As Richard Halls took time to relax, past his pocket, and on the Prime plane, a funeral was taking place. The sky was clouded, and a slight drizzle fell. The soft pitter-patter was the only sound as a small group stood in the rain, their faces a mix of emotion.

Brooke stared down with dull eyes as Rick's casket was lowered. She showed no sadness externally, but internally, she felt hollow. She had felt this feeling before when her older brother had died, and she had known as future chieftess she would feel it again, but she had hoped it would not be so soon, and not for a friend as close as Rick. He was not the only one who had died. An orc practitioner, Gary had also passed, but she had never been close with him.

Nearby, Han sobbed, fat tears falling. For once she wasn't in her usual odd getup but was wearing a plain grey and black dress. Next to her, with a hand on her shoulder, stood Zara, her eyes downcast, and tired. She took wore a simple dress, and Brooke knew she had probably had it the worst.

None of them had expected Rick to get caught up in an outer plane terrorist attack, but the hotel he’d been staying at had gotten caught up in some of the blasts, and when all had passed, he had been found dead. Healing had done nothing for him, and his soul had passed, leaving only his body behind.

Brooke had hoped, and so had Zara. Sometimes, souls lingered and you could talk to them before they moved on, but his had, and despite knowing that people could be brought back, she knew it wasn’t possible on the Prime. The Conqueror would not allow it once a soul had moved on. Probably not even if it still lingered, and could be pulled back into a body. She only knew that due to her father who had proposed the possibility, but it had been a small hope. It was gone now.

A few other orcs were there. Jay, Isla, Axton, and even Lena. Yolana stood, and Brooke had been surprised at how sad her mother had been when she’d first heard the news. She hadn't said it, but Brooke knew Yolana had trained Rick more like he was a son or nephew.

It was a small funeral. Rick hadn’t had many friends.

It hurt worse whenever she considered just how high Rick had been aiming. His dreams had been large, and he’d worked his ass off, and all because of some outer plane fools, he was dead. DOSA had given an official statement, and it made her grit her teeth whenever she thought of the death toll. Over eight hundred had died, and they still hadn't announced the reason for it.

Whenever she thought too deeply about it, her mind would wander off, and she guessed it was because she was trying to avoid thinking about it.

When the casket was set down, a mage raised a hand, and dirt begin to fill the grave. A tombstone was ready, and he was right next to his parents. Han continued to Sob, Zara remained silent, and inwardly Brooke wept.

****

After some relaxation and sleep, I was feeling much better. Some breakfast and magic coffee set me right, and I headed to the workshop where Litra told me Bob was currently talking with the Fae. We needed to figure out what to do with her and what had happened outside. In the back of my mind, the worry for the others was still there, a spear poised to pierce.

“Bob?” I entered and found Bob floating next to an upside-down fae. His pages were fluttering and I could sense mana around him and a pattern around the fae’s head. “Bob, what the hell are you doing?”

“Reading her mind,” he replied. He turned from her and floated over to me, his voice lowering. “You… doing better?”

“Much,” I said, glancing at the fae whose eyes were glazed over. “I came to plan. I want to see what's happening out there.”

“Sure, but before that, what do you want to do with her.” He opened in her direction.

“What does she know?”

“Too much. She works for the foreign fae and was working with DOSA to track down the thief, aka us. She found us on a hunch, by following the witch. They probably think she’s dead by now. There’s no tracker on her and simple divinations won’t pierce this pocket. We could wipe her memories, but we’d have to do it at a soul level, not just mental.”

“Soul level.”

“Yes, the soul contains, well, the sum of everything you are and has happened to you. When mental injuries occur, most practitioners tend to just repair the flesh, and when memories are a problem they just pull them from the soul, and the most advance can use the soul to reverse the person into a prior state, though that's far beyond anything your average practitioner or soul mage will know.”

I looked to the fae and considered what to do. We could let her go, but DOSA might be able to use her to get to us. Bob thought highly of them, even if he also despised them, and if they could fix what had happened to the city, then they could use her to find us if they put enough resources into it. That was the risk.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“We’ll keep her with us for now,” I said. “Now I’m gonna open a portal, and—” I paused mid-sentence as a thought occurred. “Bob, the necklace is gone, how am I gonna open a portal? Are we trapped?”

