While they walked towards the "thin spot" to Amoril, Gan said, "I don"t think he really couldn"t find your pinky toe. And after all he did, he could have given some kind of compensation."

Orison sighed, "All of it"s a mix of lies and truth. Anything an abyssal denizen offers has it"s barbs and costs, even gifts. Not offering anything is more sincere."

Morrel absorbed the conversation but didn"t say anything.

In concern, Orison asked, "Any lingering effects or problems I can help with?"

Morrel grunted a negative.

In a low voice, Gan said, "It"s probably been rough. Let"s just give him some time first."

Morrel said somewhat curtly, "There"s nothing wrong with my ears or any other part of my head. I have nothing I want to say until we are well beyond the borders of this accursed place and neither should either of you. Every small part you share increases your connection to it and the one who controls it."

Whether they believed Morrel or only saw no harm in humoring the old elf, the rest of the walk pa.s.sed in silence. With nothing left to distract him from the growing ache in his ankle and foot, Orison turned attention to his damaged eye. What started out as a hope that the reason it didn"t return to full function was because of the planar will"s suppression turned into curiosity as some form of change was occurring within it. He wasn"t sure yet what that change would completely entail but he could already see how his spiritual sight was compensating through it, giving him a somewhat more complete view that plain sight alone. There were some obvious drawbacks but Orison now put his hopes in the changes rather than getting back what he lost.

Once they reached the portal and started stripping to have Orison pack away the equipment that wouldn"t fare well to exposure with the acidic water at the bottom, Gan winced in sympathy at the sight of the young mage"s still rather mangled looking foot and missing toe. Orison shrugged in indifference as he pulled out another bowl of fat. Morrel was midway to handing the mask back to Orison that the young mage had forgotten about in his rush to alleviate pain.

Midway through the action, Morrel froze and said, "Stop, what are you about to do with that!?"

Confused, Orison said, "I was going to apply it to stop the water outside from eating off our faces and tender bits. What of it?"

Morrel"s eyes shined with a greedy gleam as he explained, "The will of the world took the creature this came from out of existence. I"ll a.s.sume you know what it is but obviously are not aware of what it can do. It has the power to do what temple priests charge hundreds if not thousands of gold to do. If you still have it, mix in the green sacrament that I gave you and use some on your foot... Some, fool. What about some means almost a quarter of it!?"

With burning ears and irritation, Orison sc.r.a.ped most of what he had taken out back into the bowl of fat that had a faint mint color due to the "aloe gel" and rubbed it on his foot. It started as a faint itch that quickly turned to a burning sensation that had Morrel holding him down to keep him from stopping what was happening out of alarmed instinct. After two minutes the pain lessened back down to a deep itch as he looked to see that his foot had been relatively restored.

Gan said, "Hey, Little Boss. Rub some in your eye!"

Both Orison and Morrel looked at the scout like he"d lost his mind before the old elf said, "It should never be used on the eye or the head until skin covers the area that is desired to heal least the soul of the beast that lives within the fat would possess the person."

Orison thought, "Meh, close enough but I doubt the risks of aggressive magic steroids would make much sense or be entirely correct either. I wonder what he would do if he knew I wasted a whole batch of it to get here. It looks like Gan knows not to say anything." Out loud, he said, "Any words of wisdom to share on protecting ourselves from-"

Morrel produced an oily substance that made Orison think of the better smelling bug repellents as the young mage cut himself off with a sigh, "Aside from attracting certain b.u.t.terflies this plant"s only use is warding off blood sucking bugs. Sadly, it has no recorded affect against vampires. A more economic choice, don"t you think."

Gan grumbled, "It"s not like everyone has a garden hiding in their a** to just pull things out of."

Trying hard not to laugh and draw Morrel"s ire back to himself as he coated himself in the floral smelling oil, Orison said, "Why don"t you take a second to see if you can summon out a satchel like Rithus does while we lather ourselves. You"ve managed to keep from doing things that would repress you here. A little experiment or two to see what you can do before Amoril put"s the shackles back on might produce some surprises."

In the scant minutes before they pa.s.sed through the thin spot, Gan discovered he could summon out a great deal many things he understood well, including a horse, but none of them had any additional supernatural features and he could only bring out one thing at a time, big or small. He also discovered that his map could be taken out as well before the repression became too much. Orison was certain that the map was Gan"s conduit and likely had many uses still left to discover but unlike Orison"s...o...b.. for many possible reasons, Gan"s map was completely rejected by the world.

