeda struggles with her grip on Dretphi''s arm and winces. The energies building within the space of the archway electrocute Cideeda away in a powerful arcing burst. Bach maintains his grip, the field thickening against his arm. Sparks crackle against his burning duster, wisps of smoke spurting out. The dark beast pulls upon Dretphi, and she tenses her body, buffering the tension growing. Feeling the strain, Bach grits his teeth with determination and focuses his glowing blue eyes. Flows of magical energy glide along his body, seeping into arms and back. With a powerful draw of breath, new levels of muscle definition emerge in Bach''s arms, and he pulls hard, pulling Dretphi closer to the developing force field and further away from the monster.


    Aristespha and Sotalia hurry over, quickly casting spells, and work together, repulsing the field energy away from Bach. The two gradually widen a hole in the archway barrier around his arm. The monster roars out in an unnatural, shrill scream, contorting its form. The pull of the tentacle around Dretphi surges. The force travels through her and yanks Bach''s helmet first into the translucent force field. In a spray of sparks and arcs, Bach holds his grip against the repeated impacts upon the crackling field, the golden barriers on his helm fracturing. Getting back on to her feet, Cideeda frantically searches the archway, her eyes darting between modules and nodes in vain. Sebastian darts off towards the monster, desperately trying to distract it. Many of the abomination''s cybernetic, red eyes watch Sebastian. One maintains watch upon Dretphi.


    Staring, Dretphi watches as Aristespha and Sotalia focus their energies and keep the force field from collapsing upon Bach''s arm, smoke fuming off his burnt duster. She glances into Sotalia''s gold on black eyes and the struggle apparent on her face. Her steely gray eyes follow Cideeda in a panic, trying to find something she can override on the archway. She listens to Sebastian spewing forth taunts and insults behind her, attempting to distract the beast. Her gaze settles upon Bach''s flickering blue eyes behind his visor. Through a shattered golden barrier, she watches the steel of Bach''s helmet heat up against the constant contact with the force field wall. Trembles sneak into Bach''s grip. His muscles tense into strange definition and spasm from the unnatural magical augmentation. Smiling warmly to Bach, Dretphi grips hold her submachine gun with her free hand and closes her steely gray eyes sadly.


    A chorus of mental terror blasts forth throughout Bach''s mind. With blood chilling horror, he watches the scene about to play out. Gritting teeth, he unleashes a torrent of emotion from within and mutters loudly. "Gods. Damn. You. Isaac."


    Opening her eyes towards the black mass monstrosity, Dretphi aims her submachine gun, dons a grimly stoic stare, and lets go of Bach''s arm.


    She doesn''t move.


    Stunned bewilderment snaps her glance back towards the outside world.


    "FAMILIAR FLOW DETECTED."


    Noticing the renewed, powerful grip upon her gauntlet covered arm, Dretphi gazes into the brilliantly glowing white eyes of Bach. She immediately snatches her grasp firmly back upon Bach''s forearm. Flows white energy protectively coat around Bach and wisps sink into his body. Struggling with each word, Bach glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia and commands. "Save your strength... Will need... Your help to open the field for Dretphi... Wait for it..."


    From Bach''s powerfully clamped hand, threads of elder energy weave down Dretphi''s arm, spreading out across her shoulders, and travel between her and the tightly wrapped, pulsating tentacle, enveloping her legs. Seconds later, Dretphi blinks in surprise, the tension upon her body fading, and eases out a relieved breath. A white matrix of energy flickers across her under armor suit and absorbs the pulling and crushing forces from the tentacle. Mustering a smirk, Bach slides his hand from the outer edge of the archway and presses his elder energy coated forearm against the barrier. Pushing against the arcing and crackling energy field with his elbow, he releases the straps of helmet, tears it off, and flings it clear. The helm rolls along the dirt, wisps of smoke trailing behind from a faintly orange-red glowing spot and flaking shards of golden magical energy. Supported sideways by the constant pull of the monster''s tentacle, Bach slips up each of his elder energy coated knees up onto the powerful field, sparks and arcs erupting out with the sustained forceful contact.


    Gazing at Dretphi, Bach braces himself against the force field, pulls his free arm back, and concentrates a surge of white energy in his hand. In a fountain of sparks, flames, and plasma, he drills his arm through the barrier. Opening his hand, Bach reaches for Dretphi''s other arm, and Dretphi immediately grabs hold tight. Against the tugs and yanks of the enraged beast, Bach and Dretphi coordinate their grips, readying themselves. Sliding his knees up relatively underneath him, Bach positions his feet between him and the archway energy barrier. A massive surge of energy erupts throughout Bach''s body, and he calls out. "OPEN IT NOW!"


    Aristespha and Sotalia simultaneously cast their spell into the barrier, piercing a widening hole between Bach''s arms. With muscle definition highlighted by magical energy flow, Bach dead lifts himself towards a standing position. Crackles of energy spew forth from the pressing contact between his boots and the fully powered energy barrier. Splatters of magically infused plasma rain upon the ground, sizzling upon the dirt and burning the grass. Bach stands up straighter, and Dretphi emerges from the widening hole. Putting forth all her strength, she climbs up Bach, both coordinating and changing grips help hoist her clear. Clearing the barrier, Dretphi curls her legs away, and Aristespha and Sotalia immediately release their spell.


    The opening slams shut on the stretched, black tentacle. Still holding onto Dretphi, the thicken tendril powerfully wrenches against Bach and Dretphi and harshly yanks the two back towards the field. Bach grits teeth in a pained wince and stabilizes his foothold against the barrier upon flows of elder energy. Watching Bach struggling and Dretphi trying her best to get free, Cideeda bares her sharp canines and marches towards the force field. She pulls her shotgun into her hands, reaches into a large pocket on her vest, and retrieves a long metal shell with a sharp, pointy tip. Deftly loading it into the under-barrel of her shotgun, she calls out to Aristespha and Sotalia, motioning to a section of force field. "GIVE ME AN OPENING!"


    Aristespha and Sotalia quickly exchange glances, summon their magical energies, and pry open a portal in the archway barrier. Cideeda quickly thrusts her shotgun through, leveling her aim towards the beast, and searches for the opportunity. In the fractions of a second, Cideeda studies the monster, the surroundings, and the small gaps in Bach''s golden magical barrier. Many eyes pay attention to the distracting antics of Sebastian. Cideeda notices one lone cybernetic eye fully focused on Bach and Dretphi. Snarling her upper lip, she narrows her emerald eyed glare and shouts to Sebastian. "SEBASTIAN! Go for the eye at the bottom!"


    Sebastian halts a moment, glances down to the solitary eye, and zips right in front of it. Summoning his fury, he unleashes a fiery radiance around his ethereal form. All of the beast''s eyes pay attention to him. Cideeda pulls the trigger. The projectile launches forth from the under-barrel and rockets through the hallway. Slipping through a gap in the golden barrier, the heavy round flies straight underneath the center mass of the monster. It sticks perfectly into a floor tile. Cideeda yanks Aristespha and Sotalia down to the ground with her, yelling. "GET DOWN!"


    A concussive wave of flame bursts out. The shockwave concentrates beneath the amorphous blob, launches its warping form up into the air, and slams the twisting mass in a thunderous splat against the ceiling plating. Cybernetic eye platforms scramble in chaotic orbits around the body, crashing into each other, and drift aimlessly across the featureless, dark surface. Tentacles reflexively deflate and retreat to the stunned center blob. The wave of concussive force vents through the many small gaps in the golden magical barrier, and the outer archway force field bulges slightly."


    Bounced away, Dretphi and Bach free fall down to the ground.


    An eerie silence floods the clearing. Second later, the sounds of nature return with the faint, muffled background din of a large mass quickly retreating, fading away. Dretphi stirs, blinking back to conscious thought. From her prone perspective, her steely gray eyes search the area in a confused daze. Lifting her head up slightly, she brushes her platinum blonde braids clear of her tan face and notices the strange, awkward gawks from Sebastian, Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia. In her mental haze, she searches around for a missing team member. A strange sensation distracts her. Feeling a warm, moist flow of air alternating with a cooler draw of air upon the middle of her chest, he tilts her head downwards. She recognizes the familiar brown, white streaked hair on top of Bach''s head, her under armored suited figure smothering his face entirely.


    Blushing brightly, Dretphi swiftly pushes herself up off of Bach and immediately swings over to the side, granting him some room to breathe. With Aristespha rushing over, Dretphi quickly checks on him and awkwardly states fact. "He is... Breathing."


    Aristespha maintains a professional demeanor and evaluates Bach''s vitals. "Yes. I do believe he passed out from the strain and halting the flow of energy suddenly. He should wake up soon."


    Minutes of investigations later, Bach stirs back to consciousness and groggily opens his eyes. Gazing out to the gathered team, he lifts his head up slowly, catches a glimpse of the archway, and immediately backpedals along the ground away from the entrance in a fearful reflex. The team shifts with him and settles back down, resting a bit. Flopping out upon the ground, Cideeda stares up at the clouds overhead and vents out all her stress into a wavering laugh. "Oh gods... I think that explosive round sent it... packing."


    With hints of hope, Sebastian nervously chuckles. "Yeah. I think it did. The damned thing took off in the other direction after that hit. Hope it STAYS deep in that damned hole."


    Propping himself up, Bach sniffs sharply through his nose and rubs the bridge out to the tip. Aristespha perks her brow curiously, inquiring. "Is there something wrong with your nose?"


    Bach contorts his face, working out the perplexing discomfort, and ponders out loud. "I, uh... Not really? I mean, it''s not broken or anything. Just feels a bit off... or something."


    Glancing around to the rest of the team, he pulls on his nose. "Like it got pushed to the side... By something... Soft? I don''t know how to describe it. But, I think I''ll be fine."


    He gazes over to Dretphi and smiles apologetically. "I guess I must have bumped into you, Dretphi, when we fell down? You okay?"


    Dretphi blinks briefly, presents a tight smile, averting her gaze, and nods quickly. "Oh. Uh. Yes."


    Aristespha maintains her professional exterior, eyeing Sebastian into silence. Sotalia pivots away covering her mouth, suppresses the chuckling snort fighting to escape, and narrows her humored gold on black eyes at Dretphi. Concentrating a stoic glare firmly upon Sotalia, Dretphi fails to hide the embarrassment slipping through into her slightly red cheeks.

 Episode 65

    From the long set sun, a gentle cast of purple radiates into the living room of the ranch style house. The soft ambient drone of domestic convenience looms in the air. The refrigerator''s compressor kicks on. The rush of wind filters through the vents of the wall mounted air conditioner just above the couch. And, the vertical blinds hanging in front of the sliding glass door wave gently. Behind the kitchen door, light, muffled rumbles of machinery rattle, the sectioned metal panels of the garage door opening. With a swift turn of the knob, the door swings quickly open, gusting away a few specs of dirt under a nearby cabinet. Stepping in, Sotalia tilts her head back in a dramatic wave of relief and spreads her arms out. "Oh gods... So good to be back here..."


    She moves through the kitchen area, slides out a dining room chair, and plops down. Blinking her gold on black eyes, she rolls her neck in a stretch, slacking her shoulders, and relaxes upon the seat. "Dessert may have been a bit too much..."


    Cracking a sly smirk from the corner of her mouth, she glances off to the side. "BUT... I think I earned THAT much."


    Cideeda walks across the kitchen floor, faints clicks from her claws upon the tilework tapping out. Sighing out her relief, she loosens her body suit and quickly rounds the table into the hallway. "I''m calling first shower! Need to wash the funk of this mission off of me."


    With a few sniffs, she scrunches up her nose and grimaces. "Gods. Surprised no one said anything at the Pancake Shed."


    Sotalia rolls her eyes playfully and smiles dismissively. "Oh, you were FINE. I think Rekeeka and the rest of the staff could tell we had a rough enough day."


    Nodding, Aristespha climbs the steps from the garage, turns around inside the kitchen, and smiles encouragingly to Bach. "Your muscles are going to be VERY sore. While I detected no significant damage, thankfully, you still have put your body through tremendous strain. It will need to heal through its own processes."


    Bach winces in a mix of sharp pain and frustration, bracing himself against the door frame. Gritting his teeth with each foot step, he manages to travel up the short stairs into the kitchen, Dretphi behind at the ready. He stands idly, the soreness radiating throughout his body, and settles a worn gaze at Aristespha. "Yeah... It''s REALLY starting to feel like I did a week of workouts in one day. Ow..."


    Sniffing up a short, pained breath, he eases out a slowly exhale. "Gods. Man, I didn''t realize I had muscles in so many places... And how badly they could all ache."


    Aristespha smirks sympathetically, nodding understandingly, and swiftly moves towards the hallway. "Give me a moment. I have a potion that will help soothe your muscles and should boost your natural healing."


    Plodding ahead through the kitchen gradually, Bach vainly tries to work out the aches in his body, grimacing during the process. "At this point... Ow... I mean, I''ll try anything. Because, I think it''s going to feel a whole lot worse before it gets better."


    Dretphi brushes off her under armor suit and glances at the remaining armor plates stacked on the garage floor. She keeps close to Bach, slowly walking. "Do you need help?"


    With hints of embarrassment, Bach smiles appreciatively and braces himself upon one of the dining chairs. "Uh... I mean... I think I should be good. But, I wouldn''t mind someone keeping me from falling flat on my face. Legs are getting real sore and stiff. Thought I was doing okay when we were eating, but..."


    Fluttering his eyes, he shakes his head slowly. "It''s all hitting me now."


    Aristespha arrives from the hallway, presents a vial to Bach, and meets his eyes. "This is a particularly potent potion, and it WILL cause drowsiness. So, I would not take it until you are ready to go to bed for the night."


    Grasping the glass container from Aristespha, Bach observes the colorful, shifting mix inside, curiously tilting it around. "Oh. Okay."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha, and he studies the vial in Bach''s hand. His translucent blue eyes widen briefly, and he chuckles with an amused smirk. "Oh, THAT stuff. Yeah, that stuff is pretty powerful. Drowsiness is an understatement, bro. It hits me pretty hard."


    Bach squints at the concoction, blinking the fatigue out of his blue eyes, and barely shrugs his shoulders. "Honestly, I wouldn''t mind going to bed early. Yeah... It''s been quite the day, and my fun bucket is really fucking full right now."


    Managing a hearty chuckle, he winces, his arm covering his side. "Ow... Yeah, I''m going to bed. That sounds really good."


    Bach stiffly steps ahead. Aristespha catches Dretphi''s attention and nods to her. "I will have a similar potion for you in a few minutes."


    Dretphi nods thankfully, staying behind Bach with her hands ready to catch him. Grimacing with each step down the hallway''s hardwood floors, Bach plays off the aches, lightly laughing. "Hey. I know how I''m feeling. But, how are you holding up?"


    Deliberating her response, Dretphi smirks slightly and perks an amused brow. "Stretched thin."


    Bach reflexively snorts in a laugh, holds his stomach, and shakes his head slowly. "Ow. Nicely put."


    Opening the door, he plods slowly into the room. He sheds off his scorched duster onto the floor, stands next to his bed, and plops himself down upon the mattress. A long sigh of relief escapes him, and he closes his eyes briefly. "Gods... What a day..."


    Dretphi slowly nods agreement, crossing her arms, and quietly thinks to herself in the quiet moment. Bach blinks his eyes open, carefully sits himself up, and gazes over to Dretphi, hints of concern in his voice. "Hey... You doing okay?"


    Snapping back to attention, Dretphi glances over with a warm smile and uncertainly rocks her head of platinum blonde braids side to side. "I will need to... process... today."


    Bach sighs and musters up an awkward grin back. "Yeah. Definitely going to need to think through all this. Soon... Not before getting some sleep, though."


    He lifts the potion from Aristespha up in front of him, unscrews the cap, and sniffs the vial. "Let''s see how hard this stuff really hits."


    Tilting the small bottle back, he quaffs down the liquid, grimacing briefly at the taste. He screws the lid back on and sets it down upon the nightstand. "Well... That was... NOT tasty..."


    With a light chuckle, Dretphi smiles warmly. Catching a stray thought in her mind, she inquires. "I have a question."


    Bach settles back down upon the bed, slowly stretching out upon the top, and rests his head on the pillow, gazing over to Dretphi. "Okay. What''s the question?"


    Pondering out her query cautiously, Dretphi watches Bach, hunting for a reaction. "Why did you not blast the beast with energy? Would it not have been simpler?"


    Blinking in surprise, Bach sheepishly grins. "Well... Yeah... But..."


    He averts his eyes briefly. "I didn''t want to... Let you go."


    Sighing deeply, he lays out his thoughts, fighting off a yawn. "To be honest... I barely had anything under control. If I was going to do anything with what I had, I wanted to make sure you were safe. It may have not been the optimal solution... But, it''s the one I know I could live with."


    Dretphi blinks in genuine surprise, bows her head down, and speaks warmly. "Thank you. Bach."


    Bach briefly opens his eyes against the drowsiness, yawns, and smiles. "You''re welcome. You''re worth it. Just forgive me if I''m... Not eager to run laps anytime... Soon..."


    A faint blush of pink fills Dretphi''s cheeks. Mulling over a thought quietly, she lifts her head up, starting to open her mouth. A snore halts her. In a moment of confusion, she studies the sleeping Bach. Seconds later, she smirks and giggles quietly to herself. Stepping over to the end of the bed, she grabs hold of Bach''s boot and gently tugs upon it. Bach stirs briefly in slumber, muttering incoherently. Dretphi pulls and shakes a bit harder. Bach''s fatigue secures his slumber, and he only squirms a bit in defiance. Furrowing her intrigued, tan brow, Dretphi gazes over Bach and sighs with a kind smile. She curiously eyes Bach, unstraps his boots loose, and pulls the footwear off. With Bach sleeping, Dretphi contemplates the bed covers underneath the sleeping man, narrowing her steely gray eyes. She carefully rolls Bach onto his side, tucks the sheets under, and guides him back over. With a swift sweep, she drapes the covers over Bach and tucks him in.


    Gazing at the slumbering Bach, Dretphi gently brushes his longer brown hair out of his face, holds her hand upon his beard-covered cheek, and watches him gently snore. She softly pats his face, smiles warmly, and steps quietly on her under armor covered feet out of the room. With a flick of the light switch, she pulls the door closed and walks down the wood floor hallway. Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts down the passage, and he smirks humored. "Let me guess, it hit him hard, too?"


    Dretphi nods simply, smirking. "Yes. In minutes."


    Grinning with the knowledge, Sebastian laughs softly. "Knew it."


    His gaze grows more serious, and he meets Dretphi''s eyes. "Hey. Just wanted to ask how you are feeling. It was quite the day for all of us. Especially you."


    Frowning momentarily, Dretphi sighs and musters up a partial smile. "I will need to process it all."


    Sebastian nods understandingly, placing his hands on his sides. "Yeah... I know how THAT goes. Just remember, we''re all here for you. And, you shouldn''t think twice about asking any of us for help. We''ll do what we can."


    An appreciative full smile emerges upon Dretphi, and she acknowledges thankfully. "I know. Thank you."


    A sly grin creeps out from the corner of Sebastian''s mouth, and he points his thumb over his shoulder towards the archway into the living area. "Now... The other reason I''m here is that Sotalia is mixing up some drinks and wanted to know if you wanted to partake."


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes light up, and she nods eagerly. Sebastian leads the way, Dretphi following.


    ----


    Slipping through the windows, faint traces of very early morning glow barely contrast against the cold, looming darkness of the bedroom. The outline of an armor stand with an incomplete suit of plating momentarily emerges from the uncomfortable, silent shadows. Dretphi''s steely gray eyes stare widely out into the void around, and she struggles to calm her breathing down. Tossing and turning on her bed, she settles herself into a workable enough position and concentrates on relaxing her tensed body. She mutters comforting logic to herself in grath. She slowly allows her fatigue to guide her into slumber. She drifts off. Her mind kicks her body abruptly awake. Eyes wide in sudden panic, she pants, resting a hand on her pounding heart. Frustration and fear surge up into a teary mess upon her tan, tired face. Sniffing, she rolls over to her side, tightly clenches the sheets, and trembles, her eyes darting between the chaos in her head. She struggles for any kind of calm moment, the night surrounding isolating her further into her own frantic, desperate state.


    A light flicks on out in the hallway and beams into the room from underneath the bedroom door. Bach''s muffled, grumbling voice complains. "...fucking... bright bathroom light..."


    The glow dims, and another door closes to the hallway. Wrapped in the sheets, Dretphi sits up on bed and stares longingly at the illumination pushing away the surrounding darkness.


    Bach opens the bathroom door, steps out into the hallway, and turns around stiffly, fumbling for the light switch. Mid rotation, he notices Dretphi peeking out from behind her door and pauses. Blinking to some awareness, he sighs and apologetically waves. "Hey. Sorry if I woke you there."


    Dretphi shakes her head and smiles. "No. It is okay. I was... awake. Why are you up?"


    With a slow, careful shrug of the shoulders, Bach awkwardly grins. "Well... Going to bed early threw off my sleep schedule a bit. And..."


    Rolling his blue eyes, he smirks with a faint snort. "Well, I just can''t convince myself to go back to sleep. Aching muscles and all..."


    He gazes at Dretphi curiously, cocking his head curiously. "What are you doing awake at this hour?"


    Dretphi briefly grits her teeth, glances away hesitantly, and fights an avoidant urge. Pausing in thought, she gazes at Bach, opening her bedroom door more. "Yesterday will not leave my mind."


    Bach frowns slightly, pondering a moment, and nods with a similar sentiment. "Yeah... Me too. Honestly. Thoughts are really what''s keeping me awake right now."


    The two share a silent minute. Bach thinks to himself. Dretphi wanders off into her head, idly fidgeting with her pajama shirt and shorts. Cracking a smirk, Bach glances over to Dretphi and motions towards the living area archway. "Hey, um... You want to join me and watch some terrible early morning TV? I figured something mindless to watch would be nice, right now. And, I might be more comfortable in the couch chair."


    A smile grows on Dretphi''s tired face, and she nods thankfully. "Yes."


    Bach maneuvers rigidly towards the living room with Dretphi following along behind. The two plod over in front of the television. Snagging the remote off the coffee table, Bach wanders towards the recliner. Dretphi settles along the length of the couch, resting her head on the side next to the recliner. She adjusts a couch pillow underneath her head, sinking into the cushions. Bach eases himself into the chair and glances over to Dretphi curiously. "By the way, did you take my boots off and tuck me in?"


    Dretphi blinks in surprise and awkwardly twists her mouth. "Yes. You fell asleep. Could not wake you easily. Did what I could."


    Nodding, Bach reclines back and points the remote towards the screen. "Oh, okay. Thank you. Was trying to figure THAT out. Man... That stuff knocked me right out."


    With the press of a button on the remote, the television flips on. Lowering the volume, Bach flips through the many channels of early morning broadcasts. One show contrasts the rest of the entertainment wasteland.


    "Next up on Relic Roadshow, famous and infamous episodes marathon..."


    Glancing over to Dretphi, Bach lifts a curious eyebrow. "You okay with Relic Roadshow?"


    Dretphi tilts her head up, directing her voice softly. "Yes."


    The two settle their attention towards the screen, watching items of strange antiquity get evaluated to unexpected prices. Arrogance earns the reward of embarrassingly low values, and humble people realize their unexpected treasures. A sleep deprived, humored Dretphi blurts out softly. "Cannot be worth... much..."


    Blinking slowly and fighting off a yawn, Bach smirks, furrowing his brow. "I don''t know. I mean... we''ve seen some real garbage get a decent price."


    Dretphi hums in modest agreement, letting her eyes close, and settles into the couch more. Bach stifles a snort and quips at the appraised value appearing on the screen. "Really? Huh."


    Groggily opening her eyes, Dretphi glances to the screen, noting the final price. She drifts her gaze over to Bach in the recliner, smiles tired, warmly, and eases her head back on the pillow. "Surprising..."


    Closing her eyes fully, she allows herself to relax. Minutes later, the end credits for the episode scroll on the television. In the intermission, Bach turns his gaze over to Dretphi and watches her lay quietly. He slowly folds up the recliner, lifts himself up, and stiffly walks as silently as possible through the archway into the hallway. Dretphi cracks an eye open and listens to Bach''s mumbling. Bach searches through a linen closet in the hallway, squinting in the low light. Seconds later, he returns with two blankets in hand. He tosses one over to the recliner and opens up the other. Slowly and cautiously, Bach maneuvers around the coffee table, flaps the blanket open, and glides the cover over Dretphi. He pulls the corners around for maximum coverage. Shuffling around the coffee table, he eases back over to the recliner. He grabs the blanket, settles back into the chair, and covers himself. Squirming into the cushioned recliner, he resumes watching Relic Roadshow.


    Dretphi stirs slightly. Her hand grips hold of the cover, and she snuggles up in the blanket, soon drifting off into slumber with a content smile.


    ----


    The tall, thin Captain Hackle walks thoughtfully, his arms behind his back, and studies the archway barrier sealing off the large entrance at the perimeter of the circular clearing. Pausing a moment, he notices the morning sun and glances over to Sergeant Violet with a calm smirk, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "So, what is the situation at the present?"


    Sergeant Violet flips through a clipboard of paperwork and narrows her dark blue eyes at a few key entries in a collection of notes. "The facility containment force field is still active, after reactivation. Current readings indicate that it seems to be maintaining strength at the moment. But, minor fluctuations have been detected. The adventuring team''s report detailed the state of the facility..."


    Furrowing her brow, she flicks a brief glance ahead through the archway, into the darkness beyond. "And the hostile creature within."


    Captain Hackle nods, pondering further with each step towards the gathering of Greater Azure Alliance specialists a distance from the shielded facility entrance. Sergeant Violet follows dutifully alongside Hackle, spots a familiar lanky, half-emin man, and calls out to him. "SPECIALIST THAYAL! Status report!"


    Nearly twisting himself back around, Specialist Thayal pivots abruptly and salutes Sergeant Violet. "Gods fu- Yes! Sergeant! Barrier is still stable. We have done initial scouting of the area and have not found any other entrances given current knowledge of the structure. A team has been dispatched to use ground penetrating radar and survey magics to properly map out the extent of the structure. We are maintaining a safe distance for now."


    Captain Hackle glances over to Sergeant Violet with a humored smirk and settles his inquiring gaze upon Specialist Thayal. "Good to hear. Any sightings of the creature?"If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Specialist Thayal contorts his tan and gray face and uncertainly grimaces, eyeing over towards the facility''s archway barrier. "Nothing confirmed. A few of us believe we saw movement beyond that second golden magical barrier, but... It''s been hard to get a good visual going through the force field and that magic barrier."


    Pausing in thought, he narrows a curious glance at Captain Hackle and inquires. "Captain, is this the same adventuring group from that one cybernetic research base a few months ago?"


    With a smile, Captain Hackle nods calmly and chuckles, stepping purposefully closer towards the archway barrier. "Yes, it is. And, I see they''ve left another quite impressive feat of their handiwork behind."


    Disappointment washes over Specialist Thayal, and mild annoyance appears. "Yeah... THAT is going to take some doing to remove, Captain. It looks way more involved than that last barrier we pulled off."


    Flipping through a few pages of notes, Sergeant Violet quickly skims over a section of a report and directs her voice towards Captain Hackle. "Captain. It says here they constructed the barrier as a means of sealing off the creature long enough to explore other more permanent options. They did not know at the time that the facility''s systems were going to try to reactivate the archway force field, or even if that was a possibility. They had to evacuate quickly, but felt they needed to make efforts for containment due to the dangerous nature of the creature."


    Captain Hackle''s brown eyes narrow upon a warping mass in the darkness, and he sneers his upper lip, curling his graying mustache. Focusing through the outer energy field, he aims his gaze through an opening in the golden magical barrier. His posture stiffens to a rigid, straight and readied stance. With a cool and stern tone to both Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal, he frowns sharply. "I think we would be wise to leave that barrier in place for now..."


    Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal visibly notice the dramatic shift in the Captain''s tone. Both quickly snap their attention towards the strange, distant movement in the unnatural darkness past the golden barrier. Around the furthest gentle bend, a black mass briefly contrasts against the cyclic red glow of emergency lights. An array of pinpoint crimson eyes peer out, down the long corridor, gliding along the featureless body of the beast. Behind Captain Hackle, Sergeant Violet, and Specialist Thayal, a number of other military personnel spot the creature. Tension floods through the area. Mages ready themselves and soldiers draw their weapons. Two heavily armored, three meter tall mechs stomp into place, access panels closing up and armor surrounding each pilot in protective layering. Both of the robotic suits raise their arm mounted weaponry, awaiting further orders.


    The creature''s form warps and undulates vaguely. Its eyes retreat from view along with its black spherical mass. A minute later, Captain relaxes his posture and exhales a long sigh of relief, slowly shaking his head. Pivoting around, he clears his throat and calls out. "Stand down! It''s not looking for a fight, right now. Let us hope it keeps it that way."


    He gazes over to Sergeant Violet and instructs with a calm demeanor. "Please coordinate a rotating watch. Until we have the facility externally mapped, I want to make sure there''s a mage, technician, and someone in a mech ready to act..."


    Sneering his upper lip, he narrows a cold stare into the corridor beyond the barriers. "In case it decides it wants that fight."


    Sergeant Violet nods quickly, salutes Captain Hackle, and dashes off to the other troops. "Yes, Captain!"


    Captain Hackle ponders a moment and calls out to Sergeant Violet. "And, tell the drivers to get the trucks with mounted guns up here. Even if it means clearing out a path through the woods. We may need such for larger equipment anyway."


    Sergeant Violet swiftly acknowledges the orders. Turning to Specialist Thayal, Captain Hackle inquires with a determined tone. "Thayal. We did restock the explosive rounds for the auto cannons on the mechs, correct?"


    With a confident smirk, Specialist Thayal nods quickly. "Oh. YES, Captain."


    Captain Hackle stands up straight, a grin creeping out of the corner of his mouth, and narrows his glare towards the darkness deeper within the facility. "GOOD. Tell the crews to load up both mechs with those rounds. And, if you run into the explosives crew before I do, send them my way. I need to have a selective conversation with them."


    Frowning slightly, he twists his graying mustache to either side of his face. "As much as the higher ups would like access to what is in there... I''d much prefer to keep what terrors sealed in there permanently."


    ----


    In the dining area of the two-story house, both Deedri and Tassilda sort through magical reagents and other supplies upon the table. Inventorying items, Deedri''s furry ear perks over towards the sound of another message chime from Tassilda''s aetherphone. At the earliest convenience, Tassilda pauses from her task and grabs hold of her aetherphone off the tabletop. Flips through a few menus, she begins to tap out a response in a messenger application. A smile appears on her gray face, rereading the paragraph and double-checking her own reply. Deedri sets aside her work for the moment, gazes over to Tassilda with a sly smile, and inquires. "So... How''s Daedrican doing?"


    Blinking in surprise, Tassilda glances up from her phone to Deedri, biting her lower lip with hints of embarrassment. "Oh... Um... He''s set to be released. He''ll be back with the Chrome Crusaders on light duty for a while, until he fully recovers. It sounds like a bunch of paperwork filing and doing inventory."


    Deedri smiles happily, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "That''s great news! I''m sure he''ll be happy to get back to work. Did he mention when the group will be heading out?"


    A tinge of sadness darkens Tassilda''s mood, and she sighs with a slight slump of her shoulders. "This coming Saturday. He says they''ve got another patrol run to do along the side routes leading towards Hattan. They''re finishing up repairs on equipment right now, and he''s the last one they are waiting on to be released."


    Noticing Tassilda''s shift in demeanor, Deedri leans over with a scheming grin, whispering close. "You know... I could stand to stock up on some more supplies from the clinic. Would you like to join me next time I go?"


    Tassilda''s face lights up with an appreciative smile, and she flutters her light blue on black eyes with an eager nod. "Why, of course! How could I turn down such an offer?"


    Settling back in her seat with a grin, Deedri returns to sorting through medical supplies, clawtips flicking through packets. "Good. I''ll make a list and convince Chad to drive us out tomorrow then. You can assist me with properly transporting supplies..."


    Rolling her auburn eyes playfully, she smirks. "After an hour or two of deliberating what to specifically get."


    Over in the living room through the archway, Chad sits on the couch and studies a number of documents out on the coffee table. Slowly shaking his head, he visibly processes the flurry of information from schedules, itineraries, and other lists of lodging. "For a resort retreat... This is.... RIDICULOUSLY complicated... And demanding."


    Veevi stretches out on the couch next to Chad, groaning dismissively, and lounges playfully. "Tell me about it! Are we ever going to get a chance to actually enjoy the resort?! GODS! It just seems like we''re running around from one appearance to another with no break in between. Then, we have to patrol around..."


    Rolling her pink pupil eyes back, she grunts in disgust. "Ungh..."


    Modoran scans over the paperwork, nodding, and ponders out loud. "This is just the resort trying to minimize problems. I get the feeling they have hosted THIS ordeal a few times. They know who exactly they are dealing with."


    Furrowing his brow, Chad glances up to Modoran, puzzling over the comment. "So... Uh... What makes you say that?"


    Sitting down on the floor across from Chad at the coffee table, Modoran points out a few evuukian names and room assignments, tapping out on matching floor maps. "They are TRYING to keep all the main houses separated into all the different sections. But..."


    He points over to another resort layout, circling a large section. "They have also placed them in areas where they should have large enough spas and hot spring pools nearby. That way they won''t be inclined to split up and wander off in smaller groups."


    Placing a dusky, bluish gray hand down, he rotates the map, comparing it to another list of evuukian names, and gradually nods. "Oh, yeah... They know who they are dealing with. They have put the infamous drinkers close to small side lounges with bars, so they don''t have far to stumble to get back to their rooms. They are also setting up extra staff to be at the ready to escort people back to their rooms."


    Arranging papers for his point of view, he studies more of the room assignments, humming to himself, and mutters out a few names, contemplating. "They have done a good enough job. BUT... I can see there are going to be a few problem areas we may need to keep watch over."


    Chad blinks in surprise at Modoran, leans over, and inspects the documents under Modoran''s scrutiny. "Really? Why?"


    Modoran sighs, gritting his teeth, and rolls his dark blue eyes, grumbling out his frustrations. "Well... These two smaller houses just had a big trade deal go really sour between them. So, neither side is exactly in the forgiving mood. I don''t think they would fight over it, in the open at least. BUT... I doubt it would take much if they had a few drinks in them, and found a spot where they knew no one was looking."


    Narrowing his gaze upon Modoran from his seat in a couch chair, Trakenthin studies the information upon the table top. "Our schedules are not forgiving. We could patrol that spot. There would still be large time gaps."


    Modoran scratches his chin thoughtfully, deliberating the situation quietly in the moment, and taps out a spot on the room assignments. "THIS might be a solution. Let''s see if the resort can switch these rooms around. I know THIS guy. Both those small houses have been wanting to get on his good side for YEARS."


    Glancing around between Trakenthin and Chad, Modoran smirks slyly. "SO... I really doubt they would want to cause too much trouble near his room and look like complete dumbasses in front of him. Also, he might like being further away from the rest of his house at the moment."


    Slowly shaking his head, Chad stares at the mass of information before him on the coffee table and directs his curious tone towards Modoran. "I''ll see if they can manage that. So, I mean... How do you know about all this?"


    Modoran shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, analyzing the schedules and squinting with new mental notes. "Well, I worked in the service industry for a long time to make ends meet. When you get big conventions or meet ups like this, you have to factor in EVERYTHING to keep it as peaceful as possible. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for total fucking disaster. Not something you want to be known for if you are expecting to get repeat customers."


    Chad nods gradually, furrowing his brow impressed, and cocks his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. "I see. But, how do you know about all the Evuukian politics going on right now? I didn''t think you were that close to any of those houses."


    Modoran''s dark blue eyes spring wide open momentarily out of sight of everyone else, and he hides a reflexive grit of the teeth. Presenting his usual casual demeanor, he plays off the question. "Oh, that? It is kind of hard to NOT hear about all that stuff. There are scandals after scandals that hit the evuukian news networks, ALL the time. You can''t browse big news aethersites without seeing some article talking about the latest incident between houses."


    Veevi''s fuzzy ears perk up, and she reaches out for the nearby remote. "Oh! That reminds me. That new evuukian drama is coming on."


    Pondering Modoran''s answer, Chad nods in agreement, studying the paperwork further. "Yeah... I can see that. If they''re making shows about it, then it must be pretty commonplace."


    Modoran awkwardly smiles, briefly nods, and points out another possible issue on the room assignment map. Trakenthin examines the general layout of the resort, mulling over some areas. A knock sounds out from the front door behind him. Pausing a moment, Trakenthin sits up and glances over to the door. He meets the puzzled gazes of everyone else, stands up, and walks towards the door. Veevi twists her mouth and tosses her pink hair back. "Did someone order anything?


    Chad shakes his head, watching the front door. "No. I don''t think so. But, that reminds me, we do need to think about what to do for dinner."


    Stepping up to the door, Trakenthin places his hand on the door knob and freezes for a moment. He shakes off an odd sensation, turns the handle, and pulls open the door inwards. Standing just outside the door, an older grath man stands waiting outside. Similar in height to Trakenthin, the grath man turns slowly around and smirks proudly. Trakenthin''s hazel eyes open wide, and he recognizes the graying variant of his dirty blonde hair on the man. Staring at the similar dark bronze skin face of the older grath, he remains speechless for moments. The older man greets Trakenthin with a friendly grath greeting. Shock and sheer confusion hide behind Trakenthin''s stoic facade, and he notices the teams of camera crews lining up recording equipment for the perfect shot of the developing scene. A few moments later, Trakenthin forces an uncomfortable smirk upon his face and returns the greeting awkwardly. The grath man chuckles slightly, shrugs his shoulders, and gazes right at Trakenthin. "It has been a long time."


    Trakenthin slowly, stiffly nods, and meekly replies. "Yes. It has."


    The grath man glances around, peers inside, and presents a stoic lift of the chin. "May I come in?"


    Pausing in thought and tightly clenching the door knob out of sight, Trakenthin draws in a long breath of air and simply states. "Yes..."


    He steps back and aside, allowing the grath man to come in. The man surveys the room, and Trakenthin closes the door shut, releasing a quiet, nervous sigh. The rest of the team''s attention snaps over to the new person in the house, and they gaze curiously, expectantly at the grath man. Standing up from the couch, Chad walks towards Trakenthin and the man, puzzling the situation. "Well, we weren''t expecting company. Um, Trakenthin, who is this?"


    Trakenthin stands next to the man, glances over briefly, and settles his gaze out into the room, with a calming breath. "This is my... Birth father..."


    The rest of the group''s interest piques with the new arrival, and they get up to greet Trakenthin''s father. Trakenthin stands by, quietly, a nervous tremor sneaking into his hand, and he remains stoic and amicable.


    ----


    Relaxing in a recliner, the elderly, well-dressed Dr. Dawkins stares distantly out onto the evening skyline and eases out a long sigh. His green eyes wander around the room of artifacts, awards, and photographs upon the walls and shelves. Idly tapping his fingers on a half-full glass of brown liquor, he slowly frowns, wandering into his own thoughts. Minutes passing by, his expression saddens further with the conclusion of each chain of thought. A knock soft echoes out from his front door, and he cocks his head slightly. Briefly he focuses his stare towards the sound, quickly searching his mind, and squints at an empty Tuesday spot on a wall calendar. Another series of polite knocks tap out upon the front door.


    Dr. Dawkins tugs the corner of mouth, perks up his brow, and eases himself up. Walking initially stiff into the nicely decorated dining room, he steps into a cozy entry room with a fireplace, and stands at the front door. He closes one eye and peers through the peephole, seeking who is on the other side. Pausing in surprise, he pulls his aged face away from the peephole, blinking dumbfounded. He flips a nearby light switch, and focuses through the lens to the other side of the door again. His jaw drops agape. Standing up straight, he stares blankly. "My gods..."


    With a series of well rehearsed motions, he undoes the small security chain, unlocks the deadbolt, and opens the door. Isaac greets Dr. Dawkins with a pleasant smile and bows slightly, adjusting his blue scarf against the wind. "Sorry to drop by so unexpectedly, but I didn''t have time to send a proper advance notice."


    Dr. Dawkins stares at Isaac for a few moments, dons a short grin, and chuckles to himself. "My gods... Isaac. What an unexpected, though welcomed surprise! Please come in, my friend."


    With a little reservation, Isaac smirks, glances around, and steps inside. "Thank you."


    Dr. Dawkins directs Isaac inside with a delighted smile and pats him on the shoulder. "I told you that you may darken my doorstep any time. You will always be a friend to me and welcome in my home."


    Isaac steps in, a slight frown appearing on his face, and gazes over to Dr. Dawkins. "I really do appreciate the sentiment. I just didn''t know if... The invitation was still valid after all these years. And, after all that I''ve done during them."


    With a firm squeeze on Isaac''s shoulder, Dr. Dawkins stares right into Isaac''s gray eyes and narrows his gaze briefly. "I''ve come to be more aware of your activities as of late... As have some others. Admittedly, I''ve had my suspicions for quite some time. But... Right now..."


    He smirks reassuringly. "All I see is Isaac Huxley, my old friend. And, someone I wouldn''t mind sharing an evening drink with."


    A bright, gracious smile appears on Isaac''s face, and he nods thankfully towards his friend. "Thank you, again, Dr. Dawkins."


    A similar grin appears on Dr. Dawkins, and he steps more energetically, leading Isaac through the house towards the living room. "Gods almighty, there is so much catching up we have to do. You ARE going to stay awhile are you?"


    Blinking to attention, Isaac quirks an eyebrow towards Dr. Dawkins. "You certain about that? I mean, if you know exactly what I''ve done over the years... I wouldn''t want to impose upon you..."


    Dr. Dawkins slowly shakes his head and scoffs with a curl of his upper lip. "Bah. Impose all you want. No one bothers me out here. I''ve got a spare bedroom with a wonderful view of the backyard, a fine desk, and a recently purchased bed."


    With a snort, Isaac chuckles and shakes his head. "So, you finally got rid of those antiquities?"


    Nodding his head, he laughs and grins with a sarcastic edge, directing Isaac to another recliner in the room. "Yes, I finally realized there are some museum pieces not worth curating."


    He settles down into his recliner, glances over to Isaac, and rolls his eyes at himself. "Truth be told, I was sitting around one day pondering about random things, and damned if it didn''t dawn on me to do the math. Once I figured out how many years I had those things, I just couldn''t really bring myself to lay on them anymore."


    Setting up another glass next to Isaac on the small table between the recliners, he laughs and shakes his head with a bit of embarrassment. "Gods, I really should have done it years ago. Those new beds are so much nicer on my aging back."


    Isaac supports his glass, and Dr. Dawkins pours a healthy portion of brown liquor in. Topping his glass up, Dr. Dawkins rests the bottle down and picks the drink up. Isaac lifts his glass up. The two clink glasses together and share long sips of the alcohol. They quietly stare out at the evening light through the windows, sharing a few minutes of silence. With a sly grin, Dr. Dawkins glances over and hoists up an intrigued eyebrow. "So... The fateful question... What ever brings you back to these parts?"


    Postponing his response with a long swig of liquor, Isaac deliberates the query upon his face and hums in thought. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I recently encountered a strange, unexpected turn of events... That left me reconsidering how I was approaching things. And, I felt I needed to consult someone I felt was wiser than me."


    Dr. Dawkins snorts out his amusement, furrowing his quizzical stare at Isaac, and frowns slightly, gazing back out into the evening skyline. "You are more than welcome to what wisdom I may still have, but it is quite ever full of doubt these days."


    Isaac narrows his concerned gaze at Dr. Dawkins and settles his white haired head against the back of the recliner. "You shouldn''t be so hard on yourself. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Orth Ridge was NOT your fault."


    A regretful wince creases Dr. Dawkins'' face, the glints of tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I truly do appreciate the sentiment, especially coming from you. But, gods, I have not been able to find it in me to bring forgiveness to myself. Haven''t been as sure of myself since, either."


    A sad expression washes over Isaac, and he pours a long swing of alcohol down his throat. Dr. Dawkins hems and dons a mild, hopeful smile to Isaac. "But, it has humbled me greatly and tempered my opinions. I''ve certainly learned to be whole lot less judgmental of anyone''s methods. Just do not feel like I am really of any authority to question them."


    Isaac cracks a smirk, slightly shrugs his shoulders, and nods understandingly. "Well... The truly tragic are the ones who gain no wisdom from their adversities."


    The two men peacefully sip on their liquor in silence for a few minutes and idly think quietly. Isaac breaks the quiet with the main topic. "So, I''ve come here for your help on a few matters."


    Dr. Dawkins steadies his drink, perking up a white eyebrow, and smirks intrigued. "I figured as much. And with most matters, I will be happy to assist. But, I am not the big mover and shaker I used to be with the Grand Library. Still..."


    He curls a faint smirk from the corner of his mouth. "I do have a few favors I need to cash in before they go too stale. So... You may as well benefit from them."


    Isaac smiles appreciatively and nods with a lift of his glass. "You are ever so kind. Unfortunately, there might be one thing that could prove a bit too difficult for even the both of us."


    An inquisitive grin warms on Dr. Dawkins, and he narrows an intrigued gaze towards Isaac. "OH. Really? Now whatever would that happen to be?"


    Twisting his mouth, Isaac calmly replies with a bit of reservation in his tone, gauging Dr. Dawkins'' reaction. "WHERE Dr. Malkav is?"


    Dr. Dawkins'' green eyes spring wide open, and he cocks his head back, staring curiously at Isaac. "Good gods... NOW, you have my intrigue. Why ever do you want to find that crazy old bastard for?"


    A sly grin appears on Isaac, and he chuckles out his amusement. "What if I told you, that crazy old bastard... Was RIGHT."


    Slowly sitting upright in his recliner, Dr. Dawkins rests his drink down on the table between and focuses an intense gaze upon Isaac. "NOW... You have my full attention. I do hope you are not playing some elaborate joke at my expense."


    Isaac meets Dr. Dawkins'' attention with an excited smile and his face lights up. "What if I told you I have PROOF that there IS a way..."


    An examining stare analyzes Isaac''s face, and Dr. Dawkins cocks his head to the side in genuine wonder and academic excitement. "Well... I certainly would hope you wouldn''t keep me waiting, and present such evidence before me."


    Resting his drink on the table, Isaac leans himself off the recliner and stands up from it. He smiles eagerly and nods. "Of course not. I have that particular evidence in my car. It might take some time to fully explain the significance, but it''s a fascinating process I learned from a very bright future prospect for the Grand Library."


    Dr. Dawkins quickly rises up from his chair, steadies himself, and follows Isaac, the two heading towards the front door. "I am a retired man. I have got a frustrating surplus of idle time I would love to find a good use for."


    A new excited energy sparking youthful life in Isaac''s eyes, he opens the front door. "Well, then you might be quite interested in a few of my other notes and unpublished discoveries."


    Waving a finger at Isaac, Dr. Dawkins grins slyly at him, the two approaching his car. "Gods almighty, I am so glad you finally came here. I do hope you are planning to stay for at least a week or more."


    He points over towards one of the doors in a large garage and motions Isaac to it. "Let me get the garage door open, so you can hide your car in there. That way we can take our time tonight and however long we need."


    Furrowing his brow, Isaac stands next to his sedan and laughs, scratching his head of white and gray hair. "Well, I didn''t mean to completely upset your schedule."


    With a dry grin, Dr. Dawkins shakes his head and scoffs. "Bah, to hell with my schedule. I will just tell everyone I have got a terrible case of something in graphic detail, and you won''t believe how happy they will be that I stayed home."


    Isaac blinks in utter surprise and cocks his head to the side. Dr. Dawkins smirks and rolls his eyes at the notion. "You will NOT believe what you can get away with when people think you are a senile, old, washed up retiree."


    Stifling his laughter, Isaac nods in agreement, pondering a moment. "I have to ask, is that old Pancake Shed on highway two thirty one still around?"


    Dr. Dawkins grins with a chuckle, pausing in thought. "Oh, yes. Despite what''s changed over the decade, that''s still a fixture. I can''t fathom how the damned thing stays in business being on that ancient route."


    Donning a bold smile, Isaac opens his car door. "I think it''s people like us later tonight. If you don''t mind sneaking out and keeping a low profile."


    Pausing in thought for a moment, Dr. Dawkins wags finger at Isaac and nods. "They do have good late night coffee."

 Episode 66

    The glow of the near noon sun radiates out into the living area of the ranch style house. Bach steps through the archway from the hallway, stretching out his shoulders with a roll. Rocking his head side to side, he stops and scans the room for any activity. Sounds of kitchen metal snatches his attention, and he steps forward towards the kitchen area. With a quick peek, he studies the food in the middle of preparation upon the counter top. Leaning closer, Bach furrows his brow, noting the different ingredients of the forming meal. He pauses with the tall presence next to him. Glancing up with an awkward, innocent smirk at Dretphi, Bach scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. "Hey... Uh... Just curious what''s for lunch."


    Gradually easing the stern, stoic gaze into a humored, warm smile, Dretphi rests a covered pot upon the counter top and brushes back her platinum blonde braids. "Remnant soup. Nothing special."


    Bach stands back up straight and cocks his head curiously to the side inquiringly. "Remnant soup?"


    With a nonchalant shrug of her defined shoulders, Dretphi sighs amused. "My mother calls it that. Soup made from the remaining ingredients you have... After you have cooked all other meals. Before you go to the grocery store."


    Nodding understandingly, Bach steps back, granting Dretphi space to cook, and studies the assorted collection of vegetables, seasonings, and other edible bits. "Well, I mean, it looks like it''ll be good when you are done with it."


    Dretphi smiles appreciatively and gently directs Bach out of the kitchen. "I hope so. We shall see."


    Wandering back into the living area, Bach walks along the side of the dining table and glances around for the source of a new noise. With a stream of faint clicks filling the soundscape near the couch, Cideeda types upon a laptop. She adjusts her head upon a couch pillow, flexes her fingers briefly, and studies a screen of numeric figures and charts. Her toes claws idly press onto the fabric of the couch cushion, and her long tail wags out from underneath her drawn up knees. Seconds of her emerald green eyes analyzing the screen later, she sighs with a trailing grumble and clacks her finger claws upon the sides of the weathered, worn, and heavily retrofitted laptop. Approaching slowly, Bach pries with an intrigued tone. "Huh. I''ve never seen that laptop before."


    Cideeda tilts her head up briefly, glancing at Bach, and drops her attention back upon the computer resting on her stomach. "Oh. Yeah. It''s my old one. I like to keep it well protected and out of the way, since it''s got my personal stuff on it..."


    Rolling her eyes, she smirks, curling the corner of her mouth with a hint of stale frustration. "AND, it''s gotten REALLY cranky with age and repairs. So, it spends most of its time in a protective case."


    Gazing over towards the dining table and the boxes near it, Bach points a thumb over his shoulder. "Make sense. So, um, any projects you need help with today? Still feeling a bit sore, so I don''t really want to do anything too physical today."


    Searching her mind between flicks of her furry ears, Cideeda nods her head and deliberates. "Yeah... There are a few things I''ve been meaning to get your help with. Also, I need to show you a few things about locking mechanisms. Maybe see how you can apply that magical angle of yours."


    She taps a gentle claw tip on the laptop''s screen. "Let me take care of a few things here, first, and then I''ll see what we can do."


    Bach gradually slides his curiosity over and directs the topic towards what''s on the screen. "If you don''t mind me asking... What are you doing right now?"


    With a sly grin curling on her light brown face, Cideeda clacks upon a few keys and guides a cursor on the screen through a few menus. "Oh. Just managing my future fortunes and seeing where I need to invest my money next."


    Bach snorts lightly with an amused smirk and settles his intrigue upon the gamut of graphs and number tickers on the display. "I mean, I can''t say I''m surprised you are playing the markets."


    Lifting a humored eyebrow, he quips with a short grin. "Working those hot tips and making the split seconds trades for the big payouts?"


    Cideeda laughs, rolls her eyes with a smirk, and slowly shakes her head upon the couch pillow. "Oh. Gods. No. THAT type of day trading has always seemed like needlessly abstracted gambling to me."


    Perking her brow, she gazes up to Bach with a sinister, toothy grin. "I prefer to SEE the faces of the people who I''m taking money from, if I''m going to gamble."


    She pushes herself up, resting her back against the couch arm and stretches her legs out, resettling the portable computer upon her lap. "I stay away from all that short term trading business. Not saying you can''t make some money that way..."


    Furrowing her brow, she twists her mouth, a faint grumble in her undertone. "You''re more likely to be fighting to break even than anything else, unless you make it your full time job. And even THAT isn''t a guarantee."


    She rests her fingers upon her chest and straightens her posture. "I am playing the long game. So, I go after companies that have proven dividend payouts and stable share value. That''s about as risky as I''m going to get with my retirement portfolio."


    Lifting a humored eyebrow, she chuckles softly. "Anyway, I''m not looking to strike it rich with this money. Gods. I''d just end up worried all the time if I was going to lose it in the next minute."


    With his interest piquing, Bach leans over for a better view of Cideeda''s laptop screen. A few moments of watching the information stream upon the screen later, he grits his teeth briefly and sheepishly admits. "You know... I wouldn''t mind getting some advice on investing money... Since... Well..."


    He blinks in thought a moment and tilts his head to the side. "I actually have free money to do so. For once."


    A spark of excitement lights up Cideeda''s eyes. She pivots upon the couch, slides over to the middle seat, and pats the spot next to her. "Well! Let me give you the introductory lesson! Have a seat."


    Bach pauses at the sudden shift in attitude, slides behind the coffee table, and lowers himself in the seat next to Cideeda, awaiting further instruction. Cideeda quickly taps her claw tips on the laptop keys and brings up a few simple informational graphics and charts. "Now, you can search all over the aethernet, and you''ll get every get rich plan in the world. But, I''ve found the bucket system to work nicely for me."


    Studying the pictures on the screen, Bach glances over and patiently waits. Cideeda draws in a long breath, and her genuine interest slips through into her explanation. "Simply, your different accounts are buckets. Your first bucket is going to be your guild account. They don''t pay much interest, if any, in those accounts. But..."


    She flicks up her fingers with her points. "No fees, easy access, and no restrictions."


    Motioning towards the screen, she continues. "So, you''ll want to fill that bucket to a point where you should be able to handle three months worth of expenses. Then, you can start to fill other buckets. These could be savings and low risk investment accounts. Once, you get the amounts distributed sufficiently across the board, then you get into the riskier..."


    A toothy grin widens on Cideeda, and an eager glint flashes in her emerald eyes. "AND exciting markets."


    Bach gradually nods, information sinking in, and glances over to Cideeda. "Okay... I mean, that all makes sense. Limit liability and all that. So... Once I get to the point of getting into the riskier markets, what do you recommend then?"


    Tapping the fingertips on her hands together with an intrigued twist of her mouth, Cideeda furrows her brow. "Well... I prefer the long term game. So, first, invest in what you know and understand. I''ve been burned on investing into companies whose markets I didn''t quite know as well as I should."


    She points out a list of company names with industry categories to Bach and leads his attention around. "Second, I would always keep a diverse portfolio. Nothing will drive you crazier than watching one large investment in a single company tank. That will unnerve you to do something silly in a frantic state of mind. Diversified portfolio will buffer those bad days, so you aren''t as tempted to panic."


    Shrugging her shoulders, she sighs. "And... Don''t get discouraged by the daily fluctuations..."


    With a slightly annoyed lift of her eyebrow at a downwards trend on a chart, she grumbles. "Despite how frustrating they may be."


    Bach frowns slightly at the offending graph, noticing the annoyance drooping down Cideeda''s furry ears, and broaches a new topic. "Um... Yeah. So, any favorite companies you''ve put your money into?"


    Perking her furry ears back up, Cideeda''s claw tips clack out commands and a short list of companies appears on the laptop screen. "Of course! There''s Arc and Spark Munitions, Faraday Aetherwave, MercMart, and..."


    Narrowing his stare at a company name on the screen, Bach slowly slides his questioning gaze over to Cideeda and lifts an inquisitive, slightly incredulous eyebrow. "Pancake Shed?"


    Cideeda meets Bach''s eyes and dismissively smiles, pointing out a set of statistics on the screen. "Hey. Don''t let the storefront appearances fool you. They have been consistent performers when it comes to dividends. Plus..."


    Donning a wide, toothy grin, she chuckles smugly. "I''m just trying to get back some of the money I''ve given them over the years. Just investing on the other side of the business arrangement, so to speak."


    With the cut off of running water, Dretphi leaves the kitchen area, drying her hands on a towel. She wanders over to the other side of the couch, glances over to the laptop screen, and politely inquires. "Could you bring up Diamond Defense? I am curious about its performance."


    Cideeda sorts through a few screens on the computer, finds the trading symbol, and opens up a very promising monthly graph. "WOW. Should have gotten in when you did. Might have to buy a few shares if it keeps this up."


    A tinge of excitement emerges upon Dretphi''s tan face, and she reads the statistics and trends. "It was a risk. Loss of a core workshop was hard to come back from. They did not lose that defense contract. THAT saved them."


    Tightly smiling, Cideeda eyes over to Dretphi, slightly narrowing her gaze. "Well... Next time your house hears about tips like THAT, let me know as soon as you can."


    Pausing in thought a moment, Cideeda grins eagerly towards the screen and switches to another program on her computer. "That reminds me..."


    With glints in her emerald eyes, she stares expectantly up to Dretphi. "Someone is going to need a NEW set of armor!"


    Twisting her mouth, Dretphi averts her gaze humbly, sighing calmly. "Replacement plates. New boots. New helmet. A new suit is not needed."


    Bach notices the slight nudge of Cideeda''s elbow into his arm, catching her winking to him. Cideeda opens up a browser to an aethernet site, and the display loads up with the Diamond Defense logo header. Images of different armor sets appear on the screen, and Cideeda angles the laptop screen towards Dretphi with a scheming smile. "Are you sure? Looks like they just released the latest lines."


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes sneak down, lock onto the screen, and focus upon the product imagery appearing. She blinks away and crosses her arms resolutely, attempting to quell her desires with frugal logic. "It would be prudent to replace the missing parts. Cost effective option."


    Smiling and scratching her chin with a claw tip, Cideeda playfully sighs. She visibly exaggerates the act of searching her mind and thinks out loud with an unconvinced tone. "That''s... Technically... True. But, I''m quite certain with a little negotiation and effort on our part... And, factoring the growing amount of maintenance the old suit is starting to need..."


    A sly grin curls at her corner of Cideeda''s mouth, and she explains. "I don''t think the difference in the long run would be that much."


    The line of thought piques Dretphi''s attention, and she twists a grimace, contemplating the logistics. "It has become DIFFICULT to mend the under armor. The fasteners are fraying. Cleaning has NEVER been easy."


    Her tan face sours with the long term annoyance materializing, and she grumbles to herself. "After each wash, it faintly smells of slime... STILL..."


    Cideeda briefly snarls her upper lip, gritting her teeth, and sighs loudly. "YEAH. It LINGERS much longer than you know."


    Scrutinizing Cideeda closely, Bach narrows an investigative stare at her. "I really can''t shake this feeling there''s something you''re trying to work here."


    With emboldened guilt, Cideeda grins and nods, holding her hands upwards. "A little. I have been wanting another body suit, and it''s easier to work discounts on larger group purchases rather than an individual purchase."


    She gazes right at Bach with a sly smile and pokes a finger claw gently into Dretphi''s arm. "Speaking of which, I think someone needs a new duster?"


    Dretphi briefly glances away from browsing on the laptop towards Bach and nods in complete agreement. "YES. Sleeves are beyond repair. Fabric is thin. Charred. I would NOT trust it on a mission. You need a new duster."


    The trio settle upon the couch, taking turns pointing to the latest sales and deals. Studying the picture of new armor plating, Dretphi asks eagerly. "Do the armor covers come in red?"


    ----


    With a long, uncomfortable sigh, Trakenthin lowers his aetherphone from his ear, staring at the end of call screen, and briefly grits his teeth. Drawing a slow, calming breath, he tries rolling some of the tension out his shoulders and straightens his posture. He scans around his bedroom and idly coasts his stare across the armor on the stand, the boxes of equipment stacked up, the great sword hung in its sheath, and the laptop on his desk. He levels his attention upon his bedroom door, steps forth, and opens the exit to the second floor hallway. Surveying the empty hall, he glances around to the other bedroom doors for Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, Veevi, and Chad. Pausing for a moment, Trakenthin angles his ear towards Chad''s room, catching the sounds of activity slipping out from the cracked open door. He twists his face in concentration and drifts into frustration, failing to decipher anything from the muffled tones. Distantly down the stairwell, Veevi''s faint whines of curses grate against the peaceful ambiance upstairs. At the peak of her fit, Trakenthin cringes with a snarl of his upper lip. A bit of relief emerges upon his dark bronze face with the fading squabble, and he walks slowly towards Chad''s bedroom door. Stepping forward, he furrows his brow to the task, his face growing more stoic and neutral. He knocks on Chad''s door. From inside the room, activity halts momentarily, and Chad''s voice rises up. "Oh, uh... Come in?"


    Calmly pushing the door open, Trakenthin turns and faces Chad. "Sorry to interrupt?"


    Chad gazes up from examining himself in a reflective spot of the shield in his hands and nods towards Trakenthin with a smirk. "Hey. What''s new?"


    Lifting his eyebrow curiously at the shield, Trakenthin blinks back to focus back on Chad. With hesitation straining his voice, he winces slightly. "Oh. Want to inform you my... Father will visit tonight. Again. After lunch... Stay for dinner. I hope it is not a problem."


    Pondering to himself momentarily, Chad flashes his trademark white smile towards Trakenthin and shakes his head. "Of course not! I''m quite happy you''re spending some time with your father after so many years. And, his stories from serving in the defense against the Red Gear Uprising are amazing!"


    Weakly smiling, Trakenthin thinks quietly, his eyes searching his mind, and slightly grits his teeth. Moments later, he nods in halfhearted agreement. "Stories they are."


    Glancing down at his Flames of the Phoenix branded shield, Chad happily points out a very reflective section of metal. "I took his advice with cleaning up the spots on my shield. And... It''s turning out GREAT."


    He motions over to his desk and points out the bottle of cola, a cut lime, and salt shaker next to the rag covered bowl. "I was getting some oxidation around the edges where the lacquer has worn off a bit, and this stuff takes it right off."


    A small genuine smile appears in the corner of Trakenthin''s mouth, and he sighs, hints of pride showing. "He is knowledgeable in that field."


    Sliding his gaze over to Trakenthin, Chad studies rigid body language and hesitant expression, cocking his head to the side. "Hey, Trakenthin. Are you okay? I mean, you don''t seem to be all that excited to see your father. I''m not sure if that''s grath stoicism happening or not."


    He furrows his curios tan brow. "I don''t mean to pry, but is there anything I should know?"


    Trakenthin''s hazel eyes widen briefly, and he grumbles uncomfortably to himself, briefly angling away from the attention. With an awkward grin, Chad holds up his hand. "Hey. If it''s a touchy subject, I''m cool with staying away from it."


    Shaking his head side to side, Trakenthin frowns slightly and groans softly. "No... The subject is fine. It is just hard to relate, correctly."


    He quietly hunts for the words in his mind, stitching together a concise explanation. "He is my birth father. He is... NOT... my house father. Has not been for a DECADE."


    Chad drifts off in a flurry of thought, visibly processing the meaning. Arriving at some kind of understanding, he nods. "OH. Okay. Huh. Sorry to hear that. That must have been tough."


    Trakenthin crosses his arms and shrugs his shoulders, contemplating the sentiment. "Parts were. Better overall."


    He grumbles thoughtfully and slowly shakes his head of short, dirty blonde hair. "It is strange now. Difficult to know how to act."


    Donning an awkward grin, Chad sways his head side to side, pondering out loud. "Yeah... I guess it would be. I mean, I don''t know. My dad and I don''t always see eye to eye on things. But, we get along for the most part..."


    He curls a corner of his mouth toward frown and sneers his upper lip, a few memories popping to front of his mind. "On the other hand... My dad and grandfather. NOW, those two barely tolerate each other. My grandfather was and is an adventurer today. But, my dad started and runs a used equipment dealership chain."


    He blinks a few times and straightens his posture uncertainly. "I guess THAT was his way of rebelling against his dad? I don''t know."


    Fumbling for a justification, Chad contorts his tan, clean shaven face, and narrows his brown eyes. "There are moments they seem to enjoy being around each other. But... The rest of the time? Gods. They barely can stay in the same room for a few minutes before the other tries to find ANY reason to leave."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    He breaks off from the subject and returns his attention towards Trakenthin. With a goofy grin, he scratches the back of his short, brown, coiffed hair covered head. "Sorry, man. Wandered off on my own problems there. Don''t know if that''s anything like your troubles... But, I''ll try to be understanding?"


    Trakenthin internally deliberates over the sentiment, settling into a slow nodding acceptance. "It is similar. Thank you for relating."


    A genuine smile appears on Chad''s face, and he commiserates with a sympathetic eye roll. "Yeah. I guess parent issues are pretty universal."


    Perking up a curious eyebrow at Trakenthin, he carefully approaches a question. "So, how long has it been since you''ve seen your father?"


    Drawing in a long breath, Trakenthin exhales calmly, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Years since in person. He occasionally writes. Visits were not often due to circumstances."


    Chad tilts his head to the side, inquiring further. "Circumstances?"


    A humored smirk appears on Trakenthin''s face, and he explains. "Father travels. Not in the area often. Other circumstances..."


    He furrows his brow with a grimace. "My birth mother wants nothing of him. Fully justified. My three other house mothers have promised him shallow burials."


    Chad snorts in amusement briefly and halts, mentally reviewing the last statement. "Wait. Burials? PLURAL?"


    Trakenthin''s hazel gaze widens, and he slowly, dramatically nods with a stern frown. "YES. Never been told what would happen before that point. Do not want to know. Plausible deniability is what my house mother calls it."


    Gradually shaking the imagined possibilities out of his head, Chad props the shield up on the floor against the side of the desk and stands up, brushing his pants off. With a charismatic bright smile, he steps next to Trakenthin and pats Trakenthin on the side of the shoulder, donning a sure, bold tone. "Well, if he gives you too much trouble, let me know and I''ll show him the door."


    Trakenthin focuses a judging, slightly incredulous stare at Chad, slowly letting it fade into an appreciative, humored smirk. "Will keep that in mind. I will try to suffer him for now. Seems to be behaving. See how long THAT lasts."


    Pulling his phone out briefly, Chad checks the clock on the display, pats Trakenthin on shoulder again, and leads out into the hallway. "Well. It''s showtime. Time to see what everyone has been up to today for the cameras."


    The two move down the second floor hallway. Veevi''s berating competes with Tassilda''s condemnations, the conflict echoing up the stairwell. Both Chad and Trakenthin roll their eyes at the cacophony, and they gather their willpower for the descent down the stairs.


    ----


    Off to the side and away from the aisles upon aisles of merchandise in the massive MercMart store, Sotalia stands outside in an open area next to a dressing room. She waits expectantly, her gaze wandering across the many mannequins covered in various armor attire with displays filled full of advertising literature. Wagging her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda bounces her inspecting stare between two large under armor suits and narrows her comparison upon the small details of the garments. Bach glances around apprehensively at a clothing rack of various dusters, jackets, and trench coats, contemplating one choice before sliding over the next. Sitting in a chair, Aristespha sorts through numbers on a spreadsheet upon the display of her phone, idly tapping the sword at her side. Seconds later, Dretphi emerges from a dressing room door, walks out between everyone, and stretches out in a gray, thick full body outfit. "I am not sure about this one."


    Cideeda turns around and scrutinizes the rough fit of the suit, orbiting around Dretphi. "Yeah... That one really seems like it''s designed for much heavier plating. Admittedly, the extra armor around the joints is nice with the thicker outer shell, since you are using moderate coverage plating."


    Sotalia quirks an eyebrow, twisting her mouth blatantly unsatisfied, and slowly shakes her head. "Gods, girl. It''s really bulky looking. And, certainly not really flattering at all. How well can you move in it?"


    Dretphi rehearses through a number of stances, executes a few maneuvers, and slowly explores the resistance with common motions. Watching, Bach frowns slightly and slowly shakes his head. "Yeah... I mean, it''s like you''re fighting the suit a little to just move normally."


    Grimacing with growing dissatisfaction, Dretphi stands back up from a squat, rolls her shoulders, and fidgets uncomfortably in the heavy suit of under armor. "It is stiff. Not flexible for what I need."


    She slowly shakes her head of platinum blonde braids. "Not this one."


    Nodding in agreement, Cideeda lifts up one of the under armor suits towards Dretphi with a confident smile. "Okay. Given the last few you tried and how your old suit was, I think THIS one should be really close to the mark."


    Dretphi grabs hold of the garment, studies it briefly, and walks back towards the dressing room. "It looks similar to my old under armor."


    Cideeda grins toothily, perking up her furry ears, and lifts a sly eyebrow. "Well... It is the latest Diamond Defense medium-grade under armor. So, it should have the same characteristics as your old suit."


    With Dretphi slipping through the dressing room door, Sotalia crosses her arms and flashes a curious glance to Dretphi with a slight sway. "Oh. Before you try that one, could you give the one I found for you a try?"


    Dretphi pauses a moment, nods to Sotalia, and closes the door. "I will try that one now."


    Wandering over a bit aimlessly, Bach surveys the selection of under armor garments, next to Cideeda. "Wow. There are a lot of options with this type of armor. And, it doesn''t seem as expensive as what I''ve always heard them to be, though."


    Cideeda pops up on the balls of her feet and hangs a prior rejected suit back up on the rack. Dropping back down, she lays out the turned down, thick gray under armor and gazes up to Bach. With a smirk, she counts out on her clawed fingers, punctuating. "WELL... That''s just for the armor pieces themselves. A LOT of the true cost comes from fitting the suit to your dimensions. Then, there''s adjusting the plating fasteners to work with the coverage and style you are using. Also, you can''t forget all the many, small customizations you will want to meet those specific needs."


    With a frugal spark in her emerald eyes. she grins slyly and taps the clawtips on her hands together. "But... We are fortunate enough to have a good range skills in our group. Between Dretphi, you, and myself, we''ve got everything covered."


    Blinking a few times, Bach ponders, visible confusion manifesting, and furrows his brow, seeking clarification. Cideeda smiles confidently, resting a hand on her hip, and points a thumb over her shoulder towards the dressing room. "Dretphi can sew anything on the suit to her liking."


    She combs her fingers through her short, multi-colored hair, and grins. "I can adjust and tweak the plating and accessories."


    Pointing at Bach, she shrugs her shoulders. "And, you can handle the finishing touches."


    Tilting his head to the side, Bach puzzles quietly for a few moments and aims an expectant stare at Cideeda. Seconds later, Cideeda rolls emerald green her eyes playfully. Flexing her fingers in front of her, she mimics a series of magical gestures and gazes up at Bach with an amused smirk. "Enchanting. Those last ones saved her a few times. SO, I think she''s going to definitely want a fresh set upon her new plating."


    Bach''s pride cringes, remembering the blatantly obvious, and he smiles with a sigh. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I keep forgetting..."


    Cideeda narrows an incredulous stare at Bach, twisting her mouth, and rests both hands on her hips. "You keep forgetting you can do ridiculous magical stuff?"


    Frowning briefly, Bach wrestles between the words and emotion. "Well, I, uh, no. I just- I mean... I guess I''m just still getting used to being included in on projects because of my magical skills? I mean, after not having anything worth mentioning magically... It kinda stops being the first thing you assume people are talking about?"


    With an awkward smile, he scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair and fidgets uncertainly. "Did that make any sense?"


    Cideeda smiles genuinely and nods slowly to Bach, sighing. "It did. I think I understand."


    She reveals a toothy grin, perks up her furry ears, and wags her tail. "Also... You could definitely assist in a bit of reworking of the old plating for an idea I had."


    Sotalia''s golden eyes spring wide open, her pointed ear catching a gasp and mumbles of grath in an obviously embarrassed tone from the dressing room. Stepping close to the door, Sotalia knocks and curiously inquires, a smile creeping out. "Everything okay in there?"


    Dretphi''s voice radiates uneasily from the other side of the room with an awkward cadence. "Yes... This suit has an... Unexpected fit..."


    Sotalia puzzles blankly, searching her mind, narrows an inquisitive stare, and tries to push open the door. "Oh, girl. What are you talking about?"


    Tapping around the slide lock on the other side, she rolls her golden eyes impatiently and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Come on. Let me see. I did pick it out for you."


    Seconds later, the lock slides open, and Sotalia peeks her head around the cracked open door, angling a swept back horn around the door frame. "OKAY. What are you talking about..."


    A mischievous grin grows upon Sotalia''s light tan face, and she chuckles evilly. "Oh. What are you so worried about? There''s absolutely nothing wrong with something that accentuates your figure that well. Come on out!"


    Another grumble of grath from Dretphi slips out from behind the door. Sotalia sighs, slowly shaking her head. "It''s not bad at all. And, you did say that the light blue color looked okay. I think it works for you."


    Cideeda''s furry ear flicks back from the conversation at the dressing room door. Pivoting around, she walks over next to Sotalia and slips her head in for a peek. "Okay, what''s going on here?"


    Pausing a moment, she cocks her head and flicks her ears around contemplatively. "OH. Yeah, that is DEFINITELY much more form fitting than your old suit."


    Aristespha blinks to attention away from her phone, stands up, and steps over to the gathering. "Gods, now I am curious. Whatever are we dealing with?"


    Peering around the door, she halts and studies in silence, covering her mouth. She steps away and walks back to her seat, searching her mind and idly tapping at the sword. "Oh. THAT design was obviously inspired by one of those animated action movies. Or, some video game."


    Sebastian''s voice softly emanates from the sword, inquiringly. "You mean the ones with revealing outfits and impossible body physics, dear?"


    Sotalia crosses her arms defiantly, stares unamused at the nearby detractors, and pouts shaking her head. Her gaze falls upon Bach, distracting himself with an informational literature next to a display. A devilish grin cracks from the corner of Sotalia''s mouth, and she quips. "Well. Let''s get another opinion from a different perspective... Oh, Ba-"


    Her voice cuts out abruptly, ceasing short of carrying her words too far, and she cringes with a reflexive lean. Cideeda glares right at Sotalia, releases her cautionary grip upon Sotalia''s side, and closes the dressing room door. "Try the other one out, Dretphi."


    Sotalia sighs with a grumble in fvalian. With an apologetic phrase in fvalian, Cideeda slowly shakes her head. Walking away, she snaps an accusatory squint right at Sotalia and mouths out a few fvalian words. Sotalia rolls her eyes dismissively with a playful smile. Minutes later, Dretphi emerges in a suit similar to her old suit. Exercising a few maneuvers and common movements, she smiles happily, growing more satisfied with each test of the garment. With a few final series of mock attack and defense motions, she stands content in front of the team. "This one. It feels right. I can move in it freely. Similar to my old suit."


    Cideeda gives a thumbs up to Dretphi and points towards nearby tall racks of plating in a plentiful gamut of sizes, shapes, materials, and colors. "Good. NOW, let''s try out some plates. They got all the latest designs."


    Dretphi eagerly walks over to the expansive selection, surveying the products before her, and plucks up an example piece. Crossing her light brown arms in thought, Cideeda taps her foot, quietly deliberating. She steps next to Sotalia and directs a quiet question. "So... Where did you find THAT particular suit?"


    Sotalia smirks slyly, brushes back her fiery orange, wavy hair, and points over to a display rack a distance away. "Over there. There are a few other styles, too."


    Arriving at the overwhelming line up of armor plates upon many levels of rack space, Bach stands in awe, analysis paralysis seizing his mind. Situational awareness returns to him, and he notices Dretphi standing next to him patiently with an example plate in hand. "Oh... Uh, Yes?"


    Dretphi smiles warmly and presents the plate, biting her lower lip slightly. "Could you put a barrier enchantment on this?"


    Bach picks up the plate in his hands, examines the construction, and slowly nods. "Yeah. I don''t think it''d be that much different than before."


    Lifting a curious brow to Bach, she inquires further. "Could the color be red instead of gold?"


    ----


    High above, a gust of wind blows through the thinning forests along the sides of the highway. The afternoon sun slowly settles into an orange horizon, the edge of the world gradually reddening towards an evening hue. The breeze stirs Meredosia''s long, gray hair against her ivory skinned face. Walking alongside the roadway, she adjusts her old backpack and brushes off her worn hoodie. She grimaces briefly and works an uncomfortable spot out of her frayed blue jeans. Seconds of checking the course ahead later, her crimson eyes wander around the rural landscape on either side of the roadway, gazing distantly into the peaceful scenery. Sighing heavily with a slight droop of her long, pointed ears, she occasionally smiles at the brief appearances of wildlife peeking out nearby from under the cover of trees and over tall grasses.


    Minutes passing on by, the ambient glow from the horizon shifts to a warm red and tinges of evening purple crest the opposite side of the world. The lone evuukian woman arrives at the top of a taller hill and pauses a moment, gazing ahead. With widening eyes, Meredosia scans the land before her and watches the distant lights of the suburban sprawl. She studies the scene ahead of her, an uncertain mix of fear and apprehension contorting her ivory face, and draws long calming breaths. After the sounds of traffic stir her back to awareness, she musters her courage and steps forward.


    Continuing her journey into the sparse outskirts, she sinks into her own thoughts, occasionally staring out, surveying the changing landscape. In brief moments, she smirks at familiar sights, often staring uneasily at the unfamiliar aspects. The sky overhead darkens from purple to dark blue with the waxing moon brightly contrasting, defiant of the ambient city lights. Her thoughts visibly wander inward, and her dark red eyes sort through her mind. Walking along the side of the highway with nearby moderate traffic, she loses awareness of the world surrounding her for minutes per spell. The toe of her boot taps up against a concrete curb. Her consciousness snaps back to the path ahead. She stares ahead towards the distant inner city upon the horizon and the highlighting glow of urban activity. Surveying the forming sprawl around her, she notices a huge, tall sign off the roadway, over to the side of the sidewalk in front of her.


    "Welcome to Amaranth Valley."


    Reading the sign, Meredosia''s crimson eyes widen, and she slowly assumes a stern gaze ahead towards the city. Tightening her grip on her backpack straps, she briefly grits her teeth and slowly exhales her nerves. She dons a cool, calm exterior, reaches into her jeans pocket, and pulls out an old wallet. Opening the billfold, she sorts through old government IDs, worn business cards, and a very modest amount of money. A surge of uncertainty floods her, and she stares distantly ahead. Seconds later, the wave of emotion subsides, and determination boils up to the surface. She returns her wallet to her pants pocket. Hesitating briefly, she puts one foot ahead upon the sidewalk and resumes her journey into Amaranth Valley.


    ----


    With a pair of chopsticks, Isaac clamps hold of a slice of beef out of a take out box and pops the piece of food into his mouth, pointing the wooden sticks towards a document on the table. "And, those are my notes from exploring that one hidden base near Hattan."


    Pausing a moment to enjoy a few more morsels of dinner, he glances at the logo on the takeout carton, nostalgically remarking. "Gods... I have forgotten how good this place is. They have NOT changed a bit."


    Dr. Dawkins chuckles to himself and scans over the documents, pictures, and information upon the large, antique dining table. "That they haven''t. Even the very same owner still, too."


    Picking up papers and printouts, he skims through stack after stack, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. "So FASCINATING... I can''t quite make out what you have found. BUT... It is significant."


    Isaac slowly nods, sighing with hints of frustration in his voice. "And, this latest discovery wasn''t even a remote thought in my mind. The scope of my investigations were aimed in a completely different direction."


    Reaching over the table top, he taps upon a folder of documents, tilting his head to the side. "I got my original list of locations to explore from the remote radio outpost. Quite a few possibilities on there. Admittedly, it took some serious effort to decipher the coordinates."


    His attention slides over to a small stack of written notes interleaved with paper and graphite rubbings of rough symbols, and he narrows his gray eyes upon the pile. "Surprisingly, quite a few of those locations had ancient elder energy structures that were still quite functional. One, unfortunately, had fallen into wrong and dangerous hands. But... I remedied that."


    Dr. Dawkins perks up his eyebrow and levels an inquisitive stare at Isaac. "What exactly was going on, and..."


    Furrowing his brow, he tilts his head to the side. "How did you remedy it?"


    Isaac meets Dr. Dawkins'' gaze, frowning slightly, and sighs out a mix of disappointment and frustration. "No one was hurt... Physically. I did manage to severely wound the ego of a very self-righteous leader of one of those damned Terra Priest cult groups. It is actually quite the shame. That young evuukian woman had figured out how to control elder energy, presumably by herself. And... Was able to pull it into and from an energy storage amulet."


    Twisting his mouth, mild sadness emerges upon his aged face, and he slowly shakes his head of wild gray white hair. "If she just wasn''t so caught up in her delusions, she had the potential to become a great pupil and possibly help with future breakthroughs."


    With a long sigh and slump of the shoulders, Isaac tugs at the corner of his frown, grimacing. "I really despised having to ruin that elder energy dais and the amulet. BUT, after seeing those who were trying to use it, I could NOT leave it functional. Too much risk."


    Slowly nodding in total agreement, Dr. Dawkins grumbles loudly with a curling sneer of his upper lip. "You did the right thing there. Truth to be told, I''ve had the misfortune of running into a number of the more inane groups in my career... Multiple times. Depending on where you were setting up, you always had to check the area for any signs of Terra Priests, Red Gears, or government privateers."


    Rolling his green eyes, Dr. Dawkins groans with stale aggravation. "Gods, we practically had to pay monthly rent to a number of local gangs and mobs just to keep them not only out of business, but to keep them quiet about it, too!"


    Isaac exhales in commiseration with Dr. Dawkins. Picking a few choice pieces of beef out of the takeout box, he settles back into his chair at the table and gazes upon a battered laptop''s display filled with electronic document text. "After taking the pictures, I had to pull all the data I could from Dr. Malkav''s research."


    Slowly shaking his head, Isaac frowns. "But... Unfortunately, it''s not exactly what I need. There seems to be hints and overviews of his initial vague theories, but none of the specifics I need to see."


    Dr. Dawkins picks up the photograph of Bach in flight carrying Sotalia within a cavernous pit, bringing it close, and studies it, tracing his finger along the bright white aura surrounding Bach. "I can''t fault you there. But, you might want to be careful accessing the Grand Library in the future. While I haven''t heard that much lately... they''ve been uncharacteristically quiet recently. Which usually means SOMETHING happened to spook the higher ups."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Isaac ponders the advisement, gradually nodding into agreement. "Thank you for the warning. I had thought my access to the system after so long might seem quite strange. So, I made sure to pull everything I could..."


    With a sly smile, he softly laughs. "From a random location in the woods near an outskirts aethernet tower that I don''t plan to ever visit again."


    A proud grin graces Dr. Dawkins, and he chuckles in sheer amusement. "Good thinking. I am quite happy that you still remember all those early lessons of mine."


    Resting the picture down, he hums in thought to himself and slowly eases back into his chair contemplatively. "Gods. This Bach Warwick... What ever has he managed to accomplish? Before we even venture to ascertain HOW he pulled this feat off, we first have to establish WHAT he did..."


    Isaac dramatically nods, sitting up, and rakes his fingers through his head of wild, graying white hair, grumbling out his frustrations. "I KNOW. This is absolutely baffling to me. Did he find some strange power source of elder energy that causes this difference in auras?"


    Quirking a wary and intrigued brow towards Isaac, Dr. Dawkins strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Gods help us... Has he bypassed the abstract prism?"


    Isaac springs his eyes wide open briefly, entertaining the possibility, and slowly shakes his head frowning. "We could theorize all we want, but that will not get us the answers. Are you certain you don''t know where Dr. Malkav is?"


    With a long sigh, Dr. Dawkins grimaces and lowers his head slightly. "I know where he''s been. At least, from when he stops to write during his slow periods. But, he gets caught up in his work and disappears for months at a time. The last package I got from him was from a hotel in Perimeter."


    Gritting his teeth, Isaac groans, sinking into his seat a little. "Good gods. The Perimeter Weird Zone? He could be ANYWHERE in that area. And, who knows if he''ll ever resurface. What was he out to study there?"


    Dr. Dawkins crosses his arms, contorts his face with his memory, and shakes his head, hinting irritation. "OH, he''s always purposefully vague about the details when he thinks he''s on to something big. It''s aligned with the common theme of his research. Clues to an old point of power that seemed extremely relevant to him. I could NEVER get him to elaborate more before he headed out on sabbatical years ago."


    Isaac''s mood drops, and he slumps in his chair, releasing a sad, disheartened sigh. "Well... Shit... It will take forever to figure out exactly WHERE he was going without some kind of context to WHAT he was researching. If we could just have something to work off of, I''m certain we could derive what caught his attention."


    Nodding sympathetically, Dr. Dawkins halts. Distant memory tickling his attention, he concentrates upon a thought in his mind, furrowing his brow. A minute later, he blinks in revelation, slides back his chair, and holds a finger towards Isaac, getting up. "Wait here... I THINK I might have SOMETHING..."


    He walks swiftly out of the dining room. Distantly from the archway into the hallway, the faint sounds of documents shuffling, paper moving, and a desk drawer opening resonate. A bit of excitement fills Dr. Dawkins'' voice. "There it is!"


    Isaac sits up in his chair and gazes curiously towards the entry into the dining room, cocking his head in anticipation. Seconds later, Dr. Dawkins reappears, shuffles over eagerly into his chair, and presents an old envelope to Isaac. "THIS might be what we need."


    Narrowing his attention upon the aged paper exterior, Isaac glances towards Dr. Dawkins and points curiously at the item. "What''s inside?"


    With a glint of anticipation in his green eyes, Dr. Dawkins smirks and laughs, turning the front of the envelope at Isaac. "I don''t exactly know."


    Isaac''s eyes widen, and he reads the text upon the paper container above Dr. Malkav''s barely legible signature. "Open upon my DEATH?!"


    A sly smile creeps upon Dr. Dawkins, and he chuckles dryly at Isaac. "If he''s dead, no better time to open it. If he''s still alive... He''ll understand."


    Isaac waits barely patiently. Dr. Dawkins plucks up a nearby plastic knife and awkwardly saws through the top of the letter. He empties out a few folded letter pages and a key upon the table. Both Isaac and Dr. Dawkins exchange curious glances, and Isaac motions Dr. Dawkins towards the letter. Seconds of Dr. Dawkins speed reading through the paragraphs upon the first page later, he chuckles loudly with a wide grin and slowly shakes his head. "You tricky old bastard."


    Isaac leans over, peeking at the papers Dr. Dawkins'' hands, and eagerly searches for the meaning. "What does it say?! What''s the key for?!"


    Picking up the key, Dr. Dawkins smiles brilliantly at Isaac and reveals a hand drawn map upon the next page of the letter. "He hid backup copies of his notes underneath the computing equipment anchors in one of the Library''s server rooms!"


    Isaac''s gray eyes open wide and excitement drives his curiosity. He grabs hold of the map and studies it further. "By the gods! YES!"


    Halting a moment, his mind stirs up old detail between quirks of his brow, and he ponders out loud. "Wait... The server rooms? Gods. I thought Dr. Malkav absolutely LOATHED the chair of the computer science department?"


    With a humored grin, Dr. Dawkins nods, chuckling, and sits back in his seat. "OH. YES. He DESPISED the previous chair. But..."


    Lifting an intrigued brow, he searches the top of his head. "It oddly makes sense, though. Certainly, no one would have EVER thought to look THERE for anything of Dr. Malkav''s, knowing his hatred."


    Snorting, Isaac examines the map further, remarking. "Probably wanted to put a final one over on that chair. Hiding his treasure right in the house of the one he hated."


    The two sit quietly and study the pages from the envelope. Dr. Dawkins smirks slyly at Isaac, posing a question in a foreboding tone. "So... How should we go about acquiring this treasure?"


    Isaac grins and hums contemplatively. The two men examine the map closer.

 Episode 67

    Dretphi lifts her arms out to her sides, spreads her legs out, and watches Cideeda circle slowly around. In the open area between the living and dining parts of the large room of the ranch style house, Cideeda inspects the new under armor suit and plating on Dretphi. She pauses in the orbit and demonstrates a body motion, directing Dretphi to mimic. Dretphi performs a similar move, and Cideeda steps in close, investigating the spaces between the plates. Her furry ears flick forward, searching for the sounds of any problems. With Dretphi performing different flexes, stances, and actions, Cideeda twists her mouth contemplatively, nodding with her thoughts. Flicking out a piece of fabric chalk, she lightly sketches plating outlines upon the under armor around shoulders. "Good... Okay... I think we got the plate clearances just right."


    She finishes up the drawing on the tough fabric armor and furrows her light brown brow. "Now, you''ll just need to get the fasteners the way you want them."


    Nodding a confirmation, Dretphi examines herself in the suit and studies the other chalk drawings upon her suit, reviewing the kinematics of a few maneuvers. "Did not feel any snags this time. Think I will use magnetic patch keying. Hook loop fasteners in the middle of the plating. Same configuration as before."


    Nearby, Bach lifts an inquisitive eyebrow, holding a variety of suit accessories in his arms. "Huh, neat. I always kind of wondered how you could stick those plates in the right place all the time."


    He smiles with a chuckle. "I mean, I just figured you knew it all that well by memory."


    Hiding a bit of embarrassment with a smirk, Dretphi plays it off with a slight shaking of her head of platinum blonde braids. "Not entirely. Pairs of keyed magnetic patches help align the plate. Then, you push firmly to fasten fully. I found that configuration to be fast. Reliable. Helpful when you are in a rush."


    Cideeda finishes touching up the outlines around the plating upon Dretphi''s shin. Standing up, she stretches her arms back and sighs with a roll of her emerald green eyes. "Gods... Does this setup ever beat trying to use strap-on plates in a hurry."


    She grimaces mildly, relevant memories jumping to the front of her thoughts. "For example, I remember working with one group..."


    Curling her upper lip, she sternly states. "VERY BRIEFLY..."


    She shakes her head, lowering her furry, annoyed ears out to the sides over her shoulders. "Who had one idiot with some ridiculously complicated, ancient set of armor that he got from some relative. And, he INSISTED on using it."


    Raking her clawed fingers lightly through her shorter, mix of brown, orange, white, tan, and black hair, she hisses out her stale frustration into a long sigh. "OH. GODS. It would take him SO LONG to get suited up. By the time he got ready, threats and targets would be LONG GONE before we''d be able to go after them."


    She grits her teeth, snarls her upper lip, and slowly shakes her head with a groan. "I quit that group DURING the last contract I had with them. Shit. We were incredibly lucky to escape some old ruins without getting chased down by the dire bear that had moved in."


    Lifting an unamused eyebrow, she gazes up to Bach and grumbles loudly. "AND, the MORON wanted us to go back in there to find the armor he had to leave behind. Gods almighty."


    With a dismissive wave of her hand, she rolls her eyes. "He kept swearing it had some unique enchantment or something on it."


    Bach furrows an incredulous brow towards Cideeda with an unconvinced twist to his face. Furrowing her brow at Bach, Cideeda smirks slyly and rests her hands on her hips with a sway. "Called out his BULLSHIT, right there. Since, unbeknownst to him, I had taken time to sneak over to his tent when no one was looking. And..."


    She flashes a toothy grin. "I inspected that armor, MYSELF."


    Meeting her gaze, Bach tilts his head to the side in anticipation. "And?"


    Crossing her arms, Cideeda snorts derisively and laughs. "OH, it didn''t take a mage to see anything with that much covered up rust and dry rot on the leather straps had NOTHING magical about it."


    Searching his mind a moment, Bach grimaces at the imagery in his mind and nods in total agreement. "Yeah. I mean, even if it did have something, it was probably too weak and far gone to be worth the trouble. Especially, if the material had started to decay that badly. Usually, even halfway decent enchantments tend to prevent that."


    Dretphi lowers her arms and gazes to Cideeda, smiling with a chuckle. "You were hesitant to work with our group after you saw me."


    Blinking in surprise, Bach glances over to Cideeda quizzically and narrows his confusion. Cideeda shrugs, holding up her hands to the side, and sarcastically groans at herself. "Listen, I just didn''t want to be in yet another group with yet another fighter that needed a pit crew to just gear up."


    She quirks her brow up towards Dretphi and taps on one of the armor plates, grinning at Bach. "After seeing her put the suit and all the plates on herself in under two minutes...


    She winks with a smirk. "I felt like I could actually work with this team."


    Swelling with a bit pride, Dretphi points out a few spots around the edges of the dark red armor plate covers. "Still need to attach helper straps that make it easy to don. A trick my mother taught me."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, her recent memory visibly bringing something to her attention, and she sorts through the small collection of equipment in Bach''s arms. "Speaking of..."


    She sorts through the different items and ponders out loud, idly tapping a claw tip on an item. "Let''s see... What should we try to fit onto the suit first?"


    Stepping over to the coffee table, Dretphi picks up her new transparent face shield helmet and taps on a connection port around the bottom edge. "The radio?"


    Bach studies the assortment of devices in his possession and juggles over a suitable component towards Cideeda. "Uh, I think this one?"


    Nodding, Cideeda plucks it out of Bach''s hand. "Yeah. That would be a good one to start with."


    She motions Dretphi towards the floor, inspecting the device. "Just below the nape of the neck, like you had it before?"


    Dretphi lowers herself down into a seat on the floor and brings her platinum blonde braids forward, out of the way. "Yes. That worked for me."


    Studying the clearances and anticipating the kinematics, Cideeda positions the radio unit upon the suit, below the nape of the neck, and holds it in place. "Give it a try here."


    Dretphi reaches her arm back behind her, feeling out the location of the small piece of equipment, and practices a few routine actions. She rolls her shoulders around, brushes back her hair, and readies her helmet. Cideeda signals Bach close, and guides his attention towards the radio. "Get the radio cable, and put the rest of that stuff on the couch. And, hold this in place, please. I want to check the clearances from a different angle."


    Bach glances down at the accessories, shifts a cable into his hand, and empties out his arms of the other fodder onto the couch cushion. Leaning down, he holds the device in place with his free hand. With Cideeda''s silent instruction, he passes the radio cable to Dretphi''s waiting grasp. Dretphi connects the coiled cable to the radio unit on her back and snaps the other end into the port on her helmet. Narrowing her emerald eyes at Dretphi, Cideeda analyzes the entire process and studies Dretphi putting on the helm. Slowly turning side to side, up and down, and rolling her head, Dretphi works through a memorized routine, occasionally waiting for Cideeda''s checks at certain points. A few more demonstrations later, Cideeda pulls the triangle piece of chalk back out from her shorts pocket. She marks out the outline, removes the radio unit back into Bach''s hand, and writes a shorthand label in the middle. "Yeah. I think that''ll work."


    Pulling off her new crimson helmet, Dretphi disconnects the radio cable and nods with a happy smile on her tan face. "I do not think we will have to change much. The suit is a similar design to the old."


    With a smirk, Cideeda shrugs and gently scratches her chin contemplatively. "Probably. But, can''t hurt to make sure."


    Furrowing her brow curiously, Cideeda meanders over to another topic with a casually prying tone. "By the way... What do you plan on doing with your remaining, old armor plates?"


    Bach smirks, chuckling lightly, and applies a mild, sarcastic hint. "Yeah. I mean, because, I doubt we''re going to try to go back for the missing pieces."


    Dretphi lightly snorts with a dismissive eye roll and slowly shakes her head. "Oh. No. I do not miss them enough to think of retrieval. I will happily leave them for the history of that place."


    Blinking in thought, her focus wanders inwards, and she ponders out loud. "I... Do not know... I have a new suit. New plates. I can not think of what to do with them now."


    She faintly sniffs the air and grimaces vaguely. "Do not want to wear that old suit anymore. Notice the slime smell more with the new contrast."


    An eager, toothy grin appears on Cideeda, and she leans her body to the side into Dretphi''s view with her hands behind her back innocently. "Would you sell the plates to me?"


    Dretphi rocks her head to the side, wondering about the options. With a twist of her mouth, she nods partially. "Yes. I would."


    Meeting Cideeda''s inquiring gaze, Dretphi explains. "I can give them to you? I do not need to sell them to you, if you want them."


    Cideeda crosses her arms, shakes her head, and smiles thoughtfully. "While I appreciate the offer, I must insist on at least paying for the materials for my projects."


    Both Bach and Dretphi exchange glances and settle their collective attention upon Cideeda. Lifting an intrigued brow, Bach studies Cideeda demeanor. "Projects? What kind?"


    Dretphi homes in on a key point and scrutinizes Cideeda''s words, searching for further explanation. "At least pay for the materials?"


    Displaying a faux guilty grin, Cideeda reveals her grand scheme, tapping her finger tips together. "Well, I''ve got a nice new suit for my usual kind of work. BUT, I''d like to recycle my old suit and the plates to explore crafting a super light armor gear. And, probably also fashion some nice inserts for Bach''s new duster."


    Bach rolls his hand with growing interest. "Okay. Go on."


    A spark of excitement slowly ignites Dretphi''s steely gray eyes, and she squints at the imagery in her mind. Cideeda stands up straight, stretching her back, and points a claw tip towards Bach, grinning. "While I can roughly cut down and trim the old plates, I''m going to need your help to do a bit of refined, magical rework. If I''m right, there will be plenty leftover to help you out."


    With appreciative plead, she turns her attention to Dretphi, presenting a convincing smile and posture. "And... I''m hoping if I give you a good price on your old plates, I can put your sewing skills to use. I figured we could use the old suit as a base for the new gear and fashion it to work with my new bodysuit."


    Thinking for a moment, Bach shrugs his shoulders and nods simply. "Sure. I mean, you''ll have to show me what you want, but I think we''ll figure it out somehow. I got my tricks."


    Dretphi smiles brightly, stands up with a bit of excitement in her step, and eagerly gazes at Cideeda. "Yes! Of course. This is a neat project. My house father had a modular outfit that sounds similar to what you want. Base suit. Slip on padding. I helped my mother repair it often."


    Her focus drifts inwards, and her eyes sift through ideas, glancing down at Cideeda briefly. "Never crafted an outfit this small before..."


    Cideeda smiles slyly and postures with an aura of accomplishment between Bach and Dretphi. "Good to hear."


    Her pride subsides gradually in her body language, and a reserved smirk graces her light brown face. "And... Thank you. I''ve really been wanting something a bit more protective when I''m not having to squeeze through tight, uncomfortable places."


    During the lull in conversation, she glances over to Dretphi, studying her figure, and redirects everyone''s attention with a smile. "Okay. Let''s finish your gear first before you start on me."


    Dretphi snaps back to awareness, remembering the more immediate task at hand. "Oh... Yes... Sorry."


    ----


    The older grath man maintains his balance, stepping back from Chad''s practice sword swing, and expertly redirects the attack away. Recovering from the sudden change of momentum, Chad steadies himself and pivots to face the grath man. "Good gods. Does anything even get close to hitting you?"


    With a swift shift of his weight upon the back yard grass, the grath man smiles and readies the wooden sparring blade in his hands, grinning smugly. "No. You do not survive Red Gear ambushes if you let them hit you."


    Smirking humored, Chad rolls the tension out of his shoulders and checks his grip on his practice sword. "Huh. Fair enough."


    He pauses in thought, glances at the older grath man, and quizzically tilts his head of brown, coiffed hair. "By the way, you sure you''re okay with me calling you by your first name, Trenannin?"


    Trenannin furrows his brow, pondering to himself for a seconds, and scratches his head of graying dirty blonde hair. "It is fine. I am not in the military anymore. Sergeant Hekkinen is not appropriate. It would take a long time to explain grath honorifics. Keep it informal."


    Chad nods understandingly, positions himself defensively, and signals Trenannin with a hand motion. "Okay. When you''re ready."


    An eager smile creeps across Trenannin''s dark bronze face. His body briefly tenses, and he launches his large, tall frame toward Chad. Closing the distance with his long gait, he fancifully swings his sword around in dramatic, showy maneuvers. Nearing Chad, Trenannin power swings right at Chad''s side into a run by attack. Chad twists himself around, absorbing the attack with his practice sword, and steps back from the force of the blow. Trenannin slides briefly in the grass behind the two story house, digs his boots into the dirt, and propels his mass abruptly in a different direction.


    Leading the point of his sparring sword forward, he levels the tip right at Chad''s center mass. Spotting the incoming attack, Chad braces himself with his blade ready for an interception, spreading his stance out for stability. A sly smirk flashes upon Trenannin''s smug gaze. His muscles tighten in mere moments, closing quickly in on Chad. With swords nearly touching, Trenannin pulls his blade back and ducks low to the ground into a powerful spin, swinging the sparring sword tightly away from Chad. Sliding upon the ground, he leads his blade into a full, sweeping revolution around into the back of Chad''s knees. With the momentum, he pushes through and brute forces into an upwards pull, yanking the confused Chad''s legs right out from underneath. Finishing with a prideful gaze back, Trenannin watches Chad land on his back in sheer astonishment, satisfaction blatant. Chad regains his senses and notices a hand extended to him from Trenannin. Taking hold of it, he smiles brightly between fascination and excitement. "WOW! OKAY. You HAVE to teach me THAT move!"


    Trenannin chuckles and nods slightly, pulling Chad back up to his feet. "MAYBE. Have to keep some secrets. I can show you pointers."


    Off to the side and next to the back sliding glass door of the two story house, Veevi snickers and rests her hands on her hips, grinning sharply. "Well! That would be a lot more than what I''ve been getting from Trakenthin''s lessons..."


    Furrowing her tan brow, she tosses back her pink hair. "If you can even call them that."


    Tassilda crosses her arms, narrowing an accusatory stare upon Veevi, and groans out her annoyance. "Have you ever thought there just might be a GOOD REASON you aren''t taught certain things?"


    Veevi flashes an indignant glare towards Tassilda, turning her nose up, and rolls her eyes petulantly away from Tassilda''s glower. "As if YOU, of all people, have any ground to stand on there."


    With Tassilda and Veevi exchanging mean stares of silent condemnation, Modoran twists his dusky, bluish gray skinned face. He tilts his head with his thoughts and mulls over his opinion. "A bit more fanciful and risky than anything I would want to do. But... I can''t argue with the results."


    Shrugging nonchalantly, he settles into a lean against brickwork of the two story house. "I do appreciate the application of misdirection."


    Deedri observes Chad''s movement and releases a long sigh of relief, slowly shaking her head. "Good... I know they''re practice weapons, but I really don''t want to fix anything too major today."


    The sliding glass door opens. Trakenthin steps out wearing a stoic, neutral exterior. Turning around to the sound of the door opening, Trenannin gazes over to his son and smirks. "Come here. Spar with me."


    Trakenthin snarls his upper lip slightly, grimaces faintly, and slowly shakes his head. "No. Close to lunch. We should figure out what we are going to eat."


    Furrowing a mildly annoyed brow, Trenannin motions his son over and twists his tone with some encouragement. "One bout. First to make contact. I want to check your skill before your next mission. See if you remember all I taught you."


    Crossing his arms, Trakenthin maintains an unamused stare at his father and sighs into a muted, irritated growl. Chad brushes stray grass blades off his pants, gives his trademark bright, white smile to Trakenthin, and motions encouragingly at him. "It''s just one match. Plus, I''d really like to see what you two are capable of."


    With a sharp, derisive tinge, Veevi grins, tosses her head of pink hair back, and crosses her arms into an antagonistic pose. "Yeah! And I want to see what you are supposed to teach me!"


    Trenannin narrows his gaze at Trakenthin, concentrating his stare, and chuckles. "You should not deny your father a match."


    Glancing around at the growing attention from the group, his father, and the camera crews off to the side, Trakenthin sighs deeply with a growling undertone, shaking his head, and steps over with his hand out. "FINE. One bout. We eat."


    Chad passes Trakenthin his practice sword and quickly steps away to join the audience next to Veevi, promptly leaning against him. Stretching, Trakenthin tilts his head side to side, rolls his shoulders, and tightens his grip on the sparring blade. Without a word, he readies into a combat stance, both hands on the sword, and levels a silent glare at Trenannin. Responding to his son''s posture, Trenannin grips his practice sword tightly with both hands and slowly shifts into a readied stance. An eerie silence looms over the back yard, pressing out the surrounding nature. Chad, Veevi, Tassilda, Modoran, and Deedri watch in anticipation, and the camera crews concentrate their full attention upon the match between father and son.


    Seconds tick by. The two quietly study each other. Cautiously and carefully, Trakenthin slowly steps to the side and gradually circles around Trenannin. His motions telegraph nothing, purposefully vague and routine. A confident smirk cracks out of the corner of Trenannin''s mouth, and he watches Trakenthin move around him, pivoting to face his son. Seconds later, he narrows his stare, tenses his muscles, and swiftly swings towards his son. Trakenthin intercepts the attack, diverts it away, and positions himself clear of counterattack, resuming his guard.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Trakenthin quickly lunges forward, driving his blade towards Trenannin''s side. With the same concise, swift motions, Trenannin parries the attack, side steps away, and readies his blade. The two trade attack after attack, each expertly blocking and protecting themselves against counterattacks. The battle continues. Trenannin''s maneuvers tighten, less fanciful and showy. His counters, parries, and attacks morph into an efficient, serious style along with his cold stare. Impacts grow louder and more powerful against the practice blades. The clashes flood the area with solid wooden crashes, drowning out the prior hints of cloth padding between the contacts.


    Excitement from the gathered audience decays into a gamut of conflicting emotions. Trenannin sneers darkly, focusing upon Trakenthin, and unleashes a feverish flurry of blows. Enduring the unfolding barrage, Trakenthin deftly and solidly blocks each part of the onslaught. With each counter, the blades crash into a challenge of raw strength near an old scar upon Trakenthin''s body.


    With a leap backwards, Trenannin finishes the volley. The two fighters pause, slowly panting out the boiling aggression. Chad stares on in wide-eyed bewilderment. Veevi blinks blankly and unconsciously slides slightly behind Chad. Tassilda watches the match uncomfortably, hints of terror creeping out upon her gray toned face. Cocking his head to the side, Modoran narrows his eyes at the scene and grits his teeth warily. Deedri leans out during the lull in combat and shoots a demanding glare towards Chad.


    Moments later, Chad notices the attention from Deedri and meets her stare. Fear and anger apparent, Deedri mouths out. "STOP. THIS."


    Fumbling upon his response, utterly dumbfounded, Chad glances over to the cacophony of pitched battle between Trakenthin and Trenannin, and gawks back to Deedri, mouthing. "HOW?!"


    Blade impacts crack out, the sound ricocheting off the hard surfaces surrounding the backyard battlefield. Both Veevi and Deedri cringe at the sharp noises. Through the din, their ears focus on faint, contrasting, crisp hints in the most powerful clashes. With each blow, audio technicians in the crews flinch and suffer through the acoustic chaos funneling into their heads from their headphones. Camera operators position themselves and capture each wave of the battle from the most dramatic angles. Around the perimeter, Samantha watches with her jaw hanging open, her pen slipping out of her hand above her clipboard. Moving his head briefly away from his camera''s viewfinder, Gerald witnesses the spectacle uneasily.


    During a pause between their exchanges, Trakenthin and Trenannin slowly pant and glare intensely at each other. A wry, derisive smirk appears on Trenannin''s face, and he drills irritated, goading phrases of grath right at Trakenthin. Grimacing at the words, Trakenthin snorts, gritting his teeth, and grumbles back to his father dismissively. Focusing upon signs of hesitation in Trakenthin''s body language, Trenannin spits out another assault of demeaning words. Trakenthin cringes, shakes off the emotions, and brings forth a stoic exterior against his father. Narrowing his stare briefly, Trenannin chuckles darkly, levels a glare at Trakenthin and mutters one more grath phrase with a sly, sinister grin.


    Trakenthin freezes for a second. The stoic exterior shatters away, and Trakenthin bares his teeth. A hazel light briefly flickers in his eyes, his feet dig into the soft dirt, and Trakenthin''s body contorts to vehemently enraged definition. Trakenthin charges forth and rains a berserker flurry of chaotic, hammering fury upon his father. Blocking each furious blow, Trenannin anticipates the next attack, glancing at Trakenthin''s body language, and readies the intercept. With each thunderous, echoing slam, the faint, crisp hint crackles louder into the air. In a powerful overhead drop of the blade, Trakenthin hammers down upon his father''s blade. A loud crumbling snap blasts out. The practice sword in Trakenthin''s hand bends sharply against the defending blade. Quickly reacting to the sudden confusion upon Trakenthin, Trenannin side steps clear and waits expectantly. With merciless precision, he powerfully swings his sparring sword solidly right onto his son''s chest. Trakenthin winces against the impact and reflexively drops to his knees.


    The battle ends. Silence overwhelms the awestruck gawks from everyone. Standing tall, Trenannin extends his hand down to his son and waits. Trakenthin glances up, draws a hesitant breath, and begrudgingly takes hold of his father''s hand. Helping his son up, Trenannin nods to Trakenthin with satisfaction and pride bright on his face and pats him on the shoulder. "Good to know you remember all I taught you. THAT was a proper fight. Never anything less from you. My son."


    Trakenthin grants his father a silent, rigid nod, and gazes upon the mix of astonished, terrified, and shocked expressions from the rest of the group and crew. Holding a hand up to the gathering, he clearly calls out with a little reservation. "I am fine. Do not worry."


    Chad nods towards Trakenthin, surveys the dramatic tension in the area with an uneasy smirk, and claps his hands together loudly. "Now THAT was a hell of a fight. You know, I always wondered where Trakenthin got his sword fighting skill from. Now, I know..."


    He hides a hard swallow. "That was... Absolutely INTENSE."


    Trenannin walks with Trakenthin towards the sliding glass door, grinning smug and prideful. "Intense. Yes. It has kept him alive."


    Putting up a calm exterior, Chad redirects everyone''s attention inside, focusing upon Trenannin. "So... Um. Lunch? How about you choose the place, Trenannin? Since you''ve won the matches today?"


    Thinking for a moment, Trenannin nods in agreement and opens the sliding glass door. "Sounds good. What is good around here?"


    With Veevi following behind him in an awkward stupor, Chad quickly leads Trenannin inside. "Well, we''ve got menus for a few different places..."


    Chad, Veevi, and Trenannin slip inside. Modoran smoothly slides the sliding glass door closed, steps up to Trakenthin, and aims his gaze up at him. "Hey. You okay?"


    Tassilda releases a stressed breath behind her cupped hands around her mouth and gazes concerned at Trakenthin. Seeking an answer, she approaches. "My. Gods. Are you okay? That was a terrible hit you took. And, that whole battle..."


    With her light blue on black eyes wide, she stares. "What. The. Fuck?!"


    Trakenthin holds his hands up, moves them in a calming, assuring motions, and presents a light smile over growing hints of strain. "I am fine. That is just how we have always fought. Do not worry."


    Tassilda narrows an unconvinced gaze up at Trakenthin. Her frown softens, and she nods with worry. "Okay. If you say so... For now."


    She lightly rubs Trakenthin''s shoulder, opens the sliding glass door, and slips through. With an acknowledging nod to Trakenthin, Modoran follows Tassilda inside. Trakenthin breathes carefully, blinks blankly, and notices the hard analyzing stare from Deedri''s glowing auburn eyes. Glancing inside and through the sliding glass door towards his father checking menus, he meets Deedri''s stern, demanding gaze with a bit of shame. "Can it wait? After my father leaves?"


    Crossing her arms defiantly, Deedri narrows out the glow in her eyes and grits her sharp teeth. "If it must. Thankfully, nothing is broken from what I can see. But... It will be painful until I can properly treat it."


    Trakenthin sighs understandingly, grimaces briefly, and carefully flexes his upper body. "Yes. I know."


    With a light pat on his arm, Deedri gazes up with a comforting smile and motions upstairs towards her room, whispering. "After he leaves, come to my room. You can talk freely if you want while I''m treating you."


    Bowing his head graciously, Trakenthin reveals a genuine smile and softly speaks. "Thank you."


    Deedri opens the sliding glass door wider for her and Trakenthin, steps through, and waits for Trakenthin to enter. Trakenthin steps on through and rejoins the team. Deedri hides a frown and closes the door.


    ----


    Leaning over the dining table, Cideeda eagerly lifts up a small metal and crystal infused frame of a golem arm from the middle of the tabletop. She eases it over upon a heavy cloth work pad and scoots it in front of Aristespha and Bach. With her long, fluffy tail wagging in anticipation, she grins toothily, gazing expectantly at the two mages. "Okay... So... Let''s start with THIS one."


    Bach tugs the mat over closer and briefly surveys the part, furrowing his brow. "Well... Um. It''s definitely an arm... Or, part of one."


    Narrowing a brief, incredulous glare at Bach, Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes with a sigh and twirls her hand around, seeking more information. "Well... YES. But, does it still work? What did it go to? How does it work? I can make all kinds of guesses at how it might work, but I figured you two would actually know the most."


    She points the various arcane components visible and hovers a claw tip over different parts, circling out areas of interest. "For example. Here. There''s either a power or signal line going to some kind of actuator. Then, that moves the cabling going to the hand''s fingers."


    Tapping upon the parts within the frame, she lifts a curious eyebrow. "The mechanical side of things look about the same to what I''ve seen elsewhere in non-magical equipment."


    Aristespha studies the device near her, tilting her head to the side, and blinks her violet eyes to a glow. "Yes. For the most part. Most golem inner workings borrow heavily from robotics."


    She pauses for a moment and glances over to the side. "With some magical liberties taken."


    Examining it closer, Bach''s eyes light up blue, and he scrutinizes the golem arm overall. "Well, I mean, I don''t see anything too dangerous. I guess, let''s see if it can work after all this time."


    He holds his hand out, close to the base of the forearm. Thin magical threads materialize and reach out towards the exposed arcane conduits. Bach grimaces in thought, concentrating upon the task. With his hand reflexively flexing, he mentally explores. "Alright. Okay... So, I''m feeling some signs that the lines are connected still. Just don''t know to what really."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he smirks. "Well. Let''s see what THIS moves."


    Faint illumination flickers from inside the arm, and weak flashes of magical light pulse along different components inside. Moments later, the wrist shudders briefly, and the middle digit of the five fingered hand curls slightly. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes widen in sheer, absolute fascination, and she leans over the table further, watching every motion. Her tail obviously twitching with her thoughts, she grins excitedly. "Try the other fingers!"


    Grumbling, Bach searches his mind, and pulses of magical energy trace down the magical threads into the golem forearm. He grits his teeth briefly, twisting his face into mild frustration, and sighs. "I''m trying... But, I think there''s something down the pathways that''s getting in the way of the flow. Or, I''m just poking around the wrong spots."


    Aristespha taps upon the middle section of the forearm, squinting her violet eyes, and lowers her gaze closer to the device, humming in thought. "I do see some degradation to your flows here. I would imagine that there is likely a magical conduit that has decayed significantly over the many years."


    Briefly disheartened, Cideeda''s furry ears flick with her thoughts, and her attention shifts away from the golem part towards Aristespha and Bach. "Okay. Could it be repaired or replaced?"


    Bach exchanges a glance with Aristespha, gazes back over to Cideeda, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, uh, I mean, I can''t think of a reason it couldn''t. First, we''ll have to see what we got going on here. Let''s see if I can manage to..."


    Holding both hands near the arcane arm, Bach flows streams of magical energy out upon the golem part. Closes his eyes, he contorts his expression and turns his head with a grimace, concentrating. "Okay. I think I got it figured out."


    He furrows his brow and ponders out loud. "Now... Will it come apart, easily?"


    Bach carefully and slowly pulls his hands away from the device, the arm stirring and hovering up into the air. Gradually, the framework disassembles in logical, sequential steps. The pieces release out into subsections, the binding bits releasing themselves free. Seconds later, the individual components of the magical device float above the table in a functionally exploded arrangement. Aristespha narrows her violet illuminated gaze at the smaller parts within the cloud of pieces. Following along a path of bundled magical cabling, she stops her search at an intersection between wiring and sub-components. She points out a darkened, cloudy section of a crystal and nods her head of long, silvery blue hair towards the oddity. "There. I would guess that is the most likely culprit. If nothing else, that is probably the best place to start checking."


    Tilting his head to the side, Bach squints at the piece Aristespha identifies. He gradually brings his hands back together. The individual components of the golem arm reassemble themselves into larger devices and reattach in a meticulous process, reforming the golem limb. The rebuilt arm floats back down upon the cloth work mat. Blinking his eyes back to normal, Bach curiously studies the array of other magical parts upon the dining room table. "Yeah, that probably shouldn''t be too hard to replace..."


    He scans over the tabletop and frowns faintly. "If we can find the right size and type of crystal."


    Cideeda perks up, searches around the collection of arcane devices piled off to the side, and hoists up a wooden box. "WELL, there''s this box of different crystals I found. One of them might work."


    The box lands in front of Aristespha and Bach, and both scan over the contents, plucking out choice pieces for further examination. Aristespha smirks slightly, slowly shakes her head, and hands over the piece to Cideeda. "Unfortunately, these are not the correct types of crystal to use as a replacement for that, but..."


    Smiling to Cideeda, she retrieves another one for herself. "They are flow reactive movement crystals. If I remember correctly, they are very easy to move around with simple energy flows."


    Bach nods in agreement and holds out his hand upwards, his blue eye illuminating. The crystal in his palm hovers up a few centimeters and freely spins and pivots. Bach demonstrates the possibilities, his outstretched fingers twitching slightly to the movements of the small, faintly glowing object. Cideeda eyes widen with absolute fascination, she gazes excitedly at the magical mineral in her hand. "That''s amazing! How do I move it!?"


    Blinking back to attention, Bach glances over to Cideeda and uneasily stumbles around his words in an awkward tone. "Well, uh... I move it in a particular way that I''ve learned... that''s similar to my current means of using magic... And uh, it''s not easy to reproduce..."


    Signs of disappointment slip out onto Cideeda''s light brown face. Bach dons an encouraging grin and glances over to Aristespha hopefully. "BUT! I know there are more typical spells that you should be able to do. That, um, I think Aristespha might be far more familiar with, than I am right now..."


    Presenting a confident smile, Aristespha nods to Bach and signals for Cideeda''s attention. "That I am. And, I can certainly teach you a basic helper spell to assist you in moving this type of material."


    Cideeda locks on her full, undivided attention upon Aristespha, eagerly awaiting further instruction. "What do I need to do?"


    With a calm, teacher''s tone, Aristespha guides Cideeda through a series of hand gestures along with the vocalizations for the incantations. During the explanation, Bach pays attention and occasionally twitches his face, faded lessons resurfacing back into mind from college semesters long forgotten. Following along a few demonstrations from Aristespha, Cideeda readies herself. She carefully recites the incantations and slowly articulates her hands into the gestures. Drawing a long breath in, she wills her magical flows towards her hands and holds them to either side of a small crystal on the tabletop. Tense, still moments pass. The crystal rattles and shifts suddenly a few centimeters in one direction. A bright smile flashes wide upon Cideeda''s face, and she flushes with absolute joy. Her focus elsewhere, she remains utterly fascinated by the motions of the magical mineral, completely unaware of the unconscious flicks of her furry ears and long fluffy tail.


    With satisfaction and amusement, Aristespha and Bach watch Cideeda''s magical exercises. A few minutes later, Aristespha and Bach exchange thoughtful glances and silently ponder at the development.


    ----


    Deedri guides the tail end of a long strip of gauze around Trakenthin''s chest, tightening up the slack, and presses the very end upon the bundle of medical wrapping. She turns a nearby adjustable lamp back to lighting the top of her desk. Stopping in front of Trakenthin, she gazes right into his eyes. "That treated pad will reduce any swelling, and it''ll also make the bruising heal quicker. The ointment I put on there will dull any pain, so you''ll be able to sleep without it bothering you too much."


    Sitting upon a stool in the middle of Deedri''s room, Trakenthin meekly replies with a gracious tone. "Thank you. I appreciate you waiting until later to treat me."


    Deedri crosses her arms, stares sternly at Trakenthin, and draws in a faintly frustrated breath. "You are the one that suffered the most. Still..."


    Leaning slightly closer, she wrestles a frown. "I don''t like withholding treatment when it is needed. But... I know you had your reasons..."


    In the awkward silence, she twists her mouth and sighs. Concern overtakes her attitude, and she relaxes her arms to her side. "Okay. I know I''m prying into personal things, but..."


    She furrows her brow and narrows her auburn stare. "What the hell was THAT all about?"


    Uncomfortably grumbling, Trakenthin reluctantly approaches the subject and grimaces, relenting with a long exhale. "Long story. Short version. My birth father has... Issues. It makes him difficult at times."


    Tilting her head to the side, Deedri contorts her face incredulously, flicks her tufted ears, and gradually nods at the obvious. "YES. We all saw THAT."


    Trakenthin grits his teeth, gently hisses out an uneasy breath through, and slowly shakes his head. "It would take days to explain. I have had long conversations with my birth mother about him."


