When Ebusuku’s message interrupted her sightseeing and called her back to the penthouse, Julia found the place in extensive disarray. They had broken sections of the monolith bench into little more than gravel. The massive bed was on its side, and daggers littered the room, among one broken decoration or another. Ebusuku, without wings, was soaking in a large tub Julia knew hadn’t been present. It was on the remains of the shattered dining table, spreading out to use more space than the table and its chairs combined. B started making appreciative noises in her mind, delighting in the black marble veined with silver and the steaming water ladened with fragrant bubbles. Fortunately for Julia’s sanity, Farhad had dressed and was checking through a pile of shredded clothing and broken items.

“You could have just thrown them away afterwards,” Farhad noted as Julia walked down the ringing stairs.

“I might have wanted to use them for target practice again; I couldn’t do that if I threw them away,” replied Ebusuku, giving a dismissive shrug from where she was relaxing.

“Hadn’t expected you to be finished already. It’s only been three bells.” Julia said, trying to keep her tone light.

{{Get ready for Round 2. When the bell rings, come out with your libido up. }}

“You heard my little sister. Get back in the bath.”

Farhad glanced between them, and items started disappearing from where he’d been checking them.

“Some at least are repairable.”

“So how did you meet my Farhad, Trouble?” Ebusuku purred as she stretched in the water.

“I met him teaching a student. We sparred, and he broke my arm a few times out of curiosity.” Julia replied, as her gaze traced over more broken furnishings that had come into view only as she reached the floor.

“Incorrect. I broke your arm because you weren’t blocking properly, so I showed you the consequences of your technique. Your ribs and shoulder I broke out of curiosity,” Farhad corrected before throwing the still piled possessions into a chest nearby, that looked too small for what was at hand.

“Oh, this will be fun. No lies, yet so vague,” cooed Ebusuku, smiling at Julia.

“What’s the plan? And how long do we have?” Julia asked, gesturing towards where the silver dot sat discretely in her vision.

“We’ve over a cycle left. You’ll need information on the Elemental Planes,” stated Farhad.

“I’ve got a few things you could collect for me, to repay me for sharing some Lore,” Ebusuku offered, “then I’ll head back to Àluga. Well, eventually.”

“Aren’t the Sisterhood going to wonder where we are?” Julia asked.

“I told them you got your arse destroyed and that I’d take time to evaluate targets before continuing with the objectives. Truly, I expressed dismay at your loss, so much so I think they believe I arranged it. You might hear from them in a cycle or a thousand; they’re distracted, and you’re not even as minimally useful now.” Ebusuku replied, a highly dramatic sorrow filling her voice before it settled into cynical amusement.

“How intense was the fighting, given all the kills you got?” asked Julia.

“Giza was a wonderful mess. They initially had four regiments there to protect the Wizards trying to extinguish the fire in the mine. The smoke was so thick it was an ash wall running downhill from the mine. We must have burnt decades of marshstone production. Marshstone smoke wouldn’t have spread that far up otherwise. Its smoke likes to sit low to the ground, not rise and waft about.” Ebusuku said, a satisfied smile apparent.

“Why are you calling me little sister?”

“Sister, we’ve been in battle together, and you distracted an enemy away from me, not once, but twice. However unneeded it was, you still took a risk to my advantage. It’s a greater tie than merely one of blood and especially compared to a regular of the Sisterhood. You truly are a strange little Succubus; unwrapping your secrets will be fun.” said Ebusuku, the words brimming with intrigued excitement.

So much for that plan.

A twitch in Julia’s cheek happened before she could stop it, and Ebusuku sat forward in a flowing motion, her gaze intent.

{{Maybe stop asking questions. }}

There are some things I need to ask.

“A poor choice of words, it seems, after Lêdhins. I’ll have to geld him repeatedly.”

“Tie his guts to the top of a cliff and kick him off the edge,” Julia suggested.

“That could be dramatic; likely they’d rip away from his throat and arse when he hit full extension, then he’d run off and heal. Still, it could be fun chasing him down.”

“Once you’ve hunted prey too many times, they become predictable,” Farhad said as he closed the chest. When he pushed it towards the wall, it vanished in mid-motion. True sight picked up a moment of Spatial Mana having enfolded the chest, but the energies dispersed before she could examine the enchantment.

“So how does a non-Demonic Succubus end up spawning in the Abyss?” Ebusuku asked, the playful tone evident in her voice.

{{See! }}

“I came from the cliffs of Culerzic. Can you explain it?” Julia asked, Zen State balancing out a spike of concern by the barest of margins.

