Amdirlain’s PoV - Demi-Plane
The darkness of the Demi-Plane hung across Amdirlain and seemed to soak into her flesh. The basic rules she had applied across the Demi-Plane had only lightly influenced the energy within the Mana, leaving it rich with Chaos. She brought up the list of Malfex options in Analysis, and a claustrophobic fear seized her as she considered the racial option. Though the premonition was unclear, Amdirlain expanded the Demi-Plane to a fifteen-kilometre radius, and the spike of fear washed away.
“I hit the levels I planned to achieve, but I don’t know how long this change to Empress Malfex will take.” Amdirlain released the simple message and sought to relax by cycling her Ki.
Sarah immediately responded, “I can come watch over you. For my change, I received a bunch of bodyguards.”
I don’t want anyone seeing me until I know what horror I’ve become.
Amdirlain pushed the immediate self-doubt aside, and though her instinct was to decline the offer, she sent Sarah the details for the current Demi-Plane.
When Sarah appeared close by, she glanced about at the expanse of emptiness. “Are you feeling a touch paranoid?”
“I felt I needed a lot of space for the process. When I went to Qil Tris with Gilorn, I was hundreds of metres long,” said Amdirlain.
“My oh my,” purred Sarah. “Care to chase me about later?”
Though there were tones of concern, the open desire focused on Amdirlain, and her blush raced to the tip of her ears. “You’re trying to distract me from my worries.”
“Is it working?” asked Sarah, cupping a hand against Amdirlain’s cheek.
“No, I’m sorry,” said Amdirlain, kissing Sarah’s palm. “But thanks for trying. If you’d back up, I’ll pull the pin on this species change.”
“How far away should I be?”
“I’d prefer it if you were observing from a different Demi-Plane, but at least out at the boundary line,” replied Amdirlain. “Run if things get messy.”
“Only if needed. I’ll take a seat in the bleachers,” said Sarah; after stealing a soft caressing kiss, she reappeared against the skin of the Demi-Plane.
With Sarah’s warmth lingering on her lips, Amdirlain mentally selected Empress Malfex.
The energy from her classes and species entwined together and began a chain reaction. Across her body, swathes of flesh bubbled and blistered, and as the first bubbles burst, the pace of their appearance increased by the second.
Pain Eater failed as the process forced her back into her True Form. An icy agony washed through Amdirlain as her mind endured tendons unravelling, muscles rupturing and splintering bones as she expanded outwards.
Her thick covering of spines surged further from her flesh, each growing a dozen metres long as they sprayed out litres of foul gunk. The pressure of the spray provided the torment of someone trying to pull millions of bone splinters out through her skin. As the last eruptions eased, the spines burst into black flames that ripped and tore at the surrounding atmosphere; their destructive effect unleashed a high-pitch screech that reverberated off the Demi-Plane’s boundary. The ongoing flares of light produced by the molecules being ripped apart caused a bluish-white effect along the flames' edge.
The spines disintegrated in a spray of flechettes, but the expansion of her body caught up with them, and the flames seared them from the air. The change to her features ruptured Amdirlain’s eyes as her bony muzzle narrowed and extended further, becoming a sharp, hooked beak; white flames filled her blackened and cracked eye sockets when they stopped growing. Her form stretched sharply, bones dislocating only to reform and be yanked outwards again. After the first explosion in size, the process seemed maliciously drawn out, the bluish-white illumination showing the surface details as her body tripled in length and each wing grew large enough to canopy Olympic stadiums. Amid breaking bones and rending flesh that followed the ejected foulness, the fractured spines along the base of her bone-white beak rippled and, in a slow wave that started down her neck, morphed into deep midnight feathers. Each feather tore out through raw wounds, drawing screams from Amdirlain while each parting of her beak showed her tongue had split into dozens of thrashing remnants that formed an alien snake nest within her maw. Flesh and ligaments crept back over the skeletal framework of her wings, and brilliant obsidian flight feathers grew into place, forming layers that snuffed out the smokey energy that had shaped them previously. The consuming darkness of her form sucked in the surrounding flames and snuffed them out.
Most of her length was now composed of serpentine coils shrouded in feathers of ominous blackness, the massive wings anchored to the first fifty-ish metres of her upper torso glistening with white cored shiny obsidian flight feathers. While her clawed limbs were longer, they hadn’t grown proportionally and now seemed an afterthought tacked onto her new body. The fracturing and reforming had affected hands and feet alike, her thumbs and big toes were jagged stubs that pointed backwards, while the other digits were all permanent sickle claws that whistled through the rent air with every pained twitch.
