Chapter 5

Echoes of the Past

The sun shone high above but it did little to wash away the chill memory of the encounter with the creature Sarafine referred to only as 'The Beast'. On one side of the garden stood the burnt out husk of what once was a pleasant home to happy family. On the other side, beyond the garden gate, stood the shadowed and twisting passes of the hedge maze.

Leaning heavily on Lynn, Eliza glanced about. "I'd rather not go in there." She nodded to the maze, "Maybe the locket's in the house?"

Lynn nodded and helped Eliza up the stairs. Sarafine's attention seemed to have drifted away. She gently stroked the rotten petals of one of the roses. At the edge of the maze the ooze had reappeared and was almost pacing back and forth, as though considering another assault.

"Can you go in there, or does something stop you?", Weamar asked the child.

Sarafine glanced at him and then back at the bush. "I just want to tend my flowers."

Weamar looked at her a little sadly. He decided to cheer her up, if she could be cheered up. "You've been doing a wonderful job of that. I'll leave you to it."

Sarafine smiled sweetly and began to walk off, fading from sight. Lynn stood by the door. She softly held Eliza, feeling her suffering, and wishing that she could help her more. The horses were gathered on the porch and the double doors were large enough to allow them entry to the manor. Weamar led them inside. As it appeared on the outside, the manor was covered floor to ceiling with char. A fearsome blaze had consumed the place quite extensively. The foyer was a large, open space and aside from fallen roof supports and old furniture it appeared empty. It didn't look like anyone had set foot in the house for a very long time.

"Where should we look first?", Lynn asked.

Inside the house, Eliza stood on her own and walked carefully around the room. "It could be anywhere.", she said. She walked to a table against one wall. On it was a blackened silver picture frame. The image it held long ago had turned to ash.

"It's probably near whatever remains of Jacqueline's servants.", Weamar replied.

"Did she say anything about the locket being magical?", Marinae asked. But she didn’t wait for an answer and began to cast a spell.

Lynn started searching through the drawers in the room. Eliza picked up the frame. Suddenly her eyes rolled back into her head and her knees began to give way.

"Eliza!", Marinae shouted as both she and Lynn ran to catch her.

Braced on either side by Lynn and Marinae, Eliza released the frame which fell to the floor with a jarring clatter. She opened her eyes, breathing shallowly. "I saw something."

"What was it?", Lynn asked.

Weamar had seen something as well, a subtle stain leading up the central stairway, possibly blood. It looked as though someone had crawled or had been dragged to the upper floor. Weamar drew his sword and started heading up the stairs slowly and carefully. From the landing he could see that the trail stopped at a closed door. He turned back to see how Eliza was doing.

Eliza bit her lip and looked at Marinae and Lynn. "Don't let go of me.", she said as she reached down and again picked up the frame.

Marinae looked down at the frame with her magic sight. There was a subtle flow of magic coursing through it. It made her feel a little nervous to be so close to it and hoped that Eliza knew what she was doing. Just as Eliza picked up the picture frame again a flash of heat flowed across everyone’s skin and a bright orange light blocked their vision. In an instant the light and heat ended and the sight that greeted everyone was not what it was before. The wrecked and scorched manor was again vibrant with color with the furniture and structure restored.

There was pounding at the door. A voice called out from behind it, "Mr. Delano! Mr. Delano!". From the top of the stairs there appeared a well dressed man. The master of the house. He walked right through Weamar and headed to the door. The man seemed quite perturbed. Weamar, on the other hand, was quite startled. After a moment Weamar realized that he hadn’t been possessed and settled down, turning to watch the show. The well dressed man opened the door and standing before him was a grotesquely overweight gentleman.

"What do you want Meech?", Mr. Delano said.

"You know what I want!”, Meech began, “I want this land! I'll pay you any price you ask!"

Weamar recognized Meech as the merchant who offered to trade him a fine musket for his enchanted sword a year ago.

"I have told you repeatedly, Frederick, this land is not for sale.", Mr. Delano calmly replied. From upstairs there were the sounds of a party. Above the door was a festive banner that read ‘Happy New Year 706‘. The vision they were seeing was from almost fifty years ago. Mr. Delano looked at Meech sternly. "Now if you will excuse me, it is terribly late and my guests are waiting."

