As I stepped across the dirt of the central area of the midway point, I looked around at the guards standing around in groups. Most of them were staring at me, and many had their hands on their swords.

"What's wrong with them?" I muttered.

"You've been screaming all through the night," Galir said as he stepped briskly beside me towards the other tower. "It's a miracle you can even speak normally."

I didn't have an answer for that, but my throat felt fine. It was my hands and arms that provided a constant, grating agony. Dibidi and Libidi moved behind us, and as I took a look back, one of the two's eyes lifted from my backside up to my eyes. There was no emotion in the glacial eyes. They just stared at me without blinking. I quickly turned back, wondering which of the two it was.

No belts, that was Dibidi, I thought. Well, as long as the two hadn't switched gear, but that seemed unlikely.

My mind kept rushing about, but I felt how calm it was even through the pain and the fear of imminent death due to Chaos Poisoning. The sounds all around were crisp and clear, and none of them generated any intense rage. I couldn't wait to see what had happened to Par.

Crossing the central area, I was glad to see both doors had been repaired, as were the doors leading into the towers. We reached the smaller tower that looked out over the east side of the Howling Forest. The metal banded, wooden door was a luxury as most trees were poisonous in this part of the woods. There was also no lock or door handle.

I was about to ask how we were supposed to enter when Linery stepped forward. She made a series of rapid gestures that alternated between both hands, something I hadn't seen before, then placed both hands on the door. A deep green glow permeated the wood, and the door swung inward.

"Follow me, and don't touch anything. I'm still working on a new set of traps, and some aren't finished," Linery said as she walked forward. Although her words were clear, she sounded distracted, and as I stepped after her, Galir turned to the two Assassins.

"Stay here and make sure we aren't disturbed."

I heard a disgruntled sigh, but Galir just stepped inside and closed the door. When he saw my raised eyebrow, he shrugged.

"They can't stop touching things," he whispered.

Yeah… and that's how you got in their bed? I thought. But I kept my bad jokes to myself and followed after Linery. The anteroom we were in was mostly empty, with three corridors leading away, one left, one right, and a short one ahead of us. Linery was heading straight and up a flight of stairs that sat in the end.

I followed her through a corridor with odd metal and stone contraptions on the floor. They reminded me of unfinished barbecues but with runes covering them. Parts lay scattered around the rooms we passed, and another flight of stairs later, we arrived in a short hallway that led up to a stone door with char marks, dents, and scratches on it.

"They never made it in," Galir said as he stepped after me.

As Linery began another set of gestures, which lasted longer, I felt my arms throbbing. Having four meant I had two times the hurt, of which there was plenty. Raising the top left one, I saw that my nails were turning black and the edges curling up slightly.

That can't be good.

The door swung open with a creak, and a wave of penetrating stink wafted out. Linery disappeared through the door into a room with a slight haze of green smoke covering the floor. Galir and I shared a look, and he just jerked his head at the door, indicating I should enter.

"I'll wait," he said with a wry grin. "Can't stand the smell."

"Yeah…" I whispered as I stepped into the room. It was a large room filled with glass receptacles as tall as I was with green liquid covering them. Tables filled with jars, books, and herbs stood on each side, and a massive set of matching cauldrons sat at the back walls. The room had no windows, and the smoke trickled over the edges of the cauldron, adding to the thick covering that hid my feet from view.

This looks like a witch's place, I thought as I looked around. Linery stood not too far away, at a cupboard as high as the room, with a staircase on each end. Jars knocked against each other as she began searching for something.

"Don't touch anything," Linery said without looking at me.

Wouldn't dream of it, I thought as I looked at the nearest receptacle. It was oval-shaped with a metal top and a ladder at the back. A shadowy figure was floating in the murky liquid.

If that's a person, I wonder if I'm with the good guys right now.

Moving closer, I tried to make out what it was, but all I could see was that it was roughly humanoid.

"It's one of the Night Hags we killed yesterday," Linery said as she stepped beside me. She was holding two small jars, one half-filled with a green liquid and the other one holding a finger-length black root that seemed familiar.

