Chapter 16

Oren
walks in soon after, and she smiles at him. "Good
morning."

"Hi,” he answers cheerfully.

"You
sleep well?"

He nods, giving her a kiss.

Eliam
arrives soon after, pouring himself some tea. Oren smiles at him,
putting his arm around Minerva's waist.

Minerva sits back in
her chair, then cuddles into Oren's arm. "Good morning,
Eliam."

Oren leans in to kiss her again, and she leans
away, giving him a look. "Oren," she says, "Eliam's,
like... right here."

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot my bag,”
Eliam says quickly, picking up his tea and leaving. He carefully
closes the door behind him.

"A lot of people don't... find it
comfortable to watch their friends make out," Minerva says after
he leaves.

"I bet he doesn't mind,” Oren shrugs, "but
okay..."

Minerva smiles mischievously. She glances at the
door. "But... we're alone now, though," she says, leaning
in and kissing him.

Things progress... Minerva and Oren begin making out
without losing any clothing. Minerva's hair gets mussed and both
become rather breathless when Anna innocently turns into the
doorframe and catches them.

She sees what they're doing and
they notice her arrive.

"Um. Ahh... oops. My apologies, I
uh... didn't... know,” she says awkwardly.

Oren hesitates,
giving Minerva a curious look.

Minerva reddens and coughs. "Ah...
ahem. yes." She pulls away. "Hello, Anna. D-did you... find
your way around all right?"

"Um...I think so. They
showed me to a room to use, thank you. Should I come back
or...?"

Oren gives Minerva a hopeful glance.

"No,
please. We should get started." Minerva straightens her hair
with as much dignity as she can muster.

Oren sighs, slipping his arm back around
her. He leans back, waiting for the meeting to begin.

Later that morning, Anna
sits off to the side. Eliam and Gwen eventually arrive, but Elise
never shows.

"Anyone know where Elise is?" Minerva
asks.

"Her staff is upstairs,” Oren confirms after
casting bloodhound, “so she probably didn't leave."

Eliam
nods. "We can check up on her after the meeting. Weird, though;
she doesn't normally sleep in."

Minerva nods. "It's
not like her to be so late, no... I guess it's okay. I'll fill her in
later. We should figure out our next steps.”

Oren sighs and stands up. "Are
you going to find her?" Minerva asks.

"Uh... I give
Eliam my proxy. I'll be back."

"Thank you, babe,"
Minerva says, before turning back to the meeting. "What's our
plan?"

Oren goes to his room,
finding the vial of blood labelled with her name. He closes his eyes,
and tracks her down to a quiet room at the end of a long, winding
corridor. It's low traffic and seems to be scarcely used.

He walks down the hall. Elise sits in a
small wooden chair. Her hair is disheveled and her expression is
sombre. She offers a faint hello when she hears Oren enter.

"Hey,
come on, we're going to leave soon," he says comfortingly,
walking closer to fix her hair.

She shakes her head, making
it hard for him to take her hair initially. "I don't think I
should go," she says.

Oren sighs, taking her hair and
braiding it. "Why?"

"Gwen trusted me and I hurt
her really bad. What if I do it again? Or hurt you next? Or Minerva?
Or anyone? I don't think she wants to be around me right now."

"Who cares what she wants? We all
just have to pretend to get along until we save the world. She can be
mad later."

She turns slowly until she's looking at him,
causing him to lose his grip on her hair. "Are... are you
pretending? That you like us?"

"Not really, but Gwen
is kind of awful sometimes. I don't know if I like her." He
smiles. "Don't tell anyone I said that, okay?"

Elise
claps her hands over her mouth. "I... Why would you trust
me?!"

"Um... I don't know,” Oren shrugs. “It
doesn't really matter. She probably already knows that. Besides, she
doesn't like me at all."

"I don't think she'll like
any of us at this rate," she says.

"Don't worry
about toffs like that liking you, they only care about themselves,”
Oren smiles. “She only pretended to like Eliam because she wanted
to be queen. She only pretended to think he'd make a good king for
the same reason. And she doesn't like 'commoners' so we didn't have
much of a chance impressing her in the first place, right? So don't
worry about it, mo stóirín."

She wavers. "B-but
we... we traveled together for so long. And we went together to
Fallowfield when you and Eliam were away, and had such a wonderful
trip, and she was such a good friend to me..."

He musses
her hair. "Maybe, I'm sure she can be polite and friendly. Maybe
she's not so horrible. I don't know. But if she's mad at you just try
to stay out of her way so we can get through this."

"That's
my point," she says, "if I stay here for a while, I'm out
of her way."

"I mean what did you even do? Tell
someone something about her that's true and a little embarrassing?
You drank my blood without asking and I got over it. I summoned that
demon and nobody even cared! Nobody even asked me about it, which is
actually kind of weird. Everyone just moved right on and let me off
without any reprimand..." He trails off, and shakes his head.
"You can't stay, my master wants all of us to be there."

"Do
you think she'll forgive me?" Elise asks in a small
voice.

“Sure,” Oren shrugs, leading her by the arm back to
the meeting room.

"I guess... Westbridge, next?”
Eliam suggests. “Settle the matter of Gwen becoming a
Child?"

"Gwen, are you okay with this?" Minerva
asks. "It's a lot of responsibility to take on, but it might be
the greatest thing that's ever happened to any of us. Or at least, to
me."

Anna raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know
anymore,” Gwen slurs quietly.

"What's holding you
back?" Minerva asks.

Gwen shakes her head. "The fact
that I keep putting my trust in people in this group, and always seem
to be deceived. Why should I believe that this will work, or won't
end up hurting me?"

Anna and Eliam both look away,
uncomfortable.

Minerva seems somewhat taken aback. She
skips over the larger point for the moment. "Eliam, what do we
know about this wizard's plan? Does it seem sound to you?"

He nods. "I think so. I believe he
certainly has the magical capability to pull it off, if nothing else.
Some of the magic he had there was astounding. I wouldn't consider
him a friend or anything, but I *do* believe he wants to defeat
Kunalchusi as badly as any of us, and has the ability to help."

"Gwen," Minerva says, "I
have to believe that we're all on the same side. You've seen
Kunalchusi and the power he possesses. You know what he's capable of.
Would you be satisfied letting him roam the land, slaughtering
unchallenged?"

"How's that any different from
now?” Gwen asks angrily. “The Rorgh has been doing that for
years. I didn't see the Lyriad stopping *them* from killing
everyone I cared about."

Anna frowns. "Just because people
haven't been fighting back doesn't mean we shouldn't. I saw what you
did at The Grainhouse. It was incredible! We could help so many
people."

Minerva leans on the table. "The Lyriad
didn't stop them from killing my mother when she sacrificed herself
for me, or from killing my father in front of my eyes. That doesn't
mean we give up and let them take more from others." She closes
her eyes and leans back. "We need to end Kunalchusi," she
says. "I hope you can at least agree with us on that."

Gwen
looks away silently. A few awkward moments pass. Oren and Elise
arrive.

Eliam greets them both with a smile.

Elise is utterly silent and completely
awkward as she enters the room behind Oren.\_

Oren stops, and
leans down to her to whisper. "A dog walks into a pub with his
arm in a sling and he says.... I'm lookin' for the man who shot my
paw..."

The corners of her mouth tug upwards; she tries
to hide it for fear Gwen will see her laughing. She worries of the
impression it will make if she's so happy the day after hurting her
so badly.

Oren sits down, slinking his arm around Minerva
again.

"We're just discussing where to go next,” Eliam
says cheerfully, motioning to the seat next to him.

"The
tower near Westbridge, right?" Oren asks.

"Hello
again Elise,” Anna says as Elise takes the seat between her and
Eliam.

Elise smiles. "H-hello, Anna."

She
lets the smile fade quickly as she scowls at Eliam as he musses her
hair.

He smiles at her sheepishly and turns
back to the table. "Ideally, Westbridge, yes. But Gwen is trying
to decide if she'll accept the wizard's offer."

"It's
a big choice," Minerva says, "there's no questioning it.
But it's also one that needs to be made sooner than later. Gwen, how
much time do you feel you need to make a decision you are comfortable
with?"

“I don't have an answer to that,”
Gwen answers.

"Why don't we go there and let him explain
what he's going to do?” Oren suggests. “She can make a decision
when she has all the facts. There's a few other things we have to do
there anyway."

Eliam nods. "That sounds
reasonable enough. Is that okay with everyone?"

"So we're going? Good,” Oren
says as everyone nods. "Can that Louis guy drive us, do you
think?"

"Yes,” he answers. “Anna,
would you like to join us? Never know what we'll run into on the way,
and we'd appreciate the help, just in case."

"I'd be honored to help however I
can,” Anna answers.

"Alright, let's go,” Oren says,
standing quickly.

"Let's take some time to pack and
prepare,” Minerva says. “We can leave at first light tomorrow."
She looks at Oren, noting his expression. "Did you want to leave
immediately?"

"Why not?" He shrugs.

"Is
everyone set?" she asks. The group says yes, and they gather
their things and leave for the docks.

Oren takes a place
at the back of the boat, using his magic to speed up the ship. It
moves slightly faster.

The party wanders about the ship. Every
so often, two of them come face to face for a brief scene.

Eliam
approaches Louis.

The grizzled captain nods approvingly. "You
seem like being on land has served you well," he says.

"It's
been a nice few days! Thanks for taking us along,” Eliam says
cheerfully, putting his arm around his waist.

Louis barely
reacts to the arm. "I travel these waters more than the fish.
Company is always appreciated on a sailor's lonely days."

"Of
course. You know, we'll be in Westbridge a few days... and there's
really not much to do there. Maybe I can visit you?"

Louis
smiles, his calloused hands gripping the wheel firmly.

Minerva bumps into
Gwen.

"Hey," she says. "Want some
company?"

"Not really, but I expect you'll stay
regardless,” Gwen answers.

"Ah," Minerva says.
## "No, that's quite all right."

Elise bumps
into Oren.

"Oh... hey," she says. "Thank
you... for all the things you said before."

"Don't
worry about it,” he says, mussing her hair.

She smiles despite herself. "Why
do you do that?"

He shrugs.

