And while he waits, here's a somewhat lost but determined-looking boy, looking around in some bewilderment. His skin is very pale, almost white, as are his irises (though still distinguishable from the rest of his eyes). His eye is a pale grey, and he has feathery wings and claws. All in all, a fairly typical Ventari form.

He, too, is in the easy-to-remove robes that mark a professional mage.

Esdras look at him for a moment and decides to help. "Hello? Are you... lost?" Because that sounds like something safe enough to ask.

He starts and flutters his wings a bit when he's addressed. "Oh. No, not—exactly. I'm waiting for the balloon."

Nod. "You have business downside?"

"Mmm, no, I'm more of an explorer type, but it would appear you do?" He gestures with his head at the robes, arms crossed. "You a professional mage?"

"Personal business," Esdras summarizes, "and I am a post-cog, fed Aestes to Umbra. You?"

"Not professional," he shrugs. "Not old enough to be, anyway. Don't have any magical powers."

"Why the robes? Do you just like to shift often?"

"Yes, and also they're pretty gender-neutral which is a bonus for me—I'm genderfluid, for the record—plus I like the draught."

Esdras snorts. "I would've preferred better support while flying."

"Oh, no, I think flying like this is great."

"Do you? I guess there is some appeal."

The balloon is about to depart, anyone that still needs to rushes to get in. Esdras and Rafa end up being a little crushed against each other. "I knew staying in Umbra was a good idea."

"Am I complaining about the cute boy being pressed against me because of my wings? I am not. Watch me fail to complain."

Esdras looks at him in a different way but doesn't comment.

The Aestes conductor gets in and the balloon is untied. The controlled descent commences, some people are flying outside following the balloon's path, occasionally some of those help stir the ship by holding onto a side.

"What exactly do you want to explore downside? The obvious answer?"

"It's the obvious answer, yeah."

"Uh, do you have a plan?"

"Yes."

"Good. I know a couple of people down there. Well, I know people that know people down there."

"Well that's more than me. I know exactly no one."

"Oh? What exactly are you planning to do when you get there?"

"Find someone who'd like to join in on the plan of getting lots of new forms and figure out how it all works and why the monsters exist. Stuff like that."

"Er, did I step on something—I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"It's alright. I was just thinking of something. Do you at least have a place to stay? Means to support yourself?"

"Not really, no."

"I don't know if I should press onto you the importance of not relying on chance or random strangers. But I might end up going on an 'explore and get a lot of forms' sort of mission. And I might arrange for a place where you can stay."

"Really? Where? And, erm, why?"

"I am searching for my half-brother. We know that he is alive or our father would've sensed his death. But he went missing and as far I can tell went on exploring for new forms and never returned."

"—oh. I'm sorry." Given the way they're pressed together in the balloon the hesitancy might be moot, but: "Do you want a hug?"

"Sure."

Slightly squeezed hug.

Then after a moment of hugging Esdras unhugs. Which is to say he stops having his arms around Rafa, because they are still cramped against each other.

"We don't know exactly what he wanted to do besides exploring, but I am planning to find out. With some luck he just got indebted and can't leave the place or is in jail, but that we can deal with."

Unhug. "Debt? Why?"

Shrug. "It's the sort of place known for gambling and thievery. Since he is alive that is a likely explanation why he couldn't contact us."

He nods. "I see."

"Incidentally, don't gamble."

"Not planning to, but thanks for the advice," he laughs.

Esdras take the lull in the conversation as an opportunity to look out of the window.

"We are pretty close."

"Are we?"

He looks out, too.

He can see the settlement below them.

Well, he can see a large moat and wall covered in spikes around a large area. Most of the settlement is underground and there are only a few visible signs of civilization on the surface because otherwise it would attract monsters.

Oooh cool. In a terrifying sort of way.

There is a large flat circle on the ground, where the balloon lands. People start moving, Esdras looks at Rafa, quietly asking if he wants to come along.

Does he want to come along with the cute boy who offered food and lodgings and company?

Is the sky blue?

Well, in that case Esdras will lead the way.

They walk through the waterproof latch down a set of stairs carved into the stone. The place is illuminated by magical lights, but they look austere instead of upper class.

Esdras looks vaguely distracted. He is using his power to follow the past-image of his brother, at least until the tunnel opens to a large cavernous chamber. The stone-tiled floor is surprisingly elaborate and was set in place so only authorized people could reach it. This place works as a town square of sorts and there are several stalactites emanating lights from their tips.

