"Gaylen's core could be our greatest weapon if we can figure out how to use it." Krel pulls up several screens of data for the others to look at. Gaylen's core hovers in front of them, suspended with Akiridion tech in Mort's library. Mort, on the other side from Krel, peers at it with narrowed eyes. Toby and Douxie hover next to Krel, ready, Krel knows, to pull him away at a moment's notice. Steve is in the nearest chair because none of them will let him stand. Krel swipes through the data. "The problem is figuring it out. I was trying, before this whole Black Knight thing, but Akiridion tech alone isn't enough."
He hates to admit that, too. Akiridion tech is, as Toby would put it, awesome-sauce. Earth technology is simply centuries behind their own, which makes little sense to Krel because technically, Earth is older.
"Then perhaps magic can help," says Mort. "Working together, we can figure this out."
"And being careful," adds Toby. Krel pretends not to notice his worried stare. "What was that last night, dude? You scared the crap out of us."
Krel thinks back to his nightmarish vision last night – Gaylen's insatiable hunger for power consuming him – planets collapsing in his hands, destruction and death and horror he could never have dreamt up on his own.
"It was – just a bad dream," he lies. "It just – reminded me of this. And its power."
By Toby's frown, he doesn't buy it at all. Krel focuses his eyes on the data. Numbers are comforting. They show the power, but they're cold and emotionless. He can work with numbers much better than – whatever that dream was.
"The only way I know for sure would work is what Morando did," says Krel.
"Which is not ideal," Toby adds.
"No," Krel agrees. "It's not ideal."
"Well, this thing is certainly magical in nature," says Mort, "but it's like nothing I've ever seen on Earth. Its aura is actually very similar to yours, Krel."
"My aura?" repeats Krel in confusion.
Steve leans forward in his seat. "Oh, yeah, it is! Almost the same, except that thing's is… way bigger."
"Wizards like Steve and I can see auras, the life energies of all living creatures," explains Mort. "Yours has – let's call it an otherworldly flare. Unsurprising, since you're from another world, after all."
"But Gaylen's core isn't, according to legend," Krel points out.
Mort nods as if this makes sense. "I have some theories. None supported by much evidence, mind you."
"Uh, want to share with the class?" asks Toby.
"Not yet," says Mort. "I tell you four anything, you'll go off looking for it."
"Why am I included?" Douxie asks, clearly offended.
"Believe me, I am amazed you haven't joined their shenanigans," Mort says dryly. "I'm just waiting. It'll happen eventually. I raised you, I know."
Douxie crosses his arms. "I was never that bad."
"Yes, you were. And are still."
Toby leans closer to the core, jutting his lips out and tilting his head. "You know, it's kinda pretty, if you ignore the whole latent powers of an evil god thing."
Krel bristles. "Gaylen was not evil. Just – power changes people, or at least, that's how I always understood the stories growing up. I think Papa was trying to warn us to be fair rulers and not let it go to our heads."
"Or your dad knew you'd find this," says Steve carefully. "Didn't you mention they were the ones who brought it here?"
"I doubt my parents knew we'd ever come to Earth," scoffs Krel.
Toby reaches out a hand before Krel or Mort can stop him and hesitantly touches the core. There's a visible shock and Toby yanks his hand back, shaking it. "Ow! It zapped me!"
"That's weird," says Krel. "It never did that to me."
Mort catches on to Krel's idea before it's even fully formed in Krel's head. "Don't–"
Too late. Krel places his fingers on the core. It doesn't zap him, so he flattens his palm on it. It's warm in a sort of familiar way. He can almost feel a connection, like it's reaching to his own core – and then he pulls away, horrified. Eyes wide, he holds his hand to his chest and backs away from the core.
"Zap you too?" Toby asks.
"No," says Krel, swallowing and staring at the core. "Worse."
Mort's eyes narrow, but he doesn't say anything. Krel's glad. Toby and Steve would overreact, and he isn't sure he would blame them. For a second there, it was almost like Gaylen's core was trying to integrate with his own. He makes a note to himself to avoid contact with the core from here on out.
"Alright," says Mort. "We'll file that away under things to avoid, then. No touching. That goes for every single one of you."
"Don't have to tell me twice," says Toby.
An echoing bell sound rings through the room. Steve yelps at the suddenness of it, and Krel and Toby both jump, though if asked later, Krel will deny it ever happened. Mort blinks. "Huh. A customer. Douxie, can you go tell them we're closed?"
