“Do you know anything that could help me figure out these curses?” I ask.

“Sorry no, I am magically inept.”

“Didn't think you did, but I thought I would try. You mentioned the second curse. Were you there when it was uttered?”

“Sorry no. The castle detected an ancient curse being cast, so I went to check it out. By the time I got there it was already cast.”

“How fast can you travel?” I ask.

“In one plane of existence I can travel almost instantaneously. That is why my kind services are sought out. But between planes or dimensions it can vary depending on dimensional and planer fluctuation.” he replies.

“Damn that sounds nice.”

“It is nice, yes. My race does not see space and time the same way, so it helps.”

“How do you see it?”

“That would be like explaining the proverbial blind man color.”

“Good point,” I say “You know you would think I would have a ton of questions, but I have nothing. Anyone else?”

“Yes why can I not sense the rock?” Falls asks.

“Because the whole city is in multiple dimensions. As soon as you try to sense the material, or try to alter it without permission it shifts to another dimension,” Sesney says.

“Then how am I to help if there is a battle?”

“You don't need to, the defenses on the city are of the highest grade. If they can't stop an attack, be sure you couldn't either.”

“Can dragons summon you?” Rock asks.

“Me no, I am already summoned, but if you mean my race, yes. But as I said it is a very long and arduous task. Not to mention dangerous without the right precautions,” Sesney answers.

“Just curious. My mother never mentioned you or your race,” Rock comments.

“She has never met my race. We were forbidden by the council to be summoned.”

“Oh,” Rock replies, then adds, “That would explain it.”

“I have wanted to talk to Elisa since Balthazar died, but I feared she would be fearful of me. So I just visited her silently. I enjoyed her stories of the old days,” Sesney says with longing.

“You spied on us?” Rock returns angrily.

“Yes that is what I do. My race is non detectable by your magic. Only the summoner knows where I am,” he says calmly.

“Who is your summoner?” Rock asks, still angry.

“Sadly he was the first to disappear. I would have gone wild if it were not for my friend. She calmed me and kept me focused. Normally we lose our reasoning when our summoner dies. It was lucky all the others of my race that was summoned also eventually disappeared. Why I remained I do not know.” I could hear a deep sense of depression in his voice.

“Do you miss the others of your race?” I ask.

“No, only the humans. I was more attached to them then anyone else,” he says.

“Perhaps that is what kept you here.” I say.

“It is possible. I do not fully understand my connection to this dimension.”

“Why did you spy on us?” Rock asks angrily.

“Oh let it go Rock,” I say flustered, “He said he wanted to tell Star, but was afraid. I now see why. Like he could do anything about your codes and secrets. He has had thousands of years to tell them, but he hasn't,” I say.

“Have you?” Rock asks indignantly.

“No, I have no need to reveal privacy's of others unless they would harm another. And your laws prevent that so there is no need.

And Jode is right, this is why I never reveal myself. You are no better than the humans,” Sesney says.

“Just ignore him, Sesney, his ego outweighs his thoughts,” I say. I wait for a response but get none.

I turn to Rock, “I hope you're happy. You just insulted and scared off the only person that could help us the most. No wonder dragons have no friends, you insult them all till they leave,” I say angrily and notice I am yelling by the end.

“But...” Rock says confused and lost.

“This very reason is why I never allowed a dragon in this city. You think you are so much better than everyone else. Maybe you should have listened to your mother more than your dad,” I yell.

I walk to the far wall and say, “My room.” and find myself in a twenty by twenty room. A single bed sits along one wall and a dresser on the other. Nothing else is in the room.

It hits me and I wonder if there is anything in here of my previous life. I go to the four drawer dresser. It has what looks like a white lament on it. The surface is smooth and clean. I open the top drawer.

I find undergarments and socks. I close it and look in the second. There are T-shirts and dress shirts. Like the under garments and socks they are made of the same silk as the clothes I have been wearing for about a year.

The third drawer is slacks. The one thing I do miss about the human world is jeans. All the clothes are made of silk. There must be a lot of these silk worms. Or the silk is reusable because it never seems to run out.

