"Let me try Crafting a few more. I'd like to try some alterations to see how it affects the final product." While I was speaking to Teura, I was wondering who else was watching me. Or, rather, observing me. Threat Sense didn't give a sense of if someone was listening or looking - just that they were aware of me.

While Threat Sense was a tremendous upgrade over Danger Sense, as well it should be considering where I'd gotten it from, it wasn't all-powerful. Like most precognition, opposing Thinkers could mess with it. Anyone who could also perceive the future, even if not to the extent I could, altered it.

Then there was the fact that it was a purely defensive skill, just like the Danger Sense it had evolved from. I saw what was going to happen to me, but not what the cause was. Most of the time, this was mostly irrelevant. I got hit by a fireball from behind meant that was where the attack came from. People looking at me didn't provide clues like that.

But, since Threat Sense was both awareness of being observed and of the future, it wasn't hard to use it to tell if I was going to be observed in the future. It took some practice to fully intend to do something, get a sense of what would happen, and then not do what I'd just decided on. By meaning to move and making note of where I wouldn't be seen, I could extrapolate where my watchers were.

It broke down when the number of hidden observers got past two or three, since it became much more complex to figure out which actions resulted in which ones of them not being able to see me. With only one spy, I could do it easily enough.

If I pressed myself against the north wall, there would still be two people watching me. Same for the east, west, and south walls. Teleporting to a different room in my base dropped the number down to one, but since one of the two clearly is Teura, that didn't help. Same for teleporting above ground. I would still be watched by one person.

There was, perhaps, a brief flicker where the observation would lapse, but that was it.

Okay. Fine.

"Is everything okay, Archmage?"

"Yes, yes, I'm just thinking. Please excuse me." I nodded at Teura and walked out of the room.

"Of course."

Now I was down to just one observer... then Teura exited the storage room and I was up to two again. She went the other way, and I was back down to one.

Let's see... hiding?

No. No matter where I crouched down or what I un-Inventoried to block potential line-of-sight, I was still seen.

Distance?

If I walked into the teleportation room and went to Wistram... success!

That's one limitation. I could work with that. I sat myself down on the pad and closed my eyes. I wanted to give whomever was watching me as little information as possible, but I could still only sense so far into the future. I didn't know if they knew what the teleportation pad was, but they might be wondering what I was doing.

Acting nonchalant while intending to do really strange things was tricky.

I didn't have any sound-negating forcefield pylons, so I couldn't test for an audio bug. Or rather, someone listening. Devices didn't count as being 'observed'. The most likely situation was someone using a power or spell to scry me, except that should be impossible from what I knew of scrying.

We were underground and my Black Box was using the burnt out scrying orb to intercept those sorts of spells. That didn't mean there wasn't a magical option that I wasn't aware of. By their own admission the Archmages of Wistram were not like the [Archmages] of old. There were high level magics that I knew nothing about.

For that matter, there was also the Grand Design and Optimize. I knew for a fact that both of them were 'watching' me, but they didn't set off Threat Sense, so similarly potent sources could likely also get around it.

In fact, magic was one of those things. Since I wasn't pumping mana into my Perk, this shouldn't be a scrying Spell or other magical surveillance. However, it also wasn't something mundane...

Nope. I was at a lost for what could trigger Threat Sense like this.

Regardless, I had a data point. Wistram was too far. If I teleported to the pad that was close to where I'd fought Nerrhavia's Fallen...

Success!

I wouldn't be seen immediately - at least not in the brief future that Threat Sense showed.

Without a destination pad, the range for the teleportation pad was similar to my own. It just used its stored MP instead of mine. Technically, I didn't need line of sight. I could teleport 'up' a given distance. While doing so was relatively safe, I didn't like it, but I could still test it.

Teleporting to the surface got me seen.

So did teleporting a dozen feet in the air.

One mile?

Two miles?

Three miles?

At five miles I wasn't seen.

Threat Sense still didn't show any attacks, so... time for testing distance. A mile in the air to the north? To the east? To the west? To the south? Two miles? Three?

