Selina agreed to take Howard most of the way on her gondola, but she refused to go all the way to the crash site. Howard didn’t blame here. He likely wouldn’t be going either if he didn’t have to see this for himself.

Before Howard set off he made sure there was still enough night left. Sunburns were particularly bad during the summer, but could still happen any time of the year. Howard did not want to be stuck with Jonathan the entire day if he could help it.

When he arrived Howard noticed that the shuttle had undergone some definitely exterior changes and had turned into more of a base camp than a crash site. Unlike the rest of them, Jonathan had to build everything for himself since no house grew for him. Every extra addition had a clear purpose and was focused on functionality entirely.

{Howard?} Jonathan’s voice projected directly into his mind, {It has been so long. Come on in and I will show you my research.}

Going inside seemed a lot like willingly walking into a trap, but since the research was what Howard came to see in the first place he entered anyway.

The inside had been converted into a lab. Jonathan seemed to have been dissecting various animals to learn their similarities, differences, and anatomy. The control room had been turned into a recording station with research records neatly organized into sections here and there. Jonathan was waiting in the cafeteria which seemed to be a base for chemistry and experiments on poison. Despite having no access to the purifying power of the fountain, Jonathan was doing just fine.

{Was there something particular you wanted to know?} Jonathan asked, {I would be more than happy to research it for you.}

{What are you working on now?} Howard asked.

{Right now? I am researching my latest discovery. Many of the predators here had Wisdom and that is why they are so dangerous. I was recently able to find a way to extract that Wisdom and store it,} Jonathan explained, {Since Wisdom requires knowledge I began to wonder if some of the creatures here are sentient. I believe that they are but their telepathy works on a different wavelength than ours. Then I discovered the wyvern.}

{The what?} Howard questioned, already regretting asking such a vague question.

Jonathan handed Howard a drawing he had made of the appearance and anatomy of a wyvern. It was something between a pterodactyl and a bat, but the size was closer to buffalo. Howard was grimaced at the thought that beings like that existed here.

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{Why a wyvern?} he asked Jonathan.

{All of the other creatures looked so ordinary despite their incredible elements so I wanted to throw something more fantastical in there,} Jonathan explained, {I intend to tame one.}

{I see,} Howard replied and backed away, {I should really be heading back before the sun comes up.}

{Still bound by the sun, are you?” Jonathan asked with a smile, {I overcame that.}

Howard almost asked how but decided after a look at Jonathan’s face that he did not want to know the method. He quickly left the area.

The visit was far from comforting, but it was informative. Howard had a good guess about which part of the research turned the natives against them if not all of it. Pulling Wisdom out of animals might be fine since they didn’t get along with them, but that was only one step away from pulling Wisdom out of people.

Their fears went double because Wisdom was the monetary system here. If Jonathan stole the Sage’s Wisdom, not only would the houses die and the plants lose the purity and safety, they would have no money to survive in the next colony they fled to. It was natural to be cautious.

There was also the chance that this was a method that could be shared. If that was the case then Howard and Selina were both in danger from having visited Jonathan. Howard regretted not trying to ask the Sage first.

Selina was waiting by the gondola when Howard made it to the riverbed. “What happened?” she asked, seeing his grave expression.

“I may be overthinking things, but if I am right we are all in serious danger now,” Howard told her, “Just in case I will keep my thoughts to myself. If they can search our minds you will be innocent because you don’t know anything.”

“That bad?” Selina asked, going pale. When they had arrived she had very pale skin, but even though they did not go out in the sun all of them had tanned.

“I am going to need to talk to the Sage as well,” Howard told her, “If we are lucky she will believe us despite her distrust of Jonathan.”

“She seems like a nice person,” Selina offered hesitantly, but even she did not seem confident.

The trip to Veda’s rose was filled with a tense silence. Howard kept thinking of all of the ways things could go wrong as he thought of various ways to approach the Sage. When the gondola docked in the visitor’s port Howard noticed the cautious glances from the natives and one of the Sage’s guards looked as if she expected some kind of fight but they were let through.

“Why don’t you stay out here,” Howard told Selina, “Just in case.”

Selina gulped and nodded. “Stay safe.”

Howard entered the Hall of the Fountain. As usual for this time of night, the Sage guarded the fountain personally.

{It doesn’t seem that you came here as an apprentice. Does this mean you are ready?}

{I think I have to be,} Howard replied, before explaining the situation.

The Sage frowned. {This is far worse than I thought. I had heard the reports of Jonathan’s research but using it in that way never occurred to me. However, that does not mean that other people did not think of it. I will grant the official title of a Sage so that you can leave. Pay close attention.}

She beckoned him over to the fountain, but instead of giving something to the fountain as he had in most of his duties as an apprentice, or being changed by the fountain as in the first ceremony, it felt like he was being given something. It was not Wisdom but it had a similar feel to it.

{Good luck,} Veda told him.

{Thank you,} Howard replied and left the room.

When Howard made it back to the rose’s docks Selina was gone, but her gondola was still there. He had a terrible sinking feeling that she hadn’t just wandered off.