    Glancing distantly to the side, he grimaces tensely. "I can go on for days. She could go on for WEEKS."


    He sits up straight, sadly draws in air into his lungs, and frowns longingly. "He CAN be great. Has helped when I needed it greatly. Taught me useful skills. Unfortunately..."


    Narrowing his focus into his mind, Trakenthin''s face contorts between emotions, and he searches for the words, discomfort growing more obvious. Deedri presents a reassuring smile and rests a hand on Trakenthin''s shoulder, shaking her head. "It''s okay. I''m already overstepping personally and professionally anyway. Fathers can be... Difficult."


    Trakenthin slowly lifts his head back up, gazes at Deedri, and smirks appreciatively with a light chuckle. "YES. Indeed."


    Reaching over to the desk, Deedri picks up Trakenthin''s shirt and hands it to him. "Here. I''ve done everything I need to at the moment. The rest of the healing will take time."


    Trakenthin pulls on the t-shirt and squirms back to some comfort. His previous thoughts hop back to the front of his mind. Ponders quietly for seconds, he concentrates on the phrase in his mind, furrowing his dark bronze brow uneasily. "He... He... He has had expectations. The same ones for years. He still has those exact expectations of how things should be."


    With a sad tone, Trakenthin releases a long sigh and shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head. "The world does not... WILL NOT meet them. He refuses to see it otherwise."


    Lowering his head slightly, he frowns sadly. "I wish I knew how to make him accept it."


    Deedri silently nods, sympathy coloring her gaze. Trakenthin chuckles lightly, rolls his hazel eyes at the same old situation, and smiles at Deedri. "I will not solve it today. He was good the rest of the day. That was nice. We leave for the mission tomorrow. I doubt he will remain in town for long."


    Crossing her arms, Deedri hums in thought, flexing her clawed fingers, and wags her long tail in deliberation. "I don''t know. The fact that the Next Adventurers of Nexus people got him here makes me think they''re hoping MORE happens."


    Snarling her upper lip, she narrows her auburn eyes off to the side and growls irritably. "Gods damn that Howard. Oh, I''m sure he''s behind THIS... Along with that scheming bitch, Samantha. Only two people I can think of that would arrange something like this."


    Stretching out his arms, Trakenthin stands up to his full imposing height. Carefully stretches his upper body, he snorts with a humored smirk. "I hope they are paying him. That way he has steady income, for once."


    Deedri follows Trakenthin to her bedroom door and grins lightheartedly, gazing up to Trakenthin. "Well, that''s certainly one way to look at it."


    The two exiting out into the upstairs hallway, Trakenthin shrugs, laughing. "Find humor where you can."


    ----


    Dr. Dawkins slowly walks into the well decorated sitting room, ambles over to his aged leather recliner, and settles down into the seat with a satisfied tone. "As much as I do enjoy a good session of academic exploration, I think I need a break from the books."


    Following shortly behind Dr. Dawkins, Isaac rubs his gray eyes into a pinch of his nose bridge, and nods slowly. Wandering over to the other recliner, he plops into the couch chair. "I must say, I would have to agree. If only to give my eyes a well deserved break from reviewing all my notes. Gods..."


    Twisting a hint of embarrassment on his face, he sighs with a smirk. "I have forgotten how much I''ve written."


    With an amused snort, Dr. Dawkins reaches over to a bottle of dark liquor on a small end table, uncorks the top, and starts to pour a healthy portion into a glass on the tabletop. Blinking a few times, Isaac glances over to Dr. Dawkins filling the glass and narrows his gaze towards a wall clock. "Good gods, sir. It''s barely the afternoon."


    Dr. Dawkins slowly raises his humored stare to Isaac, smirking dryly, and snorts. "Oh hell, it''s Saturday. You, of all people, aren''t going to deprive an old man his vices in his own home?"


    Isaac cracks a sly grin, chuckling to himself, and taps on another empty glass next to the filled one. "So long as you don''t leave me out, Dr. Dawkins."


    Nodding with a smile, Dr. Dawkins shifts the bottle over and pours another ample amount into the other container. The two men pick up their drinks, sip them in silence over the minutes. Dr. Dawkins angles his gaze over to Isaac, lifting an intrigued brow, and points to him. "So... I''ve been thinking about how we are going to get to Malkav''s stash."


    Isaac meets Dr. Dawkins'' gaze and cocks his head to the side curiously with an interested cadence. "Well... I''d love to hear it. Because, truthfully, all I''ve come up with is to just walk in there like I own the place, grab it, and hope no one cares."


    Pulling a devilish grin across his face, Dr. Dawkins laughs, and slowly nods. "Actually, my plan is pretty close to just that..."


    Blinking out his surprise, Isaac narrows a scrutinizing gaze towards Dr. Dawkins. Dr. Dawkins perks his brow, draws a long breath in, and carefully explains. "It''s actually quite the ideal time for a simple, calm approach to this problem. While we may have been gone from the Grand Library''s normal operations for some time, I highly doubt too much has changed. It''s the tail end of June, in the middle of the summer sessions..."


    He grins mischievously and lifts a plotting eyebrow. "Which means not a damn much of anything is happening right now."


    Isaac''s eyes widen, his mind processing these details, and he ponders his thoughts out loud. "That''s... Right... There will be hardly anyone around. But, just enough with summer classes and students working on research that it wouldn''t be unusual to see a few new people in the building other than staff and faculty."


    With a scheming smile present and glass in hand, Dr. Dawkins nods and focuses his attention on the presentation. "Exactly. The only real problem is those that know who should and shouldn''t be in certain places. Which is usually the administrative faculty and their subordinates. The only people there consistently enough to know what is inconsistent."


    Slowly processing the dilemma, Isaac narrows his inquisitive gaze at Dr. Dawkins and cocks his head to the side. "So... How do we handle them?"


    Finishing a long swig of his drink, Dr. Dawkins grins brightly and laughs with a dark tinge. "Take them out to lunch."


    Isaac''s expression blanks out for seconds. Shaking his head back to awareness, he leans closer to Dr. Dawkins curiously. "Okay... Go on?"


    Settling back into his plush recliner, Dr. Dawkins rests his drink on the table and taps the fingertips of his hands together with a plotting tone. "Exactly what I said. I''ve recently spoken with both the heads of the computer science and archaeology departments. They''re good young men, and I wouldn''t mind seeing if they would update me on the latest internal affairs. I figured I would visit and treat them to lunch. And, I''d also offer to treat any of the graduate students that happen to be around for the day, too."


    Putting his glass down, Isaac scratches his chin, playing out the scenario in the mind between thoughtful darts of his eyes. He slowly rocks his head, sorting through the internal play by play. "Yeah... That could work. It''d give me a good hour window to slip in without any of the regular guard around to notice anything at all. Truthfully, I could likely avoid using any kind of significant magic. Barely leave a trace behind."


    Dr. Dawkins lifts an incredulous eyebrow towards Isaac, snorts in ill-humor, and rolls his green eyes. "An hour? I''m taking them to an all you can eat buffet. You have two hours, at least. Academics and free, plentiful food are hard to separate."


    Isaac reflexively snickers out into laughter, agreeing heartily with Dr. Dawkins. Pondering a moment, his eyes light up, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together. "You can drop me off near the campus before you go in to meet with them. I''ll head on into the campus once you head off with everyone to lunch. Go in quickly, get Malkav''s notes, and casually leave the area. Once you finish up, you can pick me up at a point some distance away from campus, which would grant you plausible deniability."


    A delighted smile appears on Dr. Dawkins'' face, and he picks up his glass. "I think we have something quite resembling a viable plan."


    He holds his glass up, waiting for Isaac to do the same. The two men clink their drinks together and enjoy healthy portions of the dark liquor.

 Episode 68

    Laying out upon the cheap, motel single bed, Meredosia stares blankly up at the aged ceiling paint and the yellowed light glowing out from the dusty dome fixture. She adverts her crimson eyes away briefly back down and watches an advertisement on the old, outdated television. Furrowing her brow with recognition at the repetitious advertisement, she squirms her long, gray haired head uneasily upon the single stiff pillow on the mattress, wincing with a slow breath through her gritting teeth. She gradually tosses and turns, curling more and more with each move. Fighting against a reflexive wince, she presses her hands tightly upon her growling stomach. She hisses out her aggravation and frustration. With a harsh frown, she reaches out and snatches her wallet off the lone, worn nightstand in the small, simple motel room. Flipping open the billfold, she sorts out the meager amount of money upon the bed top. With the final bill, she stares unhappily and frowns, her mind running the dismal calculations. She eases out a saddened sigh and grimaces, plucking her funds back up into her wallet. Wrapping her arm tightly around her gurgling, empty stomach, she cringes sharply and clenches a few bills in her hands. In a surge of frustration, she curses out in a dialect of evuukian, stows away the billfold in her frayed blue jeans, and turns off the bed, standing up on the floor. Quickly slipping on her hoodie, she swiftly steps into her boots and sweeps up the room key into her pockets. She pauses in front of the small room door and wrestles an uncomfortable grimace. Mustering her determination, she exits out into the parking lot of the remote, rundown motel.


    Meredosia slowly widens her narrowed eyes against the high noon sun. The dark circles under her eyes contrast her ivory skin and the bright ambient light. Wandering down the long, cracked sidewalk towards the nearby intersection, she focuses ahead through the corridor of the small commercial buildings surrounding the street. She concentrates on the mission, keeping her gaze lowered upon the concrete walkway in front of her and hands in her hoodie pockets. Minutes later, she reaches a roadway inlet into a small strip mall parking lot and surveys the area. Searching the collection of store signs upon the different sections of the large, long building, her crimson eyes sift through the business front of no interest to her. A few passes later, she settles her intrigued gaze upon the simple lettering of "Fval Spice". Sliding her stare down, she notices the blue and red "Open" sign light through the windowed front. The wind shifts overhead across the rooftops, and a breeze blows down around Meredosia. Closing her eyes against the gust, Meredosia sniffs the air, fluttering her eyes in surprise, and instinctively follows the alluring scent straight towards the small restaurant.


    Opening the door, Meredosia steps cautiously in and surveys the layout of the establishment. A few different, simple arrangements of tables and chairs comprise the majority of the seating in the front with a number of wall mounted benches around the edges of the space. Gazing towards the back, a tastefully decorated counter sits between the short hallway to bathrooms and an entry into the back kitchen. Meredosia hears activity in the back. Sizzles of food fill the air, and flashes of cooking flame light warmly glow out from the path to the kitchen. The aroma guides Meredosia''s hand, and she tightly grasps onto a menu, unconsciously lifting it open to her eager eyes. Scanning the menu, she sorts through the possibilities across the pages. Moments later, her gaze pulls away from the elaborate dishes and narrows down upon the cheaper choices. Standing in the middle of the front area, she deliberates, a hint of hunger licking her lips.


    An older Fvalian man, steps out from the back kitchen, hoists up two large paper sacks upon the counter, and narrows an unamused glance to the wall clock. Slowly shaking his head of short, graying hair, he mumbles out his confusion in fvalian, his short, black tail twitching with his thoughts. Pausing a moment, he notices Meredosia, perking up his furry ears, and dons a pleasant smile. "Oh! Pardon me. Sorry to keep you waiting. Dine in or carry out?"


    Meredosia blinks back to awareness, meets the older Fvalian man''s gaze, and searches her mind for a second. Eyeing at the door, she frowns briefly at the alternative and glances around the front area. "Um... Dine in."


    With a delighted smile, the older fvalian waves his clawed hands out to all the seating and slightly bows. "Of course. Sit wherever you like. Please."


    Meredosia fights through a bit of indecisiveness and settles in a seat at a small table. The fvalian man quickly picks up an order pad and pen and rushes over to Meredosia''s table. "Yes. What would you like to drink?"


    With a meek, reserved tone, Meredosia simply replies. "Oh. Uh, just water right now."


    Nodding, the fvalian man writes it on the pad and tilts his head to the side curiously, inquiring. "Do you know what you want? Or, do you need a minute?"


    Meredosia glances down briefly, turns the menu towards the fvalian, and points out to the cheaper option, gazing up. "I think I will have this. Just as it comes on the menu."


    The fvalian nods happily, jots down the order in fvalian script, and presents an appreciative grin. "Yes. I will get your drink, and start cooking it."


    A slight smile appears on Meredosia''s ivory face, and the fvalian man hurries off to the back kitchen area. Folding up the menu, she places it off to the side on her table and settles into her chair. With a long sigh, her thoughts wander, and she sinks back into her own mind, staring idly ahead at the table. Seconds of quiet pass. Hearing the soft thud of a full glass of ice water upon the table, Meredosia stirs from her stupor. Quickly glancing up, she nods in confirmation to the fvalian man and picks up the paper wrapped straw on her table. Peeling the wrapper off the straw, she notices the older fvalian man on an aetherphone, and her long, pointed ear twitches faintly, her attention locking onto this side of the call.


    Lifting a mildly annoyed brow, the fvalian speaks to the other party calmly. "Yes. This is Noyando. Where are you? Orders are coming in."


    Noyando listens to the response, emotions on his face shifting between a gamut of frustration, understanding, and disappointment. With a long groaning sigh, he shakes his head during the long explanation from the other party. He collects his thoughts, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Try to come in for dinner deliveries, if you can. I will figure out lunch."


    Firmly pressing the end call button on his aetherphone, he watches the status screen flicker away, groaning out his irritation quietly, and mumbles a few choice phrases in fvalian to himself. He lifts his head up, notices Meredosia gazing over, and bows apologetically. "Sorry. I did not mean to disturb you."


    Meredosia shakes her head slightly, and smiles politely. "Oh. No. It''s fine. I was not bothered."


    Pausing a moment, she fights off some hesitation and carefully pries further. "Um. If I may ask, what is wrong?"


    Noyando tugs at the corner of his mouth and shrugs his shoulders, putting his aetherphone away. "The usual delivery man for today... has a hangover. I don''t have others that can work Sundays."


    Thinking quietly for a moment, he glances over at Meredosia with an examining stare. Moments later, he poses a question to her with a humored smirk. "You want to earn some money?"


    Meredosia blinks to attention, searching her mind a moment. Fighting off the uncertainty blatant on her face, she mulls over the idea out loud. "Well, I could use the money. But..."


    She smiles awkwardly and motions to the outside past the glass front. "I just moved here myself. So, I am not that familiar with the area."


    With an encouragingly dismissive wave of his hand, Noyando widens a smile on his light brown face and explains with calm tone. "It''s okay. These orders are nearby. You can walk to them easy. I will show you on a map, and write out directions."


    Furrowing her brow, Meredosia cocks her head curiously and blinks, searching. Noyando sighs and motions over the storefront in general. "I cannot leave the store right now. I take orders and cook by myself today, until later."


    He smiles with a shrug of his shoulders. "You deliver the orders, you keep the delivery fee. If you want more work, we''ll talk. I always need good help."


    Pondering the offer quietly to herself, Meredosia''s stomach growls loudly. She glances around embarrassed, pressing her hands firmly on her midsection. Noyando lifts an intrigued brow and smirks enterprisingly towards Meredosia. "When you work for me, I will cook your meals for free."


    Meredosia perks up, and her long , pointed ears twitch reflexively at the notion. Lifting an intrigued brow, she smiles. "I might actually be interested."


    Noyando smiles, nodding appreciatively, and turns towards the kitchen. "Good. Let me cook, so you can eat something first."


    Pausing midway through the entryway into the kitchen, he turns to Meredosia. "Oh! I am Noyando. What is your name?"


    The faint trace of a hopeful smirk cracks in the corner of Meredosia''s face. "Um... Mera."


    ----


    Across the beautifully landscaped courtyard between a number of immaculately maintained resort buildings, Chad leads Tassilda, Modoran, Trakenthin, and Deedri with an excitable Veevi at this side. The team wanders loosely behind Chad, each taking in the elaborate layout of the resort grounds, winding pathways, and fanciful decorations. Tassilda sneaks out a sly smile, glancing behind her towards Deedri, and points towards a building with a large "Spa Center" sign. Noting the location, Deedri nods back at Tassilda with a hopeful smirk. She flicks over a furry, tufted ear over towards Modoran, searching the space, and curiously turns her head. The group travels across the open space on the stone paver pathway. Modoran remains silent, his dark blue eyes actively polling around between the different visible entrances into the area. With a rigid posture, he stiffly angles his head side to side, uneasiness visibly slipping out onto his dusky bluish gray face. Seconds of observation later, Deedri thoughtfully crosses her arms, furrows her fair brow, and steps over closer, whispering to Modoran. "What are you looking for?"


    Shuddering out from his focused state of mind, Modoran gazes down at Deedri, attempting to nonchalantly shrug off suspicion. "Oh... Uh... Just making notes of the layout of this place. It is one thing to see a map of the layout, but another to see it for yourself."


    Deedri narrows her unconvinced auburn eyes at Modoran, flicks her furry ears, and gradually wags her tail. "Okay. I guess that makes sense. You just seemed uncomfortable for some reason."


    Summoning a wave of cool confidence, Modoran presents a calm smile to Deedri and dons an easy going tone. "Well, it''s a big job. And, there are going to be A LOT of Evuukian house members all in one place. Also, some of the really big names will be wandering around."


    Blinking with a realization, Deedri bites her lower lip, contending with the surge of nervous energy. "That''s right... I''d forgotten about that, with getting everything else prepared. Oh. I really need to review the guest list again, and try to get some familiarity with the politics."


    Modoran thinks for a moment, directs a comforting smile towards Deedri, and relaxes his body language, his attention shifting. "Yeah. To be completely honest, I would NOT go too deep into all that. House politics change EVERYDAY. And, there''s a tremendous amount of history behind every little thing."


    He smirks confidently and chuckles. "If you want, I could give you a quick overview of the current important bits."


    Perking up, Deedri gazes at Modoran with a delighted grin. "Oh! I''ll take all the help I can get. Gods. I thought medical literature was convoluted, then I just read up about one recent scandal."


    A humored smile appears on Modoran''s face, and he chuckles lightly, lifting an intrigued eyebrow at Deedri. "Ah. Which one? There were at least three major ones last week and a few other minor ones."


    Widening her eyes in genuine surprise, Deedri grits her sharp teeth briefly and brings out her aetherphone from her skirt pocket. "Okay... So, where are you getting your information from? Because the news sites I visit didn''t mention anything else, right now."


    Peeking over Deedri''s shoulder, Modoran guides her, instructing her on the more appropriate aethersites to visit. Tassilda stretches out her neck, rolls her shoulders, and sighs with her thoughts, pondering out loud. "It is ever a lovely resort here. Though, I doubt we''ll be able to enjoy it fully."


    Chad glances back over his shoulder, continuing to lead the team down a long pathway branching off the main route. "I wouldn''t say that, yet. I mean, we are still going to be busy."


    Trakenthin cocks his head to the side, shifting his eyes down towards Chad, and twists his mouth. "Busy doing what exactly? I understand our general purpose. Clarification would be appreciated for our daily activities."


    Sorting through the agenda within his mind, Chad lays down an explanation, the group traveling further along the lone, stone walkway. "We''ll be serving as both entertainment and security purposes here. Most of the time we''ll just be making appearances and hosting events for the guests. It turns out a lot of Evuukian house members are big fans of the show. So, it seems like it will be like a small convention."


    He slyly smirks and shrugs his shoulders, laughing. "As for security... Nothing too crazy. We will be escorting some big players around, stand around at big gatherings, and just serve as deterrents against the nobles acting out too much."


    With a swift snort, he rolls his brown eyes. "Most probably don''t want to be caught being stupid in front of us AND the cameras."


    A spark of foreboding mischief flickers in Veevi''s pink pupil eyes, and she grins devilishly towards Chad. Trakenthin grumbles with a dismissive eye roll and slowly shakes his head. "I hope we have time to ourselves."


    Tossing her raven black hair back, Tassilda brushes stray strands over her swirling horns and nods in agreement. She puts her hands on her hips, contorts her gray skinned face, and stares her light blue on black eyes sternly ahead at Chad. "Again, I DO hope we get a chance to enjoy a little of this for ourselves. It''ll be quite torturous to be at such a place and forced to constantly babysit bratty nobility."


    Chad dons his trademark, bright white grin, stepping past the end of the long path into a small courtyard, and presents a resort villa to the team. "We''ll be here til Saturday evening. And... The guests leave Friday. Until then, I think we''ll be able to enjoy ourselves a little in the off time."


    The rest of the group gawks in surprise and delight at the facilities before them, the camera crews off to the side recording their reactions from different angles.


    ----


    Late morning sun beams around the moderate cloud cover above, projecting large drifting shadows across the grass in the backyard behind the ranch style house. Bach reservedly judges the eager grin upon Sotalia''s face and sits across from her at the large picnic table. Perking up, Sotalia taps her long, thick black fingernails upon the wooden plank table top and smiles expectantly. "So... What''s the first step in this lesson?"


    Bach twists on a grimace, searching the edges of his mind, and cautiously approaches the conversation. "Well, first... Let''s see how well you can do the regular disintegration beam spell before we get too far ahead of ourselves."


    Narrowing a brief, incredulous stare at Bach, Sotalia draws a confident smirk, turning around on the bench seat, and stands up searching the vast open field. "Fair enough. Let''s see..."


    Her gaze settles upon the battered, burnt, and blasted boulder, and she points out to the stone target. "I guess I''ll use our favorite target."


    Resting his arms upon the table, Bach weaves his fingers together and waits patiently, nodding a confirmation. Sotalia stretches out her arms, rolls around her shoulders, and settles her footing upon the grass, swaying her hips with shifting weight. Closing her golden eyes, she releases a long, calming breath, and readies her hands in front of her. With careful motions of her gestures, she methodically speaks the incantations in sync, ending with her hands in front of her. Her palms ahead and wrists touching, flows of magical energy stream out from her body and swirl forth, condensing in the middle of her outstretched fingers.


    An orb of prismatic white noise grows briefly. A stream of sparkling, dull gray launches out. The beam quickly bridges the distance and splatters upon the surface of the boulder. Plumes out powdered rock belch out from the impact point, and glowing sparks puff out chaotically. Over the seconds, Sotalia grimaces under the stain, the magical flows jetting around her body into the beam. Moments later, the beam fades out. With the gentle breeze moving through, the cloud of dust around the boulder drifts away, raining a fine dust over the grass in the path. Sotalia grins triumphantly, the fading stone haze revealing a sizable, few centimeters deep bore hole into the giant rock''s surface. Pivoting in place, she faces Bach with a drama flair and projects her confidence with a pose, awaiting the recognition of her efforts. "I do believe that should demonstrate my expertise with the disintegration beam."


    Bach lifts his hands up from the table top, lightly taps both extended index fingers to his mouth contemplatively, and sneaks an amused smirk out of the corner of his mouth. "Yes. That it does. Now..."


    Pointing at Sotalia, he hoists up an amused eyebrow and hides a hint of grin. "Can you curve the beam?"


    Sotalia blinks blankly, mentally halting upon the concept. Resting her hands upon her hips, she cocks her head to the side, puzzling out loud. "Curve it... As in... Changing the direction it leaves the starting point?"


    Raising a hand away from the other, Bach draws a circle in the air and smiles smugly at Sotalia. "Well... I''m thinking more like a... Circle."


    Sotalia furrows her intrigued, light tan brow and steps back to the bench next to the wooden plank picnic table. Settling back onto her seat across from Bach, she wrestles a confused grimace. "Okay. Explain."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders. He searches his mind briefly and pantomimes out the key concepts, gauging Sotalia''s understanding from the faint twists of her expression. "Well... The D-Ball spell is basically bundles of high energy magical particle streams circling upon themselves into rings, that also spin around."


    Tossing her fiery orange hair back, Sotalia narrows her stare curiously and leans over the table slightly, watching Bach expectantly with her golden eyes. "Okay... I THINK I know what you are saying. But, some kind of an example could help."


    Bach nods in agreement, lifts his hands up in between Sotalia and himself, and blinks his eyes to a glowing blue. A single tiny, prismatic point hovers in between Bach''s palms. The particle moves around in a fast circle. Soon other spots form, flying in the same ring path. Seconds later, a blurry ring of fast moving magical energy pivots around a center axis. The rotation speeds up, and the ring turns into the illusion of a flickering, transparent orb. Observing in utter fascination, Sotalia studies the display of magic attentively. A minute later, Bach releases the flows of magical energy, and the particles harmlessly dissipate into the air. Watching the miasma float away in the wind, Sotalia directs her attention upon Bach and cracks a sly smile. "I think I get it now. I was a little curious about what the secret trick to it was."


    Bach cracks a humored grin, tilting his head to the side, and nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders briefly gazing away. "Oh, yeah. The fundamentals are simple."


    He perks up an eyebrow, sarcasm seeping out. "The execution... Now THAT is the hard part. I mean, all you have to do is create nearly solid rings of thread thin, highly destructive magical particles. Then, you need to spin up the rings in counter rotations of each other along the same center point, as you build layer upon layer to form an orb that wants to spin apart..."


    Starting right into Sotalia''s golden eyes, Bach''s tone lowers slightly. "And, shred you to pieces."


    The confidence fades away in Sotalia, an awkward unease sneaking out during the idle gaze at Bach. "Yeah... Um... I think I might practice with harmless magical particles, first. Just to be on the safe side."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Nodding at the idea, Bach chuckles lightly to himself, crossing his arms. "Yeah. That''s probably a really good idea. I mean, I don''t think Aristespha wants to have to stitch up hands OR reattach fingers today."


    Sotalia rolls her eyes with a humored snort and readies her hands in front of her. Over the minutes, Sotalia grits her teeth, grimaces, cringes, and strains with each attempt, finely wrestling the control of the small speck of magical energy in the space between her hands. Patiently watching with his blue illuminated eyes, Bach waits for lulls in Sotalia''s frustrated pride and calmly suggests alternative methods for approaching the problem. A few more stubborn failing attempts later, Sotalia adopts recommendations, gradually altering her technique to a more viable form. Her sheer determination and unyielding pride powering, Sotalia struggles through dozens of gradually less unsuccessful attempts and forms a crude, slow ring of magical energy particles. A spark of joy lights up her golden eyes, and she hoists the successful manifestation of her labors towards Bach, beaming with pride. "Yes! OH, I''ll have THIS figured out soon enough. Take a look!"


    Bach blinks back to awareness, gazes over from his own magical creation, and examines Sotalia''s efforts with an encouraging smile. "Yeah. That''s pretty good progress."


    Sotalia''s attention slides over to the complicated, complex molded streams of different shapes and figures hovering in the air between Bach''s hands. In the moment, her prideful front wanes into an unamused pout, her eyes comparing the obvious differences between her magical craft and Bach''s. She focuses her defensive stare at Bach. Watching him study her creation, her gaze softens and lightens to a smile, his hands moving close to hers. Bach glances over, puzzling for a moment. "Hey, you okay?"


    Sotalia blinks back to her usual confident grin. "Of course. So, what are you going to do?"


    Tilting his head towards Sotalia''s energy ring, Bach squints at the details with his blue illuminated eyes. "Well, if you don''t mind, I can show you some tweaks you can do. I think you should be able to feel them if you pay attention."


    With a simple nod, Sotalia perks up, smiles excitedly, and waits eagerly. "Go right ahead."


    ----


    Stepping out from a large, tall brick building, Dr. Dawkins pushes through a set of double doors into the parking lot surrounding the old brick structure. Harvos and Nash walk up to either side of Dr. Dawkins, leading a small gathering of graduate students a few steps behind. Leaning over towards Dr. Dawkins with a smirk, Nash jokes with a curious tinge in his tone. "Hey, not that I don''t appreciate you offering to pay for our lunches... But, you sure you want to pay for all the graduate students?"


    He snorts and shakes his head. "I mean, I know Grand Library retirement is good, but I don''t want to take advantage of an old man. I could help out with the bill."


    Laughing, Dr. Dawkins slowly walks towards his older luxury sedan in a nearby parking spot and dismisses the concern with a casual wave of his hand. "Oh, nonsense. Gods know, I can''t take it with me. So, I figured I might as well enjoy it with others."


    He smirks and bounces a side glances between Harvos and Nash. "And, I once, all so long ago, was a graduate student here, too."


    Harvos slightly nods his head of short, bright brown hair and large upright horns and presents an appreciative smile. "Well, thank you, very much, Dr. Dawkins. We all appreciate your generosity. Especially my graduate students."


    A satisfied smirk graces Dr. Dawkins face, and he flashes a grin with a wink towards Harvos. "They were looking a little hungry. I always found filling stomachs was a great way to keep the morale up during the long stretches of research."


    Noticing Nash turning towards his car, Dr. Dawkins motions him over. "Let''s take my car. It''s quite the enjoyable ride, and I rarely get to drive anyone else around in it these days."


    Nash pauses a moment, glances down at the car keys in his hand, and shrugs, putting them away in his shorts pocket. "Yeah. Probably a good plan. My car isn''t..."


    Wandering his gaze swiftly through the windows, he surveys the chaos contained within the vehicle. "Um... Set up for passengers anyway."


    Harvos rolls his bright brown on black eyes and slowly shakes his head with a snort. "You mean it''s completely filled with junk mail and empty drink cups. AGAIN?"


    Nash holds his hands out to the side in a display of mock offense and twists his mouth with a sarcastic color. "Oh, passing judgment are we? I''m sorry, not all of us have to keep up appearances just in case Malva calls up."


    A flash of embarrassed red highlights Harvos''s cheeks, and he flings a mildly annoyed glare at Nash. "Gods dammit. NOT in front of the graduate students."


    Stopping, Nash pivots slowly around and gazes back to Harvos with a wide, dramatic wave of hand, showcasing the parking lot devoid of others. "DUDE. They are gone. At this rate, they''ll be through the first plate before we even get to the door."


    Dr. Dawkins chuckles happily, unlocking his car, and shakes his head with a smile. "Gods. It is ever good to know that some things don''t change. Reminds me of my youth scavenging for free food scraps after faculty events."


    Opening the door, he hits a switch on a side console, unlocking the other doors. He pauses a moment, retrieves a cheap looking aetherphone, and sorts through a few menus. He taps out a very quick message and slips the device back in his pants pocket. Harvos gets in the front passenger''s side, and Nash gets in the back. Settling into his driver''s seat fully, Dr. Dawkins addresses the two. "I figure we''ll get into more detail after lunch... BUT, I must ask..."


    He turns his head slightly and lifts an inquisitive eyebrow. "What exactly has been going on with the higher ups as of late?"


    Averting his gaze, Nash momentarily grits his teeth and shakes his head, closing his door. "Yeah... We''ll definitely have to save a bunch of THAT, after lunch. But, to say the least, the powers-that-be are well..."


    He blinks a few times and grimaces. "Scared shitless? I think that''s the best way to put it?"


    With an inquiring glance, Dr. Dawkins eyes over to Harvos and starts up the car. "Really?"


    Harvos exhales slowly with an uncertain grumble and rocks his head carefully side to side, mulling over the sentiment. "Truthfully, scared shitless is the NICE way to put it."


    The old sedan slowly backs out of the parking spot, turns out into the main street, and rolls off towards a campus exit.


    With a casual stride, Issac rounds the walkway around the corner of another nearby brickwork building, maintaining a cautious survey of the area. Slowly changing his direction via sidewalks and crosswalks, he maneuvers over to the large, tall campus building and stands in front of the double doors. Glancing around briefly, he nonchalantly pulls open one side of the entrance and walks on inside.


    Presenting a facade of purpose, Isaac searches for landmarks, signs, and other bits of unique features along the walls. He delves deeper into the old, wide halls and spots a number of departmental directories and color-coded wall stripes. Narrowing his focus upon one, he follows a dark green band, directing him towards a doorway and down a dark stairwell. He climbs cautiously down the stairs and reaches the dimly lit, disused basement floor. Quickly scanning the area, he retrieves a cheap aetherphone from his pocket and wraps up his blue scarf over his lower face. He studies a picture of a map on the screen, comparing the structure of the basement hallway, and slowly nods, recognizing a particular door down near the end of the hallway. He quietly steps forward. Isaac peeks through small windows in the other doors into darkly lit rooms of technological towers of flickering lights, listening to the droning mix of muffled fans and air conditioning duct work.


    Reaching the target door, Isaac inspects the doorway carefully, searching for the unusual, out of place. He checks the high corners of the hallway for monitoring devices, squinting into the darkened, distant corners. Isaac levels his focus upon the door and begins to gesture out an incantation. Flows of prismatic energy flow out from his gloved hands upon the door knob and jam. The magical miasma seeps into the mechanisms. Isaac halts, narrowing a puzzled stare at the door knob. He unceremoniously grabs hold of it, twists it simply, and opens the door without any issue. Blinking in annoyed astonishment, Isaac rolls his gray eyes, grumbling to himself, and slowly shakes his head. He notices the stark contrast of ambient dust against the recently disturbed marks on the door knob, inspecting the coating of funk upon his glove. Twisting his mouth under the scarf, he wipes the excess off his hand onto his pants and enters the room, closing the door behind.


    Checking the map on the aetherphone, Isaac navigates aisles of server racks, webs of cabling, and blockades of old junk piles. Through the dimly lit labyrinth of turbulent air currents, Isaac ends up against the opposite wall, near a corner area of the oldest computing equipment cabinets. Surveying the area, he compares the layout against the map. Ascertaining his location, he guides his pointing hand towards the target destination. He gazes up from the cheap aetherphone and grimaces at the sight of boxes upon boxes of old equipment, paperwork, and literature piled up over the space. Putting away the phone, he sighs deeply, shakes his head, and stretches his arms out with a resolute grumble. "It''s never easy..."


    ----


    In the busy buffet restaurant, Dr. Dawkins, Nash, and Harvos sit around a booth table, pausing a moment from feasting, and watch the graduate students leave in a wave towards the food lines. Tilting his head to the side, Nash glances down at his second plate stacked upon a prior dish and slowly turns his face towards Harvos and Dr. Dawkins. "Damn... I guess we''re really not paying them enough these days. I think a few of them are on their third plate already."


    Harvos shakes his head with a smirk towards Nash, chuckling. "You need to be careful. If you fall too far behind them, they might feel ready to challenge you for leadership."


    With a reflexive laugh, Nash rolls his pale blue eyes and twists his mouth with a long groan. "WELL, I don''t have to worry about THAT. They only know half the bullshit I have to deal with, and NONE of them want to deal with even that much. Man, I couldn''t give this damned job away."


    He snarls his upper lip, easing out a long sigh. "Especially with the recent drama..."


    Dr. Dawkins gradually nods, idly stirring the remnants of food on his plate with a fork, and narrows an inquisitive stare at Nash. "Indeed... So. They really are that deadlocked as to what to do?"


    Nodding with a frustrated frown, Nash grumbles, summoning up a summation. "They''re afraid to get too involved. They don''t want to draw attention and disturb what Aristespha''s group has been doing. They don''t want to report it to the many authorities for fear of multiple governments digging into Grand Library affairs, with legitimate reasons to do so. Something they''ve all wanted for YEARS."


    Harvos slowly shakes his head and settles back in his spot in the booth, crossing his muscular arms with hints of irritation. "In other words, until their hand is forced, they are NOT doing anything until they absolutely have to. Until then, they are trying to keep it all hidden. As per the usual unspoken policy."


    A saddened frown grows upon Dr. Dawkins, and he regretfully nods, fighting against an unnerving familiarity. "Yes. I believe I''m partly responsible for THAT policy. It does seem like they''ve taken an exception to the rules and made it the rule for all exceptions."


    Presenting a sympathetic smirk, Harvos shrugs his shoulders and eyes over at the heaping bounties of food upon graduate students'' plates. "Maybe. But, I tend to think it''s more of the fault of the current board not having any experience at handling something like this. They seem more prone to inaction than action. To be fully honest, it''s not the first serious issue they''ve stalled out on."


    An electronic chirp rings out from Nash''s shorts pocket, and he fumbles around, bringing his aetherphone into view. "The hell?"


    Dr. Dawkins perks his brow, shifting his attention towards Nash. "Something wrong?"


    Puzzling at the messages on the phone screen, Nash hums in thought and scrolls through the list alerts, contorting his confused face. "Yeah... But, it doesn''t seem like anything too high priority. Looks like the network links to a few old servers in the basement farms went down."


    Briefly springing his green eyes wide, Dr. Dawkins sneaks the cheap phone from his pants pocket out under the table, briefly diverting his gaze towards the screen, and navigates to an audio messenger app. Drawing in a breath, he taps his finger on the record button and inquiries curiously. "So, whatever would cause these servers to lose their network connections?"


    Nash''s eyes sift through the information streaming upon the small display, and he shrugs nonchalantly with a calm attitude. "Well... More than likely the network cables have backed out over the years from all the vibrations working on them. I''ve run into that a few times. Maybe someone tripped over a cable, and it unseated just enough? Don''t know who''d be down there. OR... It could be the old software on the thing just stalled out. That happens on those old configs."


    Putting his aetherphone on the table, he plucks up his fork and readies to finish up the rest of the platter before him. "Meh. It''s just a bunch of old archive data that''s got redundant duplicates elsewhere in that cluster group. If they don''t come back online after a few minutes, I''ll need to get back to check on them."


    He rolls his eyes and drags out a groan. "Especially before I get emails from some faculty members that, for some gods awful reason, have hardlinks to those specific nodes. Keep finding those STILL after all these years."


    Maintaining a cool, collected exterior, Dr. Dawkins secretly taps out a series of onscreen buttons and glances down, noticing the "Message Sent" prompt. "Well, let us hope it''s just a temporary glitch. It would be a damn shame to hurry our nice lunch."


    Cracking a smirk, Nash chuckles and wiggles his way across the booth seat edge. "Yeah, but let me get that third plate started just in case..."


    ----


    Sliding a heavy box over with a shove of his boot, Isaac stands in front of the cleared floor, slowly panting. In contrast to the ambient drone of ventilation fans from stacks of computing equipment around him, a high pitched chirp sounds out from Isaac''s pocket. Quickly retrieving the cheap aetherphone, he notices a new message indicator and navigates through the menus. He lifts an eyebrow, momentarily puzzling at the contents of the message. "The hell?"


    Tapping a play button, he puts the phone close to his ear. "An audio recording?"


    Isaac focuses upon the playback and grimaces, trying to divine the purpose. His gray eyes spring wide open. He spins around in panic, putting away his aetherphone, and searches the area around him. Locking his attention onto a few nearby tall racks of blinking equipment, Isaac hunts frantically for the cable connections. Tracking the winding routes of wiring on the floor, he compares the different colors of indicator lights between similar machines. He narrows down his hunt to a few rack mounted servers. Fumbling around, he pushes his hands inside the mass of plastic coated wiring, parts the chaotic waterfall of electronic cabling, and finds a few indicator lights completely dark above network jacks. Quickly, he grabs hold of each plug, presses it firmly in, and listens to a reassuring click each time. Seconds later, indicators blink back to life. Isaac stands back, carefully examining the nearby racks. This section of the symphony of optics soon flickers with the surrounding, blending back into the whole. Settling down, Isaac releases a long sigh of tentative relief. "Good gods... Hope that''ll fix it..."


    He returns his attention back to the cleared section of the tiled floor, stepping over, and kneels down for further investigation. "But... If not... Have to find-"


    The distant, muffled sound of a door opening peaks above the dull drone of the server room. Isaac''s gray eyes spring wide open in surprise. Quickly scanning the area, he hops over behind a low wall of stacked boxes and slinks low into the shadowy cubby. Listening attentively, Isaac aims his ears at the reflective walls and ceiling. Above the sound of footsteps, a masculine voice confidently speaks out with a hint of a swagger. "SEE. I told you this was the perfect place to go. No one has been here in AGES. No one is going to bother us."


    The noises of movement grow closer to Isaac, and a feminine voice giggles excitedly. "Yeah... You were right. OH, over there."


    The masculine voice adopts a curious tone. "The stack of boxes?"


    Isaac winces and slowly shakes his head, silently mouthing. "NO. Somewhere else..."


    With a sly tinge, the feminine tone laughs. "NO. That table over THERE."


    Quickly peeking out from behind the stealthy cover, Isaac surveys the area. A wave of relief flows over him, and he notices the table meters away from his position. Slipping back into hiding, he listens in on the conversation. The masculine tone chuckles and lowers his voice. "Well... We got the place to ourselves... Whatever shall we DO, now?"


    Sounds of shuffling upon the table rise into the soundscape. The feminine voice eagerly giggles with a seductive tone. "Oh... I don''t know. Maybe-"


    Isaac pauses a moment, searching for the conversation with a hand to his ear. Seconds later, the developing carnal chorus of excited movement, aroused breathing, and passionate noises mix with the muted squeaks of an old table. Isaac rolls his eyes in disgusted annoyance and drops his frustrated stare to the ground. Rubbing his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of nose, he slowly shakes his head and mutters near silently. "Of fucking course... Couldn''t wait for any other time..."


    In a lull of intimate rhythm, the masculine voice hopefully approaches a request. "Hey... Could you do that thing with your tail?"


    Isaac blinks blankly, curiosity knocking the irritation out of his expression. The feminine voice lets loose an aggressively eager giggle and growls happily. "OH. YES. But... ONLY if you let me guide you down by the horns."


    Underneath his scarf, Isaac''s jaw hangs open, and he puzzles in a bewildered stupor, the sounds of carnal gymnastics overtaking the ambient drone.


    ----


    At the booth in the buffet, Nash settles back into the bench seat, patting his stomach, and gazes down at another empty plate on the table. "Well... I don''t think I could fit another thing, even if I really tried."


    The aetherphone on the table in front of Nash chirps out a few notification tones. Slowly leaning forward against his full stomach, Nash picks up the phone, squinting at the text prompts scrolling on the screen. He releases a long sigh of relief and puts the phone back in his shorts pocket with an amused smirk. "Welp! Disaster averted, from the looks of it. Those systems are back online, and reporting no further issues."


    Glancing up to Nash from checking the cheap aetherphone on his lap, Dr. Dawkins quickly works the worried grimace off his face and calmly nods. "Well. That''s good to hear. Just a glitch, then?"


    Nash takes a long sip of his glass of iced tea, pausing in thought a moment, and casually grins with a humored eye roll. "Well... It''s OLD equipment. Eventually, I really need to get around to migrating the contents to our new data arrays."


    Wrestling a grimace on his face, he grumbles. "But... I''ll task my graduate students to check them later. Just to make sure. Really don''t want any more surprises at this point."


    He turns his head towards the nearby table, overfed graduate students lounging lazily in their chairs. "Speaking of which... I think they''re all more than done at this point."


    Harvos snorts at the lethargic gathering of students, shakes his head, and grins humored at Nash and Dr. Dawkins. "Well. We do need to head back. If only to make sure they don''t fall asleep here."


    With a bit of worry creeping out onto Dr. Dawkins face, he reads the latest message on his aetherphone, overhearing the comments between Nash and Harvos. Summoning a calm, interested facade, he hums contemplatively and addresses Nash and Harvos, secretly tapping the record button on his phone. "That is understandable. I doubt they will be doing much for a while. By the way, I was thinking..."


    He cracks a sly smirk and chuckles. "Could an old man pester you, Harvos, for a tour of the old department?"


    Harvos''s bright brown eyes search his mind, and he scratches his short brown hair. "Certainly. We actually have a few new exhibits that I believe you would want to take a look at."


    Dr. Dawkins grins with an eager tint, nodding appreciatively, and furrows his aged brow. "Excellent. I''ve been curious how the old department has been, and just wanted to see the direction it has gone."


    He glances over towards Nash, politely posing a request. "I do hope it wouldn''t be too inconvenient for you if I drove over there first, Nash?"


    Shrugging his shoulder with a neutral attitude, he swings his head over towards the graduates in the early stages of calorie comas. "Not a problem. It''s not like I''m going to get any work done for the next few hours with these kids."


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, he smirks towards Dr. Dawkins and Harvos. "Plus... It might be a good thing to do while we dig more into the latest drama."


    A delighted smile appears on Dr. Dawkins, and he sneakily presses the send button of the aetherphone, putting it up. "Sounds like a plan. Allow me to settle the tab, and we shall be off."


    ----


    Listening quietly with the phone pressed to his ear, Isaac nods understandingly at the audio playback and sneaks out a soft sigh of relief. His attention shifts over to the sounds of giggles and chuckling. A young masculine voice snorts. "Wow... Uh... That was, um, a bit intense."


    The young feminine voice snickers, stifling a few laughs. "Gods almighty, it went EVERYWHERE. I''ll have to remember THAT magic trick."


    With an awkward cadence, the masculine voice wanders over towards another topic. "Yeah... Oh... Crap... We probably need to get back before the boss gets back from his lunch."


    A bit of concern colors the feminine tone. "Um... Should we, like, try to clean THIS up?"


    Sounds of shuffling, movement, and table squeaks punctuate the masculine voice''s commentary. "Ah. Huh. We''ll come back later. Don''t think anyone is going to notice this any time soon."


    The activity moves away from Isaac. The young feminine voice barely holds back a giggle. "I don''t know. We might get really distracted, again."


    Distantly, the two snicker. The door opens and promptly closes. The faint sounds of fast footsteps up a flight of stairs echo from the other side. Isaac cautiously stands up, slowly inspecting the vicinity, and softly steps out from his hiding spot. Keeping alert, he walks towards an intersection of the different equipment aisles, studies the pathway leading to the exit door, and observes over the moments. A minute later, he relaxes his shoulders and growls out his annoyance, shaking his head. "By the gods! Let me get this ONE THING done..."


    Pivoting around, he halts mid step. Catching sight of the old, squeaky table, his eyes open wide. The expression on his sun touched tan face blends up fascination, puzzlement, and disgust, and he studies the scene before him. Dropping his analytical stare downwards to the floor, he traces the carnal leftovers up the table and squints absolutely bewildered at the wall. Glancing once upwards, he drops his attention back ahead and pauses. He snaps his stare up dumbfounded, blinking blankly. He hangs his jaw open under his scarf, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. Recollecting his sanity, he quickly walks away from the scene and kneels back down in front of the cleared section of floor, examining the tiling. He feels along the ground along suspicious grooves and taps upon the different sections, listening for the contrasts of sounds. Quickly, he finds an odd spot, swiftly gestures out a spell, and flows magical energy into the crevices. With a lift of his hand, a section of floor rises up, revealing a large, unused conduit junction box with a tight, sealed package filling the space inside.


    Grinning happily, Isaac removes the hefty parcel from the space. With care, he replaces the section of floor, scoops up the package under an arm, and stands up with renewed vigor. Thinking a moment, he slides over a few stacks of old equipment and books over the section of floor, camouflaging the hidden spot. With a content sigh, he begins to step away towards the door, reaches the aisle intersection, and stops. The outline of a sly smirk appears under his blue scarf, and he wills flows of magical energy towards two choice targets near the table. A used condom hovers through the air, glides down the aisle, and rests upon network cables going to previously loose plugs. Following close behind, an incriminating pair of panties hangs itself upon the top corner of a nearby server rack. Barely containing his cackle, Isaac takes off quickly out of the server area through the door.


    ----


    With a wave out his open driver''s window, Dr. Dawkins bids both Harvos and Nash goodbye, calling out to them. "Do not forget to keep me updated!"


    Harvos grants a confirming nod, and Nash gives Dr. Dawkins a thumbs up. The two walk through the double doors back into the tall, large brick building. Dr. Dawkins drives his sedan away, calmly cruising through the campus proper. Exiting onto the surrounding city streets, he keeps an ongoing watch of the area and eyes his rear view mirror, hints of paranoia slipping out onto his face. He slows to stop at a red light, checks the latest message on the cheap aetherphone, and nods to himself. The sedan navigates down the greenery lined the roads. Minutes of traffic and turns later, he rolls to a stop in a back alley behind an old strip mall and waits patiently.


    Moments later, from behind a row of dumpsters, Isaac appears without his face covered and swiftly moves around Dr. Dawkins''s car. With a swift pull of the handle, he slips around the passenger''s door, hopping into the front seat. He closes the door, pats the tightly sealed package on his lap, and pulls his seat belt on. "WELL. Despite the lewd comedy fate tried to make of it, the mission was a success."


    Dr. Dawkins puts the sedan in gear, turns the steering wheel, and shakes his head with a relieved smirk. "I must say, I can not shake the feeling that greater powers were conspiring against us in the most awkward fashion."


    Fighting down an ill-humored smirk, Isaac snorts and rolls his eyes with a disgusted tone. "You do NOT know the half of it."


    Twisting his mouth, Dr. Dawkins glances over with a lift of an eye brow. "I get the distinct impression that your messages did not quite impart the situation fully."


    Grumbling out the amusement at his expense, Isaac sighs and settles into the leather car seat. "Yes. I think you could say THAT. I must say, I''m not exactly familiar with the proper terms to describe what happened."


    He pauses a moment and stumbles out. "And... Honestly... I am a bit wary to search for them."

 Episode 69

    Peeking over Aristespha''s shoulder, Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers nearby. He samples the sections the text Aristespha reads from a pile on the dining table. Eyeing over at Aristespha''s worn gaze, he inspects the document currently in her hands. Aristespha tosses her long silvery blue hair back, groaning out a long sigh, and slowly shakes her head. A defeated frown slips out upon her face, and she drops the stack of papers upon the table top between other piles of research materials and a tablet. Bach idly rocks side to side in his seat, wrestling a mix of boredom and stale frustration, and strains to keep his eyes upon the heavily notated printout. Losing the battle with his diminishing attention span, he releases the paperwork upon the dining table and rakes both hands through his brown, longer hair. Sinking back into the dining chair, he stretches a grimace on his light tan face. "Damn. I''ve run through all this stuff a few times... And, I can''t figure out anything new."


    Nodding slowly, Aristespha brushes her hair back, guiding a few stray strands over her very long, pointed ears. "Same. Here."


    She blinks her violet eyes, stretching her arms out in front of her, and rests her hands on the table top. "Okay. Reviewing all this... Noxian-"


    Pausing a moment, she twists the corner of her mouth. "Well, Isaac, seems to be interested in these sites and ruins near coordinates detected by that research outpost. I believe we can now safely assume that these sites have had some kind of involvement with elder energy, since we keep finding energy collectors of some variety."


    She lifts her hands up and rubs her ivory skin along the blue gray hints at the temples of her head, grimacing with a long, worn sigh. "He has definitely been collecting power where he can. But, I cannot help to think there is something else he is looking for."


    Sebastian hums ethereally in thought, floats down into an empty seat at the table, and crosses his arms, delving into the discussion. "Alright. Gathering power makes sense. Going to places that have elder energy makes sense, still. We''re still not certain what his end goal is..."


    Lifting a quizzical brow towards Bach, Sebastian cocks his head to the side, posing a question. "But... The fact he seems to be changing things up because of what he learned about your elder energy connection... That''s what I''m trying to figure out."


    Bach blinks blankly, searching his mind, and squirms slightly in his seat. "I don''t know. I mean, if he could figure out how I''m getting elder energy..."


    Snarling his upper lip, he uncomfortably groans out. "And gods forbid, reproduce it..."


    He frowns with his conclusion. "It''d certainly solve his problem with acquiring power."


    Sebastian nods in agreement, twisting his mouth, and sorts through his thoughts, grumbling. "Yeah... THEN, he''d just build up his power far from anyone else, and then do whatever he wants when he feels the time is right."


    Mulling over the possibilities, he focuses his gaze at Bach and inquires hopefully. "Hey, bro, you sure he didn''t mention anything else to you when you ran into each other? Insinuated anything? Even an odd reference?"


    An uncomfortable wave travels through Bach''s body, and a frown slowly weighs down his face. Furrowing his brow, he plays back recent memories in his mind with a squint. "I- I''ve gone through that whole thing in my head. Multiple times. Nothing blatant stands out. Though..."


    Grimacing, he narrows his blue eyes inward and uncertainly comments. "Isaac seemed really happy I was using elder energy in the ways I have. And, I mean, he seemed really honest with offering to help me. It''s strange. It really felt different talking to him then, than Noxian before."


    Aristespha twists her mouth and sighs. "I really do hate to say it, but it might have been truly genuine. Isaac was an academic, a knowledge seeker, and a very supportive member of the Grand Library during his tenure. Unfortunately... Him and that particular group were not much for respecting limitations."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form phases slightly through the chair and table, drifting into a deep line of thought. A minute later, he blinks his translucent blue eyes, floats back in sync with the physical objects around him, and cocks his head to side, staring uncomfortably. "Actually training others to use elder energy? Possibly recruiting people to whatever his cause is?"


    Cringing, Bach sighs and rests his forehead on his palm, searching in mind. "Man. I don''t know. That could make sense..."


    He glances over to Sebastian, pondering out loud. "Instead of trying to do whatever he plans by himself, train others to assist him? Gods, that''s fucking terrifying... The LAST thing this world needs is more elder energy users. The worst magical disasters I''ve ever heard of happened because of elder energy."


    Squirming briefly into an uneasy roll of his shoulders, Sebastian glances over to Aristespha and awkwardly approaches the topic. "If I remember right, dear, some weird zones were the result of such disasters?"


    Aristespha sighs deeply and nods solemnly. "Yes, Sebastian... That is what the current consensus of evidence points to. Well. The evidence that existed afterwards. Numerous things that plague us today stem from elder energy misuse."


    Pushing her mood towards levity, she slides back her chair away from the dining table and stands up into a long, slow stretch. "Historians at the Grand Library joke that the fact the planet was NOT annihilated before the Abstract Prism proves the gods exist, and they are strangely merciful. Anyway..."


    She surveys the kitchen prep area, through the bar opening. "Does anyone want anything? I''m brewing some coffee."


    Bach glances to Aristespha and briefly lifts his hand up. "Some tea, please. Nothing special."


    Pivoting around towards the living section of the large room, Aristespha tilts her head to the side, watching Dretphi pull out a cloth measuring tape along Cideeda''s outstretched arm. "You two want anything?"


    Cideeda blinks to attention, searches her mind with her emerald eyes, and perks up her furry ears. "I''ll join in on the coffee."


    Dretphi glances over her shoulder and nods towards Aristespha. "Coffee will be fine."


    Snorting ethereally, Sebastian shakes his head amused. "Gods. Almost noon on a Wednesday, and we''re already hitting the coffee again."


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes with a dismissively humored toss of her hair and presents a defiant smirk. "Oh, please. This isn''t my worst abuse of caffeine."


    She groans on her way into the kitchen area, sneering her upper lip. She prepares the larger coffee machine, mumbling. "And, fuck me, if I''m going to dig through all this material again for some off the wall reasoning we haven''t found yet..."


    Pulling in a calming breath, she exhales. "I am going to need SOMETHING to keep my mind from wandering to ANYTHING else."


    Cideeda''s furry ear flicks back from listening to Aristespha, and she nods to herself with a commiserating smirk. Dretphi kneels down next to Cideeda and wraps the fabric measuring tape snugly around Cideeda''s hips, squinting at the end overlapping the marks on the strip. Briefly opening her eyes wide, a relevant concern enters Cideeda''s mind, and she taps Dretphi on the shoulder. "OH. You should probably get a measurement with my tail wrapped up. I always buy body suits with a little extra room because of that."


    Dretphi releases the tape measure from around Cideeda and writes down another number on a pad of paper. "That would be wise. I have options to contend with that."


    Cideeda''s long, fluffy tail curls between her legs, flicks upward in the front of her shorts, and loosely coils around her waist. With well practiced methodology, Cideeda combs down the medium length fur with her clawed fingers, gently tightens the slack in the partial wrap, and guides her tail the rest of the way around and back between her legs. Using a bit of effort, she works the tufting at the end down and secures the wrap between her thighs. She lifts her hands up away from the area and nods towards Dretphi. "Okay. NOW take a measurement. The tail always adds a few centimeters around the waist and hips."


    The sliding glass door opens up, and Sotalia walks in with a towel around her shoulders. Closing the door behind her, she takes a few steps and dries the damp ends of her fiery orange, wavy hair. She stops midway, blinking curiously at Cideeda and Dretphi, and lets the towel drape over to either side of her bikini top. Observing Cideeda standing around with her tail coiled around in a rough imitation of her bikini bottom, Sotalia smiles intrigued, resting her hands on her hips, and chuckles lightly. "Gods. Sometimes, I just can''t help but get a little bit jealous of those with tails."


    Cideeda gazes over to Sotalia, crossing her arms, and shrugs with a nonchalant tone. "It has its benefits."


    She presses down an embarrassed smile. "Honestly, I''m still surprised I made it out of childhood with it intact."


    Rolling her emerald eyes at herself, she smirks with a lighthearted snort and slowly shakes her head at the memories. "I mean, by all odds, between my dad''s junkyard and my mom''s metal shop, it should have been shortened from all the trouble I got into."


    Sebastian glances over to his brother, smirking. "Yeah. I doubt we''d have anything left by now, if we had tails."


    Bach smiles tightly and blinks with a rocking nod, briefly gritting his teeth. "Yeah..."


    He ponders a moment and gazes back over to Sebastian with a curious tone. "So... Between us... Who would have lost part of their tail first?"


    Lowering his head in reflection, Sebastian''s eyes sort through a long series of memories, returning to the conversation with a twist of his mouth. "Probably me. OH. Actually... Definitely ME."


    He furrows his brow towards Bach. "But, I don''t think you''d be too far behind, bro."


    Mulling over the answer, Bach quickly nods back in agreement. "Oh yeah. That wouldn''t surprise me at all."


    Dretphi finishes taking the measurements. Cideeda''s tail unravels free from around her shorts, flips out behind her, and wags in purposeful stretches. Stepping into position for the next set of measurements from Dretphi, she flashes a prideful grin towards Sotalia. "One of the benefits to being the only child was getting all the attention and care from mom and dad..."


    She averts her emerald eyes briefly. "If only to save me from myself."


    A bit of embarrassment sneaks out onto Cideeda''s face, and she smiles awkwardly. "Thinking about it NOW, Fate was kind to have me be the special, unexpected little surprise to my mom and dad when they were younger."


    She grits her sharp teeth momentarily and grimaces in equal parts humor and seriousness. "Because, I seriously doubt they''d have the energy these days to keep up with me back then. I think they started teaching me how to properly use all the equipment and told me all the safety rules, just so they could get a few moments free from watching me."


    Snickering, Sotalia steps towards the kitchen area, playfully motioning to snatch hold of Cideeda''s tail, and smiles slyly. "You''d think it wouldn''t be too hard with a handle this long on you."


    With a proud grin, Cideeda laughs, resting her hands on her hips, and wags her tail defiantly. "OH. Believe me. It was used for that purpose A LOT. First thing a fvalian parent learns about their child is how tough their tails are to you grabbing them."


    The watery gurgle of the coffee machine rises up from the background, and the familiar steamy hiss piques everyone''s attention. Aristespha waits patiently, the last few drops of brew drizzling down into the carafe, and sets out containers and condiments on the counter top. Carefully removing the glass pot from the built-in hotplate, she slowly pours the dark drink into a mug,and stirs the teabag around in a cup off to the side. Sotalia sniffs the air with interest. Stopping, she notices the academic chaos upon the dining table top. "So... Any progress on the Noxian front?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers up from his seat, drifts over ahead, and surveys the collection of research materials. "Well. We''ve definitely been going for the same places that Noxian is interested in. But, maybe that''s the problem."


    Sotalia lifts her eyebrow incredulously, sways her pose, and contorts her light tan, dark gray bordered face. "Okay... I thought beating him to the punch was the current plan? Clear out the elder energy before he gets it? Maybe catch him off guard?"


    Walking on by Sotalia from the kitchen area with mugs in hands, Aristespha drops off the cup of tea in front of Bach. She leaves a mug of coffee in front of her seat and glances over to Sotalia. "Yes. But, we might need to try a different strategy. There are a few mundane and well-explored sites indicated by the coordinates on the printout."


    Settling in her chair, Aristespha wraps her hands around the mug, pondering the situation for a moment. "I have done the initial searches in the Grand Library database and found exploration reports for some of the sites. I haven''t delved too deeply, but some have unexplored, sealed areas."


    Dretphi and Cideeda slip on by towards the fresh coffee, and Sotalia perks up at Aristespha''s explanation. She steps up behind a chair next to Bach''s and leans over slowly for a better view at the material all over the table top, cracking an unconvinced smirk. "Okay. Interesting... Sounds like we''d be pushing the limit for acceptable exploration."


    With an eager smirk, Sebastian shrugs. "Well, I don''t think we should go around cracking open every sealed door. BUT, since I don''t have to worry about typical barriers, I could easily find out if there''s anything worth the risks."


    Cideeda and Dretphi return around the table with coffee mugs in hand. Bach shifts his attention away from a nearby distraction, the gathering around the table focusing on the topic. Cideeda''s interest piques, and she slowly sips from her cup with intrigue. "That would help cut through the list..."


    Furrowing her light brown brow, she narrows her inquisitive gaze at Sebastian. "First thing. How are we getting official reasons to be at these places? There''s only so much protocol you can dodge before you get the wrong type of attention."


    With an understanding sigh, Sebastian nods his head and ethereally grumbles. "Yeah... The whole pursuing and tracking down Noxian excuse probably won''t get as far as it did, since he''s been mostly out of the news lately."


    A sly smirk graces Aristespha, and she sits up straighter in her seat. "WELL, I am still a Master Sage of the Grand Library. So, I doubt academic passes with legitimate enough sounding reasons would be too out of the ordinary."


    Flicking her furry ears with her thoughts, Cideeda grins toothily and scratches her chin with a claw tip. "OH. THAT would probably work. Make it sound boring enough so the local authorities don''t get nosy. Throw in some long winded justification report so long they won''t bother to read it. No one will check it out at that point."


    Standing up back straight, Sotalia narrows her golden eyes, sways her stance with her internal deliberation, and grumbles slightly in an unenthusiastic tone. "I don''t know. This feels like going down the wrong fucking path. Gods damn it. We NEED to get ahead of him."


    Bach manages his gaze upwards from his seat toward Sotalia, presenting a reassuring smile, and motions towards the coordinate list. "Well, maybe THIS is the way to get one over on him. I mean, he can easily go to the same ruins out in the middle of fucking nowhere that we can. BUT..."


    Lifting an eyebrow, he cracks a sly grin. "Just how easy is it for him to go to regularly patrolled places? It''s not like he can easily camp out around these places anymore, since the police have been informed what to look out for. And, he wants to keep a low profile. While I don''t think it''ll stop him from investigating these places, they''re NOT his first picks."


    Dretphi finishes a long sip of her coffee and idly combs her fingers through her platinum blonde braids, following an idea in her mind. Moments later, she furrows her brow and calmly states. "If we have to clean a location of elder energy, we should monitor that location."


    The suggestion floats above the gathering, slowly sinking into the minds of the team. Cideeda chuckles to herself, flicking her furry ears and wagging her tail. "Yeah! I bet he''ll investigate at least one of these places. And, I don''t think he''ll have the time to be too cautious. So, if we could manage to hide some intrusion detectors near something he''d be interested in, we might be able to detect him when he''s making his move."


    A spark of excitement slips out into Sotalia expression, and she shifts her weight, brushing back her fiery orange hair over a swept-back, black horn. "OKAY..."


    Pointing at Cideeda, she smiles eagerly. "Now, THAT I can get behind."


    Her mood sours slightly, sarcasm tinging her voice, and she rolls her golden eyes with a grimace. "And... I actually wouldn''t mind going to places that don''t have completely unknown horrors awaiting us... For once."


    Recovering her confidence into a bold grin, she glances over to Cideeda and snickers to a suggestion. "Are spy cameras an option? I''d LOVE to capture the look on his fucking face when we surprise him."


    Grinning toothily, Cideeda laughs with a mischievous tint and poses with her hands at her hips. "As if I was going with anything else."


    ----


    Upon a brightly lit, small stage, Veevi prances to the bass beat, tossing her long, bright pink hair back, and flashes an attention soaking grin to the crowd in the large karaoke bar. Rhythmically wagging her long, short-haired tail, she plucks the microphone out of the stand, winking to the eager crowd, and sings out to the audience one of her songs. Dozens of younger evuukians cheer out from the many surrounding tables, and a few dance upon the small dance floor in front of the stage. Wandering around the venue, Chad patrols the greater floor and stops at each table, meeting and greeting groups of evuukian house members. With his trademark bright white smile, he poses in pictures for excited fans and signs his elaborate signature upon promotional materials, items, and the bodies of a few inebriated, wilder evuukians.


    Tassilda tosses her raven hair back, presenting a sly smirk with an evocative lift of an eye brow towards a fan calling out her name. Granting a parting wave to the drunken evuukian, she struts through the maze of tables. Through the slalom, her alluring facade fades the further along she gets. She approaches a corner section of the establishment and stops next to Trakenthin, curiously glancing over at the cover of the book he''s reading. "Gods. I''m very surprised you''re able to read during all of this chaos."


    Straightening his standing posture, Trakenthin turns his head slightly and gazes down at Tassilda, shrugging his shoulders stoically. "You learn when you have no choice."


    Tassilda rests her hands on her hips and leans over, peering around Trakenthin down the narrow passage towards the booths next to the bar. "So... Is Deedri STILL back there?"


    Twisting his head the other way, Trakenthin searches down the aisle next to the booths along the wall and notices a familiar tail lazily wagging out from the further corner booth. "Yes. The server has gone there multiple times. With large drinks to the table. Empty ones coming back."


    Quirking an eyebrow in surprise, Tassilda nods with a twist at the corner of her mouth and pats Trakenthin on the shoulder. "Well, thank you for keeping an eye on these spoiled brats."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Glancing briefly over her shoulder, she smirks with a begrudging hint. "At least Veevi is good at keeping them all distracted."


    Trakenthin contorts his face into a mix of agreement and vague contempt. Releasing a long sigh, he nods and briefly scans over the flurry of chaos within the karaoke bar. His hazel eyes glide over the wild scene of bright, colorful stage lights casting out into dimly lit masses, and he grumbles in Grath to himself and angles his head back down upon the book in his hands. Tassilda walks down the corridor towards the corner end booth and slides into the leather bench seat opposite of Deedri. "Still hiding out here?"


    Springing back to awareness from a distant thought, Deedri notices Tassilda at the table with a few flutters of her auburn eyes and awkwardly smiles at her. "Um... Yes? I just..."


    She releases a long sigh, props up the side of her face upon the palm of her hand, and slowly shakes her head. "I''m sorry... I KNOW I should be going around to all the tables... Talking to fans... Signing random shit... But..."


    Her stare wanders off into the immaterial distance, and she winces her weary eyes closed. "I just need a BREAK."


    Smiling comfortingly at Deedri, Tassilda waves off the troubled atmosphere. "Oh. It''s fine. The nobility are thoroughly distracted right now. I doubt they''d really pay that much attention to anything else right now."


    She rolls her light blue on black eyes, twists a grimace upon her gray, patterned face, and sneers her upper lip. "Truthfully, I hate to admit it... But, Veevi can actually sing pretty well. And, she is certainly putting on the best karaoke show I''ve ever seen."


    Nodding her head of multi-colored tied back hair, Deedri releases a long sigh and relaxes back against the booth seat, slouching down into leather cushioning. "Yeah... I''ll give her THAT."


    Tassilda surveys the table tap and studies the pile of leftover beverage decorations. Pondering quietly to herself, her eyes tally up evidence, and she furrows her suspicious brow. "So... How many have you had, so far?"


    Averting her guilty gaze to either side, Deedri presents an innocent facade, shrugging her shoulders with a nonchalant smile. "Uh, um, not that many."


    A sharp, high pitched hiccup reveals the truth, and Tassilda focuses her examining gaze upon Deedri''s wavering front. With an amused smirk, Tassilda chuckles to herself and dismissively rolls her light blue on black eyes. "Oh. Don''t worry. Your secret is safe with me."


    Wrestling down a grimace, she sighs. "And, I''m certainly not one to judge these days."


    Deedri rakes her clawed fingers through her multi-colored hair and exhales out her relief. "Thank you. After having to babysit these noble jackasses these last few days, I need a few moments to unwind. Gods. Some of them are THE WORST."


    Tassilda grumbles sympathetically, gritting her teeth, and resettles herself on the booth seat. "Tell me about it. They certainly are used to thinking they are better than everyone else. I can smell that attitude from experience."


    Glances around the vicinity, Tassilda leans slightly over the table and directs a whisper towards Deedri''s awaiting, furry, tufted ear. "And, you can definitely tell some are hunting for an opportunity to defy that interracial relations taboo they all act like they have."


    Deedri groans visibly irritated, narrowing her auburn eyes, and contorts the frustration out on her fair face, clenching her fist. "OH. MY. GODS... I swear! The next one that tries to work the conversation into asking what I can do with my tail or if I use my claws..."


    Bearing her sharp, pronounced canines, Deedri curls her clawed fingers with a flicker of auburn light from her eyes. "Will get a full strength magical bowel evacuation."


    In a short wave of shock, Tassilda blinks blankly, staring at Deedri. Moments later, Deedri recollects herself with a punctuating short, high-pitched hiccup. Failing to contain her smile, Tassilda covers her mouth with a hand and giggles, keeping it as politely as possible. "Oh, I know the feeling. Such hypocrites, too. Especially since they''re the ones that keep that whole taboo alive publicly."


    Leaning out into the aisle, she scouts towards the show and watches Veevi command a few of the evuukians upon stage, contestants participating in the impromptu singing contest. Gauging the future entertainment, Tassilda settles back into her seat, glancing over to Deedri, and motions towards the bar exit. "Hey. You want to head on out and walk around a bit? I think Veevi and Chad have got this slice of chaos contained, for now."


    Deedri springs her eyes wide open for a moment, bites her lower lip in embarrassment, and sheepishly mumbles. "Uh... I want to... But, I don''t think I should."


    Noticing the confusion up Tassilda, Deedri weaves her fingers together upon the tabletop, averting her gaze briefly, and sighs. "I don''t think I''m sober enough yet to risk a long walk."


    Tassilda squelches a laugh and smiles amused at Deedri, searching around for a server. "OH. That''s okay."


    Lifting a humored eyebrow, she smirks with a giggle. "I''m impressed, actually. In the meantime, let''s see about getting some water for you."


    Relaxing her guard, Deedri sighs appreciatively and furrows her brow. "Um, have you seen Modoran lately? I thought he''d eventually show up here like the rest of us. But, I haven''t seen any sign of him."


    Tassilda pauses in thought and shakes her head, gazing over towards Deedri curiously. "I actually haven''t seen much of him today, since that lunch and trivia event."


    Deedri narrows her stare off to the side, twisting her mouth, and colors her tone with an angry tint. "What the hell has made him so scarce these last few days? Gods dammit. I know he usually sticks to the shadows. But, THIS? This is fucking ridiculous."


    With a growling hint in her voice, she curls her upper lip and reveals a sharp canine. Digging a claw tip into the finish of the wooden table, she snorts out her irritation. "He''s hiding SOMETHING... from me. And, he won''t say what!"


    Tassilda perks her eyebrow at the display, puzzling at the odd change of attitude. Quickly analyzing the behavior, she gradually adopts a sly grin, her intrigue growing upon the perceived evidence. "Well. I''m sure he has his reasons. I don''t think it''s worth getting too upset over... Yet."


    Drifting off into her own thoughts, Deedri''s frustration fades. She droops her furry ears down closer to her shoulders and slows the wags of her tail. "Hmm... You''re right."


    She props her arm on the table by the elbow and rests her head lazily on her hand. Growing a goofy smile, she mumbles near incoherently. "...can''t stay mad... ...especially... ...that good... ...shirtless..."


    Tilting her head to the side in honest confusion, Tassilda aims her pointed ear towards Deedri. "Huh? What did you say?"


    A flush of red colors Deedri fair tone cheeks. Protective measures in her conscious mind force a surge of corrective sobriety into her thought processes. "UM. Nothing! I think I NEED some water."


    Nodding in agreement, Tassilda spots a server and waves them over. "Yes... THAT would be for the best."


    She turns back toward Deedri and nudges the conversation. "Speaking of water, we really need to find time to try out that private pool we have."


    Deedri grits her teeth briefly and sighs out a reluctant tone, squirming uncomfortably. "Yeah... Unfortunately, I don''t really have a swim suit."


    Holding a finger up, she smirks. "But! I''ll hang out around the pool."


    A delighted grin appears on Tassilda, and she winks. "Well! Lucky for you, they have a wonderful little shop on site that we can visit. I''m certain we can find something for you."


    Blanking her expression, Deedri wrestles her self-conscious discomfort and stumbles around the subject. "Uh- um- You sure? I mean... I doubt they''d have anything that... flattering of my figure..."


    Tassilda narrows her intrigued gaze upon Deedri, shining a sly smile, and giggles eagerly. "OH. You would be surprised. Let me be your guide."


    ----


    Between brighter, neutral tone, textured walls, a calm quiet flows through the warmly lit hall of the hotel building. Leaning out cautiously, Modoran peeks around the corner into the main run from a branch corridor, searching around with his dark blue eyes, and pauses a moment, listening with his long, pointed ears. With nothing rising above the dull ambient background noise, he softly steps out into the hallway and carefully surveys the long stretch of hall. Assessing the situation, Modoran gradually relaxes his posture, breathes a muted sigh, and casually walks down the passage. He reaches the midway point of the corridor between intersections and halts abruptly. Darting his eyes around the exit points, he mutters a short evuukian curse under his breath, gritting his teeth briefly.


    Six evuukians similar in age to Modoran boldly step out, a trio each covering the two ends of this section of hallway. With a mean, sneering smirk, the best dressed one calls out in a dramatic, patronizing tone. "Modoran..."


    Fighting the mix of emotions vying for space on his dusky bluish gray face, Modoran manages a nonchalant smile, quelling the nervous hints sneaking out into his body language. He directs his recognition upon the lead evuukian with a respectful bow and addresses the man with a proper evuukian greeting. The leader of the group narrows a disgusted glare right at Modoran, crossing his arms defiantly, and growls out his distaste. "Stop trying to speak to me using OUR tongue. You damn well know YOU aren''t worthy enough to use it to address me, after what you''ve done to our house."


    A bit unease bends the friendly grin upon Modoran, and he lifts his open hands up in an apologetic manner. "Okay. My apologies, Hektoran. It has been awhile since I''ve even gotten near proper nobility. So, I have obviously forgotten my manners."


    Hektoran concentrates his yellow eyes at Modoran and steps forward, leading the other male and female evuukians at his sides. The other three on the opposite end of the hall section close in. Hektoran curls up a damning sneer and tips his head up. "Yes. Yes you have. BUT, I have not forgotten the embarrassment you brought upon my house for your actions."


    Uncomfortably chuckling, Modoran glances around at the diminishing space between the two groups of three, trying to adopt a calming, peaceful attitude. "Hey... Listen. That was a few years back. And, I mean..."


    With a mix of stale frustration and ill-humor, he sighs. "I got caught. I was very officially removed from my house, and I have kept away from it all. Also, your house got popular from it. THAT is always good."


    Hektoran grits his teeth with a curl of his upper lip and slowly stretches out his neck towards both shoulders, cracking his knuckles. "Yes... BUT. WE were still denied proper payback. Which I think we shall exact, NOW."


    Glancing nervously between the two closing parties, Modoran holds his hands up in the air and dons a nervous, pleading grin, calmly addressing the incoming hostility with an easy-going, relaxed voice. "Hey... This is supposed to be a vacation for you all. Take it easy. Relax next to the pool. Veevi Valiant is doing a show at the karaoke club, right now."


    Lowing his hands to his sides, he deftly sneaks in magical gestures and whispers out incantations under his breath. Pausing in the midst of the process, he gazes over to Hektoran and shrugs his shoulders. "I may have been out of the loop. But, I have heard that your sister is a big fan of hers. You two can still catch the show if you head out now."


    With an evil laugh, Hektoran beams a confident grin on his pale, dark blue hinted face and motions his head towards the female evuukian leading the opposite group. "OH. We plan on doing so. AFTER... We settle some debts with YOU. Do NOT try your disappearing act, Mishavalla has been practicing her magic. Especially to counter your tricks."


    Pausing in thought, Modoran blinks in surprise and gazes over to the young evuukian woman in the other group. He squints his dark blue eyes at her lithe frame, pale dark blue hinted skin, and piercing yellow eyes. Mishavalla precisely weaves together a preparation of magical flow through gestured incantations. A moment later, recognition dawns upon Modoran, and he nods in Mishavalla''s direction. "Huh. You''ve certainly grown up since I last saw you. Taking after your mother with magic I see."


    With a sinister and appreciative smirk, Mishavalla steps forward in sync with her brother Hektoran. The two groups of three systematically shrink the space around Modoran, searching for an escape route. He shrugs his shoulders with hands out to his sides and puts on his best charming grin, levity lifting his tone. "Oh, come on! I am NOT worth THIS much effort. I mean... I appreciate the sentiment. Hey, let me buy you all a few rounds. We''ll take some pictures you all can post on your favorite aethernet site..."


    Modoran''s voice trails off. He studies the blatant lack of any reaction, swiftly concluding the six surrounding evuukians no longer seem receptive to persuasion. His body tenses, his posture shifts defensively, and he nervously grits his teeth.


    Down the hallway from an intersection, a booming, commanding voice echoes powerfully out from a tall, imposing evuukian man. "HEKTORAN! MISHAVALLA!"


    With solid footsteps, the older evuukian in proper attire walks down the corridor towards the gathering, leveling soul piercing stares upon the six younger evuukians. Focusing a drilling, brilliant orange eyed glare right through Hektoran, he exudes an intimidating, stoic presence. The older evuukian man parts through the pair of lackeys behind Hektoran and stops mere centimeters away. Waiting expectantly, he gradually lowers his glower. With Mishavalla and the accompanying evuukians watching in terror, Hektoran stiffly pivots against his reflexive trembling and fumbles a greeting toward the imposing, older evuukian. "Uh... Hello, great uncle Kallentesson..."


    Kallentesson widens his cutting glower and leans closer in demanding silence. Hektoran''s horror spikes through his brief stupor, and he awkwardly presents a colorful, elaborate proper greeting to Kallentesson. Straightening his posture with the satisfactory address, Kallentesson launches into a condemning verbal fury and systematically berates Hektoran, Mishavalla, and their associates in litany of furious evuukian. Heads bowing and long ears slightly drooping, the group weathers the savage scolding without any contest. Modoran gradually creeps back from the center of the hallway and slinks over against the wall, hunting for an exit. With a final angered, snorting exhale, Kallentesson snaps his fingers towards a point down to the nearest exit and commands the group. Taking the first opportunity, the six evuukians flee quickly, evacuating out of the area.


    A wave of relief slightly relaxes Modoran, waning against Kallentesson''s attention upon him. Kallentesson walks over to Modoran, bows slightly, and calmly speaks. "I would like to apologize for their behavior, Modoran."


    Modoran appreciatively smiles, relaxing his tensed posture further. "It is okay. To be fair, House Head Kallentesson, I did expect some kind of run in. Just thought I was being a bit more careful."


    Kallentesson smirks and sighs out his frustrations, his commanding presence fading. "Well. It has been a number of years since you last dealt with them. And, they have gotten significantly more crafty and bold."


    Agreeing with a simple nod, Modoran sheepishly addresses the old evuukian. "Either way, sir. I want to apologize for disturbing your evening."


    Kallentesson furrows his brow, slowly shaking his head, and frowns slightly. "No need on your part. You did nothing to provoke THIS. In fact..."


    Lifting an eyebrow, a smirk grows on his fair, tan hinted face. "I have been meaning to apologize to you."


    Modoran halts his thoughts and blankly gazes at Kallentesson, tilting his head of grayish white hair curiously to the side. Kallentesson draws in a long breath, sighs deeply, and nods respectfully to Modoran. "Truth be told, I''ve been doing some much overdue reflecting after recent revelations. And... I want to apologize for how you were treated. If I had the wisdom I do now, I would have talked down my brother into pursuing a more reasonable punishment for you."


    In stunned astonishment, Modoran stumbles to a response and awkwardly scratches the back of his head, settles into a thankful tone. "I- Uh- Wow... Thank you. It does mean a lot. But, I don''t blame you for anything. By house laws, you were correct to allow your brother to seek justice for the slight upon him."


    Kallentesson rolls his bright orange eyes, shaking his head of gray speckled golden brown hair, and twists his mouth dismissively. "True. But, my brother is a vindictive prick at times, and no one should suffer it. The judgment was unfair. I should have at least appealed for something more fitting."


    Smirking amused, Modoran shrugs his shoulders and snorts with a chuckle. "Gods. I think THAT would have caused far more drama and trouble for everyone."


    With a hearty laugh, Kallentesson nods in agreement and releases another long sigh into a smile. Seconds of silence later, Modoran glances over to the exit and thumbs over to it. "Well... I don''t want to keep you all night, House Head Kallentesson. So, I will leave you be."


    Raising his hand for Modoran''s attention, Kallentesson quickly addresses Modoran in evuukian and pauses in thought. He cracks a short grin and chuckles to himself. "Could I ask a favor of you?"


    Modoran searches his mind for a moment and nods tentatively, lifts a curious eyebrow. "Um. Sure? Depends on what it is. If I can even grant it."


    With a bit of embarrassment, Kallentesson smiles, relaying his request. "Could I get a picture with you? I am going to see my grandson this week, and I would like to impress him. He is always excited to see you on the show..."


    Furrowing his brow, he tightens his lip and grumbles playfully. "Well... The little he sees when sneaks out of bed and before his parents catch him."


    Modoran thinks a moment, standing up straighter with his thoughts, and nods happily. "Sure. AND, I will get you a group signed promo photo, too. I''m sure your daughter and her husband will like that."


    ----


    Carefully reading the last few lines of a page of handwritten notes, Dr. Dawkins pauses, furrowing his aged brow. He gradually lifts his gaze up, settles back into his leather recliner, and locates his glass of whiskey upon the small table nearby. Resting the packet of papers upon his lap, he glances over to Issac and shakes his head, blinking out of a state of mind. "Has the weight of what you are reading been as heavy as mine?"


    Isaac closes his eyes hard into a wince, stretches his neck to either shoulder, and shudders back to the conversation. "Yes... I think so. While I''m not seeing anything definite and concrete..."


    Springing his eyes wide open briefly, he sighs out with a distant stare. "The implications are all there."


    He glances over towards Dr. Dawkins, twisting his mouth into a grimace, and lowers another collection of heavily annotated documents down. "Okay. Before I say anything, what do YOU think that Dr. Malkav BELIEVES he''s found?"


    Dr. Dawkins ponders, searching his mind between flicks of his green eyes, and draws in a long, collected breath. "The location of where one of the lead architects behind the Abstract Prism retreated to."


    Isaac nods slowly, wanders a glance over his packet of notes, and flips through a few pages. "Yes... Most importantly, it seems like it was one particularly meticulous mage that somehow absconded with a great deal of the original design documents."


    Grasping hold of his drink, Dr. Dawkins sips upon the brown liquor and slowly shakes his head in astonishment, sighing out his amazement. "While I highly doubt those documents have survived after all these years... Assuming they weren''t destroyed purposefully..."


    He furrows his brow and bows his head slightly. "Just the fact that Dr. Malkav located a copy of the table of contents and part of the index to possibly THE master plan for the Prism is-"


    Turning towards Isaac, Dr. Dawkins cocks his head. "I do not know where to even begin."


    Rubbing the temples of his head, Isaac closes his eyes briefly, collecting himself, and searches through the text in his hands. "The section headings alone are fascinating enough! By the gods almighty, there are references to aspects that I don''t ever remember hearing about during any of my studies."


    He leans over towards Dr. Dawkins, presents the packet of papers, and points to highlighted sections. "There are references to the actual construction of the Prism! Where it is located, and the definition of what the WHERE is actually? How it streams out magical flow and the definitions of what the Prism will recognize? Foundational Construct templates?"


    He drags a hand through his wilder white hair and exhales in astonishment. "These are things that dedicated researchers have spent their entire careers trying to grossly speculate about."


    Sorting through the stack of notes on his lap, Dr. Dawkins pulls out a page and hands it over to Isaac. "If you think THAT is fascinating, read this summary Malkav wrote from his exploration of the references he found in the index."


    Isaac grasps hold of the page, settles back into his seat, and quickly reads through the information. Dr. Dawkins waits patiently and calmly drinks his whiskey, observing Isaac. The looming quiet peaks, and Isaac stares absolutely dumbfounded and bewildered. Mentally wrestling with the conclusion written upon the document, he slowly turns his head towards Dr. Dawkins and states plainly. "Possible self-optimization and self-adaptation systems in the design..."


    Dr. Dawkins gradually nods, releasing a long exhale, and rests his head upon the back of the recliner. "Yes. Something that''s been theorized to exist... This practically CONFIRMS."


    Isaac rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose, easing back into his recliner, and calms himself back down. The two dwell in a long silence, and both internally deliberate the ramifications. Minutes later, Dr. Dawkins twists his face contemplatively and theorizes out loud. "Having such documentation would explain why this mage disappeared into the Perimeter Weird Zone."


    Stirring from his stupor, Isaac reflects between hard blinks and visibly puzzles. "Also, that might explain why there''s no mention of his existence or involvement anywhere. Yet another thing the creator mages obscured from history in some obtuse attempt to protect us."


    Dr. Dawkins narrows his distant stare, gradually nods, and ponders out loud. "That would make a great deal of sense. In fact, I wouldn''t be surprised if they purposely planted rumors about prominent creator mages having small sections of Abstract Prism documentation as a way to distract everyone. Busy everyone out there into looking for the known small, unimportant bits. Meanwhile..."


    He lowers a stare upon the paperwork nearby. "An unknown mage disappeared with the master document to an unknown location. If I had my guess, they were probably keeping it around just in case something went wrong too soon after the implementation of the Abstract Prism. Their backup plans, I would guess."


    Contorting his face against his shifting mood, Isaac shakes his head and clenches his fist briefly. "Oh, fucking hell... Given the other trickery and shenanigans that collection of pompous, arrogant smartasses have cursed upon our society..."


    He relaxes his hand and groans. "That makes too much sense."


    A brief moment of silence later, Dr. Dawkins glances over to Isaac with an adventurous smirk. "I do believe this confirms that dear Dr. Malkav is most certainly in or around Perimeter. And, quite possibly has delved into that massive weird zone."


    Sighing, Isaac stares distantly ahead inside his mind, his thoughts playing out into his demeanor. "Oh. Yes. But, the city of Perimeter is massive by itself. And, that weird zone dwarfs it completely. If he''s gone in..."


    He wrestles with a frown. "Who knows where he''s at now? I need to go there. But... It''ll be fruitless if I don''t have a means of, at least, roughly locating him."


    Dr. Dawkins lifts an enlightened eyebrow and chuckles to himself. "While I can''t say where he went to if he''s inside the PWZ, he most certainly left an impression somewhere in Perimeter. Believe me, he''s easy to pick out in a crowd and unforgettable by most."


    A sly grin grows on Dr. Dawkins, and he taps the fingertips of his hands together. "And, it does help that I still have a few contacts around those parts that I can put you in touch with. Plus, I most certainly am not going to let you run down there unprepared."


    Isaac gazes over to Dr. Dawkins in hopeful disbelief and smiles graciously with a thankful nod. "I- I, uh... Thank you. I don''t know what to say. You have done more than enough, and I don''t want to burden you any more than I have to. And, I certainly..."


    He shallows hard and stiffens his upper lip. "Do not want to feel that you owe me for... The past."


    Dr. Dawkins notices the empty glass on Isaac''s side of the table between the recliners, picks up the bottle of whiskey, and calmly fills the container. With a delighted smile, he laughs softly and shakes his head. "Well, just think of it as repaying you for reviving an old man''s sense of adventure and thirst for discovery. To be honest, Dr. Malkav''s recent work here has captured my curiosity. While I''m no longer spry enough to do field work, YOU seem most capable still."


    Isaac grins eagerly, picking up the filled glass, and sips down the liquor. Wandering through his thoughts, he halts at one and quirks his brow. "There is some prep work that needs to be done. And, thinking about it, a little bit of clean up after our recent chore."


    With a mild grumble, Dr. Dawkins frowns slightly annoyed and muses. "Very true. We need to contend with those cheap aetherphones I bought through the... Usual Sources. Gods. I always detest wasting good, still serviceable equipment. But, in this situation, I guess it cannot be helped exactly."


    Pulling a smirk at the corner of his mouth, Isaac glances over at Dr. Dawkins, inquiring with a plotting tone. "Are the phones still on the dining table?"


    Dr. Dawkins eyes Isaac curiously, nodding. "Yes. Batteries still removed, and the identification chips pulled. All of it should still be there."


    Pausing a moment with a thought, he narrows an inquisitive gaze at Isaac. "Whatever are you planning?"


    A brilliant, scheming grin widens upon Isaac, and he settles himself contentedly in the recliner with a devious tinge to his voice. "Well... I think a quick, stealthy visit to that pick up point for The Train is in order. I believe with careful placements on the undersides of hauler trucks, and liberal applications of duct tape, they should transmit some interesting coordinate data in case someone gets a lucky idea. Give them red herring to enjoy."


    A highly amused cackle leaves Dr. Dawkins, and he shakes his head snorting. "Oh, gods... Have I ever told you the story where we had to contend with a bunch of bandits looting our artifact shipments back to the Grand Library?"

 Episode 70

    In a modestly decorated living room, knocks sound out from the exterior door and fill the space. Lalyanpha gazes over towards Mylo and smiles brightly at the four year old. "Guess who that is!"


    Blinking his orange-speckled eyes in thought, Mylo''s attention span musters up just time away from playing, and he launches off the couch in sheer excitement. "Grandpa! Grandma!"


    Lalyanpha quickly grabs hold of the energetic child by the sides, short of him escaping her reach, and tosses back her long golden brown hair, glancing over towards Mason. "Could you-"


    With a laugh, Mason nods his head of dirty blonde hair and winks at Lalyanpha. "Already on it, Laly."


    He walks up to the exterior door and opens it. Granting a respectful nod to Kallentesson, he smiles at the older evuukian woman behind. "Come on in. Fair warning. You''ve got about five seconds before the little one is released."


    Kallentesson and the woman cross into the living room, and Lalyanpha unleashes Mylo towards the awaiting arms of a kneeling Kallentesson. Sweeping the child up into his arms, Kallentesson hugs Mylo and playfully ruffles his dirty blonde hair. "How''s my favorite grandson?"


    Mylo excitedly rambles breathlessly a clumsy, compressed version of his day so far to an eager grandfather, hopping around everything he can think of. Stepping around the excitement, Mason addresses the woman with a smile and points outside. "Lasosopha, is there anything you two need my help to bring in?"


    With a calm smirk, Lasosopha shakes her head and pats Mason lightly on the arm. "Oh no, dear. Not right now. We will worry about all that later. Right now..."


    She steps forward next to Kallentesson, leans on his shoulder, and gazes lovingly at Mylo. "I want to see my little grandchild."


    Trying in vain to split his attention between grandmother and grandfather, Mylo decides and focuses upon Lasosopha for the moment. Kallentesson hands over Mylo to his wife and gazes his orange eyes into Mylo''s orange-speckled brown eyes with a proud grin. "Oh. The orange is really coming out in his eyes."


    Lalyanpha chuckles lightly, rolling her dark yellow eyes with a humored smile and sighs. "Yes. That it is. The genetic specialist we saw says the evuukian coloration will most likely win out over time."


    Lasosopha bounces glance between Kallentesson and Mylo with delight blatant upon her light face. Kallentesson steps over his daughter and warmly embraces Lalyanpha with a loving greeting in evuukian. Moments later, Lalyanpha quickly wipes the hint of a tear at the corner of her eye with a happy smile. "I am fine, father. Just busy keeping Mylo out of trouble."


    Standing next to Lalyanpha, Mason extends out his hand to Kallentesson. "So, how was the resort with all the houses?"


    Kallentesson grips Mason''s hand tightly with a stoic hint to his posture, and Mason responds with an equivalent response to the subtle challenge. A test of handshake strength later, Kallentesson nods respectfully to Mason with a slightly annoyed smirk. "Oh. Same as they usually are. For as many deals are made, drama is born. I decided to skip watching yet another archery competition, and the pool party is really just for the young ones to be wild."


    Wrestling down a vaguely annoyed sneer, he groans slightly. "By the gods, the new generation is too much at times. I actually had to break up one fight yesterday."


    He pauses a moment, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out his aetherphone. "Speaking of which..."


    Quickly navigating through menus, he pulls up a picture of Modoran and him posing, and shows Mason and Lalyanpha. Both Mason and Lalyanpha quickly recognize the evuukian in the picture, and stare at Kallentesson, a bit surprised. Mason nods at the image on the screen and tilts his head to the side, curiously. "Wow. He''s usually pretty slippery from the cameras. Honestly surprised you got him by himself."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow at her father, she narrows her gaze. "My gods. How did you even manage that? Especially with the family history and all? I did not think he would stay in the same room with you..."


    She furrows her brow, curling the corner of her mouth near a golden highlight. "Much less, grant you a picture."


    With a guilty grin, Kallentesson shrugs his shoulders and smirks. "Well, let''s just say I did him a favor, and he returned it. Also, he got the rest of the team to sign a promo picture for you two."


    Mason and Lalyanpha exchange surprised glances, and Kallentesson winks. Stepping over to Lasosopha and Mylo, Kallentesson shows the picture on the aetherphone to his grandson. "Guess who I met, Mylokia..."


    Mylo''s attention snaps over to the glowing screen, and his eyes focus on the picture. Moments later, his excitement surges, and he yells out. "Moddorren!"


    Lasosopha strategically lowers the energetic child back down on the floor. Checking out his audience, Mylo eagerly hops around between the adults. "Come see the tree house!"


    A few repeated attempts later, Mylo leads Lalyanpha and Lasosopha away through the kitchen towards the back exterior door. Pausing in front of the door, he glances around and calls out. "Daddy, Grandpa!"


    Leaning into the kitchen from the living room, Mason nods to Mylo, reassuring him. "In a few minutes Mylo. Give grandma the tour."


    Kallentesson lifts an intrigued eyebrow and eyes Mason. "Tree house?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Mason briefly grits his teeth and rolls his brown eyes at himself. "Well, it''s mostly a really tall deck around a tree at the moment. But... He loves it."


    Kallentesson and Mason idle and stand in silence for a few seconds. Gazing around the modestly decorated living room, Kallentesson relaxes his stance and dons a calm smile. "You two have made a wonderful home here."


    Mason blinks, mentally wandering through a surge of surprise, and nods towards Kallentesson. "I''d like to think so. I mean, it can''t compare to a house''s mansion..."


    Narrowing his eyes mildly incredulously at Mason, Kallentesson sighs with a frown. "Do not short change your efforts. Before my brother brought me in on his business..."


    He grimaces faintly and grumbles. "To negotiate with all the people he pissed off..."


    A smile sneaks out on his face, and he chuckles softly. "Lasosopha and I lived in a place almost exactly like this one. Gods. How I have come to miss those days."


    Mason quirks his brow and cocks his head to the side, scrutinizing Kallentesson. "You okay? I mean, you don''t secretly have some incurable disease and are trying to make amends before it takes you in a month?"


    Reflexively snorting, Kallentesson shakes his head and laughs. "Oh. Gods no. I just..."


    He sighs, searching for the words to match his thoughts, and pieces together the best approximation. "I have just come to realize... I just don''t like what I do anymore."


    Twisting his mouth between a mix of emotions, he shakes his head. "The house head position was fine for the longest time. But, I think I only liked it because I had nothing else. Now..."


    Stepping over, Kallentesson gazes through the archway into the kitchen and out the kitchen window and points to Mylo and Lalyanpha outside. "There''s better."


    Mason glances out the same window towards Mylo and Lalyanpha and nods appreciatively, smiling. "Yeah. Funny how that happens."


    Kallentesson cracks a sympathetic smirk at Mason. "Indeed. Lately, everything has come under a new light. The politics, the business, the houses... Gods. It just takes me away from what I want to do."


    He levels an honest stare at Mason with a genuine tone. "Listen. The both of you have managed to build a wonderful life here that I was too stupid to realize. Let me apologize for how I have treated you in the past."


    With wide eyes, Mason glances around in shock and nods with a gracious smile towards Kallentesson. "Wow... Um... Thanks, Kallentesson. That actually does mean a lot."


    Kallentesson smirks and laughs. "Just call me Kal. I think we are beyond certain formalities."


    Mason snorts and agrees, walking into the kitchen towards the fridge. "Yeah. Make sense. So, you want a beer? Nothing too fancy at the moment."


    With a humored smirk, Kal steps over and examines the beverage stock. "Don''t worry. I drank Stag''s Standard for the longest time. I am not THAT fancy with beer."


    Grimacing briefly, Mason plucks up a can and hands it over to Kal. "Gods almighty, you actually drank straight from the stag? Willingly?"


    Kal shrugs his shoulders with a tight smile and hisses in a breath with a hint of embarrassment. "Some months, it was all Lasosopha and I could afford to drink. It was her favorite when we were young."


    Pausing in thought, Mason''s mind wonders a moment between questions answered and answers with new questions. Kal draws in a long breath and cracks open his can of beer. "Anyway, I plan on retiring in the next year. Finally hand over control of the house to my brother."


    Halting mid sip, Mason shakes his head in shock and stares at Kal. "Really? Wow..."


    He tips his head towards Kal and lifts up his beer. "Well, congratulations on your future retirement."


    Kal frowns briefly and sighs out a faint bit of frustration. "Well, I am NOT there, yet. I have quite a few things to take care of and a few wrongs to try my best to amend officially before I bow out. Also..."


    He grits his teeth briefly and takes a long swig of the brew in his hand. "Need to properly prepare all our business partners to deal with my brother."


    Pausing a moment, he lowers his voice and gazes over to Mason. "One thing that I am prioritizing, that I need you to keep secret for now..."


    He smiles through a wave of regret. "I am reinstating Lalyanpha officially back in the family... And putting her name back on the registry for the house."


    Mason''s hand reflexively tightens back around the beer almost slipping out of his grasp. He snaps a wide eyed gaze at Kal. "Holy hell... That''s- Good gods... That''s HUGE. I mean..."


    Blinking through memory, he stares at Kal. "As much as I''ve tried to comfort her about it... She''s always missed being part of the family."


    Kal nods and fights to hold back guilt-ridden regret seeping into his voice. "Yes. It is going to take some effort. BUT. I think I can get it done. She won''t have any real house duties, or any significant say in family affairs. Regardless, she will have every official right to attend family events..."


    Staring at Mason, he firmly states. "With you AND Mylokia."


    Blinking blankly a moment, Mason straightens his posture and smiles with emotion nudging his voice. "Thank you. Just, thank you. It''ll mean the world for her."


    Tilting his head to the side, Kal chuckles lightly. "I am going to try to get it ready for her birthday. But, these particular processes take FOREVER. They are not used to reinstatement, and people often forget it is in the greater house laws."


    The two men stand and watch Mylo lead Lasosopha and Lalyanpha around the backyard, pointing out various things with long, excited, rambling explanations. Mason finishes sipping his beer and lifts his eyebrow. "You know, we better get out there and give them a break from Mylo."


    Kal nods in complete agreement. "Oh yeah."


    The two men head out the back door into the yard to the joyful calls of a four year old.


    ----


    In the dusk light, Chad, Veevi, Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran walk down a concrete path between tall, leafy decorative plants on the resort grounds. Nearby from choice angles, camera crew record their every movement along the way, working themselves in an active orbit around the team. Veevi struts around in pace with Chad, evocatively stretching out in her bikini swimsuit for the cameras, and grins with a wicked hint. "That was SO MUCH fun! Archery competition AND a pool party in the same day!"


    Leaning against Chad, she wraps her arms around him and consuls him with a sympathetic, slightly exaggerated tone. "So sorry you got knocked out of the semi-finals."


    Chad glances briefly down towards the still damp pink hair of Veevi and shrugs his shoulders, presenting an amused smirk. "Actually, I''m kind of okay that I didn''t get too far, and wind up having Modoran mercilessly beat me."


    He checks over his shoulder towards Modoran with genuine curiosity. "I take it that archery competitions must be serious business with the Evuukian Houses."


    Pulling attention away from surrounding greenery, Modoran nonchalantly nods and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. It''s an old tradition they have had for centuries. Most children raised in a house are expected to know how to use a bow and arrow. They used to settle arguments of honor with archery challenges not too long ago."


    Deedri smiles and gazes up towards Modoran, brushing her long, multi-colored hair over her shirt-covered shoulder. "You really held your own in that contest. I thought you were going to win it for sure for a while."


    Lightly chuckling, Modoran shakes his head of white, grayish hair and puts his hands in his pants pockets. "Oh. No. There were a few famous archers in that competition that would have easily beaten me early if I faced up against them. They were all just playing well enough until they got into the finals."


    He curls a sly smirk with a laugh. "Then... They got real serious."


    Trakenthin glances up from his aetherphone, lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at Modoran, and pries with hints of accusation. "Seems certain house members wanted to challenge YOU. Specifically."


    With Modoran''s dark blue eyes widening briefly, he grimaces and calmly plays off his surge of nerves. "O-Oh? Well. You know..."


    He draws in a long breath and casually explains. "Being the one Evuukian on the team with a dark evuukian lineage, I am not really all that surprised that a few wanted to see how they measured up. Can not blame them."


    His eyes dart around, quickly scanning the immediate area, and his posture relaxes back down. Veevi glances over her shoulder to Deedri, frowning with a slight droop of her fuzzy ears. "I''m really sorry, you couldn''t find your bathing suit Deedri. It looked really cute. You can borrow one of mine for tomorrow if you don''t find it."


    Blinking back to attention, Deedri frantically searches her mind, bouncing her auburn eyes between ploys. She smiles appreciatively, hiding a telling curl in the corner of her mouth. "Oh! Uh. Thank you, Veevi. But, I''m sure it''ll turn up. Somewhere... I just bought it earlier today, so it couldn''t have gone that far."


    She straightens her posture and averts her gaze off to the side. "And, I didn''t really mind being the backup medic in case anything happened between the flying arrows and water today."


    Tassilda barely contains her knowledgeable smirk, eyeing right through Deedri''s guise. Resting her hands upon her towel wrapped waist, she tosses her raven black hair back off her bikini top and struts with an extra bounce in her step. A few cameras focus on her, snapping away from the conversation between Deedri and Veevi. Stretching her arms over her head, Tassilda yawns. "I can''t wait to get back and take a long shower."


    The group passes a small out building of restrooms. Modoran breaks off from the group and motions a thumb point over to the entry archway. "I will catch back up with you all later. I need to use the facilities. Been holding it since the finals of the archery competition."


    Most grant simple acknowledgments, and Deedri furrows a suspicious brow. Quickly walking over to the small building, Modoran slips swiftly into the men''s side of the open entryway. A small detachment of recording crew break off from the orbiting mass and wait outside. The rest of the team leaves the area. Minutes pass. More minutes pass. One of the crew checks their aetherphone for the time and sighs. A phone alert chimes from everyone''s devices, and they all investigate it. Excitement and eagerness overtake them, and they all rush down the path, extremely faint, argumentative voices resembling Tassilda and Veevi wafting in from the distance.


    Seconds later, Modoran slowly peeks his head out from around the entryway corner, searching the immediate vicinity, and slinks out. Swiftly, he slips into the growing shadows of the evening ambiance, sneaking down a narrow side path near the bathrooms. Keeping out of sight, he blends into the surrounding leafy resort scenery and settles on a seat upon a decorative metal bench near a calming pond. He breathes a long sigh of relief and checks his aetherphone. Navigating the messages, he nods and reads. Checking the narrow, secluded path through bamboo forests and exotic plants, he waits.


    His attention drifts off into a simple, captivating game on his phone. Two groups of three quietly approach the bench from either direction of the path. On opposing sides, Hektoran and Mishavalla close in. Mishavalla concentrates, faint flows of prismatic flow shimmering along the ground near her two associates. Hektoran keeps pace with a young male evuukian focusing upon a similar magical spell. Gritting his teeth, Modoran quickly taps upon his phone screen and eagerly plays the game on the screen. Hektoran grins evilly and laughs loudly. "What are YOU playing, Modoran?"


    Modoran''s dark blue eyes spring wide open. He slowly lifts his head of short white and light gray hair, turning to either side, and studies the situation in sheer, utter bewilderment. He mouths to himself in confused shock. "How the fuck...?"


    Modoran springs up, checking all the exits. Hektoran steps up to the standing Modoran, smiling with sinister intent, and postures pridefully. "This time... You WILL NOT be getting away."


    Recognizing the same group from before, Modoran sneers his upper lip and grumbles in a mix of current and stale frustration, slowly shaking his head. "Listen. I don''t know how the fuck you even knew I was here, but still..."


    He narrows his stare at Hektoran and states in a low, slow tone. "THIS is a BAD idea. You all should really just drop this."


    Mishavalla readies herself into a casting pose, trains her piercing yellow eyes on Modoran, and grins sharply. "Last night we are here. So, the last chance we have to settle this."


    Hektoran nods to the two pairs of evuukian comrades, and the pairings secure the exit routes, waiting for action. Hektoran puffs out his chest, glares eagerly at Modoran, and cracks his knuckles. "You know, just take your beating like a proper house reject. It will be a lot easier on us..."


    Sizing up Modoran, he snarls his upper lip. "YOU, not so much. And, you would not want to leave any marks on us, since it would just cause you so much trouble for assaulting house nobility... So recklessly."


    Studying the scene, Modoran parts a devious smile, laughing darkly, and narrows his stare into Hektoran. "Oh... Really? As if leaving bruises and marks me is going to help you out. Since, I am certain that your great uncle will know exactly what happened after yesterday!"


    A sudden, stark realization erupts simultaneously upon the youthful, naive faces surrounding Modoran, the surrounding group contemplating the situation between uneasy grimaces and hints of reluctant squirms. With a final few gestures, Modoran finishes an incantation and vanishes from view. "Bye!"


    Hektoran snaps back to awareness, spotting Modoran disappearing, and yells out. "MISHA! REVEAL HIM! HURRY!"


    Stumbling into the casting of the spell, Mishavalla quickly runs through the gestures and repeats an incantation from memory. The two pairs of perimeter guards hold their arms out and carefully watch and listen, squinting for activity in the shadows of the late dusk light. Anger swells into Hektoran, and he attempts to turn around. His body struggles to twist. His shoulders remain held in place. Puzzling at the strange forces, Hektoran grunts, his body hopping up from the force of several fist sized, sudden depressions into his gut. Hektoran doubles onto the ground, barely holding himself up, and covers his mouth, reflexively retching.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    The male and female evuukian pair near Hektoran watch their leader collapse into a vomiting fit. Mishavalla releases a colorful pulse from her hands. The wave of glittering particles expands quickly and coats all it contacts in a sparkling layer, including the transparent form of Modoran. Hektoran''s pair of escorts lunge at Modoran. The duo release a flurry of punches and kicks that Modoran deftly dodges when possible, weathering the rest. Slipping into a few opportunities, Modoran returns a similar barrage of attacks at the pair. Between struggling grapples, the exchange speeds to a feverish pace. In a lapse of judgment, Modoran side steps into the perfect path for the muscular evuukian man''s shoulder check and flies back and over row of metal garbage cans. Laying upon the bent containers, he returns to full opacity, wincing and growling to himself.


    Mishavalla helps Hektoran stand back up from a pool of his stomach''s prior contents. Hektoran''s accomplices approach the trash pile Modoran is in, closing in around him. A sudden plume of inky black mist erupts from Modoran, obscuring the area. The four evuukian lackeys defensively form around the expanding dark miasma, expectantly. Five Modorans leap out from the cloud into dramatic, taunting poses. Hektoran wipes the remainder of the vomit from his mouth, stepping up into the line with the other four evuukians, and readies himself for a fight.


    Mishavalla narrows her suspicious stare at the multiple Modorans and studies the animated, mocking batch. Moments later, she squints and spots the distinct lack of colorful sparkles on each of the illusions. She starts to open mouth, and Modoran''s hand seals Mishavalla''s mouth back up. He hoists her up away from the group towards the nearby pond. "Hush! Don''t ruin the surprise for them."


    Flailing around in a mix of shock and anger, Mishavalla slams her elbows down into Modoran''s sides, attempts to backwards head butt him, and claws behind her after him. Mostly dodging all these attacks, Modoran swiftly drags Mishavalla to the bank of the pond and grins mischievously, laughing softly. "Hey... Remember our favorite game?"


    Blinking confused, Mishavalla notices the body of water, and her yellow eyes spring open in a surge of past frustration and muffled rage. Modoran readies himself and tosses the lithe Mishavalla right into the shallow pond. She flops in with an angry scream and flailing splash into the drink. A reminiscent smile appears on Modoran''s dusky bluish gray face, and he chuckles to himself. "Yeah... That brings back memories."


    He swings around to dart off, and Mishavalla''s pair of friends intercept. Within the melee exchange, Modoran fends off the assault, managing a number of well placed kicks and punches between blocks and redirects. Stepping forth, he starts to initiate a throw. Modoran''s momentum halts unexpectedly, Hektoran''s pair of friends each snatching an arm. Quickly Mishavalla''s duo go for a leg each. Modoran tries a fake out and kicks towards the groin on a male evuukian. The evuukian catches the attack and glares at Modoran in disgust. "Dirty motherfucker..."


    Completely locked down, the four comrades secure Modoran and present him before Hektoran. Huffing out his exhaustion, Hektoran narrows an infuriated glare at Modoran and punches him square in the chest. Modoran cringes with a reflexive grumble of pain. Hektoran gradually collects himself and resumes his prideful stance, staring at Modoran. "Well... THAT was fun. But... It''s time to-"


    Splashes of wet footsteps slap out on the concrete pathway above the drone of evuukian curses in a furious woman''s voice. Mishavalla storms up with her arm tightly around her soaked, thin shirt, covering her revealed lithe, athletic figure. Her other arm pulls back with growing muscle definition and clenching fist. With a powerful swing past Hektoran, she slugs Modoran powerfully right in the nose, pushing his head back and rocking the four other evuukians holding him. Mishavalla steps away in an indignant huff, crossing her arms. Blinking back to awareness, Modoran recovers to his senses from the blow, struggling to sniff through his nose. With mean satisfaction, Hektoran grins and chuckles. "So, are you learning your lesson?"


    Focusing his dark blue eyes upon Hektoran through reflexive tearing eyes, Modoran dons a sly smirk and quirks his brow defiantly at Hektoran. "Not really. But, I have learned one thing."


    Hektoran cocks his head expectantly to the side, smugness waning. "Which is?"


    Presenting a wide rebellious grin under a stream of blood from his nose, Modoran cackles loudly. "Your sister hits the hardest out of the bunch of you weak loser shits!"


    At that prompting, Hektoran and crew take turns elaborately insulting and berating Modoran between punctuating punches or kicks. Minutes later, a distant voice calls out down the path. "Modoran?"


    With a final punch in the gut on Modoran, Hektoran directs the gathering down the opposite way, leaving Modoran unceremoniously on the ground. Sitting up on the grass bordering the path, Modoran groggily inspects himself, winces with each muscle flex.


    Deedri walks down the narrow, shady path between decorative plants and bamboo. Her furry, tufted ears perk up to distant footsteps up ahead, and she picks up her pace. Rounding a slight curve in the path, she sniffs the air and widens her auburn eyes with the unsettling familiarity. She rushes down the walkway, and her eyes notice a figure slowly standing up. She closes in to an unsettling surprise. "MODORAN?!"


    ----


    Sitting up a wooden bench along the narrow walkway, Modoran clenches his fist tightly and cringes with watering eyes. With a tight, firm pinch of Modoran''s nose, Deedri flows magical energies into his nose and gently shifts it around, shifting around internal structures. A minute later, Deedri releases hold of the bridge of Modoran''s nose and slips her gloved fingers out from his nostrils. Vainly trying to collect himself, Modoran lightly touches his freshly realigned nose, wincing through the remnants of pain. "OH GODS... You weren''t kidding..."


    He flutters his dark blue eyes and shudders back to some semblance of nonchalant. "But... Thank you... Ow..."


    Aiming a stoic frown towards Modoran on the bench, Deedri leans forward and stares right into Modoran''s eyes, a faint auburn glow from her eyes lighting up his dusky, bluish gray face. "SO. Are you going to tell me what happened now? OR. Are you going to keep dodging the subject?"


    Sporting a weak smile, Modoran awkwardly stumbles around his words, shrinking in his seat under the illuminated glare of Deedri. "I- Uh... It is complicated, Deedri. It''s nothing you should worry about and-"


    Sneering her upper lip, Deedri applies a treated adhesive bandage upon a cut on Modoran''s face, aggravation slipping out into her tone. "NOT anything I should worry about?!"


    She snaps a cutting stare at Modoran, a hint of growl forming in the undercurrent of her voice. "I''m SORRY. BUT, the moment I find you beaten up and abandoned in some alley AND have to patch up you..."


    Narrowing her glare, she furrows her fair skin brow, her long, fluffy tail wagging to near thrashing. "I THINK it becomes something I. NEED. TO. WORRY. ABOUT."


    Modoran tries to summon up his nonchalant demeanor and fails miserably upon gazing into the examining stare from Deedri. Meekly lowering his head, he sighs deeply and uncomfortably tenses his shoulders, resigning. "It... It was... It was a group from another house. I knew they wanted to settle an old score. But, I did not think they would go this far with it."


    Deedri''s gaze softens, and she kneels down in front of Modoran, watching untypical emotions on his face. "Why did they want to settle a score with you?"


    Drawing in a pained breath, Modoran watches Deedri apply medical ointment onto a large patch of bruising on his forearm and slumps his shoulders, averting his eyes away. "It''s for something I did years past. A... um... a crime against their house. Long story short, I orchestrated a theft of their prized treasure, and my team got caught."


    Pausing in her treatment of Modoran''s minor wounds, Deedri cocks her head to the side curiously, perking her furry ears up, and focuses on Modoran. "Okay..."


    She narrows an inquisitive glare upon Modoran and frowns slightly, waiting expectantly. Modoran draws in a long breath, nodding towards Deedri, and reluctantly approaches an explanation. "I... WAS a member of a house. Their house was always boasting about this grand heirloom and how it was such a symbol of their success. My dumb ass thought it would be great to take them down a peg by stealing it long enough for them to admit it was stolen. Then, quietly return it."


    Rolling his eyes, he grits his teeth and groans. "It is NOT uncommon for such pranks between houses. But... The group I put together got caught. AND, the other house got REAL angry. REALLY... ANGRY."


    He bows his head down slightly. "I took the whole blame for it so no one else in my team got in trouble. It was my idea anyway. Hence, I was dehoused and changed my family name to even things out."


    Blinking blankly in thought, Deedri stands up, furrowing her brow, and sits down on the bench next to Modoran. With a few gestures, she finishes up an incantation. Flowing magical energy into Modoran''s shoulder, she processes between ear flicks and aims her investigative gaze at him. "But... That''s been settled, then. So, what right do they have to attack you now?!"


    With a nonchalant smile, Modoran attempts to shrug his shoulders, only managing a squirm into a pained grimace. "Well- Uh... They are just still sore about it? I guess. To be fair, technically, we made off with their artifact that they said was protected by their gods. So, they are just still mad about it? Anyway..."


    He dismissively waves off the notion with a hand. "They are just young and stupid, like I was. They got some satisfaction. Nothing permanent is broken. So, not a big deal in the end."


    Deedri''s eyes widen, her furry, tufted ears drop down to the sides of her head, and she grits her sharp teeth with a growl. "Not a big deal?! You got ATTACKED! This wasn''t a bar room fight, or a heat of a moment dispute! This was premeditated, and you could have been seriously hurt! This NEEDS to be reported!"


    Wave of nervous energy pulses through Modoran''s body, and he turns his head, gazing at Deedri uneasily. "Uh, it''s- No. There is no need to do that. It would just cause more drama and trouble. I mean, it would just be my side versus their side. And... It just would NOT go well and-"


    Gently resting a hand on Modoran''s shoulder, Deedri stares directly into his eyes, straightening her posture, and focuses her stern, supportive voice at him. "This isn''t right. You NEED to stand up for yourself. They shouldn''t be allowed to do this! If fact..."


    She lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "From one of the sources you told me about... I remember reading about laws against house members seeking vendettas against non-house citizens."


    Pausing in thought, Modoran entertains an idea briefly and shakes it away. "Yes, but... It would just bring up a bunch of old drama and-"


    Deedri slightly tightens her grip on Modoran''s shoulder, summoning up her courage, and levels a defiant stare at him. "Maybe it NEEDS to get brought up."


    Noticing a faint wince on Modoran, she eases up her grip and exhales. "If you aren''t, then I AM. My party member and friend just got attacked, and I am NOT going to let it go. You shouldn''t either."


    Slowly turning his head, Modoran meets Deedri''s auburn eyes. A nonchalant smile gradually appears on his face, and he nods in agreement. "Yeah... Yeah... You are right. I just... It''s just not fun dealing with it. I just don''t know..."


    A simple soft chuckle escapes, and he snorts faintly. "Maybe, it will be different this time around?"


    A happy smile graces Deedri''s fair face. Suddenly, her furry ears perk towards a section of open space above the walkway. Her eyes flash brightly auburn, and she grits her sharp teeth, curling a hand of clawed fingers at the ready. "Who''s THERE?! Drop the invisibility spell!"


    Two evuukian women materialize into view on the walkway near Modoran and Deedri. Modoran glances over to the pair, lowers his face in mild embarrassment into the palm of his hand, and slowly shakes his head. "It''s okay, Deedri. These are my sisters. The people I was waiting for, out here."


    With a graceful and collected demeanor, the older sister bows, tosses her long light gray hair back, and glances over to Deedri with dark blue eyes. She presents a grateful smile upon her dusky bluish gray skinned face. "Our apologies for startling you. We were delayed getting here. And, when we arrived we were not sure what was going on and did not want to intrude on anything."


    The younger sister with short white hair grins wide with dark blue eyes, barely containing her energy. "ALSO, you were doing a REALLY GOOD job at talking sense into our brother... So..."


    She rolls her eyes with a shrug. "We really did not want to interrupt!"


    A light tint of embarrassment colors Deedri''s cheeks. Modoran straightens his sitting posture, points to the elder sister. "This is Massadenia, my eldest sister."


    He motions to the younger sister, sighing with brotherly annoyance. "And, Linanania, my youngest sister."


    Bowing again at the address, Massadenia glances at Modoran and Deedri and waves towards the pathway. "Not to rush anything, but it might be best we get moving, if possible."


    Modoran slowly rises up from the bench and stretches out his soreness, nodding in agreement. "Yeah. I do NOT think I want another surprise round. And..."


    He smiles warmly and genuinely to Deedri. "I would rather not make any more work for you tonight."


    Popping up from her seat, Deedri helps Modoran stand up all the way and checks over for any other immediate issues. "Well, I wouldn''t want to keep you from your family, since that''s why you came out here. But, stop by my room so I can apply another round of treatments."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Linanania hops over next to Deedri. "You are not coming?"


    Deedri puzzles at the response, glancing between the sisters confused. "I didn''t think I''d be allowed to?"


    With a smile, Massadenia gazes over to Deedri and leads Modoran in front of her. "Oh, nonsense. Mother would be absolutely furious if I did not invite and bring along the woman who healed her..."


    A sly grin widens on her face. "Precious little boy."


    A quiet, stale, annoyed groan drifts out from Modoran. Massadenia shines a delighted grin. "So, please, join us. It is nothing official, I promise."


    Modoran walks ahead under the graceful guidance of Massadenia, and the energetic Linanania and cautious Deedri talk about random subjects along the walk.


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia wander slowly down a dusty, decorative stonework hallway. Overhead lamps dimly light the quiet passages and an occasional sign indicating the present location or an official warning. Stopping in front of a sealed metal doorway, Aristespha checks the map on her tablet, sorting through a few information prompts cluttering the screen. She furrows her ivory brow, points over to the mechanical entry, and turns to the group. "This one has not been explored. It has been sealed since this site was first discovered."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts in front of the sealed doors, and he glances over, seeking a confirmation from Aristespha. "Nothing else on file, dear?"


    Flicking through a long section of text, Aristespha shakes her head of silvery blue hair, smiling towards Sebastian. "Go ahead, Sebastian."


    With a simple nod, Sebastian phases through the metal doorway, disappearing to the other side. Bach wanders over towards the opposing side of the hallway, inspecting a decaying sign written in an old language, and comments. "Huh. It''s actually kind of nice to have some of the grunt work done for you before having to trudge through these places."


    Cideeda examines the sealed doorway, and her emerald green eyes search along the wall, flicking between points of interest. "Yeah. It does save us a lot of trouble."


    She twists her mouth to the side and grumbles. "Still finding a bunch of duds, though."


    Stretching her arms back in a long yawn, Sotalia tilts her head to either side. She fights the boredom off her face and idly paces around, playing with her longer fiery orange, wavy hair. "I''ll say. I mean, I''m not arguing the logic behind this. But... GODS... It''s hard not to be a little bored with it all."


