“What would you need to research this?” I asked. I did have a lot of money and we could get the Dominion to help us.

“Aside from any resources, a big problem is time. Research is usually not fast. Especially if I am doing this by myself. It could take years!”

“Surely there are ways to speed this up? We do have Minerva here, does that not help? Is there no way to figure out how she was changed?”

He scratched his head. “It would have helped a lot if I had also seen her before she was transformed. Now? I have nothing to compare it to. Further, I have no ability to inspect souls. And the fundamental change happened there. I might be able to figure something out about the body…”

“Could you change her body temporarily?” Lucy asked. “Even if she needs to drink a potion regularly, that would be better than being vulnerable.”

Josef considered that. “Perhaps. I have created potions that change the skin. Usually they are beauty products. Often to make the skin smoother and hide blemishes. But most of my products are for non humans…. Hm. I think I can do something in a reasonable time.”

Meanwhile, I was still pondering the soul issue. Was there a way to inspect one? Creating a warlock worked through a ritual and that involved souls. Were rituals the answer? Could I create one to examine a soul?

“Josef will need protection.” Thessia said. “Now that he is involved, the Empire will certainly try to arrest him. They might ransack his shop even now.”

Josef paled at the thought.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “I have enough money to replace what you lost. Don’t worry, we will help you rebuild. You could even settle down in my county if you want to.” Recruiting an alchemist might not be a bad idea.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Should we just retreat to the Dominion?” Lucy asked. “If it takes a while to figure out how to reverse those alterations we could do it safely in our county.”

I considered that. “Unfortunately there are some problems. I doubt Thessia can easily move, having her tree here. And if we leave, the mind control will spread. I have no idea how many they control now, but surely they will take over the Empire in time. And from there they will expand until they have the whole continent. We don’t know if they can already affect dwarves or elves. But even if they are not able to dominate them yet, it’s only a matter of time.”

“We should include Loriel in this, after checking her for runes of course.” Lucy said.

“I agree. But first we will need to deal with the soldiers outside the temple. Let’s wait for their negotiator.”

“It is possible to move my tree.” Thessia said. “Not easily, but if you would lend me aid it can be done. Shutting down Sylphania’s temple in Unitera would be a big deal. But it might be necessary and would show the world just how dangerous the situation is.”

“You think we should abandon the Empire?” I was surprised.

“We do not have the resources to run around and check people for control. And you can only free a few people per day before you run out of spell slots. That is assuming the Empire would let us in the first place. While leaving them time to spread is bad, I am not sure if we have another option. I am afraid this will end in war.”

“YAY! WAR!” Shani cheered.

I sighed. “It could be a civil war. If we expose the inquisition's plan to the Emperor. At least if he is not involved.”

“Mind control on that scale is not something other nations can ignore. Even if there is a civil war they might get involved.” Thessia said.

“How would we move your tree?” I wondered.

“There is a ritual. But it does require 9th circle spell slots. And that is beyond me.”

“What does the ritual do? Your tree is rather massive. Will it shrink?”

“Not exactly. It will be in stasis and storable in an item. Assuming one has enough space… Usually it gets carried with levitation magic, or by elementals, though. The tree has to be replanted within a week or I will start to weaken. It can be prolonged with more magic but a month is the limit, even with that.”

Oh. Normal storage items did have some limits. Lucy’s was fairly expensive, but still only offered the space of a small room. Which was enough for food, clothing, camping supplies and such things. But not a tree. Especially not one as massive as this. But mine? I never found its true limit. It seemed really massive. Considering how much stuff I had in there, a big tree should fit.

“Moving the tree should be doable.” I said. “I am still not convinced that leaving is the best idea but if there is truly a war…”

“At least a war might clarify who is in control. Once we have a target we can attack them directly.” Lucy pointed out.

“Or just kill them all! We could level the city!” Shani suggested.

Elandru entered the room. “Excuse the interruption but a negotiator has arrived.”

“Show them in.” Thessia said.