《For All But Three Stars in the Sky》


 Prologue

    7/5/20xx


    Somewhere in the USA


    On Friday evening - the end of a long, long week and a much longer month - my utter exhaustion finally gave way to utter euphoria at the idea of gaming online for the first time in forever. By Saturday evening, I was in handcuffs.


    Now it¡¯s Sunday morning, and while some people prepare for church and others gear up to raid a dungeon online, I¡¯m locked away in an actual one. Well, the local jail, I suppose, but forgive me my melodrama. It¡¯s been a scary, sleepless night, and I still don¡¯t fully understand just how things got to this point.


    Things started going wrong when I was trying to log into Eternal Fantasy Online for the first time in months, that Friday after work. My favorite MMORPG and a steady comfort for several years now, I¡¯d had to temporarily set it aside when our latest project at work started coming apart at the seams. My boss¡¯s pleading that we give it our all ¡°for just two weeks, done before you know it¡± to get the project timeline back on track had ultimately stretched out over four, grueling months.


    But we delivered as scheduled, just earlier that day. And after all the back-patting and celebrating and outright moans of relief, I was ready to revel in the surprised greetings of my Eternal Fantasy friends and guild-mates. But when I entered my username and password, I found only shock and outrage:


    No saved characters found. Create a new character?


    After a few stunned minutes performing a spot-on ¡°deer in the headlights¡± impersonation, panic took over. Had Eternal Fantasy purged my character for being inactive? Had my account been hacked? Four months away from the game unsurprisingly meant the startup screen had automatically installed multiple patches before allowing me to log in - maybe one of the updates went awry?


    Clicking my way through webpage after webpage, bouncing between the Eternal Fantasy support site and various user forums, let the panic coalesce into a perfect knot of cold terror in the pit of my stomach. The Eternal Fantasy character retention policy remained unchanged at two years of inactivity before purging, no major warnings about patch problems were being displayed, and wading through endless minutia of patch technical notes had the exhaustion I had so gleefully discarded earlier returning in spades. I also found particularly chilling an FAQ post reminding users that we were responsible for securing our own accounts, such that any losses due to a compromised account would remain lost.


    Finally, I bit the bullet, emailing customer support for help and then rising to make dinner. I wouldn¡¯t be playing Eternal Fantasy Online tonight. And if this last ditch plea for help fell through, maybe never again. I had walked the continents of Thersia in all their digital glory for so long now that I couldn¡¯t actually recall what year I had first started playing. Have I been playing for five years? At least five years. And yet, while I couldn¡¯t remember exactly when I started, crystal clear was the memory of pouring endlessly over character options, mixing and matching over every little detail, agonizing over stats and appearance with equal fervor¡­ until, finally, the anticipation of actually playing become too much. A flurry of mouse clicks spamming the ¡°Confirm¡± button, waiting for things to load, and finally opening my eyes to look upon a new world. Yeah, that was a memory, a magic, that would never fade no matter how much time might pass.


    For five years or more, nearly all my free time had revolved around transforming myself into Secia Aetherborn, party healer and guild crafter. As Secia I¡¯d made friends, laughed at the misfortune of rivals, and groaned when luck turned against me. As older friends dropped offline with a final fond farewell or a seemingly permanent AFK, new faces appeared, sparkling with that same first magic I had reveled in, and I eagerly welcomed them into the fold. Just exactly who Secia was, who I was, I reinvented and lost and found and reinvented again, until I would have happily answered to Secia at work, had anyone ever called out the name in the break room (so thank goodness there was no rational reason for anyone to ever do so). Yes it was all make-believe, but it was grownup make-believe, a shared dream, goal, and passion all in one.


    And if I¡¯m really being honest, it went even further than that. In the soul-crushing wake of yet another late night or looming deadline, those moments of mechanically chewing my lunch or waiting at a stoplight longing to finally have the time and the energy to log in once more had transmuted into time spent scripting fictional conversations between Secia and the friends I so hoped to see again. And however logically or irrationally, it eventually became conversations between me and Secia herself.


    Laugh at me if you will. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t understand that I was actually just talking to myself. But I was tired and needed a friend, and Secia made for a good one. After all, I knew her name, her face, how she talked and what she¡¯d say inside and out, without question. That she was imaginary didn¡¯t matter - not having to face again alone the bleak despair of the alarm clock trumpeting loudly another new work day - that¡¯s what mattered. Especially when flesh and blood friends and family had made it clear that they had no more patience for my griping about unrealistic timelines and an employer¡¯s labor market.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Secia was me and more than just me. The idea of saying an unexpected farewell, of losing her, of starting over from scratch, left me feeling physically ill. And it was in that oh-so-cheery frame of mind I was forcing down the flavorless I¡¯d-already-forgotten-what-I-made when my inbox chimed. I knew it was probably far too soon to have received a reply from any customer support rep. It was probably just an automated acknowledgement that I had submitted a request for help. Or a lifetime ban from the game. Or spam. Because there¡¯s always more spam.


    And so I opened it to read:


    <blockquote>


    To: *******@*****.com


    From: J.Perez @ EFO-support.com


    Subject: Character not found after logging in - Please help! [Ticket 008137421]


    Ms. Remmy,


    I totally understand your panic on this. I¡¯m an avid EFO player on our test server, whether we¡¯re actively testing something or not. Any time whatever patch we are alpha testing causes my character to glitch, I vibrate between biting my nails and flipping out. So I totally get you on this, and I have some good news:


    We pulled the access logs for your account, and they confirmed that no one has logged in under your name since 2/21/xx, just over four months ago, so if that was when you last played EFO, then it sounds like no one has been fooling around in your account. That seems to align with what you wrote in your support ticket. So I don¡¯t believe you need to worry about this possibility any more than you have, although if you are aware of any suspicious account activity we¡¯ll assist you in investigating further.


    Even better, we have no record at all of any support request to delete Secia Aetherborn from the system. Not from you, not from any GM, not from the EFO admins. So while I don¡¯t have any information yet on what did go wrong, at this point I am very confident that this is a technical issue. Which in turn means you can absolutely count on us to get you up and running again.


    With the tech issue not resolved yet, I know it¡¯s hard to put your full faith in us getting this fixed to your satisfaction. But please rest assured that Secia is not gone forever. We have a very robust data backup policy, with daily backups archived and maintained stretching back at least a year, and a comprehensive log of every in-game action. So even though your character is currently missing from the sever itself, we have her data on hand. It¡¯s truly just a matter of identifying what went wrong, locating the missing files in storage, and loading it back onto the live server.


    In the meantime, I¡¯ve escalated this to one of the best software engineers we have on our technical team, and you can expect to hear from me again soon once he¡¯s finished looking into this for us. And when he does have you in good order again, I¡¯ve credited your account with two months of free game time as an apology for the inconvenience. You¡¯ll also receive a platinum voucher that can be redeemed in-game at Fredrich¡¯s Premium Item Shop in Rumeria, located in the teleport plaza. So treat Secia to something nice on me!


    I know we¡¯ll be seeing you in Eternal Fantasy Online again, and thank you for your patience while we sort this out.


    Sincerely,


    J. Perez-Mitchells


    Supervising Customer Support Manager for NA Service Area II


    Eternal Fantasy Online Entertainment Limited


    A wholly-owned subsidiary of EFO Global Software Worldwide


    </blockquote>


    Oh¡­ oh thank goodness. This isn¡¯t all on me. This is fixable. I, wow, yes, yes, thank you, thank you!


    I returned to my dinner in a much better mood. I finally realized that I had used way too much salt, even if I still couldn¡¯t exactly identify what the dish was supposed to be. And I didn¡¯t care! Food consumed, dishes stacked in the sink, exhaustion crashed over me like a wave and would be denied no longer. And yet, as I padded off to bed, I had to admit that it was a weird, smiley sort of exhaustion. Did that make sense? No, not at all, and it didn¡¯t dampen my big dopey grin in the least.


    I drifted off to sleep, excited for the day to come. Of course, that was because I didn¡¯t know that Saturday was going to end in handcuffs. And the ¡°why¡± of that still mystifies me completely.


    It¡¯s been very difficult getting any sort of straight answer out off anyone. Saturday, yesterday, was a blur of police and lawyers and questions, questions, questions. Some asked loud and some asked softly, pointed questions, roundabout questions, and just about none that I could actual answer.


    But as best as I can work out¡­ EFO Worldwide is accusing me of hacking their computers? All their computers? I think someone even mentioned a development environment isolated from all external connections? Because Secia¡¯s data was missing from every single one of them. Apparently, attempting to query one backup in particular had caused one of their active game servers to crash outright, temporarily disrupting EFO for other players midgame, despite that server having nothing to do with that archival system. I even overheard one of EFO¡¯s lawyers claim that I had perpetrated the most sophisticated cyberattack in history.


    Which is as frightening as it is nonsensical. But what really worries me is that it sounds very, very likely that I¡¯ll never get to log on as Secia again.


    Secia, I miss you. What happened to you? Just where did you go?

 Chapter 1 - Choices Made…

    2/24/20xx


    Eternal Fantasy Online, NA Server #413


    Lethwan City¡¯s Automated Market Row, i.e. ¡°AFK Avenue¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your business!¡± I exclaimed with a smile, and while I wouldn¡¯t have minded if the dark knight ignored me as he walked away, the wave he gave me back had me grinning all the harder. You don¡¯t usually see that kind of courtesy from anyone who had the skills and coin to be wearing such elaborate armor. I¡¯d love to befriend a person like that; I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be a lot of fun to party up with. And if we really hit it off, I could invite him into the guild.


    Ugh, the guild. I had been pleased as anything last month when Dedric had appointed me as the new assistant guildmaster. The Thunder of Orren had been my home and my truest companions for the last two years, and being advanced into this new role within the guild felt like the best confirmation I could ask for that they valued me just as much. But guild drama has never thrilled me, and Lucretia had left some big, big shoes for me to fill. That woman had loomed larger than life in more ways than one, and her setharian height and templar physique was only a tiny fraction of her presence.


    Unfortunately, while the dark knight¡¯s name was visible plain as day just above his head, he¡¯d never introduced himself, and I¡¯ve never been so crass as to break any of the unwritten rules of names. Besides, if he was based here in Lethwan, maybe we¡¯d happen to run into each other later out at the Favordark Mines or the Cerovinth Pathway and form a party then. My impression was that he was on a bit of a higher level of skill than me, but both dungeons had proven themselves to require more teamwork than strength, and stranger things have happened. For example, Renault had made purchases from me on no fewer than seven occasions before he bothered to introduce himself to me. I might think him timid or shy or maybe even interested in me, except now I know him well enough to know that none of those things are even remotely true. I might have been more hurt by that last bit if I didn¡¯t now consider his husband Amethyst one of my best friends.


    Okay, guild drama or not, maybe I was missing my guildmates juuust a little bit. I thought of closing up shop, but¡­ Despite three days of steady sales, a little over half of my merchandise on display remained. My latest run of the Favordark Mines had netted me quite the haul. The party¡¯s tank had asked for a break when we finished clearing out Shaft #7. I think he knew I was a crafter when he asked, and would be pleased at the chance to collect more dark ore from the walls than I would normally get to nab during a run. I did offer my first picks of the boss loot to our other two party members as a ¡°thank you¡± for keeping watch for the Favordark Crabs that continually come to lurk in Shaft #7 while I was preoccupied. But my efforts were rewarded with nine, count them, nine shards of midnight-quality dark ore. Between that and everything else I¡¯d gathered on the trip, I had enough raw materials to make some serious upgrades to what had been trash loot gathering dust in my inventory. Sure, I may be saying so myself, but the resulting spread was something else.


    So I wasn¡¯t exactly hard up for gold at this point, and my sales so far had certainly swelled my coin pouch further. But the market lived by its own peculiar rules, trying to ensure everyone got fair access to booth space when they wanted it. I only had this spot until I decided to leave or a week passed. After which, if I wanted to sell anything further, I¡¯d have to submit a new application for a booth. The wait was never terrible, but you got assigned to whatever booth opened up, and the one I had now made for prime real estate.


    Not so much for the sales, admittedly - nothing could really outperform the auction house for a quick sale, although the margins there tended to be razor thin. But manning one of the market booths involves a lot of standing around doing nothing; it could easily get dull very quickly. This booth, however, had clear lines-of-sight to the teleport plaza, the quest board, and could see most of the inn¡¯s common room by the simple virtue of being directly across the street from its doorless front entry. A little downtime between sales? Who cares! For a booth like this, the people-watching opportunities were endless.


    Adventurers sure didn¡¯t limit themselves to just exploring dungeons. About one in three of us seemed to be obsessed with charting brave new territory in fashion, too. Courageous as I had proven myself in facing down the twisted and terrible fiends that stalk the dungeons deep with nary a twitch, these fashionable adventurers one and all wore outfits far too daring for me. But as a crafter, as a creator of the gear catering to other adventures¡­ Knowing what worked and what didn¡¯t, what was in and what was out, was very much my business. Plus, watching the sheer variety go by was infinitely entertaining.


    It wasn¡¯t just the clothes, arms, and armor, either. Lethwan was a city firmly devoted to adventurers, all adventurers, regardless of race or faction. Thenok, ridovan, humans, myrluk, quentars, setharians, elves and more besides walked past showcasing the diversity of Thersia in all its glory. Even a hedrex like me would always just be one more face in the crowd. I don¡¯t exactly mind standing out, per se, but I hadn¡¯t realized just how rare hedrex were in the city of Nurmon when I chose to begin my adventuring career there, and it had left me with one or two uncomfortable memories. Earning the coin I needed to leave for somewhere better had been my goal and reason for improving as an adventurer in those earliest days, more so than the threat of death fighting monsters in the fields.


    Thankfully, as much as I enjoy crafting, my real talent is in healing. I¡¯m not just referring to the fact that I¡¯ve mastered spells like Healing Circle, Cure Moderate Disease, or The Song of Life - anyone can do that. But I don¡¯t just know how to use them, I know when and why. I can manage my magic better than any other healer I¡¯ve met. I wish I could say better than anyone at all, but Guildmaster Dedric has elevated slinging fireballs to an absolute art form. I may not be at his level yet, but I hope to be there someday. And I¡¯m sure life is less boring knowing that I still have room to grow, new heights to aspire to.


    Aww, raven¡¯s dung. And now I¡¯m back to thinking of guildmates and boredom again. Sure, I would really like to see them, in theory. But Renault and Amethyst have been a rock solid duo since I met them. Yet now, Renault has been openly considering leaving the guild. Amethyst doesn¡¯t want to, but he will if Renault does. So he wants me to fix things, by convincing Dedric to kick Freya from the guild for her homophobic comments. Which I¡¯d be fine with, sort of, except this isn¡¯t what I was hoping being the assistant guildmaster would entail. Or at least, that it wouldn¡¯t be the first thing I¡¯d have to deal with.


    I mean, first of all, sure, Dedric and I have known each other since he invited me to join the guild. And I really look up to the guy, I do. But everyone has their blindspots, even your heroes I guess, because he and Freya aren¡¯t just friends, they¡¯re the best of friends. And they have been since they were children. When they started adventuring, they did it together. I just don¡¯t have the kind of personal connection with Dedric I¡¯d need to ask him to kick his own best friend from the guild.


    I did at least talk to him about Freya, asking if he could reign her in. It¡¯s not exactly behavior I enjoy, either, even if her words have nothing to do with me. Dedric, though, says that Freya¡¯s just doing it to get a rise out of people. Which might be true - the public gay bashing has been something new from her, but her giggling at the anger of others is decidedly not. She once spent two weeks I¡¯d rather forget, following me around the guildhall making ¡°catgirl¡± jokes and mewing noises. Good thing I¡¯m not the sort of person who holds a grudge, and might, say, trick her into buying some trash swords at 1000% above market rate. Or repeatedly use my authority as the guildhall crafter to dump all the possessions from her room into the guild storage, just as soon as she managed to claim them and set them back up again. I mean, those things did happen, it just totally wasn¡¯t me that did them. Dum de dum, nothing to see here¡­


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    Anyway, I would love it if, one way or another, someone could corral Freya and get her back in line. I honestly don¡¯t know how Lucretia managed to keep things together as well as she did. I really wish she¡¯d left me some notes. I¡¯d ask her directly, except Lucretia didn¡¯t just quit the guild, she hung up her sword and quit adventuring altogether. I¡¯m not even sure where I would go to begin looking for her at this point. I wish her all the best, but when adventurers cut their ties to retire, they are obsessively thorough about it.


    I¡¯m also not convinced that Freya is really the reason Renault wants to leave The Thunder of Orren. He¡¯s never shown a thin skin before, and I got some hints that he was starting to think of moving on weeks ago, before Freya opened her mouth. I half suspect Amethyst saw that, too, but he doesn¡¯t want to leave and would like to believe Freya is all there is to it, or at least the last straw. That if we could shut her up, nothing would have to change. I get that. I love these guys, all of them, although I could totally do without Freya. But I love them most when we¡¯re getting along: no taking sides, no drama.


    Maybe I¡¯m the one who should be thinking about moving on. But towards the guild or away from it? Argh, stupid brain, getting all maudlin. Look! A myrluk in peacock armor, with a rainbow cape, plaid boots, a feather boa and rhinestone glasses! Wow, someone has no taste at all. Okay, I get that if you were born in a swamp, you might long for a bit of color and shine in your life, but she did not hold back at all. Phew, but she did make me laugh, and maybe that¡¯s what she¡¯s going for. If so, I salute your bravery! Or I would, if I didn¡¯t have a booth to staff.


    *****


    I wish I could say that I enjoyed the remainder of my week in the market. But sometime later that day¡­ I don¡¯t know exactly what happened. I have no direct recollection of it all. Just a sense of¡­ nothingness, maybe. Not that I have memories of a sense of nothingness, of some empty void. But something deep, deep, at the very back of my skull and the bottom of my mind, where I fear to let my thoughts dwell, it whispers to me, and what it whispers to me of is: *Nothing*.


    *****


    When I opened my eyes, I was in a stone-walled room lit by flickering torchlight. Four hooded and robed individuals rose from a floor covered in mystic symbols and the arcane geometry of a magic circle. So about as normal as normal as could be, really. I wasn¡¯t familiar with this particular room and if these were mages, the cut and color of their robes was one I hadn¡¯t seen before. But as well-traveled as I am, I had yet to see everything Thersia has to offer. And while I had never seen or heard of summoning magic that worked on people before, both summoning magic itself and teleportation magic are as old as dirt, and the last vestiges of the spell fading away was very easy for my practiced eyes to read. So I wasn¡¯t exactly having a hard time putting two and two together.


