Swimming on the surface of the ocean was even more labor intensive than beneath it, with the wind and the waves determined to keep them from the shore up until the last mile or so. But both the Darkling Lady and the Spectral Dame were exhausted from both the search and their battle, and could not easily assume their aquatic forms.

Finally, however, Galadria and Virulina washed ashore only a few dozen yards from Dagger Point. Double checking her pouch, Galadria was pleased to see the kelp had survived their excursion. She hated to think what would have been the outcome if they'd returned to Iron Mountain empty handed. Merklynn was under most circumstances a kindly beneficiary but his wrath was still terrible to behold. As it was, the two of them crawled up onto the shore with their prize intact. Galadria retrieved her armor, using the towel she's hidden with it to dry off, fluffing her blonde locks while Virulina sat there and dripped dry much more slowly and uncomfortably.

Just karma, as far as the Spectral Dame was concerned. But even so, when she was done with her towel she tossed it to the Darkling Lady, letting her drape it around her shoulders as the two of them began their long hike to Iron Mountain. Without a means to communicate to their respective factions, they had no choice but to do things the old fashioned way.

They walked.

Galadria sighed, wishing someone would discover some magical means of communication. With all the war and death going on in the world, it would be nice if you could simply call someone and talk to them from afar like you could in the old days. Right now she'd give anything to communicate with her homeland. Or at least summon Feryl and the Capture Chariot. A ride would be so welcome after the difficult quest they'd just endured, but they had no choice but to walk for now.

The return to Iron Mountain was not an easy one. A cold wind had picked up as they travelled, and given they were soaked to the bone did nothing to improve either their mood or their health. Armor did nothing to stave off the elements, and the wetsuits underneath were equally useless keeping them warm above the water. By the time they'd reached the mountain top where the Shrine of Magic was located, they were both shivering and miserable. Thankfully once inside the mountain itself the temperature was warmer and the winds abated, allowing Galadria and Virulina to venture towards the shrine itself in relative comfort. Still, both were anxious to return to their respective homes for a hot bath and a warm meal, the order of which did not particularly matter to either of them at the moment.

Unlike before, Merklynn was waiting for them in the shrine, before the pool where he often met them. He looked no worse than before, but neither did he look any better. He still seemed to struggle with each breath, and the occasional cough wracked his thin frame. But his eyes were clear as ever as he beheld their entrance.

"Ah, at last... you have returned. Did you complete the task I set you with?" he inquired.

Galadria dipped her head politely. "We have, Merklynn," she said, pulling the pouch from her side and opening it up, drawing forth a long length of greenish-silver kelp to show him.

"Ah, most excellent," he said, making his way to their side. Galadria slipped the kelp back into its container and handed it wholesale to the ancient wizard, who set it at his side.

"Merklynn... we feel we should warn you that..." Galadria paused, glancing over at Virulina. She crossed her arms and turned her head away, huffing in annoyance. She might've known this would come up. "The Pearl of Nyseis was dislodged from its resting place briefly during our task. It has been returned to where it was meant to be but we wished to make sure the leylines you spoke of have been unaffected."

Virulina glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, trying to keep her features from betraying her surprise and failing miserably. Galadria was protecting her? After what she'd tried to do? It made no sense.

"I will see," Merklynn replied, rubbing a hand over his crystal ball and gazing into its depths. A moment later, he nodded sagely. "All is as it should be. The flow of magic continues unabated and unchanged. No damage has been done."

"Well that's a relief," Virulina grumbled, no doubt thinking she still could've made off with the pearl.

"You have done well," the aged wizard proclaimed solemnly. "Endured difficult odds and great peril to complete this task for me. For your assistance, I will willingly grant one small favor to each of you. Simply name it. There is little beyond my power."

That was quite an offer, and for a moment even Galadria was tempted by the possibilities the ancient wizard presented. Magical rides of their own, if not vehicles then perhaps horses, or some mystical exotic beast. Knowledge about the secrets of Prysmos, the sort that had been lost or buried in the ensuing loss of science and electricity. A means of keeping warm would be most welcome in her kingdom. While Androsia was not quite as frozen as Northelia, her people were still using fires and thick furs to stave off the cold during the harsh winter times. This could be an answer to that. Perhaps they could even ask to receive their own power staffs, to put them on even standing with their fellow Visionaries.

But Galadria quickly recoiled from the possibilities instead of embracing them, thinking just as easily of the potential for consequences as rewards. Magic always seemed to come at a price. Often times, a most terrible price.

"As tempting an offer as that might be... I think I'll have to decline," Galadria said politely.

"Forget that!" Virulina barked. "I am not walking away from this completely empty-handed. At the very least I deserve some payment for what I went through."

"I offer you great magical power and you would be satisfied with... mere coin?" demanded Merklynn, his thick brows furrowed in disbelief.

"Darn right!" she snapped darkly.

Merklynn sighed, feeling his head throb at the simple, greedy nature of the Darkling Lady. To say nothing of exasperation with the Spectral Dame who was likewise refusing his power simply because she didn't understand it. He knew they could be so much more than this, but it seemed they were not yet ready for what lay ahead. For now, he had to remain in the good graces of his Visionaries, so a reward was due. If money was what they wanted, money is what they would receive.

"Very well then," Merklynn said. "One bag of silver... one bag of gold..."

The red-robed wizard lifted up his orb of power and flicked his hand forward, middle and forefinger extended. Two beams of energy lanced from his sharp nails, impacting the floor in front of the Visionaries. When the light had faded, a pair of ordinary sacks rested in front of them, half-open and spilling out their contents for both to see.

