After finishing my tattoo, I rode quickly to Biloxi, arriving late in the day. The activity in the streets was quieting down as people left to go home for the night. Still, it felt like I was being watched.

I glanced around, not seeing anyone watching me. The feeling lingered as I made my way to the Bazaar. I was about a block away when three men stepped out from an alley. Bella gave out a low hiss.

I turned my head, seeing the path behind me blocked by three more men.

"You see that boys? His pet threatened us."

I turned towards the man who was talking, recognizing the voice instantly. It was the same guard that had tried to break into my room.

All six started approaching me.

"You sure you want your ass beat again?" I said, looking at the guard.

He smiled cruelly, "you ain't got no friends or tricks to save you this time, boy."

Oh, how wrong he was. While I could probably take these six with little effort, I was here on a mission. I cast Shroud, immediately blanketing the area.

"Cover the road, don't let him sneak past," the angry guard yelled.

I stored Bella and used my wings to propel myself over the heads of the guards and towards the Bazaar. I would have to deal with them again after I left, there was no doubt of that. They had obviously known where I was heading.

I landed at a run, just past the edge of Shroud, and sprinted toward to Bazaar. Nothing else stopped me as I passed through the portal.

***

Frederick watched again as the winged man escaped from his new cronies. He hadn't expected them to be able to capture or injure the man. He only wanted information. After the spell dissipated the men returned to him.

"He's level fifteen sir, with a class called Mantra Enchanter," the lead guard said.

Frederick already knew this from searching the guard's mind when he first brought him on board. Imagine his surprise when the man had memories of the one individual he needed information on. This just proved that the man had not leveled since. He also now had the limits of at least one of the man's abilities, if not two.

"Wait for him to exit and attack him, post some men a few hundred feet away with ranged weapons."

"What about the loyal guards?"

"They won't bother us as long as you keep the destruction to a minimum. If it looks like the man is going to get serious, let him go. I know where he lives."

"And if we manage to kill him?"

A small smile formed on Frederick's face, he knew that wasn't likely to happen, not unless he involved himself personally. He wasn't ready for that, not yet at least.

"Then you can split his gear amongst yourselves."

The six men all smiled greedily at that. They had seen the man's impressive beast and armor. They also knew he had a storage ring.

***

I appeared on the portal platform in the Bazaar. 'I needed to find someone knowledgeable about enchanted items.'

It took me more time than I thought to find someone with knowledge about constructs. I approached the tent with a large table spread out in front of it. Wooden dolls sat on the table, legs kicking back and forth. The heads turned to watch me as I approached, giving me the creeps.

The grey-haired elven woman looked up from her work. She had been carving enchantments into a wooden orb.

"What can I help you with stranger?"

"I've been told you are the most knowledgeable person in the Bazaar about constructs," he said looking at the living dolls.

She smiled slightly, "it is a difficult profession but I like to believe I know a bit. Are you here to purchase?"

"Not exactly, I was looking for information."

"I'm sorry, child. I can't teach you about golemancy."

"Oh, no you misunderstand, I'm not here to learn about your profession. I came across something and would like to hear what you can tell me about it."

She quirked an eyebrow.

"Knowledge of any type isn't free. What do you have to offer, for my assistance?"

"I can always offer you credits but I think you might be more interested in what I have to show you."

This seemed to pique the woman's interest.

"Very well, come inside the tent and let me see what you wish to know about."

The wooden golems moved out of the way as I followed her inside. The tent contained a few benches and assorted tools. Unfinished works were hanging from a pole, like wet laundry left to dry.

"I'm going to need some space to place everything," I said, looking at the cluttered counters.

She clapped her hands and six of the golems entered the tent.

"Clean off that bench," she said, gesturing to one of the larger surfaces.

It didn't take the five of them long to remove everything from the table.

"Well, let's see what you brought."

I waved my hand over the table, depositing the body and all the organs I had removed.

I heard the woman gasp in shock as she rushed over to examine the 'corpse'.

She ran her hand along the skin and into the open cavity. She put a blood-covered hand to her tongue to taste the fluid. I nearly gagged at that, causing the woman to look up.

"Sorry, I got so excited I forgot you were here. Where did you come across a marvel like this?"

"It attacked me and a few of my friends. We didn't realize it wasn't human until weeks later."

"Yes, that would be an easy mistake to make. It has been decades since I've seen a homunculus of this quality."

"Can you tell me about homunculi and how they differ from your work?"

She laughed at that. "My work is a far cry from this, even if I was a master of golemancy they would never be lifelike. Homunculi are in essence body doubles. Royalty uses them for the most part. They aren't as powerful as the person they are templated from, nor can they utilize more than a few abilities."

"Why would they be used then?"

"That's easy, they are used to protect the original. Since the homunculi have all of the memories of the original they can be used in dangerous situations without having to worry about an important figure being attacked. Some worlds have banned their creation, calling them unnatural. This is why they are so rare these days. The few experts still alive work in seclusion and with only a select group. To think I get to study their work..." she said, trailing off.