"On it," Douxie says.
Mort shakes his head. "You'd think people would read the sign. Probably a younger wizard. Always on their smartphones, kids these days."
"According to Mother, when in doubt, we are supposed to play on our phones," says Krel. He winces and nods towards Steve. "Steve punched me for it, so I'm not sure it's a great rule."
"That's why you started messing around on your phone?" Steve barks out a laugh. "Oh, man, Krel. That was like the worst thing you could've done."
"It was Aja's idea!"
The hatch door opens again. To Krel's surprise, the first person to emerge isn't Douxie, but rather – Seamus?
"Okay, so I was looking into the stuff you told me about and–" Seamus stops abruptly, halfway down the stairs, to gape at them. "Steve? Krel? What are you doing here? And what is that?"
"Uh," says Krel awkwardly, somewhat surprised the human had recognised him even in Akiridion form, "that is a long story."
"Oh, excellent, you've met," says Mort. "No need for introductions then. Seamus, good to see you."
"Okay, I'm very confused right now, but I'm just going to roll with it," says Seamus. "I was looking into the stuff you told me about – with the Knights? – and I think I've found something."
He pauses, then points accusingly at them, first Krel then Steve.
"Don't tell me this is the weird stuff you've gotten yourself involved with!" he exclaims.
"Um, kinda?" fudges Steve.
"Entirely," says Krel. "The Black Knight is trying to kill us!"
Seamus opens his mouth to respond to this, thinks better of it, closes it again, then points once more at Steve. "You took on the Black Knight by yourself!?"
"Why would you assume I did it alone?" Steve protests. "Maybe I had back-up!"
"You wouldn't have been hospitalised if you had back-up!"
"If they were really bad back-up."
"He took on the Black Knight by himself," Krel says.
"Fine, I screwed up," admits Steve, crossing his arms and sinking back in the chair.
Seamus waves a hand towards their makeshift research set-up with Gaylen's core. "And this is?"
"The is Gaylen's core," says Krel. "It once belonged to the being who created my planet. It's also why Morando turned all big and powerful."
"The giant guy, right," says Seamus. "And why is it here?"
"We're trying to figure out how to use it to help us without it making Krel go crazy like Morando," says Toby.
"Wait, why would it make Krel go crazy?"
"If I were to integrate with it like Morando did, who knows what might happen," admits Krel. "It's a – last resort."
"It's not a resort," Toby corrects, glaring at Krel. "Not even in the playing. You may call last night a bad dream, but I blame this thing."
Krel winces. Toby's not wrong at all, and the thought kind of scares him. He doesn't know why he had the dreams to find Gaylen's core, and he doesn't know why he had the dream last night. He's not sure if he wants to find out.
"You said you found something about the Knights," Douxie says. "Please tell us it's good news."
"Not sure if good news is how I'd put it, exactly," says Seamus. He holds up a thick book. "I couldn't find anything in my mom's books, so I stopped by the library to see if there was anything in the mundane books."
"The Ultimate Guide to Arthurian Legend?" Toby reads, brow furrowing. "Looks like something you'd read before a ren faire."
"A what?" says Krel.
Toby waves him off. "I'll explain later."
"Let's go upstairs," says Mort. "There's more room to sit, and then Seamus can explain what he found. I think we need a break from this anyway."
Krel glances at Gaylen's core, humming with power, and reluctantly nods in agreement. He and Mort help Steve stand and readjust on his crutches; he grumbles the whole time about "stupid crutches" and "stupid Black Knight". Krel has long since decided that humans are very poorly designed, but after all of Steve's injuries fighting the Black Knight, he is absolutely certain of it.
They set up in Mort's living room. Toby immediately claims the armchair. Krel and Steve sit on one of the couches. Seamus gestures for Krel and Steve to scoot over, then sits next to Krel and flips open his book. Krel leans over to watch over his shoulder. Above them, Douxie and Mort lean on the back of the couch.
"So, usually, this kind of stuff would be attributed to Morgana," Seamus says. He stops on a page and points to an illustration of a woman shrouded with magic and several knights below her. "But I'm pretty sure Morgana's already been dealt with."
"Yep," says Toby proudly. "Trapped in the Shadow Realm. You're welcome."
