Humans ate to sustain themselves. The thought of food reminded Yves of his potatoes, crammed away somewhere in one of the chests. The craving was intense, but he knew his body would not tolerate it. Oh gods, he would need at least another three weeks to reach the Barnstream settlements.
“Three weeks is more than half over,” Twig pointed out.
“It’s only three more weeks until you reach the settlements,” Mushroombird added.
“Three more weeks to live a full-eights life,” Twig reassured.
“I will not last for three weeks,” said Yves.
“The Jabarrah will keep you alive,” Twig reminded him. “Focus on that.”
“There will be a healer,” said Mushroombird.
“You cannot be sure,” said Yves. The northern Barnstream region was sparsely populated, and even though healers settled there every so often, their presence was uncertain. When Yves had stayed in Bertellems six years ago, there had been only one single healer for the entire array of settlements. He could not rely on him, or any others, still being there.
“The Wizard With Six Arms is there,” said Twig.
“Yes. He will fix your body. He fixes everything,” affirmed Mushroombird.
“Everything except my eyes,” said Yves. And even in all other, more pressing matters, The Wizard With Six Arms was his absolute last oh fuck no there must be another way resort.
“The Witch Mother will take care of your eyes,” said Mushroombird.
“I am not sure.”
“Of course,” said Mushroombird.
“The mirrors are broken.”
“One is. The other one looked kinda … all right?”
“That is just wishful thinking.”
“You made them once,” Twig reminded him. “You can make them again.”
But he really did not want to. And even if he did, even if he somehow managed to gather all the components and to build and enchant another ethereal mirror, Yves could not simply enter the Mirror Dimension again. Even if he found the Crystalline Trench, retrieved its crystals and returned to the witch mother before going blind, he would still have to fulfil her third demand — unspecified, but something that required him to access and wield magic in the Mirror Dimension. Whatever it was, Yves could not enter. He would shift right into the Vicha.
Pages: