It didn't take Emily long to find Thomas. She hadn't gone more than a hundred feet down the corridor, her mind swirling, when she almost collided with him as she turned the corner. 'Are you alright?' He asked, his eyes lingering on her tear-stained cheeks.

'He's alive,' she said. It was all she could manage. Only now did she realise how much her hands were shaking.

'Let's go back to the office; you need to sit down and take a minute,' Thomas said, gently turning her with a hand on her shoulder and escorting her back the way she had come.

'Morning! Have we got time for breakfast or do you want us all now?' Arthur called as he made his way down the corridor from the other end, meeting them just short of the office door. Lillian, Robyn and Clara stopped behind him, breaking off from their conversation. His expression dropped when he saw Emily's face and Thomas' hand on her shoulder. 'There's been news?'

'Come inside,' Thomas said. 'The guard captains and the precursors won't be here for another hour or so.'

Emily allowed him to guide her across the room, returning her to the seat she had vacated not more than five minutes ago. She looked down at the desk, noticing for the first time that the paperwork was now scattered across it, with a closed ink well and a broken quill lying in the centre of it. She carefully moved them aside, aware that Thomas was watching her closely.

On the piece of paper beneath the quill, dark circles had been scrawled across it, filling almost all the page with a black tunnel with a single, tiny figure at the centre and a white space in the centre of its chest. 'I'm sorry; I don't know what happened,' she whispered, pushing the piece of paper aside. Barely visible beneath all the ink was Thomas' signature. It must have been one of the forms he had signed.

'That's okay,' he said, gently taking the paper from her and giving it a curious glance. 'What happened?'

'Lewis is alive; he spoke to me,' she said. Even if it wasn't the best outcome, it still felt like a huge relief to know that he was out there and that they could reach him. 'They couldn't stop Tristan from returning. He said the others were all gone. I saw him, Tristan; they were outside Emperor El-Farha's palace in Oria looking for two Dewdrop Jewels. George was with him and someone called Kannan, but Lewis also said he was Russell and that he had betrayed them. They've got him trapped inside something; George said something about a sarcophagus.'

'An Iron Core Sarcophagus,' Thomas sighed. 'In the war, when a precursor was taken prisoner, they were held in an Iron Core Sarcophagus to prevent them from using their powers and escaping. It's good he's alive but we need to know why and where they're going before we can do anything.'

'Tristan just said they were going to reclaim their home.'

'That would suggest they're heading to Arcadia,' he said, slumping into one of the chairs across from the desk. 'Did he say anything else?'

'Not much. Tristan's very dangerous, Kannan, or Russell, whichever, used to work at a prison Tristan had. Tristan got angry that he didn't mention one of the Dewdrop Jewels had been stolen, though.'

'Russell stole it; he gave it to me to bring to Lewis,' Clara chimed in. 'Why would he steal it to give to Lewis and then help Tristan get the others?'

'Who knows at this point; maybe he only did it so that Lewis would trust him and he could catch him with Tristan,' Arthur said.

'Sorry, did you say Kannan?' Lillian asked.

'You've heard of him?' Emily said.

'I knew him before Arden sealed me inside the tomb,' she said. 'He was one of Arden and Tristan's closest friends before they went their separate ways. Kannan helped Arden create the tomb; he was the one who told him what Tristan was planning and told him Tristan was amassing an army in Arcadia like nothing anyone had ever seen before.'

'If he was on Arden's side last time, why would he suddenly start helping Tristan?' Emily asked.

'I don't know how true it was, but there was speculation that he was playing both sides at the same time,' Lillian said. 'There was never anything conclusive though; he would disappear for a couple of weeks at a time, but I always assumed he was off on a mission for Arden as there was a lot of that sort of thing going on around that time.'

'So, we have no idea where he really stands then? He's playing both sides again but to what end?' Thomas said.

'How do we go about rescuing Lewis? The scout reports and what I saw match up: that they're in Oria; could we take the leyline there and do this now before they move on?' Emily asked.

'It's too dangerous,' Thomas said. 'If they're with the emperor, then they'll try and sway him into joining their cause. Given his current opinion of us, I doubt it will take much to convince him, especially if they have Lewis captive.'

'If they're going to Arcadia, we could try and get there first and lay in wait for them, taking the element of surprise,' Arthur suggested. 'We've been over there briefly; we've got a bit of the lay of the land already.'

'I can go with you; I haven't seen everything, but I've explored the ruins quite a bit when I lived in the village nearby,' Clara said.

Emily, Arthur and Thomas all exchanged a glance, none of them sure what to say or who should speak first. 'This is way too dangerous. You've been through so much getting here and just about got by,' Arthur said gently. In the time Emily had been unconscious in the infirmary, it seemed as though the two of them had managed to forge a growing bond.

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'But I got by,' Clara insisted. 'Every day was a struggle, not knowing where to sleep or when I was next going to get a meal, but I made it here, and I got the Dewdrop Jewel here as well.'

'She wouldn't have wanted you to risk your life going back to Arcadia after you managed to escape,' Arthur said.

'How would you know?' Clara demanded. 'She was never your mother, not really. She raised me, and I know her far better than you ever could. What were you, a year old, when she shipped you and Emily off?'

'I just don't think she would-'

'I'm going; that's the end of the conversation. You might have been to Arcadia once, but I know the place almost inside out. You need me if you want to even try sneaking up on Tristan there. It was his home before it was destroyed; he'll know the place inside out.'

