“I am curious why I was taken,” said Nuralie, patting one of the frogs on the head. She’d taken all three back from us and sat on the ground, her lower half buried under a frog-pile. “You two know each other, but why am I involved?”
“You’re also a level one platinum,” I offered. She frowned at when I said this.
“You can tell what difficulty Delves people have done,” Nuralie said.
“More or less.”
“A useful ability,” she said, beginning to massage a frog along the sides of its jaw. “I initially thought Litta had sothing to do with my capture. Now I do not know. Why would a Littan have grudges against mbers of the Third Layer?”
“Do Littans dislike Losons?” I asked, sitting down next to the scaled woman. Although I had a rough understanding of world history and geography, the topic of modern geopolitics had not yet made it to my library list.
“I am young, and I have lived most of my life in the deep swamps, but even I was taught of the past tensions between Litta and Eschendur. It has only grown worse. I can’t even return to Eschendur anymore.”
“You couldn’t return ho because of the blockade?” I asked.
“Yes and no. I am one of four from Eschendur selected to attend the Creation Delve two years ago. The other three were each priests in one of the faiths of the triune. I was the neutral choice for those of us who still live in the wilds. When the Delve was completed the priests returned ho, but I stayed behind to explore Hiward. When I finished my tour six months ago and attempted to return, my vessel was stopped by the blockade. I was offered the choice of being ferried the rest of the way by the Littans, or returning. I chose to return.”
“You didn’t believe they’d ferry you safely?”
She tilted her head to one side.
“They set up a naval blockade across the shores of my holand. Littans encroach on our lands. I am a Delver who, even at level one, is worth more than ten normal soldiers on the battlefield. I am no true fighter… my passion lies in alchemy, but that does not matter. Enemy Delvers are a threat to any army, regardless of their specialty. I have no doubt that if I had accepted, my corpse would now be held in the embrace of Mother Geul at the bottom of the ocean.”
“I see… that sounds tough.”
Pause.
“Yes. I worry for my clan. They will be sheltered from an invasion in the wilds.” Pause. “But trade with the tranquil dioceses is crucial for their survival. I thought that the Littans had sent an agent to kill since I did not surrender at their blockade, but that would not explain why the two of you were also taken. I am still alive as well, so upon reflection my initial theory is flawed.”
“Do you rember much about being taken?”
“My mories are similar to Lady Xim’s. I was granted temporary permits to open an alchemy shop in Foundation due to the blockade. I live there as well. I was working into the night on several brews when soone appeared in my workshop. After that, all was dark until I awoke to your rescue.” Pause. “All those recipes are probably ruined.”
“I don’t think ‘rescue’ is the right word,” I said. “Your captor just walked off, and Myria and Lito did most of the fighting up here. I just beat up so warehouse workers, which can probably be classified as bullying given how easy it was.”
Nuralie placed a hand on my arm.
“Where is your flower?” she asked.
“Oh, I put it in my inventory for safekeeping.” She gave her usual unmoving stare, and I decided to grab the flower from my inventory. She took it from my hand and brushed my hair back to tuck it behind my ear. It was still dripping water. She stared for a mont longer, then went back to petting her frogs.
“That looks nice,” said Xim.
One of the frogs crawled away from Nuralie and into my own lap. I wasn’t sure how to pet a frog, so I gave it a gentle scratch under the chin. It closed its eyes in satisfaction, which was pretty cute. We all sat in silence for a few minutes, water trickling down my neck and shoulder, when Myria walked over to us.
“Well, kids,” she said, “we get to go and talk to the big boss man!”
****
The “big boss man” was not big. He was, in fact, very small. He was also covered in long white fur, and sat in what appeared to be a very professional high-chair. He had big black eyes, was at most two-and-a-half feet tall, and looked like a baby yeti.
His na was Umi-Doo.
