Fleeing Dylort was a simple matter, but the constant question of whether they would be pursued was there. However, with Rawani out of her cell, everything seemed like it would be back to normal in no time. At least, that was what could fit.

The Marked group once again entered the Great Green Sea and settled to the north, near Lake Ravalasz.

With a small camp set up, moments of peace become uncomfortable; truth be told, it had been months since they had all last met. The last time they were together was when Ronan left on his journey to the West to continue his research. Since then, each had gone their separate ways for various reasons.

At some point in that new nightfall, Kyrus and Xindal were again left alone. The silence of the night was only interrupted by the popping of wood or the distant howl of some plains wolf. Xindal watched the fire as he felt its vibrant and unpredictable movement soothe him. The fire was as erratic as his friend could be, who was slowly reviewing page after page of his spellbook at the foot of the fire. The Infernal would soon take up an inked pen and make corrections to some spells, cross out others, or make new formulas according to what he had found.

"Still turning those spells over?" the elf asked with a smile.

Kyrus was silent for a few moments before answering, "I think I hit on the way to perfect a couple. Or at least, to keep them from being so unstable..."

"Elemental spells?"

Kyrus nodded.

The elf looked down. The situation in Dylort had been awkward, but he needed to talk about it.

"Kyrus, about what happened in Dylort..."

"You were right to stop me," the Infernal exclaimed, still writing in his book. "I behaved like a monster..."

"I don't think you were like a monster," Xindal denied. "Nevertheless, I think it was something..."

"Why did you stop me with the Tracker?" asked Kyrus quickly. The Infernal's white eyes were now on Xindal.

Xindal watched his friend but then closed his eyes as he couldn't tolerate the accusatory look from him.

"What choice did I have?"

"To let me swiftly end his life."

"So, you would kill another one of ours?"

"They stopped being one of ours when they joined the White Flame," Kyrus said with a tongue click.

"The same could be said of us by them. Or so could our brothers and sisters in Efran..."

"At least we, and those who dwell in Efran, are not slaves to the gods..."

"I suppose you're right about that," Xindal replied as he moved his hands closer to the fire. "However, there is always time to choose the wiser side. Do you think Adhaz is?"

Xindal looked at Kyrus, who soon returned his gaze. The cross was direct and dry. Kyrus soon composed himself, however, and closed his book.

"If it were up to me, I would leave Adhaz. However, I'm sure they would give anything for me not to..."

"I doubt Archmage Buzen would allow you to do so..."

"Oh, 'Archmage' Buzen would be very angry and reproach me," Kyrus exclaimed, eliciting a chuckle from Xindal because the Infernal had intense frictions with that man.

"He would begin with his sermon of union and brotherhood," Xindal replied. "Then, He would speak of the magical principles that bind us together and-"

Kyrus made a hoarse sound with his throat in contempt.

"If I should happen to have any ties to that imbecile..."

Xindal burst out laughing, and Kyrus soon joined him.

"I see you two are getting friendly again."

Kyrus and Xindal laughed as they watched Rawani return from the lake along with Peck. The orc woman had had to shed the broken pieces of her armor, and all she could wear at the moment were a sleeveless shirt, pants, and simple, stiff cloth boots.

"It better be like this," exclaimed Peck smiling and jovial. "I hate it when they fight; I don't know who to go with when they do."

"You know you should come with me; you'll have more fun," Kyrus replied, smiling and scathing.

"Or you'll end up in a pit without knowing how to get out," replied Rawani, who took a seat at the other end of the campfire.

"At least I'll go somewhere first!" exclaimed Peck in reproach, "I'm always the last to go with you everywhere! Like Gigma's fortress--"

"Rigma, Peck," corrected Kyrus, "It's a Misovan name."

"Right, or when you were traveling to see the giants--"

"What about the time we went after the Nagarthuans?" asked Rawani with a teasing, teasing smile.

"Nagarwhat?" asked Xindal.

Kyrus hid a chuckle as he watched Peck's eyes widen, and he sketched an offended face.

"Y-You all went to kill a giant snake without me?!" she shouted, pulling Rawani's hair.

Kyrus and Rawani chuckled knowingly as they recalled the tale of when they traveled to the lands of the orcs to defeat one of those sea beasts.