"Oren," she asks, "am
I... a bad person?"

"Maybe, but you're not as bad as
some people,” Oren points out.

"O-oh..." she
says. "I... I see."
--

Minerva runs into Elise on the deck.
"Hey... you doing okay?" she asks Elise.

Elise
shrugs. "I think... maybe? I dunno. I'm just... dealing with
some things."

Minerva sits down and puts a comforting arm
around her. "Oh? What's on your mind?"

Elise shakes
her head. "I just made some bad choices when I was upset. Oren
helped me... a little."

The Lyriad head smiles. "That's
good. What did he do?"

She stares into the sky. "He
helped me see that I'm somewhat of a bad person, and that that's
okay."

## "He what."

Minerva
walks off. Elise gets up and bumps into Eliam. "Oh. Hi, Eliam"
she says.

"Oh! Hey, Elise,” he answers cheerfully.

"Hey, listen... um... I'm... I'm sorry. For... a lot of
things," she says. "I was... totally out of line, to you
and to Gwen both. And I apologized to her but I think you deserve to
hear it again."

"What? Hey, you don't have to
apologize. Everyone says stuff they don't mean. And I said I'd cover
for you; I meant it. But... why *were* you so upset?"

"You...
made it sound like I don't belong. Like I was weak and useless and...
crazy. And I guess I felt like... you thought you'd be better off
without me."

"I... I don't think that about you,”
he sighs. “Honestly. I mean, you've proved yourself as a pretty
good healer, right? And your powers *have* been useful. Like,
remember when we were in the woods, and you listened for people
following us? You probably saved us from a few ambushes."

She
falls silent and stares out over the waves for a moment. Then she
says, "It's... hard to have friends when you've had this hearing
your whole life. I'm kind of... still learning how to do it. But
thank you for not giving up on me."

He goes to muss her
hair, but stops himself, smiling at her. "We're all the
Children. We're in this together! And you've gotten a lot better at
talking to people since when we first met you. Don't worry about
it."

## She smiles.

Anna passes by
Gwen.

Anna smiles. "Hello Gwen."

"Hello.
How are you finding the Lyriad? Everything you hoped it would be?"
She asks bitterly.

"It's an interesting place. Flawed,
maybe. But interesting. I was wondering... Would you give me lessons
in swordsmanship sometime?" She asks, looking embarrassed.

"I'm not sure how much longer I'll be around here, nor
do I think my skills would transfer well to your style, but...
maybe,” Gwen offers.

"I'll take maybe. It might be
different, but that would surely help me learn."

Anna leaves Gwen and steps
up a few steps towards the helm. She meets Louis.

"Hello
Captain."

"Ah, Anna," he says, a smile playing
on his face. "The circus girl, yes?"

"You got
it. Trapeze artist, trick shooter - I do it all!" She says,
doing a small twirl.

"Trapeze?" he says. "You
avoid the ground as much as I. Such hands were meant to grab the life
before you and chart its course yourself. Take the wheel, girl, and
sail!" Louis lets go of the wheel and gestures for Anna to step
forward.

She nervously grasps the wheel, looking terrified.
Anxiously, she looks back at him as he goes back to his book. Eyes
wide with terror, she keeps the ship mostly on course, though it
begins rocking unsteadily.

Minerva passes Eliam. "Hey,
Eliam."

"Hey, Minerva!" He waves at her.

"Hey, um... I feel like I am super behind on stuff. Gwen
seems really salty and Elise is definitely out of it. Do you know
what's going on?"

"Oh! Er... yeah, but it's... not
great,” he admits. “I was telling Anna the story of our
adventures in Thirshalon! It was going pretty well until I got to the
part where Elise left. I guess she was listening in, and she got
pretty upset, and sort of... blurted out that I'd slept with Gwen? I
told her not to do that, and she got pretty upset... I don't know why
Gwen is so upset, though, unless she found out somehow.

"By
the way, she's pretty... open about telling people about the Noctyr
stuff. Even strangers. I'm not sure if uh... is that okay?"

Minerva
draws a slow breath. "The Noctyr thing is fine. It's over now
and it's not like they're real here. And anyone who is threatening to
us likely wouldn't believe her. As for Gwen... that explains some.
Ladies of her station wouldn't... want that reputation."

"Yeah...
damn,” he nods. “But Anna seems nice. I don't think she's the
type to judge or spread it around more. And hey, on a lighter note...
you and Oren, huh?" He grins.

Her cheeks tinge pink.
"Yeah... that's been nice." She leans against the rail and
## looks out at the water.

Minerva smiles at Eliam,
pats him on the shoulder, and leaves. As she walks around the deck,
she goes to pop in on the captain's wheel, and sees it being
nervously gripped by Anna.

"Ah. I wondered why Louis was
on the deck reading. How you holding up in here?"

"Not...
great. I have no idea what I'm doing and we're definitely all going
to die,” Anna announces.

"A...are you okay? Do you...
want me to take over? Or get Louis? Or tell Oren to slow the ship
down?"

"Yes. Yes. No. Maybe? Whatever ends with me
not holding this."

Minerva pats her shoulder. "I got
you, Anna. You did good. Here," she says, taking her place at
the wheel. "You leave this to me."

"Thanks..."
 Anna trails off, relieved as she curls up against the railing.

The
ship suddenly begins to sail a little more smoothly. No one had even
realized it was rocking, but Minerva's hand seems to settle it down.

Elise walks around the deck
and stumbles on Louis, reading quietly. "Oh. Hello," she
says. "How's your book?"

Louis doesn't look up. "It
is the seventeenth time I've read it. This is easily my
eighth-favourite reading of it. The weather is much nicer." He
runs fingers over his stubble. "There is something beautiful in
the way it describes a woman learning of true, lasting love for the
first time."

"I-is that so?" Elise
says.

"Yes," he says, standing and yawning. He
stretches, then tussles her hair. "Perhaps one day you will
learn of it, little one."

## Elise looks grumpy.

Anna
moves away from the wheel and onto the deck. She bumps into
Oren.

Anna looks somewhat uncomfortable, but relaxes a bit as
he waves at her. “Ah.... hello, Oren.”

"Hi.”

"Minerva said you were...making the ship speed up? Is
that something you can do?"

"Yes,” he answers,
gesturing at the wake behind them.

"You seem... busy,” she says
## haltingly. “I'll leave you to it."

Anna leaves Oren and stumbles into
Eliam back up on the deck.

"Eliam! Hello."

"Oh,
hey!” He smiles at her. “Enjoying the trip?"

"Other
than the part where Louis said some crazy stuff and then made me
drive for fifteen minutes, yeah. Gwen even said she might teach me
about swordsmanship!"

"He made you drive?! And that
sounds great! She's really good at fighting. ...You've never been to
Westbridge, right?"

"I don't think so,” she says.
“Maybe in the area, but not inside."

"You're
really going to like it, then. Oren showed me the tower the wizard
lives in and it's amazing, if you thought my story was fantastic. The
library inside is bigger than should be possible, and he has a table
magicked to conjure a full meal the second you sit down!"

"Wow-
real magic like that? This wizard must be amazing. And he taught
Oren?"

"Yup! Explains a lot, really. Oren downplays
his abilities, but he can do some pretty amazing magic,” Eliam
explains. “He's good with divination in particular."

"What
he did at The Grainhouse was a little scary, to tell the truth,”
she admits.

"What do you mean?"

"When
he grabbed that guy and held him in the air and then slammed it into
the ground? I get fighting... self defense, or defending others. But
that felt kind of... cold."

"Oh... maybe. I think he
does get... carried away with that stuff sometimes. But he doesn't
## mean to!” Eliam insists. “He's really nice."

Minerva shouts down at Louis. "Louis!
Hey, Louis! Come up here!"

The captain, book in hand,
climbs up to the wheel.

"Can you take this over for me?”
She asks. “I need to go find my dear boyfriend for a word."

"Ahhh,
yes," he says. "Affairs of the heart. I would be happy to
assist you with this."

"...Right," she says.
"Thanks." Minerva steps away from Louis, wondering how much
## of the novel he sees in real life.

Eliam leaves Anna and walks around the
boat until he finds Oren.

Oren waves excitedly as he sees him
walk over, and Eliam returns the gesture, taking a seat next to him.

"This is amazing! We're going to get there in no time,”
Eliam grins. “Way better than paying for a boat."

Oren
nods. "It's a good thing he was willing to take us. Hey so, you
know Elise told Gwen that she told you and Anna about you and Gwen
sleeping together- right?"

"I... wait, seriously?
Why?!” Eliam asks, looking exasperated. “I told her I'd cover for
her!"

"She was crying and freaking out,” Oren
explains, “and Gwen was really really mad..."

Eliam
sighs. "Minerva and I were thinking Gwen found out somehow. I
can't believe she'd tell her herself. Is that why Elise was so
distraught when you got back?"

"Yes, I think so. She
was saying she's a bad person or something, I don't know,” Oren
sighs. “I wish everybody could just stop hating each other and get
along for another month. Once that demon is gone they never have to
see each other again if they don't want to."

"Yeah.
We're so close to beating Kunalchusi.”

"I bet Gwen is just sad
because her girlfriend died. Maybe that's why she's so mean and
drunk?" Oren asks.

"Oh... she'd mentioned she lost
someone. I'd noticed the drinking this morning, but... I doubt she'd
want to hear anything from me about it,” Eliam looks out at the
water, thinking. “She does have a hard choice coming up though, I
## guess."

Elise stumbles into
Anna. "Oh... hello, Anna."

"Hello again, Elise.
Enjoying the ride?"

"Um... yes... after a fashion."
She clears her throat. "Can I just... I'd like to say... um...
I'm just so sorry for everything. For dragging you into that, and
being so... awful and making you feel like that. We're really... not
like that. Everyone is usually so kind. I'm... very ashamed."

"Oh,
Elise... please, don't trouble yourself. The best any of us can do is
learn from our mistakes and move past them. We all make
them."

"You're very kind. I hope to give you reason
to justify that forgiveness and kindness," she
## says.

Minerva steps toward the back of the boat.
Eliam stands up as she approaches them, and heads to the front of the
ship, leaving them alone.

