Ar'Kendrithyst

The buildings around Arbor Ikabobbi looked like normal enough utilitarian structures that Erick would see anywhere, from Spur to Candlepoint, to the temporary structures that Odaali had put up after their city had fallen to the Queen Daydropper. The buildings here were only a bit nicer than those sorts of buildings, and only because ‘adornment’ seemed to be the Arbor’s choice of style, with every building having mouldings or sculptural doorways or sculptures of animals pinned to the walls here and there. That made sense, because as Erick gazed up at Arbor Ikabobbi, he definitely 100% knew that the former [Familiar] must have been designed after the Ikabob trees; those trees were magical trees that speared and held any woodland creature or monster that had the misfortune to get too close.

… Or maybe it was the other way around. Erick wasn’t quite sure.

The Arbor stretched above the buildings like a tapered spire of grey-brown stone. At the top, maybe less than a kilometer up, a sparse decoration of red canopy held to the spike-like trunk as though it was a bit of bloody meat, speared in place by some force of nature. And then there were the countless other spikes, all around the entire spire, like thorns. A few of the higher spikes had similar tufts of red leaves upon them. Most were barren.

But with his own sight, and with Ophiel in the air, Erick saw that the rest of the Arbor was exactly what he would have expected. Wyrm bones, like garlands, wrapped around the Arbor. The bones of chimeras or other large monsters dangled upon thorns like Christmas tree ornaments. A few thorns were like places of honor, for sure, because the bones stuck upon those thorns were carefully arranged in seated positions atop the thorns, the body held directly against the tree, locked in place by a hundred smaller thorns. Those places of honor were orcol bones, for sure.

Erick barely paid attention to the gilded buildings all around him, or the thorny plants that were cultivated like flower gardens, because his eyes were fixed upon the thorny orcol man in the manasphere who walked beside him, covered in red mana, silent and evaluating. The first time Erick noticed the much-taller-than-him man, he glanced at the man, and the man vanished. Erick walked on for moments more, headed toward the auction house ahead. As soon as he wasn’t looking, the red man appeared again in the corner of his vision.

Another glance at the man had him vanishing from sight.

Erick walked on, asking Poi, “Did you see him?”

“No.” Poi said, “But others have.”

Erick had noticed the other people on the street, how they gave Erick a wide berth, how some bowed to him, and how no one spoke to him at all. And then he noticed that they did not just do this for Erick, but also for the presence walking beside him, even though that presence was rather invisible most of the time.

As Erick walked forward and people got out of his way, Erick asked a woman who hadn't fully vacated the street, “Is that Arbor Ikabobbi beside me?”

The woman startled at being singled out. She just nodded, then backed away, bowing as she went.

Erick walked on, and casually asked the red air, “After this auction, I’m going hunting for some of the bigger monsters out there. Got any recommendations?”

Whoever else happened to be on the street, after overhearing Erick, decided that they immediately had other places to be. Guys out on the town, rushed to vacate the area. Mothers pulled daughters out of the way. Grandsons helped grandfathers to leave.

Ikabobbi stepped onto the ground to Erick’s left, and the world turned to thorns. Buildings sprouted phantom knives. The street erupted in ethereal swords. Erick paused, as the field of edges touched upon his skin, and his [Personal Ward] flickered with the faintest white. Poi held perfectly still as the thorns touched him and then drew away.

It wasn’t an attack. Erick could tell that much, and he had heard a bit about what it was like to meet Ikabobbi in person, but he hadn’t expected it to be so real, or necessary. Why would an Arbor purposefully hurt its people, after all?

But here, now, Erick saw that it was not intentional. It was just how the Arbor was.

As the thorns came into being, they folded away, out of Erick’s path. Erick resumed his walk, and Ikabobbi joined him.

Poi was forced to hang back, lest the meter-long thorns slice him to ribbons. He gave Erick a small message that he’d meet him at the auction house, and then he blipped away.

“You know just how to get a tree in the mood, don’t you. Such bloody conquest, and now you’re asking for more! I love it.” Ikabobbi asked, “Have you thought about what you’ll do with your body after you die? I’m willing to make you an offer. I have nine archmages in my boughs, but there will always be a special place of honor for you.”

“I’m sure I’ll die in battle somewhere but I hope to die at least a century from now. I’ll have to get back to you on that.” Erick asked, “Got any targets in the Forest?”

The thorns in the area flexed, but came no closer. Ikabobbi smirked, then said, “Twisted Visions. Wyrm Tangles. Forest Crowned Stags. A few Ancient monsters, too, like the Ancient Treants in the Deep Forest. Shade Treant is still out there, somewhere. He’d moved on recently. Want to kill a Shade you missed, and add his bones to my trophy spikes?”

“No.” Erick said, “I have a responsibility to let him try to make amends. What’s a Forest Crowned Stag?”

“Great big things. I hear your daughter killed an Ancient Unicorn once. Forest Crowned Stags are about the same size. They raise up the Forest all around them as they walk. Cousins to the Unicorns, but the Stags came first. They’re less murderous; more flighty. Easier to kill in some cases. Hard to kill because they run quite often and can [Blink] through the Forest, while the Forest itself will try to kill you in the chase.”

“If all they do is run, then that doesn’t seem like a monster I wish to harm, even if it does sound like they enable the rest of the Forest to thrive.”

“Hmm. Yes. I suppose so. They’re rather rare monsters, anyway. If you find any, then mark them, and we’ll try to keep them alive. Hard to hunt when the home-makers aren’t able to make homes anymore.”

