Laurel fell in line with me as we walked through the massive room.

"So, you do know they won't just let us inside a temple to look around?" she said.

"Don't worry, I think I know the perfect temple to go and have a look," I replied, quickening my step as I realized Eliandra might be here.

A short while later, we moved along the line of temples until we reached that of Flowheart. I didn't see any guards outside, and scanning inside through the stone-carved entrance showed a shadowy hall that seemed to lead to an open courtyard. There was a soft bluish light, but still no movement.

"Flowheart? I hadn't picked you as one of those practical warriors," Laurel said as she looked at the temple with pursed lips. The way she said practical made it sound like a bad thing.

With what I knew of Flowheart and how Eliandra had changed, I couldn't blame her.

"For someone with heart in the name, her followers don't seem to use theirs a lot," I agreed as I moved through the entrance.

As soon as I stepped in the opening, a tingle went through my whole body, and I felt my hairs rise. It felt as if a blanket covered my mind, trying to dampen my feelings, and for a moment, I could feel myself change slightly, becoming less caring. Then a burst of heat came from deep inside, and the feelings were pushed away by a thick hot desire for justice. It felt as if two sets of feelings and concepts were warring in my mind for a moment. Then, the emotionless blanket was pushed away. I still felt it, like a cloud hovering before the sun, but it didn't seem to influence me anymore.

Laurel stood beside me, rubbing her arms and neck. Her usually upbeat expression had turned austere.

"Bah. I forgot how much I hate this feeling. Let's just get this over with," she said, her voice stern.

"Is this because we are in the temple?" I asked, pointing at my head.

"Yes. It's like an example of what you can get if you follow a deity. Although I've read that this feeling is far stronger than what most followers gain," Laurel replied.

Feeling the heat from inside, holding the force of Flowheart at bay, I had an idea and stepped closer to Laurel. "Can I try something?"

She just nodded, her gaze wandering around sharply as if looking for threats.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to expand the heat I felt outward. It had to be the power of Rathica, her influence, and it was blocking the influence of Flowheart. For a moment, nothing happened, then the heat rose up, and it felt like a burning wildfire looking for a fight rushed out through my hand and into Laurel. Her eyes widened, and she went rigid.

I felt the war raging inside her, the war for control, and I became worried. It was easy to forget how large the deities' influence over their followers' minds was, but feeling the current battle of wills, I shivered. If I hadn't found Rathica, I might have joined Flowheart... What would that have meant?

A sigh of relief came from Laurel as the power of Rathica pushed away the will of Flowheart, and she straightened. Her eyes still closed, she smiled constantly.

"Thanks, this is much better. A bit spicy, but if I had to choose-" Laurel opened her eyes, shook her head, and looked at me. "Let's get going. The sooner we get out of this heartbroken temple, the better."

I couldn't agree more, and together we almost ran through the tunnel to the courtyard. The corridor opened out in a massive, round room with blue crystals set in the ceiling that illuminated the room, and voices and sounds came from all around. A towering statue of a woman with a sword stood in the middle, with stone benches in front of it. A few people sat on the benches, staring at the statue. Entrances led away to what looked like rooms, and I saw dozens of people moving around inside.

As I looked around, wondering how to find Eliandra, a loud shout silenced the voices.

"EST!"

Turning to the right, I was just in time to see a leather armored, black-haired Eliandra storm my way before I was wrapped in a tight embrace. Lips locked to mine with a suddenness that caused me to freeze before I slowly relaxed. Wrapping my four arms around her, I felt her shiver through the armor. She began crying, and I felt her tears wet both our faces. I tried to pull back to examine her, see if she was alright, but her arms clenched even tighter.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Eliandra whispered in my ear.

I sighed, holding her as a feeling of rightness slowly returned to the world. I hadn't realized how much what had happened had affected me, but as I felt a weight slowly ease off my shoulders, I felt whole. With some effort, I pushed her away, feeling her struggle but not stopping until I could look into her eyes. They were puffy and red, but I could see the fire burn deep inside.

"You are different," I said, smiling widely to make sure she knew I thought it was a good thing.

She sniffed a few times before nodding resolutely. "Flowheart made me a Prime and reduced the effect she has on me." She pressed the tip of her nose to mine and gazed into my eyes. "I am sorry!"

Deep down, worry rose sharply as I wondered what Flowheart was up to. Then the simple fact of holding Eliandra caused it to fade to the background again, and I grinned, kissing her. "All is forgiven."

A loud chatter around us drew my attention, and I saw we were in the middle of a circle of paladins who were staring at us with wide eyes. Some had looks of ridicule, but most just looked like they wanted us to get on with it already.

"I think we are drawing a crowd," I muttered. Eliandra looked around before frowning.

"Back to your posts! Who told you to come here?" she snapped, a sudden authority in her voice. The paladins slowly dispersed until only Laurel was still there, staring at us with a raised eyebrow.

"You two know each other, I take it?" she said with a mock grin.

Eliandra released her hold on me and looked at Laurel as if weighing her. After a moment, she nodded and turned back to me.

"Let's go to a place with fewer people, and you can tell me what happened three days ago."

