Taka awoke to a knock at the door. Before he could swivel around in the dirt to even look toward the sound, ZIrko was on his feet. The lizard man answered the door and was greeted by a horned man -- a satyr -- who wore a fine red suit and a comically large monocle.

  "Good morning," the satyr said, his voice annoyingly shrill. "I hope I didn't wake you."

  Zirko peeked behind the satyr, checking to see if there was anyone else in the hallway. Based on the lack of a reaction, Taka assumed there wasn't.

  "Who are you?" Zirko asked groggily.

  The satyr blinked. Taka couldn't tell if he was genuinely surprised at the lizard man's question or was offended by it.

  "I am Jambo, personal assistant to the Ambassador," the satyr said with a sweeping bow.

  Taka used his TELEPATHY skill and opened a link to Zirko.

  Should we let him in? Taka asked.

  Reika said we could trust him, Zirko responded. So we will, for now. Be wary of what you say. Reika informed him of our true identities, follow his lead for now. Let's see what he wants.

  Zirko gestured Jambo to a chair beside Taka, and the satyr took a seat. Taka examined him as the satyr nodded the worm a greeting. Jambo was almost as tall as Zirko, and was surprisingly muscular for how lean he appeared to be. His suit looked expensive, as well as his golden monocle: the Ambassador's assistant oozed an air of high-class elegance unlike Vanz'goran's more relaxed attitude which made Kronkswell feel like home.

  Syla and Maeve emerged from their room and joined Taka and Jambo, sitting together on the couch.

  "So what can we do for you?" Zirko asked as he locked the door.

  Jambo looked between them all and smiled, "I'm here on behalf of the Ambassador for an update and to discuss our next steps."

  Maeve and Syla both looked to Zirko, and the lizard man nodded in response. Maeve gave a militaristically detailed account of their investigation thus far, even though it had just begun. Jambo whipped out a pen and notepad from a pocket inside his suit jacket and scribbled notes while nodding along to Maeve's report on Hyark and her mother, the connection to Dr. Quinoth, and the other residences they had visited.

  "Curious," Jambo said.

  "Which part?" Maeve asked.

  "Everything together," the satyr replied. "There are more moving parts within the city than we anticipated."

  "So where does that leave us?" Zirko asked.

  Jambo went still. His eyes seemed to gloss over as his hands twitched, his mind somewhere else entirely. The satyr seemed like a strange pick for a personal assistant.

  "Fen will go to the remaining residences, accompanied by Ma-- Mistress Xesha and Lady Sibil. And before you make a fuss over splitting up, it's for efficiency. We shall send an escort with them. There is much to get done today."

  Taka was about to protest, but then he heard Zirko in his head, It's fine. Not ideal, but this was the plan if we were to split.

  "And what about us?" Taka asked aloud.

  The satyr stared at Taka with wide eyes for a moment, then re-focused, "Hesk and the autonomous golem will accompany me to speak with Dr. Quinoth about the illness afflicting Hyark's brother. It seems like it could be an important piece of the puzzle regarding the creationist church's ambitions, but we cannot say for certain."

  "Understood," Zirko said before anyone else could jump in.

  "We shall leave at half past, as soon as Fen arrives," Jambo said as he rose to his feet.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Are we investigating homes of the missing, same as yesterday?" Maeve asked.

  "I believe so, but Fen might have some additional matters to look into as well," Jambo replied. He will be able to inform you better than I.

  Maeve nodded her head in thanks as Syla sat quietly, silently brooding.

  "Please be prepared to leave by the time I return," Jambo said as he slipped out the door.

  As it shut behind him, Syla let out a loud sigh.

  "I'm tired of not being able to talk around anyone," Syla groaned.

  "You're the one who chose to take the place of a mute mage," Zirko quipped back.

  That shut Syla up. The elf sulked back to their room and shut the door slowly behind them.

  "You don't need to be so harsh," scolded Maeve. "They're doing their best--"

  "'Best' is always relative," Zirko snapped, "and we're in a dangerous place where--"

  "Syla is just trying to help us," Maeve exclaimed.