“Speaking of monster spawners. I heard that Twisted Visions spawn monsters.”

Ikabobbi smirked, and the thorns scraped at Erick’s skin, eliciting tiny white flashes. Then the thorns relaxed, and the Arbor said, “Visions are fun. If we kill the whole Forest with fire and rot and ash, then the Visions will be the defenses that come after us, trying to stop our advances.”

Erick’s eyebrows rose. “They’re sentient?”

“Enough to know how to best kill intruders, or to know where an attack is coming from. Doubt you’d be allowed into their heart, though, not with all that power you have layered upon your skin. If the Visions retaliated we would have to send particularly skilled low-level people. Higher leveled or powered people have a tendency of either getting brutally murdered, or the Vision closes up and runs away.”

Erick fixated, “I just need to know if they're sentient… I can’t kill one if I know they’re people. This is the first I’m hearing of this nuance to the Twisted Visions and it both annoys and intrigues me.”

Thorns retreated. Ikabobbi frowned. “You do have that weakness in you; needing to understand others. Why not test them with power and see how they react, and if they fail, then they obey you. It is a failing of society that we talk so much.”

Erick said, “Your Warchief talks a lot. I liked working with him and knowing the numbers.”

“Koropo has a thorny rest waiting for him when he dies. If it would help sway you to accept my offer, I would tell him to talk to you about your final resting place.”

“I don’t think that would help.” Erick said, “I left funeral planning behind when I left my world behind.”

Ikabobbi smirked. “Enjoy your Forest Hunt, Archmage Flatt. Leave the Wyrm Tangles for the lesser hunters. You’d probably just blast them out of the sky and learn nothing.”

“Blast ‘em from orbit; it’s the only way to be sure.”

“Perhaps.”

Ikabobbi faded back into the manasphere, taking his thorns with him.

Erick walked up the entrance stairs to the open doors to the auction house, and walked inside. The outside had been impressive, but Erick was not here for the sights.

Just beyond the door, hiding behind the wall of the building and on the other sides of grand staircases and potted plants, people gathered, huddling just out of sight. They were dressed in nice clothes, but not that nice. They were all ready for a big, expensive auction, for sure, but more than a few looked like warriors or people hunting for rare ingredients for the tables of nobility, or people ready to abandon their clothes and trade in their body for another Familiar Form. That last category belonged to at least one person here; Jane. Erick’s daughter stood beside Teressa and Poi.

Erick smiled, saying, “Hello! So this is the auction house, eh? Looks nice.”

And it did. Though the building was simple stone, it also had wardlights that looked like fires holding onto twisted iron torches, large paintings of various rare animals up for auction that day, and a rather comfortable atmosphere of plush couches and other soft items. Erick liked the grand staircases curving up and away from this preparation-like room, too. They probably led up to private auction rooms and to the second floor of the main auction room, which had to be beyond those huge double doors, beyond that large counter, there.

People started to mumble. Some tried to approach Erick. Poi and Teressa were faster, flanking Erick and giving evil eyes to other people, warding them off.

Jane was faster than those two, whispering, “Glad you could make it.”

Erick smiled, as he said, “Glad to be here.”

Teressa casually told someone, “If you wish to speak to the Archmage, please file a request with Spur. He is here on vacation.”

“But he can make so much money if he—”

Erick promptly ignored the money-making man and several others, as a different man who looked to be in charge of the auction house, or something like that, popped up from behind the main counter. He wore a grey suit with red accents. He had been hiding, only to come out after the ‘danger’ was over.

“Ah! He left. We’re clear!” The man clapped his hands over his head, drawing attention to himself. He spread his arms, calling out, “Now that our esteemed guest has arrived, we will begin filling into the auction room! Please see an usher if you are unaware of where to go.” He stepped out from behind the counter. Ushers, wearing the same outfit as the man, stepped out from behind half-open doors upstairs, and also out from behind the staircases. The man gestured to the large doors. They opened. “Please take your seats! The auction will begin right away!”

Jane and the man locked eyes, briefly. She nodded; he nodded. She grabbed Erick’s arm and Erick went with the flow. He soon found himself in a private box up and above the main auction floor, with a good view of the all-metal stage.

It wasn’t five seconds later that the man from before strode out under the bright lights, and began talking.

It was an auction. How much of a difference was it from auctions on Earth? Erick was not very impressed, but Jane was certainly wound up. He was, however, interested in all the active spells all around. The nearest active spells were upon the box Erick, Poi, Jane, and Teressa, now stood in. Those spells were conveniently listed on a small metal plate affixed to the railing between them and the stage. Aside from the general comfort spells, such as a [Temperature Ward] and a [Concealing Ward], with the first active and the second not, according to the lit and unlit button. There was also a [Sound Barrier], one-way, of course, allowing the people in the box to talk amongst themselves without being heard. That one was inactive, too. All Erick would have to do to turn that on was to press the labeled button, but he did not. There were also the bidding buttons, conveniently right there as well; several of them, in fact, with denominations going from ‘+100’ to ‘+10,000’. Pressing any of them would raise the bid that amount, and from what Erick’s mana sense was telling him… Also do something to the mouldings just outside of the VIP box. Possibly, light them up? Yeah. That was Erick’s guess.

The man down below gave generalized introductions, and then he said something about the Archmage in attendance.

