There’s a wealth of alchemy supplies, and more to Milbert’s alchemy kit than first meets the eyes. With my incredibly limited knowledge of chemistry, and what little Can’Z’aasian alchemy I managed to learn through my inventory shenanigans, I could create explosives. I could create some acids as well. I can still of course create minor water walking potions. We already have several of those that I conjured when we first arrived though.

Hm. Teuila desperately wants to remain in Valkyrie form. But leaving a copy of Gae Buidhe out somewhere in the world, or carrying it around where someone might bump into it is dangerous beyond belief. I take Gae Buidhe aside to study it momentarily, but I also load down Teuila’s new magical spice pouches with potions. No reason not to use the space. If she needs a spice, she can conjure it after taking the potions out. Also, magical containers seem ridiculously resilient. Any of the clothing or gear I’d gotten from Berinon survived a point blank explosion remarkably unscathed.

Regardless, I sort through the potions to pick the most useful for Teuila. I make sure she’s got all of the powerful abjurative potions, the one that I’m sure imbues fire breath, the ointment, and the larger red potion. If I’m too destroyed to take the smaller red potion, Teuila’s going to need that one to revive me.

I chuckle at two potions. They’d set someone’s strength almost on level with Teuila, almost. I flip these to Dawn, calling out, “Dawn, if you’re ever in a pinch where you need to be able to smash through a wall or something, drink one of those.”

Dawn looks flabbergasted, “What? Really Rej? I mean, shouldn’t Boss be the-“

I interrupt, “It doesn’t amplify your power, it sort of cloaks your muscles in giant muscles of a certain power. It’s hard to explain, but basically, Teuila is stronger than those potions can make someone.”

Teuila grins like a goon as she flexes her athletically toned arms, hidden beneath her armor, hah. The absolute goon.

Regardless, this elicits a low appreciative whistle from Dawn when she realizes just how strong that must mean Teuila really is. I chuckle. I think Lil was probably approaching Teuila’s strength. Actually, wait. How did I know those potions’ functions? Their aura appeared similar to the girdle, the weird, giant, storming belt. Oh! Oh wow, Teuila might be a bit pissed if she tries to arm wrestle Lil while Lil’s wearing that belt, hah. That belt is a much more powerful, permanent version of these potions. It will cloak Lil’s muscles in much more potent aura, enhancing them to even beyond Teuila’s raw strength. I’m not even sure Lil will get any benefit from it after they permanently unlock their third evolutionary stage. Or at the very least, when they can begin reaching a fourth evolutionary stage. Still, it’s a bit hilarious that my Lil buddy could be wearing that, drop all the way down to spheriform stage, and still topple mountains.

I call out, “Te, want the disguising hat thing in case anyone is prejudiced against people with fur? Or are you absolutely positively going to stay Valkyrie from here on out?”

Teuila steels her gaze as she gives me a confident glare, “I’m The Valkyrie. You said it yourself. It’s time I started living it. Besides,” her tone and glare soften, becoming almost playful, “don’t you think -this-,” Teuila swerves her hands in an exaggerated hourglass figure in front of her curves, “is pretty hot?”

I cough, trying to fight back laughter. Teuila's body in all forms is, of course, incredibly attractive. Hot is what she'd call it. But yes, her Valkyrie form is so much closer to a fae-like woman, similar to my cherubic form being a mixture of fae, goblinoid, and human. Regardless. We’ve done this bit at least once before, but Dawn actually tugs at her collar for a moment before averting her gaze. Even if Dawn doesn’t want to pursue affection, she certainly has good taste in aesthetic preference. Valkyrie, Teuila, My-Wings. The woman is supernaturally gorgeous. I stare at Te for far too long a moment caught in a loving gaze, before there’s a polite cough from Dawn, then one from Teuila as she gazes about the room avoiding eye contact. Teuila’s visibly blushing, and it raises the heat of my cheeks as well. I cough along with the two of them, glancing around momentarily. I think we’ve done this bit once before as well.

