"He looks just like you only old, and - duplicate planet, or close enough, I wonder if there are more of Earth or of Iobel's world? I guess that makes as much sense as there being more of us."

"I suppose so, though none of it actually makes sense. Planes are weird. Is it just - the same basic plane, or does it have the same history behind it?"

"What do you think would be likely to last until you looked - yea old without my spell on you?"

"Er. ... My house, maybe? Considering that it would have to be - three, four centuries at least for me to look that age without your spell."

"Let's have a look at the house then?"

"I guess we can go ask him sometime?" Snuggle.

"I guess so," he agrees with a laugh. Snuggle. "... I didn't see you anywhere with him. I do hope your - other you isn't dead. Or something. If she exists."

"I mean, you and I aren't from the same plane to begin with the way Iobel and Edarial are," says Isabella. "He might just not have one. He went looking for chamomile and his nearest neighbor with the plant was not - Chamomile or a duplicate."

"True. That's kind of depressing. Never meeting you."

"Aw, sweetie. He's had centuries to find something maybe half as awesome as me, that's not so bad."

Nuzzle. "But if the magic system's the same, it's probable that he will or has outlived them. But maybe he is less blatantly depressing than Edarial, and maybe he's got a large and happy family. I've got no idea. Hoping that he's less depressing than Edarial."

"Yeah, Edarial's pretty depressing. Even meeting a me obviously does not guarantee non-depressing-ness."

"That one was through no fault of Iobel's, that was more... The situation itself. I don't see how I could have met you and not been less depressing afterward."

Isabella nuzzles him. "I am so glad to have helped. Do you suppose if this possibly lone you is in fact depressing meeting us will help, or will it just be weird and grating like it is for the Marlatians?"

"I have... Absolutely no idea. I don't know what kind of life he's lived. It could be either, depending on if he's been playing celibate for four centuries or not."

"Well, I'd be kind of depressed if that happened to me, but you're not wired quite like me."

"Right. But if he was in love with someone who died and you immediately bring him or her back - I can't imagine he would be bothered by our presence at all. If it was the 'playing celibate for four centuries' thing then he would be kind of depressed."

"So we should definitely make the trip with enough stuff in my portal bag to handle a couple resurrections in case he's got a dead spouse and also a Veron. Maybe three, to be safe, in case there's more than that."

Nod. "That's the smart move, yeah. If we bring Veron back I can't imagine he would hold our - coupleness against us."

"More than three and I'm kind of pushing it on the bag's capacity, what with the ash and the copious quantities of parsley I need, but three should do it for the first trip and we can always go back if he needs more people. When should we go?"

"When our workload allows us a month trip or so, considering I can't get there through one teleportation. Which also means there would be a - plane in between where a couple of portals would go."

"Wow, a month. I guess we can administrate remotely with mirrors. Maybe your alt will help out with the return trip?"

"Hopefully, yeah. If the magic system's the same, I don't see why he wouldn't help us out. Especially after resurrections."

"Can scrying tell you if the magic's the same, or - not?"

He shakes his head. "I might find a portal or two, if I spent ages looking, but uh - I'm not sure how worth the trouble that is? It might not even prove that it's the same type of magic."

"Fair enough. You'll just have to compare notes when we visit."

"I will!" Snuggle, snuggle. "... If it's the same system I am extremely excited, he's probably made all sorts of breakthroughs!"

"Yeah, he's had loads of time, maybe he can make really efficient portals or ones that go farther or something."

"That would be so convenient. Bet he keeps lots of books of cheat sheets on all magic ever, that's what I would do."

"And he sure seems to be a you. Just an old one. I can immortalize him - maybe on a second trip, I'm going to be short on space, but eventually - and then he will not be so old-looking."

Adarin nods. "We'll see how excited he is about that, certainly. I think in exchange for immortality for lots of people he might help us out with his magic."

"For lots of people we have to set up imports and, like, the informal interplanar equivalent of work visas, but it's sure not impossible."

"Yeah. Now I'm being all hopeful, for all I know he might be worse than Edarial," snorts Adarin.

"I'm hoping he and Iobel will work it out. Eventually."

"Me too. I don't see how they couldn't but I am also biased."

