In the morning, I ate cold travel rations with a frown, and then prepared several moonstones with enchantments. The bunny illusion had worked well, and it would be negligent of me not to take advantage of that fact. The enchanted moonstones would hold the spell for a half-day and recharge under moonlight. I only brought three tiny stones with me, so I wouldn’t be able to do more with them.

With those prepared, I ordered a wind elemental to lift me away in the direction I had seen the Earth Elemental depart. I doubted the spores would show much more than a small infection with less than a day’s time, but I would check those next.

When I caught up with the enormous boulder, it was still rolling through the sea of monsters. Unfortunately, it appeared that most of the monsters had become aware that it wasn’t food and it meant death. They were also much swifter than I imagined they could be for their size. I held in a sigh of disappointment and departed towards where my elementals had dispersed the spores.

There, miles and miles from where the elemental was failing to kill enough monsters, I floated over the testing site. Unfortunately, from this distance, I couldn’t see any sign of infection and needed to send an air elemental lower to see. Even closer, I found only small signs of the mushroom’s growth. I left that elemental there to watch and return in a week’s time, and headed eastwards, dropping the moonstones a few miles apart as I flew.

When I arrived at the eastern mountains, the cliffs that separated the kingdoms of men from the monsters, I landed along one peak. It was just a small outcropping of stone tucked away in the cold shadows of another. Events of the past week caught up to me in a flash, and I found my hands shaking and my body shivering with the aftereffects of deep fear that I had ignored in order to carry out my experiments.

It had been a long time since I felt such fear, and for hours I was overwhelmed by it. Or, more accurately, my body was overwhelmed. Mentally, I watched myself as I curled into a ball, one of instinctual effects of being so frightened, and one I hated that I could not naturally control. When the shaking and shuddering had passed, I once again took to the air to travel.

Morning turned into afternoon, and I floated over Baron Llal’s keep while hesitating over a decision. I needed to return to my tower to continue my research, but I was also very close to the witch’s hut. I had promised myself to try again on the return trip, but I was also very eager to design new experiments to combat the Pestilence with what I had learned.

I still harbored dreams, though, of a person who could match me. One who lived as long as I would. Maybe even a partner, either in discipline or romance.

That led me to the decision to visit. Within a few moments, I was being lowered to the ground by the air elemental, and casting a cleaning spell on myself. The hut hadn’t changed at all from the first visit, as far as I could tell. Still a home grown from a bramble, with a curtain for the door. The firepit showed signs of recent use, and the hares hanging to drain had recently changed, but nothing greater than that.

“Good Afternoon,” I called out once I landed, and was greeted with the sounds of movement from within. Ah, I would finally get to meet the witch!

After a few minutes of waiting, and a bit of uncertainty on my part, the lady exited her cabin. She wore an illusion of an old crone, maybe three and a half feet of stooped elderly woman in a baggy cloth robe and a sharp crooked nose half the size of my arm. The crone walked forward, with one hand on her lower back and the other on a gnarled cane.

My eyes, however, weren’t on the illusion, but the person inside the illusion. A misty magic stopped me from seeing all but the silhouette of a woman and the luminous yellow irises.

“Ah, it’s the trespasser!” the aged voice called and the illusion mouthed the words.

“Trespasser?” I started.

“Yes, trespassing in my home. Snooping about as if it were your own,” the illusion fussed and shook its cane at me.

“Wizards do not snoop,” I retorted.

“Did you not come inside my house and rummage through my things? Snooping wizard,” the illusion hacked a spit at my feet, but I ignored it.

“A bit of professional curiosity, nothing untoward,” I scoffed.

“Professional curiosity, eh? Snooping, I saw. Now look me in the eyes, boy!” the crone screeched.

I considered that. This witch held an illusion of a crone about herself that was shorter than she was. And to demand I look it in the eyes? What was the point? To have me lower my eyes before her? It seemed a petty bit of… hmm. Perhaps my illusion should be a few inches shorter as well. It wasn’t that bad of an idea.

“Well? Are you going to ignore me? Look at me, you ingrate!” the illusion screeched again.

“That is entirely uncalled for,” I said and swept my hand to the side, dispelling both her and my own illusions. I stood at a very handsome six and a half feet tall, with luminescent orange irises, shoulder-length thick black hair and a well-kept black beard. A lean frame and a dashing face, both of which had gotten me into more trouble than they were worth.

The woman, a half-elf as well, stood a handsbreadth shorter than me, with straight golden hair that came to her chin, and yellow luminescent irises. She was dressed in leather jerkin and trousers, both of which seemed hand-made. Her figure was leaner than mine, but no less womanly for the slenderness. She had a pretty and youthful countenance that would have been perfect, except her cheekbones were a little too wide, and her two top front teeth were slightly bigger than the others. It was a disappointment, but I didn’t show it.