Right opposite to the tunnel they walked out of there is the elaborate front of the Temple-Hospital. The visages of Petram and Ventari guard the main door, signaling that this is a Petram pool.

To their left there is the place that functions as tavern, inn and brothel. To their right there is the town's office, and beside those there are several tunnels worming their way through the earth, purposes unknown.

Esdras no longer focusing on the past walks to the place on the left.

—well alright, then.

"I don't have a Petram shape, should get one."

"I don't either, but while this isn't a guild pool they do have a waiting list for people that donate to skip ahead. Granted, I don't know how long the list is. Petrams aren't really that rare around these parts."

"We should look it up. Why are we doing to the brothel?"

"Uh? Oh, nothing worrisome. It's a good place to ask about people in towns like this, faster than the town's office. Trust me."

"Awww, and here I was hoping you were going to hire us some fun."

Snort. "No, just regular tracker work."

They get inside, there is energetic music by some percussion chordophone instrument. One of the female workers approaches them. "New in town and looking for fun, boys?"

"No, sorry. We are looking for a man."

"We have those."

"I meant a specific man, named Oran." Esdras gives her a description.

One of the woman's co-workers approaches Rafa. "What an awfully pretty face you have. If you are not looking for fun, maybe you are looking for a job?"

"—who, me?" he asks, blinking in confusion at first then breaking out in a delighted grin. "That's incredibly flattering and tempting."

"Madam Pomona does treat her girls and boys well and it is an easy way to make money."

Esdras has since acquired the information on Oran and starts inquiring about his brother, to which the woman mentions that she has work to do. Esdras gives her some coin for her trouble, then turns to Rafa and the other woman.

"We can go after Oran right now and settle in, see what he makes of you. Or we can eat something here, while I past-watch and you mind our stuff?"

"Mind my stuff?" he asks, still looking at the girl, tempted. He asks her, "And how much money are we talking, here? What are the work conditions, do I get a percentage of each customer..."

"You meant that as a suggestion or that you don't have stuff to mind?" Esdras asks.

The woman gives him a sales pitch on the working conditions and how much money you can make and it just sounds wonderful! A real seller's pitch. She hints that this establishment's workers (the place is called The Purple Rock) might get to skip ahead on the line to get new forms in exchange of favors. Esdras gives her suspicious looks without her noticing.

"I don't have stuff to mind," he answers distractedly, but inquires further about these favours and skipping ahead.

Esdras gives Rafa disbelieving looks. The woman simply explains "Well, we hardly could tell you the details, but you can guess the general area. I must say that none of the priests are into boys."

"That should not in fact be a problem. But it's—rather unethical to do it, people have been waiting a long time."

She rolls her eyes at "unethical" and then asks. "Not a problem?"

"I can shift into a girl."

That perks her interest. "Wow, could you show us that?"

"Well, would anyone mind if you took the two of us somewhere secluded so he can show his dance?"

"I don't exactly mind stripping naked here but it might give your customers the wrong impression."

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be out of place on the purple floor. But... follow me."

She leads the way to a small room, dimly lit. It doesn't look like one of "the accommodations," just a storage room.

"Show us?"

He unceremoniously drops the robe (quite fit, isn't he?), then closes his eyes and, showing no reaction to the pain—

—molts.

The whole process takes about a minute, and the shape underneath is another Ventari, very similar to the previous one he'd been using. Just, female.

Esdras looks away politely, it's not like molting is pleasant to look at.

"Wow," says the woman. "I... I am going to get someone."

And when she goes away: "Are you seriously considering this?" Esdras asks concerned.

"Sure, why not?" he asks, not going back to the gender du jour but not bothering to cover up either.

Esdras will not look in that direction. He might be blushing just a tad. "It's not a safe job, even less so in a town like this. More so if they think you are prized asset and thus something to keep around."

"I have my ways to not be kept around," he says, smirking. "But do sex workers not have a union, here? And would you prefer if I covered up?"

"This isn't the kind of place with unions. And yes please."

He puts the robes back on, shrugging his wings into the appropriate opening. "That makes me think I should stay here and create a union, to be honest."

"That would be a good social project, but I can't tell you how it can accomplished."

"Well, become a sex worker, lobby for rights, convince other sex workers that it'd be a good idea, make it a booming industry that will make this place be a touristic destination and perhaps stimulate the economy, creating incentives for more research into inhabiting downside and figuring out how to properly survive here."

"Presumably at least one of those steps would happen before the other... If it will help you can mention that you know a post-cog as a subtle way of implying that you are under protection."

