Eden spent the night at the Mystern estate. She felt a bit awkward, doing it, as she condemned the way Senator Mystern ran the city, but the demigod wasn't put out by it in the slightest; in fact, Mystern went so far as to say that she was used to people disagreeing with her, that one more wouldn't kill her, and that if Eden wanted anything, to reach out to her and she would find help. Eden had pressed her luck, and surprisingly it held: she convinced Mystern to purchase the Meadium and leave it in Megan's care, but with instructions to keep the top floor rooms open for Eden to occupy if she needed housing. So now, Eden was two-thousand gold coins richer with a bag to store it all in and permanent free housing.

All in all, it was an odd encounter, but as Eden fell asleep, those thoughts left her and she began to dream again. In her dream, there was no looming and fiery god, there were no helwolves. She looked up and saw a mansion. Sael's family estate. It looked hollow and empty, as if there were no furniture or walls inside. It looked... dark.

"I'm sorry, Sael." Eden said, bowing her head. "I know I should have looked for you. Tried to find your body. and give you a proper burial or... something. I feel guilty. But I can't do anything about that, now. ...And I don't feel like I could have been expected to do more than I did. Not from where I was at. ...I hope you're resting easy."

Eden cast her glance downwards. There was a gash in the ground, where her friend fell. The crevice did nothing and Eden just looked at it.

"I'm sorry, Azrael. I need to have other friends. I'm not entirely sure what that should look like, yet. Where I'm from, at my age, playdates don't happen for another decade. But you were my friend. I know this. And I know elves are supposed to mourn for centuries, but... but I'm just getting started with everything. I can't just... stop. I don't mean to be shallow. I don't mean to be self-centered. But it's just me, now, and I know that I can't feel alone again. I want to be angry with you for leaving me, but all I feel is lonely. You and Sael are gone and I'm still here. I don't want to be alone. Not really. I hope you understand."

Beams of warm light came from behind Eden. She turned around and saw the sun, it's brilliant light chasing away the shadows that had haunted her so. The daylight felt good on her skin. And she awoke.

***

Eden rolled over onto her back, where daylight hit her face. Her eyes squinted open and the elf sat up. A new set of clothes, specifically the ones Bran had gotten her, waited for her on a chair across the room and a bathtub had been brought in, full and steamy. Eden reasoned that it had probably appeared by magic, as she had not seen a single servant in Mystern's home, nor had anything woken her up in the night or early morning. She swung her legs out of bed and began getting ready for the day.

When Eden was done, she descended to the ground floor, where the rest of her group was apparently waiting for her, with the exception of Raenaugh.

Several floating dishes bounced through the air, somehow not losing their contents, supplying the group with eggs, biscuits, sausage, and other breakfast foods; a tray of several different pitchers of drinks was already sitting on a table centered between the couches that Eden's friends sat on.

They all greeted her with great cheer; it seemed that they had been awake long enough to all be in a good mood. Eden lifted her hand up in a minimal effort to wave, though in light spring, sat down on a couch, and helped herself to some biscuits and jam. After finishing his conversation with Sariel, Bran turned to Eden and said,

"So this looks like this is it, for a while. Mystern doesn't have anything more for us to do--at least not for now--and so we all have to get back to our normal occupations. Well, mine less than normal for me, but you get the idea."

"Oh, yeah," Eden replied with a mouth full of biscuit, "you have to work for your family, now, don't you? And I gathered that it's a... bad thing?"

"Well, it's certainly not something I want to do. But I won't have to do it forever, I suppose. I just hate being stuck in a laboratory all day. I'd rather be out--"

"--jumping across rooftops?" Eden interrupted.

"Yeah, honestly. I like not being beholden to anyone. Especially my folks." Eden felt another pang of loneliness. She missed her parents.

"I'll be accepting priesthood training almost as soon as I finish debriefing everyone at the temple, I'm almost sure of it." Sariel added.

"I'll be aiming to unseat the current champion, so I'll be training, non-stop." Vorol intoned. "It's almost not worth it, but the money is amazing." he added.

