Max walked into the make shift study that the additional rented

inn room had become.

He would be surprised if Mathew even recognized him. Still, he

could not be sure how Phaedra felt for him. It was obvious that she did care.

He was not sure if it went further than the care and concern a close friend

feels. He hoped that someday he would find out and that it would go further.

After all of the time training, after all of the time researching,

Max would never guess that the possible solution to their conundrum would fall

right into their laps.

He had lost all sense of time. He watched the sun set. He watched

the rise and fall of the season, certainly, but beyond that, the old gauges

were long gone. It used to be the fields that he and his kin watched to

determine just how much time passed.

Enchoron and Phaedra laughed as they walked down the hallway

towards Max’s bed chamber. He was surprised just how friendly the two of them

were now after the display he remembered of seeing them arguing over his fate

in the hallway that they now walked down.

Max was standing in his doorway to greet them as they approached.

The expression they shared said that they knew something new this day. Perhaps

it was a breakthrough into their research? Maybe they sensed Max was skilled to

the point at which they could no longer help him? “What’s new? We’re ready to

move aren’t we?”

Enchoron nodded and Phaedra shot Max a warm smile, the deep manly

voice answered, “Indeed. Perhaps not in the way that we would have perceived,

but that is the way of the world. For those that believe in fate, they would

blame it for this opportunity. I believe though that it is more about the skill

of perception that we have utilized throughout these past days.”

“Get to the point old man,” Max, the studious pupil, smiled. All

three knew the jape at the youthful mentor when they heard it.

As she stopped moving, Phaedra’s hair fell calmly at her side.

“Let me interject. There is a man traveling through the plane of War, very near

to the area on the other side of Rotheburg. He knows of where we can find a

Scion. Rumor has it, he visits one fairly frequently. Or at least he did until

that Scions home was invaded by forces from beyond The Creator’s Realm.”

Max nodded with understanding. He knew that name was used to

describe the known cosmos that was made up of the fragments of that first Gods

creation. “What’s his name?”

“Pelos,” they both answered together. His mentor of devices

continued, “he does not know yet that he will be aiding us. In fact, I will

have to separate ways with you for the time being. You see, Pelos and I do not

always see eye to eye. You will have a better chance of convincing or fooling

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him without my presence there to distract him.”

“So you are staying behind? Why? I would rather have you along.”

“You must be able to walk on your own two feet. Besides, I also

need to wait here for your friend, Mathew. He has not abandoned you. I do

believe, he is on his way here now.” Enchoron smiled sardonically.

“What? How? When did you learn of this?” Max couldn’t believe his

ears.

Enchoron palmed his crystalline orb from out of his deepest

pocket. He didn’t say a word, he just looked over at the orb and stared into

its depths for a moment. “So I should stay here.”

Max nodded in agreement, “That does sound like a good reason to

stay behind. You aren’t running off to go do something sneaky that I should be

told about are you?”

Enchoron made wide waving motion with one arm towards the other

end of the hallway. “On that note, I suppose it is time that I return to my

studies. Take good care of him, you long haired beauty you!”

Phaedra shook her head. She showed just the hint of a blush. She

muttered something under her breath that was an affectionate phrase for the

robed man. She looked up at Max. “Are you all ready to travel my new man?” She

tapped him with an enclosed fist.

“I better start packing. I did not realize we would be leaving so

soon.”

“It’s been quite a while you know. You can’t stay cooped up in the

walls of this city forever you know?” She followed him into the room as he turned

to start getting his belongings together. “The lousy oaf is at least leaving

you with this gift to help us along.”

He turned back to her and looked down at her hands. They were held

together in front of her body holding an object wrapped in soft, expensive

cloth. He raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure he knew what it was. He put

down the clothes he had started folding. His hands shook as they started to

unfold the cloth. Even the cloth was worth a good bit of gold, but what was

inside was nearly priceless.

Max practiced with this device. Even Phaedra was in awe of it

then. Now she was excited to be the one presenting it to her. The last bit of

the cloth fell away and revealed what Enchoron has affectionately referred to

as a ray gun.

They started to descend the steps of the tavern that led into the

fog. Phaedra walked into the fog without more than a look back. Max was right

on the edge. He stared as hard as he could and now amount of concentration

could pierce the veil before him. He would have to take a blind step forward.

At least he knew that she was already on the other side, they would die

together if they did die. Somehow that thought was not all that comforting. Max

shook his head to get rid of that image. Then, without even looking back, he stepped

forth into the fog. The feeling choked him for a moment. He felt cold and hot

at the same moment. All over his body, there was a tingling sensation like he

was being pricked by a thousand needles all at once.

He opened his eyes. The view was not foggy at all. The stone walls

that surrounded the stone staircase were still there. They were worn with much

more age. They were chipped and broken. There were even segments of wall up

ahead that had completely collapsed. Those kinds of gaps in the Old World would

cause the tower to tumble.

“Come on. Hurry up! No time to waste. We need to get to a good

spot to view the area from or we might miss our chance.” The voice was coming

from out of sight, but definitely dead ahead down the stairs.

Max moved at a near run to catch up. He was still being cautious,

but he was using his arms against the walls to balance himself and make the

speedy descent much easier to handle. He could see a massive source of light

was making the hall up ahead glow. He rounded the final corner and saw Phaedra

standing on the edge of the last stone step, looking out into the embattled

terrain ahead. The sun here was bright and blazing like no season he ever

encountered during his years in the hamlet. The heat from that distant source

was intense. He saw meteorites shooting down through the sky, burning lines of

fire all over the scene outside the tower. He saw another one of the towers up

ahead, the upper portion that was in the other world was instead just a ruined

pile of debris in this one.

It would take him an age to try to understand the science behind

how any of this worked. At least he had the knowledge of science to operate the

ray gun at his side if all else failed. She smiled at him as she noticed him

looking down and checking out the side arm.

She pointed across the scarred, open ground. “Over that way is a

good vantage point. Follow me. Watch for falling rocks...”

They waited atop the ruin on the hill. During their time there,

Max did see one of the meteorites strike home nearby, scarring the ground with

a deep trench. This was a place where you had to watch where you walk. All

those deep trenches and craters would give someone a bad day if they fell in

without knowing it was coming.

He saw a lone figure walking through the wasteland towards

Rotheburg. The man was wearing strange clothes that fit his body like a glove.

He also looked beat and tired through the shimmering humidity that was

apparently commonplace on most of the War Plane. He stood up and pointed. His

friend got up and came over, shielding her eyes from the brightness of the sun.

She grinned, “That’s him. He looks like he’s been through the Burtox Den if you

ask me.”

“The realm of devils and darkness and cold?”

“It was just an exaggeration? I’m not serious.” She put a supportive

hand on Max’s shoulder.

She hopped down off of the ruined piece of rock they claimed as

their watch post. She offered to help him down, but he declined. He slid down

the side of the rock and then let go in one swift motion, landing on his feet.

The distant man spotted them long before they were upon him. He

took a defensive position and seemed to be preparing for the worst. They both

waved and kept their weapons sheathed. The soft voice of Phaedra rang out

loudly, “Pelos, we are not hear to fight you or arrest you. We are here to

talk. We are hopefully here to ask for your help if you will grace us with

that. If not, we can always escort you to Rotheburg.”

The figure peered out from behind a rock, he stepped back and

thinking he was out of sight, he adjusted his suit and took in a deep breath.

He then stepped back into sight from around the rock, “Well, what sort of help

are you looking for? And yes, I’d certainly like an escort, just keep your

distance until I am sure you are not just going to grab me and take me in.”