"Right," says Seamus. "You'll have to give me the full story on that, sometime. Anyway, I was trying to figure out who'd be as powerful as Morgana is and who'd possibly want to, you know, bring around the end of the world, and I came across this."
He passes the book to Krel. Toby groans and gets up so he can walk over and see the book too. The page Seamus has flipped to has an illustrated image of a man in bronze armour. He looks really evil, in Krel's opinion. His eyes flare bright green and his hands flare golden. The page is labelled, in large letters: MORDRED.
"You have got to be kidding me," says Mort.
"Mordred," Krel reads slowly. "What's a Mordred?"
"Not what," says Seamus, "who."
"Mordred, that's one of the wizards Ikram said could fly," says Toby.
"According to the books, he was an extremely powerful wizard," says Seamus. "And he's the nephew of Morgana. Think about it. It makes sense."
"But Mordred is dead," says Douxie. "He died in the Battle of Camlann. Right?"
"We thought Merlin was dead, too," Toby points out.
"Mordred is most certainly dead," says Mort. "And even if he wasn't, being Morgana's nephew doesn't mean he's going to follow in her footsteps and cause an apocalypse. Just because your family's crazy doesn't mean you are."
"All the books say he was just as evil as his mother," says Seamus.
"Not all of them. Early references even imply he was fighting on Arthur's side when he died."
"Do you have any other leads?" Seamus retorts.
Mort purses his lips. "No."
"And it makes even more sense now," adds Seamus. "He probably wants revenge for his mom."
"Uh, Steve and I didn't have anything to do with that," Krel says. He re-evaluates that and shakes his head. "Well, maybe Steve a little, but so far Toby's the only one who hasn't been attacked on his own."
Seamus frowns and crosses his arms. "Okay. That does kind of put a kink in it."
"You don't even know if Mordred liked his aunt." Mort really doesn't like this theory. Krel has no idea why. "Maybe he'd be happy to know she's trapped in the Shadow Realm."
"Look, it's better than nothing," Seamus snaps. "You asked me to look into it."
"I asked your mother to reach out to her friends out of town," Mort corrects. "I didn't ask you to do anything. You took this upon yourself. I had no plans to bring more children into this."
"Wait, wait," says Steve. He leans over to stare and Seamus past Krel. "How do you even know all this wizard stuff? You told me it was crazy!"
Seamus rolls his eyes. "Uh, yeah, because it's a secret."
"Are you saying you're a wizard!?" Steve exclaims.
"Yes," says Seamus. "Just like my mom."
"Why didn't you tell me!?"
"Again, it's a secret. How did you three get involved, anyway?"
"A talking cat told us to follow him because the world is ending," says Toby. "Where is Archie, anyway?"
"Probably sleeping," says Douxie. "Just because he's a familiar doesn't mean he isn't still a cat."
"Point taken," says Toby. "Anyway, the next day, a mind-controlled Knight attacked us."
"She is on our side now," Krel offers. "Now we have to deal with the Black Knight, instead."
"Did the one on your side tell you why they're after you?" Seamus asks.
"She doesn't know," says Toby. "Doesn't even remember who mind-controlled her. I don't know what anyone would have against us. Well, I mean, all three of us at once. I could see each of us individually."
"How long have you been a wizard?" Steve demands, because apparently he cannot comprehend that Seamus also has magic.
"Since birth," says Seamus flatly.
"You guys can talk about your shared wizardness later," Toby dismisses. "Right now, we need to focus on–"
"Wait, hold up!" Seamus exclaims. "Steve is a wizard? Steve?"
"Why is that such a shock?" Steve huffs and crosses his arms. "I'm a great wizard. Right? Mort, tell him!"
"One day, perhaps," agrees Mort amusedly.
Steve hunches his shoulders. "It's a recent development, okay? I'm still learning."
"Logan's going to lose his mind if he hears about this," mutters Seamus.
"Again, let's focus," says Toby. "Is there anyone else it could be? 'Cause Mort seems pretty convinced it isn't Mordred."
"Not anyone I can think of," says Seamus. "Look, it makes sense. More sense than just some random wizard."
"Some random wizard who's been alive since the twelfth century," adds Steve. "We know he's got to be super old like Ikram. Not that Ikram looks super old. Don't tell her I called her super old."
"See?" says Seamus. "Unless you think it's Morgana."
Mort scoffs. "No, I don't think it's Morgana. I just have a hard time believing a long-dead wizard is behind the Knights."
