The next day, we had a very reputable security agency come to the house and install a state of the art surveillance system. I paid top dollar to ensure that every square inch of the property near the house had an electric eye on it. They even installed a couple solar panels to keep the cameras rolling if the power was cut.

Inside, we had the main hall from the front door and the kitchen surveyed as well. No need putting one upstairs since any infiltrator would be caught on an exterior camera while scaling the wall to the upper floors. But in the basement I had a camera fixed facing the well and one in the room with the safe that we kept the stones and journal in.

Next, Emily took the records she kept from the trial in Murk to be able to upload a picture of Alabaster into the facial recognition software. The system was linked to my phone and Emily’s. If he set foot on this property then a special alert, different from the normal alert, would notify us that it was him.

“Now do you feel better about leaving me here, Eric?” Emily asked, as I gave her my pistol and made sure she knew how to operate it.

“Of course I don’t! If it were up to me we’d be out there hunting him down. But I know that would only draw attention to us right now.”

“You guys just worry about finding a Cleric for Stephanie,” she diverted, “I’m gonna spend my time scouring the net and the news to see if and when he makes any moves locally.

Even if you find out more from that Oracle, I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

She was right. Situations like these she was pretty helpless in. We couldn’t take her to Callist but we needed to get going if we were going to kill two birds with one stone. Find a high level Cleric to revive Steph and figure out Alabaster’s next move. We certainly weren’t going to go get Anabel back yet. Not with Stephanie’s body decaying downstairs and that Devil on the loose in this world now.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough. It’s time for us to go.”

I geared back up into my chainmail and Arduwan donned her leather bikini and loincloth once again. Of course Wraith was back to playing Prince of Persia. The three of us would be heading back to Callist once again and I was damn determined to be quick and methodical in our quest.

The others went into the well first. I slowed my entry to say my goodbye to Emily without them in sight. We were still kinda being informal about what was going on between us. I’m not entirely sure the reason why, but I could feel that it helped Emily with taking things slow.

“Promise me you won’t die?” she said, as she draped her arms around my neck and leaned up for a kiss just outside the well.

“I’ll do my best. But if We don’t make it back, don’t come after us. The mansion is yours and I’ll trust you to carry forth and make the best decision on what to do.”

“Don’t even suggest something like that!” she scoffed, “I need you, Eric! If that’s what's gonna motivate you to come back in one piece, then just remember that I can’t survive against our enemies on my own.”

“Alright, alright. Sorry I even mentioned it. I won’t die, okay?”

And with that, I stepped over into the well and we made our way to Arduwan’s homeworld once again.

* * *

The first thing Arduwan did when we left the canyon was call for three horses. With utmost haste we began the long journey back towards Vale, the forest kingdom. Wraith wanted to stop by his trading post but I told him we were forging on ahead. We didn’t have time for him to visit with ‘his girls’.

Without that distraction, we made it through the guard post and into the forest in no time at all. I was ready for the lecherous Oracle this time. Even though Arduwan said she didn’t have a problem being groped for the info we needed, I had some left over treasure from our previous raids. I had forgotten about it until I found the little sack tied to my adventuring belt in the laundry room.

Once inside the city of Vale, we quickly made our way down to the building where the Oracle saw paying customers who wanted the advantage of knowing things before they happened. The receptionist took us into the room where the fat little bald man was sitting perched on his pillow.

“Oh, welcome back friends,” he greeted, “I knew…”

“Knew we were coming. Yeah, I know. Oracle humor,” I interrupted with a lack of amusement in my voice, “Look. We have something pretty serious to ask you again. I’ve got money this time.”

I held up the sack full of gold pieces and shook it around a little. The Oracle looked at it and opened his mouth in amazement.

“Ah, I see.”

“Yes, you see what?” I asked.

“I see…that you’re under the assumption that my old pricing was still in effect.”

“What?! Your old pricing?!”

He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and nodded his head before answering, “yes. You see. Being an Oracle is quite lucrative. But it is also quite demanding. I’ve had many wealthy people come to see me over the years who wished to expand their wealth. And word of mouth has gotten around, so it has become a daily, if not, hourly task to answer all the questions. It’s really become most tiring. So unfortunately, I’ve had to raise my prices to thin the herd so to speak.”

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I was skeptical but took him at his word.

“Yeah, okay, I guess that makes sense. What’s your new price?”

“One thousand gold pieces.”

“A thousand!” I shouted, “you’ve gotta be kidding! It was five hundred last time. I mean, we could’ve swung six fifty or maybe seven hundred, but you’re trying to buy the banker!”

“I’m sorry. Perhaps you’d be more suited speaking to the fortune teller in the alley several blocks over?” he teased.

“No no, it’s fine. I know what you want,” I let out a big sigh and said, “Arduwan. Get those tits out.”

Before she did and before anyone else could say anything, the Oracle interrupted, “Ah, ah, ah…while I appreciate the gesture…”

Here it comes.

“Just as my monetary price has gone up, so has the legal tender of Arduwan the

Barbarian Princess’s exchange rate.”

“What are you getting at?” Wraith asked.

“Simply ogling and fondling Arduwan’s bosom is not sufficient for my services any more.

It’s how you might say, ‘been there, done that.’”

“Just get to the point. What do you want her to do?” I plead.

“Actually…nothing as lewd as what you’re probably imagining. I would just like for Lady

Arduwan to sit across my lap whilst I summon your query.”

“Arduwan, you good with that?”

“I told you before, anything to get Stephanie back,” she replied, somberly.

“Anything?” the sly Oracle inquired.

“...Let’s…just stick with your initial request,” I stopped him.