I check the bottom drawer and find bags, sachets, and square devices. I find that most of the bags and sachets are empty. A few had some kind of dried herb. I pick up one device and it looks to be some kind of clear crystal. There is nothing on the outside of the block. The crystal looks flawless. I am not an expert, so I base it on no visible distortions.

“It is a capture crystal,” Sesney says and I jump. “Sorry,” he adds.

“Oh it's okay,” I say, still looking at the device, “What does it capture?” I ask.

“Normally it was to capture rouge people or energy. But you were trying to see if it could contain the curse till you found a way to reverse it.” he says.

“How can you contain a curse?”

“I don't know. I guess you couldn't figure out a way either.”

“Good point. Is there something you want, or did you just want to talk?” I ask, trying to subdue my frustration.

“A little of both. First I came to apologize. I acted rashly. It has been a long time since I have interacted with anyone,” he says sorrowfully.

“You have no need to be sorry. Rock overreacted.” I say.

“Not really. He reacted as most do when they find out there is no privacy for them. It was not his ego that was hurt, it was his security.”

“What does he expect? That there is nothing out there that can spy on him?” I ask, disgusted.

“Actually yes he did think that. You have always been unique in knowing life always has the exception waiting for you.

Dragons pride themselves on knowing it all and when that world is shattered they are fearful. Fear breeds anger. So he was just reacting to the unknown.”

“Well he needs to get used to it. The whole world is an unknown,” I say spitefully.

“Jode you have to give others a little leeway. For one, Rock is still a child in his race. They may live longer than you, but they have not gone through what you have. Dragon society is very sheltered. He has to learn.”

“Probably, but I am going through things too. Half the time I don't even know who I am,” I say and put the crystal in the drawer. I walk over to the bed and sit down while Sesney talks.

“I know that. I have seen you for some time now. I have watched you grow from a child. For someone who has lived a double life, you are doing better than most.

I could never have handled what you went through in your previous life's last days. Then to carry them over to this one, I don't know of anyone that could have done it..

Even my best friend could not do it. Her mind could not handle the strain of her double identity. In the last of her days she lost a bit of herself. I feared you would do the same. But you somehow became who you once were without losing who you had become.

Please do not give up now. You all have come a long way. Rock admires you. That is unusual for a dragon. And I know Star thinks very highly of you. You were her inspiration when she was lost, and she already said you are like the man she knew.”

“What is it about me that can be inspiring? I can't even understand what is going on.” I say giving up.

“Because you are not trying to hide anything. You do not put on a facade for others. You act as you feel, not what you think others think you should. You are the innocence that they crave,” he says. I know he is trying to inspire, but I just can't see it.

“Innocent, I am not.” I say.

Sesney laughs, “Perhaps not the way you see it, but you are. Even in your life as Balthore you were innocent. But even then you tried to argue the point. Let's just say innocence is in the eye of the beholder.”

I laugh, “That is what the cleaner looks like, a beholder in D&D, just without the huge eyeball.”

“They are beholders of D&D. Just not limited to the set spells in the book. And they do have one huge eye. They only use it for the higher magic.

I expect it is out now, summoning. The watchers rival all other races in magic. A mere look of an eye can cast spells that would take an ancient years to set up. The only difference from them and the beholders of D&D is that all watchers are the most docile of races. I've never heard of one killing anything, not even if ordered.”

“I guess with ultimate power you either become conquerors or see no need to worry about anything.”

“True, it is very hard to kill something that can counter every spell, and deflect every attack.”

“If you are feeling better let's go back to the foyer. They are waiting for you,” he says questioningly.

“I suppose,” I say. I don't know how I knew to walk to a wall to port but I figured it worked once, “Foyer,” I say as I walk to the wall.

I find myself standing at the wall opposite the double doors. Rock, Oaky, and Falls are standing in the middle of the room talking.

“He's going through a lot,” Oaky says.

“But it is not an excuse,” I say and walk up to them.

“I really don't like this place.” Rock says.

“And to think this is what your mother grew up knowing as normal,” I say.

“Really?” Rock asks.

“Yes,” Sesney says and they all jump, “Sorry I have that effect. The main city in the human world was more advanced. They simply asked the city to port them and they were there.”

“There was no privacy?” Rock asks, shocked.

