Oskar accepted the Gambit as he rose high enough into the darkening sky to ride the currents. Whatever Bluebottle needed from him obviously wasn't super time sensitive; the creature was swaying slowly back and forth as it moved over the dozens of mesas toward the closest thing to a mountain peak Oskar had seen on this planet.

  It wasn’t, but in the absence of anything to compare it to, the description was enough for Oskar. It wasn't much taller than the mesas nearby, but it really nailed the general shape.

  That's gotta count for something. Besides, I don’t have a clue what’s between a hill and a mountain, size wise.

  // Honestly, I think it’s just ‘small mountain’ or ‘large hill.’ //

  Smiling, Oskar slowed as he closed the gap and matched Bluebottle’s casual speed. It was harder to fly slowly than he thought it would be, and he ended up gliding like the Hyenas in their suits instead of actively flying.

  For Bluebottle’s part, he rose and spun around a few times in the green lights that rippled across the dark sky above him before gliding back down and moving forward again. Oskar followed the creature up into the unusual pocket of Sora in the sky.

  The Sora here felt old, somehow. Less wild, and it was an odd feeling after fighting to control Sora for so long. Colors danced around him with purpose, mixing with his own magic and leaving behind a sort of residue he could feel. His limbs tingled as Rakiyu flared inside him as he absorbed the odd magic. Inside him, the Seed Forge responded with a hum, and Bluebottle spun in the air ahead and nodded at Oskar again.

  // Ol’ Blue is cheeky. It really really liked the nod joke. //

  I think the Rakiyu and Sora I felt from Bluebottle was Bluebottle. I think he’s a creature of basically pure Rakiyu. The Sora I felt in him feels just like the Sora we just flew through. I thought it was part of him, but I think he just absorbed it. That’s definitely the same Sora I felt in the green just now.

  // That might explain why the others couldn’t see it, but knew there was something going on. //

  Oskar drifted through sky toward the peak, following Bluebottle as he tried to feel what the Seed Forge was doing, but it currently seemed to be latent outside the humming feeling inside him. It felt ready to be used, not impatient. It didn’t feel like it had desire, but it had purpose, and it was primed and ready to complete it.

  I just don’t know what that purpose is.

  // Well, there’s no tooltip, no tutorial information, nothing. Hopefully, Bluebottle can shed some light on it. //

  They drew nearer to the peak, and from this high up, Oskar could see a small dip in the peak’s side that was filled by, of all things, water.

  There was a shimmer to it, which explained how it existed at all, but not why he couldn’t feel anything until he drew much closer. The telltale signature of Rakiyu became clearer upon inspection, and Oskar recognized it as Bluebottle’s signature. The shimmer had its normal ethereal quality to it, but there was more to it than he expected. There was a web of Rakiyu laid over the surface of the water that reminded Oskar of Talau patterns more than anything.

  Oskar couldn’t quite hover, but he grabbed hold of the rockface. Wrapped fully in his Resonating Ward and because of his out of proportion strength to bodyweight, he had no problem holding himself in position safely to lean in for a closer look after a glance at Bluebottle to make sure it was okay.

  Nod.

  Well, then. Let’s see what Blue was trying to show me.

  He stared at the water and still felt almost nothing. Pushing harder with his Water Sense ability, he reached over and gently and touched the surface of the water with a finger, and he blinked as he realized it wasn’t just a Wayspring, it felt too old for that... it was a tiny Oasis. Oskar withdrew his finger and stared down at the small pool, a thousand thoughts and questions fighting for dominance in his mind. The question that won, beating out the how and how long questions was why.

  His gaze lifted to Bluebottle, and he could tell the creature was staring back at him. The dancing was gone, as was the playfulness.

  “Why did you bring me here? Don’t get me wrong… this is beautiful. I have no idea how you managed to hide this for however long you have, but what do you need from me?”

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  Bluebottle waited patiently. He felt the creature’s attention shift to the water, and Oskar followed, paying closer attention this time.

  The shimmering water under the veil of spirit magic swirled slowly in the water in places, creating gentle spirals that reminded Oskar of Bluebottle dancing in the sky.

  After a few seconds, Oskar’s eyes widened.

  It’s exactly like Bluebottle dancing in the sky.

  Holding his breath, afraid to disturb the moment, Oskar gently touched the surface of the water to bypass the layer of Blue’s Rakiyu. His finger barely touched the top of the water, and it barely rippled when it made contact.

  This time, he pushed his own senses into the water and finally realized what he was staring at. Or… who rather.