    Nodding in begrudging agreement, Dretphi alternates between watching different ends of the current hallway, furrowing her brow. "Only trouble we have had was that security guard. Would not leave us alone."


    Rolling her eyes with a sneer of her upper lip, Sotalia groans out her disgust, shaking her head in commiseration. "I KNOW. Come on... THAT place wasn''t THAT big. Was he actually expecting us to get lost or something?"


    Glancing over, Cideeda pulls herself away from peering through the gap in a ventilation grate on the wall and grumbles with a canine revealing sneer. "That lazy wannabe cop was just looking for a reason to send us away. He was hoping our paperwork had anything wrong with it."


    She rolls her emerald green eyes and snorts out. "Probably just wanted us gone so he could go back to snacking on some chips in the office."


    Bach furrows his brow, glancing over to Cideeda curiously. "What makes you say that?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda smirks slyly and chuckles. "Smelled it on him. Cheap store brand, salt and vinegar flavored."


    Sebastian''s head pops through the middle of the metal doors with an excited grin, and he motions for everyone''s attention. "Think we have something! Looks like a research area or an archive of sorts. A few documents and a bunch of little artifacts on display."


    Cideeda claps her hands together, rubbing them eagerly, and hunts around the frame of the sealed doorway. "Alright! Now, how to get this thing open... gently."


    Standing in front of the metal doors, she feels around the joins, squints at every corner and crevice, and taps a claw tip on the door. Her furry ears flick around and listen to the finer acoustic details. Her eyes sort through the mental images in her mind. She briefly grits her teeth with a faint hum under her voice. "The doors are solid. But, not really thick. It doesn''t sound like high grade steel or alloy. So, it''s probably a simple hydraulic sliding door."


    Rapping her claws on the door, she directs her voice towards Sebastian''s floating visage nearby and queries. "Did you see a locking mechanism on the other side?"


    Sebastian shakes his head a moment, pauses in thought, and phases back through to the other side. Seconds later, he pops his head back out and shrugs his translucent shoulders. "No. Nothing I can see. The door looks the same on both sides. The control panel on the other side looks the same as this one here."


    Cideeda nods, closing her eyes, and processes the information out loud, tapping her toe claws on the floor. "Okay... Low security door... Probably just a standard design they bulk ordered. SO. I wouldn''t be surprised if..."


    Stepping methodically along the wall section with the door controls, she moves away from the frame. She purposefully hits the lower part of the wall with the bottom of her fist and listens carefully, her furry ears sifting through the sounds. The rest of the team watches her travel a few meters down, slam hard on section, and stop. She spins around with her furry ears flicking and searching and starts tapping around the surface of the wall. Seconds later, she grins toothily and motions everyone over. "There''s a hollow section here. It''s probably a hidden access panel they blended in. Bach?"


    Bach blinks to attention and gazes down at Cideeda. "Oh. Yes? What do you need?"


    Pointing to the general areas, Cideeda pantomimes out towards the wall with her suspicions. "Depending on how they built this place, I think it''ll either be a few magnetically driven locks OR a spring loaded friction fit from hell. Think you could use your mechanical magic?"


    Bach kneels down next to Cideeda, closes his eyes, and places his hands on the wall. Reopening his blue glowing eyes, he grins confidently, nodding at Cideeda. "Yeah. I think I can manage something here. Let me see what I feel."


    Flows of magical energy emanate from Bach''s hands and glide along the surface, sinking into the wall. Focusing upon the task, he furrows his brow and twists his face with thought. "Huh... It''s like some kind of twist lock with magnets. Four of them. And..."


    He fights a grimace and grumbles. "Oh. I think they painted over the panel joints. Just give me a second..."


    Brief thin lines of energy flicker and finely score lines into a meter by meter square of the wall around Bach''s hands. A series of four solid, heavy clicks dully thump out from the revealed panel, and Bach grins with satisfaction. "There we go. Now we just-"


    Confidence disappears from Bach''s face, the panel tilting away from the wall, and he scrambles for a good hold on it. "Shit! It''s heavy-"


    A pair of red armor gauntlets thrust out on either side of Bach and halt the panel in place. Glancing up with an appreciative smirk, Bach nods to Dretphi. "Thank you."


    Dretphi smiles warmly to Bach, and the two coordinate, easing the panel down to a graceful landing upon the floor. Cideeda pulls out a flashlight from her utility vest, clicks it on, and investigates the hollow section beyond the wall. Scanning over the electrical lines, data cables, and hydraulic piping, she peeks further inside, studying the configuration of the machinery. Minutes later, with the curiosity and lighting sources from the rest of the group, Cideeda slides her contorted self back out of the tight space. "Okay. Real simple setup. BUT, I really doubt the electric pump and valves are going to cooperate. If not due to age, probably interference from some control module that still is active."


    Sitting back upon her legs, she tilts her head of short, multi-color hair to the side and ponders out loud. "One option is to cut lines to release the pressure and pry the door open..."


    Aristespha grumbles uneasily and slowly shakes her head. "If we could avoid obvious changes, that would be preferred. There are only so many violations of the law I can get overlooked through Grand Library clout, and I would rather not discover what that limit happens to be."


    Cideeda grins toothily and eyes Bach eagerly. "I thought so... Bach, I''m going to need your help."


    Bach follows Cideeda''s guidance, and the two position themselves partly through the access panel frame. Cideeda points out a number of valves, lines, and control mechanisms inside the packed space. "I bet you can easily manipulate the stubborn insides of these and get that door open..."


    Lifting an eyebrow, she grins slyly. "AND, keep it looking stock."


    Glancing over to Cideeda, Bach smiles with growing interest and thinks through it. "Yeah... Definitely can manage that. But, you''re going to have to tell me what, when, and how. I mean, I don''t know much about hydraulics in general, especially not setups like these."


    With a confident smile, Cideeda winks to Bach. "Of course, that''s why I''m here. Ready for your first lesson?"


    Over the next few minutes, Cideeda instructs Bach on the basics of hydraulic door systems. With pantomimed explanations of different component constructions from Cideeda, Bach threads magical flows into mechanisms, integrating with the aged devices, and weaves control lines together to handle signaling. The rest of the team watches in fascination. Cideeda navigates the system, and Bach fashions magical manifestations, manipulating the setup. With a number of flow threads in his hands, Bach gazes over to Cideeda expectantly. Methodically stepping through the process, Cideeda recites an ordered list of instructions, waiting for Bach to perform the prescribed tasks. A series of valves creak and briefly fight against the magical might, relenting with a surge of energy. Flows of prismatic power travel from Bach down a thicker magical cable woven into hydraulic pump and reservoir assembly. With careful focus from Bach and Cideeda''s percussive coaxing via the butt of a large flashlight, a large hydraulic ram retracts, and one door of the dual sliding door arrangement pulls slowly into the wall.


    Smirking with pride, Cideeda sarcastically declares in a mocking tone. "Oh. Look. I think these doors must have FINALLY opened after years of age..."


    With an eager flicker in her emerald green eyes, Cideeda grins. "We should probably investigate it."


    A quiet and modest celebration later, the team swiftly slips through the doorway. Everyone slowly spreads out into the large room of faintly dusty desks, tables, and shelves. Sotalia rolls her shoulders uncomfortably, surveying the room suspiciously. Her golden eyes widen, and she gawks at a nearby long shelf of labeled magical trinkets and oddities. The long nailed fingers on her hand flex in anticipation. Aristespha calmly lifts away Sotalia''s hand and leads her away, shaking her head at Sotalia''s pouting frustration.


    Slowly approaching the center point of the room, the team shines lights around in searching sweeps of the vicinity. Halting in place, Bach tenses his posture, furrows his brow contemplatively, and pivots around, hunting around for something.


    "STAGNANT ENERGY. DETECTED. NEARBY."


    The team pauses. Attention collectively gathers upon the sword at Aristespha''s side. Sebastian''s visage stabilizes, and he wanders his pointing arm out towards a direction. "I think it... It felt something over... There?"


    Flashlight spots, magical torch illumination, and a series of drifting glowing orbs light up the back wall of the room. The brightness increases, and the circular outline of an energy dais contrasts the rest of the floor. Everyone locks onto the uncomfortably familiar magical device. Sotalia rests her hands at her hips, narrowing her suspecting stare. "Yeah... I thought I felt something weird in the room."


    Remaining still, Bach stares uneasily at the dais. He fights his nerves and grits his teeth, stating uncomfortably. "Yeah... Felt it, too. There''s... There''s a good amount in there."


    Sebastian nods and gazes at Aristespha. "Well, I do think we have a way to fix THAT."


    Aristespha glances back, smiling lovingly to Sebastian, and eagerly draws the sword out. "Yes. Yes, we do."


    Hovering nearby with a mix of relief and satisfaction, Sebastian stares at the stonework circle. "Let''s drain this thing dry."


    Returning to awareness from a thought, Bach holds a hand out, halting Aristespha''s approach. "Not all of it."


    Sotalia blinks confused and irritation rises in her voice. "What do you mean? No. We don''t leave anything behind for Noxian to get."


    Bach turns around, facing Sotalia and the team, and sighs. "I know. I know. But..."


    Waving a hand towards the dais, he frowns begrudgingly. "We CAN''T drain it completely. Otherwise, he''ll KNOW something is not right. I mean, think about it. If he''s expecting some power and finds none, then he''ll start to suspect something and change up his plans..."


    He slumps his shoulders and grimaces. "Yet again..."


    The team mulls over the suggestion. Dretphi nods in agreement and ponders out loud. "Leave enough for it to... smell... correct. No more."


    Defiantly crossing her arms, Sotalia narrows a disagreeable glare at Bach. She meets Bach''s gaze and internally argues with herself, telegraphing the progress on her light tan, dark gray bordered face. She grits her teeth and grumbles. "I DO NOT like the idea of giving Noxian anything."


    Cideeda sighs, glances over to Sotalia, and frowns with slight droop of her furry ears. "Yeah, me neither. BUT. We got to make it look convincing enough so he won''t immediately suspect anything. Otherwise, this whole catching him in the act thing falls right apart."


    Some final deliberation later, Sotalia slowly nods and relaxes her stance. "Yeah. You''re right... Still don''t like it, but it makes sense."


    Stepping next to Sotalia, Cideeda flashes a sly grin and holds out a small camera device. "Would helping me choose the right camera angles make you feel better?"


    A smile graces Sotalia, and she rolls her golden eyes at herself. "A little."


    Aristespha pans a gaze around the room and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "And, while we are... Unofficially here... Let us see what this room was for."

 Episode 71

    From a decorated shed, the faint hum of a large water filtration system drones out into the background, mixing with the many crisp gurgling flows of water in and out of the small, private pool. Flickering against the dimming evening sky, tropical themed torches gently illuminate the area, wisps of smoke trailing up into the air. Poolside tables and chairs surround the perimeter, empty in the gentle warm breezes filtering through the tall bamboo and leafy landscaping barriers. A pump spins up in a separate hot tub, secluded from view by a vine coated privacy screen. From the pool, soft splashes of water sound out, in contrast to the soft ambiance contained by wooden latticework fence around the area.


    Modoran sighs and rests his head back, allowing his lower body to float in the gentle, calm water. Keeping anchored in place by his elbows upon the steps to the shallow end, he slowly relaxes himself with the occasional winces of dull pain. He squirms stiffly, stretching out annoying, stubborn sections of muscle. Gradually releasing a long breath, he opens his tired dark blue eyes, gazes up to the emerging stars above, and pulls an exhausted, hopeful smirk across his face. He grits his teeth and carefully rolls his dusky bluish gray body through a few general stretches. Surrendering with a grumble, he relaxes what he can of his thin, athletic form. He cinches up the drawstring on his blue swim trunks and sinks further down into the water. Bubbling out a long sigh, he resurfaces. His stare grows distant into the darkening evening sky.


    Snapping back from inside his mind, Modoran blinks briefly in confusion, his eyes darting around with paranoia towards entrances and exits. He lifts his light gray haired head out of the water and curiously aims his long, pointed ear towards the familiar voices of Deedri and Tassilda. "Okay..."


    Tassilda''s relieved voice grows louder and clearer. "OH... Gods. Be. Praised. FINALLY, we get to enjoy this pool without those insufferable camera crews trying to capture our most revealing poses possible."


    Deedri''s apprehensive cadence colors her uncertain tone rising out of the background din of water and pool equipment. "I know. I didn''t even want to wear shorts with them around yesterday. It''s such a relief they''re busy elsewhere..."


    Pausing a moment, she lowers her volume slightly. "But... I''m really still not so sure about this swimsuit."


    The gate doors swing open, and Tassilda struts through the archway built into the surrounding privacy latticework fence. Glancing back with a reassuring smirk, she smirks with encouragement hinting in her voice. "Oh, please. You have NOTHING to worry about. I''m actually so jealous you found that, AND it fits you so amazingly."


    Motioning Deedri forward with a wave, Tassilda strides further towards the pool. "Now come on! We have to enjoy this while we can."


    She stands up to the end of the pool in her bikini, gazes around with her hands on her hips, and notices Modoran idly relaxing nearby. "Oh. So, THIS is where you disappeared to?"


    Modoran nonchalantly shrugs his bare shoulders, sinking himself to a seat upon the shallow end stairs. "Yeah. Oh. And, do not worry. The camera crews left a while ago. From what I overheard, it seems like they were off to do some last minute footage uploading, or something."


    He rolls his eyes and snorts. "They were really persistent to get a last minute shot, though. I was practically in a staring contest with one camera guy."


    Behind Tassilda, Deedri''s furry, tufted tip ears flick momentarily towards Modoran''s voice. Halting her progression briefly, she quickly inspects her modest, patterned two piece swimsuit. Awkwardly summoning her confidence, she steps up next to Tassilda and gazes over to Modoran with a wag of her long, fluffy tail. Modoran attempts to continue his story and trails off, his attention shifting elsewhere. "But, he gave up on me... Um, after I didn''t do... Well, anything..."


    His focus fumbles about, ambling around one particular direction. A few moments later, he resumes some semblance of his usual nonchalant demeanor and waves back to Deedri with a smile. "Oh, uh, hey. Uh, I see you found your swimsuit. It looks very nice on you."


    Tassilda bounces her examining gaze between Modoran and Deedri and rolls her light blue on black eyes with a twisted smirk, stepping towards the diving board at the deep end of the pool. Pressing through her shyness, Deedri dons a goofy smirk and nods, glancing down "Oh. Thank you. Yes. Uh... It just happened to be under something else. I guess I must have put something on top of it when we were rushing around to events, or something..."


    Wagging her tail, she smiles and slightly relaxes her shoulders. "I''m just really glad that I''m getting to use it before we have to leave."


    The diving board audibly flexes and rattles. Tassilda dives into the water with barely a splash. Emerges up to the surface, she perks her brow at Deedri, guiding her raven hair off her bikini top. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get in the water."


    Deedri blinks back to attention and glances over eagerly, pardoning herself from the stilted conversation. "OH. Yeah... One moment."


    With a calm, relaxed exterior, Modoran nods understandingly. Sprinting up to the edge of the deep end, Deedri leaps into the pool. Touching the bottom with her feet, she springs herself upward and coasts up, breaking the surface meters away. She combs her hair out of her auburn eyes and laughs. "Wow! It''s been too long since I swam in such a nice pool!"


    Tassilda casually backstrokes and pries, lifting a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean a nice pool?"


    Kicking through the water with her tail waving behind, Deedri calmly strokes through the water. "Well... Um, this is a really nice pool in comparison to the ponds and creeks I usually had when growing up."


    Smiling with a humored snort, Tassilda shakes her head and glances over, shaking drips of water off her swirling, black horns. "I HAVE to visit your hometown someday."


    Deedri and Tassilda enjoy the cool waters against the humid, hot night air. Upon the shallow end steps, Modoran relaxes and watches on. Deedri and Tassilda casually swim multiple laps and float lazily around, staring up at the night starry sky. Pulling away from staring at the moon above, Deedri glides over and sits on the shallow end steps next to Modoran. "Hey. How are you feeling tonight? Still sore?"


    Trying to maintain a nonchalant attitude, Modoran smirks to Deedri, a hint of wince slipping out. "A little. But, I feel pretty good overall. Well, especially considering, I got my ass handed to me last night."


    He glances away briefly and gazes at Deedri with an appreciative smile. "Which, um... Thanks for patching me up. And also, well, talking some sense into me."


    Shrugging briefly, he chuckles softly. "Maybe some good will happen from all that drama."


    Deedri''s damped furry ears perk up and her tail wags through the water. With a happy smile, she nods some of her multi-colored, longer hair free. Smirking with a bit of embarrassment, she rests her hands on her knees. "You''re welcome. I''m sorry if I poked a little too far into your family affairs. I, uh, may have gotten a little too righteous there."


    Modoran rolls his dark blue eyes with a shake of his head and reassures Deedri with a genuine grin. "You did not. Honestly... Having that outside perspective kind of pointed out the really damn obvious."


    Smiling and relieved, Deedri gazes over to Modoran. "By the way, your family is really nice. They weren''t quite what I expected. But, maybe..."


    She hides a soft bite of her lower lip and sighs. "I''ve been reading the wrong things about Evuukian houses."


    Fighting off his embarrassment, Modoran chuckles lightly and shrugs his shoulders with a brief wince. "Yeah. There is a public face all the houses want to have. In reality... They are more typical and just as dysfunctional as any other family. Mine just happens to own a few choice businesses in the service industry."


    Deedri agrees with a nod and darts her eyes around the subject with an awkward hint. "Yes. I also would never have guessed your sisters would be so..."


    Modoran lifts a humored brow and chuckles lightly. "Different? Yeah. My parents and I have tried to figure that one out for years."


    With a tight smile, Deedri averts her gaze briefly and grins partially. "I STILL can''t believe your mother gave me THAT bottle of wine. I''m going to have to hide it and save it for some special occasion."


    Modoran snorts, shaking his head with an amused smirk. "Don''t worry. She was very happy you took care of me and patched my sorry ass up."


    Shifting his weight around, he resettles into his seat upon the pool step at the shallow end and grits his teeth, rubbing his lower back. Deedri flicks a damp furry ear over towards Modoran''s quiet complaints and leans close, investigating his pain. "If you are still sore, you might try soaking in the hot tub over there. A little heat couldn''t hurt to relax the muscles."


    Tassilda swims closer to the two. Modoran twists his mouth and grimaces in mild disgust, grumbling. "Normally, I would. And, really want to. But..."


    He slides a side eye over to the tub within the privacy confines. "I am going to stay away from that thing. And, I recommend you two do the same."


    Deedri furrows her curious brow, and Tassilda spins her stare over to Modoran expectantly. Averting his gaze, Modoran sighs and shakes his head. "Chad and Veevi were in there earlier. And, well..."


    He contorts his dusky bluish gray face and shudders briefly. "The camera crews were VERY interested in something going on there, for some reason. So, I would just enjoy the cool waters of the pool... To be on the safe side."


    The trio cringe in unison, the ramifications of such an encounter sinking into their minds. Tassilda closes her light blue on black eyes hard and shudders in the water with disgust blatant on her face. "OH. GODS. Thank you for the warning. I think I''ll pass on soaking in slut soup."


    Deedri''s expression sours, and she tenses her shoulders. "No thank you, too."


    Glancing over to Modoran, Tassilda lifts an inquisitive eyebrow and scans the surrounding area, focusing through the gaps in the wooden lattice fence. "By the way, do you have any idea where Trakenthin went off to?"


    Modoran thinks for a moment, turning his head towards a section of the privacy barrier, and points in a rough direction. "Uh, yeah. Last I saw him, he had a bottle of some grath wine he ordered from room service and had a book in hand. If I remember right, I think he headed off towards the hammocks. I have not seen him come back. So, he is probably sleeping it off, right now."


    He shrugs his shoulders and twists his mouth. "I figured if I didn''t see him come back after I got out, I''d check over there. Though, I don''t think I could move him by myself if I had to."


    Tassilda stands up, combing her raven black hair back over her swirling horns, and rests her hands on her hips. "Well, I''m going walk around a bit before I get back in the water."


    Wrestling a spark of concern on her gray, patterned face, she sighs. "Better check on him... You two want to join?"


    Deedri glances over and up towards Tassilda, thinks a moment, and slowly rises out of the water. "Yeah. I better come along just in case. I do know a few ways to make someone sober enough to stumble into a proper bed."


    Standing up, she tosses her hair back and shudders. She presses the water out of her tail fur, and Modoran''s eyes sneak over, watching her attentively. Deedri glances over to Modoran, catching his gaze upon her, and observes him awkwardly trying to shift his focus smoothly elsewhere, obfuscating his previous peek. Secreting away her satisfaction, she calmly asks Modoran with a kind smile. "Are you going to come along?"


    Modoran assumes a nonchalant facade with his typical smirk and shakes his head slowly. "Ah, no. I am going to soak for a little while longer. But, if you two need my help, just let me know."


    Deedri nods and steps up the stairs to join Tassilda. The two walk out of the pool area through another archway built into the privacy fence. Tassilda walks a significant distance away from the pool with Deedri at her side. Smirking slyly, Tassilda leans over with a quieter tone. "So... How are you liking that swimsuit of yours, now?"


    Quelling a flush of pink in her cheeks, Deedri averts her auburn eyes away,and calmly replies, tapping her clawed fingertips together. "Well. I think I''m warming up to it."


    Over in the pool, Modoran stares up at the starry night sky and sighs, quietly pondering in the moment. He squirms around upon his seat on the shallow end step, straightens up his posture, and glances down at his lap through the waving reflection of the moon. Twisting the hints of embarrassment on his face, he glances around the area and mumbles to himself. "That was a... very nice swimsuit..."


    ----


    The old humvee rolls down the long, winding two lane highway. Under the late afternoon sun, thinning forests pass by on either side of the ancient military vehicle, hints of civilization peeking through the gaps of bordering trees. Cideeda taps her claw tips on the steering wheel, steering down the road, and flicks her emerald eyes up at the rear view mirror inquisitively. "So, do we want to try to squeeze in one more place today? Might be able to fit just one more in. Just saying."


    Sighing, Aristespha relaxes in her seat behind Cideeda, sinking into the worn cushions. She scrolls through a few notes on her tablet, shaking her head of silvery blue hair apprehensively. "We could try... But, I do not think we have enough time to give such anything close to a proper investigation."


    Narrowing her violet eyes at the time showing in the corner of the display, she wrestles a grimace. "And, if I remember correctly, most offices or checkpoints for those sites close in an hour."


    She taps through a few menus on the screen, contorting her face, and accepts unfortunate fact with a sigh. "It seems like anything else will take, at least, thirty minutes to get to."


    Cideeda flicks her furry ear back, nodding her head, and rolls her shoulders with relief. "Yeah... I was figuring that would be the case. We''d be asking for trouble from someone official if we stayed for too long."


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia rolls her golden eyes and snorts with a derisive tinge. "Yeah. That''s the last fucking thing I''d really wanted to have to deal with today. Some security guard following us around and pestering us to leave, so they can go home."


    She shrugs her shoulders and smirks with a faint amount of compassion. "Not that I don''t blame them. But, STILL..."


    Flipping through pages of a heavily annotated printout, Bach narrows his blue eyed gaze, scrutinizing sets of numbers next to location coordinates. "Well, the last few places didn''t have anything much to speak of, to be honest. Just a bunch of little things with traces of elder energy remaining."


    He scratches his head close to the white streak in his long brown hair and grimaces uncertainly. "So, I don''t know if there''s really anything significant left to find. Well, at least, nearby."


    From her seat upon the back bench, Dretphi leans forward and peeks over Bach''s shoulder, holding onto the back of his seat next to Aristespha. Furrowing her brow, she focuses her steely gray eyes and points out a line on the print out list. "There was the energy storage artifact."


    Bach studies the entry, nods in agreement, squinting his eyes thoughtfully, and traces an entry row across to the furthest columns. "True. Very true. You know, I wouldn''t be surprised if the number of items or strength of them was what these other numbers over here indicated. But..."


    Closing his eyes , he grumbles with a slump of his shoulders. "Who the hell knows what scale they''re even based on."


    From her seat, Aristespha glances over at the list and brushes her silvery blue hair out of her violet eyes. "Yes. I was theorizing that, too. We will have to sit down and compile all the information we have found out. There HAS to be some significance to those numbers. At this point, we might just have enough information now to decipher the meaning."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form drifts over to the impromptu meeting, peeking over the group. "Well, we found two major targets and put monitors on them. If Noxian is going off the information indicating the amount of energy, those will probably be the most likely places he''ll visit. Hopefully, those will also be the places he''ll stick around the longest to investigate after tripping our traps."


    A collective agreement spreads through the team, spirits rising up with the sparks of hope. Sotalia shifts her attention to the increasing signs of civilization in the world outside the vehicle and scans the road ahead with her golden eyes. "So... Is anyone else hungry?"


    Settling back onto her bench seat, Dretphi gazes up towards the front of the humvee and nods, removing crimson armor plates off her suit. "Yes. Food would be nice."


    Cideeda drums her claw tips on the steering wheel, searches out on the horizon, and narrows her stare to the emerging city scape. "Let''s see here... Yeah, I think this is that part of town where we got sniped trying to capture that one fugitive at the motel. And..."


    Scanning the horizon, she squints out into the distance and sorts through the emerging advertisement signs along the roadside. "If I remember right, there was this one place I wanted to try out when I got the chance..."


    She slows the humvee to a stop at a stoplight intersection, glancing around the area, and spots a "Fval Spice" sign at the corner of a strip mall parking lot. "There it is."


    Pointing out the location, she seeks out the rest of the team through the rear view mirror and perks a furry ear over her shoulder. "Should we give it a try?"


    With no obvious objection or counter, the team agrees. Cideeda navigates through the intersection, finding a route into the parking lot. Pulling into a close spot, Sebastian''s ethereal visage disappears into the sword at Aristespha''s side with a smirk. "Just in case they don''t serve ghosts."


    The doors of the humvee open, and the team exits the vehicle, stretching out to near normal postures. Securing unneeded equipment inside, the group walks up to the store front of "Fval Spice". A chime rings out from the door bell above, and the team ventures through the front door of the restaurant and congregates near the counter of the dining area. Noyando appears from the back room and greets everyone. "Oh, hello! Welcome. Dine in, or take out?"


    Aristespha glances around, confirming with the group overall, and smiles pleasantly to Noyando. "I believe it will be take out, today."


    Nodding happily, Noyando picks up a few menus from a holder nearby and passes them out to everyone. The team flips through the pages, studying the choices, and arrive at decisions. Cideeda steps up to the counter and orders in fvalian. Noyando responds with a quick question in a similar dialect, and Cideeda answers with a toothy grin. Sotalia moves up next, and recites her order in fvalian to the delight of Noyando. Pointing to the menu, Bach shows the selection to Noyando. "I''ll go with this."


    Noyando nods, writing it down, and glances over to Bach, tilting his head curiously. "How spicy?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Thinking a moment, Bach motions with his hand indicating a middle amount. "Moderate. Just above two out of five? Maybe a three?"


    Aristespha rests her menu back into the holder and waits for Noyando to glance over. "I will have the red curry. Pork. Four out of five with the heat."


    Dretphi points to an item on the menu. "Steak stir fry."


    Shakes her head, she solidly states. "No spice. Please."


    Noyando finishes writing up the orders, taps the information into the register computer, and inquires towards the group. "Separate or together?"


    Retrieving a card from her pocket, Aristespha hands over the plastic payment method to Noyando with a smile. "Together."


    She smirks and peeks over her shoulder at everyone else. "I think this qualifies as a business expense today."


    With few final key presses, the system processes the transaction. Noyando returns the card to Aristespha with a receipt and nods to the group. "Thank you. Please, have a seat. I will get your food out shortly."


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia find a larger table, and each sits down. The minutes pass by. Flashes of cooking fires radiate from the back kitchen, and sizzles roar out. Faint clouds of smoke and steam unleash a delectable aroma into the air. Team members individually relax, idly talking about topics other than work. The discussion shifts over to "The Next Heroes of Nexus". Dretphi grimaces uncomfortably towards a cringe, shaking her head of platinum blonde braids. "That was NOT a proper sparring match. That was a FIGHT."


    Bach nods in agreement, wincing slightly. "Yeah, that was something UGLY right there. Nothing felt good about that whole thing."


    Smirking, Sotalia drums her long, black nails on the table top. "OH. There''s some problems with that father-son relationship. If THAT is what a sparring match turns into, that''s just the surface of a big, nasty ordeal."


    Sighing thoughtfully, Dretphi twists her mouth, pondering out loud. "Strange. Disturbing. Sad."


    The conversation wanders towards catching up on the latest episodes. The door chime rings, and Meredosia walks in. Counting out cash and receipts in her hand, she slips behind the register. She enters the signed receipts and cash into the drawer and writes down bookkeeping notes. Stepping through the entry into the back kitchen, she addresses Noyando. "I am done with the local orders. What do you have next?"


    In between the different steps of the dishes he''s cooking, Noyando glances over and points to a pair of handled paper bags on the back counter. "Those. Further out. The electric scooter is charged. So, go ahead, and use it to deliver."


    A trace of an eager smile graces Meredosia''s ivory face, and she grabs hold of the key hanging on the wall with one hand, picking up the bags with the other. "Will do."


    She quickly crosses through the front area towards the door and past the team, when Noyando calls out. "Mera!"


    Mera halts and spins around, blinking. "Yes?"


    Noyando''s voice rises out of the din of sizzling food. "Take the alley ways. They are faster, and you don''t have to fight traffic."


    Nodding, Mera resumes her exit, opening the front door. "Will do. Thank you."


    A few minutes later, Mera rides off through the parking lot on a sit down electric scooter and zips over towards a nearby alley way. Bach glancing over, Mera disappearing from sight, and comments with a reminiscent smile. "Man. That reminds me of the one I had when I was in school."


    With a hint of grin, he chuckles. "Damn. That really made getting around that campus SO much easier."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, and she lifts an inquiring eyebrow towards Bach. "What do you have?"


    Bach grits his teeth briefly in a mix of embarrassment and awkwardness. "Well, it might be best to say what it originally started out as. I mean, that scooter went through a number of..."


    Darting his eyes around for explanation, he shrugs his shoulders. "Revisions? Yeah... We''ll just say revisions."


    He narrows a stale, irritated glare towards the sword at Aristespha''s side and grumbles loudly. "Some that a particular person was responsible for."


    From the sword, Sebastian''s voice softly emanates in an accusatory tone. "Fuck you, bro. At least I didn''t run headlong into a vending machine."


    Minutes pass on by, the team bouncing between one idle topic and another. With a grand entrance, Noyando appears from the back kitchen with paper bags stuffed with food containers. "Your orders are ready. My apologies for the wait."


    The team stands up, excitement and eagerness very apparent on all their faces towards the awaiting meals. Dretphi lifts up the hefty bags off the counter with a thankful nod towards Noyando. Noticing a small stand with business cards, Cideeda plucks one up and examines it. "So, how far out do you deliver?"


    Thinking for a moment, Noyando taps his claw tips on the counter and shrugs with an entrepreneurial smirk. "Within a few kilometers. But... If the order is big enough, and we''re not too busy, I can make exceptions. Just expect a longer wait and a larger delivery fee."


    Cideeda bows slightly with a smile. "I think we might make it worth your while."


    She catches up to the rest of the team, starting to filter out through the front door. Watching the group leave, Noyando takes a seat behind the counter and relaxes with a long sigh, staring out the front windows. The late afternoon sky shifts through a spectrum of orange hues. Minutes pass, and Mera zips through the parking lot to a side alley, parks the scooter, and walks in through the door. Her crimson eyes sort through the signed receipts, and she hands them over to the sedate Noyando. Moments later, Noyando snaps back to awareness and graciously takes the receipts from Mera. Studying the table the group was at, Mera combs her long gray hair back into order and lifts an intrigued eyebrow at Noyando. "Who were those people?"


    Pondering a moment, Noyando shrugs his shoulders and glances over to Meredosia. "New customers. I think they are adventurers. They certainly look the part. But, I''ve never seen them before. Might be new in town? I hope they come back. Adventurers usually tip nice."


    Mera returns her gaze to the table and grimaces thoughtfully, puzzling uncertainly. Noyando stands up from the chair behind the counter and stretches his back, walking over to the back kitchen. From beyond the folding screen, he calls out. "Mera, what do you want to eat tonight? We have some time now to cook."


    Mera''s long, pointed ears perk up slightly, and she excitedly wanders in the back, eyes hungrily wide open.


    ----


    Sitting around the dining table in the ranch style house, Aristespha, Cideeda, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia dig into their take out orders, thorough enjoyment blatant. Sebastian hovers next to Aristespha, enjoying the aromas pass by and through his ethereal form. With a piece of chicken pincered between her chopsticks, Sotalia pauses feasting and points the wooden utensils over to a small set of light armor plating in progress on the coffee table. "So, Cideeda, how much more needs to be done on that?"


    Cideeda perks her furry ears, glances over with her emerald green eyes, and mentally deliberates, contorting her light brown face. "Well... It''s close. Really close. I just need to do a few more adjustments to get it just right, for my preferences."


    Thinking for a moment, Dretphi studies Cideeda, nodding. "We are close. Need to reinforce seams. Test to find hidden issues."


    She shakes head with a sigh. "There always are."


    Bach swallows a large bit of his basil stir fry, sniffing from the building heat upon his faintly reddened face, and gazes over to Cideeda. "Speaking of which, um, do you want to cut any more plating? Think I''ve figured out how to tweak the magic flows a little better after that last batch. Shouldn''t take as long as before, I think."


    Resting her head on the palm of her propped hand, Cideeda hums indecisively, idly stirring her pepper and spice loaded beef and coconut cream curry. "I think I got the major pieces cut. Any fine detail work, I''ll take care of myself. It''ll probably just be a little angle grinder and rotary tool work."


    She shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, singling out a morsel from the meal with her chopstick. "Nothing too demanding..."


    Flashing an eager, toothy grin towards Bach, she wags her long fluffy tail. "Just be ready when I ask for those armor enchantments."


    The split unit air conditioner kicks on in the living area, and a gust of air breezes through the room towards the dining table. The gentle wind wafts the spicy vapors off of Cideeda''s meal down the table. Bach waves the potent smell away with a chuckle. The heated wind graces Dretphi, splashing over her. She unknowingly draws a long breath in through her nose. She reflexively coughs, squirms, and winces, covering her nose with curses in grath. Bach glances over at Dretphi with a bit of concern. "You okay?"


    Dretphi settles down and nods to Bach with a warm smile. "Yes. Caught me off guard."


    Sliding his curious gaze over to Cideeda, Bach lowers his attention upon the potent, spicy dish in front of her. "Okay... I have to know. How the hell can you eat that with your sense of smell? I mean, that just seems like it''d be pure, fucking torment to your senses."


    Cideeda blinks blankly, nods down at her food, and shrugs her shoulders towards Bach indifferently. "I don''t know. You just, well, get used to it when growing up. Heat and spice was just always a traditional thing with everything my mom and dad cooked. Never thought it was anything special, until I started eating with other people."


    She widens a smug, toothy grin. "Then, I just considered it one of my talents. I won a lot of leftover lunch money in school with all the bets."


    Barely hiding her sneer, Dretphi narrows an incredulous glare at the toxic dish in front of Cideeda and quietly quips. "Excessive spice hides poor quality. Proper main ingredients should carry the dish with minimal assistance."


    Sotalia snorts into a snicker and points the chopsticks at Dretphi, smiles slyly. "OH! It has been a long while since I heard from your inner food snob."


    Lifting an intrigued brow, she briefly grimaces. "Now, I know exactly where you get it from."


    Rolling her golden eyes, she picks up another piece of chicken, motions with the wooden utensils, and playfully mocks. "So... Would this dish best be improved if it was cooked in a stone bowl upon an open flame?"


    Dretphi grumbles to herself, eating her cooler food. Halting a moment, she smirks and snarks. "I do not expect one who requests well done steaks to understand."


    Bach shakes his head with lighthearted laugh at the debate between Dretphi and Sotalia and turns his attention over to Aristespha calmly eating her red curry. "Huh. You''re handling that pretty well, Aristespha."


    Nonchalantly shrugging, Aristespha pours another hefty spoon load of curry upon her bowl of rice. "There was a fvalian restaurant across the street from my dorm at the Grand Library. Quite a few of us were competitive about handling the heat. So, I have built my tolerance up over time. It is certainly not what it used to be. But, I do my best to maintain my tolerance."


    Nodding understandingly, Bach shrugs with a reassuring smile over to Dretphi. "I mean, hate that you''re missing out on the experience. But, if the heat is not for you, that''s fine, too."


    Sotalia grins smugly and bites into another piece of chicken, lifting a mocking eyebrow directly at Dretphi. "Yeah. Just not for you, huh?"


    Furrowing his translucent brow at Sotalia, Sebastian shakes his head slowly and mouths out. "Leave it alone-"


    A defiant wave bubbles up through Dretphi and crests, twisting her face. Reaching over the table, she plunges her fork into a chunk of chicken and spicy vegetables on Sotalia''s plate and brings it close to her mouth. Sebastian snaps his surprise over to Dretphi and dons a calm, polite tone, drifting over into her view. "Okay. There''s no need to prove anything so drastically. So long as you enjoy your food that''s all that matters, right?"


    He chuckles encouragingly. "And, you can work up to it if you want-"


    Dretphi deliberately places the spicy food into her mouth, staring right at Sotalia. Gawking in shock at Dretphi, Sotalia watches her close her mouth. Dretphi pridefully chews and tilts her head to the side. "Did you order this hot?"


    A flush of red colors Dretphi''s tan cheeks, she struggles keeping the stoic facade up. Bach glances around the table and spots the anticipating stares of Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sebastian, and Sotalia''s disbelief. Summoning up her defiant pride, Dretphi breathes out words with hesitation sneaking in. "Not... bad. It has its... Unique flavor."


    Sotalia slides back from the table, studies everyone briefly, standing up, and walks towards the refrigerator. "I need a refill on my drink. Anyone want anything? Water? Ice cold water? Milk, maybe?"


    Harshly swallowing a mix of pride and spice, Dretphi raises her finger and points to her glass with a nod. Bach nudges over his egg soaked rice and whispers over to Dretphi. "It helps."


    Mustering an appreciative smile to Bach through a nearly reflexive grimace, Dretphi scoops some of the yellow coated rice onto her plate and nods thankfully to Sotalia placing down a fresh glass of ice water next to her plate.


    ----


    Down the walkway between furniture in the small upstairs bedroom, Samantha paces back and forth. Near the double doors to the balcony, she pauses and gazes out. Humming in thought, she glances over to Gerald sorting through data cartridges. "Okay. We SHOULD be able to stretch out the scenes from the resort, for another episode. But..."


    She narrows her hazel eyes. "We NEED something MORE."


    Typing a few commands on his laptop, Gerald settles back into the chair and idly watches a message prompt appear on screen, a progress bar slowly filling. "Well, with a bit of editing, we almost have a whole episode''s worth of stuff. It might get a little repetitive towards the end, but it could still work. A well-timed ad break should hide how repetitive it is."


    Howard sounds out from the speaker of the phone on the desk, verbally sorting through his thoughts. "True. But, it wouldn''t be bad to have some contrasting segments to break up any possible monotony. The editing crew is good... But I don''t want to push it too much. You only get so many of those episodes before people start complaining."


    He pauses a moment, the sounds of keyboard typing mixing with paper shuffling from the other side of the call. "By the way, is Trakenthin''s father still around? Got a copy of the invoice from that cheap motel we booked him in."


    Rolling her eyes with a sneer of the upper lip, Samantha brushes back her brown hair and slowly shakes her head with a hint of annoyed disgust. "YES. He''s making sure to milk every bit of the deal we offered him. Do you want me to... STRONGLY ENCOURAGE him to leave?"


    Gerald blinks a few times and sits up, an idea popping into his mind, and pivots his chair towards Samantha. "Wait. What if we did another segment with Trakenthin and his dad? Something like a bookend bit and farewell for now type of thing?"


    Howard''s plotting tone leaks through the aetherphone speaker and drifts into the room. "Yeah... I like that line of thinking. But, I don''t want to run another training or sparring segment. It''s too soon. Need something else to differentiate it. Something to set it apart from the rest..."


    Samantha dons a sly smile, sits down in another chair near Gerald, and ponders out loud. "We got to stir things up. There''s GOT to be some bit of drama we could amp up and ignite. But..."


    She curls up an eyebrow and glances around her head, drumming her fingers on her clipboard. "What exactly?"


    Grumbling to himself, Howard''s cadence slides towards frustration. "Unfortunately, Trakenthin isn''t the easiest to genuinely antagonize. Save a few things... And, it seems Veevi only has Chad''s and Tassilda''s buttons figured out."


    His voice trails off, and Samantha twists her face in contemplation. With both idling on their thoughts, Gerald crosses his arms and smirks unsatisfied. "If there was a way to get a rematch between Trakenthin and Dretphi. THAT would get viewer attention. But, I really doubt you''d be able to convince either to go for it at this point."


    Nodding her head in agreement, Samantha flips through her clipboard of older notes, halts, and gazes at a guild quick physical identification guide, closely studying a line. "Dretphi Prakkenten Reti Veranattin... Reti... Where have I heard that before?"


    Gerald perks up, cocks his head to the side, and puzzles at Samantha. "Trenannin got on a really hateful rant about a Commander Reti. Blaming him for being a coward and fucking up the progress in fighting against the Red Gears..."


    With an annoyed frown, he reaches over to a pile of data cartridges. "Gods. He just kept going on and on. I know I got the clip around here somewhere, but I didn''t think some war vet''s angry rant would be useful."


    Samantha eyes spring open with recognition and a devious grin grows on her light face. "THAT''S RIGHT! Dretphi is Commander Reti''s daughter!"


    Narrowing her aimless stare, she rests her chin on her hand, pondering out loud. "Trakenthin knows that... He figured that out from the info we gave the team a while back. But... He hasn''t mentioned any of it to his father... I wonder if it''s because he knows it''ll set his father off?"


    A dark chuckle oozes into the room from the aetherphone speaker, and Howard''s evil scheming tone fills the space with his mischievous eagerness. "I DO wonder if that''s the case. I think it might be worth trying to inform him of certain details, such as the fact that Commander Reti''s daughter is right next door..."


    Howard''s laugh infiltrates the soundscape of the bedroom, and he plots with devious glee. "And... Make sure that he knows that she''s the one that beat his son publicly in a sparring match at that convention."


    Cringing slightly, Gerald alternates his gaze between the aetherphone and Samantha, squirming uneasily. "Uh. Are you sure about THAT? I mean, I''m all for mixing things up, but that sounds like it might actually detonate. You two might want to watch that clip of his rant first before you go with this plan."


    Samantha switches to another clipboard of paper and starts excitedly writing down an outline of notes. "That just might WORK, Howie! Trenannin might challenge Dretphi. BUT, more than likely, he''ll push Trakenthin to demand a rematch!"


    Howard''s satisfaction radiates from the speakerphone, and he sighs in anticipation. "And, I''m quite certain that Trakenthin''s father will spout off plenty to CONVINCE Dretphi to accept the rematch."


    Uncomfortably witnessing the scheme forming before him, Gerald shifts his attention to the progress bar on his laptop and grimaces uneasily, mumbling to himself. "Sounds like you two have that covered. Uh, I''ll figure out a backup plan to deal with the small war that might happen."


    ----


    In the messy academic office, large wall monitors scroll through endless status messages and system information prompts. Nash reluctantly eyes a tall stack of paperwork upon his desk, curling an upper lip into a sneer of defiance at the task before him. Slowly easing back into his squeaky office chair with a long metallic groan, he runs his fingers through his long, graying hair. "Gods... Dammit..."


    He gradually allows the spring loaded back of the chair to lift him upright to his desk and rests his arms to either side of the imposing pile of paper. Slowly shaking his head, he stares at the stack in disbelief, groaning. "How... Just... How can there be THIS much budget paperwork?"


    With building suspicion, he narrows his pale blue eyes, facetiousness bordering on seriousness. "They have to be making up policies to justify their jobs... Yeah... That''s it... That explains it..."


    Reaching out hesitantly, his hand close to lifting the first form on the pile of bureaucratic doom. The door opens quickly, and he freezes. A graduate assistant steps in first with an irritated Vetra entering immediately afterwards. The young evuukian man grimaces uncomfortably, eying over to Vetra, and apologetically stares at Nash. "Uh, sorry to interrupt."


    Nash drops the top form back onto the pile and slides the mass off to the side of his desk. With a mixture of confusion and relief, he addresses the graduate assistant and Vetra. "Not a problem. Really."


    Furrowing his brow curiously, he tilts his head to the side and puzzles at Vetra. "So... Uh... What ever do I owe the honor your visit?"


    Vetra tosses a sealed plastic bag onto Nash''s desk and points a sharp, dark fingernail at Nash''s desk, gritting her sharp teeth. "THAT."


    The young evuukian man stiffens his posture, struggling for anything beyond an awkward explanation. "Uh, well... We checked out that server on that work order finally. And well... Found... uh..."


    Picking up the plastic bag with his finger and thumb, Nash lifts it up into his view, revealing the bewilderment plainly on his face. "Okay?..."


    He slowly rotates the container to different angles and quietly examines the pair of panties and used condom. Seconds of perplexed and substantially disgusted expressions later, he gently drops the bag on his deck and quietly shudders. "Ewwww."


    Searching for a reason between the graduate assistant and Vetra, Nash holds his hands up and out to his sides, absolutely baffled. "I REALLY don''t know what to make of this. Explanation? Please?"


    Noticing Vetra''s constant, darkened orange eyed glare at Nash, the graduate assistant chimes in sheepishly. "Um... Well, the good news is the server is just fine. But... We think a possible cause for it momentarily being off the network was due to... uh..."


    He coughs and meekly mumbles. "Unanticipated physical contact?"


    Rolling her eyes in disgust, Vetra''s pointed ears droop, and she growls out. "Someone was LITERALLY FUCKING AROUND in the server room, AND left a gods damned MESS!"


    Nash smirks towards a frown, lifts an uneasy brow, and attempts to vent off his discomfort with a chuckle. "Well, how much of a mess are we talking about really-"


    The graduate assistant interrupts in a plain tone. "We cleaned the ceiling."


    With wide eyes, Nash blinks blankly and shakes the mental imagery out his head, focusing upon Vetra. "So, how did you get involved?"


    Vetra crosses her arms unamused, furrowing her brow, and explains. "I found it strange for a graduate assistant to be asking for a ladder, mop, bucket, scrub brushes, gloves, and the strongest cleaner for biological mishaps to clean up a server room."


    She pauses a moment and slides a suspecting stare upon Nash. "And, I''m just generally suspicious when any of your graduate students request supplies."


    Releasing a long sigh, Nash shakes his head, glances over to the graduate student, and mercifully waves them off. "Thank you for handling it. Get out of here while you can. You''ve done plenty. We''ll talk later."


    Nodding in agreement, the graduate student slinks off, relief for his freedom obvious, and escapes the overwhelming pressure of opposing authorities. Nash gazes at Vetra and relaxes back in his seat with a long metal squeak. "So... What do you want me to do?"


    Vetra taps her sharp, dark nailed fingers on her arm, and narrows her stare at Nash. "Well, find out who did it, of course."


    Rubbing his temples, Nash grimaces in thought and rocks his head side to side, sorting through the options out loud. "Okay. Right. Yeah. I think there''s an old camera that watches that particular door to that area. It''s mostly to watch that hallway more than anything. BUT, it does get a decent view of that door."


    He turns to a monitor on his desk, slides his keyboard over, and types out a series of commands. "Well, let''s get the camera system up and check the recording."


    The large monitors overhead on the wall flick over to a new layout showing multiple, current camera feeds. Nash retrieves his aetherphone from his pants pocket, sorts through the interface, and scrolls through a list of alerts. He settles upon a familiar series of entries and studies the time stamps. Quickly entering the data into the camera system interface, a large monitor switches to a full screen view of a long hallway leading to an intersection and a single plain door. Vetra pivots in place, lifts her stare up to the screen, and watches expectantly. Nash sorts through the controls on screen and fast forwards to the next nearest motion detection indicated. "Okay, let''s see what this motion trip was for."


    On the big screen, the door opens slowly and a young emin man peeks out into the hallway. He peers both ways down the hall, steps out, and motions for someone else to come through the door. Moments later, a young fvalian woman hops out into the hallway, the two laughing and giggling together. They quickly rush down the long hallway closer to the camera, soon out of view. With satisfaction, Vetra slowly turns around towards the begrudging groan of Nash. His face securely in his palm, Nash loudly sighs out his sheer frustration and annoyance, gritting his teeth briefly. "Gods fucking dammit... YES. I know exactly who they are. AND, I will personally berate them for you, to spare you the trouble."


    Dragging his hand down his face to a grip the chin hairs of his beard, he draws in a long breath and slowly shakes his head. "Well, I apologize for their... Sloppy antics. Uh, would assigning them to you for a week or two of work make up for this incident?"


    Vetra ponders the offer a moment and nods slowly, perking her brow. "Yes. But, separately."


    Nash widens his eyes in agreement and grumbles. "OH. Yeah. If just to be on the safe side."


    He snorts and shakes his head in disbelief. "What the fuck? Kids these days, man. What ever happened to bribing your roommate to find somewhere else to be for an hour?"


    Vetra glances over her shoulder to the wall monitor with the camera playback, focusing her attention upon another mark on the motion detection tracker. "Huh. There''s another ping on the motion detection system just a few minutes later."


    Squinting up at the screen, Nash glances over to his monitor and taps a few keys curiously. "Great fucking gods... I really hope they didn''t go for round two."


    Turning to face the overhead screen fully, Vetra smirks with a roll of her bright orange eyes. "I highly doubt THAT. But... It might explain the size of the mess."


    The video playback skips to the marked time code on the bar. The same door gradually opens. A thin man with wispy white hair and a blue scarf wrapped around his face peeks out into the hallway, and carefully scans the vicinity. Vetra''s eyes open wide, her jaw drops open, and she fumbles over her words. "Who is that? Wait... He matches the... Good fucking gods. That isn''t-"


    Terror floods Nash''s face. The man quickly walks down the hallway on the screen. Nash pauses the playback, recognizing the person on screen. "Oh. Shit."

 Episode 72

    Gathered around the dining room table, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia listen to Aristespha''s aetherphone on the tabletop. From the other side of the call, Nash sighs out with a mix of frustration and fatigue. "So... That''s the summary. Noxian- Or Isaac- Or whatever you want to call him, showed up and took something. I wish I knew more than that. And, I REALLY want to know WHAT he took. But... I''ve been dealing with the fallout of everything else since yesterday."


    Closing her violet eyes tightly, Aristespha rubs the temples of her head, gritting her teeth. "Gods almighty. How are the higher ups dealing with this news?"


    Nash pushes out a halfhearted laugh through the phone and groans out his annoyance. "Well... Running around with their heads on fire, but with FAR less direction. No one these days really has the temperament and experience to handle something like... THIS. A minor scandal or two, maybe even a major one. But... This is beyond their ability."


    He sniffs in a long breath and loudly grumbles. "SO... For better or worse, all the major players this side of the continent have been informed and brought in."


    With an inquisitive furrow of his brow, Sebastian leans his ghostly visage over, drifting closer to the aetherphone. "Major players? Like, who exactly?"


    A chair squeaks out from the other side of the call, and Nash relays, with apprehension growing in his tone. "Well, the Big Ones. Let''s see... You got the Greater Azure Alliance, of course. Appaland has been called in. Even the Coalition Of Independent Lands to the north, and Perimeter Defense Force to the south. To say the least, it''s gotten... Interesting?"


    Cideeda raps her claw tips on the wooden dining room table top, furrowing her light brown brow in thought, and directs her curious voice towards the aetherphone. "Anything useful turn up on the camera footage from anywhere else in the area?"


    Nash hums in thought and sighs apologetically over the speakerphone. "Well, unfortunately, nothing really that useful despite what we''ve tried. We were able to track him from when he arrived on the campus and when he left."


    With hints of aggravation sneaking out, he huffs. "The problem is that he walked onto the campus from the surrounding neighborhoods. HELL. He even entered and left from two different points, through older sections of campus that haven''t been updated in a long time. So, we''re trying to locate any other cameras from homes and businesses to see if we can figure out where he went. But, it seems like he picked the perfect spots to appear and disappear. Least amount of surveillance cover."


    A hopeful tinge colors Nash''s voice, and his intrigue piques. "But... We did notice him use an aetherphone. I''ve already pestered a few people I know in the network companies, and they''re combing through the data."


    With some disappointment weighing on his tone, he explains the further. "Unfortunately... Officially, they can only release basic information at the moment, until they get an official court order or warrant to be able to dig further."


    A sly chuckle slips out of him. "Unofficially, they let me know they found two strange outliers mixed in with the usual devices detected. Oddly, the last time those devices checked in recently, they were out west almost to Radotahin."


    Blinking confused, Dretphi cocks her head to the side, pondering out loud. "Do not know what could be in Radotahin. Two devices? An accomplice?"


    Sotalia crosses her arms, sneering her upper lip, and grumbles out her growing irritation. "Gods damn it. Not only did he steal something that was important enough to him, he''s ditched the area AND has someone working with him?!"


    Turning her head to the side, she growls out, stretching her neck tensely. "Fuck! How are we ever going to find him at this point?!"


    Nash''s voice rises up from the aetherphone, and he explains with a soothing cadence. "Hold up. Those techs warned me that those devices were really suspicious. You see, they''ve shown up in other odd places before, based on their network access history. So, I wouldn''t read much into where those things are now."


    With an audible shrug of fabric, he sighs. "At this point, this is all random bits of the info. So, I won''t have anything too concrete until the legal paperwork starts landing on the right desks. To say the least, it''s going to be crazy for the next week. But, I''ll get you all the information and data I can manage."


    Drawing in a long breath, Nash firmly states. "Just remember, THE hornet''s nest just got drop kicked into our party. SOON, the GAA, Appaland, COIL, and PDF investigators will be everywhere."


    A sly hint emerges in his tone, and he chuckles hopefully from the other side of the call, his chair rocking back with a slight metal groan. "This could work out for you all pretty soon. I get the distinct feeling any clearance you need to do your work will be a lot easier to get, and you probably will be hearing from a GAA representative in the area."


    Twisting his mouth contemplatively, Bach internally deliberates and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess that''s one good thing to come out of this. I mean, it helps if you have updated paperwork to show people when you want to get into places. Maybe even an official phone number to call to verify us."


    Aristespha nods slowly and reopens her eyes with a calming sigh. "Very true. As much clout as the Grand Library has, it would still be quite beneficial to have something local officials can immediately recognize and respect."


    Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes with a begrudging nod. Sotalia tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair over her shoulder, brushing the stray hairs over her swept back horns with a mumble. "Might be useful... IF he hasn''t escaped to the west."


    A long silent pause fills the room, some background chatter leaking from Nash''s side of the call. He returns his attention to the conversation, groaning. "I''m sorry, but I''ve got to go. I just got a warning from my graduate students that another horde of officials are making their rounds. Guess I''ll need to lead them around to the scene and hand them copies of all the evidence. I''ll talk to you all as soon as I can."


    Aristespha manages an appreciative smile and directs a gracious voice to her phone. "Thank you, Nash. Please. Keep us informed."


    Tapping the end call button on the aetherphone screen, Aristespha sinks back into her dining table chair and tilts her head of long, silvery blue hair over the back. A few tense moments later, Sotalia''s ire peaks, and she firmly grabs her hips, gritting her teeth. "GODS DAMN IT! While we were digging through the places Noxian must have dismissed as useless, he went and got something that was of some real importance. AND LEFT WITH IT!"


    Her body language tenses, and she spins away from the table, walking irritably away tightly grasping her horns. "FUCK! GODS FUCKING DAMN IT!"


    Signs of dismay and discomfort form in the team. Sebastian straightens his posture, narrows his gaze in thought, and projects a resolute declaration. "He has NOT gone far. And, I DON''T think he''s done with this area yet."


    Sotalia pauses a moment and glances over her shoulder back towards the table with a trace of hope in her voice. "Why do you think that?"


    Crossing his arms, Sebastian searches his thoughts and twists his mouth, forming his theory out loud. "I don''t see why Noxian would head off to Radotahin so suddenly. Can''t dismiss the possibility, BUT... That doesn''t fit what he''s been doing. And, it doesn''t feel like those devices are exactly trustworthy."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, and she tilts her head to the side with a thoughtful, sly smirk. "YEAH... Nash said those techs have seen those devices pop up before. They could be second hand, or bought from the..."


    She lifts up her eyebrows. "Usual Places."


    Nodding in agreement, Dretphi searches her thoughts and idly grips the back of the chair she stands behind. "Noxian has not worked with others before. Do not think he would leave with someone else now. Not to an area he has never been to."


    Bach grimaces, darting his blue eyes around his mind, and slowly shakes his head. "We did find at least two places he might be interested in. I mean, I don''t think he''d just completely abandon those easy pickings... yet. Even if he did wander off, I still think might visit those spots. Why not before you head out that far?"


    He glances over to Aristespha quizzically. "Are any of the locations on that list out west?"


    Pondering to herself a moment, Aristespha shakes her head. "No. From what I have determined from the data, the research station seemed to have had a limited detection range. It certainly did not show results that far away."


    A proud grin appears on Sebastian''s ghostly visage, and he nods happily to the team. "Exactly. As careful as he was for the most part, I wouldn''t be surprised if he pulled a trick or two to mislead and cover up things."


    Exhaling out her fading frustration, Sotalia steps back up to the table and tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Gods, I hope that''s the case. Because I don''t know what to do otherwise. Still..."


    She narrows her golden eyes and slides a suspecting gaze over towards the team. "Now, I''m wondering who he was talking to? Someone on the inside? Someone he knows from the past? I wonder if they can figure who and where the other caller was during the heist?"


    Resting her head upon her folded ivory hands, Aristespha furrows her brow, staring internally, and thinks out loud. "The Grand Library is his old home. I would not be surprised if there was someone helping him out with a place to stay for the time being. Possibly he is trying old contacts for information? Calling up old friends?"


    She frowns briefly and sighs. "I just don''t know. I hope it would not be someone directly helping him do all this."


    Sotalia musters a hopeful smirk, resting a hand on her hip, and taps her long, black nails on a chair back. "Well, I DO hope he does stop for a visit. Would hate for all our efforts to go to waste."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders, stretching out his back. "I don''t think it was a waste regardless. We still got some useful data for that list to figure out what those other numbers meant."


    Aristespha smiles and nods in agreement. "Yes. Seeing what was to be found and correlating those sites on the list has helped decipher some of the significance."


    Cideeda''s fluffy tail wags, and she grins toothily to the team. "Well, I hope something trips one of the traps. Otherwise, we''ll need to sneak and break in again to get everything back before someone else discovers all of it."


    Blinking at the realization, Sebastian grimaces with a twist of his mouth. "Yeah... Then, we''d have to explain TWO incidents worth of breaking a few laws."


    Aristespha grits her teeth briefly and bites her lower lip uneasily. "Let us hope we do get some broader investigative authorizations from the GAA, Sebastian."


    ----


    A dim red glow illuminates the horizon against the encroaching night sky, and a few sparse clouds barely drift along overhead. Standing, Isaac wanders off in thought, the gentle breeze swaying wisps of his white hair. With a relaxed sigh, he narrows his gray eyed gaze out to the fading light and stretches out his thin, wiry frame. A house door leading into the garage opens, and Dr. Dawkins walks out with a thoughtful smirk towards Isaac. "Ah, yes. One of the reasons I''ve kept this house. Too good of a view."


    Isaac glances over his shoulder with a smile and nods, resuming his stare out into the colorful distance. "I can''t argue with that sentiment. I have had a wonderful time here."


    Dr. Dawkins steps next to Isaac and lifts his green eyes up to the scenic night sky, chuckling to himself. "I really do wish the context surrounding your stay was... Different. Just know, you are more than welcome to stay as long as you like."


    Perking an eyebrow, he parts an eager smirk. "But, I do understand the hunt. And, that itching desire to venture toward the next step of your quest."


    He hands over a thick portfolio binder, brimming with papers and other documents, into Isaac''s hands, and shines a bold grin. "I made sure to make copies of all my old notes and maps relating to getting to, from, and around Perimeter and the Weird Zone. I am quite certain you''ll find something of use in there."


    Isaac shifts his focus down towards the collection of documents in his hands, opens up the leather folder, and briefly studies the contents. He swells with appreciation and bows slightly, honoring Dr. Dawkins. "Thank you... So much. I''ll definitely take time when I stop to go over them thoroughly."


    With a smile, Dr. Dawkins nods. "There''s a list of my previous contacts in the area for whatever tasks you might need help with. But, before you go too far, I would strongly recommend looking over the off-the-record routes for getting to Perimeter. With good weather, you should be able to travel most of them."


    He examines Isaac''s sedan, narrowing a scrutinizing stare, and side eyes Isaac. "But... You might want to... Change out vehicles once you get to Perimeter."


    Meeting Dr. Dawkins''s subtly insisting glance, Isaac nods understandingly, grimacing into similar sentiments. "Yes. I figured it might be time, since I''ll be going to less accessible places."


    With a humored smirk, he perks an inquisitive eyebrow at Dr. Dawkins. "Am I correct to assume that there''s a recommended contact for such a transaction?"


    Chuckling with a slight grin, Dr. Dawkins narrows his green eyed gaze and nods slowly. "Of course. A few actually. It always threw off artifact thieves when you left in different vehicles than what you arrived in. They eventually figured it out, but it always bought us a day or two down the road before we had to worry about them."


    Isaac laughs, shaking his head in brief disbelief, and gazes at Dr. Dawkins. "I feel I have only gotten to experience the smallest sampling of what you are capable of, Dr. Dawkins."


    Straightening his posture with a proud smile, Dr. Dawkins holds his hands behind his back and shrugs his shoulders innocently. "Maybe so. By the way, call me Emanuel. You WERE my student and employee. My friends... Call me Emanuel."


    A bit of surprise swells in Isaac, and he gazes at Emanuel, smiling happily. "I will... Emanuel. Gods. THAT is going to take some getting used to it."


    Laughing heartily, Emanuel rests his hand on Isaac''s shoulder and shakes his head with a grin. "You''ll have plenty of time to get used to it when you call and message me. Remember to use the new aetherphones."


    He pauses a moment and furrows his brow. "And, send anything... Interesting... That you are willing to part with back through one of the preferred package services on my list. Thankfully, most of them like money more than they like asking all those pesky questions."


    Lifting an inquiring eyebrow at Emanuel, Isaac scratches the gray scruff on his chin thoughtfully and hums in thought. "I will do so. Unfortunately, it might be some time before I find anything worth the trouble. First, I need to finish checking a few sites in Amaranth Valley before I head down to Perimeter."


    Emanuel concentrates a cautious gaze upon Isaac, twisting his mouth uneasily. "I would exercise caution there. You would not want to put yourself at risk, right now. Especially when a greater prize is possible elsewhere."


    Nodding understandingly, Isaac mentally weighs the options, staring at the supplies filling the backseats of his sedan. "THAT is very true. But, I don''t believe I''ll run into too much trouble. The locations haven''t garnered much attention lately, so I doubt anyone is putting forth any resources to guard them."


    The summer wind breezes by. Crossing his arms contemplatively, Emanuel shrugs his shoulders with an examining gaze at Isaac. "Just exercise caution, regardless. Some of the worst surprises I''ve ever had to experience spawned from the most mundane of situations."


    Isaac steps forward, turns around, and extends a hand to Emanuel with an appreciative smile. "I will. As much as I enjoy your company and generosity, I should be off now. Need to take advantage of the night to travel."


    Emanuel firmly shakes Isaac''s hand, nods thoughtfully, and sighs. "Indeed. I will try my damnedest to keep you updated on things here. Gods. I pray it remains quiet enough."


    He pauses a moment in thought and smirks. "Good luck, Isaac. And whatever happens, my door is always open to you so long as I''ve got one to open. Always appreciate someone to share a drink with."


    Isaac bows with a grateful smile to Emanuel. "Thank you Dr.-... Emanuel. Gods damn it. I''m going to have to practice."


    Laughing loudly, Emanuel shakes his head and waves to the departing Isaac. He returns to the door in the garage leading to the rest of the house and watches Isaac entering his sedan. The vehicle starts, the lights turn on, and Isaac grants a final farewell. Rolling down the long driveway to the access road, he disappears out of sight down the sparsely lit roadway. Emanuel presses a button on a panel next to the doorway, and the garage door slowly closes.


    ----


    A warm summer breeze blows through the open garage door of the ranch style house and circulates the air inside, traces of dust and debris swirling in the current upon the floor. Wearing her new bodysuit, Cideeda stands rigid in posture and waits. Finishing up the latest adjustments to the slip-on armor plating, Dretphi stands up fully and admires her handiwork. "Move around."


    Cideeda steps forward carefully and purposefully, sensing every bit of her motions. She gets in the middle of the garage and flexes her arms out to their extremes. Twisting her flexible torso around with the rest of her body, she gracefully morphs between a series of contortionist maneuvers. Slowly widening her stance, she eases down into full side split with ease, twists her upper body around along with her arms, and arches herself backwards. Pulling her legs together in front of her and pointing her clawed toes, she folds herself forward and rests her head upon her shins with her furry ears flicking at her ankles.


    Sitting back up with a long draw of breath, Cideeda smirks proudly, bringing her legs close and feet underneath herself. She tucks into a forward roll and springs herself up into the air, sticking the landing on her feet with her arms out for balance. Pivoting around from the threshold of the open garage door, she prances elegantly in exaggerated motions and flexibility showcasing poses with a prideful grin, stretching out. "Barely held me back."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Shifting her weight between her legs, she hops upon the balls of her feet and rolls her shoulders around. "Had to push against a little bit of resistance. But..."


    She flashes a confident, toothy grin. "I''ll manage."


    Blinking out of his staring stupor, Bach snaps his focus back to the unfinished armor plate on his lap. He shuffles around his seat upon the floor, picks up the thin metal piece, and taps it on the ground. "Uh, yeah... All that might be easier after this latest incarnation of your armor enchantment."


    He pushes the plating forth along the ground, and it slides across the floor in a gentle glide toward Cideeda''s eager, awaiting clawed fingers. "Think I got it just right for what you need. Thinner and sleeker protective layers, with a very low friction coating."


    With a firm grip, Cideeda plucks up the armor piece and studies it carefully, dragging her claws hard across the surface. Her fingers easily slip along the plating, and a faint golden glow fades from the path her fingertips pressed. An excited grin appears on her light brown face, and an accomplished glint sparkles in her emerald green eyes. "OH... I LOVE it when my designs become reality."


    She smiles towards Bach with an intrigued lift of her eyebrow. "So, when can you update the new plating with the latest version?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach dons a nonchalant, easy-going smirk. "I mean, not too long. Maybe just a few tweaks that''ll take a few minutes per plate."


    Dretphi steps up behind Cideeda and presents a sleek, plated head guard to her. "Try it on. I believe the measurements are right."


    Cideeda examines the piece of headgear. Apprehensive initially, she studies the construction and design. She swiftly dons the protection and cinches it into place. Her furry ears perk and flick freely through the crafted clearances on the sides. She taps her claws upon the plating on the forehead cover, faint traces of a magical barrier appearing. A satisfied, toothy grin appears, and she rests her gloved hands on her sides into a confident pose. "Pretty close. Nothing that little wearing in won''t fix."


    Cideeda''s confidence wanes towards casual unease, and she watches Dretphi train her steely gray gaze upon her in a mix of awe and joy. Dretphi clasps her hands together with a slight bite of her lower lip in an overwhelming appreciation of her creation. "This is... Cute! May I take a picture? My mother will want to see this."


    With a slight chuckle, Cideeda presents a smile with a pose, nodding calmly. "Oh. Sure. Go right ahead. I mean, you did make a lot of it. You should have a few pictures of it."


    Dretphi searches for her phone nearby, and Cideeda glances over to Bach with an uncertain grimace. Darts his blue eyes to either side, Bach shrugs with his hands out to the side and smirks vaguely encouragingly in return. Dretphi takes pictures of Cideeda from different angles. Flexing his hands in a break from his enchantment work, Bach wanders his gaze around the garage. He notices the minigun from the large security droid on a workbench and points over to the weaponry. "Any progress on getting THAT working?"


    Cideeda slides her attention over to the device, crosses her arms, and sighs with traces of frustration. "Unfortunately, not much. I just really need to sit down for a day and just tear into it without interruptions. BUT, we''ve been running around so much that I just haven''t been able to set aside time just to do that..."


    A guilty smirk graces, and she rolls her emerald green eyes with a shrug. "And... I''ve been a bit distracted with trying to figure out what I''m going to exactly do with all the golem parts I have."


    Gripping her hips, she drums her fingers in sync with her thoughts, pondering out loud. "As much as I am learning about magic, those things are a bit... Large? And well..."


    She wrestles with a grimace and grumbles. "Unwieldy for me right now?"


    Flicking her furry ears, she briefly grits her teeth. "Gods. I don''t know how to say it correctly. Maybe if they were smaller and simpler, I''d actually make some headway in figuring out how to work them."


    Bach narrows his gaze and nods understandingly. "I think I get the idea. There might be something we can do. I''ll have to check with Aristespha and Sotalia, and see what we could come up with."


    Cideeda steps away towards the distraction of a nearby box of golem components. Dretphi glances over to Bach and quietly agrees with him. Bach and Dretphi watch Cideeda dig through the box with a happy smile.


    ----


    Stepping through the sliding glass back door of the two story house, Trakenthin slowly moves through the opening, staring at his aetherphone. He furrows his brow, struggling with the bewilderment plain on his face, and cocks his head. He blinks at the end of call statistics screen, and the prompt disappears, revealing the home screen on the device. Pulling the sliding door behind him to a close, he steps past the table of the dining area, sorting through his confusion. His attention diverts away from his phone, and he glances over to Tassilda and Deedri sorting through reagents and recipes.


    Deedri carefully measures out exacting amounts of powdered compounds into a series of small flasks and gently swirls the granulated mixture along the glass bottoms. Tassilda narrows her light blue on black eyes at the process and cocks her head of raven hair to the side curiously. "Is there any particular reason you don''t use one large flask and divide out the potion later?"


    Flicking her furry ear back from listening to Tassilda''s question, Deedri focuses her auburn gaze upon the task and explains with a smirk. "Limiting liability. There are a few steps in processing these reagents that can accidentally spoil the potion, if not done correctly. Each is tricky by itself. Hence, together it makes it quite difficult. So, I like to do a series of small batches and contain any mistakes that may have gotten through."


    Settling the last small flask on the counter, she glances over to iridescent fluid faintly steaming in a large pot on the stove and twists her mouth in anticipating frustration. "Occasionally, despite my best efforts, there can be some variance in the mix or an impurity that throws the calculations off."


    She furrows her fair brow and grimaces. "When that happens, it can cause byproducts that can ruin the whole batch and are almost not worth the effort to filter out."


    Crossing her arms, she turns around, facing Tassilda, and leans against the edge of the counter with a sigh. "I consider the first flask my litmus test and adjust from there. Thankfully, I rarely have any problems after the first flask anymore."


    She glances to the side, briefly frowning. "Still frustrating when something does happen."


    Tassilda brushes her hair over her swirling horns, rests her hands on her hips, and smiles with a chuckle. "Do I sense some previous scarring from past failures?"


    With a playful roll of her eyes, Deedri grumbles and slowly shakes her head. "Oh gods... So many hours wasted on salvaging potions with reagents I had to pay way too much for."


    A sympathetic groan leaves Tassilda, and she nods understandingly with a faint sneer of her upper lip. "Don''t I know it. What''s worse is when you have to make do with the ones you know aren''t quite right."


    Exhaling out flits of bad memories, Deedri grimaces and briefly grits her teeth. "Introductory Alchemy was a really rough semester on my digestive track."


    Leaning to the side, Deedri glances around Tassilda and waves over towards Trakenthin. "Hey, Trakenthin."


    She narrows her curious gaze at Trakenthin, cocking her head to the side. "Are you okay?"


    Trakenthin blinks back to awareness, noticing Deedri and Tassilda, and puzzles for an appropriate response. "I am okay. Do not know if my father is."


    Tassilda turns around and observes Trakenthin, focusing her concern upon him. "What ever has happened?"


    Putting away his aetherphone, Trakenthin steps closer to the counter opposite of Tassilda, rests his hand on the counter top, and twists his mouth in contemplation. "Nothing is wrong. I do not believe anything bad has happened."


    He furrows his dark bronze brow and tilts his head to the side. "My father called me."


    Narrowing his stare internally into his own mind, he grimaces a few times and scratches his head of short, dirty blonde hair, searching for the pieces of an explanation. "He requested my assistance... For a task he did not disclose. Described it in vague terms. Assisting honor?"


    Quirking her brow, Tassilda shifts her weight, intrigue influencing her pose. "I always heard being vague was difficult in the grath language? Since, well, it has exact words for every different degree something can be. Am I wrong?"


    Trakenthin shrugs his shoulders with a roll of his hazel eyes and sighs. "It is not hard. Gaps between the definitions provide ambiguity. Tone context can obscure further. Contradictions worsen it."


    Deedri ponders a moment and gradually rocks her head side to side, her understanding developing. "It seems like it''s similar to word order when framing in fvalian. Sometimes there''s a subtle difference between a big red ball and a red big ball."


    Blinking with her thoughts, Tassilda furrows her brow and glances between Trakenthin and Deedri. "All this makes most Emin dialects sound very straight forward in comparison."


    Trakenthin thinks a moment, granting an agreeable nod, and contorts his face. "I am surprised my father is here still. I assumed he would have left for... usual reasons?"


    Crossing her arms, Tassilda sways her stance and studies Trakenthin''s expression with a slight frown. "Not that I believe it''s the best for your sake, but you don''t believe he just wants to spend more time with you?"


    Humming in thought, Trakenthin deliberates between flicks of hazel eyes, remaining unconvinced overall. "Not strictly. An ulterior motive exists. Can not determine that right now."


    He lowers his eyelids, exhaling a long groan. "Will probably ask me for money."


    He twists his mouth into an unamused smirk, slumping his shoulders slightly. "Not the first time. Will NOT be the last."


    Narrowing her concerned gaze at Trakenthin, Tassilda pries with a slight grumble mixing with her supportive tone. "You seem to have a very... TRYING relationship with your father. Despite your best, noble efforts."


    Drawing in a long breath, Trakenthin releases out stale frustrations and nods slowly in begrudging acceptance. "Yes. Long story. Rhymes often."


    An appreciative smile appears on his face, and he shrugs his shoulders. "If he only asks for money, I will consider it a good day."


    Deedri briefly checks the concoction in the pot on the stove and glances over to Trakenthin with an inquisitive perk of her furry ears. "When did he say he wanted this favor from you?"


    Trakenthin pauses for a moment, checking his recent memory, and ponders out loud. "Soon? No exact date. Under a week? He had chores to handle first. Do not know what chores he would have here? It is perplexing."


    Tassilda smiles at Trakenthin and sighs with a supportive voice. "Well, if you need my assistance, don''t be afraid to ask."


    With a happy tone, Deedri nods towards Trakenthin. "No matter how it goes, we have your back."


    Subduing a bit of embarrassment, Trakenthin grants a very appreciative smirk and bows slightly towards Deedri and Tassilda. "Thank you. I will leave you to your tasks. Off to read a book."


    Trakenthin turns and walks away. A sly grin graces Tassilda, and she playfully inquires. "OH. Is that the new one the girl from that review aethersite suggested? You seem to LIKE a lot of HER recommended books."


    Trakenthin''s dark bronze skin flushes with hints of red around the cheeks, and he stumbles upon his vocabulary towards some response. "Uh... Yes. She has... Excellent recommendations... that align... with my... preferences..."


    With an air of satisfaction thick around her, Tassilda pivots around, facing Deedri, and directs her voice back. "Okay. Just curious. Let me know how it is after you read it."


    Trakenthin disappears through the archway into the living room and quickly up the stairs. Deedri narrows an accusatory stare upon Tassilda, mildly chiding her. "Tassilda. What did you do THAT for?"


    Shrugging her shoulders with a guilty smirk, Tassilda bites her lower lip. "Well... I HAD to confirm my suspicions. I just keep seeing him browsing that same aethernet site."


    Returning a scrutinizing gaze back at Deedri, she smiles with a giggle. "Oh, don''t tell me you weren''t curious yourself."


    Averting her auburn eyes away, Deedri slides her focus back to her task, granting an admission. "Well. Yes..."


    She sighs and motions the contented Tassilda over. "Now help me with this pot."


    ----


    Aristespha and Bach sit cross legged upon pillows on the floor of the garage. Sotalia rests her hands upon complicated magical markings encircling Aristespha and Bach. Focusing her attention upon the protective circle, she releases flows of magical power down her arms and hands. The energy spreads away and sinks into the carefully drawn shapes upon the concrete floor. Moments later, she gazes between Aristespha and Bach and smirks eagerly, a glow rising out of the circular barrier. "The circle of protection is charged."


    Cideeda finishes a few final adjustments on the aim of a camera and presses the record button on the device. Giving a thumbs up, she nods towards the team. "We should be recording."


    Kneeling down nearby the circle opposite of Sotalia, Dretphi keeps the sheathed Sword of the Spirit Realm in her hands, at the ready. "Sword is prepared."


    Sebastian hovers nearby, grins proudly to Bach, and nods to him. "When you are ready, bro. Kind of getting the hang of figuring out this elder energy sensing part of the sword. Might actually have to try detection at a distance next time."


    Finishing the final sequences of incantations with hand gestures, Aristespha smirks approvingly with a sigh and aims her violet illuminated gaze upon Bach. "That would be nice, Sebastian. Maybe we could recover some of the functionality the sword lost."


    Bach rolls his shoulders into a stretch, positions his hands close together in front of him, and nods with a snort. "Yeah, that''d be real nice. Have the damned thing actually help us out again rather than just stating the fucking obvious."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage rolls his translucent blue eyes, and he groans, commiserating. "Gods. Tell me about it, bro. If the creator of this damned thing wasn''t very likely already dead for over a few hundred years, we''d be forcing him to write an instruction manual at gunpoint."


    Shaking his head briefly, Bach grits his teeth, exhaling a long breath, and settles his full attention ahead upon his task. "Yeah... Well, I''ll get started then..."


    He swallows down his nerves. "Here we go..."


    Aristespha directs her voice to Bach, calmly instructing him. "Focus on maintaining control and finer flows. Avoid pushing yourself too hard."


    With a nod, Bach closes his eyes and reopens them to a brilliant blue glow. Narrowing his stare at the space between his hands, he concentrates fully, turning within. Magical miasma rises from his arms and upper body and condenses into elaborate magical structures, hovering near in anticipation. The last bit of the energy mist collects upon the layers of prismatic machinery. Bach draws a long, careful breath and tenses his body. Fighting against a pained wince, he summons up a cool, collected attitude and concentrates on calming minor tremors and spasms in his body. Small pinpoints of white appear in the centers of the glowing blue in his eyes. The sword vibrates in Dretphi''s expectant hands, and Sebastian observes his wavering and flickering form.


    "NEW FLOW DETECTED. FROM FAMILIAR SOURCE."


    Attention fully upon controlling himself, Bach slowly breathes at a consistent rate and stabilizes the sporadic twitches and shudders in his arms and hands. Seconds of straining concentration later, thin threads of pure white drift out of Bach and weave between the encapsulating confines of the magical constructs around his arms and upper body. The strands of magical energy flow steadily and diffuse into the vaporous cloud between Bach''s hands. The miasma condenses gradually into a denser form and draws the constant thread flows towards the center of the tiny, glowing orb. Slight tremors and shudders pulse around Bach''s body. Remaining cool and collected against the building stresses, he paces his breaths. The minutes pass. Sotalia gawks in wonder at the small sphere of white brilliance. Cideeda peers over Dretphi, the two observing the scene in astonishment. Sebastian''s form warps and wavers with the flows of energy, and he occasionally stabilizes for brief periods, his visage distorting soon after. Twisting his mouth in frustration, he grumbles out his annoyance, riding out the constant inconvenience of his studies.


    Aristespha observes the energy flows, carefully leaning closer, and examines the magical processes at play. Minutes later, the thin flowing threads of white energy fade out, and Bach secures the glowing ball of energy in his hands. Faint trembles rattle his composure. He remains fully focused upon the stable orb hovering above his palms. The rest of the team observes the magical phenomena, contending with curiosity and awe. Blinking his brightly blue illuminated eyes, Bach fights against a wince and sighs out a mix of stress and looming exhaustion. "I''m starting to feel it..."


    Noticing the familiar signs of fatigue, Aristespha signals Dretphi with a hand motion and nod. Partially sliding the sword out of its scabbard, Dretphi guides it close to the floating white orb above Bach''s hands. Layers of elder mist vent off the ball and sink into the exposed blade. Sebastian''s visage flickers and distorts. Furrowing his brow thoughtfully, he searches within, judging the feeling. Seconds later, the sword vacuums the last of the quickly disappearing energy sphere into itself. Sebastian''s ethereal form stabilizes, and he gives a thumbs up. "All clear!"


    Aristespha grabs hold of Bach''s arms, and Dretphi and Sotalia stabilize Bach by a shoulder each. Tilting backwards, Bach eyelids try to close hard, and consciousness struggles with the hold of his mind. Closing his glowing eyes, Bach rocks back against the support of Sotalia and Dretphi. Immediately, Bach flutters his eyes and startles back to full consciousness, shuddering his head. "Gods almighty... THAT is still a helluva hit afterwards. Even when taking it slow. But..."


    Blinking around, he musters his bearings and glances around. "I don''t think I went out completely, this time."


    With a comforting smile, Dretphi shakes her head towards Bach. "No. You woke when you put weight back."


    Gently patting his shoulder, Sotalia grins to Bach and quirks her intrigued brow. "I think you might be getting better at this. You''ll be quite the challenge soon enough."


    Bach smiles awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I don''t know about THAT. But, the kickback wasn''t as bad as the times before. So, that''s progress, I guess?"


    He glances over to Sebastian and smirks amused. "So, brother... What was the score on that bundle of energy?"


    Sebastian searches the top of his head, dramatically contemplating with a hum, and slightly shrugs his shoulders. "Well... Maybe a little more this time? It''s been pretty consistent. Which is fine by me, since the whole coming down from all that seems really rough on you, bro."


    Leaning forward, Bach props himself up by his arms and sighs, hints of frustration venting out. "Yeah. I mean, I don''t know what''s going on there. Gods dammit. I really wish it wasn''t the case. Then, I could just spend my spare time dumping elder energy into that fucking sword, and maybe get enough to satisfy it."


    Aristespha releases Bach''s arms, sits up straight, and grumbles to herself in agreement. "That would be absolutely lovely, but I agree that would be too much of a risk to you at this point, Bach."


    Sotalia frowns slightly and rolls her golden eyes with a sneer of her upper lip. "And, well... Gods damned Noxian doesn''t seem to want to retire and stop being a fucking problem. So, we can''t just sit around and wait."


    Cideeda walks over to the camera setup, hits the stop button, and properly turns off the equipment, nodding at the sentiment. Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, holds his hands out to his sides, and grins boldly. "Well. We can''t very well be called adventurers and leave a threat like him wandering about anyway. We''ll figure all this out one way or another. He and everything else hasn''t stopped us yet. So, I don''t see a reason to stop ourselves."


    The team appreciates the emotional uplift and encouragement. Stepping across the garage with a spring in her step, Cideeda wags her long fluffy tail, climbs up the steps towards the kitchen door, and glances back. "Anyone else hungry?"


    Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange glances, arriving upon similar conclusions. Cideeda grins toothily and opens the door. "Well, I want more Fval Spice and..."


    Lifting a sly eyebrow, she flexes back motioning towards the outside world beyond the garage door. "We haven''t had a chance to hit the game shop lately."


    Dretphi and Sotalia perk up, and excitement swells within Dretphi. "All the new issues should be available."


    With an encouraging smirk, Cideeda glances down at the dust and dirt on her shirt and shorts and slips through the doorway with a final declaration. "Sounds good to me! I''m changing to some cleaner clothes, first."


    Sebastian drifts close to the door, and peers into the house, Cideeda turning down the archway into the main hallway. He flies over to the rest of the team and whispers quietly. "So... Cideeda''s birthday is coming up soon. Anyone got any ideas? She''s a tough one to shop for."


    Sighing in defeat, Sotalia shakes her head of fiery, wavy orange hair. "Gods. I don''t know. I''ve been trying to think of SOMETHING."


    Dretphi hums in thought and shrugs her shoulders. "Gift cards are bland. Do not know what else right now."


    Aristespha contorts her face, grumbling, and rests her ivory chin on her hand. "I have a few possible ideas. But, I do not know what specifically, and if they would be best ones."


    Glancing between everyone, Bach narrows his eyes in thought and cocks his head to the side. Searching his mind for a few moments, his confidence builds, and he grins proudly. "I got one."


    Surrounding attention settles upon Bach, and Aristespha, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia wait expectantly. With a sly smile, Bach nods and gazes around at the team members present. "I got an idea. And, it should incorporate a number of things she''s interested in. But... I''m going to need help from all of you to make it happen."


    The group shifts into a quick meeting of the minds, and Sebastian keeps watch through the doorway.


    ----


    Very dim moon light leaks through the partially closed window blinds. The faint rays creep across a desk covered with contingents of plastic military figurines and squads of model vehicles in various states of painting. Scatterings of midnight light barely illuminate a freshly configured bodysuit upon a chair and a neatly laid out set of slip on armor plating upon the floor. Cideeda''s long fluffy tail hangs out to the side of the bed from under the sheets, and she softly slumbers. Her furry ears flicks reflexively, her tail retracts back under the covers, and she gradually stirs. Unconsciously flexing her clawed fingers into tighter grip on her sheets, she mumbles out a few slurred phrases of fvalian, snorts dismissively, and rolls up another layer of her bed covers around her.


    Settling her head of short multicolored hair back on her pillow, she eases back to a quiet, peaceful rest. Minutes of idle, soothing domestic background noise fill the air. The air conditioning unit on the wall softly spins up a faintly droning fan, and provides another layer of background noise. The gentle breeze circulates the air in the peaceful bedroom and softly blows the fluffy hair in Cideeda''s ears and the tufted tip of her tail peeking out from underneath sheets on the other side of the bed. Her light brown face twitches under the artificial breeze, and she turns her head to the other side. A peace fills the space.


    A sharp, jarring alarm rings out, reflecting off the walls of the room. Crashing out from her unconscious state, Cideeda grits her teeth reflexively and tosses in bed with a jumble of fvalian swears leaving her. The sharp, harsh din of the alert noise persists. Cideeda groggily opens her emerald green eyes and stares half-awake in the direction of the sound. With her furry ears pulled back, she drags her annoyed self across the bed to the night stand and fumbles her clawed fingers for her aetherphone. Finding the device, she quickly snatches it off the night stand and studies the device with growing confusion, her consciousness restarting. Tapping in a security code through the waning blur of slumber, she turns off the jarring alarm. With immediate relief, she relaxes her tensed body.


    Searching through the application menus, the screen brightly lights up her squinting eyes, and she locates a prompt, pressing the on screen display. A connection progress bar appears on the device. A video feed appears. The imagery streams. Cideeda''s face contorts with an uneasy, developing familiarity, studying the layout and contents of the room shown. Her emerald green eyes lock onto humanoid movement, immediately summoning her full focus upon events transpiring on the screen. She cocks her head to the side and puzzles briefly. The scene brightens from a new light source. The video feed adjusts and refocuses. Cideeda''s eyes spring wide open in absolute shock. The immediate, unquestionable recognition stuns her dumbfounded and wordless for moments.


    Snapping back to awareness, she scrambles upon the bed, sticking her finger and toe claws into the surface fabric, and launches herself off towards her bedroom door. She lands smoothly in front of it, her loose nightshirt catching air and her long fluffy tail trailing behind her. Flings the door wide open, she draws in a large breath and screams out into the hall. "WAKE UP! NOXIAN IS AT ONE OF THE SITES!"

 Episode 73

    A dim street lamp in front of a tall, simple metal mesh fence flickers momentarily, settling into a steady glow against the darkness. A mechanical roar out in the distance, growing louder with each passing moment. At the top of a hill, bright beams of light push through the surrounding trees bordering the road. The humvee crests over and speeds down the roadway to a hard, controlled slide into the gravel parking lot near the fence gate. All the doors swing open. Cideeda, Sotalia, Aristespha, Bach, and Dretphi pour out and rush towards the entry point in the chain link barrier. Scouting the immediate vicinity, Cideeda glances at the rest of the team. "I don''t see another car around here? Anyone spot anything?!"


    Sebastian''s visage materializes a few meters above the group, and he surveys the area. Moments later, he shakes his head with an unsatisfied grumble. "Nothing from up here. And he''s here, right now?"


    Sotalia eagerly nods towards Sebastian and hands Cideeda''s aetherphone back into her awaiting claws. "OH. YES. He is. Seems to be taking his time here, in comparison to that other place he was at."


    Lamplight glints upon her golden eyes, and she sneers, gritting her teeth. "We got the drop on him this time..."


    Underneath her full face visor helmet, Dretphi squints her steely gray eyes towards a number of distant spots in view and slowly shakes her head. "Must have parked a distance away. No recent tracks. No disturbances indicate a vehicle hidden nearby."


    Floating down in front of the gate in the perimeter fence, Sebastian glances towards the old architecture in the area, calling back to the team. "Okay everyone! Equipment and magic checks!"


    Aristespha recites through a methodical check list of the equipment on her, inspects her pack of medical supplies, and secures the sword at her side. Sotalia tightens her belt of pouches around her waist, brushes out her cloak, and readies into a casting stance. In near synchronicity, both Aristespha and Sotalia cast similar protective spells, layers of magical armor settling into transparency upon their bodies. Electronic whines ring out from Bach and Cideeda. Bach''s plasma pistol charges up, and flows of prismatic energy sink into the device. In a well rehearsed routine, the weapon transforms into a magically upgraded form, modifications of stabilized energy materializing. Cideeda holds both her laser pistols in hand, and watches the status lights flip to ready, the highest pitch whine tickling her sensitive furry ears. Dretphi cocks her submachine gun, inspects the suppressor on the end, and checks the magnetically secured large machete and powerful rifle on her back. With a determined, toothy grin, Cideeda examines her shotgun and slings it over her shoulder. Sebastian smiles with pride, focuses upon the path ahead, and eyes the rolling track gate in the chain link fence with suspicion. "This has got to have an alarm."


    Narrowing her investigative stare upon the frame of the gateway, Cideeda steps up close and carefully inspects the system with her eyes and ears. "Oh. Yes. I remember when we were here last, there were a few simple sensors to detect if outer entry points were breached and a standard alarm system. But..."


    She approaches one side of the fence door and focuses her emerald green eyes upon a barely hidden mechanism near the top on the other side of the chain link fencing. "I don''t think they have any area motion detectors, at least outside."


    With a sly smile towards Sotalia, Cideeda points up and motions over and down. "So, as long as we don''t disturb the fence, nothing will trip out here."


    Chuckling to herself, Sotalia stretches her arms out and begins to gesture out a spell. "Well. That makes sense. Noxian looked pretty calm on your phone, so he probably flew over this, too."


    Cideeda''s furry ear flicks back from the building, past the gate, further down the dirt path, and nods in agreement. "And no alarms. So, probably nothing difficult left for me to rig up to get us in."


    Sotalia finishes the few remaining incantations for the spell and hovers up from the ground. Glancing between Bach and Dretphi, she holds her arms open. "Who''s first over?"


    Bach nods towards Dretphi and slowly breathes out, concentrating his flows of magical energy. "You go, Dretphi."


    A bit of confidence colors Bach''s grin, and he prepares himself, energy drifting around his legs. "I can get over this myself."


    Aristespha finishes casting a similar spell and offers Cideeda her hands. Pairing off, Aristespha hoists Cideeda up and over the fence, and Sotalia wraps her arms around Dretphi and ferries her above. The two pairs land safely on the other side. Bach couches down, summoning up the energy flows, and springs up into the air. Clearing the height of the chain link barrier, he maintains his concentration and glides slowly down, descending down and landing next to the team. Sebastian phases through the fence with a brief shudder and smiles proudly to his brother. "Nicely done, bro. A little combo work there or something?"


    With a nonchalant grin, Bach shrugs his shoulders and walks with the rest of the group down the path towards the old structure. "Something like that, I guess. Mostly just putting all my half-assed skills together."


    Sebastian coasts in the air next to his brother and smirks mischievously. "Ah, so you can make a complete ass of yourself."


    Rolling his blue eyes, Bach shakes his head and moves into formation, Sebastian scouting ahead.


    ----


    Aged hallway lamps above flicker near an open hydraulic sliding door. The reflection of the lighting above glints in the growing pool of dark fluid oozing out from the near-invisible seams beneath a door panel. The liquid seeps out, coating the floor a few meters down from the forcefully breached doors. Interior room lighting spreads out between the tilted door panels, and an outline of someone briefly crosses the illumination. Slowly stepping through the large room of tables and displays, Noxian''s wiry frame wanders between the aisles, studying the assortment of artifacts and objects in view. He pauses occasionally and picks up items, examining them closely. The brief interest fading, he returns the articles back to their original spots. He narrows his gray eyes, surveys the area, and gradually settles his curious stare towards the far back wall of the room. Twisting his mouth under his blue scarf, he lifts an intrigued eyebrow and calmly navigates the rows of displays and tables, catching sight of a circular stone platform. His eyes widen with recognition, and he moves closer, focusing his attention upon the elaborate carvings on the dais.


    A relieved grin draws under his blue scarf covered face, and he releases a long sigh, relaxing his shoulders. Stretching out his arms and hands, he rocks his neck side to side and grimaces with the audible crack. He briefly grunts and massages the back of his neck, rolling his gray eyes at himself. "Gods... Need to get that checked out... Ow..."


    Shaking off the stale aches, he readies himself in front of the stone circle on the floor, holding his hands over the device. Breathing out, he closes his eyes and concentrates his full attention inwards. Moments later, wisps of white energy swirl out from the engraved dais and twist towards Noxian. Swirling around his body in an upward draft, the energy sinks into his form, the currents of air lightly tossing stray white hairs on his head. Noxian settles into the routine. The flows of elder energy wane, gradually thinning into fine threads. Seconds later, the last bit of magic settles into Noxian''s body. Nothing more rises from the stone platform. Blinking out of his trance into confusion, Noxian lowers his gaze downwards, cocking his head to the side, and stares incredulously at the stone platform. He lowers his arms slowly and scrutinizes the magically empty object, frustration leaking out into his body language. Narrowing his glare upon the stone platform, he throws his hands out to side, sneering his upper lip mildly irritated, and groans out his disappointment. "Really? That''s it?"


    He crosses his arms with a huff, halfheartedly kicks the large disc on the floor, and slowly shakes his head unsatisfied. "Gods damned research station... badly calibrated... piece of shit..."


    Staring at the magical disappointment, he sighs out a begrudging acceptance and slumps his shoulders with a dramatic eye roll. Sebastian''s amused voice confidently resonates in front of Noxian. "Aw. You weren''t expecting that, were you? Among other things..."


    Noxian''s body stiffens immediately. He eases his stare towards the ghostly visage of Sebastian, rigidly straightening his posture. Gritting his teeth under his scarf, Noxian gradually turns his head around and glances behind him towards the exit. In one corner of the room, he spots the red armored, large form of Dretphi and her submachine gun barrel precisely aimed at his center mass. Instinctively, Noxian snaps his attention towards the opposing corner at that end of the room and just catches a glimpse of Cideeda''s sleek, lightly armored figure, her twin lasers pistols appearing just above the top of a table. Focusing upon the exit point, Noxian watches Aristespha and Sotalia project protective barriers, Bach finishes filling up the doorway with a translucent golden barrier.


    Noxian returns his attention back to Sebastian, awaiting with hints of annoyance rising upon his aged face. Smirking smugly, Sebastian crosses his arms authoritatively and narrows his stare upon Noxian. "Alright, Noxian. Let''s just make this easy on all of us. Give up. Surrender whatever elder energy you got in you to the sword. And... We''ll see what happens from there."


    A defiant grin contours the blue scarf covering Noxian''s face, and he bellows a loud laugh with a dramatic pantomime of his hands. "Really? You honestly think I would hand over all I have worked for to YOU? At THIS point?"


    With a hint of frustration slipping out, he counteroffers, coloring his tone with a darkly demanding twist. "How about your team lets me walk away, and they all get to do the same?"


    Lifting his eyebrow, he narrows his stare upon Sebastian. "AND, I understand your desires to be freed from that sword and this state of existence. So I will promise you, it''ll be one of the first of the many mistakes our ancestors left for us to deal with that I will remedy..."


    With a faint highlight of light in his gray eyes, he states. "Once I take care of things."


    He furrows his stare intensely upon Sebastian and tenses his posture with a stern tone. "A fair deal really. Saves us ALL so much TROUBLE."


    Sebastian curls an indignant grimace upon his face and slowly shakes his head. "NO. I think NOT."


    A determined gaze settles on Noxian, and a flash of white illuminates his eyes. "I thought so."


    "FAMILIAR FLOW DETECTED."


    A warping, transparent barrier radiates out from Noxian, and Sebastian yells out in a commanding tone. "LET HIM HAVE IT!"


    Noxian pivots quickly around. A spray of suppressed bullets impacts the outer layers of the protective barrier around Noxian, the rounds bouncing weakly onto the floor. Twin bright, blue beams diffuse violently upon the surface of the defensive energy, barely burrowing into the protective magics. With eyes radiating a white light, Noxian lifts an arm each towards Dretphi and Cideeda, splitting his attention between them. Streams of flow warp the fields around the impact points of firearm and laser attacks, and the barrier shifts slightly. Bullets sink briefly into an elastic wrap of the elder bubble and launch back in a chaotic spray. Laser beams hit and reflect back under the direction of Noxian''s whims. With twists of his hands and swings of his arms, the combination of returning mass and photons launch forth and arc across the length of the opposing wall, focusing upon Aristespha and Sotalia''s magical fields. Sparks and crackles of energy mixing with the acoustics of the room, Aristespha and Sotalia buffer the defected brunt of reflected shots. Cideeda and Dretphi immediately halt their attacks. Aristespha, Sotalia, and Bach scatter for cover behind displays. Throwing his hands out, a wave of energy knocks over a number of large tables nearby Noxian, and he dives for cover. Sebastian hovers high above Noxian, maintaining his watch, and calls out. "He''s taken cover right below me, behind this table!"


    Glancing briefly up at the ethereal watchdog above, Noxian grits his teeth, grumbling out his frustration, and cautiously peeks out from cover. His eyes search through aisles table legs and displays, catching brief glimpses of movement from the corners. Sebastian keeps his vigil and calls out updates on Noxian''s activities. Briefly retreating into his mind, Noxian ponders, frantically searching for a solution to the situation. Momentarily peering out, he spots new movement behind other displays. A plotting smirk appears faintly on the surface of his scarf, and he nods to himself. Eyeing up at Sebastian briefly, Noxian stands up and aims his palms at two displays near the exit. White magical flows swirl into small orbs in front of Noxian''s hands, and Sebastian''s yells out. "INCOMING! LOOK OUT!"


    Members of the team peek out, spotting Noxian and the forming energy. Aristespha dashes out from one display to another. Bach and Sotalia rush out from the other display, scrambling for fresh cover. Bright flashes of energy fill the room. Wood and glass violently erupt into energized fragments, peppering the surrounding area. The overwhelming light fades, revealing the fractured remains of two displays. Dretphi and Cideeda appear from new locations and unleash volleys of metal and energy upon the translucent barrier surrounding Noxian. Noxian''s attention shifts over. Cideeda and Dretphi duck back down. Searching for other attacks, Noxian swings his arms forward and unleashes a repulsive wave towards the doorway. The magical force launches tables and displays off to the side in cacophonies of destruction. Focusing fully on his barrier, Noxian slowly steps towards the exit. Sebastian signals to everyone else, calling out. "He''s trying to make a break for it! Lock him down!"


    Popping out from cover mid incantation, Aristespha narrows her violet eye glare upon Noxian and finishes the final gesture with a swing of her arms forward. A translucent wave of energy glides a path across the room and envelops Noxian. The warping field of energy constricts down, tightening upon the protective elder barrier around Noxian. Tensing his body, Noxian grimaces and pushes through the forces upon his defensive field, his progress to the exit slowing by the moment. With a mean grin blatant upon her light tan face, Sotalia appears, takes aim in the last stage of casting, and projects a transparent beam at Noxian. The magical flow splashes over Noxian, and the binding forces weigh him to a standstill, the protective field pressing tightly upon him. Signaling, Sebastian commands the team. "Wear him down! Open fire!"


    Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi emerge from new locations, aim, and unleash. Joining the barrage of mass and photon, balls of green plasma splatter upon Noxian''s defensive field, visibly distorting the energy flows. Noxian pauses, stiffening in place. Between swift glances, he reassesses the situation and grimaces in a torrent of annoyance, frustration, and worry. Searching his mind, he begrudgingly arrives at an inconvenient solution, gritting his teeth, and focuses into a harsh wince.


    "SURGE DETECTED."


    White flows of elder energy ooze out from Noxian''s wiry frame, glide into swirls across his form, and force out the protective barrier further. Powering through the restrictive magics, he slowly marches towards the exit. Aristespha and Sotalia strain against the opposition, barely maintaining their spells. Aristespha releases her spell, unhappily grumbling, and drops down into cover. Sotalia struggles and watches Noxian''s progress towards the sealed exit, summoning many unsuccessful rallies of magical flow. Sotalia grits her teeth, halting her spell, and drills a furious glower through Noxian. "FUCK YOU, NOXIAN! YOU''RE NOT LEAVING HERE ALIVE!"


    Putting her hands together, she wills a surge of energies between her palms. Swirls of air condense down, ignite into a brilliant fire, and compress into a blue orb of hissing flame. Sotalia heaves the fireball into a collision course with Noxian. The explosive fire slams upon Noxian''s back, pushing deep into his outer barrier, and radiates a powerful force inwards. The impact propels Noxian forward, and he unceremoniously stumbles onto the floor next to the archway, bullets, beams, and bolts flying at him.


    Forcing himself back onto his feet against the unrelenting attacks upon his protective field, Noxian steps over to the golden barrier sealing the exit archway and studies it briefly with an intrigued quirk of his brow. "Fascinating, but..."


    He presses his hand against the surface of the magical force field, concentrates his stare upon the energies, and flows a powerful pulse of white miasma out. White arcs crackle upon the surface of the golden barrier and highlight the hexagonal substructure into a sparking, flickering light show. Moments later, the wavering field stabilizes and solidifies back to a defiant, golden blockade. Blinking in surprise, Noxian pauses briefly in awe, his gray eyes widening in genuine shock. "Oh."


    Cideeda pops up from cover behind a turned over table, drags two long, blue blasts from her laser pistols, and drops back down. Checking the indicators on her weapons, she grits her teeth in worried frustration and speaks into her radio. "Okay! We need to do something else. I''ve only got so many cells for my pistols, and his damned barrier is STILL holding up."


    Bach sounds out on the radio channel, his location nearby. "I KNOW. My plasma bolts are doing something. But, it''s just thinning his barrier. We NEED something that can actually pierce it. Or at least, capable of it."


    Aristespha sighs out on the frequency, her hesitation radiating through the audio. "I cannot risk using any more of my reserves."


    Another whoosh of an expanding ball of fire sounds out into the room. Frustration crackles in from Sotalia. "I can try something more powerful, but fuck all is hitting him as hard as it should!"


    Dretphi reports in a defeated tone. "Sub machine gun ammo is low. Not effective."


    Cideeda grumbles, flicking her furry ears, and her emerald eyes sort through options. "Maybe powerful single shots?"


    A very wary Bach mumbles on the channel. "Maybe a D-Ball? But, I mean, uh, I''m afraid that he might able to return that somehow-"


    An excited prompt from Dretphi springs onto the radio, her eagerness bursting out. "My rifle!"


    Grinning toothily, Cideeda glances over at Noxian. Another plasma bolt slams into the elder barrier around Noxian. Cideeda studies the resilient golden barrier over the archway. "THAT might do it. If nothing else, it''ll catch him off guard."


    With a renewed confidence, Bach chimes in. "If that gun can crack my barriers, it just might do enough damage to Noxian''s and wear him down."


    Aristespha''s hopeful voice sounds over the channel. "Certainly worth trying. Sebastian relayed to me he is good with it, and we should get into position to capture, if it works."


    The eager tone of Sotalia perks up on the radio. "I think a distraction of all those really annoying spells is in order."


    Listening to the radio planning, Cideeda puts her laser pistols away, swings her shotgun into her hands, and inspects it. "I''ll sneak into position. Net and stunner rounds getting loaded."


    Peeking out from cover, she slinks off around the perimeter of the room. Dropping behind the cover of overturned tables and display furniture debris, Noxian vents out his swelling aggravation with each breath and glares at the golden barrier. The assault of bullets, beams, balls, and bolts halt against his cover. In the lull of chaos he tries to gain some semblance of calm, sorting through his thoughts. Narrowing a scrutinizing gaze upon the shielded archway, his white glowing eyed gaze studies the golden structure sealing the exit. Gradually, he nods with a respectful appreciation and theorizes out a plan. "So... Interesting... Very intricate, Mr. Warwick..."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    From above, Sebastian glances down at Noxian and smugly grins at him with a mocking tone. "Yes, Noxian?"


    Rolling his gray eyes in disgust, Noxian readies himself and growls out. "NOT you, Sebastian. Do you have anything better to do at the moment? I would greatly appreciate a little time away from your inane antics."


    Sebastian watches Noxian leap out from cover, rush up to the door, and concentrate magical flows upon it. He coasts over, settling next to Noxian with a sarcastic flair. "Well, it''s a little hard to get away when you are bound to a sword that... Oh..."


    Narrowing a mean glare through Noxian, he sternly states. "YOU. PUT. ME. IN."


    Noxian fights to maintain a majority of his focus upon the golden barrier and the energies sinking into the substructure, slightly turning his head towards Sebastian with an incredulous lift of his eyebrow. "To be fair, I only wanted to blast you out of my way. I never intended you to be bound by a badly designed ancient artifact. And, THAT is on YOU for using such a cursed thing."


    Pausing a moment, he waits in silence. Noxian glances over his shoulder, searching around expectantly. "Why are they not attacking-"


    A swarm of small magic missiles descend from above, the barrage pelting down chaotically upon the outer layers of Noxian''s defensive field. Bright blue white, glowing orbs fly toward Noxian, sticking onto the elder barrier, and flash to a bright white. Squinting his eyes, Noxian shields his face with an arm from the intense light. "By the gods- REALLY?!"


    Sebastian beams a mean smile and narrows his glare upon Noxian. "You know, if you''d just give up, we could probably work something out. I''m pretty sure with good behavior and a merciful judge, you''d totally be out on parole in less than ten years."


    With Sebastian yammering on, a surge of suspicion surges within Noxian. His gray eyes desperately search for justification through the constant warping of his barrier from the magic missile barrage and the bright, sticky flares overwhelming his vision. "Wait... What is this attack actually for-"


    Dretphi shouts out, faint echoes barely rising into the room from other electronic sources. "EARS!"


    The last of the magic missiles impact, and the flares fade out. Noxian blinks between winces and scans the room swiftly. His gray eyes spring wide open in abject terror, noticing a particular glint of metal sticking out from cover. Following the aim of Dretphi''s anti-material rifle, he spots her squeezing the trigger. "Oh my hell-"


    A booming shock wave erupts from the end of the barrel and spreads out into the large room, stirring up nearby debris. The large caliber round presses deeply into the protective magical shell around Noxian, stretching the layers dangerously close to his body. The projectile nearly reaches his chest, and a reflexive surge of elder energy pulses out. The layers flex and stretch against the danger. Magical forces erupt, launch Noxian away onto the ground, and deflect the powerful round slightly off its path. Noxian slams down upon the floor, the elder barrier flickers away, and the rifle shot crashes into the doorway barrier. From freshly the embedded round, cracks immediately splinter out into the golden field.


    Recovering from the mental haze, Noxian rubs his head and hunts his bearings. Seconds later, he blinks back to some semblance of awareness. In a wild eye glance around the area, he spots Sebastian cautiously observing him and rolls over onto his stomach. Laying out prone upon the debris coated floor, Noxian hides his recovery and searches out from the corners of his eyes. He catches the glimpse of the tip of a furry ear, moving out of view behind an intact display nearby. Slowly cupping his hand upon the floor, Noxian feigns partial consciousness and idly moves, mimicking prior confusion. Sebastian hovers over Noxian, lands upon the ground, and leans down for a closer inspection. "How are you doing there, Noxian? You awake? Ready to cut the shit and talk about this?"


    "FAMILIAR FLOW DETECTED."


    Noxian rises up with a bright glowing orb in his palm and aims at the intact display. Sebastian''s ghostly blue eyes widen in terror, and he shouts out. "CIDEEDA! RUN!"


    A bright blinding flash floods the room with light. A white beam of energy shatters through the display and squarely impacts Cideeda upon the chest plate. Threads of flow scatter out into the crackling surface of the protective enchantment surrounding the plate. The powerful collision of magics and matter launches Cideeda backwards, slamming her solidly upon the nearby wall. Bouncing off a desk, she crashes into a pile of broken furniture. Sotalia screams out in rage, summoning brilliant surges of flow to her hands. "CIDEEDA! GODS FUCKING DAMN YOU, NOXIAN!"


    Splinters of wood erupt. Sotalia''s energy blasts burn and break chunks off remaining furniture near Noxian. Aristespha rushes over to Cideeda. Dretphi snatches up her submachine gun and pins down Noxian under sprays of lead reminders. Bach stares stunned and watches a stern, worried Aristespha checking over the motionless, unresponsive Cideeda. Terror and horror flood his frozen body, overwhelming any other possible expression on his face. His gloved hands shake, his body shudders, and his eyes flicker bluish. Sebastian turns to Noxian and growls at him with an accusing point. "WHAT THE FUCK! OH... I''m going to enjoy seeing that god damned sword stuck right fucking through you!"


    Scowling into a menacing glare at Sebastian, Noxian summons up his flows of elder energy and stands back up slowly. "I grow VERY TIRED of all this... STOP YOUR ASSAULT. I ONLY want to leave. Do not MAKE ME put any more of you DOWN-"


    His rant halts abruptly. Quickly searching around the area, Noxian narrows his blank stare, confusion furrowing his brow. He hunts through the warping impacts of Dretphi and Sotalia''s attacks upon his protective barrier, mumbling to himself uncertainly. "What the-"


    "ANOTHER FAMILIAR FLOW-"


    Noxian springs his eyes wide open and snaps his gaze immediately towards Bach rising from cover, fear cracking his confident, bold facade. "Shit."


    Mustering his energies, Noxian crosses his arms briefly and swings them out, releasing his barrier outwards into an expanding wall. He swiftly rushes to the cracked golden barrier. Sebastian''s ethereal form distorts with the energy passing through, and both Dretphi and Sotalia tumble backwards from the force. The energy parts upon the unmoved Bach, and he glares solemnly at Noxian with fiery blue eyes, and white, pinpoint pupils. Noxian examines the doorway field, noticing the rifle''s damage, and presses his hand against the damaged section. Glancing over his shoulder briefly, his fear develops into horror, watching Bach concentrate a cold, resolute stare upon him. He releases a massive surge of elder energy. Flows force through the cracks, shattering the majority of the golden barrier. Noxian slips out quickly and scrambles off down the hallway.


    Bach grits his teeth, his face twitching, and narrows his whitening eyes upon the exit, focusing himself. A pained cough emerges from Cideeda, and she groans out a few fvalian swears. Blinking hard, Bach flutters his eyes back to current reality, the glows fading. Dretphi and Sotalia pull themselves back up to their feet. Sotalia glances over to Cideeda and Aristespha. "Cideeda!? Are you okay?"


    Wincing, Cideeda draws in a pained breath and squirms slightly. "I''ll fucking live... Ow..."


    Sotalia rushes to the doorway, slips through the shattered barrier into the hallway, and searches around. "SHIT! He''s getting away!"


    Pausing a moment, Sotalia furrows her brow between internal deliberations, hunting for reason or excuse. Seconds later, she shakes her head, refocuses, and sprints down the hallway. Dretphi springs forth, jumps though the hole in the broken barrier, and growls out. "I will retrieve her! SOTALIA!"


    Sebastian shakes his head and darts through the wall. "Gods dammit! I''ll be back. Bro, keep it covered here, please!"


    Bach nods quickly and yells out to his brother. "Yeah. I got it!"


    Slowly surveying the situation, Bach steps through the fresh rubble of wood, glass, metal, and random artifacts. Getting closer to Aristespha and Cideeda, a strangely familiar wave of fatigue seizes him, and he stops. Thinking, he remembers and glances down at his arm. Faintly venting from his limb, a cloud white, magical miasma flows close to his skin. Horror skewers Bach, and he drops to the ground near Aristespha. Scrambling quickly over, he grabs hold of the handle of the sword at Aristespha''s side. Aristespha startles at the sudden pull on the sword, and the sword vacuums up the elder miasma, extracting many similar thread flows from within Bach. Snapping her confusion over to Bach, Aristespha watches remaining traces of elder energy leave Bach. She stares in silence, and he lets go, sitting with terror plain on his face. Cideeda pulls in a pained breath and winces her closed eyes. She sniffs with her nose and flicks her furry ears. "Bach? Is that you?"


    Aristespha rests a comforting hand on Bach. "Will you be okay?"


    Shrugging his shoulders a bit, he tries to smirk meekly. "Right now... Yeah."


    Nodding understandingly, Aristespha smiles at Bach and directs his attention towards Cideeda. "Could you help me move Cideeda off the pile of uncomfortable debris?"


    Cideeda flutters emerald green eyes open and moans out pleadingly. "Oh yeah. That''d be real nice right about now. I think there''s a big nail trying to stick me right in the ass."


    Bach slides over, opposite of Aristespha, and assists in carefully lifting Cideeda off the pile onto smoother floor. Keeping an idle, shaky grip on Cideeda''s shoulder, Bach feels a familiar five points of sharp pressure on his forearm and glances down at Cideeda. "Oh, hey, uh, sorry..."


    Smirking at Bach, Cideeda gazes her emerald green eyes up into Bach''s worried blue eyes and sighs. "It''s okay. I''m okay. Are you okay?"


    Bach thinks a moment, pondering quietly, and nods apprehensively. "Enough, for now..."


    Cideeda smiles and rolls her eyes at the entire situation around her. "Yeah... Know THAT feeling."


    ----


    Within the large empty hallways of the old, dusty structure, footsteps echo harshly against the smooth, flat metallic walls. Skidding to a stop in the middle of an intersection, Sotalia glances around in frantic search. "Where did you go, you bastard..."


    Heavy boot stomps and armor clacking halt immediately behind Sotalia, and Dretphi clamps a gauntlet firmly onto Sotalia''s shoulder. "DO NOT ENGAGE HIM."


    Blinking out of her vengeful mindset, Sotalia peeks over her shoulder to the towering Dretphi and grimaces in partial, frustrated agreement. "I KNOW! I know..."


    She strains a breath through gritting teeth and sighs. "I just don''t want him to get away... AGAIN!"


    Sebastian''s ethereal form stops in front of Dretphi and Sotalia, and he gazes at Sotalia, leveling stern concern. "First. Stop running off like that! Secondly... You okay?"


    Sotalia nods and pants out, the long sprint catching up to her. "Yeah... Just..."


    She clenches fists and stomps her boot upon the patterned concrete floor. "DAMN IT!"


    Dretphi shakes her head and grumbles, scanning down the long runs of other dimly lit hallways. "I understand."


    Landing his ghostly figure upon the floor, Sebastian surveys the scene and frowns with a long ethereal sigh. "Chasing him through this place would be useless. Let''s regroup, start calling the authorities, and search around the area for tracks... Or, something..."


    Sebastian gazes back down the hallway with worry. Sotalia releases a long, begrudging sigh, and nods in agreement, searching her outfit for her phone. "Yeah... I guess. Good fucking gods... This is going to be a LONG, AWKWARD conversation with the cops."


    Groaning out the foreboding dread building within, Sebastian briefly grits his teeth and averts his translucent blue eyes. "Tell me about it. Shit. It''s going to be a long day between the police, GAA, and the guild about this whole thing. I don''t even know what the hell we tell any of them at this point."


    A powerful, rumbling concussion resonates through the building, the fuller notes of the cacophony filtering in the openings in the ceiling. Dust and dirt from the steelwork rafters above. Crisp, metallic reverberations bounce down one hallway and fill the air with the sounds of destruction. Seconds later, red alarm lights pulse along the passages in varying degrees of function, and a barely working public address system chimes out an audible alert. Dretphi sorts between all the emerging chaos and points down the one hallway, checking others for confirmation. "That way."


    Sotalia nods quickly and stares in that direction. "Heard it from there, too. That rumble felt like a magical concussive blast. Don''t I know what the other sounds were."


    Signaling the two to follow along, Sebastian darts down the hallway, determination staring ahead. "Fucking bastard probably blasted out the perimeter fence, and is running off now. Let''s see if we can figure out how he''s getting around in, at least."


    Sebastian, Sotalia, and Dretphi rush down the long hallway, and quickly approach a set of exterior doors leading to the barely illuminated outside. Sebastian phases through the doorway and immediately searches the area for activity. Sotalia and Dretphi forcefully push open the metal doors. Following Sebastian, the group runs along the dirt path towards the gravel lot and perimeter fence. The team approaches, and Sebastian blinks in utter shock, spotting the humvee. Flipped back end over onto a crushed section of fence, the vehicle rocks slightly, and faint magical vapors steam off the underside armor plating. Sotalia notices a similar miasma drifting off a shallow crater in the gravel lot and spouts of an enraged stream of curses in a variety of languages. Hovering over the scene in disbelief, Sebastian twists the confusion on face with the mix of emotions. "THE. FUCK."


    The team gathers close to the upturned humvee. A faint, small engine sounds out in the distance. From a patch of bushes further down the way, a dark green sedan erupts out of the underbrush, hops up onto the road, and speeds off down the remote highway. The engine revs up to full speed. Remembering the aetherphone in her hand, Sotalia taps on the camera function and takes aim at the vehicle speeding by. Dretphi reflexively swings her strapped on submachine gun up into her arms, ejects the current magazine, and locks in the last fresh one. Rushing out onto the side of the road, she levels her aim at the escaping dark green sedan. Sebastian zips out after the car and phases into the passenger''s seat. "Where the hell do you think you''re going, Noxian?!"


    Noxian glares over, mixing annoyance and surprise at the ghostly visage of Sebastian, and sighs with a hint of a grin. "Some place where I''ll be left to continue my work without your interruptions. AGAIN, I would like to state how much I would rather you and your team to NOT get in my way."


    Sebastian narrows a stern, irritated stare upon Noxian, and leans in close. "Well, UNFORTUNATELY for all of us, YOU are kind of our biggest concern at the moment."


    Blinking off into thought momentarily, Isaac''s expression softens under his scarf, and he gazes at Sebastian with worry tinting his tone. "You should reevaluate THAT..."


    He stares firmly at Sebastian, calmly states. "For your brother''s sake."


    Sebastian''s face blanks at the sudden change of cadence, and he stares idly in shock. Moments later, an unseen force halts Sebastian independently from the car and yanks him through the back of the vehicle. Hovering over to the pavement, he shudders back to awareness and snaps his head to face the dark green sedan rolling off into the distance. He squints his eyes at the identification plating on the back of the vehicle. Floating there mumbling out letters and numbers to himself, his visage distorts, a series of small projectiles zipping through. Immediately glides off to the side, he watches a few stray rounds impact the back of the sedan, grazing sparks and solid punctures into the metal. One projectile manages to hit the back window edge and send cracks through the glass. The vehicle crests over the hill and disappears from view.


    Sorting through a few pictures on her phone, Sotalia grimaces, the imagery discouraging her. "Gods dammit! None of these are worth a shit. Too dark, and it was moving too fast. Maybe this one will do... But, I can''t read anything off it."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage zips next to Sotalia, and he sighs with a slight smile. "Got his car''s ID plate, write it down quick."


    Flipping to a note taking app on the phone, Sotalia pays careful attention to Sebastian reciting a series of letters and numbers. With a growing smirk, she nods and saves the note, comparing the sequence to the picture. "Yeah. THAT looks close enough to blurs on the picture. Okay... So, older green sedan, with this identification, and-"


    Walking over to the group, Dretphi ejects the empty magazine out of her sub machine gun and flips up her full face visor with a partial, reserved grin. "Broken back windshield. Bullet marks on back half of vehicle."