    What was really freaking me out was how I couldn¡¯t read anyone¡¯s name. The air above their heads was empty. Just¡­ nothing.


    ¡°Congratulations, Lady Elutria! You¡¯ve succeeded in your summoning.¡±


    ¡°Hold your praise, Rudolpho. The goal was never just to summon ¡®anyone¡¯, but to summon someone of value. Do not praise me until we know what it has to offer. You there, what do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    The second speaker pushed back her hood as she addressed me directly. Blonde locks spilled forth as she did so, providing a messy contrast to her sharp blue-eyed gaze. ¡°This is a woman who doesn¡¯t mess about, never a detail out of place¡± implied her face and tone, while her hair continued to loudly proclaim ¡°untamable rat¡¯s nest¡±.


    As to my own hair, her haughty attitude was raising those on the back of my neck in an uncomfortable way. But I¡¯ve met a lot of unduly arrogant people over the last few years, and sometimes their arrogance is actually justified. Plus I¡¯ve never been all that fond of conflict myself. So I kept my voice as level and friendly as I knew how, smiling as I answered her back: ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Secia Aetherborn, assistant guildmaster for The Thunder of Orren, headquartered in Lethwan. Did you mean to summon me?¡±


    I¡¯m not sure what this Lady Elutria had expected me to say, but I got the impression I had just gone off script. But while I was examining her expression, another of the mages had lowered his own hood. He had the lined, well-creased face of an elderly man who¡¯d spent much of his life smiling. I think he might be Elutria¡¯s ¡°Rudolpho¡±, but without being able to read his name, it was hard to be sure. Why couldn¡¯t I read their names??


    ¡°Oh ho, how marvelous!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve witnessed a summon who understood what we were saying without needing to actively learn our language. And you don¡¯t appear to be confused by the idea of being summoned at all. Marvelous, marvelous. Well met, Secia Aetherborn. Have you perhaps been summoned before?¡±


    He just broke one of the unwritten rules of names! I¡¯d introduced myself, and he¡¯d used my name without introducing himself back! With their names already failing to appear where they should appear, this was putting my hackles up way more than just talking about me like I wasn¡¯t here, or as if I was an object instead of a person (although I¡¯m not really fond of that, either). Still, Rudolpho struck me as someone who maybe let academic interest run away with him, forgetting social courtesies when fascinated, so I tried to calm myself and give him another chance to make right.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve always traveled by my own power before now, so this is fairly new to me. I¡¯d love to know where I am. And I¡¯m sorry, but while I mentioned that I¡¯m Secia, you are¡­?¡±


    But either he didn¡¯t pick up on my prompting or they were being deliberately rude. Instead, he turned to Lady Elutria and remarked, ¡°She is fascinating, my lady. I¡¯ve backed fourteen summoners in their rituals, and been witness to at least thirty more. Her natural speech with us, her familiarity with magic, her overall demeanor¡­ I don¡¯t know what world you plucked her from, but if she doesn¡¯t fail any of the usual tests, such a world might be a valuable addition to the Atlas of Souls. Do you recall it clearly enough to make such a record?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Worry not. Her world may have been deeply hidden in the folds of the Mysterium, but it felt of lightning and tasted of ash, smelled of tea and tin, and had the fragility of a soap bubble. And it shared its particular pocket of the Mysterium with a void world, of all things. It stands out well enough from its peers to be easily identified, if it truly has anything of value to offer us.¡± Glancing at me and giving another disdainful sniff, she added, ¡°Unlike you, I¡¯m not so easily impressed.¡±


    Should I say something here? It kind of feels like it would be okay for me to start getting really upset just about now. But¡­ I just felt more out of sorts than anything else. Maybe some side effect of the summoning? The best I can put words around it was a sort of hollowness inside. Fatigue, perhaps? Whatever it was, it was disquieting in its own right. I¡¯ve never thought of myself as a particularly passive person before, but some part of me, perhaps some instinct I¡¯ve never noticed before, encouraged me to wait. Making the important choices was for other people to decide, and deciding whether or not to pick a fight with someone was a very important choice.


    ¡°Hey! I thought you could understand us. You will follow behind me or things will get unpleasant for you.¡±


    Startled, I looked about. While I had been distracted by my thoughts, the two technically-still-unnamed mages, the elderly man and the young woman who had been speaking to me so far, had moved to the room¡¯s only apparent entrance. And at least one of them was displaying the impatience of youth (or the arrogant entitlement of bad nobility). The remaining two silent-so-far-and-also-very-definitely-still-unnamed mages had slipped backwards until they were up against the walls, almost but not quite behind me and out of sight. And one of those two was beginning to channel magic, even if they didn¡¯t seem to be doing anything with it yet.


    Decision made for me, I hurried to catch up to my¡­ summoners? Jailers? New friends? I wasn¡¯t sure just how to think of them yet, but that was probably a choice I didn¡¯t need to rush.

 Chapter 2 - ...And Making Choices

    The 8th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    On the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    The mages and I cut a fast clip down one stone hallway after another. Some of the stonework consisted of masonry blocks, but other passages seemed to cut through solid natural stone itself. Since there were no stairs or ramps involved, I was starting to suspect this might all be some kind of massive underground complex.


    Not to mention the lack of windows. But at least these halls swapped the flickering torch light of the chamber in which I had been summoned for glowing metal fixtures set in the ceilings. It was hard to tell just what sort of metal they had convinced to glow with such gentle white light without subjecting us to a forge¡¯s heat, but I did spot charms to renew the air in filigreed silver set into the stone ceiling near each light fixture. Either way, the fresher, smokeless air was much easier on my nose than the room we originally exited.


    Much less comforting were the doors we passed along the way, and sometimes opened and traveled through. They had the air of thick, reinforced security doors. Heavy wooden beams, multiple steel straps, complicated locks, and multiple ceramic plates set into doors and door-frames alike. Ceramic plates likely etched on their reverse sides with various magical formulae for alarms and wards, based on their numbers and placement, even if nothing of the spells themselves was actually visible to me.


    I may not be entirely sure of where I was or who these people are or what they want of me, and I wouldn¡¯t want to burn any bridges by mistake that I might regret later. But maybe¡­ Maybe it¡¯s not too improper of me to want to not end up in some kind of prison cell? Even if I have to insist on it. I¡¯m not sure if I have it in me to strike another person outside of a dueling arena, but hopefully things won¡¯t come to that. If they try to put me in a cell and I say ¡°No¡±, they¡¯d listen right? That sounds like the sort of thing people do.


    *¡­ ¡°That sounds like the sort of thing people do.¡± Did I really just think that? Really? What¡¯s wrong with me?*


    Eventually, we reached some kind of circular courtyard, with trees, benches, and small flowering bushes in the open sunshine. Sunshine that came from far overhead, admittedly, but a ramp spiraled up the interior of the forty-foot walls that ringed the courtyard, a ramp the mages escorted me up. These four robed figures remained the only people I¡¯ve so much as glimpsed since being summoned, which seemed weird for such a huge structure. But at least as we climbed the broad ramp, the masonry appeared more finely worked, the doors and fixtures more decorative than imposing. Perhaps I didn¡¯t need to worry that they intended to lock me away after all.


    As we reached the top of the ramp, the elderly mage suddenly turned back towards me with a delighted smile. The young woman seemed to only scowl harder, although it was difficult to tell since she was still looking the other way. I wish I knew which expression to trust; I was becoming worried that the elderly mage¡¯s increasing delight didn¡¯t guarantee my safety, and might even threaten it. The moment stretched, then passed, and we now made our way through new endless corridors. Better decorated, but still reduced to a generic unremarkableness in their constant repetition.


    And still nobody was speaking; not to me, not to each other. I don¡¯t usually find lengthy silences unnerving, but this was starting to get downright creepy. I considered breaking the silence first, but¡­ They hadn¡¯t introduced themselves, and it was feeling deliberate. Without some pretext to adhere to, like shopkeeper to customer, innkeeper to guest, rescuer to innocent victim, and so on, there was nothing I could say that wouldn¡¯t be extremely rude.


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    If someone wouldn¡¯t exchange names with you, you left them be. You went your way and let them go theirs. The world is a huge place, and you might not run into them again. Better to live and let live. There are dangers aplenty, too, in monsters and villainous sorcerers bent on indiscriminate destruction and doomsday cults and more. Why make additional enemies for yourself? Especially someone who might someday soon far outstrip you in both personal strength and social authority, and who might choose to hunt you down in vengeance.


    What about these four, then? I had been approaching things as if I was interested and they were not - I gave my name, so it was their choice about whether to reciprocate or not. But if they didn¡¯t want anything to do with me, they should have left first¡­ unless I came to them. If I was encroaching on someplace they were already content, seeing to their own business, of course it wouldn¡¯t be proper to force them to leave by offering my name and expecting their refusal.


    Could that be it? I didn¡¯t choose to be here - they summoned me. So I didn¡¯t really see myself as encroaching on their space. But maybe they didn¡¯t see things the same way? Maybe they were waiting for me to leave. Except they told me to follow them, so that still didn¡¯t make sense. Honestly, I found their continuing rudeness baffling. Maybe maddeningly so.


    A new, much rarer thought crossed my mind: should I call for divine intervention? It was a last resort, and one I¡¯d always been loathe to use, but the eternal servants that protect the fundamental order of the world, the GMs, had promised to always be there in our time of need, especially when the most essential elements of basic courtesy are ignored. Except, I did hear the mages discuss which world I was summoned from¡­


    Which world¡­


    A different world¡­


    Oh no.


    Some part of me had kept insisting this was some unknown region of Thersia. Distant, maybe. Strange to me, maybe. But still part of Thersia somewhere. It would have to be, wouldn¡¯t it? You sometimes got rants from cultists or mad scholars or traitorous clergy about other realms outside our own, the hidden spaces beyond the veil of our reality from which they drew whatever corruption or eldritch horrors or heresy they aimed to turn to their own ends. But Thersia is the only true world, isn¡¯t it? The only place where people can exist as people?


    So was this some madness of my summoners? Because if it wasn¡¯t¡­ The GMs are the guardians of the world¡¯s order. Of Thersia¡¯s order. If I¡¯m somehow beyond Thersia, does that mean I¡¯m beyond the protection of the GMs?


    As frightened as I was before, this was absolutely terrifying. Never in my life have I truly feared for my safety like this. Monsters might strip the flesh from my bones if I gave them the opportunity, but the solution to that is simply to never challenge a monster you aren¡¯t prepared to face. But when it came to my own kind, the worst I¡¯ve ever needed to dread was an unkind word or a rude gesture. You might hear a tale of someone getting ambushed walking down the wrong street on a dark night, but that¡¯s all it would be, just a tale. Fiction. It couldn¡¯t happen. The GMs wouldn¡¯t let it happen.


    Sure there were bandits and cultists and the like, but that was different, wasn¡¯t it? They were almost like monsters, in a way¡­ It was some fundamental part of who they were, right? Nobody ever grew up to become a bandit. Some adventurers might change their roles and learn new skills at the drop of a hat, but even they had never become bandits. And if the ever mutable adventurers couldn¡¯t do it, then neither could any barkeep or mayor or sailor. It couldn¡¯t happen. It wasn¡¯t even an option¡­ was it?


    ¡°Hey! Hey! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Fingers, repeatedly snapped in front of my face, brought me back to myself as I stood motionless in yet another endless corridor. Fingers belonging to a young woman whose face showed only disgust for me, not an ounce of concern to be found. I was a hopeless, pointless burden in her eyes. An unquestionably inferior being. Worthless.


    I could have said something back to her if I wanted. She spoke to me first - essential courtesy would be preserved. I could have said ¡°Thank you¡±, or ¡°I¡¯m fine¡±, or even ¡°Leave me be¡±.


    I could have if I wanted to; I chose not to.

 Chapter 3 - Basic Courtesies

    The 8th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    On the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    Instead of speaking, I chose to walk away. To my way of thinking, it was just as much my right to do so as theirs. And I have had enough of them, their silence, their rudeness, the strangeness of it all. I¡¯m done. Maybe they are insane and I am still in Thersia. Maybe I am in a different world, but it has GMs of its own, or some kind of local equivalent. Or not, and I¡¯m truly on my own. But at this point, I can¡¯t think of any reason why I might be better off with these mages than without them.


    So with a small little half-wave goodbye, I turned around and started walking away. We had passed a cross-corridor just a bit ago; I could still see it from here. I had no idea where it led, but it wasn¡¯t where we came from or where they seemed to want to go. Assuming they had any kind of destination at all.


    ¡°Stop! Come back here!¡± came the unsurprising cry behind me. So what? I wasn¡¯t sure what they might try, but in case I might actually lack the protection of implied divine retribution for wrongdoers, I didn¡¯t truly ignore the mages completely. But guard up or no, I continued walking.


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you! Stop! Or we¡¯ll make you stop!¡± came the woman¡¯s voice once more. And I¡­ paused in my steps. I hadn¡¯t intended to. But I¡¯d expected to hear her voice turn cold and threatening, laden with menace and danger. If she had become panicky instead, that might have been satisfying in its own way, too. Either way, I had steeled myself for a contest of wills, and was looking forward to striding triumphantly away.


    What I hadn¡¯t expected to hear in her voice was hesitation. Maybe I was hearing something that wasn¡¯t there, but she seemed to believe she could force me to stop, but didn¡¯t want to have to do so. Which just wasn¡¯t a sentiment I was expecting from this haughty, angry, impatient, arrogant noblewoman.


    So despite myself, I turned around. I made no move to return to the group, although I did find it interesting that none of them had seemingly made any move towards me. I was still sticking by my decision not to answer her, though, so I instead just gave them the best glare I could manage. By which I mean I stared at them with a small frown, and tried to choose between crossing my arms or placing my hands on my hips and wound up doing neither.


    (Note to my future self: find a mirror and practice better glares. It¡¯s just not something I¡¯ve spent much time doing before, okay? Don¡¯t judge.)


    I nearly missed it, caught up in thinking about what to do with my arms, but something flickered quickly over her features when I faced them. Was that relief, maybe, or was I just seeing what I hoped to see?


    ¡°Good. That¡¯s good. You will come with us.¡±


    Oh good! Now I could make it clear I truly wasn¡¯t speaking to her. Awkward silent stare, go!


    ¡°I said, this way.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Come!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on. Obey me! This way! Come! Move! Why won¡¯t you move?!¡±


    Oh, this is starting to get fun. I¡¯m still no fan of Freya¡¯s, and I hope I never take things as far as she does, but I think I might be starting to understand why she does some of what she does? The younger mage is making sillier and sillier faces in her frustration. I wonder what she¡¯ll do next?


    Hahaha! What she¡¯ll do next is stomp her foot and pout! Oh my! I know I should probably feel bad about this, but after getting dragged all about¡­


    *After how uncomfortable they made me feel¡­*


    The elderly mage took a half step forward, putting himself slightly between us. Then, in a calming tone he said ¡°Maybe instead of trying to call her to heel like a dog, you could try treating her like a person?¡± Really? Now he says that? I was struggling to not let my face betray me with a smile when he continued, ¡°Try asking her ¡®Secia, would you come here, please?¡¯ instead.¡±


    ¡°How dare you! How DARE you! I¡¯ve never met such insufferably rude people! How can you suggest treating someone like a person and insult them, all in the same breath? Who does that? What the heck is wrong with you people? Why did you even bother summoning me here? What is this all even for? It makes no sense! You make no sense! And why, please tell me, why are you so endlessly, insultingly rude!¡±


    And as I stood there, surprised at my own outburst and trying to catch my breath, the wrinkled old kill-stealer of a mage had the gall to smile at me! The insufferable jerk.


    ¡°I was being rude, you say? To whom? To you or Lady Elutria?¡±


    ¡°To me, of course.¡±


    ¡°You say ¡®of course¡¯, but I¡¯m not sure why you are so put out. Am I being rude now?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I am, am I? And what am I doing that¡¯s so rude? Should I be addressing you more respectfully?¡±


    ¡°No! But you haven¡¯t introduced yourself. I told you my name, but you haven¡¯t told me yours. Which if you don¡¯t want to, fine, that¡¯s your choice. But if you won¡¯t give me your name, you shouldn¡¯t be talking to me. I shouldn¡¯t be talking to you! But you¡¯re so rude, I don¡¯t know what to do about it any more!¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Oh ho ho, how interesting. The courtesy of another world. I see, I see. Well Miss Secia, most people we summon can¡¯t speak our language right away. It takes weeks or months for them to learn, depending on how much effort they put into it. And naturally, in the course of learning our language, they also learn our courtesy. After all, they don¡¯t just learn what various words mean in those weeks of study, but what¡¯s appropriate to say when, what words should and shouldn¡¯t be spoken in what company, and so forth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all very informative, but you are still being rude.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ve missed the point. Your idea of what is and isn¡¯t rude is meaningless here. No one will know whatever arcane rules of conduct you and your people have cooked up. Not with regards to exchanging names, and not with regards to anything else you find insulting. Will you take offense with everyone you meet, for the rest of your days? For failing to adhere to standards they have had no opportunity or reason to learn? You¡¯re in another world now, and you¡¯ll need to adapt to it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know about any of that. But here and now, you are still being rude. I¡¯m here because you¡­ you invited me here, sort of. I¡¯m your guest. And I¡¯ve told you what the problem is and how to fix it, and you still haven¡¯t. Which is also rude.¡±


    ¡°Why should I? Even if I introduced myself to your satisfaction, how soon before I trespassed another of your meaningless rules? What benefit to either of us, to have you be continually offended by me? It¡¯s far better for you and your education if I continue being ¡®rude¡¯, so that you can see things for what they really are and discard such foolishness.¡±


    I stared at him, frowned slightly, and folded my arms. Ha! Take that!


    ¡°I take it from your silence you agree with me?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not!¡±


    He sighed, and yet still never quite stopped smiling. I was fast becoming sick of his various grins. ¡°Secia¡­ Se-ciaaaa¡­,¡± he started to croon in a sing-song voice, ¡°Do you have more to say? Because if you don¡¯t, then it sure feels like you¡¯ve conceded to my argg-uuments¡­¡±


    I swept my gaze across the other three mages instead. The young woman was maintaining a disinterested air, but our two still-hooded companions were watching our exchange with a surprising intensity, despite their continuing silence. For a moment, I considered saying something to them, but shook my head in disappointment instead. Just because the elderly mage was so rude as to provoke me into speaking out of turn, doesn¡¯t mean I should be so rude as to address these other people as well. Even if it had been implied that they might not find that rude at all, as impossible as that seemed.


