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I didn't know how long we stayed like that: me sobbing into Lady Anya's robes, her arms wrapped around my thin, broken body. It was rather hard to believe that Lady Anya, frosty and steely and untouchable, was actually hugging me, offering me comfort in what words couldn't. What was more surprising though, was that I didn't mind her touch. The last time I had allowed someone to embrace me like this was when I was saying goodbye to Papa Gunter, the day I'd moved out of his house and into the Mayor's castle back in Hamelin.

Eventually, I had my sobs under control, and Lady Anya pulled back slowly, placing a finger under my chin and tipping it upwards. Her silver eyes were unusually bright. "I imagine that you know who Anton was," she said softly.

I took a step backwards, breaking contact with her. "Yes," I replied after a few seconds. My voice was hoarse, cracked. No matter how hard I tried to, I just couldn't completely rein in all my emotions.

"Come," she said, walking out of the room, not elaborating any further on the matter. The pain in my left leg was back, a jarring sensation compared to the freedom I had experienced in the memory. I started to wonder about my past self, and her non-existent disability. She was also called Elise.

Was there a connection between her and the Elise I knew?

And why had Maria looked so much like my former trainer?

If only Josef were here. He would probably be able to make sense of the memory.

Josef...the name was mentioned briefly in the memory too. By me. "I want to play with Josef," she had said.

But Josef wasn't an uncommon name. I could count at least three Josef-s off my head who were in Hamelin, not counting the Tinker: one of the regular guards, the Mayor's butler, and a drunkard who practically lived in the tavern.

He was from Hamelin though. And the flute...

I gnashed my teeth in frustration. I felt like I was trying to unravel yards and yards of tangled wool, and I had no idea on where to unsnarl the knots.

I allowed an exasperated huff to escape from between my lips.

Lady Anya, who was walking in front of me, threw me a look over her shoulder and raised a brow. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. She promptly returned her attention to the hallway in front of her.

The layout of the Council headquarters was simple compared to Lord Himmel's castle, but since I had only been here for two days, it was no easier to navigate. We turned left, down a path diverging from the main hallway, but after that I couldn't remember the various twists and turns Lady Anya took. So I just followed.

In the end, we came to a stop in front of an unassuming, low door. When Lady Anya fished out a key from her sleeve—I still couldn't figure out how she managed to store so many things in there—and opened the door, I noted that the hinges didn't creak at all.

The room inside was, in a word, austere. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a large window to the side allowed plenty of sunlight to stream in. A large mahogany desk was placed on one end, whereas there was a fireplace on the other. It was unlit, and there were two comfortable-looking armchairs in front of it, with a delicate, round table in between. Decorations were simple but tasteful; everything was marched into perfect order.

Austere. Very austere.

Lady Anya's office, I presumed.

"Have a seat." She gestured towards the armchairs; I hobbled over and plopped myself onto one of them without hesitation, massaging my left leg. Small spasms of pain tingled my limbs.

She settled into the armchair beside me, drawing out her matchbox. "Tea?" she asked.

The question rang oddly in my ears. After everything that had just happened, to have something as mundane as tea...It just didn't feel right.

But I accepted the offer anyway: "Yes, please." Perhaps something in my stomach would help to settle my nerves.

She struck a match. The flame curled about the matchstick lazily, flickering in a myriad of yellow and orange. It almost looked like it was dancing. Her eyes were trained on it, and soon the flame grew bigger, bigger—until it was at least ten times its original size. Yet I felt no heat emanating from it.

Lady Anya then took the fire in her hands and discarded the match. Her fingers weaved the flames into ribbons, and soon it took form. It flared for a moment before dimming out, and two cups of steaming hot tea was on the table.

I stared at Lady Anya for a while. Even though I shouldn't be surprised by her ability to pull liquid out of thin air, I still had the same sense of wonderment when Elise had first performed magic for me.

That first lesson seemed like it had happened in another lifetime now.

"Drink it," said Lady Anya. My attention was on the twin teacups—they were a clear sky blue colour, with a silvery etchings on the surface. "It's not poison."

Tentatively, I lifted a cup and took a small sip out of it. Bitter. But then again, all tea tasted the same to me. Still, I appreciated the fact that it was hot.

"Now, tell me what you know about Anton so far?"