"Well aren't you the white knight."

Before Esdras can answer that, a tall woman in a Petram with long purple hair and golden rings around her deep black horns comes in with the the sex worker from before. "I am Madame Pomona, deary, I was told there was an interesting and interested shift-dancer here?"

He once again shucks his robes—

—and shifts back.

"Interesting," Pomona says, kicking the molted skin with a hoof. "Can you change other attributes or just gender?"

"I can change the shape pretty arbitrarily, and can get multiple shapes of the same kind. As I've just shown." He puts his robes back on, for Esdras' sake.

"Multiple shapes? How precise is this? Can you do age?" Pomona asks.

Esdras fidgets uncomfortably. Pomona notices. "To look older," Pomona amends, "gerontophiles rarely have a chance to indulge."

"Quite precise, within my age, I cannot change that, sorry."

"Oh, darling," Madame Pomona smiles widely, "that is hardly your fault and if you can be otherwise very specific that opens up a lot of possibilities."

Esdras, who hasn't been comfortable with this entire situation, feels less so with that predatory smile on Pomona's face.

"I do still have to go to a pool to acquire a shape with a new face, though, I can't just change anything I have at will."

"How disappointing. Do you have other shapes them?" Pomona asks.

Esdras looks away in anticipation of nudity.

"Your modesty is rather peculiar, for a mage," he observes. "One would think you'd be used to people getting in and out of their robes as a matter of fact." Then, to Pomona: "I have the two Ventari, one male Bronto, one female Umbra, and one male Calamadara."

Esdras gives him a shrug.

"How come you have two Ventari?" Pomona asks.

"Wanted to have one of each sex," he shrugs.

"It's based on wanting or personal control?"

"I can pretty much choose what the new shape I'm getting is going to look like freely," he agrees.

"I mean, how did you acquire the second Ventari shape?"

"Spent several hours in a Pool."

Pomona's employee flinches slightly. "Did it take the usual amount of time?" Esdras asks.

"Yep," he says nonchalantly. "I have very high pain tolerance though."

"And you have already... tested it, so many think they can just dive into a pool and just be patient," Pomona muses. "It's probably won't come up, but would you custom-make a Petram shape?"

"I was already planning to, eventually."

"Oh?" Pomona asks.

"Well I do wanna get more forms, so," he shrugs.

"I meant in the sense of using someone's else preferences."

"...how much money are we talking here?"

"I would have to shop around. See who among my clients would be interested and in what, but it could reach..." Pomona names a figure, it's a pretty generous one.

"And how much of that would be your cut?" Esdras asks.

"Oh, well, just a mere third. I provide a service that requires discretion, your friend couldn't just go around announcing that he is willing to do this on the streets and expect anyone with good sense to stop and take him up on his offer."

He looks at Esdras. "Do we actually need money? That's a pretty generous figure and I can just consume the shape after I'm done with it."

Esdras thinks, mostly he wants a excuse to talk with Rafa where the two don't have anyone's prying eyes on them. "I think we should talk with my contact here first, if it turns out there is some schedule conflict between your... activities and mine we might have to plan."

"Very well." He looks at Pomona. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can?"

Pomona gives them an appraising look. "Sure darling."

"Well, Rafa, let's go then?" Esdras asks.

"Do let's." After him he goes.

When they are out of earshot: "Do you actually want to do this?"

"Could be a good way to get money, and fun besides. Plus I'm really good at sex, so, comparative advantage and all that."

"If you think you can go through it. I do advise to ask a lot before actually taking the job."

They walk into one of the many side tunnels, following the directions Esdras received. This area appears to be formed by a lot of small apartments and the lighting gets more and more fire-based. There is an unnatural wind renewing the air.

"Sure," he shrugs, "but I can take care of myself, don't worry about it, cute face."

He follows Esdras, looking around curiously.

The apartments are carved out of the rock, with a wood-panel wall that separates the corridor from the inside. Some of the rooms are very small. There are no children around, but that can be expected on the surface.

Soon, they arrive at the proper place and Esdras knocks on the door.

Rafa waits politely.

So does Esdras.

The door opens a few seconds later, and a grinning man shows up. "Hello! Can I help you?"

He has dark, rocky skin, with webbings of cracks everywhere showing a deep red glow through, with something that looks like magma flowing underneath. He's much warmer than most people, with palpable heat being felt even from this distance.

"Are you Oran Betmack? I am Esdras Blacksword and this is Rafa Fortitude. I believe you were told to expect me?"

