Surprisingly, neither of them moved from their spots. What was strange though was the pose they were both now sitting in.

Turning their back to the river, looking towards the forest, they were focused on… something?

I asked Kon if that’s some kind of a ritual they need to do every now and again, but he had no idea.

-What’s up? - I unceremoniously greeted them both.

That woke up Vendi, but not Jack.

-Oh. You’re back… There’s been some developments…

Amazing. That never means “good news”.

-What’s going on? Why is he in a trance?

-While you were… doing whatever that was you were doing, Jack wanted to go back to the island. Since you were busy and we have a nice and stable source of mana he wanted to make a quick trip back.

-Aha. So he tried escaping me. Got it.

-No! - he instantly protested. - But this was the first time in a while since he left the island and the kids unintended… There is always at least one of us present there.

-But he is here - pointed out Kon. - What happened?

-Yes… because he was not able to open the portal.

-Oh. That’s inconvenient - I muttered, annoyed. - And that is because…?

-That’s the problem… we are not sure. At first we thought that something was interfering with magic, but nope, other spells work without issue.

-Well, yeah. But what does that have to do with him… meditating?

-He’s trying to get a glimpse of the island - explained Kon. - I’ve seen this before, but never this way.

-This way?

-Usually I use it to keep tabs on what’s going on in the house - suddenly said Jack, opening his eyes - But I have never tried doing it from that far. I mean, I was able to see while I was in the capital, but now, I can’t get even a glimpse. This place must really be far from everything…

That was the first time I’ve heard of this kind of magic. Back in the MIRE, we never were deep in magical communication, or in this instance magical spying I guess, but nevertheless, I was pretty sure that if someone would’ve made something like that, I would’ve heard about it at least. Hell, it would definitely be widely used. A magical video call would be for sure something that everyone would instantly want to learn and use. Magical television, maybe even illusion and hologram based… possibilities were endless.

-I don’t really know. But what now?

-Does that mean that we are stuck here? - asked Vendi.

-Of course not. It's probably just because I am too exhausted…

-So recharge from the river - I pointed out the obvious.

-I did not mean mana-wise…

True, now when he mentioned it, his flame did not look weakened. Quite the contrary, it was pretty bright.

-If you have enough mana then what’s the problem?

-I don’t know… I think it’s just because this day’s been a bit overwhelming. I just straight up cannot focus on the target…

-The hell are you on about? Focus? You’ve been sitting here this whole time. I was the one doing shit. If someone has the right to be distracted and tired, that is me. Or maybe Kon, after all he’s been through a lot recently…

-I know, I know… It’s just I can’t explain it any other way! - he sighed. - It’s just as he said. I wanted to get back to the island, but I simply cannot. I tried making a portal but that failed. I admit, that worried me a bit, so I wanted to take a look at the home, to check how everyone’s doing… that failed too.

-I can’t help with that. I never used, nor even heard about that kind of magic so I am not familiar why that thing would not work here…

-It’s based on portal magic.

Ah. No wonder.

-It essentially is just making a portal but just for the image. And the one way only - he explained. - So as I was prepared to portal us out of here, I also had all the tools needed to check up with a bit of scouting.

-So you need an anchor and all that crap.

-Precisely - he confirmed. - But, it also did not work.

-Does that mean that something happened back home? - chimed in Kon, worried.

-Don’t jinx it! - quickly said Vendi, but it was clear that he was also worried.

-I don’t want to but do you have any other explanation?

-I might… - I spoke up. - I mean, I am not, by far, an authority on portal magic, but are you sure that your anchors are working correctly? How do you even prepare those?

-It’s not that hard, really… And since it’s so easy, there is really no way that they would just stop working all of the sudden.

-Yeah - nodded Jack. - You just need some kind of item and infuse it with mana. It then gets linked to the place you are currently, making it an anchor.

-So wait, you don’t need an item FROM the location you want to teleport to? It just needs to be infused there?

-It depends. Of course that it’s better if it’s both, but you technically can make an anchor without really having any item from the location you want to make the portal to, you just need to have it infused with the magic of the place you need. The only problem is the amount of mana is needed to infuse and teleport: if the item you infuse is from the chosen location, the amounts needed shrink considerably. Same with the portal costs.

-Huh.

-Yeah. As you see, you can’t really just “break” the anchor, you either have it or not.

-And that’s where you are plainly wrong. What do you think would happen if your anchor suddenly got drained of the mana, huh? Wouldn’t that mean that it’s just useless?

-I mean, of course, but who can just drain…

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing what I had in mind.

-No… you drained it?!

I rolled my eyes.

-Do I need to remind you WHY we came here in the first place? I, or rather YOU needed a very large mana source to DRAIN, so your son would get his body back. It’s not my fault that you had your precious items not protected and let them get drained! I never really had a choice in the matter, mind you - I pointed out. - If you want to blame someone, blame Kon, technically he was the one absorbing mana. Or even better, blame yourself for not protecting your shit.