A pattern was emerging. It took less distance to the north to escape detection. More to the east or the west, and I hadn't found an escape to the south at all. That meant that whatever was watching me was probably in that direction. I considered how far north I'd have to go to escape...

Huh.

A distance that had worked before failed. That meant that something was changing. It could be any number of things, but the most likely situation was that my observer was approaching. They were probably doing so pretty quick for me to notice such a drastic change in their range.

Still, I'd been motionless long enough for Expansion to extend the range of Inventory past the confines of the underground base.

I un-Inventoried my Golden Sphere and connected to it with my Babel Perks.

My senses expanded. The drone had far better sensory capabilities than my human self - Gamer's Body or not. I toggled both its invisibility and intangibility options and directed it to the south. It was fast and didn't take long to find my target - especially considering how fast the flying carpet was moving in the opposite direction.

At least I assumed it was my target. Nothing else stood out. I had the sphere stay a good mile back while I observed the carpet's passengers. Given their speed, they'd be here in less than a minute, probably half of that, so I didn't have time for much more than a once-over.

On the front was a small girl. She looked younger than Riley, but not by much. She wore expensive-looking robes and several pieces of jewelry. Dark skin, black hair in a widow's peak, yellow eyes. She sat cross-legged and with good posture as she gripped the tassels on the front of their magical vehicle.

At the rear was a teenage boy. His back was pressed against a large chest. His robes were less embellished, but still looked well-made. No jewelry, but he had a staff across his lap. Dark blond hair and fair skin meant that he probably wasn't from Chandrar. He was saying something, but with the distance and wind it was impossible to pick up.

The large figure in the center of the carpet was the most distinctive. She wore armor that hugged her skin, or was actual scales. It was a darker shade of orange-brown than her head, which made me think it wasn't a part of her body. Her face had one huge eye that was closed and four smaller eyes - two to each side. One eye looked back at the drone, another looked forward and down. One spun wildly in its socket, while the last one was pure white.

It probably was blind or focused on something behind her to to the side.

The rest of her body was just slightly off. No nose. Four fingers. An extra-joint in her arms. Black dreadlocks that whipped behind her in the wind.

She drew the sword from her back, but made no other offensive move. Aside from approaching my base while staring at me from miles away. Any possibility of this not being their destination were dashed as the carpet slowed down as it approached the blighted area - and one of her eyes remained focused on my body inside my base.

I pulled the drone back so it was right above me at ground-level, and then I teleported. I appeared standing up in my armor as I pulled a little teleportation trick to re-adjust my position while simultaneously un-Inventorying my costume. I Inventoried the Golden Sphere and watched as the carpet landed a few hundred feet from me.

Out of reflex, I Observed each of them as they dismounted and began to walk towards me.

[Human]

[Human/Gazer Hybrid

Debuffs: Physical Deformity]

[Trey Atwood

Gender: Male
Age: 16
Race: Human
Faction: Relm
Origin: The Grand Design of Isthekenous.

Born and raised in London. Grew up with his twin sister Teresa.

Debuffs:
Nostalgia Block
Blocked Senses]

Interesting.

First, that was confirmation he was from Earth. Once Observe had started working 'properly', it still didn't provide many details without the aid of magic. It did have information from people who'd originated on Earth-Iota. Like all non-parahumans, the details were sparse because, well, I think Optimize just didn't care.

XXXXX XXXXX

Regardless, it made identifying them easy without even going into the details. Anyone who had a bio at all was originally from somewhere else. Add onto that, the 'Nostalgia Block' and 'Blocked Senses' were two debuffs that everyone from Earth shared.

Well, not me because Gamer's Mind had negated them, and not Sibby because she was the Siberian and naturally immune to stuff like that. Everyone normal had them. I wasn't sure if it was a natural side effect from whatever magic had kidnapped them - to make them more compliant. Or if it was something the Grand Design did for some reason.

