Theo didn’t have time to lose consciousness. Not when Maraz lay there, an unknown quantity. The man had taken a heavy hit, even if the Air Cage had softened it.

Tirr flapped around Maraz, his feathers and scales teal with concern.

Grabbing a stamina potion from his bag, Theo chugged the thing. The world came back to him in sharp relief, despite the throbbing in his head. He knew he was on borrowed time, but that was all he had left.

At Maraz’s side, Theo tapped the man. “Maraz?” He shook this time. No response.

Tirr made a concerned noise.

Theo turned to the zilant. “Tirr, I need you to go find Telsa, okay? Can you repeat these words to her? ‘I’m at the forest, and I need help.’”

“Nice day! Forest help!” Tirr said, pulling small bits of Theo’s voice.

“...Close enough,” Theo said, waving a hand. “Thank you, Tirr. Now, fly!”

With several flaps, Tirr took to the air.

As the dragon sped off, Theo took stock of the situation. The stone walls remained, even if the runes on them had lost their power.

Maraz could have broken those walls down, probably, but Theo didn’t see any way he could. He’d expended all of his best wands on the golem, and using his mana pool right now wasn’t a great idea unless he wanted to join the man in his unconsciousness.

The pile of expended wands lay on the ground where he’d made his final stand, cracks lining the wood of a few he’d pushed too hard. But, Maraz was more important right now. He’d come back for the wands.

Blood trailed from the corner of Maraz’s mouth.

“Oh dear, that’s not good,” Theo said, considering what he could do. It turned out, not much. He didn’t know what to do in a situation like this. Healing potion? But those could cause Maraz to heal wrong and make things worse. He shouldn’t have had Tirr bring one to the man either, but he’d been too busy to think in the moment.

At least that had been a failure. The healing potion sat on the ground next to Maraz, chew marks dotting the cork.

Maraz’s chest rose and fell, but the breaths were fast and shallow. Cold sweat soaked his clothes and beaded on his forehead. And from the ashen skin, Theo didn’t know how much time the man had.

He had to act. His mind ran over the potential courses of action. Not moving Maraz could be important, but wouldn’t getting him to help be more important? Wait, did he have-

Picking up Maraz’s hands, Theo scanned over each, until he found what he was looking for. A sigh of relief left him. At least one thing was going right.

It took some effort, but the ring slid off Maraz’s finger. The pain in Theo’s head spiked as he allowed a trickle of mana into his eyes. A haze began to gather over his vision, but this was important. He had to know how it worked.

He chugged another stamina potion. The haze cleared, and he refocused on the ring, ignoring the sharp pain in his head.

Scanning over the runes of the ring, Theo figured out the trigger. The runes were… similar. Too similar. This was his formula! Not just a clever mimicry, but truly his exact setup, with only some minor changes to add in Fundamental force cancellation functions and a new trigger-motion for the rune. How had Maraz obtained his exact formula?

Theo shook his head. Not the time to care about that. He tried to slip the ring onto his own fingers, and found them to be far too slender. On the thumb, then. It was… kind of a fit. Still loose, but it would have to work.

Now, how did it go…? Theo tried several motions - it wasn’t easy to interpret what the runes meant, but he did it. Eventually. The ring glowed, and Maraz rose into the air, suspended by a modified version of Theo’s Air Cage.

With that knowledge in mind, he let Maraz down at a slow, gentle pace. Step one, figure out the ring, done. Step two, however. Theo glanced around, taking in the scene. How would he-

His eyes focused on a fallen tree, leaning against the stone wall surrounding them. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it kind of looked like a ladder, what with the branches and such. One just had to squint. A lot.

At least he had experience climbing trees, having grown up in the forests of Renwurd. He hadn’t climbed too often, however.

Now was as good a time as any to remember how to do it, he supposed. With a flick of his thumb, Maraz rose into the air once more.

Walking up to the felled tree, Theo clambered up onto the trunk. He checked once more to make sure Maraz remained above him.