"Ah yes sure, come in, come in," he says, gesturing them inside (and giving them enough space not to be uncomfortable with the heat). "Who's your friend?"

They get in. "He is... interested in exploration."

"I also have a cool dance!"

"Oh?"

"I can obtain different copies of the same form—need to get into a pool to do it, but still—and change its physical characteristics, up to a point. Even gender."

"Oh wow okay that is an amazing dance—does it take the usual time...?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty inured to it."

"...yikes."

Yikes is the right reaction. "Are you a shift-dancer?" Esdras asks Oran. "The people I asked weren't sure."

"Nnnnot exactly. But all my natural forms were born crippled."

"Ah, can a pool fix them?"

"Nope."

"Ah... I don't think it came up, but I have a dance too. It boosts any mental magic that I get and shifting helps my memory."

"That's a cool dance, too!" He beams. "Anyway, what exactly brings you here?"

"I am looking for my half-brother. He came here because he wanted to explore to find new pools but we haven't had contact in months. I talked to people and he is likely to have talked to you. His name is Tempus Greenthorn. Do you have any idea of what happened to him?"

"Oh yeah he was going to go on an expedition with me and my crew but it got a bit delayed and he found one that left earlier." Pause. "But he probably should have come back already by now."

Esdras nods and is quiet for a long moment.

The other two remain respectfully quiet.

"He is alive," Esdras tells Oran, "my father can tell, but then it raises the question of what happened to him?"

Helpless shrug.

Well, that was a rhetorical question. "Well, do you know if the expedition returned at all? I am likely going to mount a new one, unless he shows up in the interim."

"It was meant to return while I was away and I didn't keep track of it," he explains apologetically. "I could help mounting a new one, however, if you're alright with a few detours here and there."

"I am, you come recommended and I prefer not have people come rescue me because of carelessness."

"Okay! We can do that. I'm going to need... I expect you want to go as soon as possible? And how many forms do you and your friend have?"

"I have three: besides the Umbra, I have Ventari and Adamet. I spent Aestes to Umbra and got post-cognition."

"And I have two Ventari, one Bronto, one Umbra, and one Calamadara."

"Oh, interesting. How'd you get so many?"

"I actually only got the extra Ventari, was born with the other ones."

"Huh." And to Esdras: "Can't you use your post-cognition to find your brother?"

"I can, but I have to follow his trail, going physically where he went. I've already searched Escendit and I know he came down here and didn't return there. I fully plan to take a look around town just to be sure he isn't imprisoned here or something, but that sounds unlikely."

"Alright. So, I should expect you," he gestures at Rafa with his head, "to take two and a half days—"

"Three," he corrects. "I'm going to get a Petram shape."

"—right. Three days, then, to get a new shape, and you—" Esdras "—should take half that?"

Esdras starts nodding. "Ah, Rafa made a deal to skip ahead and get a new form earlier."

"I have not in fact made the deal yet," he points out.

"Deal?"

Esdras wasn't going to comment on it, but they brought it up and Oran might give some insight into the situation. "Madame Pomona offered arranging a trade: Rafa gets to skip the waiting list in exchange of his new form being done to specifications for someone to use."

"...and you're okay with that?" he asks Rafa.

"Sure, it's an option," he shrugs. "I'd sacrifice the Petram shape after to get some cool power and get a new one, but then that means that the minimum time we could spend here would be seven days, and if the waiting list is shorter than four days..."

"Places like this it can get pretty long. It's usually for people that have no better options besides waiting. How long can you delay your expedition, Oran?"

"Delay? I don't have an expedition planned, I'm coming up with one right now for you, it's up to you."

"Ah, okay. If Rafa wants to come with us, I don't mind waiting for his thing. The benefits of extra magic and all."

Plus, it make it less likely Pomona pulls something unpleasant towards Rafa.

"Then perhaps Rafa should do his thing while I get organised. Any idea when you'll figure out how long it'll take?"

"Like I said, three days to obtain the shape so that's six days total to get one I like plus one Pomona's client likes, then I'd guess one day to service her client, and then we're good, but I'd have to ask her whether it'd take longer than that."

"Have you spent any other shape?" Esdras wonders. "I think Pomona is the main constraint here."

"I have not."

"I am just curious, but why not?"

Shrug. "Didn't have a good reason to."

"Fair enough. Have you picked which form you are feeding Petram to?"

"Ventari probably."

"Could you get multiple powers if you were willing to spend long enough on it?"

