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Blood and viscera burned on the orange stone all around Erick’s house. Vast crescents of flat land had been turned into rippling, blackened glass, while a breeze flowed through the broken city wall to the north. Ash blew on that wind, like a barely-there snow.  

Erick and Jane’s house was perfectly okay; floating ash parted around the dense air surrounding the house like a gently denied intruder. The Mage Trio’s house had not fared so well. As Erick stood atop his tower and Kiri puked over the side again, he stared at the Oceanside Mage’s house. Cold ran up his spine.  

A broken blue [Ward] hung haphazard around that three story, towered house, like hexagons of shattered ice. The windows of the house were broken, while the yard was charred and blackened. With a quick [Hunter’s Instincts]-powered look around, Erick saw that the rest of the city around the Human District was minimally on fire; people were already coming out of stone houses to put out the small flames here and there. But the Mage Trio’s house was not on fire at all. The house stood there like the remains of Erick’s gardens; inert, unburning.

Had everything already burned away inside the Mage Trio’s house?

Mog blipped grey, back down to the ground beside the door to Erick’s house. Kiri washed thick air across the top of the tower, catching Erick in her own [Cleanse]. The bad taste in his own mouth vanished, but he was barely paying attention to details like that. He was listening all around. Right now, Silverite, Poi, Jane, and Mog, were all inside of his own house; they were all okay. Maybe Ramizi, Eduard, and Maia were, too?

With a quick thought, Erick sent an Ophiel blipping toward the Mage Trio’s house. He rode his [Familiar]s sight, through the charred doorway, into the broken front room, and further, quick as Ophiel could fly.

Couches and beds were ash. Alchemy ingredients were blackened, or on fire. The kitchen was a wreck. A greenhouse attached to the north side of the house was broken; glass and twisted metal scattered everywhere, while the garden itself was full of burning couatl meat and ash. He had only explored for a minute, but it did not look good. Erick came back to himself, but he urged Ophiel to continue his search for people inside the house. Ophiel wasn’t quite smart enough to know them as the ‘Mage Trio’; not yet, anywa—

Why was Erick searching for them manually? He was inside his [Ward]. Any telepathic backlash damage done to him would be heavily mitigated. Erick recalled Ophiel and opened a [Telepathy] line to all three of them.

‘Ramizi? Maia? Eduard? Are you all safe?’  

Moments ticked by.  

Silverite sent, ‘You okay?’

Erick was startled for a moment, but he sent back, ‘Yeah. Kiri and I are good. But the Mage Trio’s—’

‘We’re all good. Busy. Talk to you later,’ came Ramizi’s response.

Erick continued to send to Silverite, ‘Never mind; they’re good, too.’

‘I already talked to them.’ She sent back, ‘It’s time for all of us to talk about Spur joining the hunt for Messalina.’

Erick stood on top of his mage tower, looking out at the burning Human District. Barely five minutes had passed since the fight ended, but it felt like a week. He sent, ‘Okay. Give me a few minutes out here.’

‘Sure.’

- - - -

Quick as the fight ended, the reconstruction efforts began. Guards in silver armor walked out of the city, into the Human District. Three here, two there. They worked in groups, and they worked fast. Body parts were gathered together and set to [Cleansing Fire]. Blood and ash were simply [Cleanse]d. Broken walls were moved back into positions. The land was turned back to normal stone.  

By the time Erick touched down in front of his house, one of the guards out of a group of three came over to him. A yellowscale guard in silver armor offered to help Erick put his own property back to rights, but Erick told them he could take care of it all himself, later. The dragonkin just nodded, then went on with her job.

Erick repaired the worst of the damage around his house, like the garden that had been turned to ash and then blasted away, leaving a great big hole in the front yard, and a bit around the back near the compost pile that had been blasted away. Erick had failed to fully enclose the house in his [Prismatic Ward], and parts of the building had holes in walls. So with [Stoneshape] and after dismissing the scattered dense airs surrounding the estate, Erick went about casting [Prismatic Ward] properly, this time.

His house was definitely larger than a normal ‘large-sized’, though, so with 5100 mana total, and after Clarity, he had to spend 50 for the base spell and 250 for a Total Mana Shaping, leaving him with 4700 mana left for Variable costs. But he didn’t want to be at 0 mana, so he threw 4600 into the shield. Clarity doubled the power of that 4600 mana, though. The final result was a [Solid Ward] worth just over 55,000 points of damage.  

Dense, pleasant air soaked out across stone and windows. The spell extended up several meters into the air on both mage towers, giving him ample space to stand protected, if he wished, while leaving the exterior doors covered only halfway through the wood. If some unpermitted person wanted to knock on the doors, they could. Everything else was fully covered by [Prismatic Ward].

 The fight with the Flare Couatl was twenty minutes ago, and it still didn’t feel real.  

Erick went into the sunroom. Silverite sat on a chair in the sunroom with several lines of thought radiating from her head. Her eyes were closed, but she knew he was in the room. Erick went to the window, and waited. He watched the Human District, and waited.

Across the way, the yellowscale guard spoke to Eduard in the lawn front of the Mage Trio’s house. Erick guessed she was offering Eduard help, too. Eduard waved her off as he pointed backward. Ramizi floated in the air around their southern, broken mage tower, shaping stone back into position. Maia briefly appeared behind a broken upstairs window, before thick air spilled out from that window. The yellowscale guard nodded, then walked away. Eduard continued walking toward Erick’s house.  

 Erick occasionally ran [Hunter’s Instincts], just so he could be aware of his surroundings. The battle was over, but it certainly didn’t feel over. It felt like it was just beginning; the Flare Couatl finally attacking Spur was just the opening act.

As he looked out the window, he paused in thought, as he watched the happenings around the only other house in the Human District. Usually this view was blocked by the garden, but that was gone; turned to dead dirt and blown-away sand. Erick had seeds for everything he had grown, while all of his fruits and vegetables and grains were already a part of the farms to the west. Recovering from this blow would be as hard as asking for some clippings from the farmers out west of the city.  

But that was a conversation for another day.

Erick turned to the only other person in the room, saying, “Eduard is on his way over. Just him.”

Silverite opened her eyes. The lines of thought around her silver head gradually winked out, as she said, “Good.” She tilted her head left, saying, “Mog is coming back.”

No one had really said anything around Erick after the fight ended. Poi was sleeping off his own magic in his room. Jane was watching over him with her [Greater Treat Wounds]. Kiri made herself scarce for some reason.  

Erick wasn’t quite sure why no one was talking to him. Were they mad at him? He felt guilty of something. He wasn’t sure what, but he knew he had done something wrong.  

He asked, “Silverite? Is the number of people saved by the Flare Couatl higher than the number he killed?”

“Yes,” Silverite said, emphatically. “He was a power hungry killer in the end, but he also killed over three thousand hunters, at least. Maybe a lot more. Your decision to let him run free for a while was the correct one, based on pure math.” She added, “Sometimes it’s hard to make that sort of decision, but you gave me a good reason to follow your lead, and I took it. But now we have to take a harder stance.”

Erick slowly nodded. He still didn’t feel right, or good, but at least Silverite’s words were… something. Had he really made the right call back then? Maybe he had? Was he really okay with this sort of hard math that Silverite spoke of? It’s not like the extra monsters Eduard warned about ever materialized. According to everything that happened, letting the Flare Couatl run around had been the right choice…

… Except for that part at the end.

