It had taken Edison Matthews several days to cross the Sanctus-Richmond border. Well, he could have snuck across, of course, but since he held a Sanctus Kingdom passport, it would be a waste if he threw the advantage away and got caught as a spy. The kingdom had always been neutral in the conflicts across the Irvalla Region and with good reason. Nobody wanted the scant valleys they occupied within the Arc Mountainous Region, as an invasion would cost too much in terms of life and resources than what they could possibly gain.

Crossing the border involved a lot of paperwork, and not a small amount of money spent on bribes. But he had done it. He was in a car, driving down the bumpy country roads, with a Sanctian aide, and a bunch of papers that should allow him to exit the country with little hassle. Unless, of course, they found out that Edison had studied in the Karcellian Commonwealth’s Lindorn University, Unearthed Arcana Department. But it wasn’t as if he advertised his academic degrees, so…

As soon as they crossed the border, and put some distance from the blockades, he pulled over and sank into a meditative trance. His aide, a young man named Levi Zuber who had a touch of occult resonance capabilities, kept watch.

From his pocket, Edison pulled out a card. It was roughly sixty millicubits by one-eighty, and lovingly painted on one side was the depiction of a half-lidded eye. On the opposite side, was a pattern of repeated crystalline fractals. The ink used on the face side was infused with powdered reactive malachite, which was a carrier of occult resonance. Along with varied reagents and a secret method by the Karcellian Mages’ Society, the pattern allowed the reactive malachite to retain its potency, and to slowly recover after each use. The rarified ore would have normally burned away after powering occult resonance techniques.

He moved to the back seat of the car, folded his legs into a meditative pose, placed the card between his thumbs and used his Will to activate it. The sensation of falling away from his body was a familiar one, yet it wasn’t something that anyone could get used to. After nearly a decade of using astral sight, Edison brushed away the nausea and refined his focus. Soon enough, his consciousness left his body and he found himself in a place covered with thin mist.

Here, he had no body, and his consciousness only occupied a sphere of light. He wasn’t sure if he had any colour, but then, everything around him had a washed-out hue, so that he could see mostly in shades of grey. The terrain seemed to fade away and return at regular intervals, and he could see glowing motes of occult resonance flowing around. It was more power that could be accessed in the material plane, but it was too high up for him to reach. He briefly considered floating up to chase, but it would waste too much time. Besides, nine times out of ten he wouldn’t be able to catch anything, though the few times he did, he was more than happy as the occult resonance he captured nourished his mind and Will.

Today, as he had done for the past week, he looked towards the north. The occult resonance event that had the Confederates so flustered was rather clear in his sight. There were two sources. One remained at the same spot for the past week and was probably a reliquary site, while the other one moved. Outsiders, he assumed, who’d arrived in Irvalla. Where they’d probably be trapped in the foreseeable future.

Still, the moving sources were quite potent, even more so than the static one. But then, when he checked the original source, he saw that it was starting to glow with ominous light. He also noted smaller lights, which had the familiar pattern of the Confederate’s Warlocks.

As for the moving source, he focused on them now. From where he was, they looked like a collection of light orbs. The most prominent one was golden, and it was potent enough to practically overshadow everything else. It was so bright that it was actually difficult to look at, but as he stared at the light, he felt drawn to it.

That feeling had actually driven him to risk his cover and enter Confederate country, and now, he was just checking if they were still heading in the right direction. There were a few times he observed them while they were moving, and they had actually been heading southwest, but now…hmmm, they’re going up north. Thankfully, they weren’t moving that quickly, and he estimated he could catch up to them either late today or tomorrow.

Hmmm, Outsiders rarely spoke the Irvallan languages. His Dawnspeak wasn’t as fluent as he hoped it could be, but since every nascent mage, warlock, sorcerer, or what-have-you need to learn Dawnspeak in order to harness the power of the world…

Well, Outsiders, whatever language they normally used, always knew Dawnspeak. Hopefully, his lack of skill with the primordial language wouldn’t lead to misunderstandings.

His musing, and scouting down, he Willed his consciousness back into his body. He had ascertained the heading, and so, he picked the country roads that generally lead northwest, then eventually, directly north.

He checked with Astral Sight every couple of hours, just to make sure that he was closing in on them. He abused the card enough times that the ink had started to fade. He should have stopped after the third one today, but he couldn’t risk losing his way. Repainting the card would be an expensive and time-consuming process, but he could expense that to the Society.

Finally, at midafternoon, he finally caught sight of the Outsider party. When he used Astral Sight an hour earlier, he was no longer able to stare at their beacon, so bright was the golden light. But he was sure it was them, considering that all of them exuded occult resonance, even to his normal sight.

He slowed the car and observed the lot. There were nearly two-score of them, an assortment of men and women. His eyes were immediately riveted to a tall woman, with golden tresses and fierce blue eyes. She…actually, all of the women in the group were wearing men’s clothing. The fashioned looked close enough to Irvallan that they wouldn’t have stood out in a Lindorn City.