The agony took a whole day to ebb; throughout it, Amdirlain held tight to Sarah’s song to tether her in the storm of pain. Expected horror and rejection never manifested, only a steady beat of concern enfolded in her love. She allowed the theme’s intensity to let the rest become a background of meaningless white noise. As the transformation stabilised, Sarah drifted closer but avoided the Destruction that continued to rip apart surrounding molecules in the atmosphere.
When the pain dulled enough for the dry catalogue of Pain Eater to resume its tally, her spinal column was still adjusting, the vertebrae popping with each change in tension. More spiked bones that stabbed through flesh to create fins from the skull base to her tail tip were the chief contributors to the ongoing alterations.
A black feathered Dragon with an obstacle course of dinosaur’s fin plates down my back. I hope this doesn’t stick with me after I eliminate my Fallen state.
“You’ve got an ominous vibe, but you no longer smell of corruption,” reassured Sarah. “The last of that odour burnt away while you were changing. Could it have been my fault? The Oath Link between us might have provided you that foulness while I was Sidero.”
“It might have resulted from drawing in Mana within the Abyss,” rumbled Amdirlain. “It’s not as if we had any reason to expect it.”
“Then should you be worried about how you appear?” questioned Sarah lightly. “All that foul smoke and sludge is gone.”
Amdirlain started to protest, only to catch the pained edge of worry for her within Sarah’s theme.
She accepted me, and there wasn’t even a twinge of doubt, only worry and concern.
Though her body was still a catalogue of agony, Amdirlain expanded the Demi-Plane further. As the notes faded, she transformed into a male Scarlet Lonsdaleite.
With a coy smile, Sarah looked over Amdirlain’s Dragon body. “Are you looking to pay off your bodyguard?”
The scent of her desire ignited instincts in the back of Amdirlain’s mind, and she had to hold them at bay. Each quickening inhalation brought a tidal wave of need that flooded past the pain and ignited cravings that swept through adopted flesh.
“A Dragon’s drives are pretty fierce to experience in person and not simply as a catalogue of music,” swallowed Amdirlain.
“Then change back to yourself before you decide,” replied Sarah.
Who am I? Who do I want to be?
The azure-haired Elf she became had the warm bronze-gold skin of the Anar and Lómë but a crystalline sapphire gaze that matched Livia’s hue. Her hair curtained a lithe body in gentle waves that reached her knees.
“Now we know where Livia gets her eyes,” quipped Sarah. She flew forward and slid her hands in under the curtain of hair, tenderly embracing Amdirlain. “You’ve got a unique look.”
“I’m not Anar or Lómë, I’m me,” said Amdirlain. “I don’t think pretending otherwise is healthy.”
“Being yourself is a goal I can get behind,” said Sarah.
“Or in front of?” drawled Amdirlain.
Sarah laughed. “I won’t object. Are you going to go around with hair that long?”
“Only when it's fun. I wanted to try it out at least once,” said Amdirlain.
The lingering awareness of her mate’s scent drew at Amdirlain’s awareness, and Sarah’s gaze heated.
“I’ll give you a head start,” said Amdirlain, her words coming in a husky growl.
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
With Sarah dozing beneath Amdirlain’s glimmering wing, she relaxed and enjoyed the radiant sunlight of the Demi-Plane gleaming off their faceted hides. The scent of her mate’s satiated body caused a low thrum of pleasure to roll through Amdirlain’s being, tinged by an edge of concern that she isolated down to instincts reacting to lack of pregnancy from the mating flight. While the same instincts had allowed her to handle the acrobatics of mid-air mating, they now prickled at her. Identification of the cause of concern allowed them to be pushed aside, and she was glad that Sarah had remained in control enough to quash her instincts in the hours of passion. Yet the surprise and disappointment she felt brought Amdirlain up short.
Was I hoping she’d mess up? Did I want to be travelling alone?
A moment of self-reflection was enough, and the strength of the Dragon’s instincts pointed out what should have been clear to Amdirlain from the start.
Silly. The Phoenix’s Rapture changes me into a living form, so the typical Dragon hard-wired instincts are present.
