There were three of them, as Dawn had said before.

The first elf Kiyora had met once before. He had thin cheeks and white hair. His cloak was brown, and he wore no armor. However, at his side was a simple but elegant sword. When he saw Kiyora, his eyes narrowed at once.

The second was Twilus, now dressed in travel clothes. She had at her side a small knife, and she was looking around with curious eyes. Her hand was scratching the third member of the quest behind the ears.

The third member was a huge gray wolf. Its tongue was hanging out, and it was panting happily.

"Twilus, Evensen, I have found the third member of your company," said Dawn.

"I thought the third member of our company was Snooky," said Twilus.

What kind of name was Snooky?

"...The fourth member of our company" said Dawn. "This is Kiyora Yagos. The Dreaming Goddesses mortal avatar. She has come to aid you in your quest."

"Why?" asked Evensen. "She is half responsible for this in the first place."

"Realpolitik," said Kiyora with a shrug.

Dawn glared at her.

"By which I mean that Arraxia has gone mad and must be stopped for the betterment of all who live," Kiyora amended.

"I liked your first answer better," said Evensen. "I actually believed it."

"Good," said Kiyora. "Because she's been causing all kinds of havoc back home, and I need to get that stupid rock out of her hands."

"You should know, Evensen, that it was Kiyora who told us of the Void Stone in the first place," said Queen Dawn. "Without her, we may well have learned of it when she unleashed an army of undead upon us."

"Wow, that was really nice of you," said Twilus.

"How long do we have?" asked Evensen.

"Well, judging from past records, I estimate that we have, perhaps, two or three weeks," said Dawn.

"Past records?" asked Kiyora.

"My records on how long it takes to use powerful artifacts. I have gotten into the habit of keeping extensive records," said Dawn. "Knowledge is power. And since my race is always outnumbered, I need all the power I can get." She paused. "Of course, my records merely record how long until Arraxia can fully wield the power of the Void Stone. "She may get overconfident-"

"She will," said Kiyora.

"-and try to use it before she is ready," said Dawn.

"She has," said Kiyora. "She's been using my hometown as ground zero." She paused. "How do you not know this?"

"I may be Alchara's mortal avatar," said Dawn. "However, I only have those memories of hers that pertain to this world. Yours is not my concern."

"Ah, right," said Kiyora.

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"Now you had best set out immediately," said Dawn. "Kiyora, you should use your powers sparingly. It is better if you instead use your connection with the trees of this land to guide them."

"Okay," said Kiyora. That sounded easy.

"Then prepare yourselves. The time has come," said Dawn. "You three have each taken up this quest of your own free will. Come back with the Void Stone, or not at all.

"Evensen, you are to be the leader of this expedition. Lead them well."

"I shall, Queen Dawn," said Evensen, voice hard. "I promise you I will not stand before you again until I have the Void Stone in hand."

Then Dawn raised a hand. Into it appeared a golden minstrels harp, well polished. It shone with an unworldly light and floated toward Twilus, who took it in hand.

"Twilus, I give you the Goldenwood Harp," said Dawn. "It has the power within it to enhance your sorcery. Use it sparingly. For its power can become a crutch. And return it when all is finished."

"Right," said Twilus, "I'll bring it right back, Queen Dawn."

Dawn looked to Kiyora. "Kiyora... don't screw this up."

"Yeah, I hate you too," said Kiyora.

The other two looked at Kiyora in shock. "What? I'm a goddess in mortal form. I'm allowed to sass her."

"All that in mind, get going. Now," said Dawn.

Evensen led them out of the office. Kiyora followed behind him and Twilus, hands in her pockets. The wolf, Snooky, sniffed at her as she walked, then growled.

"Go bother someone else," Said Kiyora.

Snooky ran up to Twilus.

The group made their way through a series of halls. As they did, Kiyora noticed a number of elves speaking in the halls. One of them pointed at Evensen and whispered something to his compatriots. Whatever it was, it got a round of laughter. Evensen's hand went to his sword before he let go and looked away.

They soon got out of the halls and scaled-down a winding stair. They still hadn't installed handrailings. Making their way down, Evensen brought them to the river. There, tied to a pier, was a boat with several packs and other supplies in it. Evensen began untying the ship.

"So why exactly did Dawn choose you two?" asked Kiyora.

