She talked for at least an hour. Lyle expressed the most interest in Esterath’s domain. He talked a bit about his own interest in stories, and how amazing it would be to depict them in the dream world.

The interactions lasted quite a while, by the time Ceyda finally fell asleep, it was near instantaneous.

She had intended to fall asleep, enter the dream world, and contact Reiner again, but this time she did not end up in the realm of fluffy pink clouds.

Instead, she dreamed. Or at least, that’s what she assumed it was at first. The longer she spent, watching colors form, and the rhythmic pattern of her brain whirr quietly in her peripherals, the more she could tell something was off.

Something… wrong.

The darkness vanished, revealing a brightly lit room. Electrical bulbs burned so bright they were white, and Ceyda was in a room encased in marble.

No, she wasn’t. She was watching. Like a first person dream, but something deep and guttural told her it wasn’t her body.

“You ready to talk yet?”

In this dream, she had perfect vision. Or… the person who was experiencing this did.

The speaker had just entered the room, and was dressed in a long gray cloak, and wore a mask shaped like some sort of bird. The eyes were dark, hollow and glassy. Without much ado, they removed the cloak, revealing a dark green over sized under shirt, and dark cotton pants. Then the mask came off.

The person was lean, pale, gaunt. Blond hair.

The thief at the party.

Ceyda felt herself sigh, but it wasn’t her voice. It was a far deeper noise than she was capable of making.

“I have nothing to say,” the gravelly voice said.

The thief laughed, and tightly gripped their own temples. “You finally spit out a full sentence to say that? You wanna be tortured again Reiner? Because we can go a few more rounds. You’ll run out of bloom eventually.”

Reiner grunted. Reiner. The man from the dreamscape. She was watching this scene play out from his perspective. And she didn’t even know why.

“Do whatever, I don’t care. You’re wasting your time,” Reiner said.

“Am I? Am I really? Because here’s what I know. I took a trip to your hometown. Tracked down that stupid magical book in your notes. And as luck would have it, not only did it do approximately jack and shit, but it went off and attached itself to some stupid girl as well!” the thief hissed.

Reiner shifted uncomfortably, but he said nothing.

“So here we are. You said it would be a battery, not some weird ass--ifrit in a bottle!”

Reiner continued to be quiet.

The thief took a deep breath, and stepped dangerously close. Tiny, delicate fingers, gripped Reiner’s jaw.

“I can make you talk, Reiner.”

“Are we really doing this?” Reiner groaned back.

“Only if you insist on not cooperating.”

Reiner’s head turned from side to side, getting a better view of the strange marble prison. “I’m trying to be really nice right now, because I know you’ve had a hard time, and I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you’re pushing a line, kid.”

“Really now?” the thief asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah! Really! So your parents were fucked up, guess what, genius, so were mine! So were a bunch of people! That doesn’t mean you go off the deep end and hold me in a--where are we? A bank? Are we in a fucking bank?” Reiner spat.

The thief gave a coy smile. “Not for long.”

“Oh Thelloya, what.”

“Thanks to a new friend of mine, this entire block’s going to be gone. I’ve got spells you can’t even dream of, Reiner. And I intend to use them, tonight,” the thief said.

“Look, Isaias--”

“Don’t call me that!” the thief shrieked. “That’s not my name!”

“Well fuck me! What’s your name then, huh? What’s your real ass name?” Reiner snapped.

The thief gripped their head even tighter. “I… I don’t know. I don’t know yet. But I’m done using that name.”

“Oh my Avatars, Izzy, kid. Kill a dog. Get addicted to drugs. Take up fucking cliff diving or whatever, I don’t care. Don’t try and blow up neighborhoods because you didn’t get the magic doohickey you thought would fix your life!” Reiner yelled.

The thief grabbed Reiner by the head, and deep lacerations appeared across his skin. Reiner screamed. Reiner was left heaving, as familiar gashes littered his body. Slowly but surely, they started to stitch themselves together, before completely vanishing.

“You don’t get it, do you,” the thief who hated the name Isaias rasped. “I can’t. I need to--I need to do something. I need to get more spells. I need to get stronger.”

“More spells? For what? Thelloya? I’ll fucking teach you Thelloya,” Reiner said. “Fuck! I’ll teach you right now! Go get a pen and I’ll tatt you up.”

The thief shook their head. “You’re a damn amateur, Reiner, you know that? Strutting around like you know everything. I have new friends now. Haidolah is my master.”