My money was on both. If you were summoning people, making them less home-sick would go a long way towards... well, whatever evil scheme they were pawns in. That was assuming that the trans-dimensional displacements were, in fact, intended and not a side effect or a random natural occurrence. Blocked Senses on the other hand seemed like a good way to hide details about the leveling system.

The one flaw with my theory was that no other people aside from Earthers had 'Blocked Senses'. That could be due to it being their default state? Or time since they were part of the Grand Design? Or lack of data on Optimize's side? Or something completely different entirely.

In any case, it wasn't relevant at the moment. What was relevant was that Trey was aligned with the King of Destruction. That, in and of itself, wasn't good or bad. If he was coerced or enslaved, then I would have another new target. If he'd just chosen to follow Flos?

Whatever.

I wasn't his parent. People can chose whatever the hell they want. I was here to save them, not to force them to support one native over another.

I wasn't picking up any nervousness or fear from him, mainly just awe and excitement... and I was pretty sure that was directed at me. My armor tended to have that effect on civilians.

...And that explained why he was here. Of course some Earthers that had integrated into a society would tell them about Earth. Naturally when I made my debut, those in the know would be told about video games if they hadn't been before.

While I was thinking, the trio walked towards me. Slow enough that I wouldn't think it was an attack, but fast enough that the small girl had to move quickly to keep up with the longer strides of the other two.

"Hello. Are you seeking me?" I sensed no anger or hatred, so this didn't seem like a prelude to an attack.

Contrary to what I expected, it was the girl that stepped forward and bowed before speaking first. "Greetings, Pixel, Archmage of Cubes. I am the Quarass of Germina, here on behalf of Flos Reimarch of Reim. The King of Destruction. Beside me are-"

"Gazi Pathseeker." I interrupted her. I'd naturally read up on the remaining number of the King of Destruction's Seven. Two had died in his war long ago, Wistram held Amerys, the Empire of Sand had reportedly killed Drevish, but the rest of them were at Flos' side again. Optimize had identified her as a Human/Gazer Hybrid, which was essentially all I knew of the former Named Adventurer Gazi Pathseeker. Generally speaking, it wasn't easy putting a name to a description, even with a face like hers - doubly so since I'd never met a 'Gazer' before, but given the evidence I had - the conclusion was a simple one. "And Trey Atwood."

**The Quarass is surprised.
**Gazi is surprised.
**Trey is surprised.

I smiled underneath my armor as my conversational gambit paid off. They expected me to know Gazi, but the fact that I knew Trey's name, first and last, was clearly not knowledge they thought I would have.

To be fair, I hadn't possessed it a moment ago. Sure, his name and details were in the list Dragon had compiled, but that didn't include pictures.

"You are well informed, Archmage." The Quarass nodded her head. Her and Gazi's faces had remained impassive, clearly experienced in schooling their emotions. "We bring a message from his Majesty. He has tasked us with bringing it to you."

"What sort of a message?"

"A short one with a long explanation."

"Hm." I stared at them a moment. Trey fidgeted, but the two women stood calmly. "Then I shall receive you inside my base. In truth, I am curious about the King of Destruction and would have sought him out in time, so this meeting is both fortuitous and inevitable." I took a step back to the edge of the teleportation platform that was buried in the dirt and motioned them to move forward.

Gazi moved first. She stepped past the Quarass and Trey and stood at the very edge opposite me. The other two moved to her sides. They had confusion notifications, but Gazi clearly knew what was hidden beneath their feet. Undoubtedly she could both see it and surmise its purpose considering that I remained on it.

I wondered what else did her eyes see?

Gazi felt shock as her group was teleported into the [Archmage]'s subterranean base. While she had expected it, the fact that the action used zero mana rattled her. One of her greatest advantages as a [Scout] and a Half-Gazer was her ability to literally see magic forming.

It was especially disconcerting since Pixel only possessed the mana pool of a high bronze adventurer. That was normal enough except he was an [Archmage].