"So, I don't know what you need this for, but-" and she raised the green liquid. "This is Bogcreeper Spit, a rank one demon poison." Then she held up the other jar. "And this is-"

"Howling Murkwood," I whispered, followed by a whistle. Agga had told me about it long ago, even pointing one out as we searched for good wood. It was a creeping vine that strangled trees before somehow overtaking their root system. Then the roots turned into more Howling Murkwood while the rest of the tree turned into one of the dozens of tree and plant kinds that gave the Howling Forest its name.

"Ah, yes! Good, so you know about it. Well, it's also a rank one demon poison, but it's far more potent than Creeper Spit. Bordering on level two."

I was more than a little confused.

"I only know very little. Could you explain what poison levels mean? I thought there was just demon poison and its resistance," I said.

Linery finally seemed to snap out of her preoccupied state as her eyes focused on me. Her eyebrows scrunched together for a moment, and her mouth opened and closed a few times. Then she raised the Creeper Spit.

"That probably means that this will be fine," she said, handing me the small glass container. I just raised an eyelid at her, raising my mutilated hands.

"Ah.. yes... well..." she grimaced.

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So… I thought, staring at her. She wasn't going to tell me? Perhaps I could get her attention. I examined the glass container, noting a ring around the top holding the metal lid.

"Open it," I said, and she blinked rapidly before taking a step back.

"Are you crazy? Why would I want to do that?"

"Open it, and rub a bit on my hands," I said, raising all four towards her. My hair stood on end when I saw that the pinky of my upper left hand had turned black. "Now, please!" I snapped when Linery seemed ready to object. I stared at her, straight into her eyes, trying to convey the importance of her hurrying up.

"Are you sure?" she asked dumbly, as she slowly unscrewed the lid.

"Yes," I said, shaking my head. "This isn't exactly something I would be uncertain of if I was going to ask it, now would it?"

"But you don't even know about the poison grades," she said, looking at the bottle then at my hands. Her eyes were wider, and a curious glitter came to them. Her eyes unfocused, and her lips parted as she drew in a sharp breath, then licked her lips.

What the hell is wrong with this one? I thought as I forced myself not to step back. Instead, I waved my hands in front of her face, and she snapped out of it.

"Ah, yes, well. If you are sure," she said, and she slowly dripped some of the smoky liquid on my left hand. As soon as it touched the flesh, it began hissing while the flesh below wrinkled. A moment later, the flesh of the hand she had poured it on looked like I had been in the water for an extended period.

"Incredible! There should be lesions forming by now, or at a minimum, blood blisters," Linery whispered as she bent closer to my hands. I could swear she sounded slightly disappointed.

I ignored her for now, focusing on my hands. I was anticipating the burst of regeneration, but nothing happened. Only the spot the liquid was on looked slightly better. Perhaps it wasn't enough?

"More, and on all hands," I said, trying hard to cup my hands together. It felt like I was wearing thick boxing gloves.

Linery didn't hesitate as she poured half of the container across my hands. Again there was no more than a tingling sensation as the liquid covered most of my hands. My attempt to stop it from dripping on the ground failed, but Linery seemed undisturbed by the poisonous liquid dripping on the obscured ground. A few seconds later, I grimaced.

"So, let me guess. People with demon poison resistance can survive level one poison?"

Linery just gawked at me, her eyes flicking between the steaming liquid covering my now slightly wrinkly hands and my face. Then she nodded.

"Give me the Murkwood."

Linery slowly nodded again, this time far more careful as she opened the second container. When the lid was off, she held it away from her body as a thick, pungent gas floated up from the opening. She seemed afraid to tip it over, so I just covered the opening with one of my hands, placed another below hers, and nodded for her to let go. She jerked her hand away from mine, and she grit her teeth as she wiped the back of it on her robes. Blisters were forming on it where I had accidentally touched.