Erick looked up when he heard those words. Many people below, and inside the other boxes on the other side of the auction house, were looking at him. He waved. Some waved back.

The host waved, then gestured behind him, to the metal stage, saying, “And now! Onto a special auction! One worthy of an archmage!”

Ah. Damn. They shouldn’t have gone through the trouble. Erick wasn’t interested in any of this.

But hey! If it made Jane happy, and she didn’t have enough to buy something, he was totally going to buy her some horrific monster.

… Or maybe some cute and cuddly monster. Yes. That was a much better idea.

Were there bears on Veird? Erick hadn’t ever actually checked, but he had never seen a bear, either.

As the host spoke about the auction plan, Erick wondered at the strangeness he was seeing upon that dark metal area behind him. It was fully metal, and heavily enchanted; that was all Erick could truly tell from here. The floor practically glowed, while the air above it was partitioned into boxes that were otherwise invisible. Erick switched his Sight off and on a few times to see that… Yes. Those were [Force Wall]s of some sort. [Force Cage]? Yes. That seemed right.

The host gestured, and an animal appeared in the central box. It appeared as though floating in midair. Startled, it quickly reorganized itself, as it realized it was standing on something invisible. It did not like the invisible floor, but as it bounded left and right, it hit the box that contained it, and flopped, rather cutely.

It was a bunny with a horn of glass. Er. Or. Not glass. Something harder, for sure. The audience murmured as its horn scraped the [Force Cage] and managed to cut the cage, but the cage reformed, and three more [Reforming Force Cage]s —for Erick was reevaluating what he was seeing as it happened— snapped shut around the first Cage.

It was fluffy. It was cute. That horn could cut through Force rather well, which was odd, actually. Maybe it wasn’t that cute, but maybe Jane would like it? She needed more cute animal forms.

The host said, “A Variant Mist Rabbit!—”

Ah. No. That seemed somehow morbid. Jane already had that Mist Rabbit comforter. Never mind!

“This Mist Rabbit has a Force Horn and is capable of practically every Basic Tier Force Spell. It might even have the mythical [Force Body], though we’ve only ever had that come through our Grand Auction House three times in the last hundred years! More often than not, what we get is a monster or animal with Force Savant, which is still useful in its own way! There’s no way of knowing which one this little monster has, so there is a risk to this entry. Bidding starts at a thousand gold.”

Erick instantly pressed the button for a thousand gold, raising the price to 2000. As he suspected, the mouldings outside of his VIP box lit up with red glows.

Jane looked to him, her eyebrows raised. As others instantly started bidding and the auction house flickered red here and there, Jane pressed the [Sound Barrier] button. As a thin layer of magic enveloped the space and nothing audibly changed, and yet an Ophiel outside of the box couldn’t hear what was going on inside the box at all, Jane asked, “That wasn’t for me, was it?”

“I’ve never heard of [Force Body]. I want it.”

Jane seemed to have trouble understanding what she just heard. She paused. And then she laughed. “Okay. Okay. Good! Yes. You go for that. It doesn’t exist, far as I heard, and I researched those a lot. He was embellishing for the auction.”

Erick shrugged. “Eh!”

Others had been bidding as soon as Erick bid, with some bidding faster than others. Bidding slowed down to hundred gold increases soon enough, but then Erick hit the thousand gold button, bringing the price from 5,200 to 6,200. Someone increased the price by another 500.

“How much will it go for, you think?” Jane asked.

“More than that.” Erick casually pressed the ‘+1000G’ button, again, raising the price to 8,400, saying, “The auctioneer said that other people had gotten [Force Body] from other monsters, and he wasn’t lying. My ability to tell a liar from not isn’t perfect, but that guy was not lying at all.”

Across the auction house, in another VIP box, a rugged-looking man scowled and outbid Erick again.

That guy had been the same one to take the bid from Erick, each time. He was rapidly followed by others, but that other VIP seemed to really want that rabbit.

Jane shrugged. “I wouldn’t risk wasting the money.”

Erick pressed the thousand gold button twice, raising the price to 10,700, saying, “It’s just gold.”

The guy across the way yelled, but no one heard him; he was behind a [Sound Barrier], too.

And then other people in the audience down below began bidding in earnest. If the archmage wanted it, then they wanted it, too!

Jane laughed again.

He asked, “So? Do bears exist? Do you want one of those?”

Jane was suddenly serious. “Win me a bear, dad.”

“I’m gonna win you the cutest, bestest bear. Something bright pink! If they have it.”

“How about something with lightning and acid?” Jane said, “With racing stripes to make it go faster.”

Erick laughed. Suddenly serious, he said, “Bright pink. Possibly with a tutu. I’m sure that must exist.”

Bidding lights blinked throughout the room. Erick stopped after another two increases, when he realized that he didn’t want to actually eat the bunny, and that guy across the way started to look distraught. Besides! What would a [Force Body] get you that wasn’t already a Basic Spell that Erick already had? And besides that: one bunny wouldn’t get you enough ‘Force Essence’ to get [Force Body], anyway, if such a mythical ability actually existed. Erick suspected that he’d have to eat a thousand such ‘Force Mist Rabbits’ to get [Force Body], and that was simply not happening.

Was the other VIP across the way a breeder? Perhaps. Certainly not a normal sort of rich-person. He was one of the fancy people that wore normal clothes, as normal as Erick’s.

Erick asked Jane, “Is there a listing of auctions, for today? How does this all work? Who is everyone here?”