Erick said, “You have to strike a balance between letting the monster-eating monsters roam, and killing what needs to be killed.”  

Silverite slowly nodded. She said, “Don’t go getting a hero complex on me, Erick. You’re not expected to kill anything that threatens this city; you were just the easiest option for the last two months.” She said, “Besides, I am the one that decided that Spur would not hunt Messalina. Not you.”

Erick smiled.  

A knock came from the front door.

Erick gave Eduard [Prismatic Ward] permissions. He almost walked out of the sunroom to get the door, but he heard another move faster.

Kiri said, “I’ll get it.”  

Erick spoke out into the hallway, “I already gave him permission.”

Eduard sat down in the sunroom, across from Silverite, as Eduard walked into the house. Kiri guided the Ice Mage from Oceanside into the sunroom. As soon as she deposited Eduard into the doorway of the sunroom, she took off, eager to get gone; Erick would need to ask her later what that was all about.

Erick said, “Come on in, Eduard.”

Eduard wore pale blue [Conjure Armor] clothes, with an armored section over his chest. He asked Erick, “Are you here to help round up Messalina?”

“… I don’t know yet.”

Silverite said, “Whatever Erick chooses to do or not do does not matter. Spur has now been given reason to find and end Messalina’s involvement in the affairs of the Crystal Forest. To that end—” She paused. She looked to air, to her left.  

The front door knocked again. Erick heard Kiri rush to open the door.

“That would be Mog.” Silverite said, “Please sit, Eduard. This discussion might take a while. I wish to know fully and completely what you know, so that we can end this threat.”

Eduard looked to Silverite, then to Erick, asking, “Why are we doing this here, if he's not going to help?"

Erick said, “I said ‘I don’t know yet’. That means ‘I might help take her down’. It’s just— Where I came from, I used to work with the dregs of society. The people who were bad off and doing worse to others because of it. I helped people turn their lives around, Eduard. I made my community better for it, and though I failed a lot, I also succeeded a lot.” He added, “The point is, is that my metric for how that system would work on Veird is very, very messed up. I think I made a bad call before, and I would like to know more.”

Silverite continued to sit in her chair.

Eduard gave a quick nod then moved into the room. He sat down across from Silverite, next to Erick, on one of five chairs in the room, saying, “Okay.”

Mog appeared in the doorway, asking, “Did I miss anything yet?”

Erick smiled to see Mog.

“No.” Silverite said, “We were just about to start.”

Mog nodded to Erick as she took a chair next to Silverite.

Silverite began, “Do you know where she is?”

“No.” Eduard said, “We do know that she is not in the Underworld. The Headmaster’s [Eyes of the Goddess] would have told him if she was down there. So she is still somewhere on the surface. At this point, our best guess is that she’s discovered some new method of camouflage, or she might be hiding out in a Cloud Giant city. It is well within her power to be able to kill and re-soul Cloud Giants with people loyal to her.”

Silverite said, “I’m guessing more the latter than the former. But I don’t think she would kill and re-soul them. She’s worked with Cloud Giants before.”

Eduard sighed out in both relief and disgust, muttering, “Of course. The one place we can’t actually go, and she has a history with the Cloud Giants. Fuck.”

Mog asked, “Is the Headmaster’s [Scan] still reporting her as somewhere nearby?”

Eduard resumed his professional facade. He said, “There have been some slight fluctuations in location, but mostly, she hasn’t moved at all in the three months since she came to this land.”

“We put out those Cinnabar Hand corpses last month and she took them.” Silverite said, “Have you noticed anything since then?”

“No.” Eduard said, “We’ve gotten no new leads. Honestly, we’ve never had any good leads until now. She’s a phantom.”

“No new monsters on the level of the Flare Couatl, either.” Mog said, “That slew of monsters you promised from Messalina never materialized, Eduard.” She added, “The reports of hunters are way down, though.”

Silverite said, “I suspect that at least 90 percent of the true hunter population in the Crystal Forest is gone. I doubt this will last for long. Some new wayward is bound to step up into the positions vacated by the dead now that the Flare Couatl is no more.” She continued, “As for the Cinnabar Hand themselves, you might not know this, but we kept track of those bodies we left out. Using our own methods, we tracked down two major Cinnabar Hand strongholds that have been attacked and gutted. Historically, there have been as many as seven strongholds the size of Spur out there, but that was ages ago. The two strongholds attacked were each the size of a small village. Maybe 100 to 300 people each. But Messalina is still hunting. She’s still out there. She has not found the ones responsible for the death of her village.”

Eduard sat stunned. He said, “That’s a lot more than what I knew.”

“We are cooperating with you now, if you will cooperate with us.” Silverite said, “I have received word in the last ten minutes that Kel’Duresh and Frontier would also like to cooperate with your hunt. They have been moved by the Flare Couatl’s brazen attack on Spur. I suspect several other cities of the Forest might look to cooperate as well, but I cannot speak for the whole.” She added, “So. What can you tell us that we don’t already know? Perhaps with regard to what the Headmaster has already told you. Maybe he has a theory on what Messalina might do now that her major tool to hunt the hunters is gone.”

Eduard paused in thought. He began, “The Flare Couatl was a perfect hunter-hunter. If most of the hunters in the Crystal Forest are truly gone, as you and the Headmaster fully suspect, that just means Messalina will start using more nefarious searching patterns. Parasites to infiltrate the cities of the Crystal Forest. Spying monsters. People corrupted through promises of wealth and power to act on Messalina’s behalf.” He added, “Most of that has already happened.”

Erick listened in rapt attention.  

Silverite said, “Are you speaking with the Headmaster right now?”

“Not right now.” Eduard said, “I just finished talking to him, though.”

Silverite asked, “Will he send more people here to help locate Messalina?”

“No.” Eduard said, “To put it bluntly, he doesn’t like that you let the Flare Couatl do what Messalina wanted. He will give you no more help than us.”

Erick watched, and listened, as they talked. Eduard was obviously holding back a vast amount of anger and pain, based on a tiny twitch in his left eye and his tense shoulders, but his voice was perfectly even.  

Eduard said, “But we are not nothing. I would like access to the Cinnabar Hand sites that Messalina attacked.”

“And you shall have them. But if the Headmaster is unwilling to further support this endeavor, then I will be taking a smaller stance than I had initially planned.” Silverite said, “You may tell your Headmaster that until he decides to reconsider his stance, that I will not be placing a quest against Messalina. What Spur will be doing, however, is making smaller inquiries here and there, and taking smaller steps to narrow down on Messalina’s position. We will find her, and then we will inform you of her location. We will give you no assistance beyond this.”

Eduard calmly said, “The Flare Couatl attacked Spur, and this is all you will do.”

Silverite said. “She likely has a whole hoard of monsters ready to loose upon her enemies, and my first responsibility is to defense and the people of Spur.”  

Eduard said, “I will tell the Headmaster this, but I doubt he will be willing to change his stance.”

“I know how he is.” Silverite said, “I don’t expect anything to change, so I’m just telling you how it is.”

Erick joined the conversation with, “Why is she still here, in the Crystal Forest, anyway? I mean… I know why she’s here. But.” Erick continued, “This goes beyond ‘the Cinnabar Hand are here, so her quarry is here’. How is she so absolutely sure that they’re still here?”

Eduard frowned, silently.

