Chapter 10

Elise Leaves with the Children of Thirshalon
Eliam leans against the desk, doing his best to hide his concern. After a few quiet minutes, the door opens, and Oren returns, the door locking behind him.

The bard stands up, relieved, and walks over to hug Oren. "You okay? Everything went fine?"

"That woman said you were deformed, so it probably won't work out for you..." Oren answers, pulling away. "Minerva knows how to talk to the cops, at least, but do you think Elise is doing alright? I hope she isn't scared."

"Yeah... the guy I was speaking to wasn't exactly interested," Eliam answers. "Oh well. Deformed or not, she seemed like she liked me a bit."

"You distracted her when you left, she forgot to lock me in."

"What? You're kidding. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. It's not like I could just leave without you. Besides I don't think we have any reason to run, they'll let us go." Oren looks around, thinking. "I wonder how they know what happened if they weren't there."

The door opens and Gwendolyn steps inside, looking around the room. "Elise isn't done yet? That's... worrisome."

"Yea, she left first..." Oren trails off, thinking. "Alright well, do you think the inns are running? I mean if almost everyone left, it'll be hard to find one that's open right? We need a place to stay while we figure out what to do next."

"These people are living somewhere, right?" Gwen asks. "Surely there's still an inn open here."

Eliam nods. "Assuming they let us go, anyways..."

"They'll let us go. Why wouldn't they?" Oren asks.

He looks away and leans on the desk again, trying not to look nervous. "Yeah... they should. We're innocent, but the man I spoke to didn't seem to believe that. I don't know."

Oren shrugs. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Did you meet the other children? Are all five of them here?"

"Yeah, you're right," Eliam answers. "I suppose so; that Morton guy questioned me, he said he was the Child of Aether. Sarina's probably water, given her quip earlier. Not sure about the older man."

"She's water, she said so."

"Oh, that settles that then. I guess we can assume one of them questioned Minerva... and probably the fifth is speaking with Elise."

"That makes sense..." Oren says, sitting in one of the chairs.

"The Child of Earth questioned me. He was relatively nice, I suppose," Gwen adds, taking a seat next to him.

Eliam sits down next to her. "Are you okay as well, then? It went alright?"

"I'm...okay, yes. It seemed to go fine," she answers. "Or at least, he didn't give anything away that it hadn't. I take it you all kept to the story? That you were part of my crew."

"She didn't ask me about that, and I didn't mention it," Oren answers, standing up. He looks around the room, searching for anything that could be of use.

"Well... mostly," Eliam answers. "I mean, they were probably going to ask why I had this," he motions to his lute. "But there's no reason a bard can't travel by ship."

"I wish they'd finish with Elise so we could go," Oren says. "This is a waste of time, we could be on our way by now."

Eliam nods. "It shouldn't take long. They seemed mostly reasonable."

"Did any of you figure out how they even knew about it?" Gwen asks. "It's only been a few days. It seems strange that they were waiting here for us."

"Perhaps there were other survivors? Hopefully, anyways. They may have been able to beat us here and spread word of what went down."

Oren looks at him and rolls his eyes at his use of the word "hopefully," and Gwendolyn raises an eyebrow at the bard. He gives them a look, subtly motioning to the crack in the window.

"There's an Air Arcana spell that lets the user hear things from far way, like one hundred yards, maybe the Air Child can hear things from much further away. Or send a message over a long distance," Oren suggests. "Or they can teleport but that's really difficult. Though I suppose they could have had a glyph of some kind and someone escaped. They said it was an attempt on their Patriarch's life, which means he survived."

"Could the Air Child hear us, even being closed off?" Gwen asks.

"I'd rather assume they can than assume they can't," Eliam replies.

"Typically the spell requires you to see the target, and to focus... but if she's stronger, it's possible she could hear us anyway."

"Maybe we shouldn't talk, then," Gwen says.

Eliam nods, grabbing a piece of paper and pen from the desk. "What do we do if they don't bring back the others?" he writes.

Oren shrugs, looking a little guilty.

Gwen takes the paper and starts to write, but after a moment, looks conflicted. She scratches it out, then writes, "They'll be back."

Oren takes the pen and paper and writes, "We can always rescue them later."

Minerva returns to the room after a few minutes. They wait quietly, and eventually, Elise enters the office as well. The group waits for Sarina to return to decide their fate.

Finally, she appears, as do Morton, Marcus, Florence, and Herb. All five of them are now wearing cloaks of dark blue that seem to be their uniforms. They are wrapped and closed around their bodies.

"I'll give you this," Sarina says. "You're an interesting group."

"Far more than most of the people we talk to," Herb assents.

"But part of your stories just aren't adding up," Marcus says, frowning. "And I don't like it when things don't add up."

Florence skips a beat, then adds, "... Well, *I* thought Elise was charming."

Morton rolls his eyes. "You'd think a half-dead cow was charming if you could science at it."

"Half-dead cows *are* charming," Florence replies.

"A compliment to Elise, I'm sure," Herb jokes.

Florence pouts ever so slightly and goes silent.

"The point that my esteemed colleagues are trying to make," Sarina declares, "Is that individually, your stories might have been fine... but there are some... problems with them altogether. Especially with *one* of you."

Morton flips through the sheets they had all been filling out. "Your stories of how you escaped the arena are all consistent. Seems you were just the quickest to get out of there. That's fine, and in fact we've found a few other scattered people who managed to make it out, so that by itself wouldn't have been a problem... but then we noticed some other things."

Herb leans against the glass and adds, "The amount of aetheric control that would have been necessary to break the arena wall and divert the Beck enough to flood the entire arena is staggering. We could do it... maybe. But we're the Children. Which means whoever *did* do it -- and yes, someone has to have done this -- has to have powers on our level. That's concerning."

Marcus just shrugs. "As fascinating as it would be to find some more lovely women who know what it's like to have this terrible power -- and believe me, I'd love to -- that kind of power can't just be allowed to roam Thirshalon unchecked. Especially not people who show a human-like willingness to slaughter."

"And lo and behold," Sarina says, "who appears but a group of travelers who just so happen to have been at Asle Lenor, survived the disaster, and share physical deformities that make them look human. I don't suppose," she says to Oren, "you're willing to lower your hood, darling, hmm?"

He shakes his head no.

"I thought as much," she says with confidence.

"We might not have thought anything of it," Morton says, "but one thing really caught my attention: your boat."

Herb taps the glass so he's pointing at Gwen. "You there, Captain Oberle. Your ship's name was the * Maker's Chosen*, I believe. Pretty interesting name, considering there's only five people rightfully Chosen by the Maker, aren't there? The Children are blessed with Her power. No one else."

Morton lowers the clipboard. "Five people, sailing from our greatest tragedy, who look human, and sail under the guise of Children. One of whom," he points at Elise, "has powers of Wind that surpass the Child of Wind, herself."

"We were the only ones spared by the Maker..." Oren explains. "That's why we picked the name... it's sort of a joke..."

"Sure," Marcus says, "called it after yourselves, thinking you were as powerful as us? I'm not sure I'm buying it."

"Because obviously..." Oren continues, "Uh... that's...what?"

Eliam steps forward, putting his hand on Oren's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Please don't mind him. I'm not completely sure what you're trying to imply, but... I am sorry for the inappropriate name."

Florence says, "I'm sorry, Elise, but so far between your powers, your ship name, your arrival from the disaster, your physical appearance... Everything is pointing toward you being dangerous."

Elise says nothing, looking at Florence anxiously.

"Have you been to Asle Lenor since it happened?" Oren asks.

"We have... reliable sources," Marcus says after a glance from Morton cuts him off.

"Anyone who has seen that destruction and survived it would consider themselves favored by The Maker," Oren explains. "We never implied we were actually special, it was just a name."

"Yes," Gwendolyn agrees, "I can assure you that's all it was."

"Very well," Morton says. "Believing that, explain her powers, please," he requests, gesturing to Elise.

Elise has gone white. She tries to stammer an answer but fails.

"She's weird, why do you have to pick on her?" Oren protests.

"Sometimes, the Maker gives us challenges," Eliam responds. "It can't be helped, but we've tried to help her cope as best as we can. I assure you she's not a danger. Just another person trying to get by."

"Unfortunately, your assurances can't clear her," Sarina says. "We have a woman with powers rivaling or exceeding the Child of Wind's arriving from the site of our greatest tragedy. We also don't know if Wind magic is the extent of her powers. She could have done this alone."

Herb sighs, "And unfortunately for us, he says, "that doesn't implicate the rest of you. It's suspicious as hell... but them's the breaks."

"She doesn't have powers, she can just hear things. She's just the ward of our friend who died and we want to take care of her. If the Maker blessed her why is that suspicious?" Oren asks.

Sarina answers, "We don't know that. And frankly, neither do you."

"Elise Raynor," Morton says, "You're hereby placed under arrest on suspicion of the destruction of Asle Lenor and the murder of thirty-thousand orcs."

Oren sighs dramatically. "She's, like, 12!" he protests, looking to Minerva to say something.

"All the worse if she's too young to control it," Marcus says. "Thank you for your concern. Elise will remain with us."

"For how long?" Oren asks. Minerva looks at Elise, and back at him, unsure of what to say.

"That depends," Sarina says. "If she can prove her innocence, then she will remain with us until we can ensure she is able to control her powers."

"If she can't prove her innocence," Marcus adds indifferently, "then she'll be detailed for six months."

"How is she supposed to do that?" Oren says, annoyed.

"At this point," Morton says, "I really don't think that's your concern." He opens the door. "The four of you, be on your way."

"She is our friend, so yes, I am somewhat concerned," Eliam says, ignoring his signal to leave. "If you keep her, when she proves her innocence, when will we be able to see her again?"

"Tell you what," Herb says. "Let's just say we have eyes all over Thirshalon. If she's innocent, we'll help her get to you."

"...How about we come pick her up in a few days when you realize she's obviously innocent?" Oren suggests. "Or you can leave her on our ship. We won't go far without her.."

Elise grabs Minerva's arm and clenches it tightly. "P-please no."

"Nonsense," Florence states quickly. "She may doom you all and you wouldn't even know what hit you. Now be on your way, please."

"We'd like at least some way to contact her and make sure she's safe," Eliam says, refusing to move. "Will she be allowed to write us letters?"

Morton nods. "Letters addressed to her at Ariglodo Confinement will make it to her. Send a letter with a return address and she'll know where to send it."

"Would it be possible to have a few minutes alone? To say goodbye?" Eliam asks.

Morton looks at his own colleagues, then nods. "Five minutes. Then you're out." He closes and locks the door. The Children back away, but remain in sight down the hallway.

Oren ushers Elise to the corner of the room, taking out his knife. Gwendolyn moves in front of the window to block the Children's view. Quickly, Oren makes a small cut on Elise's hand, absorbing some of her blood onto a bit of bandage from his healer's kit. "With this I'll be able to find you anywhere, okay?"

Elise stifles a shriek but doesn't draw back.Oren holds a bit of extra cloth to the wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. "Sorry if it hurts. Are you hungry? How often do you need to eat?" he cuts his wrist, offering it to her.

"I..." she stammers, eyes wet. "I didn't eat this morning, I thought I could get to the horses tonight." She looks at his wrist, then looks at Minerva.

Minerva nods quickly. "This is about doing what you have to do, now. And it's offered. Take care of yourself first."

"I hope they're not scrying us, but if you go wild in captivity we're in trouble anyway so it doesn't matter..." Oren says.

Elise hugs him suddenly and whispers, "Thank you," then feeds on his wrist. There's a pair of sharp pricks that he is certain the horses never felt. "Sorry," she says when she's done. "Had to be quick. It didn't hurt, did it?"

"It's fine, I'm used to it," he answers. "I guess I shouldn't have cut myself. Can you heal it? Wait... if you can heal... just heal the blood loss...?" he says, feeling lightheaded.

Elise casts Healing Touch and lays her hands on his wrist, sealing it up.

"I'm sorry that it happened like this..." Eliam says, walking over after she heals Oren. "But don't lose hope in there. We're going to figure something out."

"Are... are you going to come back for me?" she asks softly. He nods in response.

"Once you're found innocent, they'll let you go," Oren says.

Minerva looks at Elise struggling and seems indecisive. She's waving and seems bothered.

"We're going to go into the woods and camp out there since the inns are probably closed, and we'll be back within a week probably...depending on how long it takes," Oren explains. "You'll be safer here anyway. Just don't tell them anything incriminating, tell them the truth- that you're not a human and you're just a normal person with a weird windy thing going on, okay? You'll be fine," he says, drawing her into a hug.

"Just be brave and grown up ok?" He continues. "They know there are only five children and they're the children so it can't be you. Right? They know that, they just have to investigate. If anything you'll be wasting their time keeping them from finding the real criminals... unfortunately."

Eliam notices Minerva's expression and walks over to her. He looks at her for a moment and says quietly, "Even if you confess, they won't let her go. It'll just be both of you in there instead."

"If I confess, they won't have any legal right to hold her," she hisses back.

"No, it'll be all of us," Gwen says. "Is that better, somehow?"

"How would it be you?" she asks. "I'll say I worked alone. Light up my Fire aura. They'll believe it."

"They're holding her because of her powers," Eliam says comfortingly. "Not because of Asle Lenor. That's the reason they want her."

"I..." she trails into silence, hands balled into fists.

"It doesn't erase her wind powers," Gwendolyn adds. "They'll assume that her having that, and you suddenly having fire, that there's more to us all."

Eliam puts his hand on Minerva's shoulder. "Ariglodo Confinement. We know where she'll be."

Oren continues to speak, raising his voice loud enough that Minerva can hear. "If they decide you're guilty you'll be condemning us all. Do you understand that? They think we're all humans, and somehow children- do you understand that if they decide that's true we're going to die? Heather would kill us if we lost you. And Votig would want us to take care of you."

Minerva's jaw clenches. "Maker.... damn it all."

Elise says, "Okay. I'll be strong. I'll be strong as long as I can if I know you're coming back for me."

"I told you, that I was here to protect you all," Gwendolyn says. "And I will. But I believe it will be a lot easier to rescue one person, than to try and break out ourselves and rescue each other."

"I understand," Elise says. "Now go, please, before I lose my nerve." She walks to the window and raps on it to get someone's attention

Herb walks back and opens the door. "All set, then?"

"We won't leave you," Oren says. "We'll leave the ship in the harbor and you can wait there for us if they let you out before we return." He hugs her once more. She returns the hug as tightly as she can.

Minerva steps to the door. She pauses and looks at Herb.

She opens her mouth, closes it, draws a steadying breath...

Oren stands and quickly walks over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You've got the wrong person. None of us did anything. None of us could. So you better take care of her," she says, leaving.

Herb tilts his head at her and nods. "I take care of a lot of people, ma'am. I take care of the good people of Thirshalon. I take care of criminals. The only difference is how I take care of them. Don't worry. Leave it to a professional."

Eliam hugs Elise. "You'll be fine. You got this."

"Okay," she whispers. "Okay."

He leaves, and Gwendolyn follows behind him quietly. Elise looks a little sad that Gwen left without a word, but says nothing about it.

Minerva looks back over her shoulder. "Elise! Everyone knows you're innocent and you're strong. You'll get through this."

"When you're done with her our boat is in the harbor," Oren tells Herb. "I think the woman who spoke to me knows which one." He hands him his remaining gold. "Please feed her, we'll leave her things on board if she needs them. And if you can get her a room with a window that would be nice, she likes clouds..."

Herb chuckles. "That might be difficult, but I'll see what I can do."

"Oh and you're Herb, right?" Oren asks as he leaves. "Sarina wanted me to not tell you that she forgot to lock the door. You should ask the receptionist about it."

Elise waves to the group sadly and sits down as maturely as she can at the table. Her shaking gives her away.

"She-- wait, Sarina, you '''what?" '''Herb exclaims.

"Sorry," Eliam grins at him, "my bad"

"Your ba--Sarina, did you...?!" Herb is sputtering out of astonishment at how lucky he is to be granted such an opportunity to tease his colleague.

Oren and Eliam Chat about the Wellspring
The party is directed out of the building. The wind is cold this afternoon. It nips everyone's skin as they step through the doors to the outside. The sun is on the horizon, and night looms. Oren leads the group back to the boat. Minerva follows quietly. Oren quickly begins moving everything off the boat and onto the carts, preparing to leave. The rest of the group begins to help.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Minerva asks.

"Getting out of here before they decide to arrest us again," Oren answers.

"But... wait, you're actually planning on leaving her?" she says, astonished.