"Hey, you," she says to
Oren. "Seems pretty peaceful back here."

"I
guess so. It's kind of nice,” he smiles.

"Yeah..."
she agrees. "Hey, listen... Did you... tell Elise she's a bad
person?"

"No?” He says, beckoning her to sit next
to him. “I think she asked me if she was, I don't know what I said.
I think I said she isn't that bad. I mean, bad is sort of relative I
guess. She's sort of spoiled I guess, but she's not like... a
murderer..."

Minerva sighs. "Oren. When a friend
asks you that question, the answer is always no."

He
gives her a serious look. "What if she is bad, though? It won't
help her to lie."

"Even if the answer is yes, the
answer is no," she affirms. "If they're really your friend,
they won't be that bad a person that you won't already be helping
them.”

He shakes his head. "If Eliam had called me out
on the stuff I was doing in Thirshalon, that demon wouldn't have been
released."

"Okay, true," Minerva says, "but
let's... make sure we can handle ending Kunalchusi before we know if
releasing him was the best possible move. If he ends up destroying
half the world, maybe another option would have been better."

"I
don't think it was a good move,” Oren clarifies. “I wish he had
stopped me. If he hadn't been so kind to me, he might have prevented
it. And if Heather had disciplined Elise, she might have been better
equipped to deal with her emotions, and know how to control her
temper. Being too nice to someone isn't the best way to help
them.”

"Yes, but agreeing with them that they're a bad
person when they're grappling with having done something wrong and
trying to make amends doesn't help, either," Minerva says. "I
don't think it does, anyway.

"Would you consider going to
Elise and telling her you thought about it, and you think she's a
good person after all?" she asks. "I think it would make
her feel a lot better."

Oren sighs. "All I said was
that maybe she is a bad person, but she's not that bad. But if it
makes you happy I'll go talk to her." He stands up, and the boat
immediately begins to slow. "Are you going to spoil our
children? I hope not."

Minerva sits in quiet silence,
cheeks flushed, searching for words that never come.

He kisses her cheek, and leaves to find
Elise.

Gwen stumbles across
Louis.

Louis feels the ship slow. He withdraws his book while
the river is calm and reads with one hand.

The cover looks
familiar to Gwen. It seems like "One Still Night," a
romance novel set in the plains around Fallowfield prior to the Elyde
takeover.

"Have you read anything else by
her?” Gwen asks as she leans against the side of the ship, not
looking away from the water. “It's a favorite of mine, but her
latest is really good."

He smiles. "I rather liked
'Whispers on the Wind,' but I think 'When the Walls Fell' was her
best one."

"I don't think I've read that one,” she
half smiles. “Would you let me borrow it? Oh-" she digs around
her bag, pulling out *Meet Me By the Beck*. "I can
trade."

He switches books. "By all means. The theme
of forgiveness that runs through this story is one of my favourite
devices in her work. I hope you find it meaningful."

She
smiles at him and opens the book, reading quietly.

Gwen sits reading on the
deck. Elise approaches.

She stands silently for a moment,
unsure if Gwen even knows she is there, or if she's ignoring her
willfully.

Finally she moves closer and says, "Gwen. I'm
sorry, but I'm going to talk to you. You can hate me if you want. I
know I'm a bad person."

"You can spend your life
hating me, and I'll bear that. Just... don't let that stop you from
doing what you need to do to help save the world. The threat of
Kunalchusi is real. Please. When we went to Fallowfield, you chose to
help save the world. Don't let one mistake by one... idiot change
your mind. Put up with it- with me- a little longer."

Gwendolyn
closes her book, still looking out at the river. "Before we left
for Fallowfield, I was *lost.* Alone. You helped give me purpose
again. And...the trip there, it was *nice.* I was finally
feeling normal again. I was so happy to actually find a friend in the
group, after Eliam..." She sighs. "I'm so hurt *because*
I care about you. I don't hate you, and I'd like nothing more than to
just let this drop. But I *can't.* I just can't understand why
you would say those things, after I was one of the few who believed
in you."

Elise nods. "I can't give you an
explanation beyond what I have. I did something awful, and wrong, and
horrible. I made a mistake. I can apologize again and again and try
to rebuild what we had before, but I can't do it until you're willing
to try with me. People make mistakes, Gwen. Me, too. And I'm sorry,
so, so sorry. But I can't do more than that."

Elise
leaves Gwen.

Eliam bumps into Gwen as he
walks.

"Hey, Gwen! How are you?" He asks, smiling
somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm assuming you already know,”
she says plainly.

"Ah... yeah. I'm... I'm sorry about
how that went,” he says. “I hope you won't hold it against Elise
too much."

"You know better than anyone else here
what that could mean for me,” she says, frowning. “I don't want
to have this held over me for the rest of my life."

He
nods. "I spoke to her and told her not to tell anyone again. She
seems sorry enough for her actions. ...I don't think Anna would tell
anyone else, for what it's worth."

"And she might
not. Or she could get upset again, and spill any number of secrets
she knows with her powers. Remember Agrilodo? It's hard to trust her
when it keeps happening."

"Yeah... I know,” Eliam

Oren stumbles upon Gwen
as he walks the deck.

"Hey, how are you?” He asks,
walking up next to her. “Feeling better?"

"No, not
really."

"That's too bad. Are you excited to see the
tower? It's really tall...”

"Excited? It's hard not to be, I
suppose. But between the letter, and the Earth powers...I think I'm
mostly just nervous,” Gwen admits. “I'm sure the tower is quite
nice, though."

"There's a lot to see, and a
garden, and the window... you're really high up so you can see all
the fields and the river,” Oren explains happily. “But we'll
translate that letter first thing, don't worry. It won't take long. I
wish I spoke the language better, but I only know a few things. We
didn't speak it all the time, really. Just little bits."

"Thanks, I really appreciate
that,” Gwen smiles. “A garden? I'd like to see that. I really
miss the one from Fallowfield... it was so peaceful. What was your
favorite part of it?"

"Um... I don't know,” Oren
answers, looking awkward. “There's a pond with bright orange fish
in it. And a path and plants and a greenhouse, um... And... I like
the pond I guess?"

"That sounds nice," Gwen
says, closing her book and turning to him. "Can I ask you
something?"

“Um... yes,” he says nervously.

"Do you feel any kind of...
connection, to the water? I've wanted to ask Eliam, but I'm not
really sure how to bring that up. I'm not really sure what aether
*is*."

Oren thinks for a moment, and nods.
"Aether is like... Magic, and time and energy, it's all the
other spiritual stuff you can't really see. It's what the maker
breathes, like air. Um... But yeah, maybe a little. I don't really
think about it, but I like the river. I feel a little safer near it
since I know I can use the water to protect myself if I need to. But
I think with needing to drink and bathe, most people interact with
water on a regular basis and probably enjoy it. It's hard to tell
whether or not I feel more connected than a normal person... At the
judgement I meditated next to the river and touched it and jumped in
and I think that helped me control it better, but I don't know why.
It probably has to do with the aether and the ley lines and being in
sync with all of that... Does that make sense?"

"I think so, thank you,” Gwen
smiles. “I suppose, then, you don't know if Votig had any sort of
connection to Earth."

"He was a dwarf from the
mountains, so maybe he liked rocks,” Oren shrugs. “He liked ale
and punching, and he hated elves and Marblearm. I don't really know
that much about him, honestly. He didn't really go on about himself
much... He wasn't vain like that. But I guess he might have been a
little like earth. He punched me once- not in purpose- and it felt a
bit like getting hit with a rock."

"I see. It is a little interesting
how you all seem to... act similar, I guess, to your element. Minerva
and Elise, especially."

"I don't know what you mean, I
guess Minerva is impulsive and Elise... stares at clouds,” Oren
sighs, thinking. “But I'm not like water... I don't think so. Eliam
isn't really like aether either."

"Minerva seems very...intense, and
passionate, and Elise is quite, well, *airheaded*,”
She explains. “You always seem very calm, but Asle Lenor shows you
can bring destruction, like a fierce storm at sea. Abrupt and
deadly,” she shrugs. “Maybe I've been reading too many romance
novels, I don't know."

He stares at her. “...Maybe. Eliam is
a very powerful mage. And aether is tied to magic, so... maybe that's
something?"

“Maybe,” she smiles.

The boat nears Westbridge. Oren
finds Elise at the front of the craft.

"Oh... hello,
Oren."

“Hey, come here," He takes her hand,
leading her across the boat. "Okay, so Minerva thinks I made you
feel bad or something so you're goin' to help me make her think I'm a
nice guy, got it? Because you're a good person who helps her friends,
right?" He smiles at her.

"I... wait... are
you..."

Oren stops. "Hm?"

"Are...
are you... trying to make me believe I'm a good person by helping you
convince Minerva that you told me I'm a good person?" Elise
asks.

Oren stops and thinks, and looks at her awkwardly.
"W-wait, okay, so... you're... going to help me... and she'll
think I told you you're good,” he smiles. "But you *are*
good, which is why you're going to help me. Okay?”

Elise
walks back slowly to the front of the ship, thinking
carefully.

"Wait,” he says, following her.

At
the bow, she turns and says, "I... I don't think that's... how
convincing someone they're good is supposed to work. And you already
told me I'm kind of a bad person, so... I shouldn't... do this.
Right? I... did I do that right? Was this a test? I shouldn't help
you, because you think I'm a bad person so I shouldn't do what you
want."

"Listen, don't be so upset all the time,”
Oren says. “And don't be upset because of Gwen. It doesn't matter
that you told anyone, there's no secret Eliam can keep for more than
a week, Anna would have found out anyway. And Gwen shouldn't have
told you anyway. It's a saying, right, 'there's no secret if three
know it' ...Right?"

Elise stands on the bow of the ship,
facing backwards. Oren is looking at her, but his gaze is drawn
toward the horizon. Over her shoulder, in the direction of
Westbridge, thick black smoke is billowing into the sky.

He
moves up, pushing her aside distractedly as he stares frantically
into the distance. Where the tower should be, there is only smoke and
empty sky.

Ignoring everyone, he rushes to the
back of the ship, thrusting his hand into the water. His eyes glow
blue as the waters churn and the boat moves quickly towards the
shore, screaming up the river to Westbridge and the source of the
smoke.