Jane hummed, then said, “There are a few highlights promised and listed on the walls out in the front room, like the octopus I want, but there’s also a ton of random monsters from known breeders around the world. This place might not look as fancy as some of the auction houses back on Earth, but it is one of the best places for this sort of thing. Lotta Polymages and Beast Masters in the audience.” Jane pointed to the upper back of the room, where a bunch of [Scry] eyes held in the air. “This place also has people watching from all over the world, but you’re only allowed to bid if you’re actually here, and you’re only allowed inside the doors if you’re high-class. You helped me get past a lot of that without ever knowing.” Erick smiled at that, as Jane continued, “See those people down there? Most are servants or stuff like that; here to bid on what their employers tell them to bid on. I think that guy across the way is a Beast Master of some sort. Gods. Look at him. Still bidding on that rabbit.” She shrugged. “Other than that, it’s all rather normal auction stuff.”

That man was indeed still bidding, though each raise seemed to physically hurt him. The woman with him put her arm around his shoulder as he dropped his head into a hand, then pressed one of the ‘+100G’ buttons for what was probably the fiftieth time. His VIP box flashed red.

A few more flickers happened throughout the audience. Then one more came from the guy in the box.

Everyone waited for the price to keep increasing…

The VIP guy looked out across the crowd, staring daggers while holding hope in his heart.

“Sold! For 121,300!”

The guy across the way burst into a cheer, talking about finally having a breeding pair. Of course, Erick couldn’t hear him. He was behind a [Sound Barrier], after all. But reading lips wasn’t that hard.

Erick smiled.

This was a nice break after dealing with Tenebrae.

The rabbit blipped out of its [Force Cage].

The next animal was a unicorn. It popped into existence inside a larger [Force Cage] than the bunny had occupied. A series of collars wrapped its neck, legs, and horn; each of them more enchanted than the one that came before. The unicorn was asleep, too. Dead to the world, and yet still standing.

And, of course, it was black of fur with a mouth of tentacles, and the shadows around it seemed sharper. It was not using its usual [Beautification Aura]. There was no danger to the crowd, but Erick wasn’t the only one who went tense at the sight. Then the announcer explained all the various ways they had the creature on lockdown.

… Erick considered if he wanted a unicorn.

Jane noticed, then said, “You might want that, Dad. They’re highly useful, especially with a lightform.”

The auctioneer called out, “A unicorn of normal quality. Nothing special, aside from the fact that it is a unicorn. Sale is for Polymorph purposes only. Beast Masters need not apply. We will be checking credentials and overseeing the consumption of this particularly dangerous monster. You will not be allowed to leave the premises with it alive. Bidding starts at 10,000 gold.”

Someone in the audience instantly bid the asking price. Another raised ten thousand gold. The price quickly raised to a hundred thousand gold, and then doubled.

Erick leaned back in his chair, saying, “I think I can hunt one myself. Why are they keeping it alive?”

“To sell the body in a fresh condition.” Jane eyed him. “You will never catch one in the Forest, even if you can find them. They are much, much too flighty outside of Unicorn Season. That they managed to trap one and bring it here is a big deal.”

“Eh. Maybe… But I’m not made of money, Jane.”

She laughed, then said nothing more.

An usher came around offering refreshments. Erick ordered some fruity alcoholic drink, while Jane ordered beer for the whole VIP box. Teressa had some, while Poi refrained.

The unicorn went for 317,000 gold. Even Jane thought that was too much.

Other monsters came and went. A bevy of Assassin Frogs of every color; hand-sized things that radiated an aura of deadly Decay that was much larger than themselves. A Trip Wolf; a dog-like creature made of vines that made a great Beast Master pet. A collection of Hidebound Sneakeyes; eye-like creatures that grew like barnacles, which were able to hide and adapt to any environment, and were also gifted with [Life Sight]. Upon hearing of that ability, Erick asked about it, and was told that it was a lesser version of [Blood Sight]. Jane got one of those for 700 gold.

They were not great monsters, but they were cheap enough and it was an easy path to [Life Sight]. Jane had gotten the Class Ability to triple her Familiar Forms, and she could take lesser monsters for some of those new slots, if they had a good ability.

The Prismatic Octopus appeared in a [Force Cage], without any water. It didn’t need the water, either, for it was an amphibious monster and perfectly capable of living on land. It even had ‘bones’, though they were more like cartilage, like that which Moon Reachers had. Jane explained that it had a habit of living near the water, so that if things got too hot in one area, it could escape into the water, or onto the land. It was not the big prize of the day, for there were many more monsters after this one. Jane didn’t want those other monsters, though. She wanted this one.

She sat on the edge of her seat, her eyes wide, a smile upon her lips.

The host called out, “From one of our esteemed breeders, we have multiple Prismatic Octopuses—”

Three more [Force Cage]s each blipped with another Prismatic Octopus. Jane smiled.

“—which number four in total. We will be bidding on them one at a time, but this is our stock today, and let no one grouse or grumble that they preferred the one that came after the one they won. From left to right, we have male, female, male, female. Bidding will begin on the left, and go to the right. Opening bid on octopus one! Can I get a thousand?”

Someone bid a thousand. Another raised to two. The bidding went on, and Jane almost pressed the button, but she refrained, and sighed.

Erick covered his mouth, and asked, “Don’t like that one?”

“It’s fine. I’ll try for one of the female ones.”