"Not forever," he clarifies. "Just for a few days like I told her."

"I'm just getting the horses off the boat," Gwen adds. "Calm down, they deserve to relax."

"We could try to find an inn but I'm not sure if they're running at the moment since everyone is... in Asle Lenor..." Oren trails off.

"We know where she's ultimately headed, but they probably won't take her there right away. Better to not leave our things lying around, either, especially given how we acquired them," Eliam says.

"I-I thought you were just saying that in case they were listening," Minerva replies. "I..."

"I sort of was," Oren answers. "We can go break her out now if you really want to. But it might be better to wait."

"If we go north and find the wellspring," Minerva says hurriedly, "she won't be there. I thought we were going to use it to cure her of being a Noctyr."

"If you're so worried about her, maybe next time teach her not to discuss her powers with people interrogating us under suspicion of terrorism," Gwendolyn says, annoyed.

"Shhh, don't say that," Oren says, looking around. "But, yes, if we find it and cure you... then we'll know where it is... it's not her fault," he adds to Gwen. "She's not responsible for Elise's behavior."

"We're not going to leave her behind," Eliam reassures her. "Oren has her blood, so we can figure out exactly when she's moved. We'll get to her as soon as possible, but we don't know when that will be."

"I didn't tell her to say anything," Minerva ignores them and replies hotly to Gwen. "You'll notice I didn't name the boat 'Chosen Here!' either."

"Which ended up ultimately not being an issue, if I remember correctly," Gwen replies.

"Yeah, that may not have been the most discrete choice," Oren says, smiling. "It doesn't matter. So, how long until Elise loses her mind and is compelled to feed?"

Minerva turns away from Gwen and replies, "24 hours and you start to feel it. 48 hours and you're compelled to act. I've never seen 72."

"If she goes crazy, they're going to suspect us of being the same and track us down," Eliam points out.

"Then we should probably hurry and get her out," Oren says. "If they think she's one of them they won't tolerate it, but that scientist might want to study her... and the second we break her out they'll be after us. It would be a lot better to head to the wellspring, do some flower-related things, cure Minerva, and maybe get stronger... then we could bust her out and go back when it's safe. But I don't know if we can get there and back in 48 hours, seeing as how we have no idea where it is other than 'the foothills'."

"Oren... can we talk for a moment?" Eliam asks, pulling his arm. They leave together to the other side of the docks, and Minerva and Gwendolyn continue unloading the ship, an uneasy silence between them.

Eliam leads Oren until he's satisfied they're out of earshot. "Back at the inn, you asked me not to let you trick us into taking care of the flower first... you said once you got it back, you might get confused, and you'll stop prioritizing fixing Minerva and Elise. You didn't want to do that... this isn't you doing that, is it?"

"I don't know for sure that the wellspring is in the cave," Oren admits.

"We're a little too far for me to try to find it, probably... about how far was it on the map?"

"The entire top quarter of the map was 'the foothills.' That's all she said. This is the nearest city to it." Oren points in the direction of the forest. "All of that. When I was in the bramble I could detect the wellspring's presence and led us right to it, and you're an expert at sensing aether now so you should be able to find it quickly. "

"Yeah... though even then, you need a sacrifice, right?" Eliam asks quietly. "Ideally someone we don't know?"

"I just probably will need blood, but that's for my thing, don't worry about that. Probably good Elise isn't there," he says, looking over at the girls. "Maybe a horse."

"Okay... yeah, a horse would be great. Just... you're not trying to trick me, right?"

"I don't think so. I really do want to find the wellspring and get Elise and Minerva there, but I don't know how to help Elise right now."

"Okay," Eliam nods, "I trust you. I think we're going to have to save Elise first so she doesn't make them think we're all vampires. But we'll get to the wellspring stuff in no time, I think." He steps forward, leading Oren back to the ship.

"Can you sense the wellspring? Try to see the strings of aether and where they connect to you and where they lead. There should be ley lines and things that you can see, and all of the mages in the world with strings, and maybe fainter strings for the nonmagical people."

Eliam closes his eyes as they walk, trying to sense the aether. "There's... something up north. I'm not entirely sure what it is. There's a lot of aether there, though; a wellspring seems like a reasonable guess."

"Or the cave that that vampire told us about. Which may or may not have a wellspring in it. ...I really hope it does."

"Yeah... once we get Elise and travel closer, it should be easier to sense it."

"How are we supposed to break her out? They'll stop us and make it harder to get there at all..."

"Minerva got us out of the Judgment... so I figure this can't be too different," Eliam says. "I hope, anyways. I doubt the walls are as thick where they took her, and I can make her powers stronger."

"Maybe my blood will last longer. Aether staves off the curse, so I should be worth more than an orc criminal."

"True. I really don't want to be accused of being a vampire and tossed back into a deathmatch though."

"Well, if we're up north and they don't know where we are they won't be able to arrest us," Oren points out.

"The old one made that weird comment about having eyes everywhere, though. Kind of wish I knew what that meant."

They return to the boat. Minerva packs up the last of their things, and Gwendolyn tends to the horses. Every so often, Minerva stops and looks back out at the city.

Once the horses are off the ship, Gwendolyn waves everyone over. "I think I have a plan, but... let me finish," she says, looking at Minerva. "Because it might sound crazy."

The Group Plans What to do in Ariglodo
Minerva leans against the rail and listens quietly.

"If we break her out, and then head north, they're all going to come after us," Gwendolyn says. "Guaranteed, almost immediately. And... I'm not entirely sure how well that would work out for any of us. But what if we get a message to her. Give tiny drips of info on us, enough to reignite their interest, maybe. But also show that she's not someone that would be safe to be left alone, and would be needed to be watched by someone of their skill. Get them interested in us to head north looking for us, divided. A fight we prepare for, and have a much better chance at."

Oren looks at the water, wondering if he can fix this by doing what he did at Asle Lenor. He turns his gaze upward after a moment. "Why would the light go out if they have their own children? Is the light out on our Skyglyph back home? And what happens during the 'thousand years' between each set? Is there just no light to it?"

"Because this is a cursed land that the Maker wished to destroy, and He weeps for the loss of one of his true children," Gwendolyn answers.

"Was the purple light lit when you were children?" Oren asks Gwendolyn and Minerva. They nod.

"Maybe... we're linked somehow?" Eliam suggests. "Like, if their Earth person had died, the light over Sylvatir would have gone out? Like opposites, I guess, I don't know... I kind of wish they weren't so rabidly against humans. It'd be nice to be able to ask about what the hell I'm supposed to do with these powers besides make you guys stronger."

"I figure it's only a matter of time before she lets something slip, anyway, or perhaps her hunger overtakes her. I feel like this way, the burden is removed from her if it's our plan."

"It's as good a plan as any, honestly," Eliam says. "I'm willing to try it"

"How will we get a message to her?" Minerva asks.

"They gave us an address to send letters to," the bard answers. "I'm sure they'll be reading them before they give them to her."

"Oh. Right," she says. "I forgot about that."

"That's good. I'm sure she's great at solving puzzles," Oren replies sarcastically.

Eliam shrugs. "She doesn't have to be. Whoever's reading the letter just has to find it interesting enough, it sounds like."

Gwendolyn considers this for a moment. "We could send her a message the same way we would've broken her out, maybe. But more precise. All she needs is the tiniest airflow, correct?"

"She heard Minerva and I in a closed room, I think," Oren says.

"The cracks under the door, then," she guesses.

"Maybe. I think Eliam is right though... if they read the letters, that's enough to bait them out. Then we...kill them?"

"We would need distance, first," Gwen says. "Enough to where the others can't immediately come to their aid. And also, if the letter has enough to bait them, they won't give it to Elise, so she won't know.

"But yes," she says, looking determined. "Then we kill them."

"To be honest the person who interviewed me didn't seem that bad," Oren says. "She was just trying to stop bad people from her perspective. But I doubt we could ever convince them that it was justified, since they don't care about Votig the way we do."

"We could try to convince them it was an accident though, maybe?" Eliam suggests. "That it was just a plan gone wrong. That we had good intentions, we're just untrained... I'm just worried that they'll kill us first. It sounds like they're far more organized."

"Or we could say that the cultists did it," Oren adds. "They hate cults here."

"Once your plan crosses the genocide threshold, I think forgiveness is off the table," Minerva muses.

"She said there were no cults in Thirshalon, but we know that isn't true. Not you," he says, turning to Minerva, "another one."

She scowls slightly.

"Eliam do you think you could get a sample of that woman's blood?" Oren asks. "By... seducing her, or... whatever you do?"

"This is a land that shouldn't exist," Gwen says. "None of their lives should exist. The genocide should've occured ages ago."

"I agree with that," Oren says, then looks back at Minerva. "Sorry if that's wrong."

"I mean... I'm willing to give it a try," Eliam answers him. "I don't know how I'd go about getting her blood from that, though. Maybe you ought to try it instead?"

"No, she liked you. When you put your arm around her she left the door unlocked," he says.

"Well... maybe while she's sleeping, if I can borrow your knife."

Minerva tilts her head at Gwen. "Whether we thought they were to have died or not, they didn't. They're here. That doesn't make us the ones in the position to decide their fate anymore than they should be the ones to decide ours... or Elise's."

"Well, we're deciding Elise's fate by killing the people who want to kill her... or... something," Oren says. "Anyway, if we have her blood, then we can tell Elise we're going to destroy the wellspring. Herb knows we're going into the woods, and if they're anything like us they'll deploy all the children to stop it. We can save Elise easily then, and follow them and track the blood to find the wellspring without needing to rely on Eliam."

"Is everyone okay with this plan?" Eliam asks.

"Well, it's not really the divide and conquer plan since they'd likely all go... but it's the fastest way to get Elise and find the wellspring."

"As an alternative to trying to break her out tonight?" Minerva says. "I'll follow it."

"They'll think we're ahead of them, and we'll actually be following and tracking them... we could ambush them. And we'd be five, then," Oren says.

"No," Gwendolyn answers Eliam. "But the orc who interrogated me, Herb, was nice. Until he referred to humans, and he became incredibly angry. Enough to kill me there, maybe, If I said I had human blood. They've obviously undergone centuries of indoctrination and, if we're able to get here using the Child's powers... then they can get back home."

"So we kill them all?" Oren asks. "We just need the blood, or else we'll lose them in the woods." He goes through his bag, tearing the sleeve he collected Eliam's blood on. He places Elise's, Votig's, and Eliam's blood samples into labelled vials, and begins preparing more while they speak.

"I say dividing them would be safer," Gwen says. "If they don't know you 3 are children, but merely powerful mages, they might not go as a full group. They seemed arrogant in their power."

"Definitely," Oren agrees. "So first we bait them... kill one or two...? Then tell the others we're going there?"

Minerva turns to look out over the water. "We have the element of surprise over them," she says. "Baiting them is a good way to keep that."

"Yes, bait them," Gwen agrees. "But don't leave a chance of them relaying any messages. We need to keep the element of surprise."

"Maybe you can show us some Lyriad guerilla tactics for taking out orcs?" Oren asks Minerva.

She cracks her knuckles. "My favourite kind."

"Lyriad?" Gwen asks.

"The Lyriad is Minerva's cul--.... resistance group against the Elyde back on Sylvatir," Eliam explains. "She was pretty much raised by them, so I'm hoping you know a few tricks," he says to Minerva.

"The trapping part is easy," she says. "Bait them in by showing them something they want; then let them think they've gotten it so they let their guard down; then spring the trap and eliminate the target before they can respond."

"I wish I still had that necklace, we could have looked like real cultists together," Oren says sadly.

She glares at him.

"What's wrong?" He asks, looking concerned.

"So we need something they want," Gwen says. "But perhaps not enough to go full force."

"So then, what do we have that they might be interested in?" Eliam asks.

"well we have... information, potentially," Oren says."We could make like a fake cult... camp... or something. burn some effigies or whatever."

"That cultist way back in the alley, he mentioned a House Stritox. We could name drop that, get their attention, possibly," Eliam suggests.

"That guy was so annoying, I'm glad Votig killed him. But yes, that's a good idea," Oren agrees.

Minerva says, "That's as good an idea as any. They did say their job during the judgment was to keep the peace so... I guess we break the peace. Surely all five wouldn't come for that."

"Well, actually... they wouldn't send all five for a petty crime. Maybe something semi-serious, like arson. But they seem pretty sensitive to the 'cult' word. There maybe is a non-zero chance they'd go all out," Eliam points out.

"What was the fire one like?" Oren asks.

"In a word?" Minerva says, "Flirty. Actually, you'd have liked him, Eliam. I'm not sure who would have been the wingman for who..."

"Oh? Maker, I have horrible luck," he says. "The one I got was all business. Barely wanted to chat at all, honestly. Elise's looked just like her... did you notice the hair? Maybe that's a wind thing."

"...Flirty?" Oren says. "Well, I'm not sure if your father would approve of orcs flirting with you. But we'll kill them, and make him proud."

"He didn't approve of me flirting with anyone. Got some good information now and again from it, though..." she says.

"Maybe you can collect the blood when it's needed, if Eliam doesn't want to," Oren suggests.

"I mean, if you still think it's necessary I'm more than willing to give it a try," Eliam says quickly.

Minerva walks over and pats Eliam on the back. "We're all counting on you."

"If we kill one, they'll know instantly if the skyglyph is affected or there's a light or something. It might be harder to draw them away then, and Elise might be in danger. Right?" Oren asks. "If we send a message to her and they followup on it and one ends up dead they'll be a lot crueler to her and might just kill her out of spite."

"Ideally they send more than one, but less than all," Gwen explains. "From the sounds of it, they were still only going to send Elise to Judgement at the very worst, and that's with killing thousands of people. I don't think they'll kill her outright."

"If we tell her we're off to the cave up north to do some cult Noctyr human nonsense then they'll send their best to stop us. Then we can break out Elise and kill anyone who stands in our way. Afterwards, we go north to kill the ones they sent. So we have Elise, and they're outnumbered. And we know where the cave is, all in one. We need the blood first though to make sure we can track them... a sample from each would help but even one would be useful."

"Would having Elise be in our favor? For the fight, I mean," Gwen asks.

"Not necessarily," Oren answers, "but knowing she isn't a hostage might be helpful. We can leave her on the boat or in the woods."

"I'll go to get the blood alone, then," Eliam says. "Unless one of you would like to try with one of them as well..." he looks at Minerva, remembering what she said about the Child of Fire. "Then, I expect we'll need Minerva for the breakout. Gwen, you seem like a good fighter, so we'll probably want you where we expect a fight to break out... which leaves Oren to figure out how to make sure they split up and don't send everyone?"

"I have no idea how to do that," Oren says.

"So," Minerva attempts to recap, "if Oren goes to cause a distraction with Gwen hidden as backup, Eliam and I can get back into that building. Eliam can distract whichever Children are left and get blood while I can get to Elise and get her out a back door. Or make a back door. Really, either."

"We need the blood of the children that leave, that way we can follow them and kill them after," Oren says.

"This is why I wanted to get a message to Elise," Gwen adds. "I'm not saying we should do all this now. Above all, we should not split up ourselves when leading into the fight.

"We try to get the blood, maybe tonight," Gwen recaps. "Minerva and maybe Eliam, do that, but don't give away anything. Just be your charming self," she says, looking at Eliam. "After we have the blood, on the way out of town, we commit some sort of petty crime to get some of their attention in chasing us. Elise needs to know that while we aren't coming immediately, to not lose hope. That there's a plan."

"We don't want them chasing us, we need to follow them so that we're in town and they're not," Oren adds. "So, Eliam seduces one of the slutty orcs- his choice- and steals a little of their blood. Then he takes a bath because that's disgusting. Then we send a letter to Elise, which alerts the children to a cult to the north looking to destroy the wellspring. Then they mostly run north, probably leaving the scientist air child here in town. We bust out Elise, kill that girl, and follow the others North using the blood to find them. We can have a trap set there where we ambush them? Minerva can figure that out when it's time. We don't ever separate, except when Eliam goes to do whatever he has to. And as a bonus they lead us to the wellspring. they're dead, we have Elise, we have a way home and a cure for vampires."

Minerva says, "Okay. I like it. Let's try it."

"Works for me," Eliam shrugs.

"Why would they go north if we hadn't left?" Gwendolyn asks. "It's not like there's anyone left to have a working delivery system. If we're still in town, and she gets a letter, they're just going to assume it was us and go to us, here."