“In effect no. All conversations in the city were recorded. It was done to always have a record in case of discrepancies. It is one of the reasons I could not speak in the city. It would have raised red flags.” Sesney says.

“Is this city the same way?” Rock asks suspiciously.

“Yes and no. Balthore agreed with the founders that privacy is important. Being always leery of who was listening hindered creativeness. But he also pointed out that having things recorded was vital in an emergency.

So he suggested that an arbitrator watcher be the reader of the records. Only the arbitrator has access to them. All queries to the records must go through it. That way no one has access to them to use them against another.”

“So there is an arbitrator listening now?” Rock asks.

“No, that is one of the staff that vanished. Supervisor one will create another, but I am not sure when it will be summoned.”

“Can we skip that one?” Rock asks.

“It is not recommended. There would be no way to double check things in the city. It does more than just keep track of the records.” Sesney says.

“Oh get over it Rock. It's not like a watcher has a reason to review everything you do. Like they really care if you pop a cherry or two.” I say.

Sesney laughs and Rock asks, “Pop a cherry?”

“Never mind. The watchers are all rules and protocol like dragons. I figure you of all people would appreciate that.” I say.

“But to have something repeat me verbatim worries me,” Rock says shyly.

“It wont. It is instructed to only arbitrate, not reveal. They can keep secrets better than any race. You can't read their emotions and no magic can pick their brain. In essence the perfect computer.” Sesney says.

“What is a computer?” Falls asks.

“A device that records information that you can slightly interact with,” I say.

“Oh a crystal,” Falls says.

“Sort of, but more complex and not as pretty.”

“Hmm,” Falls sounds.

“Are you okay?” Oaky asks me.

“Yeah I just had a fit. I think I'm fine now,”

“Do you really think all dragons are arrogant?” Rock asks.

“I don't know what I think anymore. I don't know anything about dragons. I grew up where the only intelligent life that I know of is human,” I say.

“Then why did you say that?” Rock asks hurt.

“Rock I'm sorry. I don't have a clue. Since I can remember I have done that. That's why no one in my world likes me. I just flip out and scare them.

Back then I just thought I was a bit mental. Now I think it is the emotions of my previous life. Sometimes they seem to blend in my head.

If you think about it, I'm sure you can think of a few you have met you disliked. Well now imagine having that feeling about them, but not know who it is. You just know that the feeling is pointed toward one race,” I say in desperation.

“I see your point. Sounds confusing,” Rock responds.

“You're telling me. I know things I shouldn't. I say things I have no clue about. I vaguely remember that mess I spilled when I was talking about the curse, but I have no clue what it means or where it came from.”

“Balthazar always left people in his dust,” Sesney says. “I would listen in on some conversations about this curse and other magic and my head would spin. I learned to not be present while magic discussions were going on.”

“So you just popped in on the founders too?” Rock asks.

“Yeah, Why?” Sesney asks.

“Didn't they get upset you were spying on them?” Rock asks, genuinely curious.

“No, they all knew several of my kind were around. They summoned us,” he says.

“I just figure they had a lot of private stuff they talked about,” Rock sounds to be trying to understand.

“Well the founders felt that nothing about magic should be kept from anyone capable. And as for personal situations they didn't care. I am not human so I could never be intimate, so to me and the others of my kind it is merely academic,” Sesney says evenly.

Rock shivers, “I wasn't even thinking of that.”

“Rock doesn't dragons believe in ghosts or spirits?” I ask.

“Of course, I have ran into a few,” He replies.

“Don't you think that one could just walk in on a conversation at any time?” I ask.

“Well I guess. I don't think protections are up all the time,” he says in thought.

“Then what is the difference? Plus who is to say that Sesney is not the only one of his kind roaming around.”

Rock puts his finger up and opens his mouth to talk then puts his hand down and shuts his mouth.

“Jode is right. I am not the only Phase Shifter in either world. Many of my kind find holes and come over to both worlds all the time.” Sesney says.

“Oh, Why doesn't anyone know about your kind?” Rock asks.

Sesney laughs, “Because no one can see us.”

“Ooo... yeah right,” Rock returns.