"I don't think she has infinite patience. I'm not sure if I boosted or reduced her level of patience, actually - I gave her a positive example but I also gave her an appealing bailout option."

Nod. "Mm. Hopefully they'll be all right. For their own happiness, and also it can stop being awkward around them when we are obviously married."

"I somehow feel like 'married' is the wrong descriptor to use to differentiate ourselves from them."

He snorts. "... Happily married, then. Though I don't consider whatever they had a marriage. That was two people forced into a bond neither wanted, not actually... Deciding to be with someone for the rest of forever."

"We should! We have to be sure the planes don't fall apart if we are away for a relatively short period of time." Nuzzle.

"Path can fly into my hub office now and then if mirror delegation alone isn't cutting it, at least."

"True. So we're not going to have to worry about that as much. Just getting to the other me and preparation for the trip."

"Yes. And I guess we'll need to stop somewhere on the way, where should we go?"

"Not sure, we'll have to figure that part out, I suppose. Should we pick a place with civilization, to see if we can spread the plague of utopias?"

"Sure. Since we'll probably want to visit Lone Possibly Depressing Adarin more than once even if he is depressing it'd be good if it was someplace it was nice to have a portal to in its own right."

"Agreed. We'll be careful, then - shall I start scrying?"

"Hmm, are we talking single religion everywhere or a bunch of them peacefully coexisting?"

"It... I think it's all of the same one, they have the same sorts of things set up everywhere. Temples with some sorts of offerings, pilgrimages... I think there are lots of temples with different aspects of the same pantheon everywhere? Or something? It's hard to say."

"So let's be... tentative about talking to them, in case they've managed to get the one religion everywhere via conversion at knifepoint, but we can tuck the portal away somewhere hidey."

Nod. "We'll be careful. Hopefully it's a nice omnipresent religion."

"And they won't attack me if I invoke a goddess for some spell or other in public."

"That. That would be great." Nuzzle. "We can pick another plane, if this one worries you?"

"It does worry me a little, but we can just - land somewhere relatively unoccupied, right? To be safe? Middle of a desert?"

"Yeah. Middle of a desert, with no one around. If we don't like the neighborhood we can find another spot to put a portal and just have a slight delay on getting to the other me."

Isabella nods and snuggles him. "It's not like he's expecting us for tea on Tuesday."

Snicker, snuggle. "True. I do hope he's not going to be frightened by our arrival, I know I'd be freaked out three years ago if a pair of us showed up to resurrect the dead and grant immortality."

"This time we don't appear right in front of him. We appear a reasonable distance away and politely knock."

"Yes, ma'am. We'll be very polite about the whole affair."

"And then we ask him if he would like a Watchtower magazine and - oh, no, that's a different knocking protocol."

He laughs. "Maybe ask if he's found some sort of religious deity - what religions do that, again? I forget which are applicable, but we could do that. With one of them."

"Watchtower is the Jehovah's Witnesses. Mormons also send knocking missionaries. Those are the ones known for the practice."

"Aha. We'll do that, then."

"Maybe not as an opener. He will probably be spooked enough as it is, and talking about his immortal soul probably won't help."

"Awww, alternate-me, crushing all of my dreams..."

"He's hardly doing it expressly to irritate you."

"Shhhh. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, love. I can get all angsty and self-hating without actually hating myself. I would hate my other selves."

"I would rather you not self-hate at all even with a planar boundary between you and the object of your disdain! I think you are excellent."

"Awwwww," he says, and then he nuzzles her. "Then I'll refrain from the tired anti-hero archetype and accept your opinion as fact."

"Good. I am very reliable."

"Yes, yes you are. Also sensible."

"That's how I got promoted to Inquisitor."

"Mhmmm. And I love you for it." Pause. "Well, that and other things."

"Oh, and here I thought it was a sober decision entirely born of logic and counting only my sense as a factor."

He snorts. "Yeees. Because I am secretly the general of your robot army and logic is the only thing I possess."

"Should've caught on when you started calling me 'senior equipment maintenance specialist' during unguarded moments."

"You really should have, we robots expect more from our senior equipment maintenance specialists. Careful, you might get demoted."

"If it sensible to demote me I can only accede to the decision. Protesting would not be sensible."

