It’s amazing having a contraption like this, Vythin thought as the hot water cascaded over him. In the other room he heard a rhythmic thud as Isaac threw darts at a target he had set up the night before. Vythin smiled and continued to relish in the luxurious heat as he for the first time really investigated the physical changes with becoming a god. He was never the most muscular of his roguish colleagues, instead being much more wiry and dexterous - but now toned and firm muscles bulged under his skin. Vythin thought about his scaled-humanoid form and shifted, grinning as his physique remained muscular and toned; feeling the surging strength beneath the scales. As he did so, the water seemed to become colder. Not uncomfortably so, but not nearly as warm. He re-shifted into his human form and the warmth once again returned. I suppose dragon scales are heat resistant. I wonder if I'm fire-proof in that state.

  Voices came from the other room. Vythin recognized Isaac and Slate talking, but a third voice joined in - a pleasant but soft voice. He turned off the water and wrapped himself in a towel, opening the door. Slate was sitting on a chair as Isaac sat on a bed. Another figure with deep blue robes and a hood masked his face. He held a stave with a white gem at the top. A godsdamned mage. Vythin cleared his throat. His allies and the newcomer turned. "Slate. Isaac. Who is this?" Vythin asked.

  "His name is Kalinor. He can help us with the Demon problem," Slate replied.

  The figure swept back his hood and Vythin went slightly slack-jawed for a moment before regaining his composure.

  Kalinor chuckled, "Ah, it would appear I made an impression. Pleased to meet you, Vythin."

  Vythin shut the door. Calm down. It’s just a mage...But he’s handsome. Damn it. He focused on his attire and after a quick flash of gold he was once more clothed. He re-opened the door and entered the room. "Apologies, I wasn’t expecting...company," the last he said directed towards Slate who grimaced in fake affront.

  Kalinor sighed, "I would’ve preferred you without the shirt. But, onto different things." He turned to Slate, "I would wager that both Isaac and Vythin here are gods as well, yes?"

  Slate nodded, "Yes. The three of us are compatriots. A new pantheon of gods."

  Preferred without the shirt? Vythin thought as he sat down and spoke, "So how do you break the Pact?"

  Kalinor glanced between Slate and Vythin with a quizzical look, "I thought this was Demonic possession. Now there’s a Pact?"

  Slate shook his head, "I got caught up in the Archive and my own revelations therein. There’s two things we wish to commission you for. I adopted two of my former students and one of them made a Pact with a Demon Prince named Arglenaut."

  Kalinor scratched his head for a moment, "Well, Pacts are much easier to deal with than possession. Breaking a Pact just means that we need to know the agreements made in the infernal contract."

  "Will that harm the person who has the Pact?" Vythin asked.

  Kalinor shook his head, "Unlikely. Unless the Demon they have drawn a Pact with was very restrictive with the contract."

  Small blessings, I suppose, Vythin thought as he glanced over at Isaac who was staring at Kalinor.

  "And what do we owe you for these services?" Isaac asked.

  Kalinor looked at Slate before replying, "To cure his Demonic possession I need a diamond the size of a fist, and I’ll have to take it to the Shadow Isle for it to become imbued properly." He turned to Vythin, "As for the price for that service, helping me deal with a rival mage is all that I ask."

  "And the Pact?" Slate asked.

  Kalinor shrugged, "I can’t really put a price on that until I see the contract. Where is the Pact bearer?"

  Slate stood, "I’ll get him." He left the room.

  While he was gone Kalinor looked Vythin up and down before giving him a small wink.

  Vythin blushed and turned to Isaac ignoring the slim mage, "Ever dealt with mages before?" he asked to keep his mind focused.

  Isaac shook his head, "I haven’t had the opportunity to do so. I’ve heard they can be formidable foes if you make them your enemy. Have you?"

  Vythin nodded, thinking back to all those years ago when a mage showed up and convinced his father to leave their family. "I’ve had dealings with mages before." He looked at Kalinor, the blush fading, "And every time I’ve dealt with one I’ve ended up worse off than before."

  Kalinor frowned, "I’m sorry you’ve had a bad experience with mages." He sat down and leaned his staff against the chair. "Not all of us are bad folks. But there definitely are quite a few who let the power go to their heads. I can understand the sentiment you hold against my ilk."

  Slate returned with Matthew in tow, the young boy looked quite groggy from a rough awakening.

  Kalinor glanced over, "Is this the Pact holder?"

  Slate nodded and picked Matthew up, "Yes, this is him. Matthew, say hello to Kalinor."

