Once again, a fresh day took upon itself to make another attempt at resuming a feeling of normal. Once again, everything about the three girls had shifted to anything but normal.

Vwyx had made her way out to the workshop once again early in the morning, finding her sister already hard at work. The table she had been working on before had been ruined and discarded, and yet it’s replacement was already completed. Additionally, the ladder she had herself made that had also been ruined was also replaced. Her sister was otherwise working on yet another project, though she was still early enough along that Vwyx was not yet certain what that new project was. Vwyx went to check the request list, still finding it to be blank. It seems her sister had taken upon herself to get everything taken care of in her absence, and was doing reasonably well. The whole situation put Vwyx at a bit of a loss in what she should be doing at that point.

Noticing Vwyx’s arrival, her sister picked up a cloth-wrapped parcel and approached her. “I’m sorry for making a big mess of everything yesterday, and I’m sorry you ended up hurt in the process. I know it isn’t much, but I went and got you something to protect yourself with, maybe it would protect you in the future.” Vwyx’s sister passed her the parcel, which was revealed to be a thin pair of gloves. The simple brown material resembled leather, but was more of a woven plant resin. This made it even less durable than leather, not something that would do very much to protect her hand from injury. Even considering the fact that it wasn’t exactly her hands that had gotten injured, none of this dissuaded the meaning behind the gesture. Her sister had done what she could to help, that was all too obvious.

“They really aren’t just some stupid doctor, aren’t they? Your friend asked me to give them a chance, and.. you really did get better.” “Oh, you would be surprised just how much our new doctors are capable of. The worst part about it is that, cut off from everything, there isn’t even much of a chance for them to do everything they are capable of. Even the entire village is lacking, cut off from the outside world. No one realizes how much we could profit from having more contact with the outside world.” Vwyx’s sister considered the idea Vwyx was presenting when the two heard a knock at the back door. The only person who ever knocks on the back door was the delivery guy.

“See? Even our work uses supplize from beyond the village. Think how hard it would be to get this work done if we didn’t have such support. Think then how much more we could bring the village if we had even more support from outside? Sryine is like the only one who seems aware of this problem, while the rest of us do nothing.” Vwyx wandered from the workshop, off to answer the door. Her sister was left to tend to her current project and her current thoughts.

“Oh, here’s a face I haven’t seen for a while. It’s been.. what.. a year or so? It was seeming like you had already moved on and left your sister to take over everything for you.” “I might as well, she’s got everything under control here as is. Got to be thankful for all the hard work she’s done while I was down for the count.” “You got sick or something. Wow, now that’s got to suck. A whole year is a long time to be sick.” “Yeah, well, we’ve got a good doctor now. That family that showed up last year, seems they make for quite a good doctor.” “Doctor? Well, I guess you could say that. Say, while there, did you ever get to meet…” “Oh right, you were the one who first told me about their daughter. Thank you so much for referring me to Khyzae, that was a .. life-changing experience.” “How is she doing anyway? Has she been keeping busy the past year with much of anything?” “What? How much do you expect she could do from.. a sick bed?” The delivery guy started to get pale as Vwyx kept up with the illness story. Of course not, she died. Vwyx really didn’t want to share such private details, but the guy was just heaping expectations on Khyzae’s shoulders.

The selfsame delivery guy had gone pale. “By the divine, it failed, didn’t it. Just what could have gone wrong? How serious was it? This is why we had all told her that moving away from the city was a bad idea. Blast it!” The delivery guy slammed his foot into the wall at the side of the house, fortunately not causing any visible damage but causing Vwyx to jump in surprise. She was becoming aware just how much this guy might personally know Khyzae, making obstructing him more and more challenging. The guy was flustered considering his alternatives before resolving to a conclusion. “Where.. where can I find her? How can I find her?” “Well, you're certainly not going to be able to walk up to her front door, there is a bit of a societal mess with the place right now. I won’t be able to come with you either, recent events would raise an even bigger mess were I to leave. On your own, you won’t find many people who would be all too supportive of an outsider asking any questions.” The delivery guy was visibly getting more and more frustrated, as Vwyx just stacked on further complications. The completion of his own job was already a serious complication.

