Eli shared his story, starting with his appearance where the blood cultists had been doing their evil shtick. Continuing from there, he described his and Dara’s trip through Eld Forest, the run-in with the bandits, the assassin’s attack in Herria, and up to last night. He didn’t explain how he’d stumbled upon the blood ritual a week ago or go into any of his abilities.

I know I’ll need to trust someone at some point. Maybe it’ll be this guy and Dara, but maybe not. When a new variable is thrown into the mix, the people in power can have the most to lose, and I’ve dealt with enough pricks in the corporate world to understand that. Back home, I’d just lose my job or career with some of the stupid schemes I’ve heard about through the grapevine. Here though, a wrong move could kill others or even me.

Wybert mostly listened, only asking clarifying questions about the various attacks they’d suffered on the way here while furiously writing down notes. Eli paused a few times to let him scribble down more details after each question. It took a while, even with the infrequent interruptions, and he noted the afternoon light dimming through the tiny windows by the time he wrapped up the story with when they entered the village the day before.

“It sounds like a difficult journey,” Wybert said with a distracted air as he looked over his notes. “I did talk with my daughter this morning, and she shared a similar story, but without as many details.” Wybert focused on him again even as he took a sip of the drink he’d left sitting untouched throughout the story. “Thank you, Eli. This will help us understand what is happening with Duarte and those damned cultists. The kind of connections implied by your tales are worrying, and I already sent my best agents to Bishal this morning to look for my brother. They won’t make it there for at least a couple of days, but I’ll send them this additional information after we’re done here and can only hope we find the truth of the matter soon. What an ugly business, but at least you both made it here safely.”

Wybert collected and straightened the small pile of pages in front of him, moving them onto one bare corner of his desk. He casually raised his arms up, yawning into a stretch before relaxing back into his seat again. “So, with that done for now, what information or help do you want?” Wybert asked with a new warmth in his voice, though the dark circles under his eyes had only deepened during their conversation. “I still don’t understand what a Gifted Outlander would be doing in the middle of Eld Forest or how I can help, but I’d like to clear some of the debt between us.”

“There are a few things I can think of,” Eli said as he considered his words. He wasn’t happy with the talk of debts again but smothered the emotion since he needed to take advantage of what he could, as long as he didn’t feel like a leech. After all, he was stuck here, and having a favor from the local leader couldn’t hurt. “I hope the first is easy as I’d like to learn more about your culture. I’ve already had many random questions about your way of life, your history, myths, and more. I’m thinking even silly things like how many days are in a week to more complicated stuff like how magical abilities work?”

“Well, your first question is easy as there are twelve days in a week, but the abilities would take some time to explain,” Wybert answered slowly, pursing his lips in thought.

“Twelve? Dang, do you use a base-12 system here? Or is it tied to other planets in the sky? I know there are more than a dozen stars, so maybe it’s related to your moon?” Conscious of his babbling and the look on Wybert’s face, so reminiscent of Dara when she thought Eli was crazy, he thought of another option. “How about a book for beginners?” he asked, remembering some of the primers he’d read when he was little. “Maybe something that kids read when they’re little that explains concepts in a simple way – as if I’m a five-year-old? If I could start there, I’d appreciate it.”

“Normally, I’d ask Gifted Slana to instruct you in our ways,” Wybert replied and sighed, his face turning serious again. “She was not only our healer but was also our Lorekeeper and studied in some of our best academies. Sadly, she fell to those damned assassins yesterday. If the Greater System wills it, may she find rebirth and new strength in the Greater Infinite. Many will miss her, but we will carry on in her memory.”

“That’s an interesting phrase,” Eli mused almost to himself as he remembered Dara’s words asking if he was from the Greater Infinite. “What is the Greater System or this Infinite? Is it like the Oververse?”

Wybert’s serious expression relaxed into a small smile. “I’ll have a codex delivered to your room tonight. You can see an example there, the open one on my bookshelf – that was my personal copy when I was little. I’d let you borrow it, but you don’t need to see my notes and coarse jokes in the margins.”

Eli looked behind him at where Wybert gestured and found a heavy book sitting open on one shelf in the middle of a bookcase as if just recently perused. It resembled a three-ring binder with metal loops binding the thick pages to a large, heavy spine.