There was a moment of silence. There was a deep, visceral reaction of disgust. Reiner's internal reaction, crystallized clearly to Ceyda's mind. Why he felt this way, she couldn't understand. Doc had said that it was a very dark sphere, but not that it was worthy of terror. Haidolah was, if Ceyda remembered correctly, the Avatar of Instinct, and had gifted humanity with the Control sphere.

“Avatars be fucking damned! Kid! You don’t make a pact with the Avatar of Slavery and Oppression! I’m a bastard and even I know that!” Reiner yelled.

Well, that was new information. Doc might have been right about the Avatars existing, but they had never mentioned something like an Avatar of Slavery and Oppresson.

The thief laughed, but it wasn’t a particular joyous laugh. Blood started to levitate from their arms, forming a long, sharp needle.

“Tell me everything you know about that old grimoire. If you do, I’ll give you enough time to leave before I kill everyone in this terrible place,” the thief said quietly.

Reiner stared down the thief dead in the eyes.

“Fuck you. Kill me.”

The thief shrugged. The needle shot straight through Reiner’s head, and Ceyda woke up with a violent jolt.

She looked around wildly. Her current reality felt just as real as the dream, and that deeply bothered her. Light poured from the cracks of the trap door in the barn, indicating it was morning. Lyle was still asleep next to her, completely conked out.

Ceyda shuffled her dress back on, and grabbed Doc.

“Hey!” Ceyda whispered. “Wake up, stupid book!”

She shook the book as she climbed out of the basement and into the barn proper.

I don’t sleep, Ceyda.

“Sorry-- Reiner’s dead,” Ceyda said, breathlessly. “That thief-- the other one who tried to steal you. Their name is Isaias, and they killed Reiner. Or if they didn’t, I dreamed that they did, and it didn’t feel like a dream!”

Uh. So. Well. Dreaming something vivid after Esterath’s domain isn’t unheard of. But also, having visions of someone else’s experience is a Karani spell, a type of vision to be precise. Both are actually highly likely, considering your circumstance.

Ceyda started to breathe heavily. “This is very bad! It means if there is some other mage group out there, they are literally murdering the fuck out of each other! We can’t contact them! And we certainly can’t use them for help! And Reiner was a jerk but he-- he just died! Just like that!”

...shit. What exactly happened in the dream? Or vision. Whichever. I don’t know if it being Karani would make everything worse or better.

“Isaias kidnapped Reiner, they said they were torturing him. I think the way those wounds kept showing up on me? Like we were linked somehow. Isaias wanted to blow up an area, somehow, and Reiner--if he did die can he get resurrected?”

Possibly? Someone would have to uh, resurrect him for him to get resurrected to work. And if he was kidnapped, who knows if someone will be able to get to him in time. Did it seem like the two were alone?

"Yeah. It was just Reiner and Isaias. Um--" Ceyda frowned as she tried to remember what had happened. "Reiner said--there was--Reiner said Haidolah was the Avatar of Slavery.”

Well. That’s just completely wrong. But at least it means they know who the Avatars are, even if their information is screwy.

“But you said the Avatars change and kill each other right? Teractus lost that fight with Waziria! What if Haidolah… I don’t know. Changed their mind. Became an avatar of slavery and evilness?” Ceyda asked.

That’s ridiculous--that--I mean. That’s highly unlikely. That’s…

Hm.

Ceyda sighed and paced the barn floor. There didn’t seem to be any civilization around within eyesight, but part of that was that the barn was situated in a valley. She hadn’t noticed that at night, but now, in the day, it was quite obvious.

“How bad would it be if Haidolah was an evil avatar?” Ceyda asked.

I don’t know. Not particularly? The avatars don’t affect this world, not until their cycle, and their spheres are neutral. Good or bad--those are just value statements based on context. But considering that the Control Sphere is dangerous, even if it is one of the best combat spheres, it might be dangerous for you to learn, even with me as your grimoire.

Ceyda nodded. “That reminds me, I finally heard what Isaias--the thief-- called you. You’re a battery.”

A what?

“It’s this--” Ceyda stared off into the distance. “It is this large newfangled contraption that generates energy. You can use it to power light bulbs and cars. Well, that’s what my dad said anyway. I’ve never seen one up close.”

Ah.. Well, I don’t think that’s too shocking a description, all things considered.

Ceyda nodded. “Perhaps that means they live in one of Kesterline’s cities? My dad says that there are street lamps on every corner that now have lightbulbs in them. So there’s--there’s probably more batteries there too.”

This was a terrible time for Ceyda to realize that she knew so little about the world because she kept being distracted. Why hadn’t she listened to her parents more? And how dare she ask herself such a question! She had to backtrack it immediately.

