Nick and Roland followed the creature through several long hallways to a door deep within Charredweb Manor.

“Christoph’s study is through there. Although I believe only the master can deactivate the ward that seals the door. Of course, if he sent you, I’m sure you were already aware of this.”

The creature took a few steps back. Anticipating their failure, he carefully watched what they would do next. However, Roland was confident that entering the study would not be a problem. Twice already Charredweb Manor had allowed him to pass through its barriers: First at the gatehouse and then at the circle of obelisks. As he approached the door, the same sensation he felt in those two instances swept over him again. With a click, the door opened itself. He knew this was either tied to the fact that he was in Eliza’s body and the Chosen can pass freely in the manor or, perhaps, the ‘Innate Magicka Crest’ that allows him to cast cantrips is somehow connected to this structure. In any event, they were through.

“Wait outside, interloper,” demanded Roland as he and Nick entered the room.

“Of course, my queen.”

Various alchemical ingredients and potions lined the shelves of the study. There didn’t appear to be any books or scrolls. There was a desk, but it only had a mortar and pestle on it. Its drawers were also bare.

Nick inspected some of the potions, “No alsuline. Hmm. Also, nothing worth quaffing for a cheap thrill.”

He peaked inside a pouch he found on one of the shelves, “Perfect.”

“Eh? What’s in there?” asked the creature. He was standing outside of the door, watching them as they inspected Christoph’s study.

“Nothing important,” said Nick. “Just something we can smoke later.”

Roland opened a cupboard at the back of the room. There were many small paintings hanging inside and several rusted pieces of jewelry. Sitting in the centre of the cupboard was a large glass globe. It looked ancient.

“No way, is that a telepathy orb?” said Nick as he looked over Roland’s shoulder. “Is it a one- or two-hander?”

Telepathy orbs provide visions to whoever touches them. Although they could be used to peer across great distances, they could also store vast amounts of information. Knowledge would be communicated to the person who touched the orb through a completely immersive, visual experience. Smaller orbs only required one hand to ‘ponder,’ and their most popular use — by far — was storing sexual imagery. With such an orb, the free hand could be used to add a tactile component to the orb’s visuals. Even though these magical items had all but disappeared in Relmgard, ’one-handed pondering’ was still a common euphemism for masturbating.

“After the week we’ve had, I am totally down for some legit one-handed pondering,” said Nick as he gripped the orb with his hands. “Way better than the real thing.” Nick remembered that the creature was listening to everything he was saying so he added: “Well, except with you, sweet Eliza, love of my life.”

After handling the orb in a variety of ways, Nick took his hands off. “Doesn’t work.” He frowned as he looked at the other items in the cupboard. “I guess it’s just the centre piece of this uninspired serial killer shrine.”

Roland began inspecting the paintings in the cupboard in greater detail. The faces were vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place any of them. As he was picking them up, one of his fingers brushed across the orb. A jolt knocked him backwards. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He felt no physical pain, but an incomprehensible mental surge caused him to black out. Memories of a past life flooded his unconscious mind. His perception of reality would never be the same. As he was about to fall to the ground, Nick caught him.

“Take care, my queen,” said the creature who was watching with great interest.

“Well, that’s enough studying for today,” said Nick as he held up Roland. “Someone should check the ventilation in here.”

With Eliza’s small body on his right shoulder, Nick moved past the creature. “That orb has some really niche porno on it, BZ. Wild stuff. You should go in there and check it out.” The creature did not take the bait on Nick’s absurd distraction and started to pursue the pair as they headed back towards the manor’s entrance hall.

***

As they approached the entrance, the creature caught up to them. With its long legs, there was no way Nick could outrun it, especially while he was carrying someone.

“Are we leaving already, young Nick?” asked the creature. “You’ve only just arrived. Master Christoph would never forgive me if I didn’t invite you to spend the night.”

“Nah, we’re good. I know you’re not running a bed and breakfast here. It’s been great catching up with you, B-dog.”

