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Ari's out collecting mushrooms on the Blood Moor.
Yes, there are demons, and zombies, and once he saw some bipedal cows with halberds for some reason, and yes, they could theoretically kill him. But he has a very sharp scythe, and he can conjure fire and lightning at his whim, and just in general, Ari can take care of himself.
Uncle Deckard told him not to go too far. Ari told him to go teach his grandmother to suck eggs.
"It's sold and bought by people that made the decision to live one or two years less," says a very youthful looking man, a tad defensively.
"And you're currently our best point of contact with your world," Dawn says in a reassuring tone, "that much Youth is the amount necessary to give us a reasonable guarantee that you're going to stick around for a couple of years."
Felix approaches Cain to speak quietly in his ear. "Ari generates Youth and might be able to keep someone young forever, but sharing it is a skill that takes time learning. You can take it now and give it back later if it still bothers you."
Cain exhales. "If Ari can leverage his... unique heritage... to return the investment, then I will accept." He smiles wryly. "I would feel more comfortable accepting my nephew's aid directly, but I recognize that I am not presently making the best show of my health."
"I can't say you look strong enough to survive the end of the world," Thomas says a bit too loudly to count as a whisper.
There are polite chuckles all around.
"That's settle then," Dawn announces which dismisses the meeting.
People immediately start to scatter into more individual conversations.
The youthful-looking-man makes his way towards Cain, he hooks arms. "Hi, dear. Me and my assistants are here to treat you with all sort of nice protection magic and youth. Important question, do you want to keep the wizened old looks?"
"Not at all. Youth on itself does not reverse that much, not in the surface. But we are going to load you up with all kinds of nice things."
They go to another room, one with several ritual circles on the ground and assistants waiting.
The boys follow Cain, but are told to wait by the door and be quiet.
The man starts with the Youth transfer, which feels to unique to describe. A surprisingly solid sensation that goes deep into his bones.
Most of what Cain has to do is stand inside the circles while the assistants perform various inscrutable actions. At some point they ask him to remove his shirt for the applications of a strong-smelling paint, but overall it's not a very interactive process.
There is a mirror on one of the walls, the de-aging process is too slow to notice while looking, but by the end of it he does look younger than just two decades.
Deckard Cain with his shirt off looks rather like a half-melted candle, but they're probably used to that.
Once he's de-aged, he looks... remarkably good. This is, after all, a man who managed to live past the age of eighty in a pre-industrial world; this is not something that happens without good genetics. Age sixty, he's not exactly a model, but he's got a full head of thick russet hair (silvering at the temples only slightly) and a body like a man who has been hiking through the wilderness for his entire natural lifespan.
He looks in the mirror, marveling at himself. "Will someone-" He starts at the sound of his own voice, no longer nearly as rasping and croaky. He clears his throat and continues. "Will someone get me a knife? I'd like to shave this beard."
People are happy to provide a knife, a bowl and even shaving cream.
Henry eyes Deckard down and turns to Gabe.
"Not quite young enough," Gabe whispers, "but hopefully enough to freak out Ari a little bit. That would be hilarious."
Once he's shaved, Deckard Cain is more or less unrecognizable. His rather prominent nose is the only real point of commonality with the face he bore a few hours ago. Even his formerly terrifying eyebrows have receded somewhat from their overgrown state.
"I feel like a new man," he says wonderingly. "I am very grateful to you all. But don't think I didn't hear that, Gabe."
"Good to know you have working ears."
Apparently this is enough for the various sorcerers to kick them out of the room.
"I do feel ready for whatever further discussion is necessary," Cain mentions. "Abruptly being twenty years younger is very revitalizing, if you'll forgive the pun."
"It's a common sentiment and I'm sure Dawn will enjoy your company."
Dawn can easily be found. Apparently have a quiet, but heated discussion with two other people wearing the same uniform as her.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Cain says. "But I'm ready to resume our meeting whenever is convenient."
Meanwhile, in another world, Li-Ming and company step off the New Tristram waypoint, their leader holding a glowing sword.
"That was... interesting," Li-Ming says thoughtfully.
They've sent various peoples to guard the waypoint and scout the immediate area around the known waypoints.
They offered their help so they happen to be around when the expedition returns. "Interesting?" Henry asks, approaching.
"Well, it turns out I'm the scion of an ancient race of god-kings known as the Nephalem," Li-Ming explains airily. "Which does somewhat explain how great I am."
"I'm fine," Ari says, giving Gabe a hug. "Li-Ming is really good at killing things! I want to fight her sometime."
"Get in line. You're after that creepy lady with butterfly wings who wanted the sword."
"Yep. She was a witch, she had these... butterfly imps, attached to her shoulders? It was creepy. And she wanted the sword. But we killed the minions she sent to get it, and we got it instead. Nyah."
"We didn't see her in person, just an illusion of her. And she said she was a servant of Belial."
"The demon of lies? And why do you think she wanted the sword?"
"Perhaps she thought it would look nice on her mantel."
(The sword does look rather nice.)
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