It was in fact her parents fault for not explaining it better. There. Much better.

Maybe. We should scope this town out. Figure out a good place to put a beacon of some kind. Somewhere we can host other people, use for defense, but nothing that will draw the attention of other people. Normally these things work best outside, but since we want to be stealthy, we’ll want it inside. The barn might be our best bet, but I’d prefer we make sure for certain it is.

“Good idea--Lyle!” Ceyda called, just as Lyle was groggily crawling out of the barn.

“H-yeah?”

“Is there anyone here who could give me access to the town? Basements, attics, anywhere isolated?” Ceyda asked.

“Uhhh, Aster goes all over town for his cleaning job, track him down?” Lyle said.

Ceyda beamed. “Excellent! Any idea where he might be?”

“In town, probably, want me to come with you?” Lyle asked.

Ceyda shook her head. “Won’t be necessary, I have the spells to find him. And you won’t be able to keep up.”

Lyle blinked a bit, probably confused as to how Ceyda’s short and admittedly chubby butt could out pace him.

“Dorskina!” Ceyda said, leaping out of the barn, and over the hill.

Ceyda. You have mages coming after you. Ceyda.

Ceyda’s pace grounded to a halt. “Shit.”

It’s all right. We’ll just play it safe. Small spells, Ceyda. Small spells.

She turned to the town of Bricketfriar proper. The rows and rows of buildings all cramped together, churning out as much product as possible.

In hindsight, she probably should have noticed the misery of the town far earlier. Now it seemed blatantly obvious. Funny how those things worked.

She whispered Dorskina’s name, climbed a rather tall building, wrapped herself around the bell tower, and started to watch the streets. This way she could find Aster, and keep an eye out for any mages. Perfect plan.

Ceyda watched the town proceedings, fascinated. There was nothing immediately recognizable, but there was food being rolled out and delivered across the town and beyond. “Hey Doc, how do I summon one of those baked rolls into my hand.”

That would be telekinesis. Which would be Zebidiah.

Ceyda groaned and pressed her head against the wall. “Stupid two year study.”

You did say you wanted to learn Waziria’s Emotions Sphere, right? That could be pretty useful. We could focus on that instead of you complaining about all the magic you can’t learn.

“Can I learn any emotion?” Ceyda asked. “I just have to feel it, right?

Ah, no. Everyone learns the same emotion first. And from there, it’s a rigid path.

Ceyda frowned. “All right, what do I have to learn?”

Boredom.

“Fuck that! I’m plenty bored!” Ceyda hissed at Doc.

It’s a very simple spell. Most people use it to snap back to a quiet state. Great for anxiety. But the learning curve is admittedly difficult. Letting an emotion embody you entirely is easy for some, and absolutely alien to others.

“Well I have time magic now, right? How do I get more? So I can learn resurrection?” Ceyda asked.

Do you know where any sort of hallucinatory drugs are, perchance?

“...no."

Well, I’ll add it to the very, very long, easily distracted list, we are accruing. At this rate, we might as well have you try every Avatar’s sphere individually, regardless of difficulty.

“Nah, I’m good,” Ceyda said. “Still like having ten fingers.”

Ceyda started looking over every road, squinting through her glasses. Seas of people going about their business, to the farms, to the docks, to the manors. In the distance she caught the tell tale smoke of an automobile driving across the dirt roads.

Not a mage in sight. Weird. She had been expecting the opposite. Maybe they were under cover. Of course, she hadn't been shot by a crossbow yet, which meant no one was actively looking for her in the area.

So just focusing on Dorskina and Quasinonce now? None others? There are other non dangerous ones. Esterath. Yore. Zebidiah.

“I can’t learn Esterath, you don’t even know how Yore works, and you said Zebidiah was very dangerous! After the basic spells it drives you mad!” Ceyda argued back.

You have remembered my past comments astonishingly well. All right.

“What about Karani? You said I could have gotten a vision, right?”

Well, yes, but Karani’s spells aren’t all invokable. Many are by sheer random chance, and the caster has no control over it. I also don’t see Karani in your spell book, so… hrm…

Ceyda groaned and pawed at her face. This was so frustrating.

Ceyda’s attention was drawn by a blond human with Aster’s approximate build. She tried to pick out any other discerning characteristics, but to no avail. Her eyesight wasn’t good enough.

“Dorskina!” Ceyda invoked, and her senses expanded. One massive headache later, Aster’s face became immediately more recognizable. She could also now tell there were objectively no mages in the town at all. The fact continued to unnerve her. Then again, if they didn't have resurrection here, it was quite possible all the mages who would be here were--

Dead.

