With no time to spare we started moving along the river and towards what I remember was the entrance to the cave system. At first, we were walking in silence, no one really in the mood to chat… well, besides one person. While Jack and Vendi were relatively annoyed and somewhat on the edge with this situation we found ourselves in, Kon on the other hand was more interested than anything.

I mean, sure, I can understand him, I would’ve been as well. But I am just weird like that, some would say. I would’ve thought that after being turned from a person to a tree, to a rock and back to a person again he’d be a bit more overwhelmed and… I dunno, tired? Passive? Depressed? Something. But definitely not what he was right now.

Right now he was an image of health and optimism, shining beacon in between the group of people absolutely done with the situation.

Even I was feeling the effects of our “adventures”, and I was a crystal monster with infinite energy, or rather as infinite as the environment was letting me get away with. While I was not tired, the aftereffects of the ritual that brought Kon back to his body were still lingering. Or rather the drunkenness. It has already turned into just a slight buzz, but was still distracting and somewhat annoying.

-So… Mor… you said you know this place?

-Yeah.

-You managed to find it in the middle of those mountains? It had to be a pretty crazy adventure…

-You don’t even know half of it.

-Care to share?

-It’s a bit of a long story… - I said, still not in the mood to discuss this with him.

-You said that it’s going to take a while before we arrive, so we have time.

-I guess…

I did not continue, but just one look on his face was enough to realize that I was not going to get rid of him with that kind of easy excuse.

-Come on, you surely can tell me something… anything…

-Ehhh… - I took a deep breath. - Fine, fine. You heard the term MIRE, right?

-Yeah, I was meaning to ask… how do you know those mercenaries?

-Mercenaries?

-Yeah…? Mire? That’s what a certain group of mercenaries stationed somewhere near the capital is called, right?

-Huh… I’ve heard a bit less positive description, but I guess it fits…

-So you know them, right?

-No.

-Wha? Didn’t you say that?

-Yes, I know of MIRE, but not the one you are familiar with. The one I know is a bit different.

-There are two of them? - joined in Vendi from behind.

I kind of forgot that we were not alone with Kon. It sort of made me reluctant to speak, until I remembered that I already told them quite a bit about my past, so a little more wouldn’t really matter anyway…

-Yeah, I think so. I already mentioned that I belonged to a certain organization that, among other things, was responsible for the failures of life magic, right? We were called MIRE.

-OH.

-Yeah. Quite different from that band of mercenaries or whatever, hmm?

-...

-To be honest… I am not so sure - said Jack, who up till now was listening intently.

-What the hell do you mean by that? If you think that I am now a free agent for hire, and sort of a mercenary, it doesn’t mean that it’s because I am from MIRE. That’s a very recent development.

-It’s just… the Mire Kon mentioned is indeed some band of mercenaries, true, but not only.

-Oh? What else is there?

-I heard that they are also interested in, just as you, strange magic. I can’t say what for, nor if it’s really true, but I’ve heard things…

-Great… and here I hoped that I would NOT be associated with that kind of shady business again… Also, strange magic? What was that supposed to mean, huh?

-Shady… you got that one right… - he said, ignoring my question. - Besides being a powerful group for hire, just as you said you heard, I know for a fact that in past years they also were connected to a bunch of kidnappings.

-I am guessing that it's connected to your old contacts in the slave business.

He smiled at me painfully.

-Bingo. I know that they stole a bunch of promising targets from some of my clients.

-Okay, but what does that have to do with “strange magic”? And me for that matter?

-They’ve been targeting people with unique abilities - he explained. - Be it what you want, talking to plants, reading minds… anything that is out of the ordinary.

-Ordinary is sort of subjective here…

-But recently they’ve gotten interested in a certain subject… Remember the kid I once told you about… the one that could heal?

I eyed Kon to check his reaction, but there was none. At least not on the outside. Inside, I could tell that he suddenly got nervous.

-Yeah… and?

-They have been pestering the guy who sold them. And trying to get the info out of him about the person he sold them to. Apparently wanting to buy them out.

-Hah. And what, did the guy sell them out?

