Zirko, Maeve, and Taka all froze. Syla wasn't meant to be there, yet there the elf was. The portal behind Taka flickered, and before any of them could head back through, it zapped out of existence. Syla looked back at the empty space that had just been the portal, and grinned.

  "Mistress Vonmish?" Zirko asked, disbelief coloring his voice. "What are you doing here?"

  "I decided to come with you all," Syla said. 'I know the city better than any of you and--"

  "It's been decades since you've been here," Zirko said harshly. "And more than that, it's not safe--"

  Syla cut off the lizard man with a scowl, "I've been practicing my light magic with Marg, my illusions are almost as good as hers!"

  "Almost," chided Maeve. "And almost is not the same."

  "But Marg agreed!" Syla exclaimed.

  As Syla and Marg continued to go back and forth, Taka used his TELEPATHY to open a connection to Zirko.

  What can we do? Taka asked Zirko.

  I'm... I'm not sure, Zirko sent back. Maeve has a way to communicate over long distances, but Deon will not be able to open another for quite some time, and if Syla refuses to return...

  Maeve sighed and turned to Zirko, "well?"

  Zirko's face scrunched in contemplation, then approached Syla. The lizard man knelt down before the elf and put a hand on their shoulder.

  "How do you think His Majesty will take this?" Zirko asked calmly.

  Syla looked at Zirko, then down for a moment, then to Taka, "I think he will understand. I left a note, and he should be reading it right about now."

  Zirko looked to Maeve and shrugged. The fox girl nodded and began to inspect the room, Taka taking in his surroundings. They were teleported into a room of similar size to Vanz'goran's study, but this room was almost entirely bare, save for a chair by the door and a large window covered by dark blinds. The room was lit from lights that hung down in small cages from the ceiling and looked almost electric, but upon closer inspection, Taka could feel mana emanating from the center of the light. Interesting... Taka thought to himself.

  Maeve was scanning the walls with her hands as if she was trying to feel something while Zirko slipped out of the one door that led out of the room, closing it tightly behind him. Syla walked up to Taka, standing a few feet in front of his golem, and gave him a slight smile; Taka used his TELEPATHY skill and opened a link to the elf child.

  Hello, Syla, Taka sent.

  Hello, Sir Filo, the elf replied. It is good to see you again, we haven't had the chance to talk in a while.

  Syla was right; although the elf had been the one to find him and had been there for him since the moment they met, Taka hadn't done much to reciprocate. He knew that Syla didn't mean it that way, but Taka felt guilty nonetheless. He felt both joy and fear at the idea of Syla being in Modonia with him, glad for the elf's company, but terrified for their safety.

  Why did you run away? Taka asked.

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  Syla bit their lip and shifted their weight. "Because," Syla said softly, then glanced toward Maeve, who seemed to be ignoring them. I'm not running away, the elf sent. Not coming now would have been running away, and that's what I said in my note. I have to be here, I have to do this for myself and for my family.

  Syla's family, Taka thought to himself. As much as Vanz'goran or anyone else could try to fill the hole in the elf's heart, they still didn't know what happened to their mother, and that had clearly been weighing on them heavily. Taka looked into Syla's eyes and saw a burning determination that told him everything he needed to know. Part of his own reasoning in agreeing to come to Modonia was to investigate what happened to Syla's mother, so he would just shift his priorities and add 'protect Syla' to the top of the list. Taka didn't have any siblings, but this is how he'd imagined he'd have felt if he had a younger brother or sister. It was almost as if something had been compelling him to protect the elf, but he didn't sense any Magia pulling at him, which meant it was likely something deep inside of him. A part of himself that made him feel fuller as a person, and like what he was doing mattered to something.

  I understand, Taka sent. I will support you in any way I can.

  Syla seemed surprised by his firm acceptance, and hugged the golem. Taka wrapped the golem's earthy arms around the elf.

  Thank you, Syla whispered.

  Zirko opened the door and slipped back in the room, this time not shutting it behind him. He looked to Maeve and she nodded.

  "All clear," Maeve said. "No traces of anything, whoever kept this place maintained must've kept it locked down pretty tight."

  Zirko nodded back, "rest of the building is clear, too. It's two stories, kitchen and common room downstairs with this room, used to be a study, upstairs is a bathroom and a barracks-style sleeping quarters."

  "What did this place used to be?" Maeve asked as she took out the notebook-looking object Deon had given her from her boot.

  "It has been a safe house for a while," Zirko said. "I do not know what it was before."

  Maeve sat down on the floor and opened the notebook-esque object, revealing a flat, sleek surface on each side of the interior. Maeve set the object on the ground and placed her hands upon both surfaces, then closed her eyes. Taka could feel her starting to gather mana in her hands, quite a large amount.

  What is that? Taka asked Deon.

  *The object Maeve is using is an LTD, a lightning transmission device. It is an extremely valuable magical artifact that allows for long distance communication through the use of lightning magic. A specific, pre-determined amount of mana is poured into the device based on its construction, then the caster manipulates the right side to send a coded message. The message is transmitted to a matching device, which could be across the continent if the mage is strong enough, and received on the left side. The transmission mechanism is supposedly a trade secret, and one that the craftsperson of this device is not keen on sharing. Very few of these devices exist, to my knowledge. There are other methods of long distance communication, but they all take significantly more time and/or casters themselves, and are not nearly as secure.

  Taka looked at Maeve, taking in the fox girl as if he was seeing her for the first time again. When he had first been acquainted with her, she was grieving her partner and on the verge of a state of panic, but even during the attack, she maintained her composure. Taka didn't know much about her beyond the fact that she could use a flail, had lightning magic, and was trusted by Vanz'goran and Deon. Looking at her now, she looked strong, sly, dangerous even.

  "Already getting a response," Maeve called out.

  "What did you say?" Syla asked nervously.

  Maeve ignored the elf and concentrated on the LTD. Her left hand shifted as if something was moving beneath the device's surface.

  "His Majesty isn't happy, but he understands," Maeve relayed to the rest of them. "Marg supposedly gave Syla the go-ahead and has assured them that Syla's skill in light magic is up to the task. Deon will accompany His Majesty as planned, and Marg will stay in the castle. Syla is to take up Marg's alias, but should use a less elaborate visual disguise and focus more on concealing her mana."

  Syla let out a loud sigh of relief. Some of the tension in the room seemed to evaporate, but not all of it. Zirko was clearly still unhappy with Syla's presence on the mission, but Maeve seemed to be in good spirits, or at least pretended to be.

  That's it, then, Taka thought to himself. This is it. He looked around at his companions and felt the collective buzz of nervousness and excitement at the large task that lay ahead.

  "Alright," Zirko said as he walked toward the door, then grabbed the handle. "Let's get started."