"That sword is cursed because belonged to a [Necromancer]." Montressa sat across from Pixel on a chair he'd created out of mid-air. Like everything else, it was made of cubes. It was surprisingly soft and comfortable to the touch. "He came to Wistram the year before me, but couldn't keep his vile craft secret forever." She took a deep breath. "He was very skilled at pretending to be a good person, but on that day..."

She thought about the undead swarming into the great hall.

Their features a mockery of life.

Their motions so eerily similar to how alive people moved, but subtly off.

Their silence... that was replaced by the screams of her friends as they got eaten alive...

Calvaron's defiant roar...

His brave charge...

His death...

Suddenly, Montressa felt calm. The horror of that day felt... like nothing. Like it was a [Bard]'s story she'd been told once. She furrowed her brow and looked at Pixel.

"My apologies." He gave her a small smile and nodded. "I sensed that you were suffering from a panic attack and cast an emotion calming spell."

The two stones she had sat to the side both glowed blue.

"[Calm Emotions]." She nodded. "I don't know it, but I know of it." So this was what it felt like. It was... nice. She could see its appeal.

"Yes." Pixel frowned. "I would normally not wish to impinge upon your mental state, no matter how benign the effect is, without your permission." He sighed. "However, you seemed to be in distress, so I felt it only proper to act."

Montressa closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "It is quite alright, Pixel. It is... nice." She felt calm. That was obviously from the spell, but she also thought she wouldn't mind that he'd done it anyways. "How long will it last?"

"The effect is confined to this room, and will dissipate once you leave. Similarly, you need not fear us being overheard or eavesdropped on while we are here." He glanced to a corner. Montressa followed his gaze to one of the pillars that was creating the ward around the room. "I can also deactivate it earlier if you'd like."

Montressa raised her eyebrows. Relics he could deploy at range with but a thought. Relics that not only could form a physical barrier, but help with emotions and block surveillance spells... if his claims could be believed, and she saw no reason to doubt him now.

She was going to be rich as soon as she could spend these secrets. It would have to be after Pixel made himself known, but once others knew of the big secret, they'd surely want to know more.

"Could you turn it off now?" She asked.

"Certainly." Pixel nodded and just as suddenly her calm feeling was gone.

Montressa took a shuddering breath.

The clawing hands...

The blank eyes...

The empty sockets...

Calvaron's defiant roar...

His brave charge...

His death...

She swallowed. "Actually, can you cast it again?"

"Of course."

Montressa felt calm.

"Sorry." She shook her head. "I thought that I was better, but it all came flooding back." Just like always.

"No need to apologize." Pixel held up a hand. "It was clearly a traumatic experience, and my effect merely pauses things. The underlying emotions are still there. They will still require time to dissipate." He paused. "Although..."

"Although?"

Pixel let out a huff. "Turning the field on and off repeatedly can mitigate things somewhat. It allows you to... train your responses." He gave her a rueful smile. "It's not a replacement for therapy, but I guess that's not really an option for you."

"Therapy? Like from a [Healer]?"

"Yes." Pixel nodded. "But for the mind."

"Oh. A [Thought Healer]." Montressa looked at her hands as she rubbed them together. "I've heard of that class before, but I've never met one." She hadn't really thought about it as an option before. She didn't want to share what she'd been through. She didn't want to re-live that day.

Now, she was calm. It didn't seem like a bad idea.

That was, if Wistram had one, but the school did not.

"Would you care to continue?" Pixel looked concerned. "We can always do this another time."

"No." Montressa shook her head. "That's quite alright. As long as your spell is active, I feel fine." And if what he said was accurate, it would be best to discuss it first so she had time to naturally calm down - even if she couldn't feel that happening. She also wanted to tell this particular secret. People had to know about Pisces - what he was. What he had done. "To understand why I said the blade was cursed, I have to tell you about who originally owned it. Like I said, the rapier belonged to a [Necromancer] named Pisces. He was in the year before me and he... was nice at first."

She thought back to the time when she'd first arrived. Pisces. Ceria. Beatrice. Calvaron.

"We were all friends before everyone learned of what [Class] he had. What magic he practiced." Montressa swallowed. "He was talented. A true prodigy. He learned spells twice as fast as anyone else. He was talented with his sword. He had a silver bell, and you knew he earned it because it never made a sound." Unlike Charles, who had it tinkle despite his attempts at muffling it.

