The open book consumed the table beneath it, its leather corners poking precariously from the dainty edges of its makeshift desk. It was big and old and worn, its pages crinkling crisply as they turned. Its text was composed of two separate languages, each paired in thick columns of tiny, delicate print on every page. Where there were illustrations, they depicted either complex overlays of bizarre, geometric shapes or various layers of unnervingly accurate anatomies. But mostly there were not pictures. Only page after page of dense, dismal text.

Chae had been reading one of those pages for a very long time. There was a steaming coffee cradled in both of her little hands, though she did not drink from it once—she liked the warmth more than the taste. The look on her face was not as studious as it was bored, her brown eyes prone to staring with absent thoughts. Her contemplation became almost meditative as she sat there in the heat of her drink, quite still amid the lazy crowd of that bleak Pacem afternoon.

That vague state between knowledge and reverie had consumed her for a long while when she finally sensed it. She could not be sure what exactly it was, but she knew it was different than anything else. It was an aura of warmth, and not an arcane or even a divine warmth. It was soft like velvet and young like spring. Chae blinked.

Her attention was drawn to those yellow eyes, and if their gazes met the phoenix might notice a mix of curiosity and longing in the undead woman’s gawking face. Chae lowered her cup to her lap, secretly willing the strange and beautiful woman close, if for no other reason than that she was strange and beautiful. Similarly, her volatile magic stretched out around her, grasping greedily for that which she sought to understand. But instead of whispering in the stranger’s mind or pushing at her feet, the lich inadvertently poisoned the air around her. It thinned, pulling itself from the lungs of passersby, the apex of its effect focused on the subject of Chae’s intrigue.

She did not know what she was doing. She knew as much about the extent of her power as she knew about the woman who had caught her interest. Baseless need overpowered her, sown by the seed of terrible necrotic instinct.

  Pyzis was here in the city of Wyllmochvar, hoping to find what she sought. After she had spent days deep in the jungle recovering from being reborn of fire she had still not regained the ability to change back into her original form. It was extremely frustrating especially to have traveled so far without having wings to aid her. The city here was a densely populated area pushed between the foothills of a mountain and an ocean. The Mage Academy was here so hopefully there would be some knowledge of her condition or how to fix it. After spending forty years trapped in a cage she wanted to get back into her Phoenix form and heal those who needed her help. Those years had been spent healing only one person, there were so many lives she could have saved in that time. 

  On her way here she had stopped at the temple of her Goddess and was granted inspiration. The Goddess had helped her see that even in her human form she would learn the art to mend the body no matter what it took. If she failed to gain information as to help her regain her bird form, then she would find someone to teach her how to heal through magic or herbs. That was how she had made it here, to a crowded tavern, awaiting a room until she could figure out where to start fetching the information she needed. The smell of people and the noise, though she knew rationally it wasn't very noisy as it was only the afternoon, was bothering her. She wasn't used to people brushing up against her as she walked amongst the tables. The closeness of the roof made her want to run out and not stop until she reached the open sky once more. Pyzis' captivity had made her weary of the indoors, her heart longed for the people to turn into trees and the stifling still air to rise up in a breeze. 

  As she was finding her way into the tavern her eyes glanced over a halfing staring at some book, she found a seat nearby that was at an empty table. She sat and tried to hide the panic that was crawling its way up from the pit of her stomach. With a deep breath she steadied herself, remembering that if she willed it this entire place could burn. Not that she would ever do so, but the thought was comforting. Though as soon as she had taken the steadying breath and released it, the air seemed to thin around her. Her next inhale brought little oxygen and the next moment she stood gasping. Pyzis clutched at her throat and looked around trying to find the source of whatever was happening to her. Her eyes locked on the Halfling woman, she was meeting Pyzis' gaze with a look of only curiosity and perhaps longing. 

The thin air fleeted around Pyzis’s mouth and nose, short gasps catching teases of undulant oxygen. The careless hex continued in this way for many long moments before Chae finally recognized a change in her victim’s complexion. A short, high-pitched gasp interrupted the spell, releasing Pyzis from the witch’s influence, if not her interest. Her expression was no less enraptured as she watched the phoenix woman catch her breath, secretly trying to remember what it was like to breathe.