Instead, I gave a formal bow for a peer, and spoke, “My most sincere apologies for disturbing your home my last visit. When I arrived and you did not answer, I feared you ill or injured. Otherwise, I would not have entered your home.”

When she didn’t respond, I stood back up and cocked my head in confusion.

“My,” she whispered and covered her mouth as her eyes traveled from my head to my feet and back up. She seemed to get ahold of herself momentarily after that, and assumed an arrogant attitude. “Don’t think you can use your handsome face to cause me to forget your slight.”

“Not at all. I have recently moved into the area, a tower near Woodhoot by way of Lark, and sought to introduce myself to the nearby magical community,” I said it all with a faint smile.

“So, you’ve introduced yourself to Fintak the illusionist, Rhela the Red, and Bimly already?” She asked and raised an eyebrow.

I coughed into one hand, “Erm, no. Not yet. You, of course, were the top of the list. I’m certain I will meet them in time.”

She put a hand on her hip and squinted at me, “I think you came this way to court me.”

It was all I could do not to roll my eyes. I didn’t trust my tongue to remain tactful in my response so I said nothing. Which, of course, she took the wrong way. At least, I assume she did by the way she blushed and looked to the side.

“Madam…?” I began, hoping to regain control of the conversation.

“Loralie,” She answered with a happy smile.

“Nemon Fargus, wizard. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I answered.

“Nemon Fargus? I’ve heard that name before,” she muttered to herself as she tapped a finger on her chin. “Oh! There’s a song I’ve heard about you. How did it go? Oh, I remember!”

She cleared her throat and began to sing. Her voice was so melodic that I didn’t recognize the song at first. By the time I had, it was too late.

“In the battle of Farmers’ Mound,

Where two figures flew above the ground,

Nark the Tall spoke words none could hear,

A taunt whispered in Nemon Fargus’ ear,

It caused a rage so much that so,

That the clouds gathered and the wind did blow,

The thunder clapped and soldiers fell,

All before the mage provoked so well,

An army ran in fright and fear,

From anger so great lightning shot out his—”

I coughed loudly to interrupt her, “Yes, well, I’ve had to hear that song for nigh on a hundred years.” I paused only briefly to ensure she was not prepared to continue singing. It only happened that one time, and I’ve had to hear about it for a century! If I hadn’t already dealt with that bard, I’d do it again.

“Madam Loralie, I must admit, that I did come for more than one reason,” I said, affecting a calm steady tone as one would do with a wild animal.

“Oh?” She looked at me both fearful and intrigued with her bright yellow eyes. I wasn’t entirely certain what thoughts were running through her mind at the moment, but I doubted I would approve of them.

“Indeed. Do you know what lay over those mountains?” I asked.

Whatever she had been thinking, I watched it come to an immediate halt and her expression fell to one of disappointment and confusion. The change happened quickly, but it was evident she hadn’t practiced keeping her emotions from her face in a long time. I almost smiled at that.

“No,” she answered hesitantly and shook her head. “Nothing returns from over the mountains. Nothing ever has.”

I grimaced at that, “I came from over the mountains this very morning. I don’t suggest the trip to any other than myself. But if you have the magics to peer beyond, I recommend you do so.”

She brushed a stray strand of golden hair behind her pointed ear and looked at the ground in thought for a moment, “It would take me a week to even prepare such a spell. What could be so important?”

I titled my head forward, and furrowed my brows to show how serious I was.

“Miss Loralie, I fear nothing else is more important. I speak of what I suspect to be the end of our Age.”

I took a deep breath, changing the subject, “Now, I have things I must go do to prepare, so I must depart. Please feel free to call upon me if you wish to—” I paused. Normally, I would say ‘have some tea’, but that was no longer an option in my mind. Belatedly, I finished with, “—have an honest discourse.”

Unfortunately, I could tell by the look in her eyes, that she took my pause as an implication for something else. Something that I suspected I might regret the implication of.

I opened my mouth to try to clarify, but then shut it back. I had too many things on my mind than to try to correct the assumptions of the ignorant. That was only my responsibility when I was instructing pupils, and she was no pupil of mine. I had my elemental lift me away at that moment, cursing my own social cowardice in my head.

I glanced back for only a moment, to ensure that she wasn’t casting some hex on me for leaving, but only saw the swish of the curtain in her doorway. “Loralie,” I whispered to myself, as I tasted the name on my tongue.