Erick glanced down at the bidders. Men and women both bid on the first octopus. “You know… I’ve never actually asked if gender dysphoria is a thing among Polymages.” He added, “Or among the wrought, or the Hunters who [Polymorph] into other people of a different gender… Or any of that.”

The first octopus went for 15,900 G. That was a good price.

Jane relaxed. Bidding started on the first of the females, but other people bid on it, and Jane sat back, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“All of my monsters are female, though the slimes and ooze are non-sexual. I think.” Jane waved her hand, saying, “Never bothered me, so there was never any risk of a bleed-through, but I don’t want there to ever be any bleed-through. Body dysphoria doesn’t seem like a real thing when I’m existing as one of the other Familiar Forms, anyway. I feel comfortable as a spider or unicorn or ooze. It’s quite nice being a Primal Frost Owl, too. I think that might be part of the magic.”

“And yet still, you want the female octopus?”

“Yeah. I do.” Jane said, “I feel good and lucky with what I’ve managed to get, so—” She went silent as she pressed the first bidding button, raising the price to 13,900 G.

Seconds passed. No one else bid.

The host said, “Going once! Going twice! Sold, to Archmage Flatt!”

A few small claps echoed in the room, as had happened after a few of the previous sales.

Erick instantly wondered if they were waiting for Jane to bid—

Jane smiled, and through gritted teeth said, “Ah. Damn. I think they were waiting on me to bid. I could have gotten that for a lot cheaper.”

Erick just smiled.

It wasn’t long till the Prismatic Octopus auction was done. Jane opted to leave, but Erick wanted to stay for a bit longer. This was supposed to be in his honor, right? Surely they had something interesting planned. Or, at least, that was the idea that Erick got when Jane asked the waitress about leaving and getting her two monsters. The suddenly-worried waitress begged Jane to wait a moment, then she left and came back with someone in charge who assured Jane that the monsters would be distributed at the end of the auction, and were there any refreshments they wanted? Complementary, of course.

Jane saw what they wanted, and Erick was in no rush to continue, so she ordered spicy foods, and sat back down, both slightly miffed, and curious about what was coming up. She hadn’t seen anything too special on the listings outside.

Erick wondered what was coming, too.

But the monsters on parade right now weren’t that interesting.

Erick spoke to his daughter of his two new non-particle spells, through [Telepathy], while including Teressa, Poi, Ophiel, and Yggdrasil in the conversation. While handing off his new reflective shield spell to Yggdrasil and Ophiel, and the boxes to everyone else, Erick described [Animadversion], and how Jane should consider making such a spell. Jane’s eyes practically bugged out of her skull when Erick showed her the blue box. Teressa laughed loud, then said that his [Animadversion] was the first spell he made that she wanted. Who wouldn’t want a reflect-all shield!

Erick paid attention to the auction in the background, of course. But mostly he ate spicy little beef wraps while he talked to his daughter and his people about reflective spells. Poi hinted that Erick needed to erase the manasphere of the space once they were done, for it was possible for a good [Witness] to pick up on the sub-vocalizations that everyone made when they used [Telepathy]. Teressa agreed. She wasn’t as good as Felair had been, but she’d get there eventually.

This was fine; Erick would just use [Sealed Privacy Ward] to erase the space, and did Teressa have any thoughts on making a better one? Her mana sense was the best of everyone in the VIP box, after all.

Yes, she did have some ideas.

Somewhere in the middle of that, more Variant monsters came to the stage.

Jane perked up when the host announced a Variant of a monster Erick hadn’t heard of in a while.

“A Rivergrieve?” Jane looked to the stage.

“I think he said ‘Lesser Rivergrieve’,” Erick clarified.

The smaller [Force Cage]s across the stage had been cleared to make way for a single, five-layered [Force Cage]. Water appeared in that tank with a blip, as whoever [Teleport]ed the monsters in and out had been doing as necessary for the entire event —they likely had multiple people casting [Teleport Other] and [Teleport Object], for the mana colors had been at least three, so far— and then, came a monster.

… A small monster. Comparatively. Small compared to a wyrm.

Still at least a dozen meters long and terribly dark green.

And, actually, now that Erick looked with his [True Sight], it wasn’t a monster at all. Technically. It didn’t have a rad in its heart. It was an animal.

The host described the beast, “Thirteen meters long, this Lesser Rivergrieve has the characteristic ocean snake-like body common to its larger cousins, but with only a smattering of the ethereal jaws, claws, and greater self that define a true Rivergrieve. A well-honed Polymage might be able to affect the style of its larger cousins, but as we all know, a true Rivergrieve is impossible to hold in any tank. The bidding will start at 50,000 gold.”

Bids started flying. A VIP box who had yet to do anything, and which was covered over in a [Privacy Ward], blinked, as they made their first bid of the afternoon.

As the price rapidly inflated to 110,000, Erick asked, “Is a Lesser Rivergrieve impressive? It’s not a monster...”

“Yeah. It’s not... I thought it was a real Rivergrieve.” Jane frowned a little, but then lost that frown. “They’re still impressive, but they’re nothing compared to a real Rivergrieve. They’re some of the few naturally ethereal creatures, like Forest-Crowned Stags or Anathemas. You can’t contain them even inside a [Force Cage]. This lesser Variant has a body, though, so it can be contained.” She whispered to herself, “I didn’t know this was an option.”

“… Do you want it?”

“No. … No.”

“Liar,” Erick said, with good cheer, then reached for the bidding button—

Jane bopped his hand. “No. I do not.”

