Dr. Vaughan leaves the house and takes the Amber and the valise.

"Oh, excellent quality Amber - what did you learn?" she asks.

"The Bazaar is a person! And Rubberies are the creations of beings called Flukes and the Bazaar was mad at the Flukes but I fixed it and the Bazaar promised to help me socially rehabilitate the Rubberies! And I can cure dead Seekers of their Seeking! Also I know some things about why Seeking is even a thing. I got a Rubbery named Lurulel into Benthic in exchange for the Amber, they were so excited, it's great."

Vaughan blinks. "I hope they take one of my classes, that would be quite exciting. And the Bazaar is - of course, those structures on your shell, I thought they reminded me of something! It always looked strangely organic, but I never imagined - well, I'd better tend to Clarabelle - oh, who's the gentleman on your back?"

"This is Mort, who isn't a Seeker anymore." She helps him down and then turns back and starts dressing. "And the Bazaar is my grandparent, apparently." 

"Charmed," Mort says once he's on solid ground.

"Equally so, I'm sure," Dr. Vaughan says. "In my opinion as an occasional medical professional, young man, you need to eat more."

"I was possessed by a spirit of hunger for three years, and dead for another," he says off-handedly. "Does things to a body."

"Yes, well, start eating more, or I'll look at you quite reproachfully," Dr. Vaughan threatens.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She turns to re-enter the house, the sack over her shoulder and the valise under her other arm.

Lucy follows her. "Mum! Mum! I learned so many things about my heritage today!" 

"Ooh, like what?" 

"Like the Bazaar is my grandparent and they love me and they want to meet you!" 

"--What?"

"I was surprised too! But I went to the Bazaar to chew out Fires and the Bazaar recognized me as their kin and loved me from the first, it's wonderful!" Hugs. "Also I healed them from something the Flukes, which created the Rubberies, did, and they've agreed to help me rehabilitate them socially!" 

"That's wonderful." 

"I know!" 

Meanwhile Dr. Vaughan removes some equipment from the valise and begins boiling Warm Amber in some glassware over the Adventuress' stove. It smells like ripe plums and sea air.

"That smells lovely," the Erstwhile Seeker comments.

Dr. Vaughan considers him. "Ordinarily I'd rap you with a spoon and tell you it's for Clarabelle, but, hmm... You can have a cup after I've dosed the mother-to-be, how's that, I think there'll be some going spare."

"You're a lady of inestimable virtue and character," he responds.

"I wonder what Amber is made of. I know it's important to the Rubberies, but...not much else." 

"Some secretion of the Flukes', I suspect," Dr. Vaughan says distractedly. "Designed to absorb ambient vital energy so they can manipulate it."

"Not sure I want a taste anymore," the Erstwhile Seeker mutters

"Oh, no, the secretion is what I'm boiling off. There'll be hardly a trace of it left, don't worry, just pure vitality."

"Oh. I wonder if that could be extracted from me somehow."

The doctor considers this question. "I'm not so well-versed in lumenology, I'm sorry to say... You might be able to, mm, charge up some Deep Amber with some Mountain-Light? I don't know if it's the right kind of vitality, but really, how many kinds can there be? I'd prefer not to experiment with it right now, but if you have a spare few days you might like to visit Flute Street and see how they like your party trick."

"I'll keep that in mind, yeah. I wouldn't suggest experimenting right now anyway."

Vaughan taps her temple with two fingers. "Great minds, you know."

She casts another handful of Amber into the pot and stirs.

"--Oh, and I found out what the hell Fires thought he was doing." 

"Do tell?"

"You know how the Bazaar has this weird thing about love stories?"

She nods. "My colleagues in the literature department moan endlessly about the inspections. I thought they were Pages' doing primarily, but I'm hardly surprised they're sanctioned from above."

"Fires wanted the hybrid so he could dose the entire city with a subtler version of Moon Milk. On the grounds that this would supposedly make the Bazaar give up in disgust, and this would somehow keep London around longer instead of being replaced with a Sixth city." 

Dr. Vaughan blinks. "Well, that's... insane."

"Speaking as our resident former madman, I think we may need a stronger word," the Erstwhile Seeker says with some wonder. "I couldn't come up with a plan that divorced from reality. And we know where my plans got me."

"That was roughly my reaction. Irons wasn't impressed either, I talked to them briefly about the Rubbery thing. It turns out the Masters, uh, vary wildly, in terms of reasonableness."

"I'm glad of that, I wouldn't want to live in a city controlled by twelve Veilses."

"Yeah Veils is the worst, he's, uh, it's his fault Seeking is a thing. Aaaaand his fault that Irons never talks." 

"...Yeah. Veils the betrayer, reckoning will not be postponed, et cetera."

"Reckoning will absolutely be postponed, I don't have a good plan for taking him on yet and seeking is not allowed, Seekers will be stymied. Anyway. Fires is not Veils-level alarming but he is, uh, I think significantly worse than typical."

"We can but hope."