Dilapidated exterior walls and a small porch damaged by moisture had been left as is, but the interior of the little shed-like building had been upgraded significantly with proper insulation as well as a brighter, more cozy lighting.

The space had been fitted with some small but well-made furniture that made it at least slightly bearable to spend time there until they could find more permanent lodging for the oracle. She had upgraded him from a cold, naked prison cell to a comfortable room after their meeting in Luna. Doing the same for her was the least he could do.

She had effectively betrayed her entire people. That she had been acting in their best interest was probably neither something they would be interested in hearing nor something they would even believe if they did. This would have to become her new home whether she liked it or not

Sinki, Hannan, and Wapan'aksh were all inside with the oracle. Even though it had been a little while since they had come back, the young woman who had led the cult of Moon Shall Swallow until just a little over a week ago looked utterly shaken. Almost as if she was in shock.

She was sitting on a bed when Eik stepped inside. The sheets were decorated with a pattern of hand-sewn flowers in at least six different colors. Vendekaabe was on his knees by her side, his head bowed low, and judging by the demeanors of three other members of Eik's rescue party, he had been there a while.

The oracle didn't seem to pay him any attention at all. As a matter of fact, she did not seem to be paying attention to anything at all that was going on around her with how she was staring into middle space, her gaze seemingly completely devoid of consciousness.

Eik took a few more steps into the room, waving gently at her. "Hey, oracle, I see they found you all right. That's good. I'm happy we were able to get you out when we did," he said, and when she didn't look up or give any sign that she had heard him, he walked a little closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's up? Are you all ri—"

"No, no! Eik, don't do tha—!" Wapan'aksh tried, lunging for his hand, but it was already too late.

The moment his fingers touched her robe, she gasped in pure horror as she flinched away from his hand, her eyes going wide as plates. Like a frightened cat she leapt back and pressed herself up against the corner, both feet planted on her pillow.

"… She doesn't respond well to… well, anything right now," Wapan'aksh finished, her hand dropping down to hang limply by her waist. "She's been like this ever since we got back."

Eik shuffled over to them, his eyes never leaving the oracle as he held up his hands in a show of peace. "Why?"

"We're really not sure," Sinki said. "But she was actually super cooperative when we first got to her and fled during your fight with Oru the Devourer. She seemed eager enough to get away. Then, once we made it through the first fracture from Luna on the way back, her behavior basically did a one eighty shift into what you're seeing now."

Eik glanced at her as she slowly sunk into a sitting position on the bed, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. "How the hell did you get her all the way back with you?"

"I mean, she's really not that strong," Wapan'aksh noted. "I always thought their oracle would be, like, crazy powerful, but I guess her talents aren't exactly suited for combat. We forced her along for a few minutes, but eventually it made more sense for Sinki to put her to sleep."

"Huh…" Eik breathed, now looking at Vendekaabe. "What about you? Any theories?" he asked.

The cultist didn't even bother to lift his head but answered the question nonetheless. "I have a guess."

"You never mentioned that," Hannan said.

"You never asked."

Hannan began to roll up her sleeves. "You little shit! Why, I ougtha—"

"All right, all right, let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Eik said, stepping in between them. "Seriously, man, why didn't you say anything until then?"

Vendekaabe offered a momentary side-eye. "Look, I'm very grateful to all of you for what you have done for my Lady, but I only really know you, Eik, and a few of your friends and family. I would never volunteer sensitive information about my Lady to people I don't know."

Eik glanced back at the three others. Hannan was already rolling her sleeves back down again. "Yeah, okay, I get that," she muttered under her breath.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"All right, that's fine then. So what's your theory?"

"It's simple, really," the cultist began. "My Lady had never left our world. And to be precise, she had never even left Luna. Ever. Given how powerful her abilities of precognition and prophecy are, my best guess is that her senses are simply overwhelmed to the point where she is currently fighting to keep herself from going insane. Any external stimulus is probably nearly unbearable as her brain attempts to process only the input she is receiving through her mind."

"And what can we do?" Eik asked.

"I don't think even she expected to have this extreme of a reaction to the change of environment so I really can't say with any certainty. My guess would be that she simply needs time though. Time and tranquility. The less additional, external stimulus to distract her brain from processing everything she's experiencing the better. I think…" he finished, swallowing, finally lifting his head to stare at his oracle with worry.

"Can't Sinki calm her with an ability or something? Or put her to sleep to give her mind a break? Maybe a reset will help," Wapan'aksh asked.

