Moving back through the back halls was a much faster process for the pair than coming in. Anton no longer moved at his former sedated pace; instead, he moved with a jovial pep in his step and kept chattering about how things hadn’t been this interesting in decades. Jaeger did his best to ignore the skeletal being, instead focusing on himself; he’d felt something like an itch since he beat the janissaries. As though blowing dust off a forgotten item, the knowledge came back to him.

  “I’m a fool.” He muttered.

  “Rangaea is made of two kinds of people: wise people who know themselves fools, and fools who think themselves wise.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Jaeger turned to look at Anton.

  “Centuries ago, a gadfly wandered the realms, leaving behind many ideas and sayings. It felt appropriate to voice this one.”

  “A gadfly? Is that some sort of talking insect?”

  The lich gave a chortle before replying.

  “No, no. He was human, well, as human as a philosopher cultivator can be. Beings like that never remain just one thing; they are as malleable as their understanding of philosophy.”

  Jaeger shook his head, ignoring the ever-broadening of his horizons. He instead focused on himself and thought one word: Status.

  Looking at his stats, he saw that his numbers had gone up. Without the usual show of the differences made, he wasn’t sure by how much, but he felt that his magic points and luck had the greatest increase. His health going up made sense, considering he consumed the Vampiric Umber Janissary and got some sort of magic skin. When he considered the skill, he remembered the ominous line: ‘Be warned, not everything is worth becoming, and not every gift is a blessing.’ Maybe his luck going up was because he’d come close to getting a negative skill. It could also have been simply surviving the fight; the transformed janissary had been deadly.

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  “Oh ho. It has been some time since I last saw one of these. You Outworlders are certainly worth being envious over, mayhap not you. To be Witnessed and by a Hidden One at that, bad luck. Oho, did you see what I did there? I kill myself.”

  Anton had, at some point, moved up behind Jaeger and was peeking over his shoulder, seemingly looking at his Status; his empty eye sockets glowing with a swirl of golden symbols. With an almost audible snap, he dismissed the scroll and turned to face the lich.

  “How are you able to see my Status?”

  “A custom spell of my own design.” Although hidden, Anton’s expression was evident in his voice, with pride and arrogance. “Worry not, I haven’t shared it.”

  Jaeger took a breath before filing away the fact that others might be able to read his Status when he had it opened.

  “What’s this about being Witnessed?”

  “Really, that’s it? You aren’t going to yell or demand I not spy on you?” Anton stared at Jaeger before groaning. “You are simply no fun.”

  Another deep sigh from the lich, and then he straightened.

  “You are being Witnessed. Someone or something powerful is watching over what you do.”

  “The Sultan?”

  “No, he has power, but this requires Power. Not to mention, with your Marked for Death, you’d know if it was him. No, this is something else.”

  “Like what?”

  “No idea. Could be anything. Deity, devil, demon, fae ruler, elemental, Primordial, an Immortal, an Absolute. Those are just the best options; there are other malevolent or mind-breaking possibilities. You’d know if it was one of those, though, trust me. From my research, when one is Witnessed, a grand statement is made, and it is almost always a god, devil, or fae whose interest has been earned. With yours being hidden, and you being an Outworlder, it could be anything. Don’t worry, for now, you’re just being Witnessed; if it becomes anything more, your Warlock Patron will most likely step in.”

  Jaeger thought about how Mischief would respond to this development and heard a rumbling laughter along with a flash of a sharp-toothed smile just out of sight.

  “For now, I’d say don’t worry about it. You’ve got much more immediate problems than a potential probing by an Old One. Step lively, we need to get back to Lemuria and your companion. As fascinating as your new update is, I am much more interested in watching your cursed ritual.”

  The scene the pair came out to was mostly unchanged from when they’d left. Lemuria sat on one side of the booth, and Kaeleth on the other. The sole difference was the bottles covering the table. Fifteen, from what Jaeger could see, were empty, with a few even toppled over. The pair of ladies had gotten deep into their cups while they’d been gone. As he and Anton drew closer, some of the ladies’ conversation could be overheard.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Lemuria. The best way to get to a man’s heart is through the third and fourth rib, preferably with a long, thin blade.” Kaeleth slammed her hand on the table top in excitement. “No, you should use a shake-blade. Slide it between the ribs and give it a shake; that would shred the heart.”

  Lemuria watched the elf with a faint grin.

  “My dear, I was speaking in a more romantic and emotional sense.” The lamia leaned closer to the elf, her grin turning wicked. “And the best way to a heart is with a heartseeker enchantment. Then you don’t have to pick a preferred weapon and can simply use what feels the most appropriate; it also means that if they have more than one heart, you don’t have to worry.”

  Kaeleth’s eyes widened, even as she blushed.

  “I hadn’t even considered that.”

  “Just remember what I said; sometimes the heart is harder to find than you expect.” With a sly look on her face, she cut her eyes towards Jaeger. “And other times it seems to practically deliver itself. Gentlemen, welcome back.”

  Kaeleth almost toppled over as she spun to face Jaeger and Anton. She had an odd expression on her face that quickly became more serious than a clogged artery.

  “Why do you have new weapons, and why do you look more?”

  Jaeger raised an eyebrow at that. More? Thankfully, Anton stepped in before he could speak, addressing Lemuria.

  “Lemuria, there’s been an incident.”

  “One so bad you’d reveal yourself like this?” Her hands came together, and Jaeger noted that she was moving them in a pattern.

  Anton laughed, waving a hand.

  “Oh ho, you worry wart. No need for that, dear Jaeger boy, here wasn’t the cause of the incident.” He paused, his jaw audibly clacking as he considered his words. “Well, not directly, more a victim of the incident. Either way, he’s fine.”

  Lemuria’s hands relaxed, and she offered a small smile to Jaeger.

  “Apologies, this job is important to me and I had to be sure.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve been vetted before. Neither you nor yours drew steel on me, so no harm, no foul.”

  Her eyes narrowed at that.

  “What do you mean, none of mine?”

  Anton interjected again, stepping forward and lowering his voice.

  “This is best spoken of in private. We had some unexpected visitors in the Storage Warehouse.”

  “What?” Lemuria’s hissed. “How? Who?”

  Anton paused again, and this time he snapped his fingers as a small bubble covered the two of them.

  “Until we are in a Void-Touched room, I won’t say anymore.”

  “It’s that serious?”

  “Oh yes.” Then, with another snap of his fingers, the bubble popped. “Now, young lady, I think it’s time we took this to your office; I accidentally had the crate of supplies sent there instead of here. I must be getting confused in my dotage.”

  She offered a fake smile and shook her head.

  “I would say, it’s a wonder I keep you on.” She slithered free of the booth. “I guess we shall finish this meeting in my office.”

  With that, she moved, gliding deeper into the club, Anton beside her, leaving Kaeleth and Jaeger behind. The chaos elf turned to the man and asked.

  “What happened?”

  Jaeger shrugged and helped her out of the booth, offering his shoulder to her as they walked.

  “I’ll tell you a bit as we walk, c’mon, they’ll leave us behind otherwise.”