  Matthew waved and muttered something. Kalinor stood up and gripped his staff, placing his hand on the gem at the top and incanting in a strange language that Vythin couldn’t understand. As he pulled his hand away there was a strand of silver light that stayed attached to his hand that he handed to Matthew. "Go ahead and hold on to this. It’s going to feel warm," Kalinor instructed as Matthew took a hold of the stream of silver. Kalinor gripped the center of the strand with both hands - his staff holding itself upright in place - and stretched the light, creating a large translucent surface that fiery red symbols appeared upon. Some strange language that Vythin didn't understand.

  Slate looked impressed, "Well, those terms seem very easy to deal with."

  Kalinor nodded his head, "Yes. We could break this Pact today with very little effort. But did you read the benefits?"

  Slate nodded, "We’ll have to confer with Vythin before deciding. He's also taken on the responsibility for the well-being of this child."

  Kalinor clapped his hands together and the spell ended, the silver light vanishing into the air as Slate took Matthew out of the room before returning alone shortly after.

  "I assume that you figured out the Pact?" Vythin asked.

  Kalinor looked at Slate who replied, "Yes. It has very generous terms. Effectively, Matthew can use spells without training. If he wants to gain more knowledge of spells and the like, he simply must sacrifice precious metals or gems to the Demon. There’s no negative connotation, or even a soul-price. We can break the Pact at any time. It’s a really, really good deal on his end. Generous, even."

  "You two are the ones who wanted to bring the kids along. It’s your decision," Isaac said.

  Vythin pondered for a moment before replying, "What harm is there in letting the Pact remain?"

  "As far as the contract goes - there is no downside. The child will be able to use spells without training provided he has money or goods to sacrifice. If I were in his place, I’d want to keep that gift," Kalinor said.

  I suppose if there’s no harm in it staying then we should just let it be. "My vote is that we let it remain for now. If it becomes an issue later we can break it then," Vythin said.

  "I agree. For the time being, Matthew and Mary don’t have knowledge of the Pact; I stripped them of that knowledge until we could find out more. However I should say Mary was quite upset that Matthew could use spells and she couldn’t. I fear what would happen if Matthew learned of his Pact and Mary wanted to gain similar abilities - what entity she could accidentally reach out to," Slate said, his voice tinged with worry.

  "If that is your concern, then for a small favor I can give her this," Kalinor said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small iron box. "Inside this is the same test that they use to find new mages. It will help determine what affinities she has, if any. I can then provide a beginner’s primer."

  Vythin spoke, "That sounds reasonable. What’s the favor?"

  Kalinor smiled a wicked smile, "You have to go on a date with me." He looked pointedly at Vythin.

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  "A...date. Um…not what I was expecting." Vythin glanced over to Slate who was barely containing his laughter. He looked back at Kalinor, feeling mixed emotions of distrust and lust. "Deal."

  Kalinor nodded, "Then it’s settled. I’ll go ahead and administer the test. You two can find a diamond that is fist-sized, I trust? I’ll need that for the possession."

  Isaac nodded, a slight grin on his face, "Yeah, we can go and find one."

  Kalinor and Slate left the room as Isaac and Vythin looked at each other. Isaac chuckled, "You have an admirer it seems."

  Vythin blushed, "Shut up. I’m only doing this for the kids’ sake."

  Isaac led the way out of the room as Vythin followed, "I might not know a lot about romance, but I can tell when someone is attracted to another person. It’s really similar to animals - certain queues one can look for."

  Vythin shook his head, "Comparing people to animals isn’t really accurate, is it?"

  Isaac glanced back, "Aren’t we all animals in some way? The only thing that separates us from them is that we can reason and think. And even then, I’ve met some squirrels smarter than people. There’s a lot of idiots in the world."

  Vythin sighed, "Too true…He is my type. But I have a predisposition against mages."

  The two of them reached the street and began walking towards the middle layer of Starhold with shops. "What happened that caused you to hate them?" Isaac asked.

  "My father was enticed away by a mage. He was told that he would gain incredible power, and he left that same day - it was like we meant nothing to him." Vythin kicked at small rocks as they went, "That was the start of it. Back when I was making money in a more...illegal manner, we had a mage who was really good at illusions. Turns out he was planted by someone. He’s the reason why the heist went wrong in Majori and I had to go into hiding."

  Isaac slowed pace so he was next to Vythin, "That sounds rough." He patted Vythin on the back, "But once is chance, twice is coincidence. If it happens a third time then you may be right in your assumption that mages are bad and should be avoided. Give it a try, though." Isaac stared into the sky for a moment, "Take it from someone who loved and lost." A dour look crossed his face for a moment.