    So I once again turned to leave, even though I doubted they¡¯d let me go far unchallenged. Sure enough, an elderly voice with a hint of laughter called after me, ¡°Wait, wait please, miss. I¡¯ll introduce myself, truly, I will.¡±


    I was sorely tempted to just keep walking, but everyone deserves another chance to make right, don¡¯t they? Even if I got the feeling he wasn¡¯t being sincere at all, and that I wasn¡¯t about to be any happier with him. I could be mistaken. And if you don¡¯t give people an opportunity to make things better, nothing can ever improve between you.


    Gritting my teeth, I did turn back towards them. Right thing to do or not, I really didn¡¯t want to keep doing this. Especially when I saw the mage in question looked more delighted than contrite. But I still had to give him his chance, so I waited to hear what he had to say.


    ¡°Thank you. My name is Rudolpho Yetvem Adrixos, and I am an Achmagus in the service of the Ministry of Magecraft of the nation of Cetimos, currently on official assignment to aid the Ministry of Summoning in their work. Both organizations are headquartered in our capital city of Verimos Duala, although the four of us here are more directly connected to the Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Drebos Altimas branch, which is where most of the actual practice of summoning is typically conducted.


    ¡°There, how was that? Name, affiliation, and location - I tried to copy the way you introduced yourself to me, but I¡¯m not sure what info I should and shouldn¡¯t give to satisfy your requirements for a proper introduction.¡±


    ¡°I, no, that was fine. Your name alone would have been enough. Thank you.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what else to say to Rudolpho. I could almost see his point, if he didn¡¯t know how much he had to say for his introduction to be an introduction. Not that I was willing to admit that aloud just yet. But maybe I would have to be more open to seeing things his way now that we were friends, however reluctantly on my part. I should at least try to get used to the idea. That was the right thing to do, wasn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Oh ho ho. And with that, I would say you¡¯ve passed the tests of Restraint, Passion, and Thought. Well done! Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Lady Elutria?¡± Rudolpho asked, turning to the female mage.


    ¡°The test of Restraint Against Violent Behavior, perhaps. She hasn¡¯t made any move to attack us that I could detect, not even as some pitiful reflex when we provoked her. So at least we can do away with these stupid hallways. I¡¯m less convinced she¡¯s shown anything that should be mistaken for ¡®Passion¡¯ or ¡®Thought¡¯.¡± Her disdain for me seemed as much a constant as Rudolpho was mercurial.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve been testing me?¡± I asked, being careful to direct my words at Rudolpho. ¡°This¡­ all this¡­ has been intentional?¡±


    ¡°The brusque treatment, the chivvying you through literally endless hallways, yes, that comprises the test of Restraint. Usually it ends when you reach the top of the ramp, but like I said before, most summons can¡¯t speak our language at this point. The test also assumes that the inability to communicate is another stressor, testing your patience and potentially provoking you to violence. We¡¯ve been having to improvise a bit in your case, ever since you greeted us in the summoning chamber. It¡¯s imperative to understand whether you would pose a threat to us and the general populace, before all else.¡±


    And as he spoke, the most elaborate illusion I had ever beheld, something imbued with so much complexity I would have said it belonged in a myth or a legend, began unraveling before my eyes. As the spell forms behind such a massive conjuration revealed themselves as part of their slow dissolution back into raw magic, I tried to memorize every structure I could see for future study, even as I realized I¡¯d likely never comprehend a tenth of it.


    As the last scraps of the grand working disappeared, I found we stood in the midst of a wide stone plaza of some sort. To my left, no more than fifteen feet away, was the upper opening of the open-air courtyard where we had climbed the ramp from the lower levels. But raising my gaze I saw in all directions a scenic panorama, with a steep, rocky mountainside in one direction and in the other, a vista of a distant green and fertile valley far, far below us, before rising into another mountain on the far side. I¡¯d have to get closer to one of the knee-high walls that ringed the outer edges of this space to be certain, but my impression so far was that we must be atop some kind of massive stone tower, built atop a cliff jutting from the side of a mountain. A broad donut ring of a roof sat directly above us, supported here and there by stone columns, but there were no walled-off spaces anywhere, just this open tower-top patio.


    There was however a small smattering of furniture, here and there. The largest cluster consisted of a ring of chairs and some small tables atop a large, thick rug. Several cabinets and a small wooden chest, all of indeterminate purpose, sat close by. And it was towards these chairs the mages started moving as I slowly trailed behind, looking every which way.

 Chapter 4 - New Things to See, New Things to Consider

    The 8th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    As the mages seated themselves, Rudolpho gestured me to take a seat of my own, albeit with less impatience or command than I¡¯d been treated so far. Cautiously, I looked over which open chairs remained, and picked one just to the left of the chair he¡¯d vaguely waved me towards.


    He only smiled at this, because of course he did, but for once my choice here had little to do with social courtesies and posturing: The chair I sat in had a railing back to it with a broad unobstructed opening just above the seat. It looked much more accommodating for my tail than the stuffed and padded number he¡¯d indicated. I could have sat in the other chair by curling my tail forward to one side of me, but then I wouldn¡¯t be able to lean back against the backrest without seeming to slouch. And aside from matters of comfort, I still wasn¡¯t so sure of these people that I wanted to appear to be leaning forward attentively through all of whatever was coming next.


    ¡°There, this is more pleasant,¡± he said. Indicating the rest of the mages in turn, he continued, ¡°You¡¯ve already met Lady Elutria, and this is Hesra and Master Thomas. Does that satisfy your social courtesies?¡±


    Now that he was making an effort to be polite, I wasn¡¯t sure how thoroughly I should correct him. On the one hand, not being honest here had the potential for more misunderstandings later. But as much as I hated to admit it, he still may have had a point about trying to hold these people to the courtesy I knew. It just felt so weird; the manners I¡¯d lived by were universal in Thersia. Or at least, I assumed as much. I¡¯d never heard anything to the contrary.


    Unable to make up my mind, I tried to split the difference: ¡°Um, technically Lady Ellutria and I had never introduced ourselves to each other before now. And properly speaking, since none of them introduced themselves, I¡¯d normally still assume that it would only be proper for us to speak to each other for the duration of this conversation. Afterwards, we could still decide to exchange names or not as we each wished, and I¡¯d respect their choices and expect them to do the same.


    ¡°But I understand what you were saying, before, if you weren¡¯t just saying it as part of the test. I understand that¡¯s not how you do things here. I¡¯ll try to keep that in mind in the future, although I might still feel awkward speaking to someone I don¡¯t already know, per the rules that I was raised to understand such things. I hope you¡¯ll be patient with me.¡±


    As we were speaking, the two always-silent mages had lowered their hoods, and the one Rudolpho had introduced as Hesra, a steely-haired matron with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, spoke up. ¡°Oh? With only the five of us here, that doesn¡¯t seem too outrageous. But with all the people you must encounter throughout your life, day in and day out, doesn¡¯t it get tedious trying to keep track of who you have and haven¡¯t exchanged names with? If you bump into someone you only spoke to once, several months ago, as part of a large gathering, how do you recall whether he introduced himself or if the host introduced him to you? Do you just reintroduce yourself to be sure? How do these social rules of yours not break down under extended use?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard, normally. If you¡¯ve properly exchanged names with someone, their name changes color. Anyone with a green name is someone you can feel comfortable speaking casually with. Blue names, too, more or less, but that might be a more complicated topic.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you said their name¡­ changes color?¡± This now from Master Thomas, who looked to be the youngest person here, and the messiest in terms of hair and hygiene. Between him and Lady Elutria, the only two people to be addressed formally in this group, was messy hair actually some kind of status symbol to these people?


    ¡°Yes, their name as it appears above their head¡­¡± I trailed off. In the chaos of everything else, I had stopped noticing that no names had been visible to me here, since being summoned.


    And now Rudolpho returned to the conversation with ¡°Oh ho? You can see people¡¯s names, can you? I assume that¡¯s true even for strangers, since you said it ¡®changes color¡¯, not that it ¡®appears¡¯. And given how you expected us to act, can I infer correctly that this is something everyone from your world can do?¡±


    ¡°Yes, normally. Or at least I think so. I haven¡¯t actually been able to see your names. I don¡¯t know why. But if that¡¯s not how things are here maybe there are people back home who couldn¡¯t do it either, and I just never knew? I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Oh ho ho! Fascinating, fascinating.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Fascinating and useless you doddering old man, if she can¡¯t do it any more. Stop wasting everyone¡¯s time.¡±


    And with that, Lady Elutria doused our friendly chat with a verbal bucket of ice water.


    *****


    For the first time since I had been summoned, I was actually being left to myself. Rudolpho had pulled Lady Elutria away from the group, and they were having a quiet, intense conversation some distance away, having traveled about a third of the way around the open perimeter of the tower to do it. I could still see them if I turned to look behind me, but I was trying to afford them their privacy.


    The young male mage (Master Thomas, I forcibly reminded myself), had not only raised the hood on his robe again but pulled it down well over his eyes and most of his face. Slumped back in his chair, I could almost believe him asleep, although that seems surprisingly quick on his part. Maybe he had been exhausted to begin with?


    Hesra, on the other hand, had sighed and shook her head before rooting around in one of the nearby cabinets. She now stood near the exterior edge of the tower, facing the open valley, holding an unfamiliar implement close to her face with one hand while she made small adjustments with the other. I wasn¡¯t sure what she was up to, but I could feel her channelling magic and didn¡¯t want to interrupt.


    After sitting awkwardly for a bit, seemingly forgotten for the moment, I tried getting to my feet. Neither Master Thomas nor anyone else seemed to object, so I went to get a better look at the view, close by but not intruding to where Hesra was preoccupied.


    Staring out closer to the edge, I could now see the actual floor of the valley in detail. The most obvious feature was a large, sprawling city, bounded by protective walls. There were several unfamiliar details, like the way portions of the city walls seemed to be clad in metal, or the large white disks suspended over one district of the city, but for the most part cities were cities and Thersia had no end of unusual architecture.


    More striking to me were the elevated structures criss-crossing the valley floor, almost seemingly at random. I spotted two that might be aqueducts, although one seemed to terminate in the middle of nowhere. Others might be elevated roadways of some kind, but it was hard to make out enough details at this distance to be sure. And for the rest, I had no idea what purpose they could serve at all.


    Below and between the stone structures were a mix of dense forests and open plains. I also noticed a patch of trees where the leaves were a much darker green than their neighbors, or at least appeared darker, that might indicate something more akin to a swamp. Or not. I was hardly well versed in plant life and nature to begin with, and now I was trying to make guesses about the vegetation of what might be another world. But it sat just to the side of a direct line between the tower I stood on and the city, so I made a note of it anyway.


    As I stood there looking out¡­ I admit that some part of me had been hoping to see something that would confirm I was still in Thersia after all. Or to a lesser extent, maybe something so alien that I no longer had reason to keep clinging to such hopes. But the sun and the clouds and the sky didn¡¯t substantially differ from what I was familiar with. At the same time, no part of me was clamoring that this was the sky I had always traveled beneath. That this was my sky, Thersia¡¯s sky.


    Similarly, while I hadn¡¯t particularly expected to recognize these specific mountains and this particular valley and all they contain, nothing stood out as impossible or alien, but neither did it feel like home. Not even just an extremely distant part of the home I knew.


    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Hesra must have finished whatever she was working on, and was now standing beside me. I turned and tried to convince myself that I could answer her back without being rude, but couldn¡¯t quite manage it yet.


    ¡°Hello again. I¡¯m Secia. I don¡¯t think I mentioned it before, but it was a pleasure to finally meet you.¡±


    Thankfully, she quirked a smile in response. And it was not one of Rudolpho¡¯s still-increasingly-creepy-even-if-he-and-I-are-now-supposedly-friends smiles, either. ¡°Hello Secia, I¡¯m Hesra, and I¡¯m glad to get to meet you, too. And the view? What do you think of it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Mostly I¡¯ve been fixated on how much it does or doesn¡¯t remind me of home. It¡¯s¡­ nice, I guess? Very green, in a good way. I¡­ sorry, I wanted to say something nicer, or at least better considered, but I might not be in the best place for that right now.¡±


    Hesra¡¯s face softened at that. ¡°I know that this must be hard. We yanked you away from everything you know, and while our Summoners do ask for your permission first, I understand it happens at an unconscious level. Such that in these early days, it feels like something done to you, rather than a choice you made. Not to mention everything that follows.


    ¡°You actually will receive a proper apology from us, all of us. We¡¯re just not used to giving it this soon in the process, since what good to you is an apology if you couldn¡¯t understand what we¡¯re saying? So please try to be patient with us.¡±


    Oh. I¡­ Oh. There is so much to unpack from what she just said. But more than anything else, it feels like the first bit of genuine kindness I¡¯ve experienced from my new friends, and I have no better idea what to do with it here and now than I did with all the rudeness that came before.


    Overwhelmed, I just nodded in acknowledgement as I continued staring out over the valley below. Trying to see the beauty in it Hesra saw.

 Chapter 5 - A New Day, and a New Friend?

    The 8th & 9th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    When Rudolpho and Lady Elutria made their way back to the abandoned circle of chairs, Hesra had excused herself and left to have a quiet word of her own with them. I¡¯m not sure exactly what she said, but it seemed to result in a change in plans. A quick working from Rudolpho unsealed a portion of the patio floor, revealing a staircase that descended back into the tower¡¯s interior.


    I was asked to join them again, and they led me a short distance to a new hallway, one lined with pleasant instead of intimidating doors. One, halfway along, was opened and explained to be my room, while apparently Lady Elutria and Hesra occupied the rooms on either side. They offered me food if I was hungry, which I wasn¡¯t, was told I could knock on either of my neighbors¡¯ doors if I needed anything, and then they left me in peace.


    There I sat quietly on the bed and watched the sun for a while, as it finished its journey across the sky and began to set for the night. I don¡¯t recall thinking or feeling anything in particular as I sat there. I just sort of drifted.


    When the sun finally disappeared from the sky, the sky itself grew increasingly dark. Stars came out. Stars arranged in constellations I¡¯d never seen, nor would anyone else ever see on Thersia, no matter which continent they stood on or which season they peered up at the night sky.


    Eventually, I could no longer see the foreign arrangements of stars for my tears. Curling up on my side, too exhausted to bother with getting under the sheets, I slept.


    *****


    Morning came early for me, heralded more by my empty stomach than the sun¡¯s rays. Or maybe that had more to do with the positioning of the sun and the mountain at my back, given where on the horizon I had watched the sun set yesterday. Either way, it was at least light enough out to obscure any unfamiliar stars. They were still there, of course, waiting, but I could ignore them to deal with other things for awhile.


    Rising, I checked my appearance in the mirror. It''s not that I expected to see anything amiss, but yesterday had continually startled me with one surprise after another. If nothing else, I''d prefer not to share Lady Elutria''s tortured hairstyle, even unknowingly. Thankfully, the person I¡¯ve always been was reflected back at me.


    Short, tan fur and bright green eyes. A few darker stripes in the fur framing my face well complimented my pointed hedrex features, if I do say so myself. A pair of crafters¡¯ lenses perched carefully on my nose, mostly held in place by some clever extensions from the nosepiece, hidden from casual sight beneath my fur. But a thin chain extended from the outer edge of one lens, following the line of my cheekbone. The small but sturdy hair clasp on the other end ensured that I wouldn¡¯t lose my good lenses if the nose piece lost its grip.


    My hair itself was about mid-length for a woman, mostly tucked up at the back of my head. My triangular ears rose up through my carefully arranged hair like a pair of volcanic islands rising above the sea. And if I wasn¡¯t careful, sometimes they could be just as active. Long practice had allowed me to still them largely into immobility. No other hedrex would see me as a mature adult if they were always twitching this way and that, and most of the longer-eared races of Thersia judged matters in the same light as well.


    My face and clothes may have looked familiar, but nothing about the room reflected behind me did. Someone had used multiple different kinds of wood to create artful bands of natural color along the walls. Cloth hangings broke up the expanse of the wall here and there. No images or scenery was depicted; just patterns in various colors. The wooden furnishings that occupied the room tended more towards solid construction than delicate touches, but much like the walls they employed multiple woods with a variety of natural colors, which kept them from feeling as dark and heavy as they might have.


    I might go so far as to call the whole effect¡­ kind of pretty, even if it wasn¡¯t home.


    My stomach had no more patience for my ambling thoughts than it did my sleep, however, so I steeled myself for the possibilities of a new day and stepped out into the hall.


    *****


    The hallway forced me to confront a new conundrum. I had been told to ask next door if I needed anything. Supposedly, behind one door was Hesra. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what hour of the morning it actually was, though, and I¡¯d rather not disturb her if she was still asleep. But behind the other door was Lady Elutria, and asking her about breakfast¡­ was not to be considered at all.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The trouble was, I had absolutely no recollection of which door was who¡¯s.


    Chided along by another angry message from my stomach, I picked a door at random and went to knock¡­ Nope! Can¡¯t do it. I could not deal with Lady Elutria right now, and wasn¡¯t about to take the risk. Turning away from both doors, I headed off down the hallway away from the stairs we¡¯d arrived by, in search of new things to sample. Particularly food.


    *****


    ¡°Uhh¡­ you can understand me, right? So are you okay in there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine! I¡¯ll be out in a second!¡±


    Some indeterminate amount of time later (too much later, too hungry) and my explorations had located a lounge of some sort. Also what appeared to have once been an arcane laboratory, but was now just an empty room with mysterious stains on the walls and floor (and one bright blue stain in the vague outline of a person, somehow on the ceiling itself, that didn¡¯t bear thinking about). And after finding a hallway that doubled-back behind the lounge, what was almost certainly a kitchen.


    A kitchen seemingly bereft of food. After checking various drawers and cabinets, I returned to one doorway that seemed like it ought to be a pantry, at least in terms of size and placement. It had been stacked with pots and other cookware when I checked it the first time, but I had noticed a spell pattern I didn¡¯t readily recognize carved into the back of the pantry door. When my search still hadn¡¯t turned up anything edible, I became convinced that this working must swap the contents of the pantry with an alternate space, one in which all the ingredients must be kept. Granted, there was very little I could interpret of the working to support such a theory, but I was hungry, gosh darn it!


    Parts of the spell pattern extended beyond the edges of the door, and I had shoved my head amongst the clutter to see what shapes they contained. Unfortunately, the small hill of cookware had resented my intrusion and decided to exit the panty under its own power. That power being gravity. Which presumably is what drew Master Thomas to this kitchen, unless he was also hungry and knew how to make this dratted pantry surrender its food!


