Poli was laying on the grass by the side of the river that flew outside Massin’s cave, sunbathing and humming to herself, the pain in her arms has lessened after she drank an elixir the witch had made for her. Her was dog playfully hunting the fish in the water or any rock that moved slightly and challenged his senses. Harvick was a few feet away from the young woman, grooming his mount gently and talking to it. Rudolph and Manyar were immersed in the flowing fresh waters, leaning on the river rocks while Silverfang and his wife laid beneath a weeping willow. It has been a week since they arrived at Massin’s cavern and the visions she showed Haruth and Krog.

“This is the only ordinary thing I have ever done ever since I met that stupid wizard” Krog mumbled to himself smiling. He was sitting in the grass, cleaning his gun. The grip was silver-mounted, with carvings that darkened with time. The head butt was golden, and the revolving three barrels were also engraved, the metalwork looked very old.

Everyone came to Krog after that night to ask him all kinds of questions, it was Silverfang who came to him first, for he didn’t like how acquainted Krog was with the wizard. “You’re too nosey for your own good Krog. He is our guide, no more. Wizards bear ill will to Men.” He advised him.

Krog did reconsider his ties with the wizard, for he was severely disoriented that night. But then he remembered how fate had always challenged him in distinguishing ways and he simply laughed it off.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Asked him Poli who silently creeped up on him. Krog almost dropped his gun when he jumped in fright.

“Ah! Poli please quit doing this. My heart is holding on dear life by a string and you’re going to tear it apart!” He complained.

“Sorry… I thought you saw me.” She flushed.

“It’s alright. I’m simply not in my best shapes. But to answer your question.” He blew on his gun. “I have absolutely no idea and I’d love to keep it that way.” He added jokingly. “Although I know I can’t.” He was upset.

“I want to talk to him. I have been having these weird dreams these last few days. It might be nothing but I’d rather be sure…” She confessed.

“What kind of dreams?” Krog’s curiosity was once again provoked and he hated it.

“I don’t want to bother you with this.” She answered politely.

“You already did gal, just spit it out.” He insisted blithely, polishing the grip of his pistol.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…” Poli apologized; she was very intimidated by the man.

“It’s alright I was teasing you. Now tell me, what kind of dreams?” He put back his gun in his black leather holster.

“Well… the first one I had was the same night we arrived here; I didn’t give it much attention because I thought it was the witchcraft at work in the cave that messed with my thoughts… but I saw a man with the face of a demon… he looked like he was in terrible anguish, and it was all dark around us. He then…” She paused. “He then stretched his arms towards me, fists closed and nodded at me to get closer. I was scared but I walked towards him and he opened his fists. On the left hand he had a stone that glowed of green and I could hear a heartbeat inside it, and it felt sad and grievous. On the right hand he held a stone that glowed of golden red, like iron on fire, with green and blue hues and I heard not one but two strong heartbeats, one beating stronger than the other…” Krog was all ears and nodded from time to time to assure her that he was paying attention to her story. “When I tried to grab the green one, it disappeared in flames, the man did not move, he simply looked at me with his hellish eyes and then at his right hand. I didn’t want to take the red stone; it didn’t want me either… but I reached for it and my fingers started to burn but I didn’t feel anything and the man started to scream in anguish. The void trembled and I grabbed it really fast and stepped back. The man with the demon head collapsed on his knees and he started speaking a language strange to me, I didn’t understand a word he said but it seemed like his voice held a grudge and the void shook with every word he uttered. Then the ground beneath him turned to black water and he stood up. He walked towards me and I couldn’t move a finger. The stone I held in my right hand and my entire arm was ablaze. He got so close I could feel his breath on my face, and then he just vanished... Then I started hearing voices all around me. Some I recognized and some I never heard before. And they all screamed their own names in agony. I tried to write them down the moment I woke up.” She reached for her pocket and pulled a note. “I couldn’t memorize them all…” She handed it to Krog. “You will find yours in that list.” She added.

Krog hesitated to take the note, but eventually gave in. “This is a long list…” He smiled. “What happened after the voices?” He asked her.

“Nothing. I woke up the moment I heard my own voice.” She replied.

“I see... I understand why you would want to talk to him about this… Maybe you should talk to Massin as well.” He advised her. “Do you have more dreams you want to share with me?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind… This one I had yesterday, and when I woke up, I felt the urge to tell Haruth about it, as if it was somehow about him but I fail to see the link…” She specified.

“What was it about?” Krog inquired of her.