Lady Anya's request made me choke on my drink. I coughed violently, setting the cup aside and wiping spittle on my mouth with my sleeve. The Magus continued to cast me an expectant look. I drew in a deep breath and opened my mouth, but no words came out. My throat felt constricted, as though something had lodged itself inside it.

Anton was my father, I wanted to say. But the words didn't sound right, even in my own head. I never had any father save for Papa Gunter, although I was only his adoptive daughter.

So instead I said, "Is it really necessary for me to spell everything out loud?"

The words came out more snappishly than I intended, and I immediately slapped my hands over my mouth. Lady Anya looked at me disapprovingly; I wanted nothing more than to shrivel and disappear into my seat. "I'm aware that this is painful, but know this, Klaudia: there are much more pressing stakes at hand. Your father was very close to capturing the Pied Piper long ago, and it was because he had managed to trace Lord Himmel's origins. If we know who—or what Lord Himmel truly is, then perhaps we may have a chance of defeating him."

"You have a whole army of sorcerers at your disposal. Forgive me, Your Grace, but like what Lord Konrad had suggested, why can't we all just march on Heidelberg?"

Her eyes flashed with irritancy. "Heidelberg has some of the most powerful sorcerers in Aschein. If we were to just conquer them through sheer, blunt force, it would never work. And remember, they have the Pied Piper by their side. We still do not know the extent of his power."

"Not everyone is so taken by Lord Himmel," I argued, an image of Josef crossing my mind. "If we can persuade some of the sorcerers and citizens—"

"Just because you escaped doesn't mean they can," she cut in brusquely. "I don't know how you managed to not be completely linked to Heidelberg's Fountain, but anyone else who had drunk from it certainly are."

Of course. I'd completely forgotten about that. The only reason I wasn't under Lord Himmel's control was because of my flute. The flute I had even before the plague came to Hamelin. My fingers wormed into my pouch, lightly tracing over the patterns Josef had carved into my Medium.

Josef. My flute. Hamelin...everything was making an odd plucking at the back of my mind, as though I should know something, yet I couldn't quite pinpoint what. "Lady Anya, there is one person in Heidelberg who may prove useful..." I said uncertainly.

"I'm listening." She took a sip out of the teacup, expression dubious. She watched me intently though, waiting.

I told her about Josef. About how I'd first run into him, how I'd discovered that he was the Tinker who had been helping Lord Himmel drain the children of their youth, how he'd learned that my flute had triggered his memories, how he'd resisted the bindings to be able to speak freely to me, and how he had assisted in my escape.

Some of the narration overlapped with the account I had given to the Council, while other parts were completely new information I hadn't divulge before. When I was done, Lady Anya actually looked surprised. "If this Josef of yours could escape Lord Himmel's attention for a little while, I wonder about the rest of the sorcerers."

A little while. A chill ran up my spine. "What did you mean by 'a little while'?"

Her brow arched so high I thought that it would fly off her forehead. "My dear, surely you comprehend? The ruling lord over a province is able to track the movements of everyone who is completely bound to the Fountain. Lord Himmel will eventually find out that the Tinker had helped you escape, and he will have to pay for his crime."

"What crime?" I gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, praying that Lady Anya wouldn't say the words I dreaded.

She paused for a bit, whether for dramatic effect, or to set me on edge, or to evaluate how I would take the news, I didn't know.

"Treason. And the penalty is death."

Bile rose up my throat. No—this couldn't be happening. But it was. Josef had only acted in his best intentions, and he would be executed for it?

"Can't we – can't we do anything about it?" I pleaded.

Lady Anya shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Klaudia, but this Josef likely knew the consequences of his actions, and would gladly accept them. No use fretting over something you can fix. For now, we can only think about how we shall deal with Lord Himmel."

I wanted to scream. However, I controlled myself and said, "If we can get Josef out of Heidelberg, we'll probably find out how to sever the connection between Lord Himmel and his people."

"And how do you suggest we do it?" Lady Anya replied coldly. "Charge in blindly like what Lord Konrad had said? Our sorcerers would be cut down before they can even break down the barrier."

I bit down on my tongue, fighting the tears that were welling up in my eyes. As much as I'd hate to admit it, Lady Anya was right. The realisation struck me like an avalanche pouring all over my head.