Mog sat back in her chair, watching Eduard, saying, “I’ve been wondering that, too. If it was me who killed her people, I would have moved on. It’s been, what? Four months since her village was destroyed? But still, she is damn sure they’re still out there, isn’t she? She’s a soul stealing witch, but she’s not insane. So how does she know they’re here?”

Silverite said, “Eduard doesn’t know the answer to that. I doubt the Headmaster would have ever told him.”

Eduard winced. He recovered. He shook his head, then came words, pouring out of him like water from a broken levee. “She parasitized us! Taunting us in our dreams all these past months, telling us how—” Eduard controlled himself. He breathed deep. He said, “She needs to die. I need to kill her. Please, Mayor. Silverite. Please help me more than you are. For the good of Spur if nothing else.”

About a dozen thoughts raced through Erick’s mind. First came the notion that ‘Messalina parasitized them! Fucking hell!’ but that was quickly replaced by other ideas. They had been parasitized, which meant that Messalina was fully capable of infiltrating Spur already, and had likely already done so. Which meant his own experience with her parasites were likely not a singular occurrence. But that was Mind Magic, right? What were the mind mages doing to combat Messalina?

Erick asked, “Is Messalina an accredited Mind Mage, working as a part of their society?”

Silverite shook her head, saying, “No. She doesn’t actually alter free will. Therefore, she is not a target for mental pacification.”  

Eduard half-shouted, “She throws around dream worms like they’re letters! She invades minds, but no! That’s not good enough for the Mind Mages. I tried to get them involved, multiple times. They said no.”

Silverite took his outburst in stride, calmly saying, “Of course they said no.”

Eduard demanded, “Why is no one helping us to kill her? Even you won’t take a real stance against her, and she sent that Flare Couatl after Spur!”  

“I will speak honestly and simply, Mage Rokva.” Silverite said, “No one wants to go out of their way to kill Messalina because she is an evil that does a lot of good.” Silverite said, “Killing the hunters of the Crystal Forest will save untold thousands of lives. Ten thousand. Twenty thousand. Maybe more. This is what Messalina usually does. This is who she usually is. Usually she restricts her methods to Nergal, but that changes every so often. This is one of those times, and unfortunately, her actions have aligned her against Spur.” She continued, “There is a cruel math to letting her run around, and most of us make this calculation, knowing the risks. The only power who truly wants Messalina dead and gone is the Headmaster.”

Eduard sat straight. He looked to Erick. He looked back to Silverite. He said, “I’m surrounded by insanity.”

“But she has attacked Spur, and she knows we must respond.” Silverite continued, “Spur will respond, Mage Rokva. And since the Headmaster is not willing to put actual force into the game, the method of that response is dictated entirely by her actions in the next few days.” Silverite turned toward the window of the sunroom, saying, “Do you need me to repeat any of that, Messalina?”

Mog, Eduard, and Erick all rapidly turned to face the window.  

A small bit of ash held in the air. No. Not ash. It was a creature. Erick flared [Hunter’s Instincts]. What floated on the other side of his sunroom window was a tiny, tiny person, with small, translucent wings, huge eyes, and a big head. The being was only an inch tall, but it stared into the sunroom like it was supposed to be there.  

The creature blipped away.  

Eduard flipped out, launching to his feet, shouting, “That fucking bug! Fuck!” Something suddenly dawned in the man, as he looked at the dense air around him. He said, “It’s a [Prismatic Ward].” He laughed. “That little fucker can’t get in, can he— Ramizi. Maia.” He turned to Erick, glancing at the Ophiel on Erick’s shoulder. “Please. I know your Ophiel can do extra [Solid Ward]s. Please. Put one over our house, right now. Before that bug can—”

Erick was already doing it. He summoned another Ophiel to go along with the quiet one already sitting on his shoulder and sent it blipping over to the Mage Trio’s house. With a quick addition of two people to his list of permissions and a remotely controlled Shaping, a dense air layered around the Mage Trio’s house. The Ophiel who cast the [Ward] disintegrated into the ambient mana; spent.

“Done,” Erick said, before Eduard could even finish asking.

“Thank you.” Eduard went silent as tendrils of thought twisted from his head, into the manasphere. “They’ve been alerted. The bug hasn’t had a chance to get into the house.” Eduard sighed. “Sorry. I haven’t gotten much sleep lately.” He looked around. “It feels good in here, though. Oddly.”

Moments passed in silence.

Erick said, “You’re not okay, are you, Eduard.”

Eduard collapsed backward into his seat. He said, “No. I’m really not.”

Silverite asked, “We’re safe here, for now.” She rolled her shoulders a little, stretching her arms, as she said, “And it feels pretty good in this [Ward], too. What is that, Erick?”

Erick tossed Silverite a copy of his [Prismatic Ward], tossing a ball through the air. She caught the blue box. She smiled as she read.

She said, “All beings inside are at Rest while inside. No matter what they’re doing, too, I suppose.”

Mog smiled. “I was wondering what that feeling was.”

Silverite turned to Eduard. “Now. Mage Rovka— Eduard. I’d like a complete report on your own efforts to find and combat Messalina, starting from when you first got to Spur, or when you were first informed that this was your mission; whichever is more relevant. I’d also like whatever information you have compiled regarding the event that precipitated her coming here.” She added, “Actually. Start with that. You physically went down to Nergal and [Witness]ed the battlefield, I hope?”

Eduard took a silent moment to respond. He said, “We were already out here in Spur, becoming citizens, when those Cinnabar Hand people killed Messalina’s village. We got tagged for her destruction when the Headmaster’s [Eyes of the Goddess] revealed she was up here. That was when we took over the investigation.” Eduard said, “No one found out the truth of the attack on Eidolon until it was too late to [Witness] the destruction of Messalina’s village. From our and the Headmaster’s subsequent investigation, and through several stories told by the survivors of the attack, we pieced together a series of likely events.

“The Cinnabar Hand show up in Eidolon, aiming for the Life Binder’s village. They immediately take the bodies and assume the forms of the less important members of a merchant caravan that is rumored to bring supplies to the Village.” Eduard said, “Four days later, Messalina rips out of the deeper forest like a tornado, flying in the sky, covered in ripped, dirty cloth and thousands of ghosts, looking like a dark blot on Reality. She then tears through every trading post that the caravan usually traveled through before they arrived at her village, killing absolutely everyone and harvesting their souls, strengthening her own soul storm. She does this all the way to the front gates of Eidolon. The city has had two hours of warning, at this point in time. They’re not ready for the Life Binder.

“An older woman steps out of those gates and confronts Messalina, crossing her hands over a gnarled cane. The old woman is barely able to stand. Messalina stops. Her storm surrounds the old woman, blocking the view from the outside. And then the storm and Messalina suddenly disperse, leaving the old woman’s body on the ground; dead.” Eduard said, “Her name was Wynding. She was the innkeeper for ‘The Dutiful Maid’; one of the better respites just inside Eidolon. Everyone knew her as a tough yet fair kinda lady, though there were more than a few people who were happy to see her dead, but these were all normal dislikes and a few open hatreds. There were no detractors or otherwise deemed to be overly invested in Wynding’s death.

“[Witness]es, conducted by Eidolon’s people, cast on the location of Wynding’s death, reveal that Wynding and Messalina had a telepathic, face-to-face conversation. Neither of them gave any indication of any words spoken. Usually there are sub-vocalizations that a good [Witness] is able to pick up, but there was nothing.

