"What the fuck happened down here?" Sige asked, staring past me at the place where Connie and Telen had stood only a minute earlier. Not waiting for an answer he hauled me to my feet, and I winced at the pain.

"Connie killed Telen. She's..." I saw the dust in the basement corridor stirring in some small draft, imagined inhaling it as it drifted by... The lights seemed to dim, and I felt myself getting dizzy. No. No, she had a plan. That wouldn't have been the plan. Hadn't I spoken to her, somehow? Hadn't I seen someone still standing for a split second afterwards? She's fine. "... going to be back soon. There's more, a wild mage and someone up in the air, and a guy with some spirit things - he has the others captured."

Sige looked from me to the pile of debris and back again, concerned. Then he turned towards the kids. "Okay guys, you stay here and hide. Keep away from the... the armor and stuff. Callie why don't you... uh..."

"I'll come with you. I can show you where he is." My voice sounded flat, distant. The room was still swimming slightly, and darkness kept creeping in around the edges like I was staring at the world from the end of a tunnel. I stumbled to the stairs and up into the fresh night air, and led Sige towards the other soldier.

Sige told me to stay put and snuck around the side, but I only waited a moment to start walking again. "Karstadt!" I called - that's what Telen had referred to him as, right? "Telen is dead. Why don't you report to him, like a good soldier?"

He pulled out a sword and gestured with his other hand, sending two of the spirit things towards me. He looked nervous. Good. I reached down deep inside myself, and felt something. Was it a connection to Connie's Dumine, wherever she was? Or something older? There was a faint glimmer of memory, some flicker of a car swerving and my mother screaming at me. As I began to speak it felt like my voice was coming from somewhere else and I knew that there was power woven into every word.

"I hope you have an aneurysm and die, right now."

My blood turned to ice. I was colder than I'd ever been, like the warmth had somehow been sucked from my body and could never return. I stumbled, but forced myself to stay upright and watch the soldier as his eyes widened in horror. He knew. Then there was a flash from something around his neck, and he put a hand over it reflexively before looking down at the pendant and sighing in relief. The spirits hit me and everything went dark.

I came to some time later. It was night, and I was in the back of the wagon. There were others clustered around me, sleeping, but their body heat wasn't helping - I was sweating a little, but deep down I was still cold like my heart had frozen solid. I drifted off again. The next time I woke I was in an actual bed. Katrin and Cyne were arguing about something but while the individual words were clear my brain couldn't assemble them into anything meaningful. Katrin noticed that my eyes were open and came over, tried to talk to me slowly and gently as if she wasn't the younger one. I didn't respond.

At some point I ate. At another point I used the bathroom. People were around me, sometimes talking, sometimes not. Twice they guided my back inside to the bed when I was just staring at the stars. Finally, what could have been hours or days later, I was being led back outside to the wagon and I realized I'd spoken.

"Is Connie back yet? She didn't tell me her whole plan. Is she back?"

The looks of pity that passed between them told me what I already feared was true, but there was still some tiny spark of hope burning until Mila reached her hand out - there was Connie's Dumine, and Mila had formed some stone around the edge so a leather cord could be strung through. I took it and put it on, then silently let them lead me the rest of the way to the wagon where I curled up and fell asleep.

And when I woke up next, I was fine. A switch had flipped, and the whole world seemed muted and dull. I stretched, climbed down and waved off the concerned questions while I relieved myself off in the trees - I had to pause a moment to pull a thorn out of my foot because I hadn't seen my shoes, but it didn't hurt much as I trudged back and went to the fire to see what was for breakfast. Errod cautiously approached as if I might shatter.

"Are you okay, Callie?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. You know how it is, I'll probably be a wreck again tomorrow but... man, Connie said she lost emotions completely at some point and right now I'm so looking forward to that. They keep you from thinking clearly, they waste your time, they... it's a mess. Good riddance."

Errod frowned. "Don't say that."

"See, but if you didn't have empathy you wouldn't care if anyone else had it either. It's not actually a requirement. Have you heard of the golden rule? Do to others what you would want them to do to you. I'm sure you have it here, tons of different cultures on Earth came up with it independently."

"Yeah. Yeah, we have something like that."

