Lucian Basken glanced across
the room, his dark gray eyes judging the orc before him. She had
broad shoulders and wide hips, skin the color of desert's in the
morning and hair the color of oil. Her dress, once surely a thing of
marvel, was worn and dirty, its color faded.

“Are you sure you want to do
this? You may not get the answers you want, if any at all." Lucian
said with a gruff voice, his pipe resting on a gloved hand. His ears
folded against his head in concern.

“I need to know Mr. Basken.
I can't go back to that house and spend another night wondering
what may have happened that night. Or, or if it even happened that
night."

“I see, if that's what you
wish--"

“It is." the woman said
with a tone that left no room for discussion.

Lucian took a puff from his
pipe, letting the smoke fill his muzzle before the relaxing burn
passed to his lungs. For a moment, there was nothing before the
hyena-like-man, just a vast darkness that spread in every direction.
Then he saw the flickers of purple flame gather in front of him and a
deep sense of longing invaded his heart. The flames took the form of
a young woman, almost as tall as him and with a thin figure; her eyes
filled with a deep sorrow. Lucian blew out the smoke in his lungs,
sending a silent question in the gray cloud. The woman nodded at him,
resolution shining in her eyes before she vanished with the cloud of
gray smoke. Lucian's vision cleared, the material world once again
in his sight and his goal clear in his mind.


“Then it's
best we start. Please, stand up in the center of the circle, yeah,
over there, by the red dot." The hyena man said with his business
tone, locking the room's door with a flick of his wrist and a hint
of purple sparks.

“Mr. Basken, will it hurt?"
The orc asked, her body seeming impossibly tall inside the red lines
of the circle.

Lucian came to a stop, his
ears twitched at the top of his head. Compassionate eyes met the
woman's, her own pain reflected in the gray orbs. “No, it won't
hurt you a bit, at least not physically. Emotionally though, that's
another matter entirely."

“I didn't mean me. I
meant, will it hurt her? Am I being selfish by asking her to show
right here, right now?" Silver shone in the woman's hands, a
delicate silver chain looped around her wrist and led to a crystal
rose. Longing tugged harder at his heart strings, a sign from the
Other Woman's own feelings. So that's the memento.

“Mrs. Albores I know it is
scary and nerve wracking. Meeting with those who are gone, is never
an easy thing and it always brings back fears we thought overcome."
Lucian said with a soft and even tone, a thin trail of smoke
spiraling from his wooden pipe to the low ceiling. “I can assure
you, however, that she will feel no pain. She wants to speak with
you, one last time, she needs it and so do you. Do this for her and
for yourself, help each other move on."

“I will. For the both of us.
You may begin Mr. Basken." The woman nodded with conviction,
clutching the rose to her chest.

“Good, now remember. You
will see her as you best remember her, you will hear her voice, just
like when she was alive, but you won't be able to touch her."

Mrs. Albores brow creased and
a slight trembling appeared on her hands.“Will you, will you be
able to listen to what we say?"

“Yes, I will but don't
fret, the moment the ritual is over, I'll forget about it all. It's
all part of the contract we signed."

The orc's eyes fell to the
ground, her shoulders slumped down as soft murmurs escaped her
mouth. He turned his back to give her some privacy and focused on his
preparations. He picked up a handful of herbs from a set of drawers
at the back of the room, the strong scent of dried plants piercing
through the thick smoke, Next came a bowl of gray iron where a
viscous green liquid laid. And last, but not least were a few pieces
of quartz that laid upon his desk, their soft pink surface reflecting
the pale light of the room. With calm steps, he placed all the
materials on a small wooden table near the circle. Lucian took
another puff from his pipe before the hyena man turned his gaze back
towards the orc.

“Final chance to back out
Mrs. Albores. Then, here we go."

“I am ready. Please, let's
begin."

Lucian got to work at once.
His hands cutting the herbs into a dozen tiny pieces over the iron
bowl. Tendrils of greed smoke rose from the liquid and the thick
stench of burned wood spread across the room. The herbs done, the
hyena man moved with long steps across the room, placing a bits of
quartz over the red line of the circle. One, two, three, and so on
until there were eight. All of them equally spaced apart and glowing
with a muted purple light.

Lucian came to a stop in front
of the wooden table and submerged his pipe into the dark green
liquid. Green fire rose from the bowl, consuming it all for a couple
of seconds that brought a scream out of Mrs. Albores. The fire was
replaced with thick clouds of green smoke, the scent of burned fur
joining the others. The human swallowed hard when hyena man turned
back to look at her, a purple glint dancing in his eyes and his pipe
hanging from a gloved hand.

“On my right hand I hold the
golden thread, on my left hand I hold the bone cane. Divide. Reverse.
Search. Cry. Sever the veil with ashes and truth." Lucian's voice
reverberated in the closed room, the air growing more tense with
every words that left his lips. There was something unnatural to the
hyena's voice, a faint echo that drilled into the human's ears.

“Mr. Basken?"

“Oh dark star, three headed
dog, azure snake, rotten egg. Oh sweet call of the grave, melody of
the cold death. Twisted memory of Yesterday, forgotten augur of Gray
Plays. Grant us but a glimpse of the dream that never ends; of the
blood, bone and soul that left us to walk another way."

The smoke swirling around Mrs.
Albores, a soft cry leaving her mouth before the world was swallowed
by the twister of smoke. When she opened her eyes moments later, she
stood alone in the circle. Safe and worried. Walls of gray smoke
surrounded her on all sides and the coldness of the air pierced
through her dress. She was about to call for the mage's help when a
purple glow claimed her attention. She couldn't hold back her gasp,
nor the tears that fell from her eyes.

“Elizabeth" She muttered
as she stared at the ghost of her friend and lover.