I blinked and did some quick math. That wasn't when her earth body was eaten, was it?

"Alright," I said, holding her hand as I followed her into a corridor to the right.

The temple wasn't that big, mostly some quarters around the main courtyard. Eliandra shared a room with another Prime, but that one was out in the city now. We were sitting in the single large room that held a few beds and a table with some chairs.

"So, you have a ship now?" Eliandra said as she stared at me while shaking her head.

"Well, Lark's got a mind of his own, so I wouldn't call it that," I said with a shrug, still processing what she had told me about the sacking of Dursic.

According to Eliandra, the city was a ghost town now, literally. After Preyatar's followers had killed or chased away most inhabitants, a prime of Lischen had turned it into her lair. Deciding to guard the commoners, Eliandra had not gone with Hala through the portal and barely survived the journey through the Harrowing Hills, losing many people along the way. Those few dozen that survived managed to make it to Orlion and had been recuperating ever since. Haltir and Egilla had survived, although Egilla had been gravely injured. She had been taken to an elven city by her uncle, while Haltir was still somewhere in the city, according to Eliandra. Before leaving, I wanted to find him and see if he would come along again.

"So where are we going now?" Eliandra asked, staring at me.

It took me a moment to process her words, and then I smiled at her. "We?"

"What did you think? That I'd let you leave my sight again?" she snorted, turning to give Laurel a 'can you believe this guy?' look.

Laurel just grinned and shook her head. "Whatever we do, can we do it somewhere else? I feel like I'm being pulled apart by two deities." Eliandra and I laughed, and I got up.

"She is right. We need to get to the harrowing hills and find those Nyrads."

Thinking of Iz's request, I examined Eliandra. "You can't pull some strings so we can leave without having to make some temple, can you?"

Eliandra shook her head. "No. If Iz wants you to do it, the fastest thing is to just do it. I don't know exactly what she is, but even Flowheart told me to be careful when dealing with her. "

"Great. Then let's get to the first empty building we can find and see what we have to work with," I muttered.

When we exited the room, two paladins stood waiting for us, and they immediately addressed Eliandra. One was a sharp-eyed woman with two blades on her hips, the other a burly man with a flattened nose and a massive claymore on his back.

"Prime. We've been told to accompany you from now on as your personal guards," the woman stated in a crisp voice.

"Told by whom?" Eliandra asked, surprised.

"By Prime Bala," the woman replied, handing a rolled-up scroll to Eliandra, who quickly opened it. She read it, cursed, and then crumpled it before turning to me.

"Bala had a warning that Preyatar has told his followers to hunt all Earthlings they can find and bring them to his nearest temple. There's a list of names and descriptions going around, and you and I are at the top of the list."

"How long is the list?" I asked, curious who else was here. Besides Eliandra, I hadn't seen or even heard about any other earthlings.

"It doesn't say," Eliandra said. She turned to the two paladins. "You can come along, but do as I say, got it?"

The two paladins nodded before falling in line behind us.

I looked at Eliandra with a raised eyebrow. She was a prime, and had been the one in control in Dursic, hadn't she?

"Don't look at me like that. Apparently, I wasn't actually in command. Flowheart just told me that to keep me close so she could find out who I was."

I blinked before shaking my head. "And you still follow her?"

Eliandra shrugged and began stomping forward at a faster pace. "She didn't mean it in a bad way. She was just looking out for this world. They have a bad history with invaders, as you know."

She was talking about the Guidar, obviously, but I suddenly felt afraid. Afraid that Eliandra was in a tight spot, bound to a deity that might not have her best interest in mind. Afraid of how much influence Flowheart still had over her, and afraid there wasn't any way to get Flowheart to release her. Suddenly I understood why Desero had been so interested in a way to remove a deitiy's bond. Perhaps I should take Eliandra with me and use Lark to go to the bottom of the demon blood sea? Or I could take her to another deity's realm?

While we walked out of the temple, a host of wild ideas played through my mind that got suddenly interrupted by a familiar gruff voice.

"When I heard rumors of an ax-wielding Grablon wandering around, I knew it could only be you!"

Haltir stood leaning against the wall beside the temple, a half-smile on his face and his ax in hand, examining me. He had a glint in his eyes and ignored the others.

Surprised and happy to see him alive, I stepped forward, clasping his hand. When he moved away from the wall, I saw he favored one leg.

"Still alive, old man?"

"Who are you calling old!" Haltir snorted as his eyes wandered to my ax. He held out his hand, and I shook my head in wonder. He really only cared for one thing. With a grin and a mock bow, I handed the ax to him. He ignored my antics and began inspecting it. After holding it up and twirling it around once, he nodded and handed it back.

"It's a bit too big but simple and effective. I presume you've continued your practice?"

"As much as I could," I replied, inspecting the older man. Haltir had some more grey in his hair, but aside from his leg, he seemed the same as before.

"That sounds like half-baked effort to me," Haltir growled. "The battle of the arms-masters will require you to be at your best, boy!"

"Est, we need to keep going," Eliandra interrupted him as she stepped forward. "Greetings, Haltir. How's the leg?"