The boat races closer toward
Westbridge, blackened smoke continuing to billow into the air.
Minerva anxiously bites her lip as she looks toward Oren to see his
reaction.

Minerva walks a little closer to Oren. "Um...
Is... is that... normal?"

"No..." he says
quietly.

Upon seeing the smoke, Gwen goes downstairs to
prepare her weapons. Anna follows suit, loading her pistols and
affixing her bandolier.

The boat pulls smoothly into the
dock.

"The way they talk of the wizard, for something to
actually manage to attack his tower..." Gwen trails off, her
face grim as she watches Anna make her last preparations. "It
might be Kunalchusi."

"That seems... not good? Can
bullets hurt a demon... snake... thing?" Anna asks.

"Not even
the Children could hurt him, when we faced him in Tezef,” Gwen
admits grimly. “But even I could hurt his aspects, in the fight
after."

Upon pulling into the port, those party members
on the deck can see across the river toward where the tower stands...
They see the ruins of rubble scattered on the ground. Mystical flames
of black and purple cover the gardens which once surrounded Adani's
home, and thick smoke reaches so high it seems like it could touch
the skyglyph.

Elise's hands are pressed to her mouth. She
takes in the sight silently.

Wordlessly, Oren frantically
jumps off the ship and walks quickly to the bridge. The others follow
close behind.

Louis calls down from the helm. "You're
not really going there?"

"Of course we are. This is
his home,” Gwen calls back, looking somewhat taken aback.

Louis
nods. "Safe travels, then."

"Elise, do you hear
anything?" Gwen asks as they near the tower.

Elise closes
her eyes. "Some chanting. Sounds like spells? There's some heavy
breathing, but nothing distinct."

"Nothing else? The
townsfolk aren't helping?" Eliam asks.

"Sounds like
we should hurry?" Anna says, as Oren leads them to the gate.

A
figure comes moving out from the smoke. It is Adani.

The
wizard is firing spells backward into the smoke. Flames and blasts of
air erupt from his hands.

Oren rushes to him, but Adani waves
a hand back. "Stop, Oren! Stop! Come no closer!"

"It's
okay,” he says as he ignores his directions, tending to his wounds.

A wide, translucent appendage snaps out from the smoke and
smashes into Adani. He flies backward, his body slamming against the
fence connected to the gate. He crumples heavily to the ground.

Oren
moves to defend him, as Gwendolyn rushes to heal him. Eliam faces the
smoke to halt the creature's assault, and Anna moves to cover him.

The appendage retreats into a massive figure that is moving
forward, revealing itself from the smoke. It is another aspect of
Kunalchusi, this one larger and more ominous than the ones faced in
Tezef. It is more snakelike, its body seemingly made of the cosmos,
itself.

The Battle at the Tower ===

Eliam steps back
quickly as the monster crawls closer.

As Gwen heals Adani, his eyes flutter
open slightly. "...Oren? Oren..." Adani gasps. "Chest
pocket. Left side."

Oren shakes his head, helping him
stand. Together, they limp to the gate.

"Oren," he
gasps again. "Chest pocket."

"Later,” Oren
says quickly, carefully trying to avoid the Aspect.

The
Aspect slithers forward.

A massive, whiplike appendage emerges
from the Aspect's body. It snaps forward to swipe at Eliam.

Eliam
is smacked across the torso with the appendage. The spot where it has
connected feels like it is tingling ever so slightly after the
attack, as though something was held back.

The appendage slips back into the
Aspect.

The Aspect's eyes flash. Its catches Oren in its
vision.

A magical aura erupts forward from the Aspect to Oren,
but it fizzles in the air when it gets within five feet of him.

Gwendolyn moves between the aspect and
the rest of the party, raising her shield to defend them as Oren and
Adani move behind her. "Go! I'll keep it distracted."

The
Aspect's tail lashes out at Gwen, trailing a toxic magical aether
behind it, but Gwen easily avoids the assault.

"I hope
this works..." Anna says to herself, aiming carefully at the
Aspect's eyes. It blinks furiously, attempting to dull the
pain.

"Nice work!" Eliam calls out, healing Adani as
Oren escorts him to the others. Together, they begin to hobble
towards the boat.

Minerva sends flames rocketing at the
Aspect's head, following Anna's lead. It snarls as the flames
land.

"What happened?" Oren asks, once they're a
safe distance away.

Adani's breathing has grown stronger.
"The beast attacked the tower. Wards were useless. I've never
seen anything like it. Please. Chest pocket in case I die."

"But
you're not going to die, we're going on a boat,” Oren explains,
shaking his head.

The Aspect advances, but its path is
blocked by Gwen, Anna, and Minerva.

The Aspect swats at Gwen.
The appendage lands a heavy blow.

The blow stings after
contact. Gwen feels like she has been shot and set aflame, though she
has not.

The Aspect's Vision locks onto Eliam.

Eliam's
body freezes in place momentarily as the magical aura bursts forward
and envelops him. It does not fade as it had for Oren. It tears
through his body and burns at his essence.

Gwen's sword slashes out at the Aspect
and it hisses in pain.

The Aspect's tail lashes out at Gwen
but she blocks it easily.

"Gwendolyn!” Anna yells. “I'm
going to throw something at it in a moment! Shield yourself!"
She shoots once more at the eye, allowing the others time to move
away.

Eliam attempts to retaliate, his firestorm going wildly
off course and harmlessly mingling with the black and purple flames
behind the Aspect. "I'll be fine I think, focus on
Adani!"

Minerva's attack on the Aspect misses and she
withdraws, heeding Anna's warning.

Making sure Adani can
support himself, Oren casta a veil of darkness, obscuring the
Aspect's face.

"We brought Gwen back, like
you said. Sorry it took so long,” Oren tells Adani casually, trying
to hide his concern.

The Aspect goes to move, but Gwen
remains in the way. It lashes out at Gwen, barreling into her and
pushing them both closer to the water. It leaves the wall of shadow
as it does so.

Gwen's brute strength allows her to force the
Aspect back with the flat of her sword; she turns it and cuts the
Aspect at the end of the attack.

The Aspect's tail lashes out
at Gwen, and this time her proximity leaves her little chance to
avoid it.

Gwen's armour glows and shimmers from
the spot the tail has contacted it. Magic explodes inwards from the
armour on Gwen's body.

Anna lights a grenade, throwing into
the shadows the Aspect was pushed back into. From the darkness comes
a piercing screech, followed by hisses as the artillery connects.

Eliam backs away, struggling to move. He attempts to heal his
wounds.

Elise summons the wind to try and knock the Aspect
prone. It proves too large for her to handle at the moment,
however.

Minerva unleashes her flaming daggers and scores
minor damage on the beast's tail.

"I'll be right back,
keep going," Oren says, motioning to the boat. He skips down to
the bank of the river, placing his hand into the water.

Spears of ice fly from the river,
impaling the Aspect's body as it crawls back out of the shadows once
more, its eyes destroyed. The Aspect's appendage appears from its
body and it slaps out at Eliam.

The appendage strikes true.
The blow leaves a tremendous stinging pain, and Eliam feels as though
he has been burned, shot, and exploded. The pain seems to be muted
somewhat by the loss of the eye.

Eliam inches back, struggling to remain
standing.

"Catch up with the others! Make sure they're
ready to leave!" Gwen shouts, touching the gate. "Holy
Maker, protect Your Children from this vile beast. Bless this land,
so that those who oppose You cannot come near."

Gwen
consecrates the gate, attempting to prevent the Aspect from
passing.

The Aspect pokes at the sanctuary curiously with its
appendage. It recoils from it and does not move.

Anna nods,
throwing a vial of acid at the Aspect. It hisses furiously at the
unexpected assault. Anna begins to laugh wildly.

Eliam finds
his footing and staggers back, desperately trying to reverse some of
the damage done to him.

Gwen draws back slowly, maintaining
her defensive position against the aspect and readying herself in
case it breaks through the consecrated ground.

The aspect's tail tests the sanctuary
and manages to break through.

The tail slaps at Gwen
successfully.

She shrugs off the blow, turning to see Oren
beginning to manipulate the water. "...We should go."

Anna ignores her, laughing as she draws
another vial. She throws it at the Aspect, and it explodes on impact.
The Aspect's tail severs from the main body, and dissipates in wisps
into the air.

Eliam continues to move back, steadier this
time. His magics flare to life, surrounding him in an incomparably
bright aura. The Aspect hesitates.

Eyes glowing, he raises a
single hand to the Aspect, fingers bent as through gripping an object
that no one can see but him. Eliiam twists his hand clockwise, and
reality seems to swirl around the massive snake. Colours and sights
blend and mix and fade until nothing remains but the black fires of
what once was, raging on the ground beyond.

Oren's water
douses the flames. His magic coats the ground, and where once the
fires raged, now there is a stillness, and a calm. Oren's magic
rejuvenates the ground, and the seeds of some of the flowers begin to
grow again.

"What?" Oren blinks,
stepping away from the river. “Are you okay?”

"H-how are you... so powerful?
All of you?"

Oren looks around, trying to think of
an answer. “Oh, I think she uses grenades...”

"Well... we're the Children!"
Eliam announces cheerfully, coughing slightly as he continues to heal
his injuries.

Adani reaches into his pocket. "You
amaze me, Oren. Truly. I never imagined..."

Oren shrugs. "I didn't even do
anything, they did all the fighting. Um, that one is Gwen..." he
says, pointing to her. He notices Eliam struggling, and steps closer
to him to help. He winces slightly as Oren begins doctoring, but
accepts the help.

“Are you okay?” Oren asks. “I saw
you got hit by that eye blast thing.” He pulls Eliam into a hug.
“Don't get so hurt next time.”

Eliam returns the hug. "Same goes
for you! I really don't want to get hurt again, though."

Adani withdraws a large metal bracelet.
The bracelet has two holes (in addition to the space for the wrist to
fit through) on top and bottom.

Oren nods and moves away from Eliam,
turning to see what the wizard took out of his pocket.

"Oren, take this," Adani
says.

He does so, looking perplexed as he
turns it over in his hands.