This time of her own accord, Chae removed a hand from the little tea cup and curled her fingers in the woman's direction. Though she could not control her outright, Pyzis would discover that the closer she got to the curious halfling the easier the air would come to her lungs.

“Come here, poor girl,” she cooed, like a kind mother to a frightened child. She reached for Pyzis, eager to take her hand or touch her arm if she came close enough. She craved the subtle warmth that emanated from her almost as much as she craved to learn what it was she sensed from the creature. As a lich, Chae was uniquely attuned to the auras of the arcane, especially those which would contribute to her meager but growing power. Her natural disposition to care about a confused young woman battled a more sinister instinct to obtain a magical creature. Pyzis might sense better than Chae herself what sort of danger lurked in the approach.

There was a chair opposite the beckoning halfling, a plain wooden place that would have remained empty for many hours as she struggled over the tome between them. The book itself, however invaluable the contents of its pages, lay open but forgotten in light of recent events.

“What are you?” She spoke absently, only hearing the words after they excited hey mouth. Recognizing her rudeness, though perhaps not her intrusion, she added, “Who are you?”

Pyzis couldn't breathe, the air had ben sucked out of her lungs, and the only thing she knew was the halfling was making eye contact with her. What little she knew of magic, she knew that eye contact was something necessary for some spells. As quickly as it had begun she could breathe again, Pyzis gasped and raised an eyebrow at the woman as she told her to come to her. The tone the halfling used was not menacing, it was almost soothing, and Pyzis found herself moving towards her. With each step, it became easier to breath and relief flooded her when the halfling touched her hand. Finally, she felt as if she could consume oxygen at a normal rate. 

Pyzis gasped as she realized that the halflings touch was as cold as ice. While she knew she radiated more warmth than a normal human, as she was a Phoenix first, the hand was colder than any live being she had ever been touched by. The chair across from the woman was empty and Pyzis found herself sitting in it. The wood was worn and the table was mostly covered with a large book that was opened before her companion. Pyzis laid her yellow eyes upon the halflings strange blue-green ones and listened as she asked her what she was. Though outwardly the only sign that she was of another race were her yellow eyes, Pyzis was sure others who knew of arcane creatures on sight. 

"I'm a Phoenix, a firebird, born of the flames. My name is Pyzis, who are you?" she marveled. This woman had tried to suffocate her, but Pyzis felt drawn as if she didn't have much of a choice but to answer. With a shake of her long chocolate hair, she sat back in her seat and folded her hands in her lap. Caution crept up through her limbs and the hair on her arms stood on end. There was something odd about this halfling other than the fact that she had almost strangled her. 

The last forty years of her life had been spent without contact with others so Pyzis knew she was out of custom to the manners of people. She took a steadying breath and willed the flames within her to burn brighter. The warmth cleared her head and reminded her that she had been captured once already and was still paying the consequences of that imprisonment. She had sworn to herself that that would never happen again and here in the crowded tavern Pyzis hoped that this woman wouldn't try anything. 

"What is it you want? Why did you attack me and then draw me over here?" inquired Pyzis. There was no reason to beat around the bush now that her head was clear enough to think. 

Chae’s hand dwelled on Pyzis’s for a few moments too long. She felt herself wanting, craving the heat of the firebird, the power she held in the warmth of her heart. Perhaps it was foolish of the phoenix to admit her truth so readily, but of course the halfling had sensed it on her without much effort. A smile had risen on the little lich’s lips, more sweet than sinister and yet more selfish than kind. It did not occur to her to apologize.

“I am Chae,” she replied, fingers tapping on the unfulfilling heat of her cooling coffee cup. She ignored the questions, though her lip did twitch in the wake of the phoenix’s hostility. “There is a great power inside of you.” Her pale eyes and gaunt face gave another longing look toward the depths of those bright yellows, and Pyzis might again feel the reaching tendrils of magic probe into her being. This time, there was no manipulation or illusion involved. Pyzis could burn away the intrusion with her own will, but Chae could not help but act on her curiosity. 