"Oh me?" said Twilus. "Well, I've been her student for years and years, and I wanted to go on adventures and become a great hero. Do you think we'll run into any dragons on our way through? Oh, I'd love to talk to a dragon. Maybe he'll have a memory of the elder days like Queen Dawn."

"I've been a goddess of Seathorius for hundreds of years," said Kiyora. "I've never heard of any dragons here. My guess is they all died out in these parts."

"Not true," said Twilus. "There might be some society of ancient dragons. Maybe they have survived for millennia in absolute secrecy. And we'll stumble across them and be able to convince them to come out and join in the worship of Alchara."

"I think I see why Queen Dawn assigned you this mission," said Kiyora. If she had to put up with this daily, she'd arrange a suicide mission too.

"We should travel north as quickly as possible, Twilus," said Evensen. "I've had my birds scour the region since my defeat. Baltoth's Retribution seems to always be near the northern border. We should go into Artarq then backtrack toward the fortress."

"Why not go straight there?" asked Kiyora.

"Because the demoness Arraxia will be watching the south and the east," said Evensen in irritation. "Artarq she regards as a secure border so that it will be less well defended. I would think you would know this since you were her ally."

"Look, if we go east, we can meet up with the Nakmar," said Kiyora. "They'll be able to give us better directions. And anyway I don't know the trees to the north as well as the ones here. They won't be as much help."

"Can you not command them?" asked Evensen.

"I'd love to. Unfortunately, somebody tried invading me," said Kiyora. "So, I'm a bit low on power."

"I think Kiyora's way is best, Evensen," said Twilus.

"Why?" asked Evensen.

"Well, both have risks and benefits," said Twilus. "But Kiyora's way will be faster. Right, Snooky."

Snooky barked. What kind of wolf barked?

"Yes, that's right," said Twilus. "Who's a good boy. Also, we'll be able to talk with the Nakmar and learn about their culture."

"Whatever the case," said Evensen, "north of here lies a satyr village. I want to be a way north of it before we go to shore."

"But the satyrs haven't ambushed anyone in months and months," said Twilus. "Not since Duke Vanion brooked a peace between Arraxia and Antion."

"I still don't want to be seen by them," said Evensen. "Arraxia has many spies."

"Oh, we'll be seen. Count on it," said Kiyora. "Which is why we should go to the Nakmar."

"Explain," said Eversen.

"The Nakmar have huge tunnels reaching all over the inside of the earth," said Kiyora. "If we go to one of them, we could get pretty close to Baltoth's Retribution without having to worry about being seen. If Arraxia notices us, we can say we're emissaries negotiating trade deals or something.

"After all, if we were plotting against her, why would we appear so obviously before her?"

"Actually, that's a good idea," said Twilus.

"Very well," said Evensen. "We'll put to shore at the satyr village. However, I expect our boat will be stolen in the process. And even if it isn't, we won't be able to escape the same way with the Void Stone in hand."

They untied the boat. Then they began to row it north. The current was against them, and it was constant work going against it. As Kiyora watched Twilus and Evensen work at it, something occurred. "You never really answered my question, Evensen. Why did Dawn choose you?"

"Because I have nothing to lose," snapped Evensen. "My entire army was defeated without inflicting a single casualty on my enemies. Our arms were taken from us, as was the standard. My family has all but disowned me, my friends have forgotten me, and my career is over.

"If I succeed at this, I may regain some measure of honor. If I fail, I lose nothing."

Kiyora almost felt sorry for him. Then she remembered that Alchara had planned to commit genocide against the satyrs. All of a sudden, that sympathy magically went away. "Well, you weren't a very good commander anyway. Probably for the best."

"That's a bit mean," said Twilus.

"No, seriously," said Kiyora. "He just sort of rushed into the woods with no plan. Sure Arraxia and I can manipulate the layout of the land. But even if we hadn't, we probably could have destroyed his army. We would have lost a few people, but it would have been easy.

"If he'd been any good as a commander, we wouldn't have beaten him that easily. And anyway, if he had won, he would have killed all the satyrs, down to the last child. Alchara was planning a genocide. Frankly, you guys got off lightly."

"But satyrs are always evil," said Twilus.

"Right," said Kiyora, "which is why they have a working truce with Duke Vanion. And why they make a killing selling their wines to foreign countries."

Eversen glared daggers at her, and Kiyora glared right back. Snooky yawned and rolled over on his belly. This battle of wills continued for some hours. Until at last, they came within sight of the satyr village.

Time to put Kiyora's acting skills to the test.