With a quick warning not to open the double doors at the other side of the hall, where a deep and reverberating growl was being issued in their direction, Duran pointed at the throne-like chair that looked much like the one at the end of Listless Corridor. Thirty-nine years of chosen status and the t.i.tle 'Equal to Heaven', which granted immunity to royal decrees, were great benefits to everyone but Orison and Duran, though the set of custom equipment had Orison taking his turn sitting in the chair as well.

Since they'd get the most out of it, it was an unspoken agreement to let the three locals, minus Ivan, get their turns first. Once the miner guy had finished his turn, Orison noted the set of equipment that was created had a strength of existence factor to it. Realizing that meant it could possibly survive a boundary crossing, Orison had a quick powwow with his group, advising them to create as neutral an appearance as possible with generic enchantments, allowing it to possibly be useful in the future as well.

Since everyone but Rithus didn't understand quite what Orison meant, they had him demonstrate. In appearance, the young mage's defensive gear looked like a blend of beatnik simplicity with minimalist gothic flavor. In reality, it was an air-tight suit with the turtleneck portion at the top hiding a head cover that could stick to his mask with a quick application of 'mend'. With so little material invested, he was allowed an additional piece so he created a light and silky textured open front robe with wide sleeves and hood. All of the defensive equipment's considerable enchantment allowance was invested into wide spectrum resistance.

Accessories weren't part of the gift but one large weapon or two smaller ones were. Keeping it simple, he requested two easy to hide black daggers with great durability. The enchantment allotment was entirely poured into penetrative ability both physical and magical.

With Duran's help Gan did something similar except there was nearly microscopic fish scale patterning on the suit and the outer part was more duster than robe. Orison wasn't entirely sure what Duran did but the boy could wear his creation under normal cloths and the weapon could be mistaken as a metal club when it was in its most compact mode. Orison had the impression that Rithus' enchantment allotment for gear was almost used entirely on versatility as the gear could practically shape change and a weapon wasn't even in sight.

Ivan's gear was sleek but still carried too much medieval aesthetic. Borrowing some of Duran's a.s.sistance the s.h.i.+eld and sword could pare down into concealable forms but overall, if the Nunos man was going to be going to any more modern destinations with them in the future, they were going to have to find him a trench coat or something.

Finally finished with the tower, Duran bid farewell to the randoms. "Goodbye... Live well."

Not being satisfied with that, the girl ran up and hugged Duran from behind, where the boy had already turned away to walk back to his group. "Thank you so much, Duran. If... if you pa.s.s through Auma, I'd like to see you again."

Patting the arms wrapped around him a couple of times, Duran turned his head a fraction and nodded. With a look of unwillingness, the girl uninvited herself. Staring at the spot she had just been, Duran lightly sighed and shook his head. Ivan and Gan, who were waiting for their opportunity to swoop in and give him a hard time, saw how the end had played out and decided against it. Indulging in the affections of a serious person may feel good but it was wrong if you didn't have the intentions of being serious too. Still, giving up on such an opportunity rarely left someone feeling happy, a fact that two men who'd done their fair share of pleasure seeking understood all too well.

After sending Mylar on his way, Orison turned to Duran and said, "This ended up being pretty rewarding. Does Wick have any more tricks for exploiting the extra permissions we've managed to obtain?"

Shaken out of his personal thoughts, Duran closed his eyes for a moment and then shook his head decisively. "Check your messages."

Orison pulled up the interface screen in his s.p.a.ce and saw the ridiculous amount of logged requests. The amount of urgent requests alone counted for hundreds of thousands. A sticky note styled warning indicated a timer for the completion of urgent requests that would suspend their family member status the moment they stopped completing them. Considering that compensation required a council review that neither of them had the ability to call again and the fact that allowing the timer to completely elapse, even once, would result in suspension of status, it wasn't practical to attempt keeping it.

The young mage said, "No more exploitable access to Osomo's best resources and permissions will be dropped to third generation royals planet side, huh? Well, at least no one can try to pull rank on us anymore. It sucks that we can't pull rank either but I guess that evens the playing field."

Ivan interjected, "If it's questions about how to abuse third generation privileges, I'm the man to talk to... Not that I've done much, um, abusing. I...what I meant to say was that there are plenty of options still available to you. I'd say the biggest help is that if someone does something that involves you in a questionable way, you can use that to get someone's ident.i.ty and even fine them. Remember how I fined that Sek guy after he slighted half elves and disturbed the peace at the inn?"