“Fine,” he gave in, “shall we begin.”

I looked over at Arduwan and signaled her to make her way over to this middle aged balding man's lap. He sat with arms wide open and a huge smile across his face. He was almost as short as Emily and the towering Arduwan looked ridiculous climbing onto his lap in the Bridal Carry position. She looped her arm around his right shoulder to try and get in place while her bottom half swung over his left knee as he sat cross legged.

“Okay. Nice and comfy. Now. What can I answer for you?”

“We’re looking for a powerful Cleric,” Wraith explained, ” No one specific. Just one good enough to bring someone back from the dead and preferably close enough to travel to with relative ease.”

“Oh my! A tall order indeed. I’ll see what I can do.”

The little perv scrunched his eyes closed and stroked Arduwan’s hair with his right hand while cradling her thighs with his left.

“Ah, I see! There is a Cleric of the highest order just across the sea to the northeast of

Vale. He’s in the Tower of Mardur.”

“The Tower of Mardur!” Wraith exclaimed.

“Wait, what's the big deal with that?” I asked.

Wraith had a very disturbed look on his face. He shook his head fervently, and said, “we can’t go there. No one lives in those lands but monsters. Higher level monsters. The tower used to be a beacon to signal across the sea that forces unfriendly to Vale were coming and to give the people time to prepare for an amphibious assault. But during the last great war, it was overtaken and no one was left alive to signal from there again.”

“Well, somebody is there,” I noted, “wonder why a top notch Cleric would take up residency in a place like that?”

“Maybe he’s trying to restore the beacon?” Arduwan suggested.

“Hmm, could be,” said Wraith, “oh well, doesn’t do us any good. It’s too far and too dangerous.”

“Come on, Wraith,” I prodded, “you’re always looking to get into some kind of adventure. What’s different about this?”

“The difference is, there's not a lot of payoff to going. Going on a raid, dungeon delving, sure, I’m in. But what are we going to the Tower of Mardur for?”

I gave him a stern look and said, “We’re going so we can get Stephanie back.”

“Eric…Eric, Eric, Eric. Listen. You know I love Steph. She’s a great person. The best. But maybe her number was just up. Like Higgins and that Celica chick. I mean, besides, you’ve got Anabel, and Emily, and Arduwan now. Do you really need to risk your life…our lives, for an ex?”

I started to get angry and made myself very clear by saying, “Wraith. You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re lucky I don’t take you outside and kick your ass. I have half a mind to…”

Arduwan suddenly interrupted, “Lord Wraith, sir. If I were to try and find an exception to the rules of courtship during a life debt, would you agree to go with us?”

We all just stood there stunned for a moment as she made her case.

“Perhaps we could go on that date you wanted. And maybe I could even sit on your lap like I am the Oracle. Maybe I could join your harem? I’d do just about anything to get Stephanie back and stop Anabel from being sad.”

Wraith’s tongue nearly rolled out of his mouth like a Tex Avery cartoon. He never gave a straight answer, just mumbled and shook his head yes.

“One more question, Oracle. Can you tell me when the next time Alabaster Creole will make a move against my home?”

“Wait just a minute. What makes you think I can answer a second question?”

“You want the gold right?” I teased, “Last time, we gave you what little gold we had plus the boob squeeze. This time we just agreed to the lap sitting.”

“Why you! It was implicit that I was getting the gold and Arduwan’s company. You tricked me!”

“It’s really not a big deal. You already gave us the one vision. What’s the harm in another? It’s easy money. Arduwan’s already on your lap.”

“Well…okay. I should deny your request on principle. But the truth is…I really like all of you. Alabaster Creole you say?”

“Yes. He’s our top enemy at the moment.”

“Let me see,” the Oracle said, as he closed his eyes again.

A minute passed before he finally responded, “Hmm, this is very strange. I can’t see anything about Alabaster Creole.”

“Huh? Are you sure? Do you need any more details about him?”

“No. I can see him. I just can see his next move against you. You see, the threads of destiny are thin. And since the future is in motion and not predetermined, I can only see so far ahead. Usually a couple of months. Ninety to a hundred days at best.”

“Then that means he’s not going to do anything in the near future at all?”

“Correct. But it's more peculiar than that. I got curious about him so I looked closer in time to see if I could find where he would be even if he didn’t come back to your mansion anytime soon. But that’s the thing, I can’t find him at all!”

“How can this be?!” I asked.

“If I am unable to see someone else's future, then that can only mean one thing…they’re dead!”

Impossible. He’s one of the Seven Devils. How could he have been killed so easily after crossing worlds? Was he hit by a car? He was bleeding pretty badly after Emily shot him and I’m sure he ran on adrenaline back to the well. Is it possible there is an expiration date on Devils that cross into my world? But then how did Celica last so long? None of it made sense!

“Ah, well. That was easy enough,” Wraith nonchalantly pointed out, “good riddance to him. He had it coming anyway.“

“Wraith, are you not at all concerned about how he could’ve been taken out so easily?”

“Don’t worry about it, Eric. Now you can at least rest easy knowing that Emily is safe while we’re getting killed by high level monsters across the sea.”

He had a point. I did feel better about the whole thing knowing that Alabaster wouldn't resurface in the next ninety days. But it was just all so sudden and shocking to find out he was gone completely.

“Right,” I resigned myself to comfort and planned for our next move, “we should prepare to cross the sea. How far is it from here?”

“The nearest port is ten hours east of Vale. But you’ll need to secure a ship and fight the tempestuous sea to reach the otherside. The journey is typically two days,” said the Oracle, as a smirk crossed his face, “But! If you’d like. I can call that eagle back again?”