“I’m surprised you were so confident about controlling your urge to reproduce,” murmured Amdirlain, aware of the shift in scent that had stirred Sarah. “This male form is niggling me, complaining that I failed with the mating flight.”
One of Sarah’s sparkling eyelids lifted slightly. “I’ve no complaints and more experience being a Dragon, my love. Now, hush. You wore me out, and I want to snuggle longer before we go anywhere.”
Amdirlain spread her wing further across Sarah’s back and curled in closer. It was only an hour before Sarah nudged her and, with a little lick along her jawline, prompted Amdirlain to change back.
“Are things all settled with your classes?” asked Amdirlain once they were both dressed.
Sarah nodded. “No surprises, and I’m satisfied with the instructors who have taken over. Is anything further delaying us? Perhaps you’re getting the jitters?”
“I am nervous,” admitted Amdirlain. Drawing a crystal cube from Foundry’s vault, she offered it to Sarah. “Gilorn made a stronger summoning device while I was working on the demi-planes.”
“That’s nice of her,” said Sarah. “I assume it generates the same circle you can hear through if needed?”
Amdirlain smiled at her immediate concern. “Yes.”
“Good, you’re not the only one nervous about this trip,” said Sarah, gingerly taking the cube.
As Sarah claimed the summoning device, a pendant and a storage pouch appeared in Amdirlain’s other hand. “She also made me a pendant to suppress my auras so I wouldn’t have to keep repairing mine while travelling.”
“I don’t like that you’re blinding yourself for the duration of this trip,” admitted Sarah.
“It’s voluntary, and in a genuine emergency, I’ll stop,” said Amdirlain, and she stored her pendant and shadow vines. “That said, I’ve plenty of other options between spells and psionics to keep myself safe. You might dislike something else I’ve got for this trip more.”
Amdirlain held out the pouch to Sarah, who regarded it with distaste. “You might have the token in a dimensional pocket, but I can still smell the odour on its exterior.”
“Can you carry it when you hop to Vehtë?” requested Amdirlain. “We can agree that carrying it in Inventory is a bad idea. The conduit forces me to transform, so I can’t transport it any other way.”
“Are you sure you don’t just want to save that for the deep planes?” Sarah asked hesitantly. “I’m not sure we want to carry that about with us. While it would save us issues with a Great Wyrm, we could teleport away, and then I could retrieve the token.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“I’d prefer to be prepared,” said Amdirlain.
“There is a difference between being prepared and carrying radioactive materials in our back pockets,” argued Sarah. “You’ve got it, and I can retrieve it easily. You should store that, or any metallics visiting this beach will feel on edge from the lingering scent.”
I can see her point, but it feels wrong not to have it with us. Though that could be my paranoia playing games.
With a dissatisfied huff, Amdirlain returned the pouch to Foundry’s vault. “Do you want to jump ahead and call me?”
“You’ve said all your goodbyes?”
“I’ve been saying them for weeks now. I’ve spoken to everyone I dealt with directly. Some were more reluctant to see me go than others.”
“I’m sure Master Cyrus would prefer you not to vanish,” said Sarah.
“I plan to let him know once I contact a region of the courts,” said Amdirlain. “Time to rip the band-aid off and get this show on the road.”
Sarah vanished, and Amdirlain experienced a few minutes of nervousness before she felt the summoning call.
The energy of her feathers devoured the light within the conduit, and Amdirlain turned off Resonance entirely and waited for the transition effect.
When sunlight battled the darkness of her presence, Amdirlain changed back to her newly adopted Elf form and donned her pendant and clothing. With Amdirlain transformed, Sarah absorbed the circle, which caused the barrier to collapse. Sarah had placed the summoning circle atop a slope that led to crisp white sand littered with shells and stranded starfish.
A faint breeze played with Amdirlain’s azure hair as she shrunk it to shoulder-length, and brine tickled her nose. The glassy blue sea kissed up against the beach, stretching off to either side of their raised position upon the rocks that overlooked a few hundred metres of sand. Only the barest ripple ran across the clear blue water, and beneath the sea, Amdirlain could make out abundant sea life and scattered pockets of grass. Happiness buzzed inside Amdirlain, and she squeezed Sarah’s hand as they overlooked the varied blue waters of Vehtë’s Mediterranean Sea.
“This looks like the Mediterranean, but where did you place us?” asked Amdirlain.
Sarah blinked in surprise. “You’ve got Resonance closed off already?”
