The wispy, ethereal shape of Ario paced the length of the hearth’s perimeter, and then turned and marched back the other way, muttering to himself the entire time. He seemed unable to leave the invisible boundary of the colonnade that held up the shrine’s roof. I’d been watching him for several minutes, expecting him to resurrect himself at any time. Was the hearth broken somehow?

Cixilo, he’s not resurrecting.

Why do you want to resurrect him? So you can drop another statue on his head?

I had to interrupt that call. I only defended myself feebly. It was admittedly a little mean to kill Ario without a chance to fight back. I didn’t regret it too much. I’m not going to do it again. I need to question him though.

I’ll come take a look.

Cixilo took his time. I waited impatiently until he finally shuffled down the zigzag staircase, his tome in tow. It was glacial. Like he was deliberately walking slow just to annoy me. I resisted the urge to whine, because it wouldn’t have been dignified for a star to whine, and waited.

Cixilo stopped in front of the shrine and opened his tome.

Maybe I whined a little. Finally! I thought you’d never get here.

Cixilo glared at the empty air, opposite where I actually was. “Patience is a virtue.”

And sloth is a sin, I retorted.

Cixilo rolled his eyes. “Let’s see what the problem is.” He turned his back on me - the jerk - and addressed Ario’s wraith. “Can you hear me?”

Ario spun around, his eyes widened. He blurred slightly as he hurried to the edge of the shrine, the smokey edges of his body losing clarity until he stopped moving. “Oh thank the gods. I thought I was going to be stuck here alone.”

Cixilo narrowed his eyes. “I’m Cixilo, a dungeon scholar. And you are?”

Ario rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m Ario, I’m ah - a ….” He trailed off and slowly wilted, shoulders slumped and eyes pointed down. “There isn’t an explanation that makes me sound good. You’re working with the dungeon, then? Is that who killed me? One minute I was alive and then, blam, no more me.”

“He overheard your conversation and wasn’t happy at the prospect of being revealed to someone like Naya.”

Ario winced. “I didn’t want to, but soul contracts, you know -”

“I know.”

I don’t, I said.

“Right. The dungeon doesn’t know how soul contracts work.” Cixilo rubbed his beard. “Simply put, a person bound by one must obey the mage’s orders, even after death. There is more to it but that is the gist.”

“You can talk to him?” Ario said. “Is he listening right now?”

“Yes. His name is Mizar.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Ario glanced around and gave a small wave, his fingers all blurring together into smoke. “Hi Mizar.”

I would’ve glared, if I had the means to do so. Being invisible was frustrating when you were angry at someone. Ask him what Naya wants with a dungeon?

Cixilo repeated my words faithfully, and I thought Ario frowned. His face was half-solid, so it was difficult to get a read on his expressions. “I can’t tell you. Can’t, not won’t. I’m sorry.”

“Very well. I can guess well enough,” Cixilo said. “However, I have to ask, why haven’t you resurrected yourself yet?”

Ario kicked at a pebble, and his foot went right through it. “I don’t have enough soul power.”

At least he won’t be a problem then.

Cixilo furrowed his brow. “Don’t be cruel Mizar. We can’t leave him stuck in there.”

Yes, we can and will. He could find another way to get a message back to Naya.

“Don’t worry, I have an idea.” Cixilo grinned at Ario. “What would you say if I could free you from the soul contract?”

Ario’s head snapped up. “You can do that? Yes, please. I’ll do anything, even sign another stupid contract. Naya - you don’t know how awful it has been working for her.”

Cixilo flipped over the page in his tome.

I could tell what was coming. He was going to explain something.

“Mizar has a boon called Mark of the Dungeon. I didn’t think much of it at first. It allows him to mark beings so that they’re dungeon servants, essentially. You will still have free will, but you shouldn’t be able to harm the dungeon, and you will count as part of the dungeon, so the soul contract should no longer be valid. I can’t promise you it will work, but it should.”

Did you think of asking me if I was interested in doing this first? I griped.

Ario nodded enthusiastically, which made his face blur into smoke. “I’ll help you. If you can free me, I’ll tell you what I know, help you however I can. Please.”

I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Being trapped like that, even in death, would’ve been awful. I’d been furious when Tamyris made me into a dungeon against my will. At least she’d left me with my free will afterwards. Plus the information he could offer could be useful.

Cixilo glared at the air - the correct side this time.

Fine, I’ll help him. If he tells me what he knows.

“Mizar said he’ll do it.” Cixilo rubbed his hands together and smiled.

***

The actual process was easy. I just willed my mark onto Ario. A System message popped up to inform me 1/1 Dungeon Servants were in use, and it was done. Ario was able to resurrect for free the moment it took.

Ario stepped out of the ring of columns, turning from smoke to flesh in an instant. He had a huge grin as he jumped on the spot, spun around and then hugged Cixilo.

Cixilo stiffened in surprise. “Um… I’m glad you’re happy?”

Sheepishly, Ario let the old man go and stepped back, dusting off the fronts of his trousers. “Thank you. And thank you, Mizar.”

Now you need to hold up your side of the bargain, I said.

Ario jerked his head back. “Woah, I can hear him in my head. That is weird.” He looked around, like I might appear from the bushes. “What do you want to know?”

I reeled off the questions I’d been building up quickly. “What does Naya want with me? When will she arrive? When you fail to report in, who will she send next? And how do we make contact with adventurers that aren’t loyal to Naya?”

“One at a time, please, please,” Ario said.

“Let the boy have a moment to enjoy being alive again,” Cixilo said.

“I’m not a boy -”

“Everyone is a boy compared to me,” Cixilo said in an imperious tone. “Even Mizar.”

I’m older than your gods, you little - It was pointless. Cixilo had already started walking away. I switched to addressing Ario. Very well, I will give you time. But I want answers in the morning.

“Yes, sir. In the morning.” Ario gave a grin to the empty air. He hesitated for a moment, and then dashed after Cixilo.

I watched them both go, feeling … flummoxed. Mortals. Couldn’t live with them, couldn’t live without them.