“Farhad and you sparred. There is no way you are truly a Chaotic Demon; he’s too orderly. He’d have squished you, not educated you, even by breaking bones. I’ve seen what he can do to most Demons, just with his Ki Aura brushing them. That’s not even considering that his Ki Infusion holds Order, Order, and more Order.”

I’ll have to look into Ki Aura and attuning Ki Infusion with the same affinity. I wish I’d known about it before now.

{{You’re worried about power upgrades, and she’s digging through your unmentionables.}}

{{This is what you get from hanging around folks with high Intelligence. She’s not a silly cookie. }}

“I thought you wanted a challenge. Do you want me to kill all the fun?” asked Julia, countering Ebusuku’s curiosity.

“So many strange things are happening of late, including you. It will interest me to get to what’s causing all the fuss. Farhad left me all alone. Come share the water and watch him try to find all the things I’ve hidden from him,” Ebusuku said, the initial excitement turning into a command.

{{Oh, Babe, bath time. }}

B?

{{Just enjoy the bath. I won’t tease about threesomes since I don’t think we could stand up to their playtime. }}

“What strange things are invoking your interest?” Farhad asked.

“Some of it is likely only interesting till I know the truth. Others I’m sure will be unique, wouldn’t you say little sister?”

“Interesting to one person can bore another,” Julia said honestly, remembering her dad’s interest in endurance car racing.

Farhad’s movements took him to a cupboard, its door only appearing as he opened them, and he began emptying clutter from one side of it. True Sight showing how the Spatial Mana didn’t seem to contain the cupboard but bridged the distance between there and wherever it stood.

“If you’ve not used it recently, you don’t need it,” Julia said to Farhad, remembering her mum’s rule for spring cleaning.

“That not always true. Difficult to gain items and skills that you don’t need unless you venture to particular Planes; just because you’ve not gone there recently doesn’t mean you should throw them away.” Farhad replied, his tone firmly rebuffing her statement.

Ebusuku lightly slapped on the water to attract Julia’s attention to her.

“Come relax with me, or I’ll get out and smack you into strange shapes,” Ebusuku insisted.

{{Bath. Don’t need destruction twice in a week!}}

Julia shook her head at B’s insistence and quickly joined Ebusuku in the bath while Farhad’s attention was elsewhere and slid down under the thick layer of bubbles. Her seat in the tub providing a magnificent view of the cityscape through the expansive windows.

“We really should talk to Lilith, She would find you fascinating. She knows about being constrained in places you do not want to be. Though getting you into Hell would be troublesome.” Ebusuku said, reaching out a hand and poking Julia’s sternum. “Stupid fucking Sisterhood Sigil, I want to pluck that bitch.”

Yeah, why do I have mixed feelings about yet another entity finding me fascinating.

“So the irregulars don’t have the Sigil?” Julia asked, wanting the subject changed pronto.

{{I mentioned questions! You keep treating Demons like people. }}

{{It sounded like Lilith has been here longer than some Gods. How much Power does she have by now?}}

B’s mental voice tone went from miffed to sharing Julia’s curiosity from one moment to the next.

“No, well, except the Progenitor. It’s a visible brand on her shoulder, and it makes me furious every time I see her.” Ebusuku growled as her fists clenched.

“No one should be enslaved by another,” Julia said, without thinking and froze as Ebusuku’s gaze fixed on her.

“He caught you, but he didn’t keep you. Grow strong from it, don’t let it leave you mauled,” replied Ebusuku. A splash from her gave Julia a face full of water. “You need acting lessons, Trouble. So much written on your face without your Dominion active. You’ve gotten worse since I last saw you. That all-encompassing calmness you began using isn’t locking anything away. That alone tells me how much he hurt you. So, thoughts on an approach for vivisection?”

It wasn’t just what he did.

{{Yeah, but I gave fair warning. Would you prefer emotional septic shock? }}

What happens if I’m recalled to the Sisterhood still like this?

{{OH!! My Bad! }}

Fuck!

“You could always start by skinning him alive; he seemed a fan of that. Are there ways to stop that shadow transport he does?” Julia asked as B threw up mental images of filleting Lêdhins from his dick upwards. Ebusuku just smiled at the fire shining in Julia’s eyes as she asked the question.

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“There are some spells and enchantments that would work, but they use Light Affinity. I’ve seen the effect on Shadow Door, they exit the shadow, and the effect of obliterates the shadow while they’re still partly inside. Then they’re not half the problem they used to be. It’s rare for Demons to possess, so you can’t pick them up in the Abyss. You’ll find them in the right marketplaces or shops around here. You’ll need a fair bit in the way of trade goods or currency. Vendors inclined to deal in them jack the price up for a Demon or Devil that approaches them - still it can be worth an expensive trade. ”

Light, another one for my list. Perhaps a tour of the quasi-Elemental Planes is in order.

