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“Hmph. You said you were fine.” The Artisan sounded rather annoyed again, and he held up Zeff’s own wrist as if to the show the man something he hadn’t seen before. “You’re not. You have no pulse.”

“Oh.” That remark, Zeff felt compelled to respond to. “Well, yes, as we said, it’s been several days. Without food or water, of course my flesh has died.”

“Then you should not have said you were fine,” said Daro.

“Why not? It’s hardly a bother for the undead.”

“Because it supports your claim of innocence.”

Zeff was lost. “What? How?”

“Hmph. You really are out of your depth here, aren’t you?” He finally let go of Zeff and turned around in order to pace a few steps back, rubbing his chin again as he seemed to be lost in thought for a time. “Perhaps I will share a few things with you, Water Dragon.”

“Alright...” He still had questions, of course, but he also had a feeling that this odd man was only going to continue generating new ones, regardless of what Zeff asked.

“This war has put me in a rather difficult position,” said Daro. “War tends to do that to everyone, of course, but without hubris, I say that mine is especially so. And perhaps you can already surmise why.”

Axiolis answered for them. ‘Your technology?’

“Hmph. Yes. You’ve gotten a few glimpses of my work already, yes?”

‘We’ve seen your ‘ramata’ weapon. It was indeed impressive.’

A brief silence passed as Daro eyed them expectantly. “...Is that it? Just the ramata? No other works?”

Zeff and Axiolis exchanged uncertain.

‘Uh... oh, did you work on those Invisibility rings, too, perhaps?’

“Those? A trifle.” A small smile crossed his face. “Huh. Perhaps my efforts at concealing my work have been going better than I thought, then. Pleasant news! Hmph!”

‘So you are concerned about your ideas being stolen during this conflict?’

“Yes and no. Such theft is, in some ways, inevitable. Ideas must proliferate in order for this world of ours to advance, yes? And theft at a particularly bad time can have terrible consequences, of course. But what I am most concerned about is my work being destroyed.”

‘Ah, of course,’ said Ax. ‘A familiar historical tale.’

“There are those seeking to use the chaos unfolding around Ridgemark in order to move against me. To steal, as you said. Or to destroy.”