"The thing is, I can still follow that rule even if it's just me being pragmatic, right? I don't want people to steal from me, so I'll respect property. I don't want people to hurt me, so I won't hurt them. But I don't have to like them, or feel emotional about it. And look at the alternative - how long was I a blubbering mess?"

He shrugged. "Not actually that long. We left town and found some little farm, stayed there for the rest of the night. Then we traveled all day. By the end of today we should be at the next town, and then we were going to decide if the uh... well, if the plan is still on."

"Of course it is," I said, rolling my eyes, "What, we're going to go this far and then stop? Fuck that. We... oh, shit. Shit shit shit. We have to go back. Connie's bag, with the map and everything. It's hidden back in that town."

Sige's voice came booming from the other side of the wagon. "Naw, got that."

Cyne had - very carefully, and using a long pole - sifted through the debris and located all the items that had survived. When he didn't find the map, he sent everyone searching - Katrin tried to ask me about it and while I couldn't remember the conversation I apparently confirmed it was hidden somewhere. I was in no shape to elaborate, but they'd found the bag after promising the kids a reward. Cyne handed it over, and I poked through to confirm everything was there. There was the disassembled 'key' to the room we were going to, Connie's journal, some miscellaneous items of less importance like a hairbrush and mirror, and a strange greenish metal coin - actually round, unlike all the currency I'd seen.

I flipped through the journal and had a sneaking suspicion the bookmark had been moved; last I saw Connie looking at it right before bed there was a diagram of some kind on the page, but the marker was now in a section with just text. It was always possible I was mistaken, or that Connie had flipped through it after that without me seeing, or even that the bookmark had just fallen out by mistake and been shoved back in - but it seemed most likely that somebody got curious and tried to read it. Bad news for them, the whole thing was in English.

One by one everyone gathered around the fire and Errod served up the bowls of mush he'd been cooking - it was something between oatmeal and snot in consistency, but it had a pleasant sweetness to it that made the texture worth tolerating. I could see that Katrin and Mila were shooting looks at me and then each other, some mixture of pity and concern, but Cyne was businesslike as usual and Sige just had that ridiculously wide square-toothed Muppet grin.

"Okay," he said, "so now that everyone's up we've got some fucking loot to sort through. Callie, you'll be pleased to know I took out the fucker that put the whammy on you - thanks for that fucking top notch distraction. Saw someone flying off hanging from a big round thing, never got a great look at them, and the kiddos said they saw a fucking caster with a mask who Errod tells me is someone you've run into before but uh, no sign of her. So probably those two ran for it, if they'd planned on fucking with us they wouldn't have waited this long.

"We got Dumines from the three assholes that we took out, those should be worth selling. Got Telen's armor which is worth a fucking pile of cash, not only am I pretty sure it's lurto azine - that alloy is fucking hard to make - but also there's multiple bounties on him and between the armor and his Dumine we should be able to collect. The sword is presumably either his fucking ancestral blade or Halenvar's if he's the bearer, and either way you can just feel it's got some power. Speaking of blades, I heard you complain about not having the right kind of knives - found some throwing knives laying around, looks like someone was flinging them during that fight though I'm not sure who.

"Most of the other shit looks like it's broken in one way or another. Several of them were uh... tingly... and likewise we had to warn the mayor that the whole hallway down there needed to be sealed shut. If anyone asks we blamed it on Telen, because technically it's a war crime. Your sister's metal harness thing was completely fucking melted, not surprisingly. The only other thing that looks okay is a device that - if it's what I think it is - was made to specifically enhance Telen's teleporting. Pretty fucking useless for anyone else, but there's always the chance we can sell it somewhere.

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"Let's see. Both of the normal dudes we killed had anti-enchantment charms, the one on the spirit guy was burned out but the fucking gravity guy's charm is still good if anyone wants it. Spirit guy also had a glove that's magic, not sure what it does but it doesn't fit me and it doesn't have the look of a combat thing so I'll pass on it. Gravity guy had a belt, pretty basic design I've seen before because of some of the fighting competitions I've been in - it's like an anti-slip thing to give you better traction, it fucking glues you to the ground a teeny bit. I guess it makes sense for gravity stuff, that ability is fucking notorious for accidentally hitting yourself.

