Touch of Fate

"Even in one of the great culinary capitals of the west, soldiers eat so poorly." Opal grumbled to herself while digging through the remnants of the White Lions' kitchen. "Look at all this. Nothing but mass produced, flavorless food that can barely do more than fill you up. If I didn't know any better I would say this is a prison."

Trying to be patient, Mike followed after the dwarf woman on her slow-paced, quasi-rampage. He briefly considered offering to try and conjure something more flavorful, but quickly dismissed it. Based on the brief interactions he'd had with her up to this point, he could tell that Opal wasn't the type to waste her time this way unless there was a very good reason.

[Perhaps she needs some kind of food offering as part of her spirit contract. Or maybe she somehow grows stronger while well fed? In any event, the only thing I can really do at this point is wait the process out.]

While the old Spirit Mage was still puttering around in an irritated haze, Morris finally gave into his curiosity and began questioning him. He wanted to know how the army of demons had been summoned, how they were controlled, why he'd become possessed like that, what sort of deals he'd been making, and more.

Finally, Mike had to hold up a hand to stop his inquiring friend. "I'll explain in due time, but we have other things to worry about at the moment. The demons should be keeping the vampires busy, but I don't know how much longer the summoning will last or if they will even remain friendly considering what I'm about to do. Our more pressing concern is what to do in the worst case."

"If we have to worry about both sides having it out for us, then the only logical choice is to retreat." Sera commented dryly. "I know you have a bit of a hero complex, but risking all of our lives to save the citizens of a city we just visited is not something we can afford to do."

Mike frowned, but nodded in agreement. Since he'd managed to drive off the most dangerous vampire, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to leave the city right now. In the worst case, he could probably expend a fair amount of his resources to do significant damage to both sides. Enough to at least serve as a distraction to allow their escape. Anything more than that would be dangerous, even for him.

"Now, now. Enough of that serious talk." Opal interrupted from a seat at a table that she'd moved to while they were distracted. "Let's all sit down and have ourselves a nice midnight snack. Although, considering the fact that dawn isn't too far away, this is closer to an early breakfast."

The old dwarven woman had somehow managed to throw together a sumptuous looking feast in the span of a few short minutes. There were close to a dozen dishes filled with various kinds of food. Mike noted collections of roasted and seasoned meat mixed with vegetables, some kind of salad made of chopped up greens topped with cheese and a creamy sauce, a casserole-looking item that was giving off a savory scent, a small pile of exotic fruit that had been cut into bite sized portions, and several small side dishes that vaguely reminded him of Mediterranean cuisine from his old world. To top it all off, there was a basket filled to the brim with a few kinds of freshly baked bread.

Morris was the first to comment, his voice betraying his incredulity. "This is quite the feast. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share how you managed to put it together so quickly and without us noticing, would you?"

"Well now, an old woman can hardly be giving away all of her secrets, now can she?" Opal shot back with a grin. "Let's just say that I have learned that life is too short to waste eating junk, and that I've worked hard to make sure there is always a good meal available to me. Of course, this method is far from omnipotent, so I had to make sure there weren't any alternatives before I used it."

"Uh-huh." He replied, sounding unconvinced. Clearly his prudence was warring with his inquisitive nature.

The others were less concerned with the origin of the feast. Tal sat down without hesitation, and Sera soon followed suit. Lily took some directing from William, but had no problem loading up a plate and digging in.

Mike gave Morris a reassuring pat on the back before sitting down himself. Finally the bard gave up on any additional questioning and joined in.

Thankfully, the kitchen had been spared from the destruction visited upon the rest of the fort, so they could settle in around a fully functioning table without worrying about the sight and smell of the unfortunate soldiers who still littered the mess hall. However, the simple knowledge of their presence was a sobering reminder that stole most of the joy of the event, despite the best efforts of the diners to enliven things.

In contrast to the environment, the food was quite good in Mike's opinion. While it couldn't really compare to the kind of cuisine he'd tried in expensive restaurants in his old life, it nevertheless had a simple, honest flavor that was simultaneously comforting and satisfying.

They ate mostly in silence, broken only by William's quiet chiding as Lily failed to use even the most basic of table manners, and the bickering between Sera and Morris, who ended up fighting over a particularly choice piece of meat. Mike used the time to organize his thoughts and try to get a read on Tal's erstwhile master.

Opal clearly had some serious power and ability. He could tell that much just from the way she could carry herself with such confidence in the middle of this battlefield. He suspected that she was also a Tier 4, just based on what she had accomplished since her arrival.

[Considering the fact that I've never even heard a whisper about her existence, she clearly has been laying low. With her lifespan as both a dwarf and a Tier 4, she could have easily been operating in the shadows for hundreds of years, if not longer, but she'd managed to stay out of the limelight all that time. Could it have something to do with the way that Spirit Mages are persecuted in certain communities?]