“But your companion doesn’t seem fit for travel. I could never forgive myself if I let her depart in this state.” The creature moved between Nick and the exit. “You really must stay.”

Nick leaned Roland against one of the petrified servants in the hallway. Roland was now conscious, he just couldn’t maintain his balance. His head was spinning from all the new memories that he had gained when he touched the orb.

“Hey BZ,” began Nick. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you since I got here: Remember the fortress at Lost Promontory? After dad was defeated, the Chosen found it within hours. Strange that they were able to determine its location so quickly, don’t you think? It was a well-guarded secret after all. In fact, as far as I know, it’s his only safe house that they ever actually found. Didn’t you know where it was?”

“Why ask a question you know the answer to, young Nick? Of course, I knew its location, but so did several others. Any of them could have used that information as a bargaining chip with the Chosen. Perhaps Gildyn? I never trusted him.”

“Well, who would trust someone that called himself ‘the Master of Shadows’?”

“Who indeed?”

“But, no, I don’t think he betrayed us.”

“Oh? How can you be certain?”

“Well, I saw him get cut down by Rylan.”

“Perhaps he exercised poor judgement in picking his new ally?”

“Nah. There didn’t seem to be any hesitation from either party.” Nick paused. “Also, Dad always said that someone with such an unoriginal nickname was trustworthy.”

“Shall we jump straight to the end of your process of elimination, Nick?”

“You’re a survivor, aren’t you? But you’re also a huge, lumbering pain in the ass. If you had simply tried to surrender, you would have been destroyed. You had to give Christoph something of value so that he’d take you in.”

“Oh young Nick. If you think that I would resort to such politicking to ensure my survival you are naive. Such tiresome schemes would have led to my undoing millennia ago. No. You have identified the perpetrator, but the motive eludes you. I could have easily vanished into the glacial wastelands for a few centuries if I wanted to both escape and maintain my freedom.”

Nick squinted back at him, “Then why didn’t you? Why deal with the Chosen at all? What could they give you that would be worth this prison?”

The creature’s eyes lit up. “Once and always a fool. Delicious. Tell me young Nick — what trivial game are you and this Eliza impersonator playing? Sneaking into the house of one of the Chosen while its master is away. Quite the gamble. I wonder what would merit such a risk?”

Nick still couldn’t understand the creature’s contradictions.

“Is Charredweb Manor some nexus of power that you wanted to infiltrate?”

“The only funny thing you’ve said since you arrived here,” snorted the creature. “You are very close to death, but very far from the truth.”

“Then what? Revenge? Your contempt for dad was no secret. He had little time for opportunists like yourself, but you were too powerful to ignore. However, you knew his fate was sealed. There was no point in betraying him. Why forfeit your freedom so that his remaining allies would die? You hated us that much?”

“I had no ill will towards anyone that was in that fortress. But, yes, I wanted to see you and little Mallory dead. After the Chosen ravaged the safe house, Christoph informed me that you and your sister were nowhere to be found. I knew that was impossible. Indeed, when I returned with him and Rylan, I immediately identified your trick. Hiding in a painting. They told me they were going to burn it in the Flames of Serenity to ensure your destruction. Yet here you are. How?”

“I don’t know man, seems pretty stupid. Dad was already dead. He would have never known of your betrayal. Also, Mal and I barely knew you. If you’d done nothing at all we’d already be dead from old age. Now you have to spend your time wandering these dank halls and serving hors d'oeuvres at Christoph’s dinner parties.”

The creature was now circling around Nick and Roland. “Simply clueless. Time is one resource I have in abundance. This punishment is a slight inconvenience. As for your father, I didn’t care if he knew. What’s your father to me? Another wave in my ocean of existence. But I wanted her to suffer. Had I succeeded I know she would have ….” His eyes went dark. “I see that you have no interest in answering any of my questions, so I’ll rectify my failure. Well, at least partially. Perhaps little Mallory will walk through that door one day in the future and I can carve her up as well. I can wait.”