“Everyone who knew Wynding was completely unsurprised that she was willing to stand up to Messalina, but they were all surprised it worked. Wynding was thoroughly investigated. Whatever she said to Messalina must have been a private thing. They obviously had some sort of connection, but further investigation revealed nothing.”

Eduard said, “After that, we came back to Spur and went to work. Our [Familiar]s scoured the area of the Crystal Forest that the Headmaster’s [Eyes of the Goddess] declared to hold Messalina every single day. Every day, they found nothing. But Messalina found us, for sure.

Eduard breathed deep. He sighed. He said, “That’s when the Dream Worms started. At first, they were innocuous things. Normal dreams we never would have taken for anything other than normal dreams. She was feeling us out. She does that, you know. She’s probably already doing that to several people in town.” He thumbed toward the window, saying, “That bug plants the parasites. The parasites go away on their own, too. She’s really, really good at infiltration without you ever knowing, unless she wants you to know.”

Erick listened. Somewhere in the middle of Eduard’s story, Poi stepped to the doorway of the room. He was standing, so that was a good thing; it was much better than him bleeding from the eyes and ears or laying in bed for half a day. He didn’t look too bad. Poi noticed Erick noticing him, and just mouthed, ‘I’m fine.’ Erick nodded. Poi stepped into the room, listening to Eduard.

Eduard noticed Poi. He said, “I expected all the dream worms to get the Mind Mage Society up in arms, but they all said it was not their problem.”

Poi said, “I was not aware of the issue until it happened to Erick. I cannot speak for my society.”

Silverite said, “I will have to file a complaint with them, too.” She stared at Eduard, saying, “You really should have told me that Messalina was in the area, when you first found out, but I suspect that the Headmaster had a lot to do with that refusal to share information.”

Eduard said nothing.

Silverite said, “This failure to champion the needs of your chosen city is a continuation of the mark already made against you months ago when we were having a similar conversation. This splitting of loyalties is a problem, Eduard.” She sat back in her chair, saying, “But I know you are in a difficult position, and I am not up for fighting Oceanside. Therefore, I will simply say that I wish for you to be more open in the future.”

Eduard said, “Thank you.”

Mog asked, “What methods have you used to search the Crystal Forest?”

“Standard grid searching, mostly, but we’ve done it all. Expanding spiral. [Stonesense] searching. Fractured light searching. Scent and sound searching. Linear and windways. [Scan]ing from a [Familiar]. We’ve done what we can to keep our minds separate from potential influence, but then we discovered that we had been infiltrated and then we had to go all the way back to the beginning.” Eduard said, “We were supposed to be enough to bring Messalina to the Headmaster, but the Headmaster is losing faith in us.”

Silverite frowned. She asked, “You mean: you were supposed to be enough to inform the Headmaster of her location? I know I was flippant in our other discussion on this subject, but I hope you don’t mean to actually assault and capture her alive, and then take her into Oceanside.” Silverite said, “If the Headmaster sent you out to do that then he has sent you to your deaths.”

“Yes. Sorry. The first one. We’re just supposed to find her and report her position.” Eduard said, “I’ve not gotten a good night’s sleep in a while.” He added, “She is supposed to be in a roughly 500 kilometer space to the north of Ar’Kendrithyst. This actually includes Spur, but you would know if she was inside your city, right?” He asked, half desperate, “You’re not actually harboring her, are you?”

Silverite answered, “Spur is not hiding Messalina. After the recent trouble with the Daydropper, Merit has done her utmost to see that all the hiding spaces of the city are known.” Silverite said, “But just finding Messalina shouldn’t be this difficult, if she is actually where his [Eyes of the Goddess] says she is.” Silverite said, “At this point, I agree with you that there is only one more place to search, but Cloud Giant cities are no small thing.”

Eduard said, “I can’t go to the Headmaster with an idea of where she is. I need actual proof.”

Silverite said, “Whatever the case, Messalina will respond to the Flare Couatl’s death and this discussion. It shouldn’t take her long, but it also shouldn’t be a deadly response.”

All the bluster and emotion seemed to drain out of Eduard, as he said, “I still don’t understand why you all don’t consider her a major threat, on the level of Shades. She extracts souls and turns people into abominations.” He stood up, saying, “I have to go. I’ll give you copies of all our information as soon as I can.” He turned to Erick, asking, “How long will your [Ward] last?”

“Uh.” Erick paused in thought. Soon, he said, “I don’t know how to keep track of which [Ward]s my Ophiel create. I need to practice that. It could last a few days, or less, depending on if I need to reuse that Ophiel.” He added, “Which is a strange thing to think since they’re never actually ‘used up’ and none of them are numbered. I have testing to do.”

“Days?” A wide smile crossed Eduard’s face. He said, “That’s more than enough. The three of us just need one night, for a good, safe sleep. After I’m done here, I’m going to crash in bed. Thank you, Erick.”

Silverite smirked, glancing at Erick. But she said nothing.

Erick said, “I’m sorry to hear that she was parasitizing you all this time. I didn’t know. I thought my own experience with her was bad enough. I couldn’t imagine months of that sort of torture.” He added, “I heard after the fact that I was a very unkind person.”

Silverite said, “If you are ready to crash, then you can go ahead, Eduard. I have enough, for now. Thank you.”

Eduard nodded. “Then. If you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to be ambushed by that creature before I can make it home. So.” The air blipped cyan. Eduard was gone.

That was an enlightening conversation, but there were other problems to discuss, too.

Erick turned to Silverite, “The people who you assigned to my house? Turock and Veel.” He demanded, “What the hell, Silverite! They got blasted away by half a second of that Flare Snake! What—”

“I know!” Silverite interrupted, saying, “I know. I did not assign rookies to defend your house while you were gone. Please don’t think me that much of a fool.” She said, “Turock and Veel were more than capable of protecting this place from most intruders. Both of them were trusted Scions of Strength, both of them were Juggernauts and in the Army for years, and we were only exposed to the Flare Couatl’s flare for but a brief moment.” She said, “My only guess is that those two were compromised long before today, in the same way that you were.”

Poi frowned. “I talked to them occasionally. Checking in. They were Turock and Veel.” Poi straight-up asked, “Is this soul magic, now? Did we cross into that realm, yet?” He added, “Or were those two just victims of the Dream Worms?”

Erick, suddenly very worried, asked, “Can a Dream Worm kill you?”

“Not directly.” Silverite said, “But it can make you make bad decisions that seem like good decisions at the time.” She added, “And unless Messalina has changed a lot in the last 300 years, she does not operate like a normal necromancer. She has very strict rules, and one of those rules is that she doesn’t use her soul magic to alter souls. She doesn’t even mind control people. Not really. She has more than enough power over people with her Dream Worms, but she doesn’t… The Messalina I knew would not kill someone with a Dream Worm. But...” Silverite said, “This is my fault. I expected the Messalina I knew.”

Poi tsk’d. Mog grumbled.

Silverite said, “I’ll have to get Felair out here to [Witness] the scene… But maybe those two simply [Defend]ed themselves to zero Health.” She added, “I’ll have to ask Jane about them. Maybe she noticed something.” She looked to Erick, saying, “Have Jane talk to me when she can.”

Erick said, “Sure.”  