Josef was going to die, and I could do nothing about it.

I was a Magus. I had so much power, yet I couldn't even save the few people I cared about. Useless. I was still useless. I was still the cripple, a girl with no credibility to her name, a simple fool who only wanted to lead a normal life.

A teacup was thrust below my nostrils. "Here," said Lady Anya. It seemed like a peace offering. "Drink this."

Swallowing my grief, I downed the tea. There must have been some sort of magical property in it, for I instantly calmed down. My mind became clear, though there was no getting rid of the sorrow inside me.

"If we can defeat Lord Himmel soon enough, will Josef still be alive by then?" I asked quietly. It was selfish of me, I knew. However, I couldn't leave him at the mercy of the Pied Piper. Not after he had done so much for me.

"Assuming that Lord Himmel doesn't immediately kill him when he returns to Heidelberg, yes," Lady Anya answered dryly. "It's a slim chance, but it's better than nothing."

"Tell me what I have to do."

A smirk played on Lady Anya's lips. It was hard to not get rather angry at her pragmatic nature, but I knew that her every word was for the greater good, in the end. The fact that I had been played so smoothly into her hands only proved that I was a mere fledgling trying to survive in the company of bloodthirsty monsters.

"The memory you saw just now was the last recorded day of Anton's before he vanished the following night," she said without skipping a beat. "All sorcerers under our records are required to deliver their memories to me via a lodestone. Unfortunately, the recorded memories can be misleading sometimes, often missing certain bits and pieces of the sorcerer's day. And Anton had never mentioned how he managed to track the Pied Piper down. Not even once."

She glared at me, as though silently accusing me of not knowing the Pied Piper's origins when I was Anton's daughter. Then the glare softened. "Anton was in the ruins of Erstürnach before he went to Hamelin, and we have reason to believe that there was something there which led him to your town."

"Weren't there any other sorcerers with him?"

"Oh yes. There was Maria, his wife, who had a gift for altering memories. Then there was Leon, a memory sifter like me, except that he was not a Magus. Last but not least, Helene, who was a Seeker."

"And all of them had suddenly disappeared? Just like that?" I couldn't help the scepticism in my tone.

"They had. On the night the plague came to Hamelin, too." She bore her steely gaze into me; I did my best to return it. "They must had somehow known beforehand that the Pied Piper would strike the town. What they didn't expect was Lord Himmel. To this day, we still don't know what had taken place during that night. We've tried scouring Erstürnach for clues before. No results have yet to yield themselves."

"Lord Himmel must have a connection with Erstürnach then," I decided.

"Yes. Question is, what? That is what I want you to find out."

"Me?" I squawked. "Surely you have better qualified sorcerers than me?"

"You have a connection with Anton," she argued. "It's possible that he might have left something over there for your eyes and ears only."

"How is that even possible?"

"He hardly ever reported his activity to the Council, which was what we'd agreed upon. If the Pied Piper knew that Anton was hot on his trail, it might ruin all his efforts. Anton was always a careful man, and he could have sealed up a few memories of his own with the help of his fellow sorcerers, only to be unlocked when a certain designated person comes along."

"Why me?" I whispered. It was hard to believe all this information that was being fed to me. "And why didn't anyone of you suspected Erstürnach before?"

"You're his daughter. It's logic that he should leave everything behind to you. I never even knew he had a child until you came along. Just shows how elusive he was." She spoke fondly, a hint of a smile tinging her lips. "And as for the fallen city, I'd bet that you never even knew of its existence until someone told you recently."

I flushed. "That is irrelevant," I protested.

"It's very much relevant, Klaudia. The reason why Erstürnach is so safely hidden away from the ears of normal citizens is because it's a part of history we wished to erase. It was one of Aschein's greatest losses, and only selected sorcerers know of its existence."

Elise had told me its story easily enough though. I didn't mention that. "So why didn't anyone suspect Erstürnach until Anton came along?"

"The fall of the city occurred roughly two centuries ago. The plagues had been going on for a century. Did you really think that we'd suspect anything of the city when there's such a big gap of time in between?"

"I suppose not," I said slowly. Lady Anya's reasoning sank into my mind. "So you want me to go to Erstürnach?"

She offered me a refreshingly sincere grin. "You catch on more quickly than I thought."

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