Nick now knew target of the creature’s ire. It had to be his mother. The question of ‘Why?’ would have to remain unanswered as there was no more time to continue this interrogation. Their confrontation was coming to its climax. He pulled the pouch he found in Christoph’s study out of his pocket. This did not escape the creature’s attention.

“Oh, are you going to threaten me with the sunstone dust in that bag? I can see through cloth and, more importantly, I can see how foolish you are. I am not undead. I am an ageless one. Even your idiot father knew that.”

Nick thought this must be a bluff. He poured some of the yellow powder onto the palm of his hand and blew it into the air. A shimmering, golden mist filled the room. Roland’s dizziness still hadn’t faded but he was fully aware of what was taking place. If that was sunstone dust, he knew that it should instantly disintegrate any undead creature that it came into contact with. The creature just cackled and continued circling the pair.

“Damn,” said Nick. “Really thought you were bullshitting with that ‘ageless one’ garbage. I guess sometimes the truth is profoundly lame rather than simply profound.”

The creature was about to move into position to strike down Nick when Roland shouted out: “Boogle, stop!”

The creature froze.

Nick quickly figured out what had happened. He laughed, “Oh shit. You just got true named. ‘Boogle’ — No wonder you didn’t mind being called the Bone Bruin. You little bitch.”

The creature was silent.

“Boogle, you may speak, but do not move,” commanded Roland.

“Who told you that name!?” yelled the creature.

“The only one you ever trusted with it: Hesteria, the Celestial of Knowledge.”

“Impossible!”

“No. The orb in that study contains the memories of the first ‘Christoph’ — although he didn’t go by that name. Every time he is reborn, his new physical form can access that original knowledge. He helped build the Star Chamber and used it to commune with the Celestials. During those conversations, Hesteria told him a fascinating tale: In the far past, the Celestials walked Relmgard as mortals. During that period, an ursine saved her life when she was caught in a winter storm. You, Boogle, loved her and gave her your fur coat to protect her from the elements. However, despite your sacrifice, she never reciprocated your feelings.”

The light in the creature’s eyes was now completely dark. He was defeated.

“She was the most beautiful being that I’d ever seen,” whispered the creature. “Even if I live another hundred thousand years, I will never witness anything like the sight of her bathing in the meltwater streams.”

“Pervy,” muttered Nick.

“Yes,” said Roland. “Pathetic. You’re a fool whose actions are governed by passion. You’ve lived for eons and learned nothing. How could you ever hope to win the heart of one who prized knowledge above all else? Your barbaric display of chivalry may have saved her life, but it also showed her that you’re no more than a beast.”

The creature had nothing more to say.

“Boogle — as you may be aware, this house is located on a remote island in the Rysal Ocean. I command you to leave here and wander the bottom of that ocean for the rest of eternity.”

The creature, bound by those who order it using its true name, started to walk away when Nick yelled, “Boogle, stop!”

He went over to the creature. “One second.” He then unbuttoned his fly and urinated on it. “Dumb slut.”

Roland shook his head, “Boogle, go. Walk the floor of the Rysal Ocean until the end of time.”

***

After the creature had left, Roland approached the entrance. With the memories from the orb, he now had a full understanding of how Charredweb Manor operated. To reactivate the portal that brought them here, all that was required was to turn a nearby dial. After a few minutes of humming and buzzing, the portal to the pocket dimension was open again. The pair then crossed back to the Windswept Coast.

“Sorry for doubting you about going into that portal,” said Nick as the gate closed behind them and the obelisks went silent. “That was the most fun I’ve had while sober in a while.”

Roland, now feeling back to normal, smirked at Nick, “So your dad nailed the Celestial of Knowledge?”

“That’s my mother you’re talking about, Rol,” said Nick as he glared at him. “But, yeah, he was totally up to his nuts in that ass. Don’t be crude about it, though.”

Tears filled Roland’s eyes as he tried to hold back his laughter but couldn’t. Nick’s irreverence had finally broken him down.