Ivan pointed at an empty spot on his chest where the special crest used to be and suddenly looked lost. "I forgot I don't have the disciplinary badge anymore. Maybe grandmother will give it back now that we've... reached an understanding."

Duran said, "Don't need it."

Perking up, Ivan said, "With all the mysterious activities the two of you have been up to, you've given me direct disciplinary permissions?"

Duran looked at Ivan woodenly and said as he pointed between himself and Orison, "We don't need it."

Unlike other places that had forced them to leave as soon as they were done, the tower was oddly silent. Scanning through world notifications, Orison noticed that their usage of the tower hadn't been announced either. The young mage was more than happy about that fact. The best possible thing for them to do would be to stay out of the limelight for awhile.

Orison addressed his group. "Sek and Fortune royal families have fallen. I feel a little bad about Fortune because they haven't really been that excessive but the king himself was quite the monster in his youth and the generation before that was horrendous. Thoth's current travesty can be laid directly at their feet.

"Our buddy Emris has become a king and so has Mo. Oh, for those of you who don't know him, that's the elf druid instructor... There's also a couple of people none of us have met that have taken up a royal mantle in Shadow's Reach. We'll be going there soon but we need to work the kinks out of our abilities and teamwork before we go there. The surrounding area there is the hub for the upper side of middle range and the lower side of high range.

"A quick word of caution. I've been pretty vocal how I feel about the poisonous nature of Osomo a.s.sisted abilities but I haven't needed to talk about the dangers of equipment reliance. We now have equipment that's beyond our range. That means things that should be dangerous to us aren't so much and it won't take but a hot second for that to change if something happens to our equipment. Don't start underestimating things because we have these nice toys. Toys break and creatures have all kinds of abilities we don't know about. Creatures like rust crickets and fern moths are low range creatures with abilities to temporarily put equipment under duress. I doubt that those kind of abilities get anything but nastier at higher range.

"That aside, we have something much more important to discuss. Ever since we've gotten here we've been just going with the flow, doing what needs to be done and only reacting rather than seeking out what we want and need. That needs to change... Through sheer luck, Duran and I have managed to pry open Osomo's grip on us a little but we're still going to have to try hard and progress if we want to escape her clutches completely."

Ivan's brows furrowed. "You talk as if The Mother is some kind of captor. She's our protector. The gifts she gives and-"

Orison cut him off. "Ivan, the Heart of Osomo is a powerful magic device created by an ancestor of the First Family. You're absolutely correct that everything you have is because of her. You are absolutely correct that every living thing on this planet is still alive because of her. That makes Osomo no less of a prison and everything in it all but unable to break its dependence on the Heart of Osomo.

"You don't have to feel the same way we do about it. In our attempts to break free, we'll not be doing any real harm to the continued ability of that device to keep this world running the way it always has. What you do need is a firm will to 'climb' or there's no point in trying. You're welcomed to run with us if you want but no one here is going to hold you back if you want to go your own way either."

The young mage could tell that Ivan didn't like what he was hearing but when the Nunos man grimly gave his decision to stay, Orison believed Ivan was resolved. Only time would tell if the royal was fully trustworthy but there was a pressing need to find out what Ivan required to 'climb' outside of the dubious spirit essence shortcut. After guiding Ivan through the process Orison and his party had already done, it was discovered that he was an emotion feeding type like Rithus. Fortunately, Ivan had a glamour that helped him produce the awe and admiration he needed. It wasn't an emotion as easy to illicit as Rithus' own.

After working that into his game plan, Orison said, "Alright. What Duran, Gan and I need are fairly easy to work in together. Rithus, what you and Ivan need require contact with lots of people and reliant on situation, the worst kind of position for me to be in until all the drama I'm involved with dies down. If you're comfortable with letting Ivan take point, following him on a set course of civil distress missions would serve the both of you well. Ivan, Rithus, does that sound like a good fit for you two?"

As Ivan nodded, Rithus said, "It's what's best for me but are you sure? It might... be some time before we meet again."

Somewhat surprised, Orison said, "You can feel the pull already? I could clearly feel that the boundary of this world is sealed. How-"

Rithus raised a hand. "There are some things I cannot share. If we do part ways, know that this time is not the end. As long as we both live, our paths are meant to cross once more. I'll help Ivan catch up as best I can until then."

Orison said, "Well, in that case..." Orison gave the Draconos man a rough hug and finished, "You pa.s.s that on to mom for me then. You know, if you beat me there first."