Assuming the creature underneath the armor was in fact Pixel. His body was made of incredibly fine cubes. She hadn't even been able to tell until she was this close to him. It was like Trey's phone, or the 'Samus' person he was dressed as - a 'video game'.

It had to be a Skill, but the real question was: was that really Pixel? Or was it a golem or other simulacrum?

His mana certainly looked natural. She'd never encountered a golem that had damaged magical ability before. Even higher powered Undead had intact mana vessels.

Could that be the reason for his abyssal pool size? Was he keeping it low to try and heal? Had the fight with the armies worn him out that much? So much that the one-on-one conflict with the Djinni had hurt him far more than anyone would've guessed?

He must have exacerbated his injuries by continuing to attack Nerrhavia's Fallen until they finally retreated. Perhaps that was why he was in his current form.

Yes. The more she looked, the clearer she could see it. He was healing. His right arm and the sides of his head were strangely doing better. That wasn't something an artificial body would do. She wondered if Pixel even knew? It looked so lop-sided and haphazard...

"We can discuss things here." The [Archmage] led them into another room. There was a long table and several chairs. Additionally, there were cubby holes at the sides connected to a large tank in the wall. The tank had more cubes in it. The drawers had utensils for eating.

All the cubes were very disconcerting.

"Thank you, [Archmage]." The Quarass sat at a chair as gracefully as a small child could. Trey was looking around with wide eyes as he sat down. Gazi moved to stand behind him. She was here as a bodyguard, not a [Diplomat].

"Would you like any refreshments?" Pixel asked as he sat down. "I'm sure you must miss something from Earth."

"Wait, what?" Trey looked at him with surprise.

"Go on." Their host nodded. "Ask for any food you want, and it will appear in front of you." His head turned towards the Quarass while his eyes briefly flickered towards Gazi. "I don't have the recipes for all of this world's cuisine, but I suspect you'll be able to get most anything you'd desire too, Quarass."

"You speak freely of Earth, Pixel." The Quarass replied.

"True, but you seem unsurprised, unlike when I revealed I knew young Trey's name."

"Oh? Should I have pretended to be shocked?" She arched an eyebrow. "My understanding is that your very appearance flaunts that fact for all to see."

"Yes, and there are quite a number of people in the world that would recognize my form, aren't there?"

"I'm sure I couldn't say."

Neither of them seemed unfazed by the other one's probing statements. Whatever [Diplomat]-style maneuvering they were doing was going over Gazi's head. If indeed there was a hidden meaning to their words. Of all the Seven, she was perhaps the worst at socializing outside of Flos' presence - and that was saying something. Their conversation was interrupted before she managed to figure out who was winning, or what the prize was.

"Fish and chips. Oh, and cheese on toast with Worcestershire sauce! And some orange juice!" Trey drummed his fingers on the table.

The tank in the wall churned and cubes fed from it into another collection of squares. A plate teleported under it as food materialized on top. The finished product then teleported onto the table in front of Trey. The process repeated with a glass mug and an orange liquid.

"Juice, Trey?" The Quarass raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't had any in forever." He took a sip from the mug and sighed with contentment. Soon he was devouring the food with a gusto. It was interesting how it too was made of cubes, but broke down as it was chewed. Trey didn't comment on any strange texture, which was a little surprising.

"Remarkable, [Archmage]." The Quarass hummed. "Do you have eels and glossberries?"

"I have a number of eel dishes, but I'm afraid that I have yet to sample glossberries or any dishes that might contain them." Pixel paused. "Allow me to provide you with a small sample of eel dishes that might please you instead." Without any movement or magic that Gazi could see, the artifact in the walls activated again and dish after dish appeared in front of the diminutive Quarass. "Brazed eel on rice." Pixel nodded at the bowl that had sticks to the side like Drathian cuisine. "Eel stew." A flat dish with strips of meat mixed with colorful vegetables. "And an eel stuffed with berries, nuts, and spices." The final dish was an intact-looking eel that wrapped around itself so that its tail was in its own mouth. A pot of tea and some cups were the final addition.