“I'm curious,” I ask, “Can your race see each other?” I ask.

“You know, no one has ever asked me that, but yes. We can see each other just fine. It would be a bit confusing and impossible for us to survive if we couldn't,” Sesney says.

“Well I figured in your home dimension, or whatever, you could. I just didn't know if after summoned that changed your perception.” I say defensively.

“Good point. I forget you are not the man I used to know. When something is summoned a door is opened to us. We just merely walk through it. Our vision allows us to see anything in any world or dimension. In other words no one can be invisible to us.” he says.

“Ooo sounds handy. Wish I could do that,” I say.

“You can through magic. But just like the cowl, or any item of seeing it can cause disorientation or even insanity,” Sesney says.

“Oh, don't want that. I think I'll just put a collar on you and drag you around like a puppy,” I say with a smile.

“Cute,” Sesney says, “I had hoped you would not remember that joke.”

“What joke?” I ask.

“As Balthazar, you swore you were going to put a collar on me because I scared you every time I spoke,” he says defiantly.

“Great idea,” Rock says with an evil smile.

“Nice try dragon boy,” Sesney says, “But all I have to do is phase to another place and it stays here.”

“Damn, worth a try,” Rock says.

“This is not getting us closer to finding the counter curse,” Falls says.

“Oh relax,” I say, “It ain’t going anywhere and if I understand my babble,” I nod at Rock, “It is at a stalemate anyway. It wont get worse.”

“That is true Jode, otherwise all this that you see would not be here.” Sesney says.

“But we are on a quest and should be working on it,” Falls says.

“Falls relax. You may find in time that the answer to a question, or quest could be where you least expect it. Let life guide you. If it takes you in a direction that seems wrong. You eventually find that it was actually right,” I say.

“I don't understand. How can wrong be right?” Falls asks.

I chuckle, “That my friend is human nature,” I say.

“It doesn't make sense,” Falls repeats.

“And do I always make sense?” I ask.

“No,” she states firmly.

“And that is why it does,” I say.

“You can't use things that are similar to make a point in contrast,” She says.

“Wait,” Oaky says, “Let me explain it to her. You boys have fun.”

“Thanks mom,” I say.

Oaky glares at me, then guides Falls off to explain.”

“Strange race, the knomes,” Sesney says. “She is the first I really met. Bit literal aren't they?”

“Well Falls is anyway. But she is so fun to mess with,” I say.

“Jode that is mean,” Sesney says, “I'm embarrassed to say, I like that thought.”

Sesney, Rock and I laugh. Oaky gives us a stare which makes us laugh more.

We calm down and Sesney says, “Rock there aren't adequate accommodations for dragons here. But you can use whatever feels better for you.”

“Why aren't there dragon accommodations?” Rock asks.

“I can't say for sure. But I gather it was because of the strict laws the dragons had back then. If a dragon ever saw the city they were required to report it. So the founders never allowed dragons here,” Sesney says.

“So the founders were prejudice,” I say.

“I doubt that Jode,” Rock says.

“Rock is correct. Look at your previous life. You saved the dragons,” Sesney says.

“But...” I protest.

“Jode it was a safety for this place and the dragons. The penalty for countering the dragon law is very harsh. If they never saw the city then no law could be broken,” Rock says.

“But they would have to say who was in the rebellion” I say.

Sesney laughs, “They already knew who was part of it. Why do you think they were looking for the city?

There were no laws forbidding you from disagreeing with the council. But there was a law about killing another human. I'm not saying it could never happen, but not in the city.”

“Okay that had to be a very strange world back then,” I say.

“Not really. Sounds like they had similar laws to dragons,” Rock says.

“Actually the laws were the same for both. It's just that humans did not hold family honor as strongly as the dragons. And yes it was way different than humans now.” Sesney replies.

“Okay then,” I say, “Where are you going to stay Rock?” I ask.

“Out in the air if the cleaners don't think of me as dirt. It has been years since I have done that,” Rock says.

Sesney laughs, “No they won't consider you trash. If anything they would put you in storage for later magical use,” Sesney says.

“Why?” Rock asks.

“Because you are gold.”

“Oh yeah,” Rock says and laughs with Sesney.