After dropping Tamrie next to Inertia, I informed her of the incoming Shapers. And of the time Arizar and I had spent together in Memory Palace as well as the additional time Arizar had suggested.

"Don't see no reason to worry. Not gonna do a thing I'll be upset about, now, are ya?" Tamrie asked, leaning her head on my shoulder as she waited for Inertia to be finished with… well, it seemed like she was helping someone out of a vat of green slime.

I had absolutely no idea what the slime was, or why someone had fallen inside. No one seemed to be worried, so I simply watched alongside everyone else. Turning, I kissed the top of Tamrie's head. "Of course not. I'm just…"

Honestly wasn't sure what was bothering me. But if felt like the more I spent my time in compressed time, the more tenuous our connection would become.

I wanted to be able to get Tamrie up to Pegasus as fast as possible, but even if we had unlimited mana to dump into her - which we didn't - I was worried that rushing might ruin her foundation as it almost had with mine. Making the transition to Astral was still the largest leap for any ensouled, even with the help of the diagnostic center.

Yet the amount of time it'd take her to ascend naturally… well, I'd live years apart from her at the rate I was going. Like a soldier who went off to war only to come home for a few months every year. At least, that's how I imagined it went. I'd never actually known any career soldiers. Just broken veterans who'd had their own turn in the pit after us kids were done.

Was a whole other beast, that. Men fighting so they could afford the medical care they'd been denied. To provide for their families.

Didn't seem like the wisest choice, but if the fights had just been those… well, at least it gave them something, some way to keep on living.

I couldn't help but think of how Thozgar had set up his codes. Doubted I'd find a crippled veteran wandering around Spellford, not unless they thought they deserved that injury.

Maybe that was why Kezil went unhealed. Maybe the old enchantineer felt he deserved to be so mutilated.

None of that had anything to do with Tamrie, other than not wanting to leave her behind, like the government did its vets back home.

"Just?" Tamrie asked, drawing me out of my thoughts much like Inertia had drawn her assistant out of the slime.

"Just… I don't want to spend weeks with someone else while you're out here, staying the same," I said, pulling her close, breathing her in. Vanilla and… when had we gotten anything that smelled like vanilla. Must've come from Spellford.

"Weeks? Thought you said you spent a couple hours inside?"

"Couple real world hours. Which is thirty times as long inside, remember? Mentioned that last night?"

"Uh, 'spose I forgot. Or more I didn't put this and that together," Tamrie said, flushing. "Aye, that's a mite different, it is."

"It is still an important tool in your arsenal," Arizar said, from her other side, and I realized the vanilla scent was actually coming from her. "One best not left to languish due to social awkwardness."

"More'n like you're right," Tamrie said, running her hand along my side. "Doesn't mean we gotta like it none."

I actually felt much better with Tamrie being upset. As if her appreciating the challenge made it lesser.

Weird how that worked.

"Perhaps we should do more to accelerate your own progression. Then the effects will not be so drastic. I know father has records of such methods, though they can be rather unpleasant, from what I recall," Arizar said, pressing a finger against her lips.

"Like, worse'n the forest ring?" Tamrie asked holding up the catalyst she kept in her pouch.

Arizar glanced at the disk, taking a moment to respond, her eyes flicking in my direction, asking me if she should be honest.

Not a great sign. If it was anything like what I went through to power through mage-soul, the headaches would be pretty killer. Those hadn't been as bad as the catalyst, so I suspected Arizar was thinking of something else.

"I'm not actually certain," Arizar eventually said. "The forest ring, as you called it, is something without many parallels. As is the forest itself, from my understanding. They are, again, from my understanding which is a lot more limited in such aspects, both far milder than the usual process of imbuing oneself with Kinya. The only methods I know of for accelerating your ensoulment are on the level of those usual processes."

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"Calbern did mention something about the baths being brutal," I said, directing Tamrie back a few steps when I saw Inertia start trudging towards us, throwing the green slime everywhere.

Inertia stopped just in front of us, then let out a long sigh of steam, pressing one hand to her head.

We all just stood there for a minute until Tresla emerged from a nearby work shack. She walked up, but as she pulled out her pipe Inertia held up a hand, stopping her while letting out another long sigh of steam.

Finally, after nearly two minutes of shared silence, Inertia shook herself, sending slime flying everywhere.

Used to her antics by that point, I'd already cast an Aegis on Tamrie, Tresla and myself. I'd kinda skipped Arizar simply 'cause I figured she could handle herself.

