Chapter 66: Marred Perfection

A human mage can regenerate all their reserves in a matter of hours. So Quatach Ichl could almost certainly cover the distance in hours by himself. He might be reluctant to rush the island alone, however...

"and then he'd come rushing back at them" Zorian & Zach are having trouble getting to Koth because of the distances involved. How much trouble would Quatach-Ichl have getting from Ibasa to the Underdark base if the Mansion Portal leading to the Island was shut down before he could come back on the third day of his absence? Or depending on how close the portals are in the Island Base, the portal from the captured base to Ibasa proper? Several days giving the team more study time, or just a couple hours?

Uh, no. Dispersing his body would give a couple of hours until Quatach-Ichl moved from his phylactery to a new body, and then he'd come rushing back at them, more pissed at ever. Also, it is vanishingly unlikely they could get the coin trick to work. Outside of very specific circumstances, Quatach-Ichl would automatically defend himself against any object thrown at him. Zorian would have to first get him off-guard before he could even try that.

Domagoj Kurmaic

One question I have is why doesn't Zorian try the coin trick Kael gave him to get rid of the Lich. Dispersing his body would give them a whole month to analyze the gate.

Satya Prateek

This chapter feels off to me, like it is missing something or is unfinished. I think it is a timeline/pacing issue. This is the second iteration where Zorian sends his simulacrum ahead to Koth, right? (That we have seen in story at least.) I have been thinking of that as a 'end of month' event. But this chapter ends with him in Koth talking to his brother, but none of the things set up in the chapter that feel like they should happen before that meeting have happened yet. Specifically, I was expecting the Week 3 capture of the Ibasan forward base and Sudomir's concurrent kidnapping to happen before they were able to go to Koth. And his simulacrum was shown getting an offer from Neolu to show him around and help him get the lay of the land. I would have expected him to have picked her brain about Dorian's fiancee's family before he ever knocked on the door. So a hook was shown, but not the resolution. The issue Zorian brought up that Zvim's list of people who would never share their secrets did not take into account over the top time loop style incentives coming from an reputable Archmage, just offers made he would be willing to make and live with long term was a good one.

That moment when one of your favorite authors comments on another story XD

NomadicSoul

The mysterious brother finally appears onscreen! Thanks for the chapter~~

Thanks for the chapter. I can't wait for the next one. Now I know how my own readers feel. :P

ClearMadness

I must admit, you ended the chapter exactly where it needed to end---much to my horror! Do we really have to wait three more weeks? ;) This chapter was fantastic. It was clever to ask Xvim to approach his contacts in place of Zorian and we're all DYING to get to know Daimen.

JDG

Excellent chapter. (It felt way too short.) :p

<3

JDG