But all he could think about was Messalina messing around with Jane’s soul. Jane was here, after all, living with Turock and Veel for several days already. If Messalina had gotten to them, she had to have gotten to Jane. And then Erick had a slightly different thought. Jane was here, living with those guys for several days. How was she feeling right now, now that those two were gone? Was she okay?

Poi asked, “What else do I need to be on the lookout for?”

“A lot, Poi. You should be safe inside this [Prismatic Ward], though.” Silverite added, “But… that all depends on how your [Prismatic Ward] works when cast on an enemy or on hostile magic or parasites. When you go over your house, you might find some pockets of non-dense space inside this space filled with hostile entities. Parasites or [Force Trap]s.”

“… Okay.” Erick said, thinking.

The wind blew across the windows, making a whistling sound as it caught on a corner. Normally, there were trees out there to block the wind. Normally, there was a wall to the north, also blocking the wind. Erick listened to the sound for a moment, deciding on what to do next.

Erick said, “I’m not taking the risk of leaving this house to surprise me. I will destroy the place and [Mend] it back to full.”  

Mog said, “Probably for the best.”

Erick said, “I need to go back and get Teressa and Rats, but I’ll be back to help with tracking down Messalina soon enough. I’m not sure how, but I’ll find a way. I’ll be in Spur until this problem is resolved.”

Mog smiled faintly. Poi nodded.  

Silverite said, “Good to have you back. But be careful of giving permissions to Eduard, Maia, and Ramizi. They are compromised, for sure. The last case of parasitizing that I knew about was your Dream Worming. We’ve had nothing else since then. But… I could be wrong about that, too. We’ll find out.”

“… Noted.”

Silverite stood, saying, “There is much to be done. Remove our permissions when we leave, Erick.”  

Erick looked to Mog, then Silverite, saying, “Really?”

Mog frowned.  

Silverite said, “Yes. Really.” She sent Erick, ‘Messalina isn’t Spur’s first evil necromancer, but now that I know to look for the signs… The only people incapable of being compromised are you, Poi, Kiri, and the other wrought of Spur.’ With a cheerful, fake smile, she reached her hand out to Mog, saying, “Let’s go.”  

Mog sighed out a little, as she put her larger, green hand in Silverite’s smaller silver talons.

Silverite added, ‘Mog is a definitely compromised.’

Before Erick could process that, Silverite and Mog blipped away in a spatter of silver light.  

Erick immediately removed Mog and Silverite from his permissions. He turned to Poi, saying, “She said—”

“She told me, too.” Poi added, “We might consider going back to Oceanside for the evening if you wish to leave the Mage Trio in your permissions. The emotion of pure relief coming off of Eduard when you put a [Prismatic Ward] over his house was real, but I don’t know if the rest of it was. Distance might be our best precaution right now. Besides, we have to go get Rats and Teressa.”

Erick asked, “Did Eduard’s excuse about the Headmaster not providing aid seem real?”

Poi thought for a moment. He said, “Eduard thought his reasoning was sound.” He added, “He wasn’t currently under the influence of a Dream Worm, either. I only noticed the one on you because it was active.” Poi said, “A lot of people could have latent worms in them, just waiting to activate.

“… I need to talk to the Headmaster myself. We need more help.” Erick looked around him, at the sunroom. It was almost decorated nicely, with nice, thick wooden chairs, and a nice stone table. The walls were a bit bare, and the floor was rather plain, but it was a nice room, altogether. “Fucking— I liked this room.” He touched his chair. “I liked these chairs!” A sudden rage took hold. Erick spat, “Fucking shitty parasites!”

Poi said, “I’m glad you’re able to consider it simply ‘shitty’. Silverite claims to know Messalina, but 300 years is a long time. This might get a lot more messy than parasites. Messalina is a necromancer, Erick.” Poi paled. “Soul magic is terrifying.”

Erick looked to Poi. The man was holding himself together, but he was obviously a wreck. A sudden thought exploded in Erick’s mind, demanding his full attention. “Shit! What about Jane! We have to take her out of here.” He felt cold again, as he said, “We can’t take her to Oceanside.”

The thought of Jane meeting the Headmaster with parasites in her to drive her into a rage, into possibly attacking the Headmaster… Erick’s heart sunk. Messalina could force Jane to attack the Headmaster, and Erick would have to side with Jane.  

Erick took a long moment to consider that possible string of events.

“That’s a terrifying thought, Erick.” Poi winced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have listened in on you. My walls are kinda broken right now. Everything is bleeding—” He sat up straighter, saying, “You don’t need to worry about Jane fighting the Headmaster. We can take her to Oceanside. Her dragon essence is gone. After the battle she went to the bathroom and hasn’t come out since.” He added, “She’s fine. But...” He looked up. “You can hear her from all the way down here.” He added, “Actually hear, too. Not… mentally hear...”

Erick felt several emotions at once. The thought that Poi was listening in to his own thoughts was a vague, distant concern, because other emotions took precedence. Relief that Jane was okay came on strong, yes, but there was also a weird, generalized feeling about the minutiae of life on Veird.  

That anyone could just listen to people do their bathroom business would never sit well with Erick, but it was a fact that unless you walked around in [Audio Dampening Ward]s, that other people had [Perfect Hearing], and all their other senses, too.  

Those emotions and feelings bounced around in Erick’s head for a hot minute. As they calmed down, Erick’s final emotion was a combination of ‘everything and everyone needs help that I can’t give them’, and a whole lotta ‘I need a nap’.  

Erick listened to whatever was going on upstairs, though. He totally listened.  

And… Yup. Jane was puking and moaning and cursing at her own life in the upstairs bathroom.  

Erick sent, ‘Jan—’

A massive pang of mental shock slammed into Erick’s psyche. Luckily, the [Prismatic Ward] around his house and his own [Personal Ward] were both rather strong. Instead of a splitting headache, his skin just flickered white for a brief, tiny moment.

Jane filled the house with her voice, “DO NOT DISTURB.”

Erick winced, as he whispered, “I guess the dragon essence is gone?” He turned to Poi, saying, “I’ve got to prepare to make this new spell to fight off other possible Flare Couatls. What are you going to do?” He immediately followed that up with, “Are you okay? You collapsed out there. And your ‘walls are bleeding’? What the heck, Poi.”

Poi smiled small, as he said, “I’m okay. Thanks for asking. But don’t ever tell anyone I ever said that bit about the broken walls, please.” He looked around the room, said, “It actually feels really good to be inside this [Prismatic Ward]. I’m at Rest without Meditation. I can do strenuous magic and not break that Rest.” He added, “I would like to be gone from here and then come back with proper help. If the Headmaster won’t give it, then there’s another place I need to go, and you can’t come with me there.”

“Okay. Well. Sure..” Erick stood up, saying, “Where’s Kiri?” He added, “Jane’s not going to like moving.” He said, “I really feel like we’re relaxing too much. Even Silverite seemed calmer than her normal calm.” He looked around. “Oh my gods is this [Prismatic Ward] a drug?!”

Poi laughed, saying, “Maybe.”