-As far as I am aware, no. Besides the fact that the whole deal was too suspicious even for him, he just never wanted to have anything to do with Mire.

-What, do they have that much of a bad reputation?

-Yes. Don’t you know? What exactly did you hear about them?

Come to think of it, I only heard a little bit about them, and it was all from Melle. What did she say about them? A bunch of murderers? Assassins? Hell, it was a long time ago.

-Nothing good - I plainly said.

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-That’s a bit of understatement - he continued after a moment of thought. - Every time that they are involved, people seem to disappear.

-Disappear as in get killed I assume? Just great…

-That’s the thing - he shook his head. - No one knows. If it was just some random assassinations, it would’ve been less of an issue I think. No, people just plainly disappear, no trace, no nothing.

-Yeah - picked up Vendi. - And there is no proof of anything, that’s the scariest. You never know when or if someone from their group appears, because there never are any witnesses. The people just vanish. Sometimes in the middle of the day even.

-No witnesses? - I asked, skeptical. - So how do we know that? What, do they leave their calling card or something every time they “vanish someone”?

-Very funny. But no, that’s the more disturbing part. After someone disappears, if they have a family or someone close to them, then they get a visit. It’s always from someone completely random, be it some peddler from the city, a guard stationed outside, or just a drunkard, but the contents are always the same. “Your friend has been taken by the Mire. Forget about his existence and live your life peacefully, or try looking for him and follow his footsteps. Your choice.”

-That’s not very “no evidence” of them. But ominous nonetheless. I guess if someone doesn’t play by the rules, they also “get disappeared”?

-Precisely.

-There’ve been a lot of those vanishing cases at first - said Jack. - But the more people disappeared, the less keen rest started to be about trying to figure that out and just started accepting the fact that they are dead.

-That is stupid - I said, annoyed. - Their methods are full of holes. First off, what’s with the random person being the messenger? Aren’t they just a glaring weak spot of that whole operation?

-Oh, that’s the first thing that was investigated - admitted Jack. - But always, the answer is the same. “I was just minding my own business, when I heard inside my head the message and I could not refuse but to obey.”

-What? There is no magic like that! You can’t just control a person like that!

-I don’t know what to tell you - he shrugged. - I am not an expert like you, but that’s what always happened. And I trust the investigation.

-Right, investigation. What, did someone important get nabbed for the actual law enforcement to get involved?

-Nope. Indeed, at first they never wanted to have to deal with the problems of the underworld, but after a while and a bunch of vanished “properties” later, someone got fed up and decided to pay off the guards…

-I should've figured. Of course even here corruption is rampant.

-Yeah… it’s not that hard.

-Great… - I sighed. - So I’m now being associated with some kind of gang. Just amazing.

-It’s not that bad - said Kon. - It’s just the three of us that knows about it.

-Not really, but I guess you are right… not many people know.

-You told someone else?

-Of course. It’s sort of connected to me and I kind of have to mention it if I ever want to learn about what happened to me, you know?

-I guess… But wait… does that mean that those ruins… that was the place you worked at?

-Yep. Those were the ruins of the MIRE.

-Well, at least we can now be sure that it’s not the same Mire… I honestly doubt that they would’ve worked from this hole…

-That is actually a good question… where do they work from?

-Would you believe me if I told you “from the mire”?

-Not funny.

-It was not supposed to be. The word is that they are stationed in some village that is in a bog, that’s it. But, to be honest I somewhat think that’s bullshit.

-Hm.

-I think so as well - agreed Vendi. - To be in hiding so well, I don’t think that they have a place to be called a base of operations at all.

-Eh, whatever. I just hope that I won’t have to deal with them…

-Same here - agreed Jack.

Next part of the journey went in relative peace. Jack and Vendi were mostly silent, only had some questions when we reached the caves and started making our way through the tight corridors. I was not really in the mood to explain why and what, so most questions were answered with silence or just simple “I don’t know”. Kon still was talkative, although a lot less than before - I think he finally exhausted his questions. Or maybe that talk about the two MIREs discouraged him a bit.