Coins of silver and gold, the current currency found on most of Prysmos.

"Take whichever pleases you more," Merklynn said, making no attempt to hide the disappointment in his tone.

Virulina snapped up the gold bag before Galadria could offer a protest, then grinned at her as if daring her to do so. For her part, the blonde Spectral Dame accepted the bag of silver with as much grace as she could under the circumstances. She refused to rise to the bait Virulina was providing. It was what she probably would have requested in any case. Gold, while more valued as a currency, was a soft and malleable metal that's only use seemed to be as decoration and economics. By contrast, cold hard silver could yet have practical uses for her people and the people of the realm.

"Your task is complete, and you may go now," said Merklynn, turning his back to the two of them as he shuffled slowly towards his inner sanctum.

Seeing they'd been dismissed, Virulina shouldered her bag of gold and stomped out of the shrine. Galadria lingered only a moment longer to make sure the wizard Merklynn was going to be alright, for his health did not seem improved. But it seemed he needed no help, or desired none in any case, and she reluctantly shouldered her own bag of silver and followed after her female contemporary.

Once both of the female Visionaries had departed, Merklynn departed the shrine and down a level to his laboratory, where some magical ingredients had already been paid out. Water from his pool, heated to boiling. The flesh of a cockatrice, deprived of its scales and feathers. Herbs and spices from all across Prysmos, properly ground into a fine dust. And now the kelp of Nyseis, infused with the orb's wisdom. This he ground into a paste before mixing it and the other ingredients in a small bowl. Not too dissimilar to how he might brew a magical potion, though this was a somewhat more mundane creation.

Finished, Merklynn let the bowl and its contents cool as he produced a spoon and settled in front of the fireplace, leaning back in his comfortable chair.

"At long last," he breathed, stirring the contents of his bowl with his spoon. Then, satisfied it was sufficiently cooled, it gathered a tiny bit of it in his utensil and brought it to his lips.

It was not quite chicken soup, yet Merklynn thought it held a remarkable similarity to the remedy of that bygone Age of Science. Or at least an equivalent for his magical ailment.

There still was no cure, by science or by magic, for the common cold. Yet this brew would stave off the worst of its effects. Enough that he could sleep at least. Between that and rest, Merklynn would be back to his full strength within a fortnight or so. At least he hoped as much. There was still much to do. The Age of Magic had come again, and the people of Prysmos were still woefully under-prepared to handle it. He needed to make them ready. The Visionaries were his tools to do so, but they needed to be properly utilized in order for the entire world to see the truth of things.

For they still had no idea what was yet to come.

With their money in hand and their task completed, neither one of the lady Visionaries had any desire to spend any more time in the other's company. They'd already had more than enough of that to last them a lifetime, if not more. They barely shared a single word between them as they descended down the hillside path. Hell, they barely looked at one another. When their paths finally parted, Virulina gave a snort, throwing up her nose as she headed in the direction of Darkstorm's fortress. No doubt after failing to recover the pearl, she was in for a cool reception. The gold she'd obtained may mitigate that somewhat, but Darkstorm's temper could be hard to predict.

That left Galadria to roll her eyes and continued onwards to New Valyric. Though she longed to return to Androsia and relax amidst the soothing mountain climates of her home, Leoric could use an update on the situation, as well as a small share of the silver she'd come by.

Walking down the path with no great hurry, the blonde Spectral Knight slowed her pace still further to cast a glance over her shoulder. Partly to ensure Virulina wasn't following her, but deeper down she recognized she was still concerned for the other warrior, who'd been through a great deal today. But still she soldiered on without a complaint and with absolutely no desire to be helped. Whatever else had been damaged, her body, her totem, her ego... her pride remained as strong as ever.

Galadria paused, adjusting the bag of silver resting on her shoulder. It wasn't really heavy, though the weight was awkward of course. She could only imagine how well Virulina was managing with her own prize. In a way though, Galadria felt she'd gained something more than just coin out of this venture.

She'd gained an understanding of Virulina.

It was brief, their connection under the water, but more than just the shared totemic powers they had, the link to the aquatic world, they had something in common. They'd both suffered when the Age of Science had come to an end, not simply because they were depending on science like so many had been. But because as time had gone on and mankind had fallen back into a more primitive and brutal mindset, women such as they had suffered at their hands. Virulina perhaps more fully than Galadria, whom indeed had been fortunate to find caretakers and protectors in the land of Androsia.

But she'd still had to fight.

They'd been every bit as chauvinistic and pig-headed as every other man she'd known in the new age. She'd fought tooth and nail to earn the respect as a fellow on equal standing with any of them. Fighting every bit as hard and every bit as tough as the likes of Cryotech or knights like him just to be recognized as one of them. It had never occurred to her Virulina had needed to fight just as hard, if not harder still, just to survive amongst the less honorable scum of the disputed territories.

The problem with Virulina was she'd been fighting so long she didn't know how to live any other way. She saw treachery and violence and deception as a way of life. Maybe she'd always been like that, deep down, and the Age of Magic had simply allowed her true inner nature a chance to rise to the surface.

Either way, Galadria recognized they shared something in common now.

Whether that would prove to be a good thing or a bad one, only time would truly tell.

Authors Notes:
Please review and favorite.

Never intended for this to be a grand, epic sort of story, just a fun slice-of-life/fantasy/adventure for the female Visionaries. Downplaying their rewards and task to simple money and a homebrewed chicken soup was always my intention.