"Point is," Bran interjected, "we're all going to be busier than normal for the foreseeable future, but we've all agreed we wouldn't mind getting together for lunch or something. Perhaps, tentatively, once a week?"

Eden shook her head and delved into autumn. "I wish I could, Brandy. I think I'll be leaving Valekenport today."

"What?" the other three exclaimed all at once.

"If I'm not mistaken. My teacher is here in town, supposedly to pick me up, and I don't know how long I'll be gone." The others looked crestfallen. "But I'll be back!" She quickly added. "For sure, I'll be back. Sariel is going for his priest training, and I'm going for... bard training, I guess. I'm not sure how long that's supposed to take, but as soon as I'm done, I'll come back and I'll out-perform every other performer at the Medium."

Vorol raised an eyebrow. "Lofty goals, huh?"

"Well, I don't have anything greater on my agenda, just yet. Besides, what could be loftier than taking down the thieves' guild? Slaying a dragon?" That got a chuckle out of everyone. "But, yeah, I have another stop or two to make before I leave, so as soon as I'm done with this biscuit, I have to make tracks. Knowing Ichabod, he'll probably just teleport me out of the city if he gets too impatient."

"I think he would have a difficult time doing that." Bran said dismissively. "We have the world's premier abjurationist living here and working for the city; he maintains a ward around the city that prevents teleportation in and out, among other things."

"That old orc is still kicking?" Vorol asked.

"He has no plans to retire, last I heard." Sariel confirmed.

"He'll actually be taking in at least a couple former guild-children and apprenticing them, from what Mystern told me." Bran followed up. Eden broke out into a grin.

"No kidding? That's fantastic! See, Brandy, it was a good idea."

"It was an excellent idea. It just wasn't a perfect, or even workshopped idea. That'll change, now that more people are involved." Eden stuck her tongue out at the noble.

As she finished her breakfast, Eden thought about how nice this all was, that she had friends that would be waiting on her to come back. Friends. Actual friends.

Declan, one of Sariel's fellow acolytes at the temple of Ra entered the estate to visit his elavis co-worker and joined them in breakfast, apparently trying to find out from Sariel everything that happened before anyone else at the temple.

They said their goodbyes to Eden, and the elf left Mystern's estate--and met Raenaugh at the gate.

They both opened their mouths to greet each other, accidentally cutting each other off.

"Sorry!" the young lord laughed, brushing his long black hair out of his face and behind his ears. His bright blue eyes twinkled, as if he was excited about something. "If you've got time, I've got something to say to you, Eden." The elf paused at this, her smile not breaking. Why had he worded that... well, like that instead of just telling her? Maybe this was just how this conversation was going to flow.

"Yeah, same over here. But, uh, how have you been? Did anyone bother you on the way over?"

Raenaugh stopped and seemed a bit flustered, for a moment, but then waved his hand and said, "Yeah, no, I'm fine, everything's fine, but why don't you go ahead with what you were going to say?"

Eden shrugged and said, "My teacher is here in the city to collect me. He'll more than likely want to depart as soon as I finish saying goodbye to everyone. Dramatic ass-hat of a man is probably watching me at a distance and waiting for that very thing. That was it. I'm going around and saying my goodbyes." Raenaugh stopped smiling and seemed to freeze for a moment. "There, now it's your turn. Are... are you okay?"

The human snapped out of it and brought his smile back, but his eyes didn't seem to match it.

"Yeah, no, I just forgot what I was going to say." He paused, then continued, "I was floundering there for a moment, because I was building up to it, but now it's gone. It must not have been that important." He smiled sheepishly.

Eden nodded, placatingly. The two awkwardly said their goodbyes and left, Eden to the market, and Raenaugh to the Mystern estate to meet up with the rest of the group. On her way out, Eden couldn't help but wonder, what in all the hells was that all about?

Eden's next stop was a certain meat shop. She walked through the door and let the bells jingle, then let the door swing back shut, causing them to jingle again. Then she opened the door and closed it again. She did this another few times--until she was satisfied and in full spring--and turned to greet the goblin at the counter, who was staring daggers at her.