"Presumably."

"Okay, I think that if I don't keep you around until we find Tempus he is never going to stop until he finds you. His dance is magic copying. And before your ask, our father's dance is having shift-dancer children."

"—how did he find that out?"

"Knowing that Tempus is alive is part of the dance rather than a separate magic power. He could tell a few days after birth what our dances would be."

"Fascinating. Does he have many other children?"

"Total of six. Total of three different women," Esdras says. His tone makes it pretty obvious that the word choice is meaningful. "I have an older sister and Tempus is his mother's only child."

"And you still get along fine with each other?"

"Who gets along fine with who? There is a total of ten people only counting parents and children, relationship varies. My sister Auria and half-sister Marganita get along well, but my mom threatens to disown us every time we interact with the rest of the family."

"But you seem to want to go after your brother and stuff? So at least you don't hate him."

"Well, not wanting someone to die by rain or monsters isn't exactly a high threshold, but yes. Tempus is nice, if a little careless about magic. Or maybe not careless, whatever causes you to eagerly copy people's magic despite the fact that it hurts each time."

Oran grins. "Sounds like my kind of person. Anyway, alright, I can start setting stuff up for you, but having a time in mind would be useful."

"Well," Esdras glances at Rafa, "now that I think about it, keeping Rafa in my sight would be useful to keep Tempus around or at least I predict he would spend the next couple of years in and out of known pools, which is close enough. So, at least seven days, but we won't be able to commit until Pomona gets back to us."

"—I was not actually planning on sticking to known pools in my little trip, here."

"Uh? You two wouldn't need to stick together. His magic copying doesn't wear off."

"Right but I mean you said you'd keep me in your sight but that'd require you to follow me to other pools."

"Ah, okay. Well, I only need to keep tabs on you, until I find Tempus and it stands to reason he would look for other uncharted pools as well."

"Alright. Anyway, let's stop imposing on our host and go figure out how long we'll take."

"Oh, right. Thank you for your time Oran. We should have a better schedule to you soon."

"No problem at all! This will be fun, I like organising expeditions."

Well, he guesses that can be a hobby for the right sort of person... and since they are already going anyway, maybe Esdras could take the opportunity to enjoy his history hobby. "Are there any interesting historical sights on the way? I don't want to make any detours, but my post-cognition allows me to see quite far into the past as long the area is quiet."

"Not a whole lot, but some..." He gives Esdras a few tips about such places, like the oldest building in town, or a natural history museum, but the little outpost doesn't really have much of a history, per se.

"Good, but I was thinking of ruins while we are out exploring."

"Oh! Yes, definitely—" And here he has a lot to contribute, with a memorised list of dozens.

Esdras quizzes about some, recognizes a few and looks utterly delighted; he is a history geek.

Oran seems to be the most general kind of geek there is, and he can geek with Esdras!

History geeking is great!

By eventually they should probably go.

Fair enough, Esdras thanks Oran for his hospitality and they go back to the Inn.

And Pomona?

Pomona is searching for a proposal, but she can't give him a concrete answer right now. Likely tomorrow morning.

Esdras says he is okay with the extra waiting.

Sure, then, they'll see her tomorrow morning.

They also need to figure out sleeping arrangements, which is to say, does Rafa want to share a room?

What a question.

Yes.

Good. Does he mind sharing a bed?

It's possible Esdras is ignoring or unaware of the implications of this arrangement.

"I should point out I usually sleep in the buff. I mean, I don't need to but I tend to find clothes rather uncomfortable for sleep so if you mind that I'd rather try getting a room with two beds before resigning myself to a fate of clothed sleep."

"True. And I like to sleep in my Adamet form, which I am told can be quite chilly."

"...don't actually object to that."

It finally dawns on Esdras. "Oh, I am an idiot. Uh, are you okay with... that?"

"Sure. Are you?"

"I am. I just don't want you to feel you have to... repay me or anything."

"Repay you? For being my guide and helping me out and stuff? Why I beg to differ, I'd quite enjoy repaying you for that."

"I mean, I don't want to have an... unhealthy power dynamic here."

He shrugs. "I don't feel more beholden to you than I'd want to, and you can rest assured my desire for you is completely independent of any such circumstances."

"Okay... We should get a single bed bedroom."

"Sounds good to me."

They do that and now they are inside their bedroom. Esdras takes a moment as if to make sure Rafa won't change his mind and then removes his own mage robes.

...well Rafa will just stare for a second or twenty. And mage robes were not meant to hide the effect of this staring on his physiology.