{{Look at you becoming a Pokemon trainer! Catch them all!}}

No idea if I can get Celestial.

{{You could always pat Torm, that would give you a feeling for Celestial. Or another feeling might arise.}}

Mentally counting to one hundred by prime numbers, Julia popped some soap bubbles as B giggled. The heavy scent thickening the air suddenly flooded her mind like floral decorations laying on a coffin. The smell of them hung overlaid with grief and sorrow, borrowing deep into the mourners.

Great, so I’ll just smell like a gravesite instead of death.

“I’d start with Fire. It’s the easiest place to hunt if you’ve gained the usual resistances Succubi have,” Ebusuku said casually, though Julia could see her gaze lingering on Farhad digging through the contents of the invisible cupboard. “Warmer ice boy. Now aside from the Efreeti courts, there are courts of various Elemental Lords worshipped by groups of mortals. There are also lots of stray communities and lone individuals dumber than a stump you can hunt. Most individual fire Elementals are basic in their tactics, see something not burning, burn it, hit it, repeat till dead.”

“Are the Elemental Planes like the Abyssal ones, with an infinite amount of space?”

“No, too far from the Titan’s spire, and they break down into chaos. Though they are massive, it would require centuries of continual flying to reach that point. They have boundaries where they contact the other Planes and let you into the Quasi or Para-Elemental Planes. There is no straight gateway, it’s more a region where the energies between the Planar forces mingle. Since you have Planar Lore, this will be easier,” Ebusuku said, settling down to continue the lecture.

When did she learn I had that? Sisterhood imprint? I need to keep that in mind.

As she watched, Farhad pushed aside a rack inside the cupboard, and another slid forward into his hands.

“How big is that cupboard?” Julia asked.

“Bigger than it was when he last stayed here,” Ebusuku said, smirking with pure mischief. “Colder.”

“Is he really getting colder?” Julia asked, taking in her expression.

“Maybe, maybe not, he’ll likely search it in his own pattern regardless of what I say. Dealer’s choice: Am I amusing myself by messing with him or being helpful and seeing if he ignores the hints. He’s got good hearing, so you’ll get no clues which it is. Now, Efreeti courts are very hierarchical.”

Julia settled in to listen as Ebusuku’s lecture continued; she felt the water cooling and reheating around her. Meanwhile, Farhad kept searching and items slowly accumulated on a still standing bench. One ornate box he’d put down disappeared, and Ebusuku gave Julia a wink. When he turned back, the only response he gave Ebusuku was an unamused look. Then immediately retrieved it from where he’d found it originally.

“His memory is fantastic, for many things.” Ebusuku murmured, smiling as Farhad stilled for a moment.

----------------------------------------

Stone under her knees felt comforting as Julia waited out the last hours before the dawn. As the sky started getting lighter, soft booted footsteps sounded by the gate, and a light tap echoed in Yngvarr’s courtyard. Despite the height of the fence, a glance showed Torm beyond it, as he was tall enough to still look over its top.

“Come in Torm, I know you’re welcome in Yngvarr’s house,” Julia said, and the latch quickly turned.

“But it’s your meditation that I’m disturbing, so knocking was polite,” Torm replied, closing the gate behind him and slowly approaching. “Farhad is taking Livia for a run to practise her Ki Movement. He suggested you could review your fundamentals by teaching me mine.”

“That sounds sensible, but also strange. I’ve not taught a student in some time, and Farhad’s style is different to my own,” Julia said, flowing to her feet. “Why don’t you start by going through the stances he’s shown you first.”

“As you wish, teacher,” Torm replied, before taking the first stance, with Julia just watching on. Torm said nothing at all about the eyebrow she’d arched at him for his remark.

The sun was far above the horizon before they’d completed practicing.

“When you fight someone, what are you focused on doing?” Julia asked as they were finishing up.

“If you meant in an actual battle, I’m trying to kill them as quickly as I can. Why do you ask?”

“Just something Farhad said, though no idea if I’ll be able to change as he’s insisted,” said Julia, before sighing. “Or if I’d still recognise myself, I’ve lost so much as it is.”

“Farhad mentioned you were planning to gather materials on some of the Elemental Planes.” Torm said.

The rapid topic change causing Julia to blink in surprise before she answered.

“That’s a plan that was suggested. I’ll have to decide soon. Though spreading energy between several Bonds hopefully lessens the Ki effect to each individual, I can’t stay forever. I’m worried after what you said about Eivor, whether the impact of sharing my Ki will be long term. Why do you ask?”