"Hey!" She greeted the little green person, "You remember me?"

He gave her a tired glare and replied, "After that, I'll not forget you, that's for sure."

"That's the idea!" She replied cheerfully.

He rolled his eyes and asked, "Are you needing more sausage? I've got pig and ox, today."

"Not sausage, but can you give me bacon strips?"

He nodded. "Sure, but if you're wanting to eat it right away, please give me a minute to cook it for you."

"Sure thing!" Eden replied.

"How much do you want?"

"Err... enough for two people?"

"Three silver." Eden handed him a gold coin.

The goblin stared at the coin for a moment, then nodded and retreated to the kitchen while Eden busied herself by examining the paintings on the walls. Most were portrayals of notable sheep and pigs that been given to the shop, along with a couple framed ledgers detailing the dimensions of said animals. Eden squinted at the pictures and decided that the numbers had to be exaggerated; there were no five-hundred-pound goats... were there?"

On the opposite wall, there was a larger painting, a watercolor of a goblin family. An older goblin male, an elderly hobgoblin female, and the children (or at least Eden assumed) were two goblins, one male, one female. and a hob male, all standing in front of a small house. The elderly goblin was in the air and being squeezed by the female hob, and the younger hobgoblin was resting his hands on the heads of the two young adult goblins. The brushwork was really quite good and the artist made even the smallest details look like they were all done with a single stroke of the brush."

Eden stood there, examining it for a while, until she felt a tap on her elbow. She turned and looked down to see the goblin holding out a cloth bag for her.

"The meat is wrapped in waxen paper." he assured her as she took the bag from him. He peered around her and looked at the painting. "We hired somebody to do that almost a year ago. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is!" Eden agreed, moving her gaze back to the painting.

"That hob there, between the two gobs--the one on the left is me--that's my brother."

"Does he work in the kitchen?"

"Oh, no, he doesn't do meat. He's a dock-hand. He has to take advantage of that hob strength of his. Lucky bastard. He was born like that. All hobs are born hobs. ...But you knew that, didn't you?"

Eden turned to look at him. "Yes, I did."

The goblin tapped her on the elbow again. "It's a neat thing you can do, turning your skin green like mine. ...You're one of them, aren't you? One of the old elves."

Eden smiled, almost sadly, delving into autumn. "Yes, I am."

"I thought so. My grandfather used to tell stories about your kind. You look just like he described. And so much more. What's it like... over there?"

"It's beautiful. The sky pinks up in the morning, waxes purple in the afternoon, and is the loveliest shade of sapphire in the evening. The whisper-trees tell all the secrets they know, the rabbit-people rush to their next appointments, the elves throw the best parties, and the courts set off fireworks in weekly celebrations." Eden plunged into winter, longing for home.

"Do you think my people will ever get back?" The goblin whispered.

"I don't know. Many elves left, and they became what you know them as. It seems your kind has done much the same. You're not quite what left us to begin with. Would you want to go back if you had the chance? Your family is here. Everything you know is here."

The goblin nodded slowly. "You have a good point. I think I'd like it, just the same."

"When I stand before the court of Summer's Lady or that of her husband again, I can plead your case with them, if you'd like. She and I will eventually have much to discuss."

"I'd like that very much. But what's the cost? With the fae, there's always a cost. That's what Grandpa told me, anyway."

A soft light glimmered in her eyes, so faint that if the goblin wasn't looking, he wouldn't have seen it. "Everything." she said. The world seemed to grow quieter. "Swear to me everything that you have and everything you are."

"Everything?" The goblin whimpered.

"I won't collect now, but when I stand before a god's court, I must be able to call something of worth. Understand that when I have that opportunity, you might be hundreds of years dead, and your name will not be enough. If you want this, if you really want this, I must be able to speak on your behalf, for you might be dust on the ground when the time comes."

"And you likely won't collect until after I'm dead? What if you do, though? You're asking everything from me on a chance that the Summer's Queen will say yes. What if you call on me, and she says no?"

