“A cave?” asked Tigin. When Sevis had told him they were going to get help, he didn’t expend to ride for half a day to a cave in the middle of nowhere.

“Stop being so cynical,” said Sevis. He dismounted.

Tigin pointed back in the direction they’d come from, “We could have been halfway to the Black Sands City by now”.

“Yes,” Sevis admitted, “And either captured or dead. Possibly both”.

Tigin sighed, then dismounted and followed Sevis towards the entrance of the cave, “So what’s in the cave that’s going to help us?”

“The only thing that can,” said Sevis, he paused just before the entrance, turning back to Tigin with a strange look on his face, like Tigin should have figured this out by now.

Tigin frowned, looked at the cave, then back at Sevis. Understanding suddenly dawned in his expression, “You have got to be kidding me”.

Sevis shrugged, “He’s the only one who can help Rima”.

“He hasn’t helped in over a year, exactly what do you expect from him now?” Tigin scoffed.

Sevis rolled his eyes and turned to walk into the cave, “If you think he’s been gone all that time, you’re sorely mistaken”.

Tigin hesitated, then followed Sevis into the cave.

It was strange, at first Tigin thought it was a trick of his eyes, but the further he walked into the cave, the more he could make out something shining in the back of the cave. When Sevis paused in front of it, Tigin realised it was a mirror. He scoffed, “I never took Aegin for the vain type”.

Sevis just smiled, then he moved the mirror ever so slightly to the right.

As soon as the light caught it, it reflected to a tunnel to the left that Tigin had failed to see in the shadows. That tunnel promptly lit up for a few metres, then veered deeper into the cliff-face once more.

Sevis followed the tunnel, Tigin still surprised by the mirrors. He’d never seen them used like this.

Around that second corner, the light was much brighter, filling the cavernous room beyond. The room was filled with several mirrors on the walls and roof, all reflecting off of each other to amplify the light. There were several mirrors around the room that were turned away though, as if the room could be brighter if it needed to be.

Around the room were several pieces of handmade furniture and cloth. There was also a rack of weapons. There was another tunnel off to the side as well, from which came several scraping noises. Like stone on metal.

Sevis promptly went down that tunnel, Tigin trailing behind as he looked around. This place…it had been lived in for several months. Tigin ducked down the secondary tunnel. Usually in places like this it got cooler the further away from fresh air you went, but there was heat here. Due to the desert heat outside, Tigin hadn’t really noticed it at first, but this felt different, and it seemed to only be getting hotter.

Tigin frowned, walking behind Sevis. He could see a light glowing at the end of the tunnel, not like the mirror’s reflected light though. This looked more like the glow from a fire.

The heat was becoming unbearable. Tigin gasped, “What is this place?”

“You’ll see,” said Sevis, though his voice appeared strained too.

They came out into another large cavern, this one far larger than the previous one, but about twenty metres from where they tunnel was, the ground dropped, and the orange glow came from whatever was at the bottom.

“What do you want, Sevis?” asked a familiar voice.

Tigin turned to see Aegin sitting on the side, several buckets, tools and equipment lay around him, as well as a rack of what appeared to be weapons. And a big dome looking structure about as tall as Tigin with two openings in the front.

Tigin frowned. It was a forge.

This is what he’d been doing for a year? Learning how to forge weapons? What good would weapons do without the men to wield them? Besides, Aegin had already resolved himself to not fighting with the weapons. Could he have had second thoughts? That didn’t explain his idleness though.

“You brought guests, I see,” said Aegin, “Only you’d be stupid enough to walk casually into the home of a Vampire, next thing you know, Tigin will be following your lead”.

“How long have you been back?” asked Tigin. He couldn’t help himself.

Aegin met his gaze, then his eyes flicked to Sevis.

“I only left for three months,” said Aegin, then he ducked his head and continued sharpening the blade that rest on the anvil before him.

Tigin frowned as he gazed at it. It wasn’t metal. It…it looked more like crystal.

“Are you happy with your finished product yet?” asked Sevis.

Aegin paused again, then gave a deep sigh and put the rock he was using to sharpen the blade down, “What do you want, Sevis? I won’t ask again”.

“Rima’s alive,” Sevis replied, “At Gryffyn Blacksands’ estate, guarded by the Djinn”.

Aegin’s eyes softened, “What do you think I can do about that?”

“I know you’re the best chance we’ve got of getting her back,” said Sevis.

Aegin sighed and turned away, “I couldn’t save her the first time, Sevis, what makes you think I’ll be any better this time around?”

“Maybe you could be, if you actually tried to walk the path you’ve been put on,” said Sevis.

Aegin didn’t turn back around, but Tigin could see him tense.

“You may not be running, Aegin, but you are hiding,” said Tigin, “That’s worse”.

Aegin turned to look over his shoulder at Tigin, “Haven’t seen me in over a year, and that’s all you’ve got to say?”

Tigin crossed his arms over his chest, “If I had something better to say, I would. But from what I’ve learned over the last year, the hierarchy of the paths of Chaos is always changing. That Djinn may have won the first time, but that’s not to say that it won’t be different this time, or the time after that. You shouldn’t give up-”

“Tigin”. Sevis’ tone was like a warning, and Tigin immediately turned to look at him. Sevis shook his head slowly, then turned to look at Aegin, who had turned away once more, “Look, we know Gryffyn has something that he holds that means he can control the Djinn. If we can get it, then maybe we can cause a big enough distraction for Rima to get away. We’ll probably lose our lives in the process, but it’s not like that girl wouldn’t do the same for us given the chance. Tigin and I are going to Black Sands to get her back, and while I know it’s unlikely, we want you to come. Because you’re the best chance we have of actually succeeding”.

There was silence before Sevis turned and left, Tigin reluctantly following.