He turned back with a smile. “Great, that should be really helpful. Thank you. As to my next request – is there a safe place to run some experiments? I’m still learning what it means to be a Gifted here, and I’d like somewhere private yet far enough away that I don’t cause any damage if things go awry. I guess you could say I don’t know my own strength,” he finished with a rueful headshake as he remembered throwing Oyett through a wall.

“Actually, I do have such a place,” Wybert answered. “It’s a bit late in the day to show you now, but how about we meet here tomorrow morning? Say two hours after daybreak? I’ll walk you down, and we can discuss if it will suit your needs.”

“Thank you, Wybert,” He said with a smile as he happily ticked off one of his tasks for the day. “I’m looking forward to a safe place to work.”

“What else can I help with?” Wybert warmly asked as if they’d known each other for ages instead of less than a day.

“Well, this one might sound weird,” he began. “Do you know anything about portals? Or maybe you’d describe them as doorways in the air? They’re for moving from one place in the world to another. So if you happen….” He trailed off, now aware of how Wybert had frozen in place.

With his face flushed, Wybert bolted upright and leaned forward over his desk, and Eli leaned back in reflex as the warlord’s eyes again focused as if to peel apart Eli’s secrets. “Gifted Tal, where did you learn about gateways?” he whispered with deadly seriousness.

Eli flinched slightly at the tone as he wondered what new trouble his mouth had caused. “Ummm, gateways?” he asked as he tried to ignore the suddenly thick atmosphere in the room. “That’s what you call them here? Am I not supposed to talk about them? Are they a secret? Shit, I keep asking questions, don’t I? Wait, give me a second to think.”

He held up a hand while he looked away in thought. Wybert sat with barely restrained patience, though at least he’d leaned back a bit and no longer looked like he was a moment away from reaching across his desk to wring the information from Eli’s head. He regretted finishing his drink earlier as he suddenly wanted a sip. “Okay, how about this?” he continued. “When I stumbled across Dara and those cultists, I got there through a gateway. And before you ask, I won’t say how I got through the gateway. I’ll only say that it wasn’t willingly. So, does that help?”

Wybert grew even more agitated as different expressions flitted across his face before settling on intense curiosity. “You’ve not only seen one, but you passed through it? Can you describe the feeling to me? What did it look like to you? How was it constructed? Do you know if there are trigger words or incantations?” he finished, his words coming loud and fast by the end.

“Woah there, Wybert, pump the breaks. I just said I wasn’t ready to talk about some of that. I’d like to know if you have any information on these gateways. If so, I’d be happy to exchange some information with you.” He grinned as he said this, trying to soften his refusal to answer. It was also clear that Wybert knew at least a bit to ask such pointed questions.

“Yes, I know something of them.” Wybert paused, looking at him for an uncomfortable amount of time while Eli tried not to fidget. Just as he was going to ask a question, Wybert continued, “I’m going to trust you with something, Eli. We already have our vow, and your actions have given me some measure of who you are.”

Wybert stood up, moving over to refill his glass. He gestured with the bottle and refilled Eli’s glass after he nodded. Instead of sitting behind his desk again, Wybert moved to the other chair opposite him, leaning back into it with his drink in hand.

Eli sat back in his chair and tried not to fidget with the warlord so close. The man had already shown intense emotional displays during their conversation, and Eli knew he had a big mouth with a broken filter. He had little doubt he’d say something stupid or embarrassing as his foot unerringly ran into his mouth again.

“You have your secrets, as do I,” Wybert said. “Gateways touch on one of my family’s foundations. I cannot, and will not, make this decision as only one person can do so.” He took a sip. “I will contact my patriarch, Dia Aaric, and convey a message on your behalf. This message will ask for Dia Aaric’s counsel. It will be up to him whether he wishes to speak with you and share our secrets. If he does not, then I can do no more regarding gateways. Still, I will personally endorse your message and convey some flavoring to what I say. With your permission, I would like to include a summary of your travels with Dara. He will already be informed of our situation with Duarte, so he will likely connect you with the story, so I can’t guarantee your anonymity. It is up to you, but I believe that what you know could be helpful.”

Thinking about the idea, Eli thought it had merit, and he could understand Wybert’s position. If this was a big family secret that only the head of their family could decide on, it made sense. “Alright, I accept. How about you and I put our heads together on the messaging? I’d be more than happy to answer other questions you might have about the journey here with Dara.”

