Taramo was on the rooftop keeping watch of the flying people. There were to of them, one of whom had natural wings and the other who used a magic solution with a cape that acted like wings but propelled them in a way new to him. There must have been some innovations in enchanting he wasn't privy to yet, being in a ghost city dead long before the nation it was in fell. The fliers hadn't gone in the direction where there were people, noticeable from the sky relatively easily by the light from the watch in the inky blackness of the new moon. If not for mana Taramo would have been completely unable to see them, and even with it he needed Ariwyn's help to notice them in a timely manner.

  The exact reason for their presence would be uncertain, though they lacked the huge tether so they wouldn't be from Adras. He was an intelligent man who knew to keep his nose out of other's business once bitten.

  Taramo hadn't heard of other divinities being interested in the city though it was a good location for learning magic, ley lines were prolific though further distance from them made them less effective. A space cleared of dangerous animals that would have grown stronger on that mana makes Tarnox an inticing bite for any person who wants power for itself.

  "Nikalia." One of the vine tendrils was at the roof, had been planted when Taramo decided to live here, and Ariwyn used it to focus her speech, "She lived off selling her silk. Perhaps they are people who came to purchase?"

  "You are too reasonable. Is she asleep yet?"

  "No."

  A thrown rock and nearly enraged Iron spider-golem got Nikalia up. She looked like she needed the sleep.

  "No. It's fine." She rubbed the bags under her eyes, "I normally let them know when I was ready. It was every few weeks so I guess I missed two shipments. The Sylph sisters normally would stop in if that happens but I did move."

  "Teroced, moth wanderers." Ariwyn decided to interject, "They tend to be more cautious since they don't have a great divine to protect them." The sort of being like Adras with his hundreds of priests that would ruin armies. Being unnoticed was a good strategy, though one unavailable to him. "The two are approaching your old home. One is human. He is very heavily armed."

  "They never brought a human with them before ..."

  "Then we'll have to make sure they're friendly before little Niki meets them."

  "I've lived millenia longer than you. I can keep myself-" And despite her outburst Taramo ruffled Niki's hair, assured that since it was completely unkempt before the damage to her time would be minimal. Taramo departed quickly afterwards since Iron took offense to the 'desecration' of his dear mistress.

  ---

  Austalir went with his guide to an associate's home. His guide bought the exquisite silks from this associate, and someone able to acquire spider silk of such a quality would be strange enough to make living in a dead city merely an oddity. Travelling over the ancient city was strange, something he thought would be momentous except now that he was here it was worse than mundane. Boring.

  There were two points that had light, smoke, and people to go with it, though they wouldn't appreciate the visitors in the middle of the night. In the best case scenario they would have his apprentice imprisoned and ready for ransom.

  "The great Nikalia will have beds available for us." But Juliette gasped when they approached the tower her associate's home. He was surprised too.

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  There was a silk curtain, something ridiculously expensive, waving in the wind. Someone who farmed spidersilk in this old city would have an abundance, but would they really have enough to leave their curtain behind after being torn? The room behind was completely empty, by cause of abandonment or looting.

  "She hadn't moved since My grandmother was born." Juliette whispered, probably to herself. Then she spoke to Austalir "We'll need to find someplace safe. There's a few hideaways we have in the city. One ought to have survived."

  Austalir looked out at the city, then felt something poke him.

  It wasn't physical, being a prod in his essence, his soul, his magical source. The backpack hidden by his cloak flared to life in his self defense. Six metalic tendrils, each with a different wand attached to the end, leapt out from under the cloak and surveyed the area, ready to strike anything that they decided was a threat. Austalir let them. He'd felt intentionality from that prod.

  Precision. It hadn't damaged him only because the caster hadn't wanted to, only to get his attention. That prod could have been his end and the caster was still hidden.

  The enchanter felt a drain on his mana-battery as three of his sentries sent their spells at the next tower on the wall. A flame mixed with a raw desire to grasp and hold onto living things, a beam of micro-teleportation that would rip any non-magical barrier apart in moments and roared like a dragon, and a wave of bubbles that were designed to pierce any barrier since they did no damage on their own and only marked the enemy so they could be found later.

  The gout of flame curved towards a standing figure who did not dive away and instead embraced the fire. It winked out as the mana was tweaked, just enough that it could be absorbed by the monstrously skilled mage. The micro-teleportation beam was refracted upwards, dissolving as it hit the ley lines which overpowered the intent. The bubbles were popped all except for one, which the figure touched. The mark was set onto him and almost immediately halted.

  "Interesting." The voice of the figure a street away was quiet, but Austalir could hear it as if it was being said into his ear. "Now who sent you after my friend Niki?"

  A second volley was sent before Austalir ordered his sentries to stand down. Effortlessly dispatched.

  Rumor was that someone had killed one of Adras' priests. The priest of Newport was nearly in open rebellion after some orders according to the prince and had to be forced to remain in her temple. Someone with this level of skill could have killed an avatar of a god. He could be one himself.

  "Who sent you here. Did Adras break his word or has someone else decided to claim Tarnox?" He felt a small pressure, the abscence of the regular pressure that was the steady regeneration of mana. It curved around him and Juliette, repelled from them. He had to answer. Had to say something but the pressure was not lessening.

  "No one ... My apprentice ... Abducted." He felt the safe pressure rush back in, slower than would happen from merely releasing the hand on the weave. A quick reintroduction would arrive like a wave and behave like an attack. He had plans to use that in proximity mines, though it was 'unethical' and 'highly dangerous to all mages' so he wasn't allowed to study the methods. His self study in self-imposed exile wasn't going far either.

  The person was walking towards them. Along the wall

  "We have to go now." Juliette hadn't heard his talk with the person and was trying to get Austalir to flee.

  "He shouldn't hurt us. Run if you must." and she was gone.

  Austalir landed on the wall beside the abandoned residence and waited for the slow approach. The figure had a large black cloak covering most of him though visible was the head with short cropped hair. A tentacle rose from the cloak and opened to glow with internal light. A strange blossom.

  The face looked strangely familiar. Like his apprentice's uncle, or other close relation, but not quite. The skin had a slight green tinge that wasn't from sickness and some lines remeniscent of leaves were barely noticeable on his face.

  Then he was in arms reach, offering a hand.

  "You're Alice's master? Good to meet you. I'm, Taramo. She's back at the house. I'll show you the way once-"

  A scream of excitement "Lady Nikalia! You're alive!"

  "Good. We'll get them and go back. I'm tired and don't want to spend the whole night up." The vine wrapped around Taramo was moving independently, appearing to give Austalir a look before returning to the place of a loose necklace. It maintained a strong link to mana, ready to act if Austalir made any wrong move.

  I'm the guest of a godkiller. Austalir resignedly thought before he was surprised by the spider woman who joined them in the return trip. No wonder she could sell silk at such a good price.