"I don't think long-dead can't count him out," says Toby. "Like I said, Merlin was 'long-dead' too, but he obviously wasn't actually dead."
Mort raises his palms and shakes his head. "Fine, believe what you wish. I'm telling you it's not Mordred."
There's a knock at the door, then Nimue opens it and pokes her head in. "Hey, guys. How many of you can I borrow for training?"
"I have to help Mort study Gaylen's core," Krel says quickly. It's nice to have an excuse to avoid combat training. "Toby and Steve can go."
"What!?" Steve yelps.
"Betrayal," Toby hisses.
"Alright, come on, boys," says Nimue. "Training time. Don't want to keep Ikram waiting. Oh, and Krel – I'll let it slide for today, but you're on double for tomorrow."
Krel groans. Steve gives him a smug look as he and Toby leave with Nimue.
"I guess we should work on figuring this core out," says Mort. "Seamus, since you're already here, would you care to join us? Perhaps a fresh perspective would do us some good."
"Uh, sure," says Seamus. "But you're gonna have to explain what exactly this thing is."
"Krel?" prompts Mort.
"Thousands of keltons – sorry, years ago, the great Gaylen crushed a star between his fingers and created Akiridion-5," Krel explains as they walk back downstairs. Seamus nods, eyebrows raised in interest. "But soon he grew too powerful and dangerous, and so Seklos used her own core to destroy him. His core still remained, and according to legend, contains the latent powers of a god. We're trying to figure out how to tap into those powers."
"Without risking Krel," adds Douxie.
"Right," says Seamus.
"You are good at math," says Krel. "And apparently, you're also a wizard. You might be able to help."
Krel pulls up several screens of data and Seamus leans over his shoulder to read them. Krel has to double-check to make sure he's translated them into English. He highlights several of the most important points.
"I ran a lot of tests already," he says. "These are some of the energy readings."
"Woah," Seamus mutters. "Those are some crazy numbers."
"I know!" Krel exclaims. "It could power your entire planet for centuries on end."
"Can it be used like a battery of sorts?"
"Every simulation says no." Krel swipes the data away and pulls up a simple simulation – the least dangerous thing he could possibly do with the core, in theory – and the four of them watch as the end result is an explosion that would probably kill everyone in a quarter-mile radius. Seamus grimaces and Mort shakes his head.
"Yikes," says Douxie.
"Yeah, so, that isn't an option," says Krel. "Akiridion tech alone isn't going to be able to access the core's power. Oh, and apparently, it zaps anyone who tries to touch it."
"Well, that's helpful," mumbles Seamus.
"I'm hesitant to try anything magical directly on the core," says Mort, "lest it explode like those simulations. Is there any way we can simulate magical options?"
Krel hums noncommittally. "Maybe. I'd have to set it up in the program, but I think I could do that if you explained it to me."
"Excellent," says Mort. "Why don't you and Seamus work on that together? I feel like that's a project Douxie and I won't be much help on."
"That sounds good," says Krel. "Seamus?"
"Yeah, we can do that," he agrees. "You two go bother Steve and Domzalski or something."
"Perhaps we better," says Mort with a wince. He nods to Krel and Seamus. "Good luck, boys. Please don't touch the core. And don't try anything with me not here. And Seamus, keep an eye on Krel. We've yet to determine if the core is merely reacting to an Akiridion or to Krel specifically."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Seamus asks incredulously, but Mort and Douxie are already halfway up the stairs so he whirls accusingly on Krel instead. "What does he mean by that?"
Krel sighs and walks close to Gaylen's core. It glows brighter, and a brief glance downward confirms that he does as well. Seamus's eyebrows shoot up.
"That's weird," he says.
"Yeah," admits Krel. "It is weird. The weirder part is – well, you're going to think it's crazy."
"This whole thing is kinda crazy, man," says Seamus. "Hit me with your best shot."
"I am not going to shoot you," says Krel.
Seamus snorts. "No, just – tell me the weirder part."
"A few weeks ago, before I found this, I started having these dreams." Krel frowns at the core, still glowing like a star, daring him to bring his hands to it once more. He knows better. "I was looking for something, in the forest. And apparently I glowed like this while I was asleep. And then I found Gaylen's core. In the forest. Just like the dreams."
"That's… really creepy," says Seamus. "And not good news. Uh, unrelated but totally related, does Akiridion-5 have wizards?"
"No."