"They all had communication devices but I smashed those, we only had the one end so they weren't useful anyway and I wasn't sure if they could use them to fucking listen in on us. Oh and then some money. Zistarne is under a Free States charter, which means Halenvar military shit makes them fair game, which means the money and loot from the guys I killed goes to me and the shit from Telen goes to... uh, goes to you. But I'm fine with you tossing it in for now and figuring out cuts when the fucking job is done."

Cyne cleared his throat. "On that topic... I have high hopes for the town ahead, and based on the view from the next hill I would expect us to reach it in just a few hours - had the road been in better shape we could have slept there last night. That means we can proceed into Nusos today if it is acceptable for everyone else."

All eyes turned to me. "Perfect, no point in delaying. In fact if we're being tracked by Halenvar it's best if we get off this plane as quickly as possible. Let's see if we can sell the wagon and, I don't know, if they have a bath house or something it could be nice to get cleaned up before the final leg of the journey. But then yeah, let's get moving."

I went to wash my bowl but Errod took it - for a moment I wasn't sure why and then I remembered. Right, they were all going to treat me like I was fragile for a while... though I wasn't sure why not washing my own bowl would help.

I made it maybe ten feet before Cyne stopped me. "I'm very sorry for your loss." The platitude translated almost exactly, unlike a lot of the sayings which had to be sort of coaxed into a familiar form by the bracelet. I nodded and mumbled something, and then Cyne nodded back, and I could tell something was awkward - I just wasn't sure what.

"Do you... is there something else you wanted to say?"

"Miss Smith. Calliope. I have lost several people that were close to me, over the years. And while each of us deals with that in our own way, even the strongest minds are... injured... by that kind of event. I am not judging you for being largely comatose over the past day, but if you have a relapse... we discussed, early on, that I would be authorized to give orders while we were traveling through Nusos. I would like that authority to be extended - right after the attack you were unable to lead us to the location of the model, and had we not found it before someone else the entire job would have been over. I would like to be informed of the details that have been kept from us, and I would like it if you told the others that I am second in command for the remainder of the job in case you find yourself... compromised. I only ask this with your best interests in mind."

"Katrin is second, but she'll defer to you anyway if it comes to that. As for the details..." Connie had kept it secret. Did it matter, at this point? She'd wanted to make sure none of the mercenaries betrayed us, and that they didn't spread rumors. But I wasn't particularly concerned about betrayal now that we'd been working together, and there would be no way for anyone to find out and beat us there now, right? Unless Cyne got a message out before taking us to Nusos and then... what? Deliberately ran us in circles? No, he'd need to get the key - or a copy of it - to someone as well, and the town we were about to stop in was not only essentially random but by necessity was too small to have planar wards up which also meant getting word to people from there would be next to impossible. Hell, they'd find out soon regardless - and they'd already not turned us over for the bounty.

"Yeah. Okay. So, before I tell you this I need you to know I have a contract written up that... I can't tell you how I know this, but I can guarantee the terms of this contract will be accepted by the kingdom of Erathik. The contract will make us all rich, I'll probably put something in there for the kids but regardless this is going to be the most profitable job you've ever done as long as I get to handle it."

He smiled. "Miss Smith, even if I were the type to betray my employer - and I am most certainly not - we all work for Mama Carnage, who has us under a binding oath. I would be incapable of doing anything to harm or steal from you except under the most extreme circumstances - if you, for example, were to try to kill the children I could intervene and break the contract, but even then I would not be free to discuss where we were going. You have nothing to worry about."

I resisted to make a joke about how him intervening would be a stern lecture while he watched me do whatever I wanted. I was pretty proud of my restraint. "Yeah. Okay, well. We're going to a treasure vault owned by a king and he kept it such a secret that when the kingdom fell and Erathik absorbed it they never found the place, probably weren't even sure it existed."

"So you're expecting to find artifacts that still hold their power?"

My understanding was that artifacts were just magic items that were made in some special difficult way or using exotic materials or something - probably more powerful, but only because people rarely wanted to go to that much trouble to make something simple. Whether or not it was real or would qualify, I kept picturing the Sword of Destiny from the Jake Ross books - assuming it wasn't bullshit, Jake had cleaved through a castle wall in a single swing in Jake Ross and the Shattered Crown.