"Insert the orb within the
bracelet. It will absorb the power of the Child,” Adani explains.
“Then the bearer, if they be not a child, may wield its power...
for a time, anyway."

"Should she do it now, or wait
until we're about to fight him?" Oren asks.

Adani seems to shrug. "I cannot
tell if the effect will last for an hour, or a day, or a year. Or
more. It is certain, however, that you will want it at a critical
moment."

Oren nods, pushing it into Eliam's hands. "You
give it to her. The last thing I need is Gwen thinking I got her
jewelry..."

"I'd be more worried about *Minerva*
thinking you got her jewelry,” Eliam laughs, “but okay."

"That's
even worse,” Oren nods. "Oh, uh... this is Elise," he
gestures to her, "And that's Minerva. That one is Anna, I don't
really know her though. "

"Ah," Adani says. "You
were a great help, young miss," he says to Elise. "Thank
you for your curative arts."

Elise blushes slightly. "It
was nothing, really. You're welcome, though."

"Anna's
great, though! She uh... really seems to like fighting a lot though,
huh?" Eliam asks, looking at her with some concern.

"I guess so..." Oren
says. "...Is the tower really messed up?"

"That
monster blew through every ward I had ever set," Adani says
sorrowfully. "A lifetime of research and materials, gone within
five minutes."

"Maybe we can fix it..." Oren
says hopefully.

"Is the town okay? No one was hurt?"
Eliam asks.

Oren walks away to the rubble of
the tower.

Adani seems to nod. "I believe so. It seems
to have come directly here. I believe my travels and studies into
ways to make a Child may have... ah... drawn its
attention."

"Well... hey, that's a good sign, right?
Means we're on the right track to beat that thing,” Eliam grins at
him, before leaving to speak with Gwen and Anna.

Adani hobbles to the ruins and lays a
hand on them. "The beast destroyed even the magics of the tower.
All that the Maker is, this Kunalchusi is its opposite."

"Well, it's okay... Eliam can just
reverse time on the tower and fix it. ...Right?" Oren asks.

"It lives to destroy," Adani
muses. "Its very nature is deconstructive. It ruined the wards
effortlessly. It ruined the magics that worked on the tower easily,
and with those gone, the building was just... stone and wood."

“Well... at least you're okay,”
Oren smiles.

Adani reaches out and pats Oren's hand
with his own. The wizard's hand seems more worn and wearier than Oren
remembers. "And you, my dear boy. And you."

"Um, I'm sorry I left. And it took
so long. But everyone is slow and they were fighting about something
stupid. I'm glad we're here now."

"What matters is you are here, and
you did what you set out to do. The rest are details," he
replies.

"So...are you really sure you
even need lessons?" Gwen asks as she walks over to Anna.

"Um.
I think I've got bombs figured out. That was expensive."

"I'm
sure the Lyriad can cover expenses. That was amazing,” Gwen smiles.

"Thanks! What did you do to the gate?"

"And
if not, I can. Oh, I kind of... prayed to the Maker, and He sealed
the gate so it couldn't leave. It wasn't really me,” Gwen explains.

"Well, it was impressive that He heeded you. What
exactly was that thing?"

"An aspect of Kunalchusi.
We fought something similar in Tezef, but this was much
stronger."

"Well, I hate it,” Anna says curtly.

"Is that why you were laughing?" Gwen smiles.

"Um, I think I got a little carried away,” Anna says
bashfully. “The explosions are... exciting."

"Well...
they really kind of are."

"What's the deal with the
other guy?” Anna asks. “Oren's dad?"

"His
master, I think. Still, he raised him."

"What
happens now?"

"I'm not really sure,” Gwen
says quietly, looking at the ruins of the tower.

"Are
you okay?” Gwen calls out, as Eliam walks over and greets them.
“You took quite a few hits."

"Ah, yeah... Oren
patched me up a little. But that was... definitely a bit closer than
I'd have liked, yeah. Oh! I have good news, though,” he smiles,
handing out the bracelet for Gwen to take.

"That's good. Is Adani
alright?" She takes the bracelet cautiously, looking it over.
"What's this?"

"Yeah, he's looking a bit
better. I think he'll recover. He said that's the item that will let
you have the powers of the Child of Earth, if you want it. He said
you just put the orb in one of the holes when you need them... though
he doesn't know how long you having those powers will actually last.
I'm sure you can ask him more about it, if you'd like. He seems like
he doesn't need time to recover or anything"

"It's a
little worrying, that he doesn't know the extent of the magics he
created himself,” Gwen says, pocketing the bracelet. "But I
think I would like to speak to him, yes."

"He seems
very powerful..." Anna adds.

"No kidding! It was
actually kind of impressive,” Eliam smiles.

Gwen leaves to speak with the wizard,
and Eliam and Anna follow.

Minerva joins the group
gathering around Adani.

"You six," Adani says, "I
have never seen anything like you. That was remarkable."

Oren
nods as Adani begins his speech, taking Eliam's arm and dragging him
to the ruins of the tower's door.

"It still was too close,”
Gwen answers. “And that wasn't anything near the strength of
Kunalchusi."

"That creature... there are more
of them?" Anna asks, looking distressed.

"Yes..." Adani says.
"Kunalchusi, itself, is a deity on par with the Maker. Defeating
it would be impossible without the Children's power. We have to
believe that with the power of five of them, it can be done at all."

"But you don't know how long I
will have the power of Earth,” Gwen says simply.

"You encountered others, I believe
you said?" Adani says. "It stands to reason that Kunalchusi
can birth aspects of herself whenever he wishes. Perhaps she destroys
part of herself and sets them loose upon the world.

“I do
not,” he answers Gwen. “Even with my, forgive me, rather
prodigious talent, we are dealing with magics far beyond what mortals
were meant to tamper with. These are primordial aetheric forces. This
is the realm of gods. Who can say for certain?"

"Okay, so, if you reverse time on
the tower you can fix it, right?" Oren asks after leading him to
the tower.

"I... I can try,” Eliam says, sounding
uncertain. “Do you think that's possible?"

“Sure,”
Oren nods. "You said you wanted to try it, this is the perfect
chance. You just erased that snake, you're the most powerful mage of
all time. Maybe you're a wizard now, too. And you can definitely
reverse time."

"I mean... it's worth a try!” Eliam
says confidently. “Me, a wizard though? Could you
imagine?"

"Definitely wizard material, you can do
it,” Oren nods, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Eliam
closes his eyes and lays hands on the tower. He channels his magic...
but nothing happens.

Oren smiles reassuringly, and Eliam tries
once more.

"Then...you also wouldn't know how short it
could be, either. It could be minutes, or even seconds,” Gwen tells
Adani. “How did you come across such knowledge? Even the Church
could only guess that the Children were anything but a fairy tale.
Why not try and make something more permanent?"

"You
can do it,” Oren tells Eliam as the spell fails again. "Just
concentrate."

"Right, yeah..." Eliam says
distractedly, manipulating the aether once more.

Eliam's
magic focused, and a massive welling of aether upsurged through the
land. Without warning, in the briefest of instants, an explosion of
aether radiated away from Eliam. The bard disappeared in an instant
as the wave of magic poured over the party.

He
disappears.

Oren looks around anxiously, and scampers back to
the group, shaking the wizard's arm. “Um.”

"Um. Did Eliam just.. .disappear?" Anna
asks, looking back at where he was.

Adani, about to answer
Gwen, whips his head around. "Oren? Oren! What did your friend
do?"

"He... uh... he was trying to reverse time,”
Oren explains.

"...Why?!" Adani asks.

"...To fix the tower,” Oren
answers simply.

Adani's face softens. He sighs deeply. "My
dear fool boy. What's done is done. Our eyes need face forward, not
back."

"What does that mean? Where did he go?"
Oren asks, looking concerned.

"Gwen, I'm sorry. Your
question is valid. I have studied magic for more years than any of
you have been alive. You must trust that I have some understanding of
how magic... flows. How it functions. We are working in hitherto
unknown realms but the fundamental physical laws that government
magic must still, on some level, apply."

"Where's
Eliam?" Oren asks again, before Gwen can respond.

"Has
he controlled time before?" Adani sighs.

Oren nods slightly. "He can stop
time."

Adani considers Oren's words. "If he has ...
affected the flow of time before... and he was attempting to reverse
it... hm. Where's Eliam? That may be the wrong question, my boy,"
Adani says slowly.

"What?" Oren asks, starting to
panic. "So.. you.. did he go back in time? That's the opposite
of what I wanted. ... maybe he can bring the tower back with
him."

"It is one possibility," Adani says.
"Though not the only one. He may have gone forward. He may have
frozen himself in a single instant in time. It's impossible to
know."

Minerva puts a hand on Oren's shoulder. "Hey.
He's resourceful. He'll be okay."

"What?" Oren
asks, looking at her. "No... he's missing, he could be anywhere,
can't we help him?"

"Have you ever seen or done
anything like this?" Gwen asks.

Adani shakes his head.
"Manipulating time? Never. I thought it to be one of a very few
impossibilities."

Oren walks back to where he vanished,
looking around anxiously. He casts bloodhound desperately, but sits
down defeated when the spell has no success. Minerva walks over to
him, and puts a comforting arm around his shoulder.

Gwen
looks back at him and leans in towards Adani, lowering her voice.
"...What if he's just... gone?"

Adani sighs.
"Honestly, Gwen, I do not know. I had thought five Children to
be necessary..."

As the group discusses Eliam's
departure, Minerva turns to say something to Oren to comfort him. She
opens her mouth... and disappears as well.

Adani notices and
snaps to his feet. "Oren! Get over here."

He ignores him and stands, looking
around for some trace of what took them.

"Oren, what
happened to the girl?" Adani snaps.

"She
disappeared,” Oren explains, looking concerned.

Elise asks,
"Well, it happened to Eliam, too, right? So w--"
She vanishes.

"If you were anyone but Children..."
Adani's voice trails off.

"What should we do? Are they
okay?" Oren asks.

"All of you, listen," he
says, beckoning for the party to come near. "This may be a
blessing or a curse depending on how you handle it. We will have to
operate on the assumption he succeeded, or he banished you all from
existence. I believe we should assume the former since we can make a
plan around it."