    Sebastian blinks and smirks towards Dretphi, chuckles slightly. "One or two bullet holes in the trunk actually."


    Nodding a hint of satisfaction, Dretphi glances over into the distance and twists her mouth. "Surprising. At that distance. Aim was not the best."


    Sotalia finishes recording the information on her phone, reads over it a few times, and taps through the contacts list. "Okay. That''ll be a start. Gods. I better make the call now, BEFORE they arrive to investigate this alarm."


    Searching through her belt of pouches, she pulls out of a few vials and quickly quaffs down the potions. Finding an old stump nearby, she sits down and groans out a long sigh, removing her radio earpiece. "After I finish this call, I''ll see what I can do about getting the humvee back on its wheels? I guess..."


    Both Sebastian and Dretphi turn their attention towards the flipped over humvee, each presenting equal mixes perplexed and apprehensive. Sebastian grits his teeth, shifting between different uncomfortable grimaces, and crosses his arms awkwardly. "Well... Um... I think it should still be drivable... Once we get it right side up."


    A bit of internal deliberation later, Dretphi rocks her head in partial agreement, taps a button on the side of her helmet, and glances over to Sebastian. "First check on Cideeda. Maybe inform, then? Maybe later?"


    The weight of the humvee incrementally compresses the crushes mesh fence further, and Dretphi frowns, furrowing her tan brow. "Upright it before she sees it."


    Sebastian quickly nods and starts to fade. "Sounds good. I''ll go back to Aristespha and see how it''s going there."


    Surveying the scene around her, Dretphi slumps her shoulders with a shake of her head and slowly steps over to the two empty magazines nearby, picking each up. Sotalia draws in a long calming breath and greets the police operator on the other side of the phone call.


    ----


    Through the sliding glass door, the ambient glow of the late morning sun lights up the living area of the ranch style house. Above the constant, soft drone of the air conditioning in the room, a dull mechanical rumble sounds out from beyond the kitchen door leading to the garage. Seconds later, the door opens quickly, the air cushioning door against the wall slowing it short of slamming. With an irritable growl, Sotalia rolls her golden eyes and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Gods. Fucking. Damn it! THAT is THE last time I think we should call the local cops around here for ANYTHING."


    She winces into a grimace and huffs. "OH. I SWEAR they were just thinking of reasons to keep us at the station longer! Just trying to find SOMETHING!"


    She undoes her armored cloak, flings it through the kitchen prep area archway into the living room upon the couch, and steps over to the refrigerator. Quickly sorting through the contents of the cold box, she plunks out a bottle of grath beer and aims her voice towards the garage. "Dretphi! I owe you a beer."


    Slowly trudging from the garage into the kitchen, Dretphi stops in front of Sotalia and holds out her open hand. Sotalia frees another bottle out from the fridge and slides it in between Dretphi''s closing grip. Sweeping up a bottle opener upon the counter, Sotalia pries the bottle cap off her beer. Dretphi clamps her gauntlet covered hand around the top, and wrenches the metal off the glass. In unison, both Sotalia and Dretphi sling back long swigs of their beverages and stare off distantly in their own minds. Moments of silence later, Dretphi snarls her upper lip, quietly growls out her frustration, and mumbles loudly. "YES. I have FUCKING licenses for my firearms. Including my rifle. Absolute. Assholes."


    Rolling her eyes in commiseration, Sotalia shakes her head with her frustration. "Gods almighty. I don''t know what the hell was up with that one guy. I mean, gods forbid they just run a quick check with the guild... That we are all registered with..."


    She pours back another swig of the beer and snarls her upper lip. "THAT should have gotten all the information they would need."


    Plodding into the area, Cideeda rubs her back briefly and cautiously stretches against the soreness. She stops a moment and lifts up the top of her old shirt, sniffing. "Wow... We really need to wash the spare clothes in the humvee. Ungh."


    Her tail waves slowly behind her. She tries to brush off dirt on a pair of worn shorts, only managing to smear the mess further. Closing her emerald eyes for a moment, she tilts her head back and sighs. She settles her attention upon the hospital bracelet around her wrist and picks at it with her claws. "Before the painkillers wear off, I''m getting this fucking thing off, hitting the shower, and then going to bed."


    Glancing between Sotalia and Dretphi, she slumps her shoulders and droops her furry ears down. "No offense, but leave me the hell alone until dinner. Please..."


    She walks off into the hallway wincing, breathing in deeply, and mumbles frustrations to herself. "Shouldn''t have peeked around the corner... must be how he knew I was there... gods dammit..."


    Listening to Cideeda blame herself, Dretphi drinks the remainder of her beer and sighs out regretfully, muttering heavily with guilt. "Should not have taken that shot."


    Sotalia narrows her gaze at Dretphi and pats her on the shoulder of her under armor suit. "Now, don''t you start blaming yourself, too. We all agreed on it. And, your shot took him down."


    Furrowing her brow, she averts her gaze with an irritated grimace. "The bastard just got really damned lucky and pulled a fast one on us... Like before..."


    Aristespha moves through the kitchen area, muttering to herself in evuukian, and flips through a combination of tablets and paperwork in her arms. Hovering in pursuit after her, Sebastian halts the chase after a certain set of evuukian phrases. Aristespha speeds through the area with worry plain on her ivory face. She zips past the hallway archway and quickly down the hall, closing her bedroom door behind her. Sebastian''s ethereal form rubs his forehead, and he glances over to Sotalia and Dretphi. "I''m... I''m going to give her a few minutes before I go in there. Just to be on the safe side."


    Dretphi and Sotalia nod together in agreement. Perking her brow, Sotalia gazes curiously at Sebastian with a tilt of her head. "Is she still panicking about how to explain that supposed anonymous tip we got about Noxian being there?"


    Walks in through the door from the garage, Bach closes the door behind him and nods to the gathered team, grimacing. "Yeah... Um... She''s been trying to put together a supporting story for it? I mean, that''s what I gathered from what I heard. I think an anonymous tip is somewhat believable. And..."


    He shrugs his shoulders and sighs. "I mean, we did find him. But... I don''t know. Especially if anyone starts digging too deep."


    Sebastian groans ethereally, shrugs his shoulders, and crosses his arms. "Well. There''s just not much more we can do today. Hopefully, since it''s Friday, any serious paperwork about us won''t be filed or processed today."


    He rolls his eyes to the side and wrestles with a frown. "That''ll give us the weekend to sort things out. Hopefully."


    Relaxing his shoulders, he dons a grateful smile and nods to everyone present. "For now, let''s just take the rest of this day easy. Recover and clear our heads."


    Sotalia drinks more of her beer, walking out of the kitchen. "Sounds good."


    Politely waving with beverage in hand, she goes through the hall archway. "I''m going to try to get some sleep. Goodnight, morning, or whatever."


    Dretphi sighs, rests her empty bottle on the counter, and plods towards the hallway. "Will do the same. Sleep well."


    Dretphi leaves the living area. Glancing over towards Bach, Sebastian focuses his concern upon his brother. "Hey. You feeling okay, bro?"


    Bach blinks a moment, thinks for a few seconds, and rocks his head side to side. "Yeah..."


    He meets his brother''s gaze and sighs. "I mean, I suppose you know. Uh... Um... Well... Yeah, I- I really don''t know how to feel about THAT right now."


    Sebastian presents a comforting smile and shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "Don''t worry about it then. Just feel free to talk to me about it when you feel like it."


    Releasing a long ethereal exhale of nerves, he relaxes his form. "Hey. We all made it, bro. That''s all that matters right now."


    An appreciative smirk appears on Bach''s face, and he sighs with some ease. "Thanks. That..."


    Combing his fingers through his longer brown hair, he furrows his brow with a frown. "Shit. That was NOT a good situation."


    Nodding in total agreement, Sebastian leans close to Bach, lifts an intrigued eyebrow, and whispers. "Just between you and me, I think he ran because of YOU."


    Bach blinks absolutely bewildered, pausing to process, and winces uncomfortably. "Yeah... Um... I REALLY don''t know how to feel about THAT."

 Episode 74

    Stepping out into the noon sun, Trakenthin follows behind his father through the back sliding glass door of the two story house. Narrowing a confused and perplexed stare, he glances towards either side, spotting groups of recording crew with their full attention upon him. Trenannin continues to march forward with a bold grin on his face, moving towards the corner of the backyard. Pausing briefly, he starts searching for a route beyond the property to somewhere adjoining. Trakenthin steps next to Trenannin and studies him closely, maintaining his neutral mask under the imposing attention of the cameras. Drawing in a cautious breath, he focuses upon his father. "Where are WE doing?"


    With a dark tinge, Trenannin chuckles slightly and glances over his shoulder towards his son. "YOU need to settle a score. Recover your honor. From YOUR loss."


    Contorting his dark bronze face incredulously, Trakenthin blinks bewildered and furrows his brow. He stiffens his posture, and his glances bounce between a rush of memories. A faintly familiar moment rises to the front of his mind, and his hazel eyes widen in a mix of surprise, concern overtaking. "What... loss?"


    Grumbling, Trenannin surveys the underbrush, visually tracing a path through to the open field diagonal to the house''s back plot. Trenannin glares back over his shoulder at Trakenthin momentarily. "Match at the convention. With The Coward''s daughter..."


    An uncomfortable wave radiates throughout Trakenthin, and he grits his teeth, his stance rigid with his growing unease. "That match? It was NOT important. Nothing official. Does not count-"


    Hopping over a low wooden fence, Trenannin trudges through the overgrowth and navigates around the brush beyond the backyard. "When it is The Coward''s spawn... IT. COUNTS."


    Trakenthin snarls his upper lip briefly and climbs over the barrier. Trailing behind his father under the constant scrutiny of cameras, he directs a harsh whisper with a faintly pleading tone. "Why are you going over there? Now?"


    Pushing through the last shrub, Trenannin steps out into the sunny, grassy field, and searches for signs of activity towards the ranch style house on the other end of the plot. "YOU will demand a rematch."


    Trakenthin''s eyes wide,n and an uneasy curl forms at the corner of his developing frown. Furrowing his brow, he glances around the field ahead and grumbles. "This is NOT the best approach. Try a formal request first? Proper time. Proper place..."


    The camera crews spill out into the open field and refocus fully upon father and son. Trenannin turns around, leveling a demanding glare upon his son, and sneers slightly. "You are NOT backing down?"


    Narrowing a stare at his father, Trakenthin growls through his teeth and sighs full of irritation tipped indignation. "NO. I prefer the proper process."


    Obscuring hints of his redirecting motive, he presents a firm, stern attitude, elaborating upon his idea. "Make it official. Public. Written in records. Settle it before all."


    In the distance, Dretphi walks out into the side plot next to the house from the front yard. She readies her practice blade and energetically swings through a series of maneuvers. Faintly overhearing a few irritated quips in grath, Trenannin catches sight of Dretphi. A mean grin appears on his face, and he starts walking quickly across the field. "Understand the sentiment. Would like that under normal conditions."


    Marching faster through the grass, he firmly addresses Trakenthin and the surrounding camera crews. "Time is short. YOU take the opportunity NOW."


    Trakenthin uncomfortably contorts his face and catches up, keeping pace with his father. He begrudging pleads with his father, trying to quell his growing frustration. "I will properly request the rematch. If she accepts, she sets time, place."


    Trenannin glances over his shoulder at his son, a tint of suspicion hidden in the forming disagreement upon his dark bronze face. Puffing his chest, Trakenthin smirks boldly, chuckles slyly. "Present a fair offer. Refuses to defend her victory under those conditions? Proves that she is the Coward''s daughter."


    Pondering the concept for a few moments, an approving, proud grin appears on Trenannin''s face, and he nods in agreement at the proposal. He pats the back of his son firmly and glances towards Dretphi, laughing to the surrounding camera crew. "I have taught you well! An offer we win regardless."


    Performing through a number of sword exercises, Dretphi finishes the last attack in a series, grumbling to herself in her own mind. She repeats the last motion, sneers her upper lip at her performance, and draws in a long breath. Her gaze rests upon the large tree nearby, and her mind wanders through a chain of self-reflective frustration and aggravation, the shifts in emotion playing out on her tan face. Seconds later, her awareness returns to her immediate surroundings, and she notices the crowd nearby. Furrowing her brow through the initial surprise at the camera crews, her focus settles directly upon Trakenthin. With a grimace nearing a scowl, she presents her annoyance. "Can I help you?"


    Trakenthin draws in a breath, assumes a stoic facade, and clearly states. "I am here to request a rematch for our fight at the convention. You set conditions. Do you accept?"


    Blinking utterly bewildered, Dretphi shakes off the initial confusion and rolls her steely gray eyes with an unamused, dismissive groan. Dretphi ponders the offer between winces, disagreement rising up into her face. Trickles of relief seep out into Trakenthin''s exterior, and he glances over to his father. With the start of a phrase and a wave of the hand, Dretphi begins to relay her refusal. Trenannin spouts off a particular grath phrase, dripping with vitriol. Trakenthin''s jaw drops, the words echoing in stark familiarity to those from the original match. Recognizing the same phrase in a different voice, Trakenthin snaps his obvious discomfort towards Dretphi. With the insulting words sounding out again, Dretphi blanks, halting her answer short of leaving her lips. Contorting her face against a surge of rage, she narrows her furious glare at Trakenthin, spikes her practice sword firmly into the dirt in front of her, and jabs a point sharply at Trakenthin. "I ACCEPT. Two hours from now. Out in the field. Two-handed sparring blades. Match upon first confirmed vital hit with blade."


    An excited grin grows wide upon Trenannin, and he proudly slaps the back of his son. "THERE! You have a proper match, now!"


    Under the heavy, looming weight of camera attention, Trakenthin struggles maintaining his stoic front, barely covering the swell of dread bubbling through him. He musters up a meager smirk, satisfying his father, and sneaks out a wavering sigh. Dretphi promptly turns away and storms off towards the back sliding glass door.


    ----


    A crowd of both adventuring teams and Next Adventurers of Nexus crew surround Dretphi and Trakenthin, readying themselves in an impromptu ring in the middle of the grassy field. Gusts of wind blow waves in the taller grasses nearby, and occasional clouds drag patchy shadows across the open space. Aristespha crosses her arms, the breeze moving stray silvery blue hairs off her shoulders. Sotalia rests her hands on her hips and snaps an unamused glare towards a few members of the camera crew when they get close. Deedri and Tassilda exchange quiet commentary between themselves, relaying their similarly wary sentiments across to the other team with momentary glances. Maintaining a modest distance from the gathering, Modoran eyes over at an excited Samantha and apprehensive Gerald nearby. Cideeda twists a souring mood out on her fair face, tapping her foot with irritable flicks of her fluffy tail. She musters up an encouraging smirk towards Dretphi. Noticing an examining stare from Chad, Bach awkwardly tries to play off the attention and settles his attention back onto the match. With a mean grin, Veevi energetically cheers out. "You kick that blonde bimbo''s ass, Trakenthin!"


    A passing shades the ring. Lifting her head up in the shadows, Dretphi narrows a dark glare down upon Veevi and stares through her very existence, a hint of a glow in her eyes. A moment later, Chad blinks to attention and furrows his brow confused. He glances down at his side and watches Veevi cower close, taking cover behind him. Rolling his brown eyes with a faint groan, he shakes his head. Trenannin smirks at the comment from Veevi and maintains his stoic gaze upon Dretphi and Trakenthin. Trakenthin raises his two-hand sparring sword up in a readied position, draws in a long calming breath, and focuses upon Dretphi. "I am ready."


    Tossing back her platinum blonde braids, Dretphi lifts her similar blade up, pauses, closing her eyes briefly in thought, and nods to Trakenthin. "We start... Now."


    An eerie silence drops down upon the vicinity. The wind stills. And, a cloud coats the area in its shadow. Dretphi and Trakenthin observe each other, minute movements from either triggering slight adjustments in counter of the other. Stances shift briefly, exploring the finely tuned reactions from the opponent, and the two combatants constantly reevaluate ever changing boy language. Seconds of stillness pass. Trenannin spouts out an irritation tipped quip in grath.


    Simultaneously, Dretphi and Trakenthin launch out towards each other. Exchanging quick attacks for blocks, both anticipate the counters into defensive positions. Combinations of maneuvers evolve from Dretphi and Trakenthin, tactics refining, and both hunt down the weaknesses in other''s abilities. A close dodge later, Dretphi leaps back, gaining needed distance. Trakenthin quickly attempts to seize the opportunity. Noticing the incoming assault, Dretphi sets up a feint, leads Trakenthin''s attack, creating a false opening, and staggers. Trakenthin drives the assault, and Dretphi shifts herself out of the way. Checking her full body weight into Trakenthin, Dretphi sends him backwards onto the grass field. Trakenthin lands on the ground. Cheers and excitement rise up from Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia. Dretphi readies herself and moves in quickly, hearing the encouraging calls from Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Veevi. Angry, derisive disappointment taints Trenannin''s yells at Trakenthin. Dretphi halts her charge, thinking a moment. Glaring insulted at Trenannin, she steps back with her blade readied and waits patiently.


    Puzzling, Trakenthin stands back up and readies his sparring sword. Both exchange stoic, respectful nods and resume the match, a mixture of confusion and intrigue forming from the crowd on both sides. Dretphi and Trakenthin trade masterful impacts up their blades, and the wood echoes out into the field over the sounds of supportive cheers and a chain of degrading grath terms.


    Minutes into the match, signs of fatigue reveal themselves upon the combatants. With each flurry, the timing between attack waves and counters grows longer. The surrounding teams silence themselves when Dretphi or Trakenthin lunge out, watching the clash of the imposing titans. Recording crews shift constantly around, capturing the action from the best angles, and frame the most dramatic moments. Trakenthin summons up a surge of strength, releases a powerful flurry of blows, and rains a barrage upon Dretphi. With expert precision, Dretphi anticipates the course of each attack, intercepts, and redirects the energy from each blow. In the last moment, Trakenthin dramatically alters the course of his finishing strike, empowering it with all his strength. Awkwardly shifting in anticipation of the impact upon her sparring sword, Dretphi falters with the redirect. Trakenthin presses his full weight into the clash of wooden blades and shoves Dretphi off-balance with brute force. Dretphi tumbles back upon the ground.


    Sorting through the calls of concern and cheers of encouragement, Trakenthin prepares his follow through. Right before driving his attack, he catches a comment from his father. He twisting his mouth uncomfortably and halts, a disapproving sneer curling his upper lip. Stepping back, he readies his sparring blade and waits.


    Dretphi narrows a curious gaze at Trakenthin, smirks appreciatively, and stands back up. Settling into combat stances, both Dretphi and Trakenthin exchange respectful nods, the excitement growing from the crowd along with the confusion from one. In the moment, both pant out, the looming exhaustion weighing upon them. Each judges the status of the other, and both arrive at an unspoken agreement.


    They still themselves and focus fully upon the other, tensing their bodies. Simultaneously, the two launch at each other. In the fractions of time during their charges, both constantly change attack angles, responding to the other, and settle upon their vectors. The two close in. Trakenthin leads the point of his sparring sword forward and aims the tip right at Dretphi''s center mass. Quickly adjusting, Dretphi braces herself, her blade at the ready to intercept and body aligning for the counter. Mere moments away from the clash with Dretphi, Trakenthin''s muscles tighten. The swords almost touch. Pulling his blade back, Trakenthin drops low to the ground into a powerful spin and swings his sparring sword tightly away from Dretphi. Sliding upon the ground, he leads the blade into a full, sweeping revolution around, and rams the tip of the wooden blade squarely towards the center of Dretphi''s back. Readying his full strength behind the finishing move, he winces in pain. His chest tenses, and recent memory flashes into Trakenthin''s mind. In the moment of reflection and calm, he eases back his attack to a modest amount of energy and lands a gentle, firm wooden tip upon Dretphi''s back.


    The combatants freeze in place and wait. Confirming the result with each other, Trakenthin and Dretphi check around with the surrounding crowds. The Flames of the Phoenix team yells out triumphantly, the other squad claps encouragingly through disappointment, and Trenannin incredulously complains loudly in grath. Trakenthin lowers his weapon from Dretphi, stands up, and releases a long sigh of relief. Slumping her shoulders slightly, Dretphi musters up a stoic front and respectfully holds out a hand. "Excellent match."


    With a grateful smirk, Trakenthin firmly shakes Dretphi''s hand and humbly chuckles. "An honor to have. It was close. A proper rematch."


    Watching the handshake, Trenannin''s sheer disgust surges outwards without check, and he storms up to his son loud and accusingly. "What type of match was THIS?! Passed up an opportunity? Showed mercy?!"


    He jabs a point towards Dretphi and sneers at Trakenthin. "To HER?!"


    Mustering up every bit of calm within, Trakenthin draws in a long breath through his gritting teeth, releases a grumbling exhale, and slowly pivots, facing his father. "YOU wanted a rematch. I provided."


    Trenannin sputters out a number of angered sentences in grath. Trakenthin struggles for calm and slowly states. "As YOU said... It was MY fight to rematch. NOT yours. Settled it as I saw fit."


    An irate scowl erupts upon Trenannin, and he launches into angry, enraged scolding. Trakenthin resolutely stands, weathering the verbal barrage. Dretphi watches in utter disgust and spots the flinches of pain upon Trakenthin, the hurtful grath phrases washing over. With a final summoning of spite, Trenannin spits out a quip towards Trakenthin and Dretphi. In abject shock, Dretphi stares, jaw agape. Catching her full attention, Sotalia shudders through the offense and shouts. "OH! THE FUCK did he say?!"


    Clenching his fist tightly around his sparring sword, Trakenthin grits his teeth, puffs up his chest, and glowers at his father silently. Staring down Trenannin, he fights against the swelling rage growing blatant upon his reddening dark bronze skin, surrounding the teams and crew watching expectantly. A sudden stillness overtakes Trakenthin, and he breathes out his ire. Leveling an odd, stern calm towards his father, Trakenthin stares stoically. "Do you have anywhere else to be?"


    Tilting his head to the side, Trakenthin narrows his hazel eyes and snarls his upper lip. "Out of my life? Again... As it SHOULD BE."


    Trenannin blanks completely and stares absolutely bewildered at his son. Seconds later, he returns to some awareness of his surroundings, noticing the sharp, undesirable attention from everyone around him. Without another word, he steps back, gazing at his son, pivots, and walks away, back towards the two-story house.


    ----


    Peeking from under the covers, emerald green eyes stare out at the late morning light slipping in through the window blinds. Slowly panning her gaze across the room, Cideeda settles her attention upon the desk against the other wall. She marrows her stare upon the blemished chest plating resting on the table top. With a long, sad sigh, she groans out her disappointment, curling up into her bed sheets. Tossing and turning, she finds a comfortable spot on her bed, pulls her long, fluffy tail up to her chest, and wraps her arms around herself tightly. She exhales somberly through her nose, closing her eyes, and nuzzles her head upon her pillow. Bringing her tufted tail tip close, she hides the stale frown on her light brown face and lets her furry ears droop near her shoulders. Minutes of quiet pass on by, and Cideeda rests within her own thoughts.


    A few soft knocks on the door stirs up Cideeda, and a furry ear flicks towards the bedroom entry. Waiting quietly, she finally opens her eyes partially to a second series of taps upon the wooden door. Sotalia''s voice calls out from the other side. "Hey, Cideeda... You awake in there?"


    Searching her mind, Cideeda quietly deliberates, draws in a reluctant breath, and directs her halfhearted reply. "Yes."


    Sotalia''s tone brightens a bit, and she pries from the other side. "You doing okay? You want anything for lunch?"


    Snuggling up into her bed covers more, Cideeda sighs with a slight grumble slipping out and closes her emerald green eyes. "I''m... Fine. Just tired. And, still a little sore, today."


    She curls up tighter upon the bed. "I''m just not all that hungry right now..."


    Pausing a moment, she softens her frown with a slight smirk. "Thanks for checking."


    On the other side of the door, Sotalia nods with a slight down turn of her smile and raps her long, black nails lightly on the door frame. "Okay. Let us know if you need anything."


    Cideeda''s voice softly resonates out. "Will do."


    Walking slowly down the hallway with concern blatant on her light tan face, Sotalia brushes back her fiery orange, wavy hair over her swept back horns and hums thoughtfully to herself, walking out into the living area. Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian shift their attention from random paperwork on the dining table towards Sotalia. Thinking a few moments along with her steps towards the kitchen, Sotalia meets everyone''s gazes and twists her mouth into a grimace. "Yeah... She says she''s just tired and sore."


    The group exchanges glances, quickly arriving at a shared, unconvinced conclusion. Aristespha deliberates briefly and lifts an intrigued eyebrow, an unconvinced hint slipping out. "Admittedly, that was quite the hit she took. But... I think it is more psychological at this point."


    The team ponders options quietly. Bach speaks up and motions towards the garage. "Yeah... Hey. Let''s see how much more can get done on the..."


    Furrowing his brow, he glances around to the nearby team. "Project... I think we can get it done by tomorrow."


    Sebastian nods in agreement and drifts over to the hallway, assuming a watchful gaze down the hall. The others head out into the garage. Within the cluttered space, they quickly disperse to various locations, revealing hidden materials.


    ----


    Near the secluded corner of the room, Trakenthin settles upon the floor, back against his bed. Holding up his aetherphone in front of him, he sighs deeply, thoughts condensing between frustrated rambles about various subjects in grath. A motherly tone sounds out from the device, and the video feed on screen displays a calm, older grath woman. She focuses her hazel eyes towards Trakenthin''s side of the call and tilts her head slightly with a subdued curiosity. Twisting the corner of her mouth, she eases out a long sigh and lays out an explanation, tinges of regret slipping out. She slowly shakes her head, rolls her eyes at the past and herself, and frowns sadly, mentioning Trenannin by name. Old memories return to the surface of her mind, she wavers and draws in a long, thoughtful breath. Collecting herself, she exhales out a few remarks of wisdom, hinting at the hard earned experiences.


    Slowly lifting his head up, Trakenthin faces the phone in his hand and slowly combs his free hand through his short dirty blonde hair, grimacing. Swaying his head with each part of the grath sentences from his mother, he visibly puzzles through shifting waves of anger, confusion, and sadness. He pleads out through stilted phrases, struggling to determine the answer he seeks, and pauses a moment in reflection. With incredulous scrutiny upon the video feed of his mother, he refers to his father,and poses a simple open ended question, running out of the words for the rest of the thought process.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The maternal figure on the other side of video call sighs. Twisting her face thoughtfully, she quietly deliberates, her darker brown, silver streaked braids shifting with her rocking head. Smiles lovingly, she gazes her hazel eyes into her camera. She briefly points towards Trakenthin through the call and addresses Trakenthin directly with a simple loving word. A calm motherly smirk bright on her tan face, she emphasizes thankful, endearing terms at Trakenthin.


    Silence settles down in the moment. Trakenthin gazes at the screen blankly for seconds. Closing his similarly hazel eyes tightly, streams of tears run down his dark bronze face, and he sniffs. Emotion finally pushes through the fallen facade, and Trakenthin surrenders to sobbing. Fumbling through attempts to constrain his feelings, he apologizes to his mother. With each comforting and calming grath word from his mother, Trakenthin regains more of his composure, and a smile graces his face. Releasing a final sniffle free sigh, he gazes into his aetherphone display at his mother, a bit of embarrassment persisting, and wanders the conversation over to other recent events.


    A few other women''s voices rise out of the background of the other side of the call. From the other side of the call, the video feed angles up and away from Trakenthin''s mother, revealing three other older grath women nearby. Blinking in surprise, Trakenthin greets his house mothers with respectful, endearing terms. One calls out to Trakenthin and points, referring to something. Trakenthin glances around the room, spots his handmade bedroll, and nods with an appreciative reply. The aim of the camera returns to Trakenthin''s mother, and she cracks a mischievous smirk, a glint sparking in her eyes. Trakenthin lifts a warily curious brow and carefully poses a question. His mother smiles reassuringly and mentions the Next Adventurers of Nexus in her explanation, a few choice grath terms intermixing. From the other side of the call, faint, dark chuckles rise out of the background just enough. Trakenthin slightly nods wide-eyed, furrowing his brow uncertainly. A confident grin plain on her face, his mother moves onto the next subject with a reassuring wave of her hand.


    ----


    The humvee slows to a halt in front of the stoplight intersection. Sinking back into the cushioning of the driver''s seat, Cideeda droops her furry ears down towards her shoulders and stares ahead, the bright red light prodding her frustrations. Drifting her gaze upon the hood of the vehicle, she narrows an annoyed glare at small dents shadowed by the late afternoon sun and highlighted by the overhead stoplight. Tightening her claws into her steering wheel, and she grumbles to herself and groans, aggravation tipping her words. "GODS... I can''t believe how much that asshole wanted for all these parts."


    Sotalia glances over from her aetherphone, sighs in commiseration, and shakes her head. Shifting around in the passenger''s seat, she grits her teeth briefly and rolls her golden eyes. "Seriously, girl. I mean, how often does he have anyone wanting those parts anyway? You''d think a discount would be worth having the shelf space back again."


    Cideeda combs her fingers through her short, multi-colored hair, and narrows her emerald green eyes ahead, twisting her mouth. "I mean... Yes. They are rare. Yes. Someone else might come along to pay out more money for them. But..."


    Bearing her sharp teeth, she growls out. "DAMN IT! I''m offering decent money TODAY to take them! Gods damn it. There''s more dust on them than the shelf they were on! Do you NOT want to make money?!"


    The stoplight flicks to the bottom lamp and casts a green hue over one side of the intersection and humvee. Pushing accelerator hard, Cideeda studiously eyes the diagnostic output from the in-console display, sighing. "Fuck... What the hell is that drive motor lagging behind for..."


    She resumes the conservation with Sotalia and shakes her head with a long roll of her emerald eyes. "They''re NOT vital parts. They are exterior accessory parts. People have figured out retrofits, and I KNOW I can craft something that''ll work."


    With snort, she contorts her upper lip into an annoyed sneer. "Well, gods damn me for wanting to keep to proper replacement parts and taking advantage of a local source."


    Sotalia smirks derisively, settling back into her seat, and chuckles to herself. "Visiting that stupid place was an act of fucking charity. Gods, I''m surprised that building was still standing. He should be happy if anyone bothers to even look at that dump up."


    Cideeda grits her teeth briefly, tenses her shoulders, and releases a long defeated sigh. "Well... He''s a bit richer than he should be. So..."


    Lowering her eyelids, she stares out down the road. "Whatever... I got the parts. Despite him getting a better deal than he deserves."


    She squints and snarls up her upper lip. "Last time I go THERE."


    The humvee speeds down a long stretch of two lane highway. Behind, a white sedan with a light bar pulls out from a side road and closes the distance gradually. Maintaining her speed, Cideeda watches the road ahead, slowly relaxing in her seat, and glances over to the diagnostic data on the console display. A minute of closely following behind later, the white car turns on its blue flashing lights and chirps out a few seconds of its siren. Cideeda and Sotalia reflexive tense and glance over their seats, exchanging confused expressions. Pulling the humvee over to the shoulder and slowing down, Cideeda peers through the rear view mirror, snarls her upper lip, and spouts off a fvalian curse. Sotalia sneaks a peek over her shoulder, narrowing a glare to the local police officer in the white vehicle, and directs her voice towards Cideeda. "What the hell does this asshole want? You weren''t speeding or anything?"


    Cideeda contorts the frustration out upon her light brown face, thinking a moment, and shakes her head, turning off the powerplant. "NO. At least... Well not enough to pull us over. It''s the beginning of the month..."


    Wrestling down her souring expression, she exhales a calming breath. "What is he even doing? Getting a head start on his quota?"


    Sotalia grimaces, shakes her head, and drops back upon her seat. "I wouldn''t be surprised if they''ve all been warned about us. Probably trying to hassle us out of town now."


    Stepping out of the white sedan, the fvalian policeman adjusts his hat, straightens his posture, and authoritatively walks to the driver''s side of the humvee. Cideeda rolls down the window, waits with her eyes ahead, and hands on the wheel. The officer glances down with a neutral, plain expression. "License and registration."


    Cideeda promptly retrieves the vehicle registration card from the center console, sorts through her wallet for her license, and hands the two bits of documentation over. The officer takes them in his clawed hands and pauses, carefully surveying the inside of the vehicle through Cideeda''s window. Moving away, he slowly steps towards his car, visually scanning the humvee on his way back. Sotalia crosses her arms and silently eyes the fvalian man. Cideeda tightens her lips, and maintains her cool demeanor with soft breaths through her toothy grimace. Long minutes later, the officer arrives back at the side of the humvee, returns the vehicle registration, and shows Cideeda''s license to her. With a routine, monotone drone, he points to her card and explains. "Your driver''s license is an outdated version. You''ll need to get it updated as soon as possible to meet the new GAA requirements."


    Presenting a faux smile, Cideeda flutters her eyes endearingly and holds her hand out to accept the license. "Oh, I''m sorry. I''ll remember to do that. If that''s all, I really wouldn''t want to take up any more of your time-"


    Interrupting, the policeman continues his presentation, deposits Cideeda''s driver''s license onto her palm, and retrieves his ticket book from his side, filling out a few final details. "Your tail light cover is broken and the running light is out."


    Mustering up a cheery tone, Cideeda smiles brightly with a toothy grin and motions to the box of parts in the seat behind her. "Well, THAT you don''t have to worry about! We just got the parts to fix it and are on our way home to take care of it. Won''t even be a problem in an hour."


    Sotalia glances around her area, picks up a receipt on the center console, and points out the piece of paper to the officer. "We even have the receipt. We made this trip today just to take care of that."


    The fvalian police officer continues to fill out information on his paper pad. He pauses a moment to stare unmoved at Cideeda and Sotalia and finishes the ticket with a rehearsed tear of the perforations. Presenting the piece of paper to Cideeda, he drones out his official explanation. "This is a citation for operating a vehicle without proper road safety equipment. Bring proof you have resolved the issue by the indicated date to the central courthouse, and the citation fine will be waived. You will still have to pay the court filing fee."


    Cideeda firmly pinches onto the offending ticket, her smile gradually twitching into a snarl. She narrows an inquisitive stare towards the officer, her tone slinking towards accusatory. "Okay... Well... Explain this to me..."


    Gritting her teeth, she cocks her head slightly to the side, eases her frustrations with a long sigh, and sternly inquires, tinges of sarcasm slipping out. "What is the proper procedure to address this issue upon discovery on a vehicle... if said vehicle is my only means of transportation to facilities that would either provide parts or service to remedy the problem? Do I have to arrange for a delivery service to get the parts? Do I need to call one of you to drive my vehicle over there? Is there some random temporary tag that I need to fill out completely arbitrary and inane paperwork to get?"


    Blinking at the fvalian policeman with a wide, toothy grit of her teeth, masquerading as a grin, Cideeda silently exchanges stares with the officer for seconds. The officer presents Cideeda with a small business card and repeats a well-worn phrase. "If you have any complaints, please contact the number listed, and you may file any and all grievances."


    The policeman quickly pivots and walks over into his white cruiser. He hops into his vehicle, starts up the machine, and quickly departs down the road. The white sedan disappears into the distance over a small hill. Sotalia gazes over to the silent Cideeda. "You okay?"


    Cideeda''s grip clamps tighter onto the citation, a claw tip piercing a hole into the paper. Drawing in a long breath, she pulls back her lips and growls out a long string of fvalian curses, her long fluffy tail puffing out with each infuriated phrase. Sotalia watches in a wide eyed surprise, blinking in astonishment. The long rant subsides, and Sotalia sorts through the words in her mind and curiously restates. "They should have cut your tail and stuck it in front so you wouldn''t be an embarrassment? Did I translate that correctly?"


    Recovering bits of her composure, Cideeda settles into the back of her seat, turns her head towards Sotalia, and nods. "Um. For the most part..."


    Sotalia twists her mouth, glancing down the road mischievously, and perks her eyebrow. "Want to stop by that vice store on the way back?"


    Starting up the powerplant of the humvee, Cideeda releases a long grumble and smirks through the aggravation. "Oh. Yes."


    ----


    On a nightstand, an aetherphone rings out nearby a bundle of covers upon a bed. Peering out from the mass of bed sheets, Cideeda''s emerald green eye spots the device rattling on the wooden top. She reaches out, snatches the phone back into her pile of blankets, and taps the screen to answer. "Hello?"


    Listening to the caller, a smile gradually appears on the groggy Cideeda, and she slowly pulls down the sheets. Blinking at the late morning light, Cideeda rubs the sleep out of her eyes and chuckles lightly. "Thank you, mom. It''s good to hear you, too. Sorry, I haven''t called you lately..."


    Furrowing her brow, she averts her gaze off to the side. "It''s been a little crazy... To say the least."


    Laying out on the bed with her phone next to her furry ear, Cideeda listens to her mother''s voice, her mood brightening. "Yeah... To think... Today, twenty nine years ago, eighth of July, I surprised you and dad by coming a little early."


    She snorts with a sly grin. "Always been special like that."


    Slowly rising up to a sitting position, Cideeda draws in a long breath and sighs with a roll of her eyes at herself. "I''m feeling fine. Like I said, it''s just been a bit crazy with everything going on. I''ll get into THAT later. What have you and dad been up to? How''s the scrap and art sales doing?"


    In the living area of the ranch style house, Aristespha sits, studiously sorting through another stack of paperwork. Sebastian''s ethereal form hovers nearby, and he occasionally points out a section of literature questioningly. With his aetherphone upon the dining table, Bach reads an article. Sotalia''s fork wanders too far from her own, and Bach slides his plate of breakfast away, thwarting the poacher. Dretphi cleans off a plate and stores leftovers away in containers. Spiking through the peaceful ambiance, Cideeda''s utterly shocked voice penetrates down the hallway into the area. "YOU''RE WHAT?!"


    The abrupt question startles the rest of the team, and they peer towards the archway leading out of the living room into the hall. With all waiting and listening carefully, a flurry of bewildered fvalian blends together between the reverb and muffling of the house structure. Sotalia slides back her chair, slinks closer to the entry, and aims her pointed ear towards the source. Her golden eyes search her mind, and she furrows her brow, deciphering the fast spoken, native dialect of fvalian spewing forth from Cideeda. Piecing together some understanding of the conservation, Sotalia tilts her head to the side, and her eyes widen in a mix of comprehension and surprise.


    The fvalian dialog stops, and silence fills the area. Sotalia moves away from the archway, turning to the rest of the curious team, and starts to open her mouth. The sound of a door opening resonates down the hallway into the living area. Soft footsteps and claw clicks echo out, and Cideeda plods into the room. With a blank expression, she maneuvers around Sotalia, through the living area, and into the kitchen space in front of the refrigerator. Opening the door, Cideeda''s eyes acquire targets, and she grabs hold of a bottle of beer in each hand. With a swift pivot pushing the fridge door close, she runs the glass container sharply down the edge of the counter top, and pops the metal cap off, passing by into the living room.


    Hovering out in front of the archway, Sebastian perks an awkwardly curious brow and approaches the question, summoning the most graceful effort can at the moment. "Sooo... Everything okay, Cideeda?"


    Cideeda pauses before Sebastian''s visage, takes a long chug of her beer, and blinks back to some awareness with a neutral tone. "Yeah... Just. Fine."


    Glancing over to the rest of the team, Sebastian grits his teeth briefly and attempts to pry a bit more gently. "Okay. That''s good to hear. Any news we should know about?"


    Thinking a moment, Cideeda turns towards the group, searches her mind with her eyes, and shrugs her shoulders ambivalently. "Well. My mom''s pregnant. And. She asked if she could turn my old room into a nursery. So..."


    Pouring back a long swig of her beer, she muffles a belch. "That''s a thing."


    Pivoting towards the hallway, Cideeda departs around Sebastian, walks with soft footsteps and claw clacks to her room, and shuts the door. The rest of the team stares between each other in utter bewilderment and awkward silence.


    ----


    Standing in front of Cideeda''s bedroom door, Sotalia rests her hands on her hips and calls out. "Come on out! You can''t stay in there all day. It''s your birthday!"


    Cideeda''s voice grumbles out from the other side of the door. "Exactly! It''s MY birthday, and I''m choosing to spend it in HERE."


    Furrowing her brow, Sotalia crosses her arms incredulously, shifting her weight, and taps her foot on the hallway''s hardwood floors. "And, what? Watch reruns of old cartoons on the holoplayer in a nest of alcohol and snack food?"


    Quiet fills the area, and Sotalia stands defiant next to the door, faint clinks of glass and crumples of plastic bags slipping out from the other side. A thoughtful pause later, Cideeda defensively snips. "Well... YES. It''s fine."


    Confidence fading, she winds down to a loud mumble. "I just need a day for myself. That''s all."


    With an unconvinced smirk, Bach leans in from the living room archway and projects his voice down the hall. "Yeah... Um. From experience, that''s a REAL slippery slope. Days become weeks really, REALLY easily."


    A brief moment of quiet settles in, and defiant growling sounds out from Cideeda''s side of the door. Drawing in a long breath, Sotalia tosses her fiery orange hair back, sighs out loudly, and explains in a stern tone. "Well. Here''s your options. One. You come out willingly. Two. Sebastian phases in there and bugs you until you leave. Three. Dretphi DRAGS you out."


    She leans close to the door and firm states. "Regardless, you sit down, enjoy the wonderful protellow pie that Dretphi made, and open your gift from us."


    Turning her head, Sotalia presses her pointed ear against the door and listens to movement and grumbling behind the door, curling a satisfied smile. She steps back and waits, resting her hands at her sides. Cideeda opens her bedroom door, musters up her composure, and sighs. "FINE. I can''t very well let a good protellow pie go to waste."


    Resting her hands on Cideeda''s shoulders, Sotalia guides Cideeda down the hallway into the living area with occasional nudges. Sotalia pulls out the chair for Cideeda at the head of the table and slides her in. Everyone settles around the table. Blinking in surprise, Cideeda observes a small box magically slide up in front of her. A smile appears on Aristespha''s ivory face, and she states. "We decided to let you open this one first, before we reveal what the rest of your gift is."


    Team gathers closer around her. Cideeda grasps hold of the package and carefully examines it, tapping with her claw tips curiously. Lifting off the box top, she angles the opening of the box and studies the contents. Intrigue driving her exploration, she slowly picks up a wooden articulated figurine of a fvalian. She blinks and puzzles at the object, carefully examining each joint. Pausing a moment, her emerald green eyes widen, catching the glint of familiar shards of crystal. Her mind quickly pieces together a theory, and she glances up to the others for confirmation. With the nods from everyone else, Cideeda seats the fvalian figure upon the table top. Methodically gesturing through an incantation, she concentrates. Holding her hands to open on either side of the wooden figurine, she wills faint flows of magical energy down her arms into the palms of her hands.


    The miasma settles, and she narrows her gaze upon the to fvalian. Contorting her face with strain, she twitches her fingers, feeling out an unseen force. The wooden figure stirs. A few erratic movements, shudders, and twitches later, Cideeda grimaces, focusing fully upon the little wooden doll. The fvalian figurine slowly, stiffly moves, and lifts up its arm.


    With a few slight finger movements, Cideeda strains and concentrates her will. The wooden figure slowly waves repeatedly, shuddering intermittently. Cideeda gawks in absolute awe at the little toy figurine before her in motion, following her commands. Tears well up in her emerald green eyes, and she sniffs loudly, a smile overwhelming her. In between sobs and attempts to wipe the water off her light brown face, she chuckles with a persistent grin. "It''s... Wonderful... I don''t know... What to say..."


    Sotalia stands behind the chair, wrapping her arms around Cideeda, and gives her a gentle hug. "When we heard the idea, we figured it''d be something you might like."


    Cideeda releases the spell, pats Sotalia''s arm, and gazes out to everyone. "This is using the golem crystals. You all made this?"


    She furrows her brow and ponders out loud. "When? How?"


    Standing back up straight with a proud grin, Sotalia points to the rest of the team. "Well. Sebastian was the lookout. Dretphi did a lot of the wood carving for the figurine parts. Aristespha and I got the crystals ready to use. And, Bach had the idea and helped us out in all the fine details."


    Picking up the little fvalian figure, Cideeda examines it, marveling at the construction. She carefully rests it down in its box with a smile, slides back in the chair, and stands up. She walks up to each tangible member of the team and hugs them tightly. She hugs Bach and squeezes her claw tips gently onto his forearm, lifting her eyebrow with a sly smile. "Really good idea you had."


    Chuckling, Bach awkwardly averts his gaze with a bit of embarrassment showing on his faintly tanned face. "Well, I mean... To be fair, I kind of got the idea from that puppet show a while back. Just modified the idea a little to use the golem crystals."


    Cideeda grants Sebastian an appreciative, toothy grin with a humored wink. "Huh. I was starting to wonder why I kept seeing you just around every corner lately."


    Sniffing the air, she briefly follows the delicious aroma of protellow pie and settles back into the dining chair. She gazes upon her wooden figurine with a happy smile. "You''ll have to show me how to make another one of these."


    The rest of the group joins in laughter, snickering and snorting at Cideeda''s confusion. Rolling his blue eyes, Bach slides the larger box on the tabletop closer towards Cideeda and lifts the lid. "Well... Don''t worry about THAT. You''ll have all the parts to do so..."


    Dretphi bites her lower lip and shrugs her shoulders innocently. "We overproduced parts. Under estimated time required."


    Shaking her head, Aristespha sighs, curling a faint embarrassed smirk. "As we have found out, the individual parts were not the bottleneck we thought they would be. Assembly, on the other hand, was significantly more involved than our original predictions."


    Bach pulls the lid off fully, shrugs his shoulders, and grits his teeth briefly. "But... I mean, in the end, I think it''ll work out better this way for you."


    Cideeda stares in wide eyed wonder at the box of small figurine parts, small golem crystals, and other components filling the entirety of the container.


    ----


    Sitting on her bed, Cideeda gazes at the display of her aetherphone with drooping ears and frowns apologetically with a sniff. "I''m really sorry I freaked out like that, mom. It''s just... It''s been a rough few days, and..."


    She rubs the temple of her head and shameful averts her gaze briefly. "Gods. I just really wasn''t in the right frame of mind. I just let it get the better me, when I shouldn''t have."


    An understanding chuckle sounds out from the speakerphone, and an older fvalian woman with green eyes and light brown skin shakes her head slowly on the video feed. "Oh, Dee, there''s nothing to be sorry about. There are a few gods I''ll need to visit their shrines extra to make up for how badly I freaked out and cursed their names."


    Wrestling an embarrassment grimace, she grits her sharp teeth and sighs. "And, I REALLY should have eased into THAT announcement far better..."


    Cideeda rolls her eyes at herself, presenting a guilty smirk. "Yeah. And definitely not a good idea to follow up immediately with asking to use my old room. But..."


    Slump her shoulders, she wrestles against a frown. "Still that doesn''t excuse me for being such a..."


    She mutters out a fvalian term, and her mother snorts amused. Cideeda pauses in thought a moment, lifting an intrigued eyebrow, and poses a question out of the corner of her mouth. "So, how did dad take it?"


    Cideeda''s mother perks up with a guilty smile. "What? My freak out? Or, the news?"


    Puzzling at the response, Cideeda tilts her head to the side, mumbling. "Um, both? I guess."


    Gritting her teeth briefly, the older fvalian woman rubs her temple and bites her lower lip, hinting of embarrassment. "Well. Nothing he hasn''t dealt with before. I did grab him pretty HARD on the arms."


    From the other side of the call, an older male voice calls out in the background. "I''ll live. By the way, if you find a deal on some new welding gloves, message me, Dee."


    Narrowing an inquisitive stare at her mother through the phone, Cideeda awaits a response, between flicks of her furry ears and tail. With a guilty shrug, her mother sighs and shakes her head. A few moments later, Cideeda snorts and relaxes with a long stress venting breath out. Cideeda''s mother''s furry ears flicks forward, and she aims an examining gaze at her daughter through the phone. "Everything okay, Dee?"


    Fighting through a mix of emotional thoughts in her mind, Cideeda rocks her head side to side indecisively. "Yes? For the most part. Just feeling... Oh gods, this is going to sound SO whiny. But..."


    She grumbles briefly and wrestles with a grimace. "Just not feeling as... Special as I thought I was."


    Wincing reflexively, she grits her sharp teeth and cringes slightly, reviewing the words in her mind. "OH GODS. THAT sounds so awful. I don''t know. I guess I took comfort in certain things that didn''t change, and well... Being you and dad''s special, only child was one of those things. So, uh, it hit me kinda hard when I wasn''t that anymore-?"


    Covering her light brown face with her hand, Cideeda groans, cringing with an awkward twist of her face. "Shit. It just keeps sounding worse the more I explain it."


    Humored laughter rises from the other side of the call, and Cideeda''s mother smiles brightly, shaking her head. "It''s okay. I remember that happening a few times to me. Losing those little bits of status you''ve had for so long."


    Moving the camera closer, she smiles with a loving, green eyed gaze at Cideeda. "So you know, when I was trying to figure out what to do... I thought about all the wonderful times I had when you were growing up. All those special moments, and how I''d get to share new moments like those... with YOU."


    Mother and daughter both smile and gaze happily into each other''s green eyes. Moments later, a sly grin appears on Cideeda, and she presents a prying question. "So... Mom. Have you and dad thought about names?"


    Her mother blinks a moment, letting an uncertain breath slip, and groans with an eye roll. "Gods, Dee, YOU KNOW we don''t plan things like this! I never even imagined having another child, especially when I''m almost fifty. I haven''t even told my own mother yet-"


    Cideeda''s eyes widen, and she covers her mouth in humored surprise. "OH! You HAVEN''T told Grandma Garadra yet?!"


    Embarrassment reveals itself blatantly on Cideeda''s mother''s face. She grits her sharp teeth, sighing with a faint hiss. "I KNOW! I know. Just... Just one thing at a time right now."


    With a comforting smile, Cideeda hums to herself and thinks out loud. "It''s okay. Let''s see... Let''s go through some boys'' names first."

 Episode 75

    Pressing firmly upon the confirmation button on her tablet''s display, Aristespha wrestles a grimace upon her ivory face and draws an uncertain breath. She lets the device slide through her hands down upon the tabletop and slouches back into her chair, releases an apprehensive sigh. "Gods help us..."


    Sebastian''s ghostly figure briefly grits his teeth and presents an assuring smile to Aristespha. "Dear, it''s going to be okay. We''ve done all we can on our end."


    Fighting the nagging doubt creeping upon his translucent face, Sebastian''s smirk weakens, and he trails off. "Just hope that other people believe our intentions were good..."


    Bach slowly pushes a pile of paperwork off to the side and rests his forehead down upon the table, groaning out his frustrations. "I swear... These laws are designed to allow people to get away before anyone can even file the paperwork to go after them."


    Wrapping his arms around the sides of his head, he lifts his face up and props his chin upon his folded forearms with a slight frown. "I mean... Yeah, I totally understand you don''t want people running around doing off the wall vigilante shit. But... How the fuck are you supposed to go after obvious problems when you see them?"


    Walking over from the couch, Sotalia slowly passes on by the tabletop and pauses a moment. She grants a commiserating smile to Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian, scooping up the last bit of cereal from the bowl in her hands. "Simply put..."


    She furrows her brow and grumbles. "You don''t."


    Shaking her head with a smirk, she sighs and rolls her golden eyes. "From my experience, the only things that are legally safe for adventurers to do are from the guild. Everything else is a fucking legal minefield."


    Aristespha gradually nods, combing out a length of her long, silvery blue hair, and occupies her hands with idle braiding. "With any kind of disturbance, the local police will investigate and consult the guild further. Then, if anything that seems like a violation... They will explore further."


    Closing her violet eyes, she exhales out her nerves, twisting her mouth. "And, given how well they received us at the station... I am quite certain they WILL be delving for ANY reason to question our uses of first response law and circumstantial procedures."


    Sebastian grins warmly to Aristespha and gazes lovingly at her. "I think you did a good job filling everything out. Hopefully, they''ll be too busy trying to find Noxian to really dig too deeply into what flushed him out."


    Glancing off to the side, he twists a frown. "I would hope he''d be the bigger priority."


    Nodding her head, Sotalia struts off into the kitchen area, snorting. "Gods, I''d hope that''d be a priority for them. Then again, given that officer writing a ticket for a fucking taillight... I''m not so certain."


    An annoyed grumble escapes Cideeda, drifting over to the table from the couch. She aims the television remote and flips through another barrage of channels. Aristespha bites her lower lip uncomfortably and squirms out the unease throughout her body. "I have tried my very best to fill everything out that I can, as properly as possible, so that casual reading will paint a... LEGAL picture of what happened."


    She grits her teeth briefly, wincing with the breath in, and slumps her shoulders on the exhale. "But, if anyone observant sits down and examines it thoroughly... They are going to discover all the omissions and sparse information surrounding our activities. So, I do NOT know what will happen at this point."


    Finishing up the small braid, she gradually combs out her hair with her fingers and shakes her head, sighing. "I just fear what the repercussions will be. It would be one thing if we had apprehended Noxian. Much would be easily overlooked with that kind of result. Without him in custody, we are the only ones left to focus upon."


    She stares distantly out on the tabletop, shrinks in her chair slightly, and frowns sadly, contending with a swell of worry from within. "Depending on who gets involved with Grand Library and pushes the most, they might use this incident to pull the funding on our efforts for chasing after Noxian and redirect it to some other team. The guild could see fit to put violations on our adventuring licenses and restrict what jobs we can do. And... that is not even considering what the local authorities would do..."


    Propping her arms upon the table by the elbows, Aristespha sinks her face into her hands and exhales deeply with a slow shake of her head. Dretphi places a mug of freshly brewed coffee in front of Aristespha, her long, pointy ears perking slightly. Peeking out, Aristespha lowers her hands around the cup and smiles appreciatively at Dretphi. "Thank you."


    Bach furrows his brow, humming to himself, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I mean, if it comes to that... I guess we''ll just have to go underground, or something, when it comes to going after Noxian."


    He lifts his head up, dons a bold smile, and encouragingly states, gazing at Aristespha and Sebastian. "I ain''t stopping at this point. So, I''ll help make it work one way or another. It wouldn''t be the first time I''ve done some... less than official deals."


    Sebastian smirks towards his brother, nods thankfully, and ethereally sighs. "Thanks, bro. Let''s hope for the best, for now."


    Aristespha smiles at Bach with a hint of relief easing some of the discomfort turning underneath the surface. Seconds later, Sotalia pauses in thought in front of the fridge and eyes Bach through the bar opening, lifting an incredulous eyebrow. "Okay, okay... What kind of underhanded dealings could YOU have possibly done?"


    Crossing his arms, Bach glances over to Sotalia, summoning up some confidence with a defensive tint. "Nothing big. Or terrible. But, I may have sold information and a few scrolls that MAY or MAY NOT have defeated certain devices'' security measures."


    Sebastian narrows his gaze at Bach and cocks his head to the side, snorting. "What? Selling scrolls to get free stuff from vending machines? Yeah, that was a good racket back in school."


    Averting his stare off to the side, he frowns. "Until they put new ones in."


    Bach grimaces through an uncomfortable memory, darting his eyes around, and mutters through his embarrassment. "Ah, um... Well... More like... Slot machines."


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick over towards the conversation, and the rest of the team''s collective curiosity settles squarely upon Bach. Moments later, Bach sighs, dropping his head briefly, and meets the expectant gazes around him. "OKAY. Long story short. I ran into some guy at a bar. Got to talking about tricks I''ve done with magic and machines... And, he mentioned he had some old, antique slot machine in his garage."


    He rolls his blue eyes at himself and grimaces. "SO, I had nothing better to do. I swung by his place on the way back from the bar. We goofed around with it, and I figured out a way to manipulate the results with that model."


    Blinking her emerald green eyes in thought, Cideeda searches her mind between ear flicks, pondering quietly to herself. Bach contorts his face uncomfortably at the past, rubbing his temples. "The guy got REALLY INTERESTED in that trick and offered me some money if I could encode the trick into a scroll. WELL... Rent was due and the fridge was empty... So, I did."


    He twists his mouth, gritting his teeth, and draws in a long breath, contending with his unease. "What I DIDN''T KNOW is that the guy knew some... People. They knew of a place that was still using that ancient model. So, they copied that scroll and used it."


    Widening her emerald green eyes with recognition, Cideeda sits up on the couch and stares at Bach from across the room, tilting her head to the side. "WAIT... I remember hearing something like this. Wasn''t one guy found in-"


    Shuddering, Bach frowns with prominent disgust. "Ten pieces across SIX COUNTIES. YEAH! After THAT, I kept to bar game scrolls. Gods... So glad I moved soon after that."


    In a mix of disbelief and fascination, Cideeda crosses her arms, narrowing her full attention upon Bach. "Oh. My. Gods... Now, it makes so much sense. I read about that whole incident and wondered how they got such specific scrolls that didn''t trip normal magical detection security measures."


    Pulling a sly smirk across her light tan face, Sotalia lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at Bach and presents a curious tone. "So. Bach. What if-"


    Bach snaps his stare right at Sotalia and clearly pronounces. "NO."


    ----


    Bach opens the door leading into the garage, steps down the stairs, and pauses a moment. Shifting his attention from his sidecar motorcycle, he notices the glow of bright afternoon sun radiating in from the open garage door. He allows his blue eyes to adjust to the light and narrows a curious gaze at the humvee in the driveway. Cocking his head to the side, he focuses upon the open hood of the engine compartment and spots Cideeda''s legs hanging out upon the side fender. He wanders over to the mechanical ratchet noises clicking out and grumbles of Cideeda physically straining. Arriving at the side of the humvee, Bach watches Cideeda''s hand rise up from another part of the engine area and grip tightly onto part of the frame. With slight shifts of her body, Cideeda secures her backwards flexed self down into the accessible space around the engine of the military vehicle, underneath the powerplant, and tightens her ankles, hooking under the lip of the fender wheel well. Bach puzzles at the scene, leans over the front corner of the vehicle, and glances down inside with a perplexed tone. "Okay. So, there has got to be a better way to do whatever you are doing."


    Cideeda''s long, fluffy tail flicks sharply a few times, settling into a slow wag, and she snorts with a light chuckle from the engine compartment. "MAYBE. But, for what I need to do, this is actually a lot faster."


    Narrowing his gaze, he searches through the maze of pipes, electrical lines, and supporting components around the central cylindrical powerplant. "Really? I mean, because I doubt the service manual has anything requiring the technician be capable of quite literally bending over backwards and slipping inside narrow spaces within the engine area."


    Cideeda finishes a series of tightening cranks of a ratchet driver, and her emerald green eyes peek through a narrow passageway between the mesh of engine area machinery. She perks a confident eyebrow. "True. To be fair, there were originally huge, ancient battery packs blocking the way on either side. But, those got replaced with new underside packs when we first fixed this thing up."


    Searching for a good view of Cideeda''s next target, Bach twists his mouth a bit unconvinced and scratches his head. "Yeah. But, still, can''t you just go from underneath the thing? I mean, that has to be the way the designers originally intended for it to be fixed."


    Wagging her tail in sync with the flexes of her body, Cideeda sighs and audibly rolls her eyes with a laugh. "Intended, yes. Practical, NO. The correct method is to go from underneath... Which requires jacking the vehicle up a meter, unbolting thirty large bolts, getting two or three people to lower the underside armor plate, and THEN you can do what you need to do."


    Her hand slips down momentarily and rises back out through another clear corridor, clawing onto a new spot for support. "If I was going to completely overhaul the power distribution module, rework the turbine exhaust thermal converters, or finally change out this old hydraulic fluid reservoir... Yeah, I''ll go through the few extra hours of work, since I''ll already be investing quite a few hours, anyway."


    Rapping her sharp finger tips upon the metal structure of the humvee, she sighs with a dismissive hint. "But. I''m just tightening a few bolts that might need it. So, I really don''t want to do a full tear down."


    Bach thinks about the logistics a moment, slowly nodding in agreement, and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah... Fair point. Still, it seems like it would be easy to get tools stuck down there, much less yourself."


    With an annoyed tone, Cideeda groans out past stale frustrations, and her tail sharply flicks out her irritation. "No shit. Gods. There''s actually no easy side access to get to anything you''ve dropped in. Not even a removable access panel in the wheel well. The only reason I figured out I could fit under here was because I was SO angry at losing three wrenches down here when we were broken down on the side of the road."


    Flexing her body down further into the underside of the engine area, Cideeda stretches out, straining to reach a distant bolt in a crowded section of components. "Why anyone would engineer a pit of fucking despair in any vehicle is beyond me. Anyway... I just got to check this one bolt, and I''m done."


    She reaches out to the furthest limit her body allows, slips the end of her socket wrench onto the awkward bolt, and rotates the handle a few ratcheting clicks, pulling it back. Tense moments of applying force later, she gives a final tug and slips the wrench off. "Still good there. Time to back out of here."


    Putting the socket wrench back in her shorts pocket, Cideeda secures her grip below and releases her hold above. Weaving through the clearance beneath, she tentatively grips upon an engine support and reverses direction underneath. Applying her weight onto the new hand hold, her fingers tighten upon a spattering of hydraulic fluid, promptly slipping free. She yelps and hisses in surprise. Scrambling for a new hand hold, she slides down further into the engine area, flopping upon the bottom plating floor. "AH! FUCK!"


    Her ankles slip free of the wheel well lip, her tail puffs out, and her legs find partial purchase, hooking against the hood and bodywork. Bach swiftly side steps in front of the flailing fvalian and reaches quickly down with both hands, grasping the panicked Cideeda firmly around her waist. "Hey! Don''t worry, I got you!"


    Seconds later with a few tail twitches, Cideeda promptly wraps her legs around Bach, crossing them behind his back, and tightens her hold. The sudden force from Cideeda presses Bach firmly against the side fender, and he blinks absolutely dumbfounded. Cideeda pulls herself out of the vehicle and up close to Bach. Squirming around, she aligns herself, sliding Bach over. She grips onto each of Bach''s forearms with a hand each and contorts herself, gradually slipping her head clear of the last obstruction. With a final flex and twist of her body, she rights herself to a seat upon the top of the side fender, ending up face to face with Bach. Bach widens his blue eyes, and Cideeda blinks her emerald green eyes. Both gaze at each other across the mere centimeters between their noses in silence.


    Hints of red coloring his cheeks, Bach awkwardly stumbles upon his words, fumbling to maintain a nonchalant exterior. "Uh... um... You okay?"


    With a perk of her furry ears, Cideeda smirks slightly and calmly replies. "Oh. Yes. Just freaked out a little bit there. If you slide down in there too far, it''s a real pain in the ass to get out on your own."


    She glances down and notices the tight wrap of her legs around Bach. Springing her eyes open, she relaxes her hold completely. "It can get a little scary, too. So, I REALLY wanted to avoid that."


    Averting his gaze in breaks of direct eye contact with Cideeda, Bach nervously states, the slight blush spreading out on his face. "Oh, yeah..."


    Situational awareness finally reminds him of Cideeda''s waist in his hands, and he quickly releases his grasp. "I could imagine. I mean, I''m not exactly claustrophobic, but that''d be a bit much for me."


    Cideeda briefly, gently squeezes Bach''s forearms with her claw tips, sliding her hands off, and resettles upon her seat on the fender. Moments of awkward silence later, she glances behind her and narrows a stare at a particular spot in the engine area. "Damn hydraulic oil. Never had a spot show up there before."


    Cracking a nervous smile, he shrugs his shoulders. "Well... I mean, I guess it was the first time this thing has been flipped over?"


    Rolling her eyes at herself, Cideeda returns her gaze towards Bach with a humored smirk. "Yeah. And speaking of that reservoir I''ve been meaning to replace."


    Struggling to maintain his composure under the close attention, Bach glances over to a few small dents on the bodywork off to the side. "So... Uh... How do you normally take care of dents like that?"


    Cideeda turns her attention to the blemishes upon the metal exterior of the vehicle and sighs with a frustrated curl to her mouth. "A lot of hammering and being completely unsatisfied with the results. It''s an ugly cycle of disappointment really."


    With a humble chuckle, Bach smiles and motions over to the dents. "Well, I think I could probably work some of those out easily enough."


    Pondering a moment, Cideeda presents a toothy grin to Bach and perks an intrigued eyebrow. "That''s right... You should be able to easily fix those little dents. I''m going to have to take you up on that offer."


    Shifting to another thought in her mind, she settles upon an appreciative smile, averting her slightly bashful expression momentarily, and focuses upon Bach. "By the way, I really love my birthday gift. Gods. I REALLY needed something that perfect to break me out of the funk."


    Bach grins awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders casually, and presents a nonchalant tone. "Well. To be honest, it was a group effort. Dretphi carved most of the figurines and helped with fitting things together. Aristespha and Sotalia got the crystals just right. And, Sebastian kept you from learning about it and suggested where to hide everything. I just gave them the idea and helped with the details here and there..."


    Tilting her head to the side, Cideeda grins warmly and perks her furry ears up, brushing back some stray hairs in her face. "It wouldn''t have turned out so well if someone didn''t know exactly what I''d like. So... Thank you, again."


    She giggles brightly and stretches her posture out slowly. "I can''t wait to fit a few of those crystals in my spare units. Surprise everyone at the game shop."


    Furrowing his brow at Cideeda, Bach twists his mouth into a smirk and snorts humored. "Good gods. That''s going to freak out a few immediately, and soon after get them ready to throw money for something similar."


    An entrepreneurial smile graces Cideeda''s light brown face, and she gazes up to Bach with a laugh. "Guess we need to keep a lookout for more of that crystal. Because, I''m keeping my gift. Also... I need to learn a few of your tricks when it comes to wiring them up."


    Bach chuckles out some of his nervous energy, feeling the blush of pink forming in his cheeks, and glances over towards the garage. "Yeah, well... All in good time. Speaking of time, you think Dretphi''s got dinner done yet?"


    Turning her head of short, multicolored hair towards the house, Cideeda draws in a few sniffing breaths through her nose, mulling over the results. "Smells like she''s getting close to done. It''s probably still in the oven."Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Her furry ears flick around, and she cocks her head to the side. "That, or she''s turned off the vent fan. I can''t hear it anymore. She might be closer to being ready."


    Pointing a thumb over his shoulder to the kitchen door in the garage, Bach turns towards the ranch style house. "Okay. Yeah. I''m going to go check if she needs help on anything."


    Granting a nod, Cideeda glances over to the engine area behind, sighing, and narrows her stare. "Yeah. I need to close this up and clean up, anyway."


    She pauses a moment, grins toothily, and lifts a curious brow towards Bach. "Mind helping with adjusting a few miniatures after dinner?"


    Pausing his first step, Bach glances back and nods with a smile. "Sure."


    Widening her emerald green eyes briefly, Cideeda flicks her gaze down at her tail, sensing Bach slipping out from its loose coiling wrap around his upper legs. Bach departs into the garage, and Cideeda thinks a moment, flicking her tail around. Sorting through her thoughts, she bites her lower lip, curls her toes briefly, and raps her fingers upon the metal of the humvee, slowly wagging her long, fluffy tail. A hint of pink fills her cheeks, and she fidgets a little, her thoughtful smile warming.


    ----


    Aristespha slowly plods through the hallway, searching through the confusion in her mind, and gradually nods to the other side of the aetherphone call. She stops her pacing, tilts her head slightly, and grimaces, bewildered. "No. That is very good to hear. Yes, I definitely appreciate all your efforts, and I am very happy the report satisfied your investigation."


    Blinking uneasily, she contorts her face, internally puzzling deeper, and maintains a supportive vocal facade. "Of course. Happy to be of service. Do feel free to contact me if there is anything further you need."


    She furrows her ivory brow, frowning between incredulous and confused. "Goodbye."


    Removing the phone from her long pointed ear, she stares absolutely perplexed at the end of call screen and shifts her posture with her thoughts. She idly taps her socked foot softly upon the hardwood hallway floor and wipes the screen off on her loose shirt, resting her other hand on the waistband of her shorts. Tossing her long, silvery blue hair back, her violet eyes search aimlessly in her head, failing to find an explanation. Many futile seconds later, mumbles of exasperated evuukian roll out from Aristespha''s mouth, and she frustratedly furrows brow. She walks back to the archway leading into the living room, stopping at the threshold. Rolling her shoulders, she fights back against the incredulous curl in her upper lip and hems out into the room at Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia. "Well. I just got off the phone with Amaranth Valley police..."


    The mood in the room sharply drops, worry and dread surfacing upon everyone. Biting her lower lip briefly, Aristespha draws in a long breath and announces in disbelief, shaking her head. "We are no longer under investigation and completely cleared of any possible violations."


    Silence hangs out for mere moments, and relief blasts it out of the room completely. Sotalia reclines back into the couch chair, stretching her arms out, and laughs out her anxieties. "Oh gods! You totally had me going there for a second. That''s fucking amazing news! Free and clear!"


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, her long, fluffy tail wags with a light sway, and she flops back on the couch. "No kidding! Part of me really wants to ask if I can have my cameras back."


    She glances off to the side and tightens her smile. "BUT, I think I''ll cut and run while I''m ahead. Small price to pay for them to leave the issue alone."


    Releasing a long sigh, Dretphi relaxes her shoulders and returns to preparing lunch. "Good news. Wonderful outcome."


    Bach melts a bit into his stabilized energy lounge chair, exhaling out his worry. "One less thing to worry about... For now, at least."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts over next to Aristespha. He studies her expression, body language, and grumbles of evuukian under her breath. Leaning close to her, he inquires further with concern in his tone. "Dear, you okay? You don''t seem happy about this. Something wrong?"


    Aristespha tugs at either corner of her mouth, groaning unsatisfied, and sighs annoyed. "Sebastian... There is NO WAY they properly read that report I wrote! Gods damn it... I know this is good for us..."


    She narrows her violet eyes and furrows her ivory brow, a faint frown curling. "But... How did we get this result?! A few fines, further explanation on the reports for an ongoing investigation, or even a probationary period granted due to extenuating circumstances... THOSE results I can understand. Absolution?! NO. That does not happen."


    She rubs her eyes into a pinch of the bridge of her nose, draws a long breath in, and calms herself down. "I am sorry. Something else is going on to have allowed THIS."


    Straightening her posture, she combs her fingers through the hair and briefly grits her teeth. "It sounded like the officer was completely satisfied with the report. Actual satisfaction. Supportive, even! It''s just- Gods, something else has to have happened, and I do NOT know what. Because nothing I did could have gotten this for us."


    Sebastian crosses his arms, glances around, and frowns slightly. "Yeah. Thinking about it more... All that doesn''t quite add up."


    Alternating flicks of her furry ears, Cideeda thoughtfully scratches her chin with a claw tip and twists her mouth, internally sorting through the possibilities. "Maybe they confirmed it was Noxian and are just glad we ran into him first rather than any of their people. To be fair, they may not care much for us... BUT... I doubt they''d ignore the utility of someone else going after a problem they don''t want to deal with."


    Bach taps a finger on the arm of his chair, rocking his head side to side, and shrugs indecisively. "I mean... Something else may have happened, and made us look good in comparison?"


    He pauses a moment in thought and frowns faintly. "Thinking about THAT... We might want to check the news just in case something worse has happened recently."


    Suspicion and mystery drives the debate further. A familiar chime rings out from Aristespha''s aetherphone, and she eyes the caller identification. A sly smirk cracks across her mouth, and she chuckles with a roll of her eyes. "Oh. Nevermind. Here is my answer now."


    She quickly taps a few on screen buttons, holds the phone out in front of her, and announces with a satisfied grin. "Hello, Captain Hackle. It has been a while."


    Captain Hackle''s voice resonates out into the room through Aristespha''s speakerphone, blatantly amused. "It indeed has, Aristespha. I do hope everyone is doing well after recent events."


    A wry curl appears at the corner of Aristespha''s mouth, and she lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "Which I am certain you have had some involvement in."


    With a respectful chuckle, Captain Hackle sighs and elaborates. "A little. Just an appropriate, choice amount of intervention. Your report was masterfully done and made it very easy for my organization to..."


    He hums thoughtfully and elaborates. "Explain away the vague points with the details that we could only provide."


    A sly tinge colors his voice, and Captain Hackle continues. "I just simply informed the local department that for this particular long term GAA investigation to operate properly, we needed a certain team of experts to operate separately and independently. Keep up appearances, and maintain the expectations of our target. It was an unfortunate policy constraint that prevented us from involving the Amaranth Valley police department sooner and before this recent incident. But, it was thought we had to act before any great harm to the city was allowed to transpire. Certainly, through the efforts of our independent experts, a far greater disaster was averted."


    The team collectively stares at the aetherphone, emotions rotating through appreciation, incredulity, and apprehension. Cideeda smirks wryly, lifting a suspicious eyebrow. "So... What is that explanation going to cost us?"


    Presenting a thankful tone through the call, Captain Hackle calmly replies. "Nothing more. You''ve actually already done us a great favor recently with the containment of that nightmarish hell of a blob. Doing your due diligence and going well beyond the call of duty has saved many lives that will never know they were at risk."


    He pauses a moment and emphasizes his appreciation. "I do want you all to know that your group handling all these hidden dangers has NOT gone unnoticed. So... Consider this bit of creative administrative outreach as our thanks for prior services rendered."


    With another wave of relief washing over, Bach blinks a bit and narrows his stare towards the phone, contorting his face with a question. "By the way, uh, is IT still around?"


    Captain Hackle grumbles out a bit of disappointment and verbally rolls his eyes. "Unfortunately so. IT has proven to be difficult to handle safely. We are very appreciative of the magical barrier you all left behind. Handling THAT monstrosity has been reassigned to a group with more appropriate equipment to enforce containment, with explicit orders to eliminate the entire hill from existence if it tries to escape."


    Dretphi draws in a long breath and releases a long sigh of relief. "That is reassuring."


    In a comforting tone, Captain Hackle continues, proposing. "I agree. Now, on to business... I have a simple offer. With recent troubles at the Grand Library, Noxian has become a bit of a priority for a number of organizations, and we are authorized to use our resources to track him down. We want to follow up on this fresh trail with our resources, BUT we have a pressing matter that''s preventing us from doing so. If you all can address it, I will devote my team to getting the best information on where Noxian has gone and relaying it to you."


    Floating close to Aristespha''s aetherphone, Sebastian eyes the device, a bit of suspicion plain on his translucent face, and inquiries further. "Can you provide any details about the pressing matter?"


    Captain Hackle chuckles over the speakerphone and elaborates on the situation with a calm tone. "Of course. Simply put, there''s been some strange phenomena happening, northwest of Amaranth Valley, in Ark. In a specific farming region, there have been reports of odd noises, steam eruptions, and thermal anomalies. We have checked with geologists, and they report nothing that should be causing anything like this. And, any historians we have asked haven''t been able to turn up anything in that area. That unfortunately doesn''t mean that much, to be honest."


    Aristespha quirks a curious brow and glances over to Sotalia. "Maybe leftovers from the last maelstrom?"


    Searching her mind with her golden eyes, Sotalia ponders out loud, idly playing with her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Maybe... But, hmm. Usually, strange things happen right after a maelstrom but not always. Also, I don''t think Ark was directly in the path of the maelstrom?"


    She rolls her eyes and eases out an annoyed groan. "Then again, that doesn''t mean something wasn''t launched that far from the storm. I''ve heard of stranger things happening."


    Captain Hackle comments in a commiserating tone. "Yes. It''s an odd series of events, and we haven''t been able to find an easy explanation. Hence, why we were set on investigating it. But, given your group''s track record in handling strange situations, I thought this might be a good trade. Standard contract through the guild with a proper payment upon completion. All I require is an investigation into the phenomena and identification of what may be the cause."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage nods thoughtfully and turns to the group, addressing the team. "So, thoughts everyone?"


    Grumbling with a reserved tone, Dretphi contorts her face with a bit of hesitation. "No known monstrosities. I will be fine. For now."


    Sotalia glances over from checking her aetherphone and smirks. "It''s probably just some stray maelstrom junk that finally activated for whatever reason. I''m good with going out there."


    Cideeda shrugs her shoulders and stretches out her arms and back, smiling. "A job is a job. Sounds good to me."


    Sebastian glances over to his brother, and Bach lifts a mockingly wary eyebrow, snorting. "Hey, I mean, this one doesn''t involve thudkickers, so that''s already a step in the right direction."


    Exchanging a loving gaze with Sebastian, Aristespha directs her voice towards her phone. "I think that would be a group acceptance."


    Hackle''s voice brightens from the other side of the call. "Excellent. I''ll have Sergeant Violet ready the bid into the guild system and send it over to your group in the next hour."


    Sebastian dons a bold, proud grin, and nods towards the aetherphone. "Sounds like a plan to me. We''ll see what we can find out for you. Be careful tracking down Noxian, he seemed REALLY motivated on getting away last we saw him."


    With an appreciative tone, Hackle relays similar sentiment. "I will heed your advice, then. Please be careful yourselves. While I hope this is nothing more than late maelstrom leftovers, we all know anything can happen. I''d like ALL of you to continue your hunt for Noxian after I get you the info."


    ----


    The morning sun creeps in through the sliding glass door into the living area of the ranch style house. Dretphi methodically checks down a list on a pad of paper, pencil marking the side of line items. Glancing up, she visually searches between a collection of boxes arranged on the living room floor and spots the relevant label upon one container. She directs her attention back to the list and scratches another check mark on the next line item.


    Aristespha''s voice faintly echoes from the hallway in between pacing, soft footsteps on the hardwood floors. With relief in her tone, she walks out with her aetherphone pressed to her ear and a smile on her face. "Thank you very much. I am so glad you have a room that will work for us. Have a nice day."


    Tapping the end call button on her phone, she releases a long exhale and slouches her shoulders. "Gods almighty. That took some effort. Thankfully, I found a place with a large room that has enough beds for all of us and actual space to set up our equipment."


    From the kitchen area, Sotalia glances over with a flask in each hand, perking an eyebrow curiously. "Really? Where did you find a place like that? Most hotels have gone to smaller rooms, so they can fit more into the space."


    Aristespha slides her phone into her shorts pocket, shrugs, and gazes back, hinting at surprise. "It is actually a proper tavern still geared towards supporting adventuring groups in that traditional style."


    Furrowing her brow, she wrestles a bit of uncertainty. "The receptionist was trying to sell me on the theme, like I was a tourist. Then, she realized we were an actual adventuring team and entirely dropped trying to sell that point to me. Cut straight to business after that."


    Pondering a moment, Sotalia briefly diverts her attention to swirling each flask of liquid in her hands, studying the slight color shift, and resumes her work. "Well. That might be a fun place to stay. Hope it''s as nice as Goff''s place was."


    She rubs her long pointed ear gently, walking over to the couch, and settles down upon a cushion. "Admittedly, it is hard to beat a passion project like that. Regardless, it is a place to sleep that is not the humvee, and we are not going that far from civilization."


    Dretphi finds a spot on the other side of the couch, relaxing into the seat, and drops off her pencil and paper pad on the coffee table. "Enough supplies for the mission. If we venture far from the city, we should stock up. As a precaution."


    The kitchen door from the garage opens, and Cideeda steps through with a toothy grin on her face and announces happily. "Our ride is properly fixed up."


    Rolling her emerald green eyes with a derisive undertone, she rests her hands on her hips, lowering her furry ears, and grumbles out. "And... The local authoritative assholes are satisfied with the repairs I''ve done to the taillight. Paid the court fees, too."


    She walks over to the fridge, opens the door, and searches through the stock of drinks. "Gods. Fifty minute wait to settle something in less than five minutes. I even showed up right when the courthouse opened."


    Taking a break from her alchemy preparation, Sotalia glances over to Cideeda, smirking amused. "Did you get your license updated?"


    Cideeda pulls out a can of fruit juice, flashes an incredulous sneer at Sotalia, and snorts, shaking her head with a laugh. "You''d think I''d be back HERE now if I did THAT? I thought my wait was bad, until I realized the same people I saw in that line coming in were still standing in the same places when I was coming out."


    Cracking open the pull top to the beverage, Cideeda grits her teeth, sighing reluctantly, and walks over to the dining table. "I think I''ll do that when I literally and figuratively have nothing better to do with my life."


    Smiling slyly, Sotalia stirs with a glass rod, swirling up a concoction of reagents in a glass beaker, and chuckles to herself. "I shall look forward to expanding my knowledge of fvalian insults in the future."


    Hovering nearby, Sebastian studies printouts of the mission description and a labeled map on the dining table. Bach sorts through the lists of information in front of him and eases back into his chair. "I don''t know, man. Something about this seems a bit off. I mean, the first reported incident happened a little over a week ago and more came in quickly after that."


    Squinting at the map, Sebastian examines the highlighted points indicated and contemplatively contorts his face, hints of suspicion rising to the surface. "Yeah, bro. The weird part of it all is that the reports sound like people are discovering something that''s already been going on and gotten worse, rather than a completely new thing."


    Bach nods in agreement, flips through a few pages of report details, and cocks his head to the side. "Yeah, that makes some sense. Most of these locations are in big farms, too."


    Sebastian lifts an inquisitive brow and motions toward the literature of the accounts. "Did anyone mention what crops are currently growing out there?"


    Searching through the lines of text, Bach frowns slightly, tapping his finger down below a few phrases, and sighs. "Corn, sunflowers, and protellows."


    Humming in thought, Sebastian twists his mouth slightly and grumbles. "Oh... Okay. So basically everything that''s tall, leafy, and hides everything within it."


    With a tight smile, Bach groans mildly frustrated. "Yep. Exactly. Stuff has probably been hiding for a while now. That probably explains why all the reports came in so quickly after each other. People checked the fields closely and finally started finding all the phenomena."


    Cideeda flicks her furry ears, raps a hand of claw tips on the tabletop, and finishes taking a swig from her drink. "Yeah, I''m still wondering about the rumbling noises and ground shaking. What was the description again..."


    She traces a claw down a printout of text, settling upon a line, and reads it. "Let''s see... It sounded and felt like someone was blasting out a rock with dynamite."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes, she idly swirls her beverage and ponders out loud. "I''d have to hear it myself. But... A loud sound that shakes the ground? That makes me think something had to have blown up somewhere."


    Sebastian crosses his arms, sorting through his thoughts, and narrows his stare upon the map. "Yeah. But, what exactly?"


    Aristespha glances over from the couch, rests her head upon the back rest, and projects her voice towards the debate. "There are maelstrom anomalies that do explode given the right trigger. They typically do not last this long, and I have never heard of them waiting this long after a maelstrom to go off."


    Mulling over the many possibilities, Sebastian relaxes his shoulders and frowns in temporary defeat, gazing over the team. "Well, I don''t think we''re solving it today. We''ll just have to wait till we get there and see it for ourselves."


    Sotalia''s stomach growls quietly, and she blinks a moment, glancing over to the group. "Anyone hungry? It''s getting close to lunch time."


    A mischievous, toothy grin appears on Cideeda''s light brown face, and she presents an innocent tone. "Fval Spice?"


    Sebastian smirks amused and shakes his head. "You are wearing that place out."


    Cideeda finishes her drink, tosses the can in a perfect arc to the garbage can in the kitchen, and slowly pulls the key fob for the humvee out of her shorts pocket. "Hey, I''ll drive. Plus, you all have to see all the dents that AREN''T in the bodywork now."


    Glancing over with a smile, she winks at Bach and walks towards the kitchen. "If all else fails, you have a future in metal working."


    Bach blinks a moment and narrows his eyes with a smirk, sarcasm coloring his tone. "Oh, good. I''m so happy that my post-adventuring career options are growing."


    ----


    Samantha excitedly twirls into a step forward, grinning in anticipation at Gerald. "I can''t WAIT for the ratings tonight! Oh, THIS is going to be an amazing episode! Competition with the other team, family drama, and so much more!"


    Glancing over from his aetherphone at Samantha, Gerald contorts his neutral, vague smile. "Yeah... I guess. It''s not everyday that I get to almost witness a murder or two."


    Staring over towards Gerald, Samantha crosses her arms, hints of defiance emerging. "OH. It''ll be just fine. We''ve had far bigger actual fights on the show in previous seasons. But..."


    She flashes a wicked grin. "Nothing like the build up to this one. I knew the fight was going to be a big draw... But the father and son falling out at the end... TOO. PERFECT."


    Holding her ringing phone up, she reads off caller identification on the screen and smiles. "It''s Howie! I bet he just viewed the raw episode and is calling us."


    She swiftly places the phone on a nearby desk, taps an on-display button for the speakerphone, and cheerfully chimes out. "Hey, Howie! Did you watch the episode?"


    Summoning up a modicum of enthusiasm, Howard''s voice trickles through from the other side of the call, and he sighs. "Yes. It''s going to do quite well. I think the ratings will be worth it..."


    He grumbles with a darkening tone. "They BETTER be."


    Samantha''s joy deflates down to confusion, and she puzzles out loud towards the phone. "You don''t sound all too thrilled there, Howie. What''s wrong?"


    Gerald lifts an intrigued eyebrow at the situation, prying into the conversation. "Yeah... Usually you and Samantha would be plotting your next move to take over the world by now. Something happen?"


    A long, exaggerated groan rolls into the room from the speakerphone, and Howard grumbles out his frustrations. "Well... It turns out that NO ONE on the investigation team cared to inform me that one of Trakenthin''s house mothers... IS A FUCKING LAWYER!"


    Samantha and Gerald exchange wary glances and shift their focus upon the voice roaring out of Samantha''s phone. Howard growls out his aggravations, complaints spewing forth. "Of all the gods damned things to NOT bring to my fucking attention! Not even a simple, OH, by the way one of his moms is a dragon of a lawyer. NO. I had to be on the phone ALL DAY with the legal department finding out how litigious and savage that woman is!"


    Sucking in an audible breath on the other side of the call, he shudders in a mix of disdain and disgust. "It took EVERYTHING I had to get them to allow tonight''s episode to even air. I had to basically promise them that we will still come out ahead if it aired and we had to eventually pay a gods damned settlement."


    Dragging out a long exasperated sigh, he musters up his will, continuing the conversation. "So... To say the least... NO MORE drama pieces involving Trakenthin''s family! UNDERSTOOD!?"


    Samantha stares wide eyed at her aetherphone and gradually nods with an awkward, uncomfortable smile. "Yes, of course, Howie. That shouldn''t be too difficult. And... Anyway we got the key pieces we need to make this episode. So... I''ll focus on other aspects for the next one."


    Calling out through the phone from the other side of the conversation with a commanding tone. "Gerald! Make sure she does so. ALSO, let the editing staff know to bury those clips with Trakenthin and Trenannin. Keep them from using them in even so much as background clips for intro and outros."


    Gerald quickly nods, twisting his mouth into an uneasy agreement. "Uh. Yeah. You got it. I''ll message them right now even."


    With an apologetic tone, Samantha eyes her phone. "I''m so sorry. I had no idea."


    A long calming exhale later, Howard draws in an equally long breath and wanders around in thought out loud. "It''s okay. No fault on you all. Really. It was my plan that backfired on me. So... That''s fine. I''ll be able to handle it well enough..."


    He pauses a moment and states. "Now... There IS one thing you all can do for me."


    Furrowing his brow, Gerald stares at the speakerphone warily. "And, what would THAT be?"


    Howard hums in thought and grumbles out his frustration. "If you overhear ANYTHING about what the rest of Trakenthin''s house does for a living... LET ME KNOW. He has his birth mother, three house mothers, and three house sisters. If there''s ANYTHING I should be on the lookout for, I NEED to know so I don''t get blindsided by another lawsuit... Or worse. Gods al-fucking-mighty I dread to think of what else they might try to get back at me."


    Reiterating his sentiment, he emphasizes his intentions. "Seriously. If you even overhear enough to suspect that one of them is a current or retired black ops assassin, or someone who can get government permission to take someone out... FOR FUCK''S SAKE! LET. ME. KNOW!"

 Episode 76

    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia stand around the humvee in the small parking lot in front of a thematically aged wooden building. They all collectively study the many questionable facets of the kitschy styling towards a classic inn. Beneath the thin outer facade, hints of modern design peek through, revealing the tourist attraction intentions. A minute of silent analysis later, Sotalia lifts a critical eyebrow above her sunglasses and glances over to Aristespha, slightly curling her upper lip. "So... How much was this place a night?"


    Quickly flipping through a few screens on her aetherphone, Aristespha presents the display towards Sotalia and rolls her violet eyes under the shade of her floppy hat. "Economical enough."


    Sotalia lowers her sunglasses, reads the modest pricing on the device, and shrugs her shoulders, returning her attention to the themed structure. "Okay. Fair enough. Guess I''ll tolerate it for that price."


    Twisting his mouth, Bach releases an unenthusiastic sigh, mustering up a smirk. "Yeah. Damn. I think Goff''s place has really broken the scale I judge this stuff by."


    Cideeda crosses her arms, tapping her clawed fingers on her arms, and snorts in agreement. "Gods, yes. Was just thinking the same thing."


    She waves a hand towards the structure and smirks. "Admittedly, it''s not THAT bad. Just geared for a different crowd than us. I know a few reenactment geeks that would LOVE to stay the weekend in a place like this."


    Bach smiles slightly, putting his hands in his pockets, perks a humored brow, and chuckles. "And what, get their character sheets out and start rolling the dice?"


    Cideeda glances up, barely contains her grin, and rolls her emerald green eyes with a wag of her tail. "OH. Please. THAT is NOT dedicated enough. They''d be wearing the outfits and speaking old dialects..."


    She glances off to the side with a tilt of head. "Kind of fun, occasionally..."


    Dretphi slowly pivots around, lifts her hand, shading her steely gray eyes, and scans the scenery along the riverfront. "It does have a nice location. Pleasant view."


    The wind blows across the parking lot, ruffling clothing and hair. The team shifts their attention over to the forested opposite bank. They quietly watch the water flow warp the reflective surface of the river. Mixing with the scenic beauty of the ambient natural background sounds, the distant changes of the green horizon and blue sky mirror fluidly upon the open waters. Sotalia spots a sandy lot within a park nearby and cracks a reserved smile with a sway of her hips. "Hopefully, we''ll get this job handled soon enough. Gods, I wouldn''t mind a day of sunbathing with a few drinks."


    Nodding with a sly smirk, Aristespha reveals her aetherphone display to Sotalia and motions towards a direction. "Looks like there are a few promising establishments along the bank."


    The large wooden double doors open, and a middle aged woman steps out with a customer service smile. "Welcome to The Ark Inn! I see that you''ve already discovered the wonderful view our fine establishment offers, AND that your room overlooks. My name is Katherine."


    Aristespha spins around, steps forwards towards Katherine, and greets her. "I am Aristespha. I believe we talked on the phone."


    Katherine nods a confirmation, perks up the grin on her tan face, and motions the group towards the entrance. "If you''d like, allow me to show you around and help get you settled in."


    The team quickly acknowledges between each other and starts to retrieve their luggage from the humvee. With an assuring tone, Katherine waves for the team''s attention and proposes. "Oh, if you want I can have your belongings brought up for you. Please, allow me to spare you all that trouble."


    Aristespha glances over to Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia, gauging the receptiveness, and nods to Katherine with an appreciative smile. "That would certainly be nice."


    Promptly pivoting around, Katherine narrows her stare towards the open doors and sternly signals two figures just within the doorway. A teenage girl lugs out a luggage cart, and a teenage boy pushes a heavy duty hand truck. Katherine resumes her customer service smile, nods towards both teenagers, and introduces them. "This is my daughter, Kristine, and my son, Brennon. They''re quite helpful around here, and will be happy to ferry your belongings to your room."


    Both lanky, awkward teenagers struggle to project serviceable smiles in stark contrast to thinly veiled feelings beneath, hints of adolescent contempt for their current existence slipping through the facade. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia unload their baggage onto both cart and truck. Minutes of unloading later, Cideeda locks up the humvee and rejoins the group slowly migrating inside the establishment. Both Kristine and Brennon strain against the sheer mass, slowly moving their carriers. Brennon checks for mother and customers and whispers over to Kristine. "The fuck did these people bring? Rocks? Good fucking gods..."


    Glancing around behind her, Kristine drags her cart along, returning her gaze back towards Brennon. "Gods. I don''t know. That half-emin woman''s pouch belt is clanking around, and the fvalian dropped a case holding something heavy."


    With a hard shove over a crack in the pavement, Brennon nods, furrowing a curious brow towards his sister. "Did you see that sword around the evuukian''s waist? That thing actually looks real."


    Inside The Ark Inn, Katherine recites a well rehearsed explanation of the establishment, motioning to the internal architecture. "The Ark Inn focuses on providing a focused experience for our guests. The adventuring party suite is our largest suite with plenty of beds, a large bathroom, and a dedicated conference area. It also has the best view of the riverfront and beautiful views of both sunrises and sunsets."


    The congregation follows Katherine to the base of a staircase where a middle aged man stands. Katherine smiles brightly and directs the group''s attention to the man. "This is my wonderful husband, Johnathan. He''ll be happy to show you up to your room and make sure it is to your approval. I must handle some business for now. Hope to see you tonight in the common room!"


    Nodding his head of brown, graying hair, Johnathan respectfully directs the team and starts up the stairs. "Follow me."


    Climbing up the staircase, the gathering arrives at the middle door of a long hallway, and Johnathan opens the door. He leads Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia inside and presents a modest room with quality beds and decent accommodations, a natural material theme edging on rustic. "Please check over everything, and let me know if there''s anything you all need."


    From the apron around his waist, he retrieves a number of pamphlets and hands them to Aristespha with an encouraging tone. "Now, while we don''t do a full dinner service, we have worked out agreements with a few good places nearby. They all deliver here, and we''ll even take it up to your room for you. But, you are more than welcome to come down to the dining area, where the bar will be open tonight."


    Nodding appreciatively, Aristespha passes the various menus to the rest of the group for review. Seconds later, muffled sounds of quiet cursing peak out of the background. Kristine''s mumbling voice drifts barely through the door. "That old elevator sounds worse everyday."


    Brennon''s grumbles faintly rise out from the hallway. "Gods... It wants to die. But, we just won''t let it."


    The sounds of luggage cart and hand truck stop just outside the room. Johnathan maintains a calm exterior, eyeing the teenagers in the hallway. Kristine walks into the room with a cloak on a hanger in one hand and a belt of pouches in the other. Feeling out of the significant heft in each, she awaits instruction, standing in front of Sotalia. "Um, where would you like these, ma''am?"


    Sotalia directs the girl towards a bed. "Oh. Just on there for now. Thank you."


    Laying the garment and accessory on the bed, Kristine pauses in thought a moment and politely inquires. "Uh... If you don''t mind me asking, is there anything special about these? They''re heavy."


    Within an intrigued smile, Sotalia pries open the snap on a pouch flap with her long, thick, black nails, and slides out a stoppered tube of faintly glowing liquid. "Well, it is loaded with a variety of potions right now, since we''re traveling. Usually pair it down before we go out."


    With an uncertain expression on his tan face, Brennon arrives into the room carefully carrying Bach''s helmet and presents it to Bach cautiously with both hands. "Hey, um... Where would you like this, sir?"


    Noticing the odd twist to the teenage boy''s face, Bach pauses in thought and chuckles apologetically. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry, I didn''t warn you. That helmet has protective enchantment on it. So, it makes it feel weird, especially if you aren''t expecting it."


    He hooks up his hand into the helmet, flicks a finger onto the surface, triggering the faint, fading golden barrier, and shrugs his shoulders. With blank acknowledgement, Brennon and Kristine depart to the hallway. Both pick up more luggage and exchange glances in an unspoken conversion of excitement out of sight of everyone else.


    ----


    Sitting around a large dining table in the common area of the inn, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia pick through the different plates filled with food from several kinds of containers, different delivery bags off to the side. Johnathan arrives next to the table between Aristespha and Sotalia and places down fanciful alcoholic beverages next to them. "It''s been awhile, but I think I remembered all the steps for these. And, thankfully, I had all the right ingredients, too."


    Aristespha and Sotalia eagerly sweep up their respective drinks into their hands and quickly sample them. Moments of deliberation later, they give satisfied nods to Johnathan. Sotalia smirks slyly, tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair, and chuckles to herself. "Just perfect. Admittedly, if I have more than one of these, I''m probably not going to tell the difference between what you put in them anymore."


    With a relaxing sigh, Aristespha smiles contentedly. "Tastes just right. I am quite surprised you had everything for this. Not many places in the area have enough evuukian liquors in one place to fill the bill."


    Grinning proudly, Johnathan shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and laughs. "Well, despite current appearances, we often get a lot of guests with broad tastes in their beverage choices."


    Quickly depositing mugs of beer, large glasses of teas, and a few pitchers of water, Katherine relaxes her arms and rests her hands on her hips, presenting an entrepreneurial smile. "You all have happened to arrive here during one of our off-seasons. So, you''re getting our special attention to all your needs. While we aim to provide the best experience for everyone, I have to admit it gets a bit hectic depending on the clients we have."


    Bach finishes a long swig of his milk tea, thinks a moment, and glances over to Katherine. "I have to ask. What types of clients do you normally get out here?"


    Katherine searches through her mind, twists her mouth contemplatively, and begins to count out on her hands. "In the winter, we get the same families and groups that come to experience Ark''s holiday festivities. Spring, we typically get a number of people going to agricultural conferences that don''t want to pay outlandishly for the main hotels. We also get a few people doing long weekend breaks scattered throughout. But..."


    An excited grin grows on her face, and she steps next to Johnathan. "Soon all the adventuring and reenactment fans will arrive!"


    Lifting an amused, reserved brow to Katherine, Johnathan places his arm around her and smiles towards the team. "Those are the guests we like to cater to during the summer and into the fall. They like the area, and the town enjoys their business."


    Katherine tosses back her light brown hair, smiling boldly, and gazes out to the team. "It''s also the time we all get to dress up for a good reason. I can''t wait to put on my dashing rogue outfit."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, and she settles a curious emerald eyed glance towards the inn owners. "Okay... So, is there some smaller adventuring convention happening around here soon? I haven''t heard of anything lately."


    Rocking his head side to side indecisively, Johnathan focuses down upon his words. "Somewhat? We have a few different groups that like to spend the week... And lose themselves in the pockets of wilderness around Ark."


    With hints of accusation, Katherine narrows her stare at Johnathan. She beams an eager smile at the group, jumping into her excited explanation. "Not everyone is like THAT! But, the best ones are the summer camps for the children. We host their events and give them a memorable Ark Inn experience! In fact, even Brennon and Kristine play characters and have wonderful costumes."


    At a nearby table, both Brennon and Kristine halt mid bite of their meals and shift their embarrassed gazes over towards their mother, cringing visibly with teenage revulsion. With hints of young defiance, Brennon mumbles loudly and rolls his dark brown eyes. "The only reason they come here is because NOTHING ever happens here. It''s SO SAFE and PEACEFUL."


    Kristine twists her mouth uncomfortably and glances over to the team''s table. "Well, usually... There have been a bunch of weird noises and clouds of steam appearing lately."


    Pausing a moment, Aristespha rests her hand on the sword at her side, ponders out a silent conversation, and lifts an intrigued eyebrow towards the family overall. "Speaking of that... Do you happen to know of anything related to those incidents? We have actually been assigned to investigate those phenomena."


    Johnathan and Katherine exchange surprised glances. Johnathan meets the new attention from Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia, sorting through his memory. "Unfortunately... Not as much as I would like to. But, my son is right. Things are normally very quiet around here, so I think the first incident I know of happened over a week ago? Maybe two?"


    Meeting her husband''s gaze, Katherine draws in an uncomfortable breath and sighs. "Yes. It was really worrisome last week. We had strange noises, steam eruptions, and other weird things. But, oddly..."


    She wrestles a frown. "It''s gotten quiet again. Maybe a little too quiet."


    Gritting her teeth briefly, she gazes at the group with a mix of pleading and hopeful thinking and sighs. "It''s good to know you all are investigating. I just hope you find it was nothing worth worrying about."


    Dretphi presents a comforting smile and nods appreciatively. "We hope the same. Can not expect that. Hope it is."


    Brennon frowns slightly with an irritated tint to his voice. "I keep telling you all that it had to have been that strange evuukian man I saw in Cumber Woods."


    Kristine rolls her green eyes, shakes her head of light brown hair, and groans dismissively. "Not THIS again. You saw him over a week before any of this started happening. And, there''s no way one guy could still be causing all this. It''d take some real magic to do all this."


    Narrowing his glare upon his sister, Brennon curls his upper lip and argues loudly. "Okay! Well, YOU explain why some evuukian weirdo was wandering around the woods dressed up in leaves, leather, and odd drawings on his clothes?"


    Standing her figurative ground, Kristine leans over the table slightly and growls out. "Says the guy wandering around the woods with his loser friends at the same time! Maybe he was some reenactment dork doing some solo thing."


    Angles over the table, Brennon stares down his sibling and retorts. "That BOW over his shoulder was NOT some cheap knock off! It looked REAL, and the arrows were nothing like I''ve seen before. You can''t buy stuff like THAT. He looked really suspicious, too. Like he was up to something, or looking for something-"


    In the tense lull between the clash of teenager attitudes, Bach exchanges glances with developing intrigue from the rest of the team. Focusing his gaze at Brennon, he calls out to the teenager. "You know that actually sounds REALLY strange to us. And, oddly familiar..."


    Both Brennon and Kristine halt mid breath, pivot their heads toward Bach, the interested team, and their parents. Crossing her arms, Katherine narrows a parental stare upon her children. Johnathan lifts an inquisitive brow, glances over to the team and motions over his son. "Brennon, tell the nice people what you saw."


    ----


    Through the few windows in the large, long inn room wall, the dim glow of late evening light radiates into the area, softly spreading out into the space. Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Aristespha, and Sotalia slumber in the line of beds, and the sounds of sleep mix with the low drone of the lone air conditioning unit running. Outside from the distance, a muted and barely audible high-pitched whistle echoes and resonates against the glass of the windows. One of Cideeda''s furry ears flicks reflexively, and she rolls over with a grumble. Seconds later, a metallic straining groan roars out across the river, rippling across the surface of the water, and vibrates the inn. Cideeda groggily mumbles incoherently, lifting her head up off the pillow, and lazily aims her furry ears towards the rattling glass. Bach stirs in his bed, surges of consciousness prodding him further out of slumber. Aristespha softly snores undisturbed, and Sotalia snorts, unconsciously pulling a pillow to cover the side of her head. Dretphi fidgets briefly. The resonating, echoing noise outside halts, moments of silence contrasting.


    A sudden low eruption thunders powerfully into the area, bowling harshly over the inn. Cideeda springs wide awake with wide emerald eyes and abruptly sits up in bed, her tail puffing out behind her. "What the fuck was THAT?!"


    Crashing hard into consciousness, Bach pulls himself up in a daze and searches around the dark room. "Wha- Fuc- The hell is going on?"


    Dretphi stirs awake, and Aristespha and Sotalia fumble for understanding the situation. Throwing the covers off, Cideeda rushes over to the closest window and throws it open. She leans out of the opening, closes her eyes, and searches the outside air with her furry ears twitching. Surrounding buildings light up with activity, and specs illumination flicker on along the riverfront. A constant reverberating hiss escapes the natural baffles of the forest and drones over the background water flows of the river. Bach finally arrives at the same window and stands curiously, peering out. "Okay. Uh, any idea what THAT noise is?"


    Cideeda moves her head side to side, allowing each furry ear an attempt to home in on the source, and twists her mouth uncertainly. "I... I don''t know... It sounds like gas escaping? But, huge? Steam? It''s really hard to pick out the details right now."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes over Bach and Cideeda, and he searches out along the distant opposing river bank. "Yeah. THAT doesn''t seem like something that should be happening around here."


    Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia join the gathering, open up windows, and scan the dark horizon. They spend minutes hunting for information with magical and mechanical optics. The ambient hiss fades below the recovering sounds of nature and emerging town activity. Dretphi lowers a pair of binoculars down, resting them into her nearby bag, and sighs uneasily. "I do not think we can gather information tonight. Contact authorities tomorrow. Start looking for answers."This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Blinking her glowing violet eyes back to normal, Aristespha gazes over to the rest of the team and frowns slightly. "I cannot see any traces of magic. At least, no from what I can. Unfortunately, being this far away from the source, that does not indicate anything definite."


    Sotalia dismisses a visual spell between her hands, crosses her arms, and pulls at the corner of her mouth unsatisfied. "Well, I certainly don''t feel anything magical about this. Still, that doesn''t make me happy at all. Something that loud and powerful, I should feel... Something."


    Gritting his teeth into an uncomfortable grimace, Sebastian ethereally hisses out his reservations and slowly shakes his head. "Well... Let''s all just try to get some more sleep for now. We can''t solve it right now, and we''ll be useless if we are sleep deprived."


    Cideeda slowly slides down the window firmly, rubs her eyes, and pivots back towards her bed. "Yeah... Gods dammit, I was really enjoying that dream, too."


    Closing her window, Sotalia massages the side of her temples, wincing briefly, and steps over to the bathroom door. "Ooo... I think I need a glass of water."


    Aristespha pauses, closes her eyes hard, and flutters them back open towards Sotalia. "Pour me a glass, too."


    Drifting over next to Aristespha, Sebastian narrows an accusatory stare at her and chides her through his expressions. Rolling her violet eyes away, Aristespha grumbles back at Sebastian and playfully waves him off. "Oh, please. Sebastian. You, of all people..."


    The team settles back into an uneasy slumber. The locals of Ark calm back down. The domestic lights flip off in homes around the area. A faint haze graces the treetops in the horizon. Expanding slowly out, a misty fog filters through the trees and fields, and gradually spills out along the flowing river surface. The cloud fades, wafting over the water, and disappears in the night haze.


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia maneuver through the clear corridors in a dense field of three meter tall protellow plants. Shielding the late morning sun from her tablet screen, Aristespha studies the map and glances back towards the access road at the mouth of the passage. "We should be coming up to the area that the local police believe last night''s disturbance happened."


    Sebastian drifts up above the tops of the surrounding protellow plants, searching out into the distance, and aims his voice down. "Yeah. Looks like there''s a dip in the plants just ahead, over in the next row."


    Eyeing around the area, Sotalia hums in thought, and twists her grimace uncertainly, furrowing her brow. "Still not feeling anything magical. This just doesn''t seem like the work of most spells I know of that would be that loud. I should have felt something by now."


    Slipping in through the gaps between the thick plant stems and huge, broad leaves, Bach navigates to the next row, surveys the long run, and comments back over his shoulders. "Yeah. I mean, there should be some left overs or even faint flow residue around here."


    He blinks his eyes hard, reopens them to a bright blue glow, and scans the vicinity carefully. "And... I''m not seeing anything that would be such around here..."


    Deftly flexing her small, agile frame through the closely packed protellows, Cideeda hops out into the row with Bach and cautiously walks ahead, furrowing a suspicious brow. "If it was magic, that would be an easy explanation. But whatever THAT was last night, sounded and felt like an explosion. And, I''d expect a HUGE crater for something like that."


    Sebastian zips back overhead of the team and points towards a section of the field, instructing the group forward. "Up ahead! Something weird definitely happened."


    Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia find passage through the crop lines into the clear dirt corridor with Bach and Cideeda. The team slowly approaches their destination with Sebastian in the lead. Stopping suddenly, Cideeda''s face contorts and her nose twitches. She draws in cautious sniffs of the air, twisting her mouth, and grumbles apprehensively. "Okay... That''s a WEIRD smell. I think I should know it..."


    She scratches her chin with a claw tip and deliberates to herself. "But... What is it?"


    Widening her eyes, Aristespha motions the team to halt, steps ahead, and gestures out an incantation for a complicated spell. With a violet glow in her eyes, she holds her arms out, aims her palms ahead, and releases a faint pulse of magical flow ahead. Pondering inside her mind, she relaxes her posture and eases out a sigh of relief. "Oh. Good. No obvious toxins or hazardous compounds."


    Sebastian smiles appreciatively at Aristespha and nods. "Good call, dear."


    The team arrives at the sparser spot in the field of protellows. Fanning out into the area, they individually search for clues in their surroundings. Bach stands next to a curved stalk and examines the deformed, wilted leaves barely hanging on. "The hell happened to these protellows?"


    Cocking his head to the side puzzling, he calls out to the rest of the group. "Hey. Uh... What would make these things sag so much but still be green? They''re not withered or dried out..."


    Dretphi grasps another floppy protellow leaf from a nearby plant, feels out the shape and integrity, and tests its strength, the flora easily pulling apart. She works the material into a green mush in her gauntlet, widens her steely gray eyes in sudden recognition, and gazes towards Bach. "Steamed. They were steamed."


    Blinking her golden eyes in surprise, Sotalia studies the area around her and lifts an intrigued brow. "THAT would be A LOT of sustained steam to do this thorough of a job. Or... A really powerful blast."


    She narrows her stare to the surrounding fairly healthy protellows, crosses her arms, and frowns slightly. "That much heat and water, I would have thought it would affect the other ones nearby more."


    Nodding in agreement, Aristespha gazes above at the drooping plants, the slack leaves, and the sagging flowers. She slowly shakes her head contemplatively, biting her lower lip in thought, and tries to step forward. Recovering her briefly lost of balance, she snaps her glance down at her leather boots partially sunk into the ground and tilts her head to the side confused, springing her eyes wide at her discovery. "The soil is absolutely saturated here."


    The team drops their attention upon the dirt, searching for more information. Kneeling down, Cideeda sniffs cautiously and widens her emerald green eyes at a revelation. "That smell is coming from the ground."


    She continues searching along the ground, sifting the air through her nose, and follows an odor. "It''s got a stale metallic scent to it. Humid, of course. Iron? Copper? Both? A lot of clay and earth in it, too."


    Sebastian stares down from overhead, squinting towards the center point of the destruction, and motions towards a spot. "Hey! There''s a hole right there!"


    Quickly responding, the rest of the team gathers close to the nearly ten centimeter wide hole of strangely smooth and discolored mud. Briefly, Cideeda leans close to the port, draws in air through her nose, and backs away, nodding. "Gods. THAT is strong. It''s definitely got an iron and copper tinge to it and still hot and humid."


    Dretphi pulls out a flashlight, aims the directional spot down the hole, and carefully gazes into the darkness through her full face helm. "Deep. Strangely deep."


    Kneeling down next to the opening, she puts her light away, searching her utility pouch, and retrieves her range finder. Cautiously, she positions the device above the hole, presses a button, and studies the display of numbers. Finely aiming the range finder, she ponders the readings to an emerging surprise and glances towards the team. "At least fifteen meters deep."


    The group exchange bewildered stares, and contemplate the new information. Furrowing his translucent brow, Sebastian searches his mind and lifts a curious brow towards Bach. "Never heard of them tilling soil that deep around here, or even in High Alton."


    Bach nods uneasily, his blue illuminated eyes gazing at the hole. "Yeah. That doesn''t make any sense."


    Putting away the range tool, Dretphi stands back up and ponders the situation out loud. "This is related to last night. The bore is smooth. Recently made. Has not filled with ground water. Still warm. Steam."


    Bach blinks his glowing blue eyes back to the normal, shakes his head, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I mean... Nothing magical going on. So... What the hell is causing this?"


    Twisting her frown, Aristespha deliberates in her mind and grumbles out a bit of frustration. "I know a few spells for archaeological purposes, but at that depth the most I could detect are that there are cavities underground..."


    Rolling her violet eyes away from a glance at the hole, she sighs. "Which is a bit redundant at the moment."


    An idea hops to the front of Cideeda''s mind, and she eagerly searches the various pockets in her vest. Donning a toothy grin, she gazes up to Bach and opens her hand, revealing a small portable camera. "Want to do that remote controlled camera setup again?"


    Bach spots the device in Cideeda''s palm and nods quickly with a smile. "Worth trying at least."


    Minutes later, Dretphi stands over the gathering and shields out the bright near noon sun off of Cideeda sitting on the ground. Cideeda checks the connections of the receiver unit to her aetherphone and taps out some adjustments to the video feed on her screen. "Looks good here. Ready when you are."


    Bach places the magical machinery encasing the camera into a hover upon the ground in front of him. Concentrating with a blue glow in his eyes, he gently moves his fingers and adjusts a series of magical threads wrapping into a flowing thread to the energy construct. "Let''s see what we got."


    Aristespha, Sebastian, and Sotalia find spots around and above Cideeda and Bach''s shoulders, spying on the progress. The hovering camera drifts up to the mouth of the hole, edges to the lip, and floats down inside. Watching the video feed, the group studies the smooth downwards tunnel, a faint glow of magical flow illuminating the mud walls. Seconds of tension pass. The stream shows a gradually widening passage of converging branches delving deeper into the earth. Bach maintains his focus, magical energy flowing out from his hands to the lengthening cord pulsing down into the small tunnel. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes remain fixed upon the imagery on her phone, the strange geology beneath unfolding on screen. A minute later, her emerald eyes spring wide open, and she instinctively leans close to her phone in surprise. "Is that a-?! Bach, can you make it shine a light ahead? The glow is too dim to see clearly enough."


    Bach thinks, smiles at Cideeda, and nods. "Yeah, give me a moment."


    The screen on Cideeda''s phone washes out briefly, gradually readjusting the camera''s systems. The scene refocuses. Cideeda''s jaw drops open, and she blurts out. "Good gods! That''s massive steel... and copper pipe... What is that even doing here? And, why the hell is blown completely open?!"


    ----


    Standing around the large table in a side room from the large inn bedroom, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia focus upon an assembled collection of printouts forming a large map of the area. Cideeda confirms with Dretphi and marks a spot across the river in a designed farming plot, carefully drawing out an arrow in both directions with a protractor. "Okay. So. That pipeline seems to run these directions. Now..."


    Lifting the protractor away, she stares down at the symbols and furrows her light brown brow. "The fuck does that actually mean for us?"


    Dretphi narrows her stare at the map and tosses back her platinum blonde braids, sighing. "Locations are spread out. Erratic. What is the purpose?"


    Uncrossing her arms, Sotalia leans over and studies the map, squinting, and idly raps her long, black nails on the table top. "There''s got to be SOMETHING going on. All these places have roughly the same signs. Steam erupting from the ground and no magic involved. But, now it might be some kind of pipe network? I guess?"


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage hums with an ethereal reverb, and he narrows his stare upon the spread out points of data, pondering out loud. "Yeah... That would make some sense. But, even that''s just an assumption. A good one, given what we''ve found out. But, still..."


    He drifts over above the tabletop, thoughts following the map. "It''d take some effort to really confirm it, and we still need to get some more data."


    Twisting her grimace, Cideeda straightens her posture and runs her finger claw tips through her short, multi-colored hair with a sigh. "If we could just find another intact enough pipeline to check, that would definitely confirm suspicions. Maybe we''d figure out an intersection between the directions of the runs. But..."


    She rolls her emerald green eyes, drooping her furry ears, and grumbles loudly. "That''s assuming that a supposed pipeline doesn''t suddenly change directions underground. We''d honestly need at least three or more vectors around town to get a decent triangulation... IF they are all running to some central place."


    Working through a mix of commiseration and frustration, Bach slowly shakes his head and grits his teeth briefly. "Gods dammit, it just seems like tons of ways to possibly waste our time."


    Sebastian groans out, slowly nodding, and contorts the contemplation upon his face. "I know, bro. The reports we got from Captain Hackle, that he got from the local police, never mentioned underground pipes. Or, centimeters wide, deep holes. This could be an unrelated fluke, and some side effect triggered."


    Cideeda''s long fluffy tail wags sharply, and she sneers her upper lip and sighs. "Even if we rented a backhoe and spent days digging, I doubt the town would appreciate fifteen meter deep holes everywhere."


    A frown grows on Dretphi, and she gradually slumps her shoulders, an unfortunate realization forming in her mind. "If they are the correct places to dig."


    The group''s attention settles upon Dretphi. Grimacing, she sighs with a frown. "Geology could lead steam away from the source. We dig down. May not find the source. Waste days trying."


    Aristespha sadly nods, places her tablet down on the table, and rests her hands on her hips. "Very true. Even with a focused version of the archaeological ground detection spells I know, if the disruptions underground are not significant enough... It will be very difficult to differentiate, if at all. Those spells are designed for sharp contrasts in materials."


    Defeat slowly fills the air in the room. The team idly stares at the pieced together map on the tabletop. Unsatisfied grimaces and frowns seep out onto everyone, the pressure from looming frustration weighing down. Blowing the white streak in his hair out of his face, Bach stands back up straight, scratches the side of his head with a sneer, and sharply shrugs his shoulders. "You know, for the hell of it, put down that spot that Brennon says he saw that evuukian guy."


    Aristespha perks her eyebrow, intrigue overtaking her ivory face. She thinks a moment and nods with hopeful curiosity. "Yes. Let us do that. I have my own suspicions that whoever may be a Terra Priest... And may be involved... Somehow..."


    Searching the map briefly, Cideeda finds a spot within an area designated as Cumber Wood and neatly circles a rough area on a marked access road. The team analyzes the relations between the existing points and the newest addition. With each second, interest grows within everyone, sparks of intuition driving greater focus upon the map. Flicking her furry ears in thought, Cideeda reaches out for a ruler and pencil, aligns the straight edge along the new and an old data point, and gauges reactions from everyone. With growing encouragement and interest from the rest of the group, she draws lines between the Cumber Wood location and all the other disturbance sites. Minutes later, she finishes the last line and steps back from the drawing. Her eyes widen with recognition, and she cocks her head to the side.. "Okay. We might be assuming A LOT here... But... I really can''t shake this feeling that there''s something to THIS."


    Twisting her mouth apprehensively, Sotalia crosses her arms and sorts through her doubts out loud. "So... I want to believe this is something... But, the distances are all different from that point."


    From above the tabletop, Sebastian stares straight down at the map and smirks. "Yeah. That''s true. BUT, the angles between the lines are REALLY even and consistent."


    Dretphi reaches out, slides over the protractor, and measures the angles, nodding. "Indeed. Minor variations. Correctable. The intersection still would be near this central point."


    Swiftly sweeping up her tablet, Aristespha holds it above the drawings on map and taps a few on screen buttons, capturing the image. She cracks an eager smile, tapping through a few application functions. "I will see about charting a few of those possibilities. And, I do suggest we talk to Brennon again for a bit more information about that area."


    ----


    Late morning sun slips through the overhead canopy of leafy trees and lights up scattered spots of tall grasses along the forest floor. A gentle wind sways old branches and fills the air with a soft background drone into the serene soundscape. Wooden snaps and dry, light crackles grow rhythmically louder. Dretphi''s camouflage pattern covered, armored arm pushes through the full branches of a tall shrub, opening a route into a thinning section of the undergrowth. Cideeda quietly slinks out and steps softly into the area, cautiously pivoting her head around. A quick visual scan later, she closes her eyes and focuses her attention. Perking her furry ears, she searches the subtle sounds surrounding her. Reopening her emerald green eyes, she glances back at Dretphi and the rest of the team in hiding and shrugs her shoulders. "Nothing out of the ordinary."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage flies into the vicinity, hovering high above, and surveys the nearby forest. "Dammit. I was hoping there would be something obvious. Guess we''ll have to search the hard way for something of interest."


    Bach snorts, shaking his head, and steps out into the space between a number of tall trees, glancing up to Sebastian. "I don''t know, man. That mock up of a fort was pretty cool. Might need to check that out further."


    Rolling his translucent blue eyes amused, Sebastian drifts down next to Bach, smirking. "Yeah. Trying to figure out if that was for combat sims or the cheap roleplaying events."


    Cideeda perks a humored eyebrow and cracks a greedy smile. "Whichever group is paying the rental fees that day."


    Sotalia arrives from behind the perimeter of the underbrush, and Aristespha follows behind, studying her tablet. Glancing over to the discussion, Sotalia smiles and chuckles to herself. "Gods, that all sounds so goofy. But... I can''t help but to think it might be pretty fun."


    Bach lifts a curious brow at Sotalia and tilts his head to the side. "The combat sims, or roleplaying?"


    With a sly grin to Bach, Sotalia winks with an amused tone. "Maybe both. Depends on the mood that day."


    Blinking off his confusion, Bach gradually, awkwardly shifts his attention to the surrounding area and ponders out loud. "So... This is the spot that Brennon mentioned?"


    Aristespha lowers her tablet down, presents the display between the group, and confirms. "From his directions and descriptions of landmarks. We are also near the intersection between all the different vectors we determined. So..."


    She twists her grimace, sighing, and gazes at the rest of the team. "Hopefully, this will help our odds in finding something further to go on. Otherwise, I really do not know what more to do."


    Sebastian nods slowly, hovering up into the air, and directs the group outwards. "Well, let''s spread out a bit and start looking for something out of the ordinary."


    Fanning out into the region, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia start their individual investigations. The morning sun rises close to high noon. The clouds drift overhead, casting a fluffy shade over the region. And, the team continues their hunt for clues, time passing by. Mixtures of frustration emerge, and disappointment materializes upon the team, fruitless searches growing gradually more aimless by the minute.


    Sebastian lands back onto the ground and calls out to the team, motioning all to gather. "Okay everybody! Anyone got anything to report?"