I’m incredibly curious about this necklace. I’m not a fan of jewelry at all, but the enchantment on it is simultaneously minor, yet incredibly powerful. What could it be? I begin tracing its aura in the air, looking for runic symbols I recognize that the staff has taught me. I mostly know only elements, and spirits. I also know the runeword for telekinesis, not that that comes up much. There, there’s one for air, or wind, it seems to be the bottom layer of the spell, sort of the end point, but also the base atop which the spell is formed. There’s one for water, another one for water that’s slightly different, but that might be vapor, or gasses. It’s like, the underpinnings, or end purpose of the enchantment is an absolutely pure wind, or pure air element. Wait! I toss it around my neck, take a few practice breaths, and run to dunk my head in a small fountain next to a potted plant.

The tree-like bush actually politely recoils in a careful, slow motion from where it had been leaning into the fountain. I don’t pay it any attention as I begin breathing tentatively under water. Tiny sips of air at first, only into my mouth. When there’s no hint of water, I allow myself to breathe all the way down to my lungs. I begin breathing deeply, hyperventilating testingly, but also out of sadness. I drop to my knees, dragging myself out of the fountain as I weep. I feel a comforting branch upon my shoulder. Wait, branch? Moving tree? I, I’ll deal with that in a moment.

I sob, crying my heart out. If, if we’d had this at the dam, or on the Night of High Water, I could have saved them, I could have saved everyone. I, I wouldn’t have made Sylphie sacrifice herself, I wouldn’t have gotten her killed for my stupid heroism. Teuila looks stricken, as she realized I’d been breathing under water quite fine with no ill effects, since I’m not coughing my lungs out. She realized what the necklace can do as well. With how often I’ve drowned or nearly drowned, how often I ended up in the drink, hoping water would spare my life, this would have been so, so important. She kneels next to me to wrap her arms around me. Dawn seems lost in mild confusion.

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I try to explain, around sobs that become coughs, “Dawn, I, this, it, it lets the user breathe, safely, anywhere, any time. Even under water. Koff, snfl, koff. I’ve lost family to asphyxiation in a tidal wave. I caused a benevolent spirit to sacrifice herself for me, deep beneath a river. I nearly drowned fighting a kraken-type thing several times. The first battle that Lil and I faced something truly dangerous, I almost drowned fighting an angry vampiric mudguppy. Water, and being in, or under it, has been a constant facet of my life.”

Dawn inches closer and lays several fingertips upon my free shoulder. She eyes the plant warily. Now that I’m no longer sobbing my brains out, I do the same. It appears friendly at least. It’s some sort of bush-like tree, maybe some kind of shrubbery. But it’s semi-animate. The aura vision is blurry around the plant, but either the plant, or the pot, or both, are indeed enchanted. I glance from Teuila to the plant and back. Before I can even think of how to word the question on my mind, the plant answers by extending its roots slightly through apparent holes in the bottom of the pot, and it shuffles closer, so that it can reach my head to pat my head consolingly.

I had been about to ask if it could move, or understand us. The animate shrubbery beckons me as it shuffles away towards a corner of the room. Perplexed, my face contorts, yet I follow it all the same. It taps at a seam in the floorboards. Upon closely inspecting the seam, sure enough, there’s a trap door to some kind of cellar. I scratch the back of my head while blushing. Opening the trap door leads to gloom below, but my crossbow's aura illuminates a foggy room not more than perhaps twenty feet or so deep.

I express my gratitude, “Uh, thank you, um, Shrub?” The shrubbery makes an approximation of the "p’shaw, I’m flattered," gesture.

My jaw hangs slack. My index finger can’t decide whether to curl or point as it alternates between the two. I have to ask, “Are you interested, uh, in traveling? Teuila and I were going to destroy this tower when we leave. Milbert, the person who was here, he, um, died. He did some very bad, evil things to the people in Victo. We’re worried the tower could be used to do those evil things again if someone else finds it.”

The shrub seems to nod along with me, indicating the affirmative, and possibly its understanding of our motives. I know it’s not a person under the effects of a transformation, that would register as a massive transmutation aura, coupled with a vast enchantment aura, to do something like this. This instead seems to be some sort of minor blurred alteration aura blended into an enchantment aura. I think it extends the lifespan of a shrub, and grants it sentience, and perhaps some limited sapience. Not to mention the agency granted by giving it flexibility and mobility of its limbs and roots.

