Niers sat in one of his hidden rooms and thought.
The 'flashlight' stood on a pedestal before him. The artifact was nearly as big as he was.
No. Scratch that. It wasn't an artifact, at least not one that that word usually brought to mind.
It somehow made light with no flame and was made of materials that didn't exist in this world. He was even more sure of that with each passing day.
He didn't have much time to sit and contemplate the relics from another world. He had people to do that for him, although they hadn't learned much.
No magic within.
No idea how it works.
Fine metal-crafting on par with Fraerlings on the inside.
It could be taken apart and put back together - within limits. It was clearly designed and built with that feature in mind.
However, the component parts... Some of them could be [Repaired] - either with magic or skills, except for the large, cylindrical objects on the inside.
Those... those could only have superficial damage fixed. Not because the magic was incapable, but because that breaching their surface released a deadly acid. The resulting mess resulted in damage that would take a more potent spell to fix.
That was fascinating, and Niers didn't know what to make of it. A security feature? Or could the acid somehow be integral to the non-magic the device used?
He was leaning towards the latter option, as the experiments had shown similar parts in the other relics. At least the ones that he'd allowed to be examined so roughly. All things had a limit to what [Repair] could fix, and each relic was irreplaceable.
He let out a sigh.
Some things would be much easier if he wasn't the leader of a Great Company. He essentially ran a large part of the continent, and people paid attention to him. He couldn't just send an envoy to the 'United Nations' Company.
That would be noticed.
He would be opposed by the other Great Companies out of principle if nothing else.
At least he could use Venaz's plan to have a happenstance encounter - one that would be mistaken as him taking a minor interest for an unrelated matter. Hiding moves within moves was one of the things he was good at. He really should be out there, finalizing any last minute issues with the game in Daquin.
Tulm would show. He'd be too curious not to. That in turn would allow for any interaction between him and Perorn to overshadow anything else relating to her. It would also be the perfect cover for asking about the Last Light.
But what if he didn't come? The secondary plan could use a little more work. He couldn't rely on luck afterall.
But then-
"Lord Astoragon, you have visitors." Peclir spoke as he opened the door.
"I'm busy." Niers stated, but he knew that Peclir was too good of a [Chamberlain] to disturb him without reason.
"They came in through the..." He cleared his throat. "Side Entrance."
Niers raised his head and looked at Peclir. "Really?"
"Yes, sir. They are blocking the scrying spells, but [A Good Host] is letting me know that you have guests waiting for you."
"Interesting." Niers stroked his beard. The 'side entrance' had never been used before. He'd included accommodations for Fraerlings when the Forgotten Wing's headquarters was built, but he was the only one to ever make use of them, until now. "Thank you, Peclir. That will be all."
The human bowed, and closed the door behind him as he left the room.
"What do they have?" He spoke out loud, but didn't get a reply. Foliana must not've been in the room with him. That, or she'd heard Peclir's news and had gone to look for herself without waiting for him.
Niers ran to a corner before climbing up the hidden stairs that connected to the Fraerling-ways. The pathways ran all throughout the building. They were far too small for anyone else but him - and the occasional rat - to use. At least until now.
Why would one of the cities send people to him?
Was there a crisis? Had a box been opened? Did a newly-elected government want to associate with him?
Niers knew that he was both an outcast and a hero to his people. A hero for becoming powerful and famous as a Fraerling - and an outcast for the same reasons. Fraerlings survived by hiding. There had been attempts to live with the Tallfolk before and each and every one of them had ended in disaster.
That meant that something must've changed for them to come and see him. What could-
Ah. Of course. The most likely reason was that they'd encountered the magic-less relics or people from the other world. That made sense, but he'd keep his mind open until he got more details.
Letting your assumptions cloud your thoughts was a good way to be taken by surprise.
Niers paused before the door to the waiting room. While there hadn't been any other Fraerlings to guide the new arrivals from the 'side entrance', the route was fairly straight forward.
He brushed off this clothing and made sure everything was worn just right. Should he keep his hat? The giant feather was more an affectation for his students than an actual fashion statement.
No. Other Fraerlings would look at it oddly. He wasn't going to be the Titan here, just Niers. Just as he was taking it off the door opened. A female Fraerling in Tallguard armor looked at him.
"You must be Lord Astoragon."
Niers dropped the hat behind him and strolled past her. "Yes, I am Niers Astoragon." He looked at the group of his kin who'd finally come to visit him: four Tallguards and a civilian.
"I'm Shoike, and-"
"My name is Dincal, mister Astoragon." The civilian stood up and gave a short bow. "Shaper of Golems and seeker of Truth."
Niers tried to keep the surprise off of his face. Different villages had different words for it, but a title like that implied that Dincal was one of the few who studied the Gnomes' parting gift.
"A pleasure to meet someone of such high regard, mister Dincal." He returned the bow. That was probably a safe greeting.
"Yes, yes, the feelings are mutual all around." Dincal stroked his brilliant blue mustache. "I apologize for being so curt, but time? She is of the essence." His eyes narrowed. "Have you heard?"
Niers frowned slightly. "I've heard many things, to which of them do you refer?" It wasn't like he could come right out and talk about the second world or the Gnomes' boxes. Not here. As secure as this place was, people could still be spying on them.
Besides, he wouldn't just tell other Fraerlings about what he'd discovered about the visitors from somewhere else. They might be kin, but that didn't mean he trusted them.
"I have not the time for playing games, mister Astoragon." Dincal sighed. "Seeing as we are your guests, it would be fitting for us to be more blunt." He turned and looked at Shoike.
"We're warded." She replied.
"Then, I will show you the interesting thing that we happened to come upon." Dincal clapped his hands. "Enter!"
A mass of blocks teleported into a corner.
The Forgotten Wing's base was warded against teleportation, but there were always workarounds. Niers wasn't exactly surprised that visitors from a Fraerling village could-
The blocks moved.
They shifted and then... stretched? Like an animal. In fact, Niers took a step back and looked at the object as a whole.
"It's... an animal golem?"
"You are quite right." Dincal stepped up and stroked the golem's side. "Marvelous, isn't it?"
Niers nodded. He'd fought against some of Archmage Zelkyr's creations long after the Drake had secluded himself inside of Wistram.
Dincal - he'd introduced himself as the 'Shaper of Golems'. "Is this your work?" Was this a business offer? The Fraerling villages traded him several things that couldn't be found elsewhere for supplies, but not as much as he would have liked. The need to keep their magical expenditures low to remain hidden hampered such deals.
...Not to mention that there was still a good deal of time and effort that went into making things like signim.
"Ah, how I wish that were the case." Dincal shook his head. "No. As much as I would like to claim credit for these creatures, they are even beyond the skill of Dincal - as hard as that is to believe."
"Interesting, so you think they could've come from-" Wait a second. "Did you say 'creatures', as in: more than one?"