“I shut it down in the conduit,” admitted Amdirlain. “If I’d emerged into the summoning circle with it on, I’d have heard enough to be a cheat.”
“Point,” said Sarah, and she pointed slightly to their left with her free hand across the water towards an island on the horizon. “We’re on the northwest side of Lakonikos Bay. Crete is that way, but the island of Kythira blocks our line of sight, and the island to the left of it is Elafonisos.“
“Your line of sight,” corrected Amdirlain. “I’m restricted to Elf eyes, so my visual limit is five kilometres.”
“It’s still further than Human eyesight. Which direction do you want to wander in?”
Amdirlain considered Orhêthurin’s memories of the surrounding landscape. “The village would have been across the eastern arm of the bay. Nothing blocked the tidal wave from Crete’s eruption, and there was an island to the northeast that I think was Monemvasia, so south along the coast there.”
“That lovely white sand on Earth is Valtaki Beach,” said Sarah, nodding to the beach ahead of them. “Depending on the route you want to walk, we’re at least seventy to eighty kilometres from Monemvasia.”
“You picked the spot, so I’d relax and see the scenery first,” said Amdirlain.
“I’m the one that got to see Greece and Europe, so I thought I should make sure you got some delightful sights,” said Sarah. “If we climb to the top of one of those hills and look east, we should see where the Anar city once sat,” advised Sarah, pointing to the highest ridgeline to the northeast. “The remnants are all probably buried or hauled away.”
“Then the Lómë’s city would have been directly north of where we are now, and the evacuation fleet would have left from the next large bay to the west. Finding anything will be tough unless I can find something I recognise. The changes to the landscape will be an issue even without looting. That aside, what are the locals like?”
“We’ll have to find out together. The only scents I’ve picked up are various Lizardfolk species and kobolds. The second, the dragons probably brought in to replace the ousted humans,” said Sarah. “Along with assorted monsters.”
“Can we walk along the sands for a bit?” asked Amdirlain.
“I won’t object to a feast of giant crab,” said Sarah.
Without the details Resonance had been continually feeding her, Amdirlain was aware of how isolated she felt. She gently squeezed Sarah’s hand again and considered reaching out telepathically to investigate their surroundings. A layer of rock caught her gaze, and she automatically recognised it; no sooner had she named it than she began picking out plants she had recognised from Anna’s orb but had never seen in person.
For so long I’ve been so busy with information from Resonance that I’ve not simply ‘seen’ what’s around me. Maybe I need to disconnect. What else have I let get lost in the wash of knowing?
“I think I’m going to rely on my natural senses for a bit,” said Amdirlain. “It might help me develop Perception.”
“An exercise in mindfulness?” asked Sarah.
Amdirlain shrugged. “I think I’d been considering this trip an exercise to get over with, but maybe it’s not that simple.”
“Whatever you want to do is fine with me,” said Sarah. “Are you sure you won’t get bored when I need to sleep?”
“I’ve got memory crystals and Anna’s orb to study when you want a rest. I might even increase my knowledge ratings,” said Amdirlain, and she stopped to consider tracks she spotted on a trail further up the hillside from the beach. “Noiseless might mean several things.”
“It might,” allowed Sarah.
Amdirlain tapped her fingers against her leg, considering the odd feel of her True Form. “What do the local Lizardfolk look like?”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Looking to go undercover again?”
“I was more wondering how they’d react to something Human-like?” asked Amdirlain. “I was thinking more about minimising the attention we draw. We don’t bother them, and they don’t bother us.”
“They’ve not seen humans in millennia, and they’ve never seen elves,” said Sarah. “But I get your point. If they have legends of humans, an Elf will probably be mistaken for one.”
The bipedal figures mentally presented by Sarah had shortened muzzles and spiked scales similar to bearded dragon lizards, with scales ranging from dark green to sandy white. While they wore sheathed weapons, most had minimal attire, their appearance varying in the colour and formation of their scales.
Amdirlain clicked her tongue. “The lighter scales are more common on the south side of the sea?”
“And along the northern shore until you get past where Athens would sit. From there, and anything further than about fifteen kilometres inland, they get steadily darker,” offered Sarah. “I did some quick reconnaissance over the last few months.”
The images Sarah had projected drew a frown from Amdirlain. “I take it their only apparel is those harnesses and weapon belts.”
“The metal working they reserve for protective plates and heavy weaponry,” advised Sarah. “Otherwise, they rely on natural weaponry and armour.”