Slightly confused, I announce, “So, uh, welcome to the team, Shrub. That one is Teuila, The Valkyrie, My-Wings. That one is Dawn, we’re on a quest to help her. I’m Reggie. I was lying about the scholar thing earlier.”

The Shrub actually shuffles over to Teuila, and offers a branch. For a handshake? Te accepts it, and it gives her hand a tiny little shake. Its motions are rather limited, slightly slow, but what do you want from a potted plant? At least it’s not screaming, "Feed me Seymour". It then shuffles towards Dawn, who accepts the limb much more tentatively, cautiously.

An acrid air wafts up from the now-open trapdoor. Actual tendrils of green fog slowly raise into the room. It stings mildly on contact, though a stronger sting than the drizzle outside. I’ve a feeling I know what’s down there. I motion for Teuila to hand me Gae Buidhe, and to stay here a moment. I don’t want her trying to breathe acidic fog. Between my higher acid resistance, and the oxygen-mask necklace, I feel relatively safe to venture downward. Shrub shuffles and waddles towards the far stairs, and works their way up two steps before turning around to watch what I do. Teuila hands over Gae Buidhe, and I begin my descent. The glow I cast while equipped with my wrist-crossbow comes in handy.

There’s a vat, something like a porcelain tub, filled with a green, glowing, bubbling liquid. Just approaching it causes my skin to sizzle slightly. I glance about the room. There’s a box that’s literally labeled “to melt.” Another box is labeled “keep.” Milbert apparently kept a ledger of things he tried to melt. There’s a note scrawled on the most recent page, “Pick up more beast tokens.” Flipping further back though. Hrp, glp, oh gods. The ledger includes names. Hrp. I want to lash out violently, but I know I need to make the most of this situation. I extend Gae Buidhe into the glowing liquid, and wait, hesitantly.

Based on the ledger, larger, stronger magical items took longer to break down. Sure enough, after a fair amount of time, I feel Gae Buidhe become lighter, as the head dissolves entirely. I wonder if the handle still holds the same enchantment. I don’t want to risk it. We can find other sturdy magical handles, I’m sure. And if not, well, we’ve got unlimited copies of Gae Buidhe to dick around with.

Gazing about, there’s another trapdoor at the top of a ramp, but it must lead out to the surface. I’m fairly certain that this is how Milbert got the larger objects, and people, down in here to, ugh, test out melting. A familiar formation of a semicircle on the floor near a wall clues me in to another useful thing. After feeling about for a few short moments, I find the switch. A small carriage appears as the wall rotates, revealing what was resting on its far side. I can tell that there’s no path on the other side however, and I’m not going to get into a ‘put the candle back’ situation.

I can see why the carriage was on the other side of the wall though, there’s almost no room to move around down here with it on this side of the wall. Huh, I wonder if this means Milbert invented the two-car garage. Hah. Stupid Fakeworld, Earth. Still, a ledger, some notes, some odds and ends, and two more boxes of magical items, and quite possibly our ticket out of here. A hell of a find that we wouldn’t have managed without Shrub’s help. It takes some doing, but I manage to seal off the tub of acid, as well as to open the ramp-gate that leads to the surface. Glancing about outside, the ramp gate was most definitely disguised as normal, muddy, grassy terrain. The chilly, damp air slowly dissipates the remainder of the acidic green fog that had been building within the cellar.

What’s more, any carriage coming from this side of the tower would simply appear to be travelers coming-to-call. It let Milbert keep up the mystique of his never-seen hermitude, and probably kept suspicions off of him until nearly the entire town had their soul stolen. Hell, I bet I know why the inn was the last place hit. Milbert wanted it to stay functioning, to keep drawing in travelers, strangers, tourists. All for more souls for his wicked lord. Maybe it was even his lord’s order to leave the inn until last. Grr. I huff an angered sigh through gritted teeth.

I’ve plenty of literature to read through now, on the school of magic most likely to help us. As much as I want to take down the Celestial Emperor, it’s unlikely that doing so would end Dawn’s curse, and we are in no way prepared for someone who had the power to steal so many souls. Let alone prepared to take on someone who has so many souls at their disposal to power whatever awful abilities, plans, or machinations they have. I can almost guarantee too, that standing between us, and returning to Can’Z’aas, is the Celestial Emperor, the Bright Lord himself.