Erick’s eyes went wide—

“Relax!” Poi said, “I saw the box. This [Ward] is not a drug. Silverite was just finally able to relax for the first time in… ever? Oh.” Poi paused. He said, “Now there’s a thought.” He continued, “Eduard was finally able to relax as well, but he’s just a human and he’s been under a lot of magic-induced stress. Mog… I think Mog was compromised. I’m not sure how. I don’t know soul magic. Probably a latent Dream Worm.” He slowly stood up, saying, “But you’re right. We’re relaxing too much. We were just under attack. We’re still under attack. We should evacuate to a safe distance and come back with more help from the Headmaster.”

Erick looked around again. Then he added, “Where’s Kiri?”

- - - -

Erick found Kiri in the guest rooms, near one of the beds used by Turock or Veel; he wasn’t sure which one this particular bed belonged to. Kiri was staring at the bed. Erick instantly noticed what Kiri had noticed.

A pocket of normal air surrounded one of three pillows on the bed; the [Prismatic Ward] did not form around the pillow. There was something untoward in that soft space.

“Oh,” Erick said.

Kiri said, “I’m not sure what to do with it, or if I should do anything at all.” She turned to Erick, saying, “I’m not sure if I can go back to Oceanside, either.” She quickly added, “No. Never mind. Forget that. I can go back.”

Erick paused, then he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Kiri took a long time to answer. Eventually, she said, “We just saw a dragon eat that Flare Couatl. I can’t help… I can’t help but think...” She went silent again.

Erick understood, but he tried to clarify, “Are you worried about the Headmaster?”

“… Yes.” Kiri whispered, “I forgot he was a dragon. How could I possibly forget such a detail.” She added, “Poi already checked me out. None of my memories have been altered. This is all me. This is my failure. But I have to go back.” She gestured toward the suspicious pillow, saying, “Parasites in a compromised house, or normal terror and the possibility of help. There’s not much of a choice, is there?”

“We’ll solve this problem, and then we’ll solve the rest.” Erick said, “We’re coming back with help, even if I have to give up some secrets to the old dragon. I would like you to be there so I can teach you these secrets, too. Are you interested in this?”

Kiri’s eyes did not sparkle like they usually did when Erick offered to teach her something. She did smile, but it was a faint expression; barely there. She said, “I am interested.”

“Good.” Erick said, “As soon as I can get Jane ready, we can destroy the house and remake everything inside. You need anything in your room?” He added, “Though I don’t know if we can trust any of it.”

“Crash the house to the ground and remake it. I have nothing here that can’t be replaced.”

Erick had lived in Windy Manor on Oceanside for the past two months, but his home was here, and he was about to willingly tear it apart because it was obviously infested with parasites. He was going to take [Stoneshape] and turn the house to sand. And it hurt.

It didn’t matter that [Mend] could be Aurify’d into repairing the whole thing back together, because something would inevitably be lost in the destruction. He wouldn’t know what that something was until after he had torn it all apart. He would only know what had been lost after everything was done, and he put the place back together, and then when he went to go use something, it wouldn’t be there. It would be gone.  

But that didn’t really matter, did it? They were under attack, and Erick would do what needed to be done.

“It’s all just stuff, anyway.” he said. “I’ll leave one wall up and the rest as a pile of sand for a day. We’ll spend the night in Windy Manor and come back tomorrow.”

- - - -

Erick stood outside of the closed door Jane’s bathroom, on the second floor of the house. Her room was just down the hallway from his own.  

She retched into water on the other side of the door. It was not a pleasant sound.  

Erick said, “Hey, Jane.”

She puked again.

He asked, “You’re not dying, right? This is normal for losing your essence, like you said it would be, right?”

She spat, then dry heaved. Thick air spilled out from underneath the door.  

Erick winced. He wanted to rush in there and hold back her hair or rub her back. Offer her tea. Something. Anything. He had taken care of her so many times when she was a kid. The flu always hit her hard, and then there was a stomach virus once or twice. Jane got her vaccines when she was a baby, but as soon as she was old enough to fight against the needles she skipped out on the flu shot from age 8 to 16. Sometimes literally.

Erick smiled, saying, “Do you remember that time you ran away for a day because I tried to make you get your flu shot?”

More retching. More thick air slipped out from under the door, followed by a blue glow. She groaned out small curses.

Erick said, “We’re leaving to go get help from the Headmaster. I already told Silverite. She doesn’t think it will work, but she wishes me luck. I want you to come with us, and be safe in Windy Manor while this Messalina mess plays out.”

Jane groaned out more curses. She spat. She said, “I can fight, now. The essence is ghHOOoo—”

Erick winced, listening. He said, “You’re in no shape to do anything. You’re going to be sick for a month and Messalina is apparently throwing around Dream Worms like they’re candy. You might even have one in you. The hospitals at Oceanside are really good. They take everyone in for free and do their best to help mitigate problems exactly like yours.”

“YouUu tAalked to thEem about mEe?” Jane paused. She asked, “What did you say?”

“Not exactly. Not yet. It was on the list to ask the doctors about your specific convalescence, but Rats has been there for weeks now, and all of his stories are about how they’re doing this or that for these long term patients.” Erick said, “I’m sure they have a good program for people in your situation.”

“… Ask them specifically about people recovering from dragoOn esseEEn—” She burped on the other side of the door. She said, “I heard that he eats everyone with essence...” She went quiet.  

After a moment, gentle crying echoed from inside the bathroom.

Erick panicked. He put his hand on the door knob, saying, “I’m coming in, Jane.”

Jane sobbed quietly, as she said, “Fi— fine.”

Erick opened the door. Beneath the window, beside the toilet, Jane sprawled on the stone floor with one arm around the rim of the commode. She leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. Her face was three shades too pale. But she chuckled. Then she started crying again.  

 Erick went to her, but not too fast. She didn’t like it when he crowded her when she was sick. He stepped to the side of the sink, five feet from her, and kneeled down. He said, “Hey there.”

Jane glanced at Erick, chuckling. She sobbed again. She said, “This is really fucking terrible. I knew it would be bad. But I never expected this.”

“I don’t know much about dragon essence failures but—”

“No, dad.” Jane shook her head, then stopped, stock still. She quickly stuck her head over the toilet and dry heaved. She flickered dark blue, and stopped heaving. She said, “Healing helps… but not enough. It’s— It’s a soul sickness. Dragon essence failure is a soul sickness.” She added, “But no. That’s not what really sucks. I can handle this...” Tears filled her eyes, then flowed down wet channels already lining her face. “I thought Veird would be more fun than this.” She instantly added, “It’s stupid. I know it’s stupid. I’m stupid.”

Erick did not expect her to talk in that direction, but he rushed to catch up, saying, “You’re not stupid.” He added, “It’s tough. I know it is.” Erick’s own eyes began to water, as he said, “It’s not okay, but it’s okay for now. Okay?” He added, “Monsters and pain and horror. We can handle it. You can handle it. And when you can’t, it’s time for a break.”

Jane smiled. Then she puked bile into the toilet. When she was done, she flashed dark blue again, then flickered a [Cleanse] into the room. Thick air spilled away, across the floor then into the hallway. She said, “I expected adventure and levels and loot and magic. Sure, there’d be some horror. Of course there’d be some horror. But I could have died twenty times over in that unicorn hunt. I would have never seen it coming, either. I’m just now realizing how dangerous Ar’Kendrithyst actually is—” She said, “And now I’m just being a baby.” She added, “I already knew how dangerous this place is. I’m just being stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, Jane.” Erick said, “I never expected this place to be this vicious, either. Now we got Dream Worms in people and Silverite thinks Mog is compromised, among others.”