'Let's take a minute, shall we?' Thomas said before Arthur could respond. He looked at Clara first. 'I don't need to tell you how dangerous going to Arcadia will be if Tristan is making his way there. However,' he said, turning to Arthur. 'The only person here who knows anything beyond a handful of details about Arcadia is Clara. I'm not suggesting that you coming with us is a good idea, but it is the best idea of a bad bunch. We don't have the luxury of being picky if Lewis is in as much danger as we think he is right now.'

Emily stayed quiet, watching the conversation develop. She could see Thomas' side, but she knew she should be protective of her little sister, but for some reason that just wasn't there. To be honest, she didn't really know anything about Clara beyond what she had told them when she first arrived at the castle. 'Are you just going to go along with this?' Arthur demanded, turning to her.

'Thomas is right; what better option do we have? We'll be floundering around in the city, waiting for Tristan and whoever else is there to pick us off. Even when we're here, we've got to put our trust in people we're far from convinced we can trust right now,' Emily said, a lump catching in her throat. 'Look at Lewis; he took the people he trusted and went with a plan. Now he's held prisoner by Tristan and the rest of them are dead.'

Her words hung in the air. It had been evident before now what had happened to David, Louise, Edward and Captain Caldwell, but this was the first time it had been stated for all of them to hear. She paused for a moment, thinking of the four of them. Despite his rough demeanour, Captain Caldwell had quickly become one of her favourite people at the castle, almost like a father figure to her. Now he was just gone, left somewhere in the desert where he would probably never be found.

'There are so many people I don't want to trust, but we have no choice now. It might not have been them, but those precursors will always be a reminder of the scars Lewis is covered in and his time at that godforsaken tower. I don't know the guard captains, but Commander Redmond was quick enough to chase Lewis and me down after Sebastian died,' Emily said. 'But look at the others; Edward and Captain Caldwell went with Lewis without question. They trusted him, and he trusted them. Now we need to trust these people if we're going to stand any chance of getting Lewis back to the castle where he belongs.'

Robyn smiled. 'I don't think anyone could have said it better; now I see where Lewis gets his leadership from.' She had been silent throughout their entire conversation, watching the exchange before her carefully. 'I've known Lewis longer than I can remember; he's always trusted me, and I'm going to repay that trust. I'm not letting him stay away from this city one day longer than is absolutely necessary.'

'Didn't you two work at the bakery together?' Arthur said, one eyebrow raised.

'What's your point?'

'We're going to try and break Lewis out from right under Tristan's nose; are you sure you want to be there for that?' Arthur said gingerly. Emily could see what he was implying, but Robyn cocked her head to one side before she could say anything.

'You think I'm just a baker and that I can't handle this?' she said, straightening her back as she faced him directly. 'Me and Lewis might have known each other almost all our lives, but that doesn't mean I don't know things he doesn't. Like what Charles Hargrove was doing in the basement of the bakery before it burned down. Even Maria never knew about it.'

'What was he up to?' Emily asked quickly, remembering Charles from the brief time they had spent in the dungeons of this very castle.

'He wasn't just a baker; he was an alchemist as well,' she said. 'He taught me a lot over the years, things that might go a long way to helping Lewis in this situation.'

'Did you say alchemist?' Thomas interrupted. 'They're rare; a lot of people dabble in those arts but never get anywhere meaningful.'

'I know a lot of the basics: things that can heal, incendiary brews, explosives, and a few that create different effects like smoke clouds,' Robyn said. She hesitated for a moment. 'He had just started showing me how to make Connor's medicine when he disappeared and the bakery was burned down.'

'You're serious?' Arthur said in disbelief.

'Give me enough time, the right materials, and somewhere to work, and I could fill that ink well with something strong enough to blow a hole in a wall that's three feet thick,' she said. 'Yes, I'm serious and I'm going with you to save my friend.'

'I'm not going to argue with having things like that in our corner,' Thomas said with a glance at Emily. 'What do you need?'

'I managed to scavenge some bits from the bakery once the crowds had disappeared and no one was watching, but I can make a list,' she said. Picking up the quill, she crouched down next to the desk, grabbed a piece of paper, and began to write quickly. 'Do you have somewhere I can work?'

'Yes, I can sort that out easily enough,' Thomas said, glancing over her shoulder at the growing list of items she needed. 'How long do you need?'

'It varies; for basic things, I could probably create more than we would need in a couple of days. If it's something more complicated, like the powerful explosives, then a week, give or take,' Robyn said, setting the quill down and handing Thomas the list.

He scanned it quickly. 'None of this should be a problem. If you take this list to Marton Henare at the infirmary, she'll be able to help you get in touch with her contacts that supply things she needs for medicines. Get what you need; tell her that money is no object for this, but don't say what we're planning. I trust her but right now everything has to be on a need-to-know basis.'

'I'll be as quick as I can,' she said, taking the list back from Thomas and heading for the door.

'She said the bakery burned down?' Thomas said questioningly with a glance at Emily. Emily nodded. 'I don't know much about alchemy, but some of the things on that list—if the bakery went up in flames, it's a miracle that everything in that street and the next few wasn't levelled.'

'Should we be worried about the city getting destroyed before Tristan even gets here?' Arthur asked.

'If she knows as much about alchemy as that list suggests, then I wouldn't be worried about us. They're the ones who should be worried,' Thomas said.

'What's our plan from here then?' Clara asked.

'Let's wait until the rest get here; they might have ideas on the best way to go about this,' Emily said. She could already tell it was going to be a long day and she was itching to make a start towards Arcadia as soon as possible. 'We've got a little bit of time to get something to eat.'