Everything was composed of small cubes.

"They look interesting, Pixel. I shall enjoy partaking of a dish I've never eaten before." The Quarass took the sticks that were to the side and began to delicately eat the first dish. She held them in a way that let her both tear into the roasted meat and grab dainty clumps of rice.

Neither her nor Trey seemed concerned about the possibility of poison. Gazi didn't see any, but the strange food could easily be blocking her sight. Trey's gusto seemed more rooted in nostalgia, while the Quarass was a master of poisoncraft. Whether by Skill or artifact, she was doubtlessly protected.

"And you, Gazi?" Pixel's eyes looked up at her from underneath his helmet.

"No, thank you." She didn't want to sit or talk or eat. That wasn't something she was good at or enjoyed.

As if sensing her discomfort, Pixel let the matter drop. He instead made small talk with the Quarass about the food, and talked to Trey about something named 'Metroid'. She'd get the details from him later, and then probably hear them again once Flos asked for a retelling of their adventure.

The Half-Elf skulked around a few rooms away. She cast no Spells, but she was clearly eavesdropping with her superior hearing. Gazi wondered if Pixel knew and had given her permission, or if he didn't care.

The only other features of note were four small square pillars on the surface next to the cursed land, and a pile of heads in room on the lowest floor. That was odd. They were a uniform shade of grey and looked melted somehow. She didn't recognize what monster they were from.

Most likely some sort of Alchemical supplies.

Finally, the Quarass set her utensils down and pushed the plates away. She'd eaten a fair amount considering her size, but there was plenty of food left. "I apologize for wasting the food you prepared, [Archmage]."

"Nonsense." He waved his hand and the table was cleared except for the tea pot and a cup. Gazi noticed another artifact in the wall activating and the tank the supplied the first slightly refill. "Now I think we were trying to infer details about each other from oblique statements?"

"Yes." The Quarass smiled. "But I think I should be more direct. The King of Destruction wishes an audience."

"Is it normal for such an illustrious group to come and deliver a simple invitation?" Pixel's eyes looked at Trey.

"No, but you're a difficult person to get in contact with." The Quarass leaned back slightly in her seat. "Normally such missives would be seen to by a courier, but you've hidden yourself well. It was not even known that you were still in Tiqr."

"Hmm..." Pixel frowned underneath his helmet. Gazi found that masked people let their emotions play on their faces without care since they didn't know she could see them. That was one of the reasons she never let her stoic facade drop.

Not that she had a suitable helmet to use. The one that had been offered with her armor blocked all magic, which prevented her eyes from working. Flos had suggested using a lesser one, but it would still interfere with her abilities. Just because she COULD see through something didn't mean she ignored it completely. It was more like... looking through a thick fog.

Possible, but also limiting in what she could see far away.

"I hadn't intended for... important people to not be able to get a hold of me." He drummed his fingers on the table. "I anticipated message spells, not visitors."

"Could you build something like this above ground?" Trey asked. "I'm sure if you did, you'd get lots of visitors."

"Yes." Pixel shook his head. "But not friendly ones."

"You fear Nerrhavia's Fallen." The Quarass stated.

"I fear what they might try to do to strike back at me." The [Archmage] replied grimly. "You saw the area above us? The blighted section of land?" He waited for the Quarass and Trey to both nod. "Nerrhavia's Fallen did that. I had build a tower here to launch my attacks and proclamations from. A sturdy defense that could withstand most armies."

It didn't seem like a boast, more like a statement of fact. It reminded Gazi of Drevish's confidence in his architecture. She couldn't say if it was misplaced or not.

"What happened?" Trey asked.

"You don't know?"

Trey shook his head while the Quarass answered. "There were scrying records of your first appearance. There's even one of your entire speech, but most of them start mid-way. The magic you used was indeed witnessed by a great many people, but after that?" She shrugged. "I cannot speak for what details other countries might have, especially those that were personally involved, but Relm did not know Nerrhavia's Fallen retaliated, only that you arrived in person in a rage. I think I can understand your wrath now."

