The sun was going down, not exactly a time Jolyne would choose to meet especially in winter but it was the one the client wanted. Probably some way of hiding secrets though in reality all it would do is draw more attention if it did anything at all. Though only those who grew up worrying about their survival would think of that and most others would imitate the drama of the stage in their lives when it came to things of this nature.

Dex Miller was clearly shook up as he spoke that night, his lips and voice quivering but not from a way one does when they need to warm up. Instead it sounded as though he was terrified by something that according to him did nothing other than simply float by a river, which during this season was frozen. It was quite odd to Jolyne but she did not condemn the man for it as she was not present with the thing in question. It was against her philosophy to judge anyone that quickly.

Now this was certainly something to take the cake among all the things that Jolyne had heard in her life, and she believed there were invisible beings called ‘spirits’ that walked among everyone. An extraterrestrial blue orb? But why extraterrestrial?

The man was also convinced that this blue ball was the culprit to his latest case, all Jolyne was convinced of was that no good detective asked for help after only trying once. Perhaps this man was off his rocker after all, but she would participate in this farce in order to soothe his fears. The less unknown to the population, the more content they would be and thus everyone would be happy in Jolyne’s mind.

“Well I do suppose we should travel to the spot where you saw it last night” Jolyne suggested politely.

“Oh, in a bit...we should wait for complete nightfall, yes, yes, complete nightfall is when it comes out you see...” Dex trailed off as he began staring intently at his fingers and moving them about as though he was counting something only seen within the depths of his mind.

In any case the duo waited a quarter of an hour for the sun to set before setting off for the river in hopes of glimpsing the thing that was apparently such a threat to the lives and livelihood of the people around here. Jolyne was determined to show Dex that there was nothing to fear and thus hopefully enable the people around here to not jump at shadows and begin to grow their own capabilities for defending. People should always learn to lead themselves so that one day down the line every man would be their own king, this was the ultimate dream of Jolyne for only then would choice not be limited by another, only then could everyone truly be free.

Until then she was striven to better the system from within and create as much fairness as she could while spreading her positivity, she was lucky the Rune Knights provided such an avenue for her.

Dex and Jolyne soon came upon the thing, she was not certain if it was a being or not, but it simply stayed in stasis hovering two feet off of the ground and emitting a faint blue glow that was brighter in tone but softer in glare than the blue of the orb itself. While it did not seem threatening or even move at all, Jolyne noted that she felt compelled to touch it. This disturbed her a bit as it was against her training, against any instinct she had built inside herself for her own safety in the perilous childhood she had. It was simply not something she should be feeling, this must be brought on by the orb itself.

But why?

The answer to this was paramount but before Jolyne could think further she found herself touching the orb in tandem with Dex who also seemed to be enthralled by the orb, this could not be good in her mind. Perhaps she had truly underestimated this thing, perhaps this was the end.

Perhaps this was how the Atreides line was snuffed out as her uncle was a eunuch.

It was not, while they were both repulsed it seemed as though the purpose was truly not of ill intent. While Jolyne could not say exactly what the intent was, ill, it was not. It seemed to give her past images of a past life perhaps, these memories would serve to be the basis of something much more grand later, but that would be later. The memories settled and were absorbed before the Mage noticed that Dex Miller had passed out during this process.

This was a horrible thing, now the man would probably feel only more threatened by this thing which for as far as Jolyne could tell was just a harmless ghost who had managed to materialized probably by leftover magic or something akin. She did not have the time to document or chart this and instead she had to bring Dex to the hospital. She slipped him a Senzu bean in order to ensure his survival at least until the doctors could operate on whatever had happened to him. The Atreides easily lifted the smaller man upon her back and headed back into town still wondering what exactly the orb was and what it wanted.

Upon arrival she stayed with Dex throughout the check in and over the night and well into the day until finally he awoke some time after lunch. When he awoke it quickly became clear that he had not even remembered being pushed back and instead fell unconscious through fear and anticipation of what would happen. This was great news and it was surprisingly easy for Jolyne to convince the man that the orb meant no harm and was simply trying to pass on it’s own legacy. With that knowledge the man developed understanding and then pity while the fear faded away.

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