“Bah!” Erick did not press the button.

After half a minute of increasingly surprising silence, where bids raised the price way too high, almost everyone dropped out, except for three. The three-way bidding war was between the darkened VIP box and two patrons in the audience. The price was already pushing a half a million gold. Erick almost raised it further, but…

He asked Jane, “Why not have this one? Do you have a water form yet?”

“It’s a good form for the water and I don’t have one yet, yeah. It’s one of the best, actually, and that’s why the price is so high. But. It’s not a true Rivergrieve. It’s how you get a true Rivergrieve.” Jane said, “And I’m not doing that. Those things are death. Let these people fight over that animal; I don’t want it.”

That certainly did not sound like Jane, but she obviously did not want her father to pay for anything, and so Erick would have let it slide… Except...

Erick asked, “Will this ‘Lesser Rivergrieve’ keep you safe in the water?”

“I will have a water form once I eat some sushi for dinner. The Octopus is not as impressive as this animal, but it’s viable on land, and that is more important… For now.”

“… Okay. I guess that’s true.”

Erick watched a bidder drop out. It was just the VIP booth guy and a different guy down below. The price hit, then passed, 550,000 gold. Then began to slow. The guy down below seemed to be losing his cool as the price went ever higher. Erick turned his gaze toward the animal in the cage that reminded him a lot of a moray eel. As he watched, ethereal blue jaws snapped open and shut all along the curling monster’s body, trying to strike at what lay beyond the [Force Cage], but failing to get more than a meter beyond the invisible shield. The host was a good four meters away, though.

Erick deduced, “It can attack from any angle.”

Jane said, “True Rivergrieves are the monster-form of these Lesser Rivergrieves... Or else they’re a different species. I’m not sure. True Rivergrieves are entirely ethereal monsters. You can’t hurt them unless you use Force. They’re usually the undisputed masters of their domains.”

“From how those people are betting… I think you can upgrade this one to a full Rivergrieve.”

Jane eyed the bidders, and then her mouth opened with a tiny gasp.

The darkened VIP booth raised the price to 655,000 gold. The guy in the crowd, who was certainly a proxy for someone else, raised the price to 660,000 gold. The host had trouble keeping the giddy look off of his face as he called out the new bets and then egged on the other person to raise it even higher.

Even though the [Sound Barrier] was still active, Erick found himself whispering, “What sorts of price tags were here last time?”

Similarly mystified, Jane said, “51,000 was the big auction. It was a Nascent Salamander. They’re what you’d expect, but about a meter big. Exposure to any sort of strong Element would have mutated it into that sort of Elemental Salamander.”

“Oh? The Primary Six? Or any Element?”

“I think it was any. The woman who bought it was a Blood Mage, so I think she was going in that direction. I didn’t get the whole story. I overheard that Blood Salamanders have to be made, but also that they have unmatched regenerative properties. Practically impossible to turn a Nascent Salamander into a Blood Salamander, but if you can, they’ve no real weaknesses and they’re really hard to kill for most… people...” Her voice tapered off.

The blinking bid lights had stopped. The [Privacy Ward]ed VIP box waited to be overturned by the man down below. The man down below did not raise the price again. Instead, he stood from his seat, turned to the VIP box, and bowed.

The host swiftly announced, “Going once! Going twice! Sold! To VIP Box Two, for 712,000 gold! Congratulations. We wish you well with transforming your Lesser Rivergrieve into a True Rivergrieve.”

The audience clapped; a small sound, but a sound nonetheless.

Jane sighed. “Ah. You can transform it. Ah.”

“We can go hunting for one? A real one, too! How about it?”

Poi sighed. Teressa grinned.

Jane sighed, too, then said, “No. I have the octopus.”

“That Prismatic Octopus will be good for our trip to the Forest. We’re going to need to do some manual, non-magical hiding, according to Archmage Tenebrae.”

“How did that meeting go, anyway? You did meet him, right?”

“Ah.” Erick had been mulling over how much he wanted to tell Jane. The whole truth? Or a truth that would enable her to have an easier time with the man? Erick opted for the middle path. “I did meet with him. From what I hear, and from what I saw, he’s not a nice man, but he’s a good man. He’s a right asshole, though. We’ll talk about it more when we get to his floating castle.”

Jane said, “Sure. That sounds… reasonable. Did he seem friendly? At all? I asked around about him and he did not seem like he would make this an easy trip.”

“Ha! That’s an understatement. That man does not seem like he’s going to be a good friend.” Erick eyed his daughter, then said, “Don’t let yourself be vulnerable around him, Jane.” He turned back, toward Teressa, adding, “You either. He’s a good man, but he’s not a nice man.”

Teressa nodded.

Jane asked, “Worse than the Headmaster?”

“… I’m not sure.”

Jane hummed, thinking.

The auction continued.

Erick kept waiting for a bear to show up on the auction block, but no bear came. Nothing cute. Nothing cuddly. Nothing that was appropriate for a father looking to buy a nice animal for his daughter. Everything was death and destruction and too many arms or legs, with some of those extra appendages being little more than scythes-for-hands. There was a nasty insect called a Scythe Bearer, which had ‘bear’ in its name, but that was the closest anything came.

Jane wanted many of them, though she never said; it was all in her eyes.

The auction drew to a close with three more monsters, blipped out onto the stage all at the same time. Erick smiled. They weren’t bears, but they were similar in shape and face; very furry, large, and plodding, but bright green. Almost neon green. They looked friendly, and that made Erick smile. He had to have all three. What possible kind of evil could they be? They were so cute.