    I backed gently out of the pantry and hoped against hope that Thomas wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize the signs that a hedrex is deeply mortified (hint: it doesn¡¯t involve blushing but can still be spotted from across a room, if you know what to look for). I hadn¡¯t met any hedrex in this world yet; near as I can tell all four of the mages I¡¯ve met here so far are human. But if I¡¯m lucky, the local hedrex are no more inclined to share our more embarrassing tells with other races than hedrex back home.


    ¡°So¡­ was there something you were trying to clean?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Clean?¡±


    ¡°Since that¡¯s the wash closet, yeah. You know, stack it full of dirty dishes, channel your magic into the sigil, remove clean dishes? A wash closet?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Oh.¡± And if I thought I was mortified before¡­ Some master of the magical arts I am. The emblems for renewal and purity were plain as day, now that my hunger-addled brain wasn¡¯t trying to force a resemblance to an extra-spatial conjuring.


    ¡°So not cleaning?¡± Whether he could read my body language or not, he definitely was trying hard not to laugh at me. At least, not aloud. I¡¯m pretty sure the battle not to laugh at me at all was well and truly lost, assuming he had tried to fight it at all.


    ¡°I was trying to make something to eat.¡±


    ¡°With what?¡± he asked, which means the smirking jerk knows the kitchen is devoid of food.


    ¡°If you have any suggestions, I¡¯m open to hearing them.¡±


    Instead of a third smart aleck remark, he turned away with a snort and started walking away. I followed to see where he¡¯d lead. Either there would be food in short order, or he could be food in short order. I¡¯d never considered eating another person before, but I was in a new world. It seemed important to be open to new ideas.


    Eyes narrowed, focused intently on my provisioner or my prey (as circumstances dictated), I once again set off in search of food.


    *****


    In the end, Master Thomas lived to snark another day. It was a very near thing, though. He led me to a small dining hall in a completely different part of the tower, and one with its own kitchen. Apparently, however, this kitchen still wasn¡¯t stocked with anything immediately ready to eat, so I was forced to sit and wait while Thomas cooked us something. I entertained myself by imagining Thomas¡¯s arm suddenly dropping into the sizzling skillet he kept shifting as he worked. It¡¯d probably taste terrible, but at least I would finally feel full again.


    ¡°You were hungry. Or else you eat more than most people I¡¯ve met.¡±


    A suggestion fully worthy of a kick, but either gratitude for the meal or a mini-food coma stayed my wrath¡­ this time. I don¡¯t know exactly what he prepared; it wasn¡¯t a dish I recognized. But it was a hot meal, rich and savory and most importantly, filling. Asking questions about what was what would have been time wasted, when the most important thing had been inhaling any and all food within reach.


    Now, however¡­


    ¡°Master Thomas, why am I here? Why was I summoned? What is this all for?¡±


    He flinched just as hard as if I had kicked him.

 Chapter 6 - Breakfast Gossip

    The 9th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    I watched carefully as Master Thomas shifted uncomfortably, as I waited to see what kind of answer he would give me.


    ¡°That¡¯s not really a question I¡¯m supposed to answer¡­¡±


    ¡°But it is something you could answer. Or at least know the answer to.¡±


    He winced, but said, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve assisted with a summoning. The others can give you a much better answer than I could. Lady Elutria in particular.¡±


    ¡°You want me to ask Lady Elutria? Really? For something this important?¡±


    ¡°Yes? She¡¯s your summoner. You¡¯re her responsibility, and it''s a responsibility she¡¯s been trained extensively for.¡±


    ¡°Has she? Because all I really know about her is that she hates me, even if I¡¯m not sure why. But¡­¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t hate you! Or at least, I don¡¯t think she does.¡±


    ¡°Disdains me, then. Is put out by me. Something. But she certainly doesn¡¯t seem to want me here, which seems extra weird if you¡¯re saying she¡¯s the person most responsible for my being here.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure what Master Thomas thought of my impression of Lady Elutria, but he seemed to be struggling to come up with some sort of reply. Finally, I worked up the nerve to ask him my newest worry. One that had only occurred to me earlier this morning, when I had been turning over the events from yesterday in my mind.


    ¡°Did I¡­ insult her, yesterday? Rudolpho kept going on about how the courtesy I know isn¡¯t what¡¯s familiar to all of you. He also mentioned how the other summons you all work with will have learned your courtesy, by the time they are fluent in your language. I¡¯m ashamed to say, though, that I only realized recently that this means I¡¯m just as likely to do or say something extremely offensive to you all out of ignorance, much as you managed to upset me yesterday.


    ¡°So maybe that¡¯s why she loathes me. Maybe I said or did something truly awful to her, and I¡¯m so blinded by my own circumstances I can¡¯t even see that I did it. I really hope not; even by accident, I don¡¯t want to be that kind of person. But it''s the only thing I can think of that seems to make sense.¡±


    I had hunched down into my chair the more I spoke, and each word had come out more quietly than the last. I¡¯m not even sure if he managed to hear the last few sentences of my confession. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look at him at all, lest I saw the same disgust in his features that I had been seeing in Lady Elutria¡¯s. A disgust I¡¯d squarely deserve, if my intuition was correct.


    I heard a sharp intake of breath from across the table, and Master Thomas said, ¡°Setting aside the question of what Lady Elutria does or doesn¡¯t think of you, I haven¡¯t seen you do anything that I would consider ¡®rude¡¯. I wouldn¡¯t suggest you waltz into any of Cetimos¡¯s high society functions without studying our more formal manners first, if you are worried about offending people. But from a more casual, day-to-day standpoint? You¡¯ve been very polite. Maybe even a little more polite than some other people I know, and those are people who grew up here.


    ¡°I get that etiquette is really, really important to you for some reason, but it¡¯s just not as big a deal to us. There are some things that just aren¡¯t said or done, and I¡¯ll suggest to the others that we prioritize teaching you what that is, sooner rather than later, if that¡¯ll help you feel more comfortable here.¡±


    I¡¯d kept my gaze lowered for most of this conversation, still afraid of what I might see in his face. What if his expression hadn¡¯t matched his words? What if, from his perspective, telling me something soothing instead of giving me an honest answer was the polite thing to do?


    But when he mentioned teaching me what the local courtesy actually was, so I could stop second-guessing this and everything else, I couldn¡¯t help but to jerk upright and search his eyes. And he meant it. As best as I could read him, he meant every word.


    He tried to keep a smile from his face at my reaction and failed. But his expression and tone quickly sobered again as he continued, ¡°But to get back to your original question, I don¡¯t think Lady Elutria hates you. She just¡­ resents you, I guess would be the right word. Not for anything you did or anything that¡¯s your fault, at least not really.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that was my original question. My original question was why I was summoned at all¡­¡± I weakly teased.


    He smiled again, but it was more strained this time, and pressed on, ¡°It¡¯s very difficult to become a summoner. The Ministry of Summoning receives many more applicants each year than can be trained to the work, and when they complete their education, they are only considered summoner candidates. When the Ministry does commission a summoning ritual, they¡¯ll usually tap a full summoner for the work if one¡¯s available.


    ¡°So each year, another class of ten or so trainees graduate and get added to the pool of summoner candidates, but only one or two might get selected to perform a ritual and actually become a summoner. It¡¯s an extremely competitive profession, and at least half of summoner candidates age out of eligibility or voluntarily retire from duty without ever summoning someone at all.


    ¡°There are even more complications beyond that, but I think that gives you some kind of idea to start from. Because up until yesterday, Lady Elutria was one of those summoner candidates. And how things go with you will determine whether she¡¯ll be able to continue on as a summoner or not.¡±


    Master Thomas had given me a lot to think about, but very little of it has to do with Lady Elutria. They do this so often, summon people like they did me, that they have built an entire organized profession around it? One with maybe dozens or perhaps even hundreds of dedicated specialists, from trainees to full summoners? Maybe I should have already seen the implication already, in that they apparently have an entire government ministry dedicated to the practice, but just how many of these summonings do they perform each year? Is it more than one a month?


    Why? What do they need us all for?


    *****


    I tried to probe Master Thomas further on why I had been summoned, or their purpose for summoning in general, but he kept deflecting with vague non-answers. Subtle or direct, I wasn¡¯t managing to dig out anything new from him on that topic.


    What I did find interesting is that he continued to sit there and let me keep asking. We¡¯d both finished eating; what was keeping him here in this dinning hall? Wouldn¡¯t exiting the room be the cleanest and least suspicious way to deal with my prying, if he was so determined not to answer any of my questions?


    He did keep trying to hint that Lady Elutria wasn¡¯t a bad person and didn¡¯t mean me ill. I¡¯m still not clear on why that was so important to him. I did ultimately promise myself to give her another chance, in the silence of my own thoughts. But Guildmaster Dedric had been a staunch defender of Freya in ways that even now felt unreasonable to me. When it came to Lady Elutria, I¡¯d believe the evidence of my eyes first and foremost.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Still, I did resolve to avoid badmouthing Lady Elutria in front of Master Thomas, at least until I had a better idea of what kind of friends they are. Whatever beef might be between her and I, Master Thomas had been fairly decent to me, under the circumstances. I didn¡¯t need to go out of my way to make him feel uncomfortable.


    From some of his other asides, as Master Thomas continued to dodge my questions about what they hoped from me, I did manage to learn a bit more about the other mages I¡¯d met yesterday. Hesra was apparently an infrequent addition to these summoning rituals, even if this wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d helped to facilitate one. She was a gifted engineer and researcher, her work devoted to adapting various magical formulae to improve urban sanitation and similar large-scale infrastructure projects. I tried to imagine the steely-eyed, steely-haired woman slogging through sewers to verify the efficiency loss of some glyph vital to preventing the spread of infectious diseases, or barking instructions to a construction crew under her supervision. The image fit her surprisingly well, even if my only impression of Hesra from yesterday had been one of gentle kindness.


    On the other hand, Rudolpho¡¯s involvement with summoning apparently stretched back decades. The masses of vegetation I had seen in the valley below this tower? Apparently, all that land had been barren until Quenta Apros the Woodcaller, someone who had been summoned to this world like myself, had bespelled the valley more than a hundred years ago - all in a single casting that hadn¡¯t needed any maintenance or renewal since that day.


    Rudolpho hadn¡¯t actually been part of the ritual that summoned Quenta Apros, or been present when they undertook such a grand working to enrich the valley. Elderly as the man appeared, he wasn¡¯t quite that long-lived. But in his youth he did once study under the legendary mage, despite the fact that they had become increasingly reclusive in their twilight years. Rudolpho apparently considered it a great point of pride, and credited their tutelage as what had propelled his own craft to such heights as to be recognized as one of Cetimos¡¯s few Archmaguses. If Rudolpho was responsible for the intricate illusion spell that I had briefly glimpsed yesterday, I was definitely inclined to agree that Quenta Apros must have been an amazing teacher.


    While it wasn¡¯t too difficult to convince Master Thomas to talk up his companions, he seemed surprisingly uncomfortable when it came to talking about himself. I gathered he hadn¡¯t been deemed to be a fully accredited mage until very recently, but even that was more of a guess on my part than something he said outright. It¡¯s just the way he kept using phrases like ¡°when I was a student¡± or ¡°in my studies¡± whenever he made a reference to his own personal experience on a topic, that led me to believe that about him.


    *****


    Since this is where Master Thomas had led me to find our breakfast, I kept half-expecting the other three mages to wander in at some point to see to the same need. But a surprisingly long time passed as we spoke before anyone else showed their face. At which point I learned something else new: Rudolpho could be a bit of a grump in the morning.


    He meandered slowly into the dining hall, peering about himself blearily. When his gaze briefly touched on me, I think he may have still reflexively attempted to smile, but it was so lackluster and forced it came off as more of a grimace.


    Master Thomas leapt to his feet and started towards the kitchen when he saw Rudolpho shuffling in that direction. But he actually frowned for the first time I could recall, and vaguely waved the younger man back to his seat. He continued his trudging, feet so slightly lifted off the floor that a soft ¡°shuf shuf¡± announced his every step.


    Despite the weak attempt to smile at me, this was a very different man than I remembered meeting the day before. Where was that perpetual sense of energy and amusement? I guess nobody could keep that up all the time, although I had vague memories of a particularly perky former guildmate that argued to the contrary. What was her name again? How long ago was it that she left the guild? Were we good friends? I racked my brain, but nothing else about her came to mind.


    For the next few minutes, Master Thomas and I sat quietly, politely leaving the silence untouched until Rudolpho settled himself and chose to greet us. And as we waited, I got an even bigger surprise: Lady Elutria made her own way into the dining hall, and she had changed her hair.


    She dropped into a chair one table over from where Master Thomas and I were seated, while I did my best not to stare. Gone was the tangled random pile from yesterday. Today, her hair was the same color and perhaps the same length, but it was straightened and neatened and much of it had been carefully gathered together by some kind of hair clip.


    It wasn¡¯t a particularly dramatic change to her appearance overall, I suppose. Nothing else much looked different about her, right down to the haughty demeanor. But I was briefly reminded of all the time I had spent watching adventurers parade by in all their fashionable glory just the same.


    I¡¯ve swapped my outfit from time to time, along with the rest of my equipment, as circumstances and my purse would allow. But as best as I could recall, I¡¯ve never actually changed my hairstyle, or much of anything else about my appearance. Not that I¡¯m envious of those adventurers I know who did go to the trouble and expense of switching up their look¡­ At least, I don¡¯t think I am. I like the way I look, and just never saw the need to do so before¡­ I guess?


    Still, even among those adventurers I did know who would change their appearance, it was rarely a particularly casual thing. Anyone who would do so more frequently than once a month was a rarity.


    So had today just coincidentally been the day Lady Elutria had decided to try something different? If not, why today? I didn¡¯t really know her well enough to guess.


    Nor did I know how she wanted us to react to her change. Before I had been summoned here, my friends would have fished for my reaction if I didn¡¯t compliment them profusely on my own initiative, and been disappointed that any effort on their part had been necessary to get me to speak up.


    But were we the kind of friends now that Lady Elutria would want to hear such things from me? Were we even friends at all, technically? Hesra I felt sure about, since she had exchanged names with me even after Rudolpho¡¯s introduction. And I think Master Thomas and I might properly be friends now, even without formally exchanging names. He had at least treated me as a friend this morning, and I had found it easy to respond in kind.


    But Lady Elutria hadn¡¯t given me the impression she wanted me as a friend at all, at least so far. Should I rely on what Rudolpho had said about this world¡¯s courtesy, and assume we¡¯re friends anyway? At least until someone tells me otherwise? How are people supposed to know if they are friends or not, if it¡¯s not based on exchanging names?


    Master Thomas at least seemed to want us to get along. And I did promise myself to give her another chance. So I gathered up every ounce of my courage and then some, and told her, ¡°I like what you¡¯ve done with your hair this morning.¡±


    She glared at me for a moment, then disdainfully tossed her head.


    ¡°So¡­ I take it we¡¯re not friends then? Or are you also not a morning person?¡±


    Her attention snapped back to me, and I was startled to realize I must have said that aloud, rather than just in the privacy of my own head. As we both blinked at each other in mutual astonishment, the gravity of the moment broke when Master Thomas began to chortle, which also resulted in Rudolpho sticking his head out of the kitchen in puzzlement.


    I thought Lady Elutria might do that blushing thing humans sometimes do, but instead she gave Master Thomas the kind of glare that so far I¡¯d only seen her direct at me. Honestly, I might have done the same if I was more the glaring type¡­ (I had a mirror in the room they¡¯d let me use; why hadn¡¯t I taken the time to practice some good glares? Oh, right, I¡¯d been hungry. But I obviously needed to make that a priority. It seems I¡¯d have many occasions in this world to use such a handy expression.)


    ¡°My, what a lively bunch you are this morning,¡± came Hesra¡¯s voice from the dining hall¡¯s entrance. She made her own way towards the kitchen much as Rudolpho had shortly before, although with more poise and energy than he had made the trip.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me yesterday I had hood hair?!¡± came Lady Elutria¡¯s quiet but emphatic grumble.


    Hesra quirked an eyebrow in such an arched way, I¡¯d absolutely kill to learn how to do it myself. Not kill people, obviously, but monsters. Piles and piles of monsters.


    Lady Elutria slumped back in her chair, far and away the least graceful thing I¡¯d seen her do. Even when she¡¯d first dropped into the chair moments earlier, there had still been something lady-like about it. Now she reminded me of something else, even if I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on what that might be.


    Hesra showed no signs of smirking as she continued to the kitchen, but I suspect that was only true on the outside.


    Meanwhile, I was left to silently grapple with one particularly perplexing question: What the heck is ¡°hood hair¡±?

 Chapter 7 - Simple Questions Can Have Difficult Answers

    The 9th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    Eventually, the three late arrivals were fed, Hesra having fetched a plate of food for Lady Elutria from the kitchen. I realized after the fact that Rudolpho must have done the cooking for all three of them, unless Master Thomas had left something ready for them or Hesra knew a much faster recipe than Master Thomas had prepared for us. I tried to imagine the still mostly-asleep Rudolpho cooking a proper and inviting meal, and couldn¡¯t quite seem to make it work. But it had looked well put together when they sat down to eat it, and they had apparently found it satisfying. Truly, Rudolpho remained perpetually unpredictable to me.


    But breakfast consumed, Rudolpho directed Master Thomas to clear the dishes away, which he did without fuss. The elderly mage then looked squarely at Lady Elutria, and gave her a nod.


    She rose slowly to her feet, and in formal tones announced to me ¡°Since we don¡¯t need to take the time to teach you our language, today we¡¯ll find out what you are truly capable of. Your knowledge, your skills, your abilities. I ask that you perform to your utmost, holding nothing back. Because today will determine if your future will be long and bright¡­ or short and bleak.¡±


    With that, she started to sweep towards the door, presumably once again expecting me to follow her wherever she led. Rudolpho and Hesra, their own faces blank despite such dire words, rose as well. Yet another mimicry of yesterday, in its own way.


    ¡°Umm, no thank you? I think I¡¯d rather not.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you think you can decide my future for me. I still just barely know you, let alone anything about this world. So if these tests of yours are really such a big deal, I think I¡¯d rather hold off for now. I¡¯d like to know why I¡¯m here or what you expect of me before I let you decide whether I measure up to¡­ to whatever it is you are assessing me for.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re ¡®assessing you¡¯ to find out just what you can offer. In the longer-term sense, we¡¯re not going to ask you to do anything you¡¯re not capable of; that would be pointless. So we need to fully grasp just what it is you can do first.¡±


    ¡°But what was it that caused you to summon me in the first place? What did you want someone for, to help you with, that you went and found me?¡±


    ¡°Anything we need!¡± Lady Elutria snapped.