Suddenly, realization bloomed on her withered expression. The small light of knowing pulled her blinking eyelashes toward the pages of her book, and the cup was set precariously on the edge of the table in order for both gnarled hands to turn the pages. The halfling stood on her chair to better see the words, mumbling over the cracking lilt of turning parchment. “You know your power. Of course you do. And yet you are so frail. The blade is sharp but the armor is brittle. There are strength-bringers, and shield-makers, and…

“Phoenix,” she said finally, pointing at the illustrationless passage. “Healing. Resurrection. Pyzis…” She looked up for that last word, meeting the woman’s gaze again.

“Pyzis, the question is what do you want. What would you give, in exchange for a flicker of life’s flame?”

Pyzis could feel the woman's chill touch on her arm, and she shivered. It had been a long time since she had let anyone touch her but thankfully after a few intense moments the hand withdrew. Curiosity filled Pyzis as the halfling introduced herself, why had she tried to hurt her but seemed so interested in what she was. Though a Phoenix was rare, she was hardly the only member of her race. Many of her kinds chose to stay in their bird form and were content living out their lives serving loyally to one master. Pyzis' master had been cruel; there was no way she would squander her freedom and head back to imprisonment once more. Years of her time had been wasted, years she could have spent healing dying children or some other important task. Instead, a golden cage had been her home with no sunlight and no contact. 

Py felt a different energy probing at her; she recognized magic within its depths even if she couldn't recognize what it was. Swiftly she focused on the intrusion and felt the flames within her seek it out. While she burned away, the magic Pyzis watched ahe expression on Chae's face changed before she dove into the book that sat open and abandoned on the table. As Chae spoke Pyzis realized that Chae knew what her problem was. She understood that the fire within Pyzis should be raging but was subdued. 

"How do you know what is happening to me?" she asked. It wasn't often that anyone understood about what made a Phoenix tick. Let alone being able to tell that there was something wrong. Pyzis' eyes went wide as the halfling found what she was looking for in the book. If there was a way to fix Pyzis then she would be able to heal again. No more wasting her time trying to learn the art of alchemy, though to be honest she would probably learn it anyway.

"Chae, tell me how I can fix this. I NEED to be able to transform again. I'm useless as a human!" she almost shouted. Pyzis could feel anger rising inside of her. "I would do anything to be as I once was, freedom holds no joy if I can't help others."

Pyzis looked down at the ancient text before her, unfortunatly it was written in a language she did not understand. There was a depiction of a Phoenix, but that was all she could recognize. With a frustrated sigh, she looked over the woman before her and let go of her anger. It wouldn't help her get answers if she was going to yell.

"I'm sorry, I need to change. My entire being craves to fly again or to feel the heat inside me. Everything feels so cold…." she trailed off as she looked down at the table. 

“Your aura burns with life,” Chae answered, happy to show off a power that had not been expected of her. She could not know, however, what the phoenix’s own precious power had cost her. “Do you know what some people will do to get their hands on such an essence?”

It was patronizing, and rude, and arrogant, but nonetheless there was a grin on her face which basked in the glow of Pyzis’s desperation. Anything. Anything was exactly what the little lich needed. She let the woman’s words wallow in silence as she turned her expression back to the page. The translation was poor, and perhaps misleading; she studied the other side of the page twice as hard, setting her coffee cup over the image of the phoenix. Her expression took up a frown of concentration as she looked down at the pages, her withered fingers flaking as they traced the words. It spoke of a gem, a magical artifact with a very specific name (ref. page 1082). “A conduit of life and fire,” she read out loud, dangling the information like a fishing hook. “Which may unleash the immortal beast from the tethers of humanity.”

Chae turned her attention back up to Pyzis, and her wide eyes seemed to glaze with both a hunger for power and the reality of her decay. In this tidy little tavern, on this bright sunny day, the lich proposed an exchange. “Is this what you want? I may certainly help you find it. But then the wheel turns round, and you must ask what I want.”