"Aha, it's that kind of sensible lack of initiative that made us pick you. That and you declaring yourself it as the only remaining member of the glorious - whatever unpronounceable jargon they used."

He laughs. "I love you, too, my dear. So very much." Snuggle, snuggle.

Various employees and subordinates and associates are informed that Isabella is going on a trip, she will be inaccessible, Path will be around to relay instructions. Those of them who have been entrusted with knowledge about mirrors are given slightly more detail and accordingly more ability to get ahold of Isabella herself, or Adarin. (Vern will be staying home, too, but she has a bit more trouble getting around than Path does.)

"Oh, that reminds me, I didn't want to say it when I first thought of it because Iobel and Edarial were being such pills but we could match, would that be cute? Ice and Cypress, for our crowns."

"Awwww! Yes that would be adorable, let's do that."

"Okay!" Kiss.

Isabella double-checks the contents of her portal bag. "Standard herbs kit plus enough stuff for three resurrections, notebooks, food - Path can drop small stuff into the box if we get hungry but I think there's plenty considering I can always lure food animals the same way I do sacrifices - our ends of various mirror pairs, and some gummy worms and chocolates for your alt. And just barely enough rummaging room to grab any of the named things."

Adarin snickers. "Am I going to need to make another portal bag sometime in the future?"

"If we're going to keep plaguing people with utopias it would sure be handy!"

"I'll add it to the list. Want to wait until after it's made to head out, or go now? I don't see us running out of stuff, but we can be paranoid."

"We're all set to go now, if we wait we'll only be back later."

"Oh dear. Do you want me to find a rock and see if I can reverse the light spell?" she asks. "I bet I can make a rock that sheds dark."

"Awww. Sure, that would help. I think I can also make a shield to protect against the sun, but that kind of destroys the purpose of conserving mana for portals and teleportation."

"Yep." Isabella starts hunting for a rock.

"... Okay the temples are making a whole lot more sense now," says Adarin, in a quiet, stunned voice.

"Magic? I have never heard of magic of this type," says the voice, confused. "... Ayabel, what has caused you to renounce Perinixu and change your name? Has she forsaken her ways?"

"It's another world's magic - who's Ayabel? Who's Perinixu?"

"... Sound like her? Could we meet, uh - Ayabel?"

"Perhaps. She has not been back for a time, since my -" There is a pause from the voice, and just a faint trace of sorrow. "Since an acolyte of mine passed from the mortal coil. I do not know where you would find her."

"Did she also look like me? How old is she?"

He speaks with his mortal voice - it has the same echoed every-language quality, but it obviously has a direction to it. "What you mean when you say what you say. It's unique to every person, with different coloration behind every meaning. But yours is - like hers. Head tilt, the other direction. "But not. I can see that now, that I am closer. How odd."

"But her name was Ayabel. Did she have a middle or last name?"

"That was the only name I knew her by."

"Do you know where her last location was, then? A way for us to find her?"

"Perinixu would know better than I."

"Where could we find Perinixu? Is she another... are you a god? You seem like you may be a god."

"I am, indeed a god. She is a goddess. You said you could fly - I cannot leave my domain, but I can lead you to my domain's borders and offer directions. I'm curious about this, as well."

"I can fly. Pretty fast, too. How far is the relevant border?"

"... I forget the mortal measurement. Half a day, as an eagle flies?"

"I am just shy of five and a half feet tall. A mile is five thousand two hundred eighty feet. How many miles?"

Pause as the god does math. "Two hundred and sixty-three miles. Estimated."

"Okay, I can do that in a little over an hour." Isabella sets up her cloud-pine and motions her husband to hop on.

Husband hops on to the cloud-pine. "Well. This is a happy accident."

"Stray me! I hope she's still alive so we can talk to her without using up supplies. Is it only me who sounds familiar or does Adarin too, by any chance...?"

"He does not. It is only you," says the god. Pause. "... It had not occurred to me, she might be dead. I don't know how long it's been, how long do mortals live?"

"Mortals in my world top out with the very occasional hundred and twenty or so, most die decades earlier."

"... Oh. It has been longer than fifty years. That much I know."

"Well, looks like I'm going to use my spare resurrection supplies."

"Yes. Not in large numbers, it's tedious and requires resources for each one, but I can do it."