Seeing that Rithus still looked torn, Orison added, "It's hard to part ways but family is still family, no matter where they are. You know my personal demon is jealousy but it isn't stronger than my desire to see the people I care about thrive. Don't let your own personal demons hold you or what you care about back either."

The fog of indecision cleared from Rithus' eyes as he reached out to pat Orison's head but changed target to the young mage's shoulder at the last moment. Orison wouldn't have cared much if Rithus had. The man was just shy of old enough to be his grandfather despite his current youthful appearance.

As they were about to leave, Orison told Ivan, "I'd appreciate being kept up to date. Don't hesitate to contact us if you need help... And above all, listen to what Rithus has to say. You're in charge because you need to be but Rithus has a good deal more life experience than you. He only LOOKS a little younger."

A little apprehensive, Ivan asked, "Are you older than me?"

Orison said, "Yes and no. It's complicated... Just keep what I said in mind, alright?"

With a few more minor instructions and some resource sharing, Ivan and Rithus finally left. When Orison turned to address his remaining two companions, he found that Gan was looking at him strangely.

The scout said, "What 'yes and no'? You're eleven, maybe twelve at most, right?"

Duran snapped out of his inner thoughts and looked at Orison with an intense, burning curiosity.

Orison sighed. "Like I said, it's complicated. The short answer is, mentally a bit older than you and a bit younger emotionally. Who the h.e.l.l knows how old my soul actually is... If you want to get super technical about it, I could be considered the youngest of us or the second oldest. What do you consider to be the most important aspect of a person to determine actual age, Gan?"

Gan looked confused, even a little worn out as he asked, "How old would YOU say you were that day on the road when... when you shared a horse with me for the first time?"

Orison finally understood why the issue of his age bothered Gan so much. The young mage had to admit to himself that his actions that day were downright manipulative and as much as he didn't want to answer Gan with the truth, lying felt wrong, deeply wrong.

Orison said, "I wasn't as whole then as I am now but my answer wouldn't be much different than the one I already gave... I was honest with you. I meant every word I said... No matter how you saw me then or see me now, You'll always have a place by my side and in my home if you want it. You're my family Gan."

Gan's face was unreadable but Orison could feel the emotional turmoil inside the scout as Gan said, "What does that mean, Orison?... Rithus is your family. Morrel is your family. I'm your family... Is Duran your family? I thought you were just this smart and big hearted kid that was forced to grow up before his time. I need to know. What are we to you?"

Orison fell silent for awhile, his thoughts interrupted occasionally by the growls coming from behind the double doors."Well, if you want me to bear my feelings and say a whole bunch of embarra.s.sing sh*t, can we please do it on the top of the tower? That thing behind the doors over there is distracting as h.e.l.l."

In the tension, Gan let out a weak chuckle and Duran cracked a half smile before they shook themselves out of it. Gan even looked a little mad but it was hard to tell if it was at himself or Orison for distracting him from whatever serious contemplating the scout was doing. As they made there way back out to the top of the tower, Orison did his best to gather up his thoughts and make them as coherent as possible.

In the light of the desert's early afternoon, Orison looked at his two companions and said, "Isn't it Northland custom to get a man sh*t face drunk before forcing him to bare his feelings?"

Gan was stunned for a second before he fought to hold the grim look on his face as he brought out a bottle of mead. Orison could feel the intimate signature of miasma on it.

As it was pa.s.sed around, Duran reached out and s.n.a.t.c.hed the bottle for a few deep gulps before pa.s.sing it back. The atmosphere was so solemn the drinking felt more like a formal ceremony than the casual social lubrication it should have been. Whatever Orison was about to say, it mattered a lot more to both of them than the young mage realized and that made Orison nervous, a little scared even.

Taking a deep, slightly shaky breath, Orison said, "I have a soul made of two people. One is the original Orison, an orphan who lost everything and almost his own soul too. The other part is a man from another world, a softer one in some ways, harsher in others. That man was a depressed, lonely and nearly suicidal person who died while being dragged into a supernatural event.

"They're both in here. I have their memories, their spirit, their strengths and weaknesses, everything... I have everything that's left. Both of them lost some things along the way but managed to survive by becoming one person.

"The original Orison gets jealous easily because he was deprived of so much. The part that's Al is afraid of hurting the ones he loves and being hurt by them. Both sides were lonely and afraid. I say were because those lonely s.p.a.ces were filled with new people, new family.

"So that you guys can get what I'm trying to say with no bullsh*t added, I'll start with the others and work my way to you last...