  Vythin nodded, "Thanks for not judging. I know a lot of folks aren’t open minded with… my orientation."

  Isaac shrugged, "Hey, what goes on behind closed doors is no-ones business. Just don't make any moves on me."

  Vythin laughed, "If only more people thought that way. Deal."

  The two of them easily found a jeweler and after some haggling Vythin had in his hand a pouch containing a large diamond. As they were walking back Isaac put a hand on Vythin and looked around. "I just felt something. Like that tingle when another god is near."

  Vythin looked around as well, "I’m not feeling it."

  Isaac shook his head, "No, I’m definitely sure I felt it... Hold on a moment." Isaac walked back the way the two had walked and waved Vythin over to a shop front. The store looked to be an antique shop of some type named ‘Trixie’s Trove’, and as soon as he was standing in front of the doors he felt that same tingling sensation as when he first met Isaac. He turned and nodded to his fellow god, entering the shop. The building was a single story that extended fifty feet back.

  At the entrance was a counter, and seated behind it was a Toskar woman who seemed to be engrossed in writing something. She glanced up as Vythin and Isaac entered, cracking a large grin and setting down her parchment. "Ah, customers! Welcome to my trove. I’m Trixie. What are you looking for today?" she asked.

  Vythin replied, "Just browsing." He glanced down at the parchment and saw several lines of dialogue. "What are you writing?"

  "Ah, this is one of my most recent novellas. A saucy romance. I’m still working on a title though," Trixie replied.

  Vythin nodded and glanced back at Isaac, who had entered the depths of the shelves, his head just visible over the tops. "Thanks. I’m going to browse a bit."

  Trixie waved a hand dismissively, "Of course, just bring the items for purchase up to me. I don’t label prices here, it’s all negotiable."

  Vythin went back as the tingle grew noticeably stronger. I must be used to Isaac’s presence. I don’t get the same feeling of a Shard nearby from him.

  Isaac was kneeling at the bottom of a shelf, pulling out a long, flat, wooden box and blowing some dust off of it. The tingling sensation reached a crescendo as he opened the lid, revealing a gorgeous platinum necklace with a clear Shard, flecked with various colors. Isaac stood up with the necklace in hand, "I’m pretty sure this is an Aether Shard."

  Vythin looked at the necklace, "Do you think it’s an artifact?"

  Isaac shook his head, "I don’t know. But we could just rip the Shard out and use it to make our own, couldn’t we? Slate had said we can use them to make specific miracles less taxing to manifest."

  Vythin nodded, cocking his head in thought, "I do often turn into a dragon. If I didn’t have to use heat for that, I’d be able to do a lot more."

  Isaac nodded, putting the necklace in the box. "Then let’s pay up." He handed the box to Vythin, "You’re the one with the money."

  After returning up front and exchanging pleasantries with Trixie a small negotiation ensued. She insisted that they take a copy of her first novel, Trixie's Tryst, and talk about the novel once finishing it. The agreed upon price was paid and the two gods made their way back towards the upper district. Isaac spoke as they walked, thumbing through the romance novel, "By the way, you know that little mission Orinor sent me on to check out Selena?"

  Vythin nodded, "How did that go? We haven’t really had a chance to discuss it."

  "She has a tea that she uses to dull the minds of her patrons similar to what your brother uses. However, I think it’s more potent." Isaac pulled out a small glass bottle with several brown leaves. "I ‘borrowed’ some and did a miracle. They are unique and rare - grown in a cave near glowing fungus, then dried out with smoke. They also grow near the ocean, somewhere with a salt-infused breeze."

  "Then we should tell Orinor. Want to pop in and tell him before heading back to Slate?" Vythin asked. Isaac gave a quick thumbs up, and the two made their way to The Reshiron League gaining an audience with the proprietor.

  Vythin gave him a big hug as they met in the office on the top floor. After pleasantries were exchanged Isaac spoke, "Selena is dosing her clients." He pulled out the bottle and handed it to Orinor, detailing the information from his earlier discussion with Vythin.

  Orinor smiled, "Well done! I thought she was doing something similar. More potent, you say? I would be most interested in finding out where these come from. First things first, your reward." He walked over to his safe and opened it, pulling out a document and handing it to Isaac. "This is identification as an envoy of the Siltar Republic. I did some digging and discovered your banishment. A terrible fate to suffer, as I understand it. This writ allows you to go back to your homeland and walk freely as an agent of the Republic."

  Isaac read it over before shoving it into a belt-pouch. "Should’ve figured you’d find everything you could about me after learning my name."