The tree wobbled under him, and he nearly fell off, until it rolled onto another branch, stopping the motion.

A held breath left Theo. Hand, hand, foot, foot. Sweat dripped down his back. How high up was he now? He chanced a peek.

Bad idea. The world swayed as Theo stared at how high up he was. It wasn’t anything that would spell his end, but the fall wouldn’t be comfortable.

Maraz’s labored breathing broke him from his fear, though. He continued his diagonal ascent, and froze stock-still when the tree wobbled once more.

Maybe he could just stay here, unmoving until Telsa found him. But - Maraz might not make it.

Theo bit down on his lip, and continued to climb, grabbing branches now. He was over half way there. Just a bit further…

A yelp escaped him as the tree made one final shift. Theo fell. And caught his hand on the top of the wall.

His shoulder wrenched painfully, and the rough stone bit into his hands, but he kept his grip with willpower alone.

Swinging his body, Theo reached with a foot, and was able to push off of a branch at the top of the tree. It snapped, but he managed to pull himself on top of the wall.

Step three arrived. The one he’d been ignoring and telling himself that future-Theo would solve. Well, now he was future-Theo. He cursed past-Theo for his indiscretions.

Theo’s stomach plummeted as he glanced down the wall. The rough, but mostly flat wall made by magic.

How high up was he? Too far to drop down, that much was for sure. But… would that work?

At the very least, the wall could become a non-issue for the rescuers, if Tirr even understood Theo and went for help.

Flicking his thumb once more, Theo guided Maraz to the ground using the ring. He wanted to reserve the power, anyway. There was a large amount of mana stored within the gemstone, but it drained away under Maraz’s weight.

Would it work for him, though?

It wouldn’t hurt to try. Theo pointed the ring at himself, and moved his thumb in the trigger-motion for the enchantment.

His insides felt strange, but soon, Theo knew flight. He realized a problem quick enough, however. The ring was meant to lift up an outside source.

Grasping for the wall that was drifting farther and farther out of reach, panic began to set in. Theo pointed the ring downward, and to his relief the upward ascent stopped, just as he’d reached the canopy of tree branches.

The only question now was, why was he beginning to turn in the air? A second problem revealed itself to Theo, now. While flight appeared to be possible with this ring, it was not made for flight.

With his arm pointed out, the speed of his rotation increased second by second. Soon, queasiness took hold as tree branches repeatedly assaulted him.

He had to do something. Maybe it was the blood rushing to his brain at high velocity, but he had another idea. Not a smart one, but probably his only option at this point.

Theo flicked his thumb again, deactivating the ring. Gravity took hold, and he plummeted toward the earth. As the ground rose to meet him, he pointed the ring at himself once more, repeating the motion.

With the strange weightless sensation setting in again, the ring arrested his descent. Deactivating the ring as soon as his force canceled out, Theo allowed himself to experience the final five or so feet of the fall.

By some miracle, he’d managed to stay over the side of the wall he’d lowered Maraz to. Theo groaned, but stood up, wiping dirt and plant matter off of his vest.

The world spun around him, but Theo didn’t have time to be dizzy. He pointed the ring at Maraz, activated it, and took several staggering steps before he crashed into a tree.

Maybe a few seconds to reorient would help. Theo leaned against the tree, letting his dizziness fade away. His head hurt so much. He could feel each beat of his heart throb in his temples.

Glancing up at Maraz, Theo shocked himself back into motion. In the short amount of time he’d taken to traverse the wall, the man had become paler.

A race against time, then. He wasn’t sure what was happening inside Maraz, but he knew he needed to get the man to someone immediately.

With a quick look at the sun, Theo figured out the direction Romuen should be in, and ran through the forest. It was strange, accommodating for the floating man behind him in his route. After several near-misses with trees, Theo took greater care of not impaling Maraz on a branch, and slowed down.

His lungs burned enough to warrant the slowdown too. He might have passed out if he’d run much longer.

Besides, the fields of Romuen were in sight.

“Theo?” a voice shouted.

“Telsa?” Theo shouted, looking this way and that. “I’m over here!”