Right, the Bogcreeper Spit, I thought as the root landed on my palm. I couldn't feel the texture, just that it seemed slightly cold. As I couldn't feel much else, it probably meant it was freezing.

For a moment, nothing happened, then my hand began rotting from the center and outward. At first, my hand was throbbing dully, then it was as if someone sliced a knife through the center of my hand, jabbing it in and rotating it repeatedly. Even with the pain tolerance, I had built from training my mindscape, I still couldn't prevent myself from groaning in pain as the color drained from my face.

A hole rotted into the center of my hand, and I looked up to see Linery staring at it. She was panting softly, her cheeks rosy and her eyes half narrowed.

…

"You are weird," I said through clenched teeth.

My words just came out when a ping came from my status screen. I pulled it up, just in case it wasn't the thing I'd been hoping for. A massive list of messages greeted me.

> The level two deity Raparion's karma is being syphoned off to match your current mindscape

> Raparion's karma is causing an instability in your mind

> Chances of survival: 41%

A list of garbled messages followed that creepy information, and I had to scroll down a long time before finding something that made sense.

> Transition of the chaos born entity complete

> Bonus to mindscape growth for 24 hours

> Sentient keeper activated

> Raparion has begun bolstering the defenses of your mindscape

> Your mindscape has grown

> You have been infected with demon poison rot

> Regeneration triggered

When I got to the last line, I didn't actually need the information anymore. I could feel my hands again, the palms itching and tingling like crazy and as the hole in my palm slowly closed, it felt like ants were inside my flesh.

"You have to tell me how you are doing this," Linery said, her voice coming from way closer than before. I dismissed the status window and found her face inches from my hand, watching as the last of the rot disappeared, and the flesh returned to a healthy color.

"Is it a spell? Something you gained from your deity?"

I didn't respond, relishing as the itching left and my hands returned to their normal, healthy look. Then I noticed my upper left hand's pinky, it was still black, and the nail wasn't rapidly regrowing like the rest.

"What the hell?" I muttered, looking up close. The flesh stank, and it began wiggling oddly. As I moved it away from my nose, the pinky just slid off, leaving behind a smooth piece of skin.

"It had died, so it couldn't be regenerated!" Linery said, grabbing my hand and inspecting the place the finger had been. She started prodding it, and I yanked it back.

"Great, nineteen left," I sighed. That was going to need some getting used to with casting spells. I hoped it would grow back at some point, although that felt unlikely.

"If you tell me how you did that, I'll make it worth your while," Linery said, staring at me intensely.

That's not going to happen, I thought, as I shook my head. Linery frowned and stepped closer, the fakest smile forming on her lips.

"Please?"

I took a step back, about to tell her I wasn't going to explain. Then I saw a dangerous glint in her eyes and realized she had a hand behind her back. Was she going to attack me?

"What would you say if I said it was a skill gifted by Ulderion?" I said.

"Really? That's the truth?" she said, but she already looked down, her eyes widening. "Perhaps he is looking for more followers? How long did it take you to become a Prime?"

I quickly took a few steps back until I reached the door. As my foot knocked against something, Linery's head snapped up, and she looked at me inquiringly.

"A year," I lied. "But he was in need at that point. I'm not sure he will be interested now... "

Linery smiled brightly, turning to a wall filled with books.

"I'll try, I'll try! It's the best chance I've heard of before, perhaps my only chance," she said. She seemed completely uninterested in me now, moving through the room and picking things up, staring at them and shaking her head. "No, too heavy, only the simplest things," she muttered.

Moving as quietly as I could, I stepped back out of the room and closed the surprisingly heavy door behind me. The last I saw of Linery was that she was stuffing multiple books in a bag that was barely large enough for one.

"Did she do anything… weird?"

I turned to Galir, finding him staring at the door with a crooked grin.

"Yeah, you could say that," I said as I moved towards him. "You could have warned me?"

Galir shrugged, examining my hands. He seemed about to ask something, then he looked at the door and turned on his heels. "Let's get out of here before she comes back out."

Wondering what kind of people I had found here, I followed him.