“I’d like to travel with you. Would you be comfortable showing me where you set up your hideout in Pandemonium? If you get Planar locked again, it will allow us to meet up. I’m able to use Greater Teleport Self to bring things or people to you, the same way you moved Moke. Or Teleport to your location then Yngvarr can scry for me and join us. Once we’ve been there, you’d have support beyond just messages.” Torm responded, his features strangely neutral, giving no sign of how he felt on the subject.

“I thought you were here serving the High Justice?” Julia asked, not hiding her puzzlement at the change.

He’s been with her for decades, and now he’s moving on. What’s going on?

“Things change. Because of my choice, another Vargr Drangijaz will take over my duties, regardless. I’ll travel with either you or others to gain experience as a Monk. If I travel with you, then you could help me train instead of having to come back to bother Farhad when I need pointers.”

“I’m still making things up as I go along half the time,” Julia cautioned.

“You always seem to have outlines of a plan and just need the details,” said Torm, his disbelief at her response evident in his features.

“One plan! I always have at least three,” Julia answered. The moment of amusement fleeting as it softened into pain, “unless they all turn to shit.”

“Life can be like that. What’s your plan for today?” asked Torm, moving the subject firmly along. “since you didn’t jump off to another Plane with the dawn,”

“I should talk to the other Priestesses. Though Rana told me after I returned that I’ve also gained a Priest among the thralls, I just wish I had the funds to free them all. Or at least enough influence so the Jarl would return the ones taken due to border conflicts back to their families.”

“You can’t help everyone, and your faithful are improving their lives. With their help, the thralls are far more likely to regain their freedom, in a condition to enjoy it. I noticed you’re not just resorting to making valuables to sell with Protean.”

“It feels like fraud. But what you said about their work, Eivor said the same, of the cult’s benefit; I spoke to her via a Dream last night. I’m glad I spoke to her; I understand better why she needed time from Hermod, even if I feel sad about it still. There are many traps in life. Sometimes, when youthful expectations don’t meet reality, then it’s your decisions more than prison bars locking you in a place. Nothing wrong with what you have, but there’s a difference between living and surviving. They’ve been making good time towards Thebes, though Moke got them into trouble in one town with the wife of a beer hall’s owner. Eivor calmed the situation, and Ipy is keeping a closer eye on him.” Julia replied, giving a shake of her head.

“What’s wrong?” Torm asked.

“Just something Eivor said, and it doesn’t translate well for me,” Julia replied.

“From your expression, I’d bet it is Moke.”

Torm’s amused tone earned him a stern look from Julia and a silence before she answered in a rush.

Moke and his bloody enjoyment of his ‘missionary position’.

“It’s just a phrase he used to Eivor means something very different to me. Now let’s leave it at that.” Julia answered ruefully.

“Words can imply very different things even between individuals born into the same culture,” said Torm.

“Indeed, subtle things can cause the greatest misunderstandings, especially when using the same language. We might not make good long-term travel companions, but I’ll show you my hideout in Pandemonium. It would be a relief to know I’m not physically cut off. It’s such a foreboding place with its howling wind.” Julia said, her voice turning soft as she considered the oppressive darkness that limited even True Sight and the howling noise of the wind.

Julia noticed the frown on Torm’s face, but he started speaking before she could ask.

“You should leave Rana to tend your faithful, a lot of them are busy down near the docks.”

“It’s okay. I’ll go see them there,” Julia replied, frowning at the thought of not at least checking in.

“You’ll draw a lot of attention at the docks,” Torm countered without hesitation.

“Oh yeah, it was bad enough walking here from the gate. Aside from Ylva’s longing eyes, how come ladies aren’t chasing after you?” Julia asked and just got a cough of embarrassment in response.

“You said you had those arrangements with the Hag. Are there any deals you’re concerned about?” Torm hastilty changed the subject causing Julia to wince at the question.

“If she contacts me, I can honestly say I got destroyed in a fight with the shithead. That might set her at his throat. I don’t have to tell her he didn’t get the death blow,” Julia said, the smile it brought to her lips darkening her gaze.

“It would keep him busy worrying about her instead of looking for you,” Torm agreed thoughtfully.

“Dangerous game to play, so I’d prefer to wait and let her initiate the contact. Then I can tell her I’ve just been lying low after getting my form destroyed. Otherwise, she might want to wrap me up in her protective care, on whatever Plane I claim I’m using as home.”

Julia didn’t restrain the shudder, and Torm just nodded his acknowledgement.

“Her deeds have brought the end to Demons, Devils, and Celestials alike, she’s not one to take lightly.”