“I saw a tree, white as snow and bright as the purest of lights, it felt alive and bore red fruits. It was in the middle of a glade; the ground was a reflection but I couldn’t see myself; only the tree. And I could hear it whisper, it was praying. When I wanted to get closer, two silhouettes stepped between me and the tree and every time I tried to move forward, they would stop me with their shields and simply say “Of life to death, of death to life, the trinity should reunite to wake the slumbering erudite” over and over. But then a fruit fell off the tree and came rolling down to my feet. When I grabbed it, I heard the whispering voice inside it and it said “you are awake" and I woke up.”

“Hmm that’s interesting.” Krog said, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s interesting?” Asked them Manyar who was drying himself with a towel.

“Oh nothing!” Poli replied abruptly.

“You’re really bad at hiding stuff. Now I’m more interested to know.” He declared.

Poli felt her cheeks turn red again “I was just telling Krog about my weird dreams…”

“Oh! What kind of weird dreams?” Rudolph insisted because he knew Poli wasn’t normal ever since he saw her speak to the dragon.

“Well, I saw-”

“She saw me, she dreamt of me. Now fuck off Rud would you.” Krog interrupted the woman, dismissing his friend friskily.

“Ooooh it’s that type of dreams! My bad, shouldn’t have got my nose into it.” Rudolph stepped back hands in the air, winking at Krog who answered with rolling his eyes. Poli repressed a silly smile.

“I’m sorry, it was the only way to get him to drop it.” Told her Krog

“It’s alright, well it wasn’t entirely a lie… I did dream of you but it wasn’t something like that!” She quickly tried to justify. “You were in a ship; with people I don’t know and Haruth was with you. And I saw someone standing next to you two, pointing at an island. When I got closer to look at you, that person grabbed my hand and licked my palm. I woke up with this mark.” She cut loose a bandage on her right hand and showed it to Krog. “This is why I wanted to talk to him. These can’t be just dreams.”

Krog held her hand, she had a black mark in her palm, he wasn’t sure if he should touch it, but he tried to smell it, it made Poli uneasy.

“It looks like it would have a stench but it smells like you.” He simply said. “You should hide that until Haruth and Massin sees it.” He suggested to her. “They should be done in another week according to Massin, but you shouldn’t wait that long. I’ll see if I can get Haruth. Wait for me here.” Krog stood up and left inside the cave.

Poli put back her bandage and called her dog next to her. “We got ourselves in a mess Sven and it was all for rabbits.” She sighed. The pup licked her face in compassion.

Krog hated going inside the cave when Massin and Haruth were at work. The atmosphere was heavy and he constantly felt unwelcomed. He walked in slow steps, and tried to focus on any sound. He couldn’t hear anything. Are they even here? He thought. At least it’s calmer now.

The first days were the worst, especially when the screaming started. Haruth’s pain echoed through the cave and outside it and it scared them all. When they first heard that, Krog thought Haruth was trapped and Massin had deceived them all. Until Haruth asked him to leave and to not pay attention to his screams.

He might be bewitched. Krog thought. She didn’t need to wait this much to bewitch him though. Krog decided to leave Haruth that day, trying his best to ignore the cries like everyone else. They all leave the cave during the day and only get inside when needed and at night. Olum and her husband wanted to leave that place, but they couldn’t venture on their own and Olum was getting closer to her due date. Many times they thought of heading back home, but their pride was bigger than their fright and they stayed.

“Haruth!” The echo carried Krog's call deeper into the tunnels of the cave and its rooms. “Buddy we need you here! Wizard!” only silence answered.

Krog looked inside the first rooms, but no one was to be seen. He carried on, walking ever so steadily, then he started hearing music coming from the main room and it froze his blood. She’s at it again, shit! He thought. He leaned to steal a glance, Massin was playing her guembri and Haruth was sitting next to her with a similar instrument in his hands. The wizard’s eyes were closed but he wasn’t playing any music, he only rested his hand on his guembri and hearkened to the witch play. Krog couldn’t disturb them, so once again he simply sat and watched them.

Haruth moved his head up and down subtly and so did Massin. She was sweating and plucking at the instrument’s strings in an ascending speed, her face reacted to every note she played. Then, the music stopped unexpectedly and the two of them opened their eyes and looked at Krog at the same time.

“Hi…” Krog shivered and for a moment he felt naked and vulnerable.

“I told you many times don’t interfere Krog.” Haruth said in a tired voice.