Amdirlain’s chosen scales were the colour of wet moss, with lighter highlights among the spikes to resemble starbursts in the night sky.
“I wasn’t expecting you to take this approach,” said Sarah. “You know most Lizardfolk have Dragon bloodlines. The local dragons shapeshift and procreate with them to reinforce the strength of their servants’ bloodline. Want to guess how they pick their mates? I will tear out the throat of any Chromatic or Lizardfolk that orders you to be their breeder.”
Of course, dragons want powerful servants in their region.
Her elven form rushed back into place, and Amdirlain extended the shadow vines into dark green silk robes.
“We’ll talk to the locals and convince them we mean no harm if left alone,” said Amdirlain. “Here I was trying to be flexible about my form.”
“You could take on a male form,” proposed Sarah.
“As a Dragon is one thing,” said Amdirlain. “But I think I’d find being a humanoid male of any type too uncomfortable.”
Amdirlain nodded towards the beach, earning a grumble from Sarah about the sand getting in her clothes. She smiled and led the way regardless, keeping an eye out for giant crabs or other species lurking beneath the sands. A pulse of Dragon Fear swept across the beach and she spotted dozens of bulges she’d taken for submerged rocks squirming deeper. Their efforts caused tiny jets of water to give their position away.
“Cheater,” grumbled Amdirlain.
“I was just giving the critters reason to keep their heads down,” said Sarah.
“And the local Lizardfolk?”
Sarah shrugged. “I don’t smell any in range of that push of fear.”
Amdirlain felt tension roll through her shoulders and she stopped to stare at the distant hills along the bay’s curve. The stretch of beach vanished behind her when Amdirlain instinctively leant into Ki Movement. In that moment, with one foot bracing to jump far ahead, she forced herself to stop and shake her head. Sarah caught up and stopped beside her with one hand resting lightly on her back.
Fabricate caused two simple fishing poles to appear in Amdirlain’s hand, and she offered one almost timidly to Sarah. “I need to stop and decompress for a few days and settle my discomfort.”
With a quick kiss on the cheek, Sarah took the offered rod. “I know nothing about fishing.”
“I did river fishing with Mal, but never beach or rock fishing.”
“I’m sure your brother’s influence was why you were such a tomboy,” said Sarah.
Amdirlain snorted. “If we catch anything, it’ll be because a fish threw itself on our hooks, not because of anything I’ve done.”
“They’re going to troll you, let you unlock something like a fishing or a survival Skill and get it to Grandmaster,” noted Sarah as she shaped ectoplasm into lines on the empty reels.
“Ori never went fishing. If I get that Skill, it will be because of my endeavours,” replied Amdirlain, perched on a flat rock.
“Are you going to eat whatever you catch?”
Amdirlain laughed. “This is just for relaxation. I find watching a line in the water calming. If I traumatise a fish on the hook, I’ll cook it for you.”
“You don’t have a cooking Skill of any kind,” noted Sarah.
“Sucks to be you then,” snorted Amdirlain. “It’s just as well you’ve got that draconic constitution.”
“I’ll cook it,” Sarah insisted. “If we’ll be here a bit, why don’t you make a salt pan for evaporating seawater? I can stockpile some for seasoning once we’re inland.”
A few spells shaped a shallow tray at the base of the rock, and once it filled with salt water, the sides grew higher.
“See, I’m still able to do things without True Song. We’ll manage,” said Amdirlain.
“I know that,” said Sarah.
The presence of two strangers kept animals and Lizardfolk alike at a safe distance, with Sarah occasionally giving a brave scout a sense of impending doom as he crept close with weapons at the ready. As the day drew to a close and sunset coloured the shimmering blue sea, the catalogue of pains within Amdirlain’s body slowly eased.
A deep, relaxed sigh drew a smile from Sarah. “Sea air, warm day, it’s nice to relax. Are you ready to see the camping solution I made?”
“You said you’d handle it,” said Amdirlain. “You didn’t talk about making something for camping out.”
“I enjoy my creature comforts. I’m certainly not living out of a tent for however long we’re travelling,” said Sarah. As she reeled her line, she found the hook picked clean of the last bait she’d added. “Next time, I think I’ll throw the line in with just the bare hook to save me the work. “
“Outdoor gal you’re not,” laughed Amdirlain.