"They won't know where we are," Oren explains. "We'll hide our stuff just outside town or something. We hand the letter to the receptionist or leave it on the step tonight and they find it in the morning and assume we're miles away."

"I can write the letter tonight while Eliam is getting the blood," Minerva says.

"Would you rather wait north, on the road and ambush them, Gwendolyn?" Oren asks.

"I would. I would prefer not to risk fighting them near the wellspring," she agrees.

"We'll stop them before that. And if they see the light from their friend dying they'll likely come running back. Hopefully we can ambush them before that," Oren says.

"Assuming there is a light," Gwen adds.

Oren thinks for a second. "Or we could just send them south and get Elise and run north and hope they don't catch up. That way Eliam doesn't have to sleep with an orc."

"He...doesn't have to sleep with one. Just get her drunk," Gwendolyn says, looking at him. "Right? And it's better to deal with them now while we still have the element of surprise."

"I... I mean, I just sort of... it'd be a bit easier, wouldn't it, if I slept with her?" Eliam stammers. "Thankfully she doesn't look that much like an orc..."

"It's better to deal with them never, from Sylvatir," Oren says. "But I don't care what we do as long as we get to that cave and hopefully rescue Elise."

"Unless they find a way to travel there later," Gwendolyn says darkly.

"Okay, so letter and blood plan," Oren says. "In the mean time Gwen and I can scout out the prison and try to figure out exactly where Elise is. And we'll hide the cart and horses somewhere. Um... let's go find a place first so we know where to meet up."

Gwendolyn leaves the group and walks over to the old man on the docks who saw them come in.

After she leaves, Oren turns to Eliam. "Are you really going to sleep with her?"

Eliam sighs. "Gwen... would probably be upset, wouldn't she."

"Also it is pretty gross," Oren adds. "But more importantly, would you really be able to kill someone you slept with? You're too nice for that."

"I mean... I guess I'm kind of hoping, we'll get out there, and they'll be willing to just talk it out?" Eliam says quietly. "I mean, I know there's the whole genocide thing, but if we're also Children, wouldn't they be inclined to help us? Or at least not kill us?"

"I wish, they seemed reasonable," Oren says. "And it's different when you're talking about people who have names and not just a mass of orcs cheering at Votig's death. If it were up to me we'd just go now to the cave but I know nobody else wants to so I'll wait." He looks longingly to the north. "Do you think it's safe for you to be alone with Sarina? It's not worth it if she hurts you."

"She wouldn't hurt me; I'll be too charming," Eliam says confidently. "I don't know how you get someone's blood though. Seems like the sort of thing you can't just... ask about."

"Oh yea, people get weird," Oren agrees.

"How do you normally do it?"

"Uh.. You're the first one I really asked, I guess. Usually if I take blood it's from people who don't know about it, or myself. I guess just... Maybe bite her or something, I don't know. Then press your sleeve to it and say it was an accident. I mean an accident that you bit so hard."

Minerva chuckles a little. "That would mean faking that you don't know how hard to bite," she says. "Are you okay being seen as such a rookie lover?" She winks.

"Well... we haven't all had the practice you had," Eliam says to her. "Though speaking of, you didn't exactly seem upset that the fire orc was into you. Why don't you act as backup on this plan? Give your own target a shot."

"What? No," Oren says quickly. "She can't do it."

"Uhhh..." Minerva says, slightly offended, "and why not?"

"Be...because that's different. You're.. Uh.. Do you want to do that??" Oren stammers, blushing furiously.

She looks at him, surprised at his reaction. "Oh. Oh," she says suddenly. "O-oh." She reddens and walks away.

"Well... that answers that question," Eliam says as she leaves.

"You shouldn't do it either, really, but I suppose you can decide for yourself," Oren says. "Should I lie to Gwendolyn for you?"

"No, no. I promised her I wouldn't lie... I need to stop promising things. I'll just try to get the orc drunk," Eliam says.

Oren nods, handing him a knife and a small piece of bandage. "Any cloth will be fine really. The bite will be okay in a pinch but then you'd have to be pretty close."

"Don't worry. I'll figure it out as I go," Eliam says.

"Okay, good luck. Let's go see what Gwendolyn found out, he says, walking to rejoin her.

"Excuse me, do you know if there's any available lodging? An inn, perhaps," Gwendolyn asks the man on the docks.

"All the inns should be pretty well vacant by now," he says. "Just about everyone's at the Judgment. Are you not going?" he asks.

"No, we're waiting on a friend first before we go. I assumed they would be vacant, but is it staffed?"

"Yes," he says, "with minimal staff. Probably won't have your rooms cleaned or breakfast made for you."

"I'm sure we'll manage," she says, pulling out a gold piece and handing it to him as a tip. "Thank you."

He looks at it with widened eyes. He cries silently. "Th-thank you!"

She smiles, and walks to meet Oren and Eliam. Oren hands him ten gold, and sends him on his way. As he turns to leave, however, Gwendolyn grabs his arm.

"Eliam, can I talk to you real quick?"

"Of course," he says, as she pulls him aside.

"I...I wanted to apologize," she says. "About our last chat."

Oren and Minerva wait by the horses, quietly avoiding eye contact.

"I know they're your friends," she continues, "and...I may have been a bit hasty in my accusations. I know it doesn't excuse it, but well...it's been hard. Losing Prilla, that is. When I got here, knowing full well how long she searched for you all, only to find a new threat facing you, as well as the loss of Votig... I just want to make sure you're safe, is all. I'm sorry."

"No... it's fine," Eliam tells her. "You have nothing to apologize for. Honestly, I'm glad you're looking out for me. The situation just got a lot worse, so... it's good to have an extra person I can rely on."

She smiles, wiping away a few tears. "Thank you. I know you'll do whatever it takes to save Elise, and I'm not going to ask you to do otherwise. Just stay safe. She is, ultimately, our enemy right now, and they all seem dangerous."

"Yeah... sorry you got kind of roped into this. And I think I was a little harsh on them when we spoke. They've actually gotten a bit nicer, believe it or not... and it probably is better to stick together so we can get home faster." He hugs Gwendolyn. "I think it'll be fine. I mean, worse case you just break me out with Elise."

She hugs him back, and goes to rejoin the others. Eliam begins walking towards the docks, but turns around and runs back to the group.

"Sorry, actually, do you have an item you've marked already? or something we could mark, and give to her?"

"Like what? It's easy to mark things..." Oren answers.

"It'd have to be something small that I could slip into her pocket... maybe some jewelry from the inn? Did you grab anything like that for the girls?"

"No, not really... Minerva has a necklace that's marked, but she probably won't want you to borrow it."

Minerva clutches her necklace for a moment. "I'm sorry. It's too risky."

Oren marks a gold coin, then hands it to Eliam. "Just use this."

"Alright! Don't worry then, I'll be back before you know it," he says cheerfully, running to the docks.

"Good luck," Oren calls after him.

Eliam and Sarina Get Drinks
Eliam heads back to the building where the party left Elise. Lettak, the orc who was working previously, is there.

"Evening, sir," Eliam greets him. "I was wondering if Ms. Lillia was in?"

Lettak leans back in his chair as he enters. "Hm... yes, I think she's still in the back. Is she expecting you?"

"Sort of... she mentioned something about drinks earlier. I was hoping to take her up on her offer."

"Ha!" he laughs. "Sounds like her. Don't be suckered in too far, boy. You're not the first or the last. Rear hallway, fourth door on the right."

"Ha! Thanks for the advice," Eliam says, laughing. He walks to the door the man indicated and knocks to get Sarina's attention.

She looks up from her desk, where Eliam sees her writing. Her eyes narrow in puzzlement. She stands up and opens the door. "Mr. Westmonte. I didn't expect you. I had thought your group was leaving."

"The others are finding somewhere to stay... but as I recall, you required me to not be a criminal, and to buy you a drink before you'd speak to me. I believe I met one requirement," he says, holding up a gold coin, "and I'm hoping to meet the second."

She chuckles a little, then returns to her desk and sits down. She shakes her dark hair behind her shoulders to reveal a low-cut top. A necklace with a stone cut to resemble a small green water drop rests below her neck. "Interesting," she says, "although, if you'll pardon me saying so, you returned far sooner than I had thought you might. I don't typically go out for a drink with a man who comes so quickly."

Eliam shrugs, leaning against the door. "I assumed your company would be in high demand, and it was best to speak sooner rather than later. It would be a shame to waste an opportunity like this."

"Oh, merely speaking?" she says, feigning disappointment. "My, a duller evening than I had planned for."

"Well, we have to start somewhere. I mean, unless you have a different idea?" he asks, grinning.

"I have several ideas, Mr. Westmonte, each more outlandish than the last. For example: one idea suggests to me that you're here to learn about your friend, or distract me enough to allow your other partners to break her out. That wouldn't be on the agenda for the evening, would it?"

"Hardly. I know she's completely innocent. Why would I consider breaking her out, when you've given her an opportunity to understand her powers? But I must admit, I'm flattered you consider me distracting enough to think that possible."

She laughs. "To parry an accusation and thrust your wit in return so well is comforting. I only hope you thrust as well in other areas." She puts the papers she was working on in a file folder, then tucks the folder into her desk. "Well, then," she says. "The drinks will be difficult to come by as the bars are closed for the Judgment, though I'm certain I can scrounge up a drink or two at my house."

"I'm sure we can make do, Ms. Lillia. Shall we?" He holds out his arm for her to lead him. She cocks an eyebrow, but takes it.

She leads him out of the building to a residence a short walk away. It is a moderate-sized home, two-story, with a colorful garden out front. "It's amazing how well they grow when you never have to worry about watering them," she says.

"I must say, Mr. Westmonte," Sarina continues, opening the door and leading him inside, "you're a brave man. Most men get scared off when they realize I'm a Child and could kill them before they blinked."

"Why would I be afraid? You seem charming enough. And honestly... what's the fun without some sense of danger?"

"My thoughts exactly," she purrs. "How about I fetch us a drink? You can handle strong, I hope?"

"Of course. Thank you," Eliam says. She sets down a small leather bag, sealed at the top with a buttoned flap. Once she is in the kitchen and he's alone, he slips the coin inside the bag, and it drops to the bottom. He sets his own things down and goes to join her.

Eliam follows Sarina to the kitchen, where she has procured a pair of glasses with an amber liquid. "'Maker's Finest'," she says. "Slightly blasphemous but the taste can't be beat."

"Don't worry," he laughs, "I promise not to tell the others."

He takes a sip, trying to taste any sort of truth serum in the liquid. Satisfied it's just normal alcohol, he drinks. "You were right, this is quite good. And your home is nearly as lovely as its owner."

She takes a short sip while she says, "Play your cards right, you could be inside both tonight."

Eliam smiles at her. "Well, things do seem to be going well so far. I'm glad to have such good company to relax with. Your work looks a bit... tedious, with all the paperwork, but I suppose it can't be helped."

Sarina sits down on the couch. She stretches out momentarily and then curls up against the plush backing. She drinks deeply, finishing her first glass.

"That's quite the scar you have," she says softly. "Acquired in battle with some fierce foe, I imagine? Surely something like that didn't come from anything as wishy-washy as a friendly old pussy cat or anything."

He laughs, taking a seat next to her. "So you really did compare notes! I'm flattered you took such an interest in what was on mine. Well... normally this is where I'd spin some tale about grand adventures and battles... but you seem like a woman who values honesty. Though... it's a little embarrassing. You won't laugh, right?"

She replies silkily, "So long as it's your *only* little embarrassment of the night."

"I assure you, I have no intention of leaving here with either of us unsatisfied. Well... to be honest, I'm afraid I simply got it from a scuffle outside of a bar. Such a dull tale, though, wouldn't you agree? But I'm surprised you brought me out here just to ask me to tell you stories."

"You're not wrong," she says. "I did bring you out here for... other reasons. More drink?"

"I'd love one."

She retires to the kitchen for a minute, and returns with another glass of the same beverage. She hands him one and begins drinking the second.

The evening wears on with flirts and small talk. An hour passes when Sarina brings out the bottle of Maker's Finest, mostly empty. She pours you the final glass and says, "You can enjoy the last one. Once you finish, we can get down to... business."

Eliam finishes the last of the alcohol.

Sarina stands up and asks him if he will collect the bottle and the glasses and bring them to the kitchen. He moves to stand to collect the bottles, and immediately stumbles back on the couch, too drunk to move.

"Oh, don't mind that," she says. "I can get it. You relax there." She takes the glasses and the bottle back to the kitchen. She returns to the couch, moving astonishingly gracefully for someone who's had as much liquor as Eliam, and leans close to him. "Now," she purrs. "To business?"

"But of course"

"Good," she whispers lowly. She leans forward toward Eliam's face ever so slightly. Just as they near, she raises a single finger and puts it against his lips. "So, I was going over your statements and something struck me as interesting about what you said about Elise..."

She leans back, then stands up and paces in front of Eliam. Her movements blur in his eyes a little. "Both you and Elise mentioned that you grabbed her and took her to safety. I find it interesting that she's perhaps the most powerful mage we've ever seen, and yet she needed someone to step up and save her."

She leans down and invades Eliam's personal space in a way that makes him somewhat uncomfortable. "What's special about Elise?"

Eliam shrugs. "I wish I knew. Her powers make her sort of a basket case sometimes. She has trouble focusing, especially in crowds."

"And what powers would those be?" she asks.

"She hears... people's voices. Conversations around her. So it's hard for her to think when so many people are around her speaking."

She is leaning closer now, her eyes nearly glittering. "And what is the source of her powers?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. She's never told us about when or how she got them."

Sarina narrows her eyes in anger. She makes an exasperated exhalation. "I guess I've been barking up the wrong tree after all.

"I'm sorry for wasting your evening, Mr. Westmonte, but I thought for certain you would know more about her than you were letting on." She turns quickly and moves to the kitchen, returning with a smaller, empty glass bottle. "I'm sorry for the deception, as well, but I had to be certain. This is the rye you were drinking. The larger bottle was just juice. My drinks were all virgins, like me.

"Since you have nothing further to offer me, I believe this is where I bid you a good night," she says. "You know where the door is."

"I... suppose there's nothing I can say to change your mind. Very well," Eliam says, carefully stumbling to the door and taking his things. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but still, thank you for the company. Even if you did trick me. I had a lovely evening."

She purses her lips a little, and as he closes the door, he hears her say, "Get home safe."

Oren talks to Eliam about the Wellspring Cave
At the inn, Gwendolyn and Oren sit on a small couch in the front, facing the door. Minerva stays in her room, alone. Gwendolyn sips periodically from a glass of wine, and the two sit quietly.

"Don't worry, he won't do it," Oren says, leaning against her shoulder to try to sleep. She ignores him, watching the door.

After a while, Eliam stumbled in the door, grabbing the frame to prevent himself from falling. "G'evening," he slurs. Oren stands up and walks over to help steady him.

"Hey how'd it go?" he asks.

"I put the coin in her bag," Eliam answers cheerfully, "but she didn't... exactly want a date"

"You didn't do it did you?" Oren asks, concerned. "I know you have trouble resisting, it's okay."

Gwendolyn looks up, listening quietly.

Eliam stumbles to the couch and falls onto the seat. "She gave me way too much alcohol. Didn't touch a drop herself. Then she asked me a bunch of questions about Elise and sent me home. but I... I don't think I can kill her. She's really nice."

"Don't worry," Gwen mumbles. "You don't have to"

"That's what I was worried about. Wait what did she ask? What did you tell her?" Oren asks, giving Gwen a worried look.

"I mean, I don't think I can fight her, either," Eliam adds. "I think she knows Elise is a Child, though... she asked why she needed to be rescued from the Judgment, and how she got her powers."

"All the more reason then," Gwen says, finishing her glass.

Oren sits on the floor, resting his head against Eliam's leg. "Maybe we need a new plan."

Eliam nods. "Maybe... if i go talk to her, and explain, she'll let her go? I didn't tell her anything... just what Elise's powers were, and that she hadn't told us how she got them."

Oren sighs. "I don't know. I kind of want to just get to that cave, so I'll do whatever is faster."

"And when yer both killed fer being humans?" Gwendolyn asks, slurring slightly.

"she wouldn't that," Eliam mumbles. "She was nice."

"This world was founded on that theology," she answers. "Even if she doesn't, she wont keep it from the others, who will most likely react worse."

"I'll ask her tomorrow then," Eliam slurs. "Maybe she'll be okay with a second date."

"Yes. A second date," Gwendolyn says angrily. "A second chance for her to use you in condemning us all." She stands, grabbing her glass and the bottle of wine, and walks to her room. Before reaching the stairs, she looks back. "Please reconsider."