"Okay, that just makes it creepier then." Seamus shakes his head, then gently grabs one of Krel's upper arms and pulls him a few steps away from Gaylen's core. "Mort's right to be worried, I think."
"Ugh, not you too," Krel says. "Let's just get this program made."
He opens a blank program to work with. Krel isn't sure how human programming works, exactly, or if it's anything like Akiridion programming, but Seamus is mostly here to explain the magic stuff to him anyway. He knows the code for the simulation of Gaylen's core already so he inputs that and the data first.
"Hold still a second," he tells Seamus, who straightens and blinks at him in bewilderment, then surprise as Krel scans him and the blue light washes over his form. "There, now we have a wizard to use in simulations."
Seamus chuckles and watches as Krel's fingers fly over the hovering dashboard. Krel bets he's never seen anything quite like this before, and he feels kind of smug thinking about it. Even space camp couldn't have had anything as spectacular as Akiridion technology.
"I, uh, never got the chance to apologise," says Seamus awkwardly. Krel glances back at him in confusion. "For how I acted, I mean. About the math grades and all that. I should know better. Just because my dad's a racist jerk doesn't mean I should be."
"It's fine, Seamus," says Krel, although he does kind of appreciate the apology. "I can understand why it upset you."
"You deserved the A+," Seamus admits. "No math duels next year, okay? Fair competition."
Krel grins. "Sounds good to me. But you know I'll win, right?"
"Oh, you're on, Tarron!" Seamus exclaims. They both laugh, but then Seamus shifts unsurely. "Just – so you know – I think you belong here. This is your home now, and – you deserve better than people trying to tell you it isn't. You're welcome here."
Krel's grin softens to a smile. "Thank you, Seamus. You know – you're okay."
Seamus's lips quirk upwards and he gently punches Krel on the arm. "You're okay, too, man. Friends?"
Krel beams. "Yeah. Friends."
The two of them turn back to the program. Krel's very pleased to have another friend. He's making friends on Earth at a rate he never imagined possible on Akiridion-5, where his record number of friends had been two and he had built both of them from spare parts. Here he has a bunch of friends, and all of them are actual life-forms.
"So what next?" asks Seamus.
"Now you need to talk me through the different magic you might use to access Gaylen's core," says Krel. "And then I'll program it into here. Uh, is there physics in your magic?"
Seamus opens his mouth to respond, then frowns and furrows his brow. "That's a good question. There are rules to magic but they don't exactly line up with physics."
"Earth physics, maybe," Krel scoffs. "You don't even know all the dimensions! Well, tell me the rules. Maybe they'll work out."
Seamus mouths the words, "Don't know all the dimensions?" Krel waves a hand impatiently and he shakes his head. "Um, well, there's a lot of rules of magic. Mort might be better at this than me."
"Give it your best shot," Krel says, mimicking Seamus's earlier weird human expression.
Seamus raises an eyebrow. "Okay. Rule number one is that magic can't bring people back from the dead."
"Obviously," says Krel warily. "That's a rule you have to specify? I would be worried if it could."
"Well, I mean, there is a branch of dark magic that can do it, sorta, in specific circumstances," says Seamus. "But dark magic has a whole other set of rules."
Krel decides he doesn't even want to know. "Go on, what are the other rules?"
"Um, all magic is temporary, but how long varies," says Seamus. "I know magic is its own form of energy, and you can't create something from nothing. All spells take magical energy but some take more than others. It's like physical exercise, you have to practice and work out to be able to do bigger spells."
"Fascinating," says Krel. "But ultimately, not all that helpful. I think I'm going to have to record some data of magic actually being done."
"We can do that," says Seamus. He eyes Gaylen's core warily. "But maybe not in here. Don't want to blow up."
"Good idea," agrees Krel. "Although I don't think Mort will be very happy if we leave."
"Well, Mort didn't say not to leave," Seamus points out. He grins and nods his head towards the stairs. "Follow me."
Krel tries to hide his hate for the forest as Seamus guides him through it, towards wherever it is that he claims they don't have to worry about being caught. He's glad it's daytime – the forest is infinitely worse at night. At least during daylight hours, he can see where he's going.
"Okay, here's the clearing," says Seamus. He opens his arms and smiles widely, turning in a circle to display the grassy, flowered meadow. "Mom and I come out here to practice together sometimes."
