"Damn it, Rhys!" Dax yelled. He had hoped to see the woman and confirm her to be Aura. He had been looking for every hour that he had off from his duties. With last night's forest fire, he started to lose hope of finding her. He wanted to tell Aura that the herbal solution she had made helped several sick victims start to heal when the medicine couldn't. Dax had missed her though she had only been there a few days. He focused back on the elf beside him to see the elf feeling a similar frustration and guilt. "Come with me. We need to talk." Dax commanded at the elf who simply nodded and followed.

When the two men reached Dax's office, they quietly sat down and started staring at each other. Jalen, the elf, wondered if this was the knight Ivy had seen in the forest only a few days ago. This man was indeed a captain of the knights as Aura had described her contact to be. Aura's mission was now colliding with his as he realized the spunky, red-headed, dwarf woman called Rhys was the guild master Ivy and he had been looking for. Aura had been helping Jalen solve each of his problems, so he decided to help Aura with this captain. "What did you say your name was, captain?"

"Captain Dax Shalltear of the Knights of the Land is my full title, but you can call me Captain Dax," Dax said, keeping his face emotionless. "What about you, elf?"

"I am Jalen Morjor of LeAnisa," Jalen said, proudly. Although Jalen could care less, elves were always proud and pompous. "Just Jalen is fine."

"Very well, Jalen. Tell me what brought you to the Village of Lilies, how you found out about the woman in the stream, and who you think she is." Dax said, getting directly to the point. He wanted to get through this as quickly as possible.

"Sure. What brought me here is my companion. She was visiting this village to help the plague victims until a few days ago. She ran into her pursuers in the surrounding forest and ran away from them. About two days ago, she found me in my cabin outside of the Stone Creek Village. She was once my student and me, her mentor. I agreed to hide her while we worked on a herbal solution for the plague. We were out collecting herbs deep in the Burning Bark Forest, and her pursuers found us. We were separated in the attack then the forest was on fire, so I figured she would try to escape the fire by using one of the streams or rivers. This seemed like the most likely place she could have gone, so I came here. When I entered the town, I heard people talking about a woman found in the stream, and they directed me to the woman, you called Rhys." Jalen finished explaining. He could see Dax slowly processing his story, and hopefully connecting the dots.

Dax thought back to what Aura had told him about her mentor, and this elf seemed to fit that character. If what he has said is true that would explain what happened to Aura and why he couldn't find her. Dax had worried that Aura had died in the forest fire last night. He had seen many gruesome things last night like those beast shifters attacking hunters. He didn't blame the shifters, but he still thought them aggressive and vicious. "What was the name of your companion? If she was here, I should know her or at least recognize the name."

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Jalen gave a sly grin, knowing the captain had made the connection between his companion and his missing person. "Her name is Aura. Aura Argenti. Does that sound familiar?"

"I think you know it does," Dax said, knowing there was an unspoken understanding between both men. "You were her mentor who taught her several languages and a variety of battle techniques and martial arts?"

"She didn't leave anything out, did she?" Jalen shook his head. He taught Aura the trick to keeping lies believable is to add bits of truth. She must have taken that too literally. What else does this Captain Dax know? "She mentioned you as well. Aura thought you were a good person although she only knew you for a week."

"I will take that as a compliment. She has been really helpful by making a potion to ease the symptoms of the plague victims. I take it you are a herbalist as well?" Dax questioned. He knew Jalen was his rival for Aura although she said that she wasn't interested in him anymore. Talking to Jalen was helping ease his anxiety over Aura not waking up yet. However, there was no guarantee that the woman was Aura.

"I am, however, Aura is far better than I am. It's what she wanted to do as a little girl, but life had other plans for her." Jalen mused over the memory of Aura whining about not getting time to study her herbs. "She has always been a dedicated student to her studies."

Jealousy filled Dax's face. He wished he could have known Aura then. It was then that Dax realized he was truly smitten with the wild woman after only knowing her a week. Is it possible for people to feel so strongly so quickly? There were still many things Dax did not know about Aura, and many suspicions that he had about her. Aura seemed very emotional about beast shifters when he had admitted hunting them before. Perhaps her mentor here could explain Aura's reaction before. "Jalen, did you see the beast shifters and hunters last night? I saw them just before my knights and I worked to stop the fire before it reached the village."

"I saw the fire but no shifters or hunters," Jalen responded. He could tell Captain Dax was fishing for information. Jalen decided to test the captain. "If Aura saw anything though she would probably be upset about it."

Dax was on the edge of finding out the truth behind Aura's reaction. "Why would she be-"

"Captain Dax." A knight called from the hallway before entering the room.

"Come in." Dax sighed. He was so close.

"Sir, Guild Master Rhys wanted me to inform you that the woman from the stream is waking, and you may visit in the morning tomorrow with the brutish elf." The knight reported.

"This is good. Not that I am happy about being called a brute again, but Aura is waking up." Jalen grinned. "Captain Dax, do you think you could find me accommodations for the night?"

Dax was in disbelief between the news and almost having learned more about Aura. He guessed he would have another chance to learn about her later. "Yes, Jalen. Let's find you some accommodations." One more day, Dax thought. One more day until he sees her face again.