Keane rushed to the room and threw the door open just in time to see the masked summon use some sort of needle to put Autumn to sleep. This was bad. It would be much harder to rescue an unconscious person, and he had to be careful not to get caught as well or Autumn would have no hope of rescue. Unfortunately, Autumn’s jabber jewel had stopped working the moment he lost consciousness as well.

“Ah, the partner? Or was it called pair?” Frost greeted from near the window, “You are welcome to join us. Autumn is just being a little rebellious, as teenagers often are.”

“Where are you taking him?” Keane demanded.

“If you join us you will find out,” he replied, stepping towards him, “If not, I am sure you at least know not to get in my way.”

Keane took a moment to weigh his options. He could not defeat the summon, but he might be able to release him if the chance arose. That chance would never come if he let them leave without him now.

“I will come,” he agreed, “I should leave a message so that the others don’t get suspicious. Perhaps a business trip?”

“That’s a good idea,” Frost replied with a smile, but observed every word that Keane wrote. Once he was certain that nothing in it was suspicious, he allowed Keane to send it, watching in interest as he used Autumn’s magic to do so.

“Now we should be able to travel to our destination without worry,” Keane told him. It seemed the old man had failed to notice him activating his own jabber jewel.

“Don’t worry,” he assured, “We won’t be going far. All we need to do is cross the border into the Draconis Mountains where no nation has sway over.”

The Draconis Mountains split the continent and formed the borders of most nations on it. This was because they were home to the dragon race who obeyed no one and were impossible for any nation to conquer. However, it wasn’t strange for the nationless borders they formed to become a lawless land of in-between and Teber was right at the foot of them.

There was a light prick as Keane fell pray to the same needle trick that had been used on Autumn. It seemed this would be all the information he would be able to give them. He might not be much use in a hostage situation, but at the very least he couldn’t let Autumn face this fate alone.

==========

Maximus angrily punched the wall of his office as he helplessly listened to two of his comrades get dragged to the borderlands by a mysterious powerful summon and a vassal of Gaia. Not only that, they all had to face the truth that the headmaster was a potential traitor and their deepest secret might be known not by the elite of Tethia, but of Gaia instead.

There had to be something he could do from the territory of Dyment. Some way he could use his position as acting lord to help his friends. If only they had taken Merk after all, he could organize a strike force of mercenaries. Or maybe he didn’t need to be the one to do that. Marcus had claimed himself their ally. He just needed some kind of justification to hire them.

As Maximus wandered the halls of Dyment’s manor trying to scare up some ideas, his path was blocked by an elderly woman in servant’s clothing. Tired of being dismissed by the servants of Dyment and full of pent up stress, Maximus was about to scold her. However, something about the look in the old woman’s eyes stopped him. She tried to disguise it, but she shared the same desperation he felt now.

“Lord Maximus,” she greeted, “Follow me.”

Without even waiting for his response, the old woman began to walk away. Maximus couldn’t shake the feeling that this was an important moment. An opportunity that could not be missed.

He quickly caught up to her as she led him out of the manor towards the dye production warehouse. The constant gazes that followed him felt different as he passed through. Rather than contempt there was only hopelessness and despair.

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The warehouse was completely empty once they stepped inside. It wasn’t just devoid of people. There was nothing inside at all. No vats or barrels of dye. No crates or chests for materials. Not even equipment for the dye making itself. The only light came from cracks in the boarded up windows well out of reach of the ordinary person. The place seemed both abandoned and haunted.

“Why have you brought me here?” Maximus asked.

“It is the only place Steward Carson cannot go,” she told him, “You are the first fae to become an acting lord of Dyment and our only hope.”

“What do you me- Wait! What are you doing?!” Maximus’s question changed abruptly in alarm as the old woman pulled off her overcoat to reveal her bare and wrinkled back.

“Showing what must be shown,” she replied, “Look closely. Don’t you see something strange?”

Maximus swallowed nervously and stepped closer. What he saw filled him with horror and dread. The wrinkles he had seen from afar weren’t wrinkles at all, but the jagged remnants of wings. The stubs had lost all color and sheen leaving them grayed and cracked.

“How could something like this happen?!” Maximus demanded.

“I cannot tell you,” she said, quickly replacing her coat, “There is something else you must do for us. Please, save the children.”

“The children?” Maximus asked, successfully sidetracked. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen a single child since his arrival. “Where are they?”

“All I know is that they were taken to a secret base in the Draconis mountains.”

Everything began to click into place. Autumn and Keane were not the only victims that had been abducted, and would likely not be the last.

“Is there a way to quickly contact Merk from here? I have an alliance with the acting lord there,” Maximus pressed. He needed to hurry. He had more than enough reason to act, but now the clock was ticking and lives were in danger.

“There is a private conversation crystal with Merk hidden in the lord’s office,” she told him, “Your magician friend may need to help you activate it.”

“It’s hidden in my office?” Maximus asked.

The old woman shook her head. “The lord’s office is nowhere in that tacky manor. I will guide you.”

Maximus quickly followed her to yet another mysterious location. As he did, he filled Caleb in on the situation, finding enough hope and humor to make a jab about how a communication crystal made far more sense than a jabber jewel. Caleb’s response was halfhearted, but it had helped to lighten the mood somewhat.

Their destination this time appeared to be a system of caves buried beneath the territory. Each cavern was so wide and vast it was a wonder he had not noticed their existence before. The caves also had a strong magical pull of their own. Perhaps it was the effect of the multicolored glow coming from the cavern’s ceiling.

“This is dyment’s secret,” she told him.

“Why have you shown me this so willingly?” Maximus questioned, a hint of suspicion working its way in.

“What secret is worth keeping if it costs the lives of our children?” she asked back.

Maximus could not find an answer for her, so they walked through the caverns in silence until they came upon a room that seemed entirely out of place. In simple terms, it was an office. On the desk of this oddly ordinary office was a far less ordinary clear crystal the size of his fist, resting on a stand that resembled a golden spiral.

The old woman plucked the crystal from its stand and handed it to him. “Use it to save the children,” she told him gravely.

“I will,” Maximus promised, feeling the pressure and urgency more than ever. There was still one major concern plaguing his mind. Would Marcus be able to answer his call?

He hurried out of the caves to meet Caleb at the warehouse. If one thing had become clear it was that they could not trust Carson or Dyment manor as it was under his thumb. It took a painstakingly long couple of minutes for Caleb to examine and understand how the crystal functioned.

“I am going to need your help to activate this one,” Caleb reported, “It looks like it has some sort of key that requires fae magic to unlock.”

“How do I unlock it?” Maximus asked, placing his hand on the crystal once more.

“Just channel some magic into it with the intention to allow me to use it,” Caleb suggested, though he didn’t sound completely certain.

Maximus did just as Caleb instructed and he felt like something happened, but he couldn’t tell exactly what. Before he could ask anymore questions, Caleb activated it and they waited with bated breath as it glowed and began to spin as it hovered over their hands. They heard their heartbeats in the silence until a voice came through from the other side.

“Hello?”

It worked! Now they just needed to negotiate.