“Trust me the least I want to do is to be here, but we have a situation…” Argued Krog

“It’s the girl.” Massin said. “Her visions started.”

“Of course you know.” Krog rubbed his eyes in discomfort.

“Go to her Haruth, we can finish this later.” Massin took the guembri from Haruth and bowed her head to him.

“Thank you.” He bowed back and smiled at Krog. He walked towards him and put his right arm around Krog’s shoulders. “You missed me?” The wizard said jokingly.

“Bastard.” Krog smiled back. “You look awful. You lost weight?” He asked him.

“Doesn’t matter what I lost; I gained a lot more.” Haruth reassured his friend. “Now tell me, what’s wrong with Poli?”

“She dreams. At first, I thought they were the fruit of her trauma until she showed me her hand. It is pretty serious Haruth. That girl needs your help.” Krog said.

The two walked towards the exit, leaning on each other. When they left the cave, Haruth shut his eyes in pain, the sunlight blinded him. Everyone turned at him, waiting for him to talk.

“What’s wrong? You’ve never seen a ghost?” He said facetiously.

Rudolph and Manyar waved their hands at him, Olum, Helain ad Harvick simply looked at him with a relieved spirit, for even if they weren’t fond of the wizard, they were still worried about him. Poli came to greet Haruth with a smile, but the moment he looked at her, his smile vanished. He let go of Krog and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“I am so terribly sorry.” He said. “You're in this because of me but I promise you, no matter what it takes, I will help you.” He hugged her and she didn’t resist. “Would you mind telling me about those dreams?”

“No not at all, I’ve been waiting to talk to you about it.” She replied.

“Would you walk with me then?” He suggested.

“Of course. Is Krog coming as well?” She asked him.

“You don’t want him around?” Haruth asked.

“No no no actually I’d like it if he was with us...” She admitted.

“No one in their right head would hang out with you alone.” Krog smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders at Haruth.

“You do...” Poli said.

“Well, he’s not the brightest.” Commented Haruth.

“And who’s to blame? I was fine before...” Krog stopped when he realized what he was about to say. Poli pressed a smile, guessing what he meant.

“Let’s go Poli.” Haruth said. “I missed walking.” The wizard walked ahead and Poli followed behind, holding Krog by the arm and dragging him next to her.

Poli then gave an account of her dreams to Haruth, and he did not interrupt her once. When she showed him her hand, the wizard grabbed it and pulled it closer. His eyes widened.

“Incredible… This is the first time I see one of these.” He mumbled.

“What? You don’t know what this is?” Asked him Poli who was hoping for an answer.

“I know exactly what it is, I just never seen one.” He answered.

“Then what is it?” Asked again Poli.

“I learned that the more you ask the less he says, just wait he’ll spit it all out in a moment. Let him process it himself…” Instructed her Krog.

Haruth was still investigating her palm. Muttering words of astonishment to himself. Poli looked at Krog for reassurance, the man simply waved his hand for her to wait.

“A Veer’s bid. It’s an offer” Haruth finally said after a long examination and monologue. “The person you saw, were neither man nor wizard, nor any creature you’ve seen before.”

“Huh? Like a demon?” She asked frightened.

“No, a veer. If you remember the tale of the stones, Mahavhar was one of them.” He tried to reassure her.

“What kind of offer is this Haruth?” Krog asked.

“The kind of offers that we can’t refuse. In our entire history, this mark has only been seen less than ten times. My father and his father before him tried to trace the veers behind them but never succeeded. The leads they had were very few and not entirely trustworthy. Some tales of these marks were very old and barely had any records but one thing is certain, the people who were told were marked achieved great things. Salmanazar was marked and he was known in tales as the greatest shipwright of all times. Voreda the greatest physician of her era, Eberwolf the greatest bladesmith of his time as well and few more. The last record we have before you, was hundreds of years ago and it was Jeqis the greatest draughtsman and builder. It is told he was the one to plan the unassailable stronghold of Iredale. All these people were ahead of their time and had incredible knowledge that flourished in their skill.” Haruth explained.

“That sounds promising.” Commented Krog. “You’re officially a prodigy Poli.”

“It is not the mark that does all this. I told you, it is an offer. An offer in order to achieve great things. And for once, I think I know the veer who might have gave it to you.” Haruth looked at Krog. “The ship.” He simply said and walked back towards the cave.

“Oh fuck…” Krog was stunned but follow the wizard without a second thought.