Yeah, Esdras likes that reaction. He will help Rafa remove his own mage robes.

Not that it's extremely hard to do so, these robes are designed for ease of removal in an emergency.

Which, judging by the now-revealed state Rafa is occupying, this might count as.

Well, whoever created these robes probably didn't have this kind of emergency in mind. Still, Esdras will help Rafa "take care of it".

Will he? Gosh, Rafa is so surprised, he thought they were just going to sleep!

Well, Esdras isn't that tired. Is Rafa that tired?

Nope.

Well, they can perform this intense physical activity then.

Yep, they can! After they do he is rather tired, though.

Good thing they are already in bed!

Very good! So they can snuggle until they fall asleep.

Yup. Esdras wakes up quite early, if that is no trouble.

Rafa is okay waking up early, too.

They can have an early but relatively peaceful breakfast.

At least until Pomona shows up.

But she will, in fact, show up.

She does! How does Rafa feel about copying someone completely? With their consent.

Sure, sounds alright. He will, ah, need to actually see them naked in order to know how to properly copy.

That can be arranged. She will arrange for the two to meet.

(She implies Esdras is not invited to this meeting.)

It's reasonable that the person might want some privacy. Does she have a timeline on this?

It will depend on the individual's availability. But it can be as early as a couple of hours, definitely no later than this afternoon.

So he should stay around all day?

Not really. But he should check in by noon.

Okay, he can do that. Meantime, does Esdras want to do anything?

Esdras is going to go around town following the past version of his brother.

Does he want company?

Esdras wouldn't mind company... he can narrate what Tempus was doing so it is less boring for Rafa.

Sounds fun!

So they do that. This eventually leads them to finding out the name of a couple of people that went in the expedition with Tempus, but otherwise no other major revelations by the time they get back to Pomona.

Pomona herself doesn't lead him to Rafa's client, but someone that works in her kitchen does. Esdras is to be left behind, would he like to go there now?

Sure.

He is led to a side alley and through a back entrance to the temple. Down a flight of stairs and somewhere that might be someone's room. Currently occupied by a burly hairy man in his Petram form wearing bath robes. He looks up. "The prostitute?" he asks.

"I prefer the term 'full service sex worker.'"

The man snorts. "Leave us alone for a moment would ya?" he tells Pomona's man.

He doesn't introduce himself and just goes straight to removing his bath robes. "Do you need to have a closer look?" He smirks.

"If you don't mind," he says, smirking.

The man waves downwards as if inviting Rafa to do so.

So Rafa walks up to him and starts slowly... observing.

The man lets himself be observed, apparently unashamed... Well, he did want to fuck a copy of himself.

Rafa takes a few minutes, but eventually is satisfied that he'll be able to turn into him.

Good, is there anything else he needs? When does he want to get into the pool?

As soon as possible, please.

Well, he tells Rafa to go out then walk back through the front entrance and ask for this guy and give him this code. Rafa will be directed to the pool after a short wait.

Okay, so he does that.

As advertised there is a short wait. Then, he is taken downstairs to the pool chamber by a young cleric wearing protective gear. The ceiling is just barely high enough to allow flight, but made up of beautiful mosaics depicting various legends about the Petram god. He can spot one about Petram and Ventari creating the floating islands, and one where he teaches the art of sculpting to humans. The others are hard to guess from his angle.

There are simple wooden bridges crossing the pool and next to the bridges various cubicles inside the pool. Less than a hundred, each marked with a number, and more than two thirds are full. It's remarkably quiet, except for the bubbling that comes from flesh coming in contact with the pool water. They keep everyone's heads underwater.

The young cleric goes about the typical procedure, but he skips the part about meditative prayer (he is probably somehow aware that Rafa skipping ahead is somewhat shady). He writes Rafa's name and expected time in the pool and gives him a key to a box where he can store his belongings. The cleric is supposed to monitor Rafa getting inside the pool from a distance to avoid being splashed with the pool water.

Rafa didn't really bring any belongings with him there, so he just strips of the mage robes, stores them where indicated, and—

—gets in the pool.

There is that usual first moment where it just feels like he got his feet and legs into water. Then the burning starts and by the time it properly hurts it's too late for him to come back out.

The liquid fire almost appears alive and with the intent of digging itself deeper into his skin. Every drop is agony. The little he can feel that isn't pain is an odd sense that his skin is loose and dissolving into nothingness. The pain slowly worms its way into his flesh and keeps going like red-hot nails being pounded into every part of his being.