Oren nods in agreement. "Don't go. She's dangerous."

After Gwen leaves, Oren stands, helping Eliam up the stairs and pulling him to their bedroom. He lays him on the bed, undressing him enough to sleep comfortably, and climbs into bed with him, pulling up the covers. "Are you really ok? She didn't hurt you right?" he asks, hugging him. "I shouldn't have let you go."

"I'm fine," Eliam answers sleepily. "She didn't hurt me. She was really nice, even told me she wanted me to get home safe. Can you sense the coin?"

"I'd have to be within a mile and cast the spell. I'll wait," he answers, snuggling closer. "Maybe we should go to that cave first, Elise will be safer here anyway."

"She's fine until she goes crazy from hunger, right? Unless we can get there and back in one night," Eliam says.

"I'm not sure how far it is, but we can just leave her. They won't hurt her." Oren moves closer to him still, looking him in the eyes. "We could just go and find it and be back soon. Maybe it's really close. You can find it and we'll be back in time."

"Yeah... Even if she's a vampire, do you think they'd help her? It would be nice if it were close though... But we couldn't even sense it when we tried outside, right?"

"I don't know, once we get in the forest it'll be easier. You just need to focus. You're going to find it easily once you really try," Oren says, stroking his hair and smiling. "You're amazing."

"Oh! I mean... Are... Are you okay?" Eliam asks, flustered. Oren nods in response.

"I mean... It'd be nice to actually use my powers..." Eliam says, absent-mindedly stroking Oren's hair. "But it's dangerous out there at night, isn't it? Shouldn't we get the others?"

"We can go in the morning, they can come if they want... You're the only one I need."

"Oh! I mean... It can't hurt to look then. If we take the horses, we can be back even sooner... If I did find the wellspring, that would be pretty useful, wouldn't it?"

"Definitely. That's why you're so important. And if we find another wellspring we'll be so powerful. Then we'd really be legendary heroes. And it's all thanks to you"

"Yeah... that would be amazing! I mean... maybe we shouldn't wait, then? I don't think Minerva would let us leave to look, probably. Not without getting Elise"

"Then we shouldn't tell her," Oren answers. "She can wait here and we'll go as soon as possible. It'll be faster if it's just us."

"Yeah... that makes sense. Then we can surprise everyone when we get back... They'll be even more impressed. I don't think I can handle a horse right now, though... Everything keeps spinning. That was really good rye."

"Yes you're very drunk. But that's okay, we can wait a little while until you're feeling better."

"Okay.... Thanks. You're so nice. I'm really glad you're here." He starts to fall asleep, then looks again at Oren. "Hey... You promised you wouldn't trick me, right? This isn't that?"

"What? No, I just really like you and want you to be happy"

"Okay! I really like you too," Eliam says, passing out.

Just before dawn, Oren shakes Eliam awake. "Are you still drunk?"

"Ugh... Yeah, I'm fine. Kind of a headache, but it's less bad than I thought"

Impatiently, Oren gets dressed and quickly packs. He helps Eliam up, handing him his clothes, and returns to frantically packing.

"Oh... Thanks! It's still pretty early, isn't? What are we doing?"

"Going to the cave," Oren answers distractedly.

"Oh! That's right... But uh... Are you sure this is a good idea? Sorry, I'm kind of shaky about last night. What about the others? We can't just leave"

"We can leave, they won't be up yet."

"No, I mean... We can't just leave them alone here."

"It's okay, they're going to be fine," Oren says, handing Eliam his bag. "We'll be back really soon."

"I just... What if Elise gives up our secret and they come looking for us back at the inn? Or we get into a fight out there?" Eliam asks.

"Do you want to invite them? Do you think they'd leave?"

"Well... No, probably not. I just... Do you think they'd be happy? If we found the wellspring for them?"

"Absolutely, Minerva would love you if you cured her. And it'll be easy for you. You're so clever you'll find it in an hour and we'll be back before they know we're gone. And I'll be so grateful..."

"Well... Maybe... I mean, I do want to help you. You've helped me so much. I guess..." Eliam looks down at his bag, sighing, and puts it around his shoulder. "I would like to help you... You are my best friend. Though last night, you seemed a little... I guess I just assumed you liked Minerva."

"She's great, but she can't help me with this," Oren answers. "And she wouldn't. I don't think I could convince her. But you're the one I really need and you'll help me. Because you're so kind. I'd do anything to make you happy if you do this for me, you know that right? I'll help you be famous and powerful, or whatever you want."

"I... Yeah. I mean, you don't have to help me with that stuff though! But I guess... Gwen is pretty capable, right? So if anything happened here she could handle it. And Elise will be fine. It'll be easier to rescue her if we're stronger..." Eliam says, grabbing some of their things and bringing them downstairs.

"Yes, exactly," Oren says, leading him downstairs.

The Group Discusses Helping Minerva
Minerva sits at a table, eating breakfast she has prepared.

"Good morning!" Eliam says, sounding almost relieved. He takes a seat at the table next to her, taking some food.

She smiles at him. "Good morning, Eliam. Sleep well?"

Oren sets his things down, looking around, confused.

"Yup! And I have pretty good news, I think," the bard answers.

"Oh?" Minerva seems mildly intrigued. "What's up?"

"I think I can help Elise. Maybe. It's a long shot, but... it might work. But I think we can get in to see her. My date went pretty well last night, if I do say so myself. Well enough I think they might just let us in to visit. Which will solve some of the time constraint problems, if nothing else."

Oren sighs as he hears this and sits down with them, picking at some of the food.

Minerva looks impressed. She eyes Eliam up and down, hoping he won't notice. "I... will go ahead and not ask for details of the date and just say good job."

"Thanks! And don't worry," Eliam says, patting Oren's shoulder, "I didn't forget you either. I'll do my best to find the wellspring... or at least figure out how far it is. If we go to the edge of the woods, we can at least find a direction to go towards, I hope. How far to get to the edge, do you think?"

Oren shrugs. "If we can get there and back while Elise is locked up, that'll be easier than searching for it with her. She'll probably be safer in jail anyway. So maybe we should just hurry..."

Minerva's mouth thins into a flat line but she says nothing.

"Maybe... depends on how far it is. I don't know if I trust Elise to not tell them too much if she starts to get too hungry while we're gone."

"Can we try some of those things I suggested to see if we can reduce your hunger?" Oren says, turning to Minerva. "If that combined with our blood which has more aether in it means you don't need to eat as often, we could try the same thing on Elise and leave her for longer..."

"Okay," she says. "If Eliam is going to try to get in to see Elise, we could try something in the meanwhile."

"I'd rather not go alone, to be honest..." Eliam says. "I have one of them on my side, I think, but that would leave the other four mistrustful, at best. If things go wrong... I'd rather wait, so we can ask as a group with all of us. But we can wait until you try your thing; we'd have to wait for Gwendolyn anyways."

"Maybe you and Gwendolyn can go look at the forest and try to figure out where the wellspring is?" Oren suggests. "And if there's a library or a book store or something maybe we can find some information on it or the cave. Or anything, really. We still don't know much."

"So, you don't... have to stay in the room with me when I take a bath... r-right?" she says, blushing slightly.

Oren shrugs. "I don't know, I guess I just have to do something to the water. I don't even know how I did it before. Or if I did it... but it's up to you. I'm not sure if it would be better for me to be doing things to the water while you're in it or not..."

"Maybe you can add some aether to the water too," he says to Eliam. "I don't really know how it works. And if you," he looks at Minerva, "heat up the water, that might help too. The important thing is to fill you with as much aether as possible and see if it reduces the symptoms."

Minerva says, "Okay... let's all infuse it as much as we can, and then I can... you know... soak it in. In private."

"Sure, whatever you want," Oren says. "And if that doesn't work we can try other things."

"I don't mind looking around town with Gwen, if you two want your... privacy, for this," Eliam offers.

"Did we have plans on sightseeing?" Gwendolyn asks, walking down the stairs to join the others. "I don't remember making any, last night."

"Sort of a new plan, I guess, if you're up to it. We can look around town, try to see if there's a library or bookstore around to find information on the wellspring, or that cave Oren wants to visit."

"I suppose it can't hurt," she says, taking a seat.

Minerva stands to go upstairs. "We may as well get started, then."

Oren thinks for a moment, then looks at Eliam. "If you do find a bookstore or something, try to find a book about the vampires, and anything you can about the wellspring, I guess."

Gwendolyn and Eliam stay at the table to eat, while the others stand to follow her. She leads Oren to her room where a copper wash tub sits. She takes a bucket and says, "I'll start fetching some water if you want to magic up some more. Unless you think you can fill the whole tub..."

"Oh... I was just going to purify real water, I don't know how to conjure it." Oren thinks about it, unsure if he can actually do that, but decides to give it a try. He closes his eyes and tries to feel for the water around him. He senses the water in the air and the dew outside on the grass. With a blue aura enveloping him, he condenses it and slowly draws it to him. Over five minutes, he manages to fill the tub with half a foot of water.

Minerva looks impressed. "That's actually really amazing."

"It's a lot easier when you have an enchanted faucet that just does it on its own, but this is better than carrying buckets I guess," he says. He closes his eyes to try again, but the air around him feels dry.

Minerva hands a bucket to Oren and smiles. "Thanks a lot. I really do appreciate this." She picks one up herself and goes to the well behind the inn. Sometime later, the tub is filled enough for Minerva to be able to submerge herself.

She looks at the filled tub with Oren and says, "Okay. Now what?"

Oren kneels next to it, rolls up his sleeve and touches the water. "You should try to warm it up." He swirls his hands within the water. He opens and closes his fingers as if feeling and pulling at the strings running through it. After a moment, the water begins to glow an incredible faint blue.

Minerva peers at the water. "And now my turn?"

"Try to warm it up. It might help, and it'll be more comfortable," Oren tells her. "Even if this doesn't work it'll be good for you to relax."

Minerva places her hands in the water and closes her eyes. A red aura overtakes her as she excites the strings of aether running through the water. Oren has seen Minerva use her power before, but this time feels different; more controlled. Her hair begins to rise around her neck, as though blown by winds no one can feel. Steam begins rising in wispy trails from the surface of the water, and the air, which felt so dry a moment ago, begins to feel warmer and more humid. The blue hue of the water is now matched by a red from Minerva's power, but the colors do not mix. Instead they dance around each other, swirling and mingling endlessly.

Minerva removes her hands and opens her eyes. Her hair drops to her shoulders again. "Thank you," she says to Oren, hugging him. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

"I guess just... take a bath?" Oren replies. "I hope this works. If not we can try a lot of other things, so don't be discouraged."

She nods. "Okay."

"Do you want me to wait in there or just... leave... or..." Oren gestures outside to her bedroom.

Minerva blushes intensely as she breaks the hug and smacks his shoulder in what she hopes is a gentle way. "Nice try," she reprimands. "I think I can take it from here." She turns away so that he doesn't see her face.

"What? Uh... okay, well, I'll just.. go wait... in the hall?" Oren asks, confused. "Is that better? Uh... good luck." He backs away awkwardly, and sits down in the hallway with a book.

Minerva Takes a Bath
Minerva is resting in the bath. She is laying back, eyes closed, and breathing deeply. She is making a concerted effort to focus on the aether around her. The water feels... heavy. Thick. It feels far denser than any water she has been swimming in before.

She tries to breathe slowly but something about the water causes her heart to race. Her breaths come faster than she expects. She forces herself to draw a gradual, steadying breath, but it doesn't stop the pounding in her ears.

Curiously, she touches a bubble of the red-glowing water. It welcomes her, and feels soothing against her skin. She tries to hold it close, but it slips away, switching places with the blue-tinted water.

The blue water seems to sap something from her. Where her finger passes through the water, it begins to feel more sluggish. More exhausted. She attempts to bend her hand into a fist, but her digits resist the motion.

Minerva's eyes grow wide upon seeing her hand refusing to respond. Unable to steady herself, she begins to feel herself slip lower into the water, and realizes she needs to get out of the tub immediately.

She attempts to push herself up, but her legs won't seem to gather her weight under her.

She attempts to pull herself out, but her arms only get her as far as the edge of the tub. Hands shaking, she clings to the side of the tub.

A sudden surge of strength in her foot as red water passes over it and she pushes herself higher; blue water crosses her leg and she falls back down.

And then, she understands. She draws the deepest breath she can and ignores her body entirely, closing her eyes and allowing herself to seek the strings of aether running through the water. Her head falls under the surface.

Surrounded by aether, she feels the red aether of fire embracing her, and the blue aether of water assaulting her. Fully submerged, she feels as though the blue strings are tying her down, holding her under... but now she sees.

Minerva touches one finger to a blue string; from the point she touches, it turns red, and the redness spreads across the aether, coating one string, then the next, then the next. The water turns ever more red as the blueness fades, as Minerva's power blesses it. In what feels like hours, but was really seconds, Minerva's strength returns, and she rises from the waters. She stands and, shaking but feeling so much stronger than she looks, steps onto solid ground. She breathes in short gasps at first, then in a slower and steadier rhythm in moments.

She leans back against the wall, collapsing. The water is glowing red, and red only. She sees it welcoming her. Moments later, she extends a hand and touches it; it invites her back. Cautiously, she returns to it, standing first, then kneeling, then sitting, and when she finally trusts it, she lays down fully and allows it to rejuvenate her.

Gwendolyn and Eliam go Shopping in Ariglodo
"Sorry for the wait," Eliam says to Gwendolyn as he walks down the stairs.

"No worries. Everything go okay?"

"We'll see, I guess... if we're lucky, this will cure her." He fishes out ten gold from his pocket, and holds them out to her. "Do you think this will be enough for today?"

"That would be nice," she says, then considers the gold. "Probably?"

"We could pick up some wine while we're out, as well," she suggests.

"Oh! Great idea. Worst case, we can always get more money from Oren I guess," Eliam says.

The two of them leave in search of a bookstore. They wander the streets for a time before coming to a small wooden shop with a glass front. The store is called Pageturners. The door is closed. There are no lights on, and no one is inside. Gwen tentatively knocks on the door. There is no answer.

"Well... I guess we could jump straight to resupplying the wine... or try to find another store," Eliam suggests.

"Maybe one of the Children would open up the store for us. They seem to essentially run the town while it's gone, in a way."

"Oh! Maybe. We could ask them, later. You were upstairs, but we were thinking that we could go in and ask to see Elise, as a group. To uh... take care of her problem, temporarily, if nothing else."

"Oh," she says quietly. "You think they'd let us do that?"

"Maybe... at least, maybe the one I spoke with last night will. We don't have to tell them anything though, for what it's worth. I know you're worried about that, and I definitely understand why. I don't fully trust them," Eliam tells her quietly. "I know we can't."

"Well...Thank you for thinking about me. I appreciate it. Now, I believe you said wine...? Oh, and how was your date? It didn't seem like you stayed the night, at least."

"I mean... it wasn't really a date. More like a mission! But yeah, I don't think there was any risk of that. Apparently her whole... demeanor is just an act, believe it or not. I managed to give her the coin; now it's just a matter of hoping she doesn't spend it. After that, she... actually, she tricked me, which I'm not completely happy about. Gave me a ton of alcohol while she stayed sober. She asked me a bunch of questions, I guess hoping I would be drunk enough to slip up, but I managed to convince her I didn't know anything about why Elise is how she is."

"Nice job," Gwen says, impressed. "Good to know we aren't completely cleared of suspicion, as well. I imagine we might face more of those tests the longer we stay here."

"Probably. Hopefully they clear Elise pretty quickly and we can leave."

They approach a wine store- The Tipsy Trader- but find conditions at the store to be much the same as Pageturners.

"I get closing the bookstore... but no wine?" Eliam asks, annoyed. "Seriously?"

There are four stores within their eyesight, but their doors are closed as well. An old man hobbles along on a cane coming down the street.

"Pardon me, sir?" Eliam says, approaching him. "We were looking to see if any of the stores are open. You don't happen to know if any are, do you? Particularly a bookstore? Or a wine store?"

The old man stops and leans toward him. "What's that? Speak up!" he snaps. "A fine door? What's wrong with a regular plain old wooden one?"

"No, no, a wine store''." Gwendolyn says, carefully enunciating her words.''

The old man jabs a gnarled finger into his ear and twists it. "A wine store?" he says crankily, looking at Gwen. "There's one right behind you! Tipsy Trader! Youth these days couldn't find water if they fell in the Beck..." He begins to slowly walk on.