“Where is here?” Telsa asked, grunting as twigs snapped.

“Just- Just follow the sound of my voice!” Theo said, raising his voice higher.

From a cluster of trees, Theo spotted a brief flash of teal. “Telsa! Right here!”

The rogue woman stopped, turning, and met Theo’s eyes. “Theo? Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, it’s Maraz who’s in trouble!” Theo said, pointing up at the man floating above him.

Telsa’s eyes followed Theo’s finger, widening when she saw the man. “Gods, Theo, what happened?”

“There’s no time to explain, we need to bring him to Galeen’s!” Theo said, picking up into a jog once more.

Telsa fell into step next to him. She spotted the glowing ring. “Theo, give it to me. I’ll have him at Galeen’s way faster.”

“Good idea,” Theo said, stopping to take the ring off. His fingers were shaking, and dried blood had caked into the crevices. When had his hands started- Right. The wall.

“Is that blood?” Telsa asked, grabbing Theo’s hands.

Theo nodded, frowning. “I told you, I’ll explain later, just- please?”

“Fine.” Making an annoyed noise, Telsa slipped the ring off and nodded along to a quick explanation about activation and deactivation.

“Please, run fast, Telsa,” Theo pleaded, looking her in the eye.

Telsa pursed her lips, looking Theo up and down. “I don’t know why you want to help him but… okay. Hurry back.” She threw her dagger, and blurred toward it as the two points between her and the weapon sank together.

Grunting, Theo picked up his pace again. He had to- had to make sure Maraz was alright. That singular goal was all that kept him on his feet right now.

The world began to shift to blacks and greys at the edges of Theo’s vision. He stumbled, and something caught him.

“Theo! Are you okay?” a concerned voice asked.

From all the noise in Theo’s head, he could barely identify whose voice it was. “P-Pina?”

“That’s the one,” Pina said, chuckling.

Theo shifted back to a stand with Pina’s assistance. A bright teal zilant sat on her shoulders.

“Nice day!” Tirr said, flapping once.

“Not now, Tirr,” Pina said, holding the zilant back. “He’s barely on his feet as it is.”

“I’m- I’m okay, Pina,” Theo said, holding up his hands. “Really. I-I can stand.”

“Standing isn’t a huge reassurance, Theo,” Pina said, crossing her arms. “Why are you covered in soot? And what happened to your hands?”

Theo glanced down at his hands, a mix of dried and wet blood coating his hands. “I uh- grabbed a wall too fast. Can we just please hurry after Maraz?”

“I saw Telsa with him,” Pina said, turning toward Romuen. “What happened, Theo?”

“Remember the forest?” Theo asked, watching Pina nod. “Well, Maraz and I disabled the enchantment on it. Turns out, it had a hidden golem defense measure.”

“Holy shit, Theo,” Pina said, placing a hand over her mouth. “What kind of golem?”

“A strong one, judging by how durable its body was,” Theo said, clenching his hands. The pain helped him stay awake at this point. “I used every powerful wand in my possession on it, and the most I did was crack a leg. It took destroying its dungeon gem with a potion explosion and an Air Lance to kill it.”

“That’s- That’s going to need some more explanation, Theo.”

“Later,” Theo pleaded. The world began to fade on him again. “I need to see Galeen. I can tell them what happened to Maraz. It might help.”

Pina nodded, her lips firming into a line. “Okay. Get on my back. Tirr, help keep him on.”

“What?” Theo asked, watching Pina squat to the ground.

“Get on, Theo,” Pina hissed. “What are you waiting for?”

“Um, right,” Theo said, climbing onto Pina’s back, with Tirr’s tiny arms pulling on him to “help”.

Pina stood, a smile tugging at the corner of her lip. “Alright, Theo. Hold on. Vortex Sprint!”

Winds gusted around them as Pina took off, carrying them faster and faster toward the city.

At least fear for his life kept Theo awake this time. He hadn’t known up until now that Pina took to the rooftops sometimes to get around the city.

