He turned the idol around in his hands, watching as it shifted back and forth between his current appearance, and that of his previous life. There was little similarity between the two appearances. One, a young, pale-skinned youth with vibrant green eyes staring out from under a head of black hair, the other a man, dark of skin, with features so hard they could be mistaken for stone, a fact only made more intimidating by mana scars and deep, red eyes. The only true similarity between the two was the expression; self-assured and domineering, it was the look of a tyrant who deserved to rule… Or, the look of a teen with authority issues.

Tarrus cringed as the idol switched back to his youthful appearance. “Abyss take me, is that what everyone sees?”

Shuddering in distaste, he set the item down. Turning back to his notes, he paused. He traced the words he had just finished writing with his finger; Analysis confirms that the idol creates a magical link to a body, or bodies, using mana stored in blood. He glanced back at the idol thoughtfully, slowly rotating it until there was an even split between the features. He placed a finger on the chest of the young body. “It takes my blood… and shows my body,” he muttered, slowly swiping his finger across to the Demon Lord. “But I’m in a new body… My blood must be different. Perhaps… Perhaps there is more information contained in one's mana signature than I thought.” He grunted softly, lost in thought.

Shaking himself, he turned back to his notes. “Well, thoughts for another time, perhaps. For now, finish cataloguing these items for a report. I have a reputation to uphold.”

Refocused, he reached out the item and passed a thin strand of mana into it. Tarrus had learned, working at the guild, that while a magic potential of 0.8 was crippling to his dreams of being a grand archmage once again, it was just barely enough to activate most self-contained magic devices. He waited patiently as the strand was pulled into the inner workings of the idol, winding its way through mana-conductive materials and through spokes of the enchantments that gave the construct its function, before settling gently on a structure that he recognized as the input for the active effect. Closing his eyes, he pushed on the connection.

Instantly, the enchantments sprang to action, a quiet hum on the edge of his finely tuned mana senses. Where he had connected to the device with a strand of his mana, there was a slight pulling sensation as the arrays within clamped onto the connection he had forged. Suddenly, the pulling reversed, and he felt a warm, almost damp sensation pass through his thread, using it as a pathway to enter into his internal mana channels. When it reached his core, it dispersed, leaving faint tingling sensations on his skin. Tarrus frowned.

Based on my analysis of the enchantment, the idol should have deposited a spell into my mana core, essentially allowing me to ‘cast’ the spell on myself. That spell should give me a sense of the direction that the current target of the idol is in… He patted his stomach, feeling the remnants of a magical tingling in the center of his body. Which should obviously be centered on myself. He held out his arm, waving it back and forth as a small patch of goosebumps migrated across his skin, always oriented to the North. But what are these other reactions? Weird magic allergies? He chuckled. And then froze, speared by the gaze of a confident, red-eyed man from the past.

-=-<^>-=-

The guild master of Waystation Gran, seated on a luxurious leather sofa across from Will’s party, leaned over the coffee table between them, a leery expression on her slightly inhuman features. Warily, she raised her hand, supple olive tone flesh hardening into a rough, scaly exterior, brightly painted nails extending into razor sharp claws. Gently, she poked the unmoving construct on the table, where it was sitting, covered in the remnants of a silver fluid.

“...And it was still there after the sub-Domain was cleared?”

Will nodded. “Yes, ma’am. The other copies, when slain within the mirror, were gradually reabsorbed by the Domain; they were already gone by the time we headed back through.”

The guild master huffed thoughtfully, a light plume of smoke escaping her nose. “And it spoke, too?”

Gerald nodded reluctantly. “Yes… It did. It was, hands down, the most realistic golem construct I’ve ever heard of coming from a Domain.”

“Hmm… It was for the best that you didn’t bring this out in front of the other adventurers. With all the unknowns surrounding the creation of this golem, and the very real dangers of such a sub-Domain, we definitely do not want a rash of adventurers dying to get their hands on these constructs.” She tapped claws to her lip, thinking. She gestured at the still figure of Nina’s reflection on the table. “Something like this is probably a bit beyond the tools we have here for analysis. We’ll have to send it off to get a proper understanding of what it is.” She waved an attendant over from the side of the room. “If you leave it with us, we can send it off to a contact I have who’s good with this stuff.”

The group gave their assent, though some were a bit reluctant. “We will get her back, right? She– it did help get Nina out of the mirror in the end.” Annette said. Casting concerned glances at Nina, who looked conflicted.

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“Of course,” the guild master nodded. “That can be arranged. But that won’t be until my guy can figure out how this– how she,” she nodded at Annette, “came to be. It’s not unheard of for Domains to create complex constructs, but replicas of delvers, complete with a reflection of their abilities and personalities? That is, at the least, concerning.” She paused, taking in the party's expressions. Gerald, old hand that he was, simply nodded, while the younger adventurers frowned. “Well, that’s a concern for the guild. You kids don’t need to worry too much about that. What you do need to worry about is helping our inspection team with their investigation. Go with Renauld, and he’ll get a more thorough report prepared for them,” she said, gesturing to the other side of the room, where her second attendant stood. As the party stood and began shuffling out after her assistant, she called out after them. “Once we have everything confirmed, we’ll do a big announcement, send an update to headquarters, and give over the reward for this kind of information, but with the stuff you brought back, that’s all basically a formality, so just go relax for a while before we need you again!”

The door shut behind them, and any tension flooded out of the room, and out of the guild masters muscles, as she slid off the couch onto the floor. “Aaaahhhh, Pallavi~, won’t you handle the paperwork, my dear assistant?”

Pallavi, quiet and stoic figure that she was, merely shook her head as she pulled the construct off the coffee table into an enchanted sack, much like the bag the party had transported it in originally.

A scaly hand grabbed her from under the table.

“Pleeease~~ I almost died last time. You remember the last time I had to do this much paperwork? I’m literally going to die, Pal, do you want to see me die?”

She sighed, carefully gathering up the silver fluid that had leaked onto the table. “Maybe you can get your favorite receptionist to help?”

There was a thunk, and the coffee table shifted several inches. The guild master pulled herself out from under it on her hands and knees, smiling. “Pal, yes!” She clumsily got to her feet, and patted the much taller woman on her head. “Have I told you you’re clever?”

Knees bent, Pallavi simply nodded. She watched, a small smile on her face as her boss skipped out of the room.

-=-<^>-=-

Tarrus bent over his notes, precisely and carefully recording the final details on the mirrored shield, and very carefully not having a panic attack while the guild master turned a faceless idol around in her hands.

“So it looked like a little statue of you? Adorable! Why’d you turn it back?”

Sliding his analysis of the relic into a sturdy envelope, he closed it up and sealed it, ready to hand off along with the shield when it was returned to the party that discovered it. “As I’d already completed my analysis of the item, I felt it unnecessary to maintain my likeness using its enchantment, given that it would simply be making its way back to the party that brought it in.”

A single bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck. He’d had mere seconds to purge the idols hold on his appearance when he’d heard his boss calling his name from down the hallway. He shuddered. While unlikely anyone would recognize who the other face on the idol was, it was far too early to be arousing suspicions.

“Speaking of,” he said, setting the shield and envelope in front of her, “The analysis of both items has been completed, so these can be returned to the adventurers now.”

“Oh. Cool.” She said in a disinterested tone, poking at the items.

Tarrus waited, watching her.

“Hey so, would you say you’re free right now?”

“Nope,” he backed away, “In fact, I think I heard my parents calling for me. It’s a shame, but I don’t think I can stay.”

She lunged for him, sending her chair clattering away in the process. “Tarry, please, you’re the only person I can rely on! I just need help with a little paperwork! Just help out this one time and I’ll owe you! You can ask me for anything!”

He paused, giving her just long enough to catch him. He looked at her, a glint in his eye. “Anything?”

She narrowed her eyes, pulling back a bit. “...What did you have in mind?”

He glanced at the idol, his eyes narrowing. “Just a small investment in my future.”

-=-<^>-=-

At their new-to-them home, Mark and Astrid were winding down the day, sitting on their porch in the early evening with a local variety of ‘tea’ steaming lightly in the cool air. Here, at the edge of town, they’d enjoyed spending some quiet moments together while looking at the stars, and listening to the occasional wild animal call out.

Mark set his drink down, and picked up the magic idol their son had brought home. Idly turning it in his hands, he glanced at his wife. “What do you think he’s got planned now?”

“Mmm, I’m not sure. It’s definitely gonna be something big, though; did you see the look in his eyes tonight?” She smiled, remembering the moment herself. He’d come home much later than usual, eyes nearly crossing with exhaustion, but there was an undeniable, familiar glint in his eyes. “I’m just glad he found something to rekindle a bit of his passion.” She shook her head ruefully, “I was beginning to think coming here had been a mistake.”

Her husband reached out, putting his hand on hers. “I know. He was so out of it for a while. When he started getting into some of the enchanting analysis at the guild, it softened that shock a bit, but it was still hard to see.”

“Yeah. Whatever he’s got planned this time, we’ll be there for him. That’s all we can do.”

Quietly, the two parents made their way back inside, setting the little statuette in Tarrus’ room, watching over him like they had sworn to do.