They were still getting situated into their [Force Cage]s as Erick said, “I thought bears didn’t exist on Veird? Maybe we should start a breeding program.”

Jane turned to her father. “Is that what you see?”

“… Are they not bears?”

It was then, that Erick noticed the crowd below had gone completely silent. Everyone was staring at the creatures like they were adventurers and the monsters were piles of gold. Erick turned his [True Sight] back on; he had let it lapse.

The monsters became skinny creatures of dark flesh that seemed like a cross between a dog, a skinny bear, and some sort of clawed monster, though their claws were rather small. Their eyes were bright and dark. Those eyes stared around the room, seeing, and perhaps understanding. Erick blinked. Though [True Sight] was active, the monsters turned back into neon green bears.

Erick blinked. “What?” He asked Jane, “What do you see?”

Jane said, “I see three fat dogs. Big ones. Nice ones.”

Poi spoke up, “They’re False Sights. Reality or Mind Magic monsters, depending on who you ask. They normally never get anywhere near people because they’re herbivores and—”

The host spoke, “Three False Sights! Our crowning achievement for today’s auctions! I know they might not appear as such to most of you, but I assure you that these are true False Sights. These monsters naturally appear non-hostile because they will always run before they try to fight, but if they’re forced to fight, their unlucky foes will usually end up pissing themselves in fear. They’re wary of us right now, but that could change if you are a Polymage looking for one of the best Familiar Forms in the world. For those Beast Masters out there, a False Sight will make one of the absolute best pets, for they are herbivores, and extremely friendly once they trust you. The person who brought them to us is offering a 50% rebate for any Beast Master who takes them in.” Some of the audience instantly frowned, or voiced their disgust in other ways, but some leapt for joy. The host continued, “From left to right we have male, male, female. The bidding begins at 250,000.”

Lights started blinking. Bids came rolling in.

Erick asked, “A pet? Do you… Have to be a Beast Master? Those things are monsters; they have rads. But… They look so nice.”

“You want a pet?” Jane asked, incredulous. “With your lifestyle?”

“… Okay. When you put it like that. That would be rather cruel. Maybe not, then.”

The first one went for 550,000, to a Beast Master. So did the second.

And then… So did the third.

“I could have bought it for you.”

“I know, dad. But I didn’t want that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go get your octopus.”

And so they did.

Erick didn’t watch Jane eat it, but the auction house had a complimentary room for that sort of thing, They even killed the creature for her, first, with a simple strike to the brain, as one would do for any animal bred for slaughter. Erick thought it was all rather morbid, but he enjoyed a good steak, and that was practically the same thing.

Sort of.

- - - -

Jane was currently a replica of the chair near the window of the hotel room, except you could tell which one she was by the tiny bits of flesh that stuck up here and there like tufts of fluff. Real chairs did not normally have fleshy bits.

Erick said, “And I can see your blood with [Blood Sight]. It’d fool almost anyone except for… Well. The three people in this room.” Ophiel whistled. Erick added, “And Ophiel.”

Jane unfolded from her chair-like mimicry, revealing her rainbow-like Prismatic Octopus self. She was almost the size of an orcol when ballooned out to this size, but her actual body was smaller. Her skin moved in odd ways as she stood upon her arms like exactly how a real octopus could not. She spoke through her [Greater Shadowalk], saying, “It’s more difficult than I thought it would be.”

“You’ll get the hang of it.” Erick gestured to his own bags. “Are you packed?”

“I am!” With a shadowy slip through the world, she moved out of sight. Her voice came out of her room. “Be ready in a moment.”

A knock came from the front door.

Erick answered from the living room, guiding a flick of his lightform over to opening the entry to welcome the person he already knew was standing there. He called out, “Hello, O’kabil. Glad to see you again.”

O’kabil strode into the room, her white Mist Rabbit fur coat fluttering like a soft cloud as she moved. She sniffled, on the edge of tears, and Erick turned quite a bit more concerned.

“O’kabil? Is something wro—”

“Don’t die out there, Erick. That’s what I want to say.” O’kabil schooled herself, then said, “You are much too valuable an archmage to go risking your life out there in the Green, but if you must go, then you must. You will always have a place waiting for you here at my hotel, or otherwise. Yura wanted to be here but she is dealing with politics and mortal problems.” She huffed. She asked, “Is there some way to convince you not to journey into the Deep Forest? You might never come out. Many never do.”

Erick smiled. He liked O’kabil’s genuine emotions. He liked the old tree. But… “Unless you have a spare, intact Gate lying around, then I must go in search of one.”

“Would that I could offer you a series of drawings and measurements recorded a thousand years ago by a different Arbor, but those measurements were lost long ago and never recovered. There hasn’t been a real Gate sighting in a very long time.”

“That’s what I don’t get.” Erick asked, “How did Tenebrae manage to find one?”

“I don’t know. If I knew, I would help you there, if only to keep you out of danger.” O’kabil said, “I have grown fond of you, Erick Flatt. Don’t die out there.” And then she turned, and walked away. Her body turned to mist as she strode beyond the door.

Erick spoke to the air, “Thank you, Holy O’kabil, for your hospitality. I enjoyed my stay, too.”

The misty manasphere wafted through the air like a gentle breeze. Erick swore he could hear music upon that mana, but maybe not.