Eventually a minder uses a long stick to put Rafa's head underwater, just in case he starts screaming. Having the thing in his eyes, ears and lungs is hardly any pleasanter. He is drowning in liquid fire and his eyes lose any capacity of sight and instead provide only more suffering as they appear to become boiling balls of magma.

He will not, in fact, start screaming. He has felt this before, he has felt worse before, for longer, and he can endure.

And endure he shall, all alone, with the liquid fire... for days.

People often debate whether people actually fall asleep in the pools, in no small part because even the dreams hurt, but there is definitely something akin to a drift of consciousness here and there. And slowly, too slowly, time passes. The only thing that makes it at all noticeable are the little changes that happen to his new form, guided by Rafa's own ability to control them. His muscles dissolve and are then reconstructed in different ways and his skull splits open into two points that slowly form horns.

Eventually, with no warning, his cubicle is lifted from the pool. Not that he is aware enough to realize this fact. His body twists and molts off in the familiar agony of shifting.

He opens his eyes.

The client is there smirking at the naked Rafa. "You look very handsome."

"Do I, now," he says after a bit to get his bearings, mirroring the smirk. "I'm afraid I feel rather offputting after my stay there, I'll have to trust your judgment on this."

"You could use a bath," he admits. He turns to one of the clerics. "See that he gets a hot bath and a meal."

Sure, he can play along.

In that case he will be directed to first rinse off the rest of the Pool water and then to a small stone bathtub with very hot water.

He can deal with hot water after the Pool, it's downright paradisiac.

That it most certainly is. He isn't supposed to linger too much, because one is supposed to enjoy things in moderation and other religious nonsense. Nothing to do with saving water. They bring his meal to eat in a small room and give directions to where to go when he is done.

He is done swiftly and follows directions.

And here is his client's bedroom. And his client's bed. And his client.

Rafa smirks and raises an eyebrow.

"Come here, handsome," says his client.

He does, willingly.

And a while later, Rafa has fulfilled his end of the deal.

Oh good so after he says bye he shifts back to one of his more usual shapes and looks for Esdras.

He happens to meet Esdras in the town's square. "Rafa, are you alright?"

"Yeah, that was fun. Well, not the part where I spent a very long time feeling like I was melting, but the other part."

"Ah... well, good. I have been preparing the expedition."

"Great! I need to get my new shape, and then we're good."

"Sure thing. Are you going to do that now or take a day to rest?"

"Now, don't wanna lose my nerve."

"...Okay. Do you need a hug?"

"Wouldn't say no."

Esdras hugs him.

Hug! Leeeeean.

Esdras totally accepts being leaned on.

"Okay, I should go, then, I guess."

"Well, would you lose your spot or something? Even if the pain is not that much of a big deal it must be... dull."

"Exactly why I want to get it over it as soon as I can. I did just spend a while doing rather undull activities."

"Okay... anything else we should discuss before the expedition? Are you planning to feed the Petram shape before or after the trip?"

"Before, probably, and no, nothing else I don't think."

"Alright, take care?"

"You, too!"

Esdras hugs Rafa one last time and departs.

Back to have fun at the pool!

Well, maybe not fun.

But before that, he finds the room in the temple dedicated for shape sacrifices.

It's a small room, but heavily decorated with carvings and statues. There is a cleric that can help him with the process. Petram shapes are more resilient, but they have weak points. Does he have a preference where to be stabbed?

He does not.

Cool. The cleric makes a few precise and practiced perforations and directs Rafa to bleed in this bucket.

(The room comes with a drainage system, but still, this is a holy place.)

Of course.

And he—

—she shifts, using a Ventari shape.

She can feel something twisting and inverting inside out, followed by a surge of power. It hurts, but there is a rush to it, a sensation of being adrift in a sea of possibilities...

...and then it's like falling bodiless as these possibilities collapse, each one winking out but each one contributing to the remaining ones until a single one remains.

—oooh. Yes, she likes this one. She'll have to show it to Esdras later.

Pool now?

Pool now. Same deal as before.

Yes. Several hours of—

—she stares at the water, having a hard time stepping into it.

Well, she is free to reminisce about all the time she enjoyed inside this "location chosen by the gods".

"...can someone push me...?"

The nearby cleric sighs and gives Rafa a gentle push to motivate her to get in, but not enough for her to splash all over the place.

That's enough. She submerges and suffers.

It goes very much like last time.

Eventually Hell is over.