"It's… beautiful." Krel walks further into the field. The grass crunches under his feet and sunlight pierces through the canopy of trees in thin rays, casting a golden sheen on the clearing. Seamus watches him expectantly.
"I can demonstrate all sorts of spells out here," he says. "So? Where should I start?"
"Hm," says Krel. He pulls up the scanner first, then considers the question. "Why not just a basic showcase of magic? Just to get the general idea."
"Like a – a magic portfolio or something." Seamus nods as if this makes sense. Krel will just have to assume it does. "I can do that. Uh, you might want to stand back."
Krel takes several steps backwards. It's not that he doesn't trust Seamus, but it is that he doesn't necessarily trust magic. Seamus takes a deep breath, then spreads his hands out. Glowing teal circles – what did Nimue call them? Focusers? – form around his hands, and shortly after flames burst to life in front of his palms. He brings his wrists together to shoot a jet of flame toward the trees on the right. He then whips his left hand out and the flames follow. Krel glances briefly at the screen to make sure it's getting data, then returns his attention to Seamus as the fire vanishes and the wizard traces teal energy into figures in the air. The colour flows like water and holds its form as Seamus's fingers leave it. Once complete, Seamus places a hand on the figure and turns in a circle, dragging colour with him though the figure itself remains in place. A force-field shimmers into existence around him.
"Here, throw me a stick!" he calls.
"Uh, alright," says Krel. He grabs one off the ground with a wince, then tosses it to Seamus. It hits the force-field and falls. Seamus mutters something under his breath and then waves his hand through the barrier and it vanishes. He grabs the stick and holds it in his palm – a few seconds later, it hovers into the air. Seamus glances over at Krel and grins. The stick explodes. Seamus's grin falls, face covered in soot.
"Okay, that didn't work," Seamus says.
"Yeah," says Krel, trying to hide a laugh. "That's kind of what we want not to happen."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Seamus rubs his hands together. "Let's try this again. Without blowing anything up."
"Maybe you just aren't good at that spell."
"Levitation is beginner's stuff! I'm great at that spell!"
"You blew up a stick."
"I could levitate you."
"No, thank you."
Seamus grins and throws his hands out towards Krel. Krel yelps as his feet involuntarily lift off the ground and he floats several feet into the air.
"Hey, it's got to be good for data collection," Seamus offers.
"Seamus!" Krel exclaims, kicking his feet in mid-air. This only serves to send him into a somersault. He sticks out his arms to try to right himself. Seamus cackles. "Put me down!"
"I told you I'm good at levitation!" Seamus manages in-between laughs.
"Fine, fine, now let me down," Krel insists.
"Alright, alright." Seamus motions with a hand and Krel floats to the ground. He takes a moment to just sit there, for once thankful to be sitting in the grass. He has nothing against heights, but he'd rather have something like a hoverboard to help him fly.
"Never do that again," he says.
"Admit it, you had fun," Seamus retorts.
Krel goes to cross all four of his arms, but remembers last second he has a device attached to one arm and settles for only crossing the lower ones. "No, I did not."
Seamus scoffs, still grinning. "Yes, you did so."
"Fine, a little," Krel begrudgingly admits. "But not much! Don't do it again!"
"Maybe another day," says Seamus.
"No!"
Seamus starts to say something else – probably try to convince Krel that levitating people is a perfectly safe and fun past-time – when his phone goes off. He fishes it out of his pocket and grimaces.
"Mort?" Krel guesses.
"Yep," says Seamus.
He answers the phone, then presses another button. Mort's tinny voice rings through the phone's speakers into the clearing. "Where are you two!?"
"Uh, we're in the forest," says Seamus.
"The forest!? What are you doing there?" Before either of them can answer, he lets out a frustrated noise. "Never mind, don't tell me. Get back here! I thought you'd been kidnapped or something! You have no idea how angry I am right now, boys, you're lucky I'm not your father–"
There's a shuffling noise, then Douxie says, "You better enjoy the walk back. Mort's pretty mad."
"Yep, we got that." Seamus winces as Mort, in the background, yells something along the lines of, "Of all the irresponsible–" Krel privately mourns any chance they'll ever have to do this again. "We're on our way."
"Good luck," says Douxie. Seamus hangs up the phone and pockets it.
"Welp, we're dead," he says. He nods his head back towards the forest. "Come on. Might as well take the long way back, enjoy our precious few moments to live. I can show you some more spells on the walk."