"Perhaps we should just go back to the inn," Eliam suggests, annoyed.

"I think you're right."

The old man whips around. "What's that?" he nearly shouts. "Where did you find an entire sack of gin?!"

"Sorry to bother you. We'll be going now!" Eliam waves and walks away with Gwen, ignoring the question.

The old man opens and closes his mouth, as though he's chewing on something, then walks on. "Getting an old man's hopes up..." He mutters to himself as he leaves.

They return to the inn, unsuccessful. Eliam walks to the table, and sits down, and Gwendolyn follows, taking a seat across from him.

"This is awful," he says. "Finally we get money, but there's nowhere to spend it. I can't wait to get home to Iquai"

"It'll be nice, that's for sure," she agrees. "Are there any plans, for when we get back?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead, to be honest... fix the wellspring at Saloria I guess, if we can. Maybe you can get us in to Hadleigh; that place sounds pretty nice."

Gwendolyn flinches, and looks away. "I'd...I'd prefer not to go back there. At least not yet. And there's so much to do in Fallowfield, so much to rebuild..."

"Ah... sorry. I understand. We'll stay away from there, then. I'm sure Fallowfield will welcome the help."

"I don't think there's anyone left to welcome it," she says sadly.

Eliam reaches across the table and takes her hand. "I'm sorry for what happened at Fallowfield. But when we get back, we'll figure out how to rebuild, how to start fixing what happened. If you want to."

She blushes slightly. "I'd like that. Thank you." She looks at his hand for a moment. "Do you think we should check up on them? Or should we not...intrude."

"Can't hurt to take a quick look upstairs, I guess... if the door's closed, we'll just leave them alone."

They walk upstairs. The door to Minerva's room in still closed, and Oren sits on the floor next to it, reading.

"Oh, you're back," he says, without looking up. "How did it go?"

"Poorly," Gwen answers. "Everything is closed."

"What was the forest like?"

Eliam sits next to him, closing his eyes to try to sense the wellspring from their current location. He opens his eyes after a moment and says nothing, looking frustrated.

"We decided to check back here instead, to see how you two were doing. Is she still in there?" Gwen asks.

"Yes."

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know, why wouldn't she be?" Oren asks.

Gwen shrugs. "I barely even understand what you're doing, much less if its safe or not."

"To be honest, I was kind of hoping we'd see some results by now," Eliam says. "Unless she just didn't want to tell us if it worked yet."

"I don't think she wanted me in there, she asked me to leave. Do you want to check on her?" he asks Eliam.

"I mean, if you don't think she'd mind," he answers.

"I don't know. You'd know better than me."

"Do you want to try, Gwen? You're a woman, so she'd probably be less upset by you."

She nods. "Maybe you two can go downstairs," she says, knocking on the door. "Minerva?"

Gwendolyn waits for an answer, but gets only silence. Concerned, she opens the door to the bedroom, and calls out to Minerva again.

She hears water sloshing. Through the door, Minerva calls, "Is that you, Gwen?"

"Yes. Oren says he hasn't heard from you since Eliam and I left, so I came to check up on you."

Minerva answers, "I'm fine." The water sloshes more. "It was a little touch-and-go at the start but it's wonderful now. Thank you for checking up."

"Of course. We'll be downstairs whenever you finish, though Eliam mentioned trying to see Elise today. I figure we'll probably be going soon."

Minerva stays in the bath, and Gwendolyn turns around to return downstairs.

"Why does it matter that Gwen is a girl?" Oren asks as he and Eliam go downstairs.

"Whenever one of us tries to grab her shoulder, she gets pretty weird and mean about it," Eliam answers. "But she doesn't care when Elise does it. So, I guess she prefers when girls touch her... I think she might have a crush on you anyways, so that makes it a bit awkward too."

"That makes sense," Oren says. "She definitely doesn't like when I touch her, I thought she just didn't like it in general but maybe it's because she doesn't like me. She definitely doesn't have a crush on me, she can't stand me."

"I can just ask her, if you want. Put the matter to rest. If she actually dislikes you it'd be a problem for traveling, but I don't think she does; she thanked you quite a bit for helping her. She's just... not good at being social, I think, probably the result of being raised in an underground cult."

"I don't think you should ask her that, I'd rather just ignore it and not worry about whether or not she likes me. It's easier. It doesn't change anything to know. She's been nicer the last few days too... maybe she was just in a bad mood before. I hope she stays nice though" He thinks for a moment, then looks at Eliam."I mean you can do anything you want, I don't mind. So what was the forest like? Do you think you and I can get to the cave by ourselves? We should go"

"No no, if you want to ignore it it's fine. We didn't quite make it out to the forest; all the shops were closed, so we thought we'd check back here first. I'm sure we could get to the cave ourselves, but it's probably better to wait for everyone, right?"

"Whatever's faster is best," he answers.

"I mean, going ourselves is faster, but... there's vampires out there, and bears and wolves probably and Maker knows what else. I don't know about you but I'd rather have someone to help us fight if we have to."

"That's true. Minerva can fight for us. And Gwen can be there. That's better. But will they go? We should go today."

"I'm sure they will, after we make sure Elise isn't in danger of going crazy. But... why the rush, anyways?" Eliam asks.

"It's right there, don't you want to get home? and cure Minerva? And if we go and you help me I'll be grateful, I'll do anything for you, I'll give you whatever you want. Do you want money? I can give you some, and when we get to Iquai we'll kill the Elyde and make you king."

"I want to get home more than anything... and king? Could you imagine me as king?" Eliam says, laughing. "The look on my father's face! Not much point if we go out there and get eaten by bears though, probably."

"That's why we need the women to help us, I guess. But you would make a wonderful king. Your family would beg you to forgive them and you could marry Gwendolyn and have all the money and power and women, whatever you wanted, don't you want that? So, let's go," Oren says, taking his hands and staring intently into his eyes.

As they speak, Gwendolyn begins to walk down the stairs. She hears Oren say "marry Gwendolyn," and she pauses, blushing furiously. She turns and runs up the stairs back to her room, embarrassed.

Eliam looks startled as he hears her retreat. "Oh, shit... she probably heard the king thing."

"That's okay, she'll be queen," Oren says, smiling. He thinks for a moment, then looks upstairs. "Do you think the bath worked?"

"I... maybe, should we go check?"

"Yes, that's a good idea," Oren says, pulling Eliam up the stairs behind him.

Minerva steps out of her bedroom, fully dressed and smiling, as they approach.

"Did it work?" Oren asks, smiling and letting go of Eliam's hand.

She hugs him. "I had to make a few alterations, but yes, I feel amazing. I don't feel cured but I feel... satisfied."

Oren returns the hug. "Good. So.. you're not hungry? Because you can have some blood if you want before we go."

"No," she says, "I'm fine. I don't know how long it will last but I'm all right for now!"

"That's good. Now we need to go do that to Elise."

"That... that might be harder to pull off," Minerva says.

"We can go ask to see her at least, if you're feeling up to it," Eliam says.

"For sure," she nods.

"Do you really think they'll let us in? Or let us be alone with her? ...And a tub of water?" Oren asks.

"Maybe not a tub of water... but just getting her some blood would buy us time."

Realizing he isn't letting go, Minerva moves away from Oren, then pats his arms to encourage him to move.

"Okay, let's try that," Oren says, finally moving away. "Maybe your blood lasts longer than others?"

"Oh... maybe. I guess it's worth a try. If I have to," Eliam says.

"I mean, the aether... you're a mage and it's your element, right? So if the pure water helped Minerva maybe your pure aether will help Elise?"

"That's not... exactly how it worked," Minerva says. "The parts of the water that you had infused actually, um... hurt me," she finishes quietly.

Oren looks at her, discouraged. "What? I'm sorry, that's not supposed to happen."

"It's okay! I figured it out," she says. "The blue water... weakened me? I couldn't move my legs or close my fingers. But the red water made me stronger. I infused the water with my power and once it was all red it helped me a lot."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says. "It was weird but I'm great now."

"I guess you didn't need me after all," Oren says. "You can do it yourself next time."

"No, I did need you. How would I have thought of that on my own?" She pats his shoulder reassuringly. "And you filled up the tub a bunch just by your own power. I couldn't have done it without you."

"But I hurt you?"

"And you helped me," she says. "And you helped me far more than you hurt. So don't dwell on it, okay? We have other worries to think about."

"Why would the water weaken you?" Oren asks.

Minerva shrugs. "I wish I knew... All this Child stuff goes over my head sometimes." She pauses. "Most times."

The Group Visits Elise in Ariglodo
The next morning, they all leave to go to the office where Sarina was working the previous day. She is at her desk, scribbling notes on her desk. She looks up with an unreadable expression when they enter. She puts down her clipboard, then leans back in her chair. "Can I... help you?"

"Good morning, Ms. Lillia," Eliam says, smiling at her.

"Good morning, Mr. Westmonte," she responds. "Have you some further business to attend to?" Eliam looks at her for a moment, trying to get a read on her. He steps forward to her desk. "It's good to see you again; I'm glad I managed to catch you while you were still here. I hope you're doing well?"

"Yes," she says dryly, "while I was still here before I left the office--" she checks a nearby clock, "--halfway through the morning."

She sighs suddenly. "I'm sorry. That was... unfair. You're being quite kind and understanding. What can I do for you?"

While they speak, Oren steps to the window and begins to cast a spell to track Elise. He looks surprised, then beckons Minerva and Gwen to him.

Minerva steps closer, and Oren puts his arm around her, leading her to the window so Sarina can't overhear. "Elise isn't here, she's somewhere to the west," he whispers.

Eliam laughs cheerfully, "Well, I assumed you kept fairly busy. Patrolling the town or something? I mean, I'd hope you weren't just cooped up here all day doing paperwork without even the chance to take a walk. But maybe I can make your day a little less tedious; I was hoping you'd be kind enough to do me and my friends a favor."

She leans forward. "Go on."

"Nothing too serious. I was just hoping to request a quick visit with our friend, Elise. Just to make sure she's doing okay; I'm concerned about how well she's holding up being alone, though I'm sure you're doing what you can to make sure she's comfortable. And maybe I'd hoped a bit to talk to you again... but first things first, of course."

Sarina shakes her head slightly, then stiffens in the chair. "I... do feel sympathy for you, but we're talking tens of thousands of people dead. She is being held in maximum security. I could bring a letter. Visits are... another matter."

"You've already held her for two days... and from what I can tell, you're a good judge of character. Surely by now you've made a call one way or the other on if you think she had something to do with that horrible tragedy. And I think you're perceptive enough to have realized by now that she's hardly a murderer capable of that sort of destruction; she's a scared, lonely kid who doesn't understand what's happening. We don't expect much; just five minutes to reassure her that it's going to be okay."

Sarina stands and walks around her desk. She moves to face Eliam directly and tilts her head. She stares him in the eyes, unblinking. An eternity, or what seems that way, passes. And finally, she says...

"You're a good man, Westmonte.

"Follow me, the lot of you. Five minutes."

She stalks out of the room at a quick pace and expects everyone to keep speed.

"Thank you," Eliam says. "We genuinely appreciate it." He follows close behind her, and the others follow suit.

Sarina leads them down a hallway, then a left turn, then a right. Through a locked door, down some stairs, to a small room of grey stone brick. There is no furniture in this room, low light, and no further doors.

Oren grabs Gwen before they go down the stairs, and whispers, "this is the wrong way, she's not here."

"Do you think it's a trap?" She whispers back.

"Eliam is too trusting, do you think she was lying?" Oren asks, looking ahead at Sarina. After a moment, he speaks loudly enough that she can hear him. "Um... isn't she... somewhere else?"

Sarina steps into the room and looks back over her shoulder. "Of course," she responds. "This is the fastest way unless you know how to dig super fast." She withdraws a green pendant from around her neck, rubs it, and holds it over the floor. A glyph appears, glowing on the stone. "You've got forty-five seconds," she says, stepping onto it and disappearing.

"Great, another cult," Oren says after she leaves.

"Huh," Minerva says. "That's kind of obnoxious from the other side, isn't it?"

"You get used to it," Eliam says, giving her a look as they step forward.

The party reappears in a dimly-lit hallway with a series of candles, each glowing with a blue flame. "Mind your step, it's a little dark in here," Sarina says. She begins to walk down the hall, which is lined with the same grey stone brick as was the previous room. She leads them down the hallway before stopping at a thick wooden door, reinforced with iron bars every half a foot running through it. She bangs on the door, loudly. "Guests. They're coming in."

"You've got five minutes," she says to the group, holding the door open.

"Thank you again. It really does mean a lot to me, and to us," Eliam says, stepping inside.

As the door opens, they see a square room, fifteen foot by fifteen foot. There is a small bed with a single blanket on the opposite wall, and a bucket in one corner. Elise is facing away, seated on the floor, knees tucked up to her chest. She's shivering and her head is bowed. She doesn't seem to have taken any notice of them.

Oren walks up, sitting next to her, and puts his arm around her. "Hey."

Elise jerks the second he sits next to her. She immediately attempts to pull away, but then her eyes focus through their wetness and she recognizes him.

"O-Oren," Elise says in a soft and trembling voice. "I... I'm being strong. Don't worry. I can do this. ...A-are you getting me out?" she asks desperately. "Am I... free?"

"Not yet," Oren says quietly. "We came to see if you needed anything."

Her shoulders immediately sag as Oren says this.

He reaches out to tousle her hair. By instinct, her head leans into Oren's touch as he musses with her hair, as though longing for any sort of contact.

Gwendolyn stands in front of the door, angling herself to block Sarina's view of the room. Eliam leans against the wall next to her.

Sarina stands at the door, looking down the hallway. She listens in, but doesn't move to stop Gwen from blocking her view.

Minerva kneels down in front of Elise. "Are you holding up okay?"

"N--yes," she says. She wipes her eyes and says, "I said I could do this for you."

Minerva has a hard expression on her face as she looks down at Elise's quivering frame.

Once he's sure Sarina can't see, Oren pulls Elise to him in a hug, putting her mouth near his neck.

Elise whispers, "I... can I?"

He nods, rubbing her back to make any Sarina think he's comforting her as she cries. Elise drinks her fill. She seems to be drawing both sustenance and comfort from Oren and so she takes more than he figured she would.

Minerva's jaw is set. Oren, being so close, can almost hear her teeth grinding.

"We'll try to convince them to let you leave," Oren says when she's done. "Maybe you can stay at the inn, they can guard you so you can't leave but it's better than this..."

Gwendolyn pulls some paper and a pen from her bag. She writes, "This seems rather inhumane. Do you still think Sarina is nice? Even if she brought us here, she's not exempt from being a part of this." She folds the note and hands it to Eliam.

He looks at her, and writes back, "I'm glad at least now we know the situation."

"We have no idea where we are, and we might not get another chance. I thought we could maybe come back for her later, but...now I'm not so sure." She writes her response, and hands him the note once more. He nods, and puts it in his pocket.

"Are you alone all day?" Oren asks Elise. "They just leave you here? Have they done anything to you?"

She whispers back, "T-they bring me food three times a day. Change the bucket once. I haven't left the room since you were here. At first the silence was actually nice but..."

"So they're not even questioning you or trying to determine if you're guilty?" he asks. "Why are they keeping you here?"

Minerva growls in the lowest voice she can without getting caught, "They have their criminal. Why would they care?" Her eyes are beginning to shine the faintest tint of red.

Oren sighs and whispers, "I feel like they're torturing her in order to get us to confess something, or her, but... I'm not sure if that would even help... if... we did know something, I mean..."

Gwendolyn steps outside, looking around the hallway. "Sorry, its kind of a lot to take in, seeing this."

"These aren't quite the conditions I expected," Eliam says to Sarina, looking around as well.

Sarina seems a little unsettled, but her voice is resolute when she says, "We lost tens of thousands of people in a single moment that she may have been responsible for. We can't afford losing more chunks of us to her power. Until we can evaluate her safely and ensure she's not responsible for anything, she's safer here."

"And after two days, you've made... what progress on your evaluation?" Eliam asks.

Her brow is furrowed. "We will begin our evaluation when Florence is ready. Until then, for everyone's safety, she must be kept isolated. Who knows what she is capable of doing. Surely you see the danger to your own lives?"

Oren looks at the door, and makes a stabbing motion to Minerva. He points at Sarina, as if asking for permission.

Minerva's hand is immediately at her dagger, her glowing eyes fixed on Oren. "Say. Go," she mutters.

He smiles, and touches her hand. "Wait."