    ¡°Elutria!¡± Rudolpho cried sharply, but she pressed on regardless.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were expecting, but Cetimos is a large, powerful nation with large, powerful neighbors. We have a vast population of varying levels of skill and education, and plentiful but limited resources. We are prosperous and innovative. And thus, naturally, we are absolutely plagued by problems at every turn!


    ¡°People outside our borders want what we have. People inside our borders want more of what we have. There are wars to fight, industries to develop, the impoverished to simultaneously lift up and beat back down. We are an advanced nation, a highly developed society, a cultural bastion that has kept the entire world enthralled with our superiority for generations, and likely will do so for generations to come.


    ¡°That is, of course, only if we continue to rise to every challenge, overcome every obstacle. It¡¯s one thing to claw your way to the top of the pile. Staying there requires constant effort, constant innovation, constant improvement! Constant sacrifice! We can never stop! There is always¡­¡±


    ¡°Lady Elutria, stop this!¡± Rudolpho shouted over her, but she still wouldn¡¯t be swayed.


    ¡°She asked! This is what you wanted to know, isn¡¯t it? Who we are? Well, summons are wild cards to us. Random as they are individually, collectively they are one of the most reliable ways we can maintain our edge, outdo our competitors, solve the problems no one believed could be solved. Summons are one of our most potent resources, to be plumbed and used as we see fit.¡±


    Panting, she leaned against one of the tables as a visibly upset Rudolpho looked between us, frowning deeply all the while. Hesra stood off to one side, posture stiff and expression still carefully blank, although I got the impression she¡¯d subtly shifted her weight to balance on the balls of her feet. Master Thomas remained in the kitchen, out of my sight, so I had no idea of what he thought of all this, even though I had little doubt that Lady Elutria¡¯s tirade had carried to his ears. Not that I was ready to decide how to react to it myself, just now. The whole explosion of words from her had caught me entirely off guard.


    Standing upright, Lady Elutria looked me directly in the eyes and deadpanned, ¡°So come along now and be measured, so we can find out what you are truly worth and put you to work.¡±


    ¡°Lady Elutria, that is enough! This is highly inappropriate behavior from a summoner, let alone one of your prestige.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t see her as I see her! Don¡¯t judge me, judge her! There is something very wrong with her. We¡¯re wasting our time, trying to gentle her along. Just break her to bridle and be done with her! I doubt she¡¯ll survive a month, no matter what we do.¡±


    Her gaze returned to mine and she spat ¡°I regret ever summoning you.¡± Where she stalked off to after that, I have no idea. I certainly wasn¡¯t about to follow her when she exited the dining hall, not anymore.


    Rudolpho did follow her out, although he seemed a bit at a loss. Hesra, too, seemed to be planning to do the same. But I really wanted her perspective on all this, before I decided how to react. I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of any of what Lady Elutria had said, like, at all. That last bit, in particular¡­


    ¡°Hesra, please wait!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Secia, I really am. Lady Elutria shouldn¡¯t have said what she did, especially not like that.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you. So did¡­¡±


    But Hesra cut me off. ¡°Secia, you understand that Lady Elutria was distraught, right? I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong, but Rudolpho shouldn¡¯t have to try and deal with it alone. I need to go.¡±


    So I was left alone in the dining hall, with the occasional clatter of dishware from the kitchen for company. ¡°Not everything is about you, Secia,¡± I muttered disapprovingly to myself.


    I tried to decide whether to remain here, talk to Master Thomas, head back to my room, or wander the tower. But I couldn¡¯t make up my mind. I couldn¡¯t even decide on a method to use, to choose what I might want to do.


    *****


    I was a bit startled when I realized I was staring down into the valley from the top of the tower again. The last thing I clearly recalled was struggling to decide what to do next, back in the dining hall. How did I wind up here? What was I doing here?


    Fuzzily, a tiny fragment of a mental image came back to me. I had been¡­ studying the outside of the tower? Trying to see if I could climb down it?


    I shook my head, trying to clear it. The idea made little sense to me; I¡¯ve never climbed up or down a wall before, and definitely had no idea how to go about doing it. Was climbing walls something people actually did, or just another one of those things you heard about in stories? I didn¡¯t know, and I¡¯m not sure how that information would be useful to me right now anyway, even if I did have some means to find out.


    Partially out of boredom and partially just to see if I could, I started rummaging through the various drawers and cabinets of the rooftop furniture. They generally proved to be unlocked, although I did find two I couldn¡¯t open. Those that did open, though, I merely examined the contents. ¡°Look but don¡¯t touch¡± is the phrase, isn¡¯t it?


    Aside from some writing materials and what was possibly a fire-starter, I found little that I could actually identify. But that in its own right was somewhat fascinating. I tried to guess which objects had magical applications versus more mundane ones.


    I also tried to spot whatever device Hesra had been using yesterday, in hopes of getting a better look at it. But nothing I saw seemed to be it. Maybe it was in one of the compartments I couldn¡¯t open, or it was tucked underneath something else. Maybe Hesra hadn¡¯t returned it to a cabinet after she was finished, or maybe I was misremembering what it looked like. I didn¡¯t particularly care what the answer actually was; it was just a puzzle to occupy my mind.


    About the time I was considering borrowing some of the blank paper and ink to start an inventory of my finds, mostly just because, I heard soft footsteps from the stairwell to the tower¡¯s interior. For the first time, it struck me just how quiet and still the air was on top of this tower, despite being halfway up the side of a mountain. More magic, I suppose, but I had trouble mustering the enthusiasm to try and work out what kind it might be, just this moment.


    Rudolpho¡¯s head and shoulders came into view as he climbed the stairs, saying ¡°Ah, there you are, Secia. I was hoping to speak with you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t really have anything to say to him in reply, so I went and sat down in the chair I¡¯d used before, as Rudolpho left the staircase for the rooftop patio. In a parody of the day before, I waved him towards a seat much as he had done for me. I¡¯m assuming he caught the reference, as he smiled at the sight. Or he smiled because he was Rudolpho; I had no way to tell which might be the more accurate answer.


    He took a moment to settle himself in his own chair. And then, of course, he smiled at me again. I was really starting to wonder if I should say something to him about that or not. But as we sat in that brief silence, I got the impression he was searching my expression as I looked at his. And now that I looked closer, the eyes behind his smile looked particularly unsettled and ill at ease.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± he opened with, apparently trying to break the silence. I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt me to try and meet him halfway.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I responded, mirroring his tone and delivery.


    He chuckled slightly, and a bit of the edge disappeared from the tension in his features, even if he still looked a long way from being truly relaxed.


    ¡°Well Secia, I don¡¯t know about you, but that was not the start to the day I was expecting. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Yeah, me neither. Is Lady Elutria okay?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Yes, she¡¯s calmed down a bit. I¡¯m very glad for Hesra. I just never know what to do when people get so upset.¡±


    ¡°Really? I may not have been all that happy with you at the time, but you sure seemed on top of things yesterday. Both when you were prodding me and when you talked me back down again.¡±


    Was he blushing? Oh my word, I think he¡¯s actually blushing! ¡°Oh ho ho, well, it¡¯s nice of you to say so, I suppose. Hesra was much less impressed with me; she chewed me out quite thoroughly over dinner.¡±


    For once, I was the one smiling in our conversations. ¡°Hmmm¡­? Rudolpho got in trouble, Rudolpho got in trouble!¡± I sang, teasingly. Wow, his face got even redder!


    ¡°Yes, well, all in the name of Science.¡± He awkwardly cleared his throat, before refocusing his attention on me.


    ¡°Secia, about Lady Elutria¡­ The magic that allows us to summon a person from another world¡­ It creates a magical bond, of sorts, between a summoner and their summon. Much of that bond is to your benefit. We hadn¡¯t really delved into, what, specifically, you know and can do. But based on what you¡¯ve sort of hinted at, am I correct in thinking you¡¯re a spellcaster yourself?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am. I¡¯m a healer, to be specific. I know how to cast many different spells, but most of them revolve around mending injuries or relieving conditions such as magically-induced blindness or fear.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a healer?¡± he asked with evident surprise.


    ¡°Yes, I am. Why?¡±


    ¡°No, sorry, nevermind. Anyway, I¡¯m glad you are a spellcaster, this¡¯ll be easier for you to understand. The magic you know probably has a few fundamentals in common with the magic of this world. But if you are anything like many of the other spellcasters that have been summoned to our world, most likely your magic has more differences from ours than similarities. You can still use the magic you¡¯re familiar with anyway¡­ Have you tried casting any spells since you arrived?¡± he interrupted himself.


    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ve felt you all channel magic for casting at various times, and my body normally passively uses magic for various purposes without my conscious thought, which I think it¡¯s still doing here. Nothing feels out of sorts in that regard, anyway. I haven¡¯t exactly tried to test it.¡±


    ¡°Oh ho? Interesting, interesting. Even that much, I believe, are ways you differ from how we use magic. I can tell when others are channelling magic, but only when I first cast a spell to allow me to do so.


    ¡°But to return to my point, the reason your magic is functioning in the ways you expect, uninterrupted, is because of the summoner¡¯s bond between you and Lady Elutria. Without it, you would either have to learn to use magic as we do, or you would find that you are completely incapable of using magic at all.¡±


    He gave me a moment to digest that. I didn¡¯t have anything to say in reply, but when my attention returned from my own thoughts back to him, he continued.


    ¡°While the purpose of the bond is, first and foremost, to allow you to do everything you were capable of prior to being summoned, our summoners do also gain a small measure of extra insight into those they¡¯ve summoned. Secia¡­ Is it true that you¡¯ve never lied to us?¡±


    ¡°No? Not that I can recall. Lady Elutria didn¡¯t tell you I¡¯ve been lying, did she?¡± I didn¡¯t think that was where Rudolpho was going with this, but I was genuinely confused as to why he¡¯d ask the question.


    ¡°No, no, she hasn¡¯t. Instead, your absolute honesty is one of the things she remarked on. Honesty is a good thing, of course, and something we definitely appreciate. But it would be natural, for someone in your position, to tell at least a few small fibs. As a form of self-defense, even if there was no malicious intent behind it. Even if they don¡¯t tell any outright lies, they might feel inclined to obfuscate a few details, or to leave certain things to our assumptions deliberately in such a way that we might come to the wrong conclusions without you actually saying something untrue¡­?¡± he asked, searchingly.


    While it didn¡¯t surprise me that some people might do such a thing, that wasn¡¯t me. It wasn¡¯t even most people, was it? Deep down, everyone was inclined to do the right thing. Everyone could be trusted, if you gave them a chance. Sometimes people would act up, but if you called them out on it, they¡¯d listen and behave respectfully.


    Once in a blue moon, you¡¯d come across the exception to the rule. But if you ignored them, they¡¯d leave you be. They had to, lest the GMs come down on them, hard. Either way, such individuals were a rarity. Judging everyone on the basis of the rare bad actor would be too sad.


    Of course, that¡¯s not to say you always agreed with or got along with everyone you met. People came in all shapes and sizes, and possessed an endless variety of opinions. But the world is a truly mind-boggling massive place, and there was room enough for everyone. If you didn¡¯t get along with the people you currently kept company with, it was easy enough to pull up stakes and find someone else to befriend.


    I don¡¯t know what Rudolpho saw in my expression as I contemplated his words, but I got the impression he found some kind of answer to his question. I¡¯m not sure I liked what I saw in his own face, though, and did my best to head off whatever he was thinking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought some things I didn¡¯t say aloud, or softened how I said it. I¡¯m not sure where being polite to spare someone¡¯s feelings should be considered lying, but I definitely did some of that with you all. And I could be dishonest if I needed to, really!¡±


    I¡¯m not sure if he found my arguments convincing or not, as he schooled his face to blankness before replying.


    ¡°Yes, well. Be that as it may be, your¡­ surprisingly forthcoming nature is only one aspect that Lady Elutria is having difficulty comprehending. I¡¯m not going to go any further with this; like honesty, these aren¡¯t exactly flaws on your part and I don¡¯t want you to feel defensive or upset over this.


    ¡°Please understand that this has as much or more to do with Lady Elutria¡¯s background and personality than your own. I know this is a difficult thing to ask, but please try not to take any of this personally.¡±


    So he said, but¡­ Something about the way he said it¡­ It felt like Rudolpho and I might still be friends of a sort for now, but maybe he wasn¡¯t all that interested in staying friends anymore. I¡¯m not sure how accurate that actually was, but it was the best way I could think of to put words around it.


    Cautiously, I replied ¡°I will try to take your advice to heart. But I think that still leaves the question: Where do we go from here?¡±


    ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t dwelling too much on what Lady Elutria said to you, on what we hope for from you. I wouldn¡¯t blame you if you were, but¡­ If it¡¯s not clear to you yet, Lady Elutria wasn¡¯t in the best frame of mind when she said that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming to understand that. But did she say anything untrue?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that she said anything that wasn¡¯t true, in one sense or another. But the way she phrased things was somewhat¡­ misleading. I don¡¯t think she left you with an accurate impression of us or the situation.¡±


    ¡°So summons aren¡¯t a resource to be chewed up and consumed for your convenience?¡±


    ¡°No, no, and that¡¯s exactly what I mean! I hold summons such as yourself in very great esteem. Not all summons, individually, have the same nature, or can contribute to our society to the same degree. But as to the nature of summons themselves¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m given to understand this is unconscious on your part when it happens, but we didn¡¯t just pluck you at random from the wider cosmos. Lady Elutria would have had a whole conversation with the deepest, most hidden parts of your mind before summoning you, a conversation where you agreed to take a chance on us. To believe you could build a better life for yourself here, than where you were at the time.


    ¡°And quite frankly, I¡¯m in awe of that. You put your trust in us, believing we could offer you something you lacked, just as much as you could offer us something we lacked to us. It is, and was always meant to be, a bargain struck between equals, not some extra-dimensional kidnapping for some easy forced labor.¡±


    He paused here, giving me a chance to respond. And I got that he was trying to be uplifting and positive about things. I wanted to give him every chance to¡­ to¡­ to make things okay between us. I did. But¡­


    ¡°I want to put my trust in you, I do. But while you haven¡¯t exactly been horrible to me, I¡¯m not used to being tested and evaluated like this. Or shut up in a tower, with no idea of what to expect next. Not that I¡¯ve always known what kind of day tomorrow would bring when today ends, or that I¡¯ve ever felt fully in control of my life before now¡­¡±


    ¡°This tower isn¡¯t your future. Nor is the testing and evaluation. And if you felt you couldn¡¯t take charge of your life before you came here, then that might very well be why you chose to take that leap of faith.¡±


    ¡°See, I think that¡¯s one of the things that bugs me most. Hesra said something about that, too. You keep saying that Lady Elutria asked me if I wanted to come here and that I said ¡®yes¡¯. But I don¡¯t remember that.¡±


    He seemed to want to interject, there, but for once in my life I talked over someone. ¡°I don¡¯t remember it, and I keep trying to find or imagine the part of myself that might have given her that ¡®yes¡¯, and I¡¯m not sure I can find it. I¡¯m not sure there is anything for me to find. So I¡¯m really not sure why I¡¯m here. Or that I want to be here at all. Even though you keep trying to assure me otherwise. I¡¯m trying to be open minded about this, I really am. But right now, I just don¡¯t see it.¡±


    He frowned at this for a bit, and then said ¡°Lady Elutria did say something to the effect of ¡®the Secia we¡¯re speaking to now is a very different person than the Secia I invited to join us¡¯. I didn¡¯t know what to make of it when she said it, and was almost ready to write it off as some kind of flight of fancy. I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting you to give words to anything that might echo such a sentiment, however obliquely. And I have no idea at all what to make of any of it, if there might be some kind of truth to the notion.¡±


    Straightening, he looked me squarely in the eyes and asked, ¡°Secia, were you happy where you were, before we summoned you? Were you happy with the kind of life you were living?¡±


    My first impulse was to respond with an ¡°Of course I was!¡±, but I strangled that down. Maybe my first impulse was the right one, but it was just such a huge question, when you thought about it. And we did just have an entire conversation about honesty, just a few minutes before. And we were friends, however bizarrely that had happened. We had exchanged names, we were friends, and asking if someone was okay or if they were happy in their life - that was basically the ultimate ¡°good friend¡± kind of question, wasn¡¯t it?


    So I took a moment to think about it. To really think about it. And I remembered¡­ I remembered lots of events. Conversations with friends, hard-won battles, the pride when something I was crafting turned out better than I could have ever hoped. Good times. Good memories. Happy memories.


    But something¡­ something I couldn¡¯t really put a name to, something I didn¡¯t really much like, wanted to¡­ to twist Rudolpho¡¯s question, to ask something slightly different. Yes those were happy memories, but did they make for a happy life? Was it really my life? Yes I really did those things, but when did I choose to do them?


    *Did I ever make those choices at all?*


    Which was silly, and stupid. Of course I chose to do them. Who else would have? Nobody ever forced me to become an adventurer, or a healer, or a crafter, or a guildmate, or a friend.


    *And Rudolpho? When did I choose to become his friend? Did I make that choice? Did I ever really have a say in whether or not he would become my friend at all?*


    Yes! Yes. I. Did! I was in the summoning chamber surrounded by strangers, but also fascinating magic. And while I didn¡¯t have much of an idea what was going on, they seemed like friendly strangers. People I wanted to get to know. So I made a choice! I chose to introduce myself to Rudolpho, because I wanted to be his friend. He may have complicated things with his taunting and teasing and testing, such that once he finally introduced himself, I wasn¡¯t sure it was a good idea anymore. But at that time I gave him my name? That was very definitely my choice! Beyond question, my choice, the first choice I¡¯ve made! And so I can stop putting myself down and I can stop asking myself stupid questions and I can just shut up about it!


    *¡°The first choice I¡¯ve made¡±?*


    In this world! The first choice I¡¯ve made since I came here! I know what I meant! So I can just shut up! Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up Shut Up SHUT UP SHUT UP!


    ¡°Secia? Secia! Are you okay? I know maybe that was a difficult question for me to ask, or you to answer. Or maybe it¡¯s an answer you don¡¯t want to share with me. And that¡¯s okay. But are you okay? Secia?¡±


    Blinking, I glanced around blearily to spot a very worried Rudolpho. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m fine,¡± I said quickly. Was I being honest, polite, or lying, though? I honestly had no idea.