The fat man was absolutely livid. His face was flushed and it looked as though his head would pop any moment. Again passing right through Weamar came another figure. It was Jacqueline Renier, though only a little younger than when Weamar last saw her. As she passed Weamar noticed that she was wearing a locket.

"Mr. Delano, if there’s a problem.”, Jacqueline said. “You're going to miss the midnight cheer."

Meech shouted, "This is your last chance Delano! Sell me this land!"

Mr. Delano scowled and forced his imposing presence on the irritating man. "Leave.", was all that he said.

In a bluster, Meech did so. The door slammed behind him.

Jacqueline frowned, "What a dreadful little man."

Then the scene shifted. In the darkness of the garden maze the red faced merchant's eyes gleamed with malice. He reached into his pocket and pulled forth a shard of ice laced with black lines. Then he placed it upon the pedestal at the center of the garden. From the crystal an oily substance began to flow. Meech watched it for only a moment and then quickly fled. The cold fluid spread throughout the maze and into the garden, draining the plants of life as it passed. One of the servants noticed what was happening and called to the others to help. Soon Mr. Delano and his servants were gathered in the garden, attempting to fight the thing off with torches and pitchforks. They appeared to have been having some success until one of the servants tripped over a loose stone and set one of his companion on fire. The burning man panicked and began racing about. The plants in the garden, now dried out from all the heat, readily accepted the flames and soon the entire garden glowed with orange brilliance. The poor soul, his mind intent only on his pain, ran madly into the manor and burst through all of the doors. Soon the house, too, was burning. It became obvious that their attempt to battle the blaze was futile and the guests and the Delano family began to make their escape.

As Lady Renier ran through the foyer a flaming timber fell from the ceiling and nearly impaled her as it landed directly in her path. The jagged splinter dragged across her neck as she deftly dodged to the side. The cut was shallow but the flaming wood had snatched away her locket. She reached back to get it but before she could Mr. Delano grabbed her and dragged her outside.

Standing outside the estate, watching all he had worked for go up in flames, Mr. Delano looked to his family. An icy hand gripped his heart as he realized that his only daughter, Sarafine, was not with them. With her name riding the hot wind above the manor, the scene shifted again. The little girl was in the garden surrounded by flames. She was trying desperately, but in vain, to save her precious roses. Soon she succumbed to the heat and smoke and collapsed to the ground. Back in the maze, the ooze retreated into its crystal sanctum and waited for someone else to enter the garden.

The vision faded and once again everyone was in the ruined manor. Eliza slumped to the floor, holding the frame in her lap. Lynn knelt and wrapped her arms around Eliza.

"Now we know.", Lynn said.

“I think I know how to defeat the oil monster.”, Marinae said, but the others had other thoughts on their minds.

Weamar headed down the stairs again, to about the place in the foyer where he saw Jacqueline lose her locket. The fallen timber from the vision was there, but on the jagged point, however, there was no locket. Weamar looked closely at the charred remains and noticed that someone looked to have dug around, perhaps trying to see if there was something under the rubble.

"The locket isn’t here.”, Weamar called out to the others, “But there's a trail of blood leading up the stairs to the door Mr. Delano came out of."

"The gods can't make it easy.", Marinae mused.

Eliza rose to her feet with Lynn’s help. She smiled a little and whispered to Lynn, "Seems like I'm always having to lean on you."

Lynn smiled and helped her up the stairs behind Weamar and Marinae. At the top of the stairs Weamar listened at the door where the trail disappeared underneath. Hearing nothing he pushed the door open.  The weakened wood surrounding the lock broke with almost no effort and the door creaked open.

"Don't know your own strength, hmmmmm?", Marinae teased.

"Well, I don't like to boast.", Weamar replied.

Inside they could see the remains of two people. Slumped against the wall, the desiccated bodies sat next to one another. They appeared to have been there for several years.  Their clothing was common and utilitarian and was undamaged, save for normal wear. The corpses’ paper-like skin was covered in a lattice of black lines. One had a rather nasty gash along the side of his head. He looked like he was the cause of the blood stain. Clenched in the other's bony fist, Weamar could see a glint of metal.

Weamar looked closer at the glint. It was a locket. The corpse was gripping it very tightly.

Lynn turned to Eliza. "How do you feel?", she asked.

Eliza looked a little pale. "I'll be alright. I just need some rest."

"That thing. It's inside you.", Lynn said softly. "It was inside him too." Lynn pointed at the corpse with the black lines on it.