“How about this? I can think of only one person in the entire village who could help you. The village chief’s daughter, who will probably be somewhere in the center of the village. She’s the girl with the long jade hair, the only one in the entire village you should possibly find wearing azure blue. Find her and tell her.. tell her that you need some help finding a missing bookshelf that was scheduled for delivery. Meanwhile, I’ll keep working on stuff here for you, I’ll even get the wood prepared for you. It might make things harder to check on your own, but a favour for a favour.” Vwyx smirked at her own idea, quite pleased with how well it would work. The delivery guy surrendered to her plan, realizing that he was generally overextending himself here, he wouldn’t have any other choice.

“Sryine, I’m going to have to ask you to spend the morning at your usual pond again, but I would ask that you avoid bringing any distractions. None of those books, you will have to be aware of the surroundings, paying attention to community events. None of those performances either, they are far too distracting.” “You’re making it seem so boring, how am I to have fun if…” “You aren’t being sent to have fun, you are being sent to get work done. You.. you will need to see what other flaws our village might have, what other changes we could take advantage of. Word should be going around about the rapid recovery of that crafting girl, we will need to see if our doctor’s reputation has improved as a result. You have taken responsibility for building positive relations with outsiders, I expect you to deliver upon it.” Sryine’s brother was actually including her in real village chief work, instead of keeping her in a useless void as was normal. Sure, technically it was something her brother should be doing for himself, but clearly he needed to learn by example. She had never seen her brother so lost and uncertain of himself, he himself had never previously held such behaviour before anyone except their parents.

Sryine followed the expectations presented to her, silently taking her usual spot by the pond. “... wasn’t expected at all. It didn’t even take a day for the doctor, it must not have been much of an injury.” “Cuts and scrapes from a whiny brat who was throwing a fit for having to get back to work, no doubt. I can’t believe how much trouble our assumed doctor is making for the rest of the village. Just how many more problems will that creepy family cause for us?” A couple of village ladies were raising a scene, with several others very obviously paying attention. Sryine closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to start off by relaxing herself for a moment.

Sryine pulled up her left sleeve past her elbow and used her ring to create an image over her left arm. The illusion looked almost exactly as the wound Vwyx had suffered the night before, something she had gotten the opportunity to see all too visually. She knew it was the wrong arm, but there was a matter of perspective to consider, and it was easier to do it this way while her ring remained on her right hand. She then walked into the conversation and presented her arm for consideration. Both women went pale in shock, not having realized it was only an illusion at first.

“It might only be an illusion, but this is exactly what I saw when I was left to check on the crafting girl who had been injured yesterday. Please tell me this sort of injury is what you would call a cut or scrape, or tell me if it appears something far more serious. Without anyone else being willing to do what was necessary, I was left to do my part as the daughter of the village chief and make sure that the girl got the attention she needed to deal with her injuries. It was an injury well beyond anything anyone here would be capable of treating, and even such remained a challenge that threatened the supplies available for our local doctor. And yet, here everyone is.. trying to distance what little outside help remains to us, inviting us to suffer worse and worse fates in the future. Pushing away everything from beyond our village will not bring us more prosperity, quite the opposite in fact. Anyone here who has a genuine interest in the prosperity of the village will need to take this into account, to stop being afraid of the little mansion at the edge of the village, and to learn to include such willing help into our community.” Sryine dismissed her illusion as her statement took the attention of the entire gathering. So much for not using illusions to distract people with.

Her presentation concluded, most of the people gathered departed, not exactly feeling comfortable in the current atmosphere. “Uh, excuse me, are you the daughter of the village chief?” A voice spoke behind Sryine, surprising her. She turned around to face someone she had never seen before, a visible outsider. “I was asked to.. uh.. I need help finding a missing bookshelf that was scheduled for delivery.” The delivery guy’s request confused her at first, sounding all too familiar. Was this someone else looking for Vwyx?

