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Oh well. No point in worrying about any of that right now, Hector supposed. He needed to focus on what he could do--just in case this opportunity to learn more about the Forge didn't come around again, for some reason.

"This man here is your creator, isn't he?" asked Hector.

One beep in the affirmative.

"...So is that why you don't like the name Agrian's Candle, then? Because it gives credit to the wrong person?"

Another lone beep.

Aha.

But then there two more beeps arrived.

"What? Did you just say yes and no?"

A single beep.

Hmm. What could that mean? Yes and no...

Needed more information. Coming up with more questions like this was kinda tough, because he kept thinking about all the things that didn't have a simple, one word answer.

But hey. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. This was an artifact of untold power, apparently capable of creating enormously elaborate visions. It didn't necessarily have to answer his questions with words, now did it?

"...Can you show me who the real Agrian was?" he asked.

Another affirmative beep arrived, and the vision sped forward. The tree grew to even greater heights, and the Forge was nearly complete.

But something had definitely happened in the intervening years. The images had flashed by so quickly, but Hector was sure that he'd caught a glimpse of some crazy shit in there. Lots of fire or something. He'd have to go back and check on that afterwards, if possible.

In front of him, he saw a man standing under the tree. His back was to Hector, but that wasn't the first thing that Hector noticed.

The tombstone was.

Hector stepped closer for a better look, unsure what to expect. The tombstone had an inscription on it that he couldn't read, but as he circled around the guy, he was surprised to see a familiar face.

It was the same blond dude from before, the one who'd seemingly been harassing the Forge's creator.

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The vision stopped, as if the entire world had been put on pause.

Then arrived those rhythmic pulses that he'd heard before, the ones that Rasalased had been conversing with.

He still had no idea what they were saying, but hey, it was something. It meant that the Forge had heard him, at least--perhaps even that it had understood him.

Maybe he could work with that.

"I'm sorry," said Hector. "I can't understand what you're saying. Can you understand what I'm saying?"

More unintelligible noises.

Hmm.

"Uh... Okay, let's try this. If you can understand me, then beep once for yes, twice for no."

There came a period of silence. Then a single beep.

Holy shit, Hector thought, exhaling an amazed laugh. What the fuck, that actually worked? He felt like he'd just made contact with an alien species or something. "O-okay, well, uh..." Shit, he could start asking it all sorts of questions now. Where to start?

His eyes fell upon the motionless Agrian. Maybe they should start off easy. Confirm a few things. He pointed at the man. "Is that Agrian?"

Two beeps arrived.

Hector blinked. Wait, what?

He needed to ask that again. "That man there," he said, pointing with more fervor this time, "the one who worked so hard to keep you safe, is that Agrian?"

Again, there were two beeps.

Oh shit...

Hector rubbed his forehead, suddenly having to rethink everything he'd just seen--and partially lived through. If this dude wasn't Agrian, then who the hell was he?

Agh. Didn't seem like he'd be able to ask anything other than yes or no questions here.

He wondered if the others were having better luck than him. The Forge was probably showing them similar visions, right? So maybe they were way ahead of him in terms of communicating with it by now.

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It was a Sparrow, Hector saw. It looked at once familiar and strange to him. Familiar, because at a glance, he could've absolutely mistaken it for Hanton or Pauline Gaolanet. And strange, because he began to notice many subtle differences.

Its huge body was still quite plump and round, but its plumage was noticeably sharper. Not so soft and fluffy. The overall color was similar as well, aside from a slightly more golden tinge.

And the head. A cluster of feathers protruded from its temples, almost like a crown, fluttering with each movement the bird made.

The real question, though, was if its telepathic abilities were any different. Hector still remembered what Rasalased had told him about Wrobels being "the worst of all possible enemies."

Were these the ones he'd been referring to? And for Ras to have said that, just how powerful had these guys been?

Agrian did not appear surprised by the bird's sudden presence. They faced one another for a long time, with only Agrian saying anything aloud.

Hector couldn't help wondering why he was being shown this scene in the first place. Did the Forge expect him to understand what they were saying? Even when half the conversation wasn't coming through the vision, and the other half was in a language he'd never heard before today?

Hmm.

Maybe he should try talking to the Forge again himself, Hector decided. "Hello?" he said aloud.

His voice carried no weight, however. He felt it in his mind, but it was like the sound didn't reach his ears. Not the like the sounds of the vision were.

Ah, wait, had he not put enough willpower into it or something? He tried again.

"Candle," he said aloud. "Hello? Can you understand me?"

That was better. The sound definitely carried that time.

How weird.