Montressa frowned and looked at Boxer. He had the sword and bell, and it hadn't made a single noise during their walk here. That... wasn't all that surprising after what she'd seen at the duel.

She turned back to Pixel. "He went with some students to confront some [Pirates] that were around Wistram. That was when he animated their corpses to help him. That was when it was revealed what he was." It was strange. Montressa remembered her feelings of friendship. Of betrayal. Of acceptance. Of... something more. She also remembered all those emotions twisting to fear and rage after the fact. But that was all it was, a memory of a memory. She didn't feel that way right now. All she felt was calm.

"I stood by him." Montressa smiled a little. "Beatrice disavowed him the most. She... hates [Necromancers]. She hated them before the incident. Ceria was the one he was closest to, but she stopped talking to him. Calvaron." Montressa swallowed. "Calvaron was the secret broker."

Calvaron's defiant roar...

His brave charge...

His death...

Montressa was calm.

"Apart from me, Calvaron stayed in contact with him the most. Pisces." Montressa hung her head. "Pisces was also a genius at finding out secrets. Calvaron didn't associate with him in public, but he still did business with him. Without him..." Montressa closed her eyes. "Without him, Pisces wouldn't have been able to stay after they took away his scholarship."

Montressa fell quiet.

"I take it something happened?"

She nodded. "Some [Mages] challenged Cognita, including Ceria's mentor." Montressa opened her eyes and stared at the floor. "They died, of course. Pisces..." She was calm. "Pisces used that chance to enter the catacombs where the dead bodies of Wistram's [Mages] reside. I don't know what he intended. Some say it was an accident. Some say it was his revenge. The trial concluded that it was negligence."

Montressa let out a short laugh and looked up. "The only person to defend him was Ceria, but she didn't defend him really. She just called out the entire counsel of mages as being cowards because of her master's death." She shook her head. "They expelled her for that, the hypocrites. At the end, Pisces and Ceria were both exiled. Calvaron was dead."

And she was alone.

Montressa was calm. She continued.

"So the rapier isn't cursed by a spell or a [Skill], but there are a lot of people around Wistram that remember Pisces, and remember that it's his sword." As Charles, that arrogant prick, kept telling them. Montressa turned to speak to Boxer. "You won't win any friends by walking around with it."

"Hmmmm..." Pixel hummed. "Cursed indeed." The [Artificer] leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "I think that story was quite helpful in understanding Wistram. Despite my efforts to observe it without any pretense, there have hardly been any major events that would shake the status quo and reveal deeper secrets." His eyes shifted back to her. "Hmmmm..."

What was he thinking? What sort of spells or artifacts was he using to analyze her? Montressa looked at the truth stones. They glowed red and blue because she'd spoken the truth. Whatever magic he was using to obfuscate their results only applied to him.

Another secret for her stockpile.

"What else do you want to know?"

Pixel leaned forward. "I'm wrong, aren't I?" He smiled. "There's been something important that happened after Blackmage arrived, but before Boxer did, isn't there?"

Montressa frowned slightly and thought. Something that happened during that time that would 'shake the status quo and reveal deeper secrets.'?

Oh.

Of course.

She met Pixel's gaze. "You're asking about Archmage Amerys."

"Yes. I am." He grinned. "There are whispers about the missing Archmage. It's actually a widely popular thing to speculate on."

"Gossip isn't the same as secrets." Montressa shook her head. "I know some things, but less than you might hope."

Pixel rolled his neck. "Why don't you start at the beginning. Why is Amerys a sensitive subject? I think that's better to know before we get into why and how she vanished."

Montressa looked at him for a second before shrugging her shoulders. "Fine. I was curious about that too when I arrived. I mean, what was the King of Destruction's [Mage] doing in Wistram? Especially after they opposed her ruler."

She paused to collect her thoughts. "The truth is that she never fit in. She didn't join a faction. She didn't teach." Montressa thought about what she'd been told. "She did practice with other mages, and kept the area around Wistram free of monsters and pirates. She was actually quite up-front about waiting for the King of Destruction to wake up."

That was only a small secret, and it was only that because people were afraid to walk up to her and ask.

"It was a few weeks ago that she vanished." Montressa had, of course, been waiting for people to sell her secrets about the reason why, but no one had yet. "I don't know why or how it happened, but I know that she's still in Wistram somewhere." She shrugged. "Only the Archmages or the council really know for sure." She jabbed her thumb at Boxer. "Your friend there has a better chance of getting that secret. Someone at the high table has to know and have loose lips."

