Araxes: Tolliver. The child-avatar is guiding me to a section of information which may contain the answer to our current predicament. I will require time to peruse the materials at hand, and then I will need you ready to implement any solutions I may uncover. Prior to that happening, you are useless to me and should bend your efforts to something more suitably distracting. Perhaps chasing a ball. Or keeping your secondary ovaloid strumpet from strangling you where you stand.

“Hoo-boy,” Sam said with a low whistle.

“What? What’s going on with Sephy?” Sally asked, still clearly on the verge of panic.

Quick as he could, Sam filled her in on the latest developments, and on Araxes’… Plan?

“I think, I think, he’s going to try and figure out a way to connect back to us from his end using the information stored in your sister’s memories,” He said after giving it some thought. “It’s what I would do in his place. Which means I need to get back to the dungeon and get the nexus ready to accept a link-up if he finds the coordinates he needs. Or… Whatever else he might find.”

“Hey Chief, don’t forget, you got an appointment with that Milthorne chick too,” one of the orcs spoke up.

Sam scowled. That was right. He did. For a moment he was tempted to blow it off, but…

But he really didn’t have anything he could do right this instant to get Araxes or Persephone back, or to further his own efforts to create an Admin Room—or any other kind of non-connected anomaly.

And, let’s face it, if he was going to be a leader of any kind, he was going to have to figure out this whole ‘multitasking’ thing sooner or later.

“Alright,” he said with a sigh. “Let’s go talk to her. Who knows, maybe she’ll have something interesting to say.”

“What!?” Sally shrilled and swooped around in front of him, glaring up at him with her red gem-eye. “Oh no. My sister is stuck inside her own head with that idiot bone-bag you let follow you here. You’re not going anywhere untill—“

Sam reached down and activated his Harness’s ‘attractive force’ ability. The power flowed out and settled around Sally, attaching her to his gloved hand. And he very gently lifted her up so he was looking her right in the eye.

“Sally,” he said, quiet and firm. “Stop.”

Her gem flickered in a fast blink. “What?”

“You’re worried for your sister. I get it. I am too. And for Araxes. Because she’s vulnerable and easily hurt and probably scared. And because as annoying as he is, Araxes is an ally, and maybe something more depending on how the next few days go. But right now there is nothing either one of us can do for them.”

Sally wriggled in his grip against the Harness’ force, but her telekinesis was no match for a piece of gear that could toss buildings around if it had the battery for it. “I’m gonna kick your ass so hard…”

“No. You’re not.” Sam lowered himself into a crouch, letting Sally back down to her own height and releasing his grip. “Sally, we’ll get her back. And we’ll keep her safe. And we’ll make sure Araxes doesn’t do anything stupid to her. But right now, we just have to stand back and let them work.

“We’re just not the ones who can come up with the solution for this one, Sal,” he finished with a wry smile. “Believe me, it’s gonna take me a minute to get used to it too.”

She was silent for a long moment, then she seemed to slump forward, and her eye dimmed for a moment.

“Yeah. Okay.” She let out a sigh. “It’s just… She needs me, y’know? To keep her safe. And now…” Her eye jerked up and brightened suddenly. “You’re not leaving her here, are you? Because I swear to god, butter-boy—“

“No, of course not.” Sam thought quickly, glancing up at his guard. “Neeber, Sharak, go with Sally and help her get Persephone back to the dungeon. Try not to touch Seph unless you absolutely have to.”

“Uh, chief, we’re your guards, not hers,” Sharak the orc pointed out.

Sam raised one eyebrow.

“—But,” interjected Neeber, darting forward, “We’ll be happy to make sure the kid doesn’t get in trouble between here and home. Right Sharak?”

“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Right.” Sharak nodded his big head quickly. "Right. And you’ll have Thesheka with you for backup,” he added, nodding towards the orc woman who hadn’t said anything yet. “That should be enough, right?”

“No,” said Thesheka, pushing off from the wall and shaking her dreadlocked head. “But if that’s what the chief wants, that’s what he gets.”

Sam frowned. “Seriously? You’re not going to try and change my mind?”

The tall woman grinned, showing a mouth full of teeth and sharp tusks. “Hey, it’s your ass boss. I can always find work somewhere else now that I’ve got my brain back. You want to risk slabbing yourself? That’s your lookout.”

“That’s a great attitude for a bodyguard to have,” he said with a grin. “Have you ever thought about writing a book on your technique?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna call it ‘smart-ass chief who got his head kicked in’. Any more questions?”

“Nope, that about covers it,” Sam chuckled, then sobered up as he realized the glare he was getting from Sally. “Look, go with Neeber and Sharak. They’ll get you and Persephone back alright. Okay?”

“Fine,” she said after a moment, still glaring. “But if anything happens to Sephy—“

“I know, I know,” Sam sighed. “You’ll carve out my entrails with a dull spoon.”

“Exactly.”

“See you back at the Dungeon, Sally.”