 Chapter 8 - Uncomfortable Words

    The 9th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    Despite my assurances, Rudolpho still looked concerned. He rose from his chair, and I moved to do the same, but he waved me back to my seat. Rummaging through a nearby drawer, he selected one of the objects I¡¯d examined in my earlier cataloging efforts, but hadn¡¯t been able to identify. This one was a small, heavy metal hook. It was about the breadth of Rudolpho¡¯s hand, and had no points or sharp edges to it. It looked too plain to be some kind of decorative object, but I struggled to imagine any functional purpose for such a thing, either.


    Object in hand, Rudolpho now took a small key from a pouch on his belt, unlocking one of the cabinets I hadn¡¯t been able to open, one set almost directly across from me in this small circle of outdoor furniture. When the cabinet door swung open, it revealed¡­ just some ordinary-looking drinking glasses. Granted, they appeared to be of a matched set and formed of cut glass, but I still wasn¡¯t sure why they might be under lock and key, when so little else was.


    Turning back to face me with one of the drinking glasses in hand, Rudolpho hooked his odd metal implement over one edge of the glass, and began silently channelling magic. A small stream of water originated from the metal, seemingly-magical tool, and the glass was swiftly filled.


    Rudolpho crouched slightly before me and offered me the glass. ¡°Here, something to drink,¡± he urged, a small smile once again on his lips, despite the lingering concern in his voice.


    I¡¯m not entirely sure why I did what I did next, but I took the glass from his hand and raised the rim to my nose, and took a sniff.


    *Nothing but pure water.*


    Rudolpho winced as I did so, as if he understood what I was up to better than I did. Between that and my earlier confusion, I was feeling very awkward, and drank deeply to try and smooth things over.


    I don¡¯t know if it was actually the result of drinking something, or just having that opportunity to pause and refocus while watching Rudolpho put it together in the first place, but I was feeling noticeably better. Much more like my old self.


    I was also curious about one other aspect - the water had been quite cool, almost chilly to drink. So I asked Rudolpho, ¡°Is there a reason you chose to make the water so cold?¡±


    By this point, Rudolpho was now sitting in his chair again, sipping water much more slowly from his own glass. Lowering his drink to rest atop his chair¡¯s arm, he seemed grateful to have something new to discuss. ¡°Oh? Now that suggests an interesting assumption or two. I¡¯m curious as to why you phrased your question that way.


    ¡°But to actually answer your question, I didn¡¯t change the temperature of the water at all. This tool,¡± he paused, gently tapping on the metal hook now sitting forgotten on top of the opened cabinet, ¡°this tool is linked to a cistern deep within the tower, which is where we collect and store all of the water we use while we¡¯re here. Deep underground and surrounded by stone, we can count on the water to always be cold when we draw it from the cistern. I could have used some additional magic to have warmed it when it was in the glass, but I thought something cool and refreshing might serve us both well right now.¡±


    I nodded my understanding, but then asked, ¡°So why use magic to draw water from the cistern like that? Is it more efficient in terms of magic?¡±


    Grin growing wider, Rudolpho leaned forward, eyes twinkling, ¡°More efficient compared to what?¡±


    Puzzled by his eagerness, I suggested, ¡°Than simply using that magic to create the water you need?¡±


    And with that, Rudolpho¡¯s grin threatened to split his face in two. Slapping his knee, he exclaimed, ¡°Because I cannot! No spell, no force of magic in this world can! Move it, shape it, freeze or boil it? Certainly, and with ease. But our magic can never create water. It is one of the most fundamental basics all of our spellcasters must learn as part of the very beginning of our training. We must acknowledge that limit early, so that we can direct our studies to all the different ways we can work around that limitation.¡±


    Leaning forward again, and still just as manic, he pressed, ¡°But what of you, Secia? As I mentioned before, the ritual balance of the summoner¡¯s bond should allow you to use whatever abilities you already possess in much the same ways you¡¯re already used to. And nowhere is that more true but when it comes to applications of pure spellcasting itself. Even when it breaks the rules of what our own magic can and can¡¯t do!¡±


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    He didn¡¯t end his exclamation by panting, but such was his intensity that I almost couldn¡¯t picture him not being short of breath somehow, despite the reality I was observing. Startled, I shook my head ¡°no¡±.


    But instead of seeming disappointed, his focus showed no signs of wavering. ¡°What about other things with a physical form? Air, earth, metal, food? Whether in finished goods or raw materials makes no difference. Is there anything at all you and your spells can do to create something real, something physical and tangible, and have it last?¡±


    It was such a broad question, I nearly shook my head again by reflex. But doing my best to think it through, ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure if something like this is what you have in mind, but¡­¡±


    And with a small gesture of my hand, I tried to cast an actual spell for the first time since I¡¯d been summoned.


    Tried to. And failed.


    Rudolpho hadn¡¯t seemed to pick up yet that something was wrong. He continued to wait eagerly, perhaps thinking I needed more time to finish. I wasn¡¯t sure why it wasn¡¯t already obvious I had failed; I wasn¡¯t actively channelling any magic at all. It was only then that I recalled Rudolpho mentioning he couldn¡¯t perceive someone channelling magic to begin with unless he was to cast a particular spell of his own. I¡¯m not sure why he wouldn¡¯t have that spell running now if he was asking me to¡­


    *Now is not the time for this.*


    Right. Right. Okay, right. My magic. What am I doing wrong? New world, new circumstances, so lets go back to my own basics. How do I cast a spell?


    Wait, how do I cast a spell?


    *Wait, just how do I cast a spell?*


    Trying not to let any of my mounting desperation show on my face, I tried to focus harder and harder on the question, but it was like groping blindly to search for a lost sewing needle in a fog bank. There seemed to be nothing for me to examine, nothing for me to navigate by, not by sight or sound or even a vague guess as to the right direction.


    ¡°Ahem. I hope we¡¯re not interrupting?¡±


    Startled by the sound of Hesra¡¯s voice, I all but whipped my head around. There, standing at the top of that open staircase that led back down into the tower¡¯s interior, stood Lady Elutria, tight lipped and looking slightly away. And a half step behind her and to one side was Hesra, patiently looking on.


    What? How? When?


    Utterly confused by their sudden appearance, I half rose, half stumbled from my chair. And as I did so, I felt a sort of wrenching, twisting feeling behind one of my ribs. A sudden sense of clutching tightness, quickly released. It was an utterly foreign sensation to me. But simultaneously, there was a quiet *pop*, and on the ground at my feet was a familiar open-topped wicker tray, upon which sat eight crisp rolls of tightly wrapped linen. A sight I¡¯d seen a million times before: ¡°Emergency Bandages¡±, the healer¡¯s spell I¡¯d been attempting to cast.


    *****


    I still felt entirely off-balance. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should sit back down or remain standing. Ask Hesra what they were doing here or show the results of my conjuration to Rudolpho.


    Rudolpho rose to his own feet, helping put to rest the ¡°sit or stand¡± question, at least for now. Showing no outward sign of the earlier frevor with which he¡¯d so recently been gripped, he calmly asked, ¡°Hello Lady Elutria, hello Hesra. Do you need something?¡±


    ¡°Lady Elutria has something she¡¯d like to say. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lady Elutria said it so softly, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure she had said anything at all.


    ¡°My lady?¡± Hesra spoke aloud. Her words might have implied a question of some kind, but her tone was pure steel and very much argued the opposite.


    Back stiff, arms rigidly straight and pressed to her side, hands in near-fists, giving every impression of wishing to clutch at the fabric of her robe but not quite doing so, she remained silent for a beat, but then choked out, ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry for what I said at breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Why are you sorry? Why are you apologizing?¡± Hesra continued to prompt.


    ¡°Because I was¡­¡±, teeth clenched, she sucked in a small breath, ¡°¡­wrong. I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have said it. I shouldn¡¯t have acted that way.¡±


    I almost assumed that was the end of it, but apparently Hesra wasn¡¯t done. ¡°What else?¡±


    But nothing further seemed to be forthcoming. Then, Lady Elutria shook slightly, and I now realized that Hesra had had an arm up behind Lady Elutria¡¯s back - and her hand was gently gripping the younger woman by the back of her neck. ¡°What else, my lady summoner?¡± Hesra¡¯s voice was so cold, and had laden so much cutting sarcasm into that title that I felt my own self shiver in reflex.


    Lady Elutria quietly gasped, as if desperate for air. In one final rush, she finished, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the way I¡¯ve been treating you. It was wrong. I was wrong to do it. I¡­¡± another little shake from Hesra, ¡°¡­I hope we can find a way to start over.¡±


    ¡°There now, that wasn¡¯t so bad, was it?¡± And I¡¯m not sure who was more surprised, me or Lady Elutria, when Hesra spun the young woman around and enveloped her in a hug.


    Rudolpho nodded approvingly, but I wasn¡¯t so sure what I should do. My indecision only worsened when all eyes swiveled to me. Waiting. Silently, expectantly waiting.


    I could not recall ever being put in a situation even remotely like this. Am I¡­ am I supposed to forgive her now?


    *Do I want to?*


    It might¡­ it might be the right thing to do.


    *So what? Am I really just going to let everyone sweep this under a rug? To forget about it? To let ¡°bygones be bygones¡±?*


    Does it actually matter what I want? It didn¡¯t really seem like it had mattered so much what Lady Elutria had wanted, either. It was Hesra who pushed that apology to happen.


    I almost suspect I added that last bit, about Hesra¡¯s involvement, to sort of¡­ give myself an out? Which was an unfamiliar idea in itself. But instead, it oddly made me feel much more at ease about the idea of forgiving Lady Elutria. I still wasn¡¯t exactly happy about it, but I was at least a little more open to the idea of giving her yet another chance.


    So aloud, I said, ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure how you and I can start over, but I¡¯m willing to try.¡±


    Lady Elutria didn¡¯t exactly shoot daggers at me with her eyes when I said that, but I noticed she didn¡¯t appear all that relieved or visibly pleased by my acceptance of her apology, either.

 Chapter 9 - Rules and Tangents

    The 9th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    Once again we were gathered together, all five of us, after Rudolpho used some minor working to invite Master Thomas up to the rooftop patio to join us. Seated once again in the circle of chairs, but this time with a few differences.


    Not everyone had settled on the same seating as last time for one thing, although I did continue to favor the same chair I had originally selected. While waiting for Master Thomas, Rudolpho had prepared more water glasses, so each had one somewhere close to hand. There was once again an awkward air to the whole thing, but it was a different flavor of awkward than before. For better or for worse, I still found hard to say. And Hesra had repositioned one of the scattered small tables so it now sat in the center of our circle, with my recently-conjured tray of Emergency Bandages as a centerpiece.


    Of all of us, I had the impression it was Master Thomas who was the most eager to ask questions at the moment, or perhaps just had the most questions to ask. But I doubt he was any more unaware of the awkward tension than the rest of us, and seemed unsure if he should try to breach it. Rudolpho had seemed to settle back into his more usual self during the wait, which both meant that I wasn¡¯t quite sure what he might be thinking, and also meant one of his many smiles was firmly back in place. Hesra, best as I could tell, still seemed determined to play the peacemaker, or such was my guess.


    And Lady Elutria¡­ I¡¯m not really sure where things stood with her, or with us in general. Which in one way, I suppose that¡¯s exactly what her apology, however forced, was meant to accomplish. We still weren¡¯t on good terms, but I wasn¡¯t quite sure if we were still on bad terms, either. Compared to how I felt about her when Master Thomas and I spoke during breakfast, before anyone else arrived, I guess that¡¯s an improvement? Maybe? Or maybe it should only be viewed as an opportunity for things to improve. Valuable, in that I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s something we possessed before, but still not to be confused with an actual improvement itself.


    As it was, anyway, Lady Elutria sat off to one side from me. Not quite across the circle, not quite next to me on either side. Not quite separate from anyone else, but not quite near anyone, either. Of the group, but maybe not in it. Her noblewoman¡¯s bearing and posture were back, tightly held as if it were some kind of mask to wear. Her gaze was focused unwaveringly on Hesra, or perhaps some feature of the mountainside that was simply in the older woman¡¯s general direction. Either way, a difficult angle for me to accurately gauge whatever expression might be appearing on her face.


    Hesra drew a deeper breath, and then decided to finally break our silence. ¡°So Secia, I didn¡¯t quite catch everything, but do I understand this¡­ hmm¡­ these objects are something you formed from your magic?¡±


    I still wasn¡¯t quite clear about where the nature of our magics might or might not overlap; the idea that there could even be more than one set of rules magic could function by and still be magic was entirely foreign to me. I was slightly nervous about overstating anything I might be capable of. Still, however reluctantly, I nodded.


    ¡°Rudolpho was telling me about some of the limits of the magic you practice. Specifically, about using magic to create physical objects.¡± At first I spoke slowly, each word winched from some deeper well. But now I hurried to add, ¡°To be clear though, these won¡¯t last forever. Rudolpho had mentioned something about permanency, even if I can¡¯t quite recall the exact words. And these aren¡¯t permanent. How long they last will vary. Sometimes a day, but it can be both shorter or longer than that if someone carries them into a dungeon. But never forever,¡± I squeaked out.


    Rudolpho opened his mouth to say something, but Master Thomas beat him to it, and the older man relaxed back into his seat, eyes twinkling. His curiosity now unbarred, Master Thomas launched words like a flurry of arrows from a ranger¡¯s bow. ¡°That¡¯s incredible! A day? Even for so small an object, it would take a team of mages or an entire array of specialized enchantments to create something so intricately detailed and have it last anywhere near as long. A whole day, truly? What is it? What can it do? How did you do it? How much of your magic do you have to devote to it, to keep renewing it from moment to moment?¡±


    I blinked at this. ¡°I¡­ What? It exists, and it will continue to exist until the spell exhausts itself naturally. So, nothing, I guess? I mean it¡¯s just a simple healer¡¯s charm¡­ They¡¯re bandages, that¡¯s really all they are. I mean, yes, magic bandages of course, but¡­ I¡¯m sorry, did you say a whole team of mages?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s self-sustaining? That¡¯s remarkable! I mean the things we could learn¡­ Oh, the possibilities! When we are able to bring you into the city, we¡¯ll have to get you to cast this spell in front of the archanists for them to decipher. They¡¯ll write entire tomes about this, Secia! Tomes!¡±


    Rudolpho¡¯s radiant smile dimmed ever-so-slightly, although his grin still stretched ear-to-ear. Paternalistically, he broke the other mage¡¯s excited reverie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young Master Thomas, but it doesn¡¯t work that way. Secia could cast this spell a dozen times each for every archanist in the world, and we¡¯d never be able to replicate any aspect of her spell. There may be one or two insights we can glean to improve our own spellcasting in other ways, but this feat you see before us will remain Secia¡¯s and Secia¡¯s alone.¡±


    Master Thomas tore his gaze away from me and the bandages, and turned confusedly to face the archmagus, asking plaintively, ¡°But surely¡­ It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve forgotten what my instructors taught me, but this is something different, isn¡¯t it? Yes, our conventional understanding of magic says that what Secia has done is impossible, but we¡¯re looking directly at proof that it can be done. Will you deny the evidence of our eyes?


    ¡°I know that some of this accomplishment is only feasible because the summoner¡¯s bond helps to facilitate things, but the summoner¡¯s magic is our magic! And Secia¡¯s here, on our world, crafting spells powered by and that function within the astral firmament of our reality. So surely, it¡¯s just a matter of picking apart the mechanism of her spell, as well as the framework that the summoner¡¯s bond provides for it to function¡­¡±


    Rudolpho had begun shaking his head sadly halfway through Master Thomas¡¯s impassioned plea, but even as the strength faded from his words, he still managed to rally for one last, ¡°But surely¡­¡±


    ¡°No lad, I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s not. How can it be within Secia¡¯s reach but not ours? You speak of Waingeit¡¯s Paradox. For a little over one hundred and seventy years, archanists everywhere metaphorically hacked and clawed at the problem, from every conceivable approach and angle¡­,¡± and with a brief glance at me, ¡°¡­including some that don¡¯t bear talking about. And they got nowhere, no progress at all. Finally, that grandest of scholars Tremuda Vinith managed to put the question to rest when she managed to prove mathematically that the Paradox was, in fact, unsolvable.


    ¡°To fully comprehend the workings of what allows a summoner¡¯s bond to empower summons such as Secia to perform such impossible feats, one would need to simultaneously have a perspective that was entirely outside of and divorced from our reality, as well as also possessing a perspective completely within and bound by our reality, all at the same time. And even if, somehow, you managed such an impossible viewpoint? The math shows that the summoner¡¯s bond would temporarily cease to function at all so long as it was subject to such observation, still denying you any actual data to extract some insights from. It truly, simply, cannot be done.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The elderly man¡¯s voice softened, ¡°I know how hard that can be to accept. But please trust me when I say I know exactly what I¡¯m talking about here. Studying Vinith¡¯s Fourth Theorem until one understand the framework that conclusion is built on, and then drafting a paper in an attempt to either disprove the theorem or reaffirm it from a different angle, is one of the required milestones to becoming an archmagus.¡±


    A bemused Hesra chimed in with ¡°I, too, know just how frustrating that can be. The second time I assisted a summoning, we summoned a young man named Fredix Stren. He was some kind of artificer on his world, and he showed us how he could magically link several slate tablets by briefly submerging them in a specially-prepared bath of a liquid crystalline solution. Once linked, anything drawn onto the surface of one slate tablet would leave behind an impression. Not just on that one slate, but for all of them simultaneously. It was a marvel! Instant communication, of any number of written messages, images, or diagrams regardless of their complexity, in complete disregard of the distances involved! Oh, I had such grand plans for what we could do by establishing a nationwide exchange of these tablets!


    ¡°Alas, no matter how many times he showed me how it was done, it only worked if he was the one to do it. Even with that limitation, I still hoped we might put together a grand communication exchange of some kind, but his summoner herself knew better. We could, and did, benefit from a similar but much smaller communication array for a number of years. Almost two decades. But then Fredix insisted on breaking the summoner¡¯s bond that empowered him. Once he had, all of the tablets he¡¯d constructed immediately stopped working.¡±


    At that, I inserted myself into the conversation, ¡°He broke the bond? Why?¡±


    Hesra shifted her focus from Master Thomas to me. ¡°Politics, mostly. The tablets were just as much of a boon for us as Fredix himself had suggested they might be. At first, things were straightforward enough. Recognizing the value of what he could offer, as well as the need to carefully prioritize how it should be implemented, he was placed under the direct protection of the Dovmar, first among equals of the Dovinimum, the ruling council of Cetimos.