"Then there is someone I would like you to bring back. I will give you all of my blessings if you do."

"...what blessings might those be?"

"Reflexes, protection from the desert's casual troubles - hot sand, sunburns, that sort of thing. The ability to go without water for days. Increased endurance, improved flexibility. And the winds will always go where you need them to, never off-balance you, always be at your back when you need them."

"Can Adarin have a set too? He's the one who brought us here."

"... He may," agrees the god, somewhat grudgingly.

"Thank you," says Adarin, smiling.

"I would like to resurrect Ayabel first. Did she know the person you want?"

"They were friends. You do not have to bring her back immediately, but I will not bless the two of you until you do."

"I understand."

She lands too, presuming that this is the border. "Fine ash, assorted herbs, two medium-sized birds to kill at key moments, and reasonably flat undisturbed space to work."

"I am unaware of what herbs you require and do not think I could easily gather them." He motions to the desert. "The birds, space, and possibly ash I could acquire for you, though the ash I would need time."

"I have ash and herbs. I can even call my own birds, as long as there are birds around."

"I thought we were going to go talk to that other god?"

"There is no point now, if your Ayabel is dead. You may, if you like?"

"I need a full name to do it, so if you're not sure if she had any more names besides 'Ayabel' it would be good to check with someone who'd know for sure."

"... Very well," he says, vaguely disappointed. "Do you have a vial?"

"...Nnnot as such. I could empty a bottle of something but then the something would be poured out."

"A container of some kind, then? A small bag, or pouch, or something."

"Again, I have containers but they have stuff in them."

"Same here. What do you need it for?"

...Isabella takes the vial.

He points. The way he points, the desert isn't clearly visible, anymore - bits of greenery start to poke out, and life's more obviously present.

Zoom.

He doesn't leave the border, but from the vial comes occasional whispered directions, quiet but insistent.

Interestingly enough, Adarin doesn't hear them.

"Yeah, this - I really don't think I could have figured out that there were literal gods running around through scrying. Sorry, love."

"It's all right. Briefly startling, but we get to check out a probably-me in addition to an almost-certainly-you in one two-hop jaunt."

"Very efficient of us. We're going to say we did this on purpose because we're just amazing like that, right? Rather than the truth of it being a complete accident?"

"When we start being interviewed by authors of history textbooks we can quietly omit the accident part if you like. I don't think I want to claim to our alts that we can find dead ones of us and detect deities from other planes."

"Agreed," he laughs. "The authors of history textbooks will never know."

Isabella twists around to kiss him.

"It is!"

"Raezenoth mentioned the same thing - it's part of why I want to bring her back. And I have done it before. I need a flat place that's not too windy to work, your leave to kill two medium-sized birds that I can call to hand myself if necessary, and - your assurance that no one will be offended if I call deities foreign to the world."

"Do not invoke other gods in my domain. There are few flat places to work, here, anyway - the space you have come through should do fine. If you invoke deities in a place where no god holds claim, no one will be offended - the space between Raezenoth and I is one such place. You have my leave for all else."

"So I turn around and go - how far, please?"

The terrain slowly changes from hills to grassland, and then the vial of essence of Raezenoth says, "You are outside of Perinixu's domain. You may do it in mine, if you would like assurance that no one will disturb you. I will not be offended by invoking other gods."

"Then I will. Why would Perinixu not like it, or don't you know?"

"It is something of an insult to invoke other gods on another one's holy ground. But I do not mind. You are resurrecting my acolyte."

Raezenoth arrives a few minutes later, and sits. He doesn't address either Isabella or Adarin, but he does watch the proceedings silently.

Adarin, meanwhile - is supportive husband who isn't actually very useful in this instance. He will watch and maybe hand Isabella things if she needs him to.

Adarin waves. For lack of the language itself ("What" was not enough to catch it) he will just wave and smile.

"Welcome back," says Raezenoth in completely understandable to everyone god-voice. "You have been resurrected."

"We got here through my magic. We are very magical," says Adarin, brightly.

"She sounds like you," says Rae. "Not just in - voice but in the meaning behind the words. I mistook her for you, until I saw her."

"What does that mean?"