She drummed her fingers on the chair. "Probably not an Archmage or one of the older mages. They know how to keep secrets or else they wouldn't have gotten where they are now." She mentally went over possible people. "Blackmage would be your best bet. I don't know much about him, but he did appear before Amerys vanished. He probably knows." She glanced at Boxer again. "If you could get him alone, he might talk."

She shrugged. "Or he might not. No way to know without knowing him and the secret itself."

"Interesting." Pixel leaned back and thought for a while. "Powerful, but isolated. She had friends, did she not?"

"The only one I've ever heard of being friendly with was Ceria's master." Montressa scoffed. "And they were at each other's throats more often than not."

"Hmmmm..." Pixel hummed. "Very well. I can think of one other that would know. I've been avoiding her." Pixel looked at the hallway as two golems marched past, seemingly oblivious to their presence. "Tell me. What do you know about Cognita?"

"She's evil." It was as simple as that.

"Evil? What makes her evil?"

"Her very nature." Montressa nodded. "She kills [Mages]. That's what she was made to do."

"I've heard of her challenge room, and of the deaths at her hands." Pixel leaned back and stroked his chin. "I can't comment on the morality of it, but those [Mages] did choose to risk their lives."

"She'll fall one day." Montressa was a Revivalist. She believed in their goal of opening Wistram's doors to everyone. "Once we have enough numbers, we'll win. We know it can be done. One of her guardian golems was defeated in the past."

And there went another secret. She really was spending them like coppers.

Pixel leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "But that's not it, is it? There's something else behind your ire."

Montressa was calm.

She crossed her arms. "She also meddles in Wistram's politics."

"How so?"

"She spoke at Pisces' trial. Convinced them not to kill him."

Pixel blinked. "That doesn't sound so bad."

Montressa wanted to growl... but she was calm. "She did it by threatening to kill any other student who made a 'mistake'." She sneered. "And then she had the gall to name him a Wistram graduate! Can you believe that?"

"Interesting." Pixel leaned back.

Interesting? All he had to say was interesting?

"Look. I've told you a lot of secrets, and I admit your presence here is a big one in return, but I'm wondering how big."

"Oh?" Pixel looked amused. "How big of a secret would an [Archmage] visiting Wistram in secret be?"

"An [Archmage], as in the actual class?" Montressa blinked. He wasn't saying that he was a...

"No." Pixel held up a hand. "I'm just wondering how weighted the presence of a hidden individual would be based on their level and class." He smiled. "Although, I have had people mistakenly refer to me as such before."

What?

No. Seriously. What?

"Are you claiming to be as powerful as an actual [Archmage]?" Montressa was stunned.

"Well..." Pixel shrugged. "I can't claim to know how powerful a real [Archmage] is, as I have yet to meet one, but I think I've demonstrated my power quite thoroughly recently."

"You mean your ward?" Montressa looked at the doorway again. It... was impressive. As an [Aegiscaster], she knew more than most [Mages] about barrier spells. "It certainly is impressive, but I wouldn't say it was on the level of an [Archmage]." Mainly because she had no idea what an [Archmage]-level barrier would even look like.

"No." Pixel shook his head. "I mean about my recent activities in Noelictus."

"The 'Breadbasket of Terandria'?" Montressa blinked.

"Ah, you know of it."

"Of course I know of it!" Montressa scowled. "Who doesn't know the greatest agricultural provider in Terandria?" Noelictus' reach was so ubiquitous in her home continent that she'd been surprised by Wistram's bread NOT being black.

"Do you know of their recent troubles?" Pixel smirked.

"Do you mean the [Necromancer] or Ailendamus?"

Pixel's smile fell. "So you do know."

"What?" It was her turn to smirk. "Did you not think that a secret broker in Wistram wouldn't be up-to-date on the news coming from her home continent?"

Pixel shrugged. "I didn't know how far the tale had spread. In any case, isn't that enough evidence of what I'm capable of?"

"What you're capable of?" Montressa tilted her head. "What do you mean, what 'you're capable of'?"

Pixel looked surprised for a second before smiling again. "Ah, it looks like I do have some secrets that don't involve my presence at Wistram."

Montressa furrowed her brow. He wasn't implying...

"YOU'RE suggesting that you had something to do with destroying the army of the dead or with repelling Ailendamus?"

"I am claiming more than that." Pixel's grin widened. "I'm saying that I single-handedly did both."