"Well we do hope to find some good artifacts, yeah. But that's not all that is hidden in the vault. There is... there's a Duminere down there."

Cyne went pale. "Any kingdom would... they would kill for exclusive access to an otherwise unknown Duminere. You said this is in Erathik, but... with it hidden, its location could be sold to anyone - anywhere - and so long as they were careful they could maintain control over it. Hmm. Yes. I see why you were reluctant to tell me, though at some point I would have found out regardless. This is... what are the terms?"

"I don't have the energy to go through the whole contract with you right now, but it's a lot of money and a certain number of free passes per year with no strings attached so you can send family or friends through - or sell them to make more money. There's a little more, full citizen status in Erathik and a monthly stipend in case someone blows all their money on something stupid. Some clauses about what happens if we die, too. It's very solid. It was written by some of the best lawyers on the continent." In another timeline, for a different group of explorers that originally found the place. Which meant I already knew the terms were acceptable, though I was prepared for Erathik to feel the need to haggle some anyway. Cyne nodded to himself, still thinking through the ramifications, and I headed over to the wagon.

"Hey, where are my shoes?" I'd flipped over all the blankets and looked in the bags. No sign of the silent moccasins, and I wanted to spend some time walking alongside the wagon to stretch my legs. Sige came over, still with that grin, and clapped me on the shoulder so hard that I nearly fell over.

"Not a chance, boss. They don't have a capacitor which means they're pulling your mana, and you nearly fucking killed yourself the other day. You hired me to protect you, so the shoes are off limits. If I could've found the latch on that fucking bracelet I'd have taken it too."

"I... fine. Sure. I feel okay though."

"Naw, that's bullshit. You just think you feel okay because now you don't feel like you're fucking dying. But the injury is there, guaranteed. You ever broke a bone? That's your lutore right now, the whole core of you is cracked. Take it easy. You never practiced, growing up?"

I shook my head.

"Yeah. I get it. My people, we can bend space. That's our thing. You turn left, but you end up going straight anyway. Thing is, I was never great at it and I never liked it for some reason. Never practiced, always wanted to travel off-plane instead. We talked about hitting a Duminere, you and your friends and the kids. If you can swing it that's fucking great, but keep in mind it's a risk. Humans, well, they aren't much worse off if they get a dud. They lose out on wild magic, and it'll take them a little longer to learn to cast spells - but they'll still be just as strong at the ones they can learn. The other races like us? We're fucked. We lose our innate powers, so getting a dud... shit, it's bad."

"I'm human, Sige."

He winked. "You don't want to tell me what plane you're from, that's fine. That's your business. But you're not from this world - not with whatever you're flinging around. Now I'll be honest, I can't think of any race that has prophetic dreams, but it wasn't wild magic and it wasn't a spell so that narrows things right the fuck down, doesn't it? And maybe there's something I don't know, some fucking hidden village in a distant corner of one of the planes everyone thinks is uninhabitable or... I don't know, some combination of parentage from two different planes that gives you future sight and whatever you did to that fucking spider heart guy.

"And I guess if it's something obscure like that you might want to keep it close, not have everyone up in your personal shit. So that's fine. I'm not asking. I mean, Cyne probably knows if anyone does since he's the fucking expert on that shit, but he seems like he wouldn't say anything either so.... Anyway, just think hard before you walk into that Duminere, you can't take that back."

He walked away, whistling. I hadn't factored my dream into things yet, but Sige did have a point - and my previous thoughts about being linked to Connie's Dumine seemed shaky since I had felt myself use whatever power it was after she was...

If it was just that people from Earth had innate magic like people from other planes, even if it wasn't all of us or even if we usually never built up enough mana to use it, that would check out. I couldn't learn magic from the spellbook. I'd for sure done... something... magical. It seemed straightforward enough.

So was it worth trying to develop those powers rather than going to the Duminere? It seemed like I was virtually guaranteed to get three different categories of magic since Connie had, and I was hard pressed to think of anything any conceivable natural magic could do that some combination of three gifts couldn't replicate anyway. So... the Duminere still seemed like the right call. But it was something to think about.