"Then you'll be successfully smuggled into the Twilightlands in a way that Titania won't refute, having sworn yourself to someone who's returning, but your family will remain here. They won't be given the option to accompany you."

The goblin hesitated. "But if she says yes, my family will be given the option? Not a mandate, right?"

"Very much an option."

"Okay, then. I, Magren Turnipsweet, swear to you everything that I have and am; it's yours."

"It's a promise, then, and fae do not break their promises; your being will not be called for anything short of a god's court; Titania will hear your plea, from my own lips, and I will do all in my power to persuade her to let your family, if not your entire species, back into the lands of the fae."

The pact took hold and Eden's eyes flashed brightly for a moment, power coalescing into the center of her being--power like she had never felt before. It was elating! It was exciting! It felt electrical! And as soon as it had started, the power flow ended, the energy binding itself to and settling in her core.

The perfectly ordinary goblin looked traumatized. Eden patted him on the head.

"It was nice doing business with you, Magren. I'll be sure to tell my friends to recommend this shop." With that, she left for her next destination.

Eden showed up at Tekek's weapon stand and held up the bag to the sanpinsani. The snake-person sniffed and widened her eyes.

"You actually brought me bacon!" she exclaimed, delighted. She turned to another sanpinsani, one with yellow scales, that was polishing the weapons. "Yrsew! Yrsew, I'm taking my lunch. Take over for me!" The other sanpinsani nodded and stood at the stand in Tekek's place. Tekek turned to Eden, "Come, we only have an hour; this alley over here is for us to take our breaks in--we'll go there! You brought enough for two, right?"

Tekek lead Eden to a nearby alley and they sat on a couple stools that were waiting for them.

"Good." Tekek remarked. There's no one here, but us. I don't want to smell pipe smoke while I eat." Her tail lashed, as if to punctuate her remark. Tekek took a slice of bacon and popped it in her mouth. "So, you're leaving." the sanpinsani remarked.

Eden's jaw dropped open. "How did you know? I just told my other friends this morning!"

The snake-person laughed and said, "A member of house Leland spoke with Bran earlier and then spoke to Leamas, who told me."

"I'm sorry. I know I really just met you and I'm having to dash. I didn't spend much time with you and I should have."

"Pshh!" Tekek scoffed. "We are adults with adult activities to take up our time. It's not so strange for us to claim friendship, even under such circumstances."

"I'm not an adult."

"Hm?"

"Nevermind."

"Hm. Besides, you care about me and my people. Not everyone in this city even cares, much less wants to associate with us."

"Yeah, about that." Eden changed pace a bit. "I spoke to Senator Mystern about the way the Way of the Caterpillar is treated, here in Valekenport."

Tekek groaned. "You didn't."

Eden was caught off-guard. That was not the response she expected. "What?"

"Please tell me she's not planning on making any laws for us!"

"N-no, she wouldn't do anything."

"Good." Tekek looked relieved.

Eden flushed to summer. "How is that a good thing?"

"Eden, we have a plan for becoming accepted, and it requires us to not rock the boat." Eden gave her a flabbergasted look. "Think about it, if we get social laws passed that favor us, people will be that much harder on us because the fairness of law won't be applied to us. The only reason people haven't rioted against us to tear our stalls down and destroy our goods is that the government isn't playing favorites with us."

"But if they did riot, wouldn't that be evidence that they are terrible people and you are not?"

"Such evidence will not repair the work of our hands afterwards, nor bring back any lives that are lost. This way, we aren't given preferential treatment, we do better than everyone around us, and the people that hate us for no real reason are generally regarded as hateful or ridiculous, as we have literally done nothing illegal or immoral. We achieve the same end as the riot scenario with virtually no destruction or death."

"It's still not right." Eden mumbled, settling into autumn.

"It's part of Leamas' plan. Eventually we'll have many friends like you who influence those around you to look at us with a new light. It's a good plan that poses little risk, and a lot of gain."

"She's very imposing, Leamas is. Is she some sort of genius?"