Eliza touched her forehead to Lynn’s. "Trust me Love. I can hold it. I can feel it fading." She took Lynn’s hand and placed it just below her rib cage. There was a sense of cold in the center of her, it was small and waning but Lynn could feel that it still caused her pain.

Lynn gave Eliza a soft kiss. "I do.", she answered.

Trying hard not to touch the body itself, Weamar used his knife to lever the fingers away from the locket. The brittle skin and bones of the dead man's hand snapped under the force of his blade and the locket came loose. Weamar used the tip of his knife to lift the locket. Then he took the handkerchief out from the belt of one of the corpses and dropped the locket into it.

"Is it magic?", Lynn asked.

Marinae shook her head. She had already cast the spell.

Eliza watched the grisly recovery. "I wonder what's inside it.", she said.

"Shall we find out?", Weamar asked.

Eliza nodded and everyone looked over Weamar’s shoulder. Still not wanting to touch the locket itself, Weamar tried to open it within the confines of the handkerchief. Flipping its cover open, he saw a small image of a man with a rather familiar face. The man looked like Weamar, though with grooming and clothing that would place him among the social elite.

“That explains Jacqueline's first reaction to me.”, Weamar thought to himself.

"Oh my. How strange.", Eliza said.

"Your father?", Lynn asked.

Weamar was struck by echoes of the past. The odd merchant that he had encountered earlier in the year was responsible for the destruction of the Delano estate and the death of the child, Sarafine. It was also shown that Lady Renier's story about how she lost her locket was not entirely accurate. Two questions burned in Weamar’s mind. How was it that Jacqueline attended a New Year's party some 50 years ago and yet appears to have hardly aged? Also, who was the man in the locket and why did he look like him?

Weamar knew that with the locket in hand, the mission was nearly complete. All that remained now was getting out. Weamar tucked the locket away and they looked through the other rooms of the manor. In the room across the hall they found a window that overlooked the garden and maze. The passages of the maze twisted and turned in a haphazard fashion. It was doubtful that a sane mind could have devised such a maddening thing. At clearing in the center of the maze, the shimmer of light reflecting off crystal could be seen, but the dark creature remained hidden for the moment.

"We can draw a map of the maze. And find our way out.", Lynn said with a hint of excitement.

"You can do that.”, Marinae replied. “But I won't set foot out there until that thing's as dead as a whatever it is can be."

"Anyone know how to destroy a magic crystal from long-distance? I skipped that day in mage-school.”, Marinae lamented humorously. “For all I know, if I hit it with a mage-bolt or something like that, it'll just absorb the energy and make the thing stronger.”

Weamar contemplated his chances of hitting the crystal with a shot from his musket. It would be a long shot, but he knew that he could do it, with luck. Weamar reached for his gun.

"Think you can hit it from here?", Marinae asked.

"It's worth a shot, I guess.", Weamar said with a completely straight face.

Marinae grinned.

Eliza leaned on the window sill and looked down on the garden. The translucent form of Sarafine wandered among the roses. Distantly she said, "It looked like it was afraid of fire in the dream."

Weamar finished loading his musket. He found a footstool and set it next to the window sill. He knelt next to the stool and used it to steady his aim. Then he looked down the sight and carefully lined it up with the crystal. The glowing match slammed down as Weamar pulled the trigger, sending the projectile on its way. But the shot went low, causing chips of stone to explode from the ground.

"Wow.", Marinae said with a giggle. Then she got another idea. "I'm going to try levitating it and bringing it closer. Give me a moment."

As Weamar calmly reloaded, Marinae concentrated, focusing her mind through her staff and towards the distant crystal. She could almost feel the facets of the crystal in her palms as she attempted to bring it closer. Weamar settled back into firing position on the stool. The crystal floated slowly up from its resting place and began to move towards the house. From the shadows the ooze appeared. It stretched tall and latched on to the crystal. As it did so, Marinae began to shiver. The two wills fought for control of the gem. For a moment it was a stalemate.

Weamar tracked the crystal with the musket, waiting for it to stop moving. The ooze pulled hard, equaling Marinae's force. The crystal paused, caught in the balance. Weamar took aim, compensated for his last shot, and pulled the trigger. Again the match made contact with black powder and launched the lead sphere into space. The ranger's aim was true and the crystal exploded in a violent collision. Shards of the ice-like substance flew everywhere, peppering the foul ooze with slivers of light. A gurgling screech sounded across the estate and the creature dissolved, leaving an ugly stain upon the ground.