“I heard.” Jane went silent as more tears welled in her eyes. She eventually said, “I made dinner for… for those two, and me. Last night. Shepherd's pie. Great big platter of it… I used the leftover beef from a whole cow Turock roasted two days ago. Veel liked the way I made my potatoes, with cheese and too much butter.” She stared at the ceiling again, saying, “When I was in the Dead City… Ten other soldiers died while I was in there. We had seven casualties during Yetta’s mission to kill Planter… Not including Allan. And Dorthy. Basil.” She paused. She said, “That place gets 500 adventurers a month, now. It’s like a theme park where the theme is murder. It’s horrible, dad. I don’t know...” She went silent again.

She suddenly added, “And that Unicorn Hunt! That place is rotten to the core. Something is really, really wrong over there. None of the cities have walls so the unicorns just waltz right in and dominate whoever they want and the people kill each other over the littlest things and I think someone set us up to die, dad. To die. And the Queen of the Forest talked about Melemizargo! And she thought he would respond if she just yelled his name at the sky!” She added, “The gods listen for their names and he’s a god, ergo he listens for his name and fuck, of course he does. It’s all just… It’s a lot. A lot a lot.”

Erick listened. He didn’t catch all of what Jane had just said, but he caught most of it. He would need to talk to her about all of that in a better setting than this, and soon.  

He said, “Oceanside has been really nice for me for the last two months. I was able to unwind.” Erick said, “I rained here every day, and I killed the more dangerous monsters roaming close to Spur whenever Mog gave Poi a call. But I did it all at a very long range.” He said, “You’re a wreck. You need a break. Do you want to go to magic school, too? I can swing the tuition, no problem. Maybe I can help you make a [Familiar] like Ophiel, and you can do what I do.”

Ophiel listened nicely from Erick’s shoulder, like a tiny parakeet. At hearing his name, he trilled in violins.

Jane smiled at Ophiel, then at nothing in particular. She got out, “MaAA—” before she had to lean over the toilet again.

Erick tried a joke to lighten the mood, “I thought it was supposed to come out of both ends.”

Jane seemed to pale again. She stared, wide eyed at Erick, as she said, “Get out.”

Erick quickly left the room and shut the door as burbling sounds echoed loud from Jane’s tummy. A lot of unkind words followed his exit.

Erick tried to convince himself that this was normal. This was fine. She was fine. She wasn’t really okay, but she was okay. For now.  

Erick joked from the other side of the closed door, “Like eating some of those Carolina Reapers, right?”

Jane groaned, “FUUUuuuuuuck.”

- - - -

Not ten minutes later, as Erick was stringing Ophiel across the ocean, back to Oceanside to talk to Rats, a knock came from the front door. Erick answered it. Bluescale Felair, the [Witness]er of Spur, stood on the other side, along with one other; a matte-grey dragonkin-shaped wrought.

“Liquid! Felair.” Erick said, “Hello. Come on in.” He granted both of them permissions and stepped aside, saying, “I was just about to take down the house.”

“Glad I came here first, then. Silverite’s got a list for me; she’s running me ragged today,” Felair said, looking over the layer of dense air across the doorway. He touched the dense air, and his fingers went inside without pause. He stepped into the house. “Show me to Turock’s and Veel’s room.”

Kiri appeared behind Erick. She said, “I’ll show you.”

Erick said, “That works. Can you tell me what you find?”

Felair said, “Sure. She’s cleared you for that.” He thumbed to the air outside of the door, to the front yard. “Turock and Veel died there with dream worms in their heads. I can’t tell if they were active, but they were there. I can tell you that they did [Defend] themselves to death. I can recognize that ability, for sure.”

Erick felt cold.

Kiri showed Felair down the hallway; the man moved fast. Erick watched him go.

Felair was the only [Witness]er Erick knew of in Spur. Surely there were more, but they were not in the public eye like Felair was. Erick had read about [Witness] back at Oceanside. His respect for Felair easily quadrupled since that day. The only way to be able to buy the spell was to have a really, really good Mana Sense. Good enough to see for kilometers around, passively, through the ambient mana.  

[Witness] was just a twist on that sense that allowed the practitioner to see the recent past. The best users of the spell could even use it through a [Scry], to see the recent past anywhere, but that has some cost to it that the books did not go into detail about. Erick had no doubt that Felair was one of those ‘expert users’, but the man did seem to prefer to be in the location he wanted to [Witness].

Liquid came in right behind Felair, saying, “I came here to see Jane and ask her about Turock and Veel and inquire into her essence problem.” She stopped in front of Erick, listening to the house, as she said, “But I hear she’s already begun to purge. This is good.”  

“Yeah. She started a while ago.”

“Silverite said something about a temporary evacuation and an attempt at recruiting more help from the Headmaster. Is that true? Are you going to evacuate Jane? You should. She is a liability and Oceanside is a fine place to convalesce from dragon essence exposure.”

Erick’s eyes went wide. “Yeah. That’s the plan, but how do you know that this is the best option for her, for sure? I was just about to talk to Rats and get him to ask around in the hospital.” Erick asked, “Are you the one she talked to about getting help with her essence?”

Liquid said, “She did not come to me, but I know my way around this world, and around stubborn soldiers. After the story started making the rounds I went to her. You don’t tangle with 50 meter tall unicorns and not come away with some dragon essence, especially if you eat their heart out.” She said, “After I heard that she might be venturing to Oceanside to get rid of her essence, I ordered her to find another way, or to take a full month to recover. She opted for the first path, so I put her in touch with the proper people. I did not expect it to happen this fast, but after the Flare Couatl attacked and I heard she did nothing— I had to come and see for myself.”

Erick smiled, saying, “Thank you for helping her.”

Liquid nodded. “If she’s already in the convalescence stage then she’s cleared for Oceanside’s hospitals. I have done this routine with dozens of other people well before Jane came along. They’re always so headstrong after they get some accidental dragon essence so I usually have to seek them out, and Jane was certainly no exception in that regard.” She added, “But since she is Jane Flatt and you’re you, you’re going to want to provide something to Oceanside before they squeeze a favor out of you.”

Erick smiled again. He said, “I am aware. Thank you. I already have a plan for that.”

“Good.” Liquid asked, “So? Is she okay? Aside from the bodily functions, I mean.”

Liquid looked at Erick with worried eyes. There was a lot of actual worry, there, too. This woman deeply cared for her charges, and Erick was glad for that.

Erick said, “She’s upstairs. She should be empty, but she keeps finding something else to disgorge.”

Liquid said, “You need to get her to Oceanside. If she’s on the internal bleeding stage, then she needs real care. And lots of liquids.”

“I am. As soon as she can move.” Erick felt a deep need to get going, right then and there, but a sudden set of questions nagged at him. He asked, “Did Jane talk to you about her time in Killtree? She talked about something being really rotten over there. We talked, but… Not about everything, apparently.”  

Liquid said, “The Sovereign Cities are slag pits and worse. Killtree is marginally better than the rest, but not by much and only because they do truly stand against the monsters. There’s definitely something rotten over there, but I doubt there’s a conspiracy. The place is just full of terrible people.” She added, “I’m glad Jane made it out alive.”

That didn’t feel like Liquid’s full feelings on Killtree, but Felair walked out of the hallway, back into the foyer, interrupting the conversation. Kiri trailed behind him.  