"Um. What is happening?"
Anna asks, concerned.

"If Eliam did make it back to the
past, before the tower was destroyed, there is a chance you're all
caught up in his magic. You're disappearing, one by one, to wherever
he went. His magic control is too unstable to control it
comfortably," Adani says.

As he finishes, Gwen disappears.

Oren
nods. "Well, it can't be deliberate if she vanished before I
did."

"We're going to go back in time?" Anna
asks.

"Yes," Adani says. "How far, I do not
know. But it is vitally important that you. Not. Be. Seen. Especially
by me," he says, looking at Oren.

Oren nods. "Um...
why?"

“Time will fracture if you introduce a paradox,
such as by meeting me before we are supposed to have met," he
says. "Or by meeting yourself," he suggests.

Anna
disappears.

"Ok, I won't meet myself,” Oren nods.
“Myself isn't very social anyway..."

"I keep
certain wards active on myself, Oren, and so his magic didn't affect
me. But you all... you have a chance."

"...What
should we do?"

"If you travel to a time where the
tower stands... go to the fifth floor. Where you've never been,”
Adani explains quickly.

"Oh... okay,” Oren nods. “I
can try to save some books or something..."

"You
will find syphon panels where I charge the tower and the wards with
my magic. If you charge the tower with the Children's power, the
wards will have the Maker's blessing. Kunalchusi's destruction will
not work on it. Oren, if this works... You can save our home. Go
back. Do not be seen. And most of all--" Oren disappears.

He steps forward, and
knocks on the door of the tower, but there is no answer.

Minerva
appears.

"Wh-what. What... Eliam?!" she
stammers.

"Um... well, the good news is, the tower is
fixed, I think,” he smiles.

"I... I can see that.
...How?"

"Oren and I figured, if I can stop time,
maybe I can reverse time! It makes sense, right? So we tried to sort
of... bring the door back? Or something? I didn't really have much of
a plan, but... hey, the tower works again!"

"...Reverse...
time? But then where are our friends?" she asks.

"That's...
the part I'm worried about."

Elise appears, wide-eyed and
white faced. "What?!”

"Okay, this is... this isn't
too bad, right?" Eliam asks.

"Where are we?"
Elise exclaims.

"That is a super good question,"
Minerva answers.

Gwen appears.

"I think a better
question is *when* are we,” Eliam sighs.

"W-what
just happened? Eliam?"Gwen asks.

"I... think we
might have gone back in time. Or maybe forward, if the tower's fixed
eventually,” he shrugs. “Could be either one."

"Y-you
can fix this. Right?" Minerva asks warily.

"I'm
amazed I could even *do* it at all! This is amazing, right?! I
didn't think it would actually work, or that anything would
happen"

Elise exchanges a look with Minerva.

Anna
appears, the shock causing her to fall. "Ow."

Gwen quickly goes to help her up,
and Anna smiles at her. "Thanks, Gwen."

"You're welcome. Are you able
to walk?" Gwen asks.

Oren appears. He looks around, and
upon seeing Eliam, rushes forward to hug him. “You're okay!”

“And you...” he continues, moving away from Eliam and
patting Minerva's shoulder.

"I am!” Eliam says
excitedly. “And you are too. I don't know what happened. I mean, I
didn't think *anything* would happen, but I guess it worked? And
we're in the past? Or maybe the future..."

"I'm going to go ahead and not
read too much into this," Minerva says dryly to Oren.

"Huh?"
Oren says, confused. He steps over to hug her too.

"Never mind. Does anyone know
anything about... this?” she asks. “Anything?"

"Is
my master home or... when is this?" Oren looks around at the
trees, trying to estimate what year they're in.

"If this
is the past, we could fix *everything*! Choozy, the Elyde, I
don't even know where we'd begin,” Eliam says.

"We...we could warn
Fallowfield,” Gwen says

Oren walks around the tower to
check the stables. The land he remembers them being on is empty, and
he returns to the others. "This is a while ago, I
guess."

"Right before we dissapeared the Wizard say
we needed to be really careful, and we shouldn't be seen,” Anna
warns Eliam. "Something about a...pair of socks?"

"I
mean... we could be careful,” he shrugs. “Change things without
being noticed, I'm sure."

"If we see someone we
know, or ourselves, something bad will happen,” Oren explains. "A
paradox is really bad."

Minerva asks Anna, "Did he
give us any other advice?"

"He said we should go to
the fifth floor,” she answers. “Someplace special, and use a...
syphon panel? Something about your powers charging it."

"I wonder if I'm in there? Maybe
someone should go ask what year it is in town,” Oren suggests. “Not
Eliam."

"Why not me?"

"Because you
met the mayor and Brie, right? They might be there."

Eliam nods.

"Do you think
anyone is home?" Minerva asks, looking up at the tower.

"The
horses aren't here,” Oren shrugs. “Neither is the stable, which
is weird. It was there when I got here 15 years ago, so it's before
then, I guess?"

"I've never been to this town,
before. I could go,” Gwen offers.

Elise nods. "That
would make the most sense."

"I can go with you,”
Anna says.

Oren nods. "Just ask what year it is."

"This is...a very strange
situation,” Anna says after they get out of earshot.

"It
is... I know we aren't supposed to be seen, but..." she looks
back, worried. "Maybe we can send a couple letters..."

"It seems like an opportunity,
right? But... I don't know,” Anna sighs. “Even Oren thought it
was a bad idea and he usually seems to be okay with any means
necessary."

"Because it doesn't concern
anything of his,” Gwen says bitterly. “He was fine reversing time
to fix his home, right? Why shouldn't we get a chance to fix ours?"

"True... I could protect the
circus. You could send a letter to your church..."

Gwen nods, smiling. "But maybe we
don't mention this to the others."

Anna and Gwen arrive in town. There are
a few townsfolk nearby on the street. A group of children play
nearby.

"What do you think?” Anna asks. “We can't
just ask what year it is, right?"

"That'd be a
little suspect. Maybe we can find a newspaper." Gwen looks
around for some sort of bar or tavern where one could be found, but
sees nothing.

"We could ask about the tower, just to see
what information we can get,” Anna suggests. “Just travelers,
etc."

As they approach the bar, there's an old man on the
porch out front, rocking slowly. He sips from his beer and eyes them
both as they approach. "You're new," he comments.

Gwen
nods. "Hello, sir. We're traveling through, looking to meet with
the wizard. Would you happen to know his whereabouts?"

His jaw works slowly as though he's
chewing something. He pauses. "He comes and goes. Could be back
next week. Or tonight. No one ever really knows."

"Thank
you,” she smiles. “It's rather strange to see a town without the
Rorgh. Is it because of him?"

"He helps," the man admits
with a bit of edge to his voice. "Not much here, though. No real
reason for orcs to show up here, I say."

"I suppose.
Thank you for your time.” Gwen leaves, but turns around after
walking down the steps. "I'm sorry, would you happen to have the
latest Siraj Tribune? We've been traveling for some time now, it'd be
nice to catch up on current events."

He snorts. "There's
one from last month in the garbage beside the building. Don't usually
get that many current papers from Siraj. Too far."

"Anything
printed locally?" Anna asks.

He reaches down and tosses
her a local newsletter. "Not much in it that'd be of interest to
travelers. Enjoy." It's a single paper, printed on two sides.

Anna looks it over, and finds the date:
13 Alrai, 7375. Gwen looks over her shoulder, and her face falls as
she reads.

The old man catches Gwen's face. "Hm?
What's eating you?"

"It's...it's nothing,” she
says, composing herself.

"Thank you,” Anna says,
crumpling the paper and putting it in her pocket.

"Where to next?" Anna asks,
as they continue on down the road away from the old man.

"We could try to send a
letter, but this far back... Prilla wouldn't be Holy Seat.”

The two continue onward to the
postmaster's office, and let themselves in. There is a man inside in
a dark red uniform. He's packing envelopes into boxes. "Hello?
Can I help you?”

"G-good day,” Gwen greets
him nervously, nodding at Anna after she sees paper and pens
available. "Yes, I'd like to send a letter. Do you deliver to
Fallowfield?"

"Oh, yes, certainly," the
mail clerk responds.

Gwen nods, and takes the items she needs
to write a note. Her hand shaking, she writes it out, and she scans
it quickly before holding it out to Anna. "Do you think this is
fine? It...doesn't give away too much. I think."

```
Altrustus Genevere,

    This
letter bears the utmost importance to the future of both Fallowfield,
and Iquai. You must insure it reaches the hands of your successor,
and no one else. You mustn’t give this knowledge to anyone else.

   On 7 Lora 7430, The Children of Destiny will arrive at the Church,
and the day following an army of terrible strength will come for
them. While they escape, the Church and all the followers of His
faith are destroyed, leaving Iquai in despair. It is paramount that
they be warned, so that the faith allowed to continue.

Please give this letter to your successor upon her being chosen, and
I beg you both to help the followers escape. All non essential should
be able to be discreetly evacuated on the Seat of the Sea, through
the secret exit in the Holy Seat’s room. There, they can be
shuttled to the Oberle vineyard, where they will be safe. It is of
utmost importance that they stay hidden from all until the time is
right, and above all else, do not let the Oberles know of this
plan.

```

"It seems okay to me,” Anna shrugs. “No idea
what will work or not. It's dice either way."

"It's
worth a try. I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't."

The mail clerk hands Gwen an envelope.
She puts the letter in and pays him the fee. The Mail Clerk takes the
letter and deposits it in the appropriate box. "Thank you,"
he says.

Gwen nods, and leads Anna outside the
building, taking a deep breath. “Back to the tower?”

"Seems
like a plan to me."

"Was there stuff already built here when you were a
kid?" Eliam asks.

"Yes, nothing really changed
since I arrived."

"Okay... well, we know we're at
least 15 years in the past, then. Probably more."

Oren
nods, and sits down by a small pond filled with fish. He puts his
hand in the water, and cautiously pets one of the fish as they swim
by. "I wonder how we're supposed to get inside... if it's
warded, and I'm not here, I can't open the door."

"Maybe
I can disable it?” Eliam suggests. “I can try, at
least."

“Maybe."

