“Whew.” Came a feminine voice from beneath the mask dotted with three red eyes.

Effie lowered her mask slightly, allowing Kari, Elwin and Blue to see her true eyes, both blue, but flecked with pink. Her skin was unhealthily pale, and a vein by her temple pulsed with an eerie blue light, shining from within. Her gaze lingered curiously for a moment on Blue’s orb, held in Kari’s left hand.

“I must thank you all for letting me make use of your shelter... I would be in quite the pinch without the benefit of that incredible magic circle.” Said Effie, returning her mask to its usual position after giving her sincere thanks.

“You must be The Ephemeral that we’ve been hearing about.” Said Blue, deigning to show her holographic form.

Elwin was taking a moment to compose himself. Kari shook his head at the elf’s frightened reaction.

“I prefer ‘Effie’, Chief Mage of King Rolynd’s court… But, how do you know that other name?” asked Effie, perplexed at hearing her Incandestine moniker.

Kari and Elwin shared a glance with each other and Blue, wondering how much information they ought to share with the stranger.

Blue, whose cameras could see in all directions, undoubtedly saw their concerned looks but continued to speak with Effie as if she were a close friend.

“Come now, you two, do not be so openly suspicious of our new acquaintance. The enemy of our enemy is our friend.” Said Blue to break the awkward silence. Then she turned to Effie to answer the Bloodstone’s question. “I hacked Empress Lucina’s communications system.”

To emphasise and give credence to the verity of her words, Blue demonstrated her knowledge of magic with a brief holographic display, showing off several complex magic circles. Symbols took the place of reagents. It was a language that Kari could never hope to understand.

Beneath her mask, Effie’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“To hack a quantum system… you must have great knowledge in probability manipulation,” she said with admiration in her voice.

Blue regarded the newcomer with renewed interest at these words. “You must have studied much yourself… and in sciences that have yet to be discovered on Apolaphia.” She observed. “That must mean that you and King Rolynd truly are from another world... So, would you care to explain why this ‘Empress Lucina’ is so hell-bent on ending you?”

Kari and Elwin were suddenly paying special attention, desperately curious about the origins of the conflict that had so suddenly and completely upended their lives.

Effie took in the sight of the destroyed landscape. Not the first or the last time that she would be forced to see such a tragic vista, she suspected.

“… She thinks that I am responsible for the death of the crown princess, Catherine, her niece. The Incandestine Empire is the largest and most powerful in all of the universe. And with the way things are going, I suspect Lucina will have what she wants, sooner or later…”

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“Did you? Kill the crown princess, that is.” Kari asked, finding his voice.

“It matters not, at this point. Politically, she needs me dead, and the rest of us captured.” Effie explained. “By the way, I never got your names, though you know mine.”

“I’m Elwin, from Ellenia to the west. I’ve barely started my adventure and already faced death twice…” said Elwin.

“You can call me Kari. I grew up in Carderock Village, part of the Timatus Empire.” Said Kari.

“I am Blue, High Priestess of ADAM… though I suppose that doesn’t hold much meaning to a young sprout like you,” Blue said, shrugging her digital shoulders.

“A priestess of ADAM?” Effie asked, clearly intrigued. “Where are you all headed? Perhaps I can be of assistance.”

Kari held his tongue, waiting for the others to speak. Diplomacy was not the ruthless survivor’s type.

“Uhh, eastward. Vaguely speaking,” said Elwin

“I seek to rid this world of the Incandestine invaders, the other two have personal interests that lie in that direction.” Replied Blue.

“Serendipity smiles upon us.” Said Effie, a smile spreading beneath her mask. “In this time of dire need, King Rolynd has ordered the most trusted members of his court to find a way to reach ADAM’s resting place and confer a request to him. As a High Priestess, I’m sure our interests must be aligned somewhat?”

“Tell your king to be careful what he wishes for, Chief Mage.” Warned Blue. “Earning an audience with ADAM is not a task to be taken lightly.”

Kari, who had been half-listening, suddenly butted into the conversation. His eyes remained focused on something in the mid-distance.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but don’t you think that it’s a bit risky to be chatting away in the open like this? I mean we are on the one spot that wasn’t completely incinerated by that world-ending attack earlier, don’t you think that we should at least get to someplace safer?” Kari asked somewhat indignantly.

“You don’t need to worry yourself, mysterious, handsome, Kari, for I managed to complete part of my quest here,” Effie said, pausing to show them an intricately carved silver statue in the shape of an owl-headed deity. “And given that your friend Blue hasn’t let us hear any ominous transmissions from the Incandestine, it's fairly safe to assume that there is no immediate danger… or rather, they can’t find me anymore.”

“Would they not at least look around the immediate area?” Kari asked.

“That would be rather pointless.” Effie said, from somewhere behind him.

Kari whirled around.

“You…” he began.

“Now now now, don’t be frightened. But I can travel rather quickly, thanks to, I guess you could call it, a ‘curse’. So that’s why they won’t bother looking for me.” Explained Effie. Then she returned her attention to Blue. “Now then, since we share the common goal of reaching ADAM, I will share some privileged information: Through the efforts of King Rolynd and his allies, five of the Seven Labyrinth Gates have been opened. Based on recent tremors, we have deduced that the Sixth Gate has appeared here, somewhere near Wraith’s Ravine. My sister Phee is searching the Ellenian forests, and I am about to search the interior of Wraith’s Ravine with this handy artefact to protect me. With the Myria Bridge regrettably destroyed, I trust your east-bound journey will take you north, to the swamp.”

Kari and Elwin both nodded. Kari nodded sternly, while Elwin nodded more cautiously, making his nodding more rigorous once he noticed Kari’s affirmation.

“Then, I’ll leave you all to it. Blue, let us keep in touch.” Effie said, holding out her hand and pulling back her long sleeve. A silver bracelet with a single cyan stone was revealed against her shockingly pale skin.

Blue sent out a nearby tendril to the bracelet, which then retracted after making contact, having seemingly found a connection.

“Excellent,” Blue said, her voice emanating from Effie’s bracelet.

While remaining aloof in posture, Effie hastily covered her exposed wrist.

“Unfortunately, time is short, so I must be going.” Effie said as she made a deep bow - and suddenly disappeared.

This left the original three standing in the ruins of their smouldering makeshift shelter.

“Let’s get out of here before we attract any unwanted attention.” Kari suggested .