"Next time, Peck, I'll take you after some mythical creature," exclaimed Rawani, who patted her own shoulder and motioned for her to braid her hair.

Peck snorted in offense, "I'm sure by the time you do, you'll have gone first without me..."

The remaining trio of Marked laughed at the attitudes of the smallest of them.

"It's been a while since we've been like this," Kyrus exclaimed somewhat wistfully, "Only Ronan is missing here..."

Rawani nodded as Peck began fixing the orc woman's hair.

"Does anyone know if he's okay?" asked Peck to the Marked Mages.

"Did something happen to him?" asked Rawani.

"The last time I received a letter from him was a month ago," replied Kyrus, "The paper bird was made so that you would get the letter to you first; otherwise, it would get to me. However, it got to the third person, to Peck..."

"I'm not surprised," Xindal said, shaking his head. The relationship Ronan had with the Akajsi man was at times rough.

"You know how Ronan is," Kyrus said.

"It's not like he can avoid our rough edges..."

Rawani tried to get the conversation back on track, "What did his letter say?"

"Something about political matters..." exclaimed Peck, trying to remember what Ronan had written in a language she barely knew.

"That was the boring part," Kyrus replied.

"Everything Ronan studies is boring," the girl said with a teasing smile.

Rawani smiled at the girl's words and gestured for the wizard to continue.

Kyrus paused, then continued, "He came across two newcomers. A Talhari-looking human boy and an Akajsi girl."

"He plans to send them to Adhaz?" asked Rawani.

"I think he was going to take them to a port so they could sail there. That wasn't the most important thing in the letter, though..."

"What is it then?" asked Xindal.

Kyrus looked at his friend and then at the others.

The wizard swallowed saliva and, after a sigh, blurted out a revelation.

"He believes the Talhari boy came to this world because of the summoning ritual."

Rawani and Xindal opened their eyes in utter amazement.

"Do you say he brought a brother here?" asked Peck, incredulous.

"I know it's hard to believe," said Kyrus. "By the abyss, even for me, it's hard to believe, and the Guardians of the Forbidden and I to develop the ritual help him with it."

"Was that the reason for his expedition?" asked Rawani. "Did Adhaz allocate wealth for that?"

"I guess the triumvirate won't be able to spend that money on pompous parties for the nobles of the Nandel's Marches."

"That's incredible," Rawani exclaimed, amazed at that finding.

"We must still be sure; I must know if it is true, though I have some certainties that it is possible."

Kyrus soon recalled when, after researching through the letter, what the marked children were like, he discovered that that dark-skinned boy had been the one who broke into his mental palace, his demesne.

"It must have been crazy months," Rawani said.

"They've been pretty jumpy in Adhaz lately." indicated Xindal.

"What has happened?" asked the orc woman.

"Where to begin..." said Xindal, letting the air out of his mouth before taking another deep breath. "The Triumvirate has repressed some revolts in the face of the isolation they imposed. Since only Marked Ones enter the city, many are the families that have been separated because of it."

"Have they driven out commoners?" asked Rawani, alarmed.

"Not only have they driven them out," exclaimed Kyrus. "Itzala has put his groups to work, locking up anyone suspected of treason."

"They wanted to arrest some friends of ours,'' Peck pointed out. Her hands were intent on Rawani's long, straight hair, but his mind was on the faces of his friends. "Before I left, I heard Vike, Malsram, and Myrsa were arrested."

Rawani growled in annoyance as she clenched one fist and rested her other hand on this one.

"From Vike, it was to be expected," the woman replied serenely and worriedly. "He was always impulsive. He reminded me a bit of Tylo...but dwarves, Malsram is loyal to Adhaz, and Myrsa was ambassador to the dwarves of Melek."

"Buzen is seeing enemies everywhere," Xindal exclaimed. "He thinks there are spies and enemies everywhere."

Kyrus nodded and watched Rawani. "As I was about to leave, Itzala alerted me that they wanted to arrest the Akajsis, Dornelis, and Yeskrana. Also, they wanted to lock up Dezirae..."

Rawani frowned at that last man. "Why, even though she's an Infernal, and was she hiding in Mordia under the White Flame's nose? It's ridiculous..."

"I told Iztala the same," Kyrus said. "The Order would never accept an Infernal..."

