Solnm returned her smile. "It is very nice to meet you."
He then looked at Marela. "I need to return to the illusion don't I? I feel that my being may disintegrate at any moment."
Anabel cut him off. Curiosity lacing her voice. "Disintegrate?" She looked at Marela. "That is the best way to describe it? Not fall a part or cease to exist?'
He looked at her contemplatively. He nodded. "Yes. I can feel minute pieces of my being wanting to release bonds and I continue to see myself breaking a part into what I can only describe as magical dust."
"He us very descriptive."
"Yes he is. Do not worry Solnm. Like Marela has said you are a vital part of my daughter now."
Anabel slowly moved around Solnm. Looking at him deeply. She nodded. And then looked to Amethyst with a smile. "I will not let anything happen to you. Amethyst I will have to isolate him until the three of us examine the cave you found him in. Do I need to account for your presence within the confinement?"
Amethyst nodded and Anabel returned the nod.
"I do so love illusion magic"
"I don't know why. You still can't cast a perfect illusion. I will set the illusion you set the wards and protections."
Anabel began casting protections and wards about the cliff. "What do you mean?! I am a great illusionist."
Light rose above the cliff as she spoke. Six dense streams flowed down from the mass above and embedded themselves into the ground near the around them in a wide circle.
The light flowed down around the streams, covering them like an umbrella, and runes flared within the umbrella and along the edges and the streams embedding themselves into the ground.
As this unfolded before them Marela and Anabel continued their conversation and Marela began creating an illusion within the protections and wards.
"illusionist?" Marela snorted. "What does that even mean? Everyone of your illusions crumble under their own wait. It is like you put too much focus on one aspect and they can not hold up."
They had cast together for centuries and they could cast like a fine tuned symphony playing an unknown but entrancing harmony.
Marela's magic flowed forth and her hands spun in mini circles about her wrists and causing the magic to flow out quickly and fill every area within the protections and wards. Her magic pulsed and fumed for many seconds and then disappeared from view. Her body rose and assumed a lotus positions as a thick plume of smoke formed a padded seat beneath her several feet in the air.
She began concentrating on the illusion spells. Anabel frowned as she began to finish the protection and wards and seal up the formation.
She watched Marela's illusion form as she waited for her to complete it. "They do not crumble under their own weight… I am just too nice and do not like trapping people like that."
Marela quickly finished the illusions. As they solidified three layers of bright light, red, yellow, and blue, suddenly flared then vanished just as fast.
She snorted again, her eyes still closed. "You? Two nice?" She shook her head as she moved back behind Allistar and Anabel finished the formation.
Anabel pursed her lips and continued. Runes flared in mid air and spell weave laced through them to form a tight spellwork. It flared with bright white light. Some of the threads of weave reached out and wound around the streams of magic embedded in the ground.
The threads pulled tight to tighten the weave and tighten the formation. When it was to Anabel's satisfaction the formation set and the spells within the weave activated. A stream of soft light plumed above the formation as it disappeared from view, indicating that it was not active.
She turned around and frowned up at Marela. "I am nice. And I have been doing illusions longer than you. And you learned your illusions from me."
They began moving in the direction of Crims Island.
"I only started working with illusions because I wanted to help you in your research. It is not my fault that you are all hypothesis and no real world ability.'
They both disappeared from the spot, blinking to Crims.
Allistar shook his head. "We are going to the cave to understand all we can so that we can fully help Solnm." He tapped his hand against the stream of the formation and it flared red and went invisible again. Then he disappeared from the spot.
Amethyst shrugged and pulled Solnm into the formation.
When they stepped into the formation Solnm felt his body tighten as if a stitching was pulled tight and everything within him repositioned and became secure. A sense of calm and peace radiated from within him and he smiled broadly.
They had just walked into a small fishing village, people greeted them by name, with broad smiles.
Both Solnm and Amethyst knew that they were in an illusion but this knowledge seemed to strengthen the it instead of weaken and shatter it.
Anything dealing with water made Solnm feel extremely comfortable and his first thought was to go find a place to fish or hunt sea life.