Umi-Doo was a level ninety Delver with gold, silver, and copper in his soul, along with a thin network of violet striations that looked like the icy patterns of a snowflake. I was thankful that I’d kept the sensitivity of my soul-sight reduced, or else his presence would have turned my eyes into charcoal briquettes.
He sat at the head of a round wooden table in a large conference room on the first floor of the Dark Iron Palace. The table was also populated by five big-wigs from Central, which was the governntal oversight organization for Hiwardian Delvers. Xim, Nuralie, and I sat flanked by Lito and Myria, all five of us under heavy scrutiny by the half dozen officials.
I recognized one individual among them, Officer Dalton, who had spoken with briefly after exiting the Creation Delve. He sat on Umi-Doo’s right, which held the sa cultural significance in Hiward as it did in many Earth cultures. Dalton was apparently a pretty important guy.
There was so quiet chatter amongst the officials, who consulted a small stack of papers that Dalton had handed each of them as they entered. Three of them threw suspicious glances at from ti to ti, but neither Dalton nor a woman with chestnut hair paid any heed, beyond Dalton giving a polite greeting upon seeing . After a few minutes Dalton cleared his throat and stood. The room grew silent
“Calling to order this ergency session of the Central Authority’s Delver Disciplinary and Investigative Board. Sorcerer Umi-Doo presides, with Officer Dalton Imilai as secretary. Board mbers present include-”
Umi-Doo raised a hand and Dalton paused. The mini-yeti turned to the four board mbers about to be identified.
“Pyna, Fightia, Louin, and Geggaramanda, you four may leave.”
Two of the mbers gave Umi-Doo affronted looks. The third, a middle-aged man with pure white hair, placed his face into his hands. The chestnut woman calmly picked up her belongings and began to leave. One of the first two, a red-headed woman, began to say sothing in protest, but Umi-Doo gave her an indecipherable look, and she promptly snapped her mouth shut. All four of them were gone in short order.
Officer Dalton cleared his throat again.
“Board mbers present have been dismissed. Witnesses present are-”
“You may go as well, Dalton,” Umi-Doo said. Dalton’s shoulders slumped.
“Sorcerer Umi-Doo,” he began, “why call for the board if you intend on dismissing us all the mont the eting begins?”
“Six is the minimum number of board mbers required for an official session to be called, including the presider and the secretary.”
“Yes, but-”
“It is necessary for an official session to be called for appropriate findings to be docunted and decisions of precedence to be made.”
“This is true, however-”
“I am also allowed to dismiss mbers present for various privacy and security reasons.”
“You do have that authority, although-”
“Therefore, now that the session has been called, I have decided that the matters to be discussed require a greater level of discretion than can be had with so many mbers present.”
“Technically you need to have specific grounds for dismissing each individual mber.”
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“I’ve already filed the appropriate reports,” said Umi-Doo.
Dalton sighed, then began to pick up his paperwork.
“Please leave your docunts,” said Umi-Doo. “I may need to refer to them.”
Dalton dropped the stack of papers and notebooks back onto the table, took a hard look up at the ceiling while gathering himself, then spun on a heel to leave empty-handed.
Once he was gone, Umi-Doo studied the five of us in silence for a ti, his eyes settling on for longer than was comfortable. Eventually, he levitated out of his polished-wood high chair and landed on top of the table. He walked to the opposite end, where he gazed out of a large window that overlooked the river running through the middle of Foundation.
“Please send your familiar away, Esquire Arlo.”
I glanced up at Grotto, whose eyes were boring into Umi-Doo’s back.
“Is there sowhere within the palace I should send him?” I asked.
“That pocket dinsion you have should suffice. We’ll wait while you do so.”
My head jerked back at the statent, since I hadn’t officially shown my Pocket Closet to anyone yet. I also doubted that the surviving mbers of the Artemix group had discerned the room’s true nature when we fought inside.
The others in the room gave curious glances. I shrugged, then stood and spent a minute concentrating on opening my Pocket Closet. The group peered within when the door sprang into existence, with the exception of Umi-Doo who continued staring out the window, but no one moved to take a closer look. Grotto floated inside, making his dissatisfaction known to psychically, then I spent the minute required to close the door.