The delivery guy followed the girl as directed, all the way back to the workshop he had just left. Finding a familiar short-haired brunette waiting at the door just made him sigh. “Really, did you just send me on a wild goose chase all the way back here?” “No, of course not. I sent you to bring a friend back here so that I could go with you. No way was I going to miss out on this. Sryine, this guy seems to know Khyzae, of all things, and has gotten pretty desperate. I felt making use of this outside connection to make another visit to her little mansion could be a fair enough exchange. Still, no way was I going to exclude you from the deal, especially considering your newest talent. You’re probably the only one I know that could get us there without anyone else knowing.” The delivery guy was still sighing, not realizing just how much he had been used by Vwyx in this process. Sryine was still concerned but nodded, setting about working her illusions in the process.

The three of them arrived once again at the mansion, completely invisible, with Khyzae waiting for them at the gate. “You two came back already? Not that I’m complaining about the constant visits but.. oh! So you, uh.. brought a guest too?” “Khyzae, it’s been a while. Did your experiment really end in a disaster? Liyuzhe was really cheering for you too, we knew how much this whole thing mattered to you. The discoveries made could have given us so much progress with everything else.” Khyzae looked at the delivery guy blankly, both having no memories of him nor what he was talking about. Vwyx took the opportunity to measure what Sryine had spoken of earlier, just how much Khyzae had seemed able to see the two of them, but not the delivery guy.

“Come on, not funny. I know it’s been a year, but you make it seem like you don’t recognize me at all. It’s me, Fhyernx… By the divine, I can’t believe it. It’s like something has robbed you of all of your memories. I’ve got to get you to Ieqyisa, she would be able to figure this out. We told you this was far too dangerous to do on your own, and this only proves it. That’s it, I’m taking you back to the city with me. Liyuzhe is going to throw a fit when she finds out, but it would only be worse if I came back without you.” “Hold it, hold it, why? Why should I even bother going with you?” “Well, why would you stay here? Have you seen how this place treats outsiders? Haven’t you always said you preferred the city, that you never wanted to come here in the first place? Why would you want to do something you.. wouldn’t want to do?” Fhyernx was visibly stressed, making some of his statements to Khyzae a bit irrational. Khyzae however could feel the weight of at least some of his statements. Something within her was just saying that she was homesick.. for a home she couldn’t even remember.

Sryine was measuring Khyzae’s reaction, noticing how much Fhyernx was convincing her. Sryine herself remembered how the original Khyzae had spoken in contrast to the village compared to the city-life she had come from. If Khyzae was going to leave, who were they to stop her. “I’ll go, but my friends are coming with me.” Khyzae managed to suddenly take Sryine and Vwyx off guard. True, both of them had an honest interest in the city-life beyond their village as well, but this was all too sudden of a change. Sryine however measured the benefits of the situation. She had a responsibility now to build relations beyond the village, what better way to do that then to leave? Vwyx herself knew that her sister would have things down in her absence, so there really wasn’t anything keeping her here if she actually wanted to leave. The only reason she wouldn’t have left before was because she couldn’t.. but this was finally an opportunity. Could either of them afford to let this slip past?

“Fine, whatever, but I really don’t have the extra space.” “Right, something about only transporting supplies. Since when did you start picking up the whole business of ferrying people to the city?” “Believe me, this is going to be a one-time exception only. Make sure you have what you need, because we’re not coming back anytime soon.” Fhyernx had a point, if they were going anywhere, they would need to start packing. Khyzae went towards the mansion, meeting her parents at the door. They paused for a moment silently before her parents both nodded silently while stepping out of her way, letting Khyzae run past. The rest of them approached and were invited inside, Khyzae’s mother going off to help her pack.

“Fhyernx, long time no see. I suspected there would come a time you or your friends would show up like this, checking after my daughter.” “Well, old man, after you did something so crazy as to drag her all the way out of civilization, someone had to be around to keep an eye on her. Lucky we already had some decent trade with this village, gave us at least a small connection.” “Yes, I can see how that would bring you some comfort. Well, if you will excuse me, I’ve something to attend to. Vwyx, Sryine, may I ask you to join me, I expect I will need a hand. Fhyernx, may I ask you to wait here patiently for everyone’s return?” “Yeah, whatever.” Khyzae’s father left Fhyernx to his own devices, silently waiting in the front room. Vwyx and Sryine followed him off, unaware as to what was actually going on. Once within the laboratory, both girls found themselves presented with some reading material.