The two of them stood in front of Galeen’s clinic. Pina raised a fist to knock at the door, and it opened before she could.

Telsa stood in the doorway. “Theo, I was just about to- Pina?” She glanced at the floral girl standing next to him.

“Hi, I brought Theo,” she said, smiling widely with her needle-like teeth.

“Um, good,” Telsa said, opening the door wider. “Galeen told me to send you in once you got here, Theo.”

Theo nodded to her. “Okay, just um, stay here for me? Please?”

“Of course we will,” Pina said, pulling a wriggling Tirr into her arms. “Stay here, Tirr. Theo will be back soon.”

Thankful for Pina’s distraction of the zilant, Theo nodded to the two of them and rushed - well, staggered may have been a better word choice for his gait - into Galeen’s operating room.

When he entered, Faastran stood beside Galeen, inserting a bottle onto their hand.

Theo felt himself turning green, watching the glass fingers poke through Maraz’s body.

“Theo, good, you are here,” Faastran said, nodding to him. “Please explain to Galeen what happened to Maraz. It may assist in treating him.”

“Um, well, you see- There was this golem and-”

“The abbreviated version, please,” Faastran said.

“A giant golem fist punched him into a tree and the tree broke,” Theo said, feeling heat gather at his ears. Why hadn’t he just said that first?

Faastran nodded. “A double impact, as we had suspected. Inspect his back for further damage. There may be a puncture or break there.” The obsidian fulvitre pointed to where they meant.

Glass fingers shifted, pulling out of the front of Maraz’s body. Faastran stepped in, flipping Maraz onto his stomach.

Galeen moved their hands, and the fingers thinned out once again, sticking into the man’s back.

Theo watched for another moment before his stomach began to revolt at the sight. “I um-”

“You may go, Theo,” Galeen said, their voice as calm as could be. “I will ask you further questions if I have them. I heard Pina. Have her inform the Merchant’s Guild, though I am sure they already know.”

Theo, happy to take an excuse to leave the room - even if he wanted to make sure Maraz was okay - turned to the door. “I can do that. Is-Is he going to be okay?”

“This one is tough,” Galeen said, shifting their hand position once more. “Broken ribs punctured his lungs in several places. I can use healing potion on more areas than I could with you. He will recover. I will see to you after I am done with Maraz.”

“...Thank you,” Theo said, walking out the door. Flashbacks of Adam ran through his mind. He couldn’t handle being even part of the cause of that again.

“Did they do the finger thingy?” Pina asked, wiggling her fingers at Theo as he walked back into the room. She turned to Telsa. “Oh, totally did. He’s a little green.”

Telsa rolled her eyes.

“Galeen asked me to have you contact the Merchant’s Guild, Pina,” Theo said, taking a seat across from her.

Tirr slithered across the table between them into Theo’s lap.

“Aw, I hate bringing stuff to the Merchant’s Guild,” Pina said, crossing her arms. “They always make me fill out so many forms. And they don’t tip. Cheap bastards.”

“Yes, well, Maraz is important to the guild,” Theo said, stroking Tirr’s head. The edges of his vision were still fuzzy, and sitting down… didn’t help. “They may- may make you do less work if they need to rush.”

“That’s true,” Pina said. “Doesn’t mean I want to go help those jerks.” She stood from her chair, making her way to the door. “Whatever, see you guys soon.”

“Hurry back,” Telsa said, reclining in her own chair.

“Little green!” Tirr chirped in Pina’s voice.

Pina frowned at Tirr. “Is that my Tirr-name now?”

Theo laughed. Even that hurt his head right now. “Guess so.” He laid his head back, closing his eyes. Now that he’d brought Maraz back, and had the confirmation that the man would be okay, he could rest.

The world began to fade away as Theo sat there, with his dragon in his lap, until the sound of the door opening and a sudden yelp broke him from his trance.

When Theo cracked an eye open, he spotted Pina, hands covering her mouth. The girl fell to a knee. “Lady Vidalia of the blue hue, it is an honor to meet you.”