Montressa looked over at her truth stones, which were now glowing pink and white. "I'm going to need more than your word."

Pixel looked thoughtful. "I could lower my spell, and let your stones work... but you would have no real proof that I was being honest about that in the first place." He drummed his fingers on his knee. "Let's see... how about a visual display? That might help."

"A visual display?" Montressa raised an eyebrow. What? Was he going to demonstrate some high-level magic?

"Here."

Pixel raised his hand, and a miniature city appeared between them. It was amazingly detailed and realistic, despite being so small. Montressa leaned forward, and then started to recoil when she saw the undead shapes that clawed at the walls.

...But she was calm.

She continued to watch the city's brave defenders fight off the horde. It was... strange to look at things while she was so detached. It was nice to simply not feel the familiar panic set in.

A small figure flew into the scene. It drew her eye due to the bright light that trailed behind it. No, not light. Fire. She quickly glanced at one of the suits that Pixel had summoned that still stood behind him. It was the same, only smaller. At that size, the fact that it was made of cubes was less obvious.

Her gaze was drawn back to the miniature city when the small Pixel unleashed a wave of light that made the undead vanish completely! No burned remains. No bones. Only a few fluttering scraps of clothing were left!

Pixel circled the city, vaporizing the undead as he passed.

A group of ghostly woman flew at him, but faired no better against the golden light.

After two complete laps, the entire undead horde was gone. Only some clothes and the claw marks on the wooden walls were any proof that they were ever there at all.

Montressa looked up with wide eyes. "That was you?"

Pixel leaned back and smirked. "Feel free to ask for details on how the undead army met its end. There are ample witnesses to my deed, even if they do not know I was the one who did it."

Montressa nodded. "I can confirm that." It would take some time, and it might be possible that Pixel had heard about the details of the battle and had simply crafted an impressive illusion. "But I think I'll need some more proof. After all, if you heard those same details, you could easily come up with a story that matches them after the fact."

Plus, there was basically no way to confirm any specifics short of speaking with a direct witness. Truth stones weren't helpful in discerning second-hand accounts since only the person who knew the origin of the story knew exactly how much was embellishment.

"A fair enough point." Pixel tilted his head from side to side. "How would a demonstration of pure force suit you? I can not, in good conscience, unleash that same level of attack from within the walls of Wistram." He shrugged. "There's no telling what the result would be, but it assuredly would not be a good one. No," He stood up and walked towards one of the walls. "A smaller scale display must suffice." He paused and looked at her. "Do you agree?"

Montressa frowned. If he could cast some higher level [Spells], that would be decent proof. Not conclusive, but it would certainly support his claim. Right now she knew he was capable of extremely potent illusions and wards, despite not being either an [Illusionist] or an [Abjurer]. If he could also create relics as destructive as what he'd claimed, then it would be more likely than not that he was telling the truth.

Argh!

This was why she hated dealing with the Ullsinoi. At least they respected the idea of the secret trade. Why wouldn't they? They had access to more secrets than most others given their specialty.

Finally, Montressa replied. "Yes. I suppose if you can show one more high-level [Spell] or [Skill] like that, then I can be reasonably sure you're not lying to me."

"Good." Pixel smiled before raising his right hand. Blue cubes materialized around it in a roughly oblong shape. Half of his forearm and his hand were covered by the newest artifact. Then, a brilliant sword of light extended from the tip.

No. Not a sword. It split into three parts, with the outer two blades curving so they extended parallel with the first. It was a trident. A trident made out of light.

Which he had once again used without speaking a single syllable of an incantation or [Skill]...

Montressa supposed that was fair. He obviously had a holding-type skill. Those were rare and were usually gained by [Merchants] or [Alchemists]. An [Artificer] having one, especially one as high-level as Pixel, wasn't surprising. The true magic was in what he'd created.

The shimmering field that covered the wall close to him blinked out of existence, and Pixel casually swiped his arm horizontally across the stonework.

His blade parted the rock without slowing in the slightest. Three grooves were carved in its wake. The outer ones were only half an inch deep, but the center once was at least five times that. Chunks of rock landed on the floor and made a slight sizzling sound.

Montressa stood up and walked towards him. "Is it safe to touch?"

Pixel nodded as the trident of light faded. "Yes. The application of this weapon does not leave much residual heat or radiation. It's perfectly safe." The blue relic on his arm vanished.

Radiation? What was that?