"I wouldn't have known either, but sometimes across worlds there are several of the same person, and I've already met another one of me. She looks like me, but I suspected you might be one too even though you don't look the same. The name's a hint. The other one is named Iobel."

"And by 'the same person' you mean...?"

"Same basic personality, eerie parallel details, different life circumstances. Me and Iobel - both clumsy-till-she-fixed-it notebook-using magic users with similarly-named parents and the same face. If I write down the three questions will you know what I mean and be able to tell me what they are without looking at the paper?"

Isabella writes.

"What do I want, what do I have, and how can I best use the latter to get the former," recites Ayabel. She holds her hand out for the paper. And smiles when she reads it. "Well. Hello."

"It would have been incredibly awkward if we'd resurrected you and you'd been nothing like Isabella," says Adarin, amused. "'Oh, uh - okay, well, oops. Congrats on being alive, we're not going to put you back for no reason, hope you like immortality.'"

"I like immortality very much. I'm impressed."

"Raezenoth also wanted me to get Idania, apparently you were friends?"

"Oh! You can just - do that as many times as you like, then? I'll... get out of the way? How does this work?"

Relieved to have her alt's approval, Isabella nods. "Yeah, I need space and more birds but I have everything else in my bag."

Ayabel gets up and makes her way out of the clear area, checking to see if Perinixu's blessings - such as the obvious one of grace - persist.

When Aya's out of the way Isabella starts the diagram again. "Sweetie, can you give her the 101 while I'm diagramming?"

"Yup!" agrees Adarin. "Okay, this is going to sound incredibly strange but - there is more than just this world. There are countless planes of existence where different people live with different rules of magic and different histories and cultures. Species, too, but we keep finding humans. With me so far?"

"I'm not actually from this world."

"Really? How'd you get here?" He sounds extremely excited.

"Neither I nor Idania nor anyone else I heard of ever found it again, which I consider a terrible pity. She seems to be more accomplished than I ever got. I made it to acolyte status and I like to think I helped people, but I don't have anything like that under my belt..."

"Well, congrats, because now you have the rest of forever to match her. Or try, anyway."

"I do very much like this spell."

"Hi, Idania. This is a version of me from yet another world. She can resurrect the dead."

"Ooo. Oooo. Being friends with you has benefits, you get a friendship award. For having another version of you that will resurrect me - er, did resurrect me? Thank you tons!"

That is when Rae worldlessly gets up, walks over to his acolyte, and hugs her.

"You're welcome, although I'm not sure how much credit I can really take."

"Your god was very keen on having you back, Idania. I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about yours, Aya."

"No, I wouldn't expect her to get terribly excited about it. I worked for her for a long time, but we weren't personally close the way Idania and Rae are."

Adarin snickers. "Board games. With a god. How does that work?"

"Well, random dude of the funky hairstyle, we set up a board game and then we play it."

"This is Adarin, he's my husband. We're going to be in this world for a little while longer while he rests up so we can move on to our next stop. In the meantime, reasonable courses of action in no particular order include giving Ayabel a ride back to Perinixu's domain since I don't need to do any further calling-on-foreign-deities, scoping out good places to put a portal, collecting our promised sets of blessings, scrying to see if Adarin can find Aya's original world to mark for later visits, and getting lunch."

"My blessings have all been wiped out, and while Perinixu may not have been overjoyed to hear about my imminent return I imagine she'll give them back and my acolyte power too on request. And then I will be able to walk. And maybe find out what happened to my hoverbike."

Idania celebrates this fact by casually floating a few feet in the air. "Okay, husband is transportation and other-world hopping, got it. If you find Aya's original world can you take me there? They have slavery, I take offense to it."

"Ooh," says Aya, noticing when she gets protection from elements, "thanks, Rae."

"We'll leave Aya a way to talk to us," says Isabella, "if not necessarily now then on a future trip when Adarin's recharged, and assuming it's safe we can put a portal in her original world too, and then perhaps you can visit it and do something about that."

"Okay," says Idania brightly. "Cool, thanks. I was going to make them stop it."

"And I would help," says Rae, calmly. "You're welcome, Aya. I am feeling generous. Thank you, Isabella and Adarin, for returning my acolyte."

Adarin snickers some more. "I am the mythical teleporting and translating husband. Batteries not included."