“I was generally suspecting that it was only a matter of time before you both would need some records with which to help Khyzae in our absence. Of course, we’re not going to be able to go with you, it wouldn’t look very good to the village if we fled so suddenly. So, I’ve made sure to produce some useful references to ensure Khyzae gets any of the care she might need in the future. I’ll have to trust the two of you to make sure she is properly taken care of. It might be best to not spill the change of nature she’s endured to people, there is no telling how others would react if they found out that she wasn’t even actually Elven anymore. Even to the world beyond, no one is familiar with what it is like to be an Ersatz, which would leave Khyzae in a really difficult position were it to become known. You two share a special connection with her, a connection which I know none of us fully understand, and I don’t think there is anyone else I could trust with ensuring her secret is kept safe, that she herself is kept safe. I have no idea what sorts of projects her friends from the city were working on, and I expect they are interested in bringing her back to it. Please, make sure she stays safe.” Khyzae’s father was entrusting them both with a substantial responsibility, one they could heartily agree with. Both of them accepted the documents and the responsibility with a nod.

Having returned to the front room, they were eventually confronted with Khyzae’s return. She carried a violet bag filled with the possessions she had chosen to bring with her. She suspiciously also had a silver bracelet on her left wrist that had been given to her by her mother as a memento, matching her snow colored hair, tied in a ponytail as usual with a new violet ribbon. She waited at the door patiently, visibly not willing to leave without her friends. Vwyx and Sryine joined her as Fhyernx rushed to tail behind. Once outside, Sryine threw another illusion over them as they made a stop at her own home. She left Fhyernx and Vwyx waiting outside at the main square as Khyzae followed her inside stealthily, helping her to pack.

“I suspected you were up to something. It is getting easier to predict your impulses even if you seem to be capable of travelling without anyone else to witness.” “Oh, uh, brother, I..” “Packing, I see. I’m not sure where you got such wild ideas from, but of late you seem to be ahead of things when it comes to thinking beyond the village. You were instructed to invest your attention on the matter, and I can see how going away to collect information away from the village would fit such responsibilities. I expect the need for secrecy was to avoid any unnecessary drama. I shall make sure everyone is informed about your departure, and I trust the crafter girl and the outsider waiting outside is all part of your plan. Make sure you collect enough information for this to be worth it, come back having learned about how things work beyond the village, and what ways we could improve upon it. Do not make me regret this.” “I won’t. Thank you, and farewell.” Her brother left the open doorway as suddenly as he had arrived, most likely bringing his attention to whatever other task he felt responsible for. Sryine was honestly thankful for his understanding and acceptance, as she rushed to finish packing a few extra books from her collection. After another round of invisibility, it was Vwyx’s turn.

Vwyx left the others in the back, where the supplies Fhyernx had brought previously had already been sorted away. Vwyx herself ran into her room to pack up what few things she wanted to bring. She took an opportunity to wander into the workshop, picking up her melder and the unfinished music box. Her sister watched her from the other corner, not actually having any work to do. “So, something is going on, right? You only look that way when you’ve got a project you’re working on, I can tell. But there is no project here, so you’ve got a project somewhere else.” “Yeah, sorry. Make sure to keep things going while I’m gone.” “Oh, you’re going away then? Just make sure you make this trip worth it, bring back some stuff to show just how much we can improve everything around here. Don’t worry about things here, I’ve got this stuff taken care of, it might even be easier to keep things under control while your gone. Just.. do be careful this time, especially avoid getting seriously hurt. And.. do come back.. when you’ve done what you need to do.” Vwyx’s sister broke into tears, Vwyx taking an opportunity to offer a farewell hug before resuming packing.

After her packing was finished, Vwyx went back outside, finding everyone waiting for her. With everything ready to go, they would bid their farewell to Schorlwood Village.