With a thought, the woman settled back into her physical form. The transition was just as smooth as the initial separation had been - quick but not jarring, and no noticeable ti needed to return to bodily awareness. She opened her eyes to find Madrigil studying the barrier aspect again... with a fist rebounding.
"Well? How did it perform?"
He questioned without looking up at her from the tingling limb. Past her mild horror that he was trying to break inside... she was forced to think internally that it was everything the two of them had claid it would be and more. So much that the idea of ever using her ability outside of this spot seed frustrating already.
"It works. Better than I could have imagined."
Wonder had cracked through fear just a bit and the noble nodded. He was certain things would turn around one way or another if she could be guided into doing what was required, a bit like a research assistant. He was missing one of those now... at least he was.
"Excellent. Now then, why don’t you establish so sort of camp while we wait for her return? I have absolutely no idea how to do anything of that sort."
"...You don’t know how to set up a campsite?"
"Beyond eat whatever I find and walk until I’m tired? No. I hire people for that for a reason."
All he’d co back over there near her for, at first, was to verify that the protections did indeed prevent his entry. Since he had no hope yet of cracking them just so he could study closer... as if the matter on work division was settled, he scurried away back to the arch that had his interest.
Only to earn a grand surprise when he witnessed the brunette *walking up* the other side of the basalt. Having ’climbed’ more than a quarter mile at a wall running, gravity defying pace, the heiress had cooled down a bit.
But still didn’t want to see the scout’s face or hear any apologies. Elua planned to ditate - otherwise known as pout a bit longer while lying on her back at the top - as there was no Qat there to remotivate her towards the work that needed to be done.
’Besides, whatever she goes and gathers won’t be completely worthless. And it keeps her doing sothing and finding her niche here without my involvent.’
⟠ ⟠ ⟠
Commander Huri’s tone carried the weariness of soone who’d been answering variations of the sa question for hours if not days. Qatrand sat across from him in the command office, her expression controlled despite the churn of annoyance beneath.
Getting official permission to see the workshop seed to be more of a problem than she assud it would be. It had been sealed off because the workshop showed signs of unapproved sigil work that had the Void Defense Society coming down on the Army for lack of oversight... and the Coiled Serpent expressing a priority on their study.
"Thanks to so clever thinking, we’ve discovered that so of them were hidden compartnts... that we’ve been unable to unlock. We’ll need to examine any personal effects in them that you might know that she left behind."
"Of course. But I refuse to release the thod or agree to have anyone else inside or within a hundred feet of the room when I enter."
Her low voice remained steady and unbudging. She was sure this point was what was causing all of the issues - but how could any of these guilds be using that against her when they had no idea *why* her wife was missing? If this were any other situation and keeping her out of there like this for ten whole hours was delaying her potential rescue...
’I already am rather upset, but I would be beyond furious if El hadn’t used that thod to inform .’
The problem she faced now was... how could she get everything she needed from that room out? If they didn’t let her in, then how long before they put together a team with the perfect Aspects to counter whatever her wife had done?
"Alright. I’ll inform them again. That will be all for now. But they may have additional questions for you if and when I can get all of the representatives to agree."
Qatrand rose and bowed formally. Her tendrils of spirit had confird throughout how annoyed the man was. Not at herself, but at the people responsible for the hold up. So the least she could do was remain respectful.
"I understand, Commander. I’m at your disposal."
"Yecine... for what it’s worth, I’m about one more incident away from retiring early. Of being told in colorful terms to coerce you using emotional leverage. So if you end up forcing your way through this, you’ll have my backing."
Pigeon blues t his eyes as she rose to her full height and saluted. The gold and blue brooch on her black lapel seed to shimr under the essence lanterns.
"...If you have nowhere good lined up to retire, the new land developnt that will be happening in the aftermath of the war can always use residents. It might not be a very *quiet* place over the next cycle. But my wife liked you, so you would be more than welco."
"Well, that’s quite a standing offer. Good luck, soldier."
The mont the cultivator stepped outside, her pace quickened. Ti was short before things that would put suspicion back on the heiress occurred. The swordswoman felt she’d have to convince Leysah to rally help, though Qat also had a feeling that would only need but a short command.
⟠ ⟠ ⟠
In the dead of night, Qatrand passed by the group of guards pointedly looking the other way when they were supposed to. Elua had taught her so techniques for moving undetected through a city, but most of them boiled down to being easier to pay people to ignore you.
Cultivators would have continued working in ’official investigative capacity’ throughout the night - which at this point was just poking at things that had already been poked - but the fort commander had suspended it all and told them to bring complaints in the morning... or to get out of his post. A threat backed by the lent strength of the second in command of the popular strike force.
The Kinetic Elent and curved blade wielder interrupted the first three that mouthed off in the eting by tossing a set of irons between them. Claiming they could either put them on and be escorted out of the walls quietly, she could put them on for them and escort them outside slowly with a nice parade, or they could walk back to their rooms and sleep on their anger.
’All but one huffed and left imdiately. The other lifted and handed back the bindings with a weird smile on her face. And I believe was ’lust’, though it was so tiny compare to my El that I’m not sure.’
Looking around the emptied workshop, tendrils of her Primalist spirit assessed every inch and crevice of the room. She then pressed her palm against the wall where she’d felt the spiritual fragnt’s guidance leading her. For a mont, nothing happened.
Then the stone above shimred - higher than most would ever try and reach. Revealing the obsidian mirror mounted on a set of Gravity based sigils. It had remained beneath that illusion safely for days by now.
"Part of wishes you went with her, even if I get that her plan needs you."
The artifact pulsed as if it had so recognition that it was being spoken to, though the reincarnator had stressed that the construct of corrupted spirit was no more alive than the mint gem of Qat’s own released breakthrough. A raised hand with a pull of Gravity at the hastily ford sigils popped the relic off and into her waiting fingers.
She’d only touched it a few tis and always while her wife was right nearby. Without the ancient cultivator to keep it in line, she expected it to be more unwieldy. The opposite seed true - the energy inside was almost even more ’subservient’ toward her spirit than the real El.
"I should have known. You were part of her while she was in Guild training."
Sliding it into her pack, she found the hiding place low to the ground that the fox had used. The realmshard inside was supposedly ’contained’ thanks to the mirror by a simple order that the Avatar had given it.
Qatrand carefully lifted the item, feeling the fairly light weight of a second relic in her hands. But the physical weight of the strange spherical ’key’ was nothing like the responsibility both of these items represented. Ancient powers entrusted to her care by the illusionist.
Secrets that families would covet... enough to rob or sche against her. Maybe even her own.
"I won’t let them. Just co ho safe when you can, my mint-drop."
The promise was made to the hollow feeling fragnt in her chest. To a set of dulled mint eyes and a shining silver dress in her heart. The teenager was sure that months wouldn’t seem so bad once all the plans she left were underway.
As she started to sneak back out of the workshop, the Yecine ’heir’ felt the preparations of the Goltbred heiress supporting her... even across whatever galactic distances and dinsional barriers there might be between them.
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