Marinae jumped a foot in the air. "Weamar! I owe you a beer! That was fantastic shooting!"

After she calmed herself Marinae added, "You'll excuse me, of course, if I don't drink more than one myself."

"I'll take the beer, but I don't think I could've done it without your help.", Weamar replied.

"We get into a lot of trouble, but we're all a good team.", Marinae said with a smile.

Lynn turned towards Eliza. "Is it dead?", Lynn asked.

Eliza placed a hand over her belly and closed her eyes. "Out there but not in here."

Lynn closed her eyes, she could still feel the cold spot inside Eliza. Her heart sagged a little. She tried not to let it bother her, knowing that Eliza would feel her disappointment. Instead she tried to focus on something more positive.

"Weamar, that was wonderful.", Lynn said with a big smile. "And you too Marinae. You were so strong."

"I was stupid.”, Marinae confessed. “It was my fault Eliza was affected by that thing."

"But it all worked out for the better.", Lynn quickly replied.

Marinae said nothing, but hoped that Lynn was right. Below in the garden Sarafine was cowering behind one of her bushes. Seeing the girl, Eliza turned and rushed downstairs. The others followed her down at a slower pace. They found Eliza kneeling before the garden gate next to Sarafine. Eliza moved to embrace the child but stopped herself, remembering that her arms would only pass through her ethereal body. Instead she smiled at the girl.

"He's gone now, you're safe.", Eliza said warmly.

Then a point of light appeared behind Sarafine inside the gate's frame. It slowly expanded and filled the doorway with a sheet of silver luminance. From inside the light an indistinct form of a woman appeared. The form walked closer, extending a hand out of the barrier and towards Sarafine. With wide eyes the girl reached out and took the woman's hand. Once inside the cascading glow, Sarafine hugged the woman's legs. The woman looked up at the assembled group. A voice, Ezra's voice, came from the portal.

"Be well my children.", spoke the woman.

With that the light winked out. On the ground before the gate lay four perfect red roses. Marinae gathered the roses and passed them around, keeping one for herself. Lynn smelled her rose and put it in her hair. Marinae did so as well. Eliza dusted herself off and looked at her rose. Inhaling the scent, she smiled and said, "It's about time we were getting back to town."

"Yes.", Lynn answered. Then she looked at the maze. "I forgot to make a map."

"We could go back upstairs and have a look.", Eliza suggested.

“Want to fly again?”, Marinae thought to Rambis.

Rambis resigned himself to the task and agreed. “Just mind the thorns on the bushes.”, he replied.

"Rambis has...”, Marinae cleared her throat. “volunteered to fly again."

"Tonight, you can order from the menu at dinner.", Marinae thought to Rambis. He purred approvingly.

With the help of a cat's eye view, they managed to navigate the maze. Eliza stayed close behind Lynn the whole way, looking a little uncomfortable among the narrow passes. After a number of wrong turns they located the exit. Outside, Eliza hopped up onto her horse, plainly glad to be out of the hedge.

Lynn climbed on behind her and held her tightly. "Why were you so nervous?", she asked.

Eliza leaned back into her. "It was small space. It felt suffocating."

Lynn knew what to do. She gave Eliza a long slow kiss.

Reluctantly breaking it, Eliza grinned. "You always know how to make me feel better."  She took up the reins and made ready for the road.
 

When they arrived at Lady Renier's home, Maurice was standing outside. He nodded to Weamar.

"The Lady is in the lounge.”, the stately butler informed him. “She is waiting for you."

Weamar thanked Maurice and led the others towards the lounge. There Jacqueline was resting on her chaise with her head propped on one arm. She wore a thin green silk gown that revealed a little too much in her prone position. She sat up as her guests entered.

"Do you have it?", Jacqueline asked.

"Yes.", Weamar answered.

Jacqueline stood up, her face anxious. "Let me see it."

"May I ask you something first?", Weamar interjected.

Jacqueline stepped closer. "Yes?"

Weamar spoke carefully. "Why didn't you tell me you were there when you lost the locket?"

Jacqueline looked surprised for a moment and then looked away. "How did you know?"