    The group convenes in a rough circle, sorting through their unamused expressions. Dretphi crosses her arms, glances around the area, and sighs. "Nothing out of place. Forest seems typical for the region. No tracks. No signs of campsites. Nothing unusual."


    Cideeda taps her foot onto the forest floor, shifts her weight around between fidgets, and shrugs her shoulders. "Same for me. I''m not smelling anything weird. It all looks fine. Sounds like it should for a forest."


    Flexing her clawed fingers, she grumbles with a glance off to the side. "Certainly haven''t found anything man-made. Gods, not even an old fucking beer bottle even."


    Sotalia slowly shakes her head, tossing back a stray fiery orange, wavy lock over her swept back horn, and contorts the rising dissatisfaction upon her face. "I''m STILL feeling NOTHING magical. Well... Apart from the normal, barely perceivable background flows. So..."


    Slightly slumping her shoulder, she faintly pouts. "No help from me... Unfortunately."


    With a similar sentiment, Aristespha sorts through some menus on her tablet and glances over towards the team, frowning. "My impressions exactly. Unfortunately..."


    She gazes hopefully to Bach and inquires. "Have you found anything?"


    Bach shrugs his shoulders, gritting his teeth briefly, and exhales with a hint of a groan. "No. Dammit. I mean, I''ve been trying, but NOTHING obvious is showing up. If it wasn''t for Brennon saying he saw that guy here and the description of the guy he gave..."


    He motions out to the scenic wilderness, searching for the contrary. "I probably would have just kept walking along and never paid any attention to this place myself. It looks like what it should, out here."


    With a disappointed curl to his frown, Sebastian arrives at a reluctant acceptance, rubbing the back of his head, and ethereally sighs out tinges of defeat. "Yeah, bro. I''m the same as you there. Looking overhead, this place doesn''t stick out at all. If it wasn''t for all of you wandering around down here, I probably would have drifted off course and dropped in somewhere else without knowing I did."


    Working through a grimace on his face, he hums ethereally and musters up his determination. "Well. This is the best spot we got to check out at the moment. Any ideas?"


    Aristespha straightens his posture in thought, pans her gaze around the area, and uncomfortably cringes. "I have the few spells that might help. Unfortunately, to get any useful information, I have to narrow the focus down significantly. Which means, it will take some time to methodically survey the area."


    Tugging at the corner of her mouth, Cideeda nods reluctantly and perks her furry ears. "Still worth a shot, in my opinion. We can section off the area. Maybe get lucky finding the right-"


    A muffled chain of solid impacts faintly shakes ground below. A strange undercurrent of noises resonate from an ambiguous source. The powerful vibrations rattle up the nearby trees into a shuddering chorus among the leaves. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes widen, and she slowly pivots herself, facing the direction her furry ears home in on. Narrowing her stare at a location, she points a claw tipped finger towards an area, struggling for the correct term. "I heard an... Echo? Reverb? Something hollow?"


    Stepping next to Cideeda, Aristespha gestures out an incantation. She targets the spot indicated by Cideeda and releases her spell in a faint wave towards that direction. A moment later, she blinks her violet eyes in surprise and calls out to the team. "There is a LARGE cavity in the ground there... Contained inside a solid structure."


    Dretphi carefully approaches, studies the dirt and debris of the forest floor, and glances over to Sotalia. "Could you clear off the loose material?"


    Grinning eagerly, Sotalia steps up, readying a spell, and positions herself with her arms aimed down. "Why of course!"


    She unleashes a projected vortex of wind down upon the ground, blasting clear centimeters of loosely packed dirt, leaves, twigs, and other fodder in a methodical sweep. Seconds later, the torrent of air uncovers a slight, straight indentation in hard dirt beneath patches of loose grassy soil. Concentrating the stream, Sotalia clears out the long straight section, further revealing a deep crack in the earth leading to a straight mechanical join between to concrete surfaces. Sebastian swiftly flies over the spot, nods to the team, and phases down. Seconds later, he emerges with a hopeful grin on his face and points down. "It''s a thick cover to a ramp that leads down into... Well, something BIG!"


    The team collaborates on the task. Dretphi and Sotalia finish clearing the outline of the huge earth layered hatch. Aristespha documents and searches for information. Sebastian repeatedly dips down through deep ground and relays updates to Cideeda and Bach. Pondering through the problem in her mind, Cideeda coaches Bach through weaving threads of magical flow down through the crevice leading into the gap of the massive door. With a final draw of a thoughtful breath, Cideeda nods and smiles towards Bach. "Okay. If it''s still working and we''ve tapped into the right wiring, we should be able to trigger the opening sequence. Hit it!"


    Focusing upon a remote task, Bach narrows his glowing blue eyes, grimacing, and winces hopefully. "Okay... Now!"


    A mechanical groan sounds out, and old machinery hums back to life. An over three meter wide, five meter long hatch gradually rises upwards. Old hydraulic pumps pressurize powerful rams and lift the thick concrete slab beneath multiple layers of crumbling earth and rock. Cautiously backing away from the rising entrance, the team stares apprehensively down a long, sunken ramp into a dark corridor, faint light flickering at the distant end.

 Episode 77

    A distant, ambient drone faintly fills the air. Aged lighting flickers at the end of the long ramp downwards. Cideeda, Dretphi, Aristespha, Sotalia, and Bach cautiously walk down the wide and tall corridor upon an old, coated concrete floor. Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers in front of the team, watching carefully ahead. Magical lamps and flashlights search the space, the team studying the surrounding architecture under the illumination. Bach narrows his stare at the wall paneling and recognition fills his face. "Does any of this look familiar to anyone else?"


    Pausing, Aristespha glances at a few spots and scrutinizes details with a slight nod. "Yes. Somewhat. This construction is common to many early third period government structures. Similar to the research outpost."


    An uncomfortable curl twists the corner of Bach''s grimace, and he grumbles audibly to the rest of the team. "Gods, let there NOT be a kill crazed security bot here."


    Sotalia flashes a confident grin, resting her hands on her hips, and laughs boldly. "Oh, I think we all know how to deal with something like that."


    The passage levels out, and Sebastian coasts ahead of the team, noticing the back-lit silhouette of small structures within the tunnel ahead. "So... What is all of this?"


    Under Sebastian''s signal, lighting from flashlight and lamps aim ahead and illuminate a small guard kiosk off to the side, the crossing guard arm across the concrete roadway, and a sign. Interest shifts over to the large lettering on the painted metal sheet. Despite the decayed vinyl and rust obfuscating the outer wording, the center plainly states the most important piece of information. Everyone focuses upon the title between the pair of symbols, three black circular slices around a center circle upon a yellow background.


    "Nuclear Waste Transmutation"


    The team stares blankly at the letters and symbols, briefly dumbfounded. Sparks of terror ignite the frightful faces upon Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia. Aristespha quickly gestures through a frantic incantation. Cideeda expediently searches through her vest pockets, retrieving a device. Both Aristespha and Cideeda turn their full attention ahead, pointing spell and gadget forward, and the rest of the group remains in aghast silence.


    Cideeda''s emerald green eyes study the display on the detector, and her furry ears listen to the consistent, modest combination of beeps and clicks. With her palms aimed outwards, Aristespha''s glowing violet eyes scan the vicinity ahead. Tense seconds later, Cideeda glances over Aristespha with tentative relief. "I''m not picking up anything seriously out of place. Maybe slightly above normal?"


    Blinking her violet eyes back to normal, Aristespha releases a long breath along with her nerves and nods thankfully. "Yes. The same as I detected. There are traces of elevated levels but nothing that should be immediately harmful. Though..."


    She wanders her stare between warning signs beyond the guard post, rising out of the shadows. "I would NOT recommend an extended stay in this place."


    A wave relief passes over the rest of the squad, and Aristespha releases her spell. Tweaking the threshold knob of the detector, Cideeda clips it onto her vest. Sebastian hovers ahead of the group, directing them ahead. "Well, let''s see what we got going on here... AND, make it quick as possible."


    Resuming formation, the team slips around the guard gate and ventures towards the end of the concrete and metal panel tunnel. Echoes from a large open area funnel down from the brighter mouth of the passage, and the team searches the area curiously. Sebastian halts at the exit of the tunnel, hovering in place, and gawks with his jaw open. "Holy. Shit. Really?"


    Signaling the rest of the team to join him, he continues to stare ahead in a mix of surprise and wonder. Aristespha, Cideeda, Bach, Sotalia, and Dretphi arrive around him and search out. They all stare out in utter astonishment at the overhead dome of concrete and rock ceiling meters above a huge steel framed and transparent paneled geodesic structure upon a vast concrete bowl. From the surrounding, encircling outmost platform, a ramp leads down through the open outer passage towards a central smaller concrete and metal encased semi-spherical building. Stepping forward slowly, Cideeda squints her eyes and points a claw tip to massive structures of steel, copper, and other materials. She traces the routes of the hardware, guiding the team''s attention. She shows the connections from the central structure to the outer framework perimeter and the joining networks of pipelines stretching out into the walls at evenly distributed angles. "Those HAVE to be heat exchangers... And THOSE are the pipes! One of these must have run to that field."


    Noticing a light haze on her full face visor, Dretphi carefully rubs a finger of her gauntlet-covered hand across the bottom of the outer surface and studies the condensed moisture. "It is WARM down here."


    Discomfort arises within everyone else, and awareness prompts reactions to the unexpected temperature. Sotalia glances around the area with her golden eyes, inspects the gradual curling of her fiery orange, wavy hair, and blinks thoughtfully. "Yeah, it feels like I''m around a heated indoor pool or inside a sauna warming up."


    Bach opens his eyes wide, glances over the group, and settles his inquiry to Cideeda. "Oh... Shit... Is this place running right now?!"


    Cideeda blinks, tinges of worry creeping upon her light brown face. Her furry ears flick around and search the soundscape. Seconds of scanning the mix of sounds later, she grits her teeth and gazes back toward the team, unease building. "Something is running. I don''t know what. But, I''m hearing too much happening right now for it not."


    With a stern, urgent tone, Dretphi draws in breath and suggests. "We should find the controls."


    Sotalia points over to a nearby rectangular building close to the entrance. "Well, THAT one looks the part."


    Nodding in agreement, Sebastian flies ahead, leading the team ahead. "Lots of cabling going to it, furthest from the action, AND right next to the exit. Sounds like where anyone trying to run this thing should be. Let''s go!"


    ----


    Spots from flashlights zip between shattered screens and shredded wiring. From the ceiling, ambient magical glows from blue orbs, casting light down upon the ruined equipment. Fanning out into the wrecked command center, the team surveys the wholesale destruction done upon rows of electrical and computer systems. Sebastian hovers towards the middle of the area, coasting close to the ceiling, and scans the vicinity with a confused stare. "Okay... So... Any ideas of... What the actual fuck happened here?"


    Cideeda approaches a torn open console and carefully lifts up the keyboard module dangling by ripped ribbon cables, slowly shaking her head. "I don''t know. Someone caused this damage. This all looks like just control equipment, so there shouldn''t be anything in these systems that would make them blow apart like... THIS."


    Sniffing the air, she ponders out loud with an investigative grimace. "And... It doesn''t smell right. Electrical equipment and electronics burning up on their own usually stinks up a room with very distinct odors. You can tell what gave out just by the smell sometimes."


    Dretphi swings her gaze around, stepping next to a computer rack, and spots a puncture through a front bezel. She scrutinizes it closely, reaches for the knife from her back holster, and pulls it out, moving it towards the hole. Holding the tip of the blade close to the gap, she pantomimes a few maneuvers, studying the possible motions, and settles upon a likely candidate. Replacing her knife back, she glances over to the rest of the team and ponders out loud. "Purposeful attack. Took significant effort to perform. A specific goal in mind? Attacker knew how the system functioned?"


    Sotalia closes her golden eyes, relaxes her shoulders, and holds her arms out slightly from her sides. Moments later, she twists her mouth into a grimace, crosses her arms, and opens her eyes full of suspicion. "Yeah. Someone threw some serious magic around in here. I can feel A LOT of leftover energies."


    Aristespha blinks her eyes to a violet glow, and Bach''s eyes flick to a blue illumination. The two stare at scorched impact points littered long rows of computing systems, analyzing the evidence of destruction. Bach grits his teeth and grumbles uneasily, nodding. "Someone REALLY wanted this place to be completely, utterly fucking wrecked. I mean, they just went down the row and blasted each station along the way."


    Curling his upper lip into an uncomfortable sneer, Sebastian coasts down towards the floor and stares around the scene, bewilderment obvious on his translucent face. "No shit, bro. Damn. This is beyond just tossing something in and running off. Someone really took their time to do all this."


    Slowly walking through the aisle between equipment rows, Aristespha spots a broken flat panel monitor on the far wall. She cautiously approaches the shattered display and narrows an accusatory gaze upon a single, embedded arrow. She studies it closely. Gripping the shaft tightly, she firmly rips it clear out of the screen and examines the construction. Mumbling a few evuukian swears to herself, she turns around and holds up the arrow in view for the rest of the team. "It seems like Brennon''s hunch was right. This is handmade, evuukian design..."


    She twists an angered frown on her ivory face. "And, definitely something a Terra Priest would use."


    Flying over, Sebastian''s ghostly visage eyes the projectile closely, lifting an incredulous brow. "Really, dear? It''s the only one here. Uh, did whoever shoot this... Just do it to leave their mark behind? "


    Aristespha furrows her brow, sighs out hints of annoyance, and nods with a groan. "Yes, Sebastian. Knowing the egos on some of them, I am very sure that is the case. Because, he, obviously, had other means of destruction available to him."


    Resting her hands on her sides, Sotalia idly picks at her belt of pouches and sways her hips with an irritated curl to her lips. "Okay. SO. What the hell was the goal here? Are you trying to use this place for something? Or just wrecking it? Which is it? Pick. One."


    Cideeda''s furry ears flick and perk towards a faint noise in the corner of the room. She snaps her gaze towards the source, swiftly scales over the piles of debris, and digs into a clutter of knocked over computing systems. Carefully, she extracts from the chaotic nest of cabling a partially functional monitor and inspects the device. "Hey! This screen is still working and actually attached to something that is working, too. The sound barely works, but-"


    Her emerald green eyes lock on to the status graphics on the shaky screen, the erratic pattern of blinking red littering key measurements. The team assembles around her, and an unsettling, tense silence presses down on them, unspoken dread rising within each. Squinting his stare at the screen, Bach slowly shakes his head, understanding spiking into fumbling fear. "None... Of that... seems- is- um... good..."


    Cideeda''s eyes widen with the surge of horror, and she struggles drawing in breath without shuddering. "No... Everything..."


    She shallows hard and yanks in a gasp. "EVERYTHING. IS. OVERLOADED."


    ----


    The team travels fast down the access path leading through the outer geodesic containment structure and towards the vault door on the central concrete, metal encased dome. Cideeda slightly leads the group with her radiation detector in her hand. Hovering next to Cideeda, Sebastian stares ahead at the massive doorway ahead, questioning. "So, what are we looking for?"


    Cideeda checks the readings on her detector, gazes ahead, and eases out a hesitant, hopeful sigh. "Well. The control room is trashed, nothing we can do from there. BUT, this place is still running."


    She squints ahead and scans the dome around the heavy massive vault door. "So, the core systems must be still intact, but there''s nothing coming from the control room to tell them to stop. If this place was built to any safety code, there''s GOT to be emergency overrides somewhere."


    Slowing to halt, the group arrives at the entry into the solid, huge containment structure. Old, worn heavy machinery surrounds the reinforced gateway frame, the massive mechanisms attached to the thick door exuding an imposing presence. Sebastian hovers up close to the haphazardly closed vault hatch, narrowing his stare upon blast marks and scorched sections, and glances back to Cideeda uncertainly. "Huh. This doesn''t look like it''s in the greatest shape."


    Stepping forward, Bach points towards signs of surface melting and soot marks scattered across the dome walls and machinery. "Yeah. Someone tried to blast this thing open... Or just blasted it?"


    Sotalia narrows her stare, wiping a bit of sweat off her forehead, and nods in agreement. "You mean TRIED. Gods damn it. Whoever tried the same spells they did in the control room on this. At least they didn''t manage to do much."


    Surveying the nearby structure, Dretphi rolls her shoulders uncomfortably in her red plated armor suit and focuses her attention towards the heat warping of light above the thick, reinforced door, motioning at it with a gauntlet. "The door is not sealed. Heat is escaping above."


    The team draws close to study the entrance further. Alarms ring out, and rotating warning lamps spin up. Instinctively retreating, the team backs away, low mechanical groans sounding out. Loud, powerful straining resonates throughout the structure, vibrating into the ground. Rushes of hydraulic fluid churn in the aged pumps. Gigantic rams rattle free layers of old dust and rust. Machinery clangs out into a cacophony of metallic echoes. The huge, thick door shudders briefly and flexes millimeters closer to flush with the frame, groaning defiantly. Covering her furry ears briefly, Cideeda searches the audible chaos, filtering for a particular sound. She spots a large steel chunk bending under the crushing forces of hydraulic rams and supporting metal framework. Searching around, she spots a strange collection of blast marks surrounding a missing section of plating on the dome above. A minute later, the system halts and gives up its attempts to seal the vault door completely, settling back down.


    Waving for the team''s attention, Cideeda points out the huge metal blockage and calls out. "THERE! It''s been jammed. We''ll need to clear it out."


    Bach twists his mouth and glances apprehensively down towards Cideeda. "Should we? I mean, that might be the only thing keeping this door from sealing completely."


    Cideeda walks up close to the heavy machinery, slowly nodding, and waves a claw tip between key issues. "If we want to get in there, we''ll have to clear it. That chunk is completely locking the thing up. I just hope nothing else got too bent up from trying to close up with it in there."


    Studying the material, Aristespha ponders a moment and readies to gesture out a spell. "That seems to be lead with thin steel layers encasing it... I think I have a spell that can cut that."


    Sebastian hovers over the team, thinks a moment, gazing upon them, and instructs. "Okay! Let''s make this quick. Aristespha will cut that chunk up. Sotalia, you get the pieces out of the way. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi. See if you can coax that door open enough. I''m going to peek inside and make sure nothing immediately terrible is inside."


    With shared acknowledging nods, the team scatters to the tasks. Over the minutes, Aristespha releases concentrated beams of magical energy and surgically whittles down the massive lead chunk into manageable pieces. Sotalia guides transparent flows of magical energy, hoisting up the heavy fodder clear, and piles up the metal clumps. Cideeda coaches Bach''s magical manipulation of the door systems, and coordinates Dretphi''s application of muscle and leverage with a scrap metal pipe pry bar. Sebastian''s ethereal form phases outside from within through the thick door. With a brief shudder, he recovers his senses. "Whoa... That''s at least a meter or two thick..."


    Observing the team''s progress, he announces. "It looks like everything is still intact inside."


    He wrestles down an uneasy frown. "At least... I didn''t see anything sparking, on fire, or leaking."


    Cideeda acknowledges the information and glances to Bach and Dretphi, calling out. "Okay! Get ready. On three! One. Two. THREE!"


    Bach''s eyes flash blue, pulses of prismatic flow traveling down to massive valves and reinforced electrical lines. Stubborn flows of hydraulics fight against uncooperative rams, and Dretphi forces her full might against a flexing steel pipe, wrenching the support arm of the thick, solid door away from the gateway frame. In the tense moments, Sotalia''s magical energies assist Dretphi''s efforts upon the heavy door. Groaning loudly, the central concrete dome''s massive hatch gradually parts open a few centimeters and grinds against a hard stop. Seconds of futile effort later, Cideeda signals everyone to stop, hops down, and approaches the doorway cautiously, with radiation detector in hand. Studying the size of the gap and checking the readings, Cideeda stretches her body. "Okay. So. I think I can fit through there."


    Sebastian''s ghostly visage lands on his feet next to Cideeda, and he gazes at her with a concerned grimace. "You sure about that? We really should try to get that door open a bit more and secure it, first."


    Drawing in a long breath, Cideeda slowly shakes her head, examines the gap closer with a frown, and sighs. "It can''t open any wider right now. And, fixing it is going to take time away from figuring out if we can even shut this thing down safely. I need to get in there and find out."


    Grumbling slightly, Sebastian agrees, gritting his teeth. "Damn... You''re right. Okay..."


    He pantomimes out the layout inside to Cideeda. "Just to your left inside, it looks like a control console and a bunch of monitoring valves, I guess.I would stay away from the right side, as it just looks like a bunch of really hot pipes. Then, there''s the central chamber with what looks like the reactor in a deep pool of water. It is closed off, but there''s some thick windows looking inside that space."


    Drawing in a nervous ethereal breath, he gazes into Cideeda''s emerald green eyes, fighting off the concern on his face, and grants an encouraging grin. "Listen. Just get in there. Figure out if it can be shut down safely. If not, try to make it manageable. We''ll get ready to cut and run, and seal everything we can on the way out."


    With a confident smirk, Cideeda nods and exhales deeply. Flexing her small, lean frame, she slips into the narrow gap between door and door frame. She wiggle between the layers of steel and concrete and deftly slides upon her suit''s slick enchanted plating against the tight quarters, squeezing past the narrowest part. Slowly drawing in a breath, she reorientates herself on the other side of the vault door and glances over to the control console on her left. She swiftly steps over and studies the system in front of her. Wiping away the dust from the screen, she brushes off the keyboard. Seconds of analysis later, she types through a series of menus on the simple terminal interface. Sebastian phases through the doorway, shuddering from the transition, and flies over next Cideeda, carefully inquiring. "So... What''s the story?"


    Cideeda''s emerald eyes sort through the information prompts on the screen, her claws clicking upon the keys. She narrows her stare, furrowing her brow in thought, and grumbles to herself. "I don''t know yet. This is definitely some kind of backup or emergency console."


    Rolling her eyes, she sighs. "Thankfully, no password."


    She frowns, frustration and sweat forming upon her light brown face. "I''m trying to figure out what a graceful shutdown could even be at this point. GODS. Someone really did a number on this thing."


    Digging deeper into the different menus and systems outlined by the console, a nervous wave radiates up her, and she tenses her body, concentrating against pressure. Sebastian observes the quiet changes and asks gently. "Everything okay?"


    Gritting her sharp teeth briefly, she sighs out long and slowly shakes her head. "Not really. I''m no expert in nuclear systems. But... There SHOULD be a way to handle THIS..."


    Dretphi''s voice calls out through the door gap. "Do you need assistance?"


    Glancing over her shoulder, Cideeda aims her voice back. "No! Just keep out there! And, make sure that door stays open. Not sure how to shut this thing down, yet."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    She bites her lower lip and sniffs in a tense breath. "BUT, once I do... We should leave this mess as soon as possible."


    Dretphi confirms and moves away from the frame. "Understood."


    Outside the concrete dome, Dretphi picks up the scrap steel pipe in her hands and steps over to the heavy duty hinges of the thick, concrete and steel laminated door. Studying the structure and mechanics of the hardware, she slides the pipe firmly, wedging it between functional clearances, and gazes over to Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. "Need more to secure it properly."


    Aristespha taps Sotalia''s shoulder, points over to the pile of steel plated lead chunks, and motions over towards the door corner. "Let''s hover this over to the door and see about an impromptu doorstop."


    Sotalia nods and glances over to Bach, lifting a curious eyebrow. "You got it under control over there?"


    Bach sorts through the collection of stabilized magical energy cables in his hands, blinks over to Sotalia, and rocks his head side to side. "I think so? I mean, I got the valves set and locked that we know of. But..."


    He frowns with a hint of aggravation, eyeing the hydraulic door systems. "Good gods... This damned thing is engineered with a bunch of redundant and backup systems that are... Well... Really hard to figure out."


    Another set of alarms blares out in the area. Spinning warning lights flash to life around the doorway. Bach''s eyes widen and surge with bright blue light. He snaps his full focus upon the door control systems, and the magical lines flash with powerful prismatic pulses. Loud, powerful thunks sound out, torrents of fluid stirring violently inside the piping. Grimacing sharply, Bach strains his concentration and surges out new flows down the bundles of magical lines. "SHIT! The valve servos are fighting back! Trying to interrupt the power-"


    Sparks erupt into a downpour from powerful electrical controls, and motors strain against opposing forces. The door shudders forward. Dretphi grabs hold of the steel pipe and wrestles the leverage back, jamming machinery. Sotalia quickly gestures out an incantation, flows her energies to a large chunk of steel and lead, and guides the mass up into the air and over to the door gap. With explosive arcing and a powerful mechanical thud, the system violently frees itself from Bach''s overrides. The full power of the hydraulic ram forces the door mechanisms against the makeshift pry bar in Dretphi''s hands. In a surge of overwhelming power, the steel pipe flings Dretphi away, launching the makeshift tool out into the distance. In a ditch attempt, Sotalia propels the steel and lead chunk into the closing doorway. The heavy duty door and door frame pinch upon the metal scrap. Moments of strain later, the compressing pressures pop the chuck back out and propel it meters away, free from Sotalia''s telekinetic control.


    The door quickly closes and sinks into the frame. Loud machinery engages. The locks secure the door completely.


    ----


    Maintaining a constant watch of the console display, Cideeda monitors the system outputs. She blinks hard, releases a long, stressed breath, and wipes the sweat collecting off her light brown face. Hovering next to Cideeda with a reassuring smile, Sebastian motions over towards the door. "Hey. Don''t worry. They will figure out how to get the door back open."


    With a reserved, hopeful smirk, Cideeda nods to Sebastian, gazing back towards the screen, and taps out commands upon the keyboard. "I know. I''ve been listening to the radio..."


    Tapping on button her vest, the speaker of her radio crackles to life with the mode switch. Bach''s voice sounds out over the heavy static. "Gods dammit! What the fuck is wrong with this thing?! This system is overpowering anything I try... Ah, shit... what the fuck to do... Dretphi! Check to see if there''s a cut off or something for this thing."


    Dretphi crackles out over the radio. "Understood. Saw valves over there. Will investigate."


    Sotalia''s irritation seeps through the audio, and she growls out her frustration. "This is just layers of steel, concrete, and lead! There''s got to be some locking bar or something holding it in place... FUCK! I can''t pull this door back."


    Hints of desperation trickle through Aristespha''s vocal facade. "I know. If we can find the locking deadbolts, I may be able to cut them, and then you should be able to pull the door back."


    Frowning with a brief grimace, Cideeda taps the button, switching her radio back into the previous mode, and sighs nervously. "They''re... They''re not having the best of... Luck."


    Sebastian summons up a hopeful demeanor against the gravity with an encouraging tone. "It''ll be okay. You focus on getting this thing to shut down properly. Then, you''ll help them figure it out. I know you will figure out the best solution."


    Cideeda''s claw tips clack on the console keyboard, and she flips through the same series of information screens. With each transition, her frown deepens, her breaths shudder more, and her ears droop further under the grim weight. Sebastian gazes at Cideeda and drifts in front of her, concern blatant. "What''s wrong?"


    With her furry ears nearly upon her shoulders, Cideeda drops her head forward and sadly states. "I know a way to shut it down..."


    The spark of joy within Sebastian disappears under a wave of dread upon his translucent face. "But... It''s... Not good."


    Cideeda draws a long, deep breath, wipes more sweat off her face, and sorts through the explanation, fear swelling up. "I don''t understand, completely, how this system works... BUT. I think it was supposed to use a fusion reactor to transmute nuclear waste into more stable isotopes. From what I can gather, I know it''s well past its limits."


    Tightening her grip on the sides of the console, she tenses her body. "Whoever... They purposefully overloaded the processing chamber with too much nuclear waste and set the output of the fusion reactor way too high. Now, you have too much heat from the fusion reactor AND have nuclear waste undergoing fission, adding more heat."


    She lifts her head up, hints of tears blending with the beads of sweat near her eyes, and stiffens her frown. "Meanwhile, the cooling system, that was already in disrepair, isn''t capable of handling the thermal load anymore, ESPECIALLY after every heat exchanger pipeline burst. And..."


    Gazing out through the observation window into the reactor chamber, she swallows hard. "With the heat build up, the containment pool water level has dropped from boiling off. In fact, the only thing that''s keeping this area from getting bombarded by radiation is the protective containment force fields... powered by the fusion reactor."


    With a trembling voice and terror filling her emerald eyes, Cideeda stares out through an observation window, past the sparkling energy barrier, and into the glowing pale blue cooling pool, the water level far below aged markings. "Without the advanced computer control, this system has been running off of basic backup systems..."


    Tilting her head of short hair back, the mix of brown, white, tan, orange, and black locks darkening under the sweat, she draws in a deep and slow breath. "It has been stuck in a feedback loop of doom. Fusion reactor powers the field. Field stops the radiation from escaping into here. Radiation is caused by fission products from the fusion reactor processing the waste... AND NOW, the leakage from the water pool being too low."


    She fights down a grimace. "The only thing I can stop is the fusion reactor, which will hopefully stop the cycle and drop the heat output to something manageable. But, once it stops... The protective field will decay in minutes. This containment dome will keep radiation from going outside... But here..."


    Horror washes away the encouragement upon Sebastian''s face, and he desperately searches through possible options in his mind. "Okay... Okay... Okay... SO. We''re not out of options. Okay. How long before the force field breaks down after shutdown?"


    Glancing inside her mind, she processes the calculations and weakly answers. "Maybe ten to fifteen minutes? That''s being really... Hopeful."


    Visibly stressing at the situation, Sebastian summons up his composure, forcing up a hopeful grin, and ponders out loud. "Okay. That can work. Once they figure out how to open the door, you trigger the shutdown and you get out. Then, we close that door and get moving. We''ll try to get the other containment dome door closed, if we have time."


    Grabbing hold of the console sides firmly, Cideeda pulls a pained breath in, stares at the status monitors on screen and gauges off to the side. "Time is the problem."


    Sebastian follows Cideeda''s gaze and squints grimly at the gauges, the needle indicators well into red regions. "Oh. Gods... I was really hoping those were broken and the needles were resting on those pins."


    Cideeda frowns, closes her eyes tightly, and shakes her head slowly. "No... They''re pushing against the stops."


    Staring at the strained indicators, Sebastian searches Cideeda''s face for an explanation. "What does that mean?"


    A grim chuckle slips out from Cideeda, and she snorts softly. "Just that the containment pool water boiled off into superheated steam and the entire reactor chamber is under pressures it was never designed to handle. And, it could blow at any time."


    Drifting away towards the door, Sebastian puts forth a reassuring front with a bold smile. "Hey! We still have a good option! Since you know how to shut it down, we can focus on getting the door open. Then, we can shut it down, seal it, and run. Let me get everyone focused. And, with your help, I''m sure we''ll get this thing open."


    Cideeda weakly nods. She slowly draws in calming breaths, wipes the sweat off her face, and combs away stray multi-colored hairs with her clawed fingers. Closing her eyes in thought, she struggles with focusing herself and mutters a few fvalian prayers under her breaths. Her furry ears twitch to a new noise. She steps back from the console and sweeps her head around, both ears locking onto the source of the sound. Through the ambient drone, crisp noises tickle Cideeda''s furry ears. She gawks blankly, spotting crumbles of concrete fall from gradually expanding cracks around pipework entering the reactor chamber. Hairline fractures form from widening divides leading to other reinforced equipment. Narrowing her silent stare, she watches the slight bends flex in the longer runs of steel tubing and the strange, minute twisting at joins and connectors. The waves of heat billowing out from the heat exchange machinery fume up, flowing along the tall, vast domed ceiling.


    Another noise yanks Cideeda''s attention over. Focusing her frightened gaze through the observation window and sparkling force field, she surveys the surface of the glowing pale blue pool. Small bubbles breach the surface of the water, and more patches of boiling vent out onto the surface in rising intensity. Cideeda''s expression blanks. Her stare grows distant. Quietly, she drops her head down, stepping up to the console, and gazes resolutely inwards. Her emerald green eyes dart through possibilities, calculating the odds between blinks. Costs weigh heavily upon her shoulders. Sebastian phases back through the door and hovers over towards Cideeda. "Okay. I think the plan is to try cutting off the door hydraulics. That might free it up, so that with your help..."


    Frowning sadly with tears welling in her eyes, Cideeda lifts her head up to the console screen and begins to type out a command. Drawing in a long breath, she silently contemplates. With a somber smile, she taps a button on her radio and gazes over to Sebastian, remorseful filling her tone. "I''m sorry, everyone."


    Sebastian''s jaw drops, and he vainly reaches out for Cideeda''s hand and pales, his hand passes through her. Cideeda initiates the fusion reactor shutdown. In the dwindling ambient hum, Cideeda closes her eyes tightly. Sebastian watches the tears run down her face in absolute, overwhelming dismay.


    ----


    The background din winds down, and Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia search around the space in confusion. From near the hydraulic door machinery, Bach blinks absolutely bewildered and calls out. "Hey! Did something turn off? I didn''t do anything over here. What was that?"


    Aristespha glances over to the shrugging Dretphi and bewildered Sotalia, narrows a perplexed gaze at Bach, and eyes the concrete dome with developing dread. "That sounds like it was from inside..."


    A faint crackling chorus sounds out from the group''s radio devices, and Cideeda''s resolute voice rises up from the static. "I have shut down... the fusion reactor... The pressure and heat levels are dropping... Slowly. Containment should hold out. It all should stabilize."


    Her shuddering, uneasy breath wavers off the airwaves, and she fights through her choking sobs. "I''m sorry... But. You all maybe have ten minutes to get safely out of here! The concrete containment dome should... shield you all from most of the radiation..."


    She gasps and forces out her words. "But- I DON''T KNOW! I want YOU ALL to get clear! NOW!"


    Abject horror crushes the team. Cideeda draws in a sniffing breath and clears her throat. "Try to get the second containment dome shut for everyone''s sake! But, don''t stick around. I''ll monitor things from here..."


    Grabbing hold of the collar of her cloak, Sotalia pulls it away, revealing the clipped on radio, and glares at the device. "WHAT THE FUCK, CIDEEDA?! Why did you trigger that now?! We need more time to figure this door out!"


    With a pained growl, Cideeda sternly retorts, her voice cutting through the static. "There was NO TIME. The walls of the reactor chamber were at the point of catastrophic failure! I''m not going to risk it blowing up, and killing everything for kilometers around this place."


    Bach frantically rambles into his radio. "Okay! We can still do this! There''s things I need your help on- BUT! I think I can overpower the system as hard as I can and get it to cooperate for just long enough and-"


    With a cold, eerie tone, Cideeda''s voice systematically dismantles. "That would risk breaking the current seal in place. We CANNOT risk opening what we don''t know we can close... Leave... Please... Respect my... last wishes..."


    Bach glances around terrified, blue eyes tearing up. Sebastian phases through the door with a firm upper lip and stares grimly at the team, commanding. "You heard her. GO. NOW. Close the outer containment door if you can. We need to alert the town."


    Dretphi meets Sebastian''s hard gaze, drops her head, squeezing the tears from her steely gray eyes, and steps towards Bach. Grabbing hold of his arm, she pulls away from the door hydraulic systems and marches towards Sotalia. Summoning her defiant ire, Sotalia draws in a long breath, stretches her arms, and readies herself for spell. "FUCK THAT! We''ll just cut a hole large enough to get you through and-"


    A firm, red gauntlet-covered hand clamps onto Sotalia''s shoulder, and Dretphi drags the hesitant Sotalia, both fighting against their emotions. Sebastian rests a sad gaze upon Aristespha, sighing deeply. "I''m... going to stay with her as long as possible."


    Aristespha summons all her resolve, maintaining a strong front for Sebastian, nods simply in agreement, and quells the turmoil in her voice. "Thank you... Sebastian..."


    Turning around, Sebastian phases back through the vault door towards the interior chamber. Aristespha pivots in place, musters her courage, and quickly steps forward, catching up to Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. She seizes Sotalia''s other arm. She firmly disarms Sotalia''s pleas of desperate, hastily thrown together plans. Dretphi, Sotalia, and Aristespha step out the outer dome''s transparent framework, through the gateway. Noticing the distance from the central dome, the finality surges through Sotalia, and she struggles to break free. Dretphi releases Bach, wraps her arms around Sotalia tightly, and pleads simply through her tear splattered full face visor. "Please... I know..."


    Standing blankly at the mouth of the outer geodesic structure entrance, Bach stares hollow at the central containment dome. Moments passing, he gazes downwards towards the concrete metal encased building, focusing upon the vault door. Tightening his fists, he drops his head down, closing his blue eyes tightly, and draws in a long calming breath, frowning with a strangely peaceful hint. "I''m sorry... Cideeda."


    ----


    A pale blue light radiates out from the containment pool waters, highlighting the sparkling surface of the chamber force field. The mix of ambient glow and flickers of light blend with the illumination of the overhead lights and yellow strobes. Resettling her back against the interior concrete wall, Cideeda tightens her arms around her curled up legs and rests her head on her knees. Sebastian crosses his arms, sitting on the floor next to Cideeda, and glances over with a curious brow, humming. "That actually sounds like a nice name for a boy. Why don''t you like it?"


    With a snort and roll of her emerald green eyes, Cideeda smirks briefly. "Same name as a boyfriend I had. If mom has a boy, he doesn''t deserve that namesake."


    Sebastian cracks a humored smile and nods in agreement, chuckling. "Ah. Fair enough. About as good a reason as any. I''ll be sure to remember that, so Aristespha can write it down."


    Drawing in a long breath, Cideeda releases an equally drawn out sigh and surveys the chamber. She stares at the console and watches the status monitors gradually drift further from the red extremes within the relative safety of the yellow regions. Settling her sight upon the gauges nearby, and she watches the slightly bent indicator needles creep gradually away from stop posts. She flicks her furry ears over and listens to the shrinking cracks in the concrete around pipelines, various pipework shifting back to their original shapes and alignments. A somber smile appears on her light brown face, and Cideeda rests her head back upon knees. "I guess... I guess it was the right move..."


    Sebastian summons up a bold grin against the looming doom and nods with a genuine tone. "You saved the team. You saved the town. And prevented who knows what else. It could have been an absolute disaster."


    He stares up towards the observation window and the looming pale blue glow radiating out, glances over to the console, and settles his proud gaze upon Cideeda. "You knew full well the situation, and you did it anyway. That''s far more brave and courageous than I''ve ever been."


    Blinking, Cideeda lifts her head up and puzzles at Sebastian. "Says the man that has gone toe to toe with the Dark Lord Noxian?"


    Sebastian rolls his eyes at himself and shakes his head with a smirk. "Oh. THAT wasn''t bravery. I was bold and dumb. Totally believed I was totally going to win those confrontations each time..."


    A few moments of silence pass on by in the low background noises of the surrounding systems. With a weak smile, Cideeda glances over to Sebastian, snorts, and asks through her embarrassment. "Hey, um... Could you buy Bach a new holoplayer with my share of the mission payout? I''ve got it with me, and I''m certain the radiation will destroy it."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form fights against his swell of sadness, and he presents a comforting smile. "Of course..."


    Lifting up her head, Cideeda stares at the console screen and watches the power indicator meter for the reactor force field creeping near the bottom. Her mind processes the status. Her emerald green eyes water. With a sudden frown on her face, she drops her head down, curls up tightly, and sobs loudly. "I wanted... to do... so much more..."


    Wiping the overflowing tears, she sniffles and cries, burying her face in her hands. "I was really looking forward to having a little brother or sister, and helping my mom and dad out... I was finally learning how to use magic and really loving it... There was that business I wanted to try out after adventuring..."


    Regaining some of her composure, Cideeda struggles to calm herself down. She concentrates on a series of slow, stammering breaths, leans back into the wall, and frowns regretfully with a sad tone. "And... maybe... There was a possibility I wanted to explore... That I''d never considered before."


    With a curious lift of an eyebrow, Sebastian smirks and chuckles against the gloom, prying. "Like what?"


    A slight tint of embarrassment fills Cideeda''s face, and she twists her mouth, perking her furry ears.


    Sebastian suddenly sits upright, springs up into the air, and glances around confused. "Cideeda, have you been listening to your radio?"


    Cideeda blinks, stands up, and reaches for a button on her radio. "No, uh, I turned it off to well... Let me turn it-"


    She clicks the button. A blast of static crackles out upon a wavering twist of tones and other odd noises to her utter surprise. Sebastian halts suddenly. Blinking in surprise, he stares off distantly, his ethereal form warping slightly. He snaps his attention towards Cideeda. "GET TO THE DOOR!"


    Utterly perplexed, Cideeda steps in front of the door and stares at Sebastian, furrowing her brow. "What the fuck is going on?! They aren''t going to-"


    Her furry ears flick forward, and her eyes search the doorway. Thin threads of prismatic magical flow seep around the joins of the door and weave into the material surrounding. From outside, loud clunks resonate into the structure and mix with a cacophony of mechanical strain, fluid rushing forcefully against pressure, and groans of machinery running counter to its desires. In a brief moment of silence, Cideeda widens her eyes. Prismatic flows erupt in a brilliant white energy burst of meshing fibers. Locking bolts slam hard. The containment door flies open with a powerful suction of air.


    Blinking in utter surprise, Cideeda briefly gazes upon a magical barrier coating over the exit and spots Sotalia''s and Dretphi''s field encased arms reaching out. Each grabbing hold of Cideeda''s hands, Sotalia and Dretphi yanks her out through the vault doorway, into the barrier, and outside the central containment building. Cideeda runs, with Sotalia towing her along and Dretphi ushering behind. Joining the evacuation, Aristespha warps her barrier, bubbling it around them. Cideeda glances back and watches the massive, heavy containment door slam shut under the power of elder energy infused magical machinery. Long runs of flow conduits bound to parts of the door system glow brightly, and magically energized sparks erupt out from hydraulic electrical systems nearby. Loud solid clanks echo throughout the outer containment dome, the door locks reengaging under a dominating force. Moments later, the cracks between the vault hatch and door frame glow to a near white hot heat and sputter with molten lead, magical cabling melting leftover metal chunks into the crevices.


    Dretphi, Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia cross through the threshold of the outer, transparent geodesic dome, and Sebastian materializes next to the team. Following the bundles of magical, white pulsating cables and conduits, Cideeda gazes over to a torrent of prismatic and white energy flows rushing out from Bach. Full concentration and focus within brilliant white glowing eyes, Bach gestures his hands, altering the energies pouring forth from him. The long lines reaching to the concrete dome dissipate quickly into clouds of elder and prismatic miasma. The remaining lines pulse and twitch, operate the outer containment dome''s doorway. The system sputters and grinds. Dretphi glances around, frantically searching for an issue. Cideeda''s furry ears flick over, and she listens briefly. Glancing over to Bach, she notices the growing strain apparent on his face and wavering concentration. "Disengage the safety locks! Then pressurize the rams!"


    Snapping back to awareness, Bach nods quickly and warps the flows of energy down the lines. The final transparent, framework containment door shudders free, slides closed, and locks. With confirming thumbs up from Dretphi, the final conduits of flow dissipate in clouds of magical miasma. Bach stumbles around, releasing the last flows of energy. Rushing to his side, Dretphi swiftly supports him under the shoulders and leads him towards the main exit with the rest of the team. The group rush down the facility entry corridor, charging through the surrounding chaos of alarms and around the old guard station.


    The team sprints out from the underground ramp into the daylight, Aristespha''s protective barrier encasing all, and reaches a clearing many meters away. Down within the corridor, a new alarm faintly sounds out. Aristespha braces herself and bolsters the barrier around the team. Bach drops down to knees with Dretphi guiding him down. The team holds position and waits expectantly. Pulling out her radiation detector, Cideeda shows it to Aristespha and eases it just out of the barrier bubble. Minutes pass uneasily. The surrounding forest overtakes the silence, nature filling the background behind the beeps and clicks of the radiation detector.


    Cideeda motions over to the detector, and Aristespha warps the field over. Carefully reaching out, Cideeda picks up the detector, sorts through the reading history, and breathes a sigh of relief. "Normal levels. That barrier should have shut down completely by now. I think we''re safe enough for the moment."


    Releasing her barrier bubble, Aristespha takes a few steps and eases herself down upon the ground. "Oh. Good. I really need to rest after that. Sotalia... Potion please? Need to get ready to do some medical checks."


    Sotalia flips open a pouch on her belt, plucks out a vial, and passes it to Aristespha. "Here you go. I''m going to make a call to the local police before ANYTHING ELSE happens today."


    Patting Bach''s shoulder gently, Dretphi waits for him to nod and flips up her visor, retrieving her aetherphone. "Will contact the guild. Let them handle whoever may be concerned."


    Sebastian hovers up and sighs. "Okay. I''m going to check to make sure nothing else is happening nearby from above. Gods fucking dammit. Can this day just end."


    Cideeda steps next to Bach and Aristespha, settles down onto the ground, and relaxes for the moment. Slowly recovering from the surge of activity, she glances over to Bach and cocks her head, watching him support himself up by his arms and sway quietly. She slides over close to him and curiously gazes. "You okay, Bach?"


    Bach unsteadily keeps himself up upon his hands and knees without response. Cideeda grips hold of his forearm, gently presses her claw tips, and cranes her head around, checking his face. "Bach?"


    Startling out of his stupor, Bach lifts his head groggily to Cideeda, struggling to focus his faintly white glowing eyes. "W-w-what? Are you okay? I- Um- Uh- Where..."


    Concern stressing her tone, Cideeda nods and grips both of Bach''s arms. "Yes. I''m okay. We''re okay. We''re clear. You can rest now."


    A relieved smile graces Bach, and he blinks into a wince. He grimaces, shudders, and reopens his normal blue eyes. Exhaustion overwhelming, Bach manages a weak smirk, gradually tipping over to the side into unconsciousness. "I''m going to lay down n..."


    With a firm supportive pull, Cideeda redirects Bach''s collapse and guides his head gently upon her shoulder. Wrapping her arms securely around Bach, Cideeda gently strokes his back. Bach passes out. Cideeda closes her eyes and hugs Bach tightly.

 Episode 78

    High up, sparse clouds slowly drift along with the gentle air currents above, the noon sun beaming down upon the landscape of Ark. A low, fast paced rumble reverberates throughout the idle town''s soundscape. With thrusters and hover pads glowing brightly, a huge carryall zooms on by. Faint trails of ionized air dispersing quickly, the massive airborne transport lines up towards its destination within the river peninsula. Large metallic, mechanical clanks sound out. The large vehicle''s massive wings tuck in, narrowing its profile. Jets rotate downwards, and the massive machine slowly descends vertically towards the treeline. The reflective markings of Greater Azure Alliance logos flicker briefly in the sun, and the carryall drops out of view, landing gear extending out.


    Standing in front of the Ark Inn, Brennon squints across the river towards the heavy woods, halts sweeping the front steps, and points out enthusiastically. "There''s another one! That''s another GAA carryall. That HAS to be the seventh one that''s landed around there!"


    Kristine rolls her green eyes at Brennon and scoffs with an argumentative tone towards her brother. "Sixth one. You really need to learn how to count."


    Sneering his upper lip, Brennon shoves a large pile of dust and dirt towards the sidewalk near his sister with the push broom in his hands. "WHATEVER. Still..."


    He glances over the river waters with an uncertain twist of his brow. "What the hell is going on?! I mean, like, NOTHING happens out here. NOW, the GAA is sending everything they''ve got right over THERE."


    Defiantly brushing back the debris off her side of the steps with a bristle broom, Kristine awkwardly grimaces, hints of nervousness slipping through, and unconvincing proposes. "Maybe it''s an exercise or a drill? Gods, it''s not like they don''t use this area all the time for random stuff."


    She dismissively shrugs her shoulders and sweeps up another pile of dirt down a nearby sidewalk. "Maybe it''s just a really big training thing?"


    Pauses a moment, Brennon thinks and slowly shakes his head. "Nah... If it was one or two carryalls... Maybe? But-"


    A huge shadow casts down upon the inn from above, shading out the vicinity. A rattling rumble vibrates throughout the area, and both teenagers gawk up in utter surprise. Over a hundred meters long, the air carrier gradually descends towards the river, rotating itself along its flight path. Aligning itself with the center channel of the river, the huge military vessel slowly dips its extending keel into water. With a final descent, the massive volume displaces the water into a huge wake, launching out large crashing waves against the riverfront. Upon the flat top of the vessel, military personnel scramble into various land vehicles and control stations, large ramps extending into ready positions. A torrent of churning bubbles blasts out from behind the floating hover carrier, and it accelerates around the river bend, sailing further away.


    Remaining in speechless awe, Brennon and Kristine stare blankly at the vessel going down the river. In the shock of the moment, they fail to notice the humvee pull into one of the parking spaces in front of the inn. The powerplant spins down, and the driver''s side door opens up. Cideeda slides out with a mix of fatigue and eagerness blatant, pulling against her body suit. "Okay! Just lock the doors for now. We''ll deal with it all later, because I need a shower NOW."


    The rest of the doors open up. Bach groggily eases himself out of his seat, puts his unsteady boots onto the pavement, and yawns, rubbing the temple of his head. Sotalia hops out, steps next to Bach, and slips a supportive arm under his shoulder. "Going to make it up the stairs?"


    Blinking a few times to awareness, Bach fights off the drowsiness and nods with an appreciative smile. "Yeah. Yeah... I think so. Just REALLY tired right now."


    Aristespha projects her voice through the cab from the other side of the vehicle and hoists up a medical kit under her arm. "THAT is not surprising in the slightest. Just take it easy for the rest of the day. You should feel a bit better with a big lunch and many stamina potions mixed in."


    Dretphi steps out of the humvee behind Bach, pats his back gently, and motions forward. "Let us get you upstairs."


    Rubbing his blue eyes, Bach fights back another yawn, twisting it down into a grimace and smirks with a little embarrassment. "Yeah... Definitely wouldn''t mind just laying around and watching random aethersite videos on the phone until I pass out."


    Dretphi closes the doors on her side of the humvee and protectively walks behind Bach and Sotalia. Hitting the lock button on the driver''s console, Aristespha closes up on her side. She walks up towards the front entrance of the inn and spots Brennon and Kristine still captivated by the military activity in the distance. Studying the huge vessel slipping out of view, she smirks over towards Brennon and lifts her eyebrow. "By the way, Brennon. You were quite right about your suspicions."


    Awkwardly blinking back to attention, he glances over towards Aristespha, puzzling. "Huh- WHAT?"


    Aristespha maintains a professional demeanor and nods at the goofy teenager. "The evuukian man you saw in the woods. It turns out his presence there was NOT a good thing. He was very likely a Terra Priest and extremely dangerous. Thankfully, whatever he was planning did not come to fruition."


    Narrowing a stern stare upon Brennon, she instructs, hints of concern in her tone. "Now... I will NOT recommend you being too adventurous at your age. But, I WILL recommend that if you come across anything that suspicious in the future, do not be afraid to let the police and guild know. It could make a bigger difference than you shall ever know."


    Failing to maintain his stumbling composure, Brennon summons up a bit of proper procedure and straightens his posture. "Oh- Um- Yes, ma''am! Thank you. I''ll do that in the future."


    Aristespha smiles respectfully, turns away towards the entrance, and rolls her violet eyes mildly amused. Enjoying the moment''s accomplishment in brief silence, Brennon turns around to his sister and grins pridefully. "SEE! I FUCKING TOLD YOU!"


    Kristine groans in disgust, shaking her head, and aggressively flicks a pile of dirt over onto Brennon''s side of the front walkway. "GODS. WHATEVER."


    Bach, Sotalia, and Dretphi walk through the lobby of the inn. Sotalia glances over at Johnathan cleaning up a number of glasses at the nearby bar and waves for his attention. "Hey, Johnathan?"


    Johnathan pivots towards Sotalia''s voice, nods briefly, and smiles with a concerned twist. "Oh. Yes. How can I help you all today? Looks like you all have had quite the day... Already."


    Shrugging her shoulders with a smirk, Sotalia sighs brightly and chuckles. "Oh, you could say that. But we''re okay. Just a little worn out and needing a few days of not doing anything."


    With a sly smirk, she searches her mind briefly, perks an inquisitive eyebrow towards Johnathan, and coyly asks. "You have any drink specials sold by the pitcher?"


    Chuckling with a grin, Johnathan glances behind at the selection of bottles behind him and returns his gaze towards Sotalia with a confident nod. "We have a few favorites... And the stock to make any of them."


    Aristespha walks up to the conversation, glances between Johnathan and Sotalia, and curls her mouth curiously. "What do you have by the bottle?"


    ----


    Through the windows along the long stretch of wall, the faint glow of nearby city lamps barely creeps over into the large inn room. Along the horizon, bright lights highlight the top of the distant treeline across the river, the blinking flight lamps of drones darting around in the starry night sky. Fluttering her emerald green eyes open, Cideeda stares up at the plain white ceiling in the dark, drawing in a long breath, and releases a stalely frustrated sigh. She quietly grumbles to herself and rolls her head side to side upon the pillow, flicking her furry ears. Vainly searching for a comfortable position she tugs at her covers. She stares groggily upwards and closes her eyes, attempting to calm herself into slumber. Drifting off into her thoughts, she contorts her light brown face through a range of grimaces and uneasy winces. She reopens her eyes, sighs quietly, and grumbles to herself in fvalian, spikes of self aggravation slipping out.


    A noise tickles her furry ear, and she perks it towards the source. Hearing the sound again, she slowly sits up in bed and searches around the large, dark inn room. A few sweeps later, she settles her gaze over towards Bach in the bed at the end of the row and she watches carefully. Tossing and turning, Bach rolls over to new position, mumbles incoherently, and winces in his sleep. With a shudder in his breath, he tenses up sharply, cringing in between fits of muttering. Cideeda pulls the covers off her, rests her feet on the floor, and stands up quietly. Slinking silently across the room with her tail waving out from underneath her nightshirt, she carefully navigates the hard wood floors over to the side of Bach''s bed. She kneels down and watches the discomfort and unease upon Bach''s face. Her furry ears flick forward, listening carefully. Gritting his teeth, Bach mumbles out a few clear words in between his pained cringes. "... why won''t... ...I''m sorry..."


    Cideeda softens her gaze, a slight frown curling at the corners of her mouth, and sighs sympathetically. Her concern sharpens with each shift between fear, sadness, and pain upon Bach''s face, the visible tension and discomfort building up. In the darkness, a tear escapes the corner of Bach''s eye, rolls down over the bridge of nose, and barely reflects the sparse light from the windows. Leaning close, Cideeda rests a gentle whisper upon Bach''s ear in a reassuring tone. "It''s okay. You are okay."


    With a sad tremor in his voice, Bach mutters out something incoherent in his slumber. Moments later, he winces out tears in a remorseful whimper, slightly shaking his head upon his pillow. Listening to the meek pleas from Bach''s unconsciousness, Cideeda narrows her worried gaze and quietly ponders. Searching her mind, she musters up a calm smile and softly speaks to Bach. "It''s fine. Everyone got out just fine. Everyone is safe."


    Resting her hand gently upon Bach''s topmost shoulder, she rubs his arm comfortingly. Bach grimaces, rolls his head slightly, and sighs with an uncertain, sad whine. "You... sure..."


    Cideeda slides her grip down and holds onto Bach''s forearm. Thinking a moment, she softly presses her claw tips with a few squeezes and gently smiles. "Yes. It''s okay. I''m fine. Don''t worry anymore. It''s going to be okay. This is just a bad dream."


    Over the next minute, the twitches of discomfort subside upon Bach''s face. The distress within his unconscious mumbling fades away, settling down into a calmer tone. Cideeda gently rubs his forearm and watches his breathing ease to a peaceful snore. The tension throughout his body gradually subsiding, Bach shifts his head, settling fully upon the support of his pillow, and slips into a deeper slumber. With a relieved smile, Cideeda gazes upon Bach and quietly sighs, shaking her head.


    With her other hand of clawed fingers, she deftly combs the white streak of hair dancing upon Bach''s nose off to the side of his face. She grants a few final pats upon Bach''s forearm and stands back up quietly, silently traveling down the large, dark room to her bed. Stopping in the moment, she pivots slowly and stares out through the windows. Gazing distantly towards the treeline edging against the horizon across the river, she fights down a grimace, drooping down her furry ears. She stares at the flickers of light and activity around the night obscured land, silently pondering to herself between idly wags of her long, fluffy tail. Shuddering herself back to the present, she fights off an disturbed frown and fidgets out her nervous energy. She slips back under the covers and rests her head upon the pillow. Drawing in a few comforting breaths, she lifts her head up briefly, aiming a furry ear over towards Bach, and waits. Peaceful sounds of slumber fill the air, Bach''s soft snores joining the chorus. With the conformation, she settles back into a comfortable spot on her bed, coiling up in the covers, and closes her eyes. Her tail slips out, off to the side, wagging freely. Gradually, the fatigue of the day and relief of the night grant Cideeda enough peace, and she drifts off into a proper slumber.


    ----


    A breeze blows across the river, ruffling the leaves above in the surrounding patches of forest. Underneath the shade of a large beach umbrella, Aristespha and Sotalia lounge in foldout chairs upon the sandy lot near the water. Lifting up a pitcher of a mixed drink off the wooden table between her and Aristespha, Sotalia pours her glass full and tops off the other glass close to Aristespha. "This is nice."


    Aristespha picks up the refreshed beverage, stretches her ivory legs out, pushing some sand with her feet, and settles comfortably into her chair. "After yesterday... It. Certainly. Is. Nice and quiet..."


    Stirring around the ice in her glass with a few gentle swirls, Sotalia lifts her eyebrow up from behind her sunglasses and glances over toward Aristespha. "Gods. Still seems weird to be relaxing here given what we found just across the river."


    With a defeated sigh, Aristespha sips her drink, adjusts her floppy hat against the wind, and shrugs her shoulders slightly. "If half the GAA''s teams specializing in hazardous materials cannot keep it under control..."


    Rolling her violet eyes, she curls up a brief, dismissive sneer. "Then, it really will not matter if we leave here and go back to the house. We''re both figuratively AND literally downstream from Ark in Amaranth Valley."


    She cringes briefly, mumbling. "Which is an absolutely frightening thought, really."


    Pondering to herself a moment, she tips back her glass a bit further than before. Sotalia tosses her fiery orange, wavy hair back with the breeze blowing by, brushing stray locks around her swept back horns with her long black nails, and grumbles uncomfortably. "That. It. Is. Especially after listening to Cideeda explain how close the thing was to just blowing its top and blasting everything up into the air."


    With tinges of frustration and irritation, she grits her teeth and huffs indignantly. "Gods damn it. That Hackle better get us the location of where Noxian went after handling this fucking mess for him. I''m getting REALLY tired of stumbling into these supposedly simple missions that turn out to be the worst gods damned doomsday machines on this side of Nexus."


    Twisting her emerging sneer, Aristespha swirls her drink idly, her violet eyes faintly glowing under the dark shade of her hat, and groans out her irritation. "OH. I think he WILL..."


    A sly smirk appears upon her ivory, blue and gray hinted face, and she narrows her stare ahead with plotting satisfaction. "Because, I do believe he is smart enough to realize that it would be best to keep us happy. Not grant us justifiable reasons to complain to certain media sources on how the GAA is haphazardly risking the lives of the public by handing off critical missions to some random adventuring group."


    Glancing over to Aristespha with an amused grin, Sotalia enjoys a long swig of her beverage and relaxes back into her chair. "Damn, girl. Getting your alpha bitch mode armed and ready for the fight right there."


    Spiked into the sand, the sword within its scabbard resonates with Sebastian''s voice. "To be fair, we''ll give them some time to do their jobs."


    Sebastian''s tone darkens slightly, an ethereal grumbling sounds out. "But... After a week or so, I think we''re in our right to demand some gods damned answers."


    Chuckling to herself, Aristespha nods slightly and rests her hand on the sword handle. "Still, Sebastian, I am going to demand a SIGNIFICANT bonus to compensate us for sacrificing our sanity in contending with this... ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT."


    A reverberating laugh sounds off from the sword, and Sebastian agrees. "Of course, dear. I wouldn''t expect any less."


    The small waves of the river lap against the waterfront and fill the air with a serene background ripple, Aristespha and Sotalia relaxing further upon their chairs in the umbrella shade. From the nearby parking lot, Cideeda and Dretphi step down a walkway with paper bags of fast food and carriers of drinks in their hands and arms. Cideeda stands in front of Aristespha and Sotalia and glances between the two of them with an amused smirk, flicking her long fluffy tail. "Well... I see you two have been hard at work."


    Lowering down her sunglasses, Sotalia chuckles, musing. "Well... This pitcher certainly isn''t going to drink itself. I thought I''d help it along."


    Aristespha smiles smugly, sighs, and shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. "After extensive testing, we have determined this to be the best spot to enjoy a late lunch. A good balance of sun, shade, and wind, if I must say so."


    Rolling her steely gray eyes with a humored snort, Dretphi reaches over Aristespha''s and Sotalia''s shoulders from behind and deposits a paper sack in each of their laps. "Your food."


    A spark of excitement appears on Sotalia''s light tan, dark gray edged face, and she opens up the bag eagerly. "Thank you!"


    Aristespha methodically removes individual containers out of her bag, sorting through them with an appreciative smile. "Oh. Yes. I was getting really hungry actually."


    From the sword, Sebastian''s voice emanates with a thankful tone, hinting of sarcasm. "Good timing. They''ve needed something to slow down the alcohol absorption and let their livers catch up."


    Eyeing the sword briefly, a sly smirk cracks on Aristespha. She retrieves her aetherphone, flips up to the messaging app, and starts to type on the screen. Searching around the area briefly, Cideeda furrows her brow at both Aristespha and Sotalia. "Where''s Bach at?"


    Sotalia turns her head towards a patch of trees at the edge of the sandlot, points to a spot under the leafy shade, and sighs with a slight frown. "He''s over there. It seemed like he just wanted to be alone for a bit..."


    Shaking her head, she unwraps some of her food. "Even after I TRIED my BEST to encourage him to sit with us. Though... I think he''s had plenty enough time to internally beat himself up over things he really shouldn''t."


    With concern and worry, Dretphi gazes over at the wooded spot and judges the opinions of everyone else. "Should I ask him to join us?"


    A confident smile appears on Cideeda''s light brown face, and she lifts up a paper bag with Bach''s name written on it. "I''ll go see if he''s worked up an appetite from too much self reflection. Be right back."


    A bit of relief eases Dretphi''s tensions, and she settles down in another nearby wooden beach chair with her order of fast food. Sotalia slowly shakes her head, drawing in a long breath, and stretches against her chair. "I guess he can''t help but to think about things. But... Gods, I still think he really needs to stop overthinking to the point he comes up with reasons to stress and hate himself."


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    Pausing in thought, she glances down at alert chime coming from her shorts pocket and retrieves her aetherphone. Sebastian ethereally sighs and sympathetically comments. "Well, it can''t be easy for my bro. I mean... Come on... Dealing with all this and that has to be a weird existence for him. As the quasi-ghost trapped in the sword here, sometimes you can''t help but think about... EVERYTHING."


    Nodding in agreement, Dretphi watches Cideeda approach the tree Bach sits under. Sotalia snorts, meeting Aristespha''s gaze, and glances down to the sword, nodding with a dramatic curl to her smirk. She quickly taps out of response on her aetherphone, presses the send button, and waits, gauging Aristespha''s reaction. Glancing over to her phone after the chime, Aristespha reads the message quickly and rolls her eyes in annoyed commiseration. She eyes the sword and types up another message. Sebastian''s voice resonates out with growing suspicion and confusion. "Hey... Are you both looking at me? You know I can''t see that well when I''m in the sword and- WAIT."


    A surge of paranoia and embarrassment blend together into Sebastian''s tone. "You two have your phones out... WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?"


    Halting in the middle of sipping the straw of her drink, Dretphi rests the paper cup down and curiously eyes over towards both Aristespha and Sotalia. Aristespha and Sotalia meet Dretphi''s gaze, exchange glances, and gesture at their aetherphones. Dretphi eagerly pulls out her phone with a mischievous curl into an excited smile and starts tapping out a message. Sebastian''s voice pleads out, an indignant twist coloring his tone. "OH. Come on! What are you all typing about?! Don''t make me manifest out in public here!"


    Cideeda walks casually up under the canopy of the tree Bach sits underneath. With a distant stare detached from his internal thoughts, Bach watches the wind push long lines of ripples across the river from his seat on the ground. Tracing his long gaze out across the water, Cideeda pivots in place, stares out onto the water, and idly wags her tail, perking her furry ears at the ambient sounds. Quiet moments later, she glances down at Bach and hangs the paper sack with his name into view. "So. Are you hungry?"


    Blinking back to awareness, Bach notices the bag and gratefully takes it from Cideeda. "Oh, uh... Yeah. Um, sorry. Just spacing out there. It''s actually a really nice view, and it''s not too hot in the shade."


    With a comforting smile, Cideeda flicks up a furry ear at Bach and pries with an inquiring tint in her voice. "So... You doing okay?"


    Slowing down his progress opening the paper sack of food, Bach grimaces uneasily, darting his blue eyes around slowly, and eases out an uncertain sigh. "I guess? I mean, yeah. All things considered, this was the best outcome. But..."


    He deflates into a faint frown. "I don''t know."


    Resting her free hand on her hip, Cideeda flexes her grip on a bag with her name on it and twitches her tail with a sway in her stance. She furrows a puzzling brow towards Bach and mulls over recent memory thoughtfully, dropping a question. "Why did you say you were sorry?"


    Bach''s blue eyes spring open wide momentarily, and he gazes up to Cideeda confused. "Um- What?"


    Narrowing her inquisitive emerald stare at him, Cideeda pries further. "Last thing I heard over the radio, before I turned it off... You said you were sorry to me. What did you mean?"


    Contorting between guilt and embarrassment, Bach draws in a long breath and stumbles over an answer. "Well... Um... You see... I, uh, well, kind of went against your last wishes."


    Cideeda perks up her furry ears, cocks her head of short, multi-colored hair to the side, and cracks an amused toothy grin. "Well, seeing how I''m alive and standing here, I think I''ll be perfectly okay with THAT. When I made those..."


    She pulls in a sharp breath, fighting against a sad frown. "Last requests..."


    Her toothy grin returns, and she snickers with a snort. "I really didn''t think flipping open and slamming closed a few ton vault door like a toilet seat lid was an option."


    A humored smirk slips out on Bach''s face, and he chuckles awkwardly. "Yeah. Well, uh... Truth be told... Me neither. And, that''s THE problem."


    Cideeda puzzles at the answer, blinking in confusion. Working through his disappearing confidence, Bach ponders out loud. "I mean... I took your perfectly logical solution to a huge terrible problem and risked it all on the idea that I had the power to make it better. When looking back on it, I- I uh- I could have completely fucked everything up! Not just a little, but ROYALLY fucked it up. GODS! I could have failed at SO MANY points. From not getting the door open, damaging the structure, not being able to get the door closed back up, and so many other ways I just can''t think of at the moment."


    He slumps his shoulders and hangs his head lower, frowning. "Gods dammit."


    Shaking his head, he stares distantly inside himself. "I just don''t know if using THAT POWER was ultimately the right thing to do. I mean... Am I allowing poorly placed confidence in some power I barely understand to lead me down THAT path? Which makes me no different than..."


    Cideeda kneels down into a seat next to Bach, grabs his shoulder, and gazes her emerald green eyes into his blue ones. "Listen. I fully agree that maybe it wasn''t the best thing to do given all the possible odds and outcomes. But..."


    Grimacing uneasily, she sighs with a grit of her sharp teeth and squirms slightly. "Even what I did was probably not the best course of action depending on the perspective you take."


    She pantomimes the different options with her free hand. "What if I had taken a look at the situation and just told everyone to run for the hills? What if I had gotten trapped in there, and there was no way to shut it down? OR, maybe we could have timed it right? That way it wouldn''t have locked when I was there? Then, I hit the shut down, and we all got clear without any problems?"


    Squeezing Bach''s shoulder firmly, her gaze softens, and she smiles kindly to him. "It was a REALLY fucked up, shitty situation. I navigated it the best I knew how and made the choices I thought were for the best given what I had available. It''s the same thing you did."


    Gradually averting his gaze from Cideeda, Bach contorts his face, processing the sentiment, and settles upon a halfhearted acceptance. "Yeah."


    Lifting a smug eyebrow, Cideeda presents a toothy grin and playfully shakes Bach''s shoulder slightly, with a genuinely happy tone. "Hey! The town is safe, and we''re all alive to debate all the hypothetical ethics behind getting here. That''s a pretty damn good result."


    She smiles with hints of concern, leaning around and meeting Bach''s gaze. "And the fact you are deliberating about this is a good sign. From my experience, it''s the ones who aren''t self aware you have to worry about."


    A smirk gradually appears on Bach, and his tensions relax a little. Humming in thought for a few seconds, Cideeda chuckles to herself and grins. "Let me tell you one of those fvalian fables that... SOMEWHAT applies."


    Bach rests his attention fully upon Cideeda and waits curiously. Cideeda draws in a long breath, wagging her tail behind her, and recites. "Okay... So, a thief goes to rob a house. While he''s robbing it, he notices a lot of smoke coming from the house next door and quickly realizes that it''s on fire. Well, he decides he really needs to get ready to leave before all the firefighters and police arrive to investigate. BUT. While he''s outside loading stuff up into his van, he sees a car parked in the driveway. He realizes that no one is outside at this point, and the fire is pouring out a few of the windows now."


    Presenting a puzzled gaze at Bach with a questioning flourish of her hands, she tilts head to the side. "Against the obvious choice to leave, he decides to investigate. And, even goes inside the house when it just doesn''t feel right to him. Just as he''s about to give up searching, he finds a woman passed out from the smoke. So, he carries her out..."


    She leans closer with an amused smirk and playfully grumbles. "To the awaiting police and firefighters."


    Donning an uneasy, tight lipped expression, she explains, her furry ears lowering down. "So now, he''s REALLY trying to leave the scene and not draw any more attention. But..."


    She lifts up a suspicious eyebrow and narrows her emerald green eyes. "The neighbors point out that they don''t recognize him to the police, and one officer starts asking what he''s doing with all the stuff in the van. Of course, they quickly figure out what''s going on and arrest him. Later, he''s on trial for the robbery and fully expects to be put into jail for a long time."


    Furrowing her brow, she tints her tone with playful bewilderment. "Oddly and against all his expectations, the judge is really light on the sentencing. This totally BAFFLES him. Why be nice when he was so obviously caught in the act? As much as he didn''t want to admit it..."


    She rolls her eyes, gritting her sharp teeth. "It was a pretty open and shut case, and he didn''t think there was any way to argue against it."


    Twisting her mouth in suspicious intrigue, she focuses a dramatic gaze upon Bach. "Somehow while filling out paperwork to process him out, he was by himself, and the judge wanders in to handle some other bit of business. So, they are alone briefly. He decides to simply ask the judge why she was so easy on him? While he''s not one to turn down mercy and good fortune, he can''t deny how it felt like it should have gone differently."


    Smiling kindly, Cideeda leans closer to Bach and asks. "You know what she said?"


    Bach tilts his head to the side, narrowing his attentive gaze, and shakes his head slowly. "No. What did she say?"


    Cideeda grins toothily and chuckles lightly. "She said that she couldn''t very well condemn the man who chose the risk for her daughter''s life over the certainty for his freedom."


    With the last line of the story sinking in, Bach gradually nods. Deciphering the meaning, he blinks into a blank expression, puzzling more upon it. He visibly deliberates and internally contemplates. Seconds later, he glances over at Cideeda with a pleading perk of his brow, searching for further explanation. "Alright... I''m seeing a few possible lessons to take away from THAT. But..."


    Cocking his head of longer brown hair to the side, he squints with grimace. "WOW. I mean, it is a bit murky. And, I''m really not sure I''m pulling the right things from it."


    With a humored giggle, Cideeda stands up, picking her paper sack of food up, and stretches out her back, her tail sneaking away from Bach. "Well, don''t think too hard about it. They are ALL like that."


    Glancing off to the side, she tugs at the corner of her mouth, resting a hand on her hip. "That one was actually one of the straight forward fables."


    She motions over to the rest of the team and smiles brightly, her emerald green eyes gaze into Bach''s blue eyes. "So, how about you join the rest of us to eat? Afterwards, maybe you can tag along, and we all see what passes for a comic or game shop in this town?"


    Rising up to his feet, Bach stands up fully, stretching out some of his stale stress, and smirks with a humble chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan to me."


    Cideeda grins toothily and walks alongside Bach with a confident stride in her step and satisfied wag of her tail. They approach Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia messaging each other with sinisterly humored smiles. Sebastian''s voice whines in mild frustration. "This is SO rude."


    ----


    A strong gust of wind blows across the large, sparsely graveled lot, bits of sandy soil stirring up into the air. Flecks of dried grass and specks of white sand gather around the tires of many vehicles and the side of an old, worn store front. A small rust spattered windmill anchored to the flat roof top spins along the surges of airflow and creaks with direction changes. Driving down the long paved road between other quiet businesses, a dark green sedan cruises slowly over the gentle dips in the aging asphalt. The vehicle rolls to a stop next to the sign upon a tall chain-link fence next to an open gate.


    Lifting up a folded up paper map, Isaac orientates it into his view and compares against landmarks around him. He glances ahead, left, and right, twisting his mouth, and focuses upon the rusty metal sign, grumbling to himself. "Trusty Tony''s Transportation..."


    Curling up an uncertain eyebrow, he draws a suspicious breath through his gritting teeth,and releases a slightly disgusted sigh. "Gods almighty, Emanuel... Who the hell are you recommending to me?"


    Dropping the paper map into the passenger''s seat, Isaac eases off the brake and steers the car through the entry gate. He pulls into one of the many empty parking spots in front of the small, glass walled building, puts the car into park, and turns off the engine. He slowly steps towards the front entry, peers inside briefly, and pushes open the door. The small bell above the door rings out, and Isaac cautiously walks towards the front desk of the small front office space.


    Muffled noises of movement sound out from behind a sun damaged, cheap wooden door opposite the main counter. Arriving at the front desk, Isaac suspiciously watches the doorway open on the wall across from him. Brushing off cheaper business attire, an older fvalian man notices Isaac at the counter and presents a sly, chipped fang smile with an enthusiastic greeting. "Hello! Welcome to Trusty Tony''s Transportation. You MUST be a customer of EXCELLENT taste to have graced me with your patronage. How can I ever be of service to you?"


    Isaac blinks briefly, comprehending the shifting situation, and cocks his head to the side curiously. "YOU are Trusty Tony?"


    Tony smiles pridefully, combs his sharp claws through his slicked back, graying hair, and flicks his nicked and notched, furry ears. "Of course! Truthfully, Tony is a shorter nickname. And, it flows so much better in Americ with my business name. A choice bit of marketing on my part, if I must say. So..."


    Nodding at the reasoning, Isaac glances around the office space and through the large windowed walls. "Well. You have been recommended to me by a business associate of mine."


    Tony furrows his brow, signs of intrigue rising, and hums thoughtfully, rapping his thick claws upon the counter top. "OH. Really? Certainly it MUST be someone I know and has been quite satisfied with the services I provide."


    Settling his investigative stare upon Tony, Isaac twists his mouth, purposefully keeping his tone even and calm. "Might be. He used to do a lot of work in the recovery and transportation of historically significant cargo."


    Narrowing his yellowed eyed gaze briefly, Tony ponders a moment and pulls a widening grin across his face. "Ah! Yes. I think I know the particular, previously adventurous, academic minded individual. How is he doing these days?"


    Isaac shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, keeping a cool, collected front. "Enjoying his retirement however he can and pleases. But lately, he''s been graciously educating me on particular aspects of his old career."


    With an amused chuckle, Tony smiles eagerly and perks his brow. "Indeed, he is then. And, I''m so happy he is teaching you to come to me. So, how exactly can I facilitate your... Education?"


    Motioning at the front of the office towards the dark green sedan parked, Isaac delves into an explanation. "I recently arrived in town, and I don''t believe my current vehicle will suit my needs anymore. So, I''d like to... Trade up... to something better suited to exploring the zone."


    Eyeing Tony from the corners of his gray eyes, he mentions in a hushed tone. "And... This sedan has too much recent HISTORY on it for me."


    A sly smirk creeps out upon Tony''s lightly tanned face, and he chuckles in good humor with a darker undertone. "Completely understand. It helps to start out fresh in a new town. And, I just happen to have a wonderful selection of all terrain vehicles, proven to handle what our own Perimeter Weird Zone can dish out."


    Narrowing a calculating stare upon the dark green sedan in the parking space out front, he widens his smile, his eyes focusing upon the key details and conditions. He slides his attention back over to Isaac and lifts up a hinged section of desk. Stepping out swiftly, Tony leads Isaac towards another set of doors exiting out into the backlot. "Follow me. Let us see what you desire first before we talk any further."


    Isaac follows along behind Tony, maintaining a cautious distance from the purposeful antics of the salesman, and ponders quietly. Moments later, memory reminds him, and he searches for the right phrasing. "Oh. By the way, there''s a few spots on my sedan that might need to be..."


    Hushing his tone, he relays. "Returned to stock condition to make it... Easier to sell in the future."


    Slowing his pace, Tony glances over his shoulder towards Isaac and smirks curiously. "Hmm... Let me guess, an unfortunate horizontal hail incident?"


    Isaac decodes the obscured memory and slowly nods his head. "Yes. You could say THAT."


    With a reassuring laugh, Tony waves off the worries and shakes his head, opening the door for Isaac. "Oh! Nothing to worry about, then. Around here, not uncommon, at all. Nothing to concern yourself with. I know a few talented people who will make it quite presentable. In fact, they''re so good, it''ll look like a totally different car."


    An odd sense of relief washes over Isaac, and he follows Trusty Tony through a large lot of all terrain vehicles of different sizes and designs, the moist, salty breeze stirring the white sand throughout the area.


    ----


    Out in the backyard of the two story house, Samantha steps up next to Gerald, her attention fully upon her clipboard. Flipping through a number of pages, she grumbles to herself, tossing her brown, shoulder-length hair back in a fit of frustration. She briefly closes her hazel eyes, draws in an audible breath, and exhales, vainly attempting to ease her attitude. Gerald slides his dark brown eyes away from the large camera''s viewfinder and lifts a curious eyebrow towards Samantha. "What''s wrong?"


    Grimacing out her thoughts, Samantha groans, idly rapping her fingers upon her clipboard, and lifts her gaze ahead. "I''m trying to figure out WHAT to do next with the team. We need some drama, action, or..."


    She tenses her shoulders and squirms. "Something! A little down time is fine. BUT, we got to be ready to grab viewer attention, again. SOON. With Trakenthin''s family off limits, I''m trying to figure out who we should focus on next."


    Turning his attention back to the viewfinder, Gerald scratches his head of short, dark blonde hair, shrugs, and aims the camera around at the different members of the Flames of the Phoenix. "Well, I''m sure something will happen, soon enough. We just need to keep an eye for any clues and keep the cameras rolling. Gods know, there''s still enough volatility left in this team."


    Samantha releases a long sigh, puts her clipboard under her arm, and scans around the back yard. Out of the corner of eye, she catches some movement beyond the brush leading into the nearby forest. Squinting her eyes, she leans back and spots Veevi''s contrasting pink hair against the forest green and brown. With her seductive intent blatant, Veevi pulls Chad along. Samantha smirks slightly and signals a small camera team over. "Urdi, Radnae, Harris... They''re hitting the forest again. See what you can get."


    The older human man leads the fvalian man and woman into a stealthy approach towards the forest, carefully trailing Chad and Veevi. Samantha groans out her annoyance and rolls her eyes with a slow shake of her head. "We might get a good side bit in an episode, but even THAT isn''t quite enough."


    Propping up her chin with her fist, she sways her weight from foot to foot, fidgeting in thought. "What to do..."


    Gerald glances over to Samantha, returns his focus back to recording, and aims the camera towards the rest of the team. Deedri and Tassilda discuss different magical recipes, sorting through notes upon the metal mesh garden table. Wrapping her hands around a large cup of tea, Deedri lifts it up to her mouth and sips the steamy, warm drink. Her auburn eyes spring wide in pleasant surprise, and she examines the beverage again, offering compliments towards Tassilda. "Oh! This is really good! You''ll have to tell me how you made it."


    Tassilda tosses back her raven black hair over her spiraling horns with both hands and leans back into the wooden outdoor chair, giggling lightly. "It''s nothing special, really. To be perfectly honest, it''s just one extra ingredient I put in on top of a store brand mix. You won''t believe it when I tell you."


    A sly grin appears on Tassilda''s gray toned face, and she narrows her light blue on black eyes at Deedri playfully. "Try guessing. I''m actually curious if you can figure it out."


    Biting her lower lip, Deedri''s furry, tufted ears twitch thoughtfully, her eyes search the top of her mind, and her tag wags swiftly. "I don''t know... Hmm... Let me have a few more sips and sniffs, first."


    In the middle of the back yard plot, Trakenthin''s tall grath form stands at the ready with a sparring sword. Carefully maintaining a watch of his nearby surroundings, he stares at the ground immediately around him. A gentle wind coasts across the area and brushes the tops of the short blades of grass. Two small, narrow strips of grass stop swaying in sync with the rest of the yard. Trakenthin''s hazel eyes widen into an alert glare the moment, his body tenses at the ready, and he swiftly swings his practice blade well above two visually hazy spots joining the unusual patches. The sword halts with a solid wooden clack midair, short of crossing into the airspace above the suspicious ground. With a satisfied smirk, Trakenthin concentrates his gaze expectantly and waits.


    Gradually shifting from transparency to full opacity, Modoran grumbles to himself, his dark blue eyes glancing up to Trakenthin. He eases the pressure off his practice dagger, and Trakenthin lowers his sparring sword. Modoran twists the disappointment upon his dusky bluish gray face. "Damn. I thought I was doing decently right there."


    Lifting an inquisitive brow at Trakenthin, he pivots around and studies his prior approach. "Okay. What gave it away? I swear I obfuscated my footsteps in the grass when I was getting close to you."


    Trakenthin rests his wooden training blade upon his shoulder, grinning proudly, and motions with the flow of the air. "Wind. The grass behind your legs did not move correctly."


    Rolling his dark blue eyes at himself, Modoran slumps his shoulders and sighs with a slight droop of his long pointed ears. "Gods... Well. That figures. This is why people sneak between dim and dark spots. Too many details to keep up with in the light."


    Shaking his head and pondering to himself, he shrugs back to his nonchalant self and steps away from Trakenthin. "Okay, let''s try this again. I think I might be able to do something about that... Maybe..."


    Trakenthin nods with a singular laugh, readies his practice sword, and calms himself, fully focusing. During his walk to the edge of the back yard, Modoran stretches out his neck, shoulders, and back. Samantha curls a sly grin and taps her clipboard eagerly. "I think I have an idea."


    Gerald rolls his eyes out of view, concentrating upon capturing the activities in front of him, and humors Samantha. "Which is?"


    Samantha flips through her notes upon her clipboard and eyes a report printout with a devious smirk. "After the resort, there''s been a small, vocal group on the community forums that haven''t had the nicest things to say about Modoran."


    Blinking in disbelief, Gerald turns his puzzling gaze away from the viewfinder, cocks his head to the side, and stares confused at Samantha. "Really? I mean, he''s a bit of smug ass sometimes, but I don''t think he''s done anything to rile up the fans. What''s got those people mad?"


    Slowly shrugging her shoulders, Samantha gazes at Gerald. "I don''t know exactly. But..."


    She sports a sinister smile and chuckles with a plotting tone. "I took the liberty of having the community managers check the details of those accounts..."


    Guiltily averting her eyes, she grins. "AND, had the tech department do a few checks. It turns out a few of those accounts connect from Evuukian owned aetherphone companies. Also, initial sleuthing shows one account is definitely from someone living in the heart of Evuukian territory."


    Gerald furrows his brow and grimaces with a shifting blend of curiosity and surprise. "Huh. Who would he have pissed off?"


    Pausing in thought, he searches through bits of memory rising up into his mind and nods slightly. "Actually... Yeah... Thinking about it more, he got more than a few strange looks from the evuukian nobility at the resort."


    With growing excitement, Samantha grins eagerly and narrows her scheming gaze up on the magically fading Modoran. "Exactly! So tonight, when I call Howie, I''m going to mention this and see what he wants to do. But, I''ve already told the community managers to... ENCOURAGE and ALLOW... Those people talk about whatever they want."


    She chuckles to herself darkly, smiling smugly, and hugs her clipboard tight. "I wonder what our researchers will dig up given the right clues."

 Episode 79

    Along the side lot of the ranch style house, a strong gust of wind blows high up through the large, leafy tree. With each wave of the ambient air, leaves rustle together into a gentle, droning chorus. Thick metal targets hanging from stands sway slightly in the flow. In the shade underneath, Cideeda slowly lifts her chest up off the workout mat, gently curves herself backwards, and constantly pushes herself up with her arms. During the long stretch of her back, she eases her breath, tips her head of short, multicolored hair back, and flicks her furry ears against the breeze. At the extreme extent of her flexibility, she digs her claw-tipped fingers into the mat and presses her limits cautiously with a hint of a grimace. She holds the pose, her tail flicks, and toes curl with the building strain. Quickly, she relaxes from the tensed posture, and lowers herself, relaxing back upon the mat. Turning her head to the side, she sticks her tongue out with a stressed sigh. "So... That''s how far I can take that pose... A bit of an extreme. But, it really helps to keep the back nice and flexible."


    With blinking golden eyes, Sotalia stares and gawks dumbfounded. Gradually recovering her composure, she dons a playful smirk and rolls her eyes facetiously. "Yeah... I am not going to lie, girl... You completely lost me after you made a right angle with your back."


    Tossing her fiery orange, wavy hair back, she cycles through a few breaths and grips her workout mat tight with her long, thick black nailed fingers. "Gods. If I can even get CLOSE to halfway of THAT, I''ll be happy enough."


    She grits her teeth, summoning up determination upon her face, and gradually lifts her upper torso off the ground. Crudely mimicking Cideeda''s prior performance, Sotalia strains for righting herself against her less flexible, laden upper body and contorts between different grimaces through the stresses. Peaking at a nearly upright point, she holds her shaky position, the maneuver clashing with her body''s limitations. With pride driving her, she struggles, holding the position for a number of seconds, and releases, quickly plopping down with a slight bounce upon the work out mat. Catching her breath with arms out upon the surrounding grass, she rolls her head over and faces Cideeda, blinking in a mild daze. "Gods almighty, how do you do that to yourself?"


    A toothy grin appears on Cideeda''s light brown face, and her emerald eyes gaze smugly over to Sotalia. "Oh. Because I''m just THAT good."


    Crossing her arms in front herself, Sotalia rests her chin upon them and huffs out dismissively. Leading a stray lock of wavy, orange hair over one of her swept back horns, she snorts amused. "Yeah, yeah... I''ll give you that much when it comes to THIS."


    She quells a self-conscious frown and averts her eyes. "Gods... I swear it felt like I was going to break myself in two there."


    Twisting her ill-humored smile, Cideeda flings a quip over towards Sotalia in fvalian, trailing her snicker. Sotalia blinks her golden eyes briefly, pushes her arms down, lifting herself up, and glances down at her chest. Tugging at the tight fitting top, she inspects the faded material and frayed stitching and narrows a mildly amused smirk at the quietly laughing Cideeda. "Oh. You joke, girl. BUT I''ve had this top a long time."


    She comments tight-lipped through a spark of embarrassment. "Not the first outfit that THAT has happened to."


    Rolling over onto her back, Cideeda stretches out her arms and legs, flexing her clawed fingers and toes, and rolls her eyes at herself. "Gods. At least, you don''t have claws. I''ve lost count the number of gloves and socks I''ve ruined with these things."


    She holds up her hand and lifts her brow. "BUT... I definitely can remember all the times they''ve saved me."


    Gazing up to the brief bits of sunlight sneaking between the leaves above in the thick canopy of the tree, she stills herself and closes her eyes with a thoughtful, subdued sigh. Her face twitches, heavier thoughts that weigh down her breaths, and she grimaces fighting off the mood. Sotalia concentrates her gaze upon Cideeda, a swell of concern rising up to her light tan face. "So. How are you feeling? Really?"


    Cideeda opens her eyes, awareness returning to her, and tilts her head towards Sotalia. "Good? I guess."


    Lifting up an unconvinced eyebrow, Sotalia focuses her inquisitive stare upon Cideeda further. "You sure about that? After all you''ve been through?"


    Twisting her mouth, Cideeda sits up with the upswing of her arms and hisses out an uncomfortable exhale through her teeth. "I mean... I guess? I''m alive and healthy... And, the whole world didn''t blow up. So, that''s a good outcome."


    Sotalia pushes herself up, sliding her legs forward, and crosses her arms, leveling an examining stare squarely upon Cideeda. "Okay. I just wanted to be sure. Really don''t need you repressing all that trauma to haunt you in the future."


    With a sly smirk, Cideeda narrows a gaze at Sotalia, furrows her brow, and chuckles lightly. "Don''t want the competition?"


    Briefly flashing a mock glare towards Cideeda, Sotalia grins proudly, perking her eyebrows up, and laughs with a faux arrogant tone. "Of course NOT! I''ve done a lot of stupid things and endured too much to earn all my emotional baggage. Like hell I''m going to let some upstart outclass me in THAT department."


    Softening her expression, she levels her genuine concern toward Cideeda. "Seriously, though... That was one of the worst moments I''ve had to experience in my life. And, if it hit me that badly..."


    She sports a slight frown and gazes expectantly. "Well... I want to know how you are handling it. If, I''m not prying too much into your business, girl."


    Cideeda pauses in thought and internally drifts through her mind, her emerald green eyes sorting between memories. "No. You''re not. I just think I''m processing it as well as I can, right now? I mean... It''s just really weird."


    Resting her hands out to her sides on the workout mat beneath her, she grits her sharp teeth, wrestles the emotion on her face, and releases an uneasy sigh. "I mean... Like, um, most the close calls I''ve had... Just happened so quickly. I really didn''t have a chance to even think about it that much. I just reacted to the situation, and got clear... or clear enough. And, then, it was dealt with and over."


    Subconsciously pressing her finger claws into her workout mat, Cideeda''s tail wags with an erratic undercurrent, and she frowns slightly with an emerging hint of sadness in her voice. "This time... I had way too much time to think about... Everything. It was only a few minutes, but... A LOT hit me all at once, after I made the decisions."


    She glances around inside her mind, slumping her shoulders slightly. "Not used to that at all."


    Nodding sympathetically, Sotalia''s golden eyes meet Cideeda''s emerald green eyes, and Sotalia smirks compassionately with a gentle sigh. "Nothing is worse than being left with your own thoughts during the worst times. Take it from someone with way too much experience in that. You never quite know what''s going to show up from the back of your brain when you give it too much of a chance."


    She presents a comforting smile to her friend, sitting up straight, and brushes back her fiery orange hair over swept back horns. "I know you probably know this... And, have heard it a hundred times. But, we''re all here for you. So don''t be afraid to talk to us. Good ahead and pester me all you want, girl."


    She averts her gaze off to the side briefly with a knowing grin. "Gods know, I''ve had to do plenty of that post bad day thinking before, and often really wanted someone else around to help me through it all."


    Cideeda curls her mouth into an appreciative smile, nods slightly to Sotalia, and draws in a relaxing breath. "Yeah. I''ve heard it a lot. But... It''s... Good to hear it, again. I think I should be okay. Just sorting through it on my own right now."


    Cracking a slight grin, she relaxes some of the tension out of her shoulders. "If not... I''ll definitely hit you up."


    She glances around the surrounding shaded grasses under the leafy tree, briefly checks towards the front yard, staring at the main road, and ponders out loud. "Well, Aristespha and Dretphi should be back from running errands and getting lunch soon. So, I think we can try one more stretch."


    Swinging out to her sides, she deftly moves her legs into side splits, cocks her head questioning, and eyes Sotalia uncertainly. "How good are you at the splits?"


    Sotalia lifts an incredulous brow at Cideeda''s display, contorts her mouth against her pride, and chuckles confidently. "I may be a little out of practice, but I should still have some flexibility left in me."


    Stifling a snort, Cideeda bites her lower lip, unleashing a prodding comment in fvalian. Sotalia narrows her stare, musters up an evil grin, and articulates a comeback fluently in a similar fvalian dialect with a sly tone. Springing her emerald eyes wide, Cideeda expectantly twists the grimaces on her face and fights back a flush of embarrassed red in her cheeks. Pointing a finger at Cideeda, Sotalia snorts out a laugh and shakes her head in amused satisfaction. "Ha! I figured as much. You would TOTALLY use it to your advantage."


    Squirming and recomposing her pride, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. With a sweep of her long tail, she rolls her eyes at herself and curls a guilty smirk, her furry ears flicking around. "No comment."


    Sotalia turns her focus ahead, unfolds her legs in front of herself, and braces her body with her hands out on the ground at her sides. "Well... Let''s see how rusty I am."


    With careful progression, she gradually eases her legs sideways and slowly guides them further apart. Cideeda observes attentively, studying Sotalia''s movement. Arriving at a right angle between her feet, Sotalia stops pushing any further and takes a deep breath, holding the position with a slight grimace. "Gods. As much as I want to show you up... Damn... I think that''s about all I can do right now. Really don''t want to chance it any further."


    Cideeda nods respectfully and rests her hands on the tops of her thighs. "Honestly, that''s really good. Especially if you haven''t stretched them out like that in a long time."


    Sotalia starts to ease her legs close, shifting her weight slightly forward, and rests her hands on her legs. "Still... Dammit. I used to be able to do so much bet-"


    Beneath her form fitting workout shorts, a large inner-thigh muscle quivers visibly for a moment and sharply tenses. Sotalia''s legs suddenly pull closed, and she rolls over onto the ground. Gritting her teeth, she screams out in a mix of anguish and anger. "AH! FUCK! GODS DAMMIT!"


    Cideeda scrambles over next to the curled up and cursing Sotalia and grabs hold of her. Sotalia spews forth a litany of curses in an intricate fabric of languages weaving together into a tapestry. Fighting against the pained flailing of Sotalia, Cideeda maneuvers the wailing half-emin onto her back and secures the afflicted leg, carefully leaning close to the limb for inspection. "Calm down! Let me see what''s going on!"


    Sotalia musters up a fraction of composure, tightly grasps her horns, and breathes loud and tense. "Oh gods! Fuck! Dammit! I can''t BELIEVE it''s THAT same spot! WHY NOW?! It hasn''t bothered me in YEARS!"


    Cideeda quickly spots the deforming tension, cautiously feels the contracted muscle, and slowly shakes her head. "WOW. That''s really locked up. What helped it out before?"


    Cringing and gritting her teeth, Sotalia forces the words out through the pain, growling out. "Massaging it! Just needs to be massaged. SHIT! FUCK! OW!"


    Grasping around the inner thigh, Cideeda studies the tension and presses her finger tips carefully into the leg. "I''ll see what I can do."


    Inside the living area of the ranch style house, Bach quickly steps into the middle of the living area from the hallway archway. He searches around the room for a noise and aims his confused stare out towards the sliding glass door. Slowly plodding on the floor barefooted, he pulls up his loose fitting shorts and brushes off his baggy t-shirt. A loud, shrill noise cuts through the muffling glass and grabs Bach''s attention. Stepping up to the sliding door, Bach pushes it open and charges out into the backyard. He blinks worried and darts his alert gaze around, searching for the source of the noise. Sotalia squeals out in a torrent of pan-cultural swears and shouts out. "STOP USING YOUR CLAWS!"


    With blatant frustration in her voice, Cideeda yells back. "Then roll over! I might get a better angle to press into it."


    Bach sprints off towards the side lot of the property next to the house, rounds the corner, and snaps his gaze towards Cideeda and Sotalia. He approaches fast and slows to halt. Fighting through a haze of bewilderment and awkwardness, he puzzles at the sight of Sotalia face-down, tightly gripping her workout mat, and groaning with both of Cideeda''s hands between her thighs. Bach glances around the area and cocks his head to the side. View the situation, obviously perplexed, and he calls out uncertainly. "Okay... Um... What the hell is going on? I heard the screaming from inside my room."


    Sotalia lifts her forehead up from the mat and growls out. "A fucking cramp!"


    Flashing a glare back to Cideeda, Sotalia grumbles loudly. "And the claws AREN''T helping!"


    Shaking her head, Cideeda releases Sotalia''s leg and dismissively holds her hands up in the air with a roll of her emerald green eyes. "I can''t reach the right muscle to massage without poking her."


    Bach quickly steps over to Sotalia''s side and gazes between Sotalia and Cideeda. "So, um, anything I can do to help?"


    Twisting her head back, Sotalia glances over her shoulder to Bach and winces, fighting off a surge in muscle tension. She energetically directs Bach with a point of her finger. "Grab hold of it and massage it! OW! FUCK!"


    Blinking dumbfounded, Bach settles his attention upon Sotalia''s posterior and legs and freezes, embarrassment and awkwardness paralyzing him. "Uh... where... is... the... cr-"


    Underneath the surface of Sotalia''s tight-fitting workout shorts, an inner thigh muscle abruptly tenses in erratic twitching spasms. Sotalia growls out frustration and pain and clenches her fists. "SHIT! Why won''t it just stop already?!"


    Bach focuses his attention upon the spot, widens his eyes briefly in a blend of surprise and curiosity, and leans closer, studying the muscle. "Wow! THAT is a cramp."


    Hearing Sotalia whimper out her frustration, Bach powers through the awkwardness and discomfort and grasps tightly, massaging the area. Minutes of experimentation and guidance from Sotalia and Cideeda, Bach works a firm pattern of applying moving pressure, soothing the spasm crazed muscle. The process continues. Sotalia stretches out of her arms in front of her and recovers from her exhausting, painful experience with each long, calming breath. Cideeda gently pats Sotalia on the back of the shoulder, comforting her. "I think it''s calmed down finally."


    Fluttering her golden eyes open, Sotalia slowly crosses her arms, rests her chin on top, and sighs. "Finally... Gods... It hasn''t done that in so long..."


    Bach continues working the area in longer sweeping motions. Regaining her situational awareness, a sly grin graces Sotalia. Shifting her gazes to the side, she slowly shrugs her shoulders, requesting with an alluring tone. "You know, since you did such a good job there... I have a few tense spots around my shoulders that could use YOUR touch."


    Pausing the task, Bach''s thought process jams up in the sudden surge of awkwardness and situational awareness. Cideeda notices the building embarrassment-fueled red flush in Bach''s cheeks, narrows a glare at Sotalia, and presses a claw tip firmly into the side of Sotalia''s butt. "I think YOU need to GO INSIDE and rest until Aristespha gets back."


    Squelching a reflexive yip, Sotalia briefly grumbles. She pushes herself off the workout mat, steadying herself with the help of Bach and Cideeda, and stands up. "That''s probably a good idea. Let''s get-"


    A twitch of the muscle halts Sotalia, stopping her next step, and she groans annoyed. "Dammit. I had almost forgotten how annoying this thing could get... Okay. If I can just keep it still and limp it-"


    With Sotalia''s attempt to move forward, another visible spasm tenses the muscle. She halts and balances her weight between Bach and Cideeda. Gritting her teeth, she drops her head down with painful resignation. "Shit... It''s still really touchy. Oh gods, maybe if I-"


    Thinking a moment, Bach judges the distance, kneels down slightly, and readies himself. "Here. It''s not that far. Let me carry you the rest of the way."


    With a careful sweep underneath, Bach tips Sotalia back in his arms, hoists her up with a little strain of his body, and carries her towards the sliding glass door. "Let''s not chance it right now."


    Sotalia glances around in surprise, Bach securely carrying her. She squirms slightly against the physique keeping her aloft and smirks guiltily. With a humored snort, Cideeda rolls her eyes and slides the back sliding glass door wider, allowing Bach and Sotalia in.


    ----


    Inside the living area, Sotalia squirms upon the couch, anxiously watching Aristespha. Concentrating her dimly illuminated violet eyes at the inside of Sotalia''s thigh, Aristespha examines the recently spasm prone muscle. Nearby with her arms crossed, Cideeda shifts weight between her feet, observing with a mix of intrigue and scrutiny. Bach stands idly surfing through the different channels on the television, glancing over occasionally. Twisting her grimace thoughtfully, Aristespha sits back on her ankles, resting her hand upon the coffee table top, and ponders out loud. "From what I can determine, nothing too serious. Seems to be a very strong muscle cramp. There is some residual tension in the muscles and minor cramps trying to happen."


    She closes her eyes briefly, reopens them to a bright violet glow, and pulls back her long silvery-blue hair over her very long, pointed ears. "I can perform a few muscle release magical flows. Those should disrupt enough and allow the muscles in that region to relax fully."


    Turning his attention away from the television screen, Bach furrows his brow curiously at Aristespha. "So... How does that work?"


    Aristespha glances over her shoulder briefly. "It is similar to dry needling. The process triggers an interrupting stimulus that causes the muscle to release."


    Smiling with intrigue, she motions Bach over. "In fact, sit next to me. I think this is something you can learn."


    Stepping around the pulled out coffee table, Bach settles down into a seat upon the floor next to Aristespha. His genuine curiosity combats down the faint sparks of anxiety from Sotalia smiling at him. "Are you sure? I mean, that really sounds like a proper medical procedure that should be done by someone who... I don''t know... Actually knows what they''re doing? With years of training and one of those specialist certificates?"


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Aristespha turns her head and faces Bach, lifting an incredulous eyebrow, and shakes her head reassuringly. "It is a simple pulse of flow utilizing energies you are more than capable of handling. The key thing is the amount and finer aspects of control."


    Tilting her head to the side with an amused smirk, she furrows a knowing brow at Bach and motions towards Sotalia''s leg. "Which YOU should be able to pick up, easily. Now mage sight here and watch me, please. I will need to do a contrast pulse so that we can get a better idea of what muscles are affected."


    Sotalia''s apprehension swells, and she grits her teeth briefly. Glancing nervously around, she chuckles lightly and squirms slightly, vainly playing down her unease. "Huh. You sure something like a needle is the right thing? I mean, Cideeda tried that already."


    Cracking a toothy grin, Cideeda flexes the fingers on her hand and blatantly admires her claws. "Well, I''m sure with some proper guidance I could try again. Maybe get better results next time."


    Aristespha stares upward for a moment at Sebastian''s ethereal form hovering above. Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head along with Sebastian''s sigh and calls out towards the kitchen. "Dretphi? Could you assist me, please?"


    Leaning her tall frame out from the kitchen, Dretphi shakes a stray platinum blonde braid out of the way and nods. "Yes. How can I assist?"


    With Dretphi approaching, Aristespha points towards Sotalia''s feet and instructs in a warning tone. "Grab hold of her legs. Sometimes the contrast flow pulse can trigger other minor spasms, and I really do NOT feel like getting a knee to the face today."


    Dretphi clamps down her grip on Sotalia''s ankles. With golden eyes springing wide open, Sotalia braces herself uncertainly. Sebastian''s ghostly visage lands next to the arm of the couch Sotalia''s head rests upon and whispers comfortingly in her ear. "Take it easy. You know she knows what she''s doing."


    Easing out an appreciative sigh, Sotalia nods, grumbles quietly. "I know... I know... But gods, I really don''t want that cramp to go off again. That shit REALLY fucking hurt."


    Aristespha quickly gestures through a short incantation, flowing energies to her finger, and gently presses the tip against Sotalia''s inner thigh. Bach blinks his eyes to a bright blue glow and observes the magical power at play. With exacting finesse, Aristespha releases a faint pulse of flow and narrows her examining stare upon the target area. The energies propagate throughout the different tissues, faint tremors of muscle activity cascade out in fading spasms. The spectacle captivates Bach, his awareness of the world waning with his focus. The contrast pulse dissipates to its outmost range, and Sotalia momentarily winces, reflexively grabbing hold of Bach''s upper arm in surprise. Yanking him back to reality, Bach glances over at Sotalia, puzzling. "Uh. You okay?"


    Sotalia notices her grip, releases it slowly with a smile, and nods. "Yes. Um. It just felt WEIRD, and I thought that muscle was going to go off again."


    With an understanding smirk, Bach shifts his attention back over and studies Aristespha''s procedure. Eying over at Bach''s arm, Sotalia catches Dretphi''s gaze. She subtly points towards Bach''s arm, pantomimes by curling hers, and mouths out her surprise to Dretphi. A strong hint of pride radiating out, Dretphi grins faintly and nods in confirmation. Minutes later, Aristespha blinks her violet eyes back to normal and sits back on her ankles, rolling the tension out of her shoulders. "That should calm down the muscles in that region. Though, I would still relax for a few hours and avoid strenuous activity for the rest of the day. You do not want to risk triggering it again today."


    Sotalia reaches out towards the out of reach coffee table for the remote. Bach plucks the device up and passes it over. Nodding thankfully, Sotalia resettles herself upon the couch and releases a long, tired sigh. "Oh. Not a problem there, girl."


    She furrows her brow towards the television and mumbles. "Gods... I just hope something worth watching is on."


    Pondering a moment, Bach slowly turns his gaze over towards Aristespha with an inquisitive tone. "In that one muscle group, I keep noticing a difference in flow. I don''t know how to explain it exactly. I mean, it was like there was a rough patch or something."


    Aristespha nods in agreement, searching her mind briefly, and explains. "Oh, yes. Very likely it is an old injury that has healed over time. The amount and density of replacement muscle cells can create that type of flow phenomena."


    Blinking a moment, she aims an intrigued lift of the eyebrow at Sotalia and cocks her head to the side. "Old gymnastics or workout injury?"


    Sotalia thinks a moment, rolls her eyes over, sparking a glare at Sebastian, and snorts. "Yeah. You could say THAT."


    Hearing the familiar accusatory inflection, Sebastian catches the visual insinuation and remains silent, a goofy smile failing to hide past embarrassment. Aristespha shakes her head with a laugh and stands up. "Well. Those types of injuries can happen."


    Bach rights himself up, maneuvers over to his chair next to the other side of the couch, and plops down in it. The rest of the team disperses to their own tasks. Bach and Sotalia level their attention on the television. A commercial later, the local news report bit pops up.


    "Investigators have turned up more evidence of recent activity by the People for Dragon Rights group in the Amaranth Valley area. Along with previous disruptive activities in the mass release of fancy whelps at a show, recent antics have backfired during an attempt to free a small herd of pseudo-dragons from their pens. Attempts to push sleeping pseudo-dragons out of their stables, incidentally, tipped one over on top of a group member, temporarily pinning them underneath the irritated creature. Investigators are still looking for more information about these individuals, and urge anyone with information to please contact local authorities."


    Bach sneers his upper lip, groaning out his disgust, and shakes his head. "Oh. Gods... THOSE assholes."


    Perking her brow, Sotalia tilts her head towards Bach and flutters her eyes in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean? They usually seem well meaning..."


    Twisting her mouth, she glances off to the side. "If just really... REALLY... Inept."


    Bach contorts his face into a few derisive grimaces and grumbles out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders. "Well. There was a real big chapter of that group that hung out around High Alton. And, they gave me, Sebastian, Kaleb, and Shadeesa all kinds of hell because... We kept a dragon as a pet."


    Fighting an incredulous hoist of an eyebrow, Sotalia narrows her curious stare at Bach, prying for more. "Really? They always seem to champion good things. I mean, how bad could they really be?"


    Bach holds up his finger towards Sotalia, catching her attention, and directs his voice down the hallway. "Hey, Sebastian! Get over here! I got something to tell you."


    Seconds later, Sebastian hovers into the living around through the archway leading the hallway and gazes down at Bach. "What do you got, bro?"


    A sly smirk appears on Bach, and he taps the fingertips of both hands together. "Guess who''s in town?"


    Sebastian thinks a moment, furrowing his brow. Moments pass, and he squints a suspicious stare at Bach, crossing his arms. "Who?"


    Twisting a smile, Bach holds his hands out to his side and darkly chuckles. "Our friends... PDR."


    Confusion flashes up on Sebastian''s ethereal form, and furious recognition flushes out prior emotions into oblivion. "AH FUCK! REALLY?! SHIT..."


    Sebastian rubs his ghostly temples and wanders into frustrated circular paths in the open area. Cideeda and Dretphi rest down plates of food on the dining table, exchanging stares, and stare upon the scene. Crossing her arms, Cideeda flicks her furry ears and perks up her eyebrow. "Okay. What exactly did those guys do to you two?"


    Grumbling to a slow regain of his composure, Sebastian mulls over the right choice of words, twisting his mouth. "WELL... They just constantly gave us shit for almost a YEAR. GODS. It got so bad, we could hardly even take Lagi out for walks without scouting the area out first."


    He shakes his head in pure disgust, old frustrations bubbling up. "AND, the leader decided to get into an argument over dragon care with Shadeesa... AFTER, she was well into her exotic veterinarian program."


    Bach''s blue eyes widen, a distant memory rising to the front of his mind, and he grits his teeth. "Oh... Gods... YEAH... Holy shit, I thought I was going to witness a murder that night."


    Cracking a sly grin toward Bach, Sebastian chuckles darkly with pride at his brother. "It wasn''t until Lagi learned a particular fire spell..."


    His ghostly visage leans forward with a playful stare at Bach. "SOMEHOW..."


    Bach averts his eyes and dismissively shrugs. Sebastian straightens his posture back with a smirk. "That they finally kept their distance. They were THOROUGHLY CONVINCED to go bother people other than us after Lagi started spitting fire at them."


    Furrowing her brow curiously, Sotalia levels an examining stare upon Bach. "OH. Really?"


    Bach spots the attention and twists his mouth uncomfortably, attempting to shrug off the guilt. "Yeah, uh. Turns out Lagi was a very observant little dragon, and really liked that fire marble spell..."


    He holds up a finger against the scrutiny surrounding. "I was PRACTICING that one night."


    Sebastian hoists a partially accusatory eyebrow towards Bach and colors his tone in a mix of sarcasm and amusement. "Yes. The fire marble spell. That entry level, practice spell, often done by high school students in a basic magic course... That YOU... For SOME REASON... Desperately needed to do an all day refresher session on... Right in front of Lagi''s attentive gaze."


    Drawing a wide evil grin on her light tan face, Sotalia gazes at Bach, thoroughly amused. Cideeda and Dretphi twist their faces between humor and surprise. Peeking out from the hallway archway, Aristespha furrows her intrigued brow. Bach glances around at the attention and releases a defeated sigh, shaking his head. "Yeah... Well... Just DON''T bring it up with Shadeesa. Please? I think she''s still..."


    He briefly grits his teeth, hissing in a tense breath, and holds up a pinch between his thumb and forefinger. "A little mad... Still?"


    Glancing off to the side, he lingers out a groan. "I mean... She did lose some really expensive clothes that one time because of Lagi using that spell."


    Sebastian catches a thought his subconscious tosses up and requests with concern, fighting a reflexive cringe. "Speaking of which... Bro, could you send both Kaleb and Shadeesa a message? Even though they''re not that close to here, we should warn them."


    Sorting through the menus on his aetherphone, Bach nods in complete agreement and starts typing out a message. "Yeah, I''m on it. And as big as Lagi has gotten, he''s quite figuratively AND literally a big target for them."


    Dretphi hums in thought and slowly shakes her head. "Did not think they were confrontational. Comically incompetent? Yes. Misguided? Yes."


    Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes, shrugging his shoulders, and holds his hands out to the sides. "They just focus on the big, easy to see problems. Stuff that looks good, and they get done quickly. Then, they just pat themselves on the back afterwards. You never see them helping out at the shelters, or doing fundraisers for anyone other than themselves."


    He shakes his head and sighs. "The real solutions to the real problems take time, and aren''t glamorous enough for them."


    Bach''s aetherphone chirps out an alert, and Bach taps onto the on display pop up. Sebastian floats over next to Bach and peeks over at the phone screen. "Kaleb or Shadeesa?"


    Holding up his aetherphone, Bach snorts with a crooked smirk. "Kaleb. His response... Oh, gods fucking dammit. And, I think he was using the voice to text function? Because, it might have caught Shadeesa''s response in the background, too? These are emin letters, I think?"


    Sotalia carefully scoots over on the couch to the other side and aims an expectant gaze at Bach, hemming. Noticing Sotalia, Bach glances at his aetherphone and hands it over to Sotalia. With golden eyes quickly scanning the text, Sotalia blinks blankly, hands the phone back, and whistles faintly. "THAT is NOT a happy woman."


    ----


    A peaceful ambiance radiates throughout the dense forest. Thick patches of undergrowth soak in the spots of bright sunlight slipping through the full canopy of competing older trees. Powerful gusts of wind filter through the countless gaps between the leaves, and sound out a droning chorus of rustling below. Within a carefully arranged circle of rocks, a low fire singes the prepared carcass of a small game animal propped above it upon a spit. A leather gloved hand reaches out and grasps tightly upon a leg, firmly securing the cooked limb. A sharp dagger with a glinting edge pushes into the connective tissues around the joint and effortlessly slices the meaty leg free from the rest of the roasted body.


    The lone evuukian man bites calmly into the cooked flesh and grumbles lowly to himself in a dialect of evuukian with a calculating tone. Slowly chewing, he straightens his posture, sitting on a log, and adjusts his leather armored outfit. Noticing the build up of pollen and dirt, he brushes off the intricate details within the aged and worn suit and slowly cleans the magically reflective emblems. Tossing his long, black hair back, he contorts his light-gray, green hinted face between sprints of contemplation and narrows his distant brilliant yellow eyed stare. Munching upon the cooked leg, he shifts his attention over to a pile of equipment at his side. He sifts through the gear under the swaying, leafy shade. Carefully setting an elaborately designed, exceptionally crafted bow off to the side, he slides over a handmade leather quiver filled with meticulously, intricately made arrows. Glints of magical light flicker off the nearly invisible flowing patterns inlaid upon the equipment, laying neatly against a shaded fallen log.


    With a firm grip, the aged evuukian man hoists up a battered, older field radio unit and sets it up next to him. Turning on the unit with a twist of a knob, he taps a number of buttons in a well rehearsed series of steps. The device displays a fast changing series of numbers with sweeping signal indicators. The digits halt. The encoded contents play out through a speaker on the unit, and the man presses a button. Over the next minute, the process repeats numerous times. The man sighs, tinges of frustration slipping out. Flipping to another band of frequencies, the device locks onto a channel, and a spoken broadcast plays out.


    "In our ongoing coverage of the sudden GAA activity in Ark, public relations representatives from the GAA have released official statements about troop movements into the Ark river peninsula. From the official release, it seems a previously unknown facility, long abandoned, was discovered due to tips from the public describing strange activity in the area."


    The evuukian raises up the roasted leg of meat, readying for another bite, and curls a mean smirk from the corner of his mouth.


    "During initial investigations, GAA specialists discovered a possible threat to the public and successfully dealt with the problem before it could lead to endangering the citizens living in the area..."


    Pausing right before another bite, the evuukian man slowly angles his forming glare upon the radio. He sneers his upper lip, growling quietly to himself. Reaching into a nearby backpack, he puts his arm further in than the height of the container itself and retrieves a long, rolled up document. Spreading out the thick and aged paper of the detailed map, the man surveys the many markings of locations, extensive notes littering the margins and symbology annotating the points of interest. He scours over the information and settles his gaze upon a circled spot in the middle of a river peninsula. Plucking a marker from one of the backpack''s side pouches, he slowly drags an "X" out upon the paper, a low growl articulating his simmering frustration.


    He pauses in thought, stares coldly at the map, and examines it closely. He studies the many other labeled locations and scowls with a slow shake of his head. Narrowing his yellow eyes upon another spot on the document, he nods to himself. He quietly ponders to himself, methodically sorting through the forming thoughts, and grimaces between deliberating rocks of his head. He rolls the map back up and deposits it into the darker space deep within the backpack. Flashes of sunlight from above beam down through the swaying branches and briefly illuminate the greater capacity within the bag, highlighting the mix of old artifacts and collections of documents packed tightly within space beyond.


    Pulling a strip of meat off the cooked leg, he grits his teeth in swelling anger and groans to himself, annoyance driving his distant stare into the dense surrounding forest. He squints in thought and grumbles out in spiteful evuukian. At the apex of his quiet rant, he narrows a stern glare and flickers of faint white spark around the centers of his eyes.


    ----


    A hard rain pours down, rolling out in sheets across the mostly empty parking lot. The droning patters of drops rush the front glass wall of the small restaurant and spatter against the surface, coats of water shedding off to the rhythm of the wind. Meredosia''s crimson eyes stare distantly out into the drenching gusts, waves drifting across the wet surface of the pavement outside. A minute of staring later, the screen on her battered aetherphone dims, and she blinks back to the current reality. Glancing down upon the display, she taps it back to full brightness and idly scrolls through the text on an aethersite. Humming to herself, she rests the device down on the small table next to the kitchen entryway and presses the link on the screen. A brief, weak flash lights up the horizon. Muffled thunder vibrates upon the glass store front.


    Meredosia brushes back her long, gray hair away from her ivory face, drawing in a long breath, and stares at her aetherphone, light hints of annoyance slipping out. Rolling her crimson eyes at the loading indicator prominent on the screen, she watches the dim illumination of the stormy afternoon through the vinyl "Fval Spice" signage on the glass front door. Observing no difference in the weather over the moments, she shifts her attention down to a worn, aged notebook, and flips to a new page. Picking up a wooden pencil off to the side, she taps on the blank paper, twisting her face of indecision thoughtfully. Slowly, her left hand gracefully brushes the graphite tip, sketching out rough shapes and shades upon the page. Her eyes focus upon the developing picture, and a faint smile creeps out from the corner of her mouth.


    Brushing his hands on his apron, Noyando steps out from the back of the kitchen, flicks the graying tips of his furry black ears, and contorts his light brown face thoughtfully. Pondering the weather outside in the quiet moment, he glances over at the wall clock, frowns slightly, and shrugs his shoulders plainly. "No more deliveries, today, Mera. To-go and dine-in only."


    Mera blinks back to awareness, gazes over to Noyando, and nods with growing relief. "Oh. Thank you. To be honest, I really didn''t want to have to ride out in this weather."


    Shaking his head, Noyando sighs with a jutting canine smile. "I would not want you out there, right now. Anyway, you can help with getting ready for the dinner rush."


    Mera agrees and begins to get up from the seat. Noyando holds his hand out and calmly motions for Mera to stay seated. "Not now. It''s not busy. So, I will cook your dinner. What do you want tonight?"


    Settling back down onto her bench seat against the wall, Mera thinks a moment and decides with a happy tone. "Oh. I want to try that one dish you recommended. Please?"


    A proud grin appears on Noyando, and he nods, pivoting back into the kitchen area entrance. "Of course. I will start right now."


    Mera''s very long ivory ears perk up subtly under her gray hair. She returns her attention back to refining the sketch in her notebook. Glancing over to her aetherphone, she taps the screen back on, enters the security code, and resumes reading the freshly loaded aethersite text. Mera browses quietly. A young fvalian girl wanders out from the kitchen area with a battered tablet in her hands. Briefly frowns at the constant rain and dark gray skies outside the store, she glances over towards Mera and steps over to a chair on the other side of the table. Sliding the chair out, the fvalian girl hops up into the seat, places her tablet on the tabletop, and idly searches through a partially cracked screen for a game on the menu. Mera shifts her attention over to the child momentarily, quirking her brow, and resumes filling in the finer details of her sketch.


    The fvalian girl presses firmly on the screen, the device responding eventually, and watches a loading symbol appear, frowning slightly. The bar slowly creeps along. The fvalian girl''s black furry ears droop close to her shoulders, and she sighs loud, impatiently. Idly kicking her legs under the chair, the seconds tick on by. Her attention drifts around the room, desperation seeking anything else entertaining around. Exhausting the contents of the room around her and the same stormy grayness outside, she settles her gaze upon Mera''s notebook. She stares attentively. Her furry black ears perk up, and her light brown eyes widen with growing curiosity. Mera continues to glide her pencil skillfully over the evolving picture. The young fvalian girl unconsciously leans closer and closer over time towards the work in progress, staring at in it growing wonder. Gazing her light brown eyes up at Mera, the fvalian girl smiles brightly. "That''s really pretty. You''re really good."


    Mera blinks back to awareness, glances up from the page, meeting the fvalian girl''s eyes, and awkwardly smiles, hiding some embarrassment. "Oh, um... Thank you. It is not done, yet. I still have a lot more to do."


    Thinking a moment, she tilts her head to the side and plainly asks. "I have seen you around here. But... I have not caught your name. What is it?"


    Flicking her furry ears, the fvalian girl perks up and grins with a sharp smile. "My name is Katelli. You are Mera."


    Mera chuckles lightly and cracks a small smile. "Yes, I am."


    Katelli smiles brightly, her fluffy tail wagging. "You are always taking food out. And riding the scooter."


    Nodding, Mera smirks happily. "That I am."


    Quickly shifting her attention to a chime from her tablet, Katelli stares at it for a second and sighs, watching it struggle to load the game. Mera squints her eyes at the screen, frowns slightly, and shakes her head. "Is it broken?"