Felair said, “I can’t get shit inside this [Ward]. I don’t know what this spell really is, but it’s one of the brightest ones I’ve ever had to work around, and I just couldn’t do it. No answers today.” He added, “And I’m not touching that empty space around that pillow.” He turned to Liquid, saying, “Onto the next one.”

Felair walked out of the house without another word.  

Liquid followed Felair, but looked back to Erick, saying, “Get her out of here.” She called out, “I know you can hear me, Jane. Go away for a while. Come back when you’re better.”

Jane yelled from upstairs, “FuuuuUUckin FINE. I’m gooOOOughk.”

Liquid said, “And there she goes again.” She spoke to Erick, “Best move her when it’s coming out the front end.”

Kiri bubbled out a laugh, then quickly schooled her face, saying, “Sorry. I shouldn’t laugh.”

- - - -

After Liquid and Felair left, Erick’s chain of Ophiels managed to reach Oceanside.  

‘Hey, Rats. You busy?’

After a minute, Rats said, ‘Not so much, boss. What’s up? Did something happen in Spur?’

‘A lot of things. I’ll keep it short. There was a fight with the Flare Couatl. It’s a great big mess up here. Messalina is apparently dream worming people. She got to the two soldiers stationed in the house; Turock and Veel. They were blasted away in the first seconds of the battle with the Flare Couatl because they were wormed. Felair said they [Defend]ed themselves to death.’

Rats listened silently, but Erick felt a deep resolve through their telepathic connection.

Erick continued, ‘A long black dragon came through in the last seconds of the fight with the Flare Couatl and took the kill. Somehow that made Jane lose her essence. She’s puking out her guts upstairs right now, but Liquid said we should bring her to Oceanside. Liquid has pointed dozens of convalescing people like Jane toward Oceanside, so we’re going to do that as soon as she’s good enough to move.’ He sent, ‘I need you to make arrangements, however they need to be made.’

Rats sent, ‘I know just who to talk to. I’ll have it ready in half an hour.’

Relief flooded through Erick. He said, ‘Good. Thank you, Rats.’

‘I’ll see you all soon?’

‘Yes. In an hour. We’re spending the night there or whatever, and I’m going to try and get the Headmaster to help with this Messalina problem.’

‘Then we’re all going back to Spur, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. See you soon.’

- - - -

Erick stood at the open front door of his house, still inside the dense air of the house, looking out onto the orange stone and sand of the front yard. He was not happy. The guard had come through and repaired enough of the Human District that it looked like the battle with the Flare Couatl had never happened, but they couldn’t repair his garden.  

The lush green trees and vines and cornstalks of the garden to the right of the door, was gone, completely. Erick’s stores of seeds and such, still in his house, were untrustworthy. A thorough check through the house for other areas of non-dense air revealed nine more spots like Turock and Veel’s pillows. The house was fully compromised. He had to abandon this place, for now. After Messalina was dealt with, then he could go about remaking his garden, and the house.

Mostly, Erick focused on his garden, which was a problem he could fix, because if he thought about the people Messalina had put in danger or outright killed...

Ophiel trilled on Erick’s left should, and on his right shoulder, and in the air around him. Five of them held around Erick; he wasn’t about to dismiss any of them while they were still in danger, and a target. They picked up on Erick’s growing unease and anger at the whole situation and played a tiny, whispered concert of unhappy flutes and melancholy cellos.

At least the Ophiel seemed to be doing okay, even if everyone else was in some sort of mild panic or gentle, undirected rage, like Erick was. The [Prismatic Ward]s ability to put everything inside at Rest applied to Ophiel, too. Normally, the little guy was completely unable to rest, but the forced Rest effect seemed to apply to Ophiel, too, turning his 20k regen per day into per hour; exactly as though he was using Meditation. The five Ophiel who floated around Erick were each at Erick’s 5100 mana cap.  

Erick took control of one of the floating Ophiel to cast a bubble of [Prismatic Ward] into the front yard. Dense air filled a space fifteen meters across, and that Ophiel disintegrated. Erick summoned another.  

Kiri came down the stairs behind Erick, saying, “She’s ready. Don’t know how long it will last.”  

Erick said, “Just come on down. It’ll be ready in a second.”

Kiri went back upstairs as Poi walked into the foyer. Poi stayed silent, but several lines of thought radiated from his bluescaled head. He was talking to a lot of people right now.

Erick turned back to the front yard. He summoned his [Teleporting Platform] inside the dense air. Stone floated up from the orange ground, solidifying into a disk five meters across. White runes circled the center of the floating, five-inch thick disk.  

Poi suddenly said, “Okay. There’s lots to talk about.”

Erick looked back toward Poi. “Anything urgent?”  

Poi said, “Nothing too urgent, just stuff to know. Plans being made. Silverite wants us gone and back as soon as possible.”

Erick said, “Understood,” as he watched the stairs, waiting for—

Kiri came down the stairs, supporting Jane on her shoulder. Jane did not look good. She looked skinny. Erick felt a pang of rage at the world that anything would ever put his daughter in danger like this, but he kept it quiet, like he usually did. He wasn’t even sure who he should be mad at, except for Messalina, and she hadn’t done this to Jane. There was plenty to be mad at Messalina for, but Erick couldn’t be mad at her for this.

Erick led the way out of the door, into the dense air in the front lawn, followed closely by Poi. Jane suddenly let go of Kiri and rushed out of the house, past Poi, past Erick. She fell to her knees on the orange stone. Bile and blood came out of her mouth, turning the stone a darker shade. Erick rushed to—

Jane said, “I’m good. I’m good.”  

Erick helped her back up to her feet, anyway. She mumbled something small, impossible to hear. Erick helped her to the [Teleporting Platform]. She crashed onto the stone, sprawling out onto her side. Erick almost panicked again, but Jane meekly held up a hand; thumbs up. She breathed, and was okay, for now.

Kiri went to Jane and sat down beside her, on the platform. Poi stepped onto the floating stone and nodded. Erick turned back to the house.  

He dismissed the dense air around the structure with a thought. With another thought, Ophiel scattered around the house; a [Stoneshape] aura pinging off from every single one.  

The two mage towers, each three stories tall, on the north and south sides of the house, turned crumbly. They crashed downward, like sandcastles drying in the sun. Nothing held them together as stone became rubble, became dirt, became dust. Diamond lathes and bottles and [Permanent Special Ward] lights fell out of the air or held where they had been placed. The globes Erick had made of Earth’s Solar System fell down into the orange sand, becoming sand themselves.  

The three stories of the main house came down in a crash of dirt. Furniture and clothes and bedding and glass; all of it broke under tons of crashing stone. Soon, the only things that remained of the whole house were all the lightwards that stood revealed in the sun, and the front and rear stone door; Erick had left the doors intact, as a starter location for a future [Mend]ing. Everything else that made his house a home was gone and buried under tons of dirt.

Erick couldn’t bear to look at the ‘house’ any longer. He stepped onto the platform as Jane began to moan in pain.  

He said to whoever might be listening. “This was the wrong move, Messalina.”

Blip. Blip. Blip.  

- - - -

Erick might have left Spur, for now, but he left a trail of Ophiel behind. One of them floated over to the farms. Soon enough, while Erick was busy getting Jane into the hospital, under the care of the nurses and doctors and Rats, platinum rain began to fall on the farms, right on time.