"You're welcome, Raezenoth. Sweetie, I hope you're not mythical, that would say some distressing things about my sanity."

"Pfff, no, it's fine. We're just traveling to other planes, meeting other versions of ourselves, and casually talking to people that play board games with gods. Nothing insane, here. This is your life now."

"I order my goddesses around, I'm not overwhelmingly bewildered by someone who plays board games with hers."

"Is that what you were doing? I didn't understand a word of the poem."

"Yep. You can have the language spell too when there's more mana going spare. Maybe Adarin's new alt will help."

"Language spell? Does it let you learn a single language instantly, or is it - complete understanding of all languages?"

Adarin grins. "Second thing, kind of. It translates for you and helps you learn all languages. Ever."

"... Okay I take back the weird hair comment you are a beautiful snowflake and can have whatever hair color you want. Also I want that spell."

"I have an excellent husband." Pause. "Aya, you?"

Aya shrugs a little. "It wasn't a priority, and I never met anyone who - made it one. I didn't die a virgin, but there's no one I'm desperate to have jumped in the queue."

"Woooo single ladies!" says Idania, who floats over to give Aya a high-five.

Aya high-fives her.

"Well, that's arguably less depressing than Iobel's situation. She's married to an Adarin, but the circumstances leading to it are staggeringly terrible and they're still trying to make their way out of all the excess sad."

"... That sounds depressing, whatever that is. Aya, I am glad you are not depressing. You're my friend, you are not allowed to be stuck in excess sadness."

"I'm not sad. Apparently I'm sort of mediocre, though."

"I'm sure you'll do beautifully with more resources."

"Mhm," says Adarin, loyally. "You'll be throttling the economy and declaring yourself empress in no time."

Idania giggles.

"Or whatever. I'm not sure how much leeway you get from Perinixu or how much you care about what she lets you do?"

"She has some finicky preferences about trivial details for her priests and acolytes," shrugs Ayabel, "that I don't mind, but she's responsive to arguments about efficiency and has reasonable ideas about what to be efficient at doing. With the resources I had, that meant I biked around healing people and teaching the priests how to update the sanitation systems and writing the occasional book. If you're giving me more stuff, that will change."

"... This is coming off as another world that probably would benefit greatly from germ theory. Love, you are going to end up Empress of Useful Wikipedia Facts at this rate."

"...This world has germ theory. My original world doesn't, though. Well, last I checked, more than fifty years ago - how much more I couldn't say, Rae, what year is it?"

"I have no idea," says the god.

"...Okay. Roughly where are we?"

"My domain, near the border closest to Perinixu."

"... Gah, I need to update my maps, I bet it's been ages and the domains have all shuffled around. Is the ocean-bitch gone?"

"No."

"Damn. Okay then. I'll go grab maps later and figure out what's changed while we were dead. Also how long it's been."

"Perinixu isn't going to be able to produce the year on command either, but she might know where my bike is because I left it to another acolyte. Unless the visitors are starving I would like that ride to her domain now. What am I getting a ride on?"

"This," says Isabella, hefting her cloud-pine. "It will just barely fit three if we all get along really well, without anybody's daemon getting in the way. Idania seems to have flying covered by herself."

"What gave me away?" teases Idania, doing a little loop in the air.

"The humongous flying apparatus you're attached to. Obviously."

"That's definitely it. I should have hidden the strings better, darn."

"Well, you've been found out now, no use continuing to deceive us. Anyway." Isabella sets the branch to floating and sits as far forward as she reasonably can to leave room for alt and spouse.

Spouse first. He sits behind Isabella, trying to leave Aya as much room as possible behind him. This may or may not involve cuddling his wife. Oops.

Isabella will obligingly slow down. She chats with Aya over the whoosh of the (newly cooperative) wind as best she can - basics of daemons, details of Milliways, trivia on Iobel, trajectory of portal capitalism, remembrances of Tayane, introduction to the world in which they now find themselves.

Aya's memory is good but not perfect. "I hope someone stored my notebooks - at least the relatively unprivate ones that I wrote in Jorten, if not necessarily the ones in Esevi and Sudre. It'll be much easier to reconstruct useful information with those than without them."