Eliam walks to the door,
and puts his hand on it. He casts a spell, but it fizzles, and the
door remains closed.

Minerva walks over. "What's
the plan--- oh."

"He's going to try to open the
door, I guess,” Oren explains.

Eliam shrugs. "Maybe we
can take some more books? I have the ones you gave me earlier,"
he nods at Oren, "but we could get more that look
useful."

Eliam attempts to disrupt the ward on the door.
There is a crackling, a sparkling... then the ward seems to flash,
and the door slips open.

"No, we can prevent the tower
from being destroyed. He told me how. ...You took the books?"
Oren asks. "You weren't really supposed to do that, but I guess
it's a good thing..."

Eliam smiles at him as he pushes
the door open. "I have the ones on magic you gave me! And
that... other one."

The door opens. The frame of the
door, where the door latch sits, is blinking softly as the ward
fails.

"That was easy,” Oren smiles. “Good thing you
got so much practice at the Patriarch's tower."

He enters
the tower, and the otehrs follow suit. "So this was your home?"
Minerva says, astonished. "It's incredible..."

"Yeah,
well... this was before I got here, so not really,” Oren shrugs.

"Maybe some of the stuff is still here, though! Like the
table, that's really amazing,” Eliam says excitedly.

Oren
nods. "Maybe..."

He goes to the apothecary room, and
pulls out a pen and piece of paper. He quickly writes a note:

```
Mr. Pender, If you are reading this- please don't come inside yet. It
will cause a time paradox if you see me. Just wait a little while.

```

Oren crafts his note. It is beautiful,
articulate, crafted. His eyes travel over it, pupils adjusting to the
light in micro-instants as his mind races with the possibilities that
this one moment of alteration could cause to the time stream. He
finishes his final word, and his hand moves a line down to sign it.
The tip of the quill an inch from the page as he goes to begin the O,
Oren's heart beats furiously in his chest. A sudden shock runs up his
spine and he draws his hand back as he realizes the paradox he may
have just avoided. Oren sets the quill delicately upon the table and
sits back. A gentle sigh escapes him. Truly, in this moment, he has
just saved the world.

In years to come, Eliam would tell the
tale to others: how Oren boldly traversed the currents of time with
him, surfing along the flow of the fourth dimension; how he came face
to face with a familiar and yet strange world; and how, at the
critical moment, he chose the right path by instinct and preserved
all life on Sylvatir. Oren, the hero, who single-handedly defeated
the scourge of time.

He places the note on the door, and
closes it behind him as he leaves to explore the tower with the
others.

Minutes later, Elise
welcomes Gwen and Anna at the door. "Welcome back," she
says. "Did you learn anything?"

"Yes,” Gwen
nods. “The year is 7375."

"The town exists,”
Anna adds. “I'm not sure how large it was before but it's pretty
small now"

"At least there's no worry of us running
into our past selves,” Gwen smiles.

Minerva nods.
"That's...good to know. At least we have our bearings now. Nice
work, both of you." She smiles. "Good job not messing up
all of time!"

Gwen gives Anna a quick look as Oren
impatiently leads everyone back up the stairs.

"Yep,”
Anna says simply as the others leave them.

As they stop in
the library. Eliam begins to look over some of the books. Oren gives
him a knowing look, stopping him before he can pull any out of the
shelves. Minerva pats him on the shoulder. "In fairness, any
books you take means Oren might lose that knowledge since he's not
here to read from them."

"Yeah, don't take any,”
Oren nods.

“Yeah... it won't hurt to read them
though, right?” Eliam asks.

“As long as you put them back...”
Oren says. “I don't want to forget how to do math or something.”

“I will, don't worry!” he assures
him.

Gwendolyn finds Oren once she joins them, getting his
attention. "Do you think there's time, to translate the letter?
We don't know if the tower will actually be repaired, or not, when we
get back..."

"Um.. I guess. We're not really in a
hurry..." he leads her down the rows of books, to a shelf
containing several dictionaries. He pulls one down labeled Gaelic.

He takes it to a nearby desk, and sets
to work deciphering the note. Gwen periodically peeks over his
shoulder to determine how far along he is.

Oren begins work
on the letter, but the symbols begins to fade, shift, and shuffle as
he begins to work.

He translates, "Gwen, it's
important that you kno-" but suddenly his eyes lose focus, or
the letters themselves change? Something... is weird.

He looks at Gwen. “Your letter's
broken.”

He starts again.

"Oh, that's strange..."
she says.

The letter, once it is translated, reads: Abigail,
excellent work. Your next mission will take you north. Beware the
Oberles. Their role in this is still unknown. -- Holy Seat
Genevere.

"I don't know what this means,” Oren says,
passing her the translation. "Wasn't he the Holy Seat a long
time ago?"

"Yes... before Prilla..." Gwen says
confusedly, looking worried.

"How old was your
girlfriend?" Oren asks, smiling politely. "If she was going
on missions more than 25 years ago?"

"She was younger than
me."

"Oh,” Oren says, wandering away to check up
on Eliam. He finds him in a chair, a pile of books on various types
of magic next to him as he nervously scans through them. Quietly,
Oren picks up the discarded books and places them back in their
rightful spots.

"Just make sure you don't mess the
books up,” Oren sighs. “I don't think there's any time magic..."

"That's... well, that's still
alright. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to get us back!" Eliam
smiles at him.

Oren nods, and leaves him alone. He
grabs Minerva and drags her to the study, pulling her to a large
window.

"What's up?" she asks.

Wordlessly, he gestures outside.

She looks out the window but her brow
is furrowed. "I... don't get it. What's wrong?"

"What?
Nothing's wrong."

"Oh," she says. "Sorry.
Just... too focused. This... was your home, wasn't it? It's
beautiful."

He nods, looking slightly nervous.

Minerva says, "We have to keep
climbing, right? What's higher up in the tower?"

"Um...
upstairs there's bedrooms... do you want to see that? I wonder if my
room still looks the same... What do you want to see? There's a
lot."

"Everything!" she says. "But...
maybe first we should try and do that thing the wizard told us to do.
Find the panels. Do you know where they could be?"

He
nods, taking her hand and leading her upstairs.

Gwen takes the letter, and panicking,
puts it away in her pocket. She quickly goes to find Anna.

Anna
stands nervously at the entrance of the library, as though trying to
understand how this many bookcases could fit into the room despite
its outside appearance being smaller. Gwen immediately takes her arm
and pulls her out of the room.

"What's wrong?" Anna
asks, concerned.

"I... I think I messed up,” Gwen
explains. “I had... I had a letter from someone from the Church,
and... it's... it's different."

"That might be good?
 I mean, you were trying to change things."

"You're
right. I mean, I was... but I just wanted to save them. To save
her... Not. Not *change everything,*”
Gwen begins pacing. "The letter doesn't mention me... it
wasn't *to me anymore.*"

"That's a pretty big
difference,” Anna says. “A pretty weird diff... uh, look. I'm
sure it'll be okay. We'll be able to figure it out- it's not like you
disappeared when you sent the letter!"

"I mean
it's...it's not sent, right? Maybe we could just go get it
back."

"We could. It's only been an hour - even if
it's been dispatched, we could catch it,” Anna says reassuringly.

Minerva calls back to everyone from the
stairs. "Hey, guys! We're going up to find the stuff Adani said. You might want to come up here!"

Anna glances at Gwen. “Want to try
and undo it?”

"Yeah...yeah, maybe we should."

“We
can just retract the letter. If it's been sent we'll be able to catch
it,” Anna explains. “They only need the Children to charge the
glyphs anyway- they don't need us for this bit."

"You're
right. Let's go,” Gwen smiles.

As everyone goes up the
stairs, Minerva calls back down. "Gwen! Anna! Come on, let's
go!"

The two exchange a look, and go downstairs, away
from the others.

### The Children Solve some Riddles

Oren, Minerva, Elise, and Eliam
climb the stairs. They arrive in a room with five other stairwalls.
Two go down. Three go up. There is a framed letter on the wall amidst
them.

```
If you are reading this, then I trust you. Or you're a
thief. If the former, welcome. If the latter, I'll find you. Don't
worry.

```

```
I spend my life dedicated to magic.
But magic is mostly bangs and colours and things to impress the
common folk. I have lived my life believing in logic. Beyond here,
logic reigns.

```

```
If you seek something beyond these
stairs, know that your way will be barred unless you are clear of
thought and careful of choice. Beware, those who seek to brute force
their way forward...

```

"This was definitely written by my
master,” Oren sighs.

He takes the others down the leftmost
staircase, leading them down the foundation.

“Where are Anna and Gwen?” he asks.

Minerva turns around curiously. "I...
don't know.”

Elise turns. "I'll go check for
them."

"That's a good idea. Go find
them,” Oren says, shutting the door behind her after she leaves.
“Probably for the best if she's not here, it does say to be 'clear
of thought and careful of choice.'"

"What does that even mean,
anyway?" Eliam asks.

"I'm not really sure, but it
doesn't sound like her, does it?"

There is a door which is locked tight.
It is held fast behind a magical shielded lock. Eliam cannot access
it to depower it.

The lock requires a four-number combination
to open.

Each position appears to accept any number from 0 to

There are four clues arranged in left to right order on
the wall beside the lock.

The clues appear to be arranged in
the same left-to-right positions as the four places for numbers in
the lock.

Each clue reads the same at the top: Identify the
odd number out.

CLUE ONE: \*5 7 9 11 13\*

CLUE TWO: \*1 8
27 64 83\*

CLUE THREE: \*45 63 81 73 54 90\*

CLUE FOUR: \*
4 5 7 8 10 11 12 13 14\*

“9?” Eliam says uncertainly,
reading the first clue.

Oren nods, and enters 9, 83, 73, 12.

The lock spins... whirls... and
opens.

The door swings wide.

There is a golden plate on the wall
behind the door. It has grips to grab on to which jut out from the
centre.

Oren touches it.

It feels warm to the touch. It seems to
be drawing on something within him. Oren focuses his magic and
channels aether into the foundation of the Tower. The Maker's energy
courses through it.

The Foundation is secure.

### Gwen and Anna Make a Holiday

Gwen and Anna return to the postman's
office.