He still felt a little hesitant to completely entrust himself to another person like this, even one as grandmotherly as Opal. Especially since he just recently suffered from putting too much faith in someone else, albeit a demon who was parasitizing his soul. In hindsight, he really should have seen that particular betrayal coming.

Nevertheless, it was clear that Tal trusted her master implicitly. Mike had enough respect for the elf's judge of character to accept the help offered without digging too much into it. He just hoped that it would all work out in the end.

Finally deciding that he would simply go with the flow in this case and hope that his luck would see him through like it had always done, he concentrated on eating while enjoying the quiet camaraderie of the table.

After they had finished, Mike was helping to clean up when Opal spoke up again. "Well, that's all taken care of. Are you ready for the next step, child?"

He blinked at the suddenness of the question, but nodded regardless.

The old woman gave him a kind smile while patting him on the shoulder. "Good. Now relax."

Sensing that she was pushing towards something, he followed her guidance and quietly sat down on the floor, naturally falling into a meditative pose. As he did so, he felt himself slipping deeper into his consciousness, soon finding himself within his mental world.

The familiar pool was once again in front of him, only it had changed again. The water had become thick black sludge that bubbled in a disquieting manner. Glancing around at the featureless expanse of void that surrounded him, he could tell that the corruption had been spreading, somehow infecting the space itself with whatever dark affliction was currently devouring the pool.

"Hmm, an interesting choice in imagery, but I suppose I can see the inspiration. Considering where your soul's protection is coming from, water would be a natural barrier." Opal's voice sounded from behind him.

Startled, he looked back and saw a faintly glowing silhouette of a person.

Perhaps noticing his confusion, the figure chuckled. "What, surprised? This kind of spiritual projection is one of the basic abilities of a Spirit Mage, although it is mostly used to confer with spiritual beings since this kind of connection between two mortal creatures has the potential to be incredibly dangerous if used improperly."

"So, are you here to help me fight the demon or something?"

The figure shook its head. "Not at all. In fact, I'm not capable of doing much more than talking in my current state, but that means I can still offer guidance as you move on to the next step, even if I can't take it with you."

"Okay, what should I do?"

She turned her head down towards the polluted pool. "You will need to voluntarily enter the domain to the demon and negotiate with it using its true name as leverage to force it into a contract. Simple enough, right?"

Mike grimaced down at the toxic looking black sludge. "Simple...right. Anything I should know before I go?"

"Plenty, but there isn't nearly enough time to train you properly, and most of what I could tell you might confuse you in a critical moment. I think my student's estimation of you as an instinctual learner is pretty well accurate. Structured education would be more of a hindrance in this case. That being said, there are a few words of advice I can give to a first timer."

[...Not sure if I really agree with that. Most of what I know has come from books, but the nature of my abilities and the ease with which I can acquire new skills do reward experimentation. That combined with my luck probably was enough to make my decisions look instinctual.]

Opal continued while he was thinking. "It is a powerful entity to be sure, but no demon can resist a call made using its true name. That being said, keep your wits about you while you are in there. This is fundamentally a part of yourself, so nothing should be able to harm you unless you let it, but demons have a way of taking advantage of weaknesses. Don't let it push you around. Concentrate on getting the task done as quickly as you can manage. The longer you are in there, the harder it will be to separate illusions from reality."

"Right, no problem." He replied, trying to sound confident.

The silhouette chuckled. "And relax. You've already done most of the real work. Now you just have to finish it."

Mike grinned back at her. "Thanks."

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he stepped into the pool and sunk into the inky darkness.

-----------------------------------------------

"...So, what should we do now?" Morris asked when they'd been watching the pair sitting in meditative states.

"Shush!" Sera chided. "Don't interrupt them."

"Can't hear." Tal explained. "Too deep."

The Oracle shot her a look that seemed to say, 'Then mention that earlier,' before sighing. "If we can trust Opal's words-"

"Can." Tal added.

"Right, right. Since we can trust her, then this building should be protected from external attacks. Of course, there is always the possibility of something outside of her expectations crops up while she's indisposed. As such, I recommend that we continue to be on guard until they come back from their spiritual journey or whatever."

Morris scratched his cheek. "That's...not a terrible idea, but I think it's probably better to build our defensive perimeter in this room. There is no guarantee that the rest of the building is clear of enemies that have evaded detection like those previous two."

"Agreed." Sera replied before turning towards Tal. "Since there are only two main entrances, I think it's best to split into teams of two, with one frontliner and one backliner each. Morris and I can take the southern passage if you and Lily…"

She trailed off as she stared in the direction of the woman she was about to assign a position to, face quickly warping in horror.

The rest of the group quickly turned their attention towards Lily, who was sitting with the remains of the vampire girl's severed arm in her lap. There were a few alchemical tools lying near her that suggested she'd been at this for some time. At the moment, she was holding a vial of dark, crimson liquid that could only be the creature's blood and was in the process of tilting her head back to give it a taste.

""LILY!NO!"" Everyone shouted as they rushed over to stop her.