They both looked at me with disbelief.

-You are telling me that the pull was so strong that even our belongings got drained?

-Of course. Didn’t you feel the pull when I was chanting? I definitely was able to see your mana being drained away. Of course that means that your belongings got drained too.

-Wait… why didn’t you get drained then? Your items? The necklace! Is that thing dead too?

That was actually a good question. Since we landed here, I didn’t really pay much attention to the thing and just had it on me. When he mentioned it, I pulled it out and inspected it carefully.

From the outside, it looked just as before, which was no surprise, even if it was drained of mana, the looks wouldn’t have changed much, or at all, really.

Wondering if it was still good, I quickly tried my standard fire orb, using the necklace as a conduit.

-Usc fi geksu.

It worked. I have to add, I had a bit of an issue forcing the mana to go through it instead of through my crystal body, and in the end I had to use both of it at once. Nevertheless, the necklace was working.

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-Looks fine to me - I said, hovering the orb next to the necklace. - We probably should’ve known, this thing is not just some magical bauble, it is a red crystal. Even if drained, it still works because it’s me, or whoever is using it at the time, who is providing mana to it. Can’t really drain something that has no power in the first place.

-I guess that’s right… - muttered Jack.

-But that doesn’t change the fact that we have a problem. We are stuck! Without anchors, we are sitting ducks.

-You only had one anchor?

-I have… had a bunch. But all of them were in the same bag, so I fear that if one is not working, it’s the same for the rest…

-Amazing. And I assume there is no super-secret and handy magic that can teleport us here without using an anchor?

When I asked the question I was mostly looking at Kon, since so far he was the one that knew the most about magics, especially the weirder ones, but he shook his head.

-I don’t think so… I did try doing it once without an anchor but I just managed to open a portal on the wall next to me… Not really handy right now…

-Let’s not be so negative just yet! - stopped us all Jack. - It’s still possible that it’s just me being bad or distracted or something… Kon, can you try opening one with this?

He pulled out from his small sack a piece of wood. It was similar to the one he gave me to be able to walk through the barrier, although this one had just a single letter written on it: “H”.

-Sure… but… - he hesitated, pointing to his chest.

-If you are worried that your new body might interfere in your spellcasting, you don’t have to worry. It shouldn’t change anything. It only could interfere if you’d be overcharged.

-And how can we tell that he is not? - asked Vendi.

I just shot him a look, waving my glowing hand right in front of his face.

-Okay…

He grabbed the piece of wood from Jack and took a step forward. I only just noticed that the spell was already prepared - the ground next to us was covered in letters of the formula. Right, Jack tried teleporting once already.

Kon, at first, was just standing next to it, just staring at it. A few seconds later I noticed he closed his eyes, focusing. But, nothing was happening. Even looking at his mana I could tell that nothing was going on.

Apparently, I was right. While staring at him, I took a few glances at the supposed anchor, but of course it was completely dark - no mana inside to speak of.

-Sooo… - I interrupted the silence. - I think I was right.

-Mh… I am sorry…

-What for? - I asked surprised, in unison with Jack.

-It’s not your fault! - agreed with us Vendi.

-Well… that’s not exactly true… If Mor is right, it was the ritual to bring ME back that broke our anchors… meaning that’s exactly my fault that we are now stuck here.

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

-Oh, don’t worry. We’ll be fine - said Jack, a bit too carefree in my opinion.

-Yeah. It’s not like we are stranded here, we have a guide - said Vendi, looking at me with expectations.

-Right! You mentioned that you know this place - pointed out Jack. - So can you get us to some kind of city or at least out of this forest? Where are we exactly?

-That is actually a good question… - I sighed. - But that will be a bit more complicated than you think…

-How so? - he suddenly started sounding a lot more worried.

-See… I have absolutely no idea where we are.

-But you said…

-Yes, I know the place. But I don’t know where the place currently is!

-What, are we on some kind of moving island?

-I mean, that is definitely possible, but that was not what I meant - I said, annoyed. - I am not going to explain everything to you, you just need to know that as far as I am aware, there is only one way to get out of this bowl, without flying, that is. And that way leads not to a village, nor really out of this forest. Only to a singular home.

-That’s good enough… We probably can ask the owner about the area. You know them at least?

-Oh, I do. And, funnily enough you too.

-I do? - Jack looked at me confused.

-Of course. You even spied on her.

-I did what?

-Okay, I’ll stop being annoying. I mean Melle.

All three of them looked at me with surprise.

-So wait a second… this thing… that necklace of yours lead us to her house? You were right!

-Well, somewhat… - I said, not convinced. - But there are some problems…

-Are you going to tell me that there is something else that you’re not telling us? - he asked, worried.

-A lot of things. But most of them do not matter right now.

-So what’s the problem? You think that Axelrod sent someone to check this place?

-That is very possible.