"The Order would never accept someone who is not human. Or at the very least, hybrids..."

"Rawani," Xindal interrupted the woman. "I know it's perhaps early to ask, but what were you doing here, and how did you end up in Dylort?"

Rawani gave a snort, "I guess I owe an explanation."

The woman settled once more in her place and occupied her thoughts. Since she had been caught, so many things had been going through her mind; it was time to settle them.

"Since I left the Triumvirate, I have not been quiet. The spies in Adhaz are real, and I've been doing my part to find them."

The woman glanced at both mages in front of her, who were waiting for her to speak more.

"My clues led me to Adwar, and I came across a group of brothers and sisters who wished to flee to Adhaz. Here, I came across Brelar..."

Kyrus exclaimed, folding his arms, "Buzen's counselor..."

Rawani nodded, "He was a traitor. I beat as much information out of him as possible, but he blew his head off with magic before revealing the name of the Five Martyrs."

"Five Martyrs?" asked Kyrus, intrigued.

"As you know, those who go over to the side of the Order end up calling them 'Martyrs.' Within them, there are five, one for each god, who swore allegiance to the pontiff and Tisvar. As far as I know, there is at least one of them in Adhaz, and when I tried to drag his name, Brelar preferred to die..."

"Surely by now, Buzen must be freaking out that Brelar hasn't shown up..."

"I'm sure he'll have finally put in the martial law he wanted so badly," Xindal exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case," Rawani said before continuing his narrative. "Before I left, I traveled to the Nastan Marshes to help refugees escape to the Marches. There was an ambush; perhaps an entire Order battalion was waiting for us there along with men from Adwar's army. There were barely a hundred men capable of wielding a weapon, so I had to face them alone. As far as I know, not many were those who escaped..."

"It must have been a massacre," exclaimed Kyrus. "At least you dealt a blow to the Order and killed several of their dogs..."

"Kyrus, too many people must have died there," exclaimed Xindal, with some annoyance in his calm voice. "You're just looking at the blow to the Order..."

Kyrus watched Xindal from the corner of his eye, then closed them. While his countenance was neutral, one could sense anger in it.

"Done!" exclaimed Peck smiling as he finished with Rawani's hair. "Do you like it?"

The orc woman smiled and rocked her head. "It's comfortable. Thank you, little one..."

"Do you want me to go on with you, Kyrus?" the girl asked with a broad smile.

"No," he exclaimed flatly before serenading herself as she noticed the astonishment on the girl's face. "No... it's okay. Do my braid in the morning; I don't want to mess it up while I'm sleeping..."

"Oh, okay..." said Peck, concerned.

"I'll check a few things on my demesne and sleep. Good night..."

Kyrus, without hesitation, rose from his place in front of the campfire and, after a quick glance at his friends, made his way to the tent he erected of thick but elegant red and gold fabrics.

Once Kyrus disappeared inside the tent. The three took a few moments in silence for Kyrus to go to his mental palace and quickly fall asleep so they could talk without being overheard by him.

"How is he?" asked Rawani to Xindal.

Xindal let out a sigh, "How do you think? It would be easier to talk to a god than to ask him what really crosses his mind. He told me that he supposedly saw the Marked child that Ronan rescued inside his demesne. If he had entered his mental palace, he believed that then others might."

"Like some Martyr," Rawani pointed out.

Xindal nodded, "His magic has become more volatile. I worry that he will make poor decisions from now on and will not reason as he should."

"Kyrus has always reasoned well," Peck said, leaning on Rawani's shoulders. "Even the most raging storm can miss a shore and become serene in the middle of the ocean."

Rawani raised her gaze at the words of the girl, who despite her age, had learned much from her ancient philosopher masters, the Yushams.

"Let him rest," Rawani said. "Peck told me that he believes the wizards of Artaham guard the borders of Adwar. So let us devise a plan to return to the Nandel Marches and then to Adhaz."

Xindal sighed exhaustedly, "That's all we have left to do..."

"I'll take the first watch," Peck said. "You want to stay with me and have me braid your hair?"

Xindal raised his gaze to the scarred girl. Even if he was tired, he felt he could not refuse such a sweet request.

Rawani was the second to go to sleep, and then it was just the two of them, Peck and Xindal alone, gazing at the stars together in a nice moment.