Over the last day of traveling, he’d had a chance to actually talk with both Gastropé and Jenn, talk in a more relaxed manner than ever before. He’d learned a lot about them. As he got to know them, and their pasts, he realized they weren’t the nutso wizards he’d wanted to believe they were. They were just normal people, like himself. Or rather like he’d been and Edwyrd pretended to be. When they weren’t on the defensive against him, thinking he was a demon, they were actually pretty nice people. He hated to have to destroy the start of a friendship by suddenly revealing himself to be the demon again. As he’d realized when he thought Rupert dead, he needed friends.
Thus while he wanted very much to turn back into himself, he didn’t want to have to do it where Jenn or Gastropé or Maelen, for that matter, could see him. It was really a rather strange situation to be in, he supposed. Therefore, they’d have to come up with some other option.
“We’re out of ideas. There doesn’t seem to be anything to do, but get caught, or not go to Freehold at all. If we don’t go to Freehold, we starve.” Jenn said tiredly.
“You know,” Rupert suddenly spoke up. He’d been quite for most of the discussion. His few ideas had been shot down as much as anyone’s had. “There is-one other option to us.”
“What?” Gastropé’ asked, Maelen looked on, not convinced.
“Well, you’re not going to like it.” He stared right at Jenn.
She grimaced in frustration. “Rupert, spill it. If you have an idea just say it so Maelen can tear it apart.” Maelen gave her a sour look.
“Well-we summon Tom.” He carefully avoided looking at Edwyrd. Before anyone could object, as both Gastropé and Jenn were preparing to do, he went on. “We summon Tom and have him transport us all to the Abyss.”
“NO!” Jenn shouted. “Absolutely not. I knew it, your hair wasn’t the only thing curled by the lightning bolt. Your brain got fried too!”
“Now listen Jenn.” Rupert went on insistently. “We traveled through the Abyss once safely, we can do it again.”
“Do you have any concept of what you are saying, child?” Jenn asked intently. “We nearly lost our souls in that place. I have no idea why that demon let us go, but it did. I will not tempt fate a second time!”
Edwyrd shook his head. While it wasn’t the worst idea they’d heard, there were certainly problems with it. “Rupert?” Edwyrd asked; the boy looked over to him. “Didn’t you say this Tom fellow,” he paused, hoping Rupert would take the hint, “had to be elsewhere? If he’s busy doing something else, I doubt he could be in two places at once. I know I couldn’t.” Rupert frowned at this, apparently he hadn’t thought of that. For Tom to appear, Edwyrd would need to disappear, they’d never explain that one.
“Besides,” Gastropé entered the discussion, “even if he wasn’t busy. Last time we ended up in Gizzor Del. If he can’t control where he opens his gates, we could end up farther away than ever.”
“No! Not if Tizzy flies ahead to Freehold and summons Tom from there! If Tizzy were to do that, be our inside man so to speak, we could do it!” Rupert exclaimed, this one he’d thought of.
“Tizzy?” Jenn asked incredulously. “You’re going to trust that crackpot?”
“Hey! My pot’s no more cracked than any other four thousand year old vase that’s been through the mill a few times!” Tizzy, who spoke for the first time, stated with mock indignity. “Further, I’m as trustworthy as the tides!” He crossed a couple arms on his chest and pretended to pout.
Jenn shook her head. “No.”
“Well,” Gastropé said thoughtfully. “I don’t trust that big demon, at all. However, the basic concept is sound. If only we didn’t have to rely on any demons.”
Jenn looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Are you as crazy as Tizzy? How else would we get there if not via demon? Besides, last time we nearly died of the heat! If you hadn’t come up with that variant of the cool cantrip, we’d have been roasted.” Jenn paused for a moment, tilted her head as if remembering something she’d forgotten. “Just exactly how did you come up with that, anyway?” She asked suspiciously.
Gastropé bent his head, licking his lips somewhat nervously. He didn’t say anything for a moment as Jenn glared at him, demanding an answer. He looked at the others from under his brows, then said softly, almost casually, “Well, I’d been there before.”
“Oh.” Jenn said, her brow furrowed. “What exactly do you mean, you’d been there before? How did you get there? And what were you doing there?” She said suspiciously.
Gastropé coughed then looked back and forth between Rupert and Jenn. Edwyrd was quite curious about this one. “On the way,” Gastropé’ began, “to Lenamare’s castle. We took a detour through the Abyss.”
“You took,” Jenn shook her head slightly, “a detour through the Abyss?” She just shook her head. “Who takes a detour through the Abyss when marching on a castle with an army?”
“Exador,” Gastropé said as if that explained everything. “And I suppose technically it wasn’t a detour since it was faster than marching over land. That’s how he was able to get the army there so fast.
“You see, he used this spell called Abyssal Switch. It relocates a part of Astlan with a different part of the Abyss. The area isn’t that big, but you can switch an area big enough to move a few hundred people or so at a time. He switched an area with soldiers to the Abyss, had us wizards put cool spells on the soldiers and then moved them off the switched land, and then he switched it back. He then did the spell in reverse, switching the part of the Abyss the soldiers were on with a new location in Astlan. It took a while, because we had to move several groups, but we were able to cover a great distance a lot faster.” Gastropé shrugged: it hadn’t been his doing; he’d just followed orders.
Maelen rubbed his chin. “Hmm, rather impressive actually,” the animage murmured.
Jenn appeared at a loss for words. She didn’t seem to know what to say. She just shook her head. Edwyrd was also impressed, it was certainly an impressive trick this Exador had performed. No wonder the man was so good at pissing off Lenamare.
Rupert spoke up, almost craftily this time. No one but Edwyrd seemed to notice his cunning smile, “So, Gastropé, if we could get to the Abyss without needing the greater demon, you’d go along with it?”
Gastropé shrugged, “I suppose, we’d have to go in someplace cool, for the Abyss anyway. In the main regions, the trick with the cool spell wouldn’t be sufficient. However, we don’t have a way to go there other than Tom. I certainly can’t do an Abyssal Switch, not by a long shot. Further, we would also still have the problem of knowing the spot to exit to. In other words, Gizzor Del all over.”
Rupert nodded. “Well — Tizzy?” The demon smiled at Rupert. “Can we trust you to fly to Freehold and be a focal point? Do a summons sort of thing.” Rupert looked into Tizzy’s eyes.
The octopod shrugged, “Of course. I always do well by my friends, like you and Tom.” Tizzy said pointedly.
Jenn was just shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter whether we can trust him,” she pointed at Tizzy. “I will not go with that fourth order demon again, even if we could summon him. I’ll burn at the stake first.”
“It won’t come to that,” Rupert assured her. “At least I don’t think it should.” He turned his attention to Edwyrd. Edwyrd was beginning to get an idea of what the boy wanted. “Lord Edwyrd,” Rupert smiled, “as the Rod calls you,” Edwyrd nodded, “You’re our resident awe-inspiring animage. No offense, Maelen.” The healer just nodded, staring at the boy to see what he was getting at. “Do you think you, Edwyrd, could open up a small gate to the Abyss? One we could all get through. Then if Tizzy was to provide a focal point, could you pull us out again?’