"Aria, sense anything?" Tarvalen asked as we walked into the sky tower.
"Hmm… no. Everything seems to be exactly as we left it," Aria replied.
"That's good, right?" I tickled Lum who was still sitting on my head. "What do you think, baby dolly? Did anyone sus stop by here?"
"Fish fish hooky," she said.
"Fish, huh," I mused. "You want fish, Lum? Actually, does this sky tower even have fish? Tarvalen!"
"I heard you." He had started scraping off the splattered mess on the wall from General Moroz's bazooka. "I just get it fresh from the surface. Nothing in storage, unfortunately."
"He's a pro at fishing. One of his few good points, I think," Qelimara said.
"Really? Really," Tarvalen grumbled. "Forget it. You can get your own fish."
"Wait no, I'm sorry," Qelimara laughed. "Seriously! I'm seriously sorry. You know I suck at fishing."
"Hum…" It occurred to me that I had no idea where this sky tower was.
Looking out a nearby window, I could see a deep, dark sky swirling with stars. And far below, the planet's surface gave off an ethereal glow.
"Hey Tarvalen. What world is this?"
"Oh, just a Poseidon," he absently replied. "36, if I remember correctly,"
"Thirty-six Poseidons?"
"Closer to like fifty," Qelimara told me. "The Poseidon exoworlds are largely identical cosmostationary free-floating planets, with the same biomes and general climate. Something like… a cosmic copy-paste. Weird, right?"
"Huh. I just thought it was night," I said, looking back outside. "Wait, what? If they don't orbit anything, how do fish live here, let alone any life at all?"
"Who knows? But we can pop down there right now and take a walk," Qelimara shrugged. "All the Poseidons are like that."
I crossed my arms, leaning my forehead on the window's glass. If I wasn't literally staring at it, I probably wouldn't have believed a word of it. It was pretty, though. I'd never have seen a starscape like this back home.
"Home," I murmured. "I bet my parents are worried. It's been… how long has it been? How does time work when you're blipping through space?"
"We were supposed to have you back once we took care of your variant," Qelimara said. "In and out, half a day tops."
"Does… does that mean it's been more than half a day?"
"Honestly I don't keep track," she shrugged. "Time doesn't dilate too much when you spacewarp, so it's easier to just figure out the time while you're at your destination."
"But what if we had to, like, fly with a normal spaceship? Time dilates more the closer you get to lightspeed, doesn't it? So I'd lose years or even centuries trying to get back home," I fretted.
"You realize that's literally what stellar currents are for? Oh, but you aren't familiar with those either," Qelimara said. "Anyway, don't worry so much."
It looked like she was about to leave it at that, but she turned back to me again. "Actually! I just got an idea. Let's get you in touch with your parents, how about that?" She rose a finger. "At least one of them is a mage, I'm pretty sure, so a two-way scryglass should do it. And I believe Tarvalen has one…"
"Yep. Near the end of the hall, blue door," he replied. "What's left of it, I mean. Sigh."
"Great! Come on, Kendel."
Past the blue door's blackened remains, there sat a round mirror in the center of the otherwise-empty room.
"Ehm… who usually reads the AWMASC Quarterly you had?" Qelimara asked. "I'll need their name."
"My mom. Herla Warling."
"Hm-kay…" After a moment, the mirror started to glow. Then its surface started to waver and ripple. "Here we go. I dunno how long the link will last, so I suggest being quick about it."
When Qelimara stepped away, I could see Mom's face in the scryglass. "Mom!! Can you hear me?" I yelled.
"I can see you too," she replied, looking very focused. "Where are you right now? We had to file a missing report, it's been two weeks already! Were you kidnapped?"
"Uh… I… suppose I was," I concluded. "But I'm not in any danger right now, promise. As for where I am right now… uh, it was Poseidon-36, right?"
"You're off-world. That tracks," Mom muttered. "So that first person I saw… right, I had a feeling Kelly was using a glamour."
"She's still a friend, I'm pretty sure. I'll try to get home as soon as I can."
"What's that… creature on your head?"
