"What do you mean, he might already be dead? Oril, who are these people?" Meera asked again. His words had made it uncomfortably chilly in here.

"These people that he is supposedly going to meet are people you only go to when you've exhausted all other means. And I do mean all other means. I can't think of a more dangerous trio in all the worlds."

Meera gulped. "You're not making this any easier to bear."

"Because I want you to understand the seriousness of the situation. Since your brother has gone to seek out these individuals, I presume you will as well. These people are not to be trifled unless you don't value your life. I am nothing but a lowly villager on the ass end of the world, but even I know there are some people you avoid at all costs."

She waited for him to continue. Silas and Cossus had warned her about the Sorceresses of Akhessai and said they were to be avoided at all costs, and now she had no option but to go to them. Not to mention two other equally dangerous people.

Oril continued. "Narikas, the Shadowsteel Warlord, is, as the name suggests, a Warlord and a malicious one. His crimes would be too many to list in this diary. He has some dark, nefarious powers that have the populace scared. I heard one time he slaughtered an enemy's forces so devastatingly that the river ran red for days. Some even say he has the power to steal others' souls and take them into his blade, thus enhancing his own dark powers. Kings surrender when they find out he's coming to fight them, hoping he takes mercy on them."

"Does he?"

"What do you think?" Oril shook his head. "He's left carnage like this village in many places that in some corners of Rhione, his name is more feared than even Rothedon's."

"Which king does he serve?"

"King Rokibor the Great."

"Someone called the Great has such a man under his employ?"

"He has to, Narikas is King Rokibor's younger brother, but they're both equally mad if you ask me. The Great is a title Rokibor gave himself as he didn't want to feel inferior to his father, who was actually great, and the populace loved him. These two, however, are just hell-bent on conquering every speck of land they can get their hands on."

"Trying to match the Varshan Empire, are they?" Meera said, to appear like she knew of the lands' politics.

Oril stared at her a moment. "If I didn't believe you to be Neel's sister, I would have figured you to be a Varshan, and they are not seen kindly in any world aside from Ealisto. But one word of advice, don't even mention Varsha in Rokibor's lands, not even as a joke. Coming from you, it'll seem like a threat."

"I understand. Where will I find Rokibor's kingdom and this Shadowsteel Warlord?"

"The kingdom of Azeria lies to the west of us, like everything else. As to where exactly Narikas' lair is, you will have to find that out once you get there."

There were a lot of names she had to remember, so she flipped to the last page of the journal and made quick notes with the feathered quill and ink. She had seen it done in movies, but using it herself was pretty annoying. But still, she got the work done.

"Okay, the next people I need to know about are these Sorceresses," Meera said. "From the name, I can tell they are in Akhessai, but where is that?"

"On Gethys," Oril said. "That is all I know. You'll have to find out where they are once you get to Gethys. Your best shot will be to try the city of Drurith. It's the biggest city in all the worlds, even greater than the capital of Varsha, and that's saying something."

"Get to Drurith and find out about Akhessai." She made a note on her parchment.

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"Of course, you can find out about them elsewhere in your travels. I'm sure some people can inform you about all these much better than I can."

Meera smiled. "But still, I'll take all the help I can get. Lastly, these Warlocks, do you know anything about them?"

Oril shook his head. "I'm sorry, that is the only name I do not recognize, but given it says—of Winter's Embrace. I will bet all I've left that it is somewhere in the wintery hell called Ealisto if it is indeed on Ealisto. Make sure you use your Varshan looks. They might come in handy."

They had talked about the places and the people but not about what Neel was looking for. "You wouldn't happen to know what a Reflectora is, would you?" She asked hesitantly, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"I do not. That's the first time I'm hearing of such a thing. Sorry, that's about all the help I can offer."

"You've helped plenty. Thank you. I wish I had some way to repay you."

He smiled and patted her shoulder. "You've already saved my life, I cannot ask more of you. Just when I thought those monsters would eat me, you came like a Hero of the gods and saved my life. I will tell all that will hear of Meera, the champion's sister."

"Uh, actually, could you not, please," Meera said. "The less people that know about me, the easier I will be able to find my brother. I already made the mistake of blabbing my mouth to the people in Belacre. I don't want to make the same mistake again."

"Then your secret is safe with me," Oril replied.

"Also, can you not mention the places Neel might have gone to? As you know, his life is in danger, and it could be fatal if the wrong people get wind of this."

"That secret will go with me to the grave."

"Thank you."

"Now then, I will take my leave and head for the protection of city walls after informing Belacre of what happened here." He smiled once more and headed up the ladder and was gone.

Meera looked around some more, and there was nothing else of note in the room. She did find a drawer that had various maps of the three worlds. She rummaged through them and found one that said East Rhione. She found Belacre and Ebonton and traced a path west to what looked like a city called Harkim. From there, roads lead to Stagford and Rockholde and a few cities to the north, but nothing west.

Maybe I can get better maps in the Harkim and a gateway mirror to either city, Azeria, Gethys, or Ealisto. Silas had told her that most major cities had Gateway Mirrors to the other worlds. But then it clicked. She couldn't use the mirrors to travel to Azeria as she had not touched a mirror in that realm.

She groaned. What kind of system is this? It lets you travel to another world without touching the mirror but not another city in the same world.

She checked the other maps but found no places mentioned Winter's Embrace or Akhessai, but she did find Drurith. Either the illustrator took some artistic liberties when painting this city on the map, or it really was the biggest city in all the worlds. Its marker was huge compared to the other cities, which were nothing but basic dots or a collection of miniature buildings. But Drurith was more than just a collection of buildings. It also had a dragon resting on top of the clouds.

Suddenly her desire to visit this city peaked. To the point, she wished Harkim had a Gateway mirror to Gethys and specifically to Drurith. After all, it couldn't hurt to take a look.

She stuffed all the maps in her bag and activated Tracking Scent again, breathed in deeply, and smiled when Neel's scent finally reached her. She followed it up the stairs and out of the house, where she lost it, as it was replaced by the overpowering smell of blood from Niryn's body.

She sat on her haunches. "Thank you for helping my brother. I cannot do anything for you in return, but I can do this."

She activated Fireplosion. She had hardly recovered any Mana, so she wasn't expecting overly dramatic, but she was so wrong.

Meera exploded like a bomb. Fire and destruction shot out of her, eradicating Niryn's body. Only a blackened silhouette of where he lay was left, and without meaning to, she also set his house ablaze.

Sorry, Niryn. She cringed as she made the mental apology. Behind her, his house or whatever remained crashed in on itself.

She heard a couple of notification bells. She frowned and checked them quickly.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Tracking Scent has reached Level 2]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Fireplosion has reached Level 2]

Oril came running down the street. "What happened? Are they back?"

"No, they're not back. One of my skills ended up being more powerful than I thought."

The healer sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Mirithia. I thought we were done for."

She stepped away from the burning house, said goodbye to Oril again, and moved for the main road briskly before Oril asked her about Niryn's missing body.

Note to self, do not light people's pyres with Fireplosion.

She reached the main road and touched the Gateway Mirror of Ebonton, which surprisingly stood unscathed in the village of the dead. It gave her pause as she wondered about the strength of these mirrors. But she put that thought behind her as that was not important at the moment.

Just wait, Neel. I'm coming.