As it turned out, she hadn't been prepared for the several hundred pound war-machine to suddenly shake itself like a dog after two minutes of forced silence.

"Oops," I said, unable to completely stifle a chuckle as Arizar started gagging on the green slime. "Is that stuff dangerous?"

Inertia held her hand out and wiggled it back and forth.

Letting out a sigh of my own, I cast Restore Form on Arizar, which helped her with the gagging. After wiping a hand across her mouth, she turned and glared up at the large machine. "Has no one ever told you that such an action is terribly rude, especially without giving those in your presence forewarning?"

Inertia's eyes clicked and blinked as they refocused on Arizar. Then she tilted her head to the side, as she sometimes did when she was thinking.

With a very slow shake of her head, Inertia let out a long rattling hiss along with the word, "No."

"Well, now that you have been properly informed, I would greatly appreciate forewarning the next time you are about to perform such an act," Arizar stated, managing to look surprisingly dignified as she said it, despite being coated in green slime.

Inertia's nod wasn't as slow as her shaking of the head, but it was still a bit subdued.

"You good? Need to talk about anything?" I asked Inertia. Again, she shook her head, though this time at a normal pace.

One of her eyes disengaged and turned to look at Arizar again. Then Inertia made a small sharp nod to herself.

This time, I did cast Aegis on Arizar. I barely managed it before Inertia brought her wings forward in a sudden clap that sent all the slime on the ground rocketing away.

"Pretty sure that's rude to do without forewarning too," I said, in place of the stunned elven woman.

Inertia looked at me, then huffed out a puff of steam and turned away, waving for Tresla to follow her.

Before she did, Tresla said, "Inertia would like to say that your social rules are more complicated than teaching a rock to fly. In my opinion, she keeps forgetting everyone else isn't as tough as she is, no matter how many times I remind her."

Then with a musical laugh, the notes tinkling in the air she followed after her large friend.

I chuckled as they left, turning to Arizar. "You okay there? She's not harmless, but she does try. Sometimes."

"I… I had heard that the Forgeborn had different social conventions, yet the truth of the matter has left me somewhat… slimed," Arizar finally said, a small smile tugging at her lips. A second later, she broke out into rather pleasant laughter.

I squeezed Tamrie tighter, as if to say, 'see, this is what I'm worried about.'

"Love you too," Tamrie whispered into my ear. "And thanks, for sparing me the slime."

"Of course," I said, shaking my head. Then I let her chase after Inertia, since that was the whole reason we'd come up in the first place.

I was left alone with Arizar once more. "Well, that was a rather unique experience, all told."

"Glad you aren't too upset," I said, taking another step back when I noticed several workers carefully placing a hose down into the green slime.

"I've interacted with many Forgeborn, few are so confident. Fewer still have coated me in slime," Arizar said, eyes following the nearby workers.

"That kinda implies Inertia isn't the first Forgeborn to slime you," I said, motioning Arizar to join me.

"It was, in fact, the first time I've experienced such. There have been several instances where father has done similar, however," Arizar explained as we both watched them pumped the slime into barrels, leaving the basin it had occupied empty. "I, of course, have found my own ways to implement revenge, over the years."

"Sounds like you and your father have quite the relationship," I said, a smile pulling at my lips as the barrels were placed beside the testing tracks. Another crew, grabbed a bucket and filled it before slowly applying the slime to the shafts for the wheels.

"So that's what it is for. I must say, it does seem to have rather robust lubricating properties. If it's non-toxic, there would be a respectable demand for such a product amongst a certain demographic of Spellford," Arizar said, holding some of the slime still coating her up for closer inspection, sniffing at it. "Further testing will be required, but its always a pleasant development to have a new trade good on offer."

"Is there a spell for that? For determining if something is non-toxic, I mean?" I asked. I suspected there should be but I'd yet to come across them. Still, if I could use spells to teleport myself a thousand miles, throw lightning bolts and mend broken bones, there had to be toxin detection spells.

"There is, though it is more accurate to say there is a collection of such spells. They must each be keyed to a particular species' biology," Arizar replied. "When I say non-toxic, I'm mostly referring to its effects on elves and humans, and then, only to the healthy amongst our population."

As Arizar and I continued talking, I completely forgot about my earlier worries. Afterall, we were just talking spells and logistics.

Even as we settled in then spent another couple hours in my Memory Palace, it never really deviated from those topics, even when we took another couple breaks where she once more demolished the dune buggy.

Keep it work related and it'd be fine.

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