-Hm… that might be an issue…

-What issue? - said Vendi, a bit perplexed. - That is great news! If they came here, then they need to have a way out of here! Or at least an anchor somewhere! We can ambush them and get the hell out of here!

-Yes. Amazing plan - Jack said, mockingly. - Even if we’d be able to get them by surprise, do you really believe that the four of us would be able to subdue some elite force under Odar’s command?

-Well, if I am to be honest, that actually wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility - I muttered quietly…

-What?

-You say elite… - I said slowly. - But I’ve been right in the middle of the palace. I have not seen a person that would be stronger than any of us… that is if we do not include Axelrod himself. Even Odar was somewhat similar in power to you, Jack.

-Really!? - he sounded astounded. - I never… What about Blue Mages? They were recently in the capital…

-None of them can even hold a candle to Kon right now. And their magic is also not the best choice if they had to fight against us. Your green magic can easily break through ice, same with Vendi, you can just melt it with your light.

-My light is not that warm… - he muttered, not convinced.

-Oh, but it is, I can tell. And if that would not be enough, we still have Kon and me. We can just melt the ice, no problem.

-Right… But there is another issue… Even if we are able to subdue someone, steal from them, or anything really, we are still only getting a way to the capital! That is of course if we are to get anything.

-Well, we don’t really need to rob them… there is still the whole Melle’s place.

-What, you think she’d have some anchors?

-That is very possible - I nodded. - Her daughter was able to use portal magic as well, so she had to have at least some of them. She was the one who sent me to your island in the first place.

-She sent me to my island? - he sounded surprised.

-Yeah, albeit it was by accident, she teleported me there. I don’t know how the hell she managed to do that though…

-Hm… that is worrying… She had to have an anchor leading to my island… but from where?

-Er… well, not exactly. As far as I am aware, she never wanted me to end up there.

-What was that supposed to mean?

-If I am to believe what she said, I was supposed to end up in some village close to the capital, if I was to guess maybe Kalkano, or something. But for some reason, I ended up at your place. I have no clue how, though. You’re the one using this magic, so tell me, is that even possible?

-Hm… - he went silent for a second. - Well, actually…

-Maybe - chimed in Kon. - I mean, I’ve heard of failures… But that’s still pretty far.

-Failures?

-It is possible to teleport to somewhere else if your anchor is poorer quality. Or tainted in some way.

-So what, you get sent somewhere randomly? Damn, I am happy that I have not been using portals much back at the…

-No, no - he corrected me almost instantly. - It’s not really random… Well, not completely. As far as I know, it depends on the quality of the anchor. The worse it gets, the further you get from your intended destination.

-But in the end, you still get randomly dumped… somewhere?

-Yeah…

-Hm. Well, that tracks it seems. It means that whatever she used, the anchor was bad enough that it managed to toss me all the way from Kalkano to your house.

-All things considering - muttered Jack - it’s not that bad. When I was still in the slave trade, I’ve heard about people ending up at the edge of the world while trying to teleport to Kruro.

-That’s a far toss…

-Yeah, no shit. But they were more worried about being tossed into the water.

-Into the water? That sounds like a bit of bullshit to me… - I said, suddenly not convinced.

-Why? You think it’s not possible to go that far?

-Hah, no. While I am not a specialist in this field, correct me if I am wrong, but for the portal you need some kind of surface.

-Yeah…?

-So if someone was to end up in the ocean, where the hell would the opened portal be? On the fucking bottom of the sea?

-I… huh. I actually don’t know…

-See what believing some random stories gets you? But, nevertheless, even if they did not end up in the ocean, that is still concerning.

-Eh… still, even with that bit of news… - I said after a moment of thought - Our plan has not changed. We need to go through the mountains.

-I thought you can’t leave here without flying? - asked Kon.

-Oh, that was before I was here last time. I made myself a way out. We need to go along the river to the base of the mountain. If nothing has changed, there should be an entrance to the cave system there. On the other side we’ll find her place.

-Okay, I am all up for leaving this place… but what then? I don’t think that whoever is there, if anyone for that matter, is going to help us.

-No. But there is a good chance that we can get an anchor there, and that’s good enough for me.

-Hm. If that’s not enough, I guess we can then try and go outside and find some town.

-Well, that might be slightly problematic… - I slowly said, thinking of what I heard about her home.

-What, it can’t be that far, can it?

-Eh… I am not sure, but from what I know, this place is on an island.

-So?

-Small island. And I doubt that there is anything else than her house here. She… or rather her family were supposed to be some kind of hermits… maybe druids, if that is even a thing here.

-Druids? - Jack seemed surprised. - No wonder I’ve never managed to get any info about this place… Those kinds of people are as hard to track as it gets… Damn. Her family is wild.

-Yeah. Literally and figuratively. On one side you have a king, on the other you have some lone hermits deep in hell-knows-where.

-What the hell did we step into… - quietly muttered Vendi, visibly done with all this mess.

-Who the hell knows… Well, nevertheless, we have to get a move on. This place is pretty large.

-Right.