Soon, Jane was ready. Teressa had been ready. Poi was packed.

It was time to go.

Erick had his Ophiel transport many of his unnecessary items back home, to Spur, but he kept a few. A record player and a few records, copies of a few song crystals; they might go a long way to making Tenebrae a bit more pleasant. Or maybe not! Who knew!

But there was a stop to make, first.

- - - -

In a bit of land, framed on one side by a mountain, on a second side by a shallow lake, and on the third by the Shallow Forest, the trees had reclaimed what was once a village. Hundred meter tall grey-pillar trees and their like joined together into an endless green canopy that kept hidden this broken place. There were huge houses built of thick logs, where [Woodshape] had been used to turn them into seamless homes, but now, those places were either rotting into fungus-filled piles, or branching out, and becoming true trees again. Cleared roads were now layered with leaves and vines. A well, once filled with cold water, was now filled to bursting with mushrooms.

And now, Erick saw that some of the buildings were not just abandoned. They had been burned. The well had been broken, and possibly poisoned. The shallow lake had not been that close to this place, before. Someone had broken the land and jumbled what remained. Buildings rested in the shallows.

A lot of people had died here.

The Rednail tribe had been nomadic, like most tribes, but they did have a small home that they kept functioning to provide for those who could not travel. To enable easier trade with other tribes. This had been that place. Erick had not known that until now; Teressa had not told anyone how it worked, until now.

Teressa stood in the center of her former village. Tears rolled down her face, as she stared around herself, and remembered. Erick stood beside her, silent and supportive.

Jane and Poi stood much further back. But not too far away, either. This was the Forest, after all, and there were dangers everywhere, even if Erick’s scans showed no nearby monsters.

This place was only four hundred kilometers northwest of Treehome. It had been a part of a minor trade route that supported several tribes in the area. Now, all of that was gone. Rednail was just the first to fall. The rest moved away soon after. This measure of civilization had been gone for years.

Teressa spoke, “There are thousands of little villages like this out there in the Forest. I never thought my Tribe would ever get added to the Lost.” She breathed out, “… I’m a mess.”

Erick just stood beside her.

Teressa stood straighter. “I burned this place down. It was just me and a few others… Auntie Arathani. A few more… I lost track of all of them except for her. A few went to the Greyroots… but I have no idea where that tribe is. They were our neighbors, but all of those are gone, too.”

“Someone must have rebuilt it.”

“No. I don’t think so… Fire doesn’t always take in the Forest. The Forest rebuilds, sometimes in the shapes of what had been here before… In the shapes that are desired by those who came before.” Teressa turned, and gazed down a darkened, overgrown street, then she looked over a large house that seemed like a tree imitating a home. She said, “When Silverite and the Army pulled me out of my daze, and we came back here to drive off the Witch… We burned the bodies and scattered the ashes. We had a [Cleanse]ing ceremony, too. But… I guess the ghosts here were too strong. The trauma was too deep. They made homes again, even if they couldn’t live here anymore… They should have been able to move on.”

She went silent, her eyes flickering grey.

Erick peered into the manasphere, and saw what Teressa saw. He watched as children played in the streets and old men smoked blueweed on porches. He blinked, and he saw monsters eating people, and hatred slashing through lives. He blinked, and fire consumed it all, only for those flickering flames to dance into the forms of people who grew flowers and houses from the ashes.

He asked, “What do you see, when you look into the mana?”

Teressa smiled and cried at the same time. “I see lives that should have moved on.” She sniffled. “I want to burn it all down again. This time I’ll do it right.”

“I can help. If that’s what you want.”

“… Yes. That is what I want. Let’s burn it down.”

Jane stepped forward, saying, “I want to help, too. Flame Oozes are great at burning.”

Teressa laughed, then she nodded.

Jane became a flaming ooze. Fires ignited five meters from her body. She moved down the streets, starting the flames, but Teressa came in and added to the inferno, Shaping flames higher and deeper, into living and dead wood alike. Ophiels fluttered around the edges, strengthening the sudden conflagration.

Erick kept himself, Poi, and Teressa safe from the fires with [Prismatic Ward]s and sunforms provided by Ophiel. A [Cleanse] kept the air breathable. Soon, the three of them stood in the center of the once-again burning village, watching as inferno consumed what should have already been consumed.

Giant grey trees tumbled from the surrounding lands, becoming firewood, becoming ash.

It took a half an hour; much shorter than any natural fire.

The land was blackened, but not glass. Piles upon piles of white-grey ash drifted on the wind. The sun slanted in from the side, but it was only early afternoon. Erick, Poi, Jane, and Teressa, stood in the center of an ashy desolation.

Erick started the cleanup with Ophiels moving out in every direction, [Cleanse Aura]s active.

Ash became tidal waves of immaterial mana, billowing through the manasphere, blowing away what had come before, revealing brown sands, rocks, and little else. And yet, still, looking through the manasphere, Erick saw people on porches enjoying their former lives, and others running terrified from an unseen enemy. Erick deployed a hundred [Sealed Privacy Ward]s for their ability to disrupt the ‘memory’ of the manasphere.

That did the trick.

Teressa gazed upon the mana alongside Erick and they both saw the same thing: static, a blank slate, nothing yet. That was enough. This had been enough.

Teressa said, “I don’t think I really… tried... the first time… I wasn’t ready. No one really tried.” She breathed deep. “I’m sorry.” She spoke to the land, “You can rest, now. The Witch is dead. I’m sorry.”