"Hm. She's the best of us, to be sure. And she really cares about us. Whenever one of us is assaulted or stolen from, she personally sues them. It helps that Senator Mystern has her back, but I feel that she would be effective even without her. Whenever people are unkind to us, she takes it personally; she grieves on our behalf. She bears all our concerns so we don't have to. I have seen her crying over a skinned knee one of my cousin's hatchlings got."

"Is she really like that?"

"And more. She has a serious exterior, but that just hides that she cares. That she loves us. She is our ultimate example and savior."

"I was told she started the Way of the Caterpillar?"

"Yes. Not many people know exactly how the movement started."

"But you're going to tell me?"

"Most assuredly. It's not exactly a secret, however. It's just not something we broadcast; we don't want people thinking of us as monsters, so we don't talk about the times when we were." Eden nodded. Tekek continued. "Make no mistake, we were monsters. We raided towns, we took and ate people. The people that we took and didn't eat, we subjected them to dark rituals that made them into us."

"...What? You can turn people into sanpinsani?"

Tekek nodded. "Even today, we can. The rituals have not been forgotten. However, we of the Way of the Caterpillar only turn people into us who come to us first, asking for that ritual--under no circumstances do we proselytize; we never convert people to our way.

"But I get ahead of myself. We were monsters. There was no doubt. There was no question. We did what we did because it was what we were born to do and we loved it. But then she came. Leamas. A... higher being of astonishing intelligence and unbridled emotion. She saw us and wept, Eden. She cried tears. We didn't even know our kind could cry. Then she spoke to us. She spoke to us in words I cannot repeat, in words I couldn't begin to repeat if I tried. She spoke of mending the bones of our young when they break, instead of eating those young, she spoke of other species that had young who they healed instead of devoured, that supported each other, even to old age and built towers and empires unrivaled, and she spoke of so much more. As we looked around at the moldering ruins we lived in, the bones of our own and the expressions of pain and fear on the faces of the corpses of those we raided, it's... it's like we woke up. It's like we had been dreaming up until that point, and our dream faded before our eyes into reality; we realized that it wasn't a dream, but a nightmare. We understood all the terror we had caused, we saw the rudimentary tools and weapons in our hands and we realized we could do better. We could be better. Under the guidance of Leamas, we reach out to our fellow people to make better ourselves and them, to give and take, to make tools, jewelry, food, and other things to make the lives of those around us better. The more we sell, the more resources we have to make good things for other people. That is the way we go. We give back to the communities of other species, even if we must bear distrust."

"I didn't realize..."

"Not many people do. And perhaps it's for the best. We follow Leamas because she brought out the best in us. Do you understand why we revere her so?"

"I think I do."

Tekek finished off the last of the bacon, offering the last piece to Eden, who took it and stared at it for a moment. The Sanpinsani patted Eden on the shoulder.

"It's a lot to take in. Are we still friends?"

Eden hesitated. Tekek gave her a knowing and sympathetic look. "Yes, Tekek. I don't know what to make of your story, but you've never harmed me, nor have I heard of you harming anyone here in the city."

"A surprising answer, but not an unwelcome one. Eden?"

"Yes?"

"Will you return? Will you shop at my stand in the future?"

"Yes, Tekek. I'm coming back. I promise. I have friends here; how could I not?"

***

"What are you doing just standing here?" The voice was so sudden, if Eden could have jumped out of her skin, she would have. She turned on the sidewalk, away from her next destination, to see Ichabod standing at her side. He was calmly watching the carriages and wagons roll by at their usual breakneck speed. She turned back to face the temple of Ra that was across the street.

"There was something that was bothering me. Something I saw."

"Well, hurry up, we need to get going. I'm not sure how much longer Mystern is going to give me before she starts chucking lightning at me." Almost as if on cue, storm clouds started rolling in. Eden rolled her eyes.

"Where should I meet you when I'm done here?" she asked.

"At the gate I left you at." he replied. With that, Eden strode across the street--well, she darted across the street, dodging every horse-drawn vehicle that seemed to go out of its way to hit her. When she turned back, Ichabod was gone. The elf shrugged and went inside.