Montressa should ask him. Hints from a high-level [Mage] were valuable, and very nice secrets to have. Instead, she ran her fingers across the grooves...

Smooth. They were as smooth as glass.

She reached down and picked up some of the rubble. It was mostly rough, and what you'd expect of the remains of a pulverized rock, except for a thin strip on one side. That section was also impossibly smooth.

She looked up at Pixel and nodded. It was hard not to feel intimidated by someone that could do that, but... she was calm. Montressa pocketed the segment of stone as she walked back to the chair made out of cubes. Belatedly, she wondered what magics it had been enchanted with.

No one would make a chair out of deceptively soft cubes without additional effects. Unless it was a precursor to his other work. Something Pixel had created while he'd been learning his craft.

She shook her head. There were better secrets to acquire right now.

Pixel strolled back to his chair. "So, we are in agreement that the secret of my presence at Wistram is valuable?" He smiled as he sat down.

Montressa let out a sigh. "Yes. You clearly are a high level magic-user. Such news is valuable." Especially if she rationed it out. Sure, she might not be able to get the full value of 'Pixel is at Wistram', but the secret that an Archmage-level [Artificer] was?

That was the thing about secrets. Like money, you could usually break them down into smaller denominations.

"Excellent." Pixel steepled his fingers. "I think I have one final request for both information and a service."

"Oh?" Montressa focused back on him. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything you know about scrying, especially ways in which is can be overcome."

Montressa tilted her head. What was Pixel getting at? Was this a test to see how much she knew?

"The [Scrying] spell allows the caster to observe an individual or a location at great range. The actual reach of the spell is unlimited, but the area is covers depends on the [Mage] casting it." Montressa paused. What else? "[Scrying] itself first targets a location. You need the proper coordinates, and the person's real name. If they exist within the area, the spell will latch on to them and allow viewing."

"How does searching the world for a person work?"

"Here at Wistram, we have the coordinates for... well, everywhere. At least, everywhere above ground. Scrying into dungeons or the depths of the ocean floor won't work." Montressa had actually heard that there had been a lot of scrying recently. Was that related to Pixel? "So, if a particular person was sought after, but their general location not known, the spell would have to be cast repeatedly until it either found them, or ran out of places to search."

"I see." Pixel nodded. "And what might prevent a person from being found like that, apart from time or effort on the [Scryer]'s part?"

"Well... You need their real name, of course." Was that why Pixel was called 'Pixel'? That could easily be a pseudonym. "There are a number of [Spells] and [Skills] that can prevent scrying from working on you, not to mention artifacts." She kept her gaze on Pixel's face, but he didn't react. "Some places with a high concentration of magic are also difficult to scry. Such as Wistram, itself." She smirked. "That, and the protective spells, and lack of coordinates, are why locations like the upper floors are protected. That's why no one knows what's actually going on up there, if anything."

"And how might these counter-measures be bypassed?"

"If someone scrys on a location, protected people will still be visible." Montressa paused again. "Of course, if the person you're looking for is hiding or invisible, just seeing where they are won't help. It takes a [Scryer] to move the location that they're scrying on, so moving very quickly might work. That is, if you can cover thousands of miles that fast."

Still no response. What exactly was Pixel's angle?

"I see." He nodded. "And do you need to know the [Scry] spell in order to scry? Or are there artifacts that can accomplish the same thing?"

He... was kidding right?

Or testing her knowledge?

"Well..." Montressa looked for any outward signs, but Pixel was infuriatingly stone-faced. "You mean, aside from scrying orbs?"

"No." Pixel shook his head. "Please include them in your answer."

"Okay." This was suspicious, but she couldn't exactly say why. "The most common way to scry is with an orb. You don't need to know the spell. For some orbs, you don't even need to be able to cast magic." Pixel leaned forward at that and then glanced behind her. "There are greater artifacts that do the same thing, but the basic functionality is the same. They only allow things like expanding the sensor's range, or moving it, or other things I've told you about."

She looked behind her at what Pixel had briefly focused on. Boxer was still leaning against the wall.

Oh. This was for him.

Why? She didn't know. Pixel could've told him such a basic amount of information.

"Can you get me a scrying orb? One that can be used by anyone, and is as powerful as possible?"

Montressa thought before replying. Scrying orbs weren't exactly rare, but they weren't common place either. "I can, but I'd charge a major secret for a regular one. For the best one possible, I'd likely have to go to an Archmage. I'm going to need something more than the secret of your presence for that."