"So far, it seems your preliminary evaluations have found you can reduce a young girl to shivering and crying in the corner," Eliam says.

Sarina is now glaring at him, eyes fierce. "Yes, one young girl. As opposed to how many people? How many died?!"

Elise clings to Oren as he rises and shakily, she stands.

While she is distracted, Gwen steps forward, trying to take her necklace by force. An incredulous look passes over Sarina's face as she sees her make a grab for her necklace. She sidesteps, moving out of the doorway in the process, and grabs Gwen's wrist. Her eyes glow blue. "I beg your pardon?"

Oren takes Elise's hand and moves closer to the door, ready to strike.

Sarina, holding Gwen's wrist with one hand, punches downward with her other. A veritable deluge of water appears out of thin air atop Gwen's head; the Arcane Spring smashes downward on her. Sarina lets go as the water strikes the knight.

Gwen steps out of the flood, soaking wet but seemingly unharmed. She brings her shield down on Sarina, who pulls her arms into her body to protect herself. The hard metal of the shield cracks against her arm. Sarina shrieks and bounds backwards, cradling her arm. You cannot tell how severely it has been hurt.

The Battle at Ariglodo
Oren steps out into the hallway and casts a wall of shadow in the direction of the glyph, blocking her escape.

Eliam extends his hands toward the water mage, his own eyes glowing grey. Sarina catches sight of this and her eyes widen fearfully. "Y-you...!" His powers wrap themselves around the threads of aether that entwine with her power, cutting them off. Sarina stumbles back, her magic temporarily overcome.

"Sorry," he says quietly. "Wasn't sure the best way to tell you."

Minerva darts around the corner, her eyes blazing red. "I never should have let you do this." She dashes forward and cuts with her daggers, but the water Child rolls away.

"You as well?!" she cries. "How?!"

Gwen unsheathes her sword, and it flashes out at Sarina, catching her off guard. Her arms are still before her as she is cradling one of them, and so Gwen's blade bites undisturbed at her shoulders and down her side as she turns. Sarina gasps in pain. She falls against the wall beside her but pushes herself back up.

"Surrender now," Gwendolyn says, "or the Maker will have no mercy on you."

"You fool," she responds. "We are the Maker's Will. You and your band of pretenders... We will not bow to you!"

Sarina pushes herself to her feet, scrambling backwards as she does so to gain a little distance. Once her feet are beneath her, she turns and begins to slowly run back up the hallway toward the glyph.

"You killed our friend and the skyglyph went out, and you think we're pretenders?" Eliam says, casting an arcane blast. It curves at the last moment, blowing a hole in the masonry.

She stumbles half a step at hearing his words.

There is a flash of green light from down the tunnel. A man's voice echoes down the hall. "Is anyone down there? The door up there was open."

Sarina cries out, "Help!"

Minerva pursues Sarina and catches up, sinking the blade of her dagger into Sarina's left shoulder. The wound is shallow, though, and slows her only slightly.

The voice up the hallway bellows, "Hang on! Help is coming!" There is a flash of green light, and then silence.

Gwen, undeterred, catches up to Sarina and tackles her to the ground. Sarina struggles but Gwen holds her fast, pressing her limbs to the floor. Sarina is, for the present, immobilized.

"Whoever comes, call them off. This is your last warning."

She glares at her, face contorted in pain and rage. "I couldn't, even if I wanted to. We swore to fight for each other, no matter the cost. Harm me, and the Children will never stop coming for you."

Sarina attempts to struggle to knock Gwen off of her. Her eyes glow a brilliant blue. With a scream of effort, her body tenses up, and a wave of water comes crashing down atop the spot she and Gwen are occupying on the ground. The aetheric aura overtakes her, and the waters coalesce into a massive wave which washes overtop Gwen, pushing both Gwen and Minerva, who is also next to them, back down the corridor a short way. Sarina, gasping, pushes herself up and manages to proceed only a yard or two further up the hallway.

There is a flash of green light. "I'm back, Sarina!" it shouts. "Everyone's coming. Hang on!"

"I guess there's no reason not to kill her now then?" Oren asks.

"We might need a hostage to leave, I don't know," Eliam says. "Your call."

"Drop a fire spell on the glyph, Eliam," he orders.

"I don't suppose you'd consider surrendering? Last chance, almost," Eliam shouts to her, preparing a firestorm to cast.

Minerva runs up to Sarina and stands on the opposite side of her. "Eliam is merciful," she growls. "I'm not." Her daggers explode in flames with a fervor beyond what the party has seen before. She impales Sarina's shoulder that she's already hit, and flames erupt in the wound, cauterizing it but rendering the flesh blackened and the limb unusable. Sarina collapses to the ground, gasping. Her screams echo down the hallway mingled with the roar of flame.

"Sarina!" screams the approaching voice.

Gwen charges forward, looking down at Sarina remorselessly. She raises her blade and says, "The Maker will have justice for the death of one of His true children, and we will cleanse this land like He begun so long before. For Votig. For Sylvatir!"

Her blade comes down on Sarina's neck, severing it. The Child dies instantly.

There is a brilliant burst of blue aetheric energy at the moment of her death, and a massive azure light explodes upward and disappears through the ceiling. However, a shining sphere of blue light remains over her body, hovering in the air.

It beckons to Oren.

Oren runs toward the light and extends his hand to it. It moves to him and is absorbed into his body.

While he moves, Eliam unleashes his spell into the wall of shadow. The flames roar through the hallway, engulfing any screams to confirm if it hit his target.

Minerva assumes a defensive posture, looks back over her shoulder at Eliam and gives him a thoroughly approving look.

Marcus emerges from the shadow wall and sees the body and separated head of Sarina laying on the ground. He cries out, clenches his teeth, and screams. "You... You!" His body glows red. "I'll kill every last one of you!"

Gwendolyn steps forward to the body, reaching down and taking Sarina's necklace. She moves her shield into a defensive position. "You can try," she says confidently, "but you will fail."

Elise retreats behind the group, using the wall to support herself. Oren hands her his morningstar to defend herself with, and she takes it delicately. He casts an arcane blast at Marcus, but he slashes it away easily with his lance.

"Would you be willing to talk this out?" Eliam asks, accessing the aether to block his magic. Marcus seems shocked to see his eyes glow grey, and to feel his own powers blocked off. "That... what are you?!"

Ignoring the bard, he stabs with his lance repeatedly at Minerva, but she evades each strike effortlessly.

From the shadow wall, Florence appears, and immediately shrieks upon what she sees. She leans against the wall for support and gasps, "Not... not Sarina, how... how?!"

Oren casts a shadow dagger at Marcus. His spell flies true, but the fire Child strikes at it with his lance. The dagger shatters in the air upon being struck, and shards of the magic pepper him across his torso, tearing through his chestpiece. He staggers back slightly but refuses to yield ground.

Eliam's Arcane Blast is weak and malformed; it struggles through the air with little velocity and it flies off course from the moment it leaves his control. It careens wildly into the back of Gwen's head.

"Shit! Shit... sorry," Eliam calls out, wincing at his mistake, but Gwendolyn is undeterred.

Minerva's daggers try to bite into Marcus but she can't seem to catch him; his long lance is keeping her at bay.

Marcus stabs with his lance at Gwen but fails to connect.

She parries and attempts to strike back; Marcus catches the sword with his lance, but the blade swipes along his arm as he attempts to deflect it away.

Florence outstretches her hands and narrows her eyes. "I... I will stop you!" She attempts to cast a spell but is so distraught at the sight of her fallen friend that she cannot concentrate.

Morton appears suddenly through the shadow wall. His gaze is fully serious. His head is lowered and his stance is set. "We shouldn't have trusted you," he says simply. "But we'll take from you everything you took from us and more."

Marcus narrowly sidesteps another shadow dagger. It scrapes his side, piercing his armor and leaving a bloody scratch.

"We shouldn't have trusted you, but we tried," Eliam says, aiming another flame blast. "I wanted to be friends, to be honest, but it's hard to do that when your friends get treated like this."

The flames pass over Morton and Florence, and Florence leans against the wall. "M-my magic. What did you do to my magic?"

Morton focuses intensely on Eliam. "That... was a Suppression Bolt. That's my magic. How did you do that?"

"What can I say? I was always pretty gifted at magic," Eliam answers.

"Funny," says Minerva, eyes and body blazing red. "I wasn't."

She dashes at Marcus. He stabs with his spear to turn her away but she leaps sideways and kicks off the wall. Before he can raise the weapon again, she's atop him, her daggers flashing across his body as flames build around him. With a roar, the conflagration builds to a crescendo, roasting him in an improvised pyre. Marcus stumbles backwards, weakly gripping his weapon, breathing in staggered, unsteady gasps.

Gwen rushes forward, ready to strike. Her sword savages Marcus as he is too slow to defend himself. He falls back against the wall, strength failing him. He struggles to regain his feet.

Florence runs into the fray and slides over to Marcus. "Hey. Quit that. You're going to be okay, it's fine," she says. "I'm here." She lays hands on him to heal him, but the glow of her Healing Touch suddenly fades. She looks confused for a moment, then stares wildly up at Eliam. "You."

Morton dashes forward with all speed, seeing what Eliam has done. "You die first," he declares. He attempts to cast a spell of his own, but fails.

"You all should stop bragging before they're dead," Oren says, stepping forward to support Eliam. He casts yet another shadow dagger at Marcus.

The magic sinks into Marcus' heart, stopping it. With a last look at Morton, his eyes glaze over and see no more.

An explosion of red light heralds his death as it shoots into the sky. When it has passed, a sphere of red light hovers above the ground.

Herb steps out from the shadow wall. He surveys the battlefield quickly and unshoulders his massive axe. "There will be no jokes," he declares. "The only thing funny now is your chance to live."

"Kind of a shame... I wanted to talk to you the most," Eliam says as Morton approaches him. He aims an arcane blast at the other Child. "Was hoping you could teach me what the hell you do with aether. It's a weird element to understand."

The arcane blast strikes Morton straight in the chest. He accepts the blow unwaveringly. "Watch closely. I'll teach you plenty," he says, "but you won't have much life left to use what you learn."

"Such bravado," Gwen says as she strikes at Florence, "and yet your numbers fall."

Florence rises to get away from Marcus' body but is too slow to avoid Gwen's blade, and it cuts down her side. She attempts to cast but the Suppression Bolt denies her magic.

Morton slashes out with twin daggers and draws bloody lines along Eliam's arms. Oren's arcane blast strikes him, but he stands his ground.

Herb advances quickly. He brings his massive axe down to bear on Gwen, She attempts to shield it but his massive force still knocks her against the wall. The concussive blow startles her.

Minerva steps into the red light Marcus left behind. She absorbs the light.

Gwendolyn rolls her shoulder a few times, before advancing towards Herb. "You'll have to do better than that, heretic, if you want to make true to your words." She lunges forward, striking at him, but he sidesteps the blow.

Florence rises slightly into the air as a purple aura overtakes her and she finally seems to access her magic. "There!" she exclaims. "Finally"

She steps forward so all the combatants on the front line are near her and stretches her hands outwards. "Fall down!" she cries. A massive gust of biting, cutting wind emanates from her hands, smashing over Herb, Minerva, and Gwen.

Herb shouts when he hits the ground, "Hey, sweetheart, we're on your side!"

Elise steps forward next to Eliam, gripping Oren's morningstar, her knuckles white. "You know, at this point," she spits at Morton, "I don't really care if you and your friends die. But mine? You will leave mine the fuck alone."

She stumbles forward and swings her weapon wildly. Its spikes catch Morton by surprise and she slips in for a lethal blow.

She whispers to Eliam, "W-was that good like Minerva? She said I should try one day.­

"Don't curse," Oren says as he aims an arcane blast at Morton, "it's low class."

Morton staggers back from Elise's attack, just barely evading Oren's spell.

"O-oh," Elise says, "I-I-I'm sorry. I just... Minerva..."

"Don't blame me!" Minerva says entirely too suddenly.

"Don't worry about it. That was pretty damn great," Eliam says, grinning.

Herb grits his teeth. "If you're all done joking around!" He swings his massive axe at Gwen, his body glowing yellow as he envelops himself with the Might of Boulders. The weapon smashes into the knight, leaving a massive dent on the front of her armor.

"I thought you were going to teach me about aether?" Eliam asks Morton. "I've yet to see it." He strikes once more with an arcane blast. The other Child of Aether is knocked sideways into the wall.

Minerva's body is overtaken by a blazing red aura. "Well... might as well try it." Spinning her daggers furiously, a storm of flames and cinders whirls out from around her. As she sinks her weapons into Herb's shoulder, the cinders explode five yards in either direction, engulfing Florence further away, and Morton nearer to the party. All three succumb to the Storm's effects.

Gwen seizes the opportunity, striking at Herb's other shoulder. His grip on his weapon begins to lessen, and he staggers back.

Morton slashes at Eliam with his daggers, but glows grey as his attack unleashes shimmering aether bolts. "What you can do... I can do better!" he shouts, and Eliam's magic is disrupted.

Elise moves as if to strike, but retreats defensively instead, fatigue getting the better of her.

Oren plants his feet, aether pounding through his very veins. Reaching to the strings of aether that run through Florence, Herb, and Morton, he clenches them tightly. From where his hands hold them, the strings heat up. The heat transfers into the very blood of the three Thirshalonian Children, and they stagger as the overwhelming, blinding pain settles in on them. Herb holds his ground, but but Morton falls to his knees in agony. Florence tries to scream, but makes only gurgling noises. As she opens her mouth, red steam escapes from her throat, fleeing her body in thin trails. As the Child of Wind died from her body boiling her from the inside out, it is said that her soul was spirited away on the bloody mist that evaporated from her. The infrequent travelers who stumble on Ariglodo a hundred years in the future still tell tales of the Bloody Maiden who stalks the North, searching for her fallen friends... or perhaps a body to replace the one she lost.

As the mist leaves her body, a purple light escapes as well. It leaves behind a purple sphere hovering in the air. Elise approaches it, and the light disappears into her.

Herb, eyes bloody red, turns on Oren. "You bastard," he growls, "no more of your magics!" He runs at the mage, his axe in the air. He wields it more slowly than he had before, but he still seeks a lethal blow.

"This," he shouts, "will be the end of you!" The axe screams as it rips the air and devastates Oren, its blade landing fully.

Oren stumbles back, but stays standing. "No it won't."

Despite the chaos of the battle, Gwendolyn walks to Eliam and plaes a bloody hand on his chest. She smiles at him, an unnerving gleam in her eyes, and heals him. "The Maker protects His chosen," she says, her gaze unwavering. "Be restored, praise to Him."

Eliam smiles back uncertainly. "Oh... thank you."

Morton pushes himself to his feet, looking around at all his fallen comrades. "I-I won't... allow... this." He slashes at Eliam, his daggers striking Gwen as well.

Oren aims a shadow dagger directly at Herb's face. The spell smashes directly into his nose. He shakes his head furiously, and attempts to slash back, but fails.

Minerva slashes at Herb but fails. Gwendolyn turns back to him, and uses the opportunity to strike. Herb suffers a full blow from Gwen's blade. Gasping and bloodied he steps back. He is weakened and fatigued, but he has not, yet fallen. Soon.

"We should keep one of them alive. Probably this one," Oren says, striking at Herb once more.

He barely flinches. He puts everything he has into what he assumes will be one final attack. He brings his massive axe to bear on Oren. The force is overwhelming, the blow lethal. Wordlessly, Oren falls to the ground.

Immediately, Eliam drops to his side, healing him. After a long moment, Oren opens his eyes, and the bard helps him to stand. Oren draws upon the water in the air, calling forth tendrils of water that wrap themselves around Morton's neck. As his life fades, his eyes fall back up the hallway to the corpses of his allies. His last sight is that of Marcus. "Sorry... friend."

A grey light explodes in the hallway and a glowing grey sphere of light hovers at the spot he dies. It calls to Eliam. He approaches, and as he touches it, the light disappears.

"So we're trying to keep him alive? Pity," Minerva spits, turning to Herb. She lashes out with her daggers, but at the last second turns her weapons and knocks him out with the hilts instead.

The Group Travels from Ariglodo
Mounted on the wall are candles in dark iron brackets. Oren inspects them. The flames are blue, and cold to the touch. He removes the candles and puts them in his bag, satisfied that they won't burn; they remain lit.