    With a mildly frustrated growl, Katelli rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders. "I don''t know. It''s just SO OLD. It takes FOREVER to do anything. The screen is all scratchy, too."


    Mera nods sympathetically, lifting up her aetherphone off the table top, and shows it to Katelli. "Yes. I know how you feel, too."


    Glancing from her worm device over at the battered aetherphone, Katelli giggles appreciatively, smiling. "Wow! It''s as old as my tablet. Does it take FOREVER to do stuff, too?"


    Turning the phone back to her, Mera taps a new link on the aethersite and places it back down on the table. Katelli slides her tablet over next to the aetherphone. Mera and Katelli watch on, the devices progress bars gradually sliding along their ponderous paces. With her elbows on the table and knee upon the wooden chair, Katelli leans over and snickers with a wide grin, wagging her tail excitedly. "Which one will win?"


    With a humored snort, Mera rolls her eyes with a smile and shakes her head. "I do not think either of them will really win. They just will not lose as bad as the other."


    Katelli giggles and wanders her attention back over onto Mera''s developing sketch. She stares captivated at the details in the surrounding forest framing, the overlook into a huge clearing between massive trees, and the plant covered ancient buildings. Blinking curiously, she tilts her head, intrigued at the two evuukians sitting next to each other and gazing into the clearing. She flicks her furry ears in thought and stares at her slow loading tablet. A moment later, she readily slides her curiosity over and glances over at Mera''s notebook and pencils.


    Sitting briefly back down, she hops out of her chair and walks over behind the front counter, almost disappearing out of view with her furry ear tips just above the countertop. With Katelli''s tail wagging out, sounds of shuffling and noises of movement fill in the air briefly. Seconds later, Katelli reappears from behind the counter with a pad of order tickets and a pen. Rushes back over, she slips back into the chair and puts the pad down upon the small table''s top. With a happy smile, Katelli''s furry ears perk, and she starts putting pen to paper. "I''m going to draw something, too."


    Puzzling in the moment, Mera watches Katelli scratch out the first lines on the pad of tickets, a delighted smile gradually emerging over time upon her ivory face. In between filling in spots of detail upon her sketch, Mera pauses, following the progress of Katelli''s drawing. The powerful storm rolls on across the parking lot, filling the outside world with background chaos. Inside the calm pocket of Fval Spice, Mera and Katelli compare doodles and dysfunctional portable devices, the growing aroma of food filling up the small restaurant.

 Episode 80

    The side door to the long brick house opens up. Shadeesa grips onto the handrail, traveling down the few steps onto the concrete of the attached carport. Adjusting the apron over her looser fitting clothes and large belly, she hands over a small packet of paperwork to a middle-aged emin, presenting a smile on her light gray, white freckled face. "Here are the official test results straight from the Dragon Sciences lab of High Alton, Mr. Frenzacia. Congratulations. Varan is a proper dragon."


    Mr. Frenzacia blinks his deep red on black eyes and glances down at the manila envelope. Removing the paperwork, he furrows his brow and uneasily smiles. "Wow... I guess that Professor Blaureiter''s hunch was right. Huh... Um..."


    He gazes over to a young teen-aged girl with silvery, red tinted hair blowing in the gentle breeze and calls out with a subdued, nervous grin. "Did you hear that, Fawna? Your little Varan is a... Genuine dragon. He''s probably going to grow really... BIG..."


    Pausing a moment from pulling a firm bristle brush along a small dragon''s amber scales, Fawna smiles brightly, joy lighting up her blue on white and blue on black eyes. "REALLY?!"


    She barely contains her excitement, briefly shifts her attention to a thought, idly guiding stray hairs over her horns, and gazes back over eagerly. "How big is he going to get?!"


    Mr. Frenzacia slides his distant gaze over towards Shadeesa, fighting an awkward smirk. "Vet Serania... What is the damage I should expect when that one grows up?"


    Hints of future dread sneak into his stare over at the gigantic Lagi, the dragon spreading both wingspans out for Kaleb. Shadeesa lifts an eyebrow and tilts her head of tied back dark green hair to the side. "Depends. How much land do you have? You''ve mentioned having a farm."


    Searching the top of his mind, Mr. Frenzacia''s eyes sort through mental figures, and he reports the results with a confident hum. "Just over a square kilometer between all my plots. I take care a few more of the family plots, too."


    Nodding at the figure, Shadeesa crosses her arms just over her pregnant belly, and smirks thoughtfully. "What do you grow?"


    Mr. Frenzacia nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders and smiles, pondering out loud. "Honestly... A little bit of everything. We have the usual vegetables everyone buys around here. I''ve been TRYING to get an apple orchard going on a plot that''s not great for much else. And, if all goes well, our frost avocados should fruit this fall."


    An intrigued spark lights up Shadeesa''s eyes, and she smirks reassuringly at Mr. Frenzacia. "Oh. You should be just fine then. In fact, the larger Varan gets the more useful he''ll be on the farm."


    Cocking his head to the side, Mr. Frenzacia blinks curiously, resting his hands on his sides. "Really? Why is that?"


    Shadeesa grins widely, chuckling amused. "Oh, allow me to tell you all about your new, growing garbage disposal unit."


    Out in the backyard near the carport, Kaleb walks around from the other side of Lagi into view. He pets Lagi on his large, armored head, and walks next to Fawna brushing the relaxing Varan. "Yeah, Lagi loved his stiff brush when he was that little. Enjoy it while it''s that simple."


    Kneeling on the ground slowly pulling the brush over the sedate Varan''s scales, Fawna gazes up at Kaleb with a bright, curious smile. "Does it get harder to care for dragons?"


    Turning his head, Kaleb gazes at Lagi sunning his massive wings in the sun and shrugs his shoulders with his arms out to the side. He indecisively deliberates, scratching his head of short blonde hair. "Well... Not harder, exactly? I think the right words are... More complicated?"


    Glancing down at the completely enthralled Varan, Kaleb shakes his head with a smile and steps over to an open toolbox. He retrieves a pair of large pliers and directs his voice to Fawna, signaling Lagi over. "Soon, you might be filing claw tips, shaping armor plates, and pulling out stubborn scales."


    Kaleb furrows his brow, points to a spot under a wing shoulder on Lagi, and inquires, awaiting confirmation. "So, under there?"


    Lagi narrows his green eyes at the spot, turns his body towards Kaleb, and scratches at the troublesome area of blue black scales. He wanders between grumbling and mumbling in a complex series of clicks, snorts, churls, chirps, hisses, and growls. Kaleb nods his head, walks over next to the spot, and feels around the outer layer of the dragon, tapping upon the odd scale sticking out. "Yeah. It''s definitely close enough to falling out. Just hanging on enough to be annoying."


    Rubbing around the base of the thick skin supporting the awkward scale, he clamps the pliers carefully onto the scale and glances over to Fawna, meeting her intrigued gaze. "Now... The trick to it is to be quick right after you''ve massaged the spot just enough."


    Fawna idly brushes the little amber dragon Varan and watches the dragon care lesson from Kaleb. Shadeesa draws a long breath in, sighs with a smile, and finishes up her explanation. "So, really, Varan is going to save you A LOT of money on disposal of most of your processing leftovers. When his digestive tract develops fully, there will be very few things he won''t be able to eat."


    She pauses a moment, perking her brow, and twists her mouth, hints of past sour experiences slipping out. "Though... You will NEED to teach him he''s not allowed to eat from fruit trees without your expressed permission. Otherwise, you will NEVER see a ripe piece of fruit on those trees EVER again."


    Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Mr. Frenzacia nods, relief growing, and chuckles to himself. "Understood. Well. At least, I guess I can stop buying that gods awful expensive fancy whelp feed now."


    Fawna''s long, pointy ear tips twitch at Mr. Frenzacia''s voice, and she turns her unhappy stare at her father. "Dad! Varan LIKES that food A LOT."


    With a waning sigh, Mr. Frenzacia rolls his deep red on black eyes in defeat. Shadeesa quirks her face into a smile, holding a finger up, and signals Mr. Frenzacia to wait, walking inside the house through the side door. A minute later, Shadeesa carefully steps down with a large square of green and brown minced fiber in each hand. Mr. Frenzacia puzzles at the faint sheen on the objects, cocking his head to the side, and inquires with a lift of an eyebrow. "So... What are those?"


    Smirking slyly, Shadeesa gauges the gentle breeze passing on by and intersects into the flow drifting towards the backyard. "Oh. It''s something Kaleb and I have been developing over the years for Lagi. It''s compressed fruit fodder and lard..."


    She smiles with a wink. "With just a little bit of peanut butter."


    The wind stirs around Shadeesa, and she holds a large, thick rectangular treat in each hand. The faint gust blows across the fragrant slabs towards the dragons a distance away. Moments later, Varan stirs abruptly from his brush induced slumber, sniffing the air with confused chirps, and blinks his aqua eyes. Surprised, Fawna watches the sudden excitement from Varan, glances around, and meets Shadeesa''s gaze. "Huh, uh... What are THOSE?"


    Carefully leaning over, Shadeesa passes both treats over into Fawna''s hands and grins, standing back up with her hands on her back. "Treats for the dragons. Give one to Varan."


    Fawna sniffs the strange block and scrunches up her nose reflexively. Eying the strange square apprehensively, she glances down at the small pair of clawed draconic hands expectantly pawing at her arms. Varan alternates his attentive aqua eyed gaze between Fawna and the square treat, visibly pleading and playing up the pity. Fawna blinks, tilting her head intrigued, and holds the large treat in front of the small dragon. Varan quickly grasps hold of the slab of fodder, sniffing of it deeply, and bites off a chunk promptly. Chewing the treat slowly, he halts suddenly. His aqua eyes widen, claws gripping the thick square tighter, and stares entranced at the delicious creation with his paws. A loud series of happy chirps and purrs slip out between chews and bites, Varan excitedly devouring the treat, tail wagging and wings flapping reflexively, subconsciously.


    Fawna gazes in sheer astonishment and smiles brightly at the absolute delight plainly obvious on the small dragon. "Wow! You really must like it a lot. I''ve never heard you make all these noises at once. Not even when I gave you your nice food."


    With attention mostly upon the small dragon''s dramatic reaction, Lagi''s green eyes fully lock onto the remaining treat in Fawna''s other hand she idly holds off to the side. With slow, careful movements, Lagi purposefully maneuvers quietly closer. Enjoying the distraction of Varan, Fawna''s hand with the other treat wanders away during the Varan''s excited consumption of his treat. Pausing often to study the reactions of Kaleb, Shadeesa, Mr. Frenzacia, and Fawna, Lagi eases his massive frame forward into the collective mental blind spot. Gradually threading his neck closer to Fawna, he slowly parts his massive maw. His long tongue eases out, the tip extending ever closer, cautiously towards the treat. The wind blows on by, and the faintest traces of taste land upon Lagi''s tongue. Lagi''s eager green eyed stare widens, and his tongue closes the distance to the goal, nearly touching the treat.


    A powerful, sharp, thunderous snap of the fingers pierces through the air. The large dragon halts his progress immediately in a surge of frightening familiarity. Shadeesa squares her stance, glaring disapprovingly at Lagi, and commands. "LAGI! NO! YOU know better."


    Lagi shrinks back away guiltily, shamefully averting his gaze with whimper. Shadeesa rests her hand upon her hip, points a finger at Lagi, and narrows her green on black stare at him. "That''s very RUDE of you. Fawna is our guest. If you want the treat, you need to ask her nicely."


    Working through the embarrassment, Lagi meets Fawna''s expectant gaze, regains his composure, and emits a series of chirps, clicks, purrs, and whines. Fawna tilts her head to the side and glances around to everyone surrounding her confused, seeking some kind of explanation. Sharpening her stare at Lagi, Shadeesa sighs loudly and shakes her head of dark green hair, flicking a few strands over her upward swept horns. "In Americ, Lagi. She doesn''t understand that language, and you certainly need the practice."


    Lagi gazes pitifully over at Kaleb and whines out a plea. Kaleb crosses his arms, standing sternly, and reaffirms. "You heard her, Lagi. I agree with her. You definitely need to practice."


    A mumbling, disappointed grumble slips out from Lagi, and he sits up into a childishly defiant pout. He summons up his resolve and presents a facade of exaggerated disinterest towards the treat in Fawna''s hand. Varan''s chirps and purrs of joy fill the silent moment, and he munches happily upon a pocket of peanut butter within the treat. Glancing briefly over, Lagi witnesses the small dragon coiled blissfully around the partially eaten treat, lapping up the oozing, delicious mix in his clawed clutches. Each happy noise from Varan and playful toss of the savory square dissolves more of Lagi''s resolve, and his attention settles back upon the dragon treat in Fawna hand.


    Drawing in a large breath of air, Lagi gazes at Fawna and contorts his mouth awkwardly, flexing his throat in unpracticed motions into rough, approximate vocalizations. "May. I. Have. Treat? Please?"


    Both Fawna and Mr. Frenzacia stare at Lagi in honest surprise. Shadeesa smiles happily and claps her hands together encouragingly. "There you go! Very good, Lagi."


    Patting Lagi on his side, Kaleb smirks proudly at him and nods. "See! It''s not so hard. Just practice a bit more."


    Fawna flutters her blue on white and blue on black eyes out of the stupor and smiles brightly in astonishment and excitement, offering the treat to Lagi. "Yes, you may, Lagi."


    With a swift lap, Lagi plucks up the treat into his maw, settles down on the grass, and slowly chews upon the treat into a moment of bliss. Fawna catches a random thought in her mind and glances down at Varan. Her eyes widening with possibility, she pauses and blinks bewildered. "Wait... Could Varan talk one day?!"


    The dragons enjoy their treats. Kaleb explains the dynamics of dragon vocalization to Fawna. Mr. Frenzacia ponders a moment and turns to Shadeesa, casually inquiring. "How stocked up on baby clothes and furniture are you?"


    Lifting an entrepreneurial eyebrow, Shadeesa cracks a plotting smirk. "Nowhere near as much as I should be, of course."


    Mr. Frenzacia nods, stroking his beard, and crosses his arms. "My wife has been wanting to clear out the bonus room. There''s quite a bit of old baby clothes and a nice wooden crib... among other things up there."


    Turning her head towards Mr. Frenzacia, Shadeesa grins slyly and chuckles to herself. "Well, I think an arrangement could be made. Plenty of advice to be shared and treats to be made."


    ----


    The overhead fan''s wooden blades gently spin and push a gentle stream of air down upon the middle of the room. A paper bag of corn chips wobbles upon a finely crafted wooden coffee table, rapping softly against an empty beer bottle upon a coaster. Thomas Blaureiter snorts loudly and snuffles upon the couch, shifting his head upon a couch pillow. He unconsciously tosses upon the dark brown leather couch and scratches his thin, tight white shirt with his cybernetic hand. Softly snoring, he stretches out briefly, yawns, and reflexively cradles the game controller closer to his muscular chest.


    Without a sound gracing above the quiet ambience, an athletic man appears in the entryway leading into the nicely, modestly decorated living room. He tightens the belt around his house coat, finishes tying back his slick, black hair, and scans the room with his amber eyes. Settling his gaze upon Thomas, he cracks a humored smirk on his olive toned face and slowly shakes his head. "Just one more level... Right..."


    With a fluid grace, the man steps silently upon the old wooden floors,his sleek, cybernetic feet deftly applying near-perfect pressure upon the finished boards. Swaying in purposeful motions, he struts in complete stealth around the coffee table and balances upon legs blending biology and technology. He stands in front of Thomas and reaches down, slipping his fingers around the controller. With a few careful attempts, he manages to firmly and gently free the game pad from the tight clutches of Thomas''s cybernetic arm. Swiftly pivoting upon the balls of his feet, the athletic man holds the device in his hands and taps a button. The controller flickers to life. A game console lights up on a shelf in a finely crafted, hand-made entertainment center. The large television display brightens back up and reveals the pause menu of a role-playing game.


    Quickly pressing buttons and moving the joysticks, the man enacts a well practiced series of commands and glances back to Thomas with a loving smile. Another menu opens on the television. The on-screen highlight moves to a new save game slot in a long list. The man taps a confirmation on the game controller, and a progress bar appears. Pausing a moment, he tilts his head to the side. The process completes, and the progress bar clears out of the way. The man flicks the selection between the fresh and prior save, the playtime differences between meager. With a narrowing stare at the screen, he ponders to himself, a faint, suspicious hum rising up. Exiting the game, he swiftly flips through the large library of games on the system and selects one specific from the long list. He swiftly taps the mute button on the remote on the coffee table. The main menu appears upon a backdrop of a large dragon flying through a twisting course with a rider shooting targets. The man navigates to the high score list and scrutinizes the entries. A bit of relief graces his smirking face, staring at "Albert" upon the top of the roster, and nods confidently.


    Albert analyzes the many other entries below his name, shaking his head slowly with a smile at all the variations of Thomas''s name, and quietly giggles to himself. "Just can''t resist can you."


    With a humored grin, Albert glances over his shoulder at the sleeping Thomas and sighs happily. "Keep trying, my dear."


    Holding a button on the controller, the console and television dim back to sleep, and Albert softly rests the controller on the coffee table. Without a sound from his footsteps, he struts across the old, wooden floors into the kitchen. Minutes later, the muffled sputtering of a coffee maker rises up into the background of the living room and the crisp, gentle trickles of coffee filling a glass carafe sprinkles into the soundscape.


    A few clanks of glass upon ceramic later, Albert steps gracefully out of the kitchen archway into the living room with a cup of coffee in each hand. He stops next to Thomas on the couch and wafts the odor from the mug of black coffee near Thomas''s nose. Fluttering his light blue eyes open, Thomas groggily glances around the room and slowly develops enough awareness, noticing Albert holding the coffee in front of him. "Oh... Shit... Uh, I really did mean to go to bed. I just hit the pause menu, closed my eyes, and... Well..."


    Thomas scoots himself up to an upright seat on the couch, appreciatively grasps hold of the mug of black coffee, and sheepishly apologizes. "Sorry... Didn''t think I was THAT tired."


    Albert leans down, kisses Thomas, and ruffles his head of swept-back, silvery gray hair with a smile. "Gods, as if I''m going to be mad at something I''ve been guilty of myself. Anyway, I saw you paused it right before that dungeon I wanted to co-op with you on."


    A faint hint of blush colors Thomas''s cheeks, and he shyly smiles. "Yeah. I also found a sword that might work for your dual-wielder build, too."


    With a well-practiced twirl, Albert sweeps up a quilt off the back of the couch, flings it open, and floats it down upon him, lowering onto the open spot on the couch. "Ooo. I can''t wait to try it out."


    Slipping his tan colored coffee, he lifts an examining eyebrow towards Thomas with a playfully accusatory tone. "As much as I love the loot you keep finding, I think next summer you need to teach a class or work at a summer camp. I really don''t think this much free time is the best thing for you."


    Thomas finishes up a long swig of his black coffee, narrowing an apprehensive gaze at Albert, and grumbles to himself. "I don''t know. Maybe, ONE summer course."


    He rolls his light blue eyes and sighs out his frustration. "BUT... They usually want you to teach a selected topics course... AND, I really don''t know if anyone would be interested in any of them."


    Blinking blankly, his mind wanders to the other idea, and he grimaces uncertainly. "As for a camp? Gods. I don''t know if I''d be that good of a camp counselor. Children these days probably would think I''m old and boring. They got video games and stuff."


    Albert narrows his incredulous gaze upon Thomas and rolls his amber eyes with a sarcastic drone. "Oh no, children. I am so sorry to tell you that your camp leader is Commander Blaureiter. You know, the guy who rode the dragon named The Night Terror and, LITERALLY, flew around and shot stuff with a huge blaster. His stories will probably bore you all to tears. Have your aetherphone games loaded and ready."


    Thomas furrows his brow at Albert, grumbling to himself, and sighs. "Please... They don''t know who I am. Or, probably even care."


    Glancing over to the side, he grits his teeth briefly. "Anyway, I''d probably just have the parents angry at me because I unknowingly taught their kids something they''ll misuse. Gods, reminds me of all the random ways my Uncle Jimmy showed me how to make napalm and explosives when I stayed with him over summers."


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    A mischievous smirk graces Albert, and he snorts into a snicker, shaking his head. "Don''t worry. I''ll just draft up a legal waiver the parents have to sign and watch them TRY to go against me in court."


    Settling into the plush back of the finely-made leather couch, Thomas glances over to Albert with a curious tone. "By the way, any progress on figuring out anything on that Dragon''s Right group around Amaranth?"


    Albert sighs in vague defeat, shrugging his shoulders. "No luck, I''m afraid, dear. But, my sources haven''t found anything that links them with the group lingering around here. So far, the consensus seems to be that it''s just some half-assed copycat group. My friends are definitely interested in figuring out if there is some kind of a connection."


    Nodding in agreement, Thomas drinks another bit of his black coffee and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Damn. Well... That''s probably good news, since they''re not backed by anyone. Kaleb, Shadeesa, and Lagi will sleep a little easier. Though, I really don''t think any group would be stupid enough to bother Lagi."


    Springing his eyes wide with a spark of excitement, Albert smiles at Thomas and squirms eagerly. "Oh! I sent my suggestions for baby names for their son. I hope they decide on one soon."


    Briefly grimacing, Thomas rolls his eyes and sighs. "Me too. She''s due within two months, if I''m remembering it right. Ah, well. They''ll figure it all out. If they can raise a dragon like Lagi, they''ll be able to manage."


    Albert and Thomas relax on the couch, enjoying their coffees, and idly listen to peaceful morning sounds. Minutes later, Albert stretches his leg out towards Thomas and gently, firmly pokes a toe into the outside of Thomas''s thigh. Blinking to attention, Thomas glances over, cocking his head to the side. "What?"


    Furrowing his brow, Albert twists his mouth into a grimace and lifts an expectant eyebrow. "It''s your day to cook breakfast."


    Thomas tilts his head side to side, searching his mind, and wades awkwardly through his confusion. "Wait, what?"


    Rolling his amber eyes, Albert releases a mildly annoyed groan. "By the gods, Thomas! It''s TUESDAY."


    Thomas halts, sorting through memory. His eyes widen in surprise, and he leans forward off the couch. "Oh... Shit... It is."


    Standing up from the couch, Thomas''s heavy footsteps press onto the old, wooden boards, and creaks resonate out into the living room. He stops short of crossing the threshold into the kitchen and glances over to Albert with a coy grin. "And?"


    With a playful smile, Albert crosses his arms and snorts. "Oh. You know what I want."


    Stepping into the kitchen, Thomas nods and calls back into the living room. "Cute cat ears and whiskers on your pancakes?"


    With a satisfied smirk, Albert wiggles down, relaxing upon the couch, and colors his tone with loving sass. "Of course! I mean, why else do I keep you around? It''s certainly not for your time keeping."


    Thomas quips back from the kitchen. "And, shoulder massages?"


    A guilty smirk appears on Albert''s face. "Well, THAT, too."


    ----


    The members of the Flames of the Phoenix idle around the dining table. Chad stands up at the head of the table, surveys the team, and hems for everyone''s attention. From her seat next to Chad, Veevi glances up with her dark pink pupil eyes and presents a manipulative little grin on her tan face, tossing back her head of long pink hair. Trakenthin straightens up his tall posture, gradually lifts his stare away from his aetherphone, patiently awaiting. Tassilda narrows her light blue on black eyes towards Chad, twisting her mouth into a suspicious grimace, and raps her long, thick black nails upon the wooden table top. Shuddering from a near doze, Modoran blinks back into full awareness and gradually assumes his typical nonchalant exterior, stretching his arms back. Deedri''s furry ears twitch and perk towards Chad, and she sits up attentively. Nearby in the kitchen area, Gerald leans upon a counter and balances the camera on his shoulder, carefully aiming the device for an ideal shot of the meeting. Just outside, another recording team slips in a camera lens and a boom microphone through an opening in the back sliding glass door.


    Meeting everyone''s gazes, Chad stands up proudly and addresses the group. "It''s about time for our team to undertake our next quest. To mix things up a bit and get more involvement from the team..."


    Slight twinges of suspicion rise up into Trakenthin, Tassilda, Modoran, and Deedri faces. Drawing in a long dramatic breath, Chad presents a bright, white grin to the team and reveals three packets from behind his back, laying them out upon the table. "We''ve been given three different missions for all of us to vote on and decide which one to take on."


    A wave of surprise spreads through the assembled team. They all gradually show signs of genuine interest, apprehension waning. Noticing the growing acceptance, Chad smiles and nods with a happier tone. "Well. Since you all haven''t started to groan and grumble, I''ll take that as you all being open to the idea."


    He slides the three folders into the middle of the table and signals for the group to investigate further. "I want each of you to rank your preference for these quests. Take some time to fully consider them. I''ll need your votes by noon on Friday. Then, we''ll be revealing our votes live Friday night."


    Tassilda lifts a wary brow towards Chad, leaning over the table, reaching out for the top folder, and inquiries further. "So... What ever kind of missions did they see fit to burden us with now?"


    Chad smirks slightly, crossing his arms, and motions towards the packets. "Well. A quick summary. One quest is to escort a celebrity while he is shooting for his latest movie. The destination site is on the outskirts towards the west. And, we may get a chance to have parts in the film."


    With an overtly eager grin, Veevi''s eyes widen, and she focuses her alluring gaze straight at Chad, stretching an arm out towards the folders in the middle of the table. Chad glances down briefly at Veevi and buffers an awkward grimace fighting against his grin. Summoning back his composure, Chad resumes his explanation. "The second mission is a survey and exploration operation across an area with multiple ruins that haven''t been checked out thoroughly in a decade. It seems pretty standard..."


    Chad''s confidence trails slightly with his tone and faint hints of unease infiltrate his body language. Trakenthin''s hazel eyes examine the subtle changes in Chad''s exterior, and he lifts his muscular dark bronze skinned arm, pointing between the mission folders. "Which envelope for THAT mission?"


    Veevi finishes examining the first page of a quest packet, sneers her upper lip, and turns up her nose. "This one I think. Here. You can have it."


    Stretching out across the table in her tight fitting clothes, she disgustedly dumps out the papers in front of Trakenthin and slides back the remaining large envelope to her with a sharp grin. Trakenthin eyes over Veevi cautiously, picks up the paperwork, and studies the contents. Chad reestablishes his confidence, drawing in a long breath, and addresses the group. "The final possible mission is a search and retrieval. Without getting into too much detail, it seems that a research group lost track of a scout drone near a small weird zone in the middle of the woods to the east. They''ve been able to narrow it down to a search area and need someone on foot to try to find it."


    Veevi blatantly ignores the rest of the discussion, her full focus pouring all over the document firmly in her sharp nailed hands. Trakenthin glances up briefly from reading the mission brief, motions towards the remaining packet between Tassilda, Modoran, and Deedri. "Should contain that task."


    Tassilda opens up the large envelope, slides out the packet, and holds it in view of Deedri and Modoran. "Interesting. What research group would fund a retrieval mission for something like... A drone?"


    Grinning with a bright white smile, Chad nods towards the team, sitting back down into the chair at the head of the table. "I''ll leave it to you all to look over everything, and make your own conclusions."


    Chad settling into his seat, Veevi scoots over close at his side, eying him seductively, and charms with a faint purr to her voice. "So... You do want to be a movie star someday? I mean... What better chance do WE have than THIS?"


    She grins with a sharp smile, flexes her body revealingly to Chad, and flutters her eyes with a flick of her short-hair tail. "Those other jobs sound so BORING... I''m sure you''ll make the right choice for US."


    Hoisting up an apprehensive eyebrow at Veevi, Chad contorts his face and dismissively shrugs his shoulders. "Well, uh... It''s not my last choice. That''s for sure."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes focus upon a line of text in the mission description, and her furry ears perk up with excitement. "Wow! This is a job from the Grand Library. There must be some important research purpose for that drone to be out there."


    Blinking back to focus, Modoran''s interest piques, and he snaps his attention upon the document. "Huh. Okay. They probably actually narrowed down the search area to something that will be useful. So..."


    He smirks with a hint of confidence. "We might actually find it then."


    Tassilda sorts through a pile of photographs, maps, and schematics, nodding in agreement. "Yeah... Here''s the original flight plan, pictures of what it looks like, and... I think the log from when it last reported in."


    Deedri, Modoran, and Tassilda examine the information before them closely. Trakenthin abruptly halts his reading, lowers the paperwork down, and slowly slides it all back into the folder. A souring grimace forms on his face, and he slowly shakes his head, pushing the packet back to the middle of the table. Noticing the change of expression, Tassilda cocks her head to the side and narrows an inquisitive gaze towards Trakenthin. "Oh? What''s wrong with that one?"


    Trakenthin draws in a long breath and sighs out his disgust. "Possible slime activity."


    Silence slams down upon the gathering. All other activity ceases. Veevi''s eyes widen in horror, and she stares at the folder, gritting her teeth into a snarl. Modoran stands up, leans over the table, and slaps his hand firmly down upon the packet. "Let me put this where it belongs."


    Snatching up the folder tightly, he steps close to the back sliding glass door and puts his hand out through the gap, grinning to the camera crew. "Excuse me."


    The crew backs out of the way. Modoran slides the entry wide open, curls his arm back, and flings the packet out into the backyard with a spin. Pivoting back around, he halts for Tassilda, holding her hand out forward and pointing a finger at the flying folder. A mischievous grin grows wide on Tassilda''s face, and she quickly gestures out an incantation. With a simple flick of her fingers a small ball of fire leaves her palm, coasts across the backyard, and intercepts the packet in a fiery burst. She turns around, grants a small bow, and struts back to her chair. "I believe we''ve decided that."


    Chad releases a long sigh of relief and smiles appreciatively to the team, nodding. "Thank the gods you caught that one. I wasn''t allowed to say anything before you read the mission briefs. BUT..."


    He rolls his brown eyes and wrestles with a disgusted grimace. "I REALLY didn''t want to do THAT one."


    The team shifts their efforts upon the remaining two quests, Veevi stating her obvious favorite with a developing insistent persistence.


    ----


    The door at the end of the hallway opens. Aristespha blinks her violet eyes and heavily plods across the hardwood floors, swaying slightly with each footstep. She runs her ivory fingers through her long, silvery blue hair, stretches her neck, gritting her teeth, and shakes off some of the cloudiness of her daze. Brushing off her loose t-shirt and adjusting her baggy shorts, she sloppily pivots at the archway into the living area and steps through. In a groggy state, she ambles into the room, navigates around behind the coffee table, and plops down onto the couch upon her back. She blankly stares up at the ceiling and releases a long sigh.


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow at Aristespha from her seat at the dining table, Cideeda directs her inquisitive tone toward the evuukian on the plush furniture. "So... What have you been up to?"


    Aristespha''s very long, pointed ears twitch, and she lifts her head up, gazing over at Cideeda. "Oh. I just got done filing all the paperwork related to the last mission. Guild payments authorized to the party business account, expenses deducted, GAA contractor bonuses received, and processed everyone''s cut to your individual guild accounts."


    Fluttering her eyes, she flops her head back down and sighs out her relief, resting her hands on her stomach. "I do think everyone will be absolutely delighted with the payout. Very much on the high side."


    Cideeda cracks a sly smile, retrieving her aetherphone from her shorts pocket, and taps out a security code. She navigates menus and opens a guild branded app. Seconds later, a wide, toothy grin grows upon Cideeda''s light brown face and her long fluffy tail wags energetically. "Very nice, indeed. That will make the retirement fund VERY happy."


    Closing her violet eyes, Aristespha relaxes her body gradually with each breath. Her long, pointed ears twitch with nearby metallic clicks and whispered frustration. Propping her upper body up with her arms, she scans the room, furrowing her brow curiously. At the edge of her sweep, she notices Bach and Dretphi at the table and focuses her intrigued stare upon the device both are paying close attention to. "Oh. Hey. What are you two doing?"


    Cideeda glances over briefly with an amused smile and smirks pridefully to Aristespha. "Yeah, they''re trying out a little trap puzzle I made for Bach. Figured he could get some practice disarming different kinds of trap mechanisms."


    Carefully wedging a metal pick in the thin crack between a plate and surrounding frame, Bach narrows his stare. He attempts to gently wedge a thin shim into the divide and applies pressure at the top. Seconds of gradual force later, the pressure plate moves slightly and a buzzing alarm sounds out from the unit. Aristespha cocks her head to the side, pondering a moment, and curls the corner of her mouth. "Okay... So THAT was the noise I kept thinking I was hearing."


    Bach taps a reset button on the side of the square block, places the tools in front of Dretphi, and slides the device over. "Your turn. Damn. I really thought I had the pick in there enough."


    Slowly lifting herself up from the couch, Aristespha steps over next to Cideeda, studying Dretphi''s attempt. "So, you made a practice pressure plate?"


    Cideeda nods her head of short, multi-colored hair and relaxes in the dining chair, rapping her claw tips on the table top. "Yeah. Simple enough. And, kind of entertaining to watch."


    Aristespha leans over slightly, squints her focus upon the practice plate, and tilts her head to the side. "So... The goal is to put those pieces of metal between the cracks?"


    Nodding in agreement, Cideeda motions to a few points of interest on the practice device with a claw tip. "Basically. You use the pick to not only wedge apart the gap between the plate and frame, but to keep the plate from going down by accident. Then, you slip in the metal shims to jam the plate along that edge."


    She waves her hand roughly around the practice device. "If you can shim up the four corners, you should be able to put a good amount of weight on the plate without tripping it."


    A sly smile graces Cideeda, and her emerald green eyes light up with a mischievous glimmer. "BUT, it gets a little tricky when the shims on one side seize the plate and start to get in the way of what you need to do on the other sides."


    Dretphi''s steely gray eyes fully focus upon the task, and she carefully slides in a metal shim in the gap near a corner. Guiding the pick point along the divide between plate and frame, she applies gradual force, widening the thin space a tiny amount. The pressure moves the trigger platform off slightly in the wrong direction, and a buzzer sounds out from the base. Dretphi snarls her tan face, muttering a few curses in grath, and grumbles out her frustration. Aristespha slides a chair next to Dretphi out, sitting down, and faces her curiously. "May I give it a try?"


    Glancing over to Bach, Dretphi watches him shrug to no contest and slides over the device with tools in front of Aristespha. "Sure. Need a break."


    Bach nods in agreement, grimacing briefly. "Yeah, I think we''re fast approaching the obsessively stubborn point of this exercise. Was getting a little too worked up to hold the tools steady myself."


    Examining the tools and materials, Aristespha feels out the balance in her hands, finding a comfortable grip on both pick and shims, and stretches out her arms and shoulders. Straightening her posture, she closes her eyes, breathes several calming breaths, and concentrates her full focus upon the pressure plate. Using well-trained finesse, she cautiously explores the side gaps between the pressure plate and frame and applies faint probes of force, feeling out the mechanical dynamics. Sensing an entry, she gracefully works the pick into the divide and barely widens the space. She stretches and flexes her wrist off the side. Deftly guiding the shim close to the entry point, she eases the thin metal deep into the gap and withdraws her pick. She ponders quietly for a moment and searches for another safe spot with exploratory applications of minute force.


    Sebastian drifts in through the hallway archway, glancing around the room, and spots the gathering around Aristespha. Hovering silently above, he joins Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi, all attentively watching the progress on the trap puzzle. With some visible difficulty, Aristespha manages to fit the second shim into another corner. Hints of concern and apprehension swell on Aristespha, and she grits her teeth uncertainly. "There was not that much give in the last corner."


    Crossing her arms with a toothy grin, Cideeda nods in agreement. "Yeah... It gets trickier with each shim. The shims jam the plate against a direction and apply pressure that works against you. If you aren''t careful, you could start to lift the plate up when you put another shim in. And... End up triggering it."


    Rolling her shoulders and stretching out the tension in her neck, Aristespha draws a breath and sighs out her nervous energy. Sebastian whispers from above and an encouraging grin. "You can do it, dear."


    Aristespha cracks a smile, regaining her focus, and starts her attempt. With a number of retreats from forces causing unwanted movement of the plate, she manages to get a workable gap for a shim and navigates the metal into the tight divide between plate and frame. The shim''s progress halts early, and Aristespha grimaces tensely. With fine motions, she twists the pick, driving the gap gradually wider. The pressure works against other forces upon the plate. The plate lifts up slightly, triggering the buzzer. Aristespha''s long, pointy ears slightly droop with disappointment, and she draws in a long breath. Releases her mildly disappointed sigh, she settles back into her chair. "Damn. A lot less forgiving than most body tissues."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders, smirking. "Well, I mean, that''s far better than what I''ve done so far. Pretty damn good, in my opinion."


    Dretphi nods in agreement, patting Aristespha''s shoulder. "Amazing for your first time."


    The team reassures Aristespha performance, and the sliding glass door opens. Sotalia steps through, closing the door behind her. She struts into the room and towels off her fiery orange, wavy hair. Letting the towel drape down her shoulders over her bikini top, she rests her hands at the sides of her bikini bottom and hoists up a curious eyebrow at the group at the table. "So... What have you all been doing in here?"


    An evil smile appears on Cideeda''s face, and she points over to the puzzle trap on the table top. "Oh, just trying to see who can get the furthest on this puzzle. Want to give it a try?"


    A competitive spark glitters in Sotalia''s golden eyes, and a confident grin widens on her face. "SURE. What''s the score to beat?"


    Sotalia swiftly sits down, and Aristespha slides the device and tools to her. Cideeda recites a quick explanation of the process. With an eager zeal and the audience around her, Sotalia starts her attempt and almost immediately triggers the buzzer. Laughing off the first round, Sotalia attempts again. Over the minutes, she cycles through attempts, the failure buzzer punctuating each short effort.


    Watching the fumbles and hearing the swears, Aristespha barely contains her giggling, shaking her head. Sotalia eyes over at Aristespha, tinges of annoyance creeping out upon her tight smile. Aristespha sighs, waving off Sotalia, and smiles awkwardly. "Sorry. This reminds me of that one time Sebastian got that huge splinter."


    A wave of humored embarrassment washes over Sotalia, and she covers her mouth reflexively. "OH GODS. THAT."


    Turning his head curiously towards Sotalia, Bach pries further. "I sense a story behind THIS..."


    Sebastian contorts his ghostly face and groans ethereally. "It''s NOTHING. REALLY. Just got a really big splinter. Not much to say."


    Perking her furry ears, Cideeda glances briefly over to Sebastian and slides her gaze at Bach with a toothy grin. "In his ass cheek."


    Sotalia leans back in her chair, grimacing in ill-humor, and draws a long breath in. "Okay... Since it was kind of my fault, I''ll tell it. Long story short, I was trying to put Sebastian and Aristespha in..."


    She bites her lower lip and rolls her golden eyes at her. "Situations so they would have nice, personal moments with each other. Of course, this was before they were together."


    Tilting his head to the side, Bach furrows an inquisitive stare at Sotalia and glances between Aristespha and Sebastian. "Hold up. So, YOU were trying to match up my brother and Aristespha?"


    Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes with a groan and shrugs her shoulders. "In her defense, we ALL kind of were after awhile. It was well past endearing and getting to that annoyingly and painfully OBVIOUS point."


    Working the playful guilt off her face, Sotalia fights against past embarrassment. "Yeah... I was trying to figure out a way to... Um... Encourage moments. And, let them hopefully arrive at the horribly obvious, to the rest of us, conclusion."


    She pantomimes out the scene. "So. After a busy day of tracking down leads to find Noxian, we stopped for the night at a rest area. It was a nice, clear night with all the stars out. And, Aristespha was sitting by herself on a wooden park bench."


    Averting her golden eyes briefly, she glances over to Sebastian and motions over to Aristespha. "So, I told Sebastian that it looked like Aristespha was a little disheartened with everything going on. And... MAYBE she needed to hear some encouraging words from the Chosen One."


    Blinking at sentence, Bach slowly pivots his head and faces his brother, narrowing a questioning stare. "Really? You can''t tell me that YOU didn''t pick up on THIS ploy."


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sebastian''s ghostly form stands with a grimace and motions defensively with his hand. "I, uh... I just wasn''t thinking that way at the time, bro. It was different circumstances and... well..."


    Widening his blue eyes at his brother, Bach''s jaw hangs incredulously open, and he cocks his head to the side. "Wow... The one time YOU weren''t thinking THAT WAY."


    Sebastian leans forward with an agitated stare at Bach and throws his arms to the sides. "Oh, fuck you, I was TRYING to be better."


    Sotalia rolls her eyes, shaking her head, and pulls the attention back upon the story. "SO... He goes over, sits next to her, and they seem to have a nice talk."


    With a long, groaning sigh, she rubs her temple underneath her horn and shakes her head. "Then, he slides closer to her..."


    She winces and grunts in disgust. "And manages to impale himself on the longest splinter from that wooden bench... That I have EVER seen."


    Dretphi lifts up her hands, catching Bach''s attention, and demonstrates a gap of over fifteen centimeters between either finger on each hand. Bach cringes and visibly recoils, the realization dawning upon him. He grimaces towards his brother. "Damn... Man... Ow?"


    Sebastian winces, past memories rising up in his mind, and his ethereal form shudders. Cideeda snorts out a laugh and shakes her head. "To his credit... They continued talking for an hour after that. AND. He kept a straight face."


    Chuckling to herself, Aristespha smirks awkwardly and sighs with a loving gaze at Sebastian. "I was SO hoping he would slide closer. I thought maybe he was just being respectful. Or shy."


    She shakes her head and covers her mouth. "I did NOT realize that he physically could NOT."


    Cracking a guilty grin, she glances over to Sotalia and rolls her violet eyes playfully. "But, I guess we still ended up having personal, quality time together."


    Feeling his pride vacate the building, Sebastian groans out a mix of embarrassment and disappointment, crossing his arms defensively. "I really don''t think spending an hour with my pants down..."


    He pauses a moment and closes his eyes hard with an uneasy frown. "Laid over a seat in the humvee, while you extracted that splinter, cleaned the wound, and used your magic to heal it... Counts as quality time together."


    Aristespha shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, meets Sebastian''s gaze with a loving smile, and winks. "Depends on your perspective."


    Dretphi snorts, leaning over the table toward Bach, and comments. "Next day was not fun. All the roads were bumpy. All day travel. Needed two pillows."

 Episode 81

    In a small, single bed motel room, the bright glow of the sun fills the space with a warm ambient light. An aged, worn small flat screen television shows the Perimeter weather report, dynamic digital maps relaying information about the area. A professionally dressed fvalian woman guides viewer attention over to a number of smaller storms coming in off the western coast and pantomimes in a north eastern direction towards a huge expanse of land with the simple label of "PWZ".


    "We will experience a number of small, intense storms crossing over Perimeter and the surrounding territories throughout the day. With the summer heat warming coastal waters and the jet stream arching down, this pattern should continue throughout the week. These sporadic cells will continue into the PWZ and further. And, speaking of the PWZ, here''s Tom with the Weird Zone activity report from the Alpha Observation Post."


    A large picture with bordering decor graphics appears in the background, and the fvalian woman steps off to the side. Within the framework, a hazy, distorted video feed shows a human man with faintly, uniformly glowing blue eyes in an olive drab, all-weather survival suit. Calmly nodding with a pleasant smile at the camera, he draws in a long breath.


    "Thank you Diannee. I''m very happy to report that present PWZ activity has been relatively mild, even in the more troublesome areas of the zone. While we do expect the storm cells to be category one maelstroms in the zone, experts are not anticipating them having enough energy to last too far past the northeastern borders. BUT, for those that are in and around the zone, please keep your radios tuned to an Alert Network Station for up to date information about maelstroms, outbursts, and other dangerous phenomena. Back to you, Diannee!"


    Sighing bored on the motel bed, Isaac lifts up the remote at his side and presses the mute button. He furrows his brow thoughtfully, arching his back slightly, and ponders out loud. "Okay. One thing going in my favor, at the very least."


    Brushing back his head of wispy, wild white and gray hair, he slowly sits up on the bed and pauses with a pained wince, rubbing his neck and back. He settles his thin frame upright, slowly surveys the piles of supplies and other equipment surrounding him on the bed, and grumbles to himself. "Time to figure all this out... I guess..."


    He reaches out to the nightstand and grabs hold of a pad of paper and a pencil. Glancing over to the small desk to the other side, his gray eyes spring wide. He leans out, stretching his arm far out, and grasps hold of a paper bundle. Unwrapping the sandwich, he takes a few bites, staring out distantly, swallows, and sighs. A slight frown weighs upon his face, and he slowly shakes his head, his shoulders slumping gradually. "Just not the same... Even with all the olives..."


    Balancing between writing down notes and the unsatisfied consumption of his meal, he sorts through the supplies and equipment on the bed and scattered in the room around him. Minutes of inspections and rechecks later, Isaac hums in thought and twists his mouth uncertainly. Idly tapping the pencil to the paper pad, he narrows his distant stare and quietly deliberates within his mind between rocks of his head and furrowing his brow. He puts the paper and pencil down and grabs hold of a worn folder. Flipping through a few sections of documents within, he slows to an earmarked spot and parts the paperwork, studying a prominent list within. He slides his finger down the crossed out entries of names and contact information. Isaac mumbles to himself, shaking his head. "Gods, Emanuel, I really hope you found someone new I can work with..."


    He lifts his finger away from the paper and studies the remaining contacts, squinting at the unfavorable descriptions noted off to the side. "Gods... Really scraping the bottom of the barrel otherwise..."


    His eyes scour through the bad reviews, and Isaac shakes his head, closing up the folder. With a weak, dismissive pitch, he drops the collection off to the side upon the bed. Pulling himself to the edge of the mattress, he rests his feet on the ground and scratches his head with both hands, groaning out his building frustration.


    From the other side of the desk, an alert chirp sounds out from a battered, old laptop. Blinking back to awareness, Isaac stands up, carefully stretching himself upright, and walks curiously towards the desk chair. He sits down, swipes his finger on the screen, and the device''s display lights up to a plain desktop filled with heaps of cluttered icons. With quick familiarity, he taps through a number of menus and a program opens up. Scrolling through lists of messages, he selects the latest unread, and a hopeful smile appears on his face, reading the source address. A moment later, the system decodes the encrypted message and spills forth a plain text version. Isaac narrows his gaze up on the text with growing intrigue showing in his idle nodding. Halting his study, Isaac glances around the room, stretches over towards the bed nearby, and snags the notepad and pencil. He readies the writing tools and pores his attention over the information within the message and jots down a number of key terms, mumbling to himself between major points. "Beckerin recommended... Lady Rhian''s Artifacts and Magics... Talk to Lady Rhian first... Get directed to Mavian..."


    Isaac straightens his back against the simple wooden chair back, stretches his shoulders out to the sides, and releases a long sigh of relief. Glancing over the new lead with a hopeful smile, he starts to nod with refreshed accomplishment. He halts. Blinking blankly, he pauses in thought, contorts his face between concern and worry. He spots his new Perimeter Road Map next to the laptop. Gritting his teeth, he unfolds the first set of folds of the compact map, delving into the ever expanding document. He awkwardly finds a suitable enough stopping point against the paper chaos and taps open an aethernet browser. Typing the name of the location into a search site, he balances the sprawling map upon his lap and grumbles out hints of embarrassment. "Okay... So now... Where the hell IS this place?"


    ----


    Across the dining table from Bach, Aristespha examines a number of materials upon a clean, white mat in front of her with glowing violet eyes. With both hands, she carefully picks up a luminous sheet of woven stabilized magical energy and rotates it studiously around in front of her by the edges, narrowing her analytical stare upon it. Seconds later, she cracks a satisfied smile and nods approvingly, further inspecting the flow fabric. "Nicely done. A very close approximation to what the normal spells and processes can manufacture."


    Rubbing his blue eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose, Bach blinks hard and rocks his head side to side, stretching out of his neck. "Cool. I mean, to be honest, it was getting little mind numbing doing all those little details over and over again. Yeah..."


    He shudders briefly and exhales. "I think next time I really need to figure out some magical automation on those parts."


    Studying the last few details of the material in her hands, Aristespha lays it gently back down upon the large surface in front of her and thoughtfully rests her chin on her hand. Searching her mind with her violet glowing eyes, she lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at Bach and tilts her head slightly. "Would you like to try something a bit more challenging?"


    Bach cocks his head, pondering briefly, and shrugs his shoulders. "Sure. I guess? I mean, what exactly is the more challenging thing you have in mind?"


    With an interested grin, Aristespha draws a long breath in, deliberates to herself about the right phrasing, and explains. "The magical medical materials you have been making are the more..."


    She pauses a moment and furrows her brow. "Common variety. Very useful for first aid and initial treatment of trauma. Their effectiveness tends to be limited for more significant and involved injuries. While they still are quite needed, they are not designed for specific situations."


    Furrowing his brow, Bach nods to a general understanding and wrestles a grimace, narrows his gaze curiously. "Yeah... Yeah, I can see that. Okay. So, what''s the cutoff point for the types of injuries that stuff can handle? What''s the upper limit?"


    Aristespha tosses her long, silvery blue hair back, mulls over a thought, and pantomimes out the concept with her hands, indicating the divisions of a range. "For example, the materials we have here are great for mild lacerations, scrapes, covering burns, closing open wounds, and..."


    She smirks with a playful snort. "Well... Generally preventing anything important from leaving your body."


    Reflexively cringes at the forming mental imagery, Bach wrestles a grit of the teeth into an awkward smile. Nodding at the sentiment, Aristespha changes up her pantomime, shifting her focus upon the other side of the proposed spectrum. "These more advanced materials are used to address and remedy other types of injuries and conditions. They are extremely useful in the right circumstances. Often, they can mean the difference between having a chance at life or very certain death."


    She turns in her chair at the dining table, leans over off to the side, and reaches into a large medical kit upon the floor. Swiftly, she unconsciously navigates her hand to a small, bright neon orange metal box, grasps it carefully, and lifts it onto the table. She gingerly releases the latches, pivots the box towards Bach, and presents the contents inside. "This is my stock of those types of materials. All these were purchased."


    Bach leans over the table and narrows a studious gaze upon the sealed wrappers. Aristespha motions her finger down and along the neatly arranged and specifically ordered items. "The processes to create them require dedicated magical machinery manually flowed by specialized trained medical mages with very specific spells. Now... THAT does NOT mean they cannot be made without such equipment. BUT, you can NOT get the volume needed quickly enough otherwise."


    Sorting through the sterile packages with detailed information printed on the wrappers, she finds a sealed transparent packet containing a dimly glowing, translucent sheet, and pulls it out of the row. "This one is about to expire soon. It shall be a safe example for us to examine."


    She carefully closes the neon orange box and deftly returns the container back to its proper home in the larger medical kit. Aristespha slides the pack of medical fabric over to Bach, smirking expectantly. Curiously, Bach gently takes the packet, lifts it closer to his blue eyes, and angles the package against the overhead lighting, squinting at it. "So, uh, what is this, exactly?"


    Straightening her posture, Aristespha smiles confidently and points towards the material. "That is a tissue bonding sheet. Very versatile magical material specifically designed for medical use. You can wrap it around a damaged artery. Put it between separated tissues. And even, with quite a bit of effort, you can use it to reconnect ligaments."


    With a violet pulse of her eyes and spark of flow in her hand, she cracks a calm grin, hints of excitement coloring her voice. "Then, with the right application of magical flow, you can activate the material to thread out around the very cells of target tissues to form a powerful bond that stabilizes the damage and temporarily mends tissues until other magical or natural healing processes happen."


    Bach in honest surprise, glancing over at the eager smile upon Aristespha. Studying the package closer, Bach closes his eyes and reopens them to a glowing blue. He narrows his illuminated stare upon the package. "Okay... Huh. Now THAT is actually really impressive... Wow... That is some seriously detailed construction in that... Sheet? Wait..."


    Drawing the packet closer to his eyes, he squints tightly, his examination delving deeper into the material. "No... Wait... That''s a... That''s actually a mesh. A really, REALLY fine mesh. Damn. That is some fine detail work happening there."


    Aristespha nods knowingly at Bach''s discovery and sighs with a roll of her eyes, twisting her mouth with a sarcastic curl. "If you think THAT is impressive, you should look at the price on the back."


    Fluttering his eyes away from the focus, Bach flips the material pack over. He scans over the information printed on the back and halts. His eyes spring wide open, and he reflexively shudders with a wince. "UH... OH... Wow... Yeah, uh, THAT is REALLY expensive."


    He shrugs his shoulders and chuckles lightly. "But, I mean, I guess that makes sense for buying a box of a dozen or-"


    Flashing a devilish grin, Aristespha lifts her eyebrow with a humored laugh. "They are INDIVIDUALLY priced."


    With his mouth hanging open mid sentence, Bach awkwardly slides his wide eyed stare back upon the packet and glances over at Aristespha. With both hands cradling the wrapped magical material, he presents the precious item back to Aristespha. "OKAY. I think this is much safer in your hands."


    Snorting into a snicker, she snags hold of the package, holding it up in her fingers, and smiles with a mischievous tint. "OH, is it?"


    With a defiant grin, she neatly tears the top off the packet. Tensing up at the sight of the expensive seal broken, Bach unconscious squeezes out a faint grunt. Shaking her head, Aristespha smiles reassuringly and expertly removes the tissue bonding sheet out onto the clean, explaining calmly. "Do not worry. Truthfully, it was too close to the expiration date for my comfort anyway. As much as I do not like to waste materials, I am NOT going to keep any questionable materials around and risk anyone''s health needlessly."


    Rolling her violet eyes, she grimaces briefly and sighs. "It is best to accept the cost and replace it, rather than take the chance you will be in a situation where you will have to use such in a critical moment."


    She frowns sharply and draws in a stiff breath through her nose. "Then, you have to constantly worry if the material will be able to hold out long enough or just catastrophically fail at any given reason."


    Working out the surge of unease with a few shoulder shrugs, Bach pauses and furrows his brow with an idea rising to the front of his mind. "Yeah. That makes sense. But... I mean, THAT is some really amazing magical material. But? Don''t medical mages have a whole set of spells to handle really bad injuries that they would use that stuff on?"


    Aristespha ponders, nodding with some reservation, and tugs at her mouth, approaching the subject. "Yes. And. No. A significant portion of the spells medical mages use focus on enhancing the body''s natural mechanisms to heal. Those spells unfortunately require time, energy, and preparation that is not always available."


    Bach gradually forms an understanding and presents a summation. "Oh... Okay. So, great spells for when things are more ideal than not?"


    With a confirming smile, Aristespha shrugs her shoulders and relates with an amused tone. "For the most part. While I know spells to do intricate, near perfect repairs on your arteries and veins, you will certainly have long since bled out before those spells can work on a sliced open femoral."


    Excitement sneaks out into the grin on her ivory face, and she works the tissue bonding sheet in her fingers. "Hence, this is why we have materials such as this."


    Perking her brow, she smirks mischievously and gazes at Bach. "Would you like a demonstration?"


    Bach gradually shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and glances over with an agreeable tone. "Sure. I mean, wouldn''t mind seeing this in action-"


    Aristespha quickly applies a medical glove, deftly retrieves a metal scalpel from a disinfectant bath nearby on the tabletop, and hunts around the vicinity. Bach awkwardly resumes his statement. "Uh- Without personally needing its services."


    Narrowing a brief incredulous glare at Bach, Aristespha shakes her head, rolling her eyes dismissively, and gestures out an incantation with her free hand. She directs a concentrated flow of energy upon the entirety of the medical instrument with faint crackling sounding out and sweeps waves of similar magic upon the area of the mat. Resting the scalpel upon the sterilized surface, Aristespha stands up from her chair, tapping her ungloved fingers upon the wooden dining table top and hums in thought. Her violet eyes widen briefly. A clever smirk appears from the blue and gray hinted corner of her face. Stepping around the dining table, she walks into the kitchen area and opens the fridge. Seconds later, her searching gaze locks onto a target, and she reaches inside. With a modest cut of steak in her gloved hand, she returns to her seat at the table and readies the meat for surgery.


    Aristespha confidently picks up the scalpel, prepares herself, and summons Bach''s attention. "Now. Depending on the type of cut, you have a number of factors to consider when using the tissue bonding sheet. For example, if the injury goes parallel with the muscle fibers..."


    Aristespha precisely cuts into the steak with Bach observing. The kitchen door leading to the garage opens up. With an eager smile, Dretphi steps through the doorway, walks up to the refrigerator, and opens the door. Searching the contents inside, she pulls out plates of mixed vegetables, potatoes, and bread, and arranges them out strategically on the nearby counter top. Furrowing her brow, she leans away from the fridge, stares through the door into the garage, and twists her mouth contemplatively, eyeing the large charcoal grill smoking in the driveway. She internally sorts the sequence of events with mumbles of grath slipping out, and returns her attention back to the fridge. She grabs hold of a large plate of steaks and examines the cuts of meat with a rush of eagerness and pride. She freezes in place. Studying the four cuts on the plate, she cocks her head to the side, shifting a few platinum blonde braids, and frowns confused. Staring into the fridge, she places the plate of steaks down and searches the inside of the refrigerator thoroughly, brief grumbles of perplexed grath slipping out.


    Finishing placing a strip of the tissue bonding sheet inside the incision in the cut of steak, Aristespha pinches the meat together on both sides of the cut with her gloved hand. She gestures with her free hand and recites a complex incantation. Flows of magical energy condense around her gloved hand and sink precisely into the closed divide. A faint, thin glow of prismatic energy fades, and she releases her pinch. The incision remains securely closed. Bach squints his glowing blue gaze at closure and leans closer. "Okay. THAT is pretty damned cool. So... How well does that hold against being pulled apart? Like if you are moving around? Or putting some kind of stress on it?"


    Smiling proudly, Aristespha presses two fingers of her gloved hand upon either side of the sealed cut and attempts to pry it back open. "That all depends on the design of the material and its lifespan. But, most of the time, you will likely cause another separate injury before you will ever be able to pull apart the bonded tissue."


    Bach nods, his glowing vision narrowing, and curls his mouth uncertainly. "Amazing... Man... Really wish I could get a better view of what


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    s going down at the microscopic level."


    Aristespha''s very long, pointed ears perk up, and she tilts her head curiously at Bach. Moments of thought later, she blinks to a realization and signals Bach towards her eyes. "Oh... That''s right! You have probably never been shown how to use medical types of magical visualization. Have you?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Bach shakes his head. "Uh, yeah, don''t think so. I mean, I can do some very small scale sight magics. But, most of the time I''m just feeling out the flows after a certain point. So..."


    He tugs at the corner of his mouth. "I guess I''m not really SEEING what I''m... flowing around? Just feeling that there


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    s something the flows are going around? Something like that, um."


    Lifting her head up, Aristespha rests an examining gaze upon Bach and faintly nods. She points to her violet illuminated eyes. "I think I can show you one process that I am using. It is a combination of spells you can overlay upon your typical mage sight. YOU might be able to pick up what I am doing and duplicate it."


    Bach nods and concentrates his stare fully upon Aristespha''s face. Blinking her violet eyes back to normal, she holds up a finger, signaling the start of the process to Bach. Her eyes flicker back to a strong glow. With slow, exacting precision, she recites through each stage of a long chain of incantations and gestures. Pausing after each major phase, she waits for Bach''s confirmation and demonstrates the next steps. With a faint warping of magical flows around her eyes, she finishes the last step and summons prismatic magical energies in her hand, placing her fingers down upon an empty section on the white mat. Bach grants an understanding nod. Aristespha flutters her eyes back to normal, dismissing the excess energies with a few hand waves. "That particular set of spells will enable you to do microscopic visualization of a volume under the influence of the flowed energies."


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Working through a strained grimace, she narrows her concerned gaze at Bach. "Please, though... Start with a very, very small area. It is extremely easy to get completely overwhelmed. That is why most practitioners start out with the least amount of magnification power on the most narrow of scopes."


    She leans back against the chair and rolls her shoulders. "It all can easily become an unwieldy spell combination, because of all the various factors in each individual spell in the layers."


    Mentally reviewing the last minutes in his mind, Bach''s distant stare narrows. He draws in an apprehensive breath, furrows his brow, and concentrates. His eyes pulse a brighter blue and threads of magical flow emerge down his arm into his hand. "Okay... I think I got the basic idea of what you did. I know a few of those spells already, but I''ll have to improvise a lot. Let''s see how far I get with this..."


    The energies stabilizing in his hand, Bach places his fingers down upon a similar spot on the clean, white mat. The magical conduits pulse with different flows of prismatic color. Bach grits his teeth and visibly cringes with a distant, disconnected stare. Moments of facial twitches and hard winces later, he closes his eyes hard, shaking his head vigorously, and waves off the energies. "OH GODS! Fuck me! Damn..."


    He flutters his eyes and alternates between winks. "Yeah... I don''t think I got that right... At all..."


    Barely quelling a humored snort, Aristespha shakes her head with a commiserating smile and assures Bach. "No. That probably means you did it just fine. That is the same reaction EVERYONE who first attempts those spells gets. How are you feeling?"


    Bach blinks, rubs his eyes with both hands, and shudders out the remaining discomfort. "Fine, I guess? I mean, probably would have gotten a headache if I kept it up much longer than that. It started to feel like it was projecting straight into my brain."


    Releasing a sigh of relief, Aristespha smirks amused and laughs lightly. "Oh, good. That is about the correct feeling. I still remember five people in my class getting really bad nausea and dizziness. One poor man vomited into the garbage can. So, you did just fine for your first attempt."


    She lifts a curious brow and narrows an inquisitive stare at Bach, querying. "Were you able to see anything?"


    Reviewing recent memory, Bach rocks his head side to side with tinges of uncertainty. "Yeah... I think so. Brief glimpses of... Stuff? It was just a lot to sort through all at once. Felt really... Disconnected? Disjointed, maybe? It was really weird."


    Aristespha smirks in complete agreement with Bach, shaking her head reminiscently. "Oh. Yes. THAT sounds familiar. It is a hard feeling to accurately describe. But, it gets better when you are more familiar with the spells."


    A large, faint shadow countering the light from the kitchen casts itself up on the tabletop. A light shiver up Bach''s spine pushes his posture straight in the dining chair, and he eyes either side of him searching for SOMETHING. Aristespha lifts her gaze upward and meets the sternly stoic expression upon Dretphi''s tan face. The imposing grath woman standing behind Bach narrows a glare at Aristespha and points to the cut of steak on the white mat. "Still edible?"


    Maintaining a calm collected smile, Aristespha nods confidently and motions her hand towards the meat. "Perfectly. Sterilized the surface and instruments. I needed an appropriate demonstration medium for Bach''s education."


    The edges around the stern stare upon Dretphi''s face dulls, and she focuses her firm tone upon Aristespha. "Are you done... Preparing... YOUR steak?"


    Aristespha presses a gloved finger onto the closed incision. With a pulse of violet light in her eyes, a translucent dispelling pulse bursts out into the cut of steak. The incision opens back up on its own, and she deftly sweeps up the degraded tissue bonding sheet, setting on one side of the white mat. "I am now."


    She picks up the cut of meat with her gloved hand, and Dretphi presents a small plate near it. With a calm smile, Aristespha rests the steak upon the dish. Hoisting the platter away, Dretphi takes the piece of meat away and walks out into the garage towards the grill and cooking food, a few grumbles of grath slipping out. Bach eases out an awkward breath, the looming emotional pressure system around him deflating.


    ----


    In the living room of the ranch style house, Sotalia sits on one side of the couch and flips the pages of a graphic novel, her golden eyes sifting through the imagery and dialog. Turning the last page of the book, she bites her lower lip with an excited smirk on her light tan face and places the book on the pile next to her. Leaning slightly over, she grins and whispers to Dretphi on the other side of the couch, pointing to the cover of the graphic novel. "So... Who do you think HE ends up with?"


    Dretphi pauses from her reading and notices the particular book cover, fighting back hints of embarrassment upon her face. She glances to either side of her, leans close to Sotalia, and quietly replies in grath. Sotalia eases away from Dretphi and narrows a curious stare at her. Donning a devilish grin, she tosses her fiery orange, wavy hair back over her shoulders. "Oh... Really? I..."


    She lifts up an intrigued eyebrow and curls a smirk. "I actually hadn''t thought of it like THAT. INTERESTING."


    Working the pink flush out of her tan face, Dretphi shrugs her shoulders and stretches her faintly gray striped arms out. "My theory."


    Sotalia furrows her brow, snorting with amusement. Brushing stray hairs over her swept back, black horns, she catches a glimpse of the muted television and reaches over to the coffee table for the remote. "Gods. Finally. They''re getting around to showing the weather report again. Takes them FOREVER to cycle back to it."


    Pressing a button on the remote, she stares at the display of an evuukian man in front of a digital map.


    "Local authorities have put out a heat advisory for Amaranth Valley and the surrounding areas. Presently the jet stream is pushing away storm systems from the southwest, along with any possible maelstrom activity that may manifest. Unfortunately, we will be in the valley heat bubble with very little wind for the next few days. With the shifting of the front, we should get some relief by Monday night. Until then, exercise caution with the heat. Take breaks from outdoor activities, retreat into cooler areas, and drink water."


    Sotalia taps the mute button on the remote, shaking her head, and picks up another book, smirking. "Oh... Well. Good enough excuse for me to catch up on this series."


    Sitting at the dining table, Cideeda''s long fluffy tail wags side to side, and she slowly rotates a miniature between her claw tips. She narrows her emerald green eyes, tugging her mouth to either corner, and deliberates, hovering an ultra fine paint brush near the tiny details of the figure''s armor. She pulls the brush away and mulls over a thought, indecisively squinting. Seconds later, she puts the figurine down and softly huffs. Spotting the contemplation on Cideeda''s light brown face, Bach tilts his head of longer brown hair to the side. "Something wrong?"


    Cideeda raps her claw tips on the table top, briefly grimacing, and rocks her head to either side. "Nothing wrong... Just... Just trying to figure out what type of Perimeter Defense Force unit would be better to have with my army."


    Narrowing her stare at the unit, she flicks her furry ears with her debate. "I think I got enough heavy armor units to be the front line... So..."


    Waving out her hand, she grimaces indecisively. "Maybe having a few Deep Zone Rangers would be good?"


    Bach sets a large mech miniature in the middle of the table and magically tweaks its pose, pondering out loud. "Yeah. I mean, you can''t go wrong having a few units with high evasion, first strike, and THAT cover bonus."


    He points to the mechanical unit and curiously asks. "So, is this the look you were going for?"


    Cideeda turns her head, springs her emerald green eyes wide open, and grins toothily at the mech figure, her tail wagging faster. "Yes! That''s perfect! Now, if I can just get the paint mix right to capture that balance between ancient and rusty..."


    Stepping through the archway from the hallway, Aristespha stretches her neck out to either side, extending her arms over her head. She puts her hands on her lower back, curls backwards, and grunts softly. "Gods... Sebastian, next time I try to write for that long... Please remind me to take a break to walk around."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts into view next to Aristespha, and he playfully rolls his translucent blue eyes. He reflexively adjusts the loose pompadour of brown hair on his head and smirks at Aristespha. "Of course, dear. You could also try writing in a chair with proper posture..."


    He glances off to the side and spouts from the side of his mouth. "Instead of curled upon a pile of pillows and blankets."


    Aristespha rests her hands on her hips, straightens her athletic figure, and twists her mouth against the truth. "I... Guess... Though, it is just hard to get in the right mood otherwise."


    Sebastian crosses his arms, leans his ghostly form close to Aristespha, and quirks his brow, whispering ethereally. "As if it''s hard for you to get into the right mood for what you write."


    Shaking out her long silvery blue hair, Aristespha smirks confidently and giggles quietly to Sebastian. "Oh. But, it takes a SPECIAL state of mind for my BEST work to come forth."


    Aristespha walks into the center of the living area between the dining table and couch. Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and snorts, drifting behind Aristespha. "If what I''ve proofread so far is any indicator, I truly fear what might be lurking in your mind."


    An evil smile briefly emerges from the gray and blue hints on Aristespha ivory face. Surveying the army of figurines upon the dining table, Aristespha crosses her arms and studies the miniatures closer. She directs her genuinely curious tone towards Cideeda. "Next time you head out to the game shop for a tournament, please let me know. It has been quite awhile since I have seen a high point count match."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk up, and she nods with an eager smirk. "Will do."


    An evil spark lights in her emerald green eyes, and she draws out a toothy grin. "Going to finally take the plunge? Commit to the cause?"


    Playfully waving off the notion, Aristespha sighs, fighting off an embarrassed grimace. "NO. Not quite yet. Unfortunately, I deal with balancing enough numbers and figures professionally as it is. Do not really need a hobby that involves that, too."


    Accepting the explanation, Cideeda smiles sinisterly and rocks a figure temptingly towards Aristespha. "Fair enough. We all will be WAITING for you..."


    Suddenly an ambient drone in the room drops out into silence. The team quickly settles their collective attention upon the inert air conditioning unit on the wall. Blinking a few times, Cideeda''s furry ears search the soundscape, and she frowns uncertainly. "The other units are off, too... And, I didn''t hear the thermostat turn off."


    Pointing towards the far end of the house, Sebastian hovers that direction. "Okay... Weird... I''m going to go check that big unit outside just to see what it''s doing."


    Rolling her violet eyes, Aristespha shakes her head with a groan and walks back into the hallway. "Gods. Allow me to get the number for the leasing company, we will probably need it soon.


    ----


    Chad walks into the living room of the two story house, carrying in a small decorated wooden chest. Standing in the middle of the area in front of the coffee table, he addresses the Flames of the Phoenix team seated around upon the section couch. "Okay, everybody. Time to cast your votes."


    He glances down at the sturdy prop in his hand. Noticing the attention from the surrounding team, he shrugs his shoulders in his collared shirt and rolls his brown eyes casually dismissive. "If you''ll excuse how it looks, THIS is what the show provided to store the ballots."


    He taps his fingers on the wooden exterior, smirking in slight amusement, and rests it down on the coffee table top. "Surprisingly, it''s actually really well made. And, the lock even still works. Samantha said they found it in a local game shop of all places."


    He turns the key in the lock, lifts the lid open, and retrieves a collection of paper ballots and pencils. "Everyone gets a ballot, rank your three..."


    Checking around the room at Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, Trakenthin, and Veevi, Chad snorts at the group''s ill-humored expressions and shakes his head. "Well... Two real REAL choices from first and second. And we all know what the third pick is. Then, just fold them and slip them through the slot."


    He travels around the room, handing out ballots and pencils to each member of the team. Veevi promptly stands up with a bright, saleswoman smile, and poses confidently. "Now before everyone makes their choices, I''d really like to point out that while we have a tough choice to make..."


    A sly grins accompanies a persuasive glint to her dark pink pupil eyes, and she gestures her opinion with a dramatic flair, waving her hand out and wagging her tail. "We should really think about our futures and our team''s future. While some jobs can serve as paltry resume builders, very few can grant you the unique opportunity to get your foot in the door of a rewarding industry."


    Resting her hands on her hips, she furrows an examining brow towards the rest of the team, shifting her stance. "You all certainly understand the value of doing small jobs to build towards a greater goal. I BELIEVE in THAT. BUT, I also don''t want to be doing small jobs forever, along with you. SO... Why not make the choice to pick a seemingly small part for a chance for something greater in the future?"


    Chad steps up to Veevi, presents her ballot and pencil, and tilts his head to the side. "So, I guess you are really pushing for the movie set job, huh?"


    Veevi tosses her long pink hair back, sways her tan, brown striped hips, and widens her hungry smile at Chad, giggling out loud. "Oh my! Am I being THAT blatant?"


    Shaking his head, Chad turns around, closes up the chest, and locks it. He finds a seat in a couch chair nearby and works on his vote. With obvious deliberation on his face, he taps his pencil on the ballot and suspiciously eyes Veevi''s wandering gaze in his direction. Trakenthin examines the ballot in his hands, quickly marks off three check boxes in the array, and folds the paper up. He stands up, inserts the ballot into the chest slot, and nods towards Chad, pausing along his route out of the room. "Sparring practice for cameras in an hour?"


    With a muted smile, Chad nods and a sigh with a hint of annoyance. "Yeah. They want some last minute filler footage, for some reason."


    Shrugging a similar sentiment, Trakenthin exits up the stairwell. Modoran glances around casually and nonchalantly folds the ballot up with one hand. He hops up off the couch and drops his vote off into the chest. Tassilda and Deedri exchange glances, check their own ballots once more, and get up. Folding their votes up, they deposit the papers and head off to the dining area. Veevi springs up from her seat, steps towards the table, and slowly slides the ballot in the slot with a seductive smile at Chad. She struts past Chad, playfully brushes her tail along his chest in passing, and chuckles quietly to herself with an evil grin. Chad grants her nod from the attention and waits. Veevi leaves the room up the stairwell.


    Chad slowly rises up from the couch chair and approaches the voting chest, holding his ballot in hand. He stands pondering with a distant stare upon the locked chest. He scans the room, a spark of paranoia driving his attention to points around the living room. Taking the key, he unlocks the box and slowly parts the lid. Staring down at the folded pieces of paper inside, he contorts his face between an array of uncomfortable, contemplative grimaces. A minute passes. An odd calm washes over Chad. He slowly exhales. Shaking his head with a defiant curl of his upper lip, Chad unfolds his ballot, erases two check marks, and fills the opposite back. He closes the small chest back up, locks it securely, and slips his ballot through the slot.


    ----


    In the living area of the ranch style house, the blades of the overhead fan spin around quickly, the chassis swaying in short repetition. Within the strong draft below, Dretphi and Sotalia lounge miserably, sprawled upon the couch. Dretphi wipes sweat droplets off her soaked brow with her hand and tugs her undershirt away from her chest. Fanning some air through the damp garment, she sighs out her weakened frustration, trying to distract herself with the television. Sotalia groans out her disgust. Her boredom wanders, gazing upon her frizzing fiery orange, wet hair. She tightly grips a towel nearby with her long, thick, black nailed fingers and wipes the sweat off her face, grumbling. Dragging the cloth down her body, she blots off the surface moisture around her shoulders, bikini top, and stomach. Aristespha droops her long, pointed ears lower, eyeing the end of call message on her aetherphone in defeat, and tosses her head of damp darkened silvery blue hair back. "Bad news or good news, first?"


    Surveying the fading group morale upon the couch, Sebastian smiles encouragingly at Aristespha with a hopeful tone. "Let''s go with good news, first?"


    Aristespha rubs her eyes into a pinch of the bridge of her nose, draws in a long breath, and sighs. "Good news. The leasing agent was able to book a repair technician, despite the overwhelming demand right now."


    Faint signs of relief and hope swell in both Dretphi and Sotalia. Raising her fist up, Sotalia weakly celebrates. "Woo..."


    Lowering her eyelids half mast over her violet eyes, Aristespha colors her tone with tinges of anger, deflating upon the dining room table. "Bad news... The appointment is tomorrow afternoon."


    Dretphi sinks into the couch deeply and drops her head back, cursing in grath. Sotalia buries her face in the palm of her hand and grips one of her horns in frustration. "Gods... Dammit..."


    Gritting his teeth briefly, Sebastian hovers towards the other side of the house, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, and reassures the team present. "It''ll be okay. I''m going to go check on Bach and Cideeda. I''m certain those two will be able to figure something out."


    He drifts through the wall away from the miserable crew.


    Outside on the other side of the ranch style house, Bach kneels down next to Cideeda and grabs hold of another side of a panel to a large air conditioning unit. Panting against the stagnant heat and the overhead sun, he assists Cideeda in lifting off the metal shell. Both Cideeda and Bach turn their attention towards the inside maze of wiring and metal tubing, years upon years of debris, funk, and filth filling in the gaps between and coating everything else. Cideeda sneers her upper lip, laying her furry ears back, and growls. "OH. There''s NO FUCKING WAY this has seen a yearly service this decade."


    Cringing at the sight, Bach glances down, catching the buildup of dirt and sediment crumble out from the bottom of the machine. "Shit... They probably just dropped it in and haven''t touched it since. To this thing''s credit, it was actually doing pretty awesome until now."


    Nodding in agreement, Cideeda picks off chunks of torn insulation around the copper lines with her claws, squints her emerald green eyes at the network of wiring and machinery, and wrestles a contemplative grimace. "Honestly, I''m going to have to clean this thing up first before I can really diagnose what even happened to it. What a mess..."


    Bach peers into the crevices between major components, slowly shaking his head, and sighs out his waning confidence. "Yeah... Uh. Kind of hard to spot the soot of the blown out part... Against all the other dust and grime."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form phases out from the nearby brick wall, and he pivots towards Bach and Cideeda. With a hopeful smile, he pleads for good news. "So... Any idea what we''re dealing with? Progress of any kind? Anything good to say?"


    Cideeda lowers her furry ears and shakes her head with defeated grumbles. Bach turns his head, facing his brother, and draws a long breath in, explaining uncertainly. "Well... We''re probably the first people to open this damn thing up in forever. It''s filled with grit and grime. And, fuck us, if we have any clue what this damned thing''s problem is."


    Pointing a clawed finger to Bach, Cideeda nods her head in sympathetic agreement, inspecting the air conditioner. Sebastian sags his shoulders, frowning slightly, and gives an appreciative thumbs up. "Okay. Well, you two do what you can. There''s a tech scheduled for tomorrow, so you don''t need to overhaul it. Just see if you can get it to last us through the night."


    Bach and Cideeda return the thumbs up and start sorting through the mess within the machine. Sebastian phases through the brick wall and drifts through other architecture back to the living area. Upon the living room couch, Dretphi sighs deeply, her annoyance contorting her face. "Would shower. Does not help. Not cold anymore."


    Sotalia glances down at herself, growling lowly at the situation, and cringes. "Gods... Even stripping this bikini off wouldn''t help at this point."


    Slouching in the dining room chair, Aristespha narrows her stare to the temperature on the thermostat, rolls her violet eyes, and wilts further into her chair at the dining table. Hovering into the area, Sebastian apologetically smiles and attempts to imbue confidence in the team. "Bach and Cideeda are getting started on diagnosing the thing. It hasn''t seen service for a while. So... Hopefully, it might be a simple routine fix. But... They don''t know right now."


    Sotalia nods appreciatively against her doubts, reaches out, gripping the edges of the couch, and sighs. "At least they''re on the case. I''m going to... Try the whole cold shower thing..."


    Grasping tightly, she gradually peels herself off the couch, easing herself upright, and fights a squirming fit of uncomfortable disgust. She visibly cringes, awkwardly flexing her body, and glances down, widening her golden eyed glare at the wet outline herself on the cushions. Suppressing a reflexive gag, a surge of determination forces her arms defiantly up in the air, and she stomps over towards the sliding glass door. "FUCK. THIS. I''m fixing THIS. RIGHT NOW!"


    Sotalia grabs hold of the door handle, powerfully throws the slider wide open, and stands over the threshold. "I''ll pay for the deposit we don''t get back. Clear the blast!"


    Glancing around out of her heat stupor, Dretphi spots Sotalia gesturing out incantations and springs up from the couch, rushing into the hallway. Aristespha blinks quickly, follows behind Dretphi, and calls out. "Fuck the deposit. Do it!"


    Summoning forth a mass of magical flows in her hands, Sotalia pushes her arms out to her sides, one hand inside the house and one outside in the heat. Prismatic energies traveling along her arms illuminate brightly, and air swirls out in a projected vortexes from each hand. A cone of cold wind bursts forth into the living room and spills out into the open spaces. Light refracting waves of heat erupt out from her other hand, blasting forth into the yard and up into the air. Many seconds of waning intensity later, Sotalia halts the energy flows. Stepping in through the foggy mist of frigid cold air meeting outside heat, she closes the sliding glass door slowly, struts into the middle of the room, and exhales a visible, relieved breath. "Much. Better."


    Aristespha and Dretphi peek out from the hallway archway and swiftly enter the room, enjoying the significantly lower temperature. Checking out the faintly frosted room, Sebastian nods at the impressive display. "Not bad. I''ll go see if Bach and Cideeda want to take a break."


    ----


    Standing in the middle of the living room of the two-story house, Chad presents the small voting chest to the gathered Flames of the Phoenix team and the surrounding camera crews at the edges of the room. He sets the wooden container upon the coffee table and announces. "It''s time to reveal and tally the votes."


    Unlocking the chest slowly for the cameras, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin watch on with hints of apprehension and highlights of suspicion. Veevi grins confidently and poses for the recording crews. Chad draws out the ballots, unfolds each of them, and counts them. A genuinely proud smile graces his face, and he gazes out over the team, addressing them. "Well, to be honest, I safely assumed the Chances of Slimes mission was not even in the running. So, the remaining choices are between the Movie Set Escort and Remote Drone Recovery quests."


    Eyeing over the votes fanned in his hands, Chad presents his bright white grin, draws in a dramatic breath, and calls out. "The winner is... The Remote Drone Recovery. Five to one."


    A wave of surprise splashes over most of the team. Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin exchange glances and collectively puzzle at Chad. Veevi''s expression abruptly drops hard into a blank stare. Over the seconds, she simmers towards an accusatory, indignant glare, mumbling near incoherently. "...but... ...he was supposed to..."


    Gritting her teeth, she digs her sharp nails into the cushions of the sectional couch and directs an insulted, muted growl towards Chad. "Don''t YOU mean TWO to four..."


    Chad calmly pivots his head towards Veevi, narrows his resolute stare upon her, and repeats plainly. "Five. To. One."


    Veevi balls up her fists, shoots up from the couch, and hisses at Chad, her short-hair tail fluffing out. Narrowing a mean glare upon the rest of the team, she petulantly yells out. "WHAT THE FUCK is wrong with you people!? A perfect opportunity to further yourselves, and you turn it down to go wander around in the woods looking for JUNK?! Am I the ONLY ONE with any kind of AMBITION here?!"


    Tossing her pink hair back, she turns in place and flicks up her long tail disgustedly. She storms up the nearby stairwell, and a small camera crew detachment scurries up the stairs behind her. Moments of awkward silence later, Tassilda lifts an intrigued brow at Chad, crossing her arms, and smirks. "So... Five to one? INTERESTING."


    Chad respectfully nods. Between the assembled members, a quiet acceptance grows into a mix of appreciation and approval.

 Episode 82

    Gerald sighs and gradually rolls his head side to side on his pillow. Closing his eyes, he stills himself and drifts his mind away from the background conversation filling the small bedroom. Samantha paces down the middle wood plank walkway in the upstairs space and draws a plotting grin across her face, pivoting towards the threshold leading to the balcony. "We''ve GOT to do something with this new strife between Chad and Veevi, Howie!"


    A distant chuckle sounds out, and Howard''s voice resonates into the room from Samantha''s aetherphone. "Oh, I agree. I got the feeling this was going to happen at some point... But, didn''t quite expect it NOW. BUT... We can definitely use this to our advantage."


    Samantha smiles with an evil tinge, lifts a plotting eyebrow, and ponders out loud. "I know. We haven''t even pulled out the usual tricks for triggering a little drama this season. I could do some tweaking on their lodging arrangements, and get two three-person rooms instead of three two-person rooms."


    Giggling with sinister glee, she steps with an extra spring across the room. "Veevi facing rejection with her emotional fragility... Let''s put her with someone who actively hates her AND someone she desires. That should lead to some show-worthy moments."


    Howard speaks up from the other side of the call with an agreeable tone and pushes forth suggestions. "Yes. Good. And, Chad might get some backing from the other guys to break off his relationship with Veevi. Hence..."


    With an excited hop in place, Samantha''s tone squeaks out eagerly. "Ooo! Fresh exes having to work with each other AND live in close quarters. And, Veevi on the rebound?! Oh, that''s going to make things interesting!"


    A sly smirk graces Samantha, and she tosses back her brown shoulder-length hair. "SO much potential there. But, it honestly might take some time for it to... Cook... Properly. In the meantime, any progress on the Modoran haters front?"


    An uncertain hum sounds out from Samantha''s aetherphone, and Howard hints his intrigue. "A little. I''ve gotten the community forums people using their fake fan accounts to goad them into saying more, and some are trying to get on their good sides. But, no solid information, yet."


    He drags out a groaning sigh from the other side of the remote conversation, the rap of fingers on a desktop peaking over the background noise. "Despite how much they despise Modoran, it seems the whole thing about keeping outsiders out of Evuukian House politics is still one thing they stick to. They are very tight lipped about any specific details. The forums people still don''t know exactly what Modoran did to piss them off. About the only thing they''ve come up with is that Modoran MIGHT have been a member of a house."


    Samantha''s eyes widen briefly, and she cocks her head to the side puzzling. "Really? I wouldn''t be completely surprised. But, if he was a member of a house, he certainly doesn''t advertise it like most the prominent house members do."


    Narrowing her stare off to the side, she twists her mouth. "THAT would explain quite a few things."


    Gerald slowly opens his eyes, furrowing his brow, and comments towards Samantha. "Yeah, that would. I thought it was REALLY weird the looks a lot of those evuukian nobles were giving him. Some nasty glares at the archery competition."


    Searching her mind, Samantha sorts through her memories and gradually nods in agreement. "Yes. I remember that. And, he definitely seems to know A LOT about evuukian politics. But, what house? There''s so many major and minor ones out there. I''ll have to dig deeper on that one."


    A contemplative twist colors Howard''s tone over Samantha''s speakerphone, and he suggests. "Yes... Actually, have the crew review all the footage with him in it and see if there''s any hints in what he''s saying-"


    He pauses a long time. Samantha narrows a confused stare at her aetherphone, the call time indicator continuing to increment. Many seconds later, a quiet chuckle grows forth into an evil, bellowing laugh, sounding out fully into the room. Drawing a long breath in, Howard''s voice adopts an ill-humored tinge, and he plots out loud. "Actually... I have a better plan. Let''s have a poll... An anonymous poll... One of those goofy ones..."


    Lifting his head up from his pillow, Gerald blinks perplexed. "Okay... So, what''s the poll about?"


    A verbal smugness exudes from the phone in Samantha''s hand, and Howard triumphantly calls out. "What Evuukian House would each member of the Flames of the Phoenix belong to?"


    Gerald glances around in confusion, sorting through the logic. Samantha quietly pauses and grins ear to ear mischievously. "Oh... That''s good, Howie. A little fan involvement, and that definitely could make Modoran sweat."


    Howard ponders out loud, instructing the two. "That''s part of it. There''s another part. While it will take a while to get more details, I''m going to tell the aethersite and community team to require forum registration to submit a vote. And, while it''s publicly anonymous, we''ll track who casts which vote."


    With a hint of a dark chuckle, he states. "I get the feeling our Modoran detractors will vote."


    Gerald blinks, the logic settling in his mind, and nods in agreement. "Yeah. They probably would. Hell, that might work better than you could ever get by asking them."


    Rolling his dark brown eyes dismissively, he groans out an incredulous retort. "Well shit, you might as well set up a fan poll about which crime each member would likely be guilty of while you are at it."


    Howard''s voice goes silent on the other side of the aetherphone call, and Samantha blanks her face in contemplation. Moments later, Samantha pivots, facing Gerald with a devilishly delighted grin, and aims her voice towards the phone. "Did you hear THAT, Howie-"


    A prompt reply sounds out, Howard chuckling eagerly. "Already on it! Thank you, Gerald. We could definitely use that and similar to help the researchers out."


    Gerald grits his teeth briefly, releasing a regretful sigh, and turns his head away, rubbing his forehead. "No... problem... Anytime..."


    Whispering to himself, he grimaces. "Gods, I''m SO sorry, you guys..."


    Gerald sits up on the bed and slides himself onto his feet. He quietly escapes the room out onto the peaceful balcony. Samantha and Howard hash out future polling schemes.


    ----


    Flying underneath the scattered clouds above, Lagi''s front wings minutely adjust to the stirring air currents, his back wings propelling huge gusts of wind behind. With calculated movements, his fanning tail sways, stabilizing himself, and steadies his position in the thermals above a huge parking lot below. Kaleb motions between a number status screens floating in the holographic display in front of him and drums his fingers on the saddle. Leaning forward, he pats Lagi''s side and sighs into the microphone in his helmet. "Just a little while longer. Took a lot of really high resolution pictures and the client wanted them uncompressed."


    Lagi flutters his bright green eyes back to awareness, eyes back at Kaleb, and grunts out an acknowledgment with a purr. Closing his eyes, he adjusts the facing of his armored head and eases back into a chill trance upon the winds. Kaleb chuckles to himself, settling back securely on the saddle, and sorts through the different messages on the translucent screen. A few minutes later, a final prompt flashes up, and Kaleb stretches his flight jacket covered arms out. He waves across the screen, and the holographic projection fades away. Leaning down upon the saddle, he grips hold of a pair of handholds tightly and calls out. "Finally! Upload is done, and they just sent confirmation of receipt. Damn, that took long even being this close to an aether tower. Oh well, let''s head home!"


    With a powerful downwards swing, Lagi breaks away from his midair coast and launches himself forward faster with each flap. Pitching down slightly, he trades altitude for velocity and soars above the roadways of the small town commercial district. He flies with the afternoon sun to his back, piloting through the air towards a familiar destination, and occasionally glances down upon the ground, spotting the landmarks.


    An elaborate chime sounds out through the drone of the wind around Kaleb, and he taps the side of his helmet. "Yes, my love?"


    Shadeesa''s voice sounds out in Kaleb and Lagi''s headsets with an inquiring tone. "I''m feeling like cooking a few of my grandmother''s dishes for dinner tonight. What do you think?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaleb leans over, noticing Lagi licking his lips in anticipation. "No objections here. We just finished uploading the photos for the guild contract and are heading back."


    Traces of concern color Shadeesa''s worried hum, and she pries. "Oh, damn. How far are you from home? I want to do proper emin cooking, for once, but I''m fresh out of the right seasonings. And, you know it won''t taste right if I substitute too much."


    With a comforting laugh, Kaleb pats the side of Lagi and directs Lagi''s attention towards a large superstore on the horizon. "Doesn''t matter where we''re at. For good cooking, we''ll make the trip. And, Lagi seems in the flying mood today anyway."


    Tilting his body, Lagi gracefully swings around, reversing his direction, and cuts through the air with his wings and tail. A happy chirp sounds out through the air and over the radio headset. Shaking his head, Kaleb chuckles. "We just were near the super center in town. Just message me the list to my phone, and I''ll go get it."


    Shadeesa''s voice warmly rises from the call, and she delights. "Thank you! If they don''t have it all there, you might try the import shop. But, they can be a little expensive..."


    Kaleb warmly reassures, pointing out towards an open field next to the parking lot ahead for Lagi. "Don''t worry about that. We''re getting paid for this job, so we can live a little tonight."


    A little pause later, Shadeesa sighs lovingly and giggles softly. "Well... See you two soon. Love you both."


    Lagi purrs out, and Kaleb nods. "Love you, too."


    Kaleb taps the side of his helmet, pats Lagi''s shoulder, and glances down at the empty field far ahead. "Okay, let''s head to the store. There''s going to be some good greasy pans for you to lick clean tonight."


    The large dragon excitedly chirps and powers his wings against the air towards the vacant grassy lot.


    In front of the large super center, a young man with slicked back hair wanders between entering and exiting customers with a pamphlet and bucket. Presenting a concerned smile, he shows a flier to a passerby. "Hello, my name is Marcus, I''m representing People for Dragons Rights. Would you like to make a donation to our cause and take a free pamphlet about how you can help let these beautiful creatures fly free?"


    The emin man in overalls furrows his scrutinizing brow at Marcus, slowly shakes his head, and walks into the super center. "I''ll think about it while I''m shopping."


    The emin man walks away, and Marcus fails to keep a bright grin, it fading off his face. "Not a problem. Keep us in mind if you have change you don''t want after you''ve checked out."


    In the lull of foot traffic, Marcus slumps his shoulders and slowly plods towards an old van. He knocks on the sliding side door and sighs. The door opens up, and a young woman with dark gray skin and braided red hair peeks her head out. "Hey, Marcus! Any luck?"


    Slowly shaking his head, Marcus pushes the van door fully open and sits down on the floor of the vehicle interior, passing the bucket of sparse change over. "Not really. Gods, I don''t know, Cind. We might need to head back to Amaranth. Don''t think people here care about dragons at all."


    Cind pats the back of Marcus''s colorful t-shirt and smiles encouragingly. "Don''t say that. I''m sure people care."


    Rising from underneath a blanket, a young emin man with chipped and broken horns yawns, and greets the other two. "Yeah, man. Don''t count them out yet. They might just not have a lot of money to just give away..."


    Scratching his shaggy beard thoughtfully, he shrugs his shoulders, pondering out loud. "I don''t know... Maybe we should, like, really give merchandising a chance. Nothing big. Maybe some cool t-shirts and airbrushing. We could totally get some cheap stuff, spray some cool looking dragon stencils on it, and totally get some money."


    Cind blinks with an eager grin and cranes her head around, glancing at Marcus. "Kell is right! I mean, people might not give away their money freely. BUT, we could totally sell them on arts and crafts!"


    With a long sigh, Marcus rests his chin upon his fist, propping his head up with his arm contemplatively. Rocking his head side to side, he huffs out his frustration and grumbles. "I guess. Dammit. I thought we were doing good when we released all those whelps at that show. I mean... We planned it out. It went perfectly. And, it got noticed! I really wanted to do another big thing before we have to go back to college."


    Laughing with a goofy, reassuring grin, Kell stretches his arms out. "Aww, don''t beat yourself up, man. It''s been a fun trip. Kinda nice to know we can get it together this much. And man, you got to stop being too focused, else your chance might pass right by you."


    Marcus groans half heartedly and rolls his dark brown eyes. His gaze briefly shifts upwards. A shadow casts down upon the surrounding area, and a low rushing, thump whooshes past. Blinking back to attention, Marcus quickly searches the area and watches the dark spot upon the ground quickly grow, zipping across the parking lot towards an empty field. Cind''s bright blue eyes widen, and she points up into the air. "Look at that!"


    Shifting his stare upwards, Marcus gawks at the large dragon quickly dropping altitude for a landing. Kell squints his purple on black eyes, grins happily, and nods his head. "Whoa... That''s a big boy right there. He''s got to be pushing a fifteen meter wingspan-"


    He reflexively points out. "Dude! He''s got the second pair of wings, too! Oh man, he''s a rare one. That''s too cool."


    Shooting up to his feet upon the pavement, he glances back over his shoulder to Cind and Kell. "Well, it looks like he''s landing over there. Let''s check this out!"


    In the middle of the open field, Lagi folds up his wings, kneels down, and tilts to the side. Kaleb unbuckles himself from the saddle, swings his leg over, and slides off Lagi, landing on the ground. Brushing himself off, he stretches out his back and pets Lagi on the side of his head. "Okay. You stay here. I''ll try to be quick. You want anything?"


    Narrowing his eyes in thought, Lagi darts his gaze around his mind and emits a series of clicks, chirps, and purrs. Kaleb scratches his chin, mulling over the request, and starts to walk away. "I''ll see what I can find. But, you are going to have to ask your mother if it''s okay for you to have tonight."


    Sitting upright, Lagi nods and watches Kaleb jog off towards the superstore. Seconds later, the breeze picks up over the tall grasses, and he sniffs the air. Tracing a faint smell close to the ground, he carefully steps around the field. Following his nose, Lagi pushes through the taller grasses, halts abruptly, and purrs contentedly. His large maw opens, and he clamps down on a large mass of plant life with loud crunching.


    Marcus, Cind, and Kell trudge through the thickening grasses and stand near Lagi in awe. Marcus glances over his shoulders at Cind an Kell, plotting. "Okay. The rider is away. Let''s see if we can get close and get that saddle and gear off of him."


    Nodding hesitantly, Cind studies Lagi from a distance and starts to approach. "Let''s see if he''s friendly. Looks like he''s eating something."


    Kell narrows his stare at Lagi and the riding equipment and shrugs at Marcus. "Sounds good, man. But, there isn''t that much gear on him. Actually, it just looks like the saddle and a few other things. Probably got some kind of tracker and stunner gear underneath."


    Marcus leads the approach, the trio moving closer to Lagi. In between stretches of munching on another mouthful of flora, Lagi''s bright green eyes dart back, observing the approach of the three people. Watching them attentively, he returns to sniffing the ground, hunting. Cind walks around towards the front of Lagi and notices the mass of blackberry brambles in Lagi'' mouth. The dragon crunches down casually on the thorny vines, and she grimaces uncomfortably, puzzling. "Why is he eating blackberry plants?"


    Dropping her gaze down, she finds a nearby patch full of berries and observes Lagi licking the mashed berry juice off his mouth. Cind gingerly picks a handful of fruit and approaches the dragon. "Hey. You want the berries? Here! That way you don''t have to fight the thorns."


    Lagi''s attention slides quickly over to the hand of berries in Cind''s hands, and he steps close to her. He opens his mouth, waiting patiently. Cind tosses some of the fruit into Lagi''s anticipating maw. With Lagi munching happily on the fruit, Cind distracts the large dragon and sneaks out a signal to the others. Kell and Marcus slink towards Lagi''s side. Kell pulls Marcus''s attention towards a few harness points. The two try to reach out, and Lagi side steps away. Backing away, Kell and Marcus cautiously approach again, making another attempt. Lagi''s wing shifts down and brushes the two away. Stepping back, Kell scratches his head and shrugs his shoulders at Marcus. "I don''t know, man. He seems pretty against us touching that. And, you know..."


    Kell squints his purple on black eyes at the gear on Lagi. "I''m not seeing a bridle anywhere. Or actually, like, any restriction devices on him."


    Summoning up his determination, Marcus dons a casual facade, gazing away, and peeks out the corner of his eye. Cind tosses another handful of berries into Lagi''s maw, and Marcus rushes over to Lagi''s side and grips the support strap buckle tightly. A loud, reverberating growl echoes out into the area. Freezing in place, Marcus slowly turns his head and meets the glaring bright green eyes of Lagi. He slowly releases his grip and gradually steps back under the cold stare of the dragon, holding his hands up.


    Parting through the small crowd at the end of the field, Kaleb glances around with two bags of groceries in his hands and squints at the three people around Lagi. Rolling his light brown eyes, he shakes head, marching over, and grumbles to himself. He stops short of the group between him and Lagi, draws a long breath, and calls out. "OKAY. What THE FUCK are you people doing to him?"


    Marcus narrows his stare, puffs out his chest, and points to Kaleb. "WE are members of the People for Dragon Rights! And, WE are trying to LIBERATE this dragon from your slavery!"


    Blinking in surprise, Kaleb cringes visibly and drops his head of short dirty blonde hair down. "Of course... They would fucking find US."


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    He draws in a long breath, furrowing his brow unamused, and leans his gaze around Marcus and Kell, calling out to Lagi with a series of clicks, whistles, and growls. Lagi glances over, munching upon another handful of blackberries, thinks a moment, and replies with a chain of purrs, chirps, whistles, and a particularly low growl. Kaleb nods in understanding, sighing. "Listen, we got to go. I need to go home and help with dinner."


    Crossing his arms defiantly, Marcus stands up straight and narrows a glare at Kaleb, loudly proclaiming to the crowd. "Oh! So YOU get to go home and eat good. But, your poor dragon is left to graze the fields and munch on the pitiful scraps of vegetation!"


    With an annoyed groan, Kaleb cringes, glances up to the skies above, and shakes his head mumbling to himself. Focusing his gaze ahead, he spots Cind struggling to pick anymore berries from the blackberry brambles and Lagi''s drifting attention. "Lagi! You done getting fed organically grown blackberries? Ready to go home to eat nice home cooking?"


    Lagi lifts his head up, sitting up straight, and purrs, flexing out his wings. Kaleb quickly sidesteps wide around Marcus, snorts humored at the trio, and walks to the awaiting Lagi. He stows away his groceries in the saddlebags at Lagi''s sides, pulls himself quickly into the seat, and secures himself for flight. "Nice talking to you and all, but... WE really got SO many better things to do."


    Excitedly unfurling his wings, Lagi stretches out his wingspans, fans out his long tail, and widens his stance. Halting mid process, Lagi coughs. Smacking his mouth, he hacks hard. Kaleb leans over, examining Lagi''s face, and rolls his eyes with a shake of his head. "Didn''t chew enough before swallowing. Come on, take a deep breath and get it up."


    Straining his neck and opening his maw wide, Lagi repeatedly hacks and coughs, the long process quickly growing wet, thick, and messy. In a final gathering of strength, he draws in a large amount of air and expels it. Turning his head sharply, Lagi releases a sticky mass right at Marcus''s chest. The blob of congealed phlegm, sharp brambles, and dark purple berry leftovers splatter powerfully onto Marcus, and he stumbles onto the ground. Kaleb blinks in surprise and narrows an accusing stare at Lagi, whispering. "Okay, now THAT was obviously on purpose."


    Glancing back, Lagi shrugs his shoulders with an indifferent grunt. He bounds off, gaining escape velocity. With a few power flaps, he and Kaleb lift off into the skies. Receiving the mix of the crowd''s snickers and cringes in the background, Cind and Kell rush over and check in on Marcus. Both wince at the sight of Marcus covered in purple speckled, viscous goo, and painfully clingy, thorny bramble bits. Gradually, Marcus sits up. Cind and Kell attempt to carefully remove the sharp branches, and Marcus huffs quietly to the two. "We are going to FREE THAT dragon."


    ----


    Plodding along the hardwood floors of the hallway, Aristespha rubs her eyes into a pinch of the bridge of her nose and draws in a long breath with her aetherphone pressed to her very long, pointed ear. Twisting her mouth, she grimaces with the voice on the other side of the phone call and gradually releases a long sigh. Regaining her composure, she rests her back against the wall and blinks unamused, her tone remaining positive. "I apologize, I know it is hard work. We all do greatly appreciate your efforts and what you have done."


    A disheartened tinge sneaks into her voice, and she drops her head forward slightly, letting her silvery blue hair hang forward. "We were just hoping for more to go off of. But, what you have provided us is still very helpful. It will give us an idea of what to prepare for."


    Summoning up a bit of hope, she straightens her posture, stepping away from the wall, and walks towards the hallway archway into the living area. "Thank you. And we will try to be ready to act upon any more information you find out."


    With a final goodbye, Aristespha slowly shakes her head at the aetherphone, slips it back into her shorts pocket, and glances around the room. Cideeda narrows her emerald green eyes at the screen of her laptop upon the tabletop and sits back in her chair at the dining table, tapping the fingertips on both hands together. Her furry ears flick and perk with her plotting thoughts, and she grits her teeth briefly at the spreadsheet of statistics and unit points value calculations, the latest rules errata open nearby. Dretphi folds up a shirt, places it upon one of the few stacks surrounding her on the couch, and reaches into a nearby hamper. A dramatic scene of a grath show plays out on the television, and she pauses, watching the tension peak. The camera shifts for the surprise reveal, and Dretphi blinks into an incredulous shake of her head with frustrated mumbles of grath.


    Aristespha''s violet eyes settle upon the empty, inviting recliner. She swiftly passes in front of the coffee table, plops down into the plush couch chair, and pulls the side lever. The chair back tilts, the leg rest extends out, and she melts into the cushions and sighs. Sebastian''s ethereal form drifts in from the hallway, floats above the couch, and lands next to the recliner. Kneeling down, he presents a comforting smile to Aristespha and calmly inquires. "So... How did the call with Hackle go, dear?"


    Contorting her face between different emotions, Aristespha settles upon an unsatisfied smirk and weakly shrugs her shoulders. "Not terrible. But... Not great, either."


    Sebastian chuckles lightly, rolling his translucent blue eyes playfully. "So, about the usual for us, then?"


    With a quick snort, Aristespha slowly nods and parts a gradual smile on her ivory face. "Yes, Sebastian. Typical."


    Lifting a curious brow, Sebastian releases a ghostly sigh and glances over to Dretphi and Cideeda. "Want to reveal the details?"


    Stretching out on the recliner, Aristespha sinks deeper into the cushions and ponders a moment. "Of course. But, I just wanted to relax a bit and collect my thoughts a little first. Plus, might as well wait until Bach and Sotalia get done with practice."


    Sebastian glances out into the sunny backyard and nods in agreement. "Yeah. They''ll probably be in soon enough. Looks pretty hot outside."


    An ambient drone rises up in the background, and the air conditioning hum speeds up. The gust of air from the wall unit spreads outwards, blowing a few stray strands of Aristespha hair. With a twitch of her long, pointed ears, she closes her eyes and relaxes with a long exhale. Sebastian and Aristespha exist quietly next to each other. Cideeda clicks a few keys on her laptop, studying another set of figures. Dretphi sneers at the developing drama on the television show.


    Minutes later, the sliding glass door opens. Bach steps through with a guilty grin and a faint trail of frost mist wafting behind him. Following behind, Sotalia narrows an accusatory stare at Bach, pointing at him. "Okay! You PURPOSEFULLY let those frost blasts hit you. I KNOW you can dodge better than that."


    Glancing over his shoulder, Bach shrugs simply and reveals a satisfied smirk. "Yeah... I lost the match... But, I totally won the war against the heat."


    Sotalia furrows her brow, rolls her golden eyes, and steps off to the side of the coffee table. Sliding into the breeze of the air conditioner, she pulls open the neckline of her sports bra down and tosses around her damp, fiery orange, wavy hair in the cooling wind. "Well, you could have returned the favor, at least."


    Bach pulls a chair out from the dining table and thinks a moment, hiding a humored grin. "Well, you said, use your best attacks. So, I went with the ones that''d give you a challenge. I mean, I''m not the best with throwing elemental attacks around."


    Sotalia shifts her weight with a sway, resting her hand on her hip, and stares incredulously at Bach. "Right..."


    A sly grin graces her light tan face, and she lifts an examining eyebrow towards Bach. "Maybe you just wanted to see me sweat."


    Bach blinks blankly and glances over to Sotalia, puzzling. He awkwardly averts his gaze away from light tan and dark gray skin tone patterns of Sotalia''s perspiration coated back. Quickly sitting down at the dining table, he drops his focus over to Cideeda''s laptop screen of calculations and rules. Sebastian glances over at Aristespha expectantly and motions towards the rest of the team. Aristespha nods, resets the recliner back up, and stands. Stretching her back out, she hems loudly and addresses the group. "I got an update from Captain Hackle. There is some good news, but not as much as I would like."


    Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia swing their attention over to Aristespha. With a mildly frustrated frown, Aristespha relays the news. "They are still tracking down Noxian. But, the few confirmed sightings of his vehicle put him heading towards Perimeter. They do not know if that is his final destination. He has been avoiding the main highways, so they only have so much information to work off of."


    With an annoyed sneer of her upper lip, Sotalia crosses her arms. Cideeda''s furry ears droop, and she groans weakly. Dretphi snorts out a sigh and shakes her head. Aristespha draws in a long breath with a sympathetic smile. "I know. Captain Hackle is contacting Captain Hays, since he has more jurisdiction in Perimeter and the PWZ. The GAA authority runs thin out there. So, hopefully, they will confirm he has at least been to Perimeter."


    Sebastian ethereal form nods appreciatively to Aristespha, stands up straight, and explains. "I don''t think we should make a move until we at least confirm he was recently in Perimeter... Or, at least confirmed to be somewhere for some period of time. I think we''ve all had our fill of wild goose chases and hoping to hit it on crappy odds."


    Around the living area, everyone musters their own agreeing expressions, hints of stale frustration forming. Sotalia rests her hands at her hips, sighing reluctantly, and shrugs her shoulders. "As much as I want to chase him down, Perimeter is really far to just randomly visit on a hope he might still be around there. Gods dammit..."


    The collective mood dims in the room, and the team idles in disappointed silence. Aristespha measures the morale, stepping towards the dining table, and calls out with a grin. "I think we need something to cheer ourselves up. I want to try that dessert place down from the game shop. Anyone interested? My treat."


    Chuckling to herself, Sotalia walks to the hallway archway. "I''ll take a little emotional bribery right now. Let me get into something more presentable... and less soaked."


    Dretphi perks up with a smile, finishes folding up a pair of shorts, and digs into the laundry basket. "Allow me to find socks."


    Flicking her furry ear towards Aristespha, Cideeda grins toothily and stands up. "Definitely need to stop by the game shop. See the latest units..."


    She gazes at Aristespha with an inquiring lift of an eyebrow. "Maybe price out a starter army for someone?"


    Aristespha laughs and shrugs shoulders. Bach glances over to Aristespha with a thankful smile. "Hey, uh, thanks for the treat. You sure you want to pay for all of us? I mean, I got my own money... for once."


    Gazing down at Bach in his seat, Aristespha shakes her head appreciatively, rolling her violet eyes guiltily. "Technically, it is the compliments of the Evuukian Territories government. My monthly citizen stipend finally got processed out of my government account."


    Pondering a moment, Bach blinks with his memory and nods. "Oh, right. Yeah... I forgot they have a basic income system. Always seems weird that such an oligarchic government would allow that to exist..."


    Aristespha shrugs her shoulders and sorts through her thoughts with her violet eyes. "It is a complicated issue. To say the very least. But, it actually serves as a bit of an insurance plan for all the oligarchs. Citizens with money tend to spend it. And, when most of the houses are centered around goods and services, they see the returns."


    With a long sigh, Bach stretches his neck out side to side, grimacing. "Okay, that makes sense. Kind of wish other governments did that. Would have made it easier to handle rent and bills a number of times."


    Blinking at her memories, Aristespha crosses her arms and nods. "It has certainly helped me. Along with the citizen credit system, I have stayed out of too much financial trouble. But, admittedly, since I am not a current resident in the territories or working a job paying territory taxes..."


    She snorts dismissively, tugging at the corner of her mouth. "It''s not THAT much."


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Bach pries. "How much?"


    Aristespha smiles with a chuckle. "Enough to take friends out to get a few treats. Or, a bus ticket back into the Evuukian territories."


    Narrowing a distant stare, Bach thinks for a moment and shakes his head. "Still surprised that some politician hasn''t figured a way to screw it up."


    A smirk cracks out from the corner of Aristespha''s mouth, and she perks an amused brow at Bach. "They occasionally try. Usually, it is some new member of a minor financial house that proposes it. Does NOT go much further than that. They usually get REMINDED of what happened the last time a financial house was allowed to dictate any important policy."


    Bach furrows his brow and focuses his gaze at Aristespha. "Which was?"


    Aristespha chuckles lightly, shaking her head. "OH. A massive crash of the economy. A bunch of financial houses cooked up some scheme, and it COMPLETELY backfired. The remaining houses forced the government to nationalize banking, insurance, and investment organizations."


    Blinking in surprise, Bach scratches his chin, narrowing his intrigue upon Aristespha. "Damn. I bet those financial houses weren''t happy about THAT."


    With a foreboding laugh, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and rests her hands on her hips. "They were not. But, there were not many financial houses with active members left at that point."


    Sebastian drifts next to Aristespha, listening in on the conversation. Pausing in thought, Bach cocks his head to the side slowly. "Wait... Active members?"


    Aristespha grins darkly, giggling. "Exactly. Active members. Those living and willing to run the house. Turns out a lot of the financial house members quit, died, or just went... Missing. For very strange and suspicious reasons, too. Only pieces of some were ever found."


    Bach blinks away, turning his head towards Sebastian, and slowly shakes his head. "Seriously. Is there not a chapter of Evuukian history that ISN''T filled with sociopolitical strife and questionable events?"


    Gritting his teeth briefly, Sebastian twists his mouth and grumbles at a loss. "Uh, not really, bro. It''s pretty drama-filled and crazy. It just gets deeper the further you go into it. There''s some crazy stories in just the investigations about even crazier things."


    Aristespha smiles wryly and perks her brow, punctuating the point. "We tend to season it with splashes of bloodshed and steep it in unsolved mysteries, too."


    Leaning closer to his brother, Sebastian contorts his face uneasily and slowly shakes his head. "Seriously, bro. I read up about this one trade union guy and NO ONE... STILL... NO ONE knows what happened to him. Even stranger kinds of magic couldn''t figure anything out. It''s fucking creepy, man."


    Pondering a moment, Aristespha grimaces, humming in thought. "Yes. Him. I believe the rumors state that someone dumped him into the foundation of a government building somewhere. At least, that is the best theory I have heard."


    ----


    Sitting around the coffee table in the living room, the Flames of the Phoenix team sifts, sorts, and studies documents sprawling over the surface. Chad taps a pencil down a handwritten check list, pacing around, and points at Tassilda. "Okay, Tassilda, any word from Daedrican?"


    Nodding, Tassilda scrolls through the long message on her aetherphone and narrows her light blue on black eyes. "Yes. It seems like that particular area is really close to where we got attacked when traveling with their patrol. Strange..."


    She leans over from her seat on the couch, searching the map with a finger, and taps a spot. "The predicted crash site is here. And, we got attacked..."


    Sliding her long, thick black nail down the printed out map, she stops at a spot along a road. "Here. So... Not too far away."


    Chad grimaces out his concern, inquiring further. "Anything else?"


    Searching through the message, a bit of relief appears on Tassilda, and she pulls a reserved smile. "It seems that Appaland made a sweep of the area after the attack. Daedrican doesn''t know any details. But from the rumors he''s heard, they cleared out any trouble in the area."


    Nodding at the statement, Chad flicks the pencil, scratching a checkmark on a bullet point. He searches around the room and settles his gaze upon Trakenthin. "Anything strange in the mission information?"


    Trakenthin flips through a few more pages, rests the packet down next to him, and picks up a sheet of notes. "Significant mentions of spirit activity. Not surprising. Weird zones in the area."


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perk up. Blinking to attention, she smiles eagerly, searching for her aetherphone. "If that''s a possibility, I know someone who could give us advice on such. At least, she''ll know what we need to read up on."


    Chad smiles appreciatively, confirming with a quick nod. "Any wisdom they could provide would be useful. Please check with them."


    Navigating through a few menus, Deedri brings up her contacts, slides through the list, and taps open a new message, Aristespha listed as the recipient. Modoran stretches his arms out, settling back into the couch, and rubs his eyes. Chad turns his head to Modoran and queries. "Um... Anything new on your end, Modoran?


    Modoran blinks back to awareness, nonchalantly glances over to Chad, and shrugs his shoulders. "Nothing too exciting. Still trying to figure out the best way to get out there and the supplies we will need. If we get lucky, we won''t be out there too long. BUT... If this thing went too far off course or got dragged off by something, we could be out there for a while. I hope we do not need to do a resupply run, BUT... That is a possibility. So, I am charting out a few options, just in case."


    Hovering his pencil near the bottom of his list, Chad writes out a few new notes and nods. "Yeah. Thought that might be a possibility. We shall see."


    Surveying the room, Modoran glances over at Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Deedri. He settles an investigative stare at Chad and casually motions him over. "Hey, could you look at this route and tell me what you think?"


    Stepping over next to Modoran, Chad kneels down and studies the highlighted roads, comprising a few possible route options. "Yeah... I think one of these could work just fine. I don''t think there''s too many options to get out there."


    Modoran nods in agreement, leaning closer to the map, and sneaks a whisper out the side of the mouth. "Where the hell is Veevi at?"


    Chad eases out a defeated sigh, rolling his eyes, and gradually shakes his head with a quiet reply. "She''s still fucking hung up on being voted down. Still refusing to leave her room for anything apart from show related shit."


    Working through the discomfort on his face, Chad draws a long breath in, presenting a positive tone against waning confidence. "Maybe... She''ll be better once we are on the road..."


    He eyes off to the side with a faint hint of faux hope. "Maybe..."


    Modoran glances over briefly at Chad and pats him lightly on the back, nodding. "We, at least, appreciate the effort."


    A weak smile emerges from the corner of Chad''s face.


    ----


    Staring out distantly, Nash eases back into his office chair, a long metallic squeak grinding out, and grumbles into a groan. His eyes scan over the long list of unread messages on his computer display. His attention wanders over towards the stacks of paperwork upon his desk. His gaze tries to escape from the impending work, finding no relief upon the row of wall mounted monitors with scattered warning alert messages. Sinking into his seat further, he deflates at the surrounding, building work.


    From the office door, a knock sounds out, and the door opens. Harvos reflexively ducks his head down, his horns clearing the doorway, and steps into the room, surveying the scene. With an awkward smirk, he shakes his head and snorts with a commiserating tone. "So... You too?"


    Nash slowly shakes his head in silence. Harvos steps over, pulls over a rolling chair in front of Nash''s desk, and sits down. Leaning back in the seat, he draws in a long breath and groans. "Good gods. Those investigators have been practically camping out in my department."


    Nash laughs and grumbles, hints of frustration slipping out. "Fuck me. If they keep on researching any more of the databases, I might consider offering them residency. I mean, they''ve technically done more research than most of my graduate candidates at this point."


    The two sit in silence, wearily idling, and drifting off into their own thoughts. A minute later, Harvos rubs his temple, drawing in a long breath, and inquires. "Relayed anything more to Aristespha?"


    Shaking head, Nash rocks the back of his office in repetitious, faint creaks sounding out, and sighs. "Nothing more really to say. Plus, at this point, I''m pretty sure the investigators know more than me."


    Harvos closes his brown on black eyes, rubbing his forehead, and grumbles to himself. The two quietly commiserate in the academic background of the office, the soft sounds of hallway traffic filtering mixing with barely audible drone of desktop computing equipment. A chime rings out from Nash''s computer. Squinting at the screen, Nash cocks his head to the side and furrows his brow, puzzling. He opens the latest message, reads the text at the top, and springs his pale blue eyes wide in surprise. "Well. Okay..."


    Getting up, Harvos steps around the desk and leans over, checking out the screen of interest. Nash clicks through a few programs, opens up a collection of maps and data dumps, and ponders out loud. "This is from my friend at that one aetherphone network company. Since he got legal clearance to dig deeper, he''s been sorting through the rough data logs they collect from the providers using their towers. He found something strange..."


    The two study a familiar map of the area with an overlay of wide, color paths approximately following the roadways. Nash slowly pulls his head back, an uncomfortable realization dawning upon his face, and tenses his shoulders. "Oh... Shit..."


    Harvos''s confusion grows along with his suspicion, and he fights emerging discomfort coming from his subconscious, manifesting into tension throughout his body. "There''s something unsettling here. I can feel it. What is it, though?"


    Tapping his finger on the screen, Nash gazes at Harvos and explains. "The logs don''t contain high resolution position data. It''s just what the towers can triangulate. So... Just general area tracking."


    He points out the three different colors of highlight and the map legend to the side. "My friend tracked three phones. The two suspicious ones and mine. Now the suspicious phones only came online consistently that day when they got on campus. But..."


    Nash''s finger circles the colors of the overlay upon points of interest on the map. "Look at the areas they traveled."


    Narrowing his analytical stare upon the display, Harvos visually sorts through data and gawks in surprise, the realization solidifying. "What. The. Fuck? One of those phones followed almost the same route as your phone."


    Nash nods and taps an end point of the wide, approximated path. "Yeah... We were riding with Dr. Dawkins during that trip."


    Blinking in thought, Harvos pulls the free chair around the desk and plops down. He glances over to Nash, worried. "You don''t think that Dr. Dawkins is...?"


    Nash shakes his head uncertainly, mulling over the idea between moments of hesitation. "No... Not willingly, at least. But... What if Isaac had been keeping tabs on his old boss? Maybe caught wind of him coming over?"


    Slowly rocking his head with the theory developing in his mind, Harvos eases out an uncomfortable breath, processing out loud. "Yeah... Isaac sees the opportunity. Gets his accomplice to follow Dr. Dawkins and us. Keep an eye out. Be the lookout for him. Then, Isaac runs in, grabs the whatever he was looking for when no one is around, and clears out. A clean enough operation. That wouldn''t have been discovered if it wasn''t for those two students."


    Both settle back in their seats, working through surges of unease, and grimace in unison, contorting their faces. Nash flutters his eyes in disbelief, shaking his head. "Damn. That''s so fucked up. Oh. Shit..."


    He glances over at Harvos and furrows his brow with fresh concern. "We really need to check on Dr. Dawkins. Maybe he''s noticed something weird at his house lately?"


    Harvos nods quickly, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah... Isaac knows how to use a few of our old cracking tools. I wouldn''t be surprised if something of Dr. Dawkins¡¯ has been compromised. He does live on the outskirts of town, so probably no one would notice Isaac spying on him. He lives by himself. So, any time he left would be an opportunity for Isaac to tap into some system or sneak around. Real possibility right there."


    Nash studies the map again, grumbling. "Fuck. I wish they kept better logs for tracking data. Too much of a margin of error on the tracking to really nail down specific positions at exact times. Oh well..."


    He pauses a moment in through and lifts a thankful eyebrow. "At least... We didn''t run into Isaac."


    Blinking at the idea, Harvos cringes and shakes his head. "Gods, I wouldn''t know what to do in that situation."


    Furrowing an amused brow, Nash snorts. "Fuck. That. My fat ass would RUN. Probably have to change my underwear afterwards, but I''d be alive to do so."


    Harvos nods in full agreement and continues staring dumbfounded at the data on the screen.

 Episode 83

    Aristespha''s violet eyes pick through her mind, and she furrows her disconnected stare. Tapping her finger on the back of her aetherphone pressed against her very long, pointed ear, she nods her head upon her pillow, contemplating. "I am trying to remember anything else I should tell you."


