Code Cracker

The group listened intently to Eliana's story. Mairwen had longed to hear about Dania for months now, and finally knowing at least one thing that happened to her was strangely comforting.

Eliana had made clear her concern to the group, and her distrust of Taran finally chipped away at the last bit of respect Renat had for the man. Though the lanky man also knew there must be a reason behind the nobleman's actions, he saw no justification for abduction and a forced engagement.

"By the time I was able to find help in the village, Dania and Taran were long gone. We could not properly track them."

The intense sadness in Eliana's eyes made them turn the shade of a melancholy cloud. There was indeed a storm going on within the woman that was hidden behind her carefree exterior. A problem solver should be able to solve problems, after all. Her failure was felt keenly.

"I tried to send you word. But I was thwarted, I think, since you seem like you did not know I would expect you."

"I received nothing from you," Mairwen admitted. "And the report said that you had not seen them."

Eliana scrunched her brow. "No one came to see me."

"Taran must be more well-connected than we realized," Alaron reasoned. "If he faked the report, and prevented Eliana from contacting us..." The Guardian fell into his thoughts, 'and then there was the attack on the Empress too. So many moving pieces...' "This feels like something much bigger than we realize," he said at last.

Mairwen pursed her lips, "All the more reason to find Dania and discover why Taran wants her so close to him. Eliana, you said you handed over notes to Taran. Did they look like these?" The princess motioned to her brother, who pulled out their copy of Dania's strange letterings.

"They did look like these, though you seem to have a larger stack." Eliana smiled as she ran her fingers along the pages which both her sister and Mairwen had penned.

"That explains where the third copy went," the scientist stated. "Dania needed a failsafe."

"It was brilliant, really. It gave my sister an excuse to come and see me to let me know she was in danger." Eliana didn't mind that the visit had put her in peril as well. Family willingly put themselves in harm's way for the sake of each other. "I don't think she would have been able to convince Taran to come here otherwise. He seemed quite eager to leave."

"I guess you didn't give her the key to read it, then?" the princess mused. "Otherwise why would they have come to the University to search for it." Maiwen's heart sank. While she had a small lead on what had happened to her friend, she was not closer to understanding why Dania was forced to leave in the first place.

"Key? Why would Dania need a key to read these? She and I have used this shorthand since we were children." Eliana's face brightened at the thought. "Our father taught us a version of it. He learned it from some traders who could not read, but still needed to communicate via writing. Dania and I altered it to suit ourselves. It frustrated our mother to no end because we would leave each other notes in the dirt that only we--and sometimes our father--could understand."

Alaron's jaw dropped slightly. "You mean that you can read this?"

"Naturally! You could too with a little practice." Eliana chuckled. She had no idea that such skills were not natural to everyone. Her family was quite unique.

"Then why did Taran send those creatures to find a key?" Eira voiced the question that was in the other's minds also. 'Why would a woman who could understand what she wrote claim that she couldn't?'

"Dania was stalling, most likely. Whatever Taran wants with these papers, my sister does not want him to have it." The blonde flipped through the papers and hummed quietly. "This is most interesting."

"What do you see?" Mairwen wanted to know.

"Dania was working on healing water, but you already knew that, I assume." Eliana pointed to a portion of the notes like the princess could read them.

Looking at the three wavy lines, Mairwen realized that it probably stood for water. Her mind raced as she tried to discern any other words of symbols among the mass. She could almost feel things come into focus only to blur again before she could sharpen the image.

As the princess tilted her head from side to side and squinted, Eliana read on. "It seems there was some sort of accident a few months ago. The notes are not very clear right here, but something got altered horribly. Our shorthand does not allow for the most extensive vocabulary. I can read it but understanding might take some guesswork."

The blonde munched on the last bits of food from her plate, wiping off a drip or two from the paper as she went. The others tried to be patient, but it became harder with each hum or grunt of the eccentric young woman. An hour or more passed as the moon rose over the valley.

At last Eliana gave her summary. "It seems that Dania was adding different ingredients to the healing water to enhance human health."

"This much we know." Renat nodded thoughtfully.

"What you probably don't know is that she succeeded to some degree, and also failed miserably. While she was testing a particular mix, the test subject tried to attack Dania and Taran. Somehow they both managed to escape and contain the issue, whatever that means. But Dania promptly destroyed the formula, much to Taran's disappointment."

"Why would he be disappointed that she got rid of a formula that went so wrong?" Alaron wondered aloud. "Unless he had some purpose for it other than how it was used."

"Dania writes that Taran said it had potential and urged her repeatedly to try to make it again, so she set about trying to make a safer version that would not have the same side effects." Eliana flipped to the last of the pages. "She writes that the liquid is highly unstable and that she really wants to go in a different direction, but as Taran is her mentor, she is not at liberty to do what she wants. From the way this is worded, it looks like she was gathering up the courage to ask for a new advisor to oversee her work."

"If Taran found out, I am sure he would not be happy." Eira didn't like how possessive the nobleman was of the young scientist. "The question is was he upset enough to abduct Dania and try to force her into marriage?"

Alaron tapped his fingers on the table pensively. "The more I pulled away from Cafer the tighter his grip became. First magic, then encouraging me to run away. Finally when I pulled back and told him no, he drugged me to force me to fulfill the role he wanted. Based on all that had been said, Taran sounds like he won't stop until he completes his goal."

"Cafer? What did you say your name was?" Eliana raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't," Alaron answered. "But in my experience, calculating people always have a specific aim."

"He wants to murder the Empress, that much is clear. But why would he need Dania for that?" Mairwen closed her eyes for a moment, trying to discern his purpose.

Her mind barely registered Eliana's questions to the others as it ran through everything Mairwen had ever heard her friend or the fiend say.

The brunette scientist had mentioned having a falling out with her assistant. Perhaps he had been there when things went wrong, and he witnessed everything go sideways. Maybe the animal from the experiment had done more than just go feral. Perhaps…

"The strange creatures that have been attacking us did not appear until after Dania left. What if…what if Dania's formula created the monsters! The lizards and wolves, what if they are not magical beings, but merely altered common creatures?" The princess covered her mouth. Could something be marred so much to form such an abomination?

"That would fit with what is here," Eliana confirmed, tapping the papers lightly. "It explains why Dania coded her notes and destroyed the formula."

Renat rubbed his head. Scholars were supposed to be held to a higher standard, at least in his opinion. What Taran was doing was not only treason, but a betrayal of his sacred duty as a scientist.

He sighed, "Then the only way to stop this is to find Dania and rescue her, assuming she hasn't given them everything they need."

"I may be able to help there too." Eliana moved to her bed and pulled out a folded up sheet of writing. "Dania left a note for me about you, and she left a note for you as well. I was afraid to send it with my message, and I seem to have made the correct call."

Mairwen smoothed the folds of the note and her eyes widened. "You really should have started with this," she said.