"If they're not stored somewhere obvious I can check with scrying. Actually I can manage that now - got some specifics about the ones you're looking for so I can aim?"

"What kind of specifics?"

"Not what's in them," assures Adarin. "I will not be reading them in any way, shape or form. The sorts of things that make them stand out from other books aside from it being you who wrote them. The cover, the color, the binding type, paper type, so on."

"The batch I was in the middle of when I died were blue for the long term private records, red for the long term Jorten records, and gray for scratchwork. The first two were sewn in leather covers, the scratchwork one had no proper cover and was just dipped in glue on the edge. The paper was - paper, I'm not really a connoisseur of paper types."

"Okay," he agrees, and then he gets to scrying - books written by Ayabel's hand that fulfill these requirements - do they still exist?

The scratchwork is long gone, but the leather-bound are kept some of them in a sort of museum and some in a church of Perinixu.

"Scratchwork's gone, but the others are kept in a museum or are in some sort of church... Thing. I don't know if it's all of them, and I've got no idea if people have been reading them or not, I'm afraid." Pause. "Also at some point in the future I can make it so that they only open for you. Because privacy."

"That would be kind of you. I don't expect Perinixu has been personally translating the truly private contents. Can you find my hoverbike?"

"I'm not really sure how to specify 'hoverbike' in a scry, uh... Unique things to it that do not involve its hoverbikeness?"

"...It's certainly the most technologically advanced thing in the world unless it's been a longer time than I suspect it of having been. It's sky blue?"

Not a ton of it. Some notebooks, the odd quilt/pair of shoes/ribbon. And one hoverbike.

Well, in her will she wanted it left to a fellow acolyte, but who knows what he's done with it since then.

Adarin finds it and frowns. Somehow he doesn't think this is where Ayabel wants the hoverbike to end up. "... It's in some sort of - barren wasteland thing. Lots of dead trees. A person is on it and is demanding - I think it's money, money from people in a little village that looks half-abandoned. I somehow think that's not what you had in mind?"

"...No. That is not what I had in mind. I'll see if Perinixu knows. My heir must not have been very careful about letting people see how to pilot it."

"Apparently so. Love, are you up for retrieving it after we see Perinixu? I don't like someone like that abusing its advantages."

"Unless it was stolen while he was sleeping or something - whoever has it is likely also an acolyte, of someone who Perinixu doesn't like. Gods Perinixu doesn't like are not very nice and neither are their acolytes. I should be with you in case you get cursed with flesh-rotting diseases or something. After I've been reacolyted and can fix that kind of thing."

"All right, let's get Ayabel reacolyted and eat something and find her books and then we can go on a hoverbike rescue mission."

"I'll also probably have to nap," sighs Adarin. "Exciting."

"Ooo, can I help with the hoverbike rescue mission? It sounds kind of fun and I need to get back into god politics anyway!"

"Sure. Isabella, do you mind if I tell the hoverbike thief that I'm alive again because quote Perinixu's healing powers are great unquote? It's kind of an acolyte thing to credit one's god with things even in edge cases, and will be more intimidating than 'a series of extremely complicated events for which you have no context have restored me to life'."

"Ha. I don't mind if you want to, but maybe check with Perinixu first, since as far as I know she cannot actually do that."

"Of course."

"Pretty sure she will be cool with it, as long as you say it's because you're the most holy of her followers or something. That way people want to worship her some more."

"Exactly. Free publicity. Put a dent in whatever nasty is letting their acolytes take my bike from the magic bar."

Nod. "And then we fly over and get the bike back to its original owner! That is your bike from the magic bar, you braved a magic for it."

"I didn't exactly brave the magic."

"Shhhh, the people hearing the stories don't know that. Creative license, you are a brave person summoned by your god for your devotion and bravery in order to help the sick and the downtrodden."

"I'll save my creative license for crediting Perinixu with my survival versus what is probably a plague acolyte."

"Awww. But it's been a while, you can make up a whole mythology and get worshipped! Maybe get a sweet name, like the 'World Walker' or something," teases Idania.

"I think the fact that I would be unable to function like a conventional local deity would give me away."

Adarin snorts but does not comment.

"Oh no, my imaginary hot guys. I will be lost without them."