She'd already given up a lot of secrets in exchange, and it wasn't like Pixel's presence was THAT important... yet. It might be in time. If he revealed himself and rose through the ranks of Wistram [Mages] he would almost assuredly be a member of the counsel. In fact, becoming the 'Archmage of Cubes' was entirely plausible with what she'd seen.

Be that as it may, it was only a possibility. She was already speculating with his secrets plenty. There was no way that she could trade any more than she already had for them.

"I see." Pixel drummed his fingers. "I suppose it would only be fair to exchange secrets for secrets and an artifact for an artifact."

Montressa tried to keep her excitement in check... which was surprisingly easy considering how calm she was. Still, her eyes gleamed at the offer. "What sort of artifact?" She hopefully asked.

"Hmmm..." Pixel hummed. "I can make a lot of things." He motioned to the suits of armor and the pillars in the corners of the room. "I cannot, in good conscience, give you some of my more dangerous items."

"Yeah." Boxer spoke up. "I ain't even got sumpthin' like that."

Pixel raised and eyebrow. "They are far too noticeable right now." He turned back to Montressa and shrugged. "My style is very distinctive after all."

That was an understatement.

She nodded. "I wouldn't want to walk around in a suit of armor all day. No offense."

Armored [Mages] weren't that uncommon, not with the Dullahans that went to Wistram. It just seemed... uncomfortable to wear armor all day long. She supposed Pixel's suits might be surprisingly soft and flexible despite how they looked. The chair he'd made certainly was. It still seemed excessive to her.

Although, she could probably sell a suit of armor outside of Wistram for the most money, but she wasn't planning on leaving any time soon.

Pixel eyed her staff. "I don't make magical foci, but I could make a staff that can produce an impenetrable barrier. It would last for at least a thousand uses, but it would also be noticeable - even if not as much as a suit of armor."

That got Montressa's attention. A staff or wand, a good one, was one of the most important things to a [Mage] - right behind a powerful spellbook. She was an [Aegiscaster], so a barrier producing staff was exactly the sort of item that would suit her best.

She looked at the pillars at the corners of the room again. They wouldn't look so bad as a staff. It would be uncomfortable to hold, and it would be distinctive.

If Pixel became an Archmage, then it would also be a status symbol.

But...

"How about something that reproduces your calming field?" It wasn't something she would've thought of before, but being so calm was... nice. She wasn't afraid of the images of the undead. She didn't get upset thinking about Pisces. It wasn't a clear benefit for her casting, but for her day-to-day life?

Pixel stroked his chin. "I can make a helmet that does that, but I would caution you about wearing it in public."

Montressa frowned. "If I can't wear it in public, what use is it?"

"Sleeping." Pixel smiled a comforting smile. "It's not a good thing to suppress your emotions constantly, but I've had success in helping people with persistent nightmares."

What? How did he know? She'd never told anyone apart from Beatrice, and she was sure her friend wouldn't sell THAT secret. Not after the their common ordeal. "I..."

Pixel shook his head. "Did I not say I could sense your distress before? It goes hand-in-hand with my calming field."

"Oh." That made sense she supposed. Emotional magic was more the domain of [Witches], but Pixel was an [Artificer], so he didn't follow the normal rules for [Mages] either.

Wait. Could that be what the scrying orb was for? For him to examine and deconstruct for his class?

"Such a helmet would do more than calm you." Pixel gestured at his face and the cubes in his armor flowed back up and around his head. "It will suppress any other mental intrusions or compulsions."

"That sounds nice." Even if she only wore it to sleep, Montressa knew what she wanted the most. "I'll take it."

"Very well." Pixel stood up. "I shall make it immediately. You may deliver the scrying orb to Boxer once you have obtained it."

A swirling vortex of energy appeared in one of Pixel's hands, and a softly glowing cube in the other. Smaller cubes broke off from it and flew into the tiny maelstrom that had formed. One by one they separated until the cube was no more. Only then did the whirlwind subside and leave behind a helmet.

Unlike the one Pixel wore, it was not a full helm. It looked like it would wrap around the side of her head, leaving the top and her face exposed. Pixel handed it to her.

"Say 'Malleable' while holding it, and it will shrink into a cube. Say it again to restore its form. Aside from that, all you need to do is wear it to gain the benefits."

Montressa gaped. He'd created it that quickly?

That...

That...

That was truly high-level magic!