    Sitting up upon her bed, she crosses her legs and hums thoughtfully. "If you got the books I told you to get, the first few chapters will give you all the basics. Most usually start with safety protocols and identification criteria. So, for what you will probably experience, that hopefully will be enough. I would make sure everyone on the team reads up on the quick rules of engagement with spirits."


    Listening to the voice at the other end of the call, she snarls her upper lip and rolls her violet eyes with a commiserating sigh. "Gods. I can certainly imagine from what I have seen. You are simply going to have to be painfully blunt with Veevi. Though..."


    She glances off to the side and twists a grimace on her ivory face. "Given her usual behavior, even the basic three rules are going to prove incredibly difficult to get through her thick skull."


    Drawing a deep breath, Aristespha releases a long exhale with an understanding smirk, listening to the response from the other side of the call. She cracks a smile and chuckles lightly. "I heard. Well, I will not keep you any longer. Keep me updated. And, please call or message me if you have other questions. I do not think we are doing anything too demanding for now, so I should be able to get back to you quickly."


    Aristespha grants a goodbye and taps the phone screen to end the call, slowly shaking her head. "Gods... Be careful... Please..."


    She idly glances around the room, easing out a sigh, and watches the morning sun reflect off the green leafy trees just outside her bedroom windows. Leaning over to the edge of the bed, she reaches her hand out to the handle of the sword and taps it with glowing violet eyes. A few moments later, Sebastian''s ethereal form materializes in front of her. "Yes, dear?"


    Aristespha smiles lovingly and curls a smirk, poking at Sebastian''s visage. "Nothing, Sebastian. I was curious as to what you were doing."


    Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, drifting into a seat upon the bed next to Aristespha. "Well, I was getting a bit too absorbed in a grath drama Bach and Dretphi are watching."


    Blinking out her surprise, she pauses in thought, quirking her brow, and stands up. "Interesting... What is it about?"


    Hovering next to Aristespha, Sebastian crosses his arms and searches his mind for comprehension, relaying. "I was just figuring out the general story... BUT, I think it''s about a young grath woman getting proposed by multiple people to join their houses. Honestly, I think she''s just REALLY indecisive."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Aristespha opens the door to her bedroom and walks through the hallway. "Well, I am curious now."


    In the living area, Bach and Dretphi stare attentively at the television, occasionally sorting laundry in the lulls of drama. A young grath woman on screen sits on a park bench under the yellow tinted glow of an overhead lamp post. Flakes of snow drift through the light from hazy, speckled shadows surrounding. Sniffing with tears in her eyes, she tightens her arms around her heavy coat and slowly shakes her head sadly. A male voice off screen speaks a concerned phrase of grath, and Americ subtitles appear. "Why are YOU Here?"


    The camera pans over to a young grath man, gazing on with concern upon his face. He patiently waits for the young woman''s glance up with a frown and sighs sympathetically with eloquent grath, the Americ subtitles struggling. "*Pulled* *Torn* Given -choices-? NOTHING to -choose-... (Still) Your decision. (Yet) -Never- your *options*... ...?"


    Bach narrows his puzzled blue eyed gaze at the screen, cocking his head to the side, and leans over, whispering at Dretphi. "So, the three dots and question mark at the end were for that trailing tone?"


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Dretphi sounds out a similar questioning shift of her voice and awaits Bach''s response. Bach furrows his brow, thinking a moment, and visibly puzzles. "Yes?"


    With a warm smile, Dretphi turns her attention over to Bach and nods. "Yes. Explicit prompt to respond. Different variations to match intent."


    The camera zooms out and captures both the young grath man and woman, under the cone cast of contrasting light against the dim ambient mix of night and thicker puffs of snow. The young woman bites her lower lip uncertainly and shakes her head with sad frown and depressed grath leaves her lips, mixing with the cooling mist of her breath. The subtitles attempt to capture the moment, questionably paraphrasing. "(Yes/No)? -*Hard*-! Why is THIS **difficult**? SHOULD be delighted with ANY. (Yet) ...?"


    Twists his mouth contemplatively, the grath man gazes up at the falling, thickening fluff, and shrugs his shoulders under his jacket and scarf. With a hopeful, slight smile, he gazes warmly at the woman with a simple grath response, and clearer subtitles scrolling by. "*None* are -owned- by YOU? -*-"


    With a graceful, slight bow, the grath man pivots and calmly strolls down the crunchy, snow-covered sidewalk towards the distant light of a corner diner signage. With each passing second, the young grath woman''s eyes widen, and she stands up quickly from the bench. Watching the man walk away, the camera focuses on her contorting face and the mix of emotion bubbling up to the surface. Scratching his head, Bach pauses from sorting through socks, curiously eying Dretphi, and inquires. "That last ending tone sounded a little different? The subtitles were different, too."


    Maintaining her focus firmly upon the screen, Dretphi briefly comments out the side of her mouth. "Affection implied."


    Bach blinks briefly, snaps his intrigued gaze back towards the screen, narrowing his attention fully on the target. "Wait? What the hell is he doing now? I thought his role in the show was to drop advice occasionally..."


    Agreeing with the same suspicion in her tone, Dretphi grumbles slightly, unconsciously leaning closer towards the television. "What will she-"


    The young grath woman lifts her head up, gazing at the young man with a smile, and rushes over, walking alongside him. In the seconds of silent, peaceful travel, she reaches her hand out for his. The scene fades to black. The end of episode sequences plays out. Dretphi closes her steel gray eyes hard and mumbles out her frustrations in grath. Settling back into his seat upon the couch, Bach sinks into the cushions and lifts his hands up in the air. "What the fuck? I mean, that''s just a rude thing to throw in at the last minute of the episode. Really?"


    Dretphi slips out a few tight lipped comments. "They do this often. Frustrating."


    Uncrossing her arms, Aristespha rests her hands on her hips and nods in understanding. "Oh. This reminds me of a few Evuukian dramas. Always a secret heir for control of the house. OR, someone goes missing right at the end."


    Bach shakes his head, pairing up a few socks, and tosses them into a hamper. Glancing over to Aristespha, he asks. "Did you get Deedri ready for their mission?"


    Aristespha gazes over confused. She eyes Sebastian at her side, her mind arriving at the plausible explanation, and shrugs her shoulders. "I think so. Deedri should be fine. I do NOT know about the rest of the group. At least, I think most should have the base level of common sense to just keep their distance from spirits."


    Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes and snorts with a dry smirk. "Most."


    Contorting her ivory face, Aristespha sighs with dismissive waves of her hands and glances upward mockingly. "Oh no... The pink one brought so much value to the team anyway."


    Pondering a moment, Bach gazes up at Aristespha and motions towards the back sliding glass doors. "You think there''s anything spirit-like out in the forest next to us?"


    Aristespha levels her head, darts her eyes around her mind, searching through the possibilities. "There is always a chance, BUT..."


    She motions generally around the area and shakes her head. "We are close to civilization, which drastically reduces the odds that such entities will want to inhabit the area. Most varieties tend towards undeveloped regions."


    Lifting an intrigued brow, Bach comments. "But, we are in the path of maelstroms occasionally."


    A memory springs up in Dretphi''s mind, and she prompts further. "We do have dire boars nearby. I heard spirits draw dires? Dires draw spirits? One of those?"


    Crossing her arms, Aristespha rocks her head of long silvery blue hair side to side, deliberating out loud. "They are still debating which it is, actually. That particular subject is still seen as a chicken and egg situation. It has been incredibly hard to get evidence to support either hypothesis."


    She contorts her face thoughtfully, gradually nodding. "Well. Thinking about it... I would guess there is a better than nothing chance for something to be out in those woods, then."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form hovers next to Aristespha, and he parts an eager smirk. "It''d be a good reason to educate my bro on the sword''s spirit detection abilities."


    Furrowing a mocking stare at Sebastian, Bach quips, dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, wow. A sword called the Sword of the Spirit Realm has spirit detection?"


    Rolling his translucent blue eyes, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, responding with an equally facetious tone. "I know, right? It''s namesake feature even. They totally put some time into implementing, I''m sure."


    He releases an ethereal groan and shakes his head. "I know, bro. It''s one of those things that requires YOU to be using it actively to work. It''s not running at full strength, otherwise. Don''t ask me why."


    Sebastian floats over towards the back sliding glass door leading out into the partly cloudy morning scene and glances back to Bach. "So, you up for an educational walk around the woods?"


    Bach''s interest piques, and he stands up from the couch. "Sure. Need to learn it at some point, I guess."


    Pausing a moment, he glances back over to Dretphi and asks. "You up for wandering around the forest?"


    Dretphi smiles, lifting herself off the couch, and nods. "Yes."


    She sighs with a trailing, grumbling frustration, and flashes a vague scowl at the television. "Need it after that episode ending."


    Shaking his head, Bach groans in commiseration, wrestling a frown . "Tell me about it. I mean, what the hell are they trying to do with that whole storyline?"


    Sebastian snorts with a twisted smirk, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay. I caught the tail end of THAT. Where did that guy even come from?"


    Scratching his head of longer brown hair and shifting the white streak to the side, Bach twists his mouth, meandering around about the topic. "I don''t know, man. It doesn''t seem to make sense. Does that guy seriously just wander around parks at night dropping wisdom to women in troubled relationships? The fuck?"


    Sebastian chuckles and perks an amused brow at Bach. "I don''t know... Seems like it''s working out for him."


    Slowly shaking her head, Dretphi crosses her arms and grumbles in annoyed grath to herself. Aristespha rolls her eyes, pivots into the hallway archway, and motions down towards the bedroom. "I will get the sword."


    ----


    Down the long, winding highway with forest bordering either side, a black, dented sports utility vehicle rolls over the worn asphalt surface. A few car lengths behind, a convoy of Next Adventurers of Nexus vans keep close to each other. In the driver''s seat of the SUV, Chad maintains a top grip of the steering wheel, staring distantly down the long road. In the front passenger''s seat, Trakenthin studies a paper map, comparing it against a similar digital version on the display of his aetherphone. Deedri glances over the text of a thick book with the title "Tobin" clear from between her clawed fingers and gazes out the middle driver''s side window. Next to her, Tassilda tosses back her raven black hair, resettling into her spot on the middle row seat, and watches a random video on her phone with a stiff expression. Keeping a nonchalant, cool exterior, Modoran squirms briefly and eases himself further against the driver''s side window of the back row seat. With petulantly crossed arms, Veevi huffs audibly, narrowing her pink pupil stare upon the back of Tassilda''s seat and presses her foot into the seat slowly, repeatedly, and purposefully.


    Trakenthin withdraws his hazel eyes away from the charts and stretches out his neck. Tapping through the menus on his phone, he opens up a messaging app and selects Modoran as a recipient, typing out. "Switch at next rest stop?"


    Blinking blankly, Modoran feels his phone vibrate, retrieves the device, and sorts his way through the recent notifications. With a casual sigh, he types up a response and taps the send button. Trakenthin checks his phone, watching the follow up message appear from Modoran. "I shall suffer for now. So far, so good?"


    Trakenthin glances over his shoulder briefly and grants a slight nod towards Modoran. Stirring into full awareness, Chad notices a large sign indicating rest stop services and distance away. He summons up an encouraging tone, donning a bright white smile, and directs his voice back. "Good news. There''s a rest stop in about another thirty minutes given how fast we are going. It''ll be a good time to eat and walk around."


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perk up, and she gives an appreciative, acknowledging nod. Tassilda glances her light blue on black eyes up, rocking her head, and leisurely returns to her video. Modoran gives a quick thumbs up, blending back into the corner of the vehicle. Veevi focuses a hateful glare right into the rear view mirror and concentrates her visible ire fully upon Chad. Moments of weathering the visual onslaught later, Chad''s enthusiasm wanes, and he returns his attention back to the road ahead. Watching Chad stop paying attention to the rear view mirror, Veevi grumbles to herself. With a huff, she pries out her aetherphone from her tight shorts and opens up a flashy, colorful game. The app loads up, and the phone blares out the game''s music and sound effects, startling everyone else in the sudden contrast. In a mix of eye rolls, annoyed twists of faces, and sighs, the rest of the team attempts to ignore and distract themselves from the annoying noise. Minutes later, a repetitive, shrill chime rings out from the game. Deedri''s furry ear reflexively twitches away from the source of the noise, and her fair face winces harder with each instance of the sound effect bouncing into her mind.


    Drawing in a deep, calming breath, Deedri slowly turns her head around, aims a pleading gaze at Veevi, and nicely asks. "Veevi, could you turn that down a little bit? Please? That one sound really hurts my ears."


    Veevi begins to summon up a defiant glare towards the request. Tipping her head up, she meets Deedri''s auburn eyes and allows her ire to wane. Moments of thought later, Veevi presents an apologetic smile and turns down the volume with a cheery tone. "Of course, Deedri! I''m so sorry. I''m so used to keeping it loud when I''m in my own room."


    Deedri gives an appreciative nod, returning her gaze to the spirit guide book, and massages her furry ear near the base. Veevi plays the game for another minute, sneaks peeks around the cab of the vehicle, and grows an unsatisfied frown on her tan face. With a weak huff, her attention wanders away from the game, and she ponders quietly to herself. The vehicle hits a significant bump in the road. The jump up the cab snatches everyone''s attention. Calling from the front of the cab, Chad genuinely apologizes. "Sorry, everyone! This road is getting rougher. I''m trying to steer clear of the bad spots, but some sections are just plain... BAD."


    Visually following a passing patch of road briefly, Modoran furrows his dusky bluish gray brow and glances back towards Chad. "Damn. They really do give up on road maintenance after a point out here."


    Chad nods in total, tense agreement, easing the wheel in direction, and pilots the vehicle around another section of road in pitiful disrepair. With a gentle lateral force, everyone swings lightly with the motion of the SUV. Veevi''s eyes spring wide open briefly, and a devious smirk curls on her lips. She assesses the space between her and Modoran, nods slightly to herself, and puts away her phone. Letting out a loud yawn, she stretches her tan, brown striped arms, searching for acknowledgment. "I think I''ll take a little cat nap."


    Deedri pauses her reading, quietly exhales, and rolls her eyes. Modoran stares out the window, studying the passing forest scenery. Fighting the instinctive urge to yawn back, Tassilda grits her teeth tightly and sneaks out a hiss of breath. Chad checks the rear view mirror and watches Veevi settle in for a nap against the back of the rear row seat, enjoying some relief. Minutes pass on by on the bumpier roads. Veevi sneaks a peek, eying the space next to her and the distracted Modoran. Grumbling audibly, Chad shakes his head and tightens his grip on the wheel. "Fair warning. This part looks ROUGH."


    The sports utility vehicle veers towards the best approach angle through the gravelly patch of highway, slowing down, and navigates scattered dips in the road. With the swaying motions, Veevi''s body shifts too easily. Chad steers the vehicle through the last section with the final bump onto an intact swath of asphalt. Veevi''s form oddly breaks loose of her slumbering position and accurately flops over to the side.


    A guttural exhale of surprise sounds out from behind Deedri and Tassilda. Their curiously piques with the trailing, high-pitch gasp following. Both turn around, gazing back at the rear seat. Veevi''s head nuzzles firmly upon Modoran''s lap, and she presses her cheek down harder upon her draping pink hair. Her hand kneads sharp nails upon Modoran''s leg, each squeeze creeping her grip further up and inside his thigh. Faint fabric pops sound out from Deedri''s claw tips, sinking deeper into the top of the middle bench seat. Deedri''s auburn glare narrows upon the pink haired half-fvalian, and a flush of boiling fury reddens her ivory face. Watching furry ears lowering back and fluffy tail fraying out, Tassilda senses the imminent overload of rage forming within Deedri and snaps a stern stare at Modoran. Holding his hands up and away, Modoran meets Tassilda with utter shock upon his dusky bluish gray face and silently mouths out pleas of absolute bewilderment.


    Sweeping her examining glare upon Veevi, Tassilda studies her antics and the ramp up of her, suspiciously unconscious, fondling of Modoran. Moments later, Tassilda spots the oddly playful wags of Veevi''s pink, short-haired tail, and snaps her scheming stare upon it. With a series of quick gestures and quiet incantations, magical flow streams up into Tassilda''s hand, and she sneaks out close to the end of Veevi''s tail, faint electrical arcs forming between her finger tips. Snapping her fingers close by, a series of loud sparks crackles from Tassilda''s hand right onto Veevi''s tail tip. The fur on her tail puffing out, Veevi''s eyes fly wide open, and she sharply rights herself upon the rear row seat. Locking a hateful glare onto Tassilda, she erupts into a fit of rage. "WHAT THE FUCK TASSILDA?!"


    Slowly turning her stern stare towards Veevi, Tassilda sneers her upper lip, snorting back defiantly. "Whatever did I do? YOU were just SLEEPING? Right?!"


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Modoran relaxes slightly, the snipping and arguing between Veevi and Tassilda flaring up. Releasing a long, stressful sigh, he attempts an explanation of the situation through dismay and disgust. "I- Uh- was just looking out the window, and she dropped right in my lap- And, I didn''t know what to do- And..."


    Regaining her composure, Deedri focuses upon calming breaths and reassures Modoran with a faint smile. "I know... I know..."


    Chad returns his distant stare from the rear view mirror back to the road ahead and slowly shakes his head in defeat. Turning away from spectating the verbal combat between Veevi and Tassilda, Trakenthin pauses a moment in thought and leans over close to Chad, whispering. "Leave her behind? At the rest stop?"


    Thinking more than a few seconds with hints of genuine consideration, Chad groans mildly and rolls his eyes, grimacing his disappointment. "No... That would be cruel to everyone else at the rest stop."


    ----


    From the thick overhead forest canopy above, pillars of bright light beam down upon the small patches of brush and debris scattered over the ground. Bach maintains a tight grip with both hands on the sword''s handle, closes his eyes, and concentrates. With long, slow breaths, he relaxes his shoulders and remains silent in the natural ambiance. Seconds later, he reopens his blue eyes, shaking his head, and glances back at the rest of the group. "Nothing, yet. I think? Still getting the feel for all this."


    Hovering up next to Bach, Sebastian crosses his arms and shrugs his shoulders. "You''ll figure it out, bro. Once the basics are down, the rest comes easily..."


    He furrows his translucent brow and glances off to the side. "Except the return to hand thing. That... That one I never used much."


    Angling his head over towards his brother, Bach lifts a wary, intrigued eyebrow. "Why is that?"


    Meeting Bach''s expectant gaze, Sebastian releases an uneasy, ethereal sigh, and averts his translucent blue eyes with a grimace. "It was always REALLY unnerving to have a sword fly right towards your hand. Tip first."


    Bach lowers his uncertain stare upon the blade in his hand, side eyes over at Sebastian, and returns to his attention back upon the sword, tightening his grip. "Yeah... No shit..."


    Sebastian rolls his eyes with a grumble and twists his face into grimace. "I mean, it always righted itself and placed the handle in my hand... At the last moment. But, gods dammit, it''s just fuckin'' unsettling."


    Searching the flora around the forest path, Aristespha steps on by next to Sebastian and flashes a wicked grin with a giggle towards Bach. "You should have seen the first time Sebastian tried using that ability of the sword."


    A long ghostly groan emanates from Sebastian''s form, and he levels a defeated stare upon his brother. "Free advice. Ducking doesn''t help. It just goes for a second pass."


    Blinks blankly, Bach gradually accepts the advice and studies the faintly glowing sword. He pauses a moment, squirming his arms slightly up to his shoulder blades, and glances over at his brother. "Does this thing always feel like it''s reaching... Into you?"


    Sebastian winces faintly, nodding slowly, and sighs. "Yeah. You kind of get used to it, after a point. But, that''s why I always activated it only when I needed it. Still unsettling, bro. No matter how long you''ve used it."


    Walking carefully forward through the leaf and brush covered passages between trees, Bach relaxes and pores his concentration upon the blade. Remaining silent, he slowly sweeps the blade in front of him, pauses, and exhales his disappointment. "Okay... Either I don''t have the hang of this at all, or there''s just nothing spirit wise around these woods."


    Aristespha stands up from a small patch of plants with colorful leaves, places a few samples in a small wax paper baggie, and stows the packet away in a satchel. "I did not quite expect anything like that to be out here. But, I am finding some useful herbs out here. Admittedly... A few I would never expect to be here."


    Appearing from behind the team with little noise, Dretphi stands next to the group and presents the contents of a metal bowl with a bright smile. "Got all I could!"


    The team examines the nearly overflowing container of blackberries. Bach''s gaze slides over to scratches and pokes upon Dretphi''s hands, and he smirks with a bit of concern. "Wow. Looks like you had to fight those brambles for every last bit."


    Working through a little embarrassment, Dretphi attempts to casually play off the minor injuries and lessen the worry upon her. "Nothing bad. This variety has huge berries. Huge thorns. A tradeoff."


    She retrieves a lid from her under her arm, snaps it securely over the top of the metal bowl, and tucks the valuable bounty back under her arm. Walking to the edge of a small sunlit clearing, Bach holds out the sword with both hands, loosening up his shoulders, and settles into a readied stance. "Okay. I''ll give this thing one more try. Then, I''m good for heading back."


    Drifting into his own head, he releases a long exhale, closes his eyes, and waits, the blade faintly glowing and glinting against the sun. A gentle breeze blows overhead, the canopy leaves rustle into a surrounding drone, and the beams of sun shift with the movement of small branches. Seconds later, Bach''s face twitches. He turns his head a little. Uncrossing his arms, Sebastian searches around the vicinity expectantly. Gradually, Bach pivots in place, aiming the sword towards a direction, and opens his eyes with a faint blue glow. "I think... I think... There might be something over... There? Behind those bushes? I mean, it might be nothing, but it''s the first time I felt this."


    Sebastian nods in agreement, floating up next to Bach, and points in the same direction. "Yeah... I''m feeling it, too. Something really small? Yeah, something small."


    Aristespha strolls up next to the forming line up and starts gesturing out an incantation. With a sweep of her arms out, a pulse of flow travels out towards the edge of the clearing, and she narrows her violet glowing stare. "Let us check to see if we have anything..."


    Searching the area, she visually scrutinizes the section of brushes and points at it with a smile. "There IS something. It just floated away from there."


    Aristespha leads the way, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian following behind at the ready. Traveling a few meters past the edge of the clearing, the group tracks down a small, faint glowing entity zipping towards a patch of similar plants. Near the flora, the small illuminated being casually drifts between different parts of plants, settling upon one spot and then moving to another. Dretphi furrows her brow curiously and cocks her head to the side, recognition dawning upon her tan face. "These are male cannabis plants. Not certain of the species."


    Seconds later, the glowing being darts away to another cannabis plant meters away, growing in a vertical corridor of sunlight. Aristespha ponders a moment, tailing behind the moving entity, and delves into an explanation. "I believe this is a tender spirit. They are a very low level spirit that, well, simply seems to tend to the needs of certain flora. No one quite understands the criteria for choosing the flora. But, these spirits are usually responsible for the exotic and plentiful plant life you see in most weird zones. They are completely harmless to animals. And, typically, seems to ignore any interaction with animals."


    Dretphi studies the leaves of the plant closer, checking the structure, count, and arrangement. A mix of intrigue and confusion builds on her, and she glances over to the rest of the team with a puzzled tone. "This is a hybrid. A strange hybrid. It is healthy. Better than this environment should allow."


    Floating behind the tender spirit, Sebastian watches it leaving the last particular plant in the area and observes it darting right off. "Huh. Where is it going so fast?"


    Following Sebastian''s lead, Aristespha, Bach, and Dretphi track down the tender spirit to its next destination. The team travels over the bush covered crest of a small hill and gaze down in a slight, sunlit valley. Aristespha narrows her glowing gaze and points towards the tender spirit''s new location. The team notices the entity, awareness of all the flora it hovers around following. The group gathers around a huge female cannabis plant in the gentle sun next to a small drainage stream. Blinking in complete surprise, Dretphi studies the colorful, huge plant closely. "Impressive. This variety I have seen in specific greenhouses only. None this large. Odd to find it here."


    Aristespha smirks with a chuckle, retrieving a few wax paper bags, and examines the cannabis plant carefully. "Well, we certainly can not let this go to waste. THIS is quite the reagent for a number of different medical compounds."


    Snorting briefly, Bach meets the similar smirk upon Sebastian''s face. "Medical... Right..."


    Rolling her violet eyes with an amused shake of her head, Aristespha lifts a targeted eyebrow at Bach and laughs. "Oh, what do you think that particular potion that knocked you out used as a base?"


    Pausing in thought, Bach searches his memories, tilting his head to the side, and gradually nods. "Huh. Yeah. That actually would explain that."


    Sebastian snorts ethereally, places his hands at his side, and shakes his head. "Oh, yeah. That tea Kaleb brewed was always the sure fire cure for post-exam stress for the both of us."


    Bach rolls his eyes and chuckles to himself. "Well, and that one experimental batch of magically filtered wine. It was nice to have a biologist living with us."


    He gazes down, the tender spirit hovering above patches of dirt with new sprouts, and watches it go through a rough patrol of the nearby plant life. "Huh. Pretty amazing. If you could somehow get these guys to a farm and train them right..."


    Aristespha nods with sigh, and smiles, harvesting useful materials from the large plant. "And, THAT is what spirit mages have been trying to figure out for years... If you could figure that out, it would make guild contracts look like pocket change."


    Aristespha and Dretphi study the flora. Bach and Sebastian continue watching the tender spirit go through its motions.


    ----


    The finely-crafted door to a long, well decorated room opens, and Goff leans in briefly. He flips the light switch on, surveys the three beds, row of windows overlooking the nearby forest, and the doorway to the large bathroom at the other side of the room. Stepping back out into the hallway, he bows respectfully and motions Tassilda, Deedri, and Veevi into the room. "It''s all yours, ladies. If anything is out of place, let me know, and I''ll take care of it as quick as I can."


    He signals Chad, Modoran, and Trakenthin to follow along and quickly steps down the hall. "Alright guys, let me show you your room. It''s pretty much the same layout, but flipped."


    Strolling into the room with a small travel bag strap over her shoulder, Tassilda stands in the middle of the space and surveys the beds. Deedri hauls in a large suitcase with one hand, lifts up a medical kit up onto a desk in the small office area, and sighs, stretching out her neck. "Which bed are you going to take?"


    Drifting a black nailed finger over, Tassilda settles her point towards the middle bed of the row and lifts an eyebrow. "I think for your sanity, I''ll-"


    Veevi struts on into the room, cuts in front of Tassilda, and tosses her bags onto the middle bed. Rolling her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda shakes her head and groans quietly towards Deedri with a disgusted frown. "Nevermind. They''re equally awful choices now."


    Digging through a number of side pouches on her luggage, Veevi grabs a few smaller bags and toiletries and marches straight to the bathroom. "I''m taking a shower. That car ride was SO awful. If Chad had a clue, we wouldn''t have had to make such a trip."


    She slams the door closed behind her. The sounds of running water fill the background with a soft drone. Deedri sighs, hoisting up her suitcase, and motions to the bed closest to the hallway door. "You mind if I take this one?"


    Tassilda shakes her head, walking over to the opposite bed, and places her travel bag on top. "Oh, not at all. As I said, it''s going to be an equally annoying time for the both of us tonight."


    Disruptions to the flow of water sound out with splatters and splashes from behind the bathroom door. Moments later, Veevi''s voice sings out the lyrics to a popular song in stark contrast to the soothing background drone. Firmly placing her hands at her hips, Tassilda sways her weight with an unamused sneer and glances over to Deedri. "So..."


    She turns towards Deedri and directs her lower tone. "Any idea what the fuck the bitch was trying to do today?"


    Deedri struggles in vain suppressing a surge of anger spilling onto her fair face, draws in a sharp long breath, and eases out a calming exhale. "I... Don''t know. She''s just really trying to stir SOMETHING up. That''s all I can guess, right now."


    Deedri sits down upon the bed. Tassilda draws a sly smirk on her face, brushes a few black hairs over her spiraling horns, and walks over near Deedri. Dropping into a seat on the bed next to Deedri, she leans close with a devilishly curious smile, whispering. "So... Her antics got you pretty angry today..."


    Lifting an intrigued brow, she chuckles softly. "Any particular reason why?"


    A faint red tint colors Deedri''s fair skin and drains briefly in the moment of surprise. Twisting her mouth into an uneasy grimace, Deedri squirms slightly, her tail wagging erratically, and fights against the swelling flush of light pink in her cheeks. "Uh- Um... No particular reason. At all."


    Tipping her head back slightly, Tassilda furrows an unconvinced brow, parts an eager grin, and giggles to herself. "You sure? Nothing you''d really like to tell me before the camera crew sets the cameras in here? Or..."


    She leans close and pries. "Should I guess?"


    Deedri bites her lower lip, averting her auburn eyes briefly, and sighs, undoing the braids in her long, multi-colored hair. "Gods... I hope it wasn''t... THAT obvious to the cameras."


    Down the hallway, in another three person room, Chad, Modoran, and Trakenthin each lay on their choice of bed. The television in the room displays a random channel with no one paying attention to it. In the idle background sounds and relative quiet, the men try to relax. Minutes of silent contemplation, they each progress on their own methods of decompressing, overall remaining fairly inert. Sitting up onto his bed top, Modoran blinks in thought and swings his head towards Chad, leveling a thoughtful stare. Drawing in a long breath, he rolls his dark blue eyes at himself and breaks the vocal silence. "Okay. Chad... What the fuck is up with Veevi?"


    Blinking back to awareness, Chad tilts his head on the pillow in the direction of Modoran and groans, a hint of disgust slipping out. "You mean recent... OR... Just in general?"


    Modoran searches his mind, contorts his grimace, and shrugs his shoulders. "Let''s start with recent."


    Trakenthin glances up from his aetherphone and grumbles out. "Then general."


    Rubbing his face with both hands, Chad releases a bewildered, defeated sigh, and shakes his head. "I don''t know. I guess she wants attention... Or, to wreck things... Or, BOTH? She''s been keeping away from everyone. Now, she''s just causing trouble, just to do it, I guess."


    Narrowing his stare, he turns his head back, facing the ceiling above. "OR... She''s just taking out not getting her way on everyone around."


    Studying Chad''s dismay, Trakenthin hums thoughtfully and asks directly. "Why her?"


    Chad glances over to Trakenthin and meets Trakenthin''s examining stare. Seconds of visual scrutiny and mental deliberation later, Chad relents and shrugs his shoulders. "I don''t know. She went after me. I didn''t refuse. Honestly, I just thought she was just as ambitious as me. She seemed really supportive of doing this whole thing."


    Rolling his brown eyes at himself, he releases a long breath of disappointment and crosses his arms. "But... Fuck me. It''s really looking like she''s just out for herself."


    Contorting the uneasy emotions upon his face, he shakes his head, grumbling through a wave of frustration. "And, she just sees me as a gods damned tool. But, I don''t know what to do about her. I was hoping she''d get better with training and experience."


    Trakenthin nods understandingly, summoning up a bit of past trauma in his mind, and sternly relays the results. "What she IS does not get better. Can not if she does not want to."


    Blinking through the sudden wisdom from Trakenthin, Chad settles his head uneasily back on the pillow and releases a long uncertain sigh. "Yeah... Yeah... But... I don''t know what to do. I was hoping things would stay stable until the end of the season."


    Sneering his upper lip, Modoran shrugs his shoulders, holding his hands out to the sides. "Fuck it, man. Just break up with her."


    Chad groans with a thought and slowly shakes his head. "Gods... I guess I should. But, then she''d probably get worse."


    Narrowing his stare at Chad, Modoran rolls his eyes and snorts with a dry cackle. "What the fuck ever, Chad. She is going to be a bitch no matter what you do. At least, have a little pride in yourself."


    Trakenthin thinks a moment, nodding at the idea forming in his mind, and relays. "Give her an ultimatum. Her choice. She can work with the team together with you. She can stay at the house by herself."


    Chad''s brown eyes spring wide open, the concept sinking into his mind, and he slowly sits up. Facing Trakenthin and Modoran, he furrows his brow at an odd revelation and gradually nods. "Yeah... We can''t throw her off the team, officially. But, I don''t think there''s anything against not taking her along. At least, nothing I''ve read yet. Might be worth a try."


    Modoran chuckles and eases back, laying out on the bed. "Hell, knowing those depraved assholes running this show, they''d love to film that drama. And, Veevi would get a camera crew all to herself. She would probably LOVE that."


    Shaking his head, Chad snorts with a wry smirk and sighs. "Damn. I don''t think you''re wrong there."


    Slumping his shoulders, he draws in a long breath and rubs his forehead. "After this mission, we''ll have to talk about this more with everyone else. I... I got to do something. I don''t want this to fail..."


    With a stoic, respectful smirk to Chad, Trakenthin nods and returns his attention towards his phone, reading the latest post on Shayuri''s aethersite. "Understandable. I do not either. It can work. It can work well."


    Modoran begins to open his mouth, sitting up partly from his bed, and snaps his stare towards the door nearby. Squinting at the shadows under the door crack, he waves a signal towards everyone else and directs a whisper over. "Shit. Crews are here to spy on us. Save this subject for later."


    A knock sound out on the door. Modoran stands up, assumes a nonchalant demeanor, and steps up, placing his hand on the door knob.


    ----


    Mera carefully scratches out the subtle details onto the latest sketch in her notebook. Staring at the lineart of a evuukian woman from behind, she picks up a nearby colored pencil and shades in the dark green shadows of the woman''s long braids. Studying the forested scene surrounding the central figure, she grabs a dark tan color and shades in the face of the woman glancing back. Sorting through the odd assortment of pencil colors, she carefully blends a mix of blue and green upon the page, filling in the turquoise pupils of the woman''s eyes. Mera stares at the face. Second later, a sad longing sigh escapes her, and she gradually slides her focus over to the carefully drawn, beautifully crafted bow slung over the evuukian''s shoulder.


    Surrounding the table at Fval Spice, three fvalian girls of descending ages with black furry ears draw upon pieces of paper around Mera. Katelli pulls away from her drawing, gazes upon the scene Mera stares at, and flicks her furry ears curiously. "Who''s that? I see you draw her a lot."


    Startling back to awareness, Mera smiles awkwardly at Katelli and sighs, verbally stumbling a bit. "Oh, um... That''s a friend of mine."


    Katelli glances up at Mera''s face, blatantly contemplates, hints obvious upon her face, and hums out. "What''s her name?"


    Pausing in surprise at the question, Mera searches her mind, her crimson eyes darting for an approach, and eases into a more comfortable smile. "Chel."


    The reserved fvalian girl next to Katelli, sits up in the seat, and leans over, glancing at Mera''s drawing. "You draw her pretty."


    A faint hint of blush fills Mera ivory cheeks, and she dons an appreciative grin. "Thank you, Natashalli."


    She gazes over at the rough dress doodle Natashalli starts to color in. In a moment of indecision and vague frustration, Natashalli switches over to something else. Picking up a few choice pencils from the scattered pile near her, Mera places them in front of Natashalli and smiles encouragingly. "Maybe one of these will work."


    Natashalli studies the assortment, her eager smile lighting up at a purple and pink pencil, and snatches them into her painted claw tip fingers. The youngest at the table cocks her head to the side, searching her mind with her light brown eyes, and furrows her brow. "Where is she?"


    Mera glances over at the youngest fvalian girl and flutters her eyes confused. "Uh, who, Jesselli?"


    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Jesselli sits up on her knees upon the chair, stretches out over the table top, and places her finger on Mera''s drawing. "Her."


    Both Katelli and Natashalli usher Jesselli''s hand off of Mera''s drawing. Jesselli scrunches up her face against the other two, defiantly sitting back down. Mera motions everyone to calm down and stares distantly into her mind a moment, sighing. "I do not know."


    Tilting her head to the side confused, Jesselli flicks her black furred ears and asks surprised. "But... She''s your friend?"


    Mera draws a long breath, grimacing with slight hints of sadness, and tries nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders. "Yes. But, we are not... Speaking right now?"


    Drifting her attention to the stick figure drawings on her scattered papers, Jesselli dismissively comments. "That''s weird."


    Natashalli eyes over to the youngest sister, sneers her upper lip briefly, and whips her tail at Jesselli''s. The youngest sister narrows a mean glare back at Natashalli, attempts to swing her shorter, fluffier tail over at her sister''s. A few fail tries later, she gives up, missing the mark entirely.


    With a chime the door opens up, and Cideeda strolls in with Sotalia following right behind. Noyando steps out from the back and smiles happily at Cideeda and Sotalia. "Yes! Hello! So good to see you again."


    Stepping up to the counter, he places a paper sack on the counter and checks through the other bags. "I think I have just about everything... Oh... One moment."


    Cideeda nods understandingly, Noyando walking back into the kitchen area, and glances back at Sotalia. "So, any thoughts on taking a small mission?"


    Crossing her arms, Sotalia sways her hips, holding her hand off to the side with her sunglasses, and pantomimes her deliberation. "I don''t know. I don''t want to take anything that''d be too long, in case we hear from Hackle. But, anything too light... The payout just isn''t worth the effort, really. A whole lot of prep work and effort, for not that much."


    Resting her hands on her sides, Cideeda nods in agreement, narrowing her emerald green eyes into her mind, and hums indecisively. "Yeah. I know that feeling. Still, I like the break, but I don''t want to idle too long. My retirement fund doesn''t grow fast when we don''t get paid."


    Noyando returns with a small bag, adds it to the collection on the counter, and starts typing into the system. "There. Almost forgot. Let me bring it up..."


    Cideeda inserts a card into a reader on the counter. Noyando types through a series of menus. With a few final taps from Noyando and a claw tip signature on the touchscreen by Cideeda, the system chimes and prints out a receipt from a small printer. Retrieving her card, Cideeda grabs hold of a few of the bags, and Sotalia sweeps up the others. Cideeda grins happily at Noyando and bows slightly. "Thank you. It smells amazing already."


    Smiling, Sotalia sniffs one of the bags and winces her watering eyes. "Gods. I think this one has yours. Wow..."


    Noyando laughs in delight and bows slightly. "You''re welcome. Come back soon."


    Cideeda pushes the door open for Sotalia and snorts out a comment. "Well, so long as the next mission doesn''t involve cyber-zombies, crazed security bots, weird giant blobs, or some secret nuke plant... I''ll be fine."


    Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia tosses back her fiery orange hair and laughs, clearing through the doorway. "OH. GODS. Tell me about it. We just keep finding every weird monstrosity around this place."


    Cideeda releases the door and furrows an annoyed brow, groaning out with her furry ears drooping. "Oh. yeah. Let''s NOT forget the whole giant dire wolf gol-"


    The door seals up, cutting off the conversation from outside. Mera halts drawing and blinks, her subconscious mind pestering her. She lifts her head up. Searching around the lobby of Fval Spice, she furrows her brow against her confusion and narrows her stare upon Cideeda and Sotalia walking out to the humvee in the parking lot. Delving deeper into her mind, Meredosia''s cheek twitches with growing suspicion. Jesselli lifts her up drawing in front Mera with a bright, missing tooth smile. "Look!"


    Dropping back into current reality, Mera flutters her crimson eyes briefly and gazes upon the drawing, smiling encouragingly at Jesselli. "Very good. You are getting so much better."


    Jesselli places the drawing down the tabletop and explains all the random things happening in it to Mera, her older sisters rolling their eyes dismissively.

 Episode 84

    Dr. Dawkins steps up to the front door and turns the knob. Pulling the door in, he smiles with delight at Nash and Harvos on the front porch. "Gentlemen, it''s good to see you. Now, come in before we let too much nature inside."


    With a snort, Nash steps through and brushes off his nose with a grimace. "You''re telling me. These bugs must be waiting for anyone at the door around here."


    Habitually ducking his head to clear his horns under the doorway, Harvos moves off to the side and nods to Dr. Dawkins. "Sounds pretty lively out there."


    Dr. Dawkins closes the door, chuckling briefly, and rolls his green eyes. "Oh, yes. Usually the bugs aren''t so bad, but all this rainfall has helped them tremendously."


    Signaling for Nash and Harvos to follow him, he directs his voice back, walking through the house. "One summer, I had some wild whelps hatch a nest. Those little ones got the taste for insects and scoured the outside of the house for everything they could fit in their maws. Best exterminators I ever had. Really wish they''d come back."


    He motions towards the couch in his well decorated living room, approaches a wide table with a few bottles of fine liquor, and sets out some glasses. "Anyway..."


    Lifting a curious brow, Dr. Dawkins'' addresses both Nash and Harvos, hints of confusion tainting his voice. "Now... While I do enjoy your company and having a proper excuse to drink, I''m a bit puzzled as to what you needed to talk to me in person about."


    Pointing to the two glasses and waiting for the acknowledgment from Nash and Harvos, he tips a bottle of amber liquor close to them and inquires further. "Especially under the explicit context that you didn''t want to speak over the phone about it..."


    Both Nash and Harvos spot the glasses and nod confirmations towards Dr. Dawkins. Drawing a long breath, Nash glances over to Harvos and grits his teeth briefly. Harvos furrows his brow, narrowing his brown on black gaze, and sighs uneasily. "To be frank, Dr. Dawkins... We think someone has been monitoring you in some shape or form."


    Dr. Dawkins pauses pouring the alcohol into the glasses and tilts his head to the side, facing away from Nash and Harvos. "Really? What makes you believe that?"


    Scratching the side of his head, Nash grimaces, sorting through an explanation. "Well, I don''t know how much you''ve heard from which sources, but... To hell with it. Noxian-"


    He rolls his pale blue eyes and wrestles down a grimace. "Well, Isaac snuck into the basement server farms. And, left with... Something?"


    Dr. Dawkins'' eyes spring wide open briefly, and he grasps hold of the two glasses with a healthy portion of brown liquor in each of them. "I thought there was something stirring on campus. I hadn''t heard from a few of the old faculty still teaching there recently. Wondered what had been keeping them."


    Stepping carefully with drinks in hand, he presents the alcoholic beverages to Nash and Harvos and focuses an intrigued stare at them. "Very interesting... Do they know what he took? And... Why he was even there?"


    Nash shakes his head with a long exhale. He pulls a hearty sip from his drink, hums in thought, and nods thankfully with a lift of the glass to Dr. Dawkins. "No. To be honest, everyone is pretty clueless. Hell, the only reason we knew it happened was because I was reviewing camera footage for something completely unrelated. Remind me to tell you THAT story later."


    Pouring some of the drink into his mouth, Harvos sighs, gazing up at Dr. Dawkins. "We wanted to let you know sooner, but..."


    Dr. Dawkins cracks a dry smirk, turning around, and walks to the table along the wall. "Allow me to make an educated guess. Upon seeing the report, the higher ups collectively soiled themselves in abject fear and panicked uselessly to try figure a way to handle it without alarming everyone else. And, while they''ve been flailing around, they have told everyone to keep quiet?"


    Nash and Harvos exchange glances, focus down upon their drinks, and down large swigs. Drawing in a mildly embarrassed breath through his nose, Nash groans off the alcohol vapor in his mouth and nods with a grit of his teeth. "Yeah. Pretty much that. Almost exactly. So other events have happened, too, and they''ve called in... People."


    Slumping his shoulders slightly, Dr. Dawkins shakes his head of short, well-kept white hair, grumbling with tinges of annoyance showing. "By the gods, how many organizations are poking around in the Grand Library now?"


    Wrestling the words on his face, Nash frowns awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders, gazing at the liquor left in his glass. "All the ones that matter... And a few more that really don''t."


    Pouring a very large portion of the golden brown liquor from another glass bottle, Dr. Dawkins sighs, rolling his eyes with a grimace. "So, they''re at that point now. Gods help us all now."


    Harvos places his half full glass down upon the coffee table in front of him, thoughtfully puts his hands together, and directs his voice towards Dr. Dawkins. "The most troubling part is that this seems like it was planned out. It happened just after we left with you to go to the buffet. We''ve gotten evidence that indicates that Isaac has someone helping him out. It seems whoever even followed us."


    Slowly resting the bottle down, Dr. Dawkins places a tight grip around his glass of liquor, idly swirling the beverage around, and stiffens his posture briefly. "Really? That is quite concerning..."


    Pushing through his nerves, Harvos draws in a calming breath and levels an explanation at Dr. Dawkins. "THAT is why we had to talk to you in person."


    Dr. Dawkins cools, slowly lifting his drink to his mouth, and maintains his gaze away from Harvos and Nash, calmly waiting. Glancing around the room, Nash pauses the paranoid hunt, furrowing his brow wary, and loudly whispers at Dr. Dawkins. "We think you were..."


    He bounces his stare between the extents of the space. "Or, ARE... Being watched, recorded... Something like that."


    Blinking, Dr. Dawkins'' mind processes the information, and a sly smirk cracks from the corner of his mouth. He takes in a long, relieved swig of liquor. Assuming a facade of concern, he turns around, facing Nash and Harvos, and visibly puzzles. "Gods. Thinking about it... That was unfathomably convenient timing on Isaac''s part. Very strange."


    Nash nods in complete agreement and searches his own mind between his different theories. "That''s what we thought. Thinking about it, Isaac has shown his ability to use our own hacking software."


    Rolling his eyes partially at himself and shrugging his shoulders, Harvos grumbles with a guilty undertone. "Of course, our department isn''t above utilizing a variety of similar tricks to get access to archaeological finds."


    Dr. Dawkins drifts off in thought, tilting his head to the side, and sighs in mixed acceptance. "That we certainly aren''t."


    Narrowing an inquisitive gaze upon Dr. Dawkins, Nash mulls over the possibilities out loud. "Have you noticed anything off around the house lately? Television not working right? Phone acting up? Computer crashing? Anything just out of the ordinary?"


    Visibly searching his mind, Dr. Dawkins'' green eyes dart around, and he pours some of the golden brown liquor into his mouth. Narrowing his gaze at Nash, he cocks his head, twisting a frown. "My outdoor house lights have triggered on at the oddest hours of the night this summer. They haven''t done that since the whelps left. And given the hordes of insects laying in wait around my house, they certainly haven''t returned."


    Harvos sits up straighter, gradually nodding, and proposes. "Yes. THAT might be a sign. Someone trying to figure out how to get to the house and seeing if anyone reacts to the lights coming on..."


    Nash scratches the graying beard on his chin. "What could have been done to this place? Maybe getting into the utility boxes?"


    Harvos and Nash exchange theories between each other, and Dr. Dawkins rests his drink on the table. He points through an archway leading out of the living room. "Well, we probably won''t find anything just sitting around. Let me check on my laundry, and finish your drinks. We''ll do a little investigating outside before it gets too dark for us."


    Both Nash and Harvos agree, working on their beverages between debates of possible domestic infiltration tactics. Calmly exiting, Dr. Dawkins travels around the dining room, navigates through the kitchen, and steps into the utility room with a washer and dryer. He locates a broom, pivots around quickly, and swiftly approaches the back exterior door. Reaching over to the dryer, he turns the dial, setting a time, and presses the start button. Under the drowning drone of the machinery, he opens the back door quietly, pushes out the screen door slowly, and carefully leans outside. Spotting a neatly closed utility box nearby behind a large shrub, he slides the broomstick along the outer brick wall. He catches the top latch and expertly flicks it open. With a hard tap of the broom end, the box cover hinges down, exposing carefully arranged communication service wiring. Dr. Dawkins aims the end of the broomstick, thrusts the tip harshly into the cables, and roughly stirs the bundle into a mess. With deft precision, he positions the end of the broom under the box cover, drives it upwards sloppily over the wiring mass, and slams the top latch partially upon the catch.


    Slipping himself back inside, he guides the screen door, shutting it securely, and closes the utility room door tightly. He replaces the broom back exactly into its spot. Arranging his clothing back neatly, he brushes his fingers through his hair and grins sly and satisfied. Walking eagerly through the house into the living room, he calls out to Nash and Harvos. "Okay, gentlemen. Let''s see what clues we can find around this old house."


    ----


    A large, ornately carved wooden door swings inwards, passing under the bell arm. The chime ringing out into the open, well-lit space, Isaac steps through from the outside dusk light. The door closes back up, and he walks slowly, surveying the area. Odd items and strange kitsch cover heavy tables arranged within the central space of the shop. Down long side paths, selections of magical commercial products and unique offerings fill aisles of tall shelves. Isaac navigates through the displays of merchandise, stopping along the way for interesting items, and eyes them briefly in passing. A few other asides of studying artifacts later, he notices the attentive, bright orange eyed gaze of an evuukian woman and settles his attention upon the locked, glass display cases behind her. Presenting a proud perk of her light skin brow, the evuukian woman tosses back her long, flowing crimson and gold blended hair. She pulls an intrigued grin on her cheeks, gracing the lines of color at the edges of her face. "Welcome to Lady Rhian''s Shoppe of Magic and Treasures. I am Lady Rhian. And, I can tell YOU are a discerning customer."


    Cracking an amused smirk, Isaac brushes back his wispy, gray hair, and laughs lightly. "Maybe... How can you be so certain that I am such a particular customer?"


    Rhian smiles slyly, lifts a confident eyebrow at Isaac, and points towards the tables in the central space. "Well, you stopped and checked out the best items at each table. You looked at them carefully, but none interested you enough to actually pick it up. But, I saw how you reacted to..."


    She steps to the side, waves out her hand towards all the strange artifacts in the glass displays behind her, and grins brightly. "The best in the house."


    Crossing his arms humored, Isaac slowly nods at the deduction and tilts his head to the side with an inquiring gaze. "They are indeed very interesting. And, any other time, I would love it if I could find out more about them. Unfortunately, I''m on a bit of a quest at the moment, so I''ll have to stick to the mundane."


    With a playful, dramatic sigh, Rhian slumps her shoulders slightly, cocking her head, and maintains an eager smirk. "Oh well. I understand, but you are more than welcome to gaze upon them as long as you want. They MAY be waiting here for you next time you visit. But..."


    She glances over at the inventory sealed behind the display glass and lifts an encouraging eyebrow at Isaac. "I just never know."


    Shaking his head with a chuckle, Isaac glances over to the impressive stock of strange artifacts and crafted items and shifts his attention back over towards Rhian. "I just may. After business, of course. I saw you had some magic detection sticks on the shelves, but I was curious if you sold them in bulk? I am planning quite the trip into the zone and need a good supply."


    Rhian straightens her posture, twisting her mouth vaguely, and furrows an examining brow towards Isaac. "Ah... First time going into the PWZ?"


    With a single nod, Isaac sighs out a little bit of his pride. "Yes. I''m not a stranger to weird zones. But, I have been told the PWZ is... More unique than most."


    Kneeling down behind the counter, Rhian sorts through the lower counter shelves and directs her voice towards Isaac. "Oh, yes it is. And... I have a few suggestions."


    From her right hand, she places down a small, rugged metal box with a glass window lid up on the counter. With a firm grip on a leather bag, she stands up, easily curls her arm, and puts forth significant effort, plopping the sack on the counter. She slides the metal box in front of Issac and pulls out a large metal nut with a piece of fabric tied through it from the leather sack. Isaac blinks blankly, alternates his curious, illuminated gaze between the two items, and cocks his head. "Interesting. I''m definitely seeing some enchantments on that hardware and some very curious magic flows from items in that box."


    Rhian grins eagerly at Isaac''s conclusions and nods. "Yes. Indeed."


    Closing her eyes briefly, she opens them to a glowing bright orange, directs her attention to the cloth tied metal nut in her left hand, and presents it to Isaac. "As wonderful as mage sight is, we both know that keeping it going non-stop will put anyone under unnecessary strain and tie up your focus from the many, many other things happening. And in the PWZ, you CAN''T be distracted."


    Tapping her finger on the metal box, she smiles and blinks off the illumination in her eyes. "This is an anomaly detector box. Inside are containers with different materials taken from the PWZ that react to the different things you might encounter. And, thankfully, they react well before you get too close to them."


    Tossing around the fabric wrapped hardware in her left hand, she glances over at the metal object. "Despite its obvious looks, this is a typically reusable investigation tool. Treated with mild enchantments to help identify what strange phenomena you might have found yourself near."


    Isaac pauses mid thought, narrows his gray eyed stare at Rhian, and cocks his head curiously. "Typically reusable?"


    Rhian smirks sharply and laughs, her very long, pointed ears twitching. "Well... While most would be perfectly serviceable after certain anomaly investigations..."


    She furrows her brow and smiles slyly. "Recovery in those situations is not... How to best put it... Advisable?"


    From the back area, the door opens, and a man in worn adventuring clothes with wild, brown hair steps out carrying handled, cylindrical containers. He loosens the nicely knitted, green scarf around his neck, places the vessels on a sturdy table, and calls out towards Rhian. "Found a Sparkler, two Streamers, and a Glow Ball last night. Should make for some good trinkets-"


    Staring over towards the counter, he spots Rhian and Isaac and blinks to an awkward silence, muttering. "Oh... Sorry... Didn''t know you had a customer..."


    Rhian turns around with a warm smile towards the man, motions him over, and presents an entrepreneurial grin towards Issac. "Allow me to introduce you to a reliable PWZ contractor, Mavian Rha-she. He will attest to how useful my finely crafted detectors and rugged investigation tools are."


    Mavian''s face blanks briefly. He draws in a long breath, walks up to the counter with a mildly annoyed glance to Rhian, and rummages through a pocket. He reveals a detector of similar construction to the one on the counter and a worn cloth wrapped metal nut. "I''ve used Rhian''s tools for years, and personally found the detector fragments used in them from the deepest part of the PWZ. These simple looking cloth wrapped chunks of metal have kept me from making some very bad mistakes."


    Focuses the faint overall glow of his green eyes at Isaac, he states with a genuine tone. "If you are going into this zone, you''ll want both. Even with what I can see with my eyes, I''m not going to take anything to chance. So, neither should you."


    Isaac scrutinizes Mavian''s appearance, studies his body language, and nods in agreement. "I must say, THAT is indeed very convincing."


    With a smile, he gazes over to Rhian. "I think you''ve certainly made a sale. I still wouldn''t mind a few boxes of the typical detector sticks."


    Rhian grins brightly, with a happy squirm in her body language, and nods. "Of course!"


    She goes over to a nearby register and swiftly taps numbers into the device. Isaac glances between Rhian and Mavian, pondering a moment, and inquires. "Does the name Beckerin mean anything to you two?"


    Rhian lights up with a delighted smile and glances over to Isaac. "Yes, it does! He has been quite the reseller of my hard to move artifacts, and always seems to drum up business for me."


    Twisting his mouth, Mavian sighs with a begrudging respect. "And... He''s actually quite good at finding the oddest leads to the strangest finds..."


    He narrows his faintly glowing eyes and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "How do you know him?"


    Isaac blinks a moment and shrugs his shoulders, plainly stating. "I do not know him personally, but a friend of mine who does says he recommended that I should find this place..."


    He slides his stare over to Mavian. "And ask about someone to guide me into the zone."


    Hints of hesitance and tension slows down Rhian''s data entry, and she narrows defensive stare at Isaac. "Why do you need a guide into the PWZ?"


    Sensing the change in the mood, Isaac draws in a long breath and calmly explains. "Well... To be honest, I''m trying to find a fellow colleague who my friend and I haven''t heard from in quite some time. We believe he went to study some ruins out in the PWZ, but hasn''t sent any recent updates. So, I''m trying to find him."


    Rhian''s sternly protective demeanor fades into a softer, empathetic exterior, and she nods slowly. "I can understand that. Well, I can''t personally help, but Mavian could."


    Crossing his arms, Mavian focuses a scrutinizing stare at Isaac, tilting his head to the side. "So... Do you have any specific locations you know to check, or any last known whereabouts to go by?"


    Isaac shakes his head, sighing, and frowns. "Unfortunately not. I have some vague hints from his last update, but nothing specific."


    Searching his mind, Mavian grimaces and slowly shakes his head. "I''m not one for wandering aimlessly in the zone. Do you have a name?"


    With a plain tone, Isaac replies. "Dr. Malkav."


    Mavian''s faintly glowing green eyes dart around his memories. Seconds later, a semblance of recognition dawns upon his light tan face. "I swear... Yeah... I''ve heard that name before. In conversations with other zone runners."


    He gazes at Isaac, slides a pad of paper over, and searches around. "Okay. Here''s what I can do right now. You''ll want to head to Precipice. It''s THE LAST thing you can call civilization in the PWZ before you leave the calmer part of the zone."


    Pausing a moment, he briefly deliberates inside his head. "Well... As calm as it can be most of the time."


    He glances around the counter space nearby, hunting for something. "If your friend is still alive and well, he probably HAS to make a visit there to get supplies. There''s not that many people in that town, so SOMEONE has to know him and have some contact with him."


    Rhian hands Mavian a pen with a warm smile, and Mavian writes out information on the paper. "I''m currently on a... break from doing guide work. BUT, I usually have a room at this inn in Precipice when I''m working."


    He presents the note to Isaac and holds out for a handshake. "If you can find out any specific places to check for Dr. Malkav, try to find me in two weeks, and we''ll talk further."


    Smiling appreciatively, Isaac shakes Mavian''s outstretched hand firmly. Carefully stowing away the contact information, he retrieves his wallet with an expectant gaze at Rhian. "So, what do I owe you today?"


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Rhian recites an amount, Isaac hands over appropriate currency, and Mavian awkwardly figures out how to package up the purchased merchandise. Hoisting up his new property, Isaac grants a respectful nod and heads towards the front exit, pausing along the way to wander his curiosity to other items in the aisles. The door swings open, and he leaves the store. The bright chime sounds out, and the door drifts back, closing. Rhian stretches her arms out on the counter with a happy smile, and concentrates her bright orange eyes towards Mavian. "So... What are you doing tonight?"


    Mavian blinks blankly, stiffening his posture, and awkwardly stumbles upon his own surge of shyness. "I, uh, um... Nothing really. Just wanted to rest and catch up on the shows I missed while I was out. The usual..."


    A sly smirk creeps out from the corner of Rhian''s mouth, and she pivots around, facing Mavian with a slight frown. "Oh. I guess I understand. I really wanted to cook something nice, but it just seems so wasteful when it''s just yourself. I wouldn''t want to impose on you catching up on your shows and all."


    Springing his eyes wide open briefly, Mavian shakes his head, fumbling over his awkwardness, and softly replies, fighting a flush of embarrassment. "Well, uh... I mean... I can watch them after you get to cook something nice."


    A bright smile graces Rhian, and she claps her hands together. "Yes. WE can watch them after WE eat."


    ----


    Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Sebastian sort through the volumes of text descriptions upon tablet, phone, and paper upon the dining table. Collating a few packets, Bach offsets the section titles from each other and lays out the arrangement upon the table top. "Okay... So, I think we can pull these off in a day."


    Narrowing her emerald green eyes, Cideeda flicks her furry ears in thought and nods with a little reservation. "Probably. They don''t look too involved. But..."


    She reads some text from her phone, jots down a title upon a blank piece of paper, and inserts the page between two sections in Bach''s stack. Pointing to mark on a map print out, she motions towards two other points nearby, grinning with a scheming tone. "THIS one is along the way, and we could easily fit it in. Get the most out of the trip."


    Sotalia swipes through a list of different postings, sneering her upper lip, and scrolls further down, whining. "Gods almighty... What is with THIS area and wanting people to check out deep, dark ruins this month? Half of these posts are for exploration and inspection of some underground, ancient, and


    /


    or creepy bunker with some fucking questionable history."


    Nodding in begrudging agreement, Dretphi frowns and groans disappointed. "Would not mind something outdoors. Tired of finding terrible things indoors."


    Leaning back in her seat at the dining table, Sotalia stretches her arms up and curls her back with a smirk. "Oh, girl, I know it. At least, if we run into something outside I can use the FUN spells to take care of it."


    Sneaking a guilty smile, Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes at herself, giggling. "Use the FUN gun."


    Sebastian glances away from peeking over Aristespha''s shoulder, snorts ethereally, and shrugs his ghostly shoulders. "I would not mind another nature hike in a park, even if that means running off another bratty teenager."


    Cideeda raps her claw tips upon the table top, grinning toothily, and wags her long fluffy tail. "It was a little fun teaching her a lesson. Though I did feel..."


    She pinches her thumb and forefinger close with a guilty smirk. "A little... Just a little bad that there was only cold water working."


    Glancing between everyone, Bach contorts his sun-touched face, donning a sly smirk. "Oh... Yeah, um... The hot water worked just fine."


    A long silence looms over the room. Watching the rest of the team''s reactions, Sebastian snorts out a laugh. Aristespha blinks with an amused smirk. Dretphi covers her mouth in a mildly humored surprise. Sotalia cocks her head with a delighted smile. And, Cideeda snickers and laughs. Shaking her head of wavy, fiery orange hair with a mix of approval and surprise, Sotalia lifts an intrigued brow. "Bach Warwick... Really? And here I thought I was being a bad influence on you."


    Dretphi summons up a semblance of a disapproving frown towards Bach. Cideeda narrows a playful glare toward Dretphi, pointing a clawed finger. "Oh! Don''t you act all high and mighty now. You purposefully sprayed her up the back when she wasn''t expecting it. I saw the look on your face."


    Drawing a long breath, Dretphi rolls her eyes at herself and awkwardly twists her mouth, mumbling. "Call me a brute..."


    A faint chirp sounds out from Aristespha''s shorts pocket. Glancing down, she reaches her hand in and retrieves her aetherphone, puzzling. Sorting through the menus, her violet eyes read through a message, and she furrows her ivory brow with suspicion and confusion. "Speaking of her... Pardon me. She wants a private video call."


    Amid exchanges of intrigue and curiosity between everyone else, Aristespha walks towards the hallway archway. She taps a few buttons, initiating the call. Stepping through the doorway into her room, she sits down on her bed and holds the phone in front of her expectantly. On the video feed, Valavera brushes her golden hair out her green eyed gaze and huffs out an upset breath. She tries to smile. "Hey, Aristespha. Sorry. I really need someone to talk to."


    Aristespha smiles slightly and nods to the screen. "I am here for you. So, what is on your mind?"


    Valavera sorts through the words on her face, working through the scattering of thoughts, and pieces together sentences. "Well... While in summer school at the university... Which is going REALLY amazing and I really like it... Um... I... Met... Someone."


    A sly smile graces Aristespha''s ivory face, and she focuses her attention upon the conversation with renewing interest. "Really? Do tell."


    Summoning up the courage, Valavera verbally wanders around, watching Aristespha''s reaction through the other side of the phone call. "Well... We met in my botany class and have been lab partners for a while. I asked him out to a show for a local band a friend plays in... And well... we kind of hit it off. It was SUCH a really nice night."


    Aristespha studies Valavera''s image on her phone, perking her brow inquisitively, and pries eagerly. "Okay. So, first, what is his name?"


    Valavera bites her lower lip, averts her green eyes side to side briefly, and draws in a cautious breath. "Alexander."


    An abrupt quiet stifles the call and ambience of the surrounding room. With the emotional pressure growing, Aristespha''s expression blanks. She tilts her head slightly, creeping towards an uncertain observation. "That name sounds very... Hu-"


    Valavera interrupts. "Human."


    Aristespha''s violet eyes spring wide open, and she grits her teeth. "Oh. Oh, gods..."


    With a frown, Valavera snorts petulantly and turns her head away unhappily. "Fucking knew it. Damn it! I hoped you would understand."


    Pausing mid breath, Aristespha locks an uneasy stare upon her phone screen and cautiously inquires in a serious tone. "Why would you think THAT?"


    Growing more defiant and disappointed, Valavera narrows a glare through the video feed at Aristespha and loudly rambles. "Because, you are out there! In the world. More worldly? I do NOT know! You just seemed more experienced and around more different people. I thought you would just understand, like, immediately."


    Aristespha processes the explanation, easing out a moment of relief, and quickly contains a new swell of concern. "Yes. I am. And, I UNDERSTAND what you are going through. I really do. It is just that you have to consider the bigger picture. You are a daughter of a prominent house-"


    Valavera tosses her hair back angrily, spitting out. "Fourth child. FOURTH! You should know that fourth children don''t receive anything worth mentioning."


    Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aristespha releases a long calming sigh, draws in a deep breath, and refocuses her gaze towards Valavera''s video feed. "Fifth child speaking here. Fourths get a little more. Okay. And, that is why you have to be careful with this and conduct yourself-"


    Riding upon a surge of stubborn angst, Valavera berates Aristespha over the call. "Oh! Conduct myself as a proper Evuukian House woman?! What?! And, be some tag along to everything my brother and sisters get to do?! FUCK THAT! Gods, I really should NOT have call-"


    Pulling a sharp inhale through her nose, Aristespha powerfully yells at her phone in an authoritative, motherly tone, directing a short commanding sentence of evuukian punctuated by Valavera Tala Erisa Verherin''s full name. Valavera reflexively seizes, awaiting with a wide-eyed, spooked gawk. Easing out an uncertain and uncomfortable breath, Aristespha holds a finger towards the camera, signaling Valavera to wait, and searches her feelings. Aristespha contorts her face towards a conclusion. Valavera''s previous emotions fade away into genuine concern, watching Aristespha internally wrestle with something big and concerning. A smile appears on Aristespha''s ivory face, and she snorts with a slight shake of her head. Turning her head, she faces down the hallway and calls out a warm, loving string of evuukian around Sebastian''s name. Valavera blinks blankly, the verbal communication failing any revelations in her mind, and stares perplexed.


    Sebastian peeks his head down the hallway, notices Aristespha motioning him over, and flies into her room. Patting a spot on the bed next to her, Aristespha waits for Sebastian drifting down upon the covers. She adjusts the aim of the camera to include both her and Sebastian. Aristespha alternates a point to herself and Sebastian, repeating the motion awaiting Valavera''s reaction. Seconds of sorting through the implications later, Valavera''s green eyes widen in a surge of recognition, and her jaw drops in utter shock, tinges of delight slipping out. Aristespha grins slyly and addresses Valavera. "Now that you know I UNDERSTAND, would you like to be educated on how to navigate current Evuukian house society and maintain such a relationship?"


    Valavera straightens her posture, bringing her phone closer, and eagerly nods. "Yes. Oh gods... I am REALLY SORRY for acting like that and all- But. Yes. Please teach me."


    A spark of young delight lights up within her, and she smiles expectantly. "OH! Is it going to be like in the books and all?"


    Narrowing her gaze, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes with a smirk and waves the chuckling Sebastian away. "I would ask what books you are speaking of... BUT, one thing at a time. So, tell me all about this boy."


    ----


    Sounds of the summer night fill the surrounding dense forest of the small clearing. A chorus of insects, small nocturnal animals, and calm wildness merge together into an evening ambiance. A dim glow radiates from a low fire and illuminates the circle of different tents. Walking into the center of the camp, Chad surveys everyone of the team and hems. "Okay, everybody. Gather around."


    Deedri closes up a medical bag and hops up. From nearby shadows, Modoran nonchalantly emerges and stands next to Deedri. Trakenthin finishes a page of a book, replaces the bookmark, and joins the center gathering. Brushing her fingers through her raven black hair, Tassilda flicks away a stray leaf and steps next to the group. Veevi grumbles, standing next to an open door of the black SUV, and stares at the still, unmoving charge indicator on her connected aetherphone. Chad waits a moment, narrows a mildly annoyed gaze at Veevi, and calls out. "Veevi. Would you please join us?"


    Faint rustles of leaves sound out from the perimeter of the camp, and camera crews level their aims, moving into choice shots between Chad and Veevi. Flicking a pointed, fuzzy ear towards Chad, Veevi disdainfully sneers her upper lip, crosses her arms defiantly, and grumbles loudly. "I can hear you just fine from here."


    Focusing his glare, Chad rests his hands on his side and smirks. "You do understand that if you don''t attend these meetings, you won''t know what we''re doing. So, you just might be left behind... All by yourself... In a strange forest, locked out of the SUV, during the summer heat, and with all the hungry forest creatures around you."


    Veevi''s pink pupil eyes widen, and she weighs the degrees of discomfort in her mind. Huffing in disgust, she begrudgingly walks over. "FINE."


    Chad clears his throat and addresses the group. "Okay. We''re going to start a deeper search of the forest tomorrow. We got a good start today with scouting the immediate area thanks to Modoran and Trakenthin. We''ll be going as one group and keeping as alert as possible. Until we get a better idea of what this forest has, we need to be extra cautious. So, get a good night''s rest, and we''ll start bright and early tomorrow."


    All the team agrees, with one exception. They break towards each of their individual tents. Veevi checks her phone, slams the door shut in frustration, and quickly slips into her tent nearby. Camera crews retreat away, leaving smaller remote cameras. The activity around the camp dies down in comparison to the wildness around.


    An hour passes peacefully. Stirring around her tent, Veevi peeks her head out, scouting around, and slinks out, her tail low to the ground. Creeping around the perimeter of the camp, she keeps a careful watch of the other tents, focusing upon one on the opposite side. She sneaks to the best of ability around the site and arrives. Kneeling next to the back entry, she pulls up on the zipper. It remains in place. Veevi tugs harder upon it and strains her muscles, failing to slide it up the track. Many failed attempts later, she snorts and huffs, grumbling to herself. "The fuck is wrong with your tent, Modoran."


    A sharp snap echoes faintly across the camp site, and Veevi''s fuzzy ears perk towards the noise. She narrows her pink pupil eyes in the direction of her tent. Her bewildered gaze widens, spotting Modoran slip into her tent. Bewildered, she cocks her head to the side and ponders the situation. Pulling an evil grin across her face, she swiftly slinks around the camp back to her tent. She dons a seductive flow to her body movement and loosens her top, pulling herself into her tent expectantly. Inside, she finds only her bedroll and other belongings. Sitting back on her legs, she briefly searches the interior of the tent, spinning around, and tries to slip back out through the flap. The tent fabric wraps around her face tightly, and she pulls away, puzzling at the closed zipper on the flap. Gripping the slide handle tightly, she pulls up expectantly. The zipper denies. Pulling harder on the mechanism, she mumbles out curses under her breath, her anger revealing her vain, obvious efforts.


    A young fvalian woman yawns, blinking her eyes, and tilts her head sleepily in front of a monitor screen. Walking quietly over, a young fvalian man holds a steaming cup of coffee near and softly whispers. "Urdi, coffee?"


    Urdi stirs back awake, turns her nose towards the hot beverage, and appreciatively grasps hold of the drink with a smile. "Thank you, Radnae."


    Radnae settles into a chair in the van interior and glances over another large monitor. He blinks a moment, the feed switching from another camera. Tapping a few control buttons, the screen switches back, and he takes control of the remote camera. Adjusting the zoom and aim, he mumbles out in surprise. "The fuck is going on here?"


    Urdi slides her gaze over to the screen and tilts her head. "Is she... Oh my gods... No..."


    She picks up a pair of headphones, slips them on, and dials in a volume knob. Moments later, she twists her face in a mix of disgust and disbelief. "She really is. She''s bitching about it not opening."


    An ill-humored smirk grows upon Radnae, and he directs his voice behind him at a middle aged man in another seat. "Hey, Harris... You WON''T believe this. Check out camera three."


    Harris presses a few buttons on the control console and studies his screen. "What the? Is that dumbass stuck in her tent?!"


    Radnae snorts, shaking his head, and quips. "I think we found our first clip for next week''s show."


    ----


    Late afternoon sun shines overhead through the forest canopy and projects swaying shadows upon the ground. Chad leads the team, navigating ahead through the tall trees, investigating any suspicious areas along the way. Trakenthin surveys each new stretch of land, noting the landmarks around, and compares against a paper map. With prompts from Chad and other team members'' suspicions, Modoran carefully scouts out from the group, exploring unusual activity. Tassilda monitors the magical activity in the area through incantations and detection tools. Deedri assists, sweeping for magical activity, and studies relevant chapters from her guide book.


    Lagging behind the team, Veevi follows along in a perpetual state of annoyed and petulant. Grumbling to herself, she occasionally kicks forest debris and searches the area with her hand upon her holstered laser pistol. With each stretch of boredom, she retrieves her aetherphone and stares at the out of service icons and dwindling battery meter. Glancing around, she notices the team far away. A surge of anxiety and fear drives her forward, rushing back up close to the group.


    Behind and off to the side, various recording teams keep track of the Flames of Phoenix. Gerald aims his shoulder camera for a shot and abruptly blinks, his viewfinder blacking out briefly. He records the shot and inspects his camera. A few initial checks later, he shakes his head with an uneasy frown. Samantha glances over. "Anything wrong?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Gerald hoists the camera back on his shoulder, grimacing. "I don''t know. A lot of weird little glitches happening too often."


    He eyes the surrounding forest and narrows his distant stare out into the wilderness. "We actually might be getting close to something."


    ----


    Flicking her short hair tail, full of frustration, Veevi eyes the traces of late morning sun hinting through the dense, gray cloud cover, and crosses her arms. "OKAY. SO... Are we seriously going to explore another part of this fucking forest for no good reason?! It''s going to RAIN!"


    Chad rolls his brown eyes, curling his upper lip, and keeps his attention towards the game trail. "Yes. This is the last section near the predicted crash area before we have to expand our search. SO, you better help us find it. Otherwise, we are going to see ALL parts of this gods damned forest."


    The Flames of the Phoenix continue forward with Chad in the lead, Trakenthin, Modoran, Deedri, and Tassilda following close behind. Trailing behind, Veevi glances back towards a small camera crew tagging along and grumbles out her grievances to a captive audience. With the darkening skies, progress slows along rougher terrain and traces of disappointment creep into the team. Chad halts and scans his distant stare along the edges of his vision. "Where are we now, Trakenthin?"


    Stepping up next to Chad, Trakenthin holds out a paper map and taps his finger roughly on location. "Here."


    Resting his hands on his sides, Chad twists his mouth. "Okay. Damn. I was hoping to see something..."


    A strong gust blows overhead and filters into a brisk breeze through the trees. The wind passes over. Deedri''s furry ears perk up, sorting through the noise. She darts her auburn eyes around and spots unnatural debris rattling upon the ground. Kneeling down, she cautiously pinches a jagged fragment of aluminum between her claw tips and holds it up into view of the rest of the team. "I think we might be close."


    The team, including Veevi, gather close, examining the thin metal sheet. Trakenthin searches along the ground. "Out of place."


    Narrowing his gaze at the material, Chad carefully takes it from Deedri and studies it closely. "This definitely came from some kind of aircraft. It looks just like the exterior sheets the machinists use when they make replacement panels for the planes and drones being restored at my dad''s garages."


    Squinting her examining stare upon the metal, Tassilda furrows her brow and cocks her head puzzled. "I think I''m feeling magical leftovers on it."


    Chad quietly processes the possibilities. He stands up tall, hands the piece back to Deedri appreciatively, and walks further down the path. "Okay, everyone. Keep an eye out. And, be careful. We don''t know exactly what brought this thing down. Let''s not chance anything."


    With renewed vigor, the team trudges forward. They travel through the winding path and find more metal fragments along the way. Modoran and Trakenthin both notice broken branches high up in the trees and sheared bark on trunks. Minutes of travel later, the group arrives at a thick wall of brush and tall hedges surrounding a large area. Awkwardly probing the plant life, Chad pushes through a thinner section with assistance from Trakenthin and Modoran holding back intruding, obstructing branches.


    The rest of the team filters through, and the camera crews fight rougher patches for passage. Chad, Trakenthin, Modoran, Deedri, Tassilda, and Veevi gawk at the scene before them. Bright, vibrant flora around a small stream sways in the gentle breeze swirling in the vicinity. Carpets of flowering plants shift intermittently to unseen forces across the ground, and glimmers of colorful illumination spark around the area. With a weak gust, one of the four main propellers on the large drone spins with a barely audible whir. The chassis of the machine rocks gradually upon the soft soil with the wind. An accomplished grin grows wide on Chad''s face, and he gazes back at the team. With a presenting wave of his arm, Chad brightly smiles proud and chuckles, stepping to the side of the team. "I think we found our drone."


    Walking ahead, Deedri holds her hands up to the team and signals them to wait. "One moment. There''s some really obvious signs of spirit activity. I''d like to try out a detection spell before we go any further."


    Chad blinks, nods in agreement, and motions encouragingly. "Of course! Please go ahead. Let''s not get ahead of ourselves."


    Checking her Tobin book briefly, she slowly recites through the complicated incantation and performs a chain of gestures with exacting movements. Summoning up magical flows, she focuses condensing energies between her palms and flings her arms wide, releasing a faint pulse. The wave travels a few meters before dispersing completely and barely highlights a few translucent entities. Deedri''s furry ears droop slightly, and she frowns out her disappointment. "Well, uh... That was supposed to be a little more revealing."


    The rest of the team watches the illuminated spirits. Chad smiles at Deedri and reassures her with a proud tone. "I think that''s pretty good for a first try at the spell. It worked. Just try it a few more times."


    Deedri''s mood perks up, and she summons up another attempt at the spell. The team cautiously travels towards the crashed drone within the spiritually revealed passage. Deedri releases a few more focused spirit detection pulses, checking the route leading to the autonomous aircraft. At the drone, Chad and Modoran investigate the large, two meter wide and long machine. Trakenthin searches up into the trees, surveying the area above them. Tassilda and Deedri use their aetherphones and document the drone, often distracting themselves with photos of the surrounding area and the animated spirits. Camera crews struggle with capturing all the different things happening along with the team. Veevi watches idle spirits resting upon different plants and attempts to poke them in the absence of Trakenthin''s stern, disapproving stare.


    Minutes later, Modoran stands up, stretching his back, and shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "Except for that one side, this thing looks like it is in great shape. Do not know why it would''ve crashed like this."


    Blinking thoughtfully, Chad crosses his arms and twists his mouth uncertainly. "Yeah. I know. I''ve actually seen worse looking things fly. So... Probably some flight control system acted up and it..."


    He glances around the area. "I guess, gracefully failed into a hard landing?"


    Narrowing his hazel eyes, Trakenthin slowly pivots, facing Chad and Modoran, and sneers through his suspecting tone. "Quite successful for failing. There is a crude path through the trees that leads here. Broken branches confirm its route."


    Tassilda walks with Deedri, holds up her aetherphone, and furrows her gray brow, alternating her scrutiny between two images on the device. "Not to make it seem even more suspicious, but for crashing, this thing looks almost exactly like its stock profile picture."


    Lifting her toed boots, Deedri steps onto a rocky patch of forest floor and her teeth with a wary tone. "Also... As easy as it is for ME to push my boots into this dirt, I find it REALLY weird that a crashed drone this big isn''t sunken in."


    The team mulls over the observations, contemplating together. Outside the deliberations, Veevi pesters a very tolerant spirit under the attention of a camera crew.


    A loud, powerful rumble of distant thunder rolls over the area and rattles the team back to the immediate reality. Chad peers up into the darkening skies and sighs uneasy. "Okay. Well, we found it. And, I think that''s good enough for today. Let''s double-time it back to the camp, and get ready to weather this storm."


    Veevi reaches out with a stick, readying her swat at small glowing orbs. The surrounding spirits disperse away from her, swiftly disappearing. Cocking her head of pink hair to the side, she stands up and whines. "Aww! They all ran away."


    Tassilda glares over and quips derisively. "I guess your stench finally drove them away."


    Veevi and Tassilda lock confrontational glares. Deedri''s ears flick around, hunting for a sound. Her frightened auburn eyes widen, her tail fur puffs out, and she calls out. "What is THAT?!"


    Quickly approaching from the distant woods, a brightly shining being of translucent, angular shapes and jagged energy trails flies towards the crashed drone. It abruptly halts short of the downed craft, swiftly shifts opposite of the team, and hovers up. It pulsates a reddish light out in the area. A growing cacophony of calculated acoustic wave forms floods local soundscape in a strange chaotic chorus. Deedri steps back uncertainty, fear blatantly upon her face, and searches her mind frantically. Noticing the obvious unease, Chad motions slowly and positions himself defensively with Trakenthin and Modoran in front of Deedri, Tassilda, and Veevi. In a surge of reflexive fear, Veevi fumbles for her laser pistol and tries to draw it. She winces at the harsh clamping of Chad''s hand upon hers. She glares bewildered at him in a mix of fright and anger. Chad remains quiet and drills a grave, serious stare through her.


    The camera crews attempt to record, fighting constant equipment glitches, crashes, and malfunctions. Blinking, recognition rises into Deedri''s mind, and she whispers to the team. "I think this is an Anima. It''s a spirit that tends to affect technological devices and seems very interested in such things."


    Chad directs his voice back over to Deedri and inquires. "Are they hostile? Aggressive?"


    Deedri bites her lower lip uncertainly, drawing in an uneasy breath, and weakly shrugs. "The guide book said they are sometimes protective? Often territorial?"


    Trakenthin darts his hazel eyes at the pathway in the trees, the anima''s position, and the drone. With a few grath curses under his breath, he sternly signals everyone back. "Get away from the drone."


    The team pieces together the situation enough and quickly arrive at the same conclusion. All step carefully back from the anima and craft. The distance from the anima grows, and the speed of the team''s and crew''s retreats increases. A bright, jagged thread travels the dark cloudy sky in a lightning flash. An overwhelming boom blasts down up the forest. The anima flickers chaotically, releasing a distorted screech, and slams into the drone.


    Everyone in the area freezes. The quad propellers spin to full power, servos articulate motors downwards, and the aircraft leaps up into the air. Navigating the surrounding trees frantically, the drone slams hard into nearby trees and snaps through branches.


    Blue white light floods the area. A jagged run of lightning launches up into the sky instantly. A spray of electrical arcs erupt out from the drone. The concussive eruption of air sends Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Veevi onto the dirt. Recording teams stumble upon the ground. A torrent of water drains through the canopy into a full downpour. Recovering from the blinding flash, deafening boom, and sudden soaking, the team struggles, the crew scrambling away. Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Veevi barely manage enough of a recovery of their senses and witness the anima infused drone roar out in an echoing, digital scream. Releasing a spray of electrical arcs into burning trees, the drone charges forth in flaming magical fury.


    Everyone scatters in pure panic.

 Episode 85

    The thunderous, overwhelming roar of water ripping through the canopy floods the saturated air under the tall trees. Harsh jets of rain pound the forest floor, spraying up into a thick, obscuring mist throughout. Darting out through a cloud of the damp haze, Deedri leaps over a large shrub, slides along the muddy game trail, and tumbles into a soggy patch of moss. She scrambles up behind the wide trunk of a tall tree and squeezes herself into a rain shadow. Pressing her back against the bark, she reflexively pierces her claws deep into the outer layers of the oak and stares distantly, in wide-eyed terror, out into the curtains of water and deep fog obscuring the forest depths. Flicking her damp furry, tufted ears, she closes her auburn eyes and sorts through assault on her senses from the deluge around her. Seconds of hunting later, traces of tension leave her body, and she slows her frightened panting. Glancing around the area, she inspects her soaked outfit, muck covered boots, and drenched long, multi-colored hair. She slides her large backpack off, carefully opens the top, and eases out a sigh of relief, confirming the contents. Pausing a moment, sorting through her frantic thoughts, she draws in a long breath and lifts her head back against the bark of the oak tree, whispering to herself. "Oh... Fuck..."


    She peers aimlessly into the watery chaos surrounding her tiny reprieve under the barely sheltering tree, Frowning into a grimace, she rests her face in the palm of her hand, muttering fvalian curses at herself. Her furry ear twitches and perks around the tree. Carefully peeking around the corner, she secures her backpack, readying herself, and waits silently. Through the haze and noise, Deedri''s water-dripping, furry ears pick through the acoustic chaos and track new sounds.


    Slaps of boots against mud, a splatter of water, and loud shifts of wet rocks rise up from the background drone. A hard, large smack against unforgiving mud later, a familiar voice mutters out a string of evuukian curses, and Modoran swiftly slides down a fresh stream of muddy water. Gravity sails him down the hill, and the current washes him into the middle of a large trail. Laying on his stomach, Modoran remains still and grumbles out his pride between frustrated huffs and bubbles of curses. Moments later, he pulls his arms underneath himself and pushes his mud covered self into a seat in the pooling water, unleashing a defeated sigh.


    With a growing smile on her fair skinned face, Deedri''s auburn eyes spring wide open, and she directs a loud whisper. "Modoran!"


    Modoran''s long, pointed ears twitch, and he meets Deedri''s gaze, presenting a relieved, awkward grin on his dusky bluish gray face. Blinking his dark blue eyes, he smiles with genuine relief and weakly chuckles, glances over himself. "Deedri... Gods... I hope you are doing better than I am."


    Lifting a thick braid of her hair, Deedri squeezes the bundle tightly, draining out a significant amount of water. "About the same."


    She walks over from the cover of oak and reaches out her hands to assist Modoran, scanning the vicinity. "Did you find any shelter better than a tree?"


    Modoran graciously holds onto Deedri''s hands, pulling himself up, and pushes off the coats of mud upon his pants. "Not yet. I have just been running around trying to find anyone else."


    Deedri nods, staring out in the surrounding rain and mists, and shakes her head. "I know. It''s just been so crazy... I just now started to really think about..."


    Her soaked furry, water-tripping tufted ears droop down. "How lost I am."


    With a comforting smile, Modoran chuckles, the sheets of rain blasting layers of mud off his jacket and backpack. "You are NOT the only one. But, there are two of us now. So... I''m sure we can figure out a plan now."


    Nodding with a lighter smirk, Deedri narrows her stare and points out towards a sparser section of forest. "I think there''s a clearing that way. Maybe it''s worth checking out?"


    Stepping up, Modoran searches into the distance in the same direction and agrees with a curious twist of his mouth, focusing his attention downwards at an outline in the thick mist. "Yeah... Huh. That looks like a building... Maybe?"


    Deedri lifts herself up on her toes, peeking over a line of tall shrubs obscuring her view, and glances over at Modoran. "Might as well see. ANYTHING is better than soaking out here."


    Carefully traversing the water-logged slope, Deedri and Modoran climb down the slippery hill through the constant barrage of rain and push through a wall of brush together. Spotting the small stone building, the two rush over towards the front side facing a large clearing and slip through the entryway. Out of the constant downpour, Deedri puzzles at the huge field within the haze and the barely visible silhouettes through the mist of trees surrounding the area. "This clearing is huge! And look at these trees!"


    Modoran narrows his stare and scours through the sheets of rain and foggy air. "It looks like there are other buildings. But, I can not see anything clearly."


    He turns around, staring down the dark, central hallway, and grimaces uncomfortably. "Well. Huh. This place does not seem that inviting. Need to get some light..."


    Deedri ponders a moment. Holding her hands close together, she focuses. With a flicker of auburn in her eyes, magical flows condense around her clawed fingers, and she mutters a series of incantations with slight gestures. A small, floating orb glows brighter with the energy collecting inside of it and flashes to a bright blue-white illumination. Modoran blinks, his eyes adjusting, and smiles appreciatively. "Nice. Much better than my aetherphone."


    Holding the glowing sphere in her hand, Deedri walks along with Modoran. the two step warily down the long corridor towards an open heavy door. They stop midway through and notice locked side chambers behind bars. Deedri''s ears droop, and she grits her teeth uneasily. "Does this feel like a..."


    With an uncomfortable grimace, Modoran nods. "Jail? Yeah. Yeah, it does. But, I do not think it''s been used in a while."


    Both arrive at the doorway. Modoran carefully inspects it, peeks through the opening, and gradually pushes the door the rest of the way. Deedri holds the light out. Both survey the room beyond the threshold. Modoran shrugs his shoulders at the small space with a simple cot and glances over at Deedri. "Honestly. A lot nicer than what I was expecting to find."


    Deedri pushes the glowing orb up and watches it float up, sticking onto the roof. She releases a long sigh, slumps her shoulders, and buries her face between her hands. "Gods... It''s just nice to be out of the rain."


    Chuckling lightly, Modoran scratches the back of his head awkwardly and shrugs. "Yeah. I think we should hold up here for now. I am really not up for wandering around aimlessly in the rain right now. Doubt it would accomplish much anyway."


    Deedri slowly rocks her head in silent agreement, remaining quiet in her thoughts and uncomfortable breaths. Listening to the slight shudder in Deedri''s sighs, Modoran takes off his backpack, rests it upon the ground, and steps behind Deedri. Lifting gently on Deedri''s large pack, he motions his head towards the wall and politely asks. "Is it okay if I put this over there?"


    Blinking her auburn eyes back to awareness, Deedri lifts her face up, thinking a moment, and nods appreciatively. "Oh... Yes... Thank you."


    Deedri slides out of her heavy pack, and Modoran hoists the weight over to a spot next to the wall with a gentle drop. Brushing off some dust and debris from the cot, Modoran directs Deedri''s attention over with a kind smile. "Sit down for a bit."


    Glancing over at the cot, Deedri studies her soaked clothing and shakes her head. "Let me get these off. I really don''t want to drench the only dry place left to sit."


    Quickly finding the zipper to her top, Deedri loosens up the decorative garment and slips out of it. Wringing out the excess water out of her loose undershirt, she fans some of airflow down the collar of her light body suit, holding the sopping wet top in her other arm. She notices Modoran stiffly facing the other direction and extending his arm towards her. Modoran musters up his voice through flush hints on his cheeks. "Um, I know a spell or two to dry clothes if you want me to... Um... Dry them for you."


    A moment of self-consciousness rearranging her undershirt to be more presentable later, Deedri cracks an amused smirk and places the top on Modoran''s awaiting arm. She quickly undoes the fasteners for her long skirt and unsticks her shorts off her leggings. Placing the bottom garment in Modoran''s arms, she lightly taps a claw on his shoulder and cranes around his side with a smile. "Thank you for being considerate. But, I''m decent."


    Modoran nervously laughs, nodding, and finds a place to hang up the soaked clothing, working the embarrassment off his face. "Oh. Yeah. I will get these dried off for you."


    Quickly gesturing through an incantation, Modoran directs flows of magical energy to his hands and methodically motions over the clothing hung on the heavy door, each pass guiding water off onto the floor. Deedri eases herself onto the cot and slowly breathes out her nerves, drifting off into her mind. Minutes pass by in comparative silence, with Deedri searching through her thoughts with a frown and Modoran focusing his attention upon pulling water out of clothes. Finishing an initial pass with Deedri''s garments, Modoran glances over, asking. "I am going to try to dry off my clothes if you don''t mind."


    Deedri blinks out of her trance, shakes her head, and refocuses her attention. "Oh, no. Go ahead."


    Unzipping his jacket and pulling off his pants, Modoran strips down to his damp shirt and shorts, finding some old metal loops in the stone wall to hang the clothing from. Deedri''s eyes drift over towards Modoran, and she stares. Seconds later, her conscious mind realizes the situation, and she redirects her thoughts with a question. "Um... So... How do you know these types of spells and tricks? Clothes drying, towel arrangements, and knowledge of resort booking?"


    Modoran shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, chuckling to himself, and glances over to Deedri with a grin. "A bunch of random stuff I picked up from part time jobs with my family''s businesses."


    Blinking, Deedri searches her mind and perks her furry, damp, tufted ears. "Wait... What businesses does your family own? I talked to your mother and sisters for hours, and they NEVER mentioned anything to me."


    Rolling his dark blue eyes, Modoran snorts, shaking his head. "Not surprised. They were on vacation and happy to talk about anything else. But... It is a whole collection of different hotels, motels, and resorts. No central brand, on purpose. My mother and father know all of them by heart. My older sister probably is getting there."


    The idea distracts Deedri briefly with an intrigued smirk. Other pressing thoughts quickly force a frown on her face. She remains silent and staring blankly. Her wavering breaths and shaky hands catch Modoran''s attention. Stepping over, Modoran glances down at Deedri with concern. "Deedri, are you okay?"


    Contorting her face, Deedri droops her ears and uncertainly fumbles over her words. "I don''t know. We''re lost... We''re separated from the group... There''s some gods awful spirit driving a death drone around after us. And..."


    She gasps in some air and frowns. "I''m supposed to be the medical mage ready to help out anyone who could be injured right now. But..."


    Her tail reflexive coils around her waist and into her hands, and she grips hold of it tightly. "All I can do right now is... Cower in a damned hole, and be scared and clueless what exactly to do next."


    Watching the distress growing on Deedri, Modoran clears away his idle, nonchalant exterior, mustering up his confidence, and kneels down in front of Deedri. Meeting her auburn eyes with his dark blue gaze, he smiles reassuringly and places a gentle hand on Deedri''s shoulder. "Hey. The best we can do is survive, so we can have a chance to help everyone else. There is no point in us wandering around the storm. Let us see if we can get our aetherphone radio transponders working. Meanwhile, we will dry out, rest up, and calm ourselves down so we can think straight."


    He pauses a moment with a breath in and nods to Deedri. "We can figure this out."


    Gazing into Modoran eyes, a hopeful smirk emerges upon Deedri. She shifts her attention over, feeling the faint trembling of Modoran''s hand on her shoulder. Placing her hand upon his, she smiles at him and holds onto his hand. Seconds later, Deedri glances over to the space on the cot next to her and genuinely asks. "You want to sit down for a while?"


    Modoran blinks out of his trance, nods quickly, and eases himself onto the cot. The two enjoy the peaceful moments in the small room with the ambiance of the rain hammering the outside world. Deedri shivers briefly, wagging her tail awkwardly, and grumbles, feeling her waterlogged fur. Pausing in thought a moment, she bites her lower lip. "Do you have any spells that can help dry my tail out?"


    An amused smile appears on Modoran, and he nods slowly, prepping a spell. "I have got one that is basically like a hairdryer."


    Deedri flops her damp tail up into her hands and combs a bit of it out with her claw tips. "Gods. THAT sounds so nice right now."


    ----


    Rolling walls of water dump through the battered canopy above and pound the brush below. Tripping over a large tree root, Veevi slides belly first down a muddy game trail. splashing down a long decline head first into a murky pool. Lifting her head up from the muck, she spits out the dirt saturated water and peels her soaked mop of pink hair out of her eyes. She pants in near exhaustion and darts her spooked stare around the disorientating haze and constant watery onslaught at the thinning edge of the forest. Her gaze settles upon a large stone structure in front of her. Blinking to the realization, she stumbles up to her feet, searching the area, and slinks towards the building. She stands under an overhang and presses her back against the exterior wall, breathing a few sighs of relief. Listening to the surges of rain blast the other sides of the building, Veevi peeks around the corner and pans her glance across the open field visible within the obscuring mist perimeter and the front of the old, stone structure. She spots a huge archway, darts across the stretch, and quickly checks the entryway. Another waterfall from the skies above approaches, and she rushes out of the storm inside.


    Inside the dark, she stands dripping in her tight fitting outfit and nervously gawks into the shadowy surroundings. A distant slam booms out. A pink furred tail slips out of view behind an upturned table. Veevi shudders in fright behind the furniture, her fuzzy ears twitching around at the eerie quiet of inside, against the rhythmic deluge outside. Tense minutes later, her pink pupil eyes uncertainly dart around the area. The interior quiet looms still. Easing out a breath, Veevi rolls the tension out of her shoulders and slumps behind the debris surrounding the toppled table top.


    Summoning up the little nerve in herself over the eerie minutes, she quietly rises back on her feet, glancing around, and ventures deeper down the large, long central hallway. Faint sources of light from distant outside windows break up the surrounding darkness in the tall, echoing corridor. Veevi stops midway, grimacing, and holds her hands together. Mumbling to herself, she winces in concentration, strains her body, and focuses her gaze hopefully to her palms. Seconds later, faint flows of magic condense and form into a dull ball of light, providing a modest amount of illumination. Gritting her teeth nervously, Veevi surveys the dark area around her. The dim glow projects a light out into the surroundings around at the intersection before massive, broken doors. Shifting her gaze between shattered furniture, cracked bows, and random objects piled up, Veevi''s dread simmers further. She catches the glints of bullet and shell casings in stark contrast against blackened scorch marks on the floor and walls. Freezing in a surge of horror, she fights against the recognition of the dried, morbidly shaped pools and smears scattered through the area.


    A bright flash erupts from nearby windows, and Veevi freezes in wide-eyed fright, tensing through the loud crash of thunder erupting through the space. In a panic, she runs through the double doors, frantically panting. In the barely lit, echoing chamber, she trips over a few steps and tumbles into a shallow, circular pit. Pulling herself back together, she forces herself and flows more energy into the dull glowing orb in her hand. With the extra light, she sits up in the middle of a round depression in the floor with encircling shattered steps. Veevi blinks in confusion at the crushed masonry, the deep gouges in the floors, and tool marks around the shallow, circular pit. Her wandering stare surveys the huge chamber, desks of scattered papers, shattered magical equipment, and shelves of empty bookcases. Wrapping her arms close to herself, she notices a stairwell in the corner and scrambles over in a surge of fright.


    Quickly moving through the smaller halls, Veevi steps around remnants of strange scenes. Fighting fear, she glances into a room beyond torn down doors and halts at the remains of a master bedroom. She steps over into the room, carefully, awkwardly walking through the recognizable furniture in the mix of chaos and upheaval. Slowly exploring the upturned room, she finds elaborate, nature themed garments in the debris, and a mostly intact mattress with nearby sheets strewn over the area. Relaxing her breathing, she briefly puzzles at an empty compartment in the floor next to the overturned bed. She pauses a moment, lost in her thoughts. The wind blows into the room from an open window in the small connecting bathroom, and she feels her damp clothing. Stepping over, she picks through the clothing in the debris and settles down upon the mattress.


    ----


    Slowly marching through the torrent, Trakenthin leans against a tree and lifts his large arm across his helmeted forehead, shielding the rain from the aetherphone in his other hand. He squints through the harsh spray of water splattering on his visor and watches an array of signal strength bars pulsate between different heights on his display. Two reach near the highest point of the scale, and two others slowly rise with each oscillation. Shaking his head, Trakenthin wipes the excessive water off his helm and searches into the mist obscured clearing. He growls loudly and fights a mix of frustration and worry, staring out into the distance.


    Two of the signal bars pulsate at the top of the range with an alert beep, and Trakenthin glances down briefly. He lifts his helmeted head and strains all his attention into the horizon through forest and haze. A few fruitless passes later, two familiar voices sound out. Chad kneels slightly, bracing against a tree, and holds his arm out back towards Tassilda. With a staggered glide across the loose, slick dirt, Tassilda catches herself upon Chad''s outstretched arm and backpack. Grumbling out her aggravation, she releases a long stressed breath and summons up a tired, appreciative tone. "Thank you. Sorry."


    Chad shakes his head with grimace, holds his shield up against the waves of rain, and turns his gaze, checking on Tassilda. "It''s fine. This situation is just fucked anyway."


    Taking the moment under the shelter of the shield, Tassilda pulls her soaked raven black hair back out her light blue on black eyes and nods begrudgingly. She lifts up her aetherphone into view, checking on similar signals in the area, and opens her eyes wide. "Oh gods. I think we''re close to everyone else now. All their signals just jumped up."


    Staring out into the distance, Chad spots a tall, imposing, and familiar figure against the waves of rain. He cracks a hopeful grin, pointing Trakenthin out to Tassilda, and leads the way. Trakenthin stands tall in his armor and greets Chad and Tassilda with a reserved smile. "Good to see you."


    Patting Trakenthin on his shoulder, Chad laughs through his exhaustion. "Same. Any signs of Deedri, Modoran, Veevi, or the crew?"


    Trakenthin shakes his head, twisting his dark bronze face. "Nothing from Veevi. No sign of crew. Deedri. Modoran. Must be near. Signals are stronger here."


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    Directing attention over towards the distant outlines of ancient stone buildings contrasting the mist and rain, he contemplates out loud. "Believe they are in these structures. Sharp increase in signal since going over the hill."


    Tassilda nods in agreement, searching around the area, and motions towards a nearby mid sized building. "Same thing happened on my phone. Let''s check this one out. And, get out of this rain."


    The trio navigate down the slight slope through perimeter brush. They rush around to the front of the building facing into the clearing and stand outside a busted doorway. With a bit of hesitation, they carefully enter the structure. Inside, Chad, Trakenthin, and Tassilda cautiously fan out and explore the entry with multiple side rooms. Each pauses within the room, investigating the strange stacking of supply crates, upturned furniture, and broken debris. Discomfort growing, they find traces of conflict by impact holes, magical burn marks, and dark splatter stains upon the walls and floors. The group reconvenes in a large barracks in the back of the structure and slowly rearrange cots. Chad pulls his helm off, shakes his head, and sighs uneasily. "Okay. So... I can''t be the only one that would have rather just found this place full of dirt, cobwebs, and bugs."


    Shuddering with a wave of discomfort, she slings off her backpack onto the ground and releases her waterlogged cloak onto the floor. "GODS, NO. What IS this place? And..."


    Glancing around briefly at the stale signs of chaos, she grimaces. "What THE HELL happened here?!"


    With snort, Trakenthin grumbles, rolling his shoulders, and studies the vicinity, concern refreshing. "Something BAD. Must tolerate it for now."


    Chad releases the straps of his breast plate, dropping it off to the side. He pulls off the damp under armor from his skin and nods reluctantly. "Yeah. This is the first bit of shelter we''ve found. So... We''ll have to ignore the..."


    Wrestling a frown, he strains a breath through his hose. "Hopefully... The not too recent history... For now."


    Tassilda lifts an unamused eyebrow at Chad and rolls her eyes at the situation. "History. That''s a nice way to put it."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Chad pries out his aetherphone from his pants pocket, shaking off the water, and presses a button to wake the device. "Let''s see if the radios want to work now. I think that THING was jamming them or something before. Hopefully, check in on Deedri and Modoran and see where they are."


    Chad presses and holds a button on a two-way radio app and speaks clearly. "Deedri. Modoran. Deedri. Modoran. We detect your phone beacons. Where are you? Are you okay?"


    The tense silence looms over the seconds, Chad, Trakenthin, and Tassilda waiting. Chad''s phone speaker chirps out a few key ups on the channel, along with the sound of fumbling hands and background murmurs. Deedri''s voice sounds out. "Chad?! Thank the gods. Modoran and I are fine. We''re near this really big clearing taking shelter in this... um, strange... small stone building. You heard from anyone else?"


    A wave of relief washes over Tassilda, Trakenthin, and Chad. With a happy smile on his face, Chad presses the transmit button. "Yes. I''m with Trakenthin and Tassilda. We''re okay. Just really, really soaked. We took shelter in another building around a big clearing, too. Haven''t heard from Veevi or any of the crew. So... I don''t know. The drone didn''t chase us after a certain point, so it might have flown off and left everyone else alone."


    A radio key up later, Deedri ponders out loud, uncertainly. "So, what''s the plan? We''re a bit lost as to what to do next."


    Glancing between Trakenthin and Tassilda''s indecisive expressions, Chad thinks a moment and directs his voice out towards the group local and remote. "Well. We''ll shelter in place until the storm moves on. Keep our transponders running, and take turns monitoring the radio and doing a call out once an hour. And..."


    He shrugs his shoulders and sighs. "Rest up the best we can. Sound good?"


    Trakenthin and Tassilda nod. Moments later, the radio keys up, and Deedri''s voice crackles out. "Yes. Kind of how we felt."


    From the background of the far side of the radio broadcast, Modoran comments. "Good enough for me."


    Keeping the transmission going, Deedri sounds out from Chad''s aetherphone with an uneasy tone. "Not to make things creepier, but... Does this place seem... WEIRD to you all?"


    Chad eyes around the large barracks, narrowing a stare towards the front entrance, and nods slowly, keying up his phone. "Yeah... Let''s not plan on staying here longer than we have to."


    ----


    Underneath a rocky overhang, Samantha, Gerald, and a dozen recording crew members hide, water splashing down along with bits of terrain. Gusts of wind blast rain upon the huddled masses. Samantha whispers loudly over the storm to Gerald with a grimace. "Everyone is accounted for, right?"


    Nodding his head of wet hair, Gerald sighs and stares out into the misty forest. "Yeah. A bit roughed up from running through this forest, but... Okay."


    He contorts his face uneasily, groaning, and shakes his head, glancing around. "But... We got to find some kind of shelter. Real shelter. That fucking spirit drone thing is due to make another pass in this area, and I don''t think we have that many passes left before it narrows down to where we are."


    Samantha grits her teeth, snorting out frustration along with spatters of water dripping down her face, and furrows her brow. "Gods dammit. Why the hell is it hunting us down?!"


    Her temper chills in the downpour, and she whines in defeat. "Oh... Nevermind..."


    Directing her voice over towards Urdi, she steps closer. "Any luck on figuring out where those beacons are coming from?"


    Urdi flicks her wet, furry ears in thought, wrestling with the indecision on her face, and points in a rough direction. "I think we need to go... That way. The further that direction we''ve gone, two of the signals got stronger. Three other signals have settled to the same levels. So, uh, they may have regrouped?"


    A hint of worry rises in Gerald''s tone, and he glances over to Urdi. "Anything from Veevi''s aetherphone?"


    Shaking her head, Urdi frowns. Checking a readout from some equipment, Radnae quips. "Then again, she probably couldn''t figure out how to turn the beacon on. And yes, there''s still too much interference to broadcast a clear radio signal out."


    Watching a sharp increase in activity on the monitor screen, Radnae waves frantically at everyone and loudly whispers. "It''s NEARBY. Everyone back. HIDE."


    Gerald, Samantha, Urdi, Radnae, and crew duck and tuck close together under the overhang. Under the obscuring waterfall of drainage, they wait in nervous anticipation. In the distant haze, the powerful, sharp whir of rotors and crackles of electrical arcs rise above the sounds of the pummeling rainfall. The large drone soars through the trees in a wild display of awkward navigation, charting an erratic search path through the woods. Occasionally, a powerful electrical arc pops into a nearby branch, sizzles of steam popping out of the wood. In the minutes, it looms around. It disappears back into the obscuring mists of the forest, the hunt leading it away.


    The assembled crew wait tensely, watching and listening through the stormy chaos. Pointing in the direction suggested by Urdi, Gerald breaks the relative silence, motioning the rest of the group. "Well, we''re not sticking around here. Let''s MOVE."


    ----


    Curling up on the mattress under a pile of scavenged towels, blankets, and sheets, Veevi snores softly. The storm rages outside the open windows of the large, ruined bedroom, and the wind blows through the room across Veevi''s outfit draped over a chair. Tossing on the mattress, Veevi unconsciously stretches out in the nature themed clothes on her and mumbles to herself in her sleep. Her fuzzy ears twitch with the sounds of voices in the hallway outside the bedroom entry. Something hits the stone floor, echoing out through the corridors. Veevi startles from her slumber.


    Listening to the voices getting closer, Veevi''s pink pupil eyes widen in a bewildered panic, and she scrambles around. She fumbles around the debris near her and finds her laser pistol. Scurrying behind a pile of debris, she shakily trains the weapon at the broken entry doors, fear driving her frightened panting. She shudders nervously, and the pistol trembles in her hand. The muffled voices grow louder. The rainfall surges outside into drowning, disorientating cacophony. Veevi''s grip tightens on the pistol.


    In the midst of a chorus footsteps outside the bedroom door, a voice speaks up. "Okay, let''s what we got in here-"


    A laser beam pulses into existence out the doorway, the bright green flash flooding the bedroom and hallway, and scorches the wall opposite the doorway. Immediate silence seizes the area. A surge of bravado drives Veevi up to her feet, and she angrily screams through panic. "THERE''S MORE OF THAT IF ANY OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS COME IN HERE! I''LL BURN YOU ALL TO A GODS DAMNED CRISP!"


    Over the frightened muttering of a man''s voice, Samantha yells back into the room in an absolute, seething rage. "VEEVI! IF YOU DON''T PUT THAT FUCKING PISTOL AWAY, I''LL SHOVE IT SIDEWAYS UP YOUR PINK FURRY ASS, AND KICK THE SHIT OUT OF YOU UNTIL IT FIRES! YOU DUMB BITCH!"


    Immediately recognizing the voice, Veevi''s pink pupil eyes spring wide open, and she quickly lowers the pistol to her side. She shrinks her posture back down into hiding and meekly replies with drooping ears. "O-okay... Well... Sorry?"


    ----


    Beams of early morning sun angle down into the large clearing in the middle of an ancient tree perimeter. A series of watery footsteps sound out into the area, and two trails of footprints form a path across the soggy soil. The depressions into the grasses appear, and water oozes in, filling them quickly. Leading into the mid sized structure, two pairs of boot prints stamp watermarks onto the stone floor of the entry. Modoran and Deedri gradually fade into full opacity on top of the watery outlines. Blinking intrigued, Deedri smirks, whispering at Modoran. "I REALLY need to learn how to do those spells."


    Modoran grins nonchalantly and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. They have their uses."


    The two slowly step inside further and cautiously inspect the entryway. The growing morning highlights the signs of past, messy strife. Modoran spots Chad down the hallway and leads the way through the leftover chaotic clues. Shuddering with the recognition of old bloodstains, Deedri rushes through that corridor section. Chad waves the two in and sighs with a relieved smile. "Good morning. I hope you two got some rest. We tried our best here."


    Twisting his mouth into a grimace, Modoran shrugs uncertainly. "We dried out and took turns getting a few hours of sleep each. Not the best sleep I have ever had honestly. Not the worst either."


    Sneering her upper lip, Deedri uneasily squirms out her disgust. "Didn''t help that we stayed in some makeshift jail cell."


    Chad opens his brown eyes wide, frowns slightly, and glances around the room. "Gods... Yeah. This place has some... HISTORY... That I really don''t want to know about right now."


    Tassilda finishes brushing out her long raven black hair, pulls it back over her spiraling horns, and dons a relieved smile. "Yes. But, it seems like everyone is safe enough."


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears perk up, and she gazes between the group. "Really? The crew and... Veevi?"


    With a wry chuckle, Tassilda stands up from her seat on a cot, stretching out her arms, and rolls her light blue on black eyes. "Yes. The crew followed our aetherphone beacons, and they found Veevi for us. She hid in some bedroom in the big building at the other end of the clearing. Nearly blasted Gerald''s head off when the crew tried to explore the room she was in."


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Chad slowly shakes his head and grumbles. "GODS. Need to take that damned pistol away from her."


    Trakenthin groans in agreement, nodding his head sternly at Chad. Modoran pivots in place, studying the layout and contents of the room, and queries the assembled team. "Any theories about what this place is?"


    Chad rests his hands at his side, puzzling at the environment, and ponders out loud. "Maybe some kind of base? This place looks old. But, all the furniture looks like it was kept up until recently. So..."


    Leaning over to a corner of covered supplies, Trakenthin lifts up a cloth wrapped bundle, steps up to Modoran, and presents it. "You may know about this. Found it while clearing out space for camp."


    Modoran takes hold of the loose package, unwraps it, and tilts his head back in surprise. Carefully gripping the finely crafted wooden bow, he meticulously examines the inscriptions and magical channels carved into the structure. He cocks his head of short, grayish white hair to the side, astonishment and worry blending together upon his dusky bluish gray face. Searching his mind for conclusions, he exchanges glances with the curious team and inquires further. "Did you find any quivers or arrows?"


    Trakenthin nods, pointing to the corner of the supply collection, and directs Modoran''s attention towards a quiver of three well crafted arrows with magical markings. Blanking his expression, Modoran mumbles out a phrase in Evuukian and draws an awkward breath in. Chad narrows his gaze at Modoran, tilting his head intrigued. "Anything we should know?"


    Modoran shrugs his shoulders, resuming his nonchalant exterior, and sighs with hints of reservation. "It is a wonderful magic imbued bow and nicely enchanted arrows. I am a bit worried about who made them. BUT..."


    He eyes the space and corridor leading outside. "I get the feeling they are not here anymore. So, I will hold on to these... If no one objects?"


    Chad searches the rest of the group for opposition and nods in agreement. "Go ahead. You''re probably the best one to use it from what I''ve seen."


    Staring outside and focusing her furry ears towards faint sounds of Veevi''s voice, Deedri levels a question at the team. "So, what''s the plan?"


    Noticing the attention upon him, Chad draws in a breath, searches his mind a moment, and plots. "We''ll regroup with the crew... and Veevi. First order of business is to figure out where that drone is. That way we can try to be where it isn''t. After that, we double time back to camp, load up, and get the hell out of here."


    He glances off to the side with a frown. "I think we have enough evidence to show that the drone is not exactly... Um, recoverable? Currently in use? Shit. I don''t even know what the fuck to call it. BUT, I hope that''s enough of an explanation for the Grand Library."


    Rolling her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda smirks sarcastically. "From what I''ve heard about the Grand Library, they''ll probably send a team to try to study that thing after we''re gone. So I doubt they''ll care one way or another."


    Nodding at Chad, Modoran slips the quiver onto his back, holds the bow at the ready, and motions towards the exit. "Let us see what the crew and Veevi are doing, then. Then, we can get the hell out of here."


    The group assembles and walks to the entryway. Upon stepping out, they notice Veevi in front of the largest ancient structure, standing boldly in front of the entrance. In her revealing adaptation of her recently found clothing line, she soaks in the attention of cameras. The team halts their progress and reluctantly watches. Modoran squints his eyes, gritting his teeth into a grimace, and cringes. "Ooo... That... THAT is a lot they are going to have to fix in post."


    Tassilda sneers her upper lip, placing her hands on her hips, and snorts derisively. "Oh please, she''s shown far more in far less before."


    Shaking his head, Modoran draws an uneasy breath through his teeth. "Yeah, but those are Terra Priest symbols on all that. I am certain that will NOT appease the Evuukian market."


    With the team starting to comprehend Modoran''s words, an unfortunately familiar whir of rotor blades creeps out from the background noise of the surrounding forest. The sound surges louder and louder. The drone slowly navigates through an open section of cleared branches between two ancient trees and passes through the perimeter into the unoccupied section of the large clearing. It hovers menacingly over the small jail structure, starting a slow scan of the area. The team ducks back into their building, hiding out of sight. Gritting his teeth, Chad whispers to the group, thinking out loud. "OKAY. We know where it is. But, we have to deal with it. I''m thinking if we can disable it. At least so it can''t fly well enough to follow us. Umm..."


    He eyes the bow in Modoran''s hand and smirks. "Modoran, you think you can do some damage with that?"


    Modoran pulls an arrow out of the quiver, checking it over, and nods tentatively. "Oh yeah. I am not familiar with these arrows. BUT, I know I can put it through the hole in its side if it stays still."


    Lifting a finger with an idea springing forth in her mind, Deedri points over to Tassilda. "I got something, I think. Spirits can be influenced by mind-affecting magic. That''s how they are often controlled. At least, from what I''ve read... So... Maybe..."


    Tassilda cracks an eager grin on her gray face, lifting an eyebrow, and flexes her hand of long, black nailed fingers. "A charged up sleep wave?"


    Deedri''s auburn eyes light up, and she smiles. "Yes! And, I can boost up a hold spell to try to immobilize it."


    Nodding at the forming plan, Chad glances over to Trakenthin and smirks. "And if it goes down, Trakenthin and I will close in to chop its wings."


    Trakenthin nods affirmatively, dons a stoic gaze, and readies his sword. Chad sorts through the process and outlines the plan. "Okay. Deedri immobilizes it, and Tassilda sleeps it. Modoran sends an arrow or two inside it. If it goes down, Trakenthin and I will try to keep it from flying again."


    The assembled team relays their agreement. Chad twists his face, pondering a moment, and grumbles. "We just need a distraction-"


    A loud, bold yell echoes out into the field, and a series laser blasts cast a bright green hue into the entry. A single dull, metallic ping rings out, and rotors flare up. humming angrily. Veevi screams out over the sound of the laser pistol firing. "You''re not so tough! A few good shots will take you down!"


    Chad blinks blankly and releases a sigh along with the dismay of the team. Trakenthin quips, rolling his hazel eyes. "Asked. Received."


    Outside in the clearing, in front of a line of gradually retreating crew members, Veevi takes shaky aim at the drone hovering distantly and pulls the trigger repeatedly. A few bright green beams flash past the approaching machine, and it slowly pivots in place, its rotors adjusting. With a few arcs across its fuselage, the huge, airborne anima infused aircraft shifts its propulsion and coasts towards Veevi, sparks drifting off of it. In a growing panic Veevi jerks more wild shots off her weapon, sending random beams roughly in the drone''s direction. The furious machine gains velocity with intent blatant.


    With a loud roar of rotors spinning up to speed and blades chopping through air, the aircraft pitches its nose sharply down and fans out arcs of electricity. The crew instinctively scatter away and flee in sheer panic back into the huge ancient structure. Shakily keeping her laser pistol pointed towards the drone, Veevi glances back at the frightened people running away and stares in absolute terror at the visibly aggravated machine. She freezes in horror, shaking in her boots, and shrinks in hopeless awe.


    Shimmers of energy jet up from the ground, quickly enveloping the drone, and stiffen into a thick translucent cloud. Sputtering out quick fvalian curses just outside the stone barracks structure, Deedri digs her finger claws into the soggy dirt, saturated with magical flow. She glances over with a wince at Tassilda and growls out. "NOW! I don''t know how long- I can- stretch this out-! Never meant for THIS!"


    With a flash of light blue glow in her eyes, Tassilda cracks a confident smirk, presses the swirling magical flow between her hands, and aims the palms of her hands towards the struggling drone. With a flex of her upper body and arms, the energies surge into a focal point and erupt out in a narrow cone at the anima controlled craft. The nearly transparent flow engulfs the drone, washing through the entirety of the chassis. Moments later, the rotors spin down to an idle maintenance speed, servos lethargically level out, and the craft hovers still in the air. A fast sigh of relief leaves Deedri''s lungs, and she recovers her composure, panting. "Oh gods... It''s not fighting back now. I think I can keep it steady."


    Modoran nods with concern at Deedri, steps up front with the bow in hand, and nocks an arrow, glaring determinedly at the drone. Pulling back the bowstring, he draws in a calm breath and lines up his shot to the hole in the fuselage. Flows of magical energy swirl around his arms and sink into the bow and arrow. The markings on the bow glow brightly, and a misty illumination vents off the head of the arrow. The drone drifts enough, exposing itself fully. The bow and arrow light up to their brightest. Modoran releases. The bowstring snaps forward. The arrow disappears into a blue-white streak across the clearing. The fiery ball of energy zips inside the chassis of the machine, leaving a miasma trail behind.


    A fast succession of loud metal slams pound inside the body of the drone, each impact losing volume and leaving a smaller dent on the outer hull. The final crash sizzles into a loud expulsion of smoke, and the aircraft flops down upon a shallow puddle. Chad and Trakenthin charge out. Modoran draws another arrow from a quiver, examining it closely, and quips in a bit of surprise. "Huh. So that''s what that enchantment did."


    Chad takes the lead with his shield forward, and Trakenthin follows right behind. The mechanical beast roars out a confused, pained cacophony of synthetic chaos. Narrowing an examining stare at the struggling drone, Chad yells out to Trakenthin. "Try to break the blades on the rotors! Even a little damage will make them useless. Then, jam the mounts!"


    Trakenthin nods, splits off from Chad, and the two rush to opposing sides of the drone. Carefully stepping forward, Chad grits his teeth, small arcs of electricity sparking out from the drone, and gets near a spasming fan. With his shield up, he holds his sword downwards above the chaotically spinning blades, winces his head back, and spikes his weapon in. With a loud shatter, fragments ping off his shield, and Chad struggles with his grip on the sword, the rotor grinding to a harsh halt. Trakenthin narrows his focus, waits for the arcs to wane, and crashes his large sword into the metal chassis surrounding the rotor unit. The drone jerks at the sudden stop, blades carving into the intake cowling. With shrill, electronic cries of rage, another furious blast of electricity erupts. Chad and Trakenthin retreat back quickly, and the aircraft fights against damage and physics to rise again.


    Modoran readies another arrow, starts flowing his energies into it, and glances between Tassilda and Deedri. "Can you two give me another opening?!"


    Deedri grits her sharp teeth, strains her body, and stares at the drone with glowing auburn eyes. Translucent forces lock the machine onto the ground. Tassilda steps up, aims her hands, summons up another burst of energy at the grounded aircraft. Modoran takes a deep breath in, leveling his aim, and yells out. "STAND BACK! I DON''T KNOW WHAT THIS WILL DO!"


    The arrow zips across the clearing, through the hole in the fuselage, and plants itself inside. Everyone watches expectantly for seconds. Deedri strains, keeping the drone locked down. A high pitched whine rings out from inside the machine. A powerful concussive burst explodes out. Silence overtakes the area. The drone remains still. The electrical arcs wane to nothing. And, the last signs of life fade from the rotors and servos.


    Chad and Trakenthin regroup with the rest of the team. A minute later, Chad glances over the team, presents a proud, bright white grin, and chuckles. "I think it''s done. But... We''ll keep back and..."


    Chad''s voice trails off with the bewilderment of the team. They watch Veevi strut triumphantly up next to the drone. With the camera crew recording from a distance, Veevi dons a prideful grin, assumes a revealing stance, and poses with her laser pistol. Tassilda glares spitefully, her knuckles cracking from clenching her fist. "That little fucking pink bitch..."