"Somehow we saw a vision of the party and the fire.", Weamar replied.

Jacqueline turned away, and took a thoughtful step. Then she turned back around. "Would you have believed me? That I lost it a half century ago?"

"Quite possibly, if you also told me how you retain your youth.”, Weamar replied in all honesty. “Which was my next question."

Rambis curiously walked up to the woman and sniffed at her. His small body tensed. Marinae felt more than the low rumble of a growl from him.

“What's wrong with her?”, Marinae thought to him.

“Smells like a rat.”, Rambis answered.

“Bad rat, or edible rat?”, Marinae asked.

“Like sewers and garbage.”, Rambis replied.

Marinae panicked a little. She got her shield spell ready and maneuvered a bit to one side for a clear shot. “We need to come up with a code word for times like this.”, she thought to herself.

Jacqueline noticed Marinae's spell casting and raised an eyebrow, backing away. "What are you doing?", she asked.

"Who are you?", Marinae replied. "You'll pardon my, concern."

"I am Jacqueline Renier, ruler of Richemulot.”, Jacqueline said authoritatively. “Who are you?”

"Just a tagalong elf who is wondering why you smell of decay.", Marinae answered nervously.

Jacqueline took a few steps back and soon she had backed herself up against a wall. She looked pleadingly to Weamar. "Please, just give me the locket."

"Don't.”, Marinae advised. “Rambis doesn't trust her."

"Well, we had a deal, information for goods.”, Weamar began. “But information from someone who lies isn't reliable."

"Give her a chance to explain.", Lynn said softly.

Jacqueline flinched at Weamar's words. Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Henr... Weamar, I was just desperate to have it back. I didn't think you would go if I told you the truth."

"Tell us, my lady. We've heard some strange tales, and lived some of them.", Marinae said with her courtly manners. She backed her shields down a bit, but stayed wary.

"Did you know Meech is still around?", Weamar interjected.

"No, I didn't", Jacqueline answered, trembling.

"I met him a few months ago, before I met you.”, Weamar spoke. “I was a bit surprised to see him in the vision at the mansion."

Jacqueline moved towards a small table. On it was a large sealed envelope. "I only ever saw him once, when he threatened Mr. Delano.", she answered.

Weamar looked at her suspiciously. He turned to Marinae. "Do you have any 'detect lie' enchantments?"

"Just surface thoughts.", Marinae replied. "But no lie-detection spell."

Jacqueline’s eyes opened wide at Weamar's question to Marinae. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Please just take this and leave the locket. I beg you. Take it and go."

Moved by the woman's weeping, Eliza gently placed a hand on Weamar's arm. "Perhaps we should."

"I'd be happy to.”, Weamar replied. “But I'd like a little more confidence that we're not being led into another trap."

"I don't know what to tell you.”, Jacqueline pleaded. “How can I earn your trust?"

"Telling us how you stay so young would be a good start.”, Weamar began. “Filling in some other details about that night at Delano's would also help."

Trembling visibly, Jacqueline walked to a clear portion of the room. She looked into Weamar's eyes and began to remove her dress. It slipped to the floor leaving her nude and shaking. A pained expression crossed her beautiful face and she doubled over, grasping her stomach. Lynn took a step towards Jacqueline, stopped, and then took another. She looked down at Jacqueline. Something was not right. The shaking intensified as Jacqueline’s body began to change. Coarse gray hair sprouted all over her body. Her hands narrowed and elongated leaving her fingers tipped with black claws. The features of her face contorted and twisted until only her gold-flecked green eyes remained as evidence of her human form.

"Does anyone else think this is a good thing?", Marinae asked, bringing her shield back up. Rambis stood in front of her feet hissing with hair on end.

Huddled on the floor was now a grotesque blending of rodent and woman. A distorted voice, though still recognizable as Jacqueline's, came from the thing's maw.

"This is the truth, Weamar. Would you truly have helped me if you knew what I was? Would you have saved me from the falling wagon? Would you have stayed in my home all these months?", Jacqueline knew the answers before she asked them.

"Perhaps not.”, Weamar replied. “But at least I would have been sure of where I stood."

Lynn turned towards Weamar. "We all have secrets.", she said apologetically.

"Will you return my locket?", Jacqueline pleaded.

"Yes.", Weamar replied. He laid the locket on the table next to the envelope.