“I’ll go shark fishing the easy way later,” huffed Sarah, projecting a mental image of scooping them out of the water with her claws.
Amdirlain grinned. “If you want something for dinner, I can just yank something out of the water with Far Hand.”
“You get dinner for me, and I’ll set up my hut,” said Sarah.
A large house appeared on the rocky hillside behind them. Clawed feet of bone and mithril dug into the rock as the skeletal legs adjusted to the perch. Supported atop them was a large mithril plate with a stone hut some fifteen metres across and six deep, with an expansive deck on the edge towards the sea. A broad set of stairs extended from underneath the plate until they touched the closest rocks.
“You had that in Inventory,” laughed Amdirlain. “Are those the Red Dragon’s leg bones?”
Sarah stood and offered Amdirlain her hand. “No, they’re from a Black Dragon who'd been supporting demons in the fighting on Acheron. I’ve had them for a while and thought I should use them for something productive. Shall we retire for the evening?”
Lightly clasping her hand, Amdirlain flowed up and accompanied her wife inside. It was a few days before they worried about moving on, relaxing quietly while they enjoyed the warm days and cuddling together at night. When they finally started along the coastline, they dawdled from one white beach to another, skirting along the rocks or ascending cliffs to enjoy the view. They spent time at each beach, with Amdirlain using the quiet time in the evening to study spells while Sarah slept beside her. It took them nearly two months to cover a hundred kilometres of the bay’s northern coastline headed south towards the distant islands. With a last view of the wide bay, they headed towards the rising sun, ascending the steep slope via an animal trail.
The trek from the bay to the sea on the other side was nearly thirty kilometres as the crow flies, but the rough terrain and detours tripled it. The wind from the south occasionally brought them the sound of seabirds and the inhabitants of the headland. Their presence caused the wildlife to fall silent, and those Lizardfolk and the occasional Kobold that Amdirlain saw observing from a distance tried to hide in the bushes and gullies. When they topped a ridgeline to get a view of the sea beyond, Amdirlain snorted in disbelief at the group ahead.
A kilometre to the northeast, three familiar figures camped atop a grassy knoll, with Kadaklan’s bright clothing standing out among the brush.
“I didn’t tell them where I was going to summon you, and you decided we’d head east once we were here,” protested Sarah, staring at the trio in disbelief.
The wind must have carried her words as Sarah was still speaking when Kadaklan looked their way and froze momentarily in surprise. He nudged a meditating Jinfeng with his foot, drawing Klipyl’s attention. A delighted scream sent nesting birds skywards. She teleported to the duo and wrapped an arm around each.
“How did you beat us here?” asked Sarah.
“I didn’t even know you’d be here,” protested Klipyl. “Jinfeng got a funny scripture puzzle with Mandarin calligraphy on one side and shifting images on the other. When she put the scripture together, a steady picture formed to show this view.”
“Which still doesn’t explain why the three of you are here,” said Amdirlain.
“In the image’s foreground was a flame, a sword, and a feather,” said Klipyl, and she released Sarah to point to Kadaklan, Jinfeng and herself.
Sarah huffed. “I gather it was a puzzle from the Jade Emperor.”
He really can see glimpses of the future.
Klipyl nodded happily and returned to hugging them. “Gilorn made Jinfeng a gizmo to let her summon me, and after we got planetside, I teleported all three of us here. I thought we were coming here for something related only to Jinfeng, and I’m not even completely sure where here is, other than that there aren’t any humans in these lands.”
“When did the puzzle arrive?” asked Amdirlain.
“It came in the usual dispatches from the main monastery. Jinfeng had it for weeks before you left trying to put it together and succeeded only a few days ago,” said Klipyl. “Does this mean we can travel with you?”
More people are playing games. Is it to help me or to play their games with unrelated goals?
Amdirlain shook her head in exasperation. “Why don’t I talk to Jinfeng and find out what the scripture said?”
“That’s likely for the best. I only saw the finished product and was more interested in the picture,” said Klipyl. “I don’t have the proper background or perspective on it.”
“Go west, young Human,” quipped Sarah. “She sells seashells by the seashore. I wonder if she could have assembled another scripture from the puzzle and ended up somewhere else.”
“It’s good to see you, Klipyl,” said Amdirlain. “Your perspective has made a big difference to my healing.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” sniffled Klipyl.
They flanked Klipyl, and each wrapped an arm around her back before Amdirlain teleported them.