250 The Magician 8 (1/2)
It was heart wrenching but They endured interrupting Droya in the middle of a full emotional crisis due to the 'biological father' picking up his son. They doubted things were that simple with the spiritual host of Piran being the initial proactive one but it didn't matter. They shoved a small bag of gold at the woman and asked if she would be interested in being a governess.
”I can't make such a weighty decision until my husband returns,” Droya said.
Orison replied. ”Well, Lithus and her grandfather need a place to stay for a couple of days. Worst case, I doubt your husband would mind you having the company of an old wood elf and a kind hearted little lady for a bit of company.”
The magician's nose soured at her sad smile as she said. ”Yes. I suppose that would be fine. I know Morrel and owe him a debt of gratitude a few years overdue at any rate.”
They handed a note to Morrel. ”In case anything strange should happen and I don't return, this is the name and place where a Deep Marshlander named Takris stays. He doesn't know me but I can vouch that his interest and care for your daughter will be genuine should they be introduced.”
Morrel frowned. ”A stranger vouching for a stranger on a 'maybe' from the other side of the map is highly suspect.”
Orison said, ”There's no doubts there but it's true all the same. We can talk more in a couple of days hopefully.”
”Gratitude for your assistance and respect of your magical prowess buy you that much, young man,” the wood elf said.
After saying Their temporary goodbyes, the magician swung through a part of the field to pick some more lavender and make a quick circle focus ring before heading to Granite Falls for mass slumber and slaughter. They didn't stop there, however. They knocked out two more islands and broke the Domain teleport relay, isolating the Obsidian Island chain from Summerland.
The magician was in awe at how easy and strong the magic They could use was and how little it took from Them. Climbing at a break neck pace, there was never any real time to think about what returning to the beginning would do for Their prowess. They also noted that accumulating spiritual debt was a lot easier if care wasn't taken. Reaching a certain level of power was an indicator it was time to move on or remove one's self from worldly affairs, apparently.
Keeping ahead of her, They passed the sea agricultural plan and a movement to allow the Northlanders to act as intermediaries for Centerland goods. After showing the three Domain villa commandants' heads, They endured a round of questioning. When it showed no signs of ending anytime soon, the magician cut them off.
They said, ”When it comes down to it, you are either interested in my proposal or you aren't. I don't care enough to banter and play games. If not, let's stop talking and I'll go collect the few Centerland soldiers I'm interested in and let you murder the rest, sandwiching yourself between two hostile forces. I promise you, I don't care whether Summerland Domain believes you innocent of what I just did and I don't care about Centerland in general.
”I'm mildly friendly with Northland political stances but think their views on gender equality and rigid traditional stances on peoples private affairs are fairly abominable. I hate your politics but think your relaxed attitude towards personal freedoms are pretty admirable if you'd drop the superior race attitude that makes the Domain a steaming pile of fertilizer.”
Elder Liu said with a sneer, ”Why not regal us with your opinion on the wood elves or the Marshlanders while you're at it.”
Orison said, ”I know jack all about the Vale. Marshlanders are insane pessimists but pretty good friends if you can manage to make them one. I know jack all about Redlanders and Highlanders too... Deliberate, I'll come back in a bit.”
While the magician gave them time to stew, They snatched Lily and the foreign monk from the jaws of the Abyss and broke the gate. It was draining to open without the miasma fueling it and it was a touch dangerous to boot but half an hour later, The boat of refugees and two mummies were chilling in the secret cave.
After giving some initial treatment and rummaging through the monk's ring, They got her in a basic recovery state. ”Hang tight, Lily. Keep an eye on this bunch of yahoos for me. I'll keep the ring here, just in case. But don't get into it if it's not an emergency. That monk over there is resurrectable. I don't particularly trust him but he doesn't seem to be a complete turd either. No need to gank his stuff when he has so little that's actually useful to you.”
”Thhhank yyyou,” she rasped, a tear sliding down from a gem-like eye.
Orison gave her a reassuring smile and said, ”I'm going to trance for an hour, take care of some business and be right back, barring some unforeseen ridiculousness. Hang tight until then.”
The magician put the fateful wood carving on the monk's chest and deep tranced for an hour. When they came out of it, child version Duran was clinging to Them, bawling his eyes out silently. Surprised by the kid waking from ritual sleep ahead of schedule, They returned the hug and and attempted to calm the kid down.
”Hey there, Dur- Do you have a name?” They said, projecting as much compassionate calm as They were capable.
Wiping the embarrassing evidence of his emotional display off with a sleeve, Duran said, ”I remember, Orison. Maybe not everything but I remember... Sorry for...that. I'm still very confused inside.”
The magician looked at the boy in wonder and asked, ”How?”
The boy said sadly, ”Wick ascended. They entered Medea and ascended. Let's not talk about the rest. Not yet.”
Behind the boy's eyes was a kind of tiredness that Orison could all too easily relate to. The answer as to why Duran was still 'entangled' enough with Orison to show up on the key's radar was answered, at least.
Not bothering to hide Their own weariness, Orison said, ”Then, let's do what we can for old friends and then give ourselves a fresh start. Does that sound like a plan?”
Duran nodded and then looked himself over. ”I need momentum... Soul strengthening first and then... I know enough to pick up where I left off, mostly. But...”
Orison saw the embarrassed and guilty look on Duran's face and realized that he was talking about needing a massive amount of resources. Only Duran's knowledge came back. Everything else was square one.
They smiled. ”Well, knowing where to start is half the struggle solved. I'll help you work on the other half.”
Still emotionally unstable, Duran said, ”While I still have the excuse of being... young, could we...?”
Orison chuckled inwardly and hugged the boy a little while longer. They couldn't imagine how rough it was to play catch up under the baggage of a couple centuries while having the mind and makeup of a child. Before, once he had recovered, Duran was never shy about stating and going after what he wanted and needed. It was a good quality to possess as far as the magician was concerned.
After Duran had himself back under shaky stability, They asked on a plan functioning level about the boy's old relationships and possible others that Orison might not know about. The general idea was that Duran had been kept so ran ragged by his and Wicks needs that he hadn't had much time for connection building. The biggest change would be that he didn't particularly want to go out of his way to involve himself with the phoenix lady.
”Without Wick, we won't work. And... she'll hurt people. I think I'll always care about her but I don't want her to hurt someone. She's... cruel to people she doesn't care about,” Duran explained reluctantly. ”It's not all her fault. She was raised badly. Her powers made her... wanted.”
Orison nodded. ”I get the gist. We can help but keep an emotional distance.”
With a little more discussion about exactly what that plan was, the magician prepared to start enacting it.
***