“Do you mind explaining?” Asked them Poli, desperately trying to keep up with their pace and tying her bandage.

“Welcome onboard gal, you’ll feel the same as I do every time this guy speaks.” Krog told her, gently taping at her shoulder.

“Trust me Poli, I just need more time to learn from Massin what she has to teach me and all your questions will be answered. You are safe, as long as you’re with us you fear nothing.” Haruth reassured her. “Krog, take care of her, two more days and I will be done.”

“I thought you needed another week.” Objected Krog.

“I am a very fast learner.” He winked at them and disappeared inside the cave.

“He left me with more questions than answers…” Poli was disappointed.

“Oh wow it feels like I’m listening to myself talk.” Krog gave her a smile. “God, I hope I’m just very drunk and sleeping in the capital somewhere and all this will end when I open my eyes with a headache.” He once again laid on the grass. Poli sat next to him, her chin on her knees. Krog looked at her and was swayed by her blond wavy hair, it was fondling her pale cheeks and looked like strings of gold under the sunlight. Krog remembered that morning when they found her laying lifeless and he felt relieved knowing she was saved.

“Do you want to hear a funny story?” Asked her Krog.

She didn’t answer.

“I’ll tell you anyway. Two years ago, I was in the capital on duty. We were going to sail to the island of Udrar. We were assailed by pirates and we lost. I was made to walk the plank like many of us, but I was last. And they enjoyed taking their time with us. When my turn came, even blindfolded I saw my life flash before my eyes. The seas are merciless and your chances of surviving are very thin. When I fell in the salty waters, my spirit had already given up but my body didn’t and I swam aimlessly. They were firing at me and they all missed and I thought of how cruel my fate was. At least end it with a bullet, I remember thinking. I swam and swam until I lost consciousness. I woke up stranded in a shore somewhere. I had no idea how long had it been, how long was I unconscious, nothing. I laid there, just like I am right now. I watched the seagulls and felt my skin dry. I thought that was the end of me, a seafarer stranded in a deserted island, the worn-out sailor story. But when I stood up, all I had to do was walk a bit around to realise where I was. I saw our flag and I saw our stronghold. I was at the capital again. I laughed all the way from the beach to the castle, everyone thought I lost my mind, my commanders thought it was the shock and gave me leave for a year. But I was just amazed at how ridiculous my fate is.” He shook his head.

Poli chuckled, trying her best not to laugh out loud, but that just made it harder for her. Krog noticed and started laughing.

“I’m so fucking dense.” He wheezed, trying to recover from the laughter.

“That was hilarious…” Approved Poli.

“As funny as it can be, it made me realise that hope is always there. Sometimes it finds you but sometimes you need to look for it.” Said Krog.

The young woman sighed and laid down next to the man. She turned left to look at him, he was vacantly staring at the sky.

“I am not losing hope, I am just scared I might.” She confessed.

“This already sounds stupid in my head but you should trust Haruth.” He turned and met her light brown eyes. The warmth in them made Krog smile and pampered him in his daydream. “You have beautiful eyes.” He said spontaneously.

She turned her face abruptly. “Thank you…” She muttered.

Krog coughed when he snapped out of the charm and stood up in awkward steps. “Well, uhum... I guess I will be joining Manyar and Rudolph. I’ll leave you be…”

“Alright. Thank you for everything.” She smiled at him.

Krog walked away from her and joined his friends. They were back at the river, Krog took off his shirts and his pants and dived in the river. Their chatter was loud and soon, Harvick joined them as well. Poli got closer and watched them play around. Krog would smile at her from time to time.

Inside the cave, Massin taught Haruth her final secrets.

“The nine notes are called the Gate to every composition. Each note calls to a Mulk and summons it into your service but there’s always a price to pay. They don’t serve you for free, they’re not slaves. The stronger your summoning is, the greater the price.” She explained.

“What is the price you pay?” Asked her Haruth.

“I will carry no child.” She answered. Haruth didn’t like that a bit. He felt sorry for her.

“What if there’s a way to control these veers?” He asked.

“I know what you carry Haruth. That is not something you should have or carry so carelessly. Galenhaim’s heart should be destroyed.” She opposed.

“Think about it Massin, if we manage to pull this off, we can save millions of people.” He insisted. “We have to try Massin.”

She sat silently for a long while, staring at the void.

“Alright, we’ll do it tonight.” She finally agreed.

“Thank you. Now and forever.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it amiably.

“Now go rest. Tonight, we seal the heart in your guembri.” She promised him.