Chapter#05

"No, please. Stay where you are." Beth sat on a nearby chair and appraised the naga. The scale patterns that shimmered across Ratu's skin had finally returned, and her fangs were a normal size now. Still, she looked paler than normal, and whenever the naga shifted, she winced. "Guess you and the Labyrinth are going to need more time."

Ratu nodded. "The magic I used to survive was not a spell to be taken lightly. I essentially became one with the earth as much as possible without losing myself. My recovery is speeding up, however, and I expect to be in good health in the next few months. Maybe then I can tackle the secrets of the Grimoire."

The Grimoire was a book of magic bound in leather with an apple on the cover. The house had been attacked on multiple occasions based only on rumors of the book's existence. During the most devastating attack, Beth had managed to take it back from the shadow just prior to his untimely demise. For now, the Grimoire was being held in a safe place where nobody could get to it—inside the belly of a friendly mimic.

A centaur wandered over with a silver platter that contained a pitcher and some cups. The centaurs were amazing healers, but Ratu had demanded that she herself oversee the repairs to her home. At the moment, a small team of them occupied the naga's lair and did their best to help.

"So, what's new with you? It's been a couple of weeks since I've wandered down here."

"Not much, I'm afraid. Much of my research was destroyed. What little I have left is either a complete mystery or merely parts of a larger puzzle. Some of the artifacts I had in storage were also destroyed, so now there's wild magic down here." The naga frowned, then shook her head. "It's a little bit like the scarabs from last night. Magic is bouncing around everywhere, just looking for a new home. I've had the rats bring me plenty of replacement items, so if you see random objects lying around, that's what those are for, and you should definitely not touch them."

"It's not...something I should be worried about, is it?" Beth suddenly felt like she had exposed herself to danger by coming here.

"It's very rare for enchantments to be able to cross from objects to living tissue. Based on my research, you shouldn't see any harmful effects." Ratu frowned. "However, one of the destroyed objects was something Dana brought me to reverse her curse. It was a terrible loss."

"Oh." Beth wasn't sure how to respond to that. Ratu and Dana had been working together to find a way to undo her curse. Dana had been killed by a necromancer, who had then fused her soul to her body. Unable to ever truly die, her eternal destiny was locked to her new zombie form, which presented some serious ramifications if the spell could never be undone. Dana had gone on a long trip to hunt down some magical items that could reverse the spell, but the trip was a mixed success when she couldn't find them all.

Beth was certain the news would be devastating. "Does she know yet?"

Ratu shook her head. "She doesn't. My hope is that the enchantment from the flask will eventually find a new home and it won't be an issue. Even if I still had the flask, I'm in no condition to pursue a cure for Dana's plight. I haven't been in a state like this since—"

The naga paused, then frowned. "Never mind. Anyway, now that you're here, I have a favor to ask." She reached into the pocket of her sleeve and withdrew a crystalline vial. Inside, a black liquid sloshed around.

Beth recognized it immediately. Some time ago, a demon had imprinted a part of his soul onto hers as a way to control her. After Mike destroyed the demon, the demon's soul fragment had tried to take over her body. Ratu had built a device to filter it out, and then bottled up the resulting ooze.

"What do you want me to do with that?"

Ratu held up the vial and gave it a shake. It was like staring into the void, for light didn't reflect off of its contents properly. "I've been racking my brain to try and figure out why the shadow tried to take this from me. I can think of several reasons, and none of them are good. After much deliberation, I've decided that I would like it stored away in the Vault. I'm in no condition to destroy it, and need it kept safe."

Beth nodded, and took the vial. "Out of curiosity, why didn't you stick it in the Vault sooner?"

Ratu groaned in disgust. "My own stupid ego. I've been holding onto it ever since I could move around again, thinking I was the best person to keep it. However, last night, some of that wild magic attached itself to a robe I was wearing, and the fabric itself tried to strangle me. In a better state, I could easily manage an aura of protection, or detect the presence of magic. But...I'm not in a better state. If I can't even protect myself from an angry robe, then I definitely can't handle anyone who would come looking for that."

"I'll take care of it." Beth slid the vial into her pocket. She could feel an ominous chill where it rested, and wondered if it was a psychosomatic reaction or something more sinister.

They spent the rest of their visit discussing various things, but primarily Beth's spiritual health. Ever since the incident with the demon, Ratu had done frequent checkups to ensure that there were no lingering issues with Beth or her soul. Beth helped Ratu rearrange some of the magical artifacts she still had stored. This was usually a job for Asterion, but these objects had been damaged and required a more delicate touch than the minotaur could provide.