“So I just have to worry about: the Sisterhood, the Treasury, and a lost boy. Not to mention my new sister Ebu wanting to take me to meet her family.” Julia counted them off on her fingers for emphasis, before giving Torm a smile that spoke of fragile teasing. “A quick trip to Pandemonium, then the Fire Elemental Plane. I hope your fur won’t get burnt off.”

“Ebu?!” Torm snorted, his amusement evident, but he got himself composed and continued. “I can handle a lot of heat, so it’s fine to start there. Are you planning to work your way around injuring yourself? For some energy forms that’s unlikely to work well on.”

{{Oh yeah, he can handle heat. Growl!}}

“We’ll see how things go, but if I earn wealth, I can pass it along to help people here.”

“That could unbalance things, though enchanters will pay for Planar ingredients.”

“Exactly why I have things to pick up for Ebu. She insisted on giving me an overview of the Elemental Planes and charging me for it.”

“You’re trying your best to avoid their names, aren’t you?” Torm asked.

“You tell me then where I need to draw the line. Names have power but I don’t know how to apply it safely.” Julia huffed.

“Named entities won’t hear you saying their name just talking about them. A Lord or Lady in the Abyss will hear their name spoken if they have a sizeable amount of influence on the Plane you’re on, but even then they might not pay attention. Only Greater Gods hear their names being spoken by anyone not among their faithful regardless of where they are in the Planes,” Torm stated, giving her questioning look.

“Would have been nice if someone had told me that earlier, I got told not to use Names,” Julia grumbled. “Okay, I won’t give her a silly nickname I might say it to her face, but I was paranoid about using her full one,” Julia stated, giving Torm a hard look. ”Farhad thinks I’m too kind, so I guess I’m stuffed. I’m also not used to being secretive while I worked with people I don’t like, but I don’t come from a secret squirrel business background.”

“Another saying Livia will love, but I’m not sure what you mean. Being a terrible liar isn’t a rotten thing.”

“My job involved organising people to find and fix issues and ensuring the most serious got fixed first. Even the people I didn’t like, I wasn’t keeping secrets from them. We had to be across the problems to help coordinate things for the teams getting them resolved.”

“Then describe how you see your current problem with B? Is it the most serious you have?”

“In the top five at present, I’d kept personal issues locked up inside, I’d help people with theirs and just try to deal with my own. Then, when I found my fiancé cheating on me, I kicked him out of my life. But I just started locking more pain away and stopped even trying to sort it out.”

“You never told us you were engaged.“ Torm stated, blinking at the sadness in her words.

“Ancient and still poisonous history. When I got cursed, I just focused on surviving and kept up the same habit of locking it all away. I didn’t realise, no, that’s a lie I did, but I didn’t want to go back to any of it. B even warned me after I could hear her properly that I needed to deal with it. The more she poked me about it, the less I wanted to deal with any of it since she kept poking painful memories from before my death. Now I have no choice: she’s broken the locks and tossed away the boxes. I’ve got it all churning away inside me, now uncontained. I can’t find the mental balance that I need to keep calm and hold back telltale reactions. Bad at lying might not matter for a Celestial, but it’s dangerous for my situation. I only think that Ebu has misunderstood what she’s been seeing there, but even if she has misunderstood and isn’t just pretending, my luck won’t hold.”

{{You were developing a gangrenous limb. I saved your life. Get over it. }}

“Then maybe I should suggest something different to just wandering the Elemental Planes.” Torm offered.

“What did you have in mind?”

“How about an undertaking that brings meaning instead of fighting for survival and experience?”

“Am I going to need to drag your suggestion out of you?” Julia asked, giving him a frown for his build-up.

“Two suggestions so you can pick. I know a community of Dwarves living on the edge of the Elemental Plane of Earth. They’re in a region close to a conflux of forces, between Earth, Magma, and Dust. Plenty to fight there, and it would make the area safer for their community. Their artisans are a ready market for materials you can gather while destroying the Elemental creatures. The alternative is a border region between Ysgard and Limbo. The guards there wouldn’t turn down aid from one willing to kill raiding Slaadi, looking for incubators for their eggs. Though the second option is a higher risk with your form’s energies.” replied Torm, his tone carefully neutral.

Julia didn’t respond immediately, and Torm respected her silence as she turned her gaze towards the winter’s sky.

“We should go help the Dwarves then, after we visit Pandemonium. No idea how well I’d handle being that close to the Higher Planes.” Julia said, after a few minutes of thinking.

The relief in Torm’s posture when Julia’s reply started with ‘we’ went unnoticed by Julia.

“When do you wish to leave?”

“How about tomorrow before dawn? I promised Livia we'd spend time together before I head away again, even if I'm sure she'll scold me.”