"And the Djinni?"

"There are recordings of the fight in the skies of Tiqr, but only those from a great distance were able to follow the flow of battle. Accusations of a Djinni used as a tool of war have been whispered, but nothing has come of it. If it were a smaller country doing so, then a larger one might censor them."

"But here the largest country is Nerrhavia's Fallen." Pixel frowned again. "And not everywhere has seen me, and those that have might have trouble getting in contact with me..."

"Is that a problem? If it's fame you seek-"

"No." Pixel held up a hand. "Not fame in the way you would think of it. What I want is..." His arm moved and he pointed at Trey.

Gazi tensed. She would protect Trey, but even escaping on her own was probably impossible. She had confidence that her armor could block any attack, and she could dodge any blows or spells aimed at her head... but that was based on being able to see them coming.

"Me?" Trey asked. "Specifically?"

"No." Pixel's head remained looking at Trey, but his eyes shifted to stare at Gazi. "Not you in particular. My goal is to protect all those from Earth."

The Quarass seemed unaffected by the sudden tension and leaned back in her chair. "So that's why you were so upfront about Earth."

"Yes." Pixel turned towards her and lowered his arm. "I wanted to see just how much Trey had told you."

"Wait... Is that how you knew my name?" Trey's hand crept towards where his staff was leaning against the table.

"I know the names of everyone who was taken from Earth before I was."

Silence.

It was a simple statement, but the implications altered... Gazi didn't quite know, but it at least seemed like this wasn't about to devolve into violence.

"So we're on the news?" Trey was the first to speak up.

"Yes." Pixel looked back at the other Earther. "You and Teressa's disappearance is only theorized along with many other people who have gone missing. However, there have been some public ones that have started to cause an uproar." Under his mask, his eyes narrowed. "I see. You two arrived together."

"What?" Trey's eyebrows rose up. "What makes you say that?"

"You're not surprised to hear of your twin sister's fate." Pixel replied calmly as the Quarass nodded along with him. "It's not a large assumption to make."

"Trey, the [Archmage] knew your name." The Quarass took a sip from her teacup. "Obviously he knew of your sister too." She took on a lecturing tone. "I thought he had some means of obtaining information and had been spying on us, but it made little sense that he would recognize you but not me in that case. Gazi is famous as a named adventurer, and has a unique appearance, so her being known isn't odd." She set her cup down. "Possessing knowledge from Earth was the most likely scenario."

So even under the armor, and without any Skills, the Quarass had recognized that Pixel hadn't expected her to speak first up above. Unless, that was, that there was a deeper game going on. Flos had never been one for innuendo and sly remarks, and Gazi hadn't needed to be eloquent as an adventurer.

"And there's my appearance." Pixel added. "To anyone from Earth, I'm instantly recognizable. Even if they are philistines that haven't played Metroid."

Philistines? Metroid? What were those? The eye Gazi always kept looking at Trey saw him give an eye-roll of his own. A joke? An Earth reference?

"If you visit the King of Destruction, you may find an ally against Nerrhavia's Fallen." The Quarass took a sip of her tea.

"I don't need an ally, I just need to speak to whomever is in charge and get them to agree to a peace treaty."

Gazi had an idea about that. Mars had been granted an audience with the past [Queen] when she was young, and it should still be an option. But she decided not to speak up. Doing so might ingratiate herself to Pixel, or it might rob Flos of a bargaining chip. When in doubt, remain silent.

Pixel glanced at her again, as if he knew what she was thinking. He almost certainly had at least one diplomatic Skill, but probably not telepathy. Like any named adventurer, Gazi had multiple artifacts to prevent such underhanded tactics.

"Well, you have some time yet if that's your goal." The Quarass leaned forward. "Nerrhavia's Fallen is forming an army to march on Tiqr again as we speak, but even a nation as large as it has trouble with marshaling against multiple fronts at the same time."

The implied alliance lingered in the silence that followed.