"Excuse me, sir. I think the letter was a
mistake,” Gwen says. “Would it be possible to have it
returned?"

The mail clerk says, "Well, certainly...
How fast are you?” He asks, and Anna leaves the office quickly to
find a horse. “The boxes I was packing were for shipment today.
They were loaded onto a boat about half an hour ago. They're sailing
toward Siraj as we speak."

"Siraj? That wasn't even
in the right direction,” Gwen says.

"Things get sorted
and then sent from the main office," he says.

Gwen nods politely and rushes outside
to meet with Anna. “He said the letter was put on a boat to Siraj.”

"Damn,” Anna says. “We can try
to find a horse, cut it off before it reaches the riverbend..."

"We can try,” Gwen nods.

A ten minute search yields a pair of
horses near a stable.

"Got any cash” Anna asks.
“Better to borrow than to steal, I think. We don't want to do any
more damage."

"May we borrow your horses?”
Gwen asks, as she approaches the farmer working at the stable. “We
only need them for a short time, but I'll give you double their worth
right now and a promise to bring them back."

The farmer looks at Gwen strangely.
"Let's see the money, he says.

Gwen pulls out twenty gold, and holds
it out to him.

The farmer's eyes bulge. He reaches his
hand out, shaking. "T-they're yours."

Gwen and Anna mount up and ride.

Gwen mounts her horse and flies like
the wind. The hooves of her steed beneath her seem to make music as
she travels. Anna keeps fairly good pace behind her but slips further
and further back. Anna makes it to the edge of the port as the mail
ship is sailing away. She spots a bridge at the end of the harbour
which the ship must pass. Without even a moment's hesitation, she
steers her horse at full speed toward the bridge. The ship reaches it
just as Gwen does. The knight pats the beast's mane, allowing some of
her divine faith to pass on to it. She orders the horse to jump, and
full of faith in her, it leaps off the bridge, and lands squarely on
the deck of the mail ship.

The captain drops his pipe. "W-who
are you?"

"My name is not important; what is is the
mail you received from Westbridge,” Gwen responds. “Something was
sent by mistake, and I need it back. Please."

The captain just kind of lamely points
in astonishment as this horse just chills on his deck. Gwen finds and
retrieves the letter.

Gwen gives it one last look and
sighs, tearing it into pieces. She drops them into the water.

Years from now, on the 13 of Alrai,
Westbridge still celebrates the Lady's Leap Festival, where children
are encouraged to gather on the Westbridge and plunge into the water
to stave off the summer heat.

Gwen looks at her original letter, and
sees that the message is returned to normal.

The captain lets Gwen back off on the
shore.

“That was a hell of a jump,” Anna
says.

"I didn't know I had it in me...
the letter returned to normal, though. I think everything is fixed,"
Gwen smiles. "Thanks, for the help. I'd say I owe you one,
but... I think I owe a lot more than just that."

"I'm sorry the plan didn't work. I
don't want to say this is for the best but...who knows what could
have happened. Maybe we should get back?" Anna suggests.

"I think you're probably right. Do
you think they noticed we left?"

"Probably, but I'm
sure it'll be okay."

“Yeah,” Gwen nods, leading them
back to the tower.

### The Group Solves More Riddles

Elise meets the others back at the
stairwell room. "Um... they're... all gone."
"Gone?
What do you mean?" Eliam asks. Oren rolls his eyes.

"They're
not anywhere in the Tower,” Elise explains. “They just
bailed."

"I gave Gwen that weird note of hers, some
message from her girlfriend,” Oren sighs. “But I guess she
dragged Anna off to do whatever girls do."

"I...
what? They wouldn't do that. I mean, I know for sure Gwen wouldn't
just up and leave in unfamiliar territory. Maybe... they're in the
town? Shopping or something?" Eliam suggests.

"Where
is there to shop?” Oren asks. “There's just a few places like a
baker and a grocer, that sort of thing. Unless there used to be.
They're probably somewhere making out, who cares."

"Them?
You think so?" Eliam asks.

"Maybe? She said she
likes girls,” Oren shrugs.

"As long as it doesn't get
in the way of stuff, I guess. I guess we don't really *need*
them for this...” Eliam sighs. “Well, maybe for a little help on
the puzzles, but you seem to have it handled."

"At
least they can't get pregnant,” Oren says, leading them to the next
set of stairs.

The four ascend to the roofing
panel.

There is a door with another lock. Rows of numbers are
written on the door, with a blank row below to insert numbers.

The
numbers read:
1
11
21
1211
111221
312211

The
lock combination is the next row in the sequence.

Eliam enters
13112221. The lock clicks and opens smoothly.

The door opens
wide.

“Good job,” Oren smiles.

"Thanks!" Eliam smiles back proudly.

Inside
there is another golden panel just as the last. Eliam activates it.

Minerva smiles at Eliam and says, "I'm impressed, Eliam!
That was so fast."

"That's why I'm the second in
command, I guess!"

"Yeah,” Oren nods.

"Uh...
of... what?" she asks.

"The Lyriad, obviously,”
Eliam says as Oren leads them to the next staircase. "And our
group, I guess... though really I'm more *the* leader of
that."

Oren rolls his eyes. "Votig was the leader,
none of us are."

Minerva draws a sharp breath, holds it,
lets it out slowly, and says, "You... um... hm..."

"He
can't really lead anymore, though,” Eliam shrugs.

"Yea.
Maybe we should go visit him while we're here?" Oren suggests.

"Oh! I didn't even consider that! He's probably alive,
right? Maybe we can recruit him."

"I don't know, would it mess
things up if we did that? And Minerva is the leader of the Lyriad,
and since that's what we are it means she's our boss,” Oren points
out. “But you're definitely the second in command."

Minerva
says, "If you really want to take on more responsibility in the
Lyriad, you can start looking over briefings with me," she
offers.

"Well... of course. I assumed I'd just grab them
and read them over when we got back."

"You already
know everything about it, and you're really good at business stuff.
Maybe you can make the Lyriad more profitable,” Oren smiles.

"Absolutely! I'm sure I'm the most qualified for it. It
shouldn't be hard to fix things up."

“It's what Votig wanted,” Oren
nods.

The group heads up to the room that houses the Ward
controls.

There is an inaccessible door with a lock that
cannot be reached. Beside it in the wall is what looks like a small
copper horn. Below it is a tiny plate that says, "Speak
here."

There is a framed letter on the other side of the
door.

Oren rolls his eyes and reads it.

Speak the password to proceed.

My
first is in mouse, but not in hose.
My second, in ached, but not
in chose.
My third, in argue, but not in acute.
My fourth, in
rabbit, but not in brute.
My fifth in each (and each in all).

“Magic?” Oren says into the horn.

There is a clicking sound behind the horn. The door swings
open wide.

The golden plate is affixed to the wall
beyond.

Eliam charges the wards.

The wards are
secure.

As the group returns to the stairwell room, Gwen and
Anna return to the Tower.

Elise tilts her head. "Where
were you two?"

"Town. We forgot something there,”
Anna answers quickly.

Minerva frowns a little. "I was
worried. Just let us know next time, okay?"

Eliam nods.
"We're trying to charge the tower wards, but they're locked
behind some puzzles."

"Sorry. When we realized we
hurried,” Anna explains. “Puzzles?"

The group walks
up a set of stairs. It leads to a room with a protected locked down.
Near it is a scale. Next to the scale is a large glass vase marked
"5" and a medium-sized glass vased marked "4."
There is a fountain continuously pouring water on the wall
nearby.

There is a sign beside the door: "The scale
requires the weight of a large glass vase and 3 liters of water to
unlock. Any more, or any less, and... well... just be exact."

Oren
fills the 4L vase. Using his magic, he splits the water in half, then
splits the water outside of the vase in half again.

The large
vase now has 3L. He moves it to the scale.

The scale clicks,
and the door swings open wide.

A plate rests beyond. Oren
charges it.

The enchantments are
secure.\*

"That was amazing! Good job,” Eliam says.

"I
think I cheated,” Oren replies.

Minerva nods. "Your control really
has gotten astonishing. Way to go, Oren." She kisses him on the
cheek quickly and walks down the stairs.

"Hopefully the
next one will just require a big fire or some air,” Oren says, as
they continue on.

The party arrives at the last room at the
bottom of a set of stairs. They seek to reinforce the walls.

There
is a shelf on the wall next to a protected door. There are seven
glass vials. Each contains a colourless, odourless liquid. The vials
are magically sealed so as to shield the liquid within from
spells.

There is a long letter on the wall next to the vials.
The vials are all in a row.

If ye seek the path
beyond,
Listen, traveller, and respond.
Aether works its magic
here,
Woven through the entrance near.

Vials resting on the
shelf
May grant ingress unto thine self.
Only one amongst the
seven
Can lead you to the tower's heaven.

Seek thee the
brew of Animate
And fiendish monsters thou’ll create.
Discover
still the Poison vial
And collapse upon the tile.
Further, to
thine consternation:
Is the brew of conflagration.
Only one
amongst the set
Is safe when liquid to door’s met.

To aid
ye: merely these clues four
Which may see thee through the
door.
First, of each the choices wrong,
Only two vials here
belong.
Second, the ends of thine great plight
See life on left
and death on right.
Third, as what is made can die,
Death and
life beside will lie.
Last, the flames together nestle
In the
“sum of seven” vessels.

Solve this puzzle, if ye
can,
Uncork the vial with thine hands.
Spray the liquid on the
door
And proceed forevermore.

Elise steps up to the letter
and looks up and down the row of vials.

She taps a few of the
lines and reads them to herself over and over. Finally, she says,
"Hey... 'Second, the ends of thine great plight/See life on left
and death on right.' What if that means the vials on the ends of the
row...?"

"Stand back..." Oren says, grabbing
the sixth vial.

"Good luck..." Eliam says.

He
unstoppers it and splashes the liquid on the door.

The liquid
bubbles up and down the aether that protects the door.

The
aether coalesces into an enormous spectral guardian!

### The Group Fights At the Tower

Gwen rushes forward to cover the
others, attacking as she does so.
Her severe assault
explodes on the guardian. Her power overwhelms it and causes it to
fall against the wall.