He pulled his eyes away from the tall woman, and with a gasp, he noted that several, nearly a dozen of them, had beastly features. Canine or feline ears and tails. And one lad with insectoid antennae sprouting from his forehead. The mammalian beastlike features weren’t so strange as the eastern empire of Aralia’s citizens often sported such mutations, but the insectoid was new. Which only cemented his notion that they were Outsiders.

Levi was trembling in fright, unused to seeing therianthropes. Edison put the car in idle about thirty cubits away, raised his empty hands up over the windshield and yelled, “Hello!” in Dawnspeak. He had the pleasure to see the surprise in their eyes. No doubt they’d already encountered the hostile Confederates before. “May I approach?”

The golden-haired woman…well, there were two of them with golden hair. The tall one whose luxurious tresses were gathered in a ponytail, while the other had hers in corkscrew curls like the nobles of old. Anyway, the tall one said, “You may.”

Edison nodded and opened the door, stepped out and cautiously approached. The woman was eyeing her with no small amount of hostility in her eyes. Understandable, considering what they’d probably gone through.

“Greetings. I am Edison Matthews,” he said once he was close enough that he didn’t need to shout to be heard. “Am I mistaken in the assumption that you and your friends are not from around here?”

“No,” the woman said curtly. Dawnspeak flowed smoothly from her lips, and Edison could feel the occult resonance from it.

“Ah, then I welcome you to the Irvalla Region.”

At that, the woman, who still had not introduced herself, widened her eyes in surprise. “Irvalla? Not Siderious…?” The last one was spoken under her breath, but was nonetheless audible.

“I’m afraid not, Miss…?”

Siderious, was it? Then were they lost? How did they even travel here? Irvalla was enclosed by the endless Outer Ocean, and the only records that spoke of how their ancestors arrived here were in barely preserved books and parchment held in museums. There was, of course, the Bore, but no one had ever returned from venturing there.

“Ah!” The woman gasped, and said, “Pardon. Yuriko Mishala Davar.” Then her eyes narrowed, “Was it you who has been staring at me for the past couple of days?”

Edison swallowed nervously. She felt his Astral Sight? Remarkable. Perhaps she was a powerful mage?

“My apologies,” he said smoothly, “it was the only way to follow your trail. You and your comrades had caused quite a stir. And the Irvalla Region is currently embroiled in a ruinous war, so you must forgive us for not giving you a proper welcome.”

She snorted delicately. “Yes, the first people we saw attacked us with no warning.”

Ah. Edison shook his head. That was par for the course with Confederates. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She tilted her head and glared. “Are you of the same nation or army?”

“No. Thankfully.” Edison cleared his throat. “Is it possible to continue this conversation elsewhere?”

They were in the middle of the road, and he could see farmhands in the distance. In fact, the town of Sharlach is just a kilocubit away. There was a garrison there, and an unusual group like theirs would have rung alarm bells already. Actually, why had the Confederate constables not responded to their presence already?

Miss Davar glanced at the sun and said, “It’s nearly time to set up camp anyway.” She pointed towards a grove a few dozen cubits from the road. “There.”

“Er, yes, I suppose hiding in the woods could serve, however,” he said softly, “perhaps taking shelter in a village nearby would be less suspicious. Not towards there,” he pointed down the road. “The garrison would be alerted and would take issue at such a large gathering.”

“Wouldn’t going to a farming village be just as bad?”

Edison gave a soft smile, “For the poverty-ridden Confederacy, money, especially foreign money, gold, or silver, will wipe away whatever concerns they have.”

“Poverty ridden?” Yuriko muttered with a frown, then shook her head. “So that’s why…huh. Before that, why are you talking to me?”

That little bit of Dawnspeak felt fussy to Edison, so he figured she was asking why he approached her peacefully. His smile widened and he answered honestly, “Because Outsiders like you are the best sources of occult knowledge and techniques.”

She scowled. “And that’s why those…warriors attacked us? For knowledge? Funny way of trying to get it.” She stared at his eyes pointedly. Edison was just a little bit taller than she was, but still, for a woman, she was exceptionally…big. Most of the ladies back home, in Sanctus, were petite, and Karcellian women, though bustier, were no taller. Miss Davar was wonderfully proportioned, however, and why was he thinking of that now?

Shaking his head. “I like to be upfront with what we’re looking for. And,” he lowered his tone of voice, “Karcellia is at war with the Confederacy, and I’ve sworn to them. If I can get a potential source of occult knowledge and power away from them, even if my nation doesn’t get that knowledge in turn, why, I’d count it as a win.” He smiled winningly.

“So if we don’t come with you, you’ll kill us,” she said flatly.

“Heavens, no.” Edison shook his head. “We’re not barbarians. But I’d try my damndest to convince you and yours otherwise.”

They stared at each other for a long while, before she nodded. “Very well. I’ll let you try to persuade me.”

Edison grinned and bowed, “You won’t regret it.”