Whatever that was, that worked for me, so I had time to think.

And there was a lot to think through.

First of all, what the hell was I supposed to do with those two?

Right, Kon already volunteered to keep them both in check, but was that really okay? Both of them were… Well, shady was an understatement. But, to be completely honest, so was I.

I never bothered to look at myself that way, but after I brought Kon back to his mostly original self, I started realizing: what exactly was the difference between what I did and what Vendi and Jack were trying to accomplish?

The answer was: not much.

Sure, I had a better success ratio, that is if we were to believe what they told me was true. But I also had a lot more first hand experiences, knowledge and practice… Hell, I was on the receiving end at least once, if not multiple times.

Come to think of it, I might have overreacted a tiny bit when I heard what they were doing, but I guess it was in good faith… It probably would be alright if I was to leave them to their own devices and just keep an eye out for some stray magic or something… Who knows what else they have been experimenting with.

Kon seemed a bit more trustworthy, especially after his “return”. I mean, it shouldn’t be surprising, I did save his life.

That was also what I thought might help me. There was no denying that Jack was absolutely overprotective of Kon and completely spoiling him, even though he was sometimes acting like that was not the case. It was obvious that it was exactly the case: just an act.

I also had no reason to not believe Kon, which meant that the issue of Vendi was also solved.

I probably should leave them be and forget the whole issue. I doubt that any of them would try and do something stupid again, especially after they’ve been essentially indebted to me.

Well, it was more like Kon was indebted to me, but I don’t think he even was thinking of that. On the other hand, his “father” would definitely want to get on my good side thanks to that…

So I guess that was sorted out.

There was another issue though. And this time it was not related to those two at least.

The presence. Or the entity. Or however you want to call that strange being in my head.

During the spell, it completely awakened. For the time, it was even more present and conscious than when it was under that village, in its original form: it actually had a voice.

Or at least some semblance of it.

When it cast the spell with me, I swear I was able to hear it speak, and then also that scream… I am pretty sure that one of those voices screaming was indeed the entity. Although it’s pretty hard to be sure of anything, the spell was taxing on everyone involved, be it the presence, me or Kon, we all had to deal with the very impressive amounts of bullshit.

But, even though I was positive that the presence awakened at some point, it was now dormant again. Or at least appeared so.

I already tried summoning those strange visions I had before, but doubted that I ever was going to have them again. For some reason I felt like that strange merge of our memories has been broken. Not because the presence was gone, no, quite the opposite. It felt like it had regained more of its sentience… or power, meaning there was going to be a lot less “leaks”, because that what that essentially was: its memories leaking into mine and melding together.

But it did not mean that it was completely awake. Be it thanks to the amount of the mana that I… we poured into the spell, or because of something else, the presence was dormant once more.

I tried talking to it again, if you even call that talking, focusing on that voice I’ve heard in the back of my head again and directing my thoughts to it, but that was easier said than done. Besides the fact that we were still walking, and now were in the corridors under the mountain range, which was a bit distracting, every time I tried focusing my thoughts on it, I somehow always ended up sensing the crystal that was next to me: Kon.

Yeah, that was another problem. Or maybe not yet, it was just curious.

Just as I explained, I was able to constantly sense Kon.

And it was not like “normal” sensing. I mean, yeah, I still was feeling him with my mana sense, just like any other thing in my vicinity, but there was something else about him. Like I could feel a small speck being merged with his mana, not completely different, but also not completely his. Just like something was stuck to him, or observing him.

Hell, was that what Jack referred to earlier? That they saw “something else” alongside me? Possible.

At first I thought that he was referring to the crystal and the entity that was inside my head alongside me, but now I was not so sure. If I was feeling the same thing from Kon, wouldn’t it mean that he also had something like this stuck to him?

No, it was probably just the crystal that I was feeling. For some reason, not being completely uniform, not merged with his mana yet.

Or it probably was never going to merge completely at all. If I was to be a comparison, even though I was completely crystal now, Jack already said that I was also with that strange speck stuck to my overall presence.

Eh… everything was confusing.