Gwendolyn kneels beside Marcus and begins to search his body. She finds ordinary items; some silver, some well-made boots that wouldn't fit her. Frowning, she gently moves aside his armor. Her hands pat around his neck and shoulders and she feels something. Drawing it out, she sees a necklace. It is set with a clear stone. It glows softly. Inspecting it closely, she sees the faintest trace of yellow shimmering within its depths. She pockets it and picks up his lance, swinging it and testing it for her own use.

"Do we have a rope or something?" Oren asks.

Eliam nods, pulling out some rope from his bag, and hands it to him.

Minerva bends low over Morton. Gingerly she touches his belt, looking confused. She removes it from him and turns it over in her hands.

"Minerva,” Oren calls out, “you know how to tie up prisoners, right?"

She slowly walks over, somewhat distracted. She joins Oren and says, "Hm? Oh, yes. Here..." She ties a perfectly-secure restraint around Herb's wrists and ankles, and returns to puzzling over the belt. She puts it on, a look of surprise crossing her face.

Reluctantly, Eliam walks to over to Sarina's body. He checks for pockets, hidden folds, anything that isn't obvious. He finds some silver in a pocket in her robe. As he looks over her sleeves, his arms brush against a bracelet on her left wrist. He senses magic.

"Sorry," he says quietly, putting the bracelet on his right wrist. Immediately, he senses the power of the Maker within it; Her blessings are upon him.

Oren searches what is left of Florence's body, and Elise goes over wearily. "Find anything?"

"She's basically just blood, it's hard to make out anything now."

She kneels and pokes through her clothes. "You're right, there's not very much..." She nudges the hood aside on Florence's head. Her hand brushes against one of Florence's earrings. Curious, Elise takes the set. She moves toward Minerva and holds the earrings up to her ears. "What do you think?"

Minerva tilts her head. "Very you. We're going to have to pierce your ears at some point."

"I can wait," she says, pocketing them.

She leans against the wall a little, breathes from fatigue, and then steels herself to walk back to Oren. She withdraws the earrings from her pocket. "I found these back on Florence. Did you want them?"

Oren holds out a small pouch with various small items looted from the room already in it. "We can figure it out later."

Elise looks a little crestfallen. "Oh... All right." She puts the earrings into the bag.

"Some of their items are magic, it seems like,” Eliam calls out. “It might help to use them, if we end up fighting again immediately."

Minerva says slowly, "Yes... I get that feeling from this belt."

Gwendolyn pulls out the necklace she took, and puts it around her neck. The moment she puts it on, she sense magic running through it. Though not a Child, the necklace's usage by a Child seems to have left it with some residual magics.

"We should probably get going before anyone comes to investigate the light," Oren says, handing the pouch to Elise. He grabs Herb's shoulders and begins to drag him to the glyph. "We need to get Elise's staff back, and destroy those forms with our names.”

"Elise, do you know where they took your staff?" Eliam asks.

She shakes her head. "They left it upstairs, I didn't get to bring it down here. I'm guessing it's back in the office somewhere."

"I know where it is,” Oren says.

Elise hugs him. "Thank you! Oh, thank you..."

He drops Herb, waiting for the hug to end. Minerva pats her on the shoulder and stoops to help get the man up the stairs.

"Gwen, can you use Sarina's necklace to activate the glyph?" He calls out. She nods, and walks over to the glyph. “Minerva, how does it work?”

"They're temperature-activated. Rub it in your hands to heat it up and it will activate the aether in the stone."

"Maybe someone else should take it, then," Gwendolyn says, indicating her gauntlets.

"Go do it," Oren orders Elise.

She moves forward slowly and warms the stone. She holds it over the glyph and the lines of aether etched into the floor come to life. She steps on it and disappears, and the others quickly follow with Herb in tow.

"Is there a way to destroy the glyph?" Oren asks, examining the ground.

"If you destroy the stone and break the lines, it wouldn't function anymore,” Minerva answers.

"Do you think there's any other glyphs leading to here from other cities? If they saw the lights, that could be trouble,” Gwendolyn says, checking the hallway. Finding it empty, she signals the others, and they pull Herb next to one of the offices.

Oren pulls him roughly to the wall, propping him against it. "Is there a way to make it so they can't teleport in? If they have glyphs to get here from Ilemashi?"

Minerva shrugs. "Breaking it or just putting something heavy on it. If there's no space to teleport into on the other end, there's no way for them to come through. The aether will redirect them back to the origin point... or just kill them. I've never tested it..."

"But can we find them? What's the range on teleporting? I guess we couldn't really teleport to Saloria from Ushad..."

She thinks. "Ours were only ever useful for teleporting within one city. I've heard that it's possible to go further but the Lyriad never got to that point."

Oren nods and tries the door, but finds it locked. Eliam steps forward and picks the lock, keeping an eye on the hallway to make sure no one comes their way.

"How did you open it without a key?" Oren asks, walking into the room. Elise's staff leans against a wall; he takes it, then begins searching the bookshelf.

"Someone taught me how, once. If you move the lock just right with a piece of metal, you can get it open. I don't really get a chance to do it much, but it's kind of a neat skill."

"Do you want anything from here? Maybe we should get going..."

"I'd rather leave sooner than later, honestly. We don't know how long until reinforcements show up, or until that guy wakes up," Eliam gestures in Herb's direction.

Outside, Elise stands awkwardly against the wall, avoiding looking at the room. Oren walks out, handing her the staff, and nods at Eliam. “Thank him for getting it back.”

She runs to Eliam and hugs him. "Th-thank you. Can we go now, please? I... I don't want to stay here."

Eliam pats her head awkwardly, giving Oren a dirty look. "I don't think I should take credit for this one. Oren's the one who made sure to mark your staff for you."

Ignoring him, Oren takes Herb and starts dragging him to the front of the building. He remains unconscious.

Gwendolyn leaves for entrance. The officer behind the desk stands up when Gwen approaches. "Hold, please." The officer looks her over, his face unreadable as he sees the blood on her armor and Marcus' lance. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to have a seat and explain what's happening with your... attire.”

She looks at him, then resumes walking to the door.

He steps out. "Ma'am... MA'AM." He draws a baton and runs to be between Gwen and the door. "You need to stop. Now."

Without pausing, she slashes across his chest. Lettak cries out as he falls to the ground, unmoving. She steps over his body, pulling a nearby cart to the door to prepare to move Herb to the inn.

Moments later, the others find their way to the door. Elise seems slightly disturbed at the sight of the body, but Minerva guides her around him.

Working together, Eliam and Oren gets Herb's body onto the cart. Oren covers him with a blanket, then pulls Eliam over to steer it. “Take him and Elise. We'll catch up.”

He takes Minerva aside, walking her back to the building. “Can you burn it down?”

She smirks. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Eyes glowing red and daggers spinning, she sinks her weapons into the door. "Turn to ash," she spits. The building begins to crackle as smoke pours off off the wood. Soon great black waves of smog are billowing off the station. Oren takes her hand, and they run back to the inn together.

Eliam carefully secures the items Oren had packed for their trip the night before onto one of the horses. Gwendolyn packs their other necessities while Oren runs upstairs to the chest of gold looted from the inn at Asle Lenor. Outside, he marks one of the coins, mixing it back into the chest with the others.

Minerva watches him closely. "So... what's your plan with this?"

"With what?" Oren asks, startled. She gestures at Herb.

"We can tie him to a horse,” he answers.

"And... then what?" she asks. "You're just going to carry one guy around forever?"

"When we get time tonight, we can question him," Oren says, looking nervously at Eliam to back him up.

"He's one of their Children, so he might know about a way to get back to Sylvatir,” Eliam offers.

"That's a good point, actually," she says. "I don't know how else to get back..."

"Probably that light's hold place, Ilemashi,” Oren answers. “But the patriarch will be there. Which is fine, we should kill him next. Herb isn't coming back with us, so we only have to carry him one way, but until then we'll have to share horses. Eliam and I can both ride but I think you said you couldn't? And Elise probably can't either. So one of you can ride with each of us. "

"Works for me," Eliam says, securing Herb to one of the saddles. Oren takes one of the horses, hopping on its back.

"Elise, go hop on," Minerva says. She jumps on behind Oren, and Minerva disguises a slightly crestfallen look.

"You know, I'm not very good at this. Eliam might be safer to ride with," Oren says, looking back at her.

Eliam looks at Minerva, then sighs. "It'd probably be more balanced that way, especially if we end up separated or something."

"You found me and saved me from the prisons,” Elise tells Oren, her tone serious. “You fed me when I thought I would die. I trust you."

He shrugs, sighing, and hands Herb's horse's lead to her. "Can you hold this and lead the horse? If he wakes up, tell me. You have to pay attention. Can you do that?"

"It's quiet," she says. "I can do anything."

"Alright... If you mess up you're riding with Herb."

The group takes off for the north. They ride for half a day and approach the edge of the forest. Herb begins to stir, making noises.

"Everything okay there?” Eliam asks. “Do we need to do anything?"

"It's fine," Oren answers, pulling out some opiates. He administers them, and Herb stirs no more.

The sky begins to darken as night approaches. The trees thicken. The party discovers a small patch of grass for making camp. It is not large, but it is serviceable. As night falls it seems to be dropping close to freezing. Carefully, Oren pulls Herb down, wrapping him in a blanket so he doesn't freeze. Gwendolyn collects some firewood, and Eliam starts a small fire with some flint and tinder.

“We'll take turns taking watch later,” Oren says. “Two at a time. I can go first, then I'll wake up Elise. She and Gwen can take watch, then Gwen and Minerva, then Minerva and Eliam.”

The night passes uneventfully, and everyone but Oren settles down to sleep. He pulls out his pouch with their loot from earlier, and removes some vials and a pair of earrings. When he lifts the jewelry, he senses magic within them. He cleans the earrings carefully, sanitizing them and removing the blood.

He studies the color and consistency of the contents of the two red vials. He identifies them as healing potions, but cannot guarantee how much they will heal.

He decides not to wake Elise after two hours as planned, and instead waits much longer. “Elise?” he whispers quietly, trying to see if she can hear him despite being asleep. She does not respond. He goes over to her, and shakes her slightly.

She stirs. "Already?"

"Hey, do you want me to pierce your ears?" He asks.

Her eyes open a little. "Really? I was kind of under the impression that you wanted those earrings..."

"What? No, I just don't think you should put on bloody earrings you took off a dead girl without cleaning them first. And that wasn't the best time anyway. But now it's okay because they're clean. I think they're magic, too."

"Oh!" she says. "That makes sense. Thank you, Oren. That's really kind of you.”

He cleans her ears, then holds a needle over the fire. Soon after, he pulls it out, and pierces her ears, cleaning the blood off. She flinches a little when the needle goes in but smiles at him. She dons the earrings, and accepts the magic of them.

"Don't take them off for a few weeks," he warns her. "Oh, by the way, if you get hungry just eat Herb's blood. Do you want any? I'll drug him again before I go to sleep so you should eat before that. Unless you want to get high."

She nods. "I'll take some now. Thank you, Oren." She hugs him again and goes to feed.

After she's done, he administers more opiates, and goes to wake Gwendolyn up. He pulls back her blanket slightly, careful not to touch her, and waits for the cold to reach her. “Hey Gwendolyn, wake up... Hello...”

"Hello,” she grumbles sleepily. “So soon?"

"Uh.. Yea, I guess. I don't have a clock." He rolls his eyes as she walks to the fire without answering, then looks at Eliam. After a moment he pulls a second blanket over to him and snuggles next to him, falling asleep.

Gwendolyn takes out a book, reading by the fire as she waits for her watch to end. Elise takes a seat next to her. “Hello.”

She looks at Elise, waiting for her to say more. Her silence makes her a little awkward, but she presses on. "Um... we never really did talk, so... Thank you for saving me."

"That was really more of a group effort,” Gwen answers. “It was just an opportune time, really." She looks up from her book. "But you're welcome."

Elise gets very quiet. She looks over at Minerva. "I tried to be as strong as she told me to be but... I think I would have died if you hadn't arrived."

"Why? What happened?"

"They tested my powers, first," she says softly. "They wanted to see how much I could hear. How far I could listen. Then the smaller one... Florence? She wanted to see how my physical condition affected my power, so they limited my food and sleep. It was awful. And then I couldn't feed because there was no one to take blood from... It was awful."

Gwendolyn closes her books as she listens. "They truly were monsters. But at least they got what they deserved."

"Yes," she replies. "I suppose they did." The night continues to pass.

As the sun begins to rise, Minerva and Eliam keep watch. There is a rustling in the underbrush off in the distance. Minerva hears nothing. But Eliam looks over, startled.

He nudges her arm. "I think I heard something over there," he says, pointing to the source of the noise.

She stretches. "Sure you're not just imagining it?"

"Hey, I mean... I think so?” He sighs. “Now I'm not sure."

Minerva stands up. "Okay. Let's make sure it's nothing. One of us should stay and watch the group and the other should sneak into the trees and see if anything is there. Which would you like?"

"I can check it out," he answers. “If it is something though, you owe me a silver.”

She nods, sitting back down. "Be safe."

He leaves camp, and eventually gets close to where he's sure the noise came from. He climbs a tree to get a better vantage point. At first, Eliam sees nothing. He begins to hear the crunching of leaves and foliage grow louder and louder however. Soon there is a murmur of voices.

A pair of orcs in dark blue cloaks come striding toward the tree he is in. They speak rapidly in hushed tones.

"Don't tell me what to think. I still say this is stupid."

"Maybe," replies the second, "but I won't be the one to tell him that."

"Four of the children, all dead. The fifth, murdered so badly that nothing remains. Asle Lenor destroyed and turned into a mass grave. And they're sending us out in pairs to find... what? Ghosts? Monsters? Actual gods? What are we going to do if we even find them?"

The second turns on him and grabs him. He roughly shoves him against the trunk of the tree Eliam is hiding in. "We have strength. We have surprise. We have eyes everywhere. No one can protect themselves from a threat they don't know is coming."

The first scoffs. "The Saints aren't what they used to be. I feel like we're chasing shadows."

"We're doing exactly what we're supposed to do: our job. We don't need all the information. We need to do what we're told."

The first pushes the other's hands away and steps off the tree. "Time was, we ran this world. Now it seems like something's running us."

"If you've got time to complain, you've got energy to walk," the second replies. "Now let's go."

"Fine," comes the disgruntled response. "Fine."

The orcs continue walking deeper into the forest. They move perpendicular to the path Eliam took to get here, and so move further from the party.

Eliam waits until he's sure they're far enough not to hear, and quickly climbs down, rushing back to camp.

Minerva smiles as he approaches. "So? Are we all clear?"

He shakes his head. "You owe me a silver. Two orcs are looking for us; they said more had been sent out in pairs to search us out. They think all the Children are dead. They're hoping to ambush us once they find us."

Her hands reach instantly for her daggers. "How... seriously?!"

He nods and walks to Oren, shaking him awake. "They teleported in there, maybe? Might have been another glyph we didn't see."

Elise stirs from the noise of their conversation and rubs her eyes. "Already? Again? I already took my turn..."

"Sorry... we ended up with some bad luck,” Eliam says as Oren begins to wake up. “Orcs are on the way to ambush us"

Elise is awake instantly. She shivers slightly.

Oren draws water from the air, putting out the fire, and Gwendolyn stirs.

"They mentioned something about the Saints... you didn't hear about a group by that name, did you?" Eliam asks.

Elise sits. "They didn't want me to... but I heard snippets of it. I didn't hear much. They were testing how far I could hear and I don't think they believed me at first." She closes her eyes to think. "A little talk about watching. Some words about traveling to other cities. And it sounded like the Children were part of... whatever they were."

"They were wearing the same uniforms as the Children, so that makes sense,” he says, packing up his things.

"Why don't we just go kill them? Or question them?" Oren asks.

"It's definitely an option,” Eliam says. “They were relying on surprising us, and there were only two of them."

"If we kill them, and they were supposed to report back, they'll know we headed this way,” Gwendolyn points out.

"How did they find out we went this way?" Oren asks, helping Eliam pack.

"No idea... I got the impression they were just combing the area. It sounded like they just sent a bunch of people out to search blindly for any signs of whoever killed the Children."

"Alright, well that's not so bad,” Oren smiles. “If Elise can hear them coming we don't really have to worry."

Elise nods. "As long as they don't catch us when I'm asleep, I guess."

"We should just go now and hurry, the faster we get there the better," Oren says.