She walked through the really well-decorated temple, past people praying in the pews, all the way up to the altar, where one of the acolytes was finishing wiping the blood from its most recent goat away. Eden shuddered and the acolyte looked at her expectantly.

"I'd like to speak to the priest for a minute." She said, matter-of-factly.

"Er... he's indisposed at the moment. I might be able to have him contact you... Who, may I ask, is asking for him?"

"One of Sariel's co-workers, from the thieves' guild event." She hated to name-drop, but she likely wasn't going to get a meeting immediately otherwise. The acolyte's eyes grew large and he departed to retrieve the priest, who came almost immediately.

He was a portly, bespectacled man in robes that matched the acolytes, save for an orange sash thrown over his shoulders.

He greeted her and then asked how he might be able to help her.

"I need some information." She pointed to the eye symbol emblazoned on his robes. "That eye. I met someone who had that eye tattooed on the back of his hand. Does that mean anything?"

He looked at her, frowning, for a moment, then said, "Not... really. Anyone can have a tattoo of the Eye of Ra--it's much like jewelry in that fashion. And the collective temples of Ra don't have any orders or ranks that bear the eye in such a fashion."

Eden was a bit crestfallen and began to thank the priest for his time, but stopped short when she saw an image on the side of the altar.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to an image of a feathered dragon with a falcon head in the middle of many glyphs that Eden didn't understand; an image of the sun was positioned behind it.

"That," the priest replied, a little surprised, "is a reference to a fairly obscure and little-known form that Glorious Ra has taken in ages past."

"I've seen that before. It exhaled sunlight and told me--it---do you know a 'Miriam'?"

The priest shook his head. "I don't think you saw that. There are other dragons that resemble that image, but I don't think you saw the god Ra--no, I don't know anyone by the name of Miriam."

"I was at Almaz when it exploded." she protested. the more she looked at the image, the more sure she was. "I saw that dragon. It's feather pattern matches and everything."

"Are you saying that a dragon attacked and caused the destruction of Almaz?"

Eden shook her head. "No, it carried me out of Almaz. I think it was there to help. But it was that one, I'm sure of it."

The priest looked weary. "Well, that's not a claim people usually make, so I suppose it won't hurt to ask."

Eden was dumbfounded. "Huh?" The priest didn't answer, but gave instructions for one acolyte to prepare a thurible, another to bar the doors, and yet another to grab "the black one". The acolyte prepared the thurible and began swinging it back and forth, walking around the sanctuary after the doors were barred, causing the entire room to grow hazy, and the last acolyte brought in a pitch-black goat that bleated as it was laid on the altar.

Eden became very alarmed. "...it won't hurt to ask." The words echoed in her mind as she came to the realization that they very possibly intended to summon the presence of a god. As she watched on in full winter and utter horror as images of Garm and all his wrathful might danced in her head as flames. A god... could they really do that? Eden thought temples were just places to pray and hope for an answer to appear somewhere in one's life.

"Faithful of Ra!" the priest called to the people in the pews, who all had expressions of mild alarm at the door being barred, "Today is an exceptional day: we will be calling upon Ra to judge the truthfulness of one who claims to have seen Ra in the flesh." The scattered laypeople glanced at Eden with passing interest before focusing on the sheep laying obediently on the altar. "This will not be a normal sacrifice, but it will be offered, nonetheless. Do not be overly concerned."

The priest positioned himself behind the altar and called out, "Almighty Ra, who illuminates the world, we call upon your wisdom to inform us! Please accept our offering and delight us with your words! Tell us, we beg you: this one in your temple claims to have seen you at the destruction of Almaz; is she telling the truth?" The priest gestured to an acolyte who pulled on a rope and opened the skylight directly above the altar. As the sunlight fell on the sheep, the animal immediately caught fire and was reduced to ashes before it could finish letting out its surprised bleat. Eden's eyes grew big.

Then, something even stranger happened: all the smoke from the incense coalesced over the altar in a black cloud which emitted beams of sunlight from the center as it shifted and whirled. The hair on Eden's neck and arms stood up--she knew this feeling: the feeling of being in the presence of a god. Everyone except Eden immediately knelt.