    A faint glow pulsates inside the hole in the drone, and a small entity of brightly shining, translucent, angular shapes, and jagged energy trails leaps out. Scrambling around frantically, the entity briefly skitters around. It pauses a moment and lunges towards Veevi, merging into the laser pistol in her hand. The weapon electrocutes itself out of the Veevi''s hand and lands upon the ground. Stumbling onto the soggy soil, Veevi dramatically clutches her hand and whines out in pain. The camera crew shifts their full attention over to the gun. Using arc magical energies, the pistol rights itself on the ground, pivots its aim, and fires wildly. The crew ducks and scrambles away. Chad hoists up his shield and growls out loudly. "Enough of this shit!"


    Trakenthin stands defensively in front of Deedri and Modoran. Chad approaches the laser pistol, and Tassilda rushes up behind, patting his back. "Get me close. I''ll see what a dispelling blast does to it."


    With pulses of bright green beaming out across the clearing, Chad and Tassilda approach slowly and carefully. In a final push, Chad moves up to the chaotically firing weapon. Tassilda swings her arm out from behind Chad and flings out an orb of magical energy. The ball of disruptive flow impacts the flailing pistol and bursts out into a plume of power. Leaping free, the anima flees the weapon in a high-pitch electronic shriek. With a chitter of synthetic panic, it darts around the clearing and flies off into the forest.


    Chad steps up cautiously towards the motionless weapon and picks it up gingerly. He ejects the power cell, engages the safety, and holds the discharge button. Shaking his head, he grumbles out a blend of frustration and relief. "I''ll be holding onto this."

 Episode 86

    With a powerful kick of his armored boot, the physically imposing Trakenthin shoves the beaten and battered drone grinding across the stonework floor of the large hallway. He leaves the tall entryway, and Chad and Modoran close massive exterior doors on the huge main building at the edge of the clearing. Dragging over a large log in front of the doorway, Trakenthin guides it in place with the help of Chad and Modoran. The trio stand back, resting and stretching out their bodies. Chad glances over to both Modoran and Trakenthin, shrugging ambivalently, and grumbles. "Well. We found it. Mostly in one piece. But, I don''t think they specified what condition we were supposed to keep it in."


    Modoran snorts with an ill-humored tinge and crosses his arms, smirking. "I do not think they will care. I mean... I think they were expecting us to report back with pictures of the fucking thing crashed in a burnt crater."


    Lifting a dryly amused eyebrow, Trakenthin slowly shakes his head and sighs, resting his hands at his sides. "It resembles that now."


    Drawing in a long breath, Chad works off a grimace and pivots around, rolling his brown eyes. "Yeah. Hopefully, stuck in there, it won''t be taken for another joyride by a crazed spirit, or whatever else is running around this place.."


    Chad leads the group towards a larger gathering in morning sun of the clearing and eyes Trakenthin inquisitively. "You have any trouble calculating the coordinates to this place?"


    Trakenthin rocks his head slightly from one shoulder to another, twisting a vague grimace, and ponders out loud. "Land transponder signals are weak here. Enough to get a rough location. Refined with our route from camp today. Confirmed with landmarks. Should be enough. This large clearing would be hard to miss when you are near."


    Modoran nonchalantly strolls next to Chad, gazing across the field towards Deedri, Tassilda, the crew, and Veevi, and pries. "So, what is the plan today? I think we have gotten everything under enough control, for now. You got any desire to explore this place further?"


    Gritting his teeth briefly, Chad uneasily sneers his upper lip and shakes his head. "No. No... Not at this point. Sleeping at camp knowing this place was nearby was hard enough last night. I think I''m okay with just spending tonight at Goff''s Inn. We''ll leave this place to the Grand Library. Let them have..."


    Bouncing a stare between the different ancient structures around the clearing, he furrows his brow and grimaces. "FUN... With this place."


    A smile appears on Modoran''s dusky bluish gray face, and he releases a loud sigh of relief with a trailing chuckle. "Oh. Good. FUCK this place. I am ready to just have to deal with Veevi on the ride back."


    Trakenthin cranes his glance over at Modoran and sympathetically smirks. "I could sit back with her. Our route back is charted already. I do not need to navigate."


    With an indifferent attitude, Modoran shrugs his shoulders, snorting. "It''s fine. If she tries anything again, I will just let Tassilda handle her and keep her distracted."


    Shaking his head with a mild cringe, Chad brushes his brown hair with his fingers, watching Veevi hog the camera crew attention, and eyes either side of himself at Modoran and Trakenthin. "Speaking of which... Would one of you want to use the laser pistol? Thought I''d ask before keeping it myself."


    Modoran searches his mind for a moment and waves off the offer. "Nah. Honestly, that bow seems powerful enough for me. Also, it can be quiet and harder to track back if I need to fire it from hiding. So, it works well enough for my tactics."


    Nodding in agreement, Chad glances over to Trakenthin, expectantly awaiting an answer. Trakenthin shakes his head, pats a side compartment on the upper leg section of his armor suit, and smirks proudly. "I have a suitable weapon."


    Both Chad and Modoran snap their attention at Trakenthin, puzzling at the new information. Chad cocks his head curiously to the side, blinking in thought, and narrows an examining gaze at Trakenthin. "Wait, really? Why haven''t you used it before?"


    Frowning slightly, Trakenthin sighs with a disappointed groan, furrowing his brow. "Not as proficient with it. Would not have been effective against enemies we faced."


    A smile appears on his dark bronze face with a warm tone. "My house mother made it for me. I am careful with how I use it. Not for trivial tasks."


    Pausing in thought a moment, he eyes the unconvinced expressions upon Chad and Modoran''s faces, and sighs with an embarrassed grumble, wincing slightly. "The ammunition is EXPENSIVE."


    Both Chad and Modoran nod understandingly, curiosity satisfied sufficiently, and smirk in commiseration. Walking across the large sunlit clearing, the trio close in on the rest of the team and gathered crew. Chad shakes his head, grumbling. "Cool. Yeah... I''ll just keep it for now. Probably best that way. Far safer for all of us."


    Sneaking out a snort, Modoran briefly grins. "Gerald will probably appreciate it."


    Trakenthin fights down a sly smile, and Chad rolls his eyes at himself. Stepping forward of Modoran and Trakenthin, Chad clears his throat and calls out towards the team and crew. "Everyone! The drone has been stowed away safely in the big, main building. Once we get a good signal, we''ll inform the Grand Library where to pick up their property."


    Tassilda lifts an ill-humored brow, resting her hands on her hips, and grins slightly. "Or, more appropriately, whatever remains of it?"


    Chad glances over at Tassilda, furrowing his brow at the situation with a smirk, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well. As Modoran pointed out, they were probably expecting a pile of parts in a crater. I''d like to think we delivered a little more than THAT. Certainly have quite the story to go with it now."


    A smile creeps out past Deedri''s professional exterior. Veevi tosses back her pink hair back petulantly, sneering at Chad. Summoning up a bit of pride, Chad poses for the attention of the cameras and announces. "As far as I am concerned, The Flames of the Phoenix delivered, and went well above and beyond the call of duty on this one. I think we''ve honored our contract. And, we certainly deserve a proper victory celebration..."


    Gritting his teeth, he darts his eyes around the ancient trees surrounding the massive clearing and stiffen his upper lip. "AFTER... We get far, FAR away from this REALLY creepy place. Right?"


    He surveys the reactions of team and crew, wandering between a bold grin and awkward grimace. "I think we''ve all learned enough about this place for one mission."


    A chorus of agreeable voices sound out from the rest of the team and crew in the gathering.


    ----


    A lone evuukian man stands in front of aged, weathered signs, glaring at them disdainfully. Focusing his yellow eyes at the various warnings boldly shown in different languages, a mean smirk pulls across his light-gray, green hinted face. He draws back his boot and angrily punts the sign post from underneath, sending the placard tumbling through the air. Flopping upon the packed dirt, the reflective GAA logos shimmer in the noon sun. The lone evuukian steps through the overgrowth of the forest and slowly navigates down a narrow passage through the thick, old trees. Minutes later, he arrives at a simple, clipped top, pyramid building, and stiffens his posture. Brushing the debris off his leather armored outfit, the evuukian man tosses his long black hair back and eases off his backpack. He carefully approaches the decaying, concrete exterior of the structure and maneuvers upon the crumbling walkway, closing in on a large metal exterior door.


    Narrowing an examining stare at the sealed entryway, he notices a newer locking hardware upon the building and focuses his glare upon a device welded onto the door and frame. He sneers in disgust at the keyholes, keypad, and display on the front of the locking block and lifts his hand in front of the mechanism, concentrating. With slow, purposeful breaths, faint flows of prismatic magical energy swirl down his arm, condensing into his palm, and sink into the GAA branded device. Seconds later with the growing energies, the display on the system flickers to life with a warning message beeping loudly. More flow pours into the locking block. The alert grows distorted, strained, and warped. With a faint spark of white in the evuukian man''s glowing yellow eyes, a surge of magical energy dives into the device. A loud shrill beep screams out, crackles of electricity arcs inside the system, and a large plume of smoke erupts from the joints in the chassis. The display goes dark, the soot soaking through. An orange-red glow radiates from inside the unit, the torrent magical energy ripping into the system. Moments later, the block drops unceremoniously to the concrete patio, specks of solidifying molten metal splattering out.


    The evuukian man kicks the smoldering mechanism out of the way, and turns his focus towards another metal box. Lifting the lid up, he studies the old, worn keypad under the layers of dirt and grime. He brushes off the collected debris with his leather gloved hand and firmly wipes off a series of numbers and letters in the lower corner of the panel. Resting his backpack down, he rummages his arm deeper than the length of the bag into the space and retrieves a ragged binder of paperwork. He eyes the uncovered letters and numbers, flips through an array of changing types of notes and differently formatted documents, stopping at a technical printout. Tapping thoughtfully upon a long, highlighted series of numbers, he reaches a hand over and carefully types in the code from one line. With the final digit entered, he presses a confirmation button.


    Seconds pass in the quiet of the surrounding forest. A groaning beep sounds out from the panel. A low hum of machinery resonates out from around. A crunchy grind sounds out from the large metal door, and puffs of crumbling rust vent out after hard thunks vibrate through the door frame. With a final chunk, the heavy closure releases, drifting slightly ajar. A satisfied grin appears on the evuukian man''s face, and he sweeps up his backpack. Gripping tightly on the door handle, he slowly pries the old door open and slips inside.


    Wandering through dark hallways with a simple illumination spell in hand, the evuukian man studies the different signs. He follows old architectural blueprints in hand and determines a route through the ancient base. Through the maze of corridors, he arrives at a dusty room with multiple computer stations and a large, full wall window into a very dark void. Hunting around the room, the man locks his yellow eyed gaze upon a series of large switches on the wall. He reads the labels in the dim light and notices a power meter needle vibrating at the ready. Drawing in a hopeful breath, he pulls the large arm of the main breaker. The faint hum of electrical activity resonates through the window from the space beyond the glass. Through the dusty, transparent wall, a series of loud electromechanical thunks echo out. Overhead lamps flood sections of a concrete floor far below. A sly, plotting grin widens on the evuukian''s face, and he steps over, witnessing the final lights clacking on. Silently, he studies the massive warehouse of bipedal robots standing on marked platforms. His gaze shifts down upon a console, and he wipes the eons of dust off a faintly glow screen. A menacing taint colors his smile, and he watches the status scroll upon a terminal, methodically listing active units and equipment loadouts. He slings off his backpack upon a chair nearby, settles in a seat, and places a binder near the console.


    ----


    Peeking over the treetops, Sebastian''s ethereal figure surveys the area, and he squints his eyes into the distance. Slowly hovering down from the top of the canopy, he flies down a path towards Bach. He keeps just below larger branches in the thin woods and halts above Bach, crossing his arms. He glances through the wide gaps between trees. Bach stops in the shade of a tree and gradually pivots in place. Staring out into the furthest reaches of his vision, he studies the forest and shakes his head. He reaches into his pocket, retrieves his aetherphone, and taps through a few menus. Hearing mumbling below, Sebastian drifts back down onto ground, landing next to Bach. He cranes his head over Bach''s shoulder, peeking at the digital map on the phone, and inquires. "So... What are you trying to figure out, bro?"


    Bach twists his mouth contemplatively and shrugs his shoulders unsatisfied, sighing. "I don''t know. Trying to make sure we''re on the right path. Because, I haven''t seen any signs of something that could be tearing up the park."


    Searching around briefly, Sebastian nods in agreement and contorts an uncertain grimace on his ghostly face. "Yeah... From what they were describing in the brief, you''d think there was some kind of unholy terror lurking and haunting the woods."


    Scanning the vicinity, Bach waves his hand out towards the surrounding woods and gazes at Sebastian, puzzling. "I know, right? But... This all looks just like any normal park path to me. I mean, what more do you want?"


    Sebastian frowns slightly, sorting through his thoughts, and lifts a quizzical eyebrow at Bach, pointing to the aetherphone. "Anything from the others?"


    Bach swipes through a few screens, selects a messaging program, and reads the latest texts from Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "Yeah. And they haven''t found anything worth mentioning either."


    Sebastian scratches his chin, staring distantly, and ponders out loud. "The night watch reported seeing strange lights, the sounds of trees being taken down, and a lot of large things moving around."


    He twists his mouth indecisively and rocks his head side to side, hovering in place. "Maybe that''s spirit phenomena? That would explain strange lights, but the other weird noises..."


    Furrowing his translucent brow, he grumbles. "I don''t know. Aristespha wasn''t so certain either."


    Bach shrugs his shoulders, glances down the path in front of him, and motions towards that direction. "Well, maybe we''ll find something up ahead."


    Sebastian nods and floats alongside his brother, the two continuing down the path. Minutes of quiet walking and scouting pass on by. Bach blinks with a thought rising up to the front of his mind and aims a curious gaze at Sebastian. "So... I''ve been meaning to ask this... When did you and Aristespha decide to become a serious couple? I mean, when did you think she was the one for you?"


    Sebastian''s hovering slows, and he blinks blankly at Bach. With his transparent, blue eyes darting around for pieces to a proper answer, he grits his teeth and stumbles out a rambling response. "Well... Um... You see... I- We- Um- Well, we just came to a conclusion after so many other events that... We might actually have something worth pursuing."


    Narrowing an inquisitive stare, Bach trains his attention fully upon Sebastian, pushing the question. "Yeah. But. What was THE moment? The key event? The thing that made you finally realize it?"


    Contorting an uneasy smirk on his face, Sebastian tries in vain to quell the slight squirms of discomfort creeping into his posture. "I wouldn''t say there was an event. More like... A series of smaller events that built up over time. And, I''d like to think it just eventually became recognizable as a relationship... And, we came to acknowledge that fact and..."


    He shifts his averting gaze back over and meets Bach''s unconvinced glare and sighs out his defeat. "You ain''t accepting that bullshit, are you, bro?"


    Bach slowly shakes his head, grumbling. "Fuck. No."


    Slumping his shoulders, Sebastian lifts his head up, staring into the afternoon sky, and groans, rolling his eyes. "FINE. I was trying to dress it up and make it sound like either of us had a clue. But, really, bro..."


    He tilts his head to the side and eyes his brother. "We were doing all kinds of couple things, really. But, the both of us were just in active denial of the possibility."


    Stopping abruptly, Bach lifts a bewildered eyebrow at Sebastian and cocks his head to the side. "You, actively avoiding relations with a beautiful woman?"


    Crossing his arms defiantly, Sebastian narrows an annoyed stare at his brother and ethereally sighs. "First. Fuck you. Second. Yes. Okay..."


    He rolls translucent blue eyes at himself, slowly shakes his head with tinges of embarrassment, and grimaces. "In case you haven''t figured it out by now, Cideeda and Dretphi heard about our group by my unprecedented failures at flirting with them. And, Sotalia is my ex. Where I seem to fail romantically, I oddly succeed at recruiting amazing party members."


    Blinking his blue eyes a few times, Bach turns his gaze away contemplatively, processing the information. He gradually aims his curiosity back at Sebastian, scratching his chin, and twists his mouth. "Wow... I mean, I had some suspicions. But, I didn''t want to inquire and..."


    He furrows his brow and cringes. "Now, I REALLY don''t know how to approach these new subjects."


    With a humored snort, Sebastian holds up his hand to Bach with a calm smile. "Sotalia and I were decent together in the short term. But, we realized that long term, romantically..."


    He grits his teeth and softly hisses out. "We''d eventually tear each other apart. So, we decided to ease it back. Stay good friends and adventuring partners."


    Nodding at the explanation, Bach pauses, drawing in a long breath, and inquires further. "Okay... Still doesn''t explain the active denial thing."


    Sebastian pinches the bridge of his nose and eases out a long ethereal groan. "Long story short, bro... I just decided to not pursue any kind of romantic relationships for the time being. I mean, you know my track record up to and including college. My more recent failings thankfully got together into a really great team. And, with Aristespha, I just was NOT looking. For once, I decided to focus on other things. I mean, it just didn''t dawn on me that it was a possibility."


    Chuckling, Bach shakes his head and smirks. "Fucking figures. When you aren''t looking, it happens."


    He thinks a moment, lifts his head up at a revelation, and gazes at Sebastian. "Wait. So, your ex played matchmaker with you and your current girlfriend."


    Sebastian blinks and awkwardly grins, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, bro. Yeah... A bit weird. But, I can''t really complain. And thankfully, Aristespha and I figured we should try being a couple when we did. Otherwise, I think Sotalia was plotting to somehow lock us up in a room and until we fucking figured it out."


    Narrowing his distant stare, Bach searches the top of his head, sorting through the possibilities, and gradually nods in agreement. "You know... I could totally see her doing THAT. Yeah... That is within the realm of what she is capable of."


    A chime rings out from Bach aetherphone, and he glances down at the new message prompt. "Huh, Cideeda and Sotalia found something weird down their path."


    Sebastian pivots in place, searching the park paths nearby, and motions towards the possible directions. "So, where do we go?"


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Checking his phone, Bach brings up a map and points towards a passage at the next intersection. "That one should take us where they''re at."


    Sebastian hovers alongside his brother, and the two pick up the pace down the route. During the quick walk, Bach directs his voice towards Sebastian. "So, you haven''t answered my question. When did you and Aristespha figure out you were a couple?"


    An amused, awkward grin appears on Sebastian''s face, and he fails to contain the amusement in his voice. "Well, honestly, it was somewhere after she''d yanked my shirt off and her taking her shirt off that it dawned on me that we might have something."


    Bach shakes his head in humored disgust. "Really, man?"


    The brothers travel down a long park path, arriving at a picnic area. Sotalia stands with her hands on her hips, tosses her wavy, fiery orange hair back, and waves at Sebastian and Bach. "So. If THIS isn''t something, I don''t know what is."


    She points over underneath the shade of a large, old tree, watching Cideeda examine a large patch of turned up dirt. "Something has been digging up the place. Some small trees were knocked down, and the bark was all scratched up."


    Cideeda digs through a patch, sniffing the air, and grabs hold something in her clawed fingers, pulling up a small dark fungal mass. Studying the roughly round ball, she glances back over to Bach, Sebastian, and Sotalia, and presents her findings. "I think something was trying to dig up these truffles, maybe?"


    Aristespha and Dretphi arrive from another path, joining the gathering. Dretphi steps over next to Cideeda, holds her gauntlet covered hand out, and curiously inquires. "May I see that?"


    Cideeda hands it over and stands up, brushing off her body suit. Closely examining the fungus, Dretphi lifts her visor up on her helmet and carefully smells the truffle. "It is a truffle. This variety can be found in this area."


    Lifting up a sly eyebrow, Aristespha smirks. "Well, that is certainly a little bonus for this job. I wonder if there are any more left?"


    Cideeda grins toothily, perking her furry ears, and slowly walks around the different patches of up turned dirt. "Let me check."


    Pauses in thought, Dretphi lifts her head up from studying the truffle and surveys the ground in the area. "Has anyone seen tracks?"


    Sotalia motions over to the edge of the forest nearby and waves her hands out to a muddy section of dirt. "Yeah, but they''ve all been trampled over so many times. And, I don''t know what I''m looking for."


    Quickly stepping over to the patch, Dretphi kneels down and glances over the deep split hoof impressions in the soil. Her steely gray eyes widen, and she sits upright, searching the area. "WAIT. These are..."


    Cideeda''s furry ears perk towards a noise coming from the stirring brush, and she points a claw tip over. "Hey! Over there..."


    The team readies themselves, waiting for the confrontation. From the bushes, a relatively small dire boar casually pushes through and walks out onto the pathway, sniffing the air. A powerful snort later, the dire boar stares right at the team. Trotting over wagging his tail, the young dire boar constantly grunts out a series of low, happy oinks. Dretphi''s immediate recognition of the dire boar piglet guides the rest of the team''s recognition. She kneels down and holds her arms out towards the large creature. The massive piglet walks up to Dretphi and enjoys the petting and scratches. In between the attention, he sniffs blatantly around Dretphi''s side pouch. Cocking his head to the side in astonishment, Bach blinks dumbfounded. "Holy shit. That''s the same dire boar piglet?"


    Sotalia cautiously approaches, leaning forward, and studies the creature, slowly shaking her head. "Gods. He''s gotten BIG. His spines and tusks have grown a lot."


    Dretphi retrieves a bag of trail mix from her side pouch, pours some into her hand, and watches the large piglet easily gobble it up. She pets the mane and back ridge of the young dire boar, smiling happily, and explains cheerfully. "Yes! The mother is doing an excellent job at raising them. Well fed. Well cared. Well protected. He is growing fast."


    Sebastian blanks a moment and slowly eyes the area with growing suspicion and unease. "Speaking of the mother... Where is she?"


    An emerging wave of concern washes over the team, and they start nervously eying the outskirts of the area. A loud, echoing crack sounds out. A large protellow plant in the distant forest topples down into a peace shattering crash. Through the dense trees on the horizon, a magical glow illuminates the outline of a gigantic creature and several other smaller critters surrounding. The dire boar piglet finishes up the trail mix in Dretphi''s hand. He perks up his ears and sniffs the air. With a final few happy grunts, the large piglet trots off enthusiastically towards the radiant figure in the forest.


    Nodding slowly, Sebastian points a thumb over his shoulder at a path, awkwardly grinning. "You know, I don''t think we should intrude on this family outing."


    With a similar consensus, the team gathers themselves. Cideeda plucks out a few more truffles and rushes over with an entrepreneurial grin. Dretphi empties out the rest of her trail mix in a neat pile, gazes happily at the dire boar piglet trotting over to his mother, and rushes over to the rest of the departing team.


    ----


    Swiftly sneaking across the grasses in the small gaps between stretches of dense forest, Deedri darts behind a large tree, pressing her back firmly against the trunk, and waits. Her furry, tufted ears flick around the serene background of the surrounding woods, and she closes her auburn eyes, concentrating. A minute later, she eases out a long sigh of relief, her ears drooping down. Stepping out from the cover of the large tree, she stares down her prior path, squinting down the distance, and slumps the tension out of her shoulders. She draws in a long, relieved breath, and slowly shakes her head, mumbling to herself. "Lost them..."


    The transparency coating Modoran fades off, and he smiles with a nod. "That you did."


    Deedri''s tail puffs out, her shoulders tense, and she springs up straight and rigid. Pivoting around reflexively, she glares right at Modoran. Recognizing Modoran, her fair face warms quickly, and she relaxes, exhaling. "Thank the gods. It''s just you."


    Modoran grits his teeth briefly, holding his hands up, and awkwardly smiles with an apologetic tone. "Sorry... I did not mean to scare you like that."


    A sly smirk appears on Modoran''s dusky bluish gray face, and he perks an eyebrow with a chuckle. "You did pretty good at losing them. Once the camera crew lost you, I led them the opposite direction with one of my illusions. They still have not quite figured out how to tell the difference yet."


    Deedri''s ears droop lower, and she slumps her shoulders. "Good. I just had to get away from the constant interviews and them asking every question in the world..."


    Punctuating her words, she rocks her head between her shoulders. "Again... And again... And again..."


    She derisively rolls her auburn eyes and visibly cringes, shaking her head of tied back multicolored hair. Resting her hands on the waistband of her shorts, she gazes at Modoran curiously and pries. "What are you doing out here, by the way?"


    Modoran blinks briefly, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders, and glances around at the scenery. "Well, it was a nice day, so I decided to sneak out. When I saw you doing the same thing, I decided to help out. And well, now I am here. So... Have not really thought about it much further than that."


    An uncomfortable curl at the corner of his mouth twists his smile at Deedri, and he plays off the nervous energy. Smirking at Modoran, Deedri laughs lightly, furrowing her brow. "Were they pestering you about that bow?"


    Rolling his dark blue eyes, Modoran rubs the temple of his head and nods begrudgingly. "Yes. I do NOT know what part of, I just found it and used it, they do not understand. Gods. I just needed to do something other than wait for some crew member to pester me for action shots with it."


    Deedri narrows her eyes, twisting her mouth, and groans. "Well, at least Veevi is distracting them for the most part with her new outfit."


    Tilting her head to the side, she smirks. "Have you told them about the Terra Priest symbols on it?"


    With a tight, guilty smile, Modoran shrugs his shoulders and grins with a playfully dismissive tone. "NAH. They are big time show producers. I am CERTAIN they know all about the current Evuukian political environment and will be able to plan the episode accordingly. There totally won''t be any backlash."


    Lifting an ill-humored brow at Modoran, Deedri smirks, keeping a snicker to herself. "Oh. I''m sure..."


    The two stand in the small, shady avenue between dense patches of trees in the peaceful quiet of the forest. A minute passes, and Modoran squirms out some discomfort and raises his voice over the quiet. "Hey. Um... Deedri? I have a question to ask you."


    Deedri meets Modoran''s gaze, perks her furry, tufted ears up, and blinks with a smile. "Sure. What is it?"


    Mustering up his will against a surge of awkward tension, he gazes at Deedri. Modoran partially grins, fighting to maintain his nonchalant exterior. "After our show contracts are over at the end of this season... I was wondering if I could spend more time with you? Go out and do things together."


    He swallows hard and nervously laughs. "You know, maybe share more nice moments together? Especially ones that are not in the middle of bad situations..."


    Blinking blankly, Deedri tilts her head slightly, her eyes wandering through the rush thoughts in her mind. A puzzled expression emerges upon her fair skinned face. Anxiety shakes up Modoran''s exterior confidence, and he squirms slightly, verbally backpedaling against awkwardness. "Uh, um- If you''re not- Um, ah..."


    Revelation crashes upon Deedri. Her auburn eyes spring wide open, her furry, tufted ears perk straight up, and she reflexively gasps. Struggling for her composure against an overwhelming wave of excitement, she smiles brightly and gazes right up into Modoran''s dark blue eyes, fighting back the disbelief. "R-Really? I mean, I didn''t think you''d- Well- Ah..."


    Hearing the delighted surprise in Deedri''s voice, Modoran watches her voice shy away, her blushing at the new attention, and smiles warmly. "Did not think I would what?"


    Biting her lower lip, Deedri averts her gaze briefly in embarrassment and eases out a guilty sigh. "Well, I''m a fvalian and-"


    Modoran softens his gaze upon Deedri and smiles with a genuine, assuring tone. "That does NOT matter to me."


    Deedri straightens her posture, anxiously holding her hands, and cocks her head at Modoran. "Really?"


    Stepping forward, Modoran lifts his hands underneath Deedri''s and smirks, easing her grip onto his fingers. "Yes. Not all the houses support that dated ideology. In fact, my family tends to support it as part of their business."


    He glances off to the side and wrestles with a smirk. "In an unadvertised capacity."


    Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Deedri cracks a slight grin and tightens her hold of Modoran''s hands. "In what capacity is that?"


    Modoran fights a goofy smile and snorts lightly. "Well, my family owns a bunch of different motels, hotels, and resorts... That unofficially specialize in unofficial couples wanting their privacy. Especially, from the prying eyes of other evuukian houses. Or, their own. We do not judge. Hence, why there''s no central brand to identify them."


    With Modoran''s words, Deedri''s mood brightens further, and she gazes warmly up at him. Pondering to herself a moment, she curiously lifts an eyebrow and flicks her ears thoughtfully. "Okay. So how do you know all about this stealth stuff?"


    Modoran grins with a nonchalant shrug, chuckling. "I learned all that from my dad. He was with a mercenary group that specialized in remote surveillance and spying. Turns out his skills were very useful in keeping tabs on people that would bother guests... And convincing them to leave."


    A flush of shyness fills his face, and he struggles against his awkwardness, putting forth an endearing tone. "Anyway... I mean, really... How could I not like the beautiful young woman, the accomplished medical mage, and the wonderful, strong will before me?"


    Firmly grasping Modoran''s hands, Deedri gazes at Modoran, perking up her ears, and slowly wags her tail. Moments of a quiet exchange later, she works an eager question out of her. "So... How long have you felt this way about me?"


    Modoran presents a sly smirk. "Well, I think it started right after you threw me onto the grass during that one demonstration."


    Deedri''s furry ears spring up, her auburn eyes open wide, and she wonders in disbelief. "Really?! But... Why didn''t you say something sooner to me? I mean..."


    She bites her lower lip briefly and glances off to the side. "I''ve been kind of paying attention to you for... a while... now..."


    Wrestling down embarrassment and pride, Modoran releases a long thoughtful sigh. "I don''t know. I did not think you would want anything to do with a house-less evuukian that is practically an ex-con by some."


    Shifting her grip upon Modoran''s forearms, Deedri smiles with a sly twist, meeting his gaze, and presses her claw tips gently, leading him down. "Well, THAT doesn''t matter to me. Anyway, I''m a public school medical mage. I''m not that high class."


    Staring into each other, Deedri and Modoran''s faces gradually move closer, Modoran leaning down. Popping up on her toes, Deedri swiftly closes the remaining gap and presses her lips against Modoran''s. The two weave their arms into an embrace of the other, holding the kiss tightly. The simple affection heats up. The two maneuver each other, maintaining the connection with the surrounding surge of intensity. Modoran rests his hands behind Deedri''s waist, and she grasps behind his shoulders. In midst of the passion, Deedri''s hand slips onto one of Modoran, briefly confusing him, and slides his hand down upon the backside of her shorts. Modoran barely manages a guilty perk of his brow, his expression blanking into surprise. Five claw tipped fingers firmly squeeze onto his butt, and an eager giggle sneaks out from Deedri.


    Minutes later, she two ease their faces away from each other, both panting in a daze. Modoran summons up enough composure and smiles at Deedri, chuckling quietly. "Well... Uh... I definitely think we have something we should both explore..."


    Wagging her long, fluffy tail slowly with a lazy sway, Deedri lovingly gazes up at Modoran with a guilty smirk. "Uh huh..."


    Grinning slyly, Modoran shrugs shoulders nonchalantly and sighs. "Well... We will take it at our own pace, when we are able. I think we can manage that, somehow."


    Nodding in agreement with tinges of disappointment, Deedri parts a hungry smirk. Stepping up upon a large tree root, she pops up on her toes, tightens her hold on Modoran, and presses her lips against his for another kiss. Sudden momentum shifts her balance upon the moss covered tree root, and she slips. Deedri tilts backwards, pulling Modoran down with her. Reflexively, Modoran twists himself under, shifting Deedri over him. With an unceremonious thud, the two land upon the thick grasses.


    Blinking back to awareness from post-tumble confusion, Deedri finds herself safely in Modoran''s arms. She tilts her head up, watching Modoran shake off the stun, and asks concerned. "I''m so sorry, are you okay?!"


    Modoran lifts his head up from the grass and smiles nonchalantly at Deedri, chuckling softly. "Yeah. Soft landing really. Are you okay?"


    Pushing herself up, Deedri gradually realizes her current positioning and resettles with a devious grin forming on her face. "Yes. Are you comfortable?"


    Lifting an intrigued brow, Modoran glances to either side of him and rubs his back against the ground. "Yeah. This patch of grass feels nice."


    Leaning down, Deedri lets her multicolor braids fall forward and rests her hands upon Modoran''s shoulders. "Good."


    Kneading her claw tips gently, Deedri lowers her face close to Modoran''s, her tail unconsciously brushing upon his leg. "Are you still comfortable?"


    Modoran smiles, gazing into Deedri''s auburn eyes. "Yes."


    Tilting her head and closing the gap for a kiss, Deedri mutters. "Good."


    ----


    In the living area of the ranch style house, Bach eases back into his dining room chair and rubs the fatigue out of his eyes. "So, how did that one turn out?"


    Aristespha narrows her glowing violet stare upon a tiny, thin sheet of magical cloth, and carefully adjusts it on the examination pad with gentle flows of energy from her fingertips. She studies the material and gradually nods with a satisfied smile, commenting over toward Bach. "Very well done. I would have to test it further and properly sterilize it. But, I think I could put this to use."


    Wincing his eyes firmly closed, Bach flutters them open to a faint blue glow and shudders his head. "That''s good to know. But, gods dammit... That just takes so damn long to make."


    Blinking out the illumination in her eyes, Aristespha quirks her amused brow and smirks. "Now you understand why they have dedicated enchanted tools and other devices to make it easier. Even experts in crafting these magical materials with assistance have to take their time. Hence, why it is so expensive."


    Bach stretches out his arms behind his back, rolling his neck around, and yawns into a groan. Relaxing his shoulders, he tilts his head and focuses upon a spot on the tabletop, dropping his hands on either side of the area, and grimaces indecisively. "I think I got one more in me. Just really wish I could figure out the trick to do this. Feels like I''m missing something."


    Aristespha carefully lays out the small energy sheet upon a treated wax paper slip and layers a protective film on top of it. "Possibly. But, I truthfully do not know what that could be. A whole industry has been trying to refine those processes for years. Even as slow as it is, it is unbelievably better than what it was."


    Drawing in a long breath, Bach sighs out with an agreeable tone, readying himself, and narrows his brightly illuminated blue eyes. Wisps of flow travel down Bach''s arms and condense in a slowly forming, tiny magical matrix. Aristespha rests the packaged magical material into the metal medical container. Watching the sluggish progress on the forming, diminutive sheet of energy, she glances over and spots the pressure plate puzzle resting near the corner of the tabletop. With an intrigued grin, Aristespha tosses her long, silvery blue hair back, pulls the device over, and focuses her attention upon the challenge.


    Concentrating on the energies swirling through his hands, Bach briefly grits his teeth through fits of frustration and sighs out his disappointment. The magic solidifies upon the growing, thin sheet one minuscule section at a time. Cocking his head to the side, his brightly glowing blue eyes stare out distantly, and Bach''s fingers slightly twitch in reflexive patterns. Streams of flow split from the main paths and form into complex mechanical shapes around the task. Minutes later, the progress continues, tediously. The magical machinery dissipates, and Bach frowns with an annoyed grumble. Squinting tightly at some ethereally distant target, Bach''s intense stare eases, hints of discovery rising to the surface. He lifts his head back slightly, an uncertain intrigue overtaking, and his attention refocuses upon the condensing flow between his hands.


    Concentration turns fully inwards, Bach''s exterior distances from his awareness turning inwards. The magical flows surge down his arms, and sections of the energy sheet materialize simultaneously. With each second, the magic solidifies faster. Bach''s brightly glowing blue eyes dart rapidly around, sorting through intangible chaos.


    Moments later, Sebastian''s ethereal form phases swiftly through the wall behind Aristespha, and he glances around, concerned and bewildered. Turning his attention towards Aristespha, he relays his worry. "Um, dear? You aren''t doing any weird magical tests or anything? The sword is resonating with something strange nearby."


    Pausing from tackling the puzzle, Aristespha lifts up her head and glances around in confusion. "No, Sebastian. Bach and I were just working on making the same magical materials we have been-"


    Settling her gaze ahead, she lowers a scrutinizing stare upon the rapidly forming magical sheet and widens her violet eyes in a mix of astonishment and fright. "That''s way too fast- Bach?"


    Bach continues without acknowledgement. Craning her head low to the table top, Aristespha peers up into Bach''s blank expression. "Bach?! Are you listening to me-"


    Her concern spiking sharply, she watches faint sparks of white flash in the centers of his brilliantly blue illuminated eyes and faint prismatic energy veins spreading around his eyes. Without hesitation, she grasps hold of both of Bach''s wrists and yanks them away from the forming magical material. Moments later, Bach''s eyes flutter and dim to normal. Gradually, he pulls himself out of a groggy, hazy stupor and recovers to some semblance of consciousness. Meeting Aristespha''s stare, he verbally fumbles around, dumbfounded. "Huh... What... Oh, shit... Did something happen?! Is everyone okay?!"


    Wincing in pain and bowing down his head close to the table, he mutters out. "Oh gods, what did I do..."


    Aristespha releases Bach''s arms, easing out nervous breath, and firmly inquires. "What do you last remember doing?"


    Rubbing the temples of his head, Bach cringes, squirming around in blatant discomfort, and collects himself enough for an answer. "I... I was just focused on forming the flows... As fast as I could. Then, I thought about trying to do the process in parallel a few times."


    Pausing to breathe and wince, Bach holds his head and rubs his eyes. "It seemed to work... After a while it felt easier. Things were... easier to follow?"


    A flood of worry emerges upon his face, and hints of panic trickle out. "Oww... Oh gods. I hope I didn''t do something really stupid. Did I fry myself out or something? Fuck. My head hurts."


    Checking him over with glowing violet eyes, Aristespha shakes her head with a gentle smile. She stands up from her seat and steps around the table with a reassuring tone. "No. You just pushed yourself way too hard, in a way you, strangely, have not done before. We will have to talk about this later, but first..."


    She grips the back of Bach''s chair, pulling it back with his cooperation, and helps him up. "Let us get you over to the couch, and put on some mindless show on the TV. I will brew something that will help."


    Leading Bach to the couch, Aristespha eases him down. Flipping through the channels, she pauses on one show and glances back towards Sebastian, motioning his attention to the screen. He studies the show briefly and gives a quick nod, hovering closer. Bach blinks hard, shaking his head, and mutters through the pain. "Oh gods... I''m sorry. I should really be more careful with stuff like that. Shit. Damn. I''m such a moron. Oh, I should have known THAT was a really bad idea... Fuck..."


    Sebastian focuses his worried gaze upon Aristespha. Noticing the unease in Sebastian, Aristespha glances between the brothers and presents a calming smile, shaking her head. "Bach, you will be just fine. You just found some limits to observe and new pitfalls to avoid."


    Aristespha gazes lovingly at Sebastian, and she leaves through the hallway archway, mouthing. "He will be fine."


    Wading through a wave of relief, Sebastian floats over next to brother and coaches Bach through the emerging regret and self-doubt. "Hey. It''ll be okay, bro. We just got to be a little more careful next time. And well, you know what to avoid next time."


    Bach aims a weak glare over to Sebastian, groaning out his defeat. "Fucking hell of a way to find out. No. Couldn''t have read something to avoid this. No. Had to go head long into it like a dumbass."


    A wry grin appears on Sebastian''s ghostly face, and he chuckles ethereally. "Well, I remember someone saying that about me a bunch of times."


    Narrowing his meek aggravation, Bach sighs loudly, rolling his eyes. "First. Fuck you. Second. You TOTALLY deserved hearing it the many, many times I told you that."


    Sebastian maintains his ill-humored smirk and shrugs his shoulders, accepting fact. "Oh yeah. No arguing with you there. But, it''s good to know we have so much in common."


    Aristespha walks in from the hallway with a bottle in one hand and paper packets in another. Stopping next to the couch, she smiles comfortingly towards Bach and sighs. "So that you will stop beating yourself up, most medical mages experience similar issues. With the detailed, fast, and complicated processes required to work magical flow for our purposes, pushing yourself too hard is almost expected. Every medical mage will brush against that limit at some point."


    She lifts an accusatory eyebrow at Bach, presenting a stern frown, and lowers her voice. "But most medical mages do NOT know the variety of strange magical tricks that can accelerate them right into the proverbial wall face first without knowing it."


    Grimacing, Bach releases an embarrassed whine and averts his gaze. Aristespha shakes her head and resumes her smile, donning a gentler tone. "I have some ideas of what exactly transpired, and we will discuss them. But, I am going to brew this remedy. And, you need to watch something mindless on TV to distract you."


    Nodding in agreement, Bach settles upon the couch cushion, easing out a strained breath, and meekly states. "Thank you, Aristespha."


    With a simple acknowledging wave of her hand, Aristespha walks past the dining table into the kitchen area. Sebastian turns his attention to the screen and points out the start of a crafting demonstration show to Bach. "Huh, I always wondered how those were made."


    Bach and Sebastian idly listen to the theme music and narration upon a backdrop of industrial assembly videos.

 Episode 87

    A lightly armored patrol cruiser rolls down the long, paved road between quiet businesses, the Perimeter Defense Force logos on the vehicle reflecting in the late morning sun. The car slows down to a stop outside a large, sparsely graveled lot. The older officer in the driver''s seat narrows a stare over at the small, glassed walled building in the middle of the lot. Glancing over to his partner, he nods this head towards the location and laughs with derisive hints. "And, right THERE, is where you start when the reputable places are dead ends."


    The woman''s very long, fuzzy ears twitch towards the rusty metal sign in front of the chain link fence surrounding the property. She narrows her aquamarine eyes, reading the text, and sneers her upper lip, revealing a sharp canine. Grimacing her blue hinted, tan face, she uncertainly grumbles. "Trusty Tony''s?! Are you sure about this? I''ve seen this fvalian''s ads when filing out late night paperwork. I could smell the sleaze through the television screen."


    Rolling his brown eyes, the older human man cracks a humored smirk, turns off the sedan, and releases his seat belt. "Yeah, I know... You could probably change the oil in this car by squeezing a picture of him into the spout."


    He draws in a long breath and releases an unfortunate, accepting sigh. "If someone like what the Borderland Rangers and GAA described came into town, Tony either has dealt with him..."


    Tugging at the corner of his mouth, he curls a brief frown. "Or knows who did."


    Leveling an unconvinced gaze at the older officer, the younger woman furrows an examining brow, groaning. "Okay, Calvin. But... Do you honestly think he''ll tell us anything? It''s Trusty Tony."


    Calvin laughs loudly, opening his car door, swings his legs out, and stands up next to the squad car. "Ah, don''t worry about it, Treevianna. Trusty Tony and I go back. He doesn''t give all the details. But, he gives just enough information to speed up our investigations. It''s a bit of a balancing act with him."


    Treevianna''s long, pointed fuzzy ears droop, and she shakes her head of long, braided multi-color hair. Slipping out of her side of the sedan, she brushes off her plain clothes and starts affixing her Perimeter Defense Force badge at her waist. Calvin walks around the front of the vehicle, shakes his head at Treevianna, and steps towards the gateway in the fence. He motions subtly towards the displayed badge. "Keep the badge ready, but not out. If it''s out, he''ll go on the defensive."


    Nodding slowly, Treevianna slips her badge wallet into her pants pocket, tightens the belt around her lithe figure, and rushes up next to Calvin. Her long ear twitching, and she glances down at Calvin''s leg. "It sounds like that bearing is getting worse."


    Calvin frowns his bearded face, drawing in a long breath, and grumbles out. "Yeah. I''m just going to get a whole new leg. This old thing has been rebuilt over three times, piece by piece, over the years. And... The Perimeter Health Department really would like me to get a new one. It''s getting hard for them to find people to work on it and parts that don''t need to be custom ordered."


    Shaking her head, she sighs with a smile and muses wistfully. "That old cybernetic leg of yours has been the department mascot for years. Still won''t forget when you detached it and dropped it on the table as a bet for the department card game."


    The duo steps across the intermittent patches of gravel upon the mix of sand and dirt in the large lot. Calvin pulls a wide grin on his aged and tanned face, puffing up chest, and chuckles. "Glad I won that hand, too. Despite its future retirement, we''ll still have it around for our fun."


    He glances over with an eager smile. "Anyway, I''m saving up for a NICE realistic bionic like Lady Rhian''s."


    A spark of intrigue lights up Treevianna''s eyes, and she glances over at Calvin with a delighted smirk. "Oh, THOSE are NICE. So realistic you can barely-"


    Blinking blankly for a moment, she mentally picks through the last few seconds and furrows her brow in surprise. "Like Lady Rhian''s?! Wait! She has a bionic limb? Which one?"


    Calvin laughs lightly and grips hold of the glass door to the small building of window walls. "Her left forearm. You should see her shell pecans. Fuckin'' humbling."


    Treevianna follows behind Calvin through the doorway and surveys the age upon the furniture and interior, keeping next to Calvin. Strutting up to the counter, Calvin rests his muscled arms on the top. He leans his weight forward and eyes the area with a mischievous smirk. Spotting the bell on the counter top, he slides it over under his hand and pats out a jingle. "Trusty Tony''s, trade your old way, and for a new ride today."


    From behind a sun damaged, old cheap wooden door, sounds of activity muffle out. The door opens slowly. An older fvalian man steps out, straightening out his cheap business attire, and notices Calvin. Pulling a wide, chipped fang smile at the older man at the counter, Trusty Tony enthusiastically greets Calvin and stands pridefully across. "Ah! Calvin. That was a good ad run. Might have to bring that one back soon."


    He narrows a curious gaze upon Calvin and combs his sharp claws through his graying, slicked back hair. "Am I so lucky today that I might have YOU as a proper customer? You''ve always been such a DEDICATED BROWSER of my wares."


    Straightening the posture of his large frame, Calvin lifts a humored eyebrow at Tony and slowly shakes his head with a smirk. "Not today. Maybe after I get my new leg, we''ll see what the money situation looks like."


    Nodding respectfully, Tony maintains an entrepreneurial grin and eases out a slight sigh. "As long as the new leg keeps you coming here, I''ll keep hoping."


    He slides his gaze over to Treevianna, perks an intrigued eyebrow, and bows politely. "Oh. Where are my manners? I am Trusty Tony. And, I am pleased that Calvin has brought you here to my fine business. What is your name?"


    Treevianna stiffens her stance, slows the wags of her long, short-haired tail, and acknowledges the greeting. "Treevianna."


    Smiling with a chuckle, Tony narrows an inquisitive stare. "A very lovely name, matching a very lovely lady."


    He eyes Calvin briefly, darts his gaze around the room, and signals for the two plain clothes officers to follow. "Let''s tour the lot. You might find something you might like."


    Leading the duo out the back doors into the sand speckled, huge back lot, Tony gives a general tour and motions towards different vehicles. Near the mechanic shop at the corner of the property, Treevianna spots a green sedan on a lift inside a garage bay. She subtly taps Calvin on the shoulder and points him towards the vehicle, whispering. "I think that might be it."


    Calvin nods in agreement and catches a brief glimpse of Tony''s furry ear flicking back forward. Donning a sly smirk, he steps up to the side of Tony and points over to the green sedan on the lift. "That''s an interesting car right there. When did you manage to get that nice ride?"


    Tony''s exterior cools, and he faintly stiffens his posture. "About three weeks ago. It was sold to me."


    Narrowing an examining stare upon Tony, Calvin walks near the green sedan and studies the vehicle from a distance, twists his mouth in contemplation. He squints his eyes at the back window and trunk and frowns slightly at the intact glass and untouched metal surface. Tony eases behind the two, summoning up an uneasy smile, and observes. "Something you might be interested in?"


    Calvin nods, scratching his bearded chin, and hums thoughtfully. "Maybe. It''s similar to something I''ve been looking for."


    Glancing down at her aetherphone, Treevianna quickly reads through a paragraph of description text and focuses her hard stare upon the back end of the car. Sniffing the air, she eyes the edges of the very clean back window and concentrates a comparing gaze between the trunk lid and surrounding body panels. Tony uncomfortably taps the claw tips of his hands together and politely inquires at Calvin. "So... Are you more interested in the vehicle, specifically?"


    Calvin calmly elaborates, faintly chuckling. "No. Not really. Just curious about WHO would drive such a vehicle to Perimeter."


    Hints of relief spreads through Tony, and he nods in agreement. "Yes. Certainly quandary. But still... A customer''s business is their own."


    Calvin nods respectfully. Treevianna searches her mind, furrowing her brow at the conversation, and questions Tony. "Did you have to do any work on this car?"


    Pausing a moment, Tony cracks a wide, humored grin and chuckles lightly. "Well. Yes. I couldn''t very well sell such a fine vehicle with blemishes on the backside. Things like HOLES are very unsightly even with the more understanding clients in Perimeter."


    Glances over to Treevianna, a proud smirk appears on Calvin''s face. He lifts an inquisitive eyebrow towards Tony. "You mind if we get a closer look at this fine vehicle? You''ll probably sell it before I get a chance to buy it, but I''d like to get a feel for it."


    Tony presents a prideful, chipped fang grin, combs back his slicked back hair, and laughs out his amusement. "Of course! Let me go in and get the key to unlock the lift."


    Tony departs towards the central office, and Treevianna leans close to Calvin, sneaking a hushed tone. "So... What''s the next step? Seizing the vehicle will take some legal paperwork..."


    Calvin shakes his head, smiling satisfied. "Won''t be needed. We need to figure out where this Isaac guy went. This vehicle just confirms he was here."


    He tilts his head towards the road across the lot. "And, this long road only has two main outlets. Both happen to have?"


    Treevianna thinks briefly and grins slyly. "Traffic cameras."


    ----


    At the dining table, Aristespha, Sotalia, Bach, Dretphi, and Cideeda sit around a collection of cards, tiles, tokens, and chits. With a smug, toothy grin, Cideeda repeatedly stacks her collection of golden tokens between her claw tips and greedily eyes the assets in front of Aristespha, Sotalia, Bach, and Dretphi. Propping her head up with an arm on the tabletop, she flutters her emerald green eyes open,and flicks her furry ears between the other players. "Well, well, well... Look at all these wonderful things that require so much money to maintain. I''m sure someone might like a loan with a FAIR interest rate and the MANDATORY non-aggression pact."


    Dretphi narrows her cool glare upon Cideeda and rearranges her military tokens neatly, silently waiting. Bach uneasily sorts the cards in hand, glancing down at the text upon different cardboard tiles, and rehearses through different scenarios via moving chits in front of him. Cideeda''s gaze settles upon Bach, and he uncertainly meets her plotting stare. Glances between Dretphi, Sotalia, and Aristespha, he points over to Aristespha with a worried tone. "Go bother Aristespha, she''s got all the research going. I''m just finally getting this process working right."


    Aristespha flashes a frustrated glare towards Bach, rolls her violet eyes, and scrunches up nose. "Oh. Please. You have actually got something over there in that mess. I am barely able to get the funding to get these projects off the ground..."


    Slowly pivots her head, she narrows her sarcastic glower towards Cideeda, dismissively snorting. "Because SOMEONE got lucky and hoarded every money producing tile in the game."


    Cideeda playful shrugs off the guilt with toothy grin. Seconds later, she narrows a suspicious stare towards Sotalia and sternly prompts. "Any more event cards you need to play?"


    Sotalia finishes peeking at the top few cards of the deck, plucks a card from her hand, and rearranges the collection face down on top. Sliding the pile back to the center of the table, she smiles contentedly and eases back into her chair. "OH. I''m done. It''s your turn Aristespha."


    Sebastian hovers next to Aristespha, watching her quietly grumble over cards, and cranes his ethereal form over, gazing at her. "Uh, it''s your turn, dear."


    Aristespha glances up from studying a combination of tiles, chits, token, and cards in front of her, grimaces with a sharp breath through her teeth, and hisses out a sigh. "I know, Sebastian. Let''s see the event card."


    She reaches her arm over to the deck of face down cards, plucks one off, and reads it. Sebastian''s ethereal form smirks, and he playfully narrates. "She''s drawn the card. She has read it. What will the event for her be?"


    Perking a surprised brow, Aristespha places the card down on the table, sighing out her relief, and picks up a small stack of golden tokens from the center reserve. "Small research grant. Not a lot of gold, BUT... That should pay off a few projects."


    Quickly sorting through her cardboard accounting, Aristespha finishes up her turn, indicating the end to Cideeda. "Your turn."


    Cideeda slowly pulls a card off the top with a confident smile. Her emerald green eyes sift through the text. Furrowing her brow, she lifts her stare up at Sotalia and cocks her head curiously to the side. She lays the card down and reaches back out towards the deck of cards, her confidence waning into uncertainty. "It comes in threes. Draw three more event cards and use them immediately in the order drawn..."


    Blinking at a fresh memory, Sebastian coasts over behind Sotalia. With a tightly hidden smile, Sotalia fans out her cards for Sebastian''s curiosity. Sebastian adopts a similarly humored expression, and the two wait in growing anticipation. Cideeda plucks the top card off the deck, studies the text, and sharply frowns into a twisting grit of her teeth. "Privateers Attack... Any player may sacrifice military units to attack you and capture gold equal to the difference between attacker and defender power..."


    In the silence hanging from Cideeda, Dretphi perks an intrigued eyebrow, leaning closer, and attentively listens, expectantly. Cideeda draws in a breath, sighs with tinges of pain, and recites. "This attack is... NOT... affected by non-aggression pacts..."


    Blinking at the reveal, Dretphi promptly glances down, her platinum blonde braids sliding free, and examines her ordered units. She starts to slide the entirety of her units over to Cideeda. With wide eyes, Cideeda grimaces and sputters out a protest. "Hold up! Um... You still NEED to keep enough to defend yourself from everyone else. Wouldn''t want to leave yourself defenseless. right?"


    Dretphi studies the desperate smile upon Cideeda''s light brown face, ponders a moment, and nods in agreement, a hint of smirk creeping out. She compares the military units in front of Bach, Sotalia, and Aristespha, slides off a modest portion from the martial mass in front of her, and moves the rest towards Cideeda. Minutes of dice roll barrages and card flipping later, Cideeda finishes sliding over a few stacks of gold tokens over to Dretphi, easing uncomfortably into her chair, a few irritated tremors in her tail wagging. Sebastian hovers back down to the side of the table, examines the exchange, and nods. "Well... That was a fight. Now... You still have two more cards to draw."


    Contorting the grimace on her light brown face, Cideeda glares at the event deck, a soft growl rumbling under her breath. She reluctantly draws another card and stares down at the title text. Her tail swiftly frays and fluffs out. Her stare widens. And, she grits her sharp teeth. She slaps the card face down on the table, hisses in a gulp of air, and forces out an uneasy sigh. "So... I''d REALLY like to take a quick break... To think what I need to do... Please?"


    Sebastian glances between the rest of the group. With no objections, the team leaves the table for the bathroom, fridge, and couch. Minutes later, Bach, Aristespha, and Sotalia settle near the television. In between channel flipping spree, Bach leans over and whispers to Sotalia. "The hell did you do?"


    Smiling slyly, Sotalia tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair, and giggles to herself. "What the card said. Rearrange the top three cards of the deck, in addition to one of your own."


    Bach grimaces at the thought and stops at a channel with a familiar show on the screen. "Oh yeah. It is Friday. I think this is the latest episode of The Next Adventurers of Nexus. I wonder how their mission went-"


    The eerily recognizable forest seizes the full attention of Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. The trio watching, Sebastian drifts over curiously, glancing over at the television, and freezes. Dretphi finishes preparing her snacks, deposits the plate at the dining table, and notices the looming discomfort across the room. The audio of the events breaks through the stunned silence surrounding the screen. Dretphi walks over and stares at the screen. Appearing from the hallway archway, Cideeda peeks at the events transpiring on the show and remains silent.


    The team settles uneasily around television, staring at the immediate familiarity of the landscape, architecture, and the huge clearing surrounded by old, giant trees. Frowns appear on faces, and cringes briefly wince out in between fits of dismay and worry. Aristespha pulls out her aetherphone, quickly taps up a message, and waits. Glancing over at Aristespha, Sotalia finds her phone and types out a message to another recipient. Attention briefly shifts away from the events on the screen, and alert chimes ring out from both Aristespha and Sotalia''s phones. Quickly reading through the responses, both nod reassuring smiles. A wave of relief deflates the tension in the room. During a cliffhanger commercial break, Sotalia pushes out a long sigh and flutters her golden eyes. "Tassilda said they''re all okay. It was absolutely insane, but they pulled through."


    Aristespha nods and blinks hard. "Deedri apologized for not contacting me sooner. But, she just finally got time to process it herself. She... thanked me for the spirit guide advice. Said it helped them stay safe."


    Sebastian smiles comfortingly at Aristespha. From commercial break, the show drops back into the action. Rolling through the futile attempts from Veevi, clips showcase the rest of the Flames of Phoenix coordinating the efforts into a triumphant victory. The action wanes, and another commercial break slips in. The team breaks free from the hold of the television, and they migrate back to the tabletop. Gritting her teeth, Cideeda droops her furry ears and settles into her seat. "I''m glad they''re okay. Gods. Appaland really fucked that place up."


    Bach shudders at a thought in his mind. "Yeah... I''m glad we got that girl out of there. And, I hope all those others got clear."


    Twisting his mouth uncomfortably, he manages a smile for a snack offering from Dretphi. Sebastian sighs with a ghostly reverb and dons a brighter smile. "Well. The team is okay. When things are better for all of us, we need to invite them to something."


    Sotalia lifts a curious brow at Sebastian, crossing her arms. "Please tell me that doesn''t include Veevi."


    Squelching an ethereal snort, Sebastian shakes his head with a laugh. "HELL, NO. I''m nice. Not crazy."


    Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers upon the table, rolling her shoulders into a stretch, and prepares herself. "Okay. Back to the game. Now, I''m supposed to draw all three of the cards first. So, before I do this one, let me see-"


    Swiftly yanking the card off the top of the deck, she grits her teeth, grimacing in anticipation, and eyes the card. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes spring wide open, and her tail frays out, wagging fast and erratically. Furiously plopping the card upon the table, she growls in frustration. Catching a glimpse of the title text, Sotalia struggles to contain her devilish glee. Her snorts break through into cackles of laughter, and she maniacally flexes her long, thick, black nailed fingers. "OH! That''s too perfect! I didn''t know what that card was going to be, but it turned out... SO GOOD."


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Pointing a claw tip at Sotalia, Cideeda motions down at the collection of four drawn cards in front of her, her furry ears drawing back. "SOTALIA?! WHAT. THE. FUCK?! Which one of these is YOUR card?!"


    ----


    Three figures slink away from an old van and into the brush along the side of the road. Each attempts some semblance of stealth to middling degrees of success in the dark. The trio approach a large metal hangar near a long brick house, the leader peeking his head above the clipped top of a large shrub. Marcus shakes off a few leaves in his slicked back hair and glances back at the young, dark gray skinned woman and emin man with chipped horns behind him. "Okay... This HAS to be the place. Big open area and that huge building, right around where we keep seeing the dragon drop altitude."


    Lifting her dark knit cap covered head out of hiding, Cind peers out, glancing over to Marcus with her bright blue eyes. "That makes sense. And, this is one of the few houses on this road. So, what''s the plan?"


    She tucks a few stray braids of her red hair back under her hat and waits expectantly. Kell scratches his shaggy beard thoughtfully. He casually plucks off a spider from one of his horns and places it down on a tree trunk nearby. With a growing series of nods, a goofy smile appears on his face, and he narrows his purple on black eyes at Marcus. "Yeah... Shouldn''t be too hard to get into that place. If they''re expecting to keep a dragon that big in it, they probably don''t worry about the small doors or windows."


    Contorting his face contemplatively, Marcus raises his hand, signaling the other two. "Follow me. Let''s check those doors and windows, first."


    Leading the trio, Marcus navigates through the remaining brush, Cind and Kell filing behind. They keep a low profile, approaching the hangar at the end of the makeshift dirt runway near the long brick house. The small team investigates the side door carefully, finding no access. They quietly walk to a window and fail to get it to open from the outside. Checking around the back side of the large metal structure, they spot a shallow gravel ramp leading up to a garage door. Combining their efforts, the three strain to hoist up the gate. Seconds later, each surrenders to the locked entryway. Panting out his mild frustration, Marcus shakes his head. "Okay. Alright... So... They are pretty thorough with locking everything. Cind, you might have to do some of your magic on the locks."


    Cind nods uneasily and sighs reluctantly. "Simple cage doors are one thing. These look like decent locks. I might have to try to cut them open."


    Spacing out a moment, Kell scratches a notch in one of his horns, humming. "Hey, maybe... we should try, like, the big door in the front?"


    Marcus narrows an incredulous stare at Kell and cocks his head. "I... Uh... I guess? We didn''t try it... But, if they''ve locked everything else..."


    Shrugging her shoulders in her black turtleneck shirt, Cind glances over hopefully. "It''s worth checking. I mean, everything else about this dragon has been a little off."


    Stepping forward around the corner to the side of the building, Marcus slinks down low and motions for the rest of the team to follow, keeping a low voice. "Sure. At least, we can say we tried... But..."


    He grimaces and shakes his head. "Really?"


    The trio sneak around the side, dart quickly around the corner, and scurry to the front of the tall, wide hangar door sections. Marcus quickly surveys the front, steps up to the middle divide, and grabs hold of a handle. He glances over to Cind and Kell, shrugs his shoulders, and pulls. The door segment slides effortlessly to the side, rolling smoothly along a metal track above and supportive wheels below. Kell grabs the other half of the setup, gliding it along. Remaining in the middle of the gateway, Cind''s bright blue eyes widen. A mix of exterior night lamps and faint moonlight cast upon the blue and black scales of a particularly large dragon. Lagi''s maw opens into a quiet yawn, and he stirs upon a bed of blankets and bulk cloth. The dim moonlight creeps upon his face, and he curls his neck away, tucking his head under an arm and wing.


    Cind''s initial worry fades, and she watches Lagi faintly snore, whispering towards Marcus. "Aww... He''s asleep."


    Cracking a smirk, Marcus puffs up his chest and sighs. "Well. I guess we''re going to have to wake him up. You have the berries?"


    Slipping off a worn, kitsch-adorned backpack, Cind searches through the contents and retrieves a burlap sack with spots of purple staining. "Yes. I''ll wake him up and lead him out."


    Kell walks up next to Marcus, squinting, and cranes his head around. Inspecting the interior of the hangar, he lifts a questioning eyebrow at Marcus. "Man... I don''t know. There''s nothing here that looks like he''s being restrained or even locked up. Like, a lot of places usually have at least a collar and chains. I don''t see any of that here."


    Marcus crosses his arms, humming to himself, and grumbles. "I don''t know. Maybe he''s just been so indoctrinated that he doesn''t know anything better yet."


    Scratching his beard, Kell nods a little, frowning with a sigh. "Yeah. I could see that. That''s pretty rough to be raised to believe he can''t leave and all that."


    Cind tiptoes near the sleeping Lagi and stops meters away, opening up the burlap sack. Swinging the bag side to the side, she fans the surrounding air around and towards the slumbering dragon. Moments later, Lagi''s nostrils flare open, and he sniffs the aroma into his nose. His head sluggishly traces the scent back. His consciousness catches up with the rest of him, and he drowsily opens his bright green eyes and stares at Cind and the bag. Cind tenses up. Lagi''s awareness grows, and he focuses his attention upon her. Studying her for a moment, he sniffs the air, wandering his gaze back to the sack of berries, and crawls forward, stretching his open maw towards the bag. Cind steps back, motioning with her other hand, and encourages Lagi. "Come on. Follow me. And, I''ll give you this whole bag of berries."


    Groggily, Lagi crawls up into a slow walk and follows Cind''s backpedaling through the hangar doorway. Peeking his head out, Lagi blinks out enough sleep from his eyes and notices Kell, AND Marcus. Narrowing a halfhearted stare upon Marcus, a low growl reverberates from Lagi''s throat. Cind grits her teeth briefly, reaches into the bag, and pulls out a handful of berries. "Hey! Here you go. You''ve done really good so far."


    Lagi diverts over to the distracting offering and lowers his open maw in anticipation. Kell pats the stiffly postured Marcus on the back. "It''s okay, man. Probably just a little defensive from last time. I''m sure he''ll warm up to us."


    Cind tosses a handful of berries into Lagi''s mouth and watches the dragon enjoy the brief snack. Purring out softly, Lagi munches on the treat and sneakily eyes the burlap sack. Cind glances over towards Marcus and Kell with a smile wide on her face. "I think we just need to take it slow and-"


    In a sudden blur of motion, Lagi leans his head out towards the bag, wraps tongue around the sack, and yanks it clear from Cind''s grasp. Pausing a moment, he chirps appreciatively at Cind and swiftly retreats back into the hangar. He lifts up on his hind quarters and leans with a clawed hand out to one section of the sliding doors. He guides the panel along and repeats the same motions on the other side panel. The trio watch dumbfounded, and the hangar doors close shut, a mechanical clank sounding out.


    Marcus, Cind, and Kell blink blankly, gawking in utter bewilderment. Marcus steps forward, grabs hold of the door handles, and pulls. The doors do not move. Turning away from the doors, he stares in a near daze at Cind and Kell. "He... Locked the doors."


    The trio exchange confused gazes, furrowing brows and grimacing dumbfounded. Seconds later, Marcus plods off towards the van in defeat, Cind and Kell offering comforting words along the trip back.


    ----


    Gerald narrows his glare at the television from the couch in the clutter strewn living room. He plucks a beer can off a stack of equipment cases and pours the last remnants into his mouth. With an over arm fling, he tosses the can across the room into a large, trash filled garbage can and belches loudly. Lifting the remote off the equipment covered coffee table, he aims it at the screen. The channels flip on the screen through a wasteland of entertainment. Samantha slowly steps down the stairs, leaning down to peek under the ceiling join, and aims her voice to her phone. "I found him, Howie. But, I don''t think he''s in a very talkative mood... Right now..."


    Squinting his dark brown eyes at Samantha, Gerald concentrates the brunt of his attention at the aetherphone in her hand. "OH. Hi, HOWIE."


    A brief swell of silence later, and Howard sounds out over the speakerphone with a reluctant tinge. "Oh gods... He''s calling me Howie... He''s not happy..."


    Rolling his eyes with a disgusted sneer, Gerald growls out his boiling irritation and rips another fresh beer from a cardboard case. "OH! What brilliant fucking insight gave you THAT idea? You have so MANY possible things to choose from. The murder drone, the night running for our lives, the creepy, blood-spattered ruins... Or, the pink bitch nearly taking MY head off."


    Samantha freezes in place, a wave of tension stiffening her, and glances down at her phone. A long breath distantly sounds out from the other side of the call, and an uneasy sigh emanates from Howard. "Yeah... First... I''m glad everyone is okay. REALLY. I am. Second. I just thought it would be a simple retrieval mission. Monsters and sites of bloody battles were NOT part of that plan."


    A sharp cracking hiss echoes into the large living room from Gerald''s beer can, and he quaffs defiantly. Samantha slowly steps down to the landing of the staircase and slowly approaches the couch Gerald rests upon. "We know that, Howie. We''re all on edge at the moment. And, a lot of us are not in the mood to record that much."


    Groaning through the speakerphone, Howard takes in a deep, audible breath, and relays an understanding tone. "I get it. I was thinking of an easy episode or two. Domestic stuff, aftermath, and that kind of thing. Maybe a small local mission doing real routine stuff. Or, just a short notice appearance nearby."


    Samantha grits her teeth, thinking through tinges of worry. "An appearance? We usually need more time to prep those. But... We might be able to do something..."


    From the other end of the call, Howard ponders out loud. "Now, the criminal alter ego poll results came back, and we got some interesting info from Modoran''s fan club. There might be something we can arrange. But, we''ll have to see."


    Gerald rolls his eyes, flipping through a few more channels, and tips back his beer. "Whatever you say. But, I''m using the telephoto lens for that confrontation. I''m NOT getting close to that shit show."


    Donning a bright smile, Samantha leans forward, tilting her head of shoulder-length brown hair to intercept Gerald''s stare, and nicely begs. "Um, I REALLY need you to coordinate recording reactions this afternoon when we release those poll results."


    She twists her mouth, uncomfortably squirms, and sighs sadly, gazing at Gerald with her hazel eyes. "No one is listening to Howie... Or me... for that matter right now."


    Narrowing stern glare at Samantha, Gerald tries to maintain the intensity upon her. Seconds later, his resolve weakens from growing apathy, and he groans demandingly. "FINE. AND, that''s all we''re doing today. Nothing extra. We got a movie night planned tonight, and we ain''t skipping it."


    Howard''s voice rises appreciatively from Samantha''s phone. "Thank you, Gerald!"


    Snorting out his cooling anger, Gerald growls out. "Go fuck a hornet''s nest, HOWIE."


    With a loud sigh, Howard bargains, pleading for peace. "Would a gracious expense account authorization for your movie night even things out?"


    Gerald searches his thoughts, mulls over the possibilities, and gradually nods with a tentative smirk towards Samantha. "A very good start... Howard."


    A wave of relief radiates out from Samantha''s phone, and Howard eases out a long breath. "Good. I''ll arrange for some easy episodes for you all. Before I go, anything interesting happen lately?"


    Samantha blinks, recent memory jumping to the front of her mind. "Yes, actually. One team was following Deedri, who somehow lost them."


    Nodding, Gerald remembers out loud. "Yeah... And then they chased after one of Modoran''s phantoms going the opposite direction."


    A long pause later, a slow chuckle resonates from the speakerphone, and Howard''s amusement fills his voice. "SO... Deedri AND Modoran were off in the forest together? Oh... THAT is... INTERESTING. Please, keep an eye on them. I think we might have something happening now, but I want a little confirming evidence."


    ----


    Widening his stance upon the sunlit grass, behind the two story house, Modoran rolls his shoulders and tightens his grip around the finely crafted bow. Raising the bow up, he takes aim at a large shrub towards the corner of the property, drawing the tight, strong string back, and holds the weapon at the ready. Moments later, he carefully eases the bowstring forward and adjusts his handling of the bow. Smiling warmly at Modoran, Deedri calls out to him from her seat at the patio table. "Learn anything else about it?"


    Resting his arms at his sides, Modoran glances over his shoulder with a happy smirk and shrugs. "Maybe. It is REALLY well made. I am trying to figure out who may have made it. I swear I have used something similar before, but I cannot remember where."


    Tassilda slides her observant light blue on black eyes between Deedri and Modoran, blinks at a chime from her aetherphone, and taps through a prompt. Sorting through the menus, she uses a link, opening an aethernet site, and a sly smile grows. "Well... They''ve released the results of that what our criminal alter egos would be poll."


    Pulling her attention away from watching Modoran, Deedri blinks back to awareness, picks up her aetherphone off the table top, and explores a similar alert. "Oh, yeah. Um, let me get there. I''m actually kind of curious."


    Modoran directs his voice back towards Tassilda and Deedri sitting at the metal mesh patio table and nocks a wooden practice arrow. "What are the results?"


    Tassilda taps her long, thick black nails on the screen to a result graph and brushes a lock of her raven black hair over her spiraling horn, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "Well. First is Chad. Bank Heist Leader. That actually makes some sense. And, people really think Trakenthin would be some kind of hitman?"


    Deedri furrows her brow, frowning. "Oh. He''s too nice for that."


    Nodding in agreement, Tassilda scrolls the listing up and continues reading. "I know. But, I guess no one thought about putting up a librarian barbarian option. OH. Here I am..."


    She furrows her gray brow and narrows her stare. "Blackmailer and Extortioner?!"


    Twisting her mouth into a defiant scrunch of her nose, she mulls over the concept, the distaste waning over the seconds, and sighs. "Well. Gods. I guess I have to admit it''s more likely than not."


    Deedri''s furry, tufted ears droop, and she grits her teeth with an indignant grumble. "Illegal medical experimenter?! These results make it sound like I''m some kind of mad mage."


    Covering a reflexive snort, Tassilda draws a wide, evil grin across her face, giggling. "OH. I think we can agree on the next one. Veevi... Prostitute. Not even a Mistress or Madam."


    Biting her lower lip and cocking her head to the side, Deedri slowly nods and agrees with the sentiment. Modoran steadies his footing, readies the bow, and levels his aim towards the overgrown section at the corner of the plot. He stretches his arms, draws the practice arrow back, and feels out the bow, calling back with a smirk. "Okay. I got to know now. What are they saying about me?"


    Tassilda''s eyes read the entry, and she tilts her head to the side, perks up an intrigued eyebrow. "Huh. Not quite what I thought it would be. But, I could see it..."


    She glances over at Modoran and recites. "Artifact Thief."


    Deedri''s auburn eyes spring wide open, Modoran briefly startles, and the bow launches the arrow on a high, long trajectory towards a ranch style house. The nonchalant exterior dissipating quickly on Modoran, he grits his teeth, watching the arrow sail away towards a ranch style house. "Shit!"


    He quickly rushes off, hurdles over an overgrowth covered fence, and disappears in a sprint into the woods. Tassilda snickers at Modoran''s folly, and Deedri covers her mouth with her hands in surprise. The two sit quietly a moment and exchange sympathetic glances. Tassilda leans over the patio table top, propping her arm up, and guides a whisper with her hand. "So... What''s happened between you and..."


    Spooking her a moment, Deedri darts her eyes around and subtly leads Tassilda''s attention towards a camera crew with recording equipment pointed at them. She draws in a careful breath, donning a concerned grimace, and purposefully projects her voice slightly louder. "Yes, Tassilda, that could be muscle strain in your forearm. Why don''t we go upstairs to my room, and I''ll examine it closer?"


    Tassilda blinks, darts her eyes over to the crew, and massages her wrist, sliding back in her chair. "Yes. Let''s do that. Gods. I think I may have strained it during our escape and stumbling through the woods. Better safe than sorry."


    The two quickly depart the back yard and venture into the two-story house through the sliding glass door, a few members of the recording team watching suspiciously. Veevi''s irate shriek muffles out from an upstairs window. "PROSTITUTE?!" Comparative apathy wins out, and the record crews rush towards the fresh drama.


    ----


    A patch of brush parts and reforms. Boot indentations form one after another into the grass plot on the side of the ranch style house. The lengthening path leads towards a wooden practice arrow laying on the dirt. A section of the lawn flattens out, and the arrow rises up from the ground with a transparent shimmer wrapped around the shaft. A disembodied sigh of relief escapes, and faint distortions outline a transparent figure kneeling, and holding the arrow. A loud hem startles the man.


    Narrowing her violet glowing eyes, Aristespha crosses her arms, lifting her chin sternly. "Why, hello. I guess that is your arrow I heard hitting the roof."


    Modoran stands up into a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and smiles awkwardly, the transparent coating around him fades away. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. Testing out a new bow. And, it turns out it is a little more powerful than I expected."


    He chuckles lightly and sighs. "Also, I do apologize for sneaking around. But, if I had known, I would have called and asked you to throw the arrow back over."


    Cracking a mildly amused smirk, Aristespha steps forward towards Modoran and trains her curious stare to the finely crafted bow slung on his back. "You are right. That bow is an odd thing for you to have found."


    Modoran slides the bow free, holds it with both hands, and shows it to Aristespha. "That it is. I can not shake the feeling I have used something similar before. But... THIS feels different. Really different."


    He cracks a sly smile, quirking an eyebrow, and levels an intrigued gaze at Aristespha. "You are probably the best person around here to ask about it, Lady Aristespha."


    Rolling her eyes at the honorific, Aristespha shakes her head and examines the bow closer. "Truthfully, my skills are not what they used to be for certain. But... I have learned far more about history and magic over the years, since my archery competition days."


    She squints her violet glowing eyes and lifts the bow out of Modoran''s hands, cocking her head of long silvery blue hair. Twisting her perplexing face, she furrows a puzzled brow at the finely crafted weapon and ponders out loud. "This IS a strange thing to have found, especially out there. Even the physical construction is... Odd. And how the enchantment was integrated..."


    Overtaken by interest, she deftly handles the bow, moves into a well rehearsed stance, and draws the string back into a ready position. She showcases well aged expertise and performs a number of practice maneuvers with drilled ease, contemplating how the bow handles with each step. Modoran cracks a smile, crossing his arms, and laughs amused. "Well. I think you could match your old records, if you wanted to. Probably, even break them."


    Aristespha halts her practice motions, contorting her mouth into a grimace, and returns the bow to Modoran. "Maybe. But, my competition years are long done. I will admit, it was fun when I was much younger. Do not quite have that desire anymore."


    Modoran shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and inspects the bow closer. "Fair enough. But, you are more than welcome to just fire it for fun, if you want."


    Scratching his head of grayish white hair, he tugs at the corner of his mouth and sighs hopefully. "So, you have any idea what the deal with it is? There is SOMETHING more to this thing."


    Aristespha blinks out the glow of her eyes and rests her hands on her hips, nodding. "Yes. I have a few possible theories about it. But... There is a question you can answer for me, first. It is something I have been curious about."


    Modoran receptively awaits. A curious smirk cracks from the corner of Aristespha''s mouth, and she narrows an inquisitive stare upon Modoran. "Do you actually have any real lineage to the Dark Evuukians... Or did you say that for show drama?"


    Blinking at the prompt, Modoran snorts into a chuckle and averts his eyes. "Well. Yes AND no. My ancestors were the people that got out when everyone that started believing that crap moved in. So, from that area? Yes."


    He recites an elaborate flavor of Evuukian. Aristespha widens her intrigued gaze, nodding understandingly. "I have not run into many native speakers of that dialect."


    Modoran bows playfully and wrestles a grimace upon his dusky bluish gray face. "Now... As for being part of that crazy cult? NO. My ancestors helped get other people out before it got REALLY bad around that area."


    Furrowing her ivory brow contemplatively, Aristespha searches her mind. "That is right... There were a few exodus waves before the Dark Evuukians secured their power in that region. Interesting."


    She shifts her focus towards the bow in Modoran''s hand, drawing in a long breath, and grits her teeth uncomfortably. "Before I go into too much detail about that bow... I really need to tell you what I know about those ruins you found in that forest."


    Modoran settles his full attention upon Aristespha, expectant. "Yeah. What was going on there?"


    ----


    Captain Hackle leans back into a simple office chair and stares at the monitor on the desk, status indicators showing the progress of a call connection. Settling into the utilitarian seat, Captain Hackle adjusts his posture and allows his tall, thin frame to find a comfortable position. The screen flickers, and a pixelated video plays through fits of distortion. Furrowing his brow, Hackle narrows his brown-eyed gaze at the image of Captain Hays, smirking underneath his graying mustache. "Hays."


    Nodding his wide brimmed hat, Captain Hays returns a similar greeting with a twist of his bearded mouth. "Hackle."


    Hackle glances around the small office space and perks a humored eyebrow at the screen. "I got your message. Apologize about the delay, but it took a while to find a secure enough room for this call."


    Nodding understandingly, Hays angles his camera''s view slightly, showcasing the surrounding wilderness, and shrugs his shoulders. "Not a problem. Took my team a while to find a place where I could get a decent signal."


    Squinting at the video fidelity increasing slightly, Hackle watches the reddish purple sky of a finishing sunset in between the framing of two forest sections. With a jealous hint, he smiles and sighs longingly. "Very nice. Send me pictures, if you could. Gods. It''s been a while since I''ve had the luxury to observe a peaceful sunset."


    Hays shifts the aim of the camera back to him and draws in a breath. "Well, I''ll cut to the chase, then we can both enjoy the view. Isaac was definitely in Perimeter. Perimeter Defense Force investigators located his green sedan."


    Hackle leans forward with intrigue and thoughtfully rests his chin against his propped up hands. "We all suspected as such. But, it is good to get some actual confirmation of such. I assume he''s no longer using that vehicle?"


    With a quick nod, Hays grimaces and grumbles. "Yeah. Unfortunately, he traded the thing out three weeks ago. So, he could have gone many places. BUT, I suspect the PWZ. The PDF investigators are checking traffic cameras to try to get anything more telling. Once I get information one way or another, I''ll tap a few contacts I have."


    Hackle searches his mind, twisting his face in thought, and hums contemplatively. "If nothing else, I think we need to inform our mutual friends that they might want to go to Perimeter in earnest now."


    Hays nods simply in agreement. "Makes sense. At this point, he''s either operating out of Perimeter, or he''s in the zone. Either way, Perimeter is close to their target now. It''ll at least put them in a position to respond when any of us gets more information."


    Easing back into the chair with a slight squirm against the spartan padding, Hackle sighs with a tinge of frustration. "I do hope we get something actionable. Thankfully, with the Grand Library cooperating fully now, I can authorize more upfront and actually provide proper support. Don''t have to go through the guild as a proxy anymore."


    With a slight grumbling tone, he shakes his head and frowns. "One less annoyance I have to deal with."


    Hays narrows a curious stare through the video call and tilts his head to the side. "What are they having you deal with now?"


    Twisting his mouth between different grimaces, Hackle ponders out loud. "Strange reports of activity in a forest around an old ruin site. Along with odd radio transmissions. Very strange since that site should be locked down and off records."


    Focusing a scrutinizing gaze, Hays hums thoughtfully. "It''s not unheard of for sites like that to get stirred up. But... What''s bugging you about this one?"


    Hackle leans close to the monitor and directs a calm, cool whisper. "I''m worried that there''s a common thread between recent events. I wonder if there''s a single agitator behind these incidents..."

 Episode 88

    Gathered around the dining table, Aristespha, Sebastian, Sotalia, Bach, Dretphi, and Cideeda listen to Captain Hackle''s voice sounding out from Aristespha''s aetherphone. Audibly drawing in a breath from the other side of the call, Captain Hackle releases a long sigh. "So, that''s the most up to date information I have. Isaac was in Perimeter. The Perimeter Defense Force is following up on leads and checking what they can for more information. And, Captain Hays is tapping his resources, too."


    Sebastian''s ghostly form darts his blue eyes around his mind, and he hums with an ethereal reverb. "I''m guessing most bets are on him going into the zone."


    Easing out a light chuckle, Captain Hackle contemplates out loud. "That is my best guess, too. Given what Isaac, or Noxian, has been interested in, the Perimeter Weird Zone is about the only thing that makes sense. Truthfully, if he wanted to disappear and lay low, there''s a number of other places I would have gone to well before Perimeter."


    Sotalia crosses her arms, swaying her weight between her feet, and perks her brow. "So, are we going down there next? Seems like the place to go."


    Twisting her mouth, Dretphi ponders the logistics, studying a digital map on her aetherphone. "That will require planning. Not a simple trip. Days to get near. If all goes well..."


    Bach grimaces briefly and releases an uneasy sigh, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I mean... That seems like the best place to at least hang out. I guess..."


    Leaning over, he peeks over at Dretphi''s aetherphone and mulls over the options. "There''s not much else going on in the Sippiala Peninsula. So, if he''s not in Perimeter..."


    He shrugs his shoulders and states. "I agree that he''s probably in the zone. Somewhere in that HUGE thing. Gods. I keep forgetting how big that thing is."


    Pointing at Dretphi''s phone screen, he squints at the image. "Does the scale say a hundred kilometers?"


    Dretphi glances over equally amazed and nods. Cideeda''s furry ears flick with her thoughts, and she idly raps her hand of claw tips upon the dining table top. "Yeah. My money is on him being in the zone. Else, why would he have sold the sedan and probably gotten himself a new ride? He''s getting something that he can drive in there with."


    Hackle''s voice rises up from the background noise on the other side of the call. "That''s been the consensus from both Hays''s group and my own team. Why go to the trouble of a shady auto dealer if you aren''t going to stick around? If he wanted to leave for another country, he could have driven up to one of the Train stations and traded in the vehicle for credit with them."


    Rolling her emerald green eyes with a smirk, Cideeda chuckles and crosses her arms, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "Exactly. It''s not like the Train has problems with equipment having bullet holes and questionable pasts. Hearing stories about them from my dad, those old Train engineers think it''s bad luck if your vehicle is too pristine anyway. To them, if it already has holes and dings, then the bad stuff has already happened to it."


    Aristespha rests her head upon her hands and wrestles an uneasy, nervous tinge in her voice. "I definitely believe we need to get down there. But... That is quite the trip. And, we will need to book a number of places to stay along the way. We will need to buy a lot of provisions, and..."


    Gritting her teeth briefly, her shoulders slump slightly, and she leans onto the back of her chair. Working though the uncertainty, she combs her fingers through her long, silvery blue hair, and sighs out her reservations. "We really do not have that much familiarity with Perimeter and all the surrounding territories. All THAT is going to be significant to contend with."


    A reassuring, calm tone resonates from the speaker of the aetherphone, and Hackle provides a bit of comfort. "You won''t be on your own completely. With the recent cooperation of the Grand Library upon this matter, and the fact that Aristespha is an official enough representative of the Grand Library, your group will have direct contractor accounts from the GAA, Borderland Rangers, and even the Perimeter government."


    Chuckling out his amusement, and he continues slyly. "As it turns out, Isaac''s behavior lately has made a lot of people in power VERY NERVOUS about what he''s planning on next. So, they would like to make sure the one team that has had luck finding and flushing him out has some funding for this venture. As part of the deal, we''ll put you in contact with trusted groups that''ll help you navigate Perimeter and its massive weird zone."


    Narrowing a suspicious stare upon the phone on the table top, Sebastian grimaces momentarily. He searches his mind and directs an inquisitive tone back to Hackle. "So, what''s the requirements for all this funding? We can''t exactly guarantee bringing Isaac in, at the moment. So... What''s the more immediate goal here?"


    Hackle draws in a breath and explains. "Well. It''s more or less some kind of assurance that someone is making sure he isn''t left alone. Everyone has agreed to fund your efforts to find and flush him out of Perimeter, at the very least. Personally, I would be happy to find out what he''s exactly planning on doing next. He''s done very specific things lately. And, they indicate he''s got some kind of plan. Some kind of goal in mind. If we can get enough information to narrow down what that is, the GAA can see about putting some obstacles in the way. And, hopefully, that might be enough for you to stop him completely."


    Crossing his arms, Sebastian nods his head thoughtfully and glances over the rest of the team. Moments later, he cracks a bold grin with the reassuring agreement from the rest of the team. "Well, I think we''re willing to give it a go. It''ll be a lot easier to manage with the funding, and some local knowledge. I''m not going to promise too much right now, Captain Hackle. But, I think we can definitely keep the heat on Isaac and not let him get too comfortable down there."


    With the acceptance, Captain Hackle''s voice brightens. "Very good. I will get the paperwork and relevant information to you. Meanwhile, we''ll be trying to get you a clearer picture about what he has been up to in Perimeter. If we are fortunate, you''ll have a clear direction to take once you get down there. Now, if you''ll excuse me, I''ve got said paperwork to put my signature to. You all have a good day."


    Aristespha grabs hold of her aetherphone off the table top and smiles with hints of relief. "I understand. Thank you for calling and helping us out, Captain Hackle."


    Tapping the end call button on the phone screen, Aristespha slowly shakes her head and briefly laughs. "Not a completely unexpected surprise. But... Still a surprise."


    Sotalia grins eagerly, resting her hands on her hips. "Wish it was more narrowed down, but I''ll take it. At least, he''s probably there for a good reason and won''t be leaving any time soon."


    Blinking a few times, Bach drifts his gaze into his mind and hums in though. "I wonder what''s driving him down there... Things keep getting stranger."


    Aristespha furrows her brow and gazes over the team. "Speaking of strange things, I was able to find out some intriguing information from Modoran yesterday... When he was retrieving an arrow he accidentally shot into our yard. There was a lot more going on at those ruins than what we even thought."


    ----


    Leaning against the large washer machine in the utility room, Modoran grits his teeth briefly, hissing out his discomfort, and crosses his arms. "So... THAT is what the other team dealt with when they went to those same ruins months back. Pretty fucked up, in my opinion."


    Trakenthin blinks his hazel eyes, frowns, and slowly shakes his head, standing near the door. "That is concerning."


    Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tassilda winces her light blue on black eyes closed, twisting her face, and grumbles. She tosses back her raven black hair back over her swirling horns, groaning. "By the gods, GAA and Appaland KNEW about that place with that Terra Priest group..."


    She waves her hand, pantomiming her frustration. "And... They just let it sit there? What were they thinking?"


    Drooping her furry, tufted ears low over her shoulders, Deedri briefly covers her mouth, slowly processing the information, and cringes. "I just can''t believe that all was happening there. All those people following that... Crazy ideology."


    Modoran smiles comfortingly at Deedri and shakes his head, shrugging. "Tribalism is a hell of a drug. The whole Terra Priest movement has been around for a LONG time. And... Just keeps showing itself every generation. Shit. It just gets fucking worse with each incarnation. They used to just be isolationist naturalists that did not bother anyone unless you wandered too close to their territory. Now... Yeah..."


    Searching through his thoughts, Chad slowly paces in the middle walkway between the team and gradually sways his head in disbelief. "All THIS explains a lot. A lot more than what I''ve got in my head right now."


    He steps over towards the door, cracks open a gap, and listens carefully for a few seconds. Trakenthin leans his tall frame over, aims his ear to the annoyingly familiar sounds of Veevi soaking in the attention of a recording crew. Chad rolls his eyes and groans through swelling disgust. Trakenthin shakes his head dismissively. "We have minutes left."


    Shifting his brown eyes over to the wires hanging loose from a small overhead camera, Chad nods in agreement. "Yeah. The crew aren''t paying that much attention right now. But, they''ll start to get suspicious if this thing remains disconnected for much longer."


    A stifling silence holds the conversation still for seconds, recent memory pressing down the mood of the gathering. Chad pulls in a breath and gazes up to the team resolutely. "In the future, we demand as much information as we can get upfront. I mean, admittedly, this was outside everyone''s expectations. But, I don''t know..."


    He fights back a guilt-ridden frown and stiffens his upper lip. "Still, I''m going to try to make an honest effort to prevent this type of stuff from happening to us, if I can. I need to do my job right for once. So, I''m also going to try to deal with Veevi."


    Attentions shift towards Chad, the other members waiting intrigued. Chad works through a few uncertain grimaces on his face and addresses the team. "I''m putting Veevi in timeout. She doesn''t get to go on the next mission. Period. Give her time to think about whether she wants to be on this team or not."


    Trakenthin crosses his arms, blinking in surprise at Chad, and slowly nods. Tassilda cocks her incredulously to the side, sliding her weight on the counter top, and props herself up with her arms behind her. "Do you honestly believe she''ll do anything different than what she''s done before? I will fully admit I''m glad something is being done. But, please understand if I think it''ll do nothing other than piss her off."


    An encouraging smile appears on Deedri''s face, and she gazes approvingly at Chad. "It''s worth a try. Maybe something drastic like that will be just enough to work? I think we can say, from experience, that gentle, subtle measures don''t work with her."


    Smirking at the commentary, Chad eyes Modoran. Moments later, Modoran glances back to Chad, nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders, and sighs apprehensively. "Hell. I appreciate the effort. I do not know if it will work on HER. But, I would not mind going on a mission without her... Because..."


    He wrestles down a surge of awkward embarrassment and snorts. "Between us... I think we got a pretty workable group. Just might need a chance without that agent of chaos fucking it up all the time."


    A genuine smile appears on Chad, and the team''s mood brightens, exchanging hopeful glances. Chad nods at the idea and chuckles quietly. "Well... Be prepared. I''m going to spring this on the higher ups and her when they announce the next mission. At this point, I think it''s fair play after all we''ve been through to surprise them back. BUT... they probably won''t be all that happy."


    Dismissive eye rolls and groans from the rest of the team fill the room. Chad rests his hands at his waist, perking an inquisitive brow at Modoran. "Anyway, did Aristespha mention anything else?"


    Modoran blanks a moment and eases in a careful breath, twisting his mouth. "Somewhat. Since we have been to the place, she told me everything they knew directly related to the ruins. But... There are a few things she has been informed of that she was not sure she could give out. But, she stressed two things."


    The focus from the group turns upon Modoran''s next words. Mulling over the phrasing in his head, Modoran relays the key points from memory. "She told me to pay attention to the timing of when we crossed paths... And..."


    Maintaining a calm, neutral expression, his eyes await the reactions from the rest of the team. "They were trying to force that one girl to work on golems."


    Puzzling silence floods the room, and Chad, Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Deedri ponder the two major hints. Thought processes turn towards uncomfortable possibilities in others. Tassilda''s posture stiffens, and she reflexively gasps, covering her mouth with both hands. Her light blue on black eyes widen in past horror, and her hands unconsciously drift away from her face, trembling. The stark reaction cements the answer for everyone else. Trakenthin cranes over, checking on Tassilda, and gazes at her with concern. Deedri grasps onto one of Tassilda''s hands and rubs her back comfortingly, Tassilda concentrating on calming herself back down. Arriving at the realization with a long, stressed exhale, Chad turns his grimace into a sharp frown. "Oh, holy fucking shit. Gods damn it. That all makes sense now. Fits too perfectly."


    Wincing, Modoran fights through a flurry of emotions with a shake of his head of grayish white hair. "Yeah. It is the same fucking conclusion I arrived at, too. Was really hoping it would just turn out to be my wild theory, rather than the one everyone arrived at."


    ----


    Stepping through the hallway leading from the front entry, Bach lugs a heavy, metal container over towards the coffee table and lowers the handled box next to Dretphi. "One box of caseless ammo. It was tucked all the way in the back corner of that pile of supplies."


    Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Dretphi twists around, slides the crate over in front of her, and opens it up. She inspects the contents, glances up to Bach with a warm smile, and nods appreciatively. "Thank you. You want to help me load magazines?"


    Bach shrugs his shoulders, stepping over to the other side of the box across from Dretphi, and plops down into a seat on the floor. "Sure. Kind of want to sit down anyway. There were a lot of other heavy things in the way of this box."


    Dretphi sorts through a pile of empty submachine gun magazines, stacking a few up in her hands, and gives them to Bach. Motioning for his attention, she holds a magazine in one hand and a round in the other and demonstrates putting the round in the magazine. Bach nods understandingly, sets aside the submachine gun magazines in his hands and retrieves a smaller cardboard box from the large ammo crate. Carefully, he inserts rounds into a magazine, occasionally peeking over to Dretphi and watching her. Minutes later, he notices a collection of survival rations neatly ordered near Dretphi, lifting a curious eyebrow. "We have enough meal packs?"


    Dretphi blinks back to awareness from her work trance, glances over at the roughly sorted pile of packaged food, and shakes her head. "Not enough to feel comfortable. This is a significant trip. We may fall short of our planned stops. Need to be ready."


    Nodding thoughtfully, Bach drifts his gaze over to the large map bordered by paperwork and tablets upon the coffee table and studies the various pencil and highlighter marks. "Yeah... That does seem like it could happen."


    Aristespha leans forward from her seat on the couch, resting a pencil over a section of highway, and marks out a shorthand note. She slowly shakes her head, staring at her tablet screen, and briefly grits her teeth with an unconvinced curl of her upper lip. "Gods. I swear these establishments get more questionable the further away from civilization you get."


    Hovering upon the couch next to her, Sebastian''s ghostly form blinks hard and rests his chin upon the palm of his hand, sighing ethereally in disbelief. "Dear, I''m just amazed these places have working phone numbers. Even if they don''t ever answer them."


    Rolling her violet eyes, Aristespha guides a few stray locks of her hair over her very long, ivory pointed ears, and grumbles out her distaste. "To be blatantly honest, there are places that might prove worse than staying in the humvee, Sebastian."


    Nodding agreement, Sebastian shifts his attention over towards the large portion of the map with territory and political area indicators and narrows his stare at the scattered mix of roads and regions. "Gods... I always forget how big and spread out Perimeter is."


    Bach twists his mouth and shakes his head. "And, it''s still tiny in comparison to the Perimeter Weird Zone. I mean, I can''t believe enough people live in there for roads, much less towns, to exist."


    Sebastian smirks with a sarcastic tone. "I don''t know, bro. You were living in a town that has less of a reason to exist, to be fair."


    Pausing a moment in though, Bach gauges his brother''s statement and cocks his head to the side in a tentative agreement. "Yeah... Actually, yeah... Honestly, you could take Tullachester off the maps, and I don''t think people inside or outside of that town would notice."


    Sotalia steps out of the kitchen, casually strutting over to Bach, and holds a vial down next to his face. "Taste this."


    Bach pivots his head over towards the small container and gradually narrows his blue eyes upwards at Sotalia. "What is it?"


    With a humored smirk, Sotalia snorts, shaking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "Oh. Just water, food coloring, and flavoring. Making sure I got the potion flavoring right before I mix it with the batch. I''ve been trying to come up with some different mixes to mask some of the more potent potions'' aftertastes."


    Smacking her mouth, Sotalia grimaces and scrunches up her face, licking her tongue hard against her teeth. "Last thing I attempted still hasn''t gotten out of my mouth yet. SO..."


    She frowns slightly with an embarrassed grumble. "I really need you to check this one for me."


    Bach grasps hold of the vial and sniffs the air above it. He pauses a moment in through and drinks the clear, orange liquid. Searching his mind for the right word, Bach blinks calmly, experiencing the sensation, and hands the empty vial back to Sotalia. "Mango?"


    Lifting an intrigued brow, Sotalia narrows her golden eyes at the vial, lifts it up closer to her curiosity, and hums thoughtfully. "I was going for peach. But... Mango works, too. Thank you."


    With a quick pivot, she walks back into the kitchen galley and returns to a variety of beakers, flasks, and pots. Pulling a fresh ball-point pen from an open pack, she jots down new notes into a book and raps her long, thick, black nails on the counter top. In the kitchen prep area, the door leading to the garage opens up. Cideeda carefully presses her elbows against the door, slipping through the gap, and walks through with her grease covered hands in front of her. Passing through the living area, she calls out to the group. "Could someone with free and clean hands add pumice soap to the list of things to get from the store? We just ran out."


    Leaning out from the kitchen galley, Sotalia holds up a bottle of dish soap, smirking slyly. "Kitchen sink is all yours, girl."


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    With a sigh of relief, Cideeda follows Sotalia into the space and holds her arms over the sink for clean up. "Thank you. Paper towels alone are completely worthless for this level of this grease."


    Stacking up round filled magazines, Bach diverts his attention back to the map and closely examines the details. "Man. Still amazing how Perimeter exists so close to that massive weird zone."


    Aristespha nods in agreement and smirks knowingly. "The Perimeter Weird Zone draws in a lot of people for one reason or another. Despite how big it is now, Perimeter started out as a simple campsite just outside the safest entry point into the zone. Once a few new artifact types were found and extracted routinely, everything built up from there."


    Sotalia calls out with an excited and eager tone from the kitchen. "HEY... If we go into the zone, I''m allowed to keep the things I find, RIGHT?"


    Aristespha glances around to the rest of the gathered team, drawing in a reserved breath, and eyes Sebastian. Shrugging his shoulders impartially, Sebastian states carefully. "Well... So long as it doesn''t have the ability to kill all of us at any given moment, I don''t think there''s any problem."


    A humored, facetious giggle sounds out, and Sotalia sighs. "Fine. But those are the FUN ones. But, fine. I''ll agree with that."


    Aristespha rolls her violet eyes, smiling with amusement. Studying the map closer, Bach analyzes the size and scope of Perimeter and the sparsely populated surrounding region. He compares the visual differences with Amaranth Valley. "Wow. I mean... We really are going out into the WILDERNESS this time."


    Sebastian dons an intrigued smirk and eyes his brother curiously. "So... Bro... You excited... Or scared?"


    Furrowing his brow, Bach straightens his posture contemplatively, blatantly deliberating between the two emotions on his face, and shrugs apprehensively towards Sebastian. "Um... Both?"


    Nodding his head understandingly, Sebastian smiles comfortingly at his brother. "Yeah... That''s about what you should be feeling."


    ----


    Leaning all his weight into a pry bar, Chad torques the heavy steel of the black sport utility vehicle''s bumper closer to its original shape. The solid suspension flexes, the chassis rocking with each hard heave Chad pulls upon the tool. He stands back up straight and studies the fractured metal edges, contemplatively staring. Scratching his head of light brown coiffed hair, he kneels down, inspects the narrowed hole in the bumper, and nods, reaching for a heavy hammer.


    Aiming her aetherphone at Chad and the vehicle, Tassilda taps an onscreen button and waits for the confirmation prompt from the camera app. She pivots around, a loud metal slams ringing out, and pushes through the front door. She strolls through the living room and quickly taps up a message into an ongoing conversation with the image attached. She climbs up the stairs to the second floor and walks towards her room. Noticing Trakenthin''s room door open, her curiosity leads her quiet approach.


    Tassilda turns her head, aiming her pointed ears towards a woman''s voice coming from inside. Peeking around the corner, she observes Trakenthin laying on his bed. With an open book upon his lap, a video playing on his aetherphone captivates Trakenthin fully. Fighting a balance between curiosity and stealth, Tassilda observes the happy smile gracing Trakenthin''s dark bronze face. Trakenthin watches a young woman delve into the details of the latest book''s glaring plot holes with a drawn mock-up. A genuine chuckle emerges from Trakenthin, and he nods sympathetically at the elaborately described drab middle chapters slog. Blinking in surprise, Tassilda pulls a sly smirk across her gray face. With a soft hum of her aetherphone vibrating, she swiftly retreats away from Trakenthin''s doorway and slinks down towards her room. Checking her phone, she sees the latest picture message of Daedrican standing in front of a strange, tattered bipedal robot hanging from a crane. Fascinated by the image, Tassilda finally comprehends the text below and springs her eyes wide open. She giddily rushes through the phone menus and taps the call icon under Daedrican''s contact entry. Slipping into her room with her aetherphone against her ear, she greets the other side of the conversation with an elegant dialect of emin.


    Down at the other end of the hallway, Deedri''s bedroom door opens, and Modoran casually walks out. With a happy smile, he stretches his back out, pivoting around, and bows towards Deedri in the doorway. "Well, thank you for thoroughly inspecting those pains in my lower back."


    He sneaks glances out the corner of his dark blue eyes at opportune angles, surveying the camera coverage. Putting forth a professional facade, Deedri nods appreciatively and smiles. "Of course. It''s understandable. We all got a little roughed up from that last mission, and it just took a while for those strains to finally ache enough to be noticed."


    Her auburn eyes meet Modoran''s dark blue eyes. Deedri aims a sly smirk, biting her lower lip, and drags a claw tip lightly down the door frame wood. "If you notice any other issues, please let me know. It''s best I treat them as early as possible."


    Modoran''s nonchalant exterior fails at obscuring his growing goofy grin, and he nods appreciatively towards Deedri. "I will do that. I will be very observant tonight and see if I feel anything else."


    Glancing towards his room, he points his thumb over and departs with a chuckle. "Well... I need to catch up on the latest Evuukian political dramas..."


    He pauses a moment in thought and averts his gaze with a tinge of embarrassment. "And, do laundry."


    Deedri eases back into her room, flashing an eager smile at Modoran out of view of the hallway, and winks to him, her door closing. Stepping across the hallway to his bedroom door, Modoran pushes into the room,and turns his attention to the tall, overflowing pile of dirty clothes in the hamper. He mutters a few evuukian curses, prunes off the overflowing clothes onto the floor, grabbing hold of the basket, and hoists it up. Passing through his doorway, he navigates down the stairs, carefully finding the steps. Slowing down, he reaches the bottom landing and spots Veevi exiting the dining room.


    Pivoting towards the stairwell, Veevi spots Modoran''s descent and cracks an evil grin. She struts up with an energetic skip to her step, tosses back her long pink hair, perking up her fuzzy ears, and whips her tail up at the ready. Modoran deftly guides his body with the downwards momentum, orbits tightly around the wooden banister post, and pardons himself, the hamper brushing close to Veevi. "Oh. Sorry, Veevi. Was not paying attention."


    The start of a response leaving Veevi, she licks her lips. "Don''t worry about it-"


    Drawing in a breath through her nose for the next part, she abruptly halts. Modoran swiftly puts distance between her and him. Veevi''s pink pupil eyes flutter in surprise, and she sniffs the air repeatedly. Sifting through the smells, she rests a hand upon the square banister cap and stares at Modoran absolutely bewildered. The seconds pass. The shock fades into comprehension and recognition. Sniffing the air, Veevi''s upper lip snarls slightly, her confusion gives way to a volatile mix of frustration and fury, and she clenches her jaw. Flecks of wood curl away from the surface of the banister under the tightening grip of Veevi''s sharp nails.


    ----


    Gazing out the humvee window, Bach views the town attractions along the side of the main city road. He settles back into his seat, his attention drifting forward. Furrowing his brow, he puzzles at Sotalia in the front passenger


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    s seat methodically checking a handwritten list. He leaning his head out into the aisle, peeking around, and narrows his curious gaze. Sotalia pauses, tapping a pencil at the end of the list, and scribbles out another item. Bach cranes his head around Sotalia''s seat and carefully pries. "So, uh, what''s that list for?"


    Blinking her golden eyes, Sotalia turns her head towards Bach and smirks with a giggle, spinning the list away from him. "Well, just the ingredients for tomorrow''s dinner."


    Bach lifts his head back, debating between reservation and intrigue, and inquires further. "Okay... What are you... Cooking?"


    Focusing her accusatory stare upon Bach, Sotalia lowers her eyelids halfway with a playfully insulted twist at the corner of her mouth. "If you keep THAT tone up, you can try your luck with one of those old rations. I can cook a meal just fine."


    She tosses back her wavy, fiery orange hair back, straightening her posture defiantly in her seat, and averts her glance away with a roll of her eyes. "It''s just that what I like to cook takes a lot of effort and planning."


    Bach retreats back into his seat, grimacing awkwardly, and stumbles into an apologetic recovery. "Oh, um, I''m sorry. I didn''t mean anything like that. It''s just I''ve never seen you cook food. Potions, yes. So..."


    Glancing to either side of him, he approaches the question. "What do you like to cook?"


    He wanders his attention behind him and questioningly eyes Dretphi. Sneaking a point towards Sotalia, he silently inquires for a opinion from Dretphi. Dretphi reads the body language and smiles reassuringly at Bach, nodding. "It should be good. Involved preparation. Filling results. Nice for occasions."


    A hopeful spark lights up Dretphi''s steely gray eyes, and she leans forward in the aisle and directs her voice towards Sotalia. "Malva pudding?"


    Peeking around the corner of her front seat, Sotalia winks with a playful grin at Dretphi. "Of course. That one is a given. The rest are going to be surprises."


    With a satisfied smile, Dretphi sits back down on the back bench seat, smiling contentedly.


    Furrowing his brow, Bach crosses his arms and curiously pries. "Surprises? Well, uh, how about a few hints? There might be something I might not like?"


    From the sword at Aristespha''s side, Sebastian''s voice calls out Bach. "OH, BULLSHIT, bro. I KNOW what you''ve eaten before. You ain''t picky when you''re drunk or hungry enough."


    A flash of embarrassment fills Bach''s cheeks, and he flashes a scowl at the sword. Sebastian chuckles out ethereally from the blade. "I don''t even need to check to see how you are looking at me right now. Anyway... It''s good eating. Hate that I''m only going to be able to smell it."


    A sympathetic smile graces Sotalia''s light tan face, and she sighs encouragingly. "Well, YOU are welcome to hang out in the kitchen the whole time, then. Everyone else has to STAY OUT."


    A sly grin grows out towards the dark gray patches below her ears, and she chuckles. "Part of the fun."


    Rolling her golden eyes away from the inquisitive gaze of Bach, she shrugs her shoulders, her attention returning to the paper list. "I figured it would be a nice thing to do since we probably won''t have a chance to eat nice for a while."


    Aristespha cracks a smile and snickers to herself, studying a shopping list on her tablet. "And you want to remind yourself on how to cook it all?"


    Sotalia blinks, bites her lower lip guiltily, and twists her mouth honestly against her pride. "Yeah... Not going to lie. My grandmother on my mother''s side has some amazing food, but it''s REAL easy to end up with a different dish if you don''t pay attention to the exact ingredients and preparation."


    Quirking his brow, Bach cocks his head to the and stares confused. "Really?"


    Snorting, Sotalia shakes her head with a smirk and lightly groans. "Well... There''s so many minor variations on the same dish that each have a different name. For example..."


    She quickly recites through different names in a variety of emin dialects, mentioning the differing traits, and compares them to each other. Numerous examples later, she sighs. Craning her head around her seat, she whispers towards Bach. "And don''t get me started on the other side of my family. I have almost seen blood drawn between my great aunts at whether something is technically a burrito or an enchilada."


    Blinking out his surprise, Bach slowly nods and gradually attempts to visibly process the litany of terms heard in the last minute. "Huh. Yeah."


    A twitch flicks up Cideeda''s tail briefly. The humvee slows down to stop in front of a red light. Cideeda''s emerald green eyes shift over and stare towards Sotalia, focusing upon the brief glimpses of the paper list tilting into view. Sotalia pauses a moment, catches Cideeda''s spying, and hides the list against her chest, staring playfully at Cideeda. "What are YOU looking for?"


    Smirking, Cideeda raps her claw tips upon the steering wheel and glances away innocently. "Just checking to see if all the ingredients for what I want are there."


    Sotalia presents a stoic front, nodding slowly, and hums to herself. "We''ll see... We''ll see..."


    ----


    Gerald places his hands on his lumbar, leans back, and stretches out his lower back. Walking over to his bed, he plops down and eyes the store-bought, insulated paper cup in Samantha''s hands. He maintains his reservations. Seconds later, he grips onto it. Bringing it in close to his nose, he sniffs the air above it. Pondering briefly, he lets out a begrudging sigh and slowly shakes his head. "Gods damn it. Well... Thank you, Samantha, for the spiced chai latte."


    Slowly tipping back the beverage, he draws a long swig and drags out an exhale. "Okay. Since I''m being actively bribed with my favorite drink in the morning, let''s figure out these next episodes."


    Samantha smiles happily, pulls a chair over, and presents a series of notes upon her clipboard. "GOOD. First, I think we have plenty for a domestic episode with some mixed in highlights for tomorrow. But, I''m trying to figure out how to prep for next week''s episode."


    Continuing to sip his drink, Gerald nods, listening, and motions with his free hand for the pitch. Samantha flips over some papers on her clipboard and taps a pen upon a guild mission brief, smirking. "Something that''s honestly simple and local. We''ve got a series of straight forward survey update jobs on a bunch of really quiet ruins. It requires internal exploration, but the last yearly sweep was clean."


    A sly grin parts her mouth, and she perks up her scheming eyebrow. "BUT, there are plenty of dark places and quiet tension over dusty, scary ruins. With a little editing and hopefully a few dramatic shots, we can play up the thrill and danger just enough."


    Gerald narrows his gaze upon the page, allowing his eyes to sort through the literature on the document. Seconds later, he begins to nod thoughtfully and hums to himself. "Yeah. That actually could work out. Stage a few cinematic shots for added effect, and let the sound crews have a little fun with the audience..."


    Searching his head, he wrestles a grimace. "Probably drum up the spookiness with a few well placed noises. Don''t think crews would have any major objections."


    A spark of joy lights up on Samantha''s face, and she sifts through her notes. "That sounds great. Maybe if we''re lucky some rodent will jump out and scare them. Without that laser pistol, Veevi is going to be a lot easier... AND SAFER to spook."


    A dry smirk pulls across Gerald''s face, and he chuckles with a sinister tinge. "My money is on that she tries to mend up her relationship enough with Chad to use him as a shield to hide behind."


    Nodding at the notion, Samantha rolls her hazel eyes and halts her page flipping upon another section of official paperwork copies. "Now, Howie is finishing up the details, but we think we''ve secured a smaller appearance event..."


    A devious glint catches Samantha''s eye. "With a twist."


    Gerald abruptly halts tipping back his spiced chai latte, gradually levels it off, and furrows his unconvinced brow at Samantha. "Oh. Really? What inane idea has he tried to pitch now?"


    Samantha grins wide and turns the clipboard papers towards Gerald. "Invitation only appearance! And..."


    She flips over the next page. "Run a contest for the invites!"


    Searching his mind, Gerald rocks his head side to side weighing the possibilities and ponders out loud. "Huh. Okay. THAT could prove to be an interesting twist. Get more of the... Dedicated fans out. Plenty of potential for awkward and awesome fan interaction moments. That could drum up the ratings, especially if you make it require watching the episodes closely for some hidden phrase or other piece of information."


    Glancing at the top of his mind, he wrestles a tight smirk between the sides of his mouth. "No... That... That actually could work out."


    Writing down the suggestions, Samantha deviously giggles and nods. "Oh, especially when Howie rigs a few of the winners to be from Modoran''s not so adoring fans."


    Rolling his dark brown eyes blatantly, Gerald mutters and tips back the beverage in hand. He levels off the drink and groans. "Gods fucking dammit, Howard. Should expect shit like this at this point."


    ----


    Bach slumps down on one side of the couch, resting his head back, and yawns. "I think that''s everything."


    Pausing a moment, he tilts his head to the side and faces Sotalia. "Is that everything?"


    Sotalia cracks her eye open, stretching her arms out upon the other side of the couch, and grumbles. "Gods. I hope so. I''ve brewed fresh batches of most of the potions that I know how to make. And... I''ve gone through my pouch belt inventory. Twice."


    Slowly sitting herself up from the floor in front of the coffee table, Dretphi rolls her shoulders and rubs her back. "Should be sufficient. If not, we have other problems."


    Aristespha rests her head upon her crossed arms on the dining table, grumbles out a tired sigh, and groans out. "At this point, if we need anything more along the way, I am perfectly fine with buying it and sticking GAA with the bill as a work expense. I will figure out a way to categorize through their system."


    Sebastian surveys the stacks of paperwork and scattered tablets of contract literature upon the tabletop and smiles reassuringly to Aristespha. "I''m sure you can... Somehow..."


    The kitchen door to the garage opens up, and Cideeda steps on through. Brushing off her hands, she walks up next to the kitchen table and pulls out a chair. "Well, the humvee is packed and ready to go tomorrow. Nothing is obviously wrong after the third inspection. So... We should at least make it to Perimeter."


    In the lull of domestic quiet, the team idles peacefully in the living area, the afternoon sun radiating in through the sliding glass door. Minutes later, Bach rubs his stomach and queries the room. "Anyone else hungry?"


    Sotalia nods, slowly pulls herself off the cushioned back of the couch, and rubs her eyes. "I am..."


    A sly smile appears on her, and she eyes Bach with a playfully accusatory gaze. "I''d suggest my yam shepherd''s pie, but SOMEONE devastated that for breakfast this morning."


    Darting his blue eyes to either side of him, Bach averts his gaze away from Sotalia, concealing his guilt. Sotalia shifts her amused stare to Dretphi and rests her chin upon the top of her wrist. "AND... Someone else annihilated the leftover malva pudding all by herself."


    She chuckles to herself, her pride beaming out with Dretphi''s sigh of admission. Sotalia swings her glance over towards Aristespha and Cideeda. "And, the lean, mean clean up crew made the rest of the mutton and potato enchiladas vanish. I distinctly remember someone drinking the last bits of the sauce."


    Exchanging glances with Cideeda, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and smirks defiantly. "I am NOT apologizing."


    Sotalia fluffs back her fiery orange, wavy hair, crosses her legs, and rests her feet on the coffee table satisfied. "Of course not. I take it as a compliment..."


    Furrowing her brow, she twists her mouth and sighs. "Still... I''m hungry, and I''m too tired to cook."


    Dretphi nods in agreement, laying herself back down on the floor, and exhales out her fatigue. "I concur. Want to rest before tomorrow."


    Sebastian''s ethereal form studies the team and hums. "So... Delivery it is. But, what?"


    A spark of inspiration appears in Cideeda''s emerald green eyes, and her furry ears perk up. "Fval Spice. It''ll be a while before we can enjoy it again."


    Blinking a few times, Bach cranes his head over towards Cideeda, puzzling. "You think they''ll deliver? I mean, I think we''re pretty far outside their delivery range."


    Cideeda pulls a sly grin across her light brown face, pulls her aetherphone out of her shorts pocket with one hand, and rests her other hand confidently on her hip. "Oh, I think I know a trick for that."


    Sliding through the menus, she taps a contact entry from the list, and the calling sequence plays out on her phone screen. Pressing the speakerphone button, Cideeda holds the device out in front of her and waits. Noyando''s voice sounds out from the other side of the phone conversation. "Fval Spice. Pick-up or Delivery?"


    With a confident smile, Cideeda presents a business inquiry in a dialect of fvalian. Noyando states the current policy in kind, wandering towards a curious tone. Cideeda proposes an exception to the guidelines, tinting her voice with a graceful, hopeful plea. Uncertainty and deliberation grips Noyando''s apprehensive reply, and he remains unconvinced. A toothy grin forms on Cideeda''s face. Directing her voice at her aetherphone, she carefully lays out a generous percentage and significant monetary amount in an entrepreneurial coloring of fvalian. A long pause from Noyando follows. He pardons himself. His voice momentarily sounds distant, conversing with another woman in fvalian. He relays the percentage and amount. The woman calls back in an encouraging, very insistent tone. Noyando''s voice rises out of the speakerphone with an agreeable tone.


    A proud smile emerges upon Cideeda, and she announces to the team. "What does everyone want? And order extra for tomorrow, I promised a big order."


    ----


    A modern gray sedan turns into the driveway leading to the ranch style house and parks behind the humvee. The car''s running lamps illuminate the surrounding grass and pavement with a slight highlight against the summer''s early evening ambient glow. Noyando exits from the driver''s side and opens the back door. Standing up from the passenger''s side door, Mera quickly accesses the rear door on the opposite side and checks through a list. Both Noyando and Mera read off items from the list, separate marked paper bags from the collection and divide up all between themselves. With a satisfied smile, Mera crosses off the last item on the stack of papers and nods to Noyando. "That is everything for this order and that should be the last of the orders for the run."


    Motioning towards the trunk, Noyando perks his black furry ears and glances over. "Nothing in the trunk?"


    Mera shakes her head, slipping her arms through the rolled paper handles of the bags, and smiles. "No. I moved everything up here two deliveries ago."


    Long sigh of relief later, Noyando hoists up his share of the cargo and grins appreciatively at Mera. "Thank you for helping. It is very hard to keep track of so many orders and deliver quickly, too."


    The two navigate around the nice, gray sedan, and walk up swiftly to the front door. Noyando balances the weight of the bags of food and manages to knock on the door. Leveling her arm out, Mera presses a finger against the old doorbell button. Both Noyando''s black furry ears and Mera''s very long pointed ears twitch at the sounds of movement up to the door and activity behind it. Cideeda opens the door inwards and greets Noyando in pleasant fvalian. Quickly noticing all heavy loads in and on the arms of both Noyando and Mera, Sotalia starts plucking off bags from Mera. "Let me get those."


    With a load of food bags, Sotalia rushes back into the house towards the dining table. Mera takes a moment and flexes and stretches the fatigue out of her arms. Her attention drifts around the area, and she studies the ranch style house, idly glancing around the area. Sotalia returns with her arms ready, and Noyando hands over a few heavier bags. Freeing up his arms comfortably, he produces the receipt from his pocket and presents it to Cideeda. Checking the total, Cideeda deftly sorts through a bundle of paper currency, counting out a generous sum. She splits off the collection of bills and hands them over to Noyando with a toothy grin. "As promised, the total with an appropriate tip to compensate you for your time and effort. And thank you so much for making an exception for us."


    Noyando passes over the final bag to Cideeda, inspects the money, and nods graciously with a slight bow to Cideeda. "A fair deal. You called at the right time. Any later, I would not be able to leave."


    A humored smirk appears on his face, and he signs with a laugh. "Also, my wife insisted I take the order after she heard your offer."


    With a wave and smile, Noyando points towards his car and nods respectfully. "If you excuse me, the dinner rush is soon. My wife will not be happy if she has to handle it alone."


    Cideeda smiles back understandingly and motions towards the rest of the team sorting through the food. "You two have a good night. I need to claim my food before someone does it for me."


    The front door closes. Noyando turns towards Mera and swiftly pulls a calculated sum from the cash in his hands. "Mera? Here is your share of the tip."


    Blinking her crimson eyes back to awareness, Mera pivots around at Noyando and notices the sum of funds. She grabs hold of them and springs her eyes wide open in surprise. "OH. Wow. Um, are you sure?"


    Walking towards his car, Noyando nods gratefully and chuckles. "Yes. You earned it. By myself, I would not have been able to figure out the best route. And, you made sure all the orders were right."


    Mera slowly steps down the front steps. A glint of head lamp light draws her attention away from the money in her hands. Pausing mid-step, she angles her head around and squints her eyes into the contrasting darkness of the open garage. Her face blanks, spotting familiar crystals piled upon the concrete floor around a box of golem parts. Her mind fights back a surge of stark, cold recognition. Shifting between grimaces and cringes, Meredosia mentally wrestles back memories, struggles with past desires, and suppresses old ambitions. Noyando calls out from his sedan. "Mera? Is something wrong?"


    Fluttering her crimson eyes back to the present, Mera shakes the thoughts hard out of her mind and pivots around, facing Noyando with a smile. "Um. No. Sorry."


    She sprints over to the passengers side of the car, slipping into the front seat, and chuckles off some embarrassment. "I am sorry. I thought I saw something really weird in their garage. I did not mean to pry, but I could not help it."


    Noyando puts the sedan in gear, laughing with a humored nod. "Oh. I understand. Adventurers are strange to me. They have a habit to collect the oddest things. They tip nice, though."


    Mera partially agrees with the sentiment. Her stare lingers upon the shady darkness of the garage, and Noyando backs the car out onto the road.