Standing straight, a small tendril of fell magic reached out between them like an invisible rope. It would like an anchor, keeping them in place, though truly it was only the beginnings of a spell and could be broken with a moderately strong will. Chae would not keep such a majestic creature in a cage, no, but she did desire it. She fed on souls, the life forces of mostly sentient beings. If she ever went too long without such sustenance, it would be in her best interest to have a life-giver at her beck and call.

“I want a piece of it, whenever I want. I will summon you when it is time, and you will work your magic. We will seal the promise with a blood oath.” She raised her sleeve as she said it, revealing soft flesh that sagged from the bone. “Do you accept?”

Pyzis reeled, she hadn't expected the halfling to demand something so significant. When someone says anything, the person demanding doesn't ask for so much. The wooden legs of the chair made a scraping sound as she pushed back subconsciously. What was Chae, why would she take advantage of Pyzis' gift? Having just spent forty years bound to an Alchemist she wasn't keen on doing so again, despite it only being infrequent. Hell, there was no way to know it would be infrequent. It was a steep price that she wasn't sure she was willing to pay, perhaps Chae would accept something else. Once she was able to turn back into a Phoenix, she would be able to produce her healing tears again. A bottle of those is practically priceless, who would turn down such an opportunity. While Pyzis was hesitant to offer, she needed to be able to transform into a Phoenix again. Her very being yearned for the chance to soar again, to feel the wind lift her wings. The sight of a forest from above was unrivaled, not to mention that traveling would be so much simpler.

"I cannot shackle myself to another being; my soul could not take any restrictions on my freedom again. I would offer you a bottle of my tears that you may use as you wish. That way I am not bound to a recurring agreement." she offered. Pyzis folded her arms across her chest, feeling unnerved by Chae's very presence. There was something about the halfling that was off, her skin too sallow, her bones too pronounced. A memory surfaced as Pyzis thought back to her time into Koschei Forest. There had been undead there, not so unlike this woman. If that was so, then the reason she wanted to be bound to a Phoenix was to feed off of her life essence. A creature who could be reborn was an ideal candidate for this. 

Immediately her guards went up, but she needed the information that Chae had to offer. There was no telling when the next time she would be able to find someone willing to help her. Her yellow eyes peered at the woman, trying to figure out what to do. If she accepted her offer there would be no issue, but if she still insisted on the bond, Pyzis didn't know what she would do.

The audacity. The ingratitude. Chae glared without pretense, her face stretched so thin it might have torn. The presented alternative might have been a tempting one, if she had not been so disappointed by the refusal. Her attention dropped to the pages in front of her, the words and illustrations that revealed pieces of information which they both desired: life and freedom, restoration and transmutation, all in the power of a single stone.

But what was it called? Where could it be found? Without warning her drink was cast carelessly to the floor in a spray of porcelain and lukewarm coffee, the little lich herself flipping unabashedly through the pages. She stopped at the 1082nd one and walked a finger over the words.

“The fire opal,” she announced, though the edge of mystery was lost in her mostly impatient tone. “Hidden, but reachable. If you know where to look.”

Spitefully she lunged forward, gripping the upper edge of the page and ripping loudly it from its bindings. A nearby patron of the kaffekuca glanced sideward at the growing disturbance, but one look from her bulging dead eyes and his gaze was averted. Chae had read the most important part—though she could only hope Pyzis had not done the same—and held it aloft from where she stood on her chair. In the next second the paper was gone, transported to a holding plane by selfish magic.

She knew where she had sent it, and she would look at it in more detail later. Certainly the information existed to be found by anyone who was looking hard enough. But if she could actually attain the opal before this phoenix did, then perhaps she could change the sacred creature’s mind. She did not intend to confine her to a cage, after all.

“Life may be taken just as easily as it is given,” she said lowly, abruptly calm to the point of conceit. “Your precious conduit is perched atop a sacred zenith, a golden egg in an obsidian nest. Find it if you will, but you’ll get no help from me.”

It was a riddle. A challenge. The phoenix who was not a phoenix could find the thing on her own, if she was clever enough. And if Chae did not find it first.