    ¡°The Dovmar saw to it that the tablets were established exactly where they¡¯d do the most the good, linking the farthest flung outposts of the nation directly with its capitol. I mean, there was probably a little horse trading going on,¡± she said, with a brief, almost guilty, look in Lady Elutria¡¯s direction, ¡°but by and large it was done fairly, and beyond reproach. The thing of it was, since anything written got shared indiscriminately with all other tablets - the more tablets that were added to the exchange, the more widely any and every bit of news got shared, across the whole of the nation. The instructions each outpost was given limited the tablets to certain uses, primarily emergencies and other items deemed ¡®urgent¡¯¡­ I don¡¯t know, but somehow I got the impression the limited context for what was to be shared actually managed to make things worse at times, although I¡¯m not entirely certain of that.


    ¡°As the number of slates that made up the exchange continued to expand and as a result came in to the hands of a widening number of people, a few bad actors started to use the tablets to engage in political or economic intrigue - either by trying to use confidential information to their advantage, or by deliberately sharing things that were not entirely true in one fashion or another.


    ¡°And then poor Fredix tried to help solve the problems by clarifying that when he made new tablets, he didn¡¯t have to link them to the existing collection of tablets. He could put together and add to multiple independent exchanges simultaneously. Well, once people knew that, they started trying to get Fredix to build private competing exchanges instead. Having now seen for themselves just how much of an advantage the slates could provide when things were still working well, nearly every member of the Dovinimum was campaigning to secure an exchange of their own, for them and their member interests. Finally, when Fredix could stand it no more, he petitioned his summoner to break their bond, and she agreed. And then we had no functioning slates to use at all.¡±


    Hesra smiled wryly at me. ¡°It¡¯s a hard lesson for us to learn, how we all lose if we start fighting over the gifts a summon can offer us. And a mistake we¡¯ve seemingly repeated several times over, throughout the course of our history. Thankfully for you, it was only seven years ago that Fredix¡¯s bond was severed, so the memory is still quite fresh for us. Not quite so much for everyone, admittedly, but much of the membership of the Dovinimum still remains unchanged from Fredix¡¯s day, and the more senior a Centimos official of any stripe is, the more keenly they feel chagrined at any mention of our hand in the ¡®Fredix Folly¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What happened to him? Fredix, I mean. After he broke his bond?¡± I cautiously asked.


    ¡°He still lives as a guest of the Dovmar, on their estate. The Dovmar fully acknowledged that the true folly of the ¡°Folly¡± was ours and ours alone, and how even referring to these events by Fredix¡¯s name is rather misleading. He provided good service to Centimos and the Dovmar, with his tablets giving us the advance warning we needed to fend off two attempted invasions by ¡®our gracious neighbor to the northwest¡¯. And on a different occasion, the tablets helped to prevent the beginnings of a plague from growing into an epidemic, and Fredix deserves our continuing thanks for all of it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go getting any ideas,¡± warned Lady Elutria, speaking for the first time since we¡¯d sat down. ¡°Fredix is a special case. Force me to break your bond, and you can spend the rest of your days as a homeless, magicless slum dweller.¡±


    Hesra raised a cautionary eyebrow in Lady Elutria¡¯s direction, but she showed no concern that I could see at the older woman¡¯s apparent disapproval. So I ventured to ask, ¡°So is that an option then? If I really insist, you¡¯d just break my bond and let me go free?¡±


    Something about Lady Elutria took on a triumphant air, and Hesra sighed. It was Rudolpho who answered me aloud, though. ¡°Yes, Secia. Not here and now, but if when our assessment is over, if you truly insist on it, then yes. We¡¯ll assist you with the steps you need to take to begin formally petitioning to have your bond broken, and continue to support you through the process so long as you want us to.¡±


    ¡°Formally petition?¡±


    ¡°A summoner breaking the bond with their summon is no small thing. The Ministry of Summoning has a process in place to carefully document such things. Mostly to ensure that a summoner doesn¡¯t break the bond punitively, without good cause. But if you yourself ask for the bond to broken, well, that¡¯s not looked at trivially either, Secia. Once done, it¡¯s permanent. The petition process exists to ensure you know exactly what the choice you¡¯re making means, with all the consequences to follow. Even if you think you understand, they¡¯ll talk you through it, just to be sure, including providing you with additional time to think things through, to really consider what that¡¯ll mean for you.¡±


    I¡¯m not exactly sure why I did what I did next. Maybe I was trying to extend her an olive branch, since we were supposed to be starting over, or maybe it was just that she had yet to show any desire to soften or sugarcoat her answers, at least when it came to me. But I turned to Lady Elutria and asked her, ¡°Is that true? It¡¯s really an option?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. We finish our assessment, we register you, we get you on the books. And if you¡¯re too stupid to know just how grateful you should be that I¡¯m upholding my oaths, plural, oaths to maintain this bond with you, then yes.¡± She grinned. ¡°Just say the word, and we¡¯ll hand them your application for a bond hearing petition with the form sitting right on top of your registration paperwork. An interview, a couple of reports, a pair of hearings, and we¡¯ll be done. Per-man-ent-ly quit of each other,¡± she finished, drawing out each syllable of the word ¡°permanently¡±, as if savoring it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize there would be so many steps involved, but it¡¯s good to know the option exists,¡± I said, doing my best to look nonplussed about how much enjoyment Lady Elutria suddenly seemed to be getting from this conversation.


    If anything, Lady Elutria seemed even more pleased by my response. Confused, I tried to puzzle out why.


    *What has everyone been discussing, practically since sitting down? The bond. Rudolpho never did clarify just how much insight it gives her, but he did mention one thing.*


    Honesty? Mistruths? But I hadn¡¯t said anything I hadn¡¯t meant, did I? Thinking through the words I had spoken aloud, I still couldn¡¯t figure out where my own thoughts were trying to lead me. I truly hadn¡¯t known how much work it would take to convince everyone to let Lady Elutria break our bond - that much seemed inarguable to me.


    So what was the rest of it? ¡°¡­but it¡¯s good to know the option exists?¡± But it was a good thing to know, wasn¡¯t it? Why wouldn¡¯t I want to know what all of my options are, given how things have gone so far? Why wouldn¡¯t I be happy to know of this now? I couldn¡¯t be unhappy the option exists?


    Could I?

 Chapter 10 - A Different Sort of Test

    The 9th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    "You know, if you''re really hoping to be rid of me, you might consider being a bit more cooperative," Lady Elutria imparted, slyly. "We tried to get your skills assessed this morning. If you hadn''t decided to be needlessly willful, we could be done by now. A little paperwork, a quick trip back to Drebos Altimas, and we could have had you up in front of the Ministry''s registrar by tomorrow. Maybe think on that."


    Master Thomas frowned at this, and leaned forward in his seat. I''m pretty sure I was frowning myself. But it was Rudolpho who managed to speak first. "Hmmm. Now that''s an interesting thing to say. The assessment of Secia''s skills is one thing, but there are also the Tests. When I expressed my belief that Secia had passed the Tests of Restraint, Passion, and Thought, I seem to recall someone vetoing me on two of those. And of course, it''s the summoner who has the final vote on these matters."


    Rudolpho¡¯s words may not have led any visible frowning by Lady Elutria, but the smug look on her face disappeared into her more unreadable mask. "At the time, with the information available to me, that was the only responsible call I could make. It''s not as if I suggested she failed the tests. Just that I couldn''t yet agree that she''d met the required criteria. No other summoner is asked to make those judgements so quickly. It''s only reasonable that I wait until I had more opportunities to properly observe Secia."


    "Hmm, yes. But then, no other summon needs so little time and assistance to begin speaking with us."


    "I''m willing to acknowledge that the circumstances here aren''t typical," she allowed, cautiously.


    "But you just spoke with such confidence of having Secia up before the registrar by tomorrow, if only her assessment was complete. But that would only be possible if she had passed all of her Tests...?" suggested Rudolpho, leadingly.


    Lady Elutria sighed. Then she began to recite flatly, "Now that I''ve had additional time to observe Secia, including how she has chosen to handle and react to the challenging circumstances we''ve presented her with, it is my professional judgement that Secia has passed the Test of Passionate Spirit, as well as the Test of Reasonable Thought and Judgement. Happy?"


    Rudolpho broke into one of his wider grins, "In my role as the senior mage present, I do concur with the summoner''s assessment in these matters."


    Hesra kept a more stoic look on her face, but her tone was approving as she stated, "I do hearby witness this judgement, and note it for the record."


    The three then paused, and Hesra shot Master Thomas an expectant look. "Wha... Oh! I too witness and take note!" he finished. I''m not sure if Rudolpho was smiling any harder at this, but Hesra permitted a small upward tick by one corner of her mouth. Lady Elutria didn''t quite roll her eyes, but I got the impression she wanted to. "There, happy?" she asked Rudolpho.


    "Oh not quite. I did say all the Tests," prompted a very amused Rudolpho.


    Lady Elutria squirmed ever so slightly in her seat. Much more reluctantly, she stated, "...It is my professional judgement that Secia has passed the Test of Quality of Spirit. Barely."


    "I''d like to add my concurrence, if appropriate, but I can''t do so unless I properly understand what I''m agreeing to. There are many difference ways one might pass the Test of Quality. Which three virtues has Secia demonstrated?"


    I hadn''t been entirely sure what to make of things so far, but I admit my ears did perk up a little at this. Given the glance Lady Elutria gave me, I suspect she noticed. With another sigh, she stated, "Honesty, compassion, ...and mercy."


    Rudolpho showed a modicum of surprise at this. "Honesty and compassion, I''d certainly guessed. I heartily agree. But I must admit that I had assumed the third would be patience. Mercy?"


    Lady Elutria shook her head tightly. "I cannot support patience. The judgement would be tainted by... circumstances."


    "Still, you believe she''s demonstrated substantial mercy?"


    "Yes."


    "Is that all you intend to say?"


    "Yes."


    Rudolpho continued to look slightly incredulous, but seemed to decide to let the matter go. "While I''m unaware of the way or ways Secia has demonstrated mercy since being summoned, I also cannot conceive of any credible reason why I should object. I am happily willing to defer to her summoner in this matter. And given my personal judgement that she has also demonstrated both honesty and compassion, I will also concur that Secia has passed the test of Quality!"


    Hesra and Master Thomas each chimed in with another "Witnessed and noted" of their own, and relaxed a bit in their seats, smiling.


    Lady Elutria asked Rudolpho, half-sarcastically, "Satisfied? You''ve made your silly point. Secia''s passed her Tests, and you''ve cornered me into admitting it. Are we done here?"


    "Not quite," said Rudolpho, taking a more serious tone. "It''s true that we need to complete our assessment of her skills before we present Secia to the registrar. But there is more than one acceptable way to do that. And it''s only until a summon passes their Tests that we are required to isolate them in this facility. Now that Secia has proven in our eyes that she can be trusted to behave herself here in our world, confinement is no longer necessary."


    "You mean...?" I asked, hopefully.


    "Potentially, yes. But again it''s also the summoner who has the final say here, on which form of assessment might be most appropriate and effective."


    "You obviously have something in mind, old man. Just tell me what you want me to agree to, so I can tell you properly how foolish it is," an exasperated Lady Elutria prodded.


    With another smile, Rudolpho offered, "I suggest a field test. Rather than taking the High Road back to Drebos Altimos, why not make our way back overland? A few days at our leisure, allowing Secia to demonstrate a wide range of skills, should she possess them. We could even take a detour or two, if there is something special we need Secia to demonstrate."


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "What? All this, this, this pointless maneuvering, just so you can turn our duties into what? Some kind of working vacation?!"


    "I''m being entirely serious," Rudolpho said, although I''m not sure the broad grin on his face was particularly convincing on this score.


    "You know..." Master Thomas began, "...hmm. Even if it were to take us two whole weeks to make our way back to the city, we''d still be returning to the city in just under a month since you received your commission, with a summon ready to be fully accredited in tow."


    Some of Lady Elutria''s affronted demeanor thawed, but she said nothing. I held my breath, unsure what might sway her to let me leave this place, and it''s attendant sense of confinement no matter how nicely it might be decorated. But after a beat Master Thomas continued, "We''d even be back before the start of the Rathways Summit."


    "If it''s truly permissible for us to assess Secia in another locale," Lady Elutria glanced at Rudolpho for confirmation, "I suppose that out in the valley is as practical a place to conduct it as anything we could accomplish here. I can only trust my senior mage and advisor has some legitimate basis for these recommendations, and I look forward to having him clarify this for me, in detail, before I truly consent and we depart. But I see no need to hold everyone here while he does so. I respectfully ask that the three of you begin preparing for our departure, unless I find Rudolpho''s logic... less than convincing." She looked upward at the sky, and continued "Please pursue your preparations with the assumption we''ll depart early tomorrow morning. We may as well get one last night''s sleep in a proper bed, before we deliberately go out of our way to wander aimlessly in the wild. Now if you''d leave Rudolpho and I to speak privately, I have some words for him."


    *****


    It was with an excited bounce in my step that I followed Hesra and Master Thomas down the stairs, back into the tower, to begin packing for our imminent departure. For me, this mostly meant trailing behind Hesra as she went from one storeroom to another in the upper portion of the tower, among hallways on the far side of the kitchen where breakfast had been prepared not so long ago. I had no real idea of where we were going or what Hesra intended to retrieve at each stop, but I still found it fascinating to see just how much was tucked away. Not to mention the sheer variety of goods on display.


    Oversized backpacks and some waxed canvas from one storeroom was a fairly straightforward acquisition, although I wasn''t expecting to see so many identical backpacks hung from wooden racks. I didn''t exactly have the time to properly count them, but I''m almost certain it was more than thirty. A different storeroom was entirely devoted to crystalline rods of various colors, almost identical in length and each nearly as long as my forearm. Hesra carefully selected two of them, one pale blue and the other pale green, before turning to leave. When I asked her what they were, she smiled and said "It''s so no more than one person will need to keep watch at a time as we sleep at night."


    From another room, I was told one anonymous canvas sack contained a collection of portable cookware, but Hesra also collected from that storeroom five small tin boxes that I could easily hold stacked atop one hand, confusingly described as "bedrolls". I had thought some large glass bottles protectively cushioned within a wire frame might be potions and got quite excited, but Hesra laughed and corrected me with "lamp oil". From yet another storeroom, Hesra picked up another sack, much smaller than the one containing the cookware and light enough to comfortably be hung from a belt, along with what I''d swear were a small pair of metal pliers. I could make no sense of how they were intended to be used, even after Hesra claimed that it was 450 ft of spare rope, for our collective use on the road.


    I wasn''t completely useless, though - very swiftly, I was pressed into service as a pack mule, awkwardly carrying our growing collection of travel goods. Nor was I the only one asking questions. From time to time, Hesra would query me on whether I knew any spells to smooth along one mundane aspect of woodcraft or another, to which I almost universally needed to reply "no". But I did get an approving glance once when I mentioned I could purify our food or water of diseases and toxins. I received a second one when I confirmed I could ward the group against biting insects and foul gasses, whether settled into a campsite or up and moving on the road.


    She did also ask me about what I could contribute to our camp skills with a... less magical approach, and was much less impressed with me. For all that I''d spent much more of my time as an adventurer out in the untamed wilderness instead of tucked behind a city wall, back home in Thersia, I''d never really felt the need to dig a firepit, or stake out a tent. I tried to convince Hesra that I really was as well traveled as I claimed, and had voyaged across both deserts of sand and deserts of ice with equal ease. But her skepticism only seemed to grow the more I shared, much to my confusion.


    Each time Hesra and I became overloaded, we returned to the dining hall where we had eaten earlier to drop off another load of goods. Master Thomas had been collecting his own piles, which as near as I could tell mostly consisted of various foodstuffs in different containers. Although given my experiences with Hesra, I wasn''t quite sure how well I could trust my judgement on this score, either.


    It was the fourth time we returned to once again deposit yet another load of travel supplies, both familiar and not, that we found Lady Elutria sorting and organizing the various piles.


    "Still departing in the morning?" Hesra asked, cheerfully.


    Lady Elutria didn''t look up from her work, but she acknowledged Hesra question with a businesslike nod. "Yes, we will be."


    "Excellent! We''ve gathered nearly everything, I think. We have the armory and the depository yet to go, but I thought that''d be best done with all of us present. The others?"


    "Rudolpho''s in the kitchen. He thought people might appreciate lunch soon. I think Thomas is still raiding the larders. I''m not sure why; I''m not sure we even have enough room in our bags for everything he''s grabbed already."


    I took a more proper look at where Master Thomas had been piling up his selections, and I had to admit Lady Elutria seemed to have a point. The bags and boxes came to about my waist, and the pile was maybe more than twice as wide. I had to smother a quiet snort, and Lady Elutria looked up at me from where she was sitting before glancing away. It had been very quick, and I was hesitant to believe my own eyes, but maybe she''d had a slight smile of her own? I couldn''t say for sure; it was not something I was used to seeing.


    *****


    The three of us working together managed to get about half of everything we''d collected sorted and tucked away in one bag or backpack or another - that is, half of the non-edible supplies; we¡¯d yet to touch the foodstuffs - by the time Rudolpho began serving up lunch. Master Thomas returned once again from some hallway I''d yet to explore, several sacks clutched in each hand and one dangling from between his teeth, which he added alongside everything else before sitting down to join us in the meal. It almost felt companionable... but no one seemed inclined to chat as they ate. I honestly wasn''t sure what to make of it.


    I almost considered trying to break the ice myself, but I was having a hard time coming up with some item of small talk I could bring up, without worry that I might be asking something I shouldn''t. Whatever ease of conversation Master Thomas and I had shared this morning, while waiting for the others to arrive for their breakfast, seemed to have fled me now. I remained excited to see what could be seen outside these walls, and was curious about what our journey might actually be like, but my words continued to fail me. It was rather disquieting, actually, and I wasn''t sure what to make of it.


    And so by the time we''d finished eating, my excitement had become somewhat shadowed by the addition of a sour edge to it.


    *****


    I helped carry our lunch dishes back into the kitchen, and then handed them one by one to Lady Elutria. She arranged each of them carefully, in what I now recognized as this kitchen''s wash closet. I''m not quite sure what the logic was that Lady Elutria was following - just why one bowl was placed there, like so, while this other bowl went over there, angled that way. All the same, I did feel at least slightly proud to now know just as much about things here as I did. I might not be as comfortable with the common conveniences these people knew and took for granted, but I could learn. And between this and our earlier quiet cooperation with the packing, it did feel like maybe Lady Elutria and I could find a way to get along, after all.


    Still, even if I had reluctantly agreed to forgive her for everything up to her apology earlier, I hadn''t forgotten her glee at the idea of my petitioning to break our bond, either.