Eliam closes his eyes and tracks the aether. The pull is strong. He has found it. To the northwest lies a massive concentration of aether. He grins confidently and points northwest "If we go that way, we should reach the wellspring. Or at least something with a ton of aether. It's a few days away. But it's definitely over there"

Oren ensures that Herb is alive, though not necessarily well, and they leave. They travel northwest through the day. Occasionally Elise hears snippets of conversation and so directs them a different way. The way is slow, but steady and safe. Days pass uneventfully.

On the third night, Oren and Minerva keep watch. Late into the night, Oren hears nothing but Minerva stands. "Hey," she hisses. "Do you hear that?"

"...No?"

She draws her daggers and steps lightly into the brush. "Wake the others. Get Elise to listen."

He nods, walking to her spot in the camp. “Wake up and listen,” Oren orders, as he shakes her awake.

She stirs groggily. She yawns. "Again?"

"Sorry."

She stretches her back, then stops immediately, freezing as she listens. "Orcs," she confirms.

He nods, and returns to Minerva. "Did you wake everyone?" She asks.

"Elise said she hears orcs. What do you hear?” he asks, looking to see if Elise has woken the others.

Minerva looks at him with a whitened face. "Same thing. And they're close. We need to move now or we need to be ready to fight."

He wanders back to camp, this time shaking Gwendolyn and Eliam awake.

"I just wanted to sleep," Eliam groans, getting up to pack. They leave just in time, narrowly avoiding the orcs pursuing them. The day progresses smoothly. Elise keeps the group clear of pursuers, though she is a little unnerved that they haven't seemed to shake them yet.

They clear the treeline. Before them, the land is dead, barren soil and rock stretching to the horizon. Eliam makes sure they're still on the right path, and they continue onwards.

The Group Finds the Cave
On the fifth day, in the mountains, they finally see a cave looming ahead. The party comes to a halt at the cave entrance mid-afternoon. There are no orcs around, and Elise hears nothing.

Minerva hops off the horse. "Oh, finally. Thank the Maker."

"Is this it?" Eliam asks Oren.

"I don't know," he answers, dismounting his horse. The others follow suit.

Wordlessly, he enters the cave, leading Herb and the horses behind him. He pulls out one of the cold blue candles for light. Minerva and Elise follow him.

Eliam pauses, looking at Gwendolyn. "Maybe we should go in with them? I can't let him go alone with Minerva and Elise... they're going to be really upset with him."

"I don't think we should leave the entrance unguarded, with how we've been followed. But you can go,” she answers. “Oh," she reaches into a small pouch that houses Votig's orb, and hands it to Eliam. "Take this. Just in case."

"Okay... just yell if anything happens out here. And uh... if I don't come back in like... twenty minutes, I guess? Can you make sure we're okay?"

"Of course."

“Thank you,” he says, smiling. He runs to catch up with the others.

They walk for about five minutes, treading carefully over the uneven ground. The tunnel in the cave seems to go on endlessly, but soon the path seems to lighten. From ahead they begin to see natural light.

The tunnel opens up into a wide space. They emerge into a grassy clearing, surrounded by steep, mountainous walls. In the center of the clearing sits a wellspring. Surrounding it, lotuses resembling Oren's are blooming.

Looking up, they see the sky. It is as though the ceiling over the cave has been scooped away.

Elise gapes. "It's beautiful..."

Oren ignores her, leading Herb forward. When he is close, he finds a clear spot near the wellspring, and dumps the contents of the pouch around his neck into his hand. Impatiently, he digs a small hole, burying the seeds and petals.

Elise stares into the clouds, taking in the sky from this vantage.

"May I borrow your dagger?" he asks Minerva

She pulls it out. “Crushing petals?” she asks, handing it to him.

He shrugs, and pulls Herb closer to the aether.

"Oh," she says, realization dawning on her. "Oh, you're... really?"

"Huh?" He says awkwardly.

She sighs. "You kept him alive for the better part of a week to bleed him out now?" He hesitates, looking from Herb to the pool. “Uh... well... is that bad?”

Her face turns sympathetic. "It seems... almost cruel. And this is recognizing the fact that we killed all his friends."

He thinks for a moment, looking conflicted, and takes a long look at Elise. Quietly, he walks to the wellspring and stabs himself in the wrist, his blood draining quickly into the pool of water where the seeds were planted.

Minerva shrieks, "What are you doing?!" She runs over immediately and tries to grab his wrist to apply pressure.

Groggily, he sets the dagger down. “Stop... I'm fine,” he mumbles.

She searches the bags for bandages. "Why would you even do that?" She calls out for Eliam and Elise. “Someone come here and heal him, fast!"

Eliam sprints over, healing Oren quickly. "This is why we brought Herb. You don't have to do this."

Minerva turns on Eliam. "You... knew?!"

"Stop it," Oren says weakly, trying to push him away. Against his will, the wound seals and the blood stops flowing.

"I mean... it's better Herb than us,” Eliam says to her.

Oren reaches for the dagger once more, but Minerva beats him to it and withdraws it. She cleans it and sheathes it again. "Seriously, what are you thinking?"

"Just let me do this," he says, trying to reach for her belt.

"Oren. Oren," she stays, trying to take her hands in his. "What do you need? Is it just blood?"

He nods.

"Why and where?"

"On the flowers," he says, weakly trying to reach for her dagger still.

She steps over to Herb and drags him over. "Sorry," she says. She gives Oren the dagger and says, "Him. Not you. Him."

Eliam sits down by the wellspring, watching curiously.

"Elise," she says, "when he stabs his wrist, heal hi-"

Before she can finish her sentence, Oren slits Herb's throat.

"What the fucking hell?!" She screams.

"Why did you even let them come with you here?" Eliam asks, looking anxiously at Elise. She continues to watch the sky, entranced.

Oren ignores them, watching the blood pour out over the seeds.

There is an explosion of yellow light. It flies into the air and passes through the skyglyph.

At first, nothing happens. The blood seeps into the soil and the seeds and the petals. A minute or so later, some of the liquid aether begins to float out of the wellspring.

It gravitates toward the seeds as if drawn by magic. It, too, drains into the earth.

Minerva retakes her dagger, seething at Oren.

Tiny tendrils of aether, snakelike, begin to sprout from the seeds. They wrap around each other, growing upward. They slither and entwine, creating thicker and thicker vines. What begins as a few millimeters grows into inches. And still they grow.

The aether comes faster and faster now. The plant grows at a remarkable rate. For a moment it seems as though it will swallow all the aether of the wellspring whole.

Larger. Larger. Tendrils no longer, vines now, that grow higher and higher. Elise and Minerva are both staring agape, torn between wonder and wariness.

The vines wind around each other, creating a thickened, knotted mass. The size of a cat. A dog. A person. As it grows taller and larger than Children, Minerva begins to voice concern. "Is this... did we know this was going to happen? Oren?"

"No,” Oren says, taking a step back.

"I... This part, I didn't know about," Eliam answers, gently guiding Oren further back to the entrance of the cave.

The vines are trunks now, and still they writhe and wrap, still they contort and combine. They strike upward faster and faster until they tower fifteen feet high, twenty, thirty...

And then they speak.

"How long?" The voice reverberates.

"Oh... Uh... This isn't what I expected, really..." Oren stammers, then looks at Eliam. “Thank you for healing me."

"Any time," he answers, staring at the vines. Minerva stares as well, moving Elise behind her.

The plant continues to grow. It bellows again. "How long?"

"Um... seven thousand years?" Oren answers.

The plant seems to almost sag for a moment, but then it rears back, its "body" tense in anger. "Lies. Lies."

"Seven thousand four hundred and thirty years, and a few months?" Oren tries again nervously.

The growth slows. The vines coalesce into solid form. The being has formed into a massive snake, forty feet tall, blood red and black.

"Karoru," it thunders. "How dare you."

The snake begins to move. It slithers around the clearing, moving in circles around the base of the walls. It turns, and moves back to the group. "And you. All of you. Explain."

"Explain what?" Oren asks. He takes Elise's arm, pulling her toward the wellspring.

"How did you restore me?"

"Blood?"

The snake continues to move. His path this time brings him between them and the wellspring. "Mortals," he rumbles. "Once, I was feared by mortals. You do not tremble," he says lowering his head to stare at Oren. "Why."

"We're trembling, I promise," he answers nervously.

The beast advances on Elise. "You. You fear me. This is good."

"I-I-I..." she stammers and attempts to respond but fails.

The snake seems to sniff the air. "More. There are more."

Gwendolyn arrives within the clearing, drawing her sword. "What in His name..."

The beast narrows its eyes and slithers toward Gwen. The wellspring is revealed to the others, and Oren pulls Elise to the wellspring. "You. Speak my name."

"I do not know it," she answers, "And I do not care."

The beast roars in rage. There is an explosion of sound in everyone's heads.

"Hear me, mortal," it fumes. "I am Kunalchusi. A thousand of your lifetimes ago, Karoru banished me by trapping me within a holy flower of Thirshalon which could only bloom here. Then She cast me to Sylvatir and split the worlds asunder so I could never return. I was doomed to live as a seed for all eternity.

Oren pushes her towards it, and she makes contact with the aether. She disappears in a flash of light. Kunalchusi turns.

"Ah," it muses. "I see. You have His power. She chose you well."

"Does that mean there was no war?" Oren asks.

"War?" the snake scoffs. "War?! Of course there was a war, but do you think, do you honestly think for a moment that gods of creation care one whit about the scuffles of mortals?"

"The war was happening when Karoru managed to capture me. Your history was incidental. No more."

"Then why did she let us travel here?"

"You possess Her power," the snake says, almost bored. "When He split the world, Karoru's power fragmented into that glyph you see in the sky. Every thousand years or so enough of it gathers that it falls to Sylvatir and Thirshalon, two worlds locked in space on opposite sides of the glyph. And when it falls, it is gathered in mortals who access Her power. You weren't blessed. You were lucky. And you traveled across words because He can't stop you."

“That makes sense,” Oren nods.

The snake rears. "Now," Kunalchusi booms, "I am free to do as I please. As thanks for freeing your new god, I shall leave you your lives this one time. Should we cross paths again, your lives will be forfeit."

Kunalchusi rises into the air. "Your new master has returned," he roars. "Karoru! First you suffer what you forced on me, then I rule. Let us see what you "make" when I shatter your glyph and you turn to seed for ten-thousand years!"

Elise reappears with a flash of light. Kunalchusi is quickly disappearing into the sky.

"I... what did we do?" Eliam asks quietly.

"I think I unleashed a giant snake monster,” Oren answers. “...But at least it's only in Thirshalon."

"What if it isn't? What if it can go back to Sylvatir?” Gwendolyn asks, her voice hard.

He shrugs, and looks at the wellspring.

Minerva faces away, silent.

"It... can, can't it?” Eliam says. “It said it could. That we could because the Maker couldn't stop us. And it sounds like the Maker can't stop that thing either."

"Then we must,” Gwendolyn tells him. “Or we should, if it wasn't running away."

Eliam nods, and after a moment, looks at Minerva. “I'm sorry.”

She looks back at him briefly, then without a word puts her hands on Elise's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

She nods. "I... I feel stronger. What did it do?"

"What it always does," Minerva replies, stepping into the wellspring. She disappears into the aether, and Oren follows her.

Elise looks after her. "...What does that mean?!"

Oren and Minerva reappear, and Eliam steps in after them. He returns as well, and they stand in the clearing somewhat awkwardly.

Minerva steps toward the exit of the cave. "Well. That went well."

"Are you cured?" Oren asks.

Elise puts a hand on her stomach. "I... I don't feel hungry."

Minerva stops walking. "I guess it worked. Not sure if it was worth it.”

"I... I guess Oren didn't lie. You did destroy the flower,” Eliam says.

Oren walks over to him. "I really wanted to, I'm sorry"

"I know... it's okay,” he says. “None of us knew that would happen."

Oren looks ashamed, then goes back to the wellspring. He examines the flowers. They look the same, and there are no traces of the lotus he carried before; they seem to have amalgamated into Kunalchusi's body.

"At least something good came out of... that,” Gwendolyn says. “But we should probably be moving. Between the light and that thing flying away, I imagine our pursuers aren't far behind."

Oren picks one of the lotuses, holding it briefly. He tosses it into the wellspring, and it disintegrates. He picks another, this time putting it in his pocket.

"Did you see that glyph? By the Patriarch?” Eliam asks, walking to where Minerva and Elise are tending the horses.

"I saw it,” Minerva answers curtly.

"Well... that's good, right? Now we know how to get back to Sylvatir?"

"That would be nice...” Elise answers. “I'd like to see Heather again."

Oren cups some of the aether in his hands, splashing it onto the lotuses. They wilt. He splashes again and again, destroying the lotuses around the wellspring. “Sorry,” he says quietly.

He walks to the group. "If we destroy the wellspring, will it mean the orcs in Thirshalon can't cast spells?"

"Probably... that's what happened before,” Eliam answers.

"Maybe we should save some aether though... we could use it for something, maybe to fix our wellspring."

"Um... do we need to destroy it?” Elise asks. “It's not like it's harming anything all the way out here..."

"Well.. I just meant, if destroying the one in Saloria weakened mages back home... Destroying this one might weaken the patriarch's magical defences and make it easier to get home.” Oren takes out some empty vials, filling them with aether.

"How do we destroy it?" Elise asks.

"Last time, Votig just picked up a weapon and kind of... beat it down, until it broke,” Eliam answers.

"There was a mist that knocked him in,” Oren adds.

"Could we not just... pick up the rocks and move them?" Elise says.

Eliam shrugs. "Worth a try, I guess... is it okay to fuck up Thirshalon's magic too, though? We're not going to let another snake monster loose, are we?"

"We may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, right? Two monsters isn't so bad when the first one's already unstoppable,” Oren says.

Minerva turns and says, "Two monsters are definitely worse than one."

"At least we're down from three monsters,” Gwen says coldly. “But we should really be going."

Minerva purses her lips but says nothing. "Yes. I think we all agree where to go?" She leaves, leading her horse into the cave.

"When we go into the wellspring, we see visions,” Eliam explains to Gwendolyn. “The same thing for all of us, I think. We saw a glyph somewhere; the Patriarch was near it... so I'm really, really hoping it's the glyph home to Sylvatir and it's on the place on the map that looks like a church, like Fallowfield."

"Thank you, Eliam. I figured we would have to deal with him sooner or later."

They watch the others retreat further away from the cave, and after a moment, Gwendolyn continues. "So what else happened in there? What was that monster?"

Eliam shakes his head and looks at her sheepishly. "I don't... I don't really know what it is. But it wasn't our... I mean, we didn't know what would happen, so does that still make it our fault? We didn't mean for that to happen,

"But well... Oren promised if we came here, he had a way to destroy the blood lotus. But... He needed a sacrifice to do it. I just want him to be okay, and he was really nice, so... I agreed to help him. He said we could sacrifice a horse, but I think maybe he was lying, I don't know. He even wanted to go here just him and I... I just didn't want to die, obviously, and I don't want you or Minerva or Elise to get hurt either.

"So I helped him take Herb out there... Oren tried to kill himself first, but we stopped him, then we killed Herb. And the flower turned into that... thing. But we didn't know it would."

Gwen looks crestfallen. "I see..." She turns away from him, unable to look him in the eyes. "So the flower was cursed... I'm sorry, Eliam. I should've taken it from him back on the boat. Maybe then this wouldn't have happened..."

He looks at her, concerned. "Just because it wasn't our fault doesn't mean it's your fault either. I mean, we asked him to let us take it and he wouldn't let us, so there's nothing you could have done. But at least the flower is gone. He's going to be a lot better now."

She smiles sadly, unconvinced. "I hope he will be. But we should catch up with the others. I have a feeling this night will still get worse."

He nods, and together they walk away from the cave, meeting up with the rest of them. They walk together in silence. Minerva walks quietly, thinking to herself as she absorbs the gravity of what has happened. Elise trembles with each step.

Minerva stops suddenly, resting a hand against the wall. She turns a stern look toward Oren. "Be honest with me," she says. "Did you know?"

"Know what?" He asks awkwardly. "Oh... that it would do that? No."

"Then why?" she asks.

"Why what?"

"Why did you come all this way?"

"To bury the flower, like it wanted."

She seems momentarily speechless, then resumes. "And you didn't... think it might be a bad idea?"

Oren thinks for a moment before speaking. "I thought it would bloom into a flower."

She appears pensive at this, but says nothing.

Elise is still shaking. As she walks, she weakly asks, "What are we going to do now?"

"Go home, I guess..." Eliam answers. "The wellspring showed us that for a reason, probably. And then, I guess... fight it? Fix this somehow?"

Chapter 11