Isabella is scanning the terrain below them to see when it turns into something more Perinixuish.

"Yeah, definitely. I even get someone to base it off of, he," Idania points at Adarin, "is married to the other you. So they would be believable hot guys, too!"

"Perinixu?" calls Aya. "It's Ayabel!"

"Didn't I say I was going to get her back?"

"... I confess, I didn't believe it was possible," admits Perinixu. "But since it is - welcome back, Ayabel. Thank you, travelers, for returning her."

"It's nice to be back. Can I have my blessings?"

"You will uphold the same principles and actions you did in your past life?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. Is it all right with you if I imply to what are probably followers of a plague god that I am back and young again and therefore able to retrieve my hoverbike because of you?"

"You may." Perinixu sounds vaguely pleased with this. "I will say that I have longer considered and finally decided to bring you back, but I trust no one else with this privilege." Pause. "I may at some point ask you to bring others back, as well, other of my acolyte. I will bless you, in return. It would be good to have many more of my trusted acolytes returned so that I might smite Kerxigal where he rots in his domain."

"I have a lot of demands on my time, and additionally, the spell does strictly require calling on witch goddesses. Apart from that, though, my limiting factor is herbs."

"I will help with herbs as well as I can," agrees Perinixu. "I will... Tolerate you calling on other goddesses in my domain. Now that there is proof that you may beat death. Might I meet their acolytes, so I might judge them?"

"My goddesses don't work like your kind of god. All witches can call on their power. Witches being all female children of previous witches. You're not going to get any closer to the idea of an acolyte for them than me."

"Thank you."

"The landscape's changed and I don't have my map. Where would be a good place for me to pick up some holy water?"

Perinixu gives directions. It's reasonably close by to where they are.

Zoom!

Aya goes to the nearest temple, introduces herself as an acolyte to the priests there, is mysterious about how she has appeared, collects vials of water, solicits directions to a restaurant, and then leads her alt, alt's husband, and friend there.

"I wasn't really worried about that anyway. This does mean I'm going to need to get a new house."

"Yeah, me too. Guess I get to pick a new spot for it, then! I will go exploring Rae's domain after we rescue your hoverbike, I can find a place with a nice view. Then I try and play catch up."

"I'm thinking I'll set up near wherever the visitors put the portal."

"Ideally it would be inconvenient to get to for random other people."

"Up a mountain, maybe, I can bike it no trouble, you and Idania can fly, everyone else who wants to talk to me would have better luck waiting for me to show up at a temple?"

"Sure."

"I can live up a mountain, if we can build a house there. If it's near Rae's domain or even in it I'll go there and we can be neighbors! It'll be fun. Like old times, when you first arrived."

"We'll have to see if there are any appropriately located mountains."

"You and Rae are the most adorable."

Idania giggles. "We are! I wonder how long it'll take people to start thinking we're a couple again. It's funny every time."

"Do mortals date gods?" asks Adarin curiously.

"Nope. I mean, I guess there might be some weird gods out there, but - no. It would be really weird to date my god."

"It would be so weird. People have thought it of Idania and Rae before, though. I once had an embarrassingly long conversation in which someone who vaguely knew Idania kept referring to her 'boyfriend' and I couldn't figure out if there was a boyfriend she hadn't told me about, a fling someone had read too much into, or a metaphor for her favorite hat. The poor fellow was very embarrassed when I figured it out and corrected him."

Idania giggles. "That was funny. The sea bitch actually accused Rae of - some very dirty things that involved me and he was just so confused."

"You do seem very close, but I'd hesitate to read into it even if I didn't know."

"Yeah. Best friends, I would say, if I had to put it in normal-people terms. I'm pretty sure we are the strangest acolyte-god pair of all time. It's fun!"

Adarin snickers. "Sounds it."

"My situation's closer to the standard. Worked my way up."

"Well, I'm not really sure what the standard is. New to the world, and all. What's the standard?"

"Work for years for a god to trust you with increasing levels of power and for them to take notice of you specifically. If you're devoted and lucky, after years of work, bam, acolytehood."

"I had to write a book."

"What on?"

"Domestic abuse. At the time one of a small number of unsolved problems in Perinixu's domain."

"It was a good book, I read it. Helpful and altruistic and everything."