Without looking back at the plane none of them had the desire to see again, the three swam upwards with vigor and intensity. After yet another round of rinsing and cleaning they geared back up. Emulating his golem trick, Orison summoned two Enbarrs, glad to be out from under the crushing repression of semi-material plane. He doubted he was the only one.

Making haste to return, Orison filled Morrel in on the happenings the old elf had missed.

Morrel said, "I had thought that in the end you would need a decisive way to cut yourself free from Fvaris. What"s left to be seen is if the dowager will allow it or if she"ll pursue for even greater loss to everyone involved. Not that she"ll want that but she might see you as worth trying to crack or making a bet that you"ll concede first due to still having not gutted yourself of non-essentials to statecraft like compa.s.sion, for instance."

Orison thought about it and said, "That"s...probably true."

In response to what Morrel said, Orison swung their track toward Nub"s shack. Orison hoped that the vampire"s business for the night was wrapped up early enough to help with his spontaneous endeavor. Fortunately, on this night they didn"t run into any patrols and drew near the cabin without burning too much extra time.

A familiar female obsidian elf with faintly luminescent red eyes greeted, "I see you"ve brought yet another guest to our humble home away from home. How much can we expect this one to keep silence?"

Wondering what had a bee in the girl"s bonnet, Orison said, "He aid"s in keeping the world"s silence. Our secrets are trivial in comparison."

The woman said sharply, "Your opinion only and not everything is about the grand scale. For the sake of my..." Eyeing Morrel darkly she continued, "Father, I won"t be rude but this had better be of importance if you don"t desire to be ran off for your own good."

Catching the not so subtle hint of larger activities in the works, Orison pulled out a case of premixed "blood plus" and began, "If people are hopping I hope this will help ease some needs to get you through... busy times."

"Provisions are always welcome but why haven"t you found a way to make yourself easier to reach? Was si-father"s hint of handing you three bottles sometime back not a clear enough hint that he may need YOUR help?" the vampire said, obviously emotional.

Orison magically transcribed a copy of a page out of his journal, a rough outline of a protean const.i.tution he"d drafted while thinking of things he thought the world wouldn"t mind as much based off of experience and experiment.

He handed the copy to Morrel and said, "I know how fast you could run if we weren"t holding you back. If you"re feeling anxious about returning to your girl then no need to wait. This lady"s...father... has done a great deal for me so if he"s in need I should see what I can do to help... That sheet is the key to a bipartisan system that wouldn"t require a neutral house to keep the balance between Progressive and Revivalist. Spread it around after you get back. Let"s see how willing the old b*tch is to crack me if squaring of with me might crack her."

Morrel didn"t so much as look at the sheet or mutter a word before he dismounted and took off like a dart. The young mage had a distracting thought that if Morrel could run any faster it would start to look cartoonish, a.s.suming he wasn"t chasing you, then a person might wonder what the world had against them. And for once, they might actually have a legitimate reason to think that.

The woman visibly defrosted after hearing Orison"s words. "If you mean what you said then we could use some help. For whatever reason, sire warmed up to Gan at first sight which might have given you the mistaken impression that he"s easy going but that"s just a mask. In reality he"s meticulous and rigid in conducting affairs. Before we move on to other matters, I"d like for you to know that. He would not have been happy to greet another of your crew so readily but then again, many of the ways he"s interacted with you have broken the norm."

Not much less concerned than Morrel about the state of affairs back at the trade post, Orison said, "What can you share with me about the situation. You might have a specific way I can help in mind but if you let me know what"s allowable there might be more or better ways I can provide a.s.sistance."

She froze, an eerie state to see a vampire in as they could do it so thoroughly, then said, "The pieces of jade that sire fenced brought a lot more attention to his channels than he had antic.i.p.ated. We have no idea why but certain old ghosts have bent a large amount of resources and manpower to trace it back to it"s origins."

Orison said, "Point them at Fvaris Clan and mention a scroll. It"ll be like a magic trick how fast the heat will be removed from you. The last I know, the scroll in question is in the or a Fvaris Clan ancestor"s hand."

She became thoughtful, mumbling to herself so low that Orison couldn"t understand what she was saying before returning to a normal volume. "How sure are you that this scroll is their true target?"

Orison sighed. "Ninety-eight point six sure. At least, as far as Xia knew, the ancestors in general were looking for the missing link to an old origin or a pre-recorded history bloodline responsible for a lot of the cultural anomalies to be found in obsidian elf words and traditions that don"t match the rest of the elves. I warn you not to investigate yourself. The world itself is against the discovery and dissemination of that knowledge."