"Oh! I never introduced you," I excitedly said, taking Lum into my hands. "Look, this is my baby dolly. Her name is Lum. Say hi, Lum."
"Hexen wee," Lum waved.
"Hexen? As in Witch?" Mom looked confused.
"She just says whatever sometimes, don't worry about it," I disclaimed. But it got me thinking for a second – could I talk to Galis with this?
ZZAP! The scryglass flashed with crackling energy, and for a brief moment I saw Galis's familiar masked face, making a shh gesture. Then the scene stabilized again.
"What just happened?" Qelimara tapped on the mirror's glass. "Wait, who's it showing now? What did you do?"
"I just wondered if it could show… uh, someone else I knew," I replied.
"Well, it can, but scryglasses aren't usually so spastic about it," Qelimara said. "Is that the one you were thinking of?"
"Um…" I tried to make out the person sitting against the wall. "I don't think so. Hey, can you hear me?"
"Shut. I'm trying to sleep," it replied. "Feh hehe, get it? It's because I haven't slept in five days. You'll have to knock me out again at this rate. I'm vigilant, get it? Unyielding! You'll never break me, you bastards."
"ARLE!" I yelled.
"Wha??" She looked up with a start, scanning her surroundings with haggard eyes. What did they do to her? Where was she?
"Here! It's me, Kendel."
"Wh…" she focused on me. "Wh-wh-wh-what…? You… I killed you, didn't I? I killed all the Witches, I'm sure of it."
"Arle, I'm not a Witch," I sighed. "None of those redheads were! Where are you right now?"
"Mmmh… you really aren't one of the ghosts." Arle flopped to the ground, and that's when I realized she was in a straitjacket. "I'm so tired, Kendel."
"They really did arrest you," I murmured.
"The murder drones set me up, made me take the fall for everything that happened at ESU," Arle said. "It was all their fault, you gotta believe me!"
"I know, Arle! I was there too, remember?"
"You… huh? You were there. And Mumai, and Qiric… no, wait, they died. You died!"
"Arle, I'm literally talking to you," I reminded her.
"Pyrelight, pyrelight," Arle began chanting. "Trust in pain. Pyrelight, pyrelight, Witch's bane. No, wait. It wasn't pain. What was it? Trust in… rise in… Kendel, help me out here."
"I literally have no idea what you're talking about," I replied.
"The Witch hunter's mantra! That hellspawn is still out there," Arle said. "We need to find her. Everything will be okay if I can just find her!"
Would she go even more ballistic if I told her about Galis? It wasn't worth the risk, I decided. So I said, "Look, Arle. How'd you make valedictorian last year? Hint, it wasn't by sitting awake for days in a corner!"
"W-well, I can't just let the Witch run amok," she protested.
"She's doing just that whether you sleep or not," I retorted. "So sleep! What's that you always told me whenever I stayed up too late cramming?"
"Sleep is also fuel," Arle nodded. "Heh, can't believe I forgot such a fundamental principle. Where would I be without you, huh?"
"Er…" I glanced at her surroundings. "Yeah, where indeed. Anyway, you'll have a clearer head once you're rested. And when your head is clear, Arle, there's nothing you can't achieve."
"Same to you, yeah?" Arle briefly struggled against her binds, then gave up. "Ahh, damnit. I wanted to stretch, but whatever. Any Zs is good Zs, as they say. Sheesh, I really am tired."
"Good night, Arle. I'll call you later," I told her. Then the scryglass turned off. "Oh, wait. I wanted to talk to Mom some more. Whoops."
"Are you sure you aren't a mage?" Qelimara asked. "Being able to switch channels and turn it off with just your aura is something only proficient spellcasters can reliably do."
"And me too, apparently," I shrugged. "Or, I dunno, maybe Lum is a mage. Like, a magic light baby. Are you a mage, Lum?"
"Mmmbbpph," Lum burbled as she vibrated strangely.
"Oh. That's new," I said. "You hungry, baby dolly? Er, hmm, but you haven't eaten anything so far. I sure hope you aren't sick…"
Lum just crawled into my backpack, same as usual. Was I overthinking it, or was something actually wrong with her? Not like I knew how she worked in the first place…