“Ha, yes. Let’s talk more,” Wybert said with a slight nod and smile. “Please, call me Wolf. You’ve more than earned that right!” He gestured out the windows as the night closed in. “How about I have some food delivered as we continue our discussion?”

***

After his talk with Wolf, Eli felt pleasantly full and far too awake to consider sleep. He decided to do a little exploring around the manor with his two guards in tow. The man and woman, Yi and Reva, followed along, with Yi doing all the talking. With the late hour, the three didn’t run across many people other than some servants in the same off-white outfits.

When he had seen the manor yesterday, his first impression had been of a cramped stone keep. Only four stories tall, he hadn’t realized that it was attached to another long two-storied building on the other end that housed most of the staff, guards, and their families. The two together looked like a knocked-over capital “L.”

Many different structures were situated between the manor and the stone wall, all built with the same light-grey stone. Yi pointed out the Gifted Hall where the guards trained, which was the same building Eli had taken for a Viking longhouse yesterday. There was apparently an indoor training space as well as a fenced yard on the other side of the three-story building. He’d have to check the place out later.

He had assumed that life in a castle was cold, drafty, dark, and gloomy, but the manor was none of these things. For one, it was anything but dark inside. The ever-present lightwells lit up the various rooms, dispelling any darkness to a few distant corners and out-of-the-way alcoves. The need for so many lights made sense when considering the lack of natural light. The manor’s lower floor windows were small and narrow, each with a wooden cover blocking the outside world. The covers fit well to their individual windows, with a wooden handle on the back and a bar to hold them in place. The slight draft along the seam let in some outside air, but the wooden blocks obviously worked well enough for temperature regulation.

“Hey, guys, what’s with the window covers?” Eli turned to ask his two guards. Yi stood closest with Reva a step further back, though both were close enough to hear the question. “Why have windows if you’re just going to cover them?” He continued as he gestured at a few blocked-off windows along the first-floor hallway.

The three had already walked the higher floors where the windows were much larger and with actual glass, but the panes differed from Eli’s expectations. Instead of a single large sheet of glass, each pane was no more than 15 centimeters on a side, held in place within a crisscrossing grid of metal. Combined, they formed some pretty sizeable windows set in thick metal frames. He had to imagine that glassmaking was a costly proposition in these parts.

“Orders, Gifted Tal, since we’re still on secondary alert after the attack. You’d have to talk with Lord Easone or Gifted Ghlan for a more thorough explanation,” Yi answered with the hint of a smile.

Eli grunted in reply. He’d already pegged Yi as a “character,” the type of person that saw the humor in almost any situation and wasn’t afraid to share it, regardless of perceived social boundaries. Yi had been his pseudo tour guide, pointing out some interesting objects or explaining the layout while his counterpart stayed silent. Reva was an interesting contrast as he still hadn’t seen the ghost of a smile from her. She had to have some sense of humor, but he still hadn’t earned even a crack in her exterior. Even now, her face lacked any particular expression as her eyes roamed their surroundings while tiny wisps of reddish-blonde hair peeked out from under her helm.

Looking around at the bright hallway, what really struck him about the manor was the abundance of colors everywhere. Instead of rough stone blocks or bricks, the interior walls had a smooth texture covered in bright murals depicting animals, plants, and everyday life. Some had people standing near each other with objects in their hands as if trading. Another looked like people at a feast. They were largely peaceful scenes, though a few were more violent with monsters that could have stepped right out of Earth’s mythos. One mural, in particular, took up an entire wall near the manor’s entrance. The scene depicted a massive battle as an army of warriors, their armor shining even under dark grey clouds, fought against a giant wyvern. The dark green creature looked like it had stepped out of the pages of a fantasy novel with its enormous bat-like wings holding it aloft as its two large clawed feet clutched two struggling warriors. The army below threw a riot of colors as if hurling magic into the heavens.

Sculptures, intricate tapestries, and paintings were sprinkled in different places with little rhyme or reason. The wooden-framed paintings were mostly portraits of people, often only one person but sometimes in a group. The subjects were amazingly life-like as if the people were somehow watching him and his guards as they walked down the hallways.

Eli suddenly yawned and almost laughed when Yi and Reva almost immediately yawned in response. “Alright,” he said with a smile as he tried to fight off the next yawn. “Let’s call it a night. Which way back to my room?”

Yi gestured behind them and led the way as he and Reva followed.