Flinching, Jacqueline slunk over and snatched the locket to her furry breast. She retreated again to the opposite side of the room and slipped the locket around her neck.

"All the information my contacts in the resistance could find is there in the envelope.”, she said pointing back to the table. “Take it and go." Crying once more she covered her malformed head with two bony hands and curled into a ball on the floor. Slowly the rat-like features began to fade and soon she was again the Lady Renier.

Weamar looked at Jacqueline, remembering the feelings of attraction that he had for her but didn’t act upon. He didn’t regret being cautious. Lynn walked over to Jacqueline and knelt beside her. Marinae followed, dropping her shield and putting a hand on Jacqueline’s shoulder.

"I am sorry, my lady.”, Marinae apologized. “I, we had some difficulties in finding your locket. When Rambis growled, I feared the worst."

Lynn felt awful. She wished that she could undo what had been done. "I'm sorry. Forgive us.", she pleaded.

"I, for one, will keep your secret.", Marinae added. She looked down at the pitiful figure of the influential woman and wondered if there was anything that she could say to make her feel better. Then she remembered.

"Sarafine is resting peacefully, now.", Marinae assured her. "She was very brave. And she helped us to destroy the evil that brought ruin to your house and life."

Jacqueline's hand slowly moved to her shoulder and fingertips touch Marinae’s. Her weeping subsided to a soft whimper. Maurice appeared at the entrance to the lounge looking none to happy. Maurice brushed by everyone and picked up Jacqueline's dress and moved to help her stand. With a practiced hand he slipped the gown over her head. He ignored everyone but her.

"Come, my Lady.”, he said warmly. “I'll run you a bath. You've had a bad day."

Marinae uttered a prayer to the goddess that Jacqueline could find her own peace.

Leaning on her servant, Jacqueline stopped at the door. Without looking back she said. "Goodbye."

The pair left and Eliza picked up the envelope. Lynn quietly stood. Weamar was feeling like a right asshole, but didn't know what he should have done instead. Marinae felt about the same. After a long period of silence the group headed back to the inn to look at what was in the envelope.

Inside the envelope was a wanted poster bearing a likeness of Damon and a letter addressed to 'J'. The letter was moderately detailed but this gist of it was as follows:

A year a ago Damon made contact with the Falkovnian resistance in order to attempt a rescue of an elf woman who had been captured by the Talons. The mission was only partly successful. The elf woman was retrieved but her mind had been shattered by what she experienced during her captivity. Several weeks ago the resistance learned about an ongoing research project being conducted by Drakov's scientists and a team was assembled to gather more information. Damon was on that team. They hadn't been seen since and were believed to have been captured.

The research seemed to center around Drakov's attempts to create a new breed of warrior. It is not clear if he had at all succeeded but his failures were known to the resistance. Shattered minds and bodies, twisted by surgery, chemicals, and sorcery, were found in a mass grave outside Silbervas. The grave had not yet been covered. Those poor souls who were still alive had been put down to spare them any further misery.

The letter also contained instructions on how to contact the resistance in Silbervas: locations, code phrases, and other useful pieces of information.

Lynn was silent for a long time, then she said, "We need to decide if we are going to do this."

Marinae turned to her cat. “What do you think?”, she asked.

“Dangerous. Very dangerous.”, Rambis replied. “I don't want to lose you.”

“I don't want to lose me, either. Or you.”, Marinae joked. “But I can't just leave him. You can stay if you want.”

“You couldn't lose me if you tried.”, Rambis retorted.

“We'll stalk prey together, then!”, Marinae answered.

Marinae turned to everyone else. "You all know I'm going. And Rambis has voted. He says he'll go wherever the food is."

Eliza sat quietly reading the letter over and over again. She looked over at Lynn. Lynn could feel her question without her speaking it. Lynn was deep in thought. All that she wanted to do is make Eliza happy. But she knew that part of Eliza belonged to Ezra, and Ezra wouldn't want others to suffer.

"Ezra.", Lynn whispered to Eliza.

Eliza closed her eyes. She made up her mind. "We'll come with you, Marinae."

"Thank you. I won't ask for volunteers, but I won't turn them down.”, Marinae answered. "But I'll be damned if I'm going to do another adventure after this! I want to settle down, maybe teach magic."

All eyes turned to Weamar, except Lynn's.

“Was there was any doubt that I'd go along?”, Weamar said.

It was unanimous.