It turned its attention to Eden, and though the manifestation had no eyes, she knew it was looking at her.

"The elf is not lying." A voice from the cloud spoke. Shocked whispers came up from those in the pews.

"She is mistaken; Illustrious Ra was not summoned to Almaz at any time surrounding its destruction." Then, almost as an afterthought, the voice added,

"Brilliant Ra has given his flocks of Luminary Dragons free reign to live and die as they please; the attention of Lightbringer Ra is lax upon them at their request; it may be that the presence of one such was at Almaz, as Ra continues to respect their privacy."

And with that, the voice ceased and the cloud dissipated. In short order, the door was unbarred and several people took it upon themselves to assault Eden with a barrage of questions. And while she answered to the best of her ability, her mind was still turning, processing what she had heard. It may be that the death of one such occurred at Almaz, as Ra continues to respect their privacy... It almost sounded... like maybe the god wasn't aware of what happened in Almaz and is using an excuse of dragons to cover up his ignorance? Eden banished the thought. It still didn't sit well with her, but that was a stretch. Wasn't it?

***

Eden met Ichabod outside of the gate, sitting in his wagon like he had never left, and, honestly, Eden wouldn't be surprised if the creepy bastard had just stayed put the entire time.

"Did you have fun?" Ichabod asked.

"You're an asshole." was all Eden had to say on the subject.

The man threw his head back and laughed. "That I am! Now get up here. We've got much to talk about on the way." Eden climbed into the cart and the skeletal horses started pulling the wagon away.

"I've got a question, first, before I recount everything to you--assuming you weren't invisibly shadowing me the whole time!" Ichabod put his hand on his chest in overtly-feigned shock at her accusation. "You knew, didn't you?" Eden asked.

"Knew what, exactly?" Ichabod asked with an eyebrow raised. "I know so many things, such a question is wildly unspecific."

"You knew that Eliyr had some powerful musical instruments in his hoard. You knew that I would end up going after him. And so you sent me into Valekenport to retrieve a really powerful musical instrument that just so happened to be sitting in Eliyr's vault." She gave him a pointed look to compliment her accusatory statement.

He looked a bit shocked and replied, "No, actually, I wanted you to stay away from the guild. I intended for you to go in, knock everyone's socks of with your performances, make money, and spend that money at the Golden Corner, where magic items are cheaper. I figured you'd see that they had that one lute that freezes things with ice magic available. I had no clue you would go on a crusade against the thieves guild and empty their vault. Who got the money? I bet Mystern reported half the actual amount and kept the rest for herself."

"That actually sounds very likely, knowing her." Eden said, still upset at the demigod.

"So what instrument did you bring for me? What did Eliyr have in his vault?" Eden reached into her bag of extradimensional storage and pulled out the sitar that she had taken from Eliyr's vault, handing it to her teacher, who, suddenly wasn't breathing.

Ichabod took the sitar and stared at it for a few seconds before exhaling in a short, loud breath. He reached out and plucked one of the strings. The vibration magically echoed through the air, and everything within several hundred feet trembled. Ichabod froze for a moment, then tears started to stream down his face.

"What?" Eden asked in utter shock. "What's wrong?"

The old man bent over and choked back a sob. Tears continued to flow and he brought his hand up to the back of his skull and gripped his head, bending his wrist and covering the side of his face with his bent elbow--yet not letting go of the instrument.

"Ichabod! What's going on?" Eden was in full winter. Of all the emotions she expected from him, this--whatever this was--was not one of them. Was it sorrow? Grief?

The cart rattled along silently, except for the man's sobs, for a few minutes. He then said,

"Everything... everything in the world can be made right again, now. Thanks to you, Eden. I will teach you. In three months' time, I will, at the very least, equip you with the knowledge to become as powerful as me. I'd make it sooner, but I can't manipulate time--only the gods can do that, and only at great cost to themselves can they do so. But, yes..." He nodded. "I will teach you. I will teach you everything.