Amethyst kept him in the village and they discovered that they owned a store that sold seafood. They entered the two story sturdy building built of wood, dried sea weeds, and densely packed dry clay.
Amethyst entered preparing herself for the stench of fish but she smelled nothing even as mounds of iced fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods seemed to materialize before their eyes.
Amethyst's eyes went wide as she saw bins upon bins of dried herbs, plants, and fruits. Behind these hung dried fish and various sea life.
"It seems our business is pretty successful." Solnm's arms wrapped around her as she admired the herbs and plants.
She smiled. "Your state feels so much better now." Her soft hands ran across the length of his forearm as he kissed the crook of her neck.
She smiled again, relishing the sensation of his skin on hers.
"Aunt Marela did well. It seems she understands you very well."
Solnm's body stiffened behind her and she frowned. "Do not worry. She does not lie. If she wanted to kill you she would not have had any problem telling you and immediately proceeding to try. She is going to help you and then we will ask her to tell us everything she knows about you."
He kissed her again. "I am luckier than I thought."
She smiled. "Agreed."
Her gaze passed over the store. "I guess we should enjoy this. We can allow the illusion to lead us to ensure your stability."
"Don't get serious now. You already said that your aunt will help and I can tell your parent genuinely want to help so we will be fine."
He placed his hand on the side of her face. They smiled at each other for a long while. Amethyst placed her hand on his. "Yes. All true, but I want you as stable as possible when they find the solution."
He looked at her for a breath. "I am important to you, aren't I?"
She frowned, pursed her lips, and hit him hard. Solnm wasn't prepared for the hit and fell back with a smile on his face. Amethyst looked down at him. "Of course you are idiot! Why are you on the floor!?"
Solnm laughed and was instantly on his feet. He took her into his arms and kissed her deeply causing her to lose her breath.
"Idiot huh?" He looked at her with a smirk on his face. She blushed a violent shade of red.
"Sorry about that." She cleared her throat. "Go fish. I'll run the store."
He kissed her again. And she wondered how high his passion for her could actually go. With every kiss his passion was deeper and more densely pronounced between then like some silent bestial scream only heard by the soul.
They reluctantly pulled away from each other. They smiled into each other's eyes and then suddenly spun into action.
Amethyst spun her hand and the sign at the door spun to open and the door unlocked. She went through the store making note of inventory. Solnm went to the back, got a load of gear and went out the back of the store toward their private dock.
Crims Island loomed before them. The three of them decided not to actually step foot on the island until the had a better understanding.
Simnar was the closest island to Crims. Simnar was a lush island covered in forests. The forest only left a thin line of sand around the island's border for a beautiful white sands shore line.
Allistar, Anabel, and Marela stood on a high cliff looking out at Crims. Crims was a rocky island, pot marked with caves. The caves were scattered through out the island. Some in sides of hill and mountain walls, or as gaping holes in the ground. There were large trees sparsely scattered about as well and the occasional span of grass and flowers seeming like pools of life within the drab rocky terrain.
All three were looking at the island. First they scrutinized it with their eyes unaided, then each of them used detection spells to look over the island, finally they amped up these detection techniques and looked over the island a third time.
After all of this, when they were fairly sure that there was nothing there to harm them, they looked at each other and gave affirming nods.
All three of their perceptions set out as one. They overlapped and enhanced each other. Everything one sensed the other two sensed at the same time. They then began to move out away from each other to cover the island.
Allistar went up the middle, Marela went to the left, and Anabel went to the right. They quickly covered the island and a great portion of the mountain beneath.
They pulled back their perceptions and stood in silence for a long while.
Marela spoke first. "I will go below."
Allistar shook his head and several undead appeared. "We will go below. You two need to go to the cave. Anabel send one of your spirits with me to make sure out connection is maintained."
Anabel nodded. "I think you should begin with that sapphire colored sphere."
Allistar nodded and then he and his group of undead jumped from the cliff. They disappeared five feet into their fall, just as Anabel and Marela disappeared from where they stood.