    Dishes seen to, we rejoined the others, who had been continuing to work on the packing. Rudolpho looked up at our entrance, and stated "I think this might be a good moment for us to stop by the armory."

 Chapter 11 - Gates, Bars and Changes

    The 9th & 10th of Aggrave, Year 373 P.R.F. (High Lunar Cycle)


    The Cetimos Ministry of Summoning¡¯s Testing and Isolation Facility #2, on the outskirts of Drebos Altimas


    With a significant portion of our packing done, for our upcoming departure, all five us had made our long way back up the stairs and then down the interior ramp again within the tower, returning to those passages deep underneath where I had first been escorted after being summoned to this world. A place of reinforced doors, heavy stone construction, and a heavier atmosphere. Between that and the discomfort I had felt during and since our lunch break, I wasn¡¯t necessarily feeling as upbeat and chipper as I had been at the start of our packing efforts.


    But apparently, the armory we needed to pull supplies from were tucked away in these halls.


    Working together, Lady Elutria and Rudolpho opened one of those heavily-reinforced doors, one otherwise nondescript and identical to its peers. Even as Lady Elutria was still pulling the door wide and Rudolpho was still working at quieting one of the several protective wards, Hesra had already begun moving to enter the room beyond with Master Thomas close on her heels. I started to follow them as well, but Lady Elutria waved me back. I took it to mean that I wouldn¡¯t be allowed inside, but as Lady Elutria muttered one last incantation, a final sigil flared to brilliance, hidden within the patterned tile floor just inside the doorway, then died out.


    ¡°Apologies Secia, but some of the wards are keyed specifically to prevent summons from gaining access to the armory without permission,¡± said a smiling Rudolpho. Lady Elutria didn¡¯t bother to say anything at all, merely gesturing that I should now follow. With the recent conversation about their Tests, and where this armory was located, I found myself wondering if Lady Elutria was now deliberately trying to provoke me, despite seemingly inviting me to stand within an arm¡¯s reach of a large quantity of weapons.


    The interior might properly be described as a single room, but only in the most technical sense. If the ceiling had been any higher than the hallway we¡¯d just entered from, I might have been tempted to describe it as ¡°cavernous¡±. The armory was extensive, with multiple racks of both a variety of different kinds of weapons and multiple types of armor, grouped by section and aligned in rows. The walls themselves were no simple flat surface but regularly punctuated by large alcoves, each seemingly devoted to one purpose or another. Some seemed like preparatory areas, with benches, arming dummies, and rows of lockers.


    Other alcoves were set up like miniature workshops, with workbenches and tools specialized to a variety of crafts, from fletching to leatherworking to glass etching. There were even a pair of alcoves each organized around a small forge. The forges were built to different scales; one for the heavier work of shaping steel and mithril, and one for comparatively more delicate work such as working copper or drawing gold wire.


    The racks of equipment suitable for arming a small company of soldiers may have dominated the foreground, but once I noticed the workshops, I had eyes for nothing else. It was all I could do not to break into a run, as I made a beeline for what appeared to be some kind of compact alchemy lab. I¡¯ve always been a sucker for a pretty alembic, and this one had a beaut on full display. And while friends had commented that they found the typical range of an alchemist¡¯s glasswares to be an impenetrable chaos, I had always found them comfortably familiar and straightforward. Yet as I continued to draw closer to the workstation, I spotted perhaps three shapes completely unknown to me, tucked in and among the dozens of pieces carefully arranged across multiple surfaces, ready at need. The idea of puzzling out their purposes and discovering their uses had my eyes metaphorically sparkling. Heaven!


    ¡°Secia?¡± called out Hesra, questioningly, from somewhere lost among the central equipment racks.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Where are you? Please return and join us. Come back to the center aisle, and you should be able to find us.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s frustrating. Torn, I struggled to decide what to do. I really would enjoy the chance to examine how they¡¯ve laid out these workspaces, but I know that they must be waiting on me. Reluctantly, I began to turn back towards the group, when¡­


    ¡°Secia!¡± This time, it was an impatient Lady Elutria shouting for me.


    She¡¯s feeling impatient? Well, I could be impatient, too. My head felt hard, tense, my emotions more raw in a way that I wasn¡¯t accustomed to. With a disdainful flick of my tail, I began striding determinedly towards the alchemy setup. No longer hurried by excitement, but a slower, more deliberate march.


    ¡°Secia! Hurry up!¡± she called again.


    ¡°I¡¯m over here!¡± I called back, trying to keep my tone as even as I could.


    Now Master Thomas raised his voice, confused. ¡°Are you lost?¡±


    ¡°Nope! I¡¯m looking at something.¡±


    ¡°Secia, if you¡¯ve found a weapon that might suit you,¡± now came Hesra again, ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons why we¡¯re here. We just want to¡­¡±


    I interrupted with ¡°Not weapons. Alchemy! You can come find me if you want.¡±


    I think that began to provoke another outburst from Lady Elutria, only for someone to intervene before she got started. Maybe? I wasn¡¯t able to make out any proper words, so I¡¯m not entirely sure what I had heard. I didn¡¯t really care, anyway.


    *¡­*


    Okay, fine. I wanted not to care, but maybe I cared just a little, despite myself. Regardless, I had reached the alcove I had been seeking and could now examine the alchemy paraphernalia up close. I tried to provoke myself into once again feeling that sense of enrapture towards the alembic that had initially so enchanted me, but I couldn¡¯t quite put my heart into it. My focus was too scattered, maybe. If I could just stop caring for a few minutes about the others in the room, I¡¯m sure I would be able to find that feeling again. Instead, I just got more and more annoyed, at my failures to feel what I wanted to feel, to not be perfectly in control of my own self, to be able to think and feel and do what I want, when I want.


    Fine. If joy and elation were currently beyond my reach, I had other choices, other options. I turned my focus to the other tools of alchemy scattered across the workbenches set against all three walls of this alcove. I was sure I had seen three different items of glassware, that even at a distance looked distinctly unfamiliar to me. So exactly which ones were they? Pouring all of myself, my focus, into examining them in detail and puzzling out what I could sounded like an excellent idea.


    It was harder than it should have been. One, I was sure, had been to the far left, and sitting far enough forward to be have given me an unobstructed view of it from a distance. Two moderately tall glass chimneys of similar but not identical proportions, rising from a large glass bulb, with several small copper fittings. Valves, I had thought, but I hadn¡¯t quite been able to make out the details clearly enough from that far away. It had reminded me slightly of equipment I had used in the past to separate the more potent liquid components of a mana potion from those of weaker effect. Doing so not only produced a more superior mana potion, but the unused remainder was also left untainted to produce a much more watered down version with, in addition to the superior potion, instead of simply wasting the leftovers. But I¡¯d never seen a design with two chimneys, and I was curious as to what it could be intended for.


    And then as I was searching hard through the various apparatus lined up on that left side of the workspace, seeing several ¡°almosts¡± but all only of the single-chimney design I already knew, I recognized one particular copper fitting by its odd s-bend and it all clicked. There was no two-chimney variant on this table. I had been fooled by forced perspective. Two of the single-chimney designs had been similar enough in appearance and sat side-by-side, with the slightly smaller one just happening to sit behind the larger, at least from the angle I had been approaching from. In my excitement I had mistaken them for being all of a single piece.


    I stood there for a few moments, trying to not let my disappointment get the better of me. Fine, I was mistaken. Mistakes happen. But just because I had gotten the wrong idea once, didn¡¯t mean that there couldn¡¯t still be two others that were just as excitingly unfamiliar new tools to examine. Focus. Just focus. The second unfamiliar piece; what exactly had caught my eye? Where should I look to spot it again?


    Which of course is when I heard the others approaching from behind me. To turn and face them now or wait until they speak to me first, that is the next question¡­


    The sound of footsteps stopped close by, but I didn¡¯t hear them immediately say anything, either. As the moment stretched, I tried to continue my visual search of the workshop, but was struggling to meaningfully focus on what I was seeing as I waited for their next move. It was Hesra who finally broke their silence, but not in a way I expected.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s just plain adorable.¡±


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    Wait, what? Startled, I spun around, furious, ready to chew her out but too angry to find coherent words for my displeasure.


    They stood there in an uneven line across the entrance to this alcove, and looked as surprised by me as I was by them. They also looked far more relaxed about things than I was expecting. But apparently enough of my feelings showed in my face for Hesra to raise her hands placatingly, and Rudolpho actually dropped his customary smile altogether, looking concerned.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to offend,¡± Hesra offered. The steely engineer shrugged slightly as she explained, ¡°I¡¯m not often one to think something is particularly cute. But, your tail, the way it was so forcefully swishing back and forth in varying loops¡­ I don¡¯t think we had realized yet just how passionate you are about alchemy. What do you think of the setup here? It¡¯s not a full, proper alchemy lab, of course. Just something to mix up treatments to keep the gear in this room in good condition, or to prepare various coatings to aid with particularly unusual threats. But still, do you like it?¡±


    If my tail had been lashing, it hadn¡¯t been motivated by any rosier emotions on my part. I might still lack confidence in my ability to glare in a particularly devastating way, but her implication that they had found my anger ¡°cute¡± in any sens at all certainly had me narrowing my eyes even further as she spoke. But all of her words were unexpected to begin with, and her sudden request for my perspective on their workspace left me in a more confused place.


    I still wanted to rage and scream, but that was easier for me to imagine doing when I had assumed this was inevitably going to be some kind of angry confrontation anyway. Their calm, relaxed attitudes so little matched my own, I just¡­ Instead of giving me the excuse I needed to explode, I found me warring with myself about whether to still blow up or to express my honest opinion about their alchemy lab in reply to Hesra¡¯s question. The whole thing was just so ludicrous. I wanted to give up the whole question of ¡°what to say¡± and just stomp and yell and break things, except none of that felt like me. I¡¯ve never been the sort of person to throw a tantrum. Especially over what? Why was I even so angry in the first place? What had they done, to deserve that from me? To force them to deal with my feelings?


    Paralyzed with indecision, I gritted my teeth and just¡­ froze, I guess. I lost track of my own thoughts, let alone the outside world, as I was battered by emotions I didn¡¯t understand and didn¡¯t know how to deal with.


    Suddenly, the world snapped back into focus for me. But everything looked grayer, seemed more shadowed and distant. My limbs were leaden and heavy. The fury that had so energized me was gone, missing, and where it went I neither knew nor cared. I didn¡¯t care about anything anymore. I felt a brief pang of worry about how little I cared about anything, but that too was swiftly muffled and dwindled until it too become nothing of significance to me.


    While I¡¯ve been prone to get lost in thought in the past, and in this case I had no objective sense of how much time had actually elapsed since Hesra had finished speaking, it didn¡¯t really look like I¡¯d missed anything. Somehow I seemed to have gone from enraged to uncaring in less time than it took to snap one¡¯s fingers. I wasn¡¯t sure how that had happened. But I also didn¡¯t care.


    ¡±I didn¡¯t want to touch anything without permission, so I¡¯m not really sure. Alchemy is one of several crafting arts I¡¯m proficient in, and I was mostly curious to see how your equipment and applications of alchemy compares to those I know. Still, of the alembics it has been stocked with, I did think this one was particularly pretty.¡±


    Hesra looked at me oddly, but Rudolpho was all smiles again. ¡°Oh ho? We won¡¯t be able to take any of these tools with us; we¡¯re not permitted to remove them from this facility. Do you think you could provide us with a few samples of your own alchemy yet today, before we depart? For that matter, are there any other crafts here you could demonstrate? What tools or materials are you missing?¡±


    But Lady Elutria chose to interject before I could speak. ¡°No Rudolpho. Not today.¡±


    Her noblewoman¡¯s expression firmly in place again, I wasn¡¯t sure how to read her objection. Just earlier today, I had been itching for the chance to make something new again. It had been a small wish, lost among more than a few other concerns. And reminded me of my own workshop and tools, the one¡¯s I¡¯d had no opportunity to bring with me when I had been summoned to this world. Now, though, with Rudolpho¡¯s open-ended ¡°make anything I¡¯d like¡±, I was struggling to find any inspiration for an actual project I could complete. Or wanted to work on.


    ¡°I know I was the one who suggested assessing Secia¡¯s skills in the field in the first place, but her skills as an artisan needs to be part of her assessment as well. Asking her to display her artistry empty-handed in the wild isn¡¯t a fair basis to judge by. And there¡¯s truly no proper set of tools we could be allowed to bring with us. So if not today, when? Are we delaying our departure?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll still leave tomorrow. We can borrow a true, proper laboratory for her to use after we¡¯ve arrived back in the city. Hesra said it herself - however high quality this equipment might be, overall it¡¯s quite limited in its actual scope. Forcing her to work within these constraints isn¡¯t much better than asking her to work empty-handed in the woods.¡±


    Rudolpho was clearly skeptical of this reasoning. ¡°That¡¯s not impossible, but it¡¯ll be much easier to convince a master craftsman to lend us the use of his domain if we could present him with an existing example or two of Secia¡¯s own craftsmanship.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can secure the appropriate workspaces for her assessment regardless.¡±


    ¡°But surely there¡¯s no harm in¡­¡±


    ¡°I said ¡®no¡¯, Rudolpho.¡±


    He frowned, but lapsed into silence. I didn¡¯t really feel strongly either way. I looked to Hesra and Master Thomas¡¯s reactions. Master Thomas looked like he wanted to argue as well, but maybe wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Whatever Hesra felt about this wasn¡¯t apparent on her face. Maybe she didn¡¯t care any more than I did.


    When no one raised any further challenges to her decision, Lady Elutria didn¡¯t look triumphant or comment further. It was expected of us, natural. The decision had always been hers. Instead, she turned back to me. ¡°You¡¯ll need a weapon. Something you can defend yourself with if you had to, at a minimum. Armor, too, if you¡¯d like some.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more than a few to choose between, obviously. Let us know what might work best for you, and we can help you to narrow it down, ease you in finding the right fit.¡±


    ¡°I prefer to fight with a staff, when I have to. Something about shoulder-high for me would work well. Something sturdy, with enough heft that a strike will have some force behind it, but I favor quick blows and movements over a heavy swing. One of my favorites had some matten vine bark woven through the leather grip, to keep it from slipping when wet or greasy.¡±


    ¡°As one should expect from an artisan; how very precise. I¡¯ve never heard of ¡®matten vines¡¯, but I¡¯m sure we can find you something.¡± She gave an approving nod, and began to lead us back among the various racks of equipment. We all followed her, of course. What else would we have done?


    *****


    For the second time, I awoke in the bedroom that had been lent to me, to a sky showing the early light of false dawn but without a visible sun in the sky. A few things were different this time, though. In one corner, close to the door, leaned a polished wooden staff. A steel cap with small traceries of brass around the rim graced either end. The original leather wrapping for the staff''s grip had been a particularly heavy, thickly-cut affair. A quality choice, but one that had left the staff just a touch broader than I could comfortably hold in my hands, risking it slipping from my fingers in an actual fight. I had replaced it yesterday with a different kind of leather, something that I could wrap tighter and thinner to better suit me. It hadn¡¯t been much of an alteration, but Rudolpho had seemed a bit happier that I had completed even so small a project.


    I was also hungry, but certainly not starving. This time I¡¯d eaten dinner last night, even if I had taken it back to my bedroom to eat in private. I''m not sure how polite that was of me, but I''d preferred that over risking sharing another awkward meal with the others, the way lunch had been.


    Third, that feeling of being stretched and wooden, that pervasive grayness to the world, had followed me all the way into the evening. When the unfamiliar stars had begun to appear in the sky, I hadn¡¯t really felt anything at all. Checking myself this morning¡­ I don¡¯t think I feel quite so gray? At least not in the same way. It¡¯s hard to tell if things seem a little washed out and dim at the moment because of something about me, or just because there¡¯s so little light in the sky. I''m probably not so gray at all this morning, is my best guess. Where that had all come from in the first place, I still wasn¡¯t sure, but I don¡¯t think it had left me again altogether, either.


    But it was hard to take the time to really sort through that just now, because fourth, someone kept insistently knocking on my door. ¡°Secia? It¡¯s time to get up. We¡¯ll be heading out soon.¡±


    I rose and went to the door, collecting my new staff along the way. ¡°I¡¯m awake, Hesra.¡± I answered her as softly as she had called to me. I wasn¡¯t quite sure why we were keeping our voices so quiet, if everyone was supposed to be awake now, but it¡¯s not as if I was having trouble hearing her.


    ¡°Good morning, Secia. We¡¯re giving our packs one last look, just to be sure we haven¡¯t forgotten anything. Master Thomas has already prepared us something warm to eat, once we¡¯re on the road.¡±


    Not long thereafter, all five of us were gathered in a new hallway, packs shouldered, a hall reached via a completely different stairway down from the roof, that had remained hidden until now. Unlike any other part of the tower I¡¯d seen, this corridor was twice the width and three times the height of the other hallways, with colorful banners hung along the walls. They were neither uniform in the cut of their fabric nor in the imagery that adorned them, although none of them depicted anything I found identifiable. Each one prominently centered a single symbol of one sort or another, but they were abstract shapes that meant nothing to me.


    I had plenty of time to examine them, as I had nothing better to do while I waited for them to open the massive gate at the far end of the hall. Opening the armory may have required both Lady Elutria and Rudolpho, but apparently this portal was barred by locks that need all four of them working together to open.


    It seemingly wasn¡¯t a quick process, and I¡¯d been hearing various thumps, clicks, and similar noises for a while now. So it wasn¡¯t a particular noise that suddenly drew my attention back to the gate, but rather a change in the air. Even on the rooftop patio, the air might have been fresher, but had been untouched by even a breeze. Now, however, a constant stream of air was rushing gently across my face.


    Waiting for Rudolpho''s nod, just in case there still remained any wards keyed just to me, I stood ready. But not this time, it seemed. The four mages were all smiles as they led me out into the open air. I had barely traveled ten feet outside, before I was overwhelmed by the need to just stop and take it all in.


    We still were high up the side of a mountain, and the nearby ground was more stones and shrubbery than a proper forest. But I could see trees nearby both above and below me, in places where the ground wasn''t quite so steep. Packed earth shifted slightly and yielded to my feet in a way that stone floors never would, and my ears discovered something else that had been missing from within the tower - birdsong. Deeply I inhaled, while feeling the breeze gently tickling my short fur in places where it was exposed, such as my face, tail, and the backs of my hands. And as I felt myself relaxing, truly relaxing, the sun itself finally started to peek above the mountain summit looming over me.