Her senses snapped back to normal.

She idly touched her forehead, and then rubbed her shoulder, tightly. Recently it felt like her body vibrated in ways it never did before. Perhaps she was getting sore from all the running around she was doing. She leaped down, straight in front of Aster.

“Aster!” Ceyda said, as the strange feeling of jumping a dozen feet without injury reverberated through her.

“Gah!” Aster jumped, clutching a full bucket of water in defense. “What--how--where did you come from?”

“The top of the bell tower,” Ceyda said. “Is it true you go inside all the buildings? Or at least walk around town? I need your help.”

Aster stared at her blankly. “Uh, yes, it is true.”

“Wonderful, I need a favor from you,” Ceyda said, nodding as she remembered it was rude to demand things from people. “Is it all right if I ask for one?”

Aster continued to stare at her. “Uh, yeah, sure, whatever you need, within reason, I guess.”

“I need to follow you and inspect the buildings. Doc needs to find one we can use for casting.”

“That’s a bit--” Aster frowned, idly rubbed his head. “That’s a bit dangerous, but sure.”

He doesn’t seem enthused to do this, we should find someone else. Don’t want to make it seem like you’re forcing him against his will.

“You’re allowed to say no, I’m sure there are others,” Ceyda said.

“No--it’s fine. We can walk and talk. You’ll just need one of these--” Aster reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cloth.

Ceyda watched as Aster took the cloth wrapped around his neck, and retied it to be around his mouth. Ceyda mimicked the movement, only failing a few times because tying things was harder than she anticipated.

Ceyda followed Aster into one of the buildings, where she was greeted with another masked individual, who Ceyda recognized to be Natalia.

“What are you doing here?” Aster asked, muffled by the mask.

“The Merristers have closed down their manor for the day. They don’t want anyone going in or out, so I’m taking over for my mom,” Natalia said.

Aster nodded, and the two set to work.

The building was lived in, but clearly deserted. There was a mill inside, and assorted boxes. Ceyda sat and watched as Natalia poured a small, individual vial of liquid onto the floor, and Aster dumped the entire contents of the bucket onto the floor. The two then proceeded to mop.

The water smelled foul, most likely due to the liquid Natalia used.

Ceyda walked around the building, holding Doc up so the book could see everything needed.

When the job was over, Aster and Natalia left. Ceyda followed. She removed the makeshift mask and gasped for fresh air.

“What even was that for?” Ceyda asked.

Aster shrugged. “No clue. Keeps the floors clean or some shit?”

“And soap wasn’t good enough?” Ceyda replied.

“The Blanches get a lot of their food and supplies delivered from the town proper,” Natalia said. “Six years ago there was an outbreak of mold, and ever since then, he’s mandated this job gets done every day.”

That explains the smell. It’s an acid bath. That is certainly one way to keep the place clean. Can’t be good for Aster and Natalia, unfortunately.

“Well, this is just what I needed, so thank you. Uh--” she stared at Natalia. “I needed for something. Safe and fine. That I’m doing.”

Natalia made a pig noise as she laughed. “You’re a bad liar, girl. Let me guess, you want a place you can have sex with your boyfriend in peace or something?”

“Sure. That is exactly it,” Ceyda continued to lie badly.

Natalia grinned and tapped her head. “First you rob the Merristers and now you’re acting all sketchy, you kids are crazy.”

“Natalie you’re not even twenty,” Aster replied, rolling his eyes.

“Older than you, aren’t I?” Natalia shouted back.

“I’ve got toe fungus older than you, bitch,” Aster sneered.

Ceyda stumbled in her steps, in a bit of shock. She hadn’t expected Aster’s tone. It was not at all in accordance to how he talked to the others.

Natalia, meanwhile, laughed hysterically, and pushed him back. Well, at least everyone involved seemed happy.

She looked down at Doc. “So, how was that place?”

Not good at all, at this rate, the place you were held the first time might actually be the best. That was a very deep basement.

“If that happens, I’m gonna be so mad,” Ceyda said.

Well, not everything is at a loss. You wanted to find drugs, didn’t you?

Ceyda looked at Doc and squinted. “What do you mean?”

It won’t be safe, but if you’re desperate, that acid bleach in those vials? It will definitely make you pass out. You could also, like, die. But where’s there’s acid washes, there will be other concoctions. Alternatively, we just go inspect the fields. There are farms for miles. Someone is growing something they can smoke or rub all over their face.

That made sense. It meant she had a back up. The plan for time magic cemented in her mind. Now all she had to do was spend the day investigating about a hundred or so more houses. She hoped she got a lunch break.