"Honestly, I don't think that's a good idea," Sinki said, scratching his chin as he studied the oracle. Her lips were moving as if speaking but no sound came out. "It's totally possible that it would work but when we don't actually know what's wrong with her, it could exacerbate her symptoms. With care, especially magical care, it is also very important to remember that inappropriate treatment can worsen or even kill. That's why diagnosis is crucial—and I just don't know what this is. I can't find anything in her that should have caused this, so it's pretty clear to me that her condition has an internal origin. I think it's best to leave her be for now. At least until we find a way to help her."

"All right," Eik said. "That's good enough for me. Let's get out of here for now then. Vendekaabe, you can go back and stay with Andihar again for now. The plan was to have the oracle do the same, but I think it's best to let her be on her own here for now."

The cultist did not look pleased with that suggestion. He bowed to Eik and then to Andihar. "Thank you. I appreciate that. But I would like to stay here until my Lady is better, if you don't mind."

Eik frowned. "But didn't you just say we shouldn't bother her?"

Vendekaabe held up his hands. "Ah, no, I won't stay in her room. I… I could never. I will stay on the porch outside."

Eik gave it some thought. "I'll get you a tent or something."

When they stepped back outside, the Alliance officials had left. "They said they would be back soon," Olivia told him, kicking the tall grass in the yard and sending soil three meters into the air.

"Great… Hey, guys," he said and turned to Sinki, Hannan, and Wapan'aksh. "Can you guys hang around here for another couple of hours? I'll have some food sent over in the next half hour and find someone to relieve you in a couple of hours."

"You got it, boss!" Hannan promised with a grin.

"Sweet, thanks. Oh, and here's your payment, with a bonus for being good teammates." He tossed each of them two pills of Eik's Legendary Mystery Medicine, one being an additional. That was a total of three for their work. Very good pay considering how quickly the mission had ended. Some missions could take weeks or even months and pay less than that.

"Oh… Wow," Wapan'aksh exclaimed, immediately taking both pills. "Do you need help with anything else?"

"Not right now, thanks," Eik laughed.

"Same here. I'll do anything, oh, great lord Magnasen!" Hannan drawled with a mock bow.

"Good to know. Now, I think I'm going to go home and see my two sweet girls. Can you help me pay my respects, and pay money, to the families of those we lost later?" he asked Andihar.

"Of course," the S-ranked elf said with a nod.

"Thanks. Now go see your family."

***

Eik spent the rest of the day hanging out with Bin and Ihasu. His dad, Olivia, Heath, and Michael came over for dinner. In the evening he went back to check on the oracle but there had been no improvement yet. And Vendekaabe was checking on her every hour or so, worried out of his mind.

The next day they gathered all of the A-rankers, including a representative of the Omega guild to which some of the raiders belonged. Everybody received their payment and walked away satisfied.

Eik had made a good first impression, and anytime he needed help from high-rankers in the future, he was pretty sure nearly each and every one of them would stumble over each other to be the first to sign up. It was important to have your own people to call on and not rely entirely on the help of those above you.

Then he spent the rest of the day visiting every family he could reasonably get to. Being A-rankers, a good number of them had eventually moved to Gimleh at some point during their careers, making it possible for Eik and Andihar to find them.

The ones who had lived in their home worlds or elsewhere outside the primary world of the Alliance were too difficult to get to. Individuals didn't simply walk into the member worlds without an invitation or the proper documents.

Nearly all of the families were surprised to find Eik, an employer who had only known the deceased for a single day, standing on their doorstep, offering his condolences and offering to pay for any funeral services that were culturally customary on top of the payment of one pill for each family. He also gave them the option of receiving a sum of money equal to the value of such a pill.

He sent missives to those he couldn't visit in person, offering the same.

"This is very commendable, Eik. Most people wouldn't have the stones to look these families in the eyes, and some wouldn't even care," Andihar complimented.

"I feel so guilty…" Eik muttered.

"I get it, but they knew the risks. There is no blame to be shouldered. The integrity you're showing here will foster future loyalty."

"I'm not sure I want loyalty. Mutual trust is good enough for me."

Andihar smiled. "Fair enough. What are you going to do until the oracle recovers?"

Eik sighed as they strolled through Gimleh. Soon they would part ways and go home. "Remember the Gohkamorians saying they would come to Earth. Well, while we were away, they informed my company that they would visit tomorrow. So I guess I'm dealing with that."

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