“No, I can handle that.” Bob moved over and used magic to levitate a small coin. He moved it over to me and I grasped it. “Don’t you think I considered that possibility. If you died and I used the anchor obviously the necklace wouldn’t come with you. Good thing it’s… ashes. Even if it was tied to you, someone with the right knowledge could crack it, and enter this pocket.”

I sighed in relief, thankful that Bob always thought ahead. “Ok, I’m gonna open a small portal and check.”

“Be careful, Rick, and don’t move from the hotel or even into it. That's where it should open since it was the last place the pocket led to.”

“Alright, but if it's all ok, then why?”

“Because DOSA might have marked you as dead, and if they fixed everything as I assume, then you pop back up, there's gonna be questions, especially if they covered your death up. The Ashmaker twists souls but does not destroy them. It could be fixed, and everyone who was turned is probably well. Everyone who was on the Prime. You weren’t and they're gonna wonder. So check, then get back in.”

“But…” If he was right, then that meant… “But Bob, if I can’t go out as myself, then what? Will I have to disguise myself?”

“No, we’re probably going to have to leave Richard Halls behind for now. If DOSA finds out he’s alive, then it's a problem, and they will find out if we just use simple disguises and spells. No, it's time for that soul masking, and what do you think about becoming a woman, huh?”

I stared at him. “Bob, I’ll change my face and body, but I am not becoming a woman.”

“But—”

“Bob, no!”

He tsked. “Fine, fine. How about a different race?”

“Depends on what race? I wouldn't mind being an elf, or even an orc.”

“We can decide when you get back. We’ll meld it with the soul masking, so to most senses and even deeper scans, you’ll just be an orc or whatever, practitioner.”

I focused on the coin and opened a small basketball-sized portal. The first thing I noticed was my pc was gone, and there was someone singing. I poked my head through and realized someone was taking a shower.

“Bob, someone’s using our room.”

“Well, that's good. Any chaos?”

I listened, but there was no screaming, shouting, and no damn sizzling. I was not going to a BBQ place for a long time, or anywhere that I'd have to hear that sound. It brought up flashes and I had to take a deep breath as my thoughts wandered back. I shook my head and shrunk the portal until it was just a pinprick. “Bob, your phone.”

He floated it over to me, and I quickly opened the PPW. The first thing I did was click on the news site link that was always on the Zoogle homepage. The page loaded quickly, and I glanced at Bob. He was right, there was no news about a hole in the sky, but a terrorist attack from the outer planes.

“I told you,” Bob said. “They wouldn't let what happened remain widely known, though some, those powerful enough, will remember.”

As he spoke, I scrolled through article after article until I found one detailing the deaths. “Only eight hundred dead?” The city had been burning, and thousands must have died. “How?”

“One day you’ll see how much power DOSA has, and I've no doubt The Conqueror got involved. An absentee god he may be most of the time, but he likes the world stable, and whole. No tears in the fabric of reality leading to void prisons. Definitely not.”

There were no names, but I was probably counted among the dead or maybe missing. “Bob what if they just think im missing?”

“And? Missing or dead, if you show up, they’ll want to know where you were and will want to wipe your memories of the event, which is bad, because they’ll see everything else you have done, including me, Litra, and the robbery we did.” He sighed, and his voice softened. “I’m sorry, Dick, but Richard Halls has to remain gone for now.”

“But Zara, and Han.”

“You can speak to them, and even tell them, but… do you trust them enough for that?” Bob floated over. “I’ve told many times of the risk involved of them finding out too much, and even if you just reveal yourself, that's a risk, but what’s life without risks, eh and… I don’t think it would be too big of a problem so long as they don't ever let themselves get into DOSA’s hands. It’s your choice, but the fewer people know Richard did not die, the better.”

“I’ll think about it.” I closed the portal, and the connection to the PPW cut off. I had choices to make. What did I want to turn into, and what was I going to do about Han and Zara? Could I just start up as a new para entering Portland, or maybe something else? But then I'd have to deal with getting a mask, and should I tell Brooke and the clan? No, that was too many people. What was going to happen to the relationship Zara, Han and I had now? Had they already moved on? Were they part of the eight hundred who had passed?

So many questions. Time to start answering them.