Despite the fact that Aldryn slept the whole night he still felt somewhat fatigued. The blonde ignored it and quickly made his way toward the Oracle of Earth.

“You look like you could use some sleep”, Ylvis said upon noticing Aldryn.

“I did sleep”, the blonde shook his head, “Hence I was even a bit late for our meeting”

"Yet you still look dead on your feet" the Thrae sighed pitifully.

After he received a nod in return, Aldryn quickly told the older man about Zevram’s and his findings. Upon hearing the news, the older oracle made a map in his mind and eliminated the temples that have already been either under attack or destroyed.

“I doubt that Shyra would dare attack the same temple twice, seeing as their security increased”, Ylvis said after a moment of thought, “This leaves only three more in her path. Seeing as how we are rather far away, I say it is best to head straight to the last one in the order, else I fear we will be too late to help anyone.”

'Forsake another two just for a chance to save the third', the blonde hated the idea.

"This is for the best" the fox told him, "I don't like it either, but rather than chase after her and be one step behind...", it refused to continue.

'But this is strange' Aldryn told it, 'Shyra is smarter that this.... Why would she leave such an obvious trail' he hesitated to ask this of Ylvis, while the Thrae didn't know what to say.

“I don't like this either" Ylvis commented, noticing how quite the younger priest is, "But this is the best way", he tried to reassure him.

“Alright”, the blonde sighed, “Lead the way then.”

With a nod, Ylvis straightened his back and then looked behind Aldryn, “Is Zevram not coming with us?”

“No”, was the hesitant reply, “I thought it would be best if one of us remained here.”

“Why?” the priest of Earth questioned, not being able to see any reason behind those actions.

“You know.. in case something happens?”, while Aldryn tried to sound confident, his reply became more of a question in place of a statement by the end.

“Beside”, the blonde quickly added, “He loves his forest too much. It would tear him apart to leave it now. And I thought that the two of us were more than enough to deal with this.”

Unable to say anything against this judgement, Ylvis simply shook his head, wishing that he could remain in his mines as well, but he quickly crushed his desire. As the oldest among the three of them, he felt it was his responsibility to solve the problem, or at least offer his assistance to Aldryn.

“And Klyran?” he asked then, remembering the young Ryan who accompanied his brother to the mines.

“I left him with Zevram and the Greenyard. To train” the blonde said quickly, still feeling somewhat guilty, “The Kenman promised to train him if he got stronger” he reasoned, trying to justify his decision.

“That’s good. He will be safe there with everything that is going on”, Ylvis nodded, “He must be happy. Getting stronger was his wish after all”, he then said with a smile.

Not knowing how to reply, Aldryn decided to stay quiet.

“Let’s go”, the blonde said, not being able to form any other words.

Thinking that the younger man was simply sad over parting with his friend, Ylvis did not say anything about it and simply followed him.

“Where are we going anyway? To which temple?” Aldryn asked as the two of them headed along the wall of the mountain.

“Toward Byorin ”, Ylvis said with a laugh.

“What temple is there?” the blonde asked, trying to remember any temples that could be found East of the Kingdom.

“A small town that hosts a temple farther South. In the barren land. It should be Shyra’s last stop, seeing how it is rather close to Ildurin’s army, who is currently trying to hold the Nalrits from entering those lands, she wouldn’t dare to attack it carelessly.”

“I don’t seem to recall any temple in that direction”, Aldryn then commented.

He tried to remember all the temples and their locations. But none came to his mind that were close to Byorin, where the snow was harsh and unforgiving.

“Well…There is no temple to speak of. But the town was built and is managed by an apostle”, Ylvis explained as the two of them walked.

“There is such a thing?” the blonde asked surprised, not understanding how he could not know about it.

'A town ruled by an apostle?'

“I’m sure that you have actually heard about it. It’s the Ice Arrow town”, the brunet said, trying to see if the younger man truly had no knowledge about the location.

“Isn’t that town a popular spot among rangers and assassins?” the blonde then whispered, as if afraid that someone will hear him, “Are we really going there?”

“What is there for us to be afraid of?” Ylvis then rolled his eyes, “There is a strict no killing policy implemented within the town.”

“And that town has an apostle? How?” Aldryn then asked, trying to make sense of the information, “Is it a Dark God?”, he then wanted to know, as nothing else made sense.

“Not really. It’s actually the apostle of Harym. The God of Hunting. It never had a temple to begin with, but this God always had an apostle. And it just so happened that at this time, that apostle has settled down in a town that became a popular spot for Rangers and Assassins”, Ylvis then explained.

It made sense, the blonde thought. He himself heard a few stories abut Harym from his Ranger friends who sought his blessing. Even the assassins now strangely made sense, as among the many skills that they required to complete a task, it included finding their pray and going around undetected.

“And you know about this... How?” Aldryn then asked, “And how do you know that Shyra knows this too?” he could not help but wonder.

“A few years back”, Yvis sighed, “Even before the Kenman came to live underground”, he said to accentuate just how long ago it has been, “A Ranger came into the mines... and let me tell you Aldryn, those people hate going underground, they always prefer to travel though the rift” he explained.

While listening, Aldryn was only nodding. He even found it strange that a ranger would go down to the mines personally, as they usually paid merchants to do such tasks. They always reminded the blonde of the Greenyards, only unlike the people of Morien, the Rangers were never grown into magic and the scope of the spells they knew was never limited to Wind. The Rift that Ylvis mentioned was the small space that existed were two mountains crossed paths, the great mountain coming from the West, Diarum, and the great mountain of the East, Enthrall. Both of those mountains were under the control and protection of Ylvis and there were multiple underground paths connecting the two. Only, the mountains of Enthrall was a place that no one beside the Monias were allowed to enter. Not even Aldryn, who was good friends with their kin, has ever stepped foot into it.

“The Ranger was apparently on a quest”, Ylvis said, quickly drawing Aldryn’s attention, “He south the blessing of Harym, but he had to first prove his worth first. So he shared with me the knowledge about the temple’s location and its apostle in exchange for a weapon. A weapon that I myself crafted.”

“And Shyra knows about this? ” the blonde then wondered.

“She was there with me that day”, Ylvis explained, clearly remembering the events, “She even blessed the weapon that I made with some of her spells.”

“I see”, Aldryn then nodded, “Well then…Ice Arrow Town it is then.”

'Let's just hope the no kill policy will stay in place' the blonde hesitated in making the first step, not liking the idea of willingly going into a town filled with assassins.

"What's there to be afraid of?" the Thrae reassured him, "You know plenty of rangers... Maybe you will meet some of them there."

Those words did indeed bring a small comfort and Aldryn grew more confident in the journey.

After walking for a few more days it became obvious that their path laid further down South. The previously clear fields were covered by snow, which grew deeper the more they walked. In another few short days, the snow could reach Aldryn’s knees. The blonde had to use his spear as a cane to be able to move forward. Yvlis had used some wood, tying it together and then to his feet, to build himself make-shift snow shoes. The cold wind made both of them shiver, despite their inhuman bodies. All the way, the blonde would remember why he never loved to venture this far South, while a part of Ylvis regretted stepping foot out of the mountains with every step he took.

The morning the two of them finally saw smoke rising in the sky brought much relief. The smoke was thick and coming from multiple places. It meant that its source was no simple camp fire, but a village, and there was only one that laid in the region. The two priests finally arrived at the Ice Arrow Town.