Their surroundings rapidly blurred. Unlike every previous transition, the streets and houses stretched into thin strips, receding from them.
"I can sense it." The man's face also twisted and blurred, his voice becoming ethereal, now distant, now near. "You truly want to help me. I can sense it. I believe you..."
Ruger forced a smile. This strange fellow he had only just met was so certain, so trusting. That was probably another of their innate abilities.
Of course, Ruger did not think this ability worked all that well. He had, after all, employed a little verbal finesse just now. Still, he accepted that trust without guilt, because his artful evasion of the harder points had not concealed the truth. No one could easily save this peculiar fellow. Ordinary Wizards could not manage it; only powerful Wizard organizations such as the Foreign God Oversight Council and the Holy Tribunal might be able to handle the matter safely. And this fellow would have to pay for the trouble he had caused recently.
Of course, Ruger firmly believed something else as well: even if this fellow fell into the Foreign God Oversight Council's hands, he would not die, because he was valuable enough.
Unlike ordinary Wizard organizations, the various Wizard factions within the Supreme Council had another inconspicuous consideration beyond acting as they pleased and obeying regulations: Wizard status. If this fellow were merely a lucky survivor from another world, his eventual fate, the ways they would squeeze every last bit of value out of him, and so on would be very different. Now he also had the status of a Wizard. Even if he had not yet succeeded, being the disciple of a demon who was a Wizard meant he had been recognized as someone with the potential to succeed.
For a