"Like a creaky old door," Haltir said as he glared at his left leg.

"Let's talk as we walk...slowly," Eliandra said with a grin.

Haltir nodded but frowned when we turned right.

"You're going the wrong way. There's nothing there but some empty temples."

"For now," I said and began walking past the Mercenary Alliance building.

Fifty meters ahead, a towering pillar, half-carved out of the wall, marked the end of the building. The path continued much farther, but only a hundred meters still had doors and other things carved out. The rest of the side was plain stone.

"You could take it a bit slower," Haltir grumbled behind me. The older man was having a hard time keeping up, hobbling behind us on one leg.

"What happened to your leg anyway?" I asked. It must have happened during their escape.

"A lucky arrow hit me just above the knee," Haltir said as he pressed his hand on his leg. "Went straight through and took some tendon with it. I've been looking for some Grablons and their miracle potions, but none want to part with any."

I nodded, wondering if I could fix it for him with Share Lifeforce. I decided to try after we had inspected the empty temple. I'd need some vegetation for it, too, just in case it took too much out of me.

"Just move at your own pace," I said as I turned and marched to the next door. It was twenty paces beyond the Mercenary Alliance building and similar to Flowheart's. A meter wide, two-meter tall entrance that led into a corridor. Beyond it, I saw a dark room.

"Great. I need to fix my own lightning?" I muttered, drawing a laugh from Eliandra.

"Yes, and this time you can't just call the downstairs neighbor for help," she said.

I blinked as I remembered the event she spoke about and then grinned at her. "Perhaps not, but I might have something better," I replied before walking into the empty temple.

It was dusty and damp inside, and there was no odd sensation of warring wills when crossing the threshold. Remembering what had happened when entering Flowheart's temple, I turned to Laurel, who was looking around the empty courtyard.

"You okay again? No nasty after-effects of what happened when entering Flowhearts temple?" I asked.

Laurel shook her head and tapped the side of her head. "Just plain me again up here!"

"You went inside Flowhearts temple?" Haltir's gruff voice came from the temple entrance. He was standing with a hand against the wall, looking deep inside. I could see how his eyes were searching for something, staring across us and the walls without seeing them.

No night vision, I thought. Then I turned to Eliandra and Laurel in surprise. "How come you two can see in this darkness?"

Laurel barked a laugh and shook her head. "Travel with the man for three days in the pitch black of the sea, and he only thinks of asking now!" She shared a look of shared ridicule with Eliandra.

"Never mind," I said, moving to the center of the room and looking around. A burst of laughter came from the two women, and I groaned as I heard Eliandra ask about some details of our journey through the demon blood sea.

A statue, huh? I thought as I looked around. I knew I could make one with wood, but where could I get that.

"I need wood!" I said, turning to Eliandra. She stood next to Laurel, who spurted out laughing.

"Of course you do…" Eliandra said, taking a look at the laughing Laurel and shaking her head. "You're going to make a wooden statue?" she continued, looking at me in disbelief.

"Yes? What's wrong with that?"

She shook her head again. "You can't get that much wood here... you'll be lucky to even find a seedling, although nobody will be willing to part with it."

"Wood is so hard to come by here…" I muttered. "What about the ships?"

"Those are made in other places, where not all of the wood is either poisonous or out to strangle you," Haltir said, using his hands along the wall to move towards us. "A light would be a better first thing than some statue," he grumbled.

"Well, I can't work stone, and learning will take too long," I said. "So, anyone have any idea how to get me enough wood to make a statue?"

"Perhaps you can just make a really small one and use the wood from your ax?" Eliandra said with a shrug.

I raised my ax, the only wood I still had on me.

"Don't you dare!" Haltir shouted. "You have only one ax, and you need it for practice!"

I nodded reluctantly. I had no desire to use the wood in my ax, but there was bound to be more wood outside of the city. Too bad I couldn't go there to get it.

We continued tossing up ideas for some time, ranging from using a part of Lark to going down to the sea bottom and finding wreckage, but in the end, none seemed viable with the time we had.

"And you're sure there isn't a place where they have wood here?" I asked with a weary sigh, rubbing my head.

"There is enough wood somewhere, but there is no way you will get it," Haltir said with a grumble.

I turned to him, my hands in the air as I held back a shout of frustration. "Where is it?"

"There is a group of plant cultivators in the city that are attempting to recreate some ancient trees. They have whole trees, but they think they are sacred. They see every seedling as their own child… apparently, it is incredibly difficult to make seeds turn into seedlings…"

Listening to him, a smile slowly spread on my face.

"Exactly how happy would they be if someone came along and sprouted, say, a few dozen of their seeds into seedlings?"

Harkin shook his head. "I don't know… are you saying you can do that?"

"I think I can... Eliandra, can you go with Laurel and see if Iz can find us some wood? Tell her it's important."

Eliandra looked at me, and for a moment I thought she was going to act up. Then she sniffed and nodded. I smiled and blew her a kiss before turning to Haltir. I grabbed his lower arm, slowly guiding him back through the tunnel.

"We will be back, hopefully with enough wood for a statue!"