  Baby Bluebottles? How? Is Blue the dad or the mom?

  // It’s a spirit creature, I’m not sure it matters. //

  Fair point. Good enough for me.

  He could see tiny sparks of life… two purple shimmers dancing in the water. It was so clear now, he wondered how he’d missed them the first time.

  Then again, I didn’t see Bluebottle for what it was initially either. It’s like I needed my eyes open to the new possibilities. Well, world. You did it, because they’re open now.

  It was beautiful. He could feel them in the water, and as they danced around and poked at his finger playfully, he could feel tiny buzzes of energy coming from them. He moved his finger, and they followed so instantly, they might as well have been a part of him. It took a few moments before he remembered Bluebottle brought him here for a reason.

  “What can I do to help? They’re so small.”

  Bluebottle reached out with a tendril, stopping just short of Oskar, and Oskar stared at it for a moment before reaching out his free hand to touch it, the fingertip still wet from playing with the small creatures.

  This time, he didn’t have a vision, but instead received a general sense of the dangers of the area. There was a growing darkness. Bluebottle was very sensitive to spiritual magic, and the growing darkness was spiritual in nature. Oskar realized the tiny Oasis was weakening. He didn’t know if it had anything to do with the corruption Blue had alerted him to, but it was clear that the creature expected Oskar to do something about it.

  Bluebottle felt a sense of foreboding, and now Oskar did as well.

  Still unclear as to his part in all of this, he had trouble pulling his eyes away from the tiny creatures still dancing in the smallest Oasis he’d ever heard of, and he couldn’t wait to tell Fox about it. After a moment, though, he realized the water went dozens of feet down into the rock.

  Seems like the little ones have plenty of room to play, at least.

  Questioningly, Oskar looked back up to Bluebottle and felt that damn tingle run down his back again.

  // Gambit Update: Commune with Bluebottle

  The Oasis is fading. Use the Seed Forge to save Bluebottle’s children. //

  Panic began to set in as Oskar suddenly felt how weak the magic of the Oasis was. He’d only been near a Wayspring fading a few times, and had no special reason to pay attention to exactly how it happened. The one time Oskar had been near an Oasis that faded, he’d been the cause. He’d absorbed the magic itself, and used it, along with Bastet’s magic from the cave to heal his brother.

  In that moment, he’d been desperate.

  Desperate… not panicked. I don’t know what to do, but I got to stop freaking out and think.

  Oskar took a deep breath and instead of pushing his senses further like he was used to, he tried his best to focus on what was happening.

  I hate having to learn gaps in my abilities the hard way. I’m so used to looking for what things are to keep us safe, not what they’re doing really, and especially not how they’re doing it. Haven’t been around a lot of other magic users.

  He knew that was no excuse, though. He could have been studying the passive magic of his group; Kobolds and their odd ability to blend into the background or Penny when she hunted or went underground.

  Staring at the cute little shimmering spirals in the water, though, he saw the spark of Rakiyu inside them. He could feel it. He could feel the Oasis, and how tenuous its existence was.

  The Seed Forge was still humming inside him, and that was the one thing he was having the most trouble understanding. It seemed to react to his Resonant Aura, but it wasn’t doing anything with it. The Seed Forge felt like it was trying to dance with someone who didn’t know the steps.

  I could make a joke here about having two left feet, but I’ve only got one total.

  // That was dumb. Now focus. //

  I know, I just don’t know why the magic isn’t doing anything. The Seed feels like it wants to interact with it, but nothing is happening.

  No answer from the PUB, which likely meant it was up against its own PUB rules.

  Oskar stared down a moment, trying to ignore the sounds around him. Trying not to let Bluebottle’s swaying nearby distract him from the feeling that the answer was not as complex as he was making it.

  He stopped thinking entirely and tried to start his thought process over, and the problem became clear immediately, and felt a pang of self-directed anger at his oversight.

  Resonant Aura is the wrong kind of magic for the forge. It feels close, but the difference between what I did outside the cave and now is intention. I wasn’t waiting for the magic to just work, I used it with purpose. It’s a Seed Forge, stands to reason I can use it to make something.

  Ignoring the slow return of frustration, Oskar began working on figuring out what mix of the three magics the Seed Forge needed in order to make the proper dance partner.

  With a sigh pushing back the familiar frustration, Oskar focused intently on the Seed Forge inside of him, ignoring the weight of the task pressing down on him as he worked on the first problem. Trying to figure out what mix of Sora, Talau, and Rakiyu the Seed Forge was looking for in a dance partner.