She asked, "Do you know?"

Orison said, "I literally can"t answer that, which should be all the answer you need."

The vampire said, "The irony behind that to a people who revere ancestry is almost too much of a misery to endure. So the old ghosts are seeking their own destruction? Then I hope they find what they seek."

Orison shook his head and said, "Don"t be so quick to stick with that point of view. There are hidden threats in this island that can easily be thwarted or contained by them that would result in large losses or outright failure for the living. Of course, I"m not going to cry over it either. In the long term, the aid they offer versus their demands are too unbalanced. Spiritual remnants of any shade are generally only interested in the past and this is a time of desperate fighting for renewal. A dangerous time for ghosts to be calling the shots."

She snorted. "Right now, I"m worried about myself and my sire. The rest of the world will have to wait until I have the peace to decide whether I care or not."

Trying to contain his impatience, Orison asked, "Alright, there"s your long term solution. What do you think I can do to help now?"

The vampire woman who still showed no intention of revealing her name said, "Kill, maim, mislead or use your best judgment. Here"s a copy of the lead investigators that are closing in. The three at the top are closest."

Orison gave the list a dubious look then said, "Where is Nub right now or how close is he to returning home?"

The woman looked distraught as she said, "I haven"t seen him in four days. The place where I knew him to be heading last has a cold trail with no further points of interest."

Orison said, "Do you have something of his that would contain a strong connection with himself sympathetically like a piece of clothing he"s bled or better, some piece of personal equipment he worked ritual magics with."

She thought for a moment before she went into the cabin. Orison almost left by the time she came out half an hour later with a silver long dagger.

Handing the blade over, she said, "Sire was practicing one of great-grandsire"s tool creation arts. This was mainly used by him to draw blood from himself. I"m not supposed to be touching those things but if there was a time to break his rules, it"s now."

Orison handed it to Gan and said, "Can you get a feel? Think of the knife as a compa.s.s and his essence remnants on it like a needle for that then see if it works with your unseen "visual aid".

Gan broke out into a light sweat before he said, "I got something. It"s really faint and I have to focus hard, hard enough to make my head throb."

Gan grabbed a stick after he almost used the long dagger to draw in the dirt, causing the woman to shoot forward and yank it out of his hands. Paying no heed to her scowl, Gan began drawing a rough outline of an area then circling a part of it.

The vampire looked down at the drawing and exclaimed in fearful agitation, "Seven Sisters standing stone ring! The d.a.m.ned ghosts are going to curse our whole line using him as the sacrifice! I need to leave now, inform the-. Success or failure, I"m satisfied in what you"ve done for us but this isn"t a fight for the proper living like you to involve yourself in."

As she grabbed a few item"s with a speed he couldn"t quite follow, Orison said, "Wait!"

Mentally crossing his fingers, Orison pulled out the minty bowl of fat and then a scroll that he quickly smeared a finger of the fat across as fast as he could. The energy primed to dissipate slowed to a crawl.

Handing the smeared scroll over to her, Orison said, "I don"t know what will be left of this scroll after two or three days but if you use it before then, it"ll create a circle of fire around the user and instill fear in the "unnaturally alive" between a twenty to thirty feet area. That includes vampires but it could be useful if you have a mortal to bring along for the ride."

The woman took the scroll carefully and stowed it away with the same respect one might pay with a grenade that had a loose pin. With a measured nod she turned and sprinted out into the night.

Gan looked out into the distance she disappeared in and said, "I still don"t think mixing with vampires is a good thing but it"s undeniable Nub"s due some difference."

Orison left a thinly coded message about his future travel plans on a piece of vellum and tossed it into a bowl on the table before leaving. Unfortunately, he wasn"t able to get the help he"d hoped for from Nub but in turn, perhaps what he"d provided instead might save the vampire"s life ensuring a continued ally in the future. Since that was the case, Orison made a few more copies of his proposed bipartisan const.i.tution that required the common citizen to hold their leaders accountable but robbed those leaders of no more power than the enforcement of a few basic tenants no leader would be dumb enough to publicly claim as unfair. On his way back to the trade post, Orison stopped at three directional signs along the way and stuck them on.

As they neared their destination, Gan suddenly asked him to stop in a mild panic."Little Boss, there"s trouble up ahead and I"d lay good coin it"s waiting on you. They"re looking awfully impatient though."