  Orinor turned to Vythin, "I’ll find out where this cave is where the tea comes from. When I do, I’ll give you the location. If you can stop the production operation I’ll give you full access to my information network."

  "That sounds like a plan. But if I’m not in the city, how will you let me know?" Vythin asked.

  Orinor chuckled, "I have several priests and mages on my payroll. A simple spell ought to do the trick." He gave Vythin a big hug, "Make sure you take care of yourself. I don’t want you to go missing again."

  Vythin returned the hug, "Don’t worry, I’m not going missing ever again."

  The two separated as Isaac and Vythin returned to the inn, meeting Slate and Kalinor in the tavern area.

  Slate spotted them and waved the two over to a booth. "It turns out Mary has an affinity to the cold and ice," Kalinor said as he sipped from a mug of beer, the cup vanishing into his hood for a moment as he did so.

  Vythin turned to Slate, "Did you tell Matthew about his Pact, then? Lift your theft of knowledge from them?"

  Slate shook his head, "No. We just made a game out of it. Matthew is inclined towards...what did you call it?"

  "He’s a generalist. He doesn't have any particular affinity, but should have little difficulty learning a bit about everything. Most people are generalists. Slate and I talked a bit, and came to an agreement for the time being," Kalinor replied.

  Isaac leaned forward and spoke, "Let me guess; you’re going to stick around and help teach the kids?"

  Slate snapped his fingers, "Yes! Kalinor here is going to join us for a while as a guest teacher and get the kids started into studying spells. Once they’ve got the basics, he said that they can effectively self-learn from the primer books he has. Even go to a proper college once they have the basics down."

  Vythin spoke, "I don’t mind the company, but I feel the need to ask…why?"

  "For one, you are clients who still owe me the payments for the work I’ll be doing. Second, I’d think it a disservice to not help new mages awaken their potential. The colleges are...rough, especially to children. Especially to first year students. Third, you lot are gods. I’d be dumb not to stick around if only to see what interesting events happen...Being an Archmage can be quite boring. Nothing is really ever a challenge," Kalinor said as the cup vanished once more into his hood.

  I’m sure it’s not just because we are interesting, Vythin thought as he pulled out the large diamond and unwrapped it.

  Kalinor picked it up and examined it . "Yes, this will do nicely. The next step will be going to the Shadow Isle to imbue it." He pocketed it.

  Vythin pulled out the necklace and handed it to Slate, "Isaac sensed this in a shop. Is it an artifact?"

  Slate passed a hand over the object and his palm flashed red for a moment. He shook his head, "No, this is just jewelry with an Aether Shard instead of a gemstone in the setting." He pulled a small metal pick seemingly out of thin air and fiddled with the necklace for a moment before the Aether Shard popped out. He held it up in the light. "What do you want to do with it?"

  "Well, Vythin uses his dragon form quite a bit. You did say we could make artifacts of our own," Isaac said.

  Slate nodded his head, "Yes, we can indeed. And I agree that for now Vythin could make the most use of it." He handed the Shard to Vythin, "But it takes five days for the full process of making an Artifact. We shouldn’t do it here - or anywhere near this city."

  "Let’s go back to the City in the Badlands," Vythin said.

  "If we plan on making that place our stronghold we need a way to get there. I have some thoughts on how to accomplish that," Isaac said.

  Slate nodded, "I can verify the integrity of the city and make improvements if needed."

  "We fortify our center of power," Isaac summarized succinctly.

  "We should just take a Season to ourselves. I wouldn’t mind going to find another Aether Shard or two so Isaac and I can have our own artifacts to be prepared...for whatever happens," Slate said.

  "I am perfectly fine with starting the mage studies of the two children. I’d rather receive payment before making this dangerous trek as well," Kalinor commented.

  Isaac stood, "We should leave tonight."

  Slate stood as well, "I better get things together then. Isaac, would you mind filling up the cart in the back? I’ll get Yvilli and the children ready." Isaac nodded and the two went up the stairs.

  Vythin looked over at Kalinor whose expression was hidden under the cowl.

  "Did I hear correctly that you have a dragon form?" Kalinor asked.

  Vythin nodded, "Yes, I’m a god of dragons."

  Kalinor picked up his cup and once again it vanished into the cowl to return to the table empty. "I look forward to seeing it. I must finish some errands if we are departing so soon." Kalinor stood and walked past Vythin, and with the angle he could see into the cowl and spot a smile. "And remember the other payment you owe."

  Vythin blushed as the mage vanished into the slowly filling-out tavern crowd. Definitely not mixing up signals there, Vythin thought as he went upstairs. Still...he is a mage.