Umi-Doo turned back to face us, and I decided a mont of upfront honesty would be prudent, since the insight displayed by this small man seed extraordinary.
“Grotto will still be able to monitor our discussion,” I said.
“Yes, through that psychic link of yours. I also predict you’d tell him what happens here even if that didn’t exist. I’m curious why you trust a creature like that so much, but that’s your decision to make. I just don’t want the thing running around installing traps and trying to whisper insidious nonsense into our minds while we discuss. He wouldn’t accomplish anything, but the wards within the palace would cause a serious disruption to our eting if he were to attempt to do so.”
“Oh,” I said, dumbly.
How did he know so much about Grotto?
Umi-Doo levitated back to the center of the table, and several books appeared in the air around him, slowly revolving around his small form. Three hovered over and landed before . Another landed in front of Nuralie, one in front of Xim, and two in front of Lito. There were none for Myria.
Umi-Doo looked thoughtful for a second, then one more book appeared in the air and floated over to place itself at the bottom of the neat pile in front of .
I looked over the titles. The first two were highly relevant to my current skill set.
Dinsionalism and You: Volu II
Auras! Not Just For Beginners
The third dealt with a topic I was planning on pursuing the mont I had the free ti to do so.
Enchantnt to Enhancent: Mana-Weaving Guide and Runic Encyclopedia
I was a bit confused by the fourth, however.
Can I Have Sex with That? An Illustrated Guide to Viable Breeding Pairs Between Arzian Races.
I peeked at the books given to Xim and Nuralie. The Eschen received Alchemical Divinity Volu IV: Working with the Eschen Triarch. Whereas Xim was given a book whose title was written in harsh, blocky symbols that I couldn’t read. My eyes also began to itch when I tried to decipher it. Xim looked very pleased with the to, gasping and imdiately beginning to flip through it.
All of the books listed Umi-Doo as at least one of the primary authors.
“That dinsionalism book will help you reduce the ti required to open that pocket dinsion, Arlo,” Umi-Doo said. “I’m also pleased to find soone using an aura. It’s sowhat rare these days. I bla the academy. No good aura users amongst the faculty, and a good bit of prejudice toward those who use them as well. Difficult topic to study as a result, but that second book should prove helpful. We can always use more mana-weavers as well. You’d think we’d have more practitioners, but most lack the patience to curate the skill. Why learn to weave a magical weapon when you can just buy one and spend the ti learning to swing it better?” He frowned and made a sound that was a cross between a purr and a snort. “I’m glad you’re showing interest.”
“Thanks,” I said. “These genuinely look very helpful, but what about this fourth one?”
Xim and Nuralie leaned over and read the title. They were sitting on either side of , so it made feel a bit crowded. They exchanged a strange look between each other, paused in that unnerving Eschen manner, then went back to leafing through their respective gifts.
“Among other things,” said Umi-Doo, “the art is very well-done. Worth taking so ti to appreciate.” He waggled his furry eyebrows.
“I see.”
I decided not to peruse the contents of that one until I was soplace more private.
“Maybe I can borrow that later,” Xim whispered without looking away from her own book.
“Lito, more books on etiquette,” said Umi-Doo. “One day it might stick. Myria, still not much of a reader?”
“Maybe if you had another one with pretty pictures inside.”
Umi-Doo nodded and another to appeared, floating to Myria. She tucked it into her own inventory before I could read the title.
“Xim and Nuralie, your texts are self-explanatory. Now then, to business.”
Apparently finished with his random acts of charity, Umi-Doo waved a hand and a map of Arzia appeared in the air before us. Hiward sat at its center, surrounded by a large stretch of sea on every side which ended at the shores of several bordering nations on the north, east, and west. South led to the open ocean, with another large island nation far to the southwest. A massive forest lay to the southeast, conspicuously missing any na or notation.
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