  Zirko sighed deeply, "I know."

  The lab was just as quiet as the last time Taka had been there. He was more comfortable stepping inside in his golem as a mere visitor and observer rather than a patient.

  "And there have been no problems at all?" Dr. Quinoth asked incredulously.

  "Not yet, but when you say it like that," Taka replied.

  "No, it's just..." Dr. Quinoth's voice trailed off. "We haven't tested this Magitech with an intelligent creature, and for it to work almost seamlessly out the gate... it is a very welcome and pleasant surprise."

  "Well, it works," Zirko interjected. "Now, back to why we came--"

  "Indeed, yes, apologies for the tangent," Dr. Quinoth babbled. "I've finally been able to pin down the treatment for a magic-related illness I call Overload."

  "Overload?" Jambo asked. "Why haven't you brought this to the--"

  "Because it wasn't diplomatically related to much, until now," Dr. Quinoth answered sheepishly. "It's exactly what the discretionary fund is for--"

  "At this moment, your spending is not the concern," Jambo said plainly. "What we need to know now is why you kept this to yourself."

  The doctor scowled at the much larger satyr, "I didn't," Dr. Quinoth stated. "All of my findings have been in my reports, including all the data. It was just that up until now, Overload seemed to be an ailment of no more political relevance than the seasonal flu."

  "Can you explain what Overload is?" Zirko asked impatiently.

  Dr. Quinoth's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment, but the doctor stumbled on: "Yes. Overload is an ailment we believe isolated to the Spirit Kingdom, and is a herditary condition not uncommon in half-breeds."

  "Half-breeds?" Taka asked.

  Dr. Quinoth nodded, "Correct. Though, the trait doesn't seem to be exclusively half-breeds. Any impure specimen from a fae and non-fae mix seems to be at risk."

  "What is a half-breed?" Taka asked.

  "Right. Yes. A half-breed is the offspring from both fae and no-fae parents. Up until about the third generation, then the effects trail off," Dr. Quinoth excitedly explained.

  "What effects?" Jambo pressed.

  "Fae individuals, in general, have a much larger mana capacity than non-fae otherkin," Dr. Quinoth said. "And for whatever reason, are also born or gifted at least some form of magical power by the time they reach the age of five."

  "Okay..." Taka said.

  "The issue arises when certain creatures -- individuals -- with an extraordinarily high magical aptitude by fae standards have a relatively tiny mana capacity, in comparison," Dr. Quinoth explained. "In more straightforward terms, Overload is when a creature has a much lower capacity for Magia than their ability to use it. While my initial findings supported the idea that singly diluted half-breeds would be the best sample. But now, I believe the dilution, up until and through the third generation, is of little additional consequence. For whatever reason, it;s much more common for half-breeds to be born with admirable ability when it comes to Magia but a lackluster capacity. It's why the Spirit Kingdom itself made 'species purity' a talking point."

  "Overload affects individuals young, as a person's magic aptitude naturally develops much quicker than their other skills," Dr. Quinoth said. " A few months ago, I developed the prototype for a device that could regulate a creature's Magia in terms of both efficiency and capacity. We've only recently begun beta testing, and Tira, Hyark's brother... his results are astounding. Within days, his Magia profile was almost indistinguishable from that of a 'normal' person. There were others, too. All were showing positive results, but Tira's were otherworldly."

  "Others?" Zirko probed.

  Dr. Quinoth perked up, "I could give them a ring--"

  "That's alright," Zirko said. "Their names and addresses should suffice."

  Dr. Quinoth looked confused at Zirko for a moment, then shook his head, "I haven't been able to reach any of my Overload patients since that day."

  The doctor scribbled on a slip of his note paper and then tore it from the binding, and then handed it to Zirko: "If you find any of them, please tell them to come back here," he pleaded.

  Zirko nodded and began to exit the room, Taka and Jambo trailing behind.

  Shouldn't we ask him more before we go? Taka sent to Zirko.

  Better to see for ourselves first and then compare with what the doctor has said, Zirko replied. Can't be too careful now, can you?