I looked at the body and organs, mana hearts missing from the sockets. I had decided before leaving to pry the gems out and keep them for myself. It damaged the items a bit but I was fine with that.

"So, you're saying the person this thing was based on is still alive?"

"Without a doubt, the homunculus is linked to them. If the original dies, the copy can no longer function. It also cannot function across worlds, so they would have to be on the same planet."

I was afraid she was going to say that. That meant a high leveled mind controller now resided on Earth. I could only think of one possible location for that person to be and that was right outside the portal, in Biloxi.

"Thank you, your information has been helpful. I can trade you the body along with the organs for the assistance along with four of your constructs." Who knows they might come in handy.

"Deal," she said without hesitation.

She explained how they worked and gave me the four control rings.

Now, I needed to figure out a way to leave the Bazaar without dealing with those idiots outside. After visiting another merchant I picked up a single-use invisibility ring. It would only last five minutes but that should be plenty for me to avoid the guards and the Psion. While it cost me five hundred credits I deemed it an acceptable expense.

As for the Psion, I wasn't familiar enough with the man's abilities and didn't trust that he wouldn't involve himself while I was in the middle of battle.

I knew the man could freeze me in place, even if only temporarily. This could be deadly if I was mid-fight. I also knew the man was cautious and clever. If it wasn't for Martin finding the homunculus we may never have been aware that the man was still alive until he descended on Arman.

He would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. A dangerous individual like that shouldn't be left to run free. I realized how asinine that sounded coming from me, considering I was a dangerous individual as well.

I readied myself, heading toward the exit. I saw two individuals I recognized. They vanished through the portal just before I would step through. I activated the ring, Blink Step, and just before stepping through, my Wings.

As soon as the light flashed I pumped my wings. I felt something scrape against my foot as I rose into the air. When I looked down I saw that a group of four had thrown a net to try and capture me. Two arrows bounced off my shield as others further back were firing on me. They either had a skill or item capable of seeing through my cheap enchantment.

I twisted to avoid another volley, pulling my staff from my ring. I added lightning and water to my staff and cast out a Stunning Gust. The crescent of electrified water slammed into one of the archers, causing him to spasm uncontrollably. I dodged the last archer, landing on the roof of a building as my wings ended.

I recast the wings and flew across rooftops, avoiding the idiots below. I could still feel eyes on me, it had to be the Psion. I wondered if he was the one pushing these attacks? Working from the shadows seemed like it fit this guy.

I finally felt the sensation of being watched slip away as I passed the edge of the town. I guess the Psion didn't want to follow me any farther. Somehow I doubted he could only keep an eye on me from this distance.

I realized he must have been watching the battle with his men and the homunculus. How else would he know who I was or when to watch for me entering the town. That meant he probably knew about Fiona and Martin as well. I would have to warn them.

***

Frederick watched as the man fled the town. It was as he predicted, his men weren't enough to capture the man. He had learned what he wanted though as the man demonstrated new skills in his escape. He cataloged each one for further study.

He would love to wait and tease out the man's every trick but time was pressing. Already he saw more and more offworlders coming through the Bazaar. He had his men dealing with most of them. But that was risky, eventually, someone much stronger would come through and he would be forced to flee.

Already a few had escaped his attempts to capture or kill them. They were beginning to make trouble for him and he may be forced to accelerate his timetable, instead of his usual methodical approach.

***

I returned to Arman as fast as possible, Bella was panting heavily from the long run. I rubbed her neck reassuringly, tossing her some meat. I left her to meander the backyard while I talked with Fiona and Martin.

"We have a problem," I stated, walking into the parlor.

Both of them looked towards me.

"The body we found was a doppelganger, the real Psion is still alive and most likely in Biloxi."

"Are you sure?" Fiona asked.

"Yea, pretty sure. I found someone that explained how the homunculi work. They are used as body doubles for the rich and powerful. I also felt someone watching me in Biloxi, not to mention the six that knew I was arriving and attacked me."

"Shit, are you ok?" Martin asked.

"Yeah, although I am pretty sure he was watching remotely during our fight."

"So, you're saying he knows about Martin and me?" Fiona asked.

I nodded.

"So, what do we do?" Martin asked in concern.

"I'm not sure I could take this guy in a heads up fight but I don't think this man is going to offer that as an option. Drawing him out would be the best option for us but I'm not sure how to accomplish that."

"Perhaps I can track those men's movements?" Fiona offered.

"That is an option but you need to be careful, if he knows about you, he may have a counter."

"I'll keep my distance but we still need information on these people."

I was loath to let Fiona do this on her own but I didn't see any other options. Martin's sister wasn't going to give us resources for something she said was our problem.

"Alright, you remember that guard that nearly assaulted me the first time we went to Biloxi?"

"Yea, big nose, beady eyes," Fiona replied.

"Yep, that's the one. Find him and those he associates with, that should be a good place to start. Some of the people with him could see me while I was using an invisibility charm but I think that has more to do with the poor quality of the charm than an ability to see through invisibility."

The three of us finished planning for what we could. I didn't expect the man to leave until he got what he wanted, which was Belarius. Now that he was dead we had no options but to find and eliminate this problem.