And she can move on with her life. Esdras is in their room in the inn writing a letter.

"Hello," she says softly.

"Oh, hi. How are you holding up?"

"...been better." She takes a seat.

"Need a hug?"

"I would appreciate one."

He gets up and hugs her.

Very much hug. Very lean.

Again, this is an arrangement Esdras is completely okay with.

"What are you writing?" she asks eventually.

"Ah, just a letter to my family detailing my plans and everything. So they know my rough whereabouts."

"I suppose that's better than what your brother did."

"Yup. He would send letters on occasion, but he didn't plan things ahead very much."

"Sounds somewhat foolhardy."

"Very foolhardy. In retrospect it would be the obvious thing to happen once he ran out of easily accessible pools."

"Was it? Couldn't he have, I don't know, gotten larger exploration parties?"

"Well, maybe, but that would depend on luck. And can't rule out the possibility that he just heard an unreliable rumor and decided to risk it - which is less typical of him, but not shockingly so."

"A rumour? Down here? Is he suicidal?"

Esdras makes a helpless sort of gesture. "It's probably not that bad. But even with postcog I am working on very little information here."

"You know him best."

"We were never that close. But Tempus' primary trait is an obsession with magic and I could see that outweighing his common sense."

"I see. Well, we'll go after him, won't we?"

"We will. And things are not that grim. He is still alive and his dance is versatile."

"How exactly does it work?"

"He copies people's dances and if he has the right shape-power combination his current power is displaced and changed into the target's. He mostly sacrifices shapes to Ventari because of that. It's touch range."

"Hmm, so he needs to have people with useful powers around, he can't just carry all of them with him."

"Yes, but it works such that he can copy two people and end up with a combination of powers that neither target had. In the case of the inspired he retains a good fraction of the knowledge as well."

"How can he get a combination?"

"Say, there is person A and person B. Person A sacrificed Petram and Aestes to the Ventari shape. Person B sacrificed only Aestes. If Tempus copies Person A and then copies Person B, only the Aestes power is going to be displaced by the new one. So he gets to the Person A Petram power and Person B Aestes power. And while shift-dancers are rare he could get interesting interactions by creatively combining powers from non-dancers with copied dances."

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense. So he could get arbitrary combinations."

"Yeah, you can see why I would like to introduce you two."

"I can."

"I can see you two getting along as well. Which is good because he might pay you to just hang around in his vicinity for the rest of your lives."

"You've mentioned, and I can see it, too, from your descriptions."

Nod. "Ironically, I think I'll trust him more with double-digits powers than the alternative."

"I understand that, having more choices usually helps."

"Yes. Speaking of power. Did you manage to go through and get one?"

"Oh yeah! I got—is there any sand around?"

Esdras retrieves some sand for her.

She's shifted to her Ventari shape. "Where did you even find this—anyway—"

She starts moving her hands around, and the sand starts floating and following them, making swishing patterns in the air.

Esdras chuckles. "It's a convenient weight and building material. And cool power."

She raises an eyebrow. "Those are not by a long shot the only uses of a power like this." She demonstrates by using the sand to fetch her a pen.

"I meant that sand is typically used as a weight for ships and material for buildings - they mix it with other things. Your power is good either way."

"Oh you were talking about how you got it. Right. Yes, my power's great."

"It is. I bet Oran will be pleased too. He was having trouble finding mages for the expedition."

"Wonder why."

"I know, it's like everyone else is motivated to join a guild and work safely or something."

"I wonder why that would be."

"A mystery for the ages."

"Anyway, what are the next steps with respect to our expedition?"

"I think Oran wanted to hire a mage with something combat capable, which, I guess you fit. We have a woman that does this weird thing with soil that makes seeds grow superfast..." Esdras pauses for a moment and then says gravely. "I think she is in her last shape."

"—oh. Well, that... kinda sucks. What happened to her other shapes, do you know?"

"Not specifically, she mentioned that she was in a city that was attacked by a flying monster a few years back, Cadere? Cadera? And I might be wrong. She just had a lot of reasons to justify staying in her current shape and her explanations sounded a little off."

"Well, good to know, I'll avoid asking her about it."

Esdras nods. "At any rate, I bet Oran is going to be happy to have sand control regardless. He might want to know your limits but if you want you can rest while I go tell him."

"—yeah, resting sounds good."

"Then please do." He offers